isporthorse

The decision of which stallion to put your mare to is rarely an obvious one.  There’s many aspects to take into account – bloodlines, type, temperament, conformation, movement and more.  For huge-scale breeding operations it can be more of an exact science, with knowledge born from years of experience and the scope for quantity and trial and error.  But for the smaller studs or for the one-horse breeder, choosing the right stallion for your mare can be an agonising process.
This is where James Crawford comes in. He owns and manages Elite Stallions, which offers access to many of the best stallions in Europe via imported chilled or frozen semen.  James also gives the benefit of his experience to those owners who are unsure of what stallion to use. “Working with around 400 mares per year, you get a good picture of what works and what doesn’t,” says James. “More of my time is spent giving advice than anything else.”
James is a qualified vet, and when he worked full-time in practice an increasing amount of his time was spent working in reproduction.  It became a natural step to what he does now. He still does some locum work occasionally, but most of his time – especially during the breeding season – is spent on Elite Stallions business. “My veterinary background is enormously helpful. You can have an intelligent conversation with the owner and the vet about timing, and that’s very important,” he explains.
He has been involved with Elite Stallions since January, having bought the company from founder Lisa Niemy in January 2011. “Lisa is a friend and client of mine, and she’d built up Elite Stallions considerably over three years,” he says.
The company predominantly caters for those looking for dressage and jumping stallions, though there’s an increasing number of eventer and pony stallions listed too. Reading through the list of stallions that the company has on its books is a bit like reading a who’s-who in the sporthorse stallion world. It’s little surprise, however, when you consider that James is one of the leading UK agents for studs like Paul Schockemoehle’s PSI, Boeckmann, Blue Hors and Sosath stallions. “I work with a core of about 10-12 studs. PSI has over 60 stallions, while most have 10-12 stallions each,” explains James.
These stallions include some of the leading lights and biggest names in the sporthorse world.
“This year’s most popular stallion is Totilas.  Fifteen people used him for their mares, which given his price is more than I thought I’d get.  Balou de Rouet also produces very smart, very attracting, willing foals who enjoy life,” James says.
He never stops looking for the next potential superstar, but isn’t in a hurry to greatly increase the amount of stallions on his books – only adding ones who show real potential, or replacing older sires whose semen quality drops.
“I’ve been slowly growing the list of stallions but not too much,” says James. “The main thing is looking after the mare owners as well as the stallion owners you already work with. Every now and then you hear of a stallion that could work, or someone will approach you about a stallion you don’t know – however, you don’t know for sure if the semen is going to be quality enough.”
The latest addition to Elite Stallions is Metall (Ferro x Ramiro), the sire of Carl Hester’s European gold medallist Uthopia and champion dressage stallion Special D.
A stallion that James pinpoints as one to watch is Bretton Woods, listed on the Elite Stallions website as the ‘next Totilas’.  This five-year-old KWPN  by Johnson  out of Annabel by De Niro  won the Princes Dressage Trophy in 2009, the VSN Trophy in Ermelo in January 2010, and was reserve champion in the 2010 Pavo Cup. Bretton Woods also won a bronze medal in the five year old class at this years World Young Horse Class in Germany. “There were a few problems with his frozen semen, but I managed to switch people on to chilled,” says James.
Another horse he rates very highly is a young Belgium jumping stallion called Diabeau, by Clinton. “Clinton has produced some phenomenal offspring – and the van de Heffinck Stud is very good at producing a youngster into top sport,” says James.
While the website is modern and comprehensive, with full details of each stallion listed, plus an option to order and pay for semen online. “People don’t often go on the website and click ‘order’, most have a long chat about it,” he adds.
It’s a busy job – during the busiest part of the season James is in the office at 6am and there until 9pm at night. The most stressful part of the job is waiting for parcels to arrive at their destination, having to rely on couriers who don’t always appreciate the time-sensitive nature of delivering semen. “We don’t often have problems,” he says. “One in 10 might be a little late, but only one in 100 deliveries are problematic.”
James doesn’t promote any UK stallions, but this winter he hopes to set up a link to showcase British stallions.  He thinks the state of the British breeding industry is ‘very healthy’. “I’d like to see more horses get sold back to the Continent, but there’s still a prejudice about buying back from Britain. With the success of horses like Woodlander Farouche it proves we can choose the right stallions – she’s an excellent example of good British mare stock.  There’s a growing number of good stallions standing in this county. Uthopia is one to watch – people will want to use him, and his father.”
A lot of James’ clients are single horse owners, who wish to have a foal of their own or whose mare has either retired through age or injury.  “These owners are much keener for advice and looking more to use a good foreign horse, generally under £1000, usually a Warmblood,” James points out.
So what advice does he have for people considering breeding from their mare?
“Ask a lot of people about your mare’s characteristics, as people tend to be a bit cynical about their own mare.  Temperament plays a part, so take advice from people who know your mare to get an impartial view.”
James can speak from personal experience too – he’s ridden, owned and bred horses all his life. “I did a bit of jumping before university, so my particular sport is jumping, but my grandfather was an international dressage judge so I have an interest in both disciplines,” he says.
He’s also bred a handful of foals per year for the past few years, some of whom are now being competed in jumping.  “The last few years I’ve had four foals a year – compare that to PSI, which breeds 600 a year! This year I just had one, and I’ve had a really nice filly. I’m not going to make money out of breeding foals, as I don’t have the space to do it on the scale.”
James’ personal breeding operation may not be about to rival the biggest studs in Europe, but when it comes to running Elite Stallions, he’s giving British breeders access to their very best stallions on the Continent. The ‘Elite’ name is certainly justified.

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