A grand-father who was a farrier, and who got killed by a horse, is probably the closest link to which Genny Sanceau can relate his otherwise totally unexpected and devouring passion for horses.
...“My dream was to breed a horse who would be ridden by my children in the Fontainebleau young horses finals” he says, with an almost childish candour, the eyes still twinkling with stars at the idea, and a dream fulfilled.
A real estate manager, Genny Sanceau was living a typical city life in the centre of Paris until 10 years ago, when he bought a farm 40 kilometres west of Paris, and drew his family into the big adventure of sport horse breeding. Transforming this farm into a stud involved one of the major investments which was introduced into agriculture in the last 30 years in France. Indeed, a man of idealistic projects, and a wealthy man as well, Genny Sanceau was able to bring, from the beginning, enormous means to set the framework for his passion. Needless to say, and while doing so, his debuts as a breeder were severely frowned upon and unwelcome by the very traditional world of horse breeding in France. Jealousy and tricky deals paved the way.
Never mind. Genny Sanceau is the happiest man on earth when, after a day’s work in his office in Paris and an hour’s, drive, he unknots his tie, and jumps from his grey suit into a farmer’s outfit to spend the evening cutting his own hay for the 60 or so horses he owns and boards on his land. His wife, Ghislaine admits she is not into the horse craze, although she loves seeing the young foals, before they become “a herd of strangers in the fields”. Their daughter Stephanie, who likes to compete at an amateur level with her own mare, is her father’s right arm on the farm, efficient, enthusiastic, and highly concerned with the welfare of the broodmares and the foals. Her brother Eric was hooked on competition from a young age and is in charge of the showjumping careers of the home-bred horses as they reach the age of three. As a new life begins for them, they move to Eric’s yard which is located half an hour away from the farm. There, three riders, including Eric, work and show the horses from young horses classes up to CSI competitions. While father and daughter represent the breeding side, Eric as a competitor, is the user of horses, and it is interesting to compare their points of views which may sometimes differ.
As for the horses, one of the two stallions at stud, the Selle Français Bibrahim du Moulin (Rosire - Lima du Moulin x Espoir du Scion) was 2nd in the CSIW of Geneva in 1997, 2nd in the Deauville CSI, 2nd in the Vichy CSI, 2nd in the Jardy CSI, and winner or placed in several National Grand Prix, under either Eric Navet’s or Eric Sanceau’s saddle. By his sire Rosire, the powerful Bibrahim du Moulin is a half brother to a good number of top class international horses, while on his maternal side he is related to the performing CSIO stallion Galant de la Cour, through his grand-dam Bibrahim Grimeux (Ibrahim x Edifiante by Herquemoulin). The other stallion is Daltone Mouche (Type d’Elle - Urelia de Courcy x Pot d’Or). Daltone Mouche was qualified in the six-year olds finals, with 10 clear rounds out of 11; he was also in the seven-year olds finals in Fontaine-bleau, placed in Grand Prix and in CSI’s at the age of seven, then 1st in the GP of Bethune, 7th in the Zurich CSI, and placed in several others.
Apart from these two stallions, the Sanceau’s do not hesitate to use some of the best stallions on the market, mostly French ones, on their brood stock. They also make good use of advanced breeding techniques, such as embryo transfers and a general veterinarian follow-up of a high standard. Only the future will tell if the stud brand name ‘HOGUE’ chosen after the original name of the farm, will secure a spot in the sun. But one thing is certain, the Hogue farm is certainly trying the best they can, and it might be interesting to see a somewhat different point of view from that of the more famous and long recognised breeders.
Q Which horse stories impressed you the most, influencing some of the choices you may have made?
“Frederic Cottier and Flambeau C made a strong impression on me. They were the Champions of France, of the World, and even won an Olympic Medal. As for Eric Navet, his overall career, his riding and his professionalism still impress me a lot” answers Eric, while his father adds: “For me the Levallois family is an example to be followed as far as breeding goes. They produced such good stallions as Le Tot de Semilly, Rush de St Anne, and now Diamant de Semilly. They always know when not to sell, and keep their bloodlines.”
Q How do you view yourselves in the world of sport horse breeding in France?
Obviously we haven’t had any fame yet, we did not produce a recognised stallion, for instance. This year we are only producing our eighth crop of foals, when most other breeders have produced 30 generations of horses! We are just beginning to be known as some of our horses have had good results at the gaits and conformation shows. So far, three of our foals have qualified for the French Championships. In show-jumping, Fleuron Hogue (Qualisco III - Lady Hound x Grey Hound xx) qualified for the five-year olds finals in Lanaken in 1998, and Hatamane Hogue (Narcos - Quirita (ISO 157) x Heron du Pic) had nine clear rounds out of 10 competitions and was awarded ‘elite’ status in Fontainebleau. This horse was sold to the US. Hamadriade Hogue (Vondeen - Dryade du Defey x Prince d’Inconville) is another of our horses who had nine clear rounds in the four-year old competitions.
Q How was the welcome from other breeders when you began to breed horses?
Very unfriendly! There was a lot of jealousy, because we could afford to buy expensive horses, and we made quick deals. It took us about seven years to be more or less accepted, and things have become easier now for the past two years.