|
John and Sue Rawding are professional breeders and producers based at Church Farm Stud near Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire. They currently stand four stallions - the thoroughbreds Infantry (Northfields xx x Crowned Prince xx), Fire Rocket (Busted xx x Roan Rocket xx), plus the Selle Français Matinee du Madon (Matinal x Demostheme), as well as their home-bred six-year old Reflection (Dallas x Kadir Cup xx), a son of the successful Selle Français sire Dallas who died last year. Dallas was one of the more patronised warmblood sires to stand in England. He is the sire of Burghley horse trials winner Diamond Hall Red, many successful show jumpers including Hello Oscar, Hello Feliz, Handleybarns Grandee and numerous winning show horses including champions Reassurance, Reaction and Reoccurrence bred, produced by John and Sue and shown and ridden by Sue to many titles including working hunter championships.
Both John and Sue have been very involved behind the scenes with the former HIS (Hunter Improvement Society, and now SHB(GB) and remain influential voices in British breeding.
Q How did you first get interested in breeding?
JR When I came out of the army I was offered a job as first whip with the Belvoir Hunt but quite honestly I couldn&Mac226;t see much future in it for me, apart from which I was so heavy. I then went for one season to Bill Manning as stud groom who at that time stood seven premium thoroughbred stallions for the HIS scheme, all good racehorses. I ended up staying for six years. When I then got married, for the first time, Bill decided that as I was going to leave he would finish with the stallions. We had a 100 acres, I took the stallions on from there and have made breeding and horses my living ever since - forty years now.
Q Have you always been a thoroughbred man?
JR Yes most definitely. There is nothing like the thoroughbred really. You only have to look at the bloodlines of Dallas to see the wonderful British thoroughbred blood going back to Precipitation (sire of Furioso xx, sire of Brilloso, sire of Dallas). But I do love the Selle Français. They have limb, temperament and they all perform. I mean you get literally half-bred horses winning a gold cup and they are tough.
Q Do you get a greater thrill from breeding a good thoroughbred rather than a sport horse?
JR I’ve got to say yes, but we have also had so much fun and success as well with the Selle Français
Q So how did you come to get Dallas?
JR I can’t remember exactly how we came to stand Dallas but he belonged to Lady Inchape, and Derek Ricketts had been jumping him and we were summoned to go and see him. In his time Dallas had done a bit of everything, he hunted, evented did dressage and show jumped to grade A and then he was sent off to stud. The first season we only covered ten mares with him as he then went back show jumping - Derek rode him to second place at Olympia.
SR Dallas found us really. Dallas did most of his own PR as a stallion, as once anyone had met him they loved him and he was a lovely, mover. It also helped that he attracted several grade A mares early on including Nice n Easy who was the dam of Hello Oscar and Hello Feliz both very successful, and My Barbarella (dam of Belisimo).
Q Was he your first sport horse stallion and a deliberate move to sport horse breeding?
SR Although Dallas got us hooked, many years ago John stood Scottish Venture who was responsible for siring a lot of show jumpers and event horses. He was a 15.2 thoroughbred who never left the floor himself and would not even jump a pole on the ground. But we were able to count 28 grade A show jumpers by him. He was a tough horse himself and a winner of 12 races.
JR I had been involved many years previously with a man called Geoffrey Palmer who had bought 8 of the best mares from Germany and they were beautiful, horses. He gave them to the old HIS to breed from. We had one of them a beautiful liver chesnut mare, a real heavyweight who we decided to show. In those days it was all ex army types judging and at our first show we went about four times round the ring and were the first to be called in. We stood there for about ten minutes before anyone else was brought in. But when the old boy walked up the line and saw the brand on our horse she was moved right to the bottom of the line. Of course people are more relaxed about it now but in those days some of the old judges didn’t know what they were. However I also had the opportunity to hunt some of the offspring - that was a disaster - they were gutless and you almost had to get off and carry them after about five fields...