KANNAN World N°1 in CSO WBFSH ranking
Predicting or determining the quality of a breeding animal based on its own characteristics and performance or that of its offspring is a widespread practice in livestock breeding, and the equestrian world is no exception.
THE WBFSH RANKING:
The oldest of all rankings is the WBFSH ranking, which awards points to all horses placed in so-called "ranking" events, i.e.1.45m classes and above, that allocate a minimum prize money set by the FEI. These are divided into 4 groups A, B, C and D, each related to the level of difficulty: the higher the level, the higher the number of allocated points. The WBFSH rankings aim to rank horses and breeders according to the number of points obtained, and to rank studbooks by the total points scored by the 6 best representatives of each (the Selle Français studbook has been at the top for the past 2 years).
These points also allow for a ranking of stallions according to the total accumulated points of their offspring (box 1). The ranking highlights high-level horses. Approximately 6,000 of them receive points. They account for a mere 15% of the over 40,000 horses entered in international competitions. The ranking favours stallions with a large number of offspring, but it clearly highlights the sires of very high-level horses. Indeed, it is impossible for a stallion with numerous offspring to enter this ranking if too few of the latter perform at a high level.
If, to somewhat mitigate the "number" effect, we proceed for stallions as for studbooks, that is to say, we only consider the 6 best offspring of each stallion, the ranking changes slightly but is not overturned, as 8 of the top 10 remain in the Top 10.
The most spectacular progressions are recorded by BISQUET BALOU, who moves from 56th to 25th place (+31), Connor, 24th instead of 48th (+24), and Bustique, 18th instead of 39th (+21). The biggest declines are recorded by Verdi, who loses 17 places (35th instead of 18th), and Thunder vd Zuuthoeve, who loses 10 (30th instead of 20th).
THE HIPPOMUNDO WEBSITE:
The HIPPOMUNDO website database takes into account all the prize money won by the 41,584 horses classified in international events over the last 12 months (as of 11/11/24). The performance of a stallion's offspring can be measured by using all the results or by filtering the level of events, the minimum number of offspring, their sex or age, the competition rounds taken into account, the calendar period, etc.
The tables that then appear (box 2) highlight the total earnings of a stallion's progeny, the number of progeny, the number of rounds taken into account, the percentage of wins and placings, and the average earnings per offspring.
This very flexible tool provides many answers, as long as the questions are clearly asked and the results are well interpreted.
A stallion whose many offspring perform in CSI 1 and 2* events with amateurs will see their average earnings per offspring decrease compared to another whose progeny are less easy for "the average person" but perform at a high level. It will then be interesting to compare them by taking into account the percentage of placings and filtering by minimum level (box 4 on the following page).
The flexibility and transparency of the Hippomundo database make it an informative and very effective tool, but it is regrettable that the criterion used is gross earnings, as it is not the best reflection of performance, especially at high level.
For example, Dubaï du Cèdre earned nearly €600,000 over a 12 month period as of 11/15/2024, half of which originating from her single victory in Prague. Her team Olympic medal or her individual placing in the Paris Olympics were not taken into account.
In the previous 12 months, she had earned €100,000 in Riyadh but less than €20,000 in Milan for her medal at the European Championships.
Box 3 illustrates through a few examples the excessive weight of "super prizes" when taken literally in the rankings: the earnings of the 5 best offspring of Diamant de Semilly or
KANNAN represent only a third of the total earnings of their offspring, they represent three-quarters for their runner-up Eldorado vd Zeshoest and almost the entire amount for some stallions in the Hippomundo Top 50 (box 3).
THE HORSETELEX WEBSITE:
The HORSETELEX website offers a different approach in that it favours the level of performance rather than the prize money won.
Each horse is awarded a number of points per round based on the level of the event and its outcome, even if the horse is not placed. Thus, a slow and "unplaced" clear round in a 1.60m event will earn more points than a third place in a speed event at a significantly lower level.
Individual (ISV) and progeny (IPV) rankings are based on the average number of points obtained per horse participating in international competitions. The IPV (International Progeny Value) index is subject to an annual ranking and a permanent ranking (Dynamic IPV) over the past 12 months. There are 5 groups based on the age of the oldest offspring, each with a minimum number of offspring.
Group A gathers all stallions with at least 100 offspring listed in international events, whilst Group E gathers only those with at least 20 offspring aged a maximum of 9 years. In the Horsetelex system, a clear round in a 1.60m event earns 200 points regardless of the placing; this number drops to 80 points for a clear round in a 1.45m event and 20 points for a 1.30m event. Rounds with 4 and 8 faults in 1.60m events and 4 faults in 1.50m events also allow to earn points.
This ranking has the advantage of excluding the prize money effect, which allowed the winner of the Calgary or the Aachen GPs or of the Global Champions Tour final to weigh much more in the statistics than the winner of the Olympic Games or the World Equestrian Games. It also allows for the enhancement of the results of horses that consistently perform well at a high level without being competitive enough to fight for the top placings.
Its limitation, in comparison with the WBFSH ranking, is that it combines in the same statistics stallions whose offspring compete mainly at high level and are not intended for amateur riders (e.g., Chacco Blue or Baloubet du Rouet) with those who also cater for 1 and 2* riders (e.g.,
KANNAN). The latter are penalized in the calculation by the specific weight of their "easy" offspring who compete on the international stage with "amateurs."
THE INDIVIDUAL COMPETITION INDEX :
In the case of horses, the instrument for measuring quality is generally earnings in competition or, in some cases, the number of clear rounds. The first result of these measurements is the individual competition index: ISO for Show-Jumping, ICC for Cross-Country, IDR for Dressage, etc. Its calculation is essentially based on the ratio between the horse's competition earnings and the average earnings of horses competing in the same events.
The overall average index is 100; horses indexed above 120 account for 12.5% of the population. The use of this index to predict the genetic value of a breeding animal involves a complex calculation that takes into account the indexes of ancestors, the horse’s individual performance, and finally the indexes of offspring. This results in an indicator, the Blup, which allows for the prediction of the average index of a breeding animal's offspring. The larger the amount of data used for its calculation, the more accurate the index. It was used at the end of the last century as a selection tool and, among other things, to approve stallions. As it was deemed incomplete and too complex to interpret, it was gradually discarded by the French breeder community
The "lower threshold of the BLUP" was long used in certain publications, such as the L’Éperon breeding guide and then the "Spécial Elevage" of Grand Prix Magazine, as a basis for drawing stallion rankings. It is a relevant indicator of the minimum genetic interest of a breeding animal, and in our opinion, it remains a very useful piece of information. Other types of rankings may seem easier to interpret, yet their calculation method must be well understood to assess their benefits and limitations.
THE LOWER THRESHOLD OF THE BLUP
The Equipedia website will allow mathematics enthusiasts to delve into the details of the Blup calculation. The absolute value of the Blup measures the expected average competition index for all the offspring of a stallion or mare. Its CD (coefficient of determination) measures the precision of this information. The Blup varies in absolute value as the amount of information increases.
Thus, a very good performer will have a high Blup thanks to their own sports track record, but if they produce poorly as a mare or stallion, the Blup value will subsequently decrease, and vice versa! The lower threshold of the Blup is the value below which the Blup has a 95% chance of not decreasing over time. It therefore indicates the "minimum" genetic value of a breeding animal.
SIRES OF YOUNG HORSES :
There are also rankings of sires of young horses in many breeding countries.
In France, it is established by the SHF and can be filtered by discipline and age group. It shows the total points earned by a stallion's offspring, the number of their participating progeny, and the average per entered competitor (see box). This ranking allows for a fairly quick comparison of young stallions with older ones and highlights those who sire "good students" in training classes.
CANDY DE NANTUEL appears for the 2nd year in a row at the top of this ranking, and even takes 1st place based on the criterion of average earnings per entered competitor among the top-ranked stallions. The young sire
DOLLAR DU ROUET is ranked 5th in 2025.
Each of these rankings has its own advantages and drawbacks. Any breeder who wishes to analyse the quality of a breeding animal using the results of its offspring is well-advised to use them all to get a precise idea.
Careful examination of these rankings particularly highlights the strengths of the stallions featuring in the GFE catalogue, as they consistently occupy 25 to 50% of the top positions.
