A change of generations at the Amselhof Walle studfarm

From Amsel to Athens :

The Amselhof/ Walle studfarm over the course of time

It is meanwhile around 35 years since Joachim Kemmer, who originally came from the Brandenburg March via Berlin , acquired the large-scale property to the south-west of the Lüneburg Heath, situated not far from the historic timber-framed city of Celle , peacefully nestling on the periphery of the Winsen suburb of Walle. A horse breeding and rearing enterprise developed at this location from 1970 onwards, always orientated towards market factors, yet without losing track of continuity.

In Joachim Kemmer's search for a name for the studfarm, he purely and simply named it after his first mare Amsel i.e. “Amselhof”.

The herd of mares from this foundation period was chiefly comprised of daughters and granddaughters of what in his day, was the most successful Hanoverian sire of performance horses, Ferdinand. Ferdinand was at home in the Kehdingen region, whose horses and people fascinated and inspired the Amselhof founder then, just as much as today.

The Amselhof Walle studfarm nevertheless developed its own breeding principles and has maintained them up to the present day. The particularly cherished thoroughbred Waidmannsdank xx, a performance upholder, exerted such an influence on the early stages of horse breeding at the Amselhof, that it is hard to imagine him not being present in the pedigrees of numerous Amselhof horses today.

During the 1970ies, many renowned hereditary transmitters were born at the Amselhof Walle. Waldrun (by Waidmannsdank xx-Ferdinand-Fascist II) became the dam of the stallions Gardeulan I (bay, born 1975), Gardeulan II (grey, born 1977; both by Gotthard) and Grandus (bay, born 1978, by Grande), who each respectively became noble producers of showjumpers.

The black mare Wega (by Waidmannsdank xx-Ferdinand-Alljeder) found her ideal mating partner in Absatz. Both of her sons, the bay full-brothers Akzent I (born 1973) and the one year younger Akzent II have made breeding history.

Akzent I was stallion performance test winner in Adelheidsdorf in 1976 and was thereafter stationed at the Celle state stud as a top sire for many years.

Akzent II, who later became extremely popular nation-wide, was initially stationed in Walle.

The keeping of private stallions at the Amselhof Walle however already began in 1975, with the stallion Wendepunkt, who derives from the first age class of Wendekreis (1972) and was purchased as a foal by Joachim Kemmer in Kehdingen, reared at the Amselhof and presented for approval in 1974. It was not always easy to keep private stallions during the 1970ies. During his lifetime, Akzent II was one of the very few private stallions of the Hanoverian region.

At that time, in which the keeping of private stallions was almost unheard of and moreover completely unpopular, and one could even say frowned upon, the Amselhof Walle already laid the foundations for the insemination station that is meanwhile recognised Europe-wide.

“Private stallions” were frequently only approved for a restricted number of mares. This also applies to Wendepunkt, who in 1977 was one of merely six private stallions (spread over four stud farms/insemination stations) in the entire region covered by the Hanoverian Chamber of Agriculture.

Wendepunkt was stationed in Walle as a sire from 1975 to 1979, where he was prolific in his production of sports horses for all disciplines, approved sons, Verden auction horses and invaluable brood mares, before going to England to continue his career. In 1991, he became the overall winner of the British Warmblood Show in his new home and his son Wendeweg was celebrated as the best British bred stallion that very same year.

Wendepunkt established a breeding reputation for himself in Germany primarily as the dam-sire of the highly esteemed Akzent II sons Acapulco and Alabaster. Akzent II, who was stationed at the Amselhof between 1977 and 1984, became a paragon of quality in German horse breeding. The legendary grey stallion Gotthard, one of the most distinguished stallions of the post-war period and sire of the aforementioned stallions Gardeulan I and II, spent the sunset of his life at the Amselhof Walle.

The Amselhof studfarm started into the 1990ies with the three top stallions Raphael, Calypso II and Arogno. The acquisition of Ravallo established a further sought after stallion at the Amselhof, whose first few age classes in competition sport warrant great expectations. Additional stallions that were periodically stationed at the Amselhof over recent years include Wolkenstein I (stationed at the Dillenburg state stud today), the successful international Trakehner Almox Prints, Pik Solo and Gloster.

Calypso II's genotype is guaranteed both by the stallion performance test winner Carismo, who characteristically, derives from an Akzent II dam and by the grandson Competent. It goes without saying, that modern dressage lines such as Donnerhall and Rubinstein I are part and parcel of this.

The Amselhof Walle studfarm has from the very beginnings, maintained the association between horse-breeding and sport. Joachim Kemmer's daughter Heike, whose successful horses including i.a. Waidfee, the former Celle state stallion Nomade, Lotus, Beauvalais, Borsalino, Albano and numerous other winning horses, was the 1983 double European Young Rider's champion and German vice-champion a number of times. She has furthermore belonged to the German national team for many years now and had numerous wins and high placements at Grand Prix level, both at national and international tournaments.

In the year 2000, Heike Kemmer was nominated as a reserve rider for the Sydney Olympics' dressage team. Then in 2001, a dream came true for her, when she leapt into the German national team, followed by team gold and place nine in the individual competition at the European Championship in Verden. The crowning glory of the spectacular 2001 season was her win in the “Nuremberg Burg Cup” on Bonaparte, who incidentally has a good dose of Akzent II blood pulsating in his veins, injected in the third generation.

Bonaparte is meanwhile the “number one” under Heike Kemmer's saddle. The pair was part of the 2003 German gold medal team at the European Dressage Championship in Hickstead , Britain . The crowning glory of Heike's sports career thus far however, was winning the gold medal in the team evaluation at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

A “Wendepunkt” or turning point as the name metaphorically implies in German, took place on the 1 st of July 2003 , when Joachim Kemmer transferred the Amselhof Walle studfarm to his daughter Heike. Heike Kemmer's appointment as “Representative of the Association of Private Hanoverian Stallion Owners” in the Hanoverian Approval Commission was moreover a proverbial bridging of breeding and sport.

 

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