Cor de la Bryere

Corde - a classic Improvement Sire

Cor de la Bryere, a 16.2 hand Selle Francais stallion was a significant typesetter- a classic improvement sire, especially for jumping style in the Holstein Horse. He became famous for imparting the 'bascule' form and well folded in front legs jumping style onto his progeny reliably. He created a dynasty of talented and lovely looking show jumpers for the Holstein breeders. He is one of the most significant sport horse sires of the last century.

There is plenty written about Corde, his legacy at stud, the lasting success of his line, but here we will look at his genetics. He is a perfect illustration of how an improvement sire (See Sport Horse Recipe) can transform a breeding program and why improvement sires are so useful. He provides significant racehorse and saddle horse elements. Corde is known not just as a hereditary jump transmitter, but for the style and suppleness he brought to the breed. His progeny are top level competition horses with lots of knee action and a scopey shoulder, which results in them being able to snap up their kness when they jump or extend well in dressage.

Cor de la Bryere pedigree

Almost 3/4 Thoroughbred through the top progenitors Rantzau and Furioso, Corde exhibits a pedigree that shouts pre-potency. He is 5x5 to Son-in-Law, the great sire of stayers, through a son and a daughter found in the dam and sire. And that combination is reinforced by Dark Ronald, the son of Son-in-Law being balanced by the presence of his sister Rondeau- who is the dam of Teddy.

Corde carries on both sides of his pedigree Bachelors Double 6x6, sex-balanced, as well as Cicero 5x7 through a son and daughter also. Cicero, a son of St. Simon is also balanced and reinforced with a sister: Weir. Sex balancing completes the genetic package that made the champion- it gives you the whole thing (sex linked characteristics), therefore is something we should strive to build into our lineages (See Tesio Methods).

The Rantzau half of Corde has in addition to Son-in-Law/Cicero/Bachelors Double, duplications also in a sex-balanced presence of Rabelais, Ajax and Royal Hampton. Rantzau, a full Thoroughbred, was a magnificent sire of jumpers and stallions. His success as a sire was to consistently pass on excellence in sport and breeding stock.

The dam side of Cor de la Bryere brings in its own type of potence through a brother and sister French Trotter, as well as adding to the sire's strengths. Corde is 15% French Trotter. Another great jump sire -Galoubet, is 50% French Trotter, plus the world record holder for Olympic Gold medals in show jumping, Halla is 25% French Trotter (50%Standardbred/25%French Trotter/25%Thoroughbred).(French Trotter photo below).

With French Trotter having so strong a presence in these few super show jumpers, it would pay to take a closer look at just what this breed is.

A robust trotter- it was bred not just to be a harness horse but to carry a rider also and was used in the production of cavalry as well as racing stock. It is renowned for its great hindquarter and its reserves of stamina. This breed has historically been used not just as trotting horses, but as jumpers and general riding horses. And while not all Selle Francais have this much trotter blood, back in the 19th century the two breeds were considered one.

The genetic contributors to the French Trotter are Norfolk Trotter- today it is known as the Hackney, which gave versatility, stamina and trotting style; the Thoroughbred gave speed, good action, courage and saddle position; the Norman contributed substance and calm temperament; and the American Standardbred improved its trotting speed. Jump ability was noted from the very beginning and the special jump style of Corde most probably comes straight down the genetic trail from these snappy trotters.

Corde is an extremely successful sport horse line. So much so that I now hear breeders worrying about the Corde saturation in the Holstein breed. I have noticed personally that the male side of Corde is much more available than the female. And I came across a young stallion while doing research for the female balance of Corde for a client, and this sire should be a help for the overload of the male Corde line. without losing the benefits of his fabulous ability. This young stallion also contains a nice female balance for a male Ramiro line in addition. The cure for excessive presence of male Corde lines- Bratt Z.