BELISSIMO M

Height: 170 cm, 16.3hh
Origin: Rheinland

Hanoverian Stallion of the Year, 2018

Belissimo M is one of the greatest sires of sires the world has ever seen. An Olympic Grand Prix stallion and sire of one of the most talented dressage horses on the international Grand Prix stage. Belissimo M was a model student under saddle: top auction horse, record breaking stallion performance test winner, Bundeschampion, and a finalist at the World Championships for young dressage horses.

Belissimo M’s daughter, Bella Rose, competed at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics under Isabel Werth for Team Germany where they took home the gold. Bella Rose, ridden by Isabell Werth says Bella is “the best horse of my career”. Isabell and Bella Rose placed 2nd in the Grand Prix securing team gold for Germany at the 2014 WEG and then went on to win the 2014 Stuttgart German Masters in November. 

In 2011 to the advanced (S) level, he achieved victories and placings in Grand-Prix under Hayley Beresford.The pair went on to represent Australia at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

In recognition of his breeding significance, Belissimo M was honored with the title Belissimo NRW. The Holsteiner Verband also honored his extraordinary breeding qualities in 2010 by granting him a rare approval to breed Holsteiner mares as a sire of a foreign blood-line.

The offpring of Belissimo M have set records: Nine stallion performance test winners and three vice performance test winners from the first few crops is probably a world record. In addition, there are five Bundeschampions and, with Blickpunkt, there is a double bronze medal winner of the World Championships for young dressage horses in Verden. In 2011, Callaho’s Benicio – the eponymous hero of the 2011 Hanoverian licensing in Verden – became the Bundeschampion of the six-year-old dressage horses in Warendorf with dream scores. Benicio also won his stallion performance test with 9.88 in dressage (a 10.0 for trot, walk and canter each) and an 8.43 for jumping,

Belissimo M daughter, Bella Rose, made a huge comeback in sport at the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games in Tryon, NC.  Bella Rose rose to the top with German rider Isabel Werth and Werth scored a personal best of 84.7 to bring Germany to 242.950 points.  This allowed them to continue their dominance of global team dressage competitions and claim their spot on Team Germany for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Isabell Werth’s double World Champion Bella Rose, currently the best dressage horse in the world.

Belissimo M has produced more championship winners, and many highly priced auction horses such as his daughter, Belandra, who sold for 572,000 Euro to Denmark at the PSI Auction in Ankum. All are the result of Belissimo M’s resounding inheritance of riding quality. In 2011, his oldest offspring competed in the advanced class for the first time – already five of them were successful at this stage, several times even as winners.

Belissimo M has already presented over 50 licensed sons including numerous premium stallions in Hanover (310,000 Euro top-prized Bentley), Oldenburg, Westphalia, and Austria where Bellheim became the champion stallion. Furthermore, there are over 85 state premium mares, including the champion mares of Hanover and Bavaria, as well as the 2009 champion mare of Westphalia, Brillante, and the 2011 reserve champion mare, Bella Vista.

This resounding heredity transmission is the result of systematic performance breeding. The sire Beltain was himself successful in the dressage arena up to advanced (S) class and originates from one of the most successful mare lines of Hanover. His dam is full sister of the Celle State Stud sires, Garibaldi I and II, and granddam of Wolkenstein I and II as well as of the Grand Prix dressage horse Little Big Man, the Celle State Stud sires Brentano I and II, as well as Beauvalais who was the 2002 World Equestrian Games silver medalist, and 2004 Olympic bronze medalist.

Belissimo’s dam, Roxa, produced, when bred to Boss, three successful full siblings in dressage up to advanced (S) level: Bonnie Bianco, Baccarole and Boutique.