BELTAIN

This stallion is very much a product of Dr Schulz-Stellenfleth’s breeding program, from the mare line that produced over 20 licensed stallions – his dam, Gänseliesel is the three quarter sister to the dam of the famous Brentano II, but unlike Brentano, Beltain never found fame in his lifetime. Injured just before the licensing, it was not clear whether he would ever be rideable and he was sold to the Karsten family in Westfalia, an area where his famous dam line was not really appreciated. Beltain recovered from his accident and Leonie Bramall, who was based with Jo Hinnemann, competed him up to grand prix, and when he was about ten years old, he was finally licensed on the basis of his success in the sport, which, in those days, happened very rarely.

Beltain then stood at the Westfalian State Stud, but was not much used, and he died in 2002 sadly before his son Belissimo put him on the map.