Crown Jewel Onyx Star Preferent (Naen 264) has produced as many as twenty offspring. Embryo transfer was the key to her enormous productivity in progeny and that helped her to become double Preferent and of course, Crown Jewel.
Fire-eaters, but as good as gold
Onyx was born at breeder Sijbrand Frieling’s yard in 1988, from pedigree 50. This line also produced KFPS Studbook stallion Beart 411. A pedigree of ‘fire-eaters, but as good as gold’, Frieling says, which is echoed by Frances Visser who owned the eldest daughter by Onyx: Amarens F. Star Preferent. Pregnant with her fifth foal Onyx came to the Van der Meer family, and later daughter Joukje and Roelof Tjeerdsma. ‘Considering her build Onyx was way ahead of her time, she was high-legged and longlined. She inherited that from her father Naen 264, but she was lacking in breeding type, feathers and her head was not overly expressive. Because of her low kinship she was a unique mare. She was a pretty impatient character but very reliable.’
Embryo transfer
They used embryo transfer for Onyx and one of her offspring is Ylse-Onyx fan ‘e Boppelannen, who became Star Sport and rose to the 18th spot on the list of 1500 best top mares for breeding value. She spent her last years at Herman Matthijssen’s place, where ‘She remained fit and vital into her old age’, as he says, and lived to be 25. ‘She was like a painting on legs, a prototype of the modern, classy and uphill Friesians we favour these days.’
