March 11, 2021
Grevinne fan Lutke Peinjum Star Preferent Performance (Ulke 338) with colt foal Tetse fan Bloemhof (Tsjalle 454), by now Star Sport (Photo: Johanna Faber)
Crown Jewel Grevinne fan Lutke Peinjum Star Preferent Performance (Ulke 338 x Melle 311) is not just double Preferent but also a double Performance dam. Freddy Bloemhof: ‘Grevinne had everything I wanted in a mare.’
Impressive
Every breeder of Friesian horses dreams of a mare from an established line, a horse that is beautiful to the eye, a strong mover, is fertile and brings successful offspring into the world. There are only few mares who tick all these boxes but Grevinne fan Lutke Peinjum is one of those. Grevinne was born at Nanne Osinga’s yard in Pingjum on the 29th of March 2002. She stems from the impressive and well-established Namke line from pedigree 50. In the March issue of Phryso this unique Crown Jewel is given a place in the spotlight.
Studbook son
Freddy Bloemhof saw Grevinne as a 3-year-old Star mare at her breeder Osinga’s yard. He remembers it well: ‘She was turned loose in the paddock and I instantly saw that Grevinne had everything I was looking for in a mare. She was completely my taste. She had a strong topline, was long in the foreleg and had a powerful hind leg. She was slender, well-built and had quite some size for her age.’ Because of an injury the inspection career of this Ulke 338 daughter suffered an early end. As a broodmare though, she ‘performed’ even better. Her fist Beart 411 colt foal that was born at Bloemhof’s place was later approved as Tjalbert 460. Grevinne turned out to be a very fertile mare and since 2006 has each year given birth to a foal at Bloemhof’s yard, a total of fourteen. On the basis of her offspring’s performances in the inspection ring Grevinne did not only become double Preferent, with ten Star descendants, she also became a double Performance dam.
Champion
In 2017 daughter Bente fan Bloemhof Star (Jehannes 484) was Yearling Champion at the Central Inspection and Reserve Youngster Champion. As a 3-year-old she was accepted in the Studbook with a first premium. Ilja fan Bloemhof Star (Jurre 495) has been referred to the upcoming Presentation Days. The young stallion is stabled at Jelmer Chardon’s yard for his initial training. ‘Ilja looks very promising but of course, still has to prove himself. Back then I didn’t choose Jurre 495 because he was Stallion Inspection Champion but because I believed him to be a good match for Grevinne. With Jurre 495 I have combined the Osinga and Leijendekker lines, that simply has to result in something good,’ Bloemhof declares.
Alternative route
Not all of Grevinne’s offspring are inspection horses. According to Freddy, daughter Mare fan Bloemhof (Jerke 434) is pretty as a picture with a super character: ‘But at the inspection I didn’t recognise her, she was terribly nervous, almost panicky. She then didn’t receive a premium.’ Therefore Freddy chose a different route for Mare: the mare completed an IBOP Test with 77 points and subsequently, also on the basis of the positive IBOP result, became Star with a second premium. Under saddle Mare is Z-qualified and the Sport predicate lies within reach. For Grevinne that would be her sixth offspring with the Sport predicate.
Ahead of times
Grevinne died of intestinal bleeding in 2019 , she was seventeen years old. Bloemhof: ‘She was very much a shy horse and pretty self-willed, but I could do everything with her. Grevinne was a mare with personality and in terms of conformation and class way ahead of her time. Grevinne, Dutch for Countess, has more than lived up to her title of a noblewoman.’
