Der Löwe (1944–1973) was a successful stallion who had a great impact on the breeding of

Warmbloods Warmbloods are a group of middle-weight horse types and breeds primarily originating in Europe and registered with organizations that are characterized by open studbook policy, studbook selection, and the aim of breeding for equestrian sport. ...

and is thought by some to be one of the most important post-war stallions to stand at stud.Der Loewe xx
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Early life

Der Löwe, also spelled Der Loewe, was foaled at Röttgen Stud in 1944. He was sired by Wahnfried, and out of Lehnsherrin. He stood at 158 cm tall, and was a

dark brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model use ...

Performance and breeding career

Der Löwe was used as a racehorse for the first years of his life, and was a successful stakes winner, most notably winning the

Grosser Preis von Baden The Grosser Preis von Baden is a Group 1 flat horse race in Germany open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Baden-Baden over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is schedu ...

in 1948. He was then sent to the Hanoverian stud at Grossenworden at the age of 7, to begin his breeding career. Der Löwe stood at Grossenworden from 1951 to 1961, before standing at Luhmühlen from 1962 to 1968, Otterstedt from 1969 to 1971, Sottrum in 1972, and Bargstedt in 1973. His breeding career spanned 20 years, during which time he produced 6 state stallions, 158 registered mares, as well as 314 competition horses who earned winning of DM750,000. In his career, Der Löwe produced many international-caliber

sport horse A sport horse or sporthorse is a type of horse, rather than any particular breed. The term is usually applied to horses bred for the traditional Olympic equestrian sporting events of dressage, eventing, show jumping, and combined driving, but ...

s, known for their expressive movement (although they were usually quite sensitive to sound). Show jumpers included Der Lord and Loriot, both ridden by Hartwig Steenken. In eventing, Löwenstern was very successful with Nils Haagensen. He also sired dressage horses such as Karin Schlüter's Liostro, Erika Scharzkopf's Löwenherz, Carola Lampe's Lanthan, Holger& Inge Schmezers' Lady Lou, Hans-Jürgen Armbrust's Leopardin, Marjolyn Greeve's Lucky Boy, John Winnett's and Leopardi. Perhaps most known were Lugano I and Lugano II, full-brothers sired by Der Lowe. Lugano I sired good dressage horses, as well as superb show jumpers. Lugano II produced the stallion Lombard, making him grand-sire to Lanthan and Leubus. Although 10 of his grandsons or great-grandsons stood at the Celle Stud in the 1980s, his influence has been slowly decreasing. He has had a more lasting impact on the breeding of Belgian jumpers, through his grandson Lugano van la Roche. Additionally, he is one of only a handful of Hanoverian stallions licensed by the Holstein Verband for breeding. Der Löwe died at the age of 29. His skeleton is displayed at the Verden horse museum.

Breeding

Der Löwe includes in his pedigree

Dark Ronald Dark Ronald was an English bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire with a global influence on the breeding of Thoroughbreds and sport horses, with many show jumpers tracing back to him. Breeding The sire of Dark Ronald, Bay Ronald, was a moderate ...

, son of Bay Ronald, both of whom are well known for their profound influence on the breeding of warmbloods. Dark Ronald was successful on the track and in the breeding shed in Britain, before being shipped to the German state stud of Graditz. In Germany, Dark Ronald went on to become one of the most prolific stallions ever imported, producing sons such as

Prunus ''Prunus'' is a genus of trees and shrubs, which includes (among many others) the fruits plums, Cherry, cherries, peaches, Peach#Nectarine, nectarines, apricots, and almonds. Native to the North American temperate regions, the neotropics of Sou ...

, Herold, and Wallenstein. Der Löwe's sire, Wahnfried, was the winner of the German St. Leger. Wahnfried's pedigree includes 1903

English Triple Crown The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, often shortened to Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for Thoroughbreds, often restricted to three-year-olds. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplis ...

winner

Rock Sand Rock Sand (1900–1914) was a British Thoroughbred race horse and sire. In a career which lasted from the spring of 1902 until October 1904 he ran twenty times and won sixteen races. He was a leading British two-year-old of his generation, ...

, who was also grand-sire to

Man o' War Man o' War (March 29, 1917 – November 1, 1947) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who is widely regarded as the greatest racehorse of all time. Several sports publications, including ''The Blood-Horse'', ''Sports Illustrated'', ESPN, and t ...

. Great-grandsire

Tracery Tracery is an architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the stonework elements that support the ...

won the St. Leger and sired many excellent racehorses in Britain.

Pedigree

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Der Lowe Sport horse sires 1944 animal births 1973 animal deaths Hanoverian horses Individual warmbloods Thoroughbred racehorses