Printed in the Chronicle of the Horse   Friday, February  4 ,1983

SIRE LINES OF INTERNATIONAL JUMPERS

THE *ROCK SAND LINE

P. H. Birdsall. DVM

Fourth in a Series of Eight Articles

The *Rock Sand line is another important producer of jumping horses in both North America and Europe.
*Rock Sand stood at stud briefly in England, producing little of quality, and then he was shipped to the U.S.A. where he was much more successful at stud, siring Tracery, a first class winner. *Rock Sand was later exported to France, where he died. *Rock Sand was reputed to be "one of the worst actioned horses at slow paces, but when running he gave an idea of his quality." His sire, Sainfoin, also was the sire of Tout Suite, the dam of Hurry On (previously mentioned in the Marco line). *Rock Sand sired Tracery in the United States, but Tracery was exported to England as a yearling, where he won a number of the great classic races and then retired to stud. At stud, Tracery sired Flamboyant, a steeplechase sire in England, who was eventually sold to Germany. Tracery also sired the great steeplechase sire Cottage, who was mentioned in the Marco line as an ancestor of the jumpers Marco Codex and Anzak and the stallion Cottage Son.
Cottage was out of a mare by Marco.
A son of Flamboyant named Flamingo (whose dam, Lady Peregrine, was a half  sister to Omar Khayyam by Marco, also previously mentioned) sired Flamenco, a  well-known steeplechase sire in England.
Flamboyant stood at stud in Germany and is the grandsire of the very important Thoroughbred stallion Der Lowe, one of the most influential stallions in the Hanoverian breed in Germany. Der Lowe, previously mentioned in the Dark Ronald line, sired many leading dressage horses as well as the jumper Leporello, the leading international jumper Der Lord, and  the eventer Lapis-Lazuli. Der Lowe is the grandsire of the dam of Gladstone, a FEI World Cup winner ridden by Hugo Simon.
*Rock Sand also appears in the pedigree of Uppercut, a Thoroughbred stallion who is the sire of Alwin Schockemohle's international jumper The Saint.
Uppercut also carries the bloodlines of *Sir Gallahad III, another extremely important jumping line to be mentioned later.
Lucky Boy, who sired the 1982 World Cup winner and leading Grand Prix jumper Calypso (ridden by Melanie Smith of the United States), descends from the Rock Sand line through his sire, Compromise. Idealist, the dam of Compromise, is a granddaughter of Tracery. Lucky Boy is also the sire of the international jumper, Van Gogh (ridden by the Swiss rider, Bruno Candria), and a young  American showjumper named Sassakiss. Van Gogh was an important member of  the Swiss jumping team who won the 1982 Grand Prix of Lucerne.
In France, the Thoroughbred stallion Foudryant II descends from *Rock Sand through Tracery. Foudryant II was an excellent steeplechase winner who later became a leading Thoroughbred sire at the French National Stud. He produced Kenavo, ridden by Mlle. Janou Lefebvre to win a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics. The other two members of this silver medal winning team were Lutter B and Monsieur De Litty, both sons of Furioso.
A son of Foudryant II, Condor, Sired Hanko and Condora, both leading international three-day event horses.
In Holland, a popular jumping sire is the Thoroughbred stallion Pericles, who sired the Grand Prix jumper Pentagon, ridden by Johann Heins. Pericles is by Relic, a grandson of Man o'War. Relic descends from 'Rock Sand twice in his pedigree. Relic is also the sire of Mystic II, a leading steeplechase sire in the United States, as well as the sire of the American jumpers Springer and Springdale.
A grandson of Relic in Europe is the Thoroughbred stallion Un Prince, who is the sire of Flambeau, a member of the French Equestrian Team. Flambeau was rated one of the top ten leading jumpers in the world in 1980, and was a member of the French Team who won the World Jumping Championships in Dublin, 1982.
In North America, the *Rock Sand line has been very influential in the bloodlines of leading jumpers. One of the most important descendants is Man o'War, whose dam, Mahubah, was a daughter of *Rock Sand.
It appears that Man o'War acquired his jumping and steeplechasing influence, which he passed to his offspring so readily, from his dam rather than from his sire, Fair Play. The Fair Play line has not been a strong jumping line in offspring other than those descending through Man o'War.
Man o'War produced not only great racehorses but many fine steeplechasers as well, including Battleship and Annapolis, both of whom went on to be forebears of many great North American jumpers and steeplechasers. Battleship won the Grand National at Aintree in England. He sired Battlewick, a hunting stallion who left many show horses, including the jumper Massacre, and Revenge, who is a member of the Mexican Jumping Team. Battleship also sired Battle Royal, a Canadian hunter stallion who was out of a mare by the French horse Nougat. Nougat, 1ike Ibrahim (the French sire of Val de l'Or), was a grandson of the French Thoroughbred stallion Orange Peel, who will be mentioned in the *Teddy line.
Battle Royal is the sire of Mainspring of the United States Equestrian Team.
Mainspring won many international classes in Europe and North America under his riders, William Steinkraus and Frank Chapot. His wins included the King George V Gold Cup in London, many Nations Cup wins, and a silver medal in the team jumping at the Munich Olympics.
Annapolis, by Man o' War, was the sire of Seaborne, who was the dam of two great jumpers, Nanticoke (a grand prix winner and leading jumper), and Salem (of the United States Equestrian Team) as  well as several excellent steeplechasers. Annapolis is also the sire of the second dam of the Thoroughbred jumping stallion Damuji, a member of the Canadian Equestrian Team ridden by Jim Elder.
Another son of Man o' War, Great War, was a member of Mrs. M. E. Tippett's grey stallion hunter team. He sired the great United States Equestrian Team Olympic jumper Miss Budweiser. He is also the sire of Sisterly Love, the dam of New Twist, who sired the United States Equestrian Team jumper Good Twist.
Man o' War appears in the pedigrees of many leading international jumpers in North America. These include A Little Bit (an international silver medal winner for the U.S.A. in the Pan American Games in Mexico 1975), Bandit (a member of the Canadian Equestrian Team and puissance winner at Washington International Horse Show), Thats Right (out of a granddaughter of Man o' War and a member of the United States Equestrian Team, and placed second in the Ladies World Championships in Hickstead, England), Jet Run (winner of the World Cup in 1981 and many international classes and Grand Prix with the United States Equestrian Team), Sloopy (winner of the Aachen Grand Prix and a silver and bronze medal at the 1972 Olympics in Munich), Sinjon (on the silver medal winning team at the Rome Olympics in 1960 and the gold medal winning team at the 1963 Pan American Games in Sao Paulo, Brazil), Springer (a member of the Canadian Equestrian Team), and Trick Track (who descends twice from Man o'War and is a United States Equestrian Team jumper who won the President's Cup in Washington and was a member of three Nations Cup winning teams).
Also in North America, another grandson of *Rock Sand, Pilate, is important injumping pedigrees. Pilate sired Eight Thirty, who went on to sire Bolero, all common names in the pedigrees of jumpers. Pilate was by Friar Rock, a son of *Rock Sand. Pilate's dam, *Herodias, a daughter of The Tetrarch of the French Grey line, thus combining two very influential jumping lines. Pilate is the sire of Symphonette, the dam of the jumper Radnor II, winner of the American Gold Cup and member of the United States Equestrian Team.
Pilate also appears in the pedigree of Do Right, a United States Equestrian Team and Nations Cup winning team member in Washington, New York and Toronto, and on the bronze medal winning team in the 1975 Pan American Games.
  Untouchable and Rome Dome, who were both by Bolero (a grandson of Pilate), were members of the United States Equestrian Team, Untouchable winning Grand Prix in Dublin, Ostend and Rotterdam. Other jumping grandsons of Bolero include Second Balcony, winner of Grand Prix in Cleveland, Upperville, Ox Ridge and at the National Horse Show, and Third Man, winner of the American Invitational in Tampa in 1979 and a member of the United States Equestrian Team in 1981.
 Pilate also appears in the pedigree of Signal Point, 1982 winner of the West Palm Beach Grand Prix and Valley Forge Grand Prix. Pilate sired Lovely Night, a steeplechase stakes winner who in turn sired Tell All, the dam of the Grand Prix jumper Ful1 House, who is ridden by Anne Kursinski. Full House won the Grand Prix of Tucson and Flintridge in 1980.
Pilate is also the sire of British Buddy, sire of the international jumper Triple Crown, a member of the United States Equestrian Team ridden by Kathy Kusner. Triple Crown won the President's Cup in Washington, the Grand Prix of Harrisburg, and the Grand Prix at Wiesbaden, Germany.
Cutie, a Thoroughbred mare by Pilate, is the dam of Silver Scot, a jumper on the Nations Cup winning United States team at Lucerne. Signal Point, ridden by Jamie Mann to win the Palm Beach Masters Grand Prix and the Valley Forge Grand Prix in 1982, descends from the *Rock Sand line three times: once from Man o' War, once through Pilate, and once through Count Fleet.
 Other descendants of *Rock Sand through Count Fleet include Bonte II (a member of the United States Equestrian Team), Branch County (individual silver medal winner at the Montreal Olympics), Number One Spy (Grand Prix and President's Cup winner), Raffles IV (member of the Canadian Equestrian Team), and Silver Exchange (member of the United States Equestrian Team that won the Nations Cup in Dublin and the Aga Khan Trophy in 1980).
Count Fleet also descends from The Tetrarch of the French Grey line.

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