Family Van Straaten

07/06/2026

Ogano Sitte: The Darco Son Who Became a Modern Showjumping Influence

In the world of sport horse breeding, some stallions make their name through one brilliant competition career. Others become truly important because they leave behind generations of horses that keep proving the bloodline. Ogano Sitte belongs firmly in the second category. A chestnut Belgian Sport Horse stallion born in 1998, Ogano Sitte has become one of the most respected sons of Darco and a valuable influence in modern showjumping breeding.

His pedigree immediately explains why breeders have long taken him seriously. Ogano Sitte is by Darco, one of the great pillars of Belgian showjumping blood, out of Ialta Sitte, a daughter of Avontuur. This combination brings together power, courage, scope and a strong maternal family. The Sitte line is known for producing athletes, and Ogano Sitte’s damline includes performers and producers that reinforce the idea that he was never simply a fashionable stallion, but the result of a deep and proven family.

As a sport horse, Ogano Sitte competed successfully at international level. He jumped up to 1.60m and achieved notable results, including victory in the Grand Prix of Naples. That sporting record matters because breeders want more than a handsome pedigree on paper. They want evidence of mentality, rideability and the ability to perform under pressure. Ogano Sitte showed those qualities in the ring: boldness, commitment and a natural will to get to the other side.

Yet his reputation has grown even more through his offspring. Ogano Sitte has sired many successful international jumpers, including names such as Aganix du Seigneur, Arac du Seigneur, H&M Ikker, Sisley de la Tour Vidal, Button Sitte and Viego les Hauts. These horses have competed with riders across Europe and beyond, helping to spread Ogano Sitte’s influence into several major studbooks and breeding programmes.

What makes him particularly interesting is the type he tends to pass on. Breeders often value Ogano Sitte for producing jumpers with blood, quick reactions, good reflexes and strong technique. His progeny are frequently described as sharp enough for modern sport, but also powerful enough to cope with bigger tracks. In an era when showjumping courses demand speed, carefulness and athletic adjustability, that blend is extremely useful.

He is not just a stallion for producing raw scope. His best offspring suggest something more refined: a competitive brain, an instinct over a fence and a natural desire to fight for the jump. That is why his blood remains attractive to breeders looking to add quality and performance character without losing the strength needed for Grand Prix sport.

Ogano Sitte’s value also lies in how he connects older foundation blood with the modern sport horse. Darco contributed toughness and power. Avontuur and the maternal line added athleticism and proven jumping families. Through Ogano Sitte, these qualities have been repackaged into a sire line that still feels relevant today. His offspring and descendants continue to appear in international sport, auctions and breeding discussions.

For mare owners, Ogano Sitte is often considered when the goal is to add jumping instinct, scope and a more competitive edge. Like all influential stallions, he must be matched thoughtfully. He is not a magic solution for every mare, but when paired correctly, he can contribute the qualities that separate a good jumper from a serious sport prospect.

Perhaps the most telling sign of his importance is that his name now appears not only as a sire, but as part of a broader breeding conversation. His sons, daughters and descendants have helped extend his impact, making him more than a single-generation producer. Horses such as Aganix du Seigneur have also carried the line forward, giving breeders new ways to access and develop Ogano Sitte’s genetics.

Ogano Sitte’s story is therefore one of performance, pedigree and lasting influence. He was a serious sport horse, but his greater legacy is as a sire of jumpers with the heart and ability required for modern competition. In a breeding world that constantly searches for the next fashionable name, Ogano Sitte stands out because his reputation has been earned over time.

He represents what breeders are always hoping to find: a stallion whose qualities are visible in the ring, confirmed in the pedigree and repeated through his offspring. For anyone interested in showjumping bloodlines, Ogano Sitte is not just a name in a catalogue. He is a proven source of athleticism, courage and competitive spirit — and a stallion whose influence continues to shape the sport horse world.

07/06/2026

Agram: A Stallion Remembered Through His Bloodline

Agram was a Hanoverian stallion foaled in 1939, recorded as being by Alkoven I. While public information about his own competition career is limited, his name survives through pedigree records, including as the sire of the 1956 Hanoverian stallion Eger.

What makes Agram interesting is not fame in the modern promotional sense, but legacy. Stallions of his era were judged less by social attention and more by what they passed on: strength, type, temperament, movement, and usefulness. In Hanoverian breeding, these qualities mattered deeply. The breed was developing from a strong agricultural and cavalry horse into the elegant sport horse we recognise today, and stallions like Agram belonged to that important bridge generation.

Agram’s value lies in the quiet power of inheritance. A good stallion does not only produce attractive foals; he influences generations. Through sons and daughters, his traits could be carried into riding horses, breeding mares, and future licensed stallions. The fact that his name appears in pedigrees decades later shows that he held a place in the structured, selective world of Hanoverian breeding.

Born in 1939, Agram’s life also began at a difficult moment in European history. Horses were still essential to transport, farming, military work, and rural life. A stallion from that period needed substance and soundness. Beauty alone was not enough. Breeders wanted horses that could work, stay durable, and improve the next generation.

Today, when we look back at Agram, we are reminded that not every influential horse becomes a household name. Some stallions shape history from the background. Their importance is found in studbooks, dam lines, and the continued quality of descendants. Agram represents that kind of influence: steady, practical, and lasting.

For breeders and pedigree enthusiasts, Agram is worth remembering because he connects us to the foundations of the Hanoverian horse. His story is not one of spectacle, but of contribution — the kind that keeps a breed strong long after the stallion himself is gone.

02/06/2026

27/05/2026

Unveiling the Legacy of Nimmerdor 🐴✨

In the world of showjumping, few names shine as brightly as Nimmerdor — a true stallion extraordinaire and one of the great icons of equestrian history. 🌟

Bred in the Netherlands 🇳🇱, Nimmerdor became admired for his power, scope, intelligence, and unmistakable presence. With rider Albert Voorn, he proved himself as a talented competitor, showing the courage and athleticism that would later define his legendary bloodline. 🏇🔥

Yet Nimmerdor’s greatest legacy was written through his offspring. As a sire, he passed on exceptional jumping ability, strength, character, and a winning mentality. His influence can be seen through generations of top sport horses, including names connected to bloodlines such as Heartbreaker, Ahorn, and Eldorado van de Zeshoek. 🏆

More than just a competitor or breeding stallion, Nimmerdor represented beauty, nobility, and lasting influence. His regal presence and remarkable genetics helped shape modern showjumping, inspiring riders, breeders, and horse lovers across the world. 🌍❤️

Nimmerdor will forever be remembered as a titan of the sport — a stallion whose name continues to echo through equestrian history. 👑

24/05/2026

Almé Z: The True Story of a Showjumping Legend 🐴✨

Some horses win classes. Some horses build bloodlines. Almé Z did both.

Born in France on 16 April 1966, Almé Z was a bay Selle Français stallion by Ibrahim out of Girondine, bred by Alphonse Chauvin. He became one of the most influential showjumping sires of the modern era.

Before becoming a breeding legend, Almé Z competed internationally with riders including François Mathy and Johan Heins, winning major Grand Prix classes and proving his quality in sport.

His move to Studfarm Zangersheide under Léon Melchior helped transform his name into Almé Z. At Zangersheide, he became one of the stallions that helped shape a new era of performance-focused showjumping breeding.

What made Almé Z extraordinary was his ability to pass on power, blood, reflexes, technique, and competitive spirit. His sons and descendants include Galoubet A, Jalisco B, I Love You, Ahorn Z, Aloubé Z, Athlet Z, Animo, Baloubet du Rouet, Quick Star, and Quidam de Revel.

His influence also reached legendary mares such as Ratina Z, whose family carried the Almé Z legacy into the very top of international sport.

Almé Z died on 21 March 1991, but his blood still runs through countless international showjumpers today. His story is one of talent, controversy, vision, and lasting influence — a stallion remembered not only as a champion, but as the “crack der cracks.” 🖤

22/05/2026

Libero H is a rare example of a horse whose success can be traced back to a highly deliberate breeding strategy. 🐴✨ His breeder, Martin Röpke, was both a businessman and a mathematician, and he approached breeding with an unusually analytical mind. Encouraged by a friend who admired Holsteiner horses, Röpke began breeding Holsteiner show jumpers by studying the pedigrees of successful performers. 📚🧬

Again and again, one name appeared in those pedigrees: the foundation sire Achill 1265. Achill 1265 was himself intensely in**ed, as both his sire and dam were by Achill 582. Achill 582, in turn, was the result of a full brother-sister mating. Fascinated by this concentration of blood, Röpke set out to reinforce the influence of Achill 1265. He purchased mares descended from him and bred them to stallions who also carried the same line. 🧩🐎

Libero H was the result of this carefully calculated approach. His dam carried Achill 1265 on both her sire and dam lines, while his sire, Landgraf, also traced to Achill 1265 through his dam line. In total, Libero H is said to be in**ed to Achill 1265 no fewer than 41 times. The Achill line only just survived into the modern era, largely through the stallion Farnese, so it is fitting that Libero was originally registered under the name Achill. 🌟

Pedigree-wise, Libero H brought together two of the great modern influences in sport horse breeding: Landgraf and Ramiro. His dam, Oktave, was by Ronald, an influential son of Ramiro. Ronald competed at Intermediate level in show jumping with Hans Günther Winkler and went on to become an important sire. His offspring included Rocadero, Champion Stallion at Neumünster in 1982, and Saluut, licensed by the KWPN and sire of Margie Goldstein-Engle’s Grand Prix jumper Saluut II. Ronald also became the damsire of notable horses such as Alcatraz, winner of the 1988 Stallion Performance Test, Latouro, the 1988 Champion Stallion, Captain Incipit, and Lord Incipit. 🏆🐴

Libero H’s influence has been strongly felt in international show jumping. His successful descendants include Numero Uno, ridden by Marco Kutscher; Olymp, ridden by Angelique Hoorn; Castle Forbes Libertina, ridden by Jessica Kürten; Lo**ta H, ridden by Toni Hassmann; Castle Forbes Maike, also ridden by Jessica Kürten; and No Mercy, ridden by Christina Liebherr. Both Castle Forbes Maike and No Mercy competed at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, and No Mercy again proved himself on the Olympic stage at the 2008 Games in Hong Kong. 🥇🌍

18/05/2026

Cento: A Proven World Cup Champion for Modern Sport Horse Breeding 🏆🐴

Few names in show jumping carry the same weight as Cento. Bred from the legendary combination of Capitol I x Caletto II, Cento represents the strength, scope, and rideability that breeders look for when planning the next generation of elite sport horses. 🧬✨

Best known as Dobel’s Cento, he earned his place in show jumping history by winning the World Cup Final in Leipzig in 2002. That victory confirmed what breeders and riders already knew: Cento was not only a horse of exceptional talent, but also one with the temperament, power, and competitive mindset required at the very top level of the sport. 🌍🥇

Cento’s influence continued beyond his own competition career. His place as #30 in the 2013 WBFSH show jumping sire rankings reflects the lasting quality he passed on to his offspring. For breeders seeking proven performance genetics, this kind of record matters. It shows that Cento was more than a champion in the arena; he became a valuable sire whose bloodlines continued to shape international show jumping. 📈🐎

His pedigree brings together some of the most respected names in Holsteiner breeding. Through Capitol I, Cento carries the power and scope associated with one of the great pillars of jumping blood. On the dam side, Caletto II adds further performance quality, refinement, and athletic ability. The result is a stallion whose genetics offer a compelling blend of strength, technique, and proven sport performance. 💪🧬

For breeders looking to add world-class jumping heritage to their programme, Cento remains a standout choice. His own international success, combined with his sire ranking and influential pedigree, makes him especially interesting for mares needing scope, power, and a stronger performance profile. ⭐

The Stallion Company lists Cento with a session fee of €500 + VAT, with reservations available through their ICSI programme. 💼

Cento is not simply a famous name from the past. He is a proven source of elite show jumping genetics, backed by competition success, pedigree strength, and lasting influence as a sire. 🐴🏆

13/05/2026

Mare in foal to this more than interesting youngster 👌

28/11/2025