Bon Coeur 1389 with Caroline Darcourt aboard. Photo: Pernilla HäggThis marks the thirteenth year that SWB has awarded the title "year's runner-up stallions." The award is given to one jumping and one dressage stallion annually. It aims to highlight stallions who have shown a promising start in their breeding careers and whose offspring have demonstrated talents to become successful sport horses. This year's recipient of the award in dressage is Bon Coeur 1357.
Bon Coeur 1389 was approved in 2014 in Verden and was then named a Premium Stallion. He subsequently won his 30-day test in Schlieckau with a total score of 9.1 in gaits. He became champion in Hanover in 2016 and was vice Bundeschampion in Warendorf both as a three and four-year-old. Bon Coeur has since continued to compete with victories up to international Intermediaire I dressage.
Several sons are approved in various associations, many of them premium stallions, and some of them have also been active in SWB through semen import. He has also had offspring that have won in foreign stallion tests and participated in both the young horse World Championships and Bundeschampionat.
His oldest SWB offspring were born in 2016. Out of 65 SWB offspring shown at young horse tests, 42 have received diplomas, eight have been shown at riding horse tests, and four have competed. At the SWB Equestrian Weeks 2023, Bon Coeur had two offspring in the top 10 in the 3-year-old championship. His breeding index for dressage is 143, and this year he is awarded the status of Elite based on the good results of his SWB offspring.
Previous years' challenger stallions in dressage are:
2011 Bocelli (SWB) 1044
2012 Santana 1111
2013 Hermes (SWB) 1086
2014 Dalwhinnie (SWB) 1180
2015 Zuidenwind 1187
2016 Skovens Rafael 1337
2017 Quaterback 95235
2018 Blue Hors Zack 95316
2019 Johnson 95254
2020 Sibelius (SWB) 1315
2021 Total Hope 1307
2022 Van Vivaldi 1286
Criteria for the year's challenger stallions are:
- The stallion must have a Swedish studbook number
- The stallion must have at least 15 tested/competed offspring
- The stallion must compete/have competed successfully
- A stallion can only receive the award once
SWB - Swedish Warmblood Association, is a Swedish nationwide breeding organization aimed at supporting and advancing the breeding, training, and marketing of Swedish Warmblood horses. Swedish Warmbloods are internationally competitive in show jumping, dressage, and eventing. World-class Swedish Warmbloods are produced by our Swedish SWB breeders, who uphold a long tradition of natural and sustainable breeding of modern riding and sport horses.
