That's a big name for such a little guy. But if you're bound for greatness, then I guess you better have a strong name.
Imperioso at nine days old ...
Imperioso's grandsire, Ideal, is quite famous. He's one of only ten Oldenburg Stallions to have a 4-Star rating (only four have a 5-Star rating). A stars is awarded for success in each of five areas: Conformation, 100-Day Test, Sport Test, Foal Evaluation, and Success of Off-Spring. Ideal is an approved stallion for both Oldenburgs and the Rheinland-Pfalz-Saar-International (RPSI) registry.
Imperioso at three months old ...
Imperioso's sire, Inbegriff, took his 100-day test for the Oldenburg registry, but was injured at the very end and was not accepted as an approved Oldenbug stallion. But because of his excellent performance during the test, he was accepted by the RPSI registry.
Imperioso: One year, two months old at his Rheinland-Pfalz-Saar-International (RPSI) inspection ...
Banjo Rose, Imperioso's dam, is a Thoroughbred by breeding, but she scored quite high with the International Sporthorse Registry and has been entered in the Main Mare Book of the ISR/Oldenburg registry.
Imperioso at two years old ...
Imperioso is a Zweibrücker, which is a horse registered with the RPSI even though he has Oldenburg descended/approved parents. Learning about the warmblood registries is now on my list of things to know. From what I can tell, the registries are more interested in improving their horses as opposed to keeping bloodlines pure (as the Arabians do). I do not know if that makes Imperioso a German Warmblood or not. He was born here, but he is registered with a German registry. Does anyone know?
Imperioso at three years old (with first owner, Noemi) ...
Imperioso's Pferdepass (passport) is quite detailed and thick. So while the RSPI registry is located in Germany, there is an American affiliate that can take care of ownership changes.
Six years old ...
So who is this Imperioso anyway? Well, in case you haven't figured it out yet, he's my new dressage horse! There is a story here, of course, but I'll tell it in a day or so.
All photos courtesy of Noemi, Imperioso's first owner.
