RITUAL: son of an important stallion - sire of important offsprings. As youngest stallion, RITUAL already participated at the programme for breeding Hanoverian show jumping horses. Now, several of his sons already belong to it as well. The winner of four year old horses and the fifth best of the Hanoverian show jumping championships on Dobrock 1993 were RITUAL-offsprings. RITUAL-son Rhytmo impressingly won the show jumping competition of six year old horses, staged on the occasion of the national championships in Hanover 1995. Together with other RITUAL-offsprings, he also won the qualifications for the federal championships. Although the sire of RITUAL's dam Der Löwe xx (he would be more than 50 years old today) can no longer be considered for show jumping breeding evaluation, RITUAL still occupies a top position among all other stallions of his age-group. His offsprings worked out what he himself put in their cradle: show jumping qualities, rideability and intelligence. And: RITUAL seems to be a magician as far as his inheritance is concerned (he transmitts the brown colour): his foals are completely shaped by him and are of rare quality. Uwe Heckmann: "The best type of stallion since Absatz-times."

The unique character
As the saying is: "Sweat precedes success". The creation of RITUAL was not that easy and uncomplicated - this breeding idea came into being with a delay of 10 years. You can also say: "Persistance is the basis for successes."

Stadthalle Bremen: Indoor tournaments. It was February 1974. Dorit and Hermann Kothe sat on the gallery, watching the international show jumping elite in an advanced level show jumping competition. During that time, everybody talked about Gotthard, and Gotthardt had to be part of each promising show jumping horse's pedigree. Then a horse appeared in the course about which Dorit and Hermann Kothe already heard before, however, up to that time, they had never seen it before. Ridden by Fritz Ligges, Ramiro kindled their entire attention. Ramiro seemed to be a creature from another planet. "At that time, our equestrian mind was mainly influenced by the Hanoverian breed," they summarize today, "and nearly all other breeds (Hanoverians, Westphalians and Oldenburg horses) we dealt with before were of same type." It was the time when the "German riding horse" (a FN-invention) was propagated - a standard model according to Hanoverian calibre. And now they looked down at a completely different equestrian representative: Unusually tall, with an impressive, blood-shaped conformation, a beautiful face, big, clear eyes and an excellently well-shaped neck, his dark-brown coat was shiny like a rasher of bacon. And there was something else which was really unusual at that time: This impressing horse was a stallion. With his ground-covering canter and almost unbelievable show jumping potential, he passed the course and thus, sticked to the mind of the two young horsepeople. May be Ramiro was already a kind of quiet tip among insiders, however, Dorit and Hermann Kothe - completely free from worries about any breeding associations' policy - felt like discoverers on that tournament evening more than 20 years ago. They thought having discovered a new star. It was Dorit Kothe who spontaneously decided and pronounced that evening: "Ramiro - that's the most suitable stallion for Löwin. I know it, it will fit." However, it was easier to declare this intention than to put it into action. It was the breeding associations' policy which let this far-sighted breeder's dream dash (Ramiro was not admitted by Hanover and not beloved in his Westphalian home - only reluctantly tolerated by the Holstein breeding management).

At that time, nobody wanted an ideological dispute. Only those who were financially indepent were able to push their ideas through. In the political arena, the battle at the end of the sixties was over, various hoary relics were already abolished and porcelain was shattered. However, as far as equestrian breeding was concerned, new and different ideas were still miles and miles away. Managing directors of the breeding associations were even welcome as rulers at that time, their opinion was the only correct one. No, the breeder's scene was deliberately conservative, everything else slightly different seemed to be close to a revolution. And nobody wanted to be a revolutionary. That didn't pay, and at the end - there were various examples - those pugnacious people dropped out of the running alone! There were neither many chances for a wedding between Löwin and Ramiro as far as the pratical side was concerned. Artificial insemination and thus dispatch of frozen sperm were still light years away. It also seemed to be too risky to drive hundreds of kilometres through the country with a mare and her few days old foal at foot. The consequence: A dream was put on the siding! More than 10 years passed. Ramiro was a fixed byword as far as sport and breeding were concerned - and: He changed the scenery. On Zangersheide stud farm (the owner Leon Melchior was a close friend of Dorit and Hermann Kothe) he was in the front line with Almé Z. In Zangersheide, Löwin was covered with Ramiro-sperm. The result was born on July 20, 1985 on Alsenhof in Wacken/Holstein: RITUAL. Dorit Kothe remembers: "I knew the little creature in front of us in the straw was a very special one. The foal was born only very few minutes ago , and now it already started to neigh and to stand on its legs alone." And there is still something else she did not forget: The remark of vet Dr. Konrad Bartjen who could hardly get away from Löwin's box: "Dorit, " the Alsenhof vet said, "this is an exceptional foal. This foal is of outstanding quality, not only beautiful, but also equipped with a strong character!" All those who were also present on that special occasion thought and said the same: "Konrad, you drank too much champagne - to talk about the characteristic of an only a few hours old foal seems to arise a charlatan's mind." Later on, all their doubts vanished and they had to admit: The man was quite right!

The news about RITUAL's birth spread like a wildfire. Many horsemen came. Some of them got into raptures, ot hers were simply speechless. One of the first visitors was Heiner Sturke, unforgotten friend and horseman from Kehdingen. He spontaneously offered DM 50.000,-- for the only three days old, loudly coloured foal.

Ritual-daughter Ria Platina won the
Landesmeisterschaft Saxony-Anhalt 2003

 Dorit Kothe said: "Heiner, we do not want to sell this foal, do not lead us into temptation." Heiner Sturke understood - he frequently came back to Alsenhof to have a look at RITUAL. The words "sale" or "purchase" were never ever mentioned again. Back to RITUAL's time as a foal: He was born lately in the year, all other foals were already branded, only RITUAL was - on the face of it - still a neuter.It was October 1985 late around midnight in a hotel bar during the Westphalian stallion licensing days in Münster. A certain kind of alcolholic drink was involved the more or less intensively. Dr. Ferdinand Dohmen (managing director of the Westphalian breeding association), Fritz Ligges (Westphalian stallion owner), Dr. Roland Ramsauer (breeding manager in Oldenburg), Dr. Jochen Wilkens (breeding manager in Hanover) and Hermann Kothe philosophized about horses, breeding and so on. Fritz Ligges asked: "Hermann, what brand does your foal actually have?" "It is not yet branded at all," he answered. "And which brand do you want him to acquire?" Ligges went on. "It is very simple," Hermann Kothe answered. "It should be branded by the breeding association which will be the first!" (Just to explain it: At that time, Löwin was an Oldenburg brood mare. RITUAL's birth registration was sent there in time, however, up to that time, the Oldenburg association did not fulfill its job.) Nevertheless, R. Ramsauer felt obliged to inform them that he would come to Alsenhof to brand the foal very soon. Thus, the subject was checked off until Dr. J. Wilkens asked once again: "Is it really correct: The one who comes first will brand the foal?" "That's how it is," Hermann Kothe confirmed. Two days later early in the morning, it rang at Alsenhof doors. A car with VERDEN egistration number stood there, inside Dr. J. Wilkens and his wife Ulla. "Hermann, I would like to brand the foal," he shouted. Dorit Kothe did not know what he was talking about. She was hurriedly cleared up by her husband about the midnight promises. Although she was taken by surprise, she grined and bore it; on the contrary, she did never regret it. In any case, Löwin was "reactivated" by the Hanoverian breeding association and thus, RITUAL became Hanoverian stallion. An idea which was born 10 years ago became reality now. That's how times change!