Marco Polo – From maligned to coveted

Chestnut, date of birth: 1962 height at the withers: 1.58m/ 15.3hh. Foundation stallion

Article published on http://www.trakehnercontact.nl

© with thanks to Gert van der Veen who wrote the above article for `in de Strengen` no. 4, February 26, 1998, in the series` Stempel stallions`. Translation by Liz van Woerden for KWPN- NA.

Marco Polo

In 1965 during the NWP stallion inspection, a disapproving murmur went through the rows of spectators along the inspection track in the Prins- Bernhard hall in Zuidlaren, when a slender chestnut stallion appeared in the ring. The spectators, mostly peasant breeders, made it clear that they were not pleased with the frail chestnut. The vocal expression of displeasure even swelled to cacophony, when the speaker announced on the second day of the inspection that the stallion had been approved. The breeders shouted and screamed: ‘Was this goat to cover their good mares, mares bred for generations as a reliable source of power for farm work?! It was a Russian or Polish hit! He would break at his knees and hocks if put in the harness to do farm work!’ Program booklets were waved, clogs rumbled on the floor, people shouted and whistled.

Read the whole article Marco Polo – Liz VW