What do you do when your stallion, one of the best showjumping horses in the world, unexpectedly passes away and you don’t have any (frozen) semen because his sports career was top priority? Irish showjumper Clem McMahon explored the possibilities and discovered that semen could still be extracted from the testicles of his deceased stallion Pacino (Diamant de Semilly). Thanks to a single straw from 2013 and ICSI, several embryos were created. One of them will be auctioned tonight in Dublin by Flanders Foal Auction.
It’s an extraordinary story, and Clem is looking forward to the auction. The embryo is out of the 1.60m Grand Prix mare Sterrehof’s Ushi (Vigo d’Arsouilles). After her sports career with Julia Houtzager-Kayser she came into the hands of Willem Greve and Jaimy Oude Wesselink of Equiception for breeding.
Kidney failure
It was a dark day for Clem McMahon and all Irish fans when the stallion passed away due to kidney failure. He was almost nine years old and had already successfully competed at the highest level at the age of eight. “Double clear and winning in the Aga Khan Nations Cup here in Dublin, clear rounds in Rotterdam, Falsterbo and Hickstead. Pacino had all the scope, was ultra-careful, very rideable and extremely intelligent. When you think of an athlete, you think of him,” Clem shares from the sidelines at the Dublin Horse Show.
‘Unbelievable family’
Pacino came into the hands of the Irish rider as a three-year-old. “He comes from an unbelievable family. I rode his half-brother Hermes de Reve in the 1.60m Grand Prix and bought Pacino when he was three.” His dam, Dira Courcelle (Muguet du Manoir), a half-sister to the 1.60m Grand Prix mare VDL Groep Sapphire, jumped 1.40m herself and also produced the renowned stallion Malito de Reve. Fun fact: Malito de Reve is the sire of the 1.70m Grand Prix mare Gancia de Muze, from whom a United Touch embryo will be auctioned tonight.
Three out of four 1.60m Grand Prix
Clem McMahon quickly realized that Pacino was a special one. “I started riding him as a four-year-old and he immediately gave me a fantastic feeling. He didn’t cover many mares initially, but he bred very well. When he passed away, I had four four-year-olds. One mare went to Haras de Reves, where Pacino was born in 2004, and the other three became 1.60m Grand Prix horses, like Paparazzi. She jumped clear in the Grand Prix here in Dublin at the age of eight with just one time fault. A week later, I sold her to the United States. The percentage of offspring at 1.45m level and above is very high. However, there won’t be more than 200 offspring in total.”
Grand Prix horses by Pacino are also Pacato and Pacifico (both 1.60m GP with Clem McMahon), BP Wakita (1.60m GP with Roberto Teran Tafur), Creevy Taylor (1.60m with Ben Walker), HHS Seattle (1.60m with Spencer Smith) and EIC Colley Jump the Q (1.70m with Max Kühner).
Even a Pacino clone
With these results, Clem McMahon is looking forward to next year, as he has also secured two Pacino embryos. The fact that he even has a clone of Pacino speaks volumes about his belief in this exceptional stallion. “It took a few years before I had one,” he says. “In 2015 and 2016, it didn’t work out, but after I sold Paparazzi, I tried one more time, and thanks to an Argentine company, one was born in 2020, Pacino II. He’s now four years old, is an approved stallion and and producing foals with beautiful types and blood. All in all, it’s been a rollercoaster, but we’re looking forward to the future!”
View the embryo collection of Flanders Foal Auction here: www.flandersfoalauction.be