Joris De Brabander doesn’t need an introduction anymore. The Belgian stallion owner and veterinarian focuses on embryo transfer and currently is one of the best breeders of the world. His ‘de Muze’ horses such as London (G. Schröder) and Walnut (H. Smolders) recently jumped in Aachen and London in the medals. Several of Joris De Brabander’s best stallions are AES Approved. For example Bamako de Muze, the half brother to Mylord Carthago. Why AES? ‘This studbook has set out new directions over the last ten years’, speaks Mr. De Brabander.

‘AES was the first studbook listening to the wishes of breeders and stallion owners’, speaks Joris De Brabander, who’s willing to tell the world why he so much likes to go to the AES approvals. ‘If we gladly wanted to have one particular stallion approved, other studbooks often turned a deaf ear to our aim. The louder we screamed a stallion had top quality, the more the studbooks became critical. I have never experienced that with AES.’

‘Other studbooks are looking for mistakes. AES searches for quality.’
Joris De Brabander also appreciates the ‘open minded’ inspection method. ‘They examine differently, but that doesn’t mean that other studbooks do better. Others are often looking for mistakes. AES searches the quality in the horse. AES is maybe less stern about model and vet check compared to the Belgian studbooks and the Dutch KWPN. I think also that is a good deal. I think those studbooks in Belgium and Holland are wrong. As a stallion owner I want to do my very best for the breeders and I don’t want to be slowed down by anybody else. Therefore I feel attracted to AES. Other studbooks only believe only in their own stallions and bloodlines. AES is open to anything, also to new competences. They were one of the first to allow embryo’s and clones. I know that from my own experience, as since last year I have the clone Quidam de Revel II Z at stud. He was approved by the AES.’

‘AES is open to anything, to new bloodlines and new competences.’
Joris De Brabander thinks it is praiseworthy that the percentage of approved stallions is higher here than anywhere else. ‘It’s better to permit one stallion more, than to miss all the good ones. Stallions which are not good enough, are automatically dropping out. It’s a self regulating market. In the end we’re all looking for quality sport horses. That’s why I hate silly rules of some studbooks. If the regulation hinders the great horses, then the owner has to take another direction. AES makes the demands not so high, but already discovered the natural ability of show jumpers like Hickstead, Plot Blue, Montender and more recently Billy Congo. Who says breeding needs ‘zero tollerance’ vet check? Who says show jumpers need to be good trotters? I think the most studbooks use it just as a market strategy. They say they breed only healthy horses, but that’s nonsense. These days during the vet check one is mainly looking at X-rays, but a horse can suffer so many other complaints. I am convinced that you can only test the soundness of a horse in the sport. And facing extreme quality, one flaw is no problem. That’s how I judge when buying a horse. I don’t give away a top horse because it has a minor fragment. ’ In short: ‘The strength of AES is you will not be punished with a stallion you really believe in. They give you the chance to prove how good he is. Your enthousiasm will not be nipped in the bud.’

Joris De Brabander has most of his top stallions fully ‘Approved’ with AES, but he praises also the restricted ‘Registred’ status. ‘AES has helped some Belgian breeders a lot with this. Via the ‘registred’ status Belgian breeders got the right to breed with their own, nowhere else approved stallion again. No other studbook in our country allowed that for many years.’ Also the home inspection of AES is an extra service to the client, he thinks. Mr. De Brabander: ‘All other studbooks organize the inspection on one particular moment. If your stallion is not in great shape at that time, you have no chance. It’s ridiculous that they don’t have a solution for that. One time I used the home inspection of AES. I had four stallions at the same time ready and thought it was easier to do it at home. I think then it’s normal that you pay for all expenses, such as transport and working hours of the judges.’

To his credit, Joris De Brabander has a critical attitude. Thus we don’t put aside the remarks he has with regard to AES: ‘I think for the breeders there is not enough charisma from the studbook to the outer world. A website or a magazine could strengthen the community feeling, but these are details you can work on and I heart Kees van den Oetelaar and his team are doing that right now.’

Indeed. A proof of that is this brand new website with all the news of AES horses in the sport and interviews with AES supporters. Stay tuned at www.angloeuropeanstudbook.co.uk

Joris De Brabander and his AES-stallions
With Taran de la Pomme, the new grey stallion of Kevin Staut, and Golden Hawk (ex. Figo de Muze) of Shane Breen, Joris De Brabander has already two half brothers of the Olympic sensation London (Gerco Schröder) approved with AES. As we mentioned in the article, he also has the AES approved clone of Quidam de Revel at stud. His youngest talents are Cadeau de Muze, the son of Nabab de Rêve and Atlanta (Katharina Offel), and also the four-year-old Denzel vh Meulenhof, by Marius Claudius and Narcotique IV de Muze (Ludo Philippaerts). Denzel was sent away at the AES approvals because the judges thought he jumped too high. AES waited for the stallion at the exit and welcomed him with open arms. His grandmother Querly Chin (Chin Chin) is the world famous mare, also mother of Walnut de Muze (Harrie Smolders). Last but not least also Bamako de Muze (Darco) is AES approved. This half brother to Mylord Carthago is competed by Joris’ daughter Karline De Brabander at GP level.