Wamberto (Rousseau-Voltaire-Dutch Boy), bred by Mr. and Mrs. Heida of Wolvega, The Netherlands, was the clear winner of the championship ring for the dressage stallions at the 2006 KWPN Stallion Show. An absolute model in type, the wave of applause from the audience followed him as Wamberto toured the arena with extraordinary buoyancy, fluidity and expression. His movement was beautifully natural and soft, rolling forward with unparalleled suppleness and freedom. Wamberto's super character was evident as he stood politely at the side of his handler, quietly taking in the excitement and applause. Wamberto's breeders stood at his side with tears of joy at the wonderful moment.

On seeing this young stallion on the first day of the stallion show, Scott and Susanne Hassler of Hilltop Farm, Inc., working as agents for Harmony Sporthorses, acted immediately to reserve the first right of purchase. "The breeders and co-owners of Wamberto demonstrated wonderful passion and integrity in making this deal with us," shares Hassler. "The KWPN Select Sale officials put a tremendous amount of pressure on them to sell Wamberto through the auction, but they kept their word and allowed us to complete the deal in private."

Harmony Sporthorses is the proud new owner of this outstanding young stallion. "We were so impressed by the quality of Rousseau's sons, we couldn't wait to buy Wamberto and support his further development as a sport and breeding stallion," shares Leslie Malone of Harmony Sporthorses, who co-owns Rousseau with Hilltop Farm. After standing at stud three years in The Netherlands, Hilltop Rousseau now stands in Germany at Hengststation Pape. Wamberto will be prepared for the stallion performance testing in Ermelo by Nicolette van Lierop, the rider/trainer who prepared and guided Hilltop Rousseau to his many victories in sport.

Hilltop Rousseau was the top producer of dressage candidates attending the stallion show. Represented by 11 sons, Rousseau received very positive press coming into the event. Of Rousseau's 11 sons, four were licensed in Den Bosch. The three other Rousseau sons licensed were: Winner (Rousseau-Jazz-Variant), who was sold to VDL; Wittenstein (Rousseau-Roemer-Eros), whose dam Charites is a Ster Preferant Prestatie mare with many grand prix offspring to her credit; and Wiebert (Rousseau-Montecristo-Balzflug). All proceed now to the stallion performance testing in Ermelo. To date, five sons of Rousseau have been licensed.


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