Baloubet had been raised on Normandy’s lush pastures, near Mont Saint Michel, on the St. Aubin de Terregatte farm of the celebrated breeder, Louis Fardin. When he was three years old, Baloubet was shown to the Portuguese couple, Nicole and Diego Coutinho Pereira, and it was they who sent him to their friend Nelson Pessoa.
Like his sire, Galoubet, Baloubet du Rouet was first-and-foremost a star in the competition ring. Nelson Pessoa carefully brought along Baloubet on the French stallion circuit for Young Horses, winning the 7 year old stallion test at Fontainebleau in 1997 before gently beginning international competition. When the horse was nine, Nelson decided to give the ride to his son Rodrigo.
Just one year later, Rodrigo and Baloubet won in Göteborg, Paris Bercy, Falsterbo and Donaueschingen, and a remarkable career was underway. Baloubet set a record that is unlikely to be bettered, winning three World Cup Finals in a row, 1998, 1999, 2000, and narrowly missed out of a fourth in 2001!
Although the horse may have had his disappointments, notably at the Sydney Games and Jerez WEG, two years later, they still had a more than respectable 2002 season, winning in Geneva, Calgary, Aachen, Hardenberg, Paris Bercy and Bordeaux.
In 2003 Baloubet won Grand Prix at Balve and s’ Hertogenbosh. He was also successful in 1.50 m and 1.55 m classes at Verona, Bremen and Calgary. In 2004 Baloubet had another extremely successful year, winning Grand Prix at Bordeaux, Geneva and Paris Bercy before going on to win the gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Games when Waterford Crystal, who was first awarded the medal, failed a drug test. He won the Las Vegas World Invitational Grand Prix in 2005 and the Budweiser Invitational in Florida in 2006. He retired from competition in February 2008.
Not surprisingly, Baloubet was sought after as a sire, and Baloubet has emerged as the number one sire of jumping horses on the WBFSH standings for 2012.
As a stallion, Baloubet’s influence extends right across Europe. He is licensed in studbooks of the Selle Français, Belgian Warmblood, Holsteiner and Hanoverian.
·His top performers include: Chaman (KWPN) out of an I Love You mare. Ridden by Ludger Beerbaum, the stallion in 2013 alone, recorded wins at Donetsch, Aachen, Göteborg, Paris, Zurich and Basel.
·VDL Bubalu (KWPN) out of a Nimmerdor mare. With Jurg Vrieling, Bubalu has competed at the Lexington WEG, the London Games and the European Championships in Herning, and is a key member of the Dutch team.
·Southwind VDL (KWPN) out of an Ahorn mare, was a regular member of the Irish team with Cameron Hanley before the ride was taken by Tiffany Foster in 2011. At the World Cup Qualifier in Calgary 2013, the pair were 4th.
·The Belgian bred (in case you can’t tell from its impossible name) West Side van de Meerputhoeve (out of an Apollonius mare) has been a consistent performer for Switzerland’s Clarissa Crotta – their highlight in 2013 was a 2nd behind Corradina in the Grand Prix of Braunschweig.
·The chestnut stallion Babluche van het Gelutt Z out of an Aldato mare, has been another solid performer for Athina Onassis. The pair were 3rd in the King’s Cup in Madrid in 2013
·The French bred Murat De Reve out of an Arpege Pierreville mare, has been a moderate campaigner for the Spanish rider, Natalla Golding.
·Napoli du Ry (out of a Silvio mare) was ridden by Simon Delestre in the French team at the London Games.
·AD Rahmannshof’s Bogeno (Elanville) carried Alvaro de Miranda Neto to victory in the Valkenswaard and Wellington 2013 Grand Prix, and the pair finished in =12th on the final standings at the London Games.
·Palloubet d’Halong (Muguet du Manoir) carried rising Swiss star, Janika Sprunger to international fame with a 2nd in the Grand Prix of Aachen and a 7th at the European Championships at Herning before the gelding was sold reputedly for €16,000,000 for Edwina Alexander to ride – although before she had the chance to enjoy her new pony, it was sold yet again, this time to Qatari rider, Ali Yousef Al Rumaihi.
