***It is with utter devastation, that we need to let everyone know, we lost our wonderful Leeto Z stallion September 30, 2023. It seems impossible to quantify what this horse brought to the world. He was intelligent, mischievous, and the most loving creature. He produced horses that were kind, smart and brilliant in the ring. I really don’t know what we’re gonna do without him. He leaves a massive hole in our program.
For me personally, he was one of those horses. He changed me. Not only did he change my riding, but he changed the way that I build relationships with my horses. He was a true partner, and seven years in the ring together wasn’t enough. I remember the day I found out I would never ride him again, and I thought that was the worst day. Here we are Four years later, a bunch of amazing babies… I just thought we had so much more time. I’m gonna miss him so damn much.***
Leeto Z was an exceptional stallion in many ways. Beautiful, correct conformation, powerful and elegant movement, combined with incredible scope make him an all-around exceptional athlete. Although, perhaps his best feature, is his intelligent and engaging personality that not only makes him a brave and willing partner, but also a quick learner and simple straight forward ride. At his Canadian Warmblood Stallion Performance Test, he was the highest scoring stallion for temperament and rideablity. From what we can tell, his foals all seem to have his temperament as well. Leeto Z’s sire is Lucino, who is by Landlord Z who is by Landgraf I. By the end of the 1980’s, Landgraf I was rated best amongst all sires that had stood at stud in West Germany, and his sons can be found in most breeding regions throughout the world. Landgraf I became the most important sire of show jumpers in the twentieth century having sired the most money winning show jumping offspring in the World. Leeto z’s mom is by Crack I who is by Corrado I. Through his dam’s grandsire, Corrado I combines the blood of Cottage Son xx with that of Cor de la Bryere. Furthermore, he was unrelated to Ladykiller xx. All of these factors contributed to Corrado’s own success, and his success as a match to the Holsteiner broodmare population. Cor de la Bryere is one of the most influential stallions in modern Warmblood breeding and can be seen in more than 70% of modern Holsteiner bloodlines. He was recognized as the “Reserve Stallion of the Century” second only to Landgraf I. His offspring tend to have good free shoulders along with higher knee action making them very suitable for jumping. In 2004, Cor de la Bryère ranked 6th and in 2006 he ranked 15th for the USEF Leading Jumper Sires. Leeto’s dams sire is Ramiro Z. In 1969, Ramiro (G Ramiro Z) was the absolute top stallion of his performance year and was not only successful with breeding, but also in his jumping career under Fritz Ligges. He excelled in his puissance performances (up to 2.20 m) as well as in competition where speed was essential. Ramiro moved to Studbook Zangersheide in 1979 and went to the Netherlands two years later. On the basis of his breeding efforts that earned him world-wide fame, he was declared Horse of the Year at Jumping Amsterdam in 1992. Ramiro is still at the top of the indexes in both jumping and dressage for many breed organizations today.
With these world class bloodlines, elegant, modern type, tremendous work ethic and even temperament, Leeto Z has proven to be a sire that passes all of these attributes on to his progeny.
