One of the most enduring sires in recent years has been the great Vervaldee, in turn a son of the great Versace, both of whom passed away far too soon. For a number of years, Vervaldee called the UK home, before he moved to the Middle East. While his legacy at the Ajman Stud has been well documented, the Vervaldee influence in the UK remains just as strong through his iridescent son, Vivegas. As we enter 2016, Vivegas’ owner/breeder, Andrea Taylor of Tucana Arabians, has made the decision to send this charismatic stallion global. Read on to find out more.
There is no denying that Vivegas has a presence about him that cannot be ignored. I booked a breeding to him the minute I saw him, and we have a superb three-year-old colt as a result. I was one of many that saw this super stallion, and fell in love. The UK is home to a great number of champion-winning progeny, and Andrea Taylor, Vivegas’ owner, breeder and keeper, has decided that he should have the chance to share his precious bloodlines with the world.
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| Vervaldee |
“Having Vervaldee here was amazing,” explains Andrea. “In many ways, he was the horse of a lifetime – showy, typey, so pretty, a fantastic son of Versace, and also the sweetest horse that you could ever be around. I just love the Versace lines – they add so much to a horse, in my opinion. Blessed with both Vervaldee and Versace’s exotic daughter, La Docle Vita, I chose to breed them together. The result was Vivegas, his sire’s replacement, and he has never let me down since the moment he was born.”
The Versace influence is one that endures. Sired by the Bey Shah son, Fame VF (ex Raffoleta-Rose by Raffon), Versace is out of Precious as Gold, a daughter of El Shaklan (Shaker El Masri x Estopa) and out of Autumn in Gold (Classy McCoy x Julieann). His son, Vervaldee, is out of Giavanna (ex Precious as Gold), sired by NV Beau Bey (Bey Shah x Bint Miss Fire), and he was a full brother to the multiple champion filly and mare, Venetzia.
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| La Dolce Vita |
In 2008, Vivegas was born, sired by Vervaldee and out of the Versace daughter, La Dolce Vita (ex Bint Bint Mierka by Crystaladdinn out of Bint Mierka by Hal Gazal). The combination of strong Polish lines with the Versace ‘look’ worked well and it was not long before people in the UK wanted to use him.
Lightly shown, Vivegas took the Gold Senior Male title at HoCoN 2012 and in 2013, he was named Bronze Stallion Champion at the Emerald Trophy International B Show. In 2015, Vivegas achieved two further Gold titles, at the Wessex Show and the Cornish Region Show.
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However, it is his progeny that have done so well for him, taking titles across the UK and Europe. One is the filly Vivacious (ex Adeeba by Mahaala), a double British National Champion as well as a Gold Champion at the UK International Arabian Horse Show, plus multiple wins at many of the major shows in Europe. The stallion Marsevarno (ex Catwalk by Gai Radiant) was Bronze Junior Male British National Champion while the lovely Vivianna Versace (ex MG Vienna by Ffatal Attraction) was Silver Junior Female British National Champion. The stallion Serengeti (ex Legacys Sonata by Legacy of Fame) took the Silver Junior Male British National Champion, and among the many other champions, Aaleyah (ex Aatiqah by Azteq) was Champion at the British Arabian Championships. Vivegas’ oldest progeny are coming out under saddle this year, something that will be exciting to see.
“The interest in Vivegas from overseas, particularly America, has been great,” Andrea tells me. “It is a big thing for a UK stallion to be sought by breeders in the US – it is usually the other way around!
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“I think what makes Vivegas so special is that his illustrious pedigree is not just full of champions – he has been a champion himself, and has produced many champion offspring. It is a big thing for me to send him away to be collected for global export but I have to be fair and that means sharing his brilliance as a sire with the rest of the world.
“I am very excited to see what the next step in Vivegas’ life as a sire is, and to seeing foals born in 2017 and beyond in America, Australia and other parts of the world.”
