Some may have wondered whether the catalog number 3 of this year’s spring auction of the Westphalian Studbook with the name Va Va Voom did not have a different name before. In fact, the stallion is Viva la Vida, which Equus Invest AG acquired in 2022 at the auction following the Westphalian main licensing. This is noted as the breeding name in the catalog. This has raised questions that we would like to answer here.
At his licensing in 2022, Viva La Vida was one of the acclaimed sons from the premiere year of Viva Gold, who here meets the famous Dodona line (Ahlerich, Rembrandt, Rubinstein). Hopes were high for him, both because of his bloodlines and his obvious talent.
When he was broken in and at his first performance test in 2023, he was initially completely unproblematic, very well-behaved and motivated. At the age of four, he suddenly showed reluctance to perform, so the sport test had to be canceled in April. Because his behavior was so atypical, he was examined by a vet. A healed rib injury was diagnosed.
The question now arose as to how to proceed with the stallion. He was left completely alone for several weeks, only moved lightly on the lunge line and otherwise mostly stood in the paddock or paddock.
Thomas Münch, the breeding director of the Westphalian Studbook, was informed of the events and offered to have the stallion brought to the Westphalian Horse Center to see how he presented himself there. After all, he had been thoroughly examined in the run-up to the licensing and found to be healthy. At the Westphalian Horse Center, Viva la Vida was first lunged and then a rider got into the saddle. The stallion showed no signs of pain. He was carefully trained. Even under saddle, Viva la Vida was completely lame and showed no signs of pain. That was in August 2024.
Since then, Viva la Vida has made great progress in terms of training and performed so well that Thomas Münch offered to put him up for the spring auction. As the stallion station Gut Neuenhof already had a representative of the Dodona line in Bundeschampion Bentheim, Münch was given the go-ahead – but not without a further veterinary examination by a third colleague. As this vet also had no reservations and found him to be healthy, Viva la Vida is now for sale under the name Va Va Voom.
