Bay 16.3hh
DoB: 2005
Sire: Hostil
Dam Sire: Invulgar
New Zealand's first approved Lusitano stallion to be imported direct from Portugal
Ali Baba is a very talented young stallion with noted progeny in Portugal. He is a great example of the Lusitano breed - rideabilty, intelligence and heart.
A new arrival on the New Zealand breeding and competition scene
Hartstone Equestrian is proud to announce the arrival of a new breeding proposition to New Zealand - the Purebred Lusitano stallion Ali Baba. He is a 16.3hh approved breeding stallion - imported directly from the home of the Lusitano breed - Portugal. This is the first time an approved Lusitano stallion has been imported directly to New Zealand from Portugal.
After a long search...
After a year of looking for prosepective stallions Jody Hartstone finally found all she was looking for in Ali Baba. He has the height, presence and paces to make a top competition mount and at just 7 years of age has shown himself to have the strength an intelligence to make it to Grand Prix. Sticking with Jody's long-held policy of only standing licenced and approved stallions who have bred with success in their home countries - Ali Baba has a number of correct youngstock on the ground in Portugal. Another important factor that attracted Jody to Ali-Baba was his pedigree - it's rich in top competion bloodlines. Ali Baba truely represents the best features of the Lusitano breed - versitility, intelligence, heart and athletic ability.
Pedigree
Ali Baba is sired by the famous Lusitano stallion Hostil. Hostil was trained up to Grand Prix level and is well recognised as one of Portugal's best breeding stallions. He is the sire of Rico (who won international dressage classes with Kyra Kyrklund), Pastor (Who represented Brazil at the London Olympics) and the Grand Prix dressage star Soberano III (ridden by Daniel Pinto). Hostil was once ridden in a public demonstration by Anky van Grunsven who was full of praise for the horse and the breed itself. Ali Baba has inherited his sire's huge functionality and amazing mind.
On the dam line of Ali Baba we find two of the most famous and most important bloodlines in Veiga and Andrade. These bloodlines are famed in the bullfighting ring and give the progeny speed and agility like no other. Andrade is a very old and sought after bloodline and these horses have been ridden b masters such as Nuno Olivera and Egon van Neindorff. Veiga horses are again almost a breed into themselves - they are "hotter" horses but most importantly give good movement into the equation. It is said the two best bloodlines to find in a Lusitano stallion are Veiga and Andrade - couple that with the famed Hostil as the sire of Ali Baba and you can see you are onto a winner.
Lusitano - "A horse forever"
New Zealand breeders may be unfamiliar with the Lusitano breed - but it is actually one of the oldest breeds of saddle horse in the world. In fact there is evidence of horses in that part of the world up to 5000 years ago. The horse's of the Iberian Peninsular helped to shape the history of mankind. The Portuguese took their faithful steeds on their exploration ships to find the New World. Even the famed Templar Knights rode horses from the Iberian Peninsular. There is many hundreds of years of breeding records for Iberian horses. Although the Lusitano studbook was not fully compiled until 1967, many breeding studs have been in operation and breeding their own particular types for well over a hundred years. They say once you have started riding Lusitano horses you never want to go back to other breeds...
The Lusitano has been selected as a work horse for many centuries. His attributes include:
Agile 
Versatile Docile Intelligent Brave
A versatile breed like no other
The Lusitano has its roots in one of the toughest of all equestrian pursuits - the bullfighting ring. To make the grade, horse's must show incredible agility, speed and braveness - three characteristics the Lusitano is know best for. Dressage is now beginning to be a major focus for some of Portugal's Lusitano breeders. At the London Olympics the Lusitano stallion Ruby under Goncalo Calvalho made it thru to the third and final round with a 74% in the GP Special - steeling the hearts of many a rider and spectator along the way. Showjumping is another discipline where Lusitano's can be found - John Whittaker rode the wonderful stallion Novilhero to great success internationally. Carraige Driving is yet another string to the Lusitano's bow. And the sport of Working Equitation which is huge in Europe is undoubtedly the Lusitano's dream competition. Working Equitation is a set of four different "Tests" including a dressage test, and obstacle test (similar to those encountered whilst working cattle and trail riding) and a cattle penning test. The most exciting part is the speed test over obstacles - the horses are always ridden with the reins in one hand and the speed at which they can negotiate the course whilst still looking so elegant and beautiful is outstanding.