"Papi" epitomizes the modern sporthorse. The keystone of our breeding program, she is a mare that can wear many hats. Elegant and typey, yet with substantial bone, a graceful yet powerful mover befitting her name and gifted with all the athleticsim to take her to the top of multiple disciplines, yet the production power to become a truly great broodmare. Her jump is technically very correct and suited to the hunter ring with its style, but has abundant scope and a careful approach that consistently leaves rails in the cup. Papillon has all of the requirements to be a successful jumper.

Papi is an almost perfect image of her sire, the imported Holsteiner Verband stallion, Ariadus.  He was awarded 54 bonits and a premium rating at the Neumunster stallion approvals. He currently stands in the #3 position in the USEF Jumper Sires list. Ariadus is sired by none other than Accord II, a stallion performance test winner and vice-champion at the Bundeschampionat. Accord II has proven himself to be a premium hereditary transmitter by leading the FN breeding value rating for showjumping numerous times.

Acord II easily won his performance test in 1991, scoring 9.5 to 10 for showjumping, and 9 to 9.67 for rideability. His overall score was 146.04 scoring 138.26 in dressage and 148.47 in jumping. He has produced more than 40 stallion sons, one of the more famous is Broere VDL Atlantic, who was the Six Year Old Jumping Champion at the 1999 Bundeschampionate with Ulrich Kirchhoff. As of 2003, Acord II produced 60 dressage competitors and 404 jumpers (52 to advanced level) for winnings of 736,475 euros. Acord II’s entry in the Hanoverian Studbook includes the comment: "His first foals are impressive with a strong, correct conformation and above average floating movements."

Ariadus is out of a 48-bonit States Premium Latus II-Laertes mare who is linebred to one of the foundation jumping sires of Holstein, Ladykiller. His pedigree is rounded out by two legendary mares... Folia, the dam of the Holsteiner legend Capitol, and Heureka Z, the foundation broodmare of the Zangersheide stud. While Heureka Z was one of the most successful international competitors of her time, she is best known as the grand-dam of the "show jumping horse of the century" Ratina Z. Through her stallion sons and daughters, Heureka Z has created a dynasty of showjumpers.

Papi descends from a proven mother line, with her dam, grand dam and great-grand dam all being premium or elite mares. Papi's dam, La Laureate, is by the notable Caretino son, Cheenook (Caretino-Romantiker (Ramiro Z)). Cheenook was a prolific Grand Prix dressage horse with progeny well represented in all regions of Germany
in both the jumper ring and dressage court.
He was touted as being even more gifted than the great Holsteiner Corlandus, the 2-time world champion dressage horse and Olympic individual silver medallist. But like any good Holsteiner, Cheenook made his mark as a jumping sire. In Europe, he had a jumping index of 157 (2006) and in the US, he was the #1 USEF Leading Hunter Sire in 2008 and the #2 Leading Hunter Sire in 2007. La Laureate received 46 bonits and premium status from the AHHA in 2000.

Papi's grand-dam, Lilly, was Champion at Dressage at Devon two years in a row and he mother of the approved Trakehner stallion Larazzi (v. Enrico Caruso). Lilly's full sister also produced an approved stallion, the Trakehner Libikus (v. Kaspareit). Papi's great-grand-dam, the Exceptional Trakehner mare, Libella V, is the hand-selected, imported foundation mare of US Olympic Dressage rider Hilda Gurney's breeding program. A mother to a dozen foals, Libella V is the mother of Ms. Gurney's former Grand Prix mounts Lavinia (v. Condus) and Leonidas (v. Condus) and the dam or grand dam of several approved stallions and successful FEI level competition horses, including Ms. Gurney's current FEI competitor, Luminence. Libella V's mark on performance breeding in the United States is without question.

Libella V is the perfect example of inbreeding/linebreeding at its best. The mare Livia is found twice in Libella Vs' pedigree, once in the 2nd generation as her second dam and once as the dam of her grand-sire, Garamond. Of his generation, Garamond was Rhineland's most influential sire and one of Trakehnen's most successful dressage sires ever. He is the sire of numerous intermediate and advanced level dressage horses with an FN breeding value of 135. Today, we still see the influence of this black stallion in the internationally succesful and popular F-line of Westphalia as Garamond is the third sire of the legendary Florestan.

Following in the shoes of the mares before her, Papi was a premium Holsteiner filly, is a premium mare with the BWP and the RPSI and has already produced the approved stallion, Balt'Amour JSF (v. Balta'Czar) and a gorgeous filly, Amour de Papillon (v. Aslan).

In 2010, Papi presented us the full-sister of Balt'Amour JSF. Joie de Papillon, bred to be an A-Circuit hunter, is everything that we had hoped! Type, size, movement, athleticism and that "look at me" presence garnered her First Premium status at her foal inspection at just 3 weeks of age.