A hundred horses or three hundred hairdressers? Who can choose between them? Mario Everse (44) could, seven years ago he used his scissors for the last time to cut a knot and he chose horses. The coiffeur turned horse dealer and  he has become equally successful in this branch. A few years ago even, seven horses from Stal Everse started in the WC at Zangersheide, four of them self-bred. Breeding or buying youngsters, training them and selling them is his business, in which quality comes before quantity. His best reference: Olympic Champion and Aachen winner Big Star.

Rider, dealer, stallion owner, breeder…you like diversification?
We, my wife Mischa and I, are enthusiast horse people and from one thing comes another. Our original target was to get good youngsters, either bred by us or bought. That is how we discovered Big Star as a 3½-yr-old. I do not have to tell you anything about his qualities. I bought the mare Sunrise (Heartbreaker x Pilot), family of Chocola Z, and from that combination E-Star was born. We liked him so much that we kept him entire. E-Star is a 4-yr-old and licensed, he is drawing attention in the showjumping ring under Mischa and then you get breeders who want to use him. You buy, you breed and become a stallion owner, we naturally rolled from one thing into the next.

Not bad for a barber?
(laughs)..I was a hairdresser indeed for some 20 years and ran several shops employing 300 hairdressers. In that period I was already dealing horses, purely as a hobby which I now have made my profession. The time was ripe for a new challenge. What I am doing now is totally different and, believe me, a lot more peaceful (grinning). I have always been looking for the better type of youngsters and that went well. It made me think; if I could not make it with those kind of horses, I never would,  and I turned my hobby into a business.

From 300 hairdressers to 100 horses, what a relief?
It feels as if I have been on a holiday for seven years (laughs). You know what is so great about horses? When you are working with them, you think of nothing else. They clear your head and you are working with a smile on your face. And when other people are in a traffic jam in the morning, I am on top of a horse.

You are more of a dealer than a rider?
I did do some horse riding, but Mischa is a lot better at it. You have to find out in life what you are good at. And if you are not so good at something, you leave it to others. I do not have the talent that my wife has. I train four, five youngsters every day, I get on with them and have respect for them. But I know my limits, my wife is a lot better at it and now we also have Doron Kuipers who starts our horses in competitions.

Was it hard to leave 300 women behind?
(laughs).That was seven years ago, I have learnt to live with it . You have to be a good psychiatrist if you want to manage three hundred women. Quite a team, you know! Eventually it was simply nicer to be with the horses and I had such quality in my stables that I could expect good results. The time was ripe and I sold my hairdressing business.

You discovered Big Star, was he the one that established your name?
We did indeed train Big Star and he has become our business card, more or less. I do a lot of business with Alan Waldman, we bought Big Star together, kept him for one and a half year and then sold him to Nick Skelton. Apart from Big Star I would also like to mention Chocola Z (Carthago Z) as a reference. She was sold to Andrew Ramsay. Zerly (Querlybet Hero x Carthago Z) is another good reference. She was born here and was Dutch Champion of the 7-yr-olds and was sold to Christine McCrea. This year she finished second on him in the Calgary GP. Early this year I was in Florida and saw Zerly win the main class in which Big Star finished in second place. That was one of my best nights of 2013. With a horse like Big Star as your reference you notice that people have confidence in you. You have to be lucky enough as a breeder or a dealer to have your horse end up with the right rider. Unfortunately not every horse gets Nick Skelton on its back.

What is the recipe of Stal Everse?
We bred about 20 foals this year. We may have gone a little too far this year… but our breeding is fairly profitable. So we continue to invest in breeding because we can easily sell our products after their training. Now that we are working full time with horses, we have the time to scout for young talents and in the end they all get sold. That is no different in other yards, but our recipe is that we only keep on young talents.

You do not sell any foals?
Not as a rule. We have the people and the infra-structure to train the horses ourselves and we find that the majority of our clients want a horse that is ready, one they can start with straight away. You have to sow before you can harvest, for us this means that we invest in their training, that is a choice you have to make and we have chosen the top segment.

The Netherlands is a country full of dealers, many of them quite reputable. Was it hard to fit in?
A good horse will sell itself. Winning your place on the market depends on your offer. But it is indeed not easy, not for any newcomers, and it helps when you can offer a real quality horse and then you have to find an established intermediary, because you do not have your own circle of clients yet. I do not mind sharing the profit with someone else. For buying and selling horses people must have confidence in you and this is something you first have to build up. After seven years, I notice in all modesty, I find that Stal Everse has established a good name for itself. At the Expo Talent Sale from Jeroen Dubbeldam and the Schröders, for example, 20% of the collection came from our stables. That is telling, isn’t it?

How do you find young talents?
I am on the road a lot and visit many breeders. A lot of riders and dealers are scouting for young horses and I try to discover them before they have started in the sport. I have always been interested in lineages and offspring and often know very well what I want. Most people in a restaurant patiently wait until they are being served, I like to take a look in the kitchen to see what ingredients they use. And the kitchen, that is what you see at the breeders.

Is it not hard to discover talent at a very young age already?
Yes, but you learn. As I said, I know what I want and that is what I will scout for. I like light-footed horses with sufficient front and balance. You apply certain criteria, that is what you look for especially. Naturally, at that age you have to be lucky with their health. You have no guarantee. But take the WC for Young Horses, for example, they are all horses that perform above average. You can be lucky one day, but not three. And when they are jumping in Lanaken, you often also know what they have done in the past, or in previous championships. Some horses go clear more often and win more than others. In the finals of the WC you do not find any random winners, you only see the better kind of horses there.

You have a lot of Belgian blood in your stables?
I often go across the border, the studfarms Het Roosakker and The Muze are always interesting to visit, for example. I have noticed that the Belgians are now keeping their horses on longer, or that breeders sell half of them to a good rider. As far as that is concerned, the Belgians are almost smarter than the Dutch. Sport and breeding are closer there.

Is it still possible to get an undiscovered talent for a good price?
That is getting harder every day, of course. The breeders with the better lines also know the prices. Thanks to the internet there are no secrets anymore. Before, when you bought a horse from a breeder and sold it several years later to the USA, it would often totally disappear. No-one heard or saw anything about it anymore. That situation no longer exists. Everyone is better informed.

Which makes investments in young talent more expensive and risky?
It does. On the other hand I believe that that is the reason why less horses are bred. After all, if they are not good enough, you do not earn anything.

Are the USA a regular market for you?
I have just come back from Turkey and before that I was in Poland, to explore new markets, although until today most horses leave for the USA. Every day something has to happen because we work with a team of eight people and have about a hundred horses in our stables. I am not complaining, but you have to work for it. I do not think about that every day. We have a well established and reliable name in the business by now. Several years ago we sold three horses to Athina Onassis. We are working together with Waldman, Schröder, … they have the clients, we have the horses. This is a pleasant combination and it works out well.

Is it true that your breeding is inspired by Almé Z?
Absolutely. In my breeding I only use good sport lineages and proven sires. That is the only way to get better horses. My very first horse, this must have been about 30 years ago, was a 2-yr-old filly by Almé Z x Rigoletto. Almé Z was a real fighter with a lot of character. I liked that straight away and that is why I used him. Almé Z has given impetus to my breeding, he produced good horses which sold well, so I loved him. You have to be lucky enough to find such a horse. You can study papers and pedigrees until you are blue in the face, but in the end you have to manage to get that horse in your stables. For me that was that Almé Z product. Graduela is by Burggraaf x Almé Z and I crossed her with Darco. The result was Vario, which I sold to Mexico. The same mare combined with Cobra Z (Carthago Z) produced Allegro.

I had Graduela served by Carthago Z. The resulting filly is called Carthagena Z. I mated her with Querlybet Hero (Baloubet du Rouet) which produced Zerly who finished second in the Calgary GP. Out of the sister of Chocola Z I bred E-Star, a licensed stallion by Big Star. E-Star is the best 4-yr-old of the Netherlands and fortunately it is not me who is saying so. E-Star won this year’s finals for 4-yr-olds in Geesteren, in Etten Leur and the Strijen Qualifier of the VION Cup.

Are father and son Big Star and E-Star comparable?
I so often compared them, believe me. Currently E-Star is a lot rougher than his sire, I mean it. That does not mean that he will not equal the results of his sire one day. But son will still have to prove a lot.

You sold Big Star as a 5-yr-old, will E-Star be for sale next year?
Well, I decided to do it differently, although there is a lot of demand for E-Star today. He is an enormous advertisement for our stables and he is popular as a sire. But emotion plays a role, too. You have a different tie with a horse you bred yourself.

You sold Big Star for big money. What if someone offered the same amount for E-Star today?
I have already been offered the same amount and a lot more, even double. It is crazy already and yet I do not want to sell. If E-Star continues to be in good health, I do not have to worry about money.

Do you believe that E-Star will eventually jump the Olympics under Stal Everse?
That is hard to imagine. He will probably be sold by that time. Top sport and trade are incompatible for Stal Everse, because the clients always want your best horse. That is why I always will have to find new, young talents. And in the meantime I want to keep and enjoy them as long as I can.

Will Stal Everse now only produce E-Stars?
What a temptation, isn’t it? I managed to control myself and limit us to five, which we are expecting next year. I also have the dam of E-Star in foal by Big Star. I was so fortunate as to have some sperm from Big Star! I am therefore expecting a full brother of E-Star.

In your breeding you like to go for proven sires. How do you match sire and dam?
Proven stallions are the rule and in addition I like to see power, for you can not have enough of that. The match….I have a good Burggraaf Heartbreaker Pilot mare, for instance, and we know that Burggraaf products can turn out heavy. Because I prefer light-footed horses, I chose, for example, Gemini, the clone of the thoroughbred Gem Twist. I try to preserve the light-footedness that way. For the same reason I have used Air Jordan Z several times. He is also a commercial stallion; fine model, pleasant ride and above average abilities. I used Kannan and Vigo d’Arsouilles specifically for their jumping power. At stallion selections you can also learn a lot about offspring. I believe that they are an important indicator. And you have to keep following the sport. That is why I used Baloubet du Rouet several times, as he proved to have fine offspring.

With Iceman de Muze you invested in a licensed stallion. On purpose?
I saw Iceman (Erco vh Roosakker x For Pleasure) at the BWP stallion selection and half a year ago I was able to buy him from Joris De Brabander. I believe that he is a future GP horse. The fact that he is licensed is an additional bonus, although I do not advertise my stallions. I give myself a present in the form of one horse a year and then it  was Iceman. He has already served thirty mares this year and so paid for his trainings fees for one year. Where the stallion Deejay is concerned, I first had his dam (Zsa Zsa SOW, Clinton) which I sold. When she had a foal by Contendro, Deejay, I bought it. My experience is that some countries, such as Mexico and Saudi Arabia, prefer to buy stallions. For commercial reasons it is therefore necessary to also have stallions on offer.

You register half of your foals with Zangersheide?
Zangersheide gives you friendly, correct and personal service and I appreciate that. I really mean it. That service is as unique as the premiums which Zangersheide pays out to the breeders. That is great! I am only getting more enthusiastic about Z. If they proceed like this the other studbooks will get smaller as Zangersheide gets bigger. There is no greater pleasure for a breeder to receive a premium many years later when his horse is doing well in the sport. A lot of breeders sell their foals for 5000, 6000 euro. Isn’t a gesture like that great? I got to know Zangersheide via the foal championships and the WC and our first acquaintance was immediately positive. All the staff are positive. That is a lot different with other studbooks, where you get the impression that they are afraid to answer the telephone.

 

Do you present your foals at Z-Festival?

I did present a few in the past and they went on to the auction. We are living 200 kilometres away from Lanaken and that is quite tiring for a foal. It also demands a lot of preparation and, as I mentioned before, we normally train our products ourselves. We would rather take our Z- youngsters to the WC-qualifiers and the WC itself. I do buy horses at the Z-Quality Auction once in a while. Last year I even bought two, this year I did not. Everything has its price.

You are a regular customer at the WC?
We had two horses in the finals this year, Bergroos (Berlin) and Blackberry (Larino). The WC is an excellent display window for your stables. When you perform well there, everyone has seen it. For dealers it is an interesting meeting place. You make contact more easily over a drink and the WC is a perfect occasion.

What is hardest to determine with a youngster, the quality or the price?
The price? When you have been in the profession long enough, you recognize quality. But how much is that quality worth? You have to have the right business spirit to decide if a 5-yr-old is worth 100,000 euro or 150,000 euro, but it is always a difficult decision. For an average 5-yr-old you can offer 10,000 euro and for the better kind 30,000 euro. It all depends. I always offer a price when in my head I have calculated what I eventually want to earn.

How often do you make a mistake when assessing a horse?
I follow every horse in my stables very closely and when they are 4-yr-olds and jump a 1.10m class, we make a selection. That produces a group of horses which I keep and a group I say goodbye to. The latter I believe to have less perspectives. See, in our stables you have to train a horse for 12,000 euro a year, otherwise they cost money. If I believe that surplus value is well invested, they can stay for another year. Those are the 4-yr-olds that I expect to sell for 25,000 euro and more. They can stay. When I find that they will not yield that 12,000 euro annually, I stop. I sell them for less to an amateur who will jump 1.20m classes. I want to feature in the top segment. The better horses will compensate the loss made on the inferior ones. There is no greater pleasure than training real talented horses. For that kind of horses you love to do your work every day.

Do you make a difference commercially between horses which you have bred yourself and horses which you bought?
There is, somehow you get more closely involved with your own breeding products. They touch an emotional vein and you will always want to give them a better chance. And ask more money for them. It always hurts a little more, too, when they go (smiling). Look, with the kind of money they are currently offering for E-Star, my mind tells me that I have to sell, but emotionally I can not do it, not yet.

What kind of crazy amount are we talking about then?
I am not saying…let us just say that such a high amount has never been paid at any auction for a 4-yr-old (grinning).

You want to feature in the top segment, but you have not yet reached the top sport?
I want to keep more horses for the sport, Mischa has two now that will allow her to go one step up and those we keep. Never say never, though, I do not know if we will ever reach the top sport. We have already proved ourselves with good youngsters, not yet with older horses. That is a different matter. You have to keep up with them. Doron Kuipers went to Calgary, where we could see what the sport at five star level is like. His horse was sold after that. Doron is very ambitious and ambition is a good thing, but…

You will ever get the ultimate amount for a horse?
Possibly not, because it is hard not to sell. All my horses are for sale and I do not want to have them say that I do not sell my best horses. That is the end of your business, just like it would be if you always want that ultimate amount. Recently a record amount was paid for Palloubet, I heard that there has been interest in Big Star in that same price range. I am glad, I was pleased with the money I got when he was a 5-yr-old and I believe that today everyone is pleased about Big Star. That is precisely how you want it, isn’t it? The horse and the price should fit, that is my point of departure. When a packet of money is paid for a horse that later lives up to expectation, no-one has a problem, on the contrary.

Are the oldest horses in Stal Everse 8-yr-olds?
The majority has left at an earlier age. People always want younger horses. The young Irish Bertram Allen bought several 4-yr-olds here. He realises that it is better to buy several good 4-yr-olds every year than one 7-yr-old, for they are hardly for sale and when they are they have become too expensive.

How many horses do you sell annually?
About 50 to 60 and that is good enough for me, because for us quality comes first.

 

 

Pictures

Linked horses

• Black Berry
• Bergroos
• Deejay
• Iceman de Muze
• Zerly
• Chocola Z
• Big Star
• E-Star (Sohn of Big Star)