Ralf Lütje, Holsteiner Breeder of the Year 2023, lives in Haseldorf, not far from Haselau in Pinneberg district. The retiree from the marsh region is a second generation breeder of Holsteiner horses on a small scale and has been a Holsteiner Verband member for all but 40 years. Currently it is a very special horse, whose international sport career Ralf Lütje is following very closely, as he is the breeder of Harrie Smolders’ silver medallist partner at the 2022 World Championships in Herning, Monaco by Cassini II-Contender. Lütje has now been recognized as Holsteiner Breeder of the Year 2023 by chairman Ulrich Steuber. 

“Over the years, our family has bred a number of foals and most of them have become breeding horses or high-end leisure partners. In view of this, it is really special for one of our horses to be so successful at international level. Whenever I see Monaco on the telly, my palms get sweaty”, Ralf Lütje is proud. The Holsteiner first attracted attention in January 2020, when he finished second in the Amsterdam leg of the World Cup. Monaco went on to deliver an outstanding series of top results and was instrumental in winning the prestigious 2021 Nations Cup final in Barcelona (ESP) with the Dutch team. Moreover, he places among the top group in the Global Champions Tour on a regular basis and shone in the Leipzig (GER) and Omaha (USA) Word Cup finals. Team silver at the Herning (DEN) World Championships has been the crowning glory of the now 15-year-old’s career to date.

Some years ago, with Monaco still competing at youngster tour level, Ralf Lütje had opportunity to talk to Harrie Smolders at the Hamburg Derby: “He told me at the time that it is not often he has ridden a horse as clever as Monaco. I as a breeder but also the horse are so lucky that he is ridden by such a great horseman.” Until the age of three and a half, when Roland Metzler started producing the bay from mare family 429, Monaco was at the stable of the Lütje family in Haseldorf. Only two months later, Monaco was discovered by Italian Alessandro Mingoli who took him to his home country. Seven-year-old he went to the stable of Axel Verlooy in Belgium where Harrie Smolders got the ride; temporarily Jennifer Gates-Nassar (USA) was in the saddle of Monaco, as well. When she concentrated on her academic training, Smolders took over as sole rider. The combination has been firmly on the road to success since and has made Holsteiner breeder Ralf Lütje of Haseldorf well-known in show jumping circles all over the world.