The For Pleasure/Dorian son Forsyth FRH (breeder: Heinrich Eckhoff, Beckdorf) died at the age of 29. The typey bay was not only successful himself in show jumping competitions up to 1.50 metres, but was also Hannoveraner Stallion of the Year in 2020. “We are incredibly sad that we have not only lost an exceptional horse, but a part of us. He was with us for 26 years. But our Fossy was not only characterised by his ability, he was above all a fighter’s heart and a fundamentally warm and honest horse,” writes Team Baum from Fohlenhof in Hofheim-Wallau.
Forsyth’s career began in 1997 in the Niedersachsenhalle. Jochen Meyer, Allwörden, had brought the sporty stallion to the licensing. There he impressed in the free jumping and moved in the Ist Celler Lot to the state stud. In Adelheidsdorf, he passed his 300-day test in third place in the jumping sub-index and then took the path towards sport. Holger Baum, who runs a breeding and training stable with a stallion station in Hofheim-Wallau just outside Frankfurt with his family, introduced Forsyth to the sport. Holger Baum’s daughter Nicole Wenz rode him to a brilliant eighth place in the 2001 Bundeschampionat before he went on to win ribbons internationally with Toni Haßmann. The pair competed twice for Germany in the Nations Cup and were also to be found in the results lists at the Aachen Soers as well as at many other renowned showgrounds throughout Europe. Honoured with the Hannoveraner Förderverein’s name addition, Forsyth FRH returned to the Fohlenhof in 2006 and celebrated numerous successes with the then 16-year-old Franziska Baum-Gundlach. His sporting career came to an end in 2012.
During his sporting career, Forsyth FRH was available to breeders via Holger Baum’s stallion station and the Celle State Stud. The medium-sized bay stallion was never very popular with breeders. His offspring are said to have sensitivity and a fighter’s heart. However, Forsyth FRH has made an incredible amount out of his few opportunities. Only 266 offspring have him as a sire. His only licensed son is For Edition, bred by Holger Baum, who not only won his stallion performance test, but was also successful internationally up to 1.60 metres with the US American Taylor Land. Of 136 registered show horses, 42 have been successful in advanced show jumping competitions – that is almost one in three registered show horses sired by Forsyth. 22 of his sons and daughters have won ribbons in international competitions for ten different nations. One daughter won an Olympic medal: Fine Lady jumped to bronze in the individual competition with Canadian rider Eric Lamaze in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. The breeding value for the highest achieved class (HEK) for Forsyth FRH was 139 points last year. This roughly corresponds to the breeding value calculated on the basis of the results of the mare performance tests, which is 148.
