Andalusian Breeder in France

Andalusian Breeder in Medoc

Chateau des Artigues, home of Francois and Dania Boettcher Roux, is in the south-east of France - in the poetically named commune of St Vivien de Medoc.

Bordeaux, famous for its wines, lies some 90km to the south.

But Francois and Dania are not growing vines. They are Andalusian breeders - breeding Purebred Spanish horses in France.

Their breeding program, with roots reaching into Spain and Germany, is founded on two of the best known historical bloodlines of the original Pura Raza Española Horses - Romero Benitez and the Hierro del Bocado Carthusians.

The story behind this venture stretches over 40 years, spans Europe, and presents the vision of one Andalusian breeder who would not let anything stand in the way of his dream.

  stables at Chateau des Artigues

German-born Karl Uwe Boettcher saw his first Purebred Spanish horse in the sixties, when he moved to Spain. As with so many, that first glorious impression of the andalusian horse was enough to fuel a lifelong dedication.

Settling in Gran Canarias, he rode his Spanish horses, dreamed - and planned.

Indiano XIV - one of Don Carlos' first breeding stallions.

Moving through Spain, searching out the studs and the bloodlines, he established himself among the breeders in Andalusia, and soon became known as 'Don Carlos'.

The first breeding stallions were bought in the eighties, and others soon followed.

• Llamado - Jose Moreno Lovera:
  Caprichosa XIII x Habanero IV
  
• Indiano XIV - Francisco Lopez Martin de Vargas:
  Indiana XII x Solteron III
  
• Atlantico 1981 - Don Juan Gomez Cuetara
  
• Quimico III - Don Jacobo Delgado, Las Lumbreras
  

Determined to share the beauty and courage of these fabulous horses, he expanded his dream. His desire was to establish himself as an Andalusian breeder in his home country - and to introduce his passion there.

For his foundation stock he selected the original Romero Benitez lines, and in the eighties he bought his first mares at the Marques de Vargas, Los Montes, outside Sevilla.

Then came the years of "equine pest" - when African horse sickness struck Spain, and all movement of horses outside the country was curtailed. With the borders closed, Don Carlos - still living in Gran Canarias - continued as an Andalusian breeder. His mares were covered in Spain, and carefully kept at Los Montes.

The borders were opened in 1990, and the first nine mares moved out of Spain. Now an Andalusian breeder in 2 nations, Don Carlos founded Gestuet Grimmstal in the northwest of Germany.

Outside Spain, Gestuet Grimmstal was the biggest Cartujano stud in Europe, with 60 permanent horses.

In the spring of 2000, Don Carlos began to suffer health problems. At the end of the year, after over 40 years as a leading Andalusian breeder, he took the decision to give up the stud farm.

All the horses went back to Spain, except two stallions - Sevillano XXV and Gorrion G1.

Gorrion G1

Don Carlos' dream, though, had not died. It was about to move into a third country in Europe - France.

Continue reading how Don Carlos' 'Andalusian breeder' dream found new life in France.