Diamant de Semilly, showjumping stallion and undisputed breed leader!

He is a reference in French sport horse breeding: if his show jumping career was a huge success alongside Eric Levallois, his breeding career has propelled him to the top. Diamant de Semilly is a Selle Français Originel stallion by Le Tot de Semilly and Venise des Cresles (Elf III). Born in 1991 to Jules Mesnildrey and dying at the age of 31 in 2022, he left his mark on his sport, his era and also the following generations thanks to the quality of his production.

An icon of equestrian sports

The bay stallion has had a great sporting career alongside his one and only rider, Eric Levallois. Together, they have had the greatest successes, such as a team victory at the World Championships in Jerez de la Frontera in 2002, 2 French Championship titles, a silver medal at the European Championships in Donaueschingen in 2003... 

Diamant's story has touched the general public beyond his immense record of achievements: raised by the Levallois family in the yard of the Haras de Couvains while his mother died only a few days after his birth, young Diamant could have had a completely different fate. He also almost met a tragic end in 2008, following an episode of colic which required numerous operations and left a large scar under his belly. Finally, he enjoyed a nice long retirement at stud and passed away in 2022, at the beautiful age of 31.

Best stallion in the world by offspring

We could talk for hours (days!) about Diamant de Semilly's offspring, but we can try to summarise his stallion career with a few figures and data: he has been in the Top 3 of the WBFSH ranking of the best showjumping stallions since 2014 (!) and occupied the first place in the ranking in 2015 and 2016. Between 2017 and 2022, he kept his 2nd place behind Chacco-Blue. In 2022, he is number 1 in the world in the Hippomundo top stallion rankings. His offspring include a number of CSI 5* and major championship performers: Ilex VP, Don VHP Z, Mumbai, Dominator Z, Utamaro d'Ecaussines, Vital Chance*de la Roque, Emerald van't Ruytershof, ... 

He is the sire of 2460 showjumping winners in France. According to the Haras de Semilly: "95% of his offspring who have competed in showjumping in France have been indexed, including more than 390 horses indexed with an ISO above 140 and 18 above 170, which is exceptional and makes Diamant one of the most improving sires." Diamant de Semilly has also been successful in Eventing as he has been in the top 10 sires in the world since 2020 according to the WBFSH. His most successful offspring include Toledo de Kerser, Olympic champion in 2022 with Tom McEwen, and Viamant du Matz, the stallion of German rider Sandra Auffarth.

Diamant de Semilly leaves behind him a beautiful legacy that will perpetuate his legend, we have no doubt!

Photo credit: Pierre Costabadie