Keur predicate at KWPN for dressage stallions United, Ampere, All at once and Ferguson
Celebrity sires: A “Keur quartet” at the KWPN licensing
from Jan Tönjes 
The Moroccan Rahmouni Yessin and the KWPN stallion All at Once by Ampere at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021. Photo: sportfotos-lafrentz.de/Dirk Caremans United, Ampère, his son All At Once and Ferguson were awarded the prestigious “Keur” predicate by the Dutch warmblood breeding association KWPN. The “Keur” predicate indicates the extraordinary esteem in which these dressage stallions are held in Dutch horse breeding.
The 25-year-old KWPN stallion United had to wait the longest for the award. He collected it in person and showed that he is far from being an old stallion. As a young stallion, United was immensely popular in the Netherlands and produced the most offspring for the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses on several occasions. In his performance test, he scored 9.5 for both trot and canter. Edward Gal had ridden the stallion among others. United, who is now allowed to carry the Keur, was one of the first sons of Krack C to be licensed by the KWPN. His dam is sired by the Grand Prix-winning Trakehner stallion Partout by Arogno.
“Keur” for Bordeaux sire United at the KWPN
His most prominent licensed son is probably Bordeaux, the sire of Frederic Wandres’ team Olympic champion Bluetooth OLD. The United grandson also sired Bonheur de la vie, who won the Stuttgart German Masters 2025 under Charlotta Rogerson, and Bohemian, who Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour rode into the final at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Dressage stallions Ampere and son All at once also “Keur”
Ampere made headlines when he left the 2008 KWPN licensing as the champion stallion. Now he too has been named a “Keur stallion”. The now 21-year-old son of Rousseau has 55 licensed sons in Germany alone. His son Abbeglen competed in the Olympic freestyle final in Paris under Austrian rider Victoria Max-Theurer. Among his licensed sons, Nymphenburg’s First Ampere is the most successful in Germany under the saddle of Cosima von Fircks. His mare Amanyara M FRH, who was in the final of the Louisdor Prize under Dr. Svenja Kämper-Meyer and is now enjoying international success, is pushing further and further into the limelight. Ampere himself has been in the USA for some time now.
Twice an Olympia
At the same time, his son All At Once was also honored as a “Keur” stallion. The stallion competed for Morocco at two Olympic Games. His daughter Alive and Kicking recently came sixth in the World Cup stage in Amsterdam under the British rider Charlotte Dujardin.
Among the licensed sons of All at once, the still young Opoque stands out. He sired several sons at the Hanoverian licensing in Verden, one of which was a particularly eye-catching premium stallion.
Ferguson posthumously honored
The Hanoverian-bred Ferguson by Floriscount-Lauries Crusador xx did not live to see his honor. The chestnut died in 2023 at the age of just twelve. In sporting terms, he was on his way to Grand Prix sport. As several of his offspring were able to excel in the KWPN Young Horse Championships and the oldest also showed great promise in the higher levels of the sport, Ferguson was posthumously awarded the “Keur” predicate.
