Sergio Alvarez Moya's top horse, Action-Breaker, has died
Farewell to Action-Breaker
Sergio Alvarez Moya and Action-Breaker at the 2014 World Equestrian Games in Caen.
Photo: sportfotos-lafrentz.de In 2000, a colt by Heartbreaker out of Lys de Darmen was born at Arnold van Rentergem’s farm in Belgium and was named Action-Breaker. The mating was likely no coincidence, because seven years earlier, the dam, Jarme van’t Steentje, had already produced—in a cross with Heartbreaker—the world-class sire Quasimodo van de Molendreef, who went on to achieve success at the 1.60-meter level and went down in history, among other things, as the sire of Hello Sanctos, the first and so far only Rolex Grand Slam winner. His younger brother was even more successful in competition than Quasimodo, and his offspring have also long since made their mark in top-level international competition.
Spor’s career under the Spanish flag
Action-Breaker was one of the most important horses in the career of Spanish rider Sergio Alvarez-Moya. He took over the stallion as a three-year-old and trained him to be a horse capable of tackling the biggest challenges. In 2010, the pair placed third in the Aachen Grand Prix. They went on to achieve numerous other top placings at the five-star level in World Cup show jumping, Grand Prix events, and Nations Cups. In 2010 and 2014, the pair competed at the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky and Normandy. At the 2011 World Cup Final, they placed 13th.
Action-Breaker’s last tournament season was in 2014. After that, he was primarily used for breeding—at one point through the Schockemöhle stud—and was very successful in that role as well.
The father of …
Action-Breakers’ flagship breeding stock is undoubtedly Ben Maher’s Swedish stallion Point-Break, who caused a sensation even as a young horse by winning his performance test and is now part of the British team for the World Championships in Aachen alongside Ben Maher.
To date, the stallion has sired a total of 24 horses that compete successfully at heights over 1.60 meters—that is, at the highest level. Twenty-one of his sons have been licensed. Well-known names include, in addition to Point Break, Action Man (owned by Andreas Schou and Anastasia Nielsen), Funke van’t Heike (owned by Christian Ahlmann), and the licensed stallion Action Man Ask Z, among others.
The Farewell
Sergio Alvarez Moya announced the death of his longtime companion on his Instagram page. He wrote: “It’s time to say goodbye to Action-Breaker, a very special horse. I had the privilege of riding him from the age of three all the way to a third-place finish in the Aachen Grand Prix. His health cut that run short, but he gave me some truly special moments. He spent a very happy retirement at Casas Novas until his last day. THANK YOU & RIP, MY FRIEND!”