OLYMPIC GOLD 1972 - AMBASSADOR (ISH) & Graziano MANCINELLI (ITA)

OLYMPIC GOLD 1972 - AMBASSADOR (ISH) & Graziano MANCINELLI (Italy)

The "ONLY IRISH BRED" show jumping horse "" SO FAR "" to win Olympic Gold. (The Rock (ISH) (grey, gelding, by Water Serpent, TB xx, - the best sire of Irish bred jumpers in the 1950's & '60's and Granddam Sire of "Cruising") and Piero D'Inzeo (ITA) won individual Silver at the 1960 Olympics)

Ambassador, a dapple Grey Gelding approx. 16.2 hh by NORDLYS (TB xx), Dam: IRISH DRAUGHT
Ambassador won the Gold as an 8 y.o. (if I'm right, correct me if I'm wrong)
He also helped Italy to Team Bronze medals.

Ambassador was bred by Mr Tom Clancy Island Stadbally, Bonmahon, Co. Waterford, Ireland. Tom congrats. you are "" SO FAR "" the only person in Ireland to ever breed an individual Olympic Show Jumping Gold medalist :-))

NORDLYS, grey, h, (by Nasrullah - dam: a grey mare) was a brilliant sire and is Dam sire of todays "Cruising".
see Wikipedia, "Nasrullah (1940-1959) was a bay Irish thoroughbred racehorse"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasrulla...)
Nordlys had the bloodline to put "Great Heart" "Winning Spirit" into his stock.
http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/nordlys

Nordlys stood with a great sport horse stallion man Maurice Phelan, Ballinabanogue Stables, Kilmacthomas , Co Waterford, Ireland.

Maurice also stood Wily Trout, bay Thoroughbred stallion, sire of J-Nick a big strong bay gelding, dam most have had a lot of Draught. Nick Skelton won the 1987 Hickstead Derby on him and said he could be his 1988 Olympic mount but J-Nick had a terrible accident and was put to sleep.

Wily Trout (bay, TB xx, h) also sired "Green Ivy", a big dapple grey mare (Dam most have had Irish Draught breeding) one of her wins with Peter Weinberg (GER) was the Olympia 6-bar competition.
Plus a full Thoroughbred Dressage gelding also called "Wily Trout" who with Christopher Bartle (GBR) finishished the highest so far of a British Dressage rider in the Olympics (1984 L.A. Olympics individual final 6th place). Wily Trout the dressage gelding was 16 years of age in '84.

Nordlys also sired the full Thoroughbred, grey, gelding, "Kwept" Olympic jumper that Sönke Sönksen jumped for Germany. 1975 European Championships in Munich with Kwept (from the stable Stockmeyer): won the team gold medal and in the individual competition, they won the bronze medal. A year later Sönke Sönksen with Kwept, at the 1976 Olympic Games won the team silver medal. Their third major championship success was followed in 1978 when Kwept won the Gold Medal of the German Championships.
picture of the grey Kwept (the same light grey colour as Nordlys himself) http://www.showjumpingnostalgia.com/?...

Nordlys also sired Jack Doyle's (IRL) "Hardly" (was for a time called Kerrygold Island) Jack Doyle and Hardly finished 20th in the 1988 Olympic show jumping final in Seoul, best of the Irish: Gerry Mullins (IRL) & Glendalough (ISH) were 22nd - (Glendalough, approx. 16.3 hh dapple grey, gelding, was by the Thoroughbred sire Artic Que - and out of a grey Irish Draught mare) the Irish Army owned and jumped him.

Nordlys himself sired a lot of international puissance winners, my own family had two we bought as foals. One foal by Nordlys was bought. from the Walsh's who owned a pub in Lemybrien, Kilrossanty, Kilmacthomas. The foal was out of The Red mare.. There most have been a lot of "good mares" in county Waterford then.

At the Munich Olympics, Ambassador was ridden by a "Great Show Jumping" rider Graziano MANCINELLI (European Champion 1963 on The Rock (ISH), World Championship individual Silver 1970, Olympic Bronze 1964 and European Championship individual Bronze 1959)

Graziano Mancinelli (born February 18, 1937 in Milan - October 8, 1992 in Concesio) Rest In Peace

1972 Olympic Final Result:
1. Graziano Mancinelli ITA Ambassador 1st round 0 2nd round 8 Total 8 Jump-off 0-45.0
2. Ann Moore GBR Psalm 0 8 8 3-53.9
3. Neal Shapiro USA Sloopy 4 4 8 8-46.0
4. Jim Day CAN Steelmaster 0 8.75 8.75
Hugo Simon AUT Lavendel 4.75 4 8.75
Hartwig Steenken FRG Simona 4 4.75 8.75
7. Marcel Rozier FRA Sans Souci 4 8 12
8. Alfonso Segovia ESP Tic Tac 4 12 16
Fritz Ligges FRG Robin 4 12 16
10. Kathy Kusner USA Fleet Apple 4 16 20
René Varas CHI Quintral 8 12 20
Enrique Martinez de Vallejo ESP Val de Loire 8 12 20
13. Carlos Campos POR Ulla de Lancôme 4 16.50 20.50
14. David Broome GBR Manhattan 8 13.25 21.25
15. Michael Saywell GBR Hideaway 8 16.25 24.25
16. Gerd Wiltfang FRG Askan 4 28.75 32.75