In North America, Mangalarga Marchador owners have been quick to make claims that their Marchador stud or mare was a champion in Brazil prior to being imported to America. It seems that these claims are made based on hearsay from Brazilians with no clear evidence backing them. To clarify the claims, you can visit the ABCCMM website where all results of competitions, overseen by the ABCCMM, in Brazil are published. It isn't an easy task!

First, you must allow your computer to translate the ABCCMM website from Portuguese to English. Then, it is nearly impossible to find the event and class where the horse was in competition. And, to make it more confusing, at each show, the winners of each class are referred to as champions. There is also a reserve champion, then a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and so on. Of course, each champion is only a champion of the their class of horses that they competed against that day or in that circuit/series. In other words, you would have a Champion Two Year Old Colt, Champion Yearling Filly, Champion Adult Mare, or Champion Adult Stallion, and so on. This might be at one local show, a regional show, or at Nationals. It is important to ask for clarification regarding the level of the championship win!

In the USA, we generally refer to a horse that has won it's class at a show as having won 1st place. It isn't until the horse reaches the upper level that we refer to them as a champion. My point here is that it does make it highly difficult to determine the level at which the horse showed and the level at which the horse won as a "champion." Thus, the proper way to refer to a Marchador who was a "champion" in Brazil is to also state the level at which the horse achieved this championship. Was it at a local show, was it at a regional show, or was it at Nationals (Nationals being the highest, most prestigious competition held in Brazil for the Marchador)?

So, when someone says that their Marchador was a champion in Brazil, please ask them at what level did the horse achieve this status. In my mind, the most proper claim an American can make about their imported Marchador horse, or even one born in America, is to look at how many ELITE Book stallions that individual has on his/her pedigree page (papers). However, it is important not to look past the individual's page! Why, what does this mean, you ask...

In America, we generally do not place much emphasize on a parent who is not visible on the papers because the blood has such a high level of dilution at this point. Thus, it is unlikely that the horse has retained characteristics similar to that of a horse that isn't on it's registration page. When a horseman uses the term "page," they are referring to the horse's papers, meaning the relatives listed on the paper in hand. Once you get past the 3rd or 4th dam, the individual becomes insignificant due to the dilution of the bloodlines.

So, since it seems that most Americans who own Marchadors can't clarify the level at which their horse was a champion in Brazil, our best alternative is to look up the number of ELITE Book stallions on the individual's page. However, this doesn't insure the horse has a quality gait just because it has ELITE blood on it's page.

Regardless, there are two ELITE Books recognized by the ABCCMM; those are ELITE Book 7 and ELITE Book 8. So, how does a stud make the ELITE Book? It has to do with the number of champions that stud has produced, last I read it was a minimum of 40 champions. All studs who reach Book 8, have already achieved Book 7. So, if the stud isn't in Book 7, it won't be in Book 8. Thus, when reviewing ELITE studs, we begin with looking up each stud on the horse's page to see if they are in the ELITE Book 7. It is somewhat of a tedious task, but it is the most credible claim a Marchador owner can make about one's horse.

Below, I am providing you with the link to ELITE Book 7 and 8. Please click the link and you will see the search box come up. To look up the stallion, you will need to have the name. I suggest entering only part of the horse's name because the search engine will run an identical search. So, it is best to only use a portion of the name and don't spell it wrong! Otherwise, it won't pull the horse if he is listed. If you have questions, you are welcome to reach out to me. I will even do the search for you if you'll provide me the horse's registered name in America and in Brazil.