Vivaldi was born in 2002, bred by Antoon Versantvoort in Sint-Oedenrode, the Netherlands. He was a son of Krack C out of the mare Renate Utopia (Jazz x Ulft) and was soon noticed by stallion owner Joop van Uytert and horse dealer Ad Valk, who purchased him together. “From the very first moment, he stood out for his expression and balance,” breeder Antoon Versantvoort recalled in an earlier interview. At the 2005 KWPN Stallion Licensing in ’s-Hertogenbosch, he finished third in the championship ring. “He was the type of stallion everyone looked at—modern, elegant, with an incredible trot,” Van Uytert remembers.

His performance test that same year earned high marks for his gaits and dressage ability: 8.5 for walk and trot, 9 for canter, and 8.5 for dressage aptitude. His jumping score (4.5) was less convincing, but his future clearly lay in dressage.

Under the saddle of Hans Peter Minderhoud, then riding for Ton Kies’ Exquis team, Vivaldi achieved several successes. “Vivaldi gave a special feeling, elastic, sensitive, always thinking with me,” Minderhoud once said. He won the Pavo Cup in 2007, claimed victory in the KWPN Stallion Competition in 2009, and competed internationally in Aachen, Munich, and Mechelen. “He had something extraordinary. In the ring, everyone watched him, even when he was just walking,” Minderhoud recalled.

A 2011 injury ended his competitive career, though Vivaldi continued to make public appearances as a crowd favorite. He won the VHO Trophy in both 2012 and 2013 and made one final under-saddle appearance at the KWPN Stallion Show in 2018. “Those were the moments when he could show once again what made him so unique,” said Van Uytert.

His true legacy, however, lay in breeding. Within the KWPN studbook, over 1,200 of his offspring were registered, including numerous approved sons and elite or preferent daughters. According to HorseTelex, he has over 70 approved sons worldwide, among them Viva Gold, Livaldon, Van Vivaldi, Vainqueur, and My Vitality. “His offspring inherited his lightness and temperament, that typical ‘Vivaldi character,’” said Van Uytert. “He produced horses that wanted to cooperate, with just the right amount of sharpness. That’s what made him so valuable.”

“Vivaldi leaves a huge void in our stable,” Van Uytert confirmed following the news of his passing. “What he has meant to breeding cannot be described. We’re grateful that he spent his final years healthy and at peace with us. He was more than a stallion, he was a chapter in the history of modern dressage breeding.”