Horse cloning has sparked controversies and intense debates since 2003, when ‘Prometea’, the first cloned horse, was born. At Ovohorse & Ovoclone, we have been committed for years to technological and scientific progress in this field, and we now use the most innovative techniques to safeguard the genetic legacy of animals. By preserving your horse’s cell line, you can overcome future setbacks that would otherwise be irreversible.
2012 changed Olympic equestrian competition
Eight years after ‘Prometea’, equestrian sport changed forever: the International Equestrian Federation lifted the ban that had prevented clones from competing in the Olympic Games, which that year were held in London. “It’s an unfair advantage,” the organisation had previously claimed, but after continuously analysing those cloned horses, they confirmed that the genetic information is practically identical by 99.9%.
Even though it is permitted, to this day no cloned horse has competed in the Olympic Games, although they have taken part at other similar levels, such as the case of ‘Otterongo Alpha Z’, clone of the renowned ‘Otterongo van de Kopshoeve’. The clone has already achieved participations and victories in 5-star Grand Prix competitions at 1.55 m heights together with his rider, Christian Ahlmann, and is currently one of the best horses on the international show jumping scene.
Chellano Alpha z
Chellano Alpha Z, clone of Chellano Z, was born in 2008. His owners sought to replicate the excellence of the original horse, who stood out not only in sport by competing at 1.60m, but also as a sire, as he currently has 35 approved stallions and numerous offspring competing at the highest level. However, the clone has been used less frequently as a sire. Even so, he has 6 approved stallions and multiple offspring competing in ranking classes, notably ‘Cosmos BH’ and ‘Chelsea Z’, both jumping 1.60m competitions.
Sadly, Chellano Alpha Z passed away in 2011 due to colic, a common condition in the equestrian world.
Ratina Z and her clones
‘Ratina Z’, daughter of the legendary Ramiro Z out of a direct daughter of Alme, has been one of the greatest mares in the history of Show Jumping. She was an Olympic medallist alongside Piet Raijmakers at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, winning team gold and individual silver.
Later, with Ludger Beerbaum, she once again qualified to compete at the Olympic Games, this time in Atlanta in 1996. She repeated the team gold and, in addition, also won the individual title. She also competed and secured team gold at the 1994 World Equestrian Games. She became World Champion at the 1993 World Cup Final, was named Horse of the Year in 1997, among many other accolades. Due to her outstanding sporting career, ‘Ratina Z’ did not have many offspring. For this reason, she was cloned on several occasions. The results of these births were ‘Ratina Alpha Z’, ‘Ratina Beta Z’, ‘Ratina Gamma Z’ and ‘Ratina Delta Z’, most of whom are dedicated to breeding. ‘Ratina Delta Z’ also competes on international stages, being the latest clone of ‘Ratina Z’. Genetically and visually they are identical, and their way of jumping confirms it. Thanks to this, it is still possible today to obtain remarkable offspring from this legendary mare in the history of Show Jumping.
Cuartetera and her clones
There are also such cases in Polo, where Adolfo Cambiaso, one of the best players in the world in this sport, proved that the clones of ‘Cuartetera’—more than 20 of them—compete at the same level as the ‘original’ mare. One stands out in particular, ‘Clon 09’—in Polo, clones are referred to this way—who matched ‘Cuartetera’, herself named the best horse of the Argentine Open in Palermo three times (2017, 2018 and 2020) alongside Adolfo Cambiaso.
Tamarillo and his clones
Another example is ‘Tomatillo’, clone of the famous ‘Tamarillo’, an Eventing horse whose own owner admitted behaved in a very similar way to his progenitor. Due to the excellent results that ‘Tamarillo’ achieved in his sporting career, this horse was cloned and destined both for competition and for breeding, making it possible today to have offspring of the ‘original’ through his clone.
It is now possible to see the results of equine cloning in both the competitive and breeding fields. Although this technique is constantly evolving, at Ovohorse & Ovoclone our main focus is animal welfare and scientific progress in this area, so that you can have clones in the stable of your star horse.