On April 29, 2007, we received a call at 3 a.m. telling us that His Highness (Hohenstein-SPS Daireen/Donnerhall) was on the way to Telge Clinic in Germany following an accident that injured his hock. It was one of the worst calls of our lifetime. The kind of call you hope you will never receive. After the surgeons reviewed the radiographs we were told there was no hope for recovery and we had to make the heartbreaking decision to put him down humanely. Fortunately, he had Susanne and Jens Meyer at his side the whole time... the people who lovingly cared for this horse with the sweet heart the past five years. There will never be another horse like this magnificent stallion. He touched the hearts of all who saw him. We wanted to share His Highness with the world. We could only do that for a brief time. If you have a Highness foal... go to the barn and hold that horse... for those that do not, please hold Highness in your hearts. We will grieve for His Highness for years to come but we will also have hope that his offspring will bring joy to those of you that were fortunate to have a part of him through them. Thank you to all who have sent such thoughtful and kind emails and calls. Your support means so very much to us at this difficult time. My heart is broken and the tears continue to flow right now. —Louise Leatherdale
A stunning black stallion, His Highness was the 2002 Hanoverian Licensing Champion and sold for a record price to American Hanoverian Society president Doug Leatherdale and his wife Louise of Leatherdale Farms in Minnesota. A very popular sire, His Highness remained in Germany and became the Stallion Performance Test winner in Prussendorf and was also the licensing champion at the Danish Warmblood Licensing.
Trained under Klaus Balkenhol's supervision, His Highness won many riding horse and dressage horse competitions under Stefan Wolff and Inga von Helldorf. He also placed in the finals of the 2005 and 2006 Bundeschampionates in Warendorf, Ger.
From his first crop of foals, ten sons were licensed including the premium stallions Hochfein and Hendrix.
Beginning with his initial U.S. foal crop of 2004, His Highness immediately proved popular with American breeders. To date he has sired 25 AHS registered offspring, including four three-year-olds, 14 two-year-olds, and seven yearlings. His Highness bred only for five years but will leave an indelible influence on Hanoverian breeding behind him.
