Mephistopheles, brown Rhinelander Stallion, by (Mackensen/ Romadour II) born in 1980, standing approximately 17 1/2 hands.

The Trakehner Influence in Northrhine-Westfalia One stud farm shapes a breed: the Vogelsanshof and the Hoogen family The Rhineland breed owes much of its modern shape and performance success to the vision of Maria and Gottfried Hoogen of Vogelsangshof in Kevelaer, not far from the Dutch border in the Rhineland. The documented history of horse breeding goes back 600 years! The young couple set out of breed warmbloods right in 1945, when times couldn't have been more difficult. Gottfried Hoogen found his foundation mare in front of a wagon delivering milk in the neighborhood, Mira, a chestnut Trakehner who was bred at the once great Zitzewitz-Weedern farm in East Prussia and who had survived the trek. The Mira-family produced outstanding sport horse sires like Marco Polo, Morgenglanz, or the elite stallions Michelangelo and Monteverdi TSF. But it was the chestnut Marke, who Mr. Hoogen bought in 1948, that would revolutionize not only the Trakehner breed (she is the foundation of Mahagoni, Marlon and Mackensen), but also the Rhineland breed through her son EH Mackensen, champion of his approval in 1978. Marke produced 11 colts, of which 6 ended up as approved stallion. This includes Markgraf, who was the first approved Rhineland stallion. EH Mackensen, whose offspring in the Trakehner bred won everything from CCI*** eventing to Grand Prix dressage, became a stamping sire for the Rhineland, and produced the approval reserve champion Mephistopheles. A year after his approval, he was also reserve champion of the 100 day test, and was the first Rhineland stallion to be stationed at the state stud in Warendorf. Today, Mephistopheles can be found in a majority of sport horse pedigrees, ranging from the dressage stallion Danny Wilde to the younger stars Fürst Piccolo and FS Louis le Bon, the Bundeschampion, all the way to the CHIO Sales top stallion Jaquare.