"Was discussing Hampton once, and the counterargument to his ubiquity in German WB breeding is that he was simply available though Dark Ronald and Teddy, so most German TBs were heavily Hampton."
Well, I can't get to the TB heritage web site right now, but I believe Hampton was raced over the fences for a while.
Maybe they used that line once and liked what they saw, but they KEPT using it a LOT. I believe Ladykiller was bought out of England and taken to Germany and bingo- Landgraf, who also has Hampton through Anblick.
Maybe once, because it was available- but they also brought more of it in, a lot more of it.
They knew what the were after:
http://www.holsteiner.com/impulsion/bayron1.html
"It was not through his German born sons, however, that Dark Ronald made his most lasting impression in the sport horse world. Son-in-Law, was bred in England prior to Dark Ronald's exportation to Germany, and was described as a "plodding distance horse," (or a horse with plenty of stamina but little real speed), though he became an important sire. His offspring were known to be late maturing and he was considered the best source of stamina in Great Britain, siring many classic winners. Son-in-Law's influence through his daughters resulted in some of the world's leading sires, including Fair Trial and Round Table. As a sire, Son-in-Law was prepotent for tremendous stamina, a quality which is frequently found in partnership with jumping ability and steeplechasing successes.
"In Holstein they have always looked out for Thoroughbred stallions (in England and Ireland) with the blood of Dark Ronald and Son-in-Law so that they would match their own German Dark Ronald strains," Henk Dikkers reports.
It was obviously a desire to capture more of this precious blood which led to the importation of three of Schleswig-Holstein' s most influential sires--the Thoroughbreds Cottage Son (a grandson) and Ladykiller (through his second dam), and later the Anglo Norman, Cor de la Bryere, by Rantzau (a great grandson of Son-in-Law). Corde's grandsire, Foxhunter (a grandson of Son-in-Law) also sired Hunters Moon IV, who sired Neji, a Champion Steeplechaser in the United States--proof that the genes for sport were still active within the line."
Son-in-Law son:
"Beau Pere was an immediate success, topping the leading sire list twice after just three seasons--including leading two-year-old sire with his first crop. He was then sold to Australia where he also became a leading sire for three more years in succession. Motion picture magnate Louis B. Mayer purchased him and exported him to California where he continued his tremendous career. Beau Pere's daughter Iron Reward became the dam of one of racing's most brilliant stars and California's favorite son, Swaps. Through his sons and daughters Beau Pere produced some of America's top show jumpers, including: Mary Chapot's Olympic Silver Medalist White Lightning (by Beau Pere' s grandson Grey Tower); Katie Monahan' s Encore, whose dam, Shirlee Steel is by the Beau Pere son, Polished Steel. (Shirlee Steel is also the dam of Kerry Millikin's Holsteiner mare, Landlady, who was recently short listed for the USET Three Day Pan Am Games Team of 1999). Beau Pere's son Doctrine sired Sundancer (a two time winner of the American Invitational) and his full brothers Easy Doc (a member of the Canadian Equestrian Team) and Turn on the Sun (a member of the British Equestrian Team). Doctrine's daughter, Mity Doc, produced the Oregon-bred international show jumpers Revlon Adam and his full brother, Mity Wind, who is now in Europe and licensed by Studbook Zangersheide.
Beau Pere's success as a sire of jumping horses is not surprising when one considers that his pedigree contains three crosses of Hampton. (Remember the little leading sire who began life as a hurdler?) Two of those crosses are through daughters of the important producer, Quiver--Maid Marian (dam of leading sire Polymelus) and La Fleche (winner of the One Thousand Guineas, Oaks, St. Leger, etc. and one of the fastest fillies ever to race in Great Britain)"