Even though Donnerhall's merits did not suffice for the ultimate individual international title that horses such as Halla, whose life-sized statue is standing in front of the DOKR in Germany's riding centre of Warendorf, the phenomenon of Donnerhall cannot be calculated in terms of Deutschmarks, on the basis of medals or in terms of matter-of -fact figures. Donnerhall succeeded in bridging top performance results in the dressage arena with outstanding prepotency.

"Breeding and sport" - hand in hand is a maxim that cannot be questioned today and which has set standards. It is a maxim that would not exist without unique phenomena such as Donnerhall. Had it not been for the favourable circumstances that enabled the liver chestnut to grow up on the Gröhnwohldhof and had he not had such a memorable patron like Otto Schulte-Frohlinde and above all, if it hadn't been for Karin and Herbert Rehbein, then this model student of a horse would not have become the "equestrian professor - summa cum laude" that he did. No-one had really seriously believed that it would be possible to bring a stallion who was an active sire performing stud farm covering duties to the German championships. It goes without saying that the stallions of the state studs also have demonstrable talents. They do piaffes and march along at the annual stallion parades demonstrating precision training according to the principles of riding theory which were fostered and perfected as a science at the courts of princes and rulers, especially at the studs of the nobility. That however is show. It is an entirely different situation in a competition atmosphere, a situation in which judges scrutinise and evaluate. The generally held view of the time was "how was that supposed to function with a stud stallion?" Well events proved that it certainly could function. And how it functioned! Donnerhall and the Rehbeins have proved it to the whole world. But that's not all: His approved sons are following in their sires hoofsteps. They are federal champions, stallion performance test winners and successful up to Grand Prix.

Changing the way that people think - that is not easy, particularly in the equestrian sports scene. The ideas and concepts of the different participants are just too individualistic and the views too encrusted. "Breeding is breeding and sport is sport" was the assumption that sceptically accompanied Donnerhall's first steps. Those who regarded breeding and sport as being mutually exclusive had to admit: that they were mistaken. Die-hard critics however didn't lack arguments such as "the stallion is at the sports tournament so the mare can't be covered". That's the sour grapes, the bitter pill, that first had to be swallowed! Fortunately the increasingly popular artificial insemination is sweetening the sour after-taste of the traditionalist breeders to some extent, rescuing horse breeders in emergency situations ever more often.