Earl's sire, Escudo I, stands for jumping ability and beautiful, elastic gaits, in addition to stunning black color. Lanthan on the dam's side is insurance for beautiful conformation and jumping and dressage ability, and adds another gene for black, giving rise to the possibility that Earl is homozygous for the black gene. Earl received a 9 for his walk, an 8 for his trot, 8.5 for his canter and a 9 for his willingness to work. Earl convinced at the performance test by all criteria, especially with his rideability and his willingness to work. He impressed because of his marvelous topline, his well-shaped, correct and harmonious riding horse conformation and his perfect character. Earl comes from bloodlines top and bottom that are known to produce dressage ability and jumping talent. His test results confirm this dual purpose tendency.