Happy Holidays! I'm sure everyone is into heavy blanket season, developing those muscles for throwing rugs on and off as the temperatures plummet. Riding is great for getting the body and the horse warm.
We finished up the show season here by hosting the regional adult amateur championships for the California Dressage Society. The show was a big success and our own Pfantasia qualified to show there. Pfantasia is also turning out to be quite the jumper under the direction of Erika Cooper.
In October, we hosted our annual Halloween schooling show which was highlighted by an entertaining costume class.
The young stock had their share of illnesses this fall, one with strangles and one with pigeon fever. Both have recovered and are back in training. We are really pleased with the progress of both Rocketman and Fortissimo. They both have an exciting future ahead of them.
In November, Andante E returned to the farm and is currently being trained by Dorreene. Look for him in the coming show season. They are really having fun working together.
Our Devon Heir foal is awesome. We enjoy watching him frolick everyday. He will make someone a great horse.
Wow! A whole year zipped by without note. Nothing new in the newsletter means we've been very busy elsewhere. We have been trying to balance time between our two-legged and four-legged babies.
September, 2010 we attended the WEG in Lexington, KY. What a treat to see the best horses in the world competing. Our own Pfalstaff, the Hanoverian gelding we sold to Wendy Christoff of Canada was the reserve horse on the Canadian team. This spring Wendy and Pfalstaff came to California to compete and won the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special at the Murieta CDI. We are very proud of their accomplishments.
Also, this spring our baby Gryffendor now owned by Ann Draper and shown by Andrea Taylor were the third level champions at Thunderbird in Canada.
In May we welcomed jumper trainer Erika Cooper to our facility. She joins dressage trainer Ariane Rezvani. It will be great to be able to do some cross training. See trainers page for more info.
Late spring the herpes virus outbreak forced us into a lockdown - no horses in or out for over a month. We had to cancel our SLO-CDS show in June. The cancellation of show and clinics actually turned out to be a good thing as we were all able to focus on training. Before the lockdown, Dorreene was able to show Phantasia and get scores to qualify her for the Regional Adult Amateur Championships that will be held at Golden Hills in September.
We've been working diligently to prepare several horses for sale. Our sale page will be updated very soon with current pictures. Andante E is a 6 yo KWPN gelding who is currently in training with JJTate in Maryland. Four year old Hanoverian Fortissimo spent 2 months in training with Willy Arts at DG Bar and continues his dressage training with Dorreene and is doing some baby jumping prep with Erika Cooper. Boy does he have great gaits! Rocketman aka Robbie, our three yo by Rousseau, is just getting started under saddle and so far, is real joy to ride and has great work ethic. One of our yearlings, Rock Star, full brother to Robbie is getting ready for sale, gaining a good grasp of appropriate ground manners.
There was great anticipation surrounding the arrival time for the 2 babies we were expecting this July. It turned out to be a bad news/good news situation. Sadly, as is sometimes the case in horse breeding, our Idocus foal did not survive. Fortunately our loss was tempered by the arrival of a fabulous Devon Heir colt out of our of champion Hanoverian mare Faiza.
Throughout the year we continued to have great clinics with Jane Weatherwax and Robert Gharibzadeh.
We hope you are all enjoying your family, friends, and animals as much as we are.
July, 2010
Spring and half of summer have passed. We welcomed 2 beautiful foals this year - a colt Reniassance Man (Rousseau x Dark Star/Diamont) and filly Desiree (Devon Heir x EM Pfantasia).
Our horses did very well at the Central Coast Dressage Classic in June. 2 yo Rocketman (Rousseau x Dark Star) was champion colt/gelding of the breed show and Dorreene and Papillon earned their silver medal with qualifying scores in PSG classes.
Our days are spent civilizing the youngsters and sharpening moves of competition horses. Papillon has been bred to olympian Idocus and champion Faiza will be bred to Devon Heir. Their foals should be outstanding. Keep your fingers crossed.
March, 2010,
March and April are shaping up to be very busy. Fleur d' Lys came home from 2 months with Richard Winters and is doing a much better job of connecting her brain and her feet. Our St. Paddy's Schooling Show was a big success and a lot of fun for everyone. A lot of first time show riders participated.
From March 18-21 we hosted the CDS Adult Amateur Clinic for Central California. Our clinician this year was Debbie McDonald and she did not disappoint. Debbie is a wonderful person and teacher and the experience was fantastic for riders and auditors. It will be difficult to top.
Next we are heading into a busy show schedule, starting some young ones under saddle, and awaiting the arrival of our babies. More to come...
February, 2010
Whoa! Time has got to slow down. We got side-tracked the end of last year with the marriage of our son and the birth of the first grandchild. Very special, but still nothing compares to the day to day joy we get from working with our horses. We are so blessed to be able to pursue this lifestyle.
We are expecting 2 gorgeous foals this spring, Dark Star's Rousseau foal and EM Pfantasia's Devon Heir foal.
Dorreene qualified both Papillon and Fleur d' Lys for the Regional Adult Amateur Championship where they were reserve champions at Fourth and Training Levels, respectively.
We continue to train during the winter months with Robert Gharibzadeh, Jane Weatherwax, and Don Sachey. Kent is very excited with the progress he is making with Andante E, his 5 yo Dutch import. We hope to get him to the KWPN keuring this year. Also in the plans is competing Papillon at PSG.
Other than that, we are watching our young Rousseau and Florestan boys and Florestan girl grown into beautiful young adults with lots of promise.
Hope to see you on the show circuit if the rain and snow don't wash you away.
June, 2009
This is turning into a bi-annual newsletter. No babies this year, but we have been driving mares up and down the California coast trying to get them bred. So far only one in three is pregnant and that is Dark Star in foal to Rousseau again. Her last Rousseau foal is now a yearling and developing into quite a handsome boy. We tried frozen semen from Silvano N and Hotline, but struck out.
In March we hosted the Central California Adult Amateur Clinic given by Jane Weatherwax. All the participants really enjoyed it.
The 2009 show season is underway. We had a successful schooling show in March and June 6 & 7 hosted the SLO-CDS Annual Show. I am competing Fleur 'd Lys at training level and Papillon at 4th level with the goal of doing my freestyle before the end of the year. Still working on those pirouettes.
The youngsters are all growing up. Andante has started training, Faiza is learning about saddles and bridles and will be started soon.
We have been working with Barbi Breen Gurley, Robert Gheribzedeh, and Alfredo Hernandez to expand our knowledge. Dorreene attended the Gert Hauschman Clinic at Angels' Landing in May. Check our calendar for upcoming events.
January, 2009
I hope no one was holding his breath waiting for more news. Busy times have kept me from newsletter updates. 2008 was a busy year. We welcomed a beautiful colt by Rousseau on April 30. Rocketman is a beautiful moving bay with lots of personality. We had several productive clinics with Canadian Shelley Lawder and I was invited to go to Vancouver to train with her for July and August.
Oh, Canada!
The song certainly rings true. If north county gets too hot for you in the summer, Canada, more specifically, Vancouver may be the place for you. And, if like me, you are able to take your horses with you on your “vacation”, all the better.
I found the Canadians to be warm generous people. July and August are the best months weatherwise to visit the area. It only rains every fourth day. So everything is lush and green. You could easily spot visitors who were wearing jackets in 60 degree weather, whereas the Canadians were in tank tops driving convertibles.
I was fortunate to be able to take 4 horses and train with Shelley Lawder for a month. First of all, a month just touches the tip of the iceberg. Three or four would have been better. The horses were boarded in Langley, the current dressage capital of western Canada. We were at Pacific Country Stables, a large facility with horses of all disciplines sharing all the arenas. Several Olympic horses were stabled there being quarantined before heading off to China. The quality of horses and riders was outstanding. So I learned a lot just watching. The Canadians follow a system for young riders similar to that in Germany, so riders are well schooled from a young age.
An added bonus was that Gryffen, the horse we sold to Ann Draper, was also boarded there. The horses actually all remembered each other. I also got to visit Panama, the grand prix horse we sold to a woman in Canada. He is now short listed on the Canadian team and his owner adores him. It was wonderful to see “our babies” doing so well.
In addition to our lessons, the horses were exposed to just about everything. Tractors, goats, dogs, puppies in pens and kids on trampolines and with lariats running all over the place, low flying airplanes, and flying tarps. They soon got used to everything.
The stable was a 1/2 mile away from a fabulous park with miles of lush trails and streams. A woman with a Fresian talked me in to going out with her one afternoon. I left word in the office to come look for us if we weren’t back by 5. I had no idea we were going to do all 15 miles of trails in 2 hours or that a normal ride for her was all trot and canter. Plus, it started to pour. But Fancy was a real trooper and kept up with her the whole way. It was about 5:15 as we headed into the back field of the barn property and just ahead of us, 2 western horses came galloping toward us. They were actually coming to find us. What a great feeling. I’ve often wondered if she had been testing me. I would definitely liked to have gone back to the park on a sunny day.
I stayed with Shelley on Boundary Bay, 45 minutes from the barn but just 2 blocks from the water. People were at the beach all day and into the evening. Men come home from work, go out in their boats to check their lobster traps, and bring home a delicious dinner. I found Canadians to be much more in tuned with growing their own food, eating organically and really caring for the environment. It’s a great family place.
I also stayed with Ann Draper. She lives in Point Roberts, an isolated part of the US that can only be reached through Canada. At her place, I could see the ocean from my bedroom window.
One weekend we visited Shelley’s aunt’s farm in Courtenay on Vancouver Island. Carole Hobbins is a breed show judge and has raised a number of babies so I was delighted to meet and talk with her. I was also able to go to a dressage show in Vancouver - very nice horses and riders.
My four weeks went by way to quickly and I would love to go back some day. Being able to have 8 lessons a week enables you to get to a point where the basics you’ve been hearing all these years start to finally start to sink in and progressing from there is much easier. Even if you can’t go to Canada, you can get that concentrated block of training right here at home. It is a lot more difficult here to set aside the time with the other priorities in our lives, but I strongly recommend it to improve the skills of both you and your horse.
Before and after my trip to Canada, I was showing our Florestan I filly, Faiza, and colt, Fortissimo, in the DSHBC series. The 2yo filly was western region champion and champion filly overall for USDF. Her full brother came in 4th place among yearling colts nationally. We are very proud of them and proudly share our award with breeder Bjoern Kommerell.
In September, I competed our mare Papillon in my first 4th level ride and won with 65+%. Not a bad start. We will continue to show this year.
Over the next few months, we will be working with young horses in the round pen and getting our 4 year old Dutch boy confirmed under saddle.
If all goes according to plan, we will have 3 foals in 2010. Papillon will be bred to Olympic champion Silvano N. Pfantasia will be bred to Bundeschampion Hotline and we have yet to pick a match for Dark Star . Everyone keep fingers crossed and do fertility dances.
Next month we are looking forward to having Lisa Wilcox here for a 3 day clinic. Then the Adult Amateur Clinic with Jane Weatherwax will be held here in March. Busy, busy!
More to come...
March, 2008
We are snapping out of our winter doldrums. A belated Happy New Year. We actually had a few good rain storms this winter, so the hills are turning green. A little green and some warm days and horses are thinking "Spring!" Mares are cycling and everybody is shedding.
This is a busy month for us as we are hosting a Shelley Lawder Clinic followed by the Central California Adult Amateur Clinic with Rachel Saavedra as the clinician. At the end of the month, Kent is off to the Los Angeles Equestrian Center for the big show there.
We are eagerly anticipating the arrival of a Rousseau foal next month and will be doing an embryo transfer with Papillon and KWPN stallion Silvano N.
September-October, 2007
We are having beautiful fall weather here on the central coast of California. The leaves are turning and the grape harvest is just about finished.
In September, we took our 2 year old gelding by United to the KWPN kuering at DG Bar. He received a 2nd premium and we were encouraged to come back next year and present him as a 3 year old when he is not quite so gangly. We also hosted the SLO-CDS Fall Classic Dressage Show which was very successful and had cooler temperatures than usual.
In October, Shelley Lawder from Vancouver came and put on a clinic for 3 days. Everyone always leaves with improved horses and lots of homework. Our Florestan I colt came home. He is really something special. Look forward to more news about him as he develops. On a sad note, we had to put down Platinum Prince, our Hanoverian gelding and our first foal. He is the white horse on the left side of our banner. During his show career, he was USDF 4th place Hanoverian at I-2. He was a great companion to younger horses after his retirement. He will be missed by all. We ended the month with an Octoberfest Dressage Schooling Show that includes a costume class. It was a great opportunity for those just starting out in the sport to get some experience and have a good time. Happy Halloween!
August, 2007
Here we are at the end of summer and it is really hot (100+over a week) in Paso Robles. It's a challenge to make sure all the horses drink enough water. To make matters worse, we had a horrific thunder and lightening storm that lasted for hours. Our local vet told us that the lightening can cause a horse's systems to shut down. So, we are keeping a close eye on all the animals.
We are very excited that our Hanoverian mare, Phantasia, became an elite mare at the Hanoverian inspection this month. She surprised us by clearing 4'6" in the jumping portion of her test. At the same inspection, our Florestan colt, Fortissimo, was reserve champion colt with an score equal to that of the champion.
Our adorable 4 year old gelding Gryffendor left for his new home with Anne Draper in British Columbia. We are delighted that he is going to such a good home.
Next week we head off to our first KWPN-NA keuring with Andante E. Should be exciting. Read about it next month.
July, 2007
Welcome to our website and the first edition of our newsletter. We want to share with you the happenings at our farm.
This show season, Kent has successfully competed our Hanoverian gelding, Eichendorf at Grand Prix and Grand Prix Freestyle. Papillon, our Oldenburg mare, made her debut at PSG this year with Kent on board. We are now gearing up for the Hanoverian and KWPN-NA breed inspections. Our Hanoverian mare Phantasia will be participating in the Elite Mare Testing. We will be presenting 2 year old Andante E (United/Saros) at the KWPN-NA kuering at DG Bar Ranch.
We are deeply saddened by the loss this month of our beautiful mare, Prima Donna. She was a main studbook Oldenburg mare and champion of multiple breed shows and dressage shows. She was born here and has been Dorreene's competition partner, having just qualified for the Region 7 Championships at third level. She leaves a big void and will be greatly missed.
On the positive side, we are very excited to welcome 2 newcomers to our farm, Hanoverians Faiza and Fortissimo. Both were bred by Bjoern Kommerell and are both sired by the famed Florestan I. Look forward to much more about them as they compete in breed shows and, in a few years, under saddle.
Our Hanoverian mare Dark Star (Diamont/Trapper) is in foal to Rousseau. We anticipate the arrival of another super star next spring based on the high quality of her previous foals and the outstanding nature of Rousseau's offspring.
Check in again and thanks for visiting our web site.
