Newsletter
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
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.