March 6, 2010
Topic: Princess and KWPN-NA/NE
I rode my mare today. This may not be a big deal for many of you who actually get to ride on a regular basis, but it's a big deal for me. I've had her back in training for two months to get some muscle on her body before she has to start carrying my bulk around the ring and trails. It was good. Once I get back from Florida next week, I'll be riding a couple times a week, then bring her home. Pretty exciting to finally be in a place in which I can actually be riding a horse that I bred for me to ride.
We've had super response to the idea of a New England support group of Dutch breeders/riders. One, I agree completely with Dayna Gant's suggestion that this be a quarterly meeting. We're going to count our May meeting as our spring meeting. Two, since we have so many people interested in doing this, I've taken the liberty of beginning the organization of the summer meeting...Ms. Faith Fessenden has agreed to come to New England for a weekend, with her video tapes of all the foundation Dutch sires, and do a presentation for us. Hopefully, while she's here, she can talk us through a couple of IBOPs as well. This is a huge treat for New England members. Faith has a video collection that doesn't exist anywhere else. It's amazing to see the horses that are the basis for what we're breeding today--it's a weekend not to be missed. Have had a couple of people offer their farms for our get-togethers, as well as a number of people offer to cook, bring refreshments, etc. I'm excited. This could be a really helpful, educational, and entertaining enterprise. Am going to try to get a list of addresses from the KWPN-NA office to make sure we don't leave anyone out.
The Tolman family has a couple of other big news items to share, but not yet. Will keep you posted.
March 3, 2010
Topic: First Idea
OK. I told you that things would get dangerous around here once I recouped from mega-stretch of theatre. I've had a couple of ideas kicking around for a bit--now seems as good a time as any to mention the first idea: I want to start the first regional support group for KWPN-NA members. It's an idea that I've floated at national meetings and among friends, but never actually done anything about doing it.
What I envision:
A monthly or bimonthly get-together at the farm of a New England breeder/owner/rider/trainer--since my primary interest is in breeding, that's more my focus. I'm willing to host the first one, or all of them for that matter, but that would defeat the purpose.
At these meetings, we talk Dutch horses; talk marketing strategies for the region--maybe some group advertising or sales tours; educate other breeders in bloodlines, linear scoring, etc.; organize the annual New England keuring; bring in a jury member, or board member, or breeder from Holland who is willing to talk to us and be part of the educational process; drink wine and eat good food; see each other's horses; do some hands on analysis of conformation and movement...and on and on.
There is no hidden motive, intention, or desire to usurp or undermine the KWPN-NA--just the opposite, in fact. I'd like to see every region eventually have a regional support group. New England could be a model--other regions can learn from our mistakes. I'm not thinking there's any membership fee or anything. This is purely to promote Dutch horses and their breeders/owners/riders in New England.
So, my place, Saturday afternoon, May 1st. I'll organize a program for the day, we'll look at some horses, and over dinner(my new kitchen should be done by then...) and wine, talk about the possibilities of starting this group, the KWPN-NA/NE.
I'm going to try and get a mailing list from the office for New England and New York, so I can reach more people, but if you're interested and know you'd like to come, let me know. Worst case scenario, you to see a couple of cool horses, have me cook for you, and get a glass of wine to boot!
February 18, 2010
Topic: Some Photo Treats and an Oversight
Here are some pictures, taken by Francois LaChance of Totilas and of the Florencio x Jazz, out of the Wendy line.
Oversight: I didn't mention Apache (UB-40 x Krack C)--LOVE this horse. He is hot, hot, hot, but, oh, my god, can he move, bend, sit, exude ability. I'm competely crazy about his foals, too.
February 17, 2010
Topic: Stallion Show 2010, final thoughts
Before I get to the Stallion Show thoughts, I have to acknowledge the incredible 20 years Carol and I've spent together. Today is our anniversary. There can be few people more in love or better suited to one another. Shooting Star farm is, indeed, a place where dreams come true.
So, final thoughts about the Stallion Show 2010:
-The KWPN-NA has asked me to write a piece for the membership, so I'm going to save some comments and analysis for that article
-It will be difficult for other studbooks to catch up with the degree of talent we're producing.
-My picks for the Championship Ring would have been as follows:
Oscar x Corleone
Uphill x Vincent
Florencio x Jazz
Winningmood x Oscar
Winningmood x Contango
Uphill x Rhodium
This, obviously, would have been even more of a van Norel year had I been judging.
-Totilas: Holy shit, what can I say? I expected to be blown away by this horse, but, still, I'm not sure how to process what I saw. His overall athleticism is astounding. More astounding, however, is his temperament. Those of you who have ridiculed the studfee and the would-be breeders in his first, unproven year at stud, get over yourselves. I maintain, if there is a way that I can breed either Orchis or Werites to this horse, I will find the means to do it. If the resulting foal looks like Totilas, he or she will have a shortish, thickish neck; fairly square conformation; and a shorter than is currently desirable front leg. Word to the KWPN, if you're promoting the success of Totilas as being an example of the finest Dutch breeding, you need to take a look at what your touting as the "best" type for a dressage horse. This horse has the combination of brain and athleticism that says, "Oh, you want my front leg a little higher? No problem. And, you'd like me to sit just a little more in the piaffe? I can do that for you. What? That pirouette wasn't tight enough for you? How about this one?" I've seen Edward Gal ride for a number of years, and I haven't always been a fan. Sometimes, his horses come out like "dressage on steroids". Totilas is more extreme than any other horse I've seen Edward ride, but it's all giving and talent--nothing looks hyped up or forced. Is the whole package a little over the top? Maybe. But, Totilas and Edward Gal have redefined what it means to be a top dressage combination.
-Parzival: I've now seen all three of the KWPN's top dressage horses up close and personal. Parzival exemplifies the type the studbook is prescribing. His training is SO correct. You've never seen more correct collected work than what this horse and rider combination achieves. Are his gaits as expressive and as extreme as Totilas's? No. But he's equally as cool. It's taken him longer to settle down into being a consistent performer--the last time I saw him, at Zwolle a couple years ago, he backed around the ring and into the judges box. He was Mr. Calm, Cool, and Collected this time. Very collected. Love this horse.
-Voice: This DeNiro son has been one of my favorites for years. He's grown so much and developed so much muscle that I didn't recognize him. He was brilliant, and blew away the under-muscled, sickly looking Vivaldi.
-Vivaldi: Again, I have to say that those of in North America who got burnt by the owners of Vivaldi, actually have been done a favor. This is not a horse you want in the gene pool. He does have some expressive movement, but he is so unhealthy looking. I'm not a vet, but there's something not right about this horse. His movement is certainly expressive, but that's where it ends for me.
-Citango: This horse looks better and better every time I see him. He's going to make it all the way to Grand Prix. There is frozen available from him, but no one was interested the last time I offered it. His one son at the Stallion Show looked really good. I was surprised they didn't accept him. Could have been the Iglesias damline.
-Ampere: This poor horse looked over-used and frazzled. I'm still a fan of Ampere, but my guess is that his management has not put the horse's welfare first. Word is that he performed at 14 Stallion Exhibitions in Germany last year, plus bred a ton of mares. The money must be enticing, but it's a shame to exhaust and fry such a special horse.
-Alexandro P: This horse is still one of my favorites. He looked tired and didn't move as well as I've seen him in the past, but his tact, balance, and overall self-carriage was still outstanding. It will be fun to see his second foal crop since his first was so well received. I've heard of some top notch dressage mares, from some very famous trainers and breeders, that are expecting Alexandro P babies this spring.
-Bordeaux: He looks good. I specifically asked an authority figure about the OCD issue and the class C xrays, and was told that it's not OCD, but OC. That KWPN is recommending that he be bred to elite mares. Again, he looked really good.
-As I mentioned when I started this series of entries, I'm just not comfortable commenting on the jumpers. It's not my area of interest and I didn't see enough of them to make a fair observation. That being said, for you jumper breeders out there, a friend of mine from Holland has volunteered to take questions about the jumpers and jumper breeding, and supply the answers through my journal. He is obsessed with jumpers and jumper breeding. So, if anyone wants to forward a question about a horse in the selection or a stallion in general, I'll forward it to Holland and post the answer.
So, I'm off to take a hot tub with my wife. If I haven't talked about a horse one of you is particularly interested in, let me know and I'll post more. My nephew and web-guru is off to Cancun next week, so this will most likely be the last post this month.
February 15, 2010
Topic: Stallion Show, part six
Before I start this entry, I have a correction to make. A friend of mine in Holland emailed to tell me that the horse I was so confused about having been accepted, 485, Johnson x Sultan x Fresco, was, indeed, not accepted. This is a good thing! Sorry to have confused anyone. If anyone else notices any discrepancies, please let me know.
1:00: Offspring of Oscar, Uphill, Krack C, Tuschinski, and United: 528, 621, 624, and 630:
This was, by far, the most exciting group of young dressage stallions of the stallion show. It contained two of the six in the championship ring, and, possibly, it should have contained three of the six. And...HUGE NEWS FLASH!! VDL is making Uphill frozen semen available for North American breeders for THIS breeding season.
Here's a quotation from my 2001 journal:
"Oscar, Cabochonís stable mate. This is a young Wolfgang x Nabuur son that will prove to be one of the KWPN future dressage producing super stars. We saw nearly a dozen of his foals, and all of them had lovely temperaments and phenomenal movement."
I have believed in this horse from the beginning, and have been on the look out for an Oscar son or daughter to import for years. Well, this year, not only does he sire the champion of the Stallion Show, but he's the damsire of the reserve champion and grandsire of another in the final six. Had there been no politics at play, four or five out of the six would have had Oscar blood in the first couple generations of their pedigrees.
528 Oscar x Corleone x LeFaquin xx Marco Polo: The full brother of this horse was aangewezen last year. Word is that van Norel decided not to send him to the testing because he knew that the full brother was the better horse, and he didn't want to jeopardize this horse getting approved. For my money, this horse is the epitome of KWPN breeding. He's gorgeous; powerful; phenomenal hind leg; unbelievable bending of the joints; supple; super type; super conformation; three super gaits. The mare line is beset with sport horses. The pedigree is a really interesting blend of all-rounders that specialize in dressage. You've got 34% TB blood, combined with the best foundation Trakehner blood in Dutch breeding, the Holsteiner C line, and good old Dutch Gelders breeding. This horse was the clear favorite of both the crowd and the jury, and rightfully became champion of the dressage horses.
The Uphills absolutely rocked the house. The Uphill x Rhodium and the Uphill x Vincent were the two best. ALL of the Uphills were taken to the third ring, but only three were aangewezen. It certainly looked like a clear statement from the Stallion Selection Committee that breeders are to take this stallion seriously.
621 Uphill x Rhodium x Cabochon x Zeoliet: Powerful horse; great conformation; elegant; substantial bone; gorgeous leg technique. This horse received a double star in my grading system, and would have been among the top horses had I been picking the top six.
624 Uphill x Havidoff x Apollonius xx x Pretendent: Again, here's pure van Norel breeding for you--six generations of it. Really nice type; beautiful model; easy, lifted canter; could have a little more power.
630 Uphill x Vincent x Zebulon x Symfonie: This horse was bred by the Laarakkers family, and is owned by our beloved VDL!!! Which means, we'll have frozen semen from this horse next year. This is an absolutely gorgeous horse; lifted; supple; powerful. It was a toss up for me until I saw him in the ring at the same time with the Oscar x Corleone which one I really liked better. Those of you who have followed my journal for years and years, know that Vincent is one of my favorite stallions. I can't tell you how excited I am to have access to him this close up in a pedigree. There is no other horse that can produce quite the same degree of power and suppleness in his offspring. I'll be anxiously awaiting the foals from this horse.
1:45: Offspring of Vivaldi: 654, 659, and 661:
If I had been organizing this little shindig called the Stallion Show and had I known ahead of time how disappointing this next group of horses was going to be, I would have switched the order and put my best group last. That, alas, was not the case. Those of us in North America who have fallen prey to the crappy frozen semen from Vivaldi can actually be thankful. Here's a stallion that has produced hundreds and hundreds of foals over the last couple or years. His foals have been champions of keuring after keuring. He had ten sons selected for den Bosch. Few stallions have received the kind of hype that he has. All for naught, as far as I'm concerned.
Here's an overall description of the Vivaldis: They epitomize the modern dressage "type", but have no power, are excessively fine boned, and, most troubling of all, are really stiff and weak in their topline connections and sometimes quite low in the back--they do not come through their backs or use their bodies well. They tend to be a little out behind. This may be an off-the-wall comment, but I've got to say that many of them almost seem sickly. They don't present as robust, solid, long-lasting athletes. For my money, there was one good one out of ten, the Vivaldi x Donnerhall. And, this horse looked a lot more like a Donnerhall than a Vivaldi.
654 Vivaldi x Farrington x Orthos x Marco Polo: Nice shoulder; fits the above description; nice type; lacks power; doesn't use body well.
659 Vivaldi x Montecristo x Casanova x Rinaldo: One of the more elegant Vivaldis; actually one of the better movers, as well. Could be more powerful. Better bending of the joints.
661 Vivaldi x Donnerhall x Hemmingway x Zuidhorn: Had the most bone and most strength of any of the Vivaldis; moved with more power; good bending; moved uphill, but built with a shorter front leg; an average canter; Donnerhall head and body shape. I was surprised to see him selected for the Championship Ring.
My guess is that so many people have bred to Vivaldi and the KWPN has given him so much hype as the perfect type, rewarding him with wins at many stallion competitions, giving his young horses the championship at so many keurings, that it would have been embarassing not to have a Vivaldi in the Championship Ring. Perhaps, there is a place for Vivaldi in Dutch breeding, and now we've learned a lesson about which mares to use with him. We'll see. I've certainly been wrong before. I don't want him in my breeding program.
February 12, 2010
Topic: Stallion Show 2010, part five
11:15: The offspring of Jazz, Johnson, Vic, and Westpoint: aagewezen are 471, 474, 485, 487, and 678
471 Jazz x De Niro x Romancier x Troublemaker xx: This is a horse I'm really excited about. For one thing, Jazz and D line stallions are a major equation in my own breeding lines; for another, he's an ideal type for a breeding stallion. Modern, uphill in both movement and conformation; lot of blood; really a beautiful riding horse. If I'm being really critical, I could ask for a little more power. The mareline is not spectacular, but it looks as if his dam is spectacular. She scored 9, 8.5, and 9 on her gaits, is elite preferent, and has produced one elite mare and three second ring stallions. This horse sold well in the Select Sale, but is probably worth more.
474 Jazz x Ferro x Nimmerdor x H.Alme Z: Cironnn L is a really charming, bay Jazz son. Although I really liked him, he didn't do as much for me as the Jazz x DeNiro. To be honest, I was in the minority on this one. A number of people thought he should have made the championship ring. Not I. He's beautiful; good mover with especially excellent leg technique; could be more uphill, however. Overall, I thought he was a nice, nice type and nice horse.
485 Johnson x Sultan x Fresco x Amor: I'm surprised this horse was accepted. I didn't like him. He doesn't really lift in his movement, and his back drops off significantly behind the wither. Plus, it's double Sultan, which not a line I would double. The mareline is interesting--the KWPN stallion, Dublin, comes out of this line a couple generations back. The dam is a prestatie mare, so that alone may make him worth a try. She's produced two aangewezen stallions, three 2nd ring stallions, one keur mare, three star, and one prok. Again, a mare like this deserves to have her sons considered regardless of what one person thinks about an individual son. He could produce really well. So far, I've not been too impressed with the Johnson sons. They seem a little heavy, but still immature. The movement isn't as powerful as I would like, and it's not always lifted at the wither. Perhaps they just mature late, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Time will tell, but, as of right now, I don't think he's producing as well as many people had hoped. That being said, the following horse was the best of the Johnsons:
487 Johnson x Gribaldi x Variant x Uniform: This Johnson did have decent lift in the wither. He's supple in the back, but holds his neck a little stiffly; a good mover; beautiful front. He made the championship ring. I would not have put him there. He did place 6th out of 6. My guess is he in the grouping because the selection committee wanted at least one horse from the Select Sale in the championship ring. He sold fairly cheaply in the sale--much more cheaply than the Winningmood x Contango who should have been in the championship ring--of course, since he was a wildcard, the jury could not have known he was in the Select Sale. And, if the Winningmood were in the championship ring, that would have made four van Norel horses out of the six...but, we'll discuss this further at the end of these entries.
678 Westpoint x Matterhorn x Indoctro x Saluut: How's this for interesting breeding for a dressage horse? This horse is owned jointly by van Norel, VDL, and Jespers. Beautiful horse; very much a blood type; quite sickle-hocked (and for me to mention it, since sickle-hocks don't bother me, it means he's quite sickle-hocked); elegant; really a lovely and correct mover--fluid. His dam received low scores for movement in her IBOP. The pedigree is mixed jumping and dressage. I'd still breed to this horse. I think we could very well look back on this selection as a wise choice by some really smart breeders who think in multiple generations, rather than just the next generation. Interesting horse which many people thought would not be accepted.
February 10, 2010
Topic: Stallion Show 2010, part four
10:40 Offspring of Lord Leatherdale, Winnngmood, Gribaldi, and Painted Black: 513, 683, 684, 535, and 536
513 Lord Leatherdale x Negro x Landadel x Ulster: I'm a huge fan of Lord Leatherdale offspring, but I wasn't crazy about this one. Super type; little hocky; looks Saddlebred-ish--holds his neck up and back; beautiful front. To his credit, he was much more attractive on Saturday when he was presented in hand. The mareline is not one that I would be really excited about, however--though there have been a couple strong sport horses out of it.
516 Lord Leatherdale x Houston x Democraat x Wisconsin: This horse was not accepted, but I liked him much better than 513. Really harmonious in his conformation and movement; supple; super suspension; good hindle...also, out of the same mareline as Ravel. The stallion selection committee sees these horses over a period of months, plus sees their mothers and knows their lines better than I do--there must have been a reason they didn't accept him, but I thought he was by far the better horse of the two Lord Leatherdales.
683 Winningmood x Contango x Belfalas xx x B.Raimond: This was one of my favorite horses of the whole show--I think he should have been in the championship ring. He became one of the wildcards for the Select Sale, and may have been the highest selling dressage horse--definitely higher than the Johnson x Gribaldi that was in the championship ring. Van Norel's horses rocked the stallion show. I'll talk more about that later. This horse was really harmonious in body and movement; lovely bending of the joints; supple and active; beautiful front; expressive, excellent front leg--again, one of my five favorite horses of the stallion show.
684 Winningmood x Oscar x Adonius (Appollonius x Maykel, NRPS stallion out of a super mareline) x Cabochon: This horse went reserve champion of the stallion show and is pure van Norel breeding for five generations. Again, I'll talk more about this later. Really strong, uphill horse--in movement and conformation; leggy; could be a little more supple; GOOD hindleg; nice type; looks like a real breeding animal. His dam's IBOP scores were 9,9, and 8 for gaits. Another one of my favorites from the stallion show--he clearly belonged in the championship ring.
535 Painted Black x Crosby (Capitol I x Landgraf I) x Capriccio (Cor de la Bryere x Consul) x Macbeth I (Marlon xx x Fasching): Here's some new/old blood for dressage breeding in the Netherlands. Not one of my favorite horses. I didn't really care for either of the Painted Blacks, but both were accepted. This horse is a nice type; good enough and supple mover; good hindleg; narrow in his body. His dam is a sport mare who has produced one other 2nd ring stallion, a ster mare, and a prok mare--but that's it.
536 Painted Black x Goodtimes x Burggraaf x G.Ramiro Z: Similar type to the other Painted Black; nice enough; good uphill conformation; stiff in the canter; also narrow in the body. This horse comes out of a more proven mareline; it also produced the approved stallion, Nourejev, by Cocktail.
Overall, the Painted Blacks just don't do much for me. Nice types. Good enough movers. Painted Black himself looked FABULOUS under Hans Peter. Anky was in Florida, so Hans Peter had the ride during the Gribaldi tribute. I've never seen the horse looks so good. It was the first time that I thought, "Wow. Maybe he should have approved, afterall." He looked incredible.
February 10, 2010
Topic: Stallion Show, part three
9:05: Offspring of San Schufro, Sandreo, Sandro Hit, Santano, Serano Gold, and Valeron
...one horse was accepted from this group. In general, and, again, this is my opinion and my observation, the Sandro Hit line is not crossing as well with the KWPN population as some had hoped. There are, of course, exceptions. It seems the opinion of many people with whom I spoke that Sir Donnerhall may be the best Sandro Hit son (his offspring are in the next group). I'm going to disagree with that and say that Serano Gold is the better producer, but, since he hasn't been promoted/marketed/competed with as much money behind him, he's not going to get the hype that Sir Donnerhall gets. Also, Serano Gold's mareline is much more proven than Sir Donnerhall's. All of this being said, I liked the Sir Donnerhall's better than I thought I would.
580 Serano Gold x Michelangelo x Oldenburg x Lucky Boy xx: This is a lovely horse out of a predicate heavy mareline. He simply radiates quality. Good hindleg; good mover; could have a little more power; beautiful front; really lovely model. This is a horse I would breed to, and I'm really bummed that I lost my two Serano Gold pregnancies last year.
9:40: Offspring of Sir donnerhall, Negro, Rhodium, Special D, Uptown
From this group, three horses are aangewezen: 581, 582, and 633
581: Sir Donnerhall x Polansky x Jazz x Leraar (Solaris xx x Zagreb): The Leraar in the pedigree is interesting in that it is really old breeding. Leraar was an F1 product out of some of the foundation Gelders stock. "Chakakahn" is a pretty, black horse, but really unhappy to be part of the festivities. Well-developed; quick hindleg, but needs more power and lift; good model; good front; crappy attitude. We saw this horse repeatedly because he was in the Select Sale--I never saw him have a happy moment.
582: Sir Donnerhall x Pion x Elcaro x Ferro: Notice the reverse breeding--older sires near the front of the pedigree. Really nice type; pretty horse; nice self-carriage; walk is quite short at times. Interesting that the mother's highest score in her IBOP is an 8 for her walk. This horse is out of the same dam as the Sandreo son, Adamo.
633 Uptown x Jazz x Ferro x Variant: Out of the same mareline as Negro. This horse has a good model; is powerful; needs more expression; short in the reach of the front leg; good hindleg. Looks as if he is going to be a heavy boy.
10:20 Pause! I'll be back, too.
February 9, 2010
Topic: Stallion Show 2010; part 2
8:35: Offspring of Vittorio, Citango, Flemmingh, Florencio, Rubiquil, Scandic
Four horses were accepted from this group: numbers 451, 453, 548, 578
451 Flemmingh x Fruhling x Wellington x Amor: This boy is a REALLY pretty type and out of the Mora line, which is a strong performance and keuring line. As pretty as he is, and as supple as he is in the topline, he doesn't have as much lateral balance as I'd like, which causes him to fling his legs a little bit--he also has a bit of underneck development going on. Still he is a lovely mover to watch.
453 Florencio x Jazz x Ulft x Amor: OK. Here's one of the horses that convinced me I had to go to the Stallion Show this year. He's out of the Wendy line, and bred by Huub van Helvoirt. This is, perhaps, the most consistent keuring and sport producing mareline currently in Holland. Zhivago is out of this line, as is the champion dressage mare of Holland the year before last, and the top selling foals at Borculo the last couple of years. It's a fabulous mareline. Fortunately, thanks to Loucky Hagens, Carol and I have a mare from this line. Anyways, what a horse! He placed third in the championship ring. Absolutely beautiful type; uphill in conformation and in use of his body; outrageous mover; could have a bit more bone in the hindleg. He became a little tense in his walk from time to time, but he's a horse that I would have been happy to bring home and introduce to a number of my girls.
548 Rubiquil x Don Romantic x Neostan x Clavecimbel: I'm kind of suprised that "Captain Jack" was aagewezen. He seems like a solid choice for a sport horse, but just not really special. His dam received 7s and 6.5s on her IBOP and is only prok; his granddam is a foalbook mare with no production record; his great granddam has produced one Z2 horse. The horse himself has nice model; he's supple; has good presence; he's a good enough mover--I'd like to see more tact; he has a beautiful topline. My only thought is that Rubiquil is such a solid citizen and has proven to produce so well that the KWPN wants a son of his approved.
578 Scandic x Silvano N x Flemmingh x Wellington: This boy has one hell of good hindleg. He's so quick and handy that you'd almost think he cut be a cutting horse. Overall, I'd like to see him longer-lined, but he has a beautiful loin connection; is really supple; and has a lot of power. If he develops a little more, he could be quite interesting as a sire.
Have to go grade some papers before I go to bed--more tomorrow.
February 9, 2010
Topic: Stallion Show 2010, part one
First, you can all blame Faith Fessenden for my not posting earlier--she mentioned this great book she was reading(The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo); I saw it at the airport, bought it, and couldn't put it down or do anything else until I finished it. Disturbing book...I barely slept last night due to the content and my absurd propensity for suspension of disbelief, but SO engaging.
Second, as I do every year, this entry needs to start with a caveat: I'm a guy who loves Dutch horses and has been breeding them for 20 years. The following statements are just my opinions and my observations. I have no ongoing affilliation with any stallion owners, nor do I currently stand any stallions. Although, of course, I'm interested in promoting my own program so I can pay my hay bill, my over-riding objective is to support the growth and foster the education of Dutch breeding in North America. I have always believed that we become better individual breeders by improving the bigger picture. If you're not interested in my opinion, don't read this. If you want to make a comment or have a question, send it to me, tolmanc@gmail.com, and I'll do my best to answer in subsequent journal entries.
So, on with it! I've been trying to remember just how many times I've been to the Stallion Show, but I can't. I think my first year was the year of the O stallions. And, although I haven't gone every year since(nor written about it every time), I must have gone at least eight times. That being said, this was the best Stallion Show I've attended in the past 12 years. In trying to organize my thoughts in approaching these next few journal entries, I've decided to not give you my overall-impression-generalizations in way of introduction, but, instead, start with the first group of dressage stallions presented and take it group by group--then come back at the end and do more of a summation. Since dressage is my primary focus, I'm going to ignore the jumpers until after I've gone through the dressage-bred horses.
8 am: Offspring of Daddy Cool, Dancier, Dutch Dormello DDH, Lauries Cursador xx, Son de Niro, and Valdez
Of this group, three are aangewezen/selected to go to the 70 Days Test, numbers 421, 499, and 588.
421 Daddy Cool x Jazz x Ulft x Sultan: This was the first horse out of the shoot, so to speak, and, for me, he really sets the tone for the quality and athleticism of the dressage horses this year. Super type; phenomenal hind leg; uphill/carrying in movement--especially in the canter; big walk; overall, a little short coupled and could have had a smoother neck, wither, shoulder connection--but really athletic and out of a sport and prestatie mareline. He went way more cheaply than I would have thought in the Select Sale
499 Lauries Crusador xx x Wittenger x Smaragd x Eisenherz I: I didn't like this horse. For me all the Lauries Crusador's are stiff in the back and don't come across the topline in their movement. He is a beautiful type and conformation model, but he doesn't use his body well. He's a classic example of a horse that has the "perfect" dressage-type, uphill conformation, but doesn't have the overall athleticism. I will take a shorter front leg and a supple, carrying loin connection over perfect type any day. I don't think that Lauries Crusador will ever be an important sire in Dutch breeding. We need the Thoroughbred blood, so I guess it's worth a try, but not for my breeding program.
588 Son de Niro x Ulster x Lorenz x Pastrocio xx: Again, here was a horse out of a sport and prestatie mareline. His dam, the famous mare, Dolly, also produced an aangewezen son last year by Johnson. This horse is cat-like supple; powerful; great hindleg; perhaps, a little over developed and long in the pasterns. I loved the way this horse used his body, though. He could have been a little more carrying in his movement, but, oh, my god, he was supple. In the end, I think he is probably more of a sport horse than a stallion, but I was pleased that the stallion committee is giving him a chance.
next group in a bit
February 1, 2010
Topic: Would you pay 5000 Euro to breed to Totilas?
Hot news today: Totilas to be available via frozen semen at three Dutch stallion stations...at between 5000 and 5500 Euro, to pre-approved mares.
Already the boards are beginning to buzz with the nay-sayers and the would-be breeders. Would I breed to this horse at this price? Unequivocally, yes.
One, I love the pedigree. I don't want to breed to Gribaldi himself, but I love Kostolany and I love what the line produces a couple of generations out. Glendale was put on the watch list, but his mareline is one of the best in Holland and he, himself, was a kind, workmanlike dressage horse. Akteur is, perhaps, one of the most important horses to have in a sport horse pedigree. Pericles xx brings TB blood that has proven itself over and over again.
Two, the mare line has already produced more than a dozen approved stallions and countless numbers of sport horses. A particular stallion of note out of this mareline is Topas, the Marco Polo son. He was approved conditionally or not approved at all to begin with, I don't remember the story verbatim, but, out of his first foal crop, eight horses became Grand Prix jumpers. Topas himself was not a conformational model, he was too small, and too square. His offspring were athletes, however. Totilas fits this model for me.
Three, no matter what the KWPN prescribes in type or model, the ultimate goal is success at the upper levels of sport. It's been proven time and time again that horses who reach this level of success are more likely to produce offspring that perform at this level. Totilas has now set two world records. Why isn't he worth the 5000 Euro?
I don't have extra money to burn, but, if Totilas's frozen is available in North America and the owners will consent to book the highest ranked dressage-breeding mare in North America to him, I will find the money to breed Orchis to Totilas. Am I a fool? Probably. But, then again, I breed horses and think/hope/dream that I can make my dreams come true--why wouldn't I breed to Totilas?
January 31, 2010
RE: Off to the Stallion Show!!
Macbeth closed last night, and I'm off to the Stallion Show later this week. I'm not planning on taking my laptop, but will start my annual report once I get back. From what I've heard, the Florencio x Jazz, out of the Wendy line, is going to be one of my favorites. Am interested to see if the Vivaldi's look as good as coming three-year-olds as they did as foals. Have a later flight than usual, so will miss most all of the second ring for the jumpers, but will see the third ring. I'm looking forward to catching up with friends and seeing horses. If the schedule isn't lying...Tortilas is performing on Friday night!!! I'll be glued to the warm-up ring--it's always more interesting to me to see the horses warming up than in the stadium. Plus, there's a tribute to Jazz. Should be an amazing Friday night show.
A few of you have emailed asking me more about Furstenball. I don't really know much other than what I've read and watched on videos. His mareline looks phenomenal. He's about as elastic a horse as I've ever seen on video. LOVE his walk. The double Donnerhall might put off some people, but I'd be happy to have a little more bone and rectangular shape in my mares. There's new footage from the Danish licensing that's really quite good:
http://www.aafoto.com/html/han-video.html
January 8, 2010
Topic: Is this a scary sight?
So, if anyone wants to get last minute plane tickets, you can crash on the floor of my hotel room! Should be a fun Stallion Show.
January 5, 2010
Topic: Happy New Year!
And yet another year of foals, breeding picks, and all things horsey ahead of us! What could be better? My only new year's resolution is to get back in the saddle this year. My Scottish Tragedy diet has taken almost 40 pounds of my more than ample frame...about 100 more and I'll be ready to start showing again! Princess, aka, ZaVita SSF (Contango x Elcaro) is off at Roger Poitras's getting some muscle on her so she can start carrying me around the dressage ring and trails come spring. Plus, I'm vowing to take a year off from all theatre productions so that I can devote more time to the horses. Of course, that year off can't start until January 30th, the closing night of Macbeth. I spent much of the holidays memorizing a crap load of iambic pentameter. "The devil damn thee black, thou cream-faced loon!" "How now you secret, black, and midnight hags. What is't you do?" I can go on...
In this year off from theatre, I plan on riding some more and writing more, but we all know that's not going to keep me any where near my preferred schedule of insanity. So, I've got a couple ideas up my sleeve for some new horse projects. Yes, this could be dangerous. Live and learn doesn't necessarily mean live and don't revisit ideas that didn't work out as originally conceived. After all, I'm that wonderful and odd combination of farmer, artist, and teacher. Can you think of three personality types more idealistic or resilient? And, combined in the same person? Hell, 'm practically a living, breathing hyperbole? I've got to be growing/creating/shaping something. Of course, on the glass-half-empty side of things, I've got to be worried about the weather, alcoholic, and devoid of self-worth. Who knows? Maybe I'll say "screw it all" and join a monastery. They do make wine and really in monasteries, right?
On the breeding front, thanks to a nice email from Jennifer Hoffman, I remember that I still have a breeding outstanding to Facet--so he gets added to the mix. I'm thinking I'll put him on our Farrington x Pass the Glass xx three year old. I originally purchased the breeding for her mom, but, at 22, I don't think she's going to stay pregnant anymore.
For all of you who kindly nudge me when I get behind on journal entries, watch out! Three weeks from now, with much less to do for an extended period of time, I could be dangerous.
