Jennifer and Armin Arnoldt of Dreamscape Farm in Vancouver, Canada are very happy to report that their Oldenburg stallion, Sir Gregory (Sir Donnerhall x Premiere by Don Gregory) has been the sire of the highest number of Premium Oldenburg Foals in North America for 2011! Not only that, but his son out of a Sir Oldenburg mare was just licensed at the South German Stallion Licensing at the end of January!

As a 3 year old, Sir Gregory was the convincing winner of his 30 Day Performance Test in Neustadt/Dosse with very high scores in every category. Interior 9.25, Walk 8.5, Trot 9.38, Canter 8.75, Rideability 9.38, and Jumping Ability score of 8.0 resulted in an overall score of 8.85, the highest score for dressage of 9.08, and a very good score of 8.35 for jumping. Sir Gregory has also enjoyed much success in the young dressage horse classes in Germany. At his first show in Canada Sir Gregory was able to earn his full breeding approval, qualifying for the national championships with an overall score of 8.1. he scored over 8 or above on all his gaits, 8 walk, 8.2 Trot and 8.5 canter, he also received excellent comments and feedback on his test. Sir Gregory had the highest score of the entire show weekend and also the highest score from an FEI level judge. Sir Gregory is currently in training and will be showing with Shannon Peters. Sir Gregory is a very modern type stallion, of striking good-looks, with a beautiful head and neck.

Breeding/Progeny Record:Sir Gregory's first foals arrived in 2009, he had a very high percentage of foals named premium by Oldenburg Verband. Sir Gregory also sired the colt who was named the champion colt in Zweibrucken, and was the overall Reserve champion foal. In 2010 Sir Gregory again had a very high percentage of Premium foals in Germany, and one of his colts was selected for the Oldenburg Elite Foal auction. In 2011 Sir Gregory's highly anticipated first North American crop arrived, and Sir Gregory clearly stamped his offspring. They have beautiful heads and necks, they are modern in type, very correct with long legs, they are very elastic movers with three excellent gaits, they are also stamped with Sir Gregory's excellent temperament.

Sir Gregory had 16 Premium Foals and he was followed by Rolling Stone Farm's Shakespeare RSF who produced 13 Premium foals. You can see the full list of Premium foals here.

Rolling Stone Farm had a very successful Oldenburg Horse Breeders Society (GOV) Mare Performance Test in September. A North American record number of mares were presented, and a record number were awarded with the Special and Verbands Premium status. They tested and inspected 10 three year old mares all bred and owned by Mo Swanson of Rolling Stone Farm who now has three more Special Premium Candidate mares, two more Verbands Premium mares, and it was just recently decided that their top mare, Sp.Pr.Ca. Ghodiva, would be the North American Champion Mare and be awarded the 2011 Graf Anton Gunther von Oldenburg award!

Ghodiva won the MPT and was awarded with the high score under saddle, high score for free jumping, and was given the Special Premium Candidate title. Ghodiva is sired by Rolling Stone Farm's Elite Hanoverian stallion, Gold Luck (Grundstein I x Annette (Abundance)), and is out of EM Dhominica (De Niro x Rapsodie (Rohdiamant)). Mo commented that Ghodiva had only been cantering under saddle for about three weeks, and had also only been schooled through the jump chute three times prior to the MPT. She received excellent scores resulting in an overall 7.99 having been given a very rare 9 for trot under saddle, 8.5 for free trot and canter, 8's for the free jump, her canter under saddle, and from the test rider, and a 7 for the walk.

Mo commented later that she and Jim were very proud that Ghodiva was chosen as the Champion Mare. She added, “We have kept her out of the breeding program for the time being so that she and three other mares can be shown in the FEI 4 year old classes this year in hopes of qualifying for the national championships.” She will be ridden by John Amber who is currently in Florida training with their stallion Shakespeare RSF under Lisa Wilcox courtesy of a grant from the Dressage Foundation.

But just when we thought we had seen the best we inspected 6 more foals that blew us out of the water. Months later after the results were discussed from the entire tour we decided that there were a few other foals that were simply and utterly extraordinary. Hence the victor in each division. Oh what a year!!! And there were even more that were unbelievable. The Champion filly Simone was simply exquisite as was Pasedena.

From the jumping foals there were again many outstanding colts and fillies. Branscomb Farm again produced another champion in Sonata BF by Diarado out of their super mare Sonnengirl. KC Kelly thoughtfully pairs her mares up with the best Stallions on offer and as a result stands heads and tails in the lead with so many good foals with outstanding jumping ability and excellent balance and movement. Champion jumping colt was Victorious S by Vallado out of the brilliant mare Vaskaria. This colt was breathtaking and is a superb example of what Oldenburg is looking for in a jumper, and not only is the winner of the colt division but is also a stallion prospect. The lovely Sir Caletto colt bred by Branscomb Farm is also a stallion prospect. We are very proud of all our jumping breeders and feel they have matched our German counterparts in producing outstanding quality."

Colts Dressage
1A First Impression By Fürstenball, Breeder: Hilda Gurney
1B Shameless By Stedinger, Breeder: Shari Glickman
1C Sun King By Sir Gregory, Breeder: Jennifer & Armin Arnholdt
1D Redhawk's de Haviland By Diamond Hit, Breeder: Bob de Gour

Fillies Dressage
1A Simone By Sandro Hit, Breeder: Anita Nardine
1B Pasadensa By Don Caruso, Breeder: Oak Hill Ranch

Colts jumping
1A Victorious S by Vallado, Breeder: Silver Creek Farm
1B San Francesco BF, by Sir Calletto: Branscomb Farm

Fillies  Jumping
1A Sonata  BF By Diarado, Breeder: Branscomb Farm

January 29, 2012 - Adrienne Lyle & Wizard Win the Grand Prix Special at the World Dressage Masters CDI 5*in Wellington, Florida!

Karen Robinson for Phelps Media reports, "At the World Dressage Masters Palm Beach presented by the International Polo Club Palm Beach, Adrienne Lyle of the United States bested the international field to win the Grand Prix Special...The 26 year old Idaho based rider scored 72. 244% riding Wizard, a 13 year old Oldenburg gelding owned by Peggy and Parry Thomas.

“My horse handled everything beautifully. I’m really excited and happy,” said Lyle, who placed fourth in Friday’s WDM Nürnberger Grand Prix, and was eligible to compete in the Grand Prix Freestyle, though she opted to ride in the Grand Prix Special instead. “As much as I would have liked to ride in the freestyle, I need a Grand Prix Special qualifying score for the Olympic Selection Trials,” she explained.

The audience for the Grand Prix Special was similarly impressive to the previous day’s Grand Prix, which may have set records for attendance in North American Dressage. “We had probably 1,500 people today,” said WDM co-founder and CEO Anthony Kies. “I think the turn-out is fantastic, and tonight we will see a sold out house.”

Photo: Susan J. Stickle

January 17, 2012 - Anthony SF is the NW Dressage Young Rider Training Level Champion

Judy Hedreen of Sylvan Farm in Arlington, Washington was thrilled with the successes the new partnership of her Oldenburg gelding, Anthony SF, and Sylvan Farm’s working student, Blair Niemcziek who is finishing her last year as a Young Rider.

Anthony SF came with some history of poor training, and Blair worked diligently to retrain him correctly. Anthony SF and Blair's hard work was recently rewarded with the Championship win in the NW Dressage Championship Young Rider Training Level division. With scores in the 70's throughout the competition, they were also the Reserve Champions of the USDF Reg. 6 GAIG Championships.

For their outstanding performance throughout the year, Anthony SF was the USDF/OHBS All Breeds Awards Young Rider Training Level Horse of the Year. Blair believes 'Tony' has big future ahead of him because of his extreme swing and elasticity along with his ability to 'sit'. He will be showing at Third Level in 2012. Anthony SF is by Agincourt out of the Dutch mare, Lochness by Final Pool xx. He was bred by Sylvan Farm, WA. Photo: ©Teri Boggs NW Graphic Design

Born on the Bayou, was awarded the Northwest Sporthorse Breeders Dressage Type 2011 Champion Colt. He is sired by the Arabian stallion Fames Reward ox and is out of the Oldenburg mare, Dynamica (Dynamic x Carrie J xx by Joleg xx).

This award is given based on points earned through the year from show placings and wins. Born on the Bayou has won many championships in the breed shows, so the honor was well deserved. His sire, Fames Reward ox is not approved for breeding by the OHBS-GOV which is why Born on the Bayou simply holds a Certificate of Pedigree from the OHBS.

Avalon Equine has once again donated a warmblood foal to be raffled off for a worthy cause. In 2010, in conjunction with the Oklahoma Dressage Society, they raffled off the Oldenburg foal, Adieu d’Avalon. The proceeds from that raffle resulted in over $9,000 being donated to the Courtney King-Dye Fund to assist in covering some of Courtney’s medical care resulting from a catastrophic head injury.

This year, they have joined forces with the Leg-Up Equestrian Aid Foundation, Inc. (“LEAF”) and are raffling the foal, Beetlejuice d’Avalon (Black Tie x Morticia (Mannhattan)). Beetlejuice is a flashy 2011 chestnut colt that achieved a premium at his German Oldenburg Verband foal inspection. Raffle tickets are $5.00 each or 5 tickets can be purchased for $20.00. The drawing will be held on February 14th, 2012.

The Leg-Up Equestrian Aid Foundation is dedicated to organizing, developing, raising and distributing funds to help equestrians and equines suffering from catastrophic events, illness, accidents, or injuries as well as assisting in education of promising equestrians and/or their horses. For more information on the Leg-Up Equestrian Aid Foundation and to purchase raffle tickets, you can visit their website at www.legup-aid.org. Even if you are not interested in this raffle, please pass it on! Post it on your Facebook Wall, Tweet it, etc. It’s for a really good cause!

November 19, 2011 - Hollywood Arrived in Vechta as the Stars Came Out and Sold for Almost 3 Million Euro!!!

The 2011 Oldenburg Stallion Days in Vechta, Germany was a legendary event. The quality of the young stallions presented for the Main Licensing was incredible. Breeding Director Dr. Wolfgang Schulze-Schleppinghoff commented, "I am very happy with the overall unusually high quality of the stallions." He was not the only one who noticed this. Not only were two stallions sold over the following auction for over $1 million, the total sales of the 38 stallions offered reached just under 3 million Euro or almost $4 million.

The Oldenburg Licensing and Auction
In the Oldenburg Licensing or Haupt Körung, two stallions vied for center stage and many others made a serious impression. The Champion stallion for the Oldenburg Licensing was #59-Fürst Romancier x Gesina (Sir Donnerhall I) bred and owned by Paul Schockemöhle's Gestüt Lewitz. His elasticity, expression, and cool character along with a successful mare line which has produced the stallions Voltaire (Furioso II), Furinos (Furioso II), and Platino (Platon I) made him a stand out. Having received a standing ovation as Champion, he then sold in the auction to the Dressage Horse Center Harli Siefert of Lodbergen, Germany for 750,000 Euro (~$1.1 million). He has since been named For Romance. Click here for the video of the Oldenburg Champion.

The other star of the Licensing and subsequently the auction was #83-Temptation x Sigma (Sandro Hit). The Swedish registered stallion who could not qualify to be in the Premium Ring which is reserved for only Oldenburg registered stallions sold to Jamie White and Tom Welling of Los Angeles, California for 800,000 Euro (~$1,100,000)! Jamie was on hand with her trainer Markus Gribbe who helped her with the bidding and celebrating. This young stallion has been named Tomahawk and is now standing at Hengstation Boeckmann in Germany. Click here for the Video of #83.

This year, the Breeding Evaluation Committee did things a little differently. Not only was the format for the licensing changed, the way in which the stallions were ranked was as well. All of these changes are a part of the overall plan to modernize the licensing process in step with Dr. Schulze Schleppinghoff's vision to create a system that more accurately analyzes the potential of these young horses to be sport horse breeding stallions. The changes in this licensing started with free-jumping the dressage stallions separately on Wednesday evening.  In the at liberty phase for both the jumpers and dressage horses, flower boxes were arranged on the ground and staff were put in place so that the stallions would move freely in a figure 8 rather than back and forth randomly. The jumper stallions would then be allowed into the entrance of the jump chute, stopped, and then let freely over the jumps rather than being led into the jumps as before. In the case of the dressage stallions, the jumps were removed and a long open chute was put in its place so that the stallions could either canter or trot down the long side of the arena. 

Commenting after the licensing, Dr. Schleppinghoff remarked that generally they were very happy with the changes that they made. The changes were based on the system used by the KWPN Breeding Committee in their licensing, and they were on hand to help the Oldenburg crew set everything up. He was thankful for their support and participation and noted that the only problem is that the Oldenburg arena is smaller than that in the Netherlands with the audience closer to the stallions. He said the stallions didn't flow around as well because of this and it would be something that they would discuss in the future.

The other change was in how the stallions were ranked and awarded. On Saturday morning, the Premium stallions were invited into the final walk ring. One for the OL and one for the OS. After the Breeding Evaluation Committee took a last look at each of the stallions, the top stallions were asked to leave the arena. The remaining stallions were then honored as premium stallions, but with no ranking. After they left the arena, the top stallions returned and were ranked accordingly.

In the case of the Oldenburg stallions, the top four stallions were asked to leave the arena. When they returned they were ranked. This year, the Reserve Champion was #62 Quaterback x Vb.Pr.St. Feldstern (Stedinger) bred by Dr. Hans-Herm and purchased by Sissi Max-Theurer of Gestuet Vorwerk at the 2009 Elite Foal Auction under the name "Quadrivio". He has since been named Quinzanos and has been placed in training with Dorothee Schneider of Germany.

The other two stallions were tied for the 1c Premium position. The first was #42 Christ x Feela (Fuerst Heinrich) bred and owned by Gestuet Sprehe. The second was #60 Fuerst Romancier x Vb.Pr./El.St. Wendy (Plasir d'Amour) bred by Georg Bischoff and purchased at the 2009 Elite Foal Auction by Frank Kunzmann under the name "Fuerst D'Amour". He was sold at the Stallion Auction for 170,000 Euro to Germany.
Click here for the Highlights of the Ranked Premium Stallions.

The four unranked Premium stallions were also very exciting. In numerical order, they were: #51 Fackeltanz x Vb.Pr./El.St. Bonita (Rohdiamant) bred by Juergen Fetzer and owned by Rene' Tebbel; #68 San Amour x Donja M (Diamond Hit) bred by Eva Moeller and owned by Johannes Westendarp and Burkhard Wahler; #73 Sarkozy x Pinje Byager (Michelangelo) bred and owned by Gestuet Byager of Denmark; and #80 Sir Donnerhall I x El.St. Kirudja (Quattro B) bred by Rosemarie Boelts and owned by M. Lueckmann and A. Bohne. All of them except #68 were sold at the auction. #51 and #80 will be staying in Gemany and #73 will be headed to Belgium.
Click here for the Highlights of the Premium Stallions #51 & #68.
Click here for the Highlights of the Premium Stallions #73 & #80.

The OS Licensing and Auction
Dr. Schleppinghoff and the Evaluation Committee were also thrilled with the outstanding quality of the jumper stallions who were not only exceptional over the fences, their gaits and types were outstanding as well. Although everyone was happy with the prices received at the auction for the stallions, OS President Paul Schockemoehle pointed out in the press conference that there were still many talented jumpers that were sold for prices lower than should be expected for such quality. Even though recognition such as this might still take a little time, it was clear to everyone that the young OS Verband is well on its way to being accepted as a world class jumper breeding organization, and the horses being produced are ahead of their time.

The stallion that displayed this the most and was named champion was #21 Diamant De Semilly x Whitley (Phin Phin) bred by van de Royakkers and Boogard of the Netherlands and owned by Stina and Jorgen Schmidt of Denmark. This stallion not only showed tremendous ability, he did it with incredible ease and fluidity. He was completely calm and confident as he went through each chute and kept his rhythm without missing a beat. Click here for the Video of the OS Champion.

The Reserve Champion was also outstanding #12 Chacco Blue x Bellisima Biolley (Argentinus) bred and owned by Stephanie de Sadeleer of Belgium. Not only does he have fantastic technique over the jump, he was balanced on the lunge and had three very good gaits on top of being a knock out to look at.

The 1c Premium stallion was #17 Clinton x Wanja (Heartbreaker) bred and owned by Henri Glesener of Luxembourg. This typey stallion turned heads from the start and did not disappoint over the jumps. Click here for the Highlights of the OS Ranked Premium Stallions.

The four Premium stallions who were honored but not ranked were in numerical order: #1 Balou du Rouet x El.St. Ila II (Acord II) bred Alois Lueckmann and owned by Rolf Waering; #6 Calido x St.Pr.St. Confess (Contendro I) bred and owned by Hans Trainer of Austria; #19 Cornado I x Vb.Pr.St. Padelli (Padarco van het Hertsfeld) bred by Sigrid Crome and owned by Jan Crome; and #27 Lord Pezi x St.Pr.St. Aquinora (Quattro B) bred by Werner Meyer and owned by BG Stevens/Boeckmann.

Armin Arnoldt will be happily going home with #15 who he has now named Checkmate (Check In x Evita (Rio Zeus)) after purchasing him in the auction following the licensing. Click here for the video of #15 Checkmate.

The Hauptpremium Stallions
Also honored on Saturday were the 2011 Hauptpremium or "Main Premium" stallions for both Oldenburg and the OS. This is a honor given to a 5 year old stallion each year based on their own performance in sport, in the stallion performance tests, and on the quality of their first foals. In contention for the Oldenburg award were Fairbanks (Flemmingh x Identify (Inselfuerst)), Surprice (Sir Donnerhall x Pusteblume (Prince Thatch xx)), and Destano (Desperado x Bella Novanna (Brentano II)). In the end, the Hanoverian stallion Destano was crowned and celebrated as the Oldenburg Hymn was played. Destano was bred by Heinrich Giesselmann and was licensed in Oldenburg in 2009. He received outstanding scores of 8.69 for dressage and 8.94 for jumping in his 30 Day Test, and in his 70 Days test he received a dressage index of 134 with excellent individual scores of 9.0 for character, willingness and trot, and a 9.5 for his walk. He also presented two foals in the Oldenburg Elite auctions and had 28 premium Oldenburg foals. He is owned by and stands with Gestuet Sprehe.

The OS Hauptpremium stallion was Straviaty (Stalypso x Celline (Couleur-Rubin)) bred by Wilhelm Meiners and owned by Karl Manser. Straviaty was the Reserve Champion of the 2009 Main Licensing. In his 30 Day Test he received a jumping score of 8.34 and a dressage score of 7.59. Around 1/2 of his foals have received premiums from the Oldenburg inspections. He has also been successful in sport under Marcus Busch having placed and won the young jumper classes. He stands at Zuchthof Kathmann. Click here for the Highlights of the OL & OS Hauptpremium Stallions.

The Stallion Parade
On Saturday evening, everyone was treated to a wonderful few hours of performances from older stallions under saddle. The "Stallion Parade" consists of stallions from around Europe that are approved for breeding with the Oldenburg and OS Verbands. This year there were many highlights. Click on the following links to see videos for the highlights.

Highlights Part 1 Jumpers:
Lestat - 3 yr. old stallion owned by Dreamscape Farms of Vancouver, Canada;
Cornet's Balou; Contendro I; and VTV Stallion of the Year Light On
Highlights Part 2:
Fidertanz; Licotus; Florenciano; and the VTV Stallion of the Year Sorento OLD
Highlights Part 3:
Ratzinger; Farewell III; Rock Forever; and Rubinio B

Click here to see the full collection of the Dressage Stallions
Click here to see the full collection of the Jumper Stallions
Report and videos by Stephanie Law

October 2, 2011 - From the Breed Show to Grand Prix, Oldenburgs & Weser Ems Ponies are Victorious at Dressage at Devon

The 2011 Dressage at Devon in Pennsylvania was very rainy, but it didn't dampen the spirits or talents of the Oldenburg horses and Weser-Ems Ponies who were competing there!

Performance Division
Both the FEI Grand Prix de Dressage (GPF) and the FEI Grand Prix de Dressage Freestyle were won by Adrienne Lyle and her Oldenburg 12 year old gelding, Wizard (Weltmeyer x Pica (Classiker)) bred Hans Lind of Germany! The Chronicle of the Horse reports: "Lyle and Wizard executed a composed, classy test that showed off the 12-year-old gelding’s power and ability. This is only the second time that Lyle and Wizard have competed with their current freestyle, ridden to music composed by Terry Gallo and including songs like “Play that Funky Music.” The freestyle was tweaked minimally after their win at Saugerties; Lyle added zigzag half-passes ridden right before the final salute.

“It’s only the second time I’ve done that freestyle on him, so we’re kind of figuring it out,” Lyle said. “He was wound up, but he tried to stay with me as best he could, whereas in the past he might have checked out a little.” Lyle has certainly put the miles on Wizard (Weltmeyer—Pica, Classiker) on their trip to the East Coast this fall from their home in Sun Valley, Idaho, where she’s the assistant trainer to Debbie McDonald. She rode Wizard in a Grand Prix test event at the Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Dressage Festival of Champions before continuing on to the Saugerties CDI-W, where they placed third behind Haddad Staller’s two rides, Winyamaro and Cadillac 35, in the Grand Prix Special and first in the Grand Prix freestyle.

“To be able to hit two big CDIs back-to-back is huge for us,” Lyle said. “It’s great for us to be able to learn and ride with all these different riders.” Lyle hopes to end the year competing on the West Coast before making a possible bid for the 2012 Olympic team."

Another success story from the FEI Levels is Evi Strasser of Canada riding Renaissance Tyme (Royal Diamond x Dream of Heidelberg). Evi reports that the 8 year old gelding was 4th with her in the Prix St. George, 6th in the Intermediare 1, and 5th in the Inter I Freestyle, an excellent result since this was only his 6th show and had never gone is a large stadium like Devon's. In his short career with Evi, Renaissance Tyme has been very successful being 2nd at Saugerties in the CDI PSG and won the Inter I Freestyle. This led to the pair being named as the 2nd Reserves for the Canadian Pan American Games Team. Evi says she is very excited about how well the young gelding handled Devon and looks forward to his future.

Evi had more to be proud of at Devon as well with the success of her daughter, Tanya Strasser-Shostak. Tanya and the Weser-Ems 1c Premium of the 2007 Licensing in Vechta, Germany, Charlott's Boy aka Cappuccino Tyme (Charivari x Dolores (Diamond Hit)), won the FEI Team Pony Test on Saturday and then the FEI Individual Pony Test on Sunday! Evi purchased Cappuccino Tyme at the 2008 Spring Elite Auction, and Tanya has been bringin him along herself with the oversight of Evi since. Tanya was also successful with Rolex Tyme (Rosario x Landfriese). The pair won the FEI Freestyle Test for Juniors with a 66.10% on Sunday! Evi reports that Tanya and Rolex Tyme also won the Juniors Freestyle in Saugerties.

Also winning in the Performance Divisions was the Oldenburg mare, Sp.Pr.Ca. Biscaya (Johnson x Audrey (Argentinus)) who won the FEI 5 year old Dressage Finals with a resounding score of 80.80%!! Biscaya was bred by Claus Hueppe in Germany and was purchased by Nancy Holwesko of Crosiadore Farms in Maryland as an Elite Foal at the 2006 Fall Elite Auction as an Elite Foal in Vechta, Germany. She was named the Champion Mare of the 2010 OHBS Inspection season and was 5th in the Markel USEF National Finals for the 5 year old Dressage Horses. At Devon, Biscaya was also 2nd in the 4 and 5 year old Mares Material and 3rd in the FEI 5 year old Young Horse Test on Thursday. Her combined score of the two FEI 5 year old tests resulted in her being the overall 2011 FEI 5 year old Devon Champion!

Nancy was also very happy with the excellent results of her 6 year old gelding who she bred, Sabati (Sandro Hit x Rosalea (Rubinstein I)). Sabati and Ulla were 2nd on Thursday and 3rd on Friday in the FEI 6 year Dressage Finals with great scores of 77.00% and 73.40%! Just behind them on Thursday and ahead of them on Friday placing 3rd and then 2nd in this same test was Suntreader (Sandro Hit x Rivage (Rubirando)) bred and owned by Pamela Erdman of Stone Mountain, Georgia! Ridden by Inga Janke, Suntreader scored a super 73.20% on Thursday and a 75.600% on Friday.

More happy owners were Greg Strait and Melinda Brown. Their 4 year old Oldenburg stallion, De Feiner Star (De Laurentis x Feiner Dance (Feiner Stern)) bred by Angela Barilar and brought up by Meg Sherman won the Four year old Stallions Under Saddle class and the USEF 4 and 5 year old Stallions Materiale class! De Feiner Star is trained and ridden by Christopher Schruefer.

Breed Division
Mo Swanson of Rolling Stone Farm has a lot to celebrate after the results of her mares and foals in the Dressage at Devon Breed Show! Her Hanoverian mare, EM Rheporter (Royal Prince x EM Whispre (Weltmeyer)) was the Mare Champion, Mature Horse Champion and Grand Champion! Rheporter has been entered into the Oldenburg books, and this year Mo presented her outstanding colt, Shavane (Shakespeare RSF) to the OHBS breeding judges, Thomas Rhinow and Holly Simensen who awarded the Oldenburg colt with a Premium and Foal of Distinction. This colt was also appreciated by Dr. Christmann of the Hanoverian Verband in Germany who was one of the judges at Devon. Shavane was 2nd in the Colts of 2011 class with a 76.20% and was the Reserve Foal Champion! Mo's mares and foals were presented by Quinnten Alston who is a valued member of the Rolling Stone Team.

The success did not stop their either. Mo's filly, Shilouette (Shakespeare RSF x Fhlora (Fuerst Heinrich)) was second in the Fillies of 2011 with an outstanding score of 82%, and 4th in the USDF GAIG Foal Championship! Also bred by Mo was the 3 year old, Dhouble Scoop who was 4th in the 3 year old Colts and Geldings class and Shayonara who was 5th in the Yearling Fillies class.

The yearling, Rosallie KIS (Rosall x Bevolina (Brentano II)), bred by Wendy Costello of Kent Island Sporthorses and owned by Deborah Dalseg, was 3rd in the Yearling Fillies, 4th in the USDF GAIG Filly Championship, and won the GOV Individual Breed Class!! Rosallie KIS was handled by Michael Bragdell.
Congratulations to all!!

The 75th Anniversary Oldenburg Elite Auction in Vechta, Germany was a fantastic success with talented horses who brought in an incredible average price of 40,233 Euro, and the top priced horse was the licensed stallion, Di Magical!

The Auction Evening Gala
The event started off on Friday evening with a fantastic Gala that featured top sport and auction horses intermingled with fun filled acts. There was also a surprise during the Gala for the President of the Oldenburg Verband, Wilhelm Weerda. The Board of Directors of the Verband decided to use this 75th Anniversary of their Elite Auctions and 150th Anniversary of their stud books to award President Weerda with the golden pin of the Verband der Züchter des Oldenburger Pferdes for his exceptional and long service to the Verband. Along with this award he was also presented with the Silver Gustav-Rau Medal from the German Riding Federation (FN) for the 10 years he has served on the Board of Directors for the Verband. During his time as President he oversaw the building of the modern Oldenburg Horse Center in Vechta, the integration of the Elite Mare Show in Rastede with the Oldenburg State Championships, and the partnership with the Weser-Ems Breeding Society. His largest accomplishment, however, was the founding of the Oldenburger Springpferdzuchtverbandes-International (OS) which he had to fight for against resistance from the FN. He has also been a force behind the recent founding of the roof Verband, the Oldenburger Pferdezuchtverband e.V., which will oversee the OL and OS together. His presidency has led the Oldenburg Verband forward, and his contribution is evidenced by the growth of membership and the success of the Oldenburg horses.

The evening Gala also featured the presentation of the 2011 Bundeschampion of the 5 year old Dressage Horses, Fürstenball, along with his dam and granddam, St.Pr./El.St. Maradonna (Donnerhall) and St.Pr./El.St. Marella (Classiker x Maureen (Weltmeister)) owned by Georg Sieverding of Emstek, Germany. Fuerstenball's half brother, Harmony's Desiderio (Dimaggio x St.Pr.St. Maradonna (Donnerhall)) owned by Harmony Sporthorses in the US came out as well to show how strong this mare line is. Another excellent Oldenburg mare line was then featured when we were treated to a performance from Rubin Royal (Rohdiamant x El.St. Rumirell (Grundstein II) who comes from the mare line of Rudilore. Click here for the Gala Highlights Part 1 video.

The Reserve Champion of the 2011 Bundeschampionate 3 year old Mares and Geldings, Stern von Afrika (San Amour x Hanseatin (Harvard)) was breathtaking, as was the stallion Royal Doruto (Royal Hit x Ballerina (Rubinstein I)). After that we had some fun watching Der Flucht der Karibik - a frisbee show with some very fast and sharp catchers! The top mares from the 2011 Elite Mare show in Rastede were also presented and honored. The champion of the OL Brilliant Ring, St.Pr.A. Fire and Ice (De Niro x St.Pr.St. Free Life (Lord Liberty)) came out as did the top three OS mares, St.Pr.A. Contessa (Canturo x El.St. D-Cremona (Corrado I)), St.Pr.A Queentina (Coupe de Coeur x St.Pr. Quadriga (Quidam's Rubin)), and St.Pr.A. Shiva Nova (Stalypso x Nora (Lennon)). Click here for the Gala Highlights Part 2 video.

The success of the 10 year old OS was also celebrated with the 2011 Bundeschampions of the 5 and 6 year old Jumpers, Cornet's Balou (Cornet Obolensky x Georgia (Continue)) and Toulouse (Toulon x Galatee (Ganymed)) were presented along with the silver medalist of the FEI World Championships for the Young Jumper Horses in the 5 year old Division, Cafe's Champus (Cafe au lait x Chamba Wumba (Calido)), and his sire, the 2003 Champion of the OS Licensing, Cafe au lait (Contender x Diamila (Diadem)). Later, the 2010 OS Licensing Champion, Coupe d'Or (Coupe de Coeur x rivera (Rivero xx)) was brought out with his Holsteiner sire, Coupe de Coeur (Calido x Adele (Lincoln)) and were honored along side Sandra Auffahrt who comes from a long time Oldenburg breeding family. Sandra recently won the silver medal at the 2011 European Championships in eventing on her Selle Francais gelding, Opgun Luovo. While the auction crew was setting up the jumps for the auction horses, we were treated to a fun demonstration of High School dressage in hand from Franz-Josef Dahlmann and his shetland pony, Chintan. Click here for the Gala Highlights Part 3 video.

This was followed up by an exciting auction team Formula 1 Race right in the auction hall, and a the Reitverein Hesel's Zirkus Zirkus! Grammy nominated DJ Paul van Dyk composed an excellent mix for his wife Natascha and her Oldenburg horse, Dream of Gold (Dream of Glory x St.Pr. Okanja (Waikato)). Click here for the Gala Highlights Part 4 video. Closing out the evening were the final auction canidates and the two time World Champion of the Young Dressage Horses, Astrix (Obelisk x Upshot (Olivi)), ridden for the Netherlands by Emmelie Scholtens. Click here for the Gala Highlights Part 5 video.

The Auction
On Saturday, everyone was in a great mood thanks to the excitement about the horses and foals being offered, not to mention the summer weather with temps in the high 70's and a clear and sunny sky! The top priced horse was the licensed stallion,
Di Magic (Dimaggio x St.Pr.St. Ferodie (Rohdiamant)) who has won 4 year old classes under saddle with his exceptional rideability and strong movement. After a bidding duel with Switzerland, he sold to Grand Prix Dressage rider, Bernadette Brune of Monaco for 250,000 Euro! This long time client of the Oldenburg auctions was elated when she won the bid for the beautiful black stallion bred by Christian Niemann and owned by Andreas Wempe. Click here to see #6 Di Magic.

The mare, Tausendundeine Nacht (Don Schufro x St.Pr.St. Tonella II (Rubinstein I)), was a head turner from the start. Her registered name is St.Pr.St. Taiga, and in her Mare Performance Test she scored an incredible overall score of 8.16 which included a perfect 10 for rideability. Bred and owned by Heinrich Themann, she was a finalist in the 2009 Brilliant ring and in 2010 had a filly by San Amour. At the evening Gala on Friday she and her full sister, St.Pr.St. Traversale T, put on a wonderful performance with Traversale showing off her S Level series winning ability. After a three way bidding fight between Germany, Swizterland, and Australia, the auctioneer, Uwe Heckmann, knocked the hammer down for Australia for the amount of 160,000 Euro. The beautiful mare will be staying in Germany in training with Kira Wulferding. Click here to see #1 Tausendundeine Nacht and her sister, Traversale OLD in the Evening Gala. Click here to see #1 Tausendundeine Nacht in the auction.

When the North American director of the OHBS, Holly Simensen, watched the jumpers offered in this auction she said, "Tell everyone that these OS horses are jumping like freaks!" She was extraordinarily impressed with their ability not only over the jumps, but also in their gaits and overall athleticism, and clearly so was everyone else. The third highest priced horse of the auction was the licensed jumping stallion, N'oubliez Jamais (Nintender x Lady Capriola (Calido)) who was fought over until the hammer fell in favor the training center of Lee AG in Switzerland for 150,000 Euro! The 5 year old stallion bred by the international jumping rider, Jürgen Ernst, has won many young jumper classes, and was ranked 2nd in an M Level class on top of many other high placings. He was also qualified for the 5 year old jumpers at the 2011 Bundeschampionate with an overall score of 8.4.
Click here to see #8 N'oubliez jamais.

One of the dressage horses headed for the US is thanks to the great work of Stefanie Gribbe, the sister of the international Grand Prix rider and current Canadian Dressage Team coach, Markus Gribbe, who was busy training with the Canadian Pan
Am Games Team in New York during this auction. Stefanie helped clients in Germany as well as the US, and a few were on hand with her at the auction from California and had a great time. The horse was #46 Scooter (San Schufro x Desire (Fürst Heinrich)) who is stunning and has an excellent expression and uphill balance in his gaits. Another wonderful dressage horse that will be headed to California thanks to Viola Abrams is #47 St.Pr.A. Sunshine Tour (Sir Donnerhall I x El.St. History (Alabaster)) who is elegant and moved effortlessly. Click here to see #47 St.Pr.A. Sunshine Tour.

Presented alongside the outstanding horses under saddle were the Elite Foals who were just as exceptional. The top selling foal was #87 Dans d'Ecole (Danone x St.Pr.St. Rihanna (Welt Hit II)) who was presented in the evening Gala alongside his full brother, Dante Weltino, who was the reserve champion of the 2009 Oldenburg Licensing. The colt bred by Olaf Bahls sold to the German dressage rider Ulf König. Click here to see Dante Weltino and #87 Dans d' Ecole.

The second highest priced foal of the auction was the beautifully expressive and elastic filly Totima (Totilas x Sundance Kid (Sandro Hit) who had the shoulder freedom of her famous father. Bred by van Son & Tenhof of the Netherlands, the beautiful black filly was purchased by Lone Boegh Hendrikson of Denmark with the help of Johannes Westendarp. Click here to see #69 Totima.

Future Ace(Floriscount x Frieda (Dormello)) bred by Ann Kitchel of Vermont earned his Premium status and was named a Stallion Prospect by the Oldenburg Breeding Committee. In spite of being in the last group of a very long auction late in the year, the colt still sold for a very hansome sum to the US. Click here to see Future Ace.
Click here to see the collection and full results. Videos & report: Law

Juliana Whittenburg and Gary Ellebracht of Flying Lion Farm in Florida had their work cut out for them presenting a lot of young horses at the Sunshine Classic I & II, but in the end it was well worth it! Their 2011 Premium colt, Shamus (Sonntagskind x Zejaluna (Palmenhain)) won the GOV class, was 3rd in the open 2011 Colts Class and was 4th in the GAIG USDF Southeast Foal Championship Finals! The judges, Carter Bass and Jos Sevrierns, commented, "Sweet face, nice eye, nicely set neck, fairly smooth into wither. Soem nice suppleness in loin, good swing through body. Tracks correct behind, walks very well through back, correct in front. Some nice articulation when trotting. Shows some lift and suppleness."

Their Weser-Ems pony colt, Bonofacio (Highlife's Burberry x Courtash Kotton Candy (Courtash Karnival)), was also a stand out. He was named the High Point Pony both days, and won the Weser-Ems class with a 76.7%! He went on to the open 2011 Colts Class where he was 2nd on Saturday with a 75% and was 3rd on Sunday with a 75.3%! He then placed 3rd in the GAIG USDF Southeast Foal Championship Finals!!

Gary and Juliana also presented Pantaleone FLF (Pablito x Passadena W (Polany)) who was 3rd in the GOV class, 5th in the 2011 Colts Class on both Saturday and Sunday, and was 5th in the GAIG USDF Southeast Foal Championship Finals!

Finally, their Weser-Ems filly, Superstitious (Pablito x Skippin Jackie (Skippin Reed)) was second in the Weser-Ems class, and was 2nd in the open 2011 Fillies Class on both days!

All of these great foals are for sale so please visit our Classifieds section to see them and all of the rest of the fantastic Oldenburg horses and Weser-Ems ponies that are being offered!

Beatriz Torbay was over the moon when her father, Camil, won the bid for the FEI Level Don Royal (Donnerhall x Asmara (Argentan)) at the 2011 Oldenburg Spring Elite Auction, and now they all have even more reason to celebrate! Beatriz and the 11 year old gelding were just selected to represent Venezuela at the 2011 Pan American Games!! The pair will be headed to Guadelajara, Mexico and will compete in the Games which will be from October 14th to the 30th.

Don Royal was bred by Johanne Hagen and was very successful in the dressage shows in Austria having won several M Level tests with scores up to 70%, and then later as a 9 year old at S Level and Prix St. Georges with scores up to 67%. Since purchasing Don Royal, Beatriz has been in training with Patrick Burssens at the International Dressage Academy in Wellington, Florida. We wish Beatriz and Don Royal a very safe trip and lots of luck at the Games!!

Zara Phillips is following in the footsteps of her mother, Princess Anne of Great Britain, by being an equestrian superstar, and now she's doing it with the help of the Oldenburg gelding, Lord Lauries (Laralle x Laurista (Lauries Crusador xx))! Zara and Lord Lauries won the CIC3* in Ballindenisk, Ireland, and she is now waiting to see if she and Lord Lauries will hear from the British Olympic selection committee. She told the Metro UK, "It depends on who the selectors want to take and what type of horses they are looking for," says the Queen's granddaughter. "You just have to sit tight and wait."

The Metro UK reports that Phillips won the World Eventing Championship in 2006, and that Zara commented, "It seems like a long time ago now, but it's taken a few years to build up the same type of quality horses I had then." Lord Lauries was bred by Reinhard Krogmann of Visbek, Germany and was trained by Sandra Auffarth before going to the Royal Stables of Princess Anne. Click here to read the full report from Metro.

Rolling Stone Farm had a very successful Oldenburg Horse Breeders Society (GOV) Mare Performance Test on Saturday, Sept. 10th which resulted in a North American record number of mares presented, and a record number awarded with the Special and Verbands Premium status! They tested and inspected 10 three year old mares, all bred and owned by Mo Swanson of Rolling Stone Farm who now has three more Special Premium Candidate mares and two more Verbands Premium mares. Two of the highest scoring mares were Hanoverian, and so were ineligible for premiums.

Mo reports, "The free jumping went really well. John Amber and Cara Klothe did a super job in preparing the mares for the under saddle portion. John rode all ten mares for the test, while Cara, Dawn Coffey, Alaina Schmidt, and Taylor Hoffman got the next mares ready to go. Quinnten Alston did his usual outstanding job in handling the mares for the triangle and into the jump chute. The judges were Katrin Burger, Felix Einhaus, and Holly Simensen. Wanja Gerlach was the test rider."

The Top Mare overall who was awarded with the high score under saddle, high score for free jumping, and was given the Special Premium Candidate title was Ghodiva. She is sired by Rolling Stone Farm's Elite Hanoverian stallion, Gold Luck (Grundstein I x Annette (Abundance)), and is out of EM Dhominica (De Niro x Rapsodie (Rohdiamant)). Mo commented that Ghodiva had only been cantering under saddle for about three weeks, and had also only been schooled through the jump chute three times prior to the MPT. She received excellent scores resulting in an overall 7.99 having been given a very rare 9 for trot under saddle, 8.5 for free trot and canter, 8's for the free jump, her canter under saddle, and from the test rider, and a 7 for the walk.

Second place and the Special Premium Candidate title went to Rhaisonette sired by Rosentanz (Rohdiamant x Sabrina (Sao Paulo)), and out of Fhlora (Fuerst Heinrich x St.Pr.St. Valencia (Velton Third)). Rhaisonette's granddam, St.Pr.St. Valencia is also the dam of the stallion, Callaho's Benicio, who just won the 6 year old Dressage Horse Finals at the 2011 German Bundeschampionate with an incredible overall score of 9.4 which included a 10 for his trot and 10 for his walk. Benicio's half sister and Rhaisonette's Dam, Fhlora, was given the highest scores outside of Germany by the OHBS-GOV at the time of her inspection, and now we see that Rhaisonette herself is also an impressive result of this mare line. She received 8's for the free trot, the trot and canter under saddle, and for rideability from the test rider resulting in an overall 7.75. Her full sister, Rhosmary, received the Special Premium title last year.

Third place went to the Hanoverian mare, Hhot Tamale sired by Hotline (Hofrat x De Nira (De Niro)), and out of EM Chee Chee (Contucci x Barimba (Banter)). She received an overall 7.73 with a 9 for rideability from the test rider, and an 8.5 for the trot under saddle.

There was a tie for fourth place with an overall score of 7.61. The judges decided to give the fourth place ribbon and the Special Premium Candidate title to Lhorna Doone. She is sired by Londonderry (Lauries Crusador xx x Windsor Queen (Warkant)), and is out of Whest Indies (Wolkentanz II x Rhococo (Renaissance)). Lhorna Doone received an 8.5 for the trot under saddle and from the test rider, and an 8 for canter under saddle.

Shnickers, a Hanoverian mare sired by Sinatra Song (Sandro Hit x Paulina (Pik Bube I)), and out of EM Wyneth L (Widmark x Davigna (Davignon)) received the 5th place ribbon for the same overall score of 7.61 having received 8's for the free trot, free canter, and an 8.5 for trot under saddle. Sixth place and the Verbands Premium title went to Whrigley sired by Welcome S (World Cup I x Grebina (Grande)), and out of EM Alectra (Armin x Absinthe (Akzent II)). She received an overall score of 7.37.

Seventh place and the Verbands Premium title went to Lhemon Drop sired by Locksley II (Londonderry x Wildblume (Weltmeyer)), and out of EM Rhwanda (Rotspon x St.Pr.St. Grille (Gibraleon)). Her overall score of 7.18 included an 8 for the free jumping. Also tested were Fhifth Avenue (Farewell II x EM Fhrance (Fabriano)), Fhortune Cookie (Fidertanz x EM Whitney Q (Weltbekannt)), and Bhon-Bon (Brentano II x EM Amulet (Archipel)).

A tired but elated Mo summed it all up, "It was an ambitious day that was made possible by a great staff and a great husband!" Remarkably, the MPT was not the only incredible day for Rolling Stone Farm. In July, they also held a full inspection day where 18 of their 24 foals were awarded Premium, five of them were given the additional honor of "Foal of Distinction"! Please visit the 2011 Premium Awards page to see photos, videos, and more about all of them.

September 22, 2011 - Baby Doll & Bryce Quinto are Champions at the CDS Junior/Young Rider Championships

Bryce Quinto has been winning big lately with Marta Kauffman's Weser-Ems pony mare, Baby Doll (Botticelli x Constantin), and this past weekend was no exception. At the California Dressage Society Junior/Young Rider Championships, Bryce and Baby Doll won the Team Championship with the Las Vegas Showgirls Team and were the Junior/Young Rider Training Level Champion! To top that all off, Baby Doll was the High Score Pony as well!

Marta purchased Baby Doll as an Elite Weser-Ems foal at the 2004 Oldenburg Fall Elite Auction in Vechta, Germany. Her damsire, Constantin (Whatton Copper Beech x Meerpal Regina (Paashaas)), is also the sire of Marta's other Weser-Ems star, Chardonnay (Constantin x Wienerin (Livio)), who is winning in Open Grand Prix with Bryce's trainer, Jaye Cherry (standing next to Bryce and Baby Doll in the photo). So another big congratulations to Bryce, Marta, and Jaye!!

September 6th, 2011 - Affinity Sport Horses' Colt, Born on the Bayou is GAIG USDF Reserve Grand Champion

Born on the Bayou (Fames Reward ox x Dynamica (Dynamic)) bred and owned by Gayle Atkins of Affinity Sport Horses and Ponies has been on a roll! The first honor that was bestowed upon him was when he was named the Champion Sporthorse Foal at the Oregon Dressage Society Breeders' Showcase I and II at the Mt. Hood Equestrian Center near Portland. He won two Championships in the USDF classes against all breeds in two separate shows on the same weekend!

After these wins, a photo taken by Mary Cornelius of him won the photo contest to be featured on the cover of the Northwest Sporthorse Breeder's Association 2011 Breeders' Classic show program. He is a beautiful foal, but Gayle is the first to point out that he's far more than a pretty face!

He got a chance to prove this when they traveled to the Northwest Sporthorse Breeders Classic II where he was judged by Olympic rider, trainer and S level judge, Hilda Gurney. She was impressed with him calling him "Gorgeous" as he trotted around the triangle. He was the GAIG USDF Breeders Classic II Foal Champion on Saturday and was the GAIG USDF Final Reserve Grand Champion on Sunday! Gayle reports that she is thrilled with him and has high hopes for the Year End results considering his fantastic results.

Born on the Bayou is 1/2 Arabian and since his dam, Dynamica, is an Oldenburg Main Mare Book mare, he was issued a Certificate of Pedigree from the Oldenburg Horse Breeders' Society. So congratulations to Gayle! We look forward to more from this young superstar!

August 28th, 2011 - Flying Lion Farm's Shamus FLF is Grand Reserve Champion High Score at the DSDCTA NW Florida Classic III

Juliana Whittenburg and Gary Ellebracht are elated at how well their beautiful Premium colt, Shamus FLF, did at the Deep South Dressage & Combined Training Association's NW Florida Classic III in Cottondale, Florida! Judged by Jos Sevriens, the young colt sired by Sonntagskind and is out of Zejaluna (Palmenhain) won his Foal class with a 79.8% and won the GOV class. His excellent score was the second highest score of the entire show which gave him the award of Grand Reserve Champion High Score!

This great result also qualified Shamus for the USEF Regional Finals to be held in September! So congratulations to Juliana and Gary!

The 10th Oldenburg Elite Foal Auction turned into a fantastic event when the incredible colt, A La Dressage (Ampere x St.Pr.St. Samira (Sandro Hit), was fought over by bidders from around the world. Auction Director and Auctioneer, Uwe Heckmann, started the bidding in a cool and confident manner raising the price by increments of 5 and 10 thousand Euro at a time, and even at this rate, the bids came in lightning fast. Bidders from around the world including Dubai fought hard until it came down to a duel between Switzerland and Germany. The German bidder took a lot of time before finally going to an incredible 195,000 Euro, but it did not take long for the Swiss buyer bidding via an agent on the phone to raise it to 200,000 Euro. That was too much for the German, and the hammer went down!

The foal's breeder and owner, Klaus Tuchan of Grabow, Germany looked as if he was in disbelief when he came out and was congratulated by President Weerda, Uwe, and auction manager, Thomas Rhinow. His daughter then took a very happy victory lap with the colt and his embryo transfer dam! His real dam is St.Pr.St. Samira (Sandro Hit) is out of St.Pr./El.St. Rosanna (Donnerhall x St.Pr./El.St. Rosalie (Rubinstein I)) who is a full sister of the approved stallion, Dressage Royal, and is the dam of two Elite Auction foals, Floridabel and Fernando. Many other top level dressage horses and auction foals were produced from this mare line. Click here to see the video of A La Dressage!

A La Dressage was not the only highly priced foal either. #36 Tout Le Monde (Totilas x Roxana Ra (Rohdiamant)) sold for an amazing 90,000 Euro! A new client from Hannover, Germany was elated when she won the bid for him. His dam's sister, Ronda-Ra is winning at S level in Germany under Leonie Bramall. Many stallions stem from this dam line such as Con Amore, Morning Star, Marquis, Saluto, Sarasto, and Gina Cappellmann's successful Grand Prix horse, Weinbrand. Click here for the video of Tout Le Monde!

The refined and expressive colt, #4 Rock of Ages (Rock Forever x Fontania (Sevillano xx)) also turned heads in the presentation outside, and had the bidders fighting hard for him. His sire, Rock Forever, is winning now at Prix St. Georges, and the sister of this colt's dam, Fontania Rioja, was successful up to Grand Prix. The hammer went down for a bidder from the Niedersachsen region of Germany. Click here for the video of Rock of Ages.

Another highly desired colt was #84 Dante Ferro (Dante Weltino x Finesse (Ferro)) who stems from an excellent mare line. The Bundeschampion Fuerst Fugger and many stallions stem from his mare line as well as the successful S Level dressage horses Royal Gala and Rubirando. Having the Olympic Grand Prix stallion Ferro and the internationally successful Grand Prix stallion, Rohdiamant in his lines was certainly another factor in how beautiful this colt turned out. He will also be staying in Germany. Click here for the video of #84 Dante Ferro.

The top priced filly was the exceptional mover, #79 Feldgedicht (Quaterback x Feldstern (Stedinger)). She is a full sister to the outstanding colt from the 2009 Elite Foal Auction, Quadrivio, who sold to Sissi Max-Theurer. Their great-granddam Feldblume was the dam of No Limit who won at Grand Prix in dressage under Sandy Phillips and Hubertus Schmidt. The hammer went down in favor of a buyer from the Bavarian region of Germany. Click here for the video of #79 Feldgedicht.

An enormous part of the US and Canada was sadly distracted from this fun auction due to Hurricane Irene. We wish everyone that was in the path of this storm all the best, and hope that you are all safe and sound! Those on the west coast of the US were on hand, however, and KC Branscomb Kelley of Branscomb Farm in California was thrilled with winning the bid for the stunning filly, #74 Charlene (Corlensky G x Chandra (Landor S)). Her granddam, Chanel (Cor de la Bryere) won at S Level in international competitions herself, and this mare line produced the stallions Caballero, Casco, Ladas, Le Vainqueur and Leon Cavallo. Click here for the video of #74 Charlene.

Aside from the Germans who were strongly represented, the international audience in Vechta was very active. Auction manager, Thomas Rhinow, commented, "We were very pleased with the extraordinary amount of international clients who understood the first rate quality of our foals. Twenty eight foals found new owners over the German borders in countries like Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Slovania, Great Britain, Australia, Italy, and the USA." Even more so, many jumping loving Russians purchased some fantastic foals that will be heading for Moscow thanks to our new Auction Sales Director for the jumpers, Fabian Kühl. Click here to see the full collection and results.

August 18th, 2011 - A Powerful Debate: Are We Licensing the Wrong Stallions?

"Quo vadis – Are we licensing the wrong stallions?" is the subject of an interesting debate that is excitedly awaited in Vechta. We cordially invite all interested media representatives and listeners to the Oldenburg Horse Center on October 11, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. The event will be held by the Akademie für Pferdemanagement 2011 (Academy of Horse Management 2011) which is organized by the Departments of Agriculture of the Georg-August University of Göttingen, Osnabrück College, as well as the University of Vechta. A highly significant subject for breeders will be illuminated and considered from very different angles.

The discussion will be especially controversial because Oldenburg's Breeding Director, Dr. Wolfgang Schulze-Schleppinghoff, will present a new licensing model to the public for the first time. Afterward, there will be a discussion with representatives from the German Breeding Verbands.  Prominent guests such as Dr. Thomas Nissen, Breeding Director and General Manager of the Holstein Verband, Lars Gehrmann, Breeding Director and General Manager of the Trakehner Verband, Dr. Ludwig Christmann as envoy of the Hanoverian Verband, and Klaus Roeser, Manager of PST Paul Schockemöhle Marketing GmbH will be members of the expert panel during the evening. The auctioneer, Uwe Heckmann, will personally moderate the event.

The often passionate discussion concerning the stallion licensing system will be given a public stage with the most experienced professionals in Germany to illuminate the subject. Everyone interested in participating in the discussion or just listening is most welcome to follow this exciting evening, live in Vechta.

The presentation and debate will be held in the German language. Anyone who is interested in attending should email Oldenburghorseweb@hotmail.com for a registration form. We look forward to seeing you there!
  

August 10th, 2011 - Biscaya, Folkestone, Somerhall and Sabati are All Headed to the Markel USEF Young Horse Championships

The USEF has posted the official lists of young dressage horses who have qualified for the Markel USEF Young Horse National Championships, and four Oldenburgs are headed to the Lamplight Equestrian center to attend!

In the 5 year old division, Sp.Pr.Mr. Biscaya (Johnson x Audrey (Argentinus)) bred by Claus Hueppe, and purchased by Nancy Holowesko of Crosiadore Farm at the 2006 Fall Elite Auction as an Elite Foal, will be making the trip. At the Markel USEF East Coast Trials, Biscaya was the Reserve Champion, and automatically qualified due to her placing and excellent overall score of 7.996!

Placing just behind her at the same trials, and also automatically qualifying was Folkestone. Folkestone (Fidertanz x El.St. Katullika (Rubinstein I)) was one of the stars of the 2010 Spring Elite Auction where he was purchased by Christina Vinios who rode him to this excellent result of placing third in the trials with an overall score of 7.932!

Another Oldenburg in the 5 year old Division that will be headed for Lamplight is Belvedere bred by Irene Bayer. He was purchased at the 2009 Oldenburg Fall Elite Auction and imported to the US where he was later bought by Judy Wheatley. Belvedere (Biotop x White Drogida (Duntroon)) stems from the excellent mare line of Faschingswerk which produced the sires Gardeulan I and II, as well as Grandus. Ridden by Ignacio Moran, Belvedere was ranked 17th nationally with a score of 7.750. Judy received word from the USEF that the pair has been invited to compete at the National Championships, and she is very excited about the upcoming trip commenting, "He is my first Oldenburg and a true credit to his breed!"

In the 6 year old division, Royal Coeur, ridden by Marne Martin-Tucker was also automatically qualified for the championships with an outstanding score of 8.36 earned in England, but because Marne focused on the World Championships just held in Verden, Germany she will not be making the trip to Lamplight.

Somerhall ridden and owned by Ashley Wimmer qualified by ranking 11th in the nation with a score of 7.840! Somerhall (Sir Donnerhall x Arantscha B (Archipel)) was bred by Theo Berkemeier in Germany and was imported by Ashley who is now training and riding her.

The Oldenburg gelding, Sabati (Sandro Hit x Rosalea (Rubinstein I)) bred and owned by Nancy Holowesko will also be headed to the Championships. He is officially ranked 16th in the nation and is listed as first alternate, but Nancy was notified that one of the other horses above him will not be going, so he has now been officially invited. Trained and ridden by Ulla Parker, Sabati qualified with a score of 7.713, and this will be the third time in a row that Sabati has been invited to these Championships!

One of Sabati’s main rivals also just received an invitation for Lamplight. The Oldenburg gelding, Suntreader (Sandro Hit x Rivage (Rubirando)) bred and owned by Pamela Erdman of Stone Mountain, Georgia won the FEI/USEF TOC YH at the April Vada/NOVA Dressage Show with a score of 7.820 under Inga Janke. With that win, his qualification score rose to 7.640 which ranked him 19th nationally, and as 4th alternate they were in good shape to receive the invitation which just arrived.

So congratulations to all! We wish everyone a safe trip and lots of luck at the Championships!

August 7th, 2011 - De Champ & Fürstenball Earn Fantastic Scores at the World Championships for the Young Dressage Horses

The Oldenburg stallions De Champ and Fürstenball made a HUGE comeback in the small finals of the World Championships for the Young Dressage Horses in Verden, Germany!! De Champ won the small finals scoring an astounding 9.14 and Fürstenball was just behind him with a 8.98!

Hats off as well to Marne Martin Tucker and her Oldenburg mare, Royal Coeur. The two looked great in the small finals for the 6 year old dressage horses, and although there were a few fleeting moments that didn't go totally as planned, it was clear to anyone watching that this pair will be extremely tough to beat when they get a little more experience under their belts. Not bad at all for a debut for both of them on the world stage. We are sure it won't be the last time we see them there!

A congratulatory note as well to Ann Kitchell of Huntington Farm in Vermont. The Oldenburg stallion that she bred, Don Massimo, was 10th in the qualifying round for the 6 year old dressage horses. Unfortunately, the wind was horrible on the day of the large finals, so he didn't show off what everyone could see in the qualifying round, but he is for certain another top horse bred by Ann!

At the end of the month, the Oldenburg Elite Foal auction will take place in Vechta, Germany. This is the auction where Fürstenball was discovered and purchased by his current owner. This year, top foals from sires such as Totilas, De Niro, Fidertanz, Don Schufro, and Fürstenball, not to mention jumpers like Nabab de Reve, Montender, Lord Z, and Stalypso will be offered, so don't miss it! Click here to see the full collection.

July 21st, 2011 - Fire and Ice is the Champion of the 2011 Brilliant Ring and Contessa D is the OS Champion at the Oldenburg Elite Mare Show in Rastede, Germany

It was a fantastic day on the grounds of the historic Royal Stud of the Graf Anton von Oldenburg in Rastede, Germany. Not only were two amazing mares crowned as champions, there were also qualifiers in the Oldenburg State Championships which presented some fantastic young stallions!

The three year old mare, Fire and Ice, stole the hearts of the judges and the crowd, and was the named the Oldenburg mare champion of the 2011 Brilliant Ring. She was sired by De Niro and is out of St.Pr.St. Free Life (Lord Liberty x Friderica (Riesling)). Honored as well was the Springpferdezuchtverbandes Oldenburg-International (OS) Jumper Mare Champion, Contessa D, sired by Canturo and out of El.St. D-Cremona (Corrado I x Zola (Landgraf I)) who had received an outstanding 9.5 on her free jumping in her earlier Mare Performance Test.

Out of hundreds of 3 and 4 year old mares that are inspected by the Oldenburg Verband in Germany every year, only a select group are invited to go on to the Mare Performance Test. Out of those mares, around 100 are awarded the States Premium Candidate title, and then out of these States Premium Candidates, approximately 60 are invited to the Mare Show in Rastede. These figures can obviously vary from year to year based on the quality of the mares presented, and this year 55 dressage mares and 17 jumper mares were invited. Once in Rastede, the mares are presented in hand on the triangle to the judging committee. For the jumper mares, the top 6 were invited into the final walk ring, they were ranked, and the champion was named. For the dressage mares, 16 were invited in to what is called the "Brilliant Ring" where each mare is trotted in hand into the main stadium of the grounds, and then they were all asked to walk in a large circle around the judges who then ranked them, and named the champion.

The Evaluation Committee for the dressage mares included the Grand Prix rider and trainer, Wolfram Wittig, who gave the final comments about the champion mare, Fire and Ice, stating, "When you come from the sport world, you develop a critical eye, especially for the walk. We saw some very good horses with a phenomenal champion in all three gaits. She was able to convince everyone with her excellent walk. Fire and Ice has wonderful conformation, is a very nice type, and showed herself off with a lot of presence and charm." Fire and Ice was bred by Dieter Scherwitzki and was purchased as an Elite Foal in a 2008 Oldenburg Auction by Rudolf Flass. She earned excellent scores of 8.5 on her canter and 8.0 on her trot in her Mare Performance Test as well as a 9.0 for her walk resulting in an 8.10 overall score. Click here for the full video of Fire and Ice.

The reserve champion and third placed mare were also very closely considered and praised by the judges. Number 51, Chere Amie, sired by San Amour and out of Czardasfuerstin (Fuerst Heinrich x St.Pr./El.St. Cileste II (De Niro)) was a beautiful type with a powerful and elastic trot. She was bred and is owned Dr. Gisa Loewe of Berlin, Germany, and in her MPT she earned an overall score of 8.04. Click here for the video of Chere Amie. Ranked just behind her in a last minute discussion about the final three was the mare, Escada, sired by San Amour and out of St.Pr./El.St. Elektia's Dream (Dream of Love x St.Pr.St. Elektra (Rubinstein I)). This three year old mare was bred and owned by Heinrich Fugel of Saterland, Germany. Click here for the video of Escada.

The fourth placed mare was number 52, Herzdame von der Heide, bred by Manfred Rueter and owned by Goetz Rueter. She is also sired by San Amour and is out of a very successful Trakehner mare line that has produced many Brilliant Ring mares and licensed stallions. Her dam is Hakuna von der Heide (K2 x St.Pr.St. Halbton von der Heide (Schwadroneur)). Click here for the video of Herzdame von der Heide.

There were also two American owned mares presented in Rastede, and they both looked great. The first up was Roundabout bred in Germany by Henry Macke and owned by Ann Kitchel of Huntington Farm in Vermont. She is sired by Fidertanz and is out of Rudonja (Don Schufro x St.Pr./El.St. Rubina (Inschallah AA)). Roundabout has been started in training and was presented by Clemens and Andrea von Merveldt of Vechta, Germany, and they did a wonderful job. Click here for the video of Roundabout.

The second was Solar Eclipse bred by Nancy Holowesko at her Crosiadore Farm in Maryland. Nancy shipped Solar Eclipse over to Germany to be started in training by Johannes Westendarp who presented the mare for her Mare Performance Test in May. Solar Eclipse earned an incredible 9.0 for her canter and 8.5 for her trot resulting in a fantastic 8.2 overall score which was the 4th highest score of all the mares presented, and the highest of the Sir Donnerhall mares. Click here for the video of Solar Eclipse.

In the past few months, changes have been afoot in Vechta. A new "Dachverband" - literally translated meaning "Roof Society" or supervisory society was created. It is called the Oldenburger Pferdezucht-Verband e.V., and starting on January 1, 2012, it will oversee both the Verband der Zuechter des Oldenburger Pferdes e.V. (OL) and the Springpferdezuchtverbandes Oldenburg-International e.V. (OS). The OL will now be dedicated to the breeding of dressage oriented horses, and the OS will specialize in the jumpers. Therefore, this year mares with Oldenburg (OL) brands and registrations whose breeding and talent are oriented towards jumping were grouped together with the OS registered and branded mares.

Because of this unification, the depth of talent in the jumper mares was excellent, and for the first time, the audience could see what great jumpers they really were because of a large video screen set up next to the triangle where videos of the free jumping from the MPT's were shown. The Champion mare, Contessa D, was a very nice type with very good gaits having even earned a 8.5 for her walk in her MPT, and of course the 9.5 she had earned for her jumping made her a stand out. She was bred and is owned by Georg Dierker who was all smiles. Click here for the video of Contessa D at Rastede. Click here to see her Free Jumping at the MPT.

The Reserve Champion jumper mare was Queentina bred and owned by Gestuet Sprehe GmbH. She was sired by Coupe de Coeur and is out of St.Pr.St. Quadriga (Quidam's Rubin x Walzerfuerstin (Watzmann)). The gray mare showed remarkable ability over the jumps and during her MPT was rewarded an incredible perfect score of 10.0! Click here to see the video of Queentina.

The third placed mare was Shiva Nova bred by Vera Fuerst and owned by Franz Sanktohanser. She was sired by Stalypso and is out of Nora (Lennon x Chanell (Calypso I)). Shiva Nova is a mare with well rounded talent having scored very good scores for all three gaits and an 8.5 on her jumping during her MPT resulting in an overall score of 8.23. Click here for the video of Shiva Nova.

Videos and the report on the young horse classes at the Oldenburg State Championships in the story above! Click here to see the full rankings for the Oldenburg mares. Click here for the full rankings of the OS mares. Photos, videos and report by Stephanie Law

July 20th, 2011 - Marne Martin Tucker and Royal Coeur Are in Training at the Koshels and Ready to Take on Verden After Winning With an 8.8 at the Hickstead Premier League With Three 9's!!

On June 25th, Marne and Royal Coeur won the FEI 6 year old Test for Dressage Horses at the Hickstead Premier League with an incredible overall score of 8.8!! The pair received three 9's including a 9 for the canter! Marne reports Coeur was a little tired, but is moving great, and that now it's a matter of preparing properly for the World Championships in Verden where she will be one of the riders representing the USA. She will be traveling from England to Hagen, Germany where she will train with German Team member Christoph Koshel and his father, Juergen Koshel, to get ready. Click here to read Marne and Royal Coeur's story on Eurodressage!

The Oldenburg stallions, De Champ, Fürstenball, and Freak Blue Phantom will be representing Germany at the Young Horse Championships in Verden. Also selected as reserve horses were the stallions Fairytale and Sergio Rossi. Click here for the story on Eurodressage.

July 10th, 2011 - Jaye Cherry and the Winter Auction Horse, Santana, are Champions Twice in California, and the Weser-Ems Mare, Baby Doll, and Bryce Quinto are Junior Champions

Jaye Cherry of Los Angeles, California is on an incredible winning streak with the 4 year old gelding, Santana (Show Star x Andra (Donnerschwee)) who was purchased with Jaye's help by Marta Kauffman at the 2010 Oldenburg Winter Mixed Sales Auction in Vechta, Germany.

Over the 4th of July holiday weekend, Jaye and Santana won both of his Training Level Test 3 Open classes with scores of 78.00% and 78.40% at the Star Spangled Dressage Show in San Juan Capistrano. These outstanding scores resulted in Santana being the Show Champion with the High Score of the show!

They then went on to a repeat of these great results the following weekend at the Los Angeles Dressage Show where he won his classes again and was the Show Champion earning the two highest scores of the entire show.

Jaye was also very pleased with the results of her young student, Bryce Quinto, who rode Marta Kauffman's Weser-Ems pony mare, Baby Doll in Burbank. The pair won their classes as well, and were the Junior Champions. Marta purchased Baby Doll as an Elite Foal at an Oldenburg Elite Auction.

July 5th, 2011 - Rosallie KIS Wins the Yearling Fillies Class at the Virginia Summer Dressage at the Meadows

Wendy and Marty Costello of Kent Island Sporthorses are very happy to report that Rosall's first filly won the Yearlings Fillies class at the Virginia Summer Dressage at the Meadows. Rosallie KIS bred by Wendy and Marty, owned by Deb Dalseg, and presented by Michael Bragdell won the class with an excellent score of 78.400%.

Rosallie KIS' sire is the 2003 Oldenburg stallion Rosall (Rosario x St.Pr.St. Liberty (Akzent II)) owned by Kent Island Sporthorses. Rosall is in training with J.J. Tate at Riveredge West in Maryland, and his breeding is managed by Hassler Dressage who is also located at Riveredge. Rosall was the winner of his 30 Day test in Munich-Rheim and has since been winning with J.J. at Third Level with scores as high as 70%. J.J. and Rosall recently took part in a clinic with Olympian Debbie McDonald at Riveredge, and were very happy about how well it went.

Rosallie KIS is out of the mare, Bevolina (Brentano II x Aline (Argentan)) who has since been sold to Dee Herman in South Carolina. Rosallie was sold to Deb who lives in Canada, but has placed Rosallie at Hilltop Farm to be handled and shown as a youngster until Deb has her new house and barn ready. Deb also trains with J.J. Tate. So a big congratulations to all!

July 2nd, 2011 - Rainbow Equus Meadows' Oldenburg Stallion, Rubignon, Has a Son Who Was 4th at the Nordic Baltic Championships in Finland

Edgar Schutte of Rainbow Equus Meadows in California is happy to report that his stallion, Rubignon, has a son who was recently selected to represent Sweden at the Nordic Baltic Championships held in Ypaja, Finland.

The son is Replay (Rubignon x Andiamo) ridden by Karoline Lundberg. Replay and Karoline were recently 3rd in the Grand Prix at the 2011 CDI in Norrkoping, and thanks to this success they were selected to be one of the four members of the Swedish team for the championships.

In Ypaja, the pair was 4th in the Nordic Baltic Grand Prix Championships Round 1 Nations Cup. They were then 7th in the Nordic Baltic Grand Prix Championships Kur to Music, and were the top placing entry from the Swedish Team.

 

June 29th, 2011 - Shayonara and Shtarlet are Champions at the Windy Hollow Hunt June Dressage Show

In 2010, Rolling Stone Farm had an unprecedented 22 out of 24 foals awarded with the Premium title by Ullrich Henschke and Dr. Andre' Hahn of the Oldenburg Verband. Herr Henschke, who has been serving as a member of the Oldenburg Evaluation and Approval Committee in Germany for over 5 years commented that this was an extraordinary percentage of Premiums even for Germany, and that he was highly impressed with the quality of breeding at Rolling Stone Farm which is owned and operated by Mo and Jim Swanson.

These comments were backed up very well at the recent Windy Hollow Hunt June Dressage and Breed Show held in New Jersey. Two fillies out of that outstanding 2010 group of foals bred by Rolling Stone were highly scored and awarded by "S" judge, Arlene Rigdon. Shayonara (Shakespeare RSF x EM Whitney Q (Weltbekannt)) now owned by Ellen Kvinta Palmisano of Connecticut, won the Yearling Fillies Class, and went on to be named Filly Champion and Young Horse Champion with an excellent score of 83.3%!

Coming in very close behind her was Shtarlet (Shakespeare RSF x EM Gharbo (Gold Luck)) also owned by Ellen. Shtarlet was second in the Yearling Fillies, and was the Reserve Champion Filly and Reserve Champion Young Horse with an 81.7%!

Both of these fillies are sired by Rolling Stone Farm's young stallion, Shakespeare RSF. Shakespeare is by the 2010 USEF Sire of the Year, Sandro Hit, and is out of EM Acapella (Arrian x EM Papagena (Pablo)). Shakespeare RSF was the winner of the 70 Day Stallion Performance Test held in 2009 at Silver Creek Farm. He received excellent scores of 9.5 Character, 9 Temperament, 9.5 Trainability, 8.5 Trot, 9 Canter, 8 Walk, and 9.5 for Rideability amongst many more top scores. He is now winning at 3rd Level with scores as high as 69%.

So a big congratulations to Mo, Jim, and Ellen! We look forward to more from these two great fillies and much more from the rest of Rolling Stone Farm's super young horses!!

June 25th, 2011 - Marta Kauffman's Oldenburg Stallion, Sondheim, Wins Big and Qualifies for the 2011 Bundeschampionate

Marta Kauffman of Los Angeles, California is thrilled with the results of her 5 year old Oldenburg stallion, Sondheim, under his trainer and rider, Johannes Westendarp. On Thursday, the pair won the FEI 5 year old test at the Borchen-Etteln Dressage Show with an astounding 8.6 having received 9's for the Trot, Canter, and General Impression!! This qualifies them to go to the 2011 Bundeschampionate which is the German National Championships for the Young Horses held in Warendorf in September!

Marta purchased Sondheim with the help of her California trainer, Jaye Cherry, along with Johannes at the 2010 Oldenburg Spring Elite Auction in Vechta, Germany. The stallion was sold under the auction name of Sailor Moon, and he impressed everyone so much that he was the top priced horse at the auction! He is sired by Sandro Hit and is out of Galana (Rohdiamant x Gardenia D (Zirkoon)). His great granddam, Melancholie (Matador) was sold as a top auction filly to the Netherlands where she founded a special mare line that has been very successful. Sondheim was bred in the Netherlands by H.W. Brinks.

So a big congratulations to Marta and Johannes! Not to mention an extra congratulations to Johannes' wife Ines who was just selected to represent Germany at the upcoming World Championships for the Young Horses in Verden riding the Oldenburg stallion Fuerstenball!! The best of luck to you all! Photo of Sondheim courtesy of Jaye Cherry.

June 24th, 2011 - Sharon Will's Absolute Liberty is Charging Through the Advanced Level CCI3* Courses with Buck Davidson Jr.

Sharon Will of "Relatively Stable" in Ocala, Florida is elated at how well her 8 year old Oldenburg mare Absolute Liberty is doing as she moves up into the Advanced Level of Eventing and takes on the tough CCI3* courses with style! At the Bromont CCI3* in Quebec, Canada, June 9-12, Buck and "Libby" finished 4th overall out of a huge division of world class riders and horses! Sharon reports that they had a few time penalties, but show jumped clean to move up into the fourth place.

Ealier in May, Libby also did exceptionally well with Buck in one of her first CIC3* competitions at the Jersey Fresh Three-Day Event. The pair placed 7th overall after having a clean cross country jump with some time penalties due to Buck's concerns about the footing and wanting to be conservative with the young mare. It was an excellent result and gave Libby the confidence to move onwards and upwards!

Sharon bred Libby who is sired by the Oldenburg Approved, New Zealand stallion, Aberjack (Aberlou xx x Miss Charlie (Ranger)) who was ridden by Olympic rider, Mark Todd to great success at the upper levels of eventing. Libby is out of Sharon's CCI1* Thoroughbred and Oldenburg Main Mare Book mare, Chestnut Lady (Briartric xx x Pebble Peach xx (Stonewalk xx)). Sharon remembers, "Unfortunately, two weeks after birth Libby got very ill, and almost did not make it. Chesnut Lady or "Flair" could not have produced a more beautiful foal so I nursed her back to health." Sharon describes how much she loved riding Libby as a young horse, "Libby learned very quickly, but I realized she did not want to do dressage only. We introduced the jumps, and she showed a lot of talent for it with great coordination and power."

Buck and Libby will be headed for the Millbrook Horse Trials in New York from August 4th to the 7th, and then to the Richland Park Horse Trials in Detroit to compete in the CCI2* dressage and Advanced cross country and show jumping.

Coming along behind Libby is her younger half-brother also bred and owned by Sharon, No More Rocks (Noble Champion x Chestnut Lady xx (Briartric xx)), who has also been doing exceptionally well under Buck. The 6 year old gelding won the Open Preliminary A at the Fair Hill International Horse Trials, and was 2nd in the 3-Day CCI1*at the Ocala Horse Properties International! So again, a huge congratulations to Sharon, Buck and their whole team!! Best of luck in the upcoming events!

June 24th, 2011 - Flying Lion Farm's Bonofacio FLF and Pantaleone FLF Qualify for the GAIG/USDF Regionals at the Surf's Up Cup in New Smyrna Beach, Florida

Juliana Whittenburg and Gary Ellebracht are thrilled with the results of their 2011 foals at the Orlando Dressage and Silver Sands Dressage Club's Surf's Up Cup held last weekend in New Smyrna Beach, Florida!

They presented two Weser-Ems foals who were super. Their filly, Superstitious FLF (Pablito x Skippin Jackie (Skippin Reed)) who was only one month old, scored very well in the 2011 Fillies class with a 75.6.

The Weser-Ems colt, Bonofacio FLF (Highlife's Burberry x Courtash Kotton Candy (Courtash Karnival)), was rewarded with the exceptional score of 78.6 in the open 2011 Colts class which earned him a 2nd place! Bonofacio FLF is the first colt sired by Highlife's Burberry bred by Highlife Farms in Orlando, and owned by Heather Luing of Whispered Wish Weser-Ems in Ocala, Florida. Burberry is the first US bred Weser-Ems German Riding Pony to be licensed in North America. Bonofacio FLF's dam is the Anglo Welsh pony Courtash Kotton Candy who has produced four Premium Weser-Ems foals.

Juliana and Gary also presented the Oldenburg colt, Pantaleone FLF (Pablito x Passadena W (Polany)) who impressed the judges enough to rewarded him with an outstanding 80.0 which was the winning score for the class! Pantaleone FLF's sire is the Oldenburg approved Elite Hanoverian stallion, Pablito (Pablo x Amsella (Arsenik)) owned by Susan and Edgar Schutte of Rainbow Equus Meadows in California.

This show was the first "Surf's Up Cup" held in New Smyrna, and it was an official qualifying competition for the GAIG/USDF 2011 Regional Championships. Both Bonofacio FLF and Pantaleone FLF were awarded with GAIG/USDF sashes for having qualified for the Southeastern Regional Finals. The judge was Mrs. Liselette Fore who is an S rated judge from California. So a big congratulations to Juliana and Gary! Keep up the great work!

Both of these colts are for sale. Please see the Classifieds section under "Sales" for more information.

June 23rd, 2011 - Winchester is Colt Champion and Reserve Grand Champion at the Caygua Dressage & CT Club Breed Show

Alicia Rosenblatt is very happy about the fantastic success of the 3 year old colt, Winchester (Windfall CB x Serendipity (Rambo)) she bred and owns. At the Caygua Dressage & CT Club Breed Show in Ithica, NY this past weekend, Winchester was the Colt Champion, the Reserve Champion for the Young Horse Championship Class, and was the Reserve Grand Champion!

We wish Alicia a big congratulations and we look forward to seeing more from this beautiful colt in the future!

June 23rd, 2011 - The Oldenburg Mare, Sanibelle, Participates in a USEF Training Session at Riveredge with Scott Hassler

Report by Jeanne Karver from the NC Dressage & Combined Training Assoc.:
Sanibelle, owned by Susan Craft of Elon, was honored with an invitation to attend the Eastern Young Horse Training Session with national coach Scott Hassler this past April. As one of ten horses aged 4-6, Sanibelle was the only North Carolina representative. The 5-year old mare was bred by Louise Rascoe of Bahama, NC, who stands the German Riding Pony stallion, Sweet Rock Solid. Sanibelle (Sir Donnerhall x Lunar Wind (Loerke)) was raised since weaning by Craft and started under saddle by Jeanne Karver of Summerfield.

The training session was held at Riveredge, the amazing facility in Chesapeake City, MD where Scott and his wife Suzanne are based. It is an "equine castle" still under construction, sitting on over 500 acres. Future plans include shows and educational events as well as regular daily dressage training from the Hasslers. The riders and owners of the young horses stayed in the guest houses at Riveredge. The horses stayed in the luxurious guest wing of the main barn. The details of the vast place are not easy to simplify. Pictures are worth a thousand words, and yet still do not capture the feel, the innovation, and the outstanding atmosphere of the place.

...Owners of developing young horses who submitted a letter of intent (for the FEI Young Horse Program) and applied for the training session were invited based on application criteria and previous dressage performance results. During the training sessions, Sanibelle received many positive comments from Hassler and a "keep it real" mentorship for training and competitive guidance. Hassler commented on Sanibelle's trot work as some of the best quality he had seen this year.

Ealier this year, Sanibelle's progress was slowed due to an accident Karver suffered in February, and she had been back in the saddle less than two weeks before they left for the Maryland training session. Sanibelle was a true lady, and took the sudden 0-60 mph jump in stride, as though she understood the honor of being allowed to participate. Now back on the other side of the tall bridge, they made it home safe, tired, and inspired. For more information on the USEF Young Horse Program opportunities, visit www.usef.org.

June 22nd, 2011 - Crosiadore Farm's Solar Eclipse and Huntington Farm's Roundabout Are Invited to the Oldenburg Elite Mare Show in Rastede, Germany

Two North American OHBS breeders have just been bestowed with the great honor of having the mares they bred and own be invited to the most prestigious Oldenburg mare show in Germany! Nancy Holowesko of Crosiadore Farm in Maryland, and Ann Kitchel of Huntington Farm in Vermont will be sending their mares to the historic grounds of the Royal Stud of the Graf Anton Gunther von Oldenburg in Rastede, Germany to the Oldenburg Elite Mare Show to be held on July 21st, 2011.

Out of hundreds of 3 and 4 year old mares that are inspected by the Oldenburg Verband in Germany every year, only a select group are invited to go on to the Mare Performance Test. Out of those mares, around 100 are awarded the States Premium Candidate title, and then out of these States Premium Candidates, approximately 60 are invited to the Mare Show in Rastede. These figures can obviously vary from year to year based on the quality of the mares presented, and this year 55 have been invited. Once in Rastede, the mares are presented in hand on the triangle to the judging committee. Approximately 15 (judges discretion) will be invited to what is called the "Brilliant Ring" where each mare is trotted in hand into the main stadium of the grounds, and then they are all asked to walk in a large circle around the judges who then rank the top 10 and name the Champion.

Remarkably, Nancy's mare, Solar Eclipse, was bred and born in the United States at Crosiadore Farm. Nancy shipped the now three year old over to Germany this past winter to be started by Johannes Westendarp. Solar Eclipse is sired by Sir Donnerhall (Sandro Hit x Contenance by Donnerhall) and out of Eclipse (Espri x Lagostina by Lemon xx). As a filly, Solar Eclipse was awarded the Alain Seheut Award by the Oldenburg Horse Breeders' Society for being the most outstanding foal of the 2008 North American Inspection season. In the Mare Performance Test held in Germany in early June, she was awarded excellent scores including a 9.5 for her canter, and was given the States Premium Candidate title!

Ann Kitchel on the other hand, has for years kept one foot in Germany and the other in the US. She has her own breeding facility and farm in Vermont, and keeps a few mares with Andrea and Clemens v. Merveldt at their breeding and training stables, Gut Füchtel in Vechta, Germany. Ann has had tremendous success with her breeding program having bred the Bundeschampionate bronze medalist and price record breaking stallion, Statesman OLD (Stedinger x St.Pr.St. Weissendra by Donnerschwee) and the top priced auction foal, Future Star (Floriscount x Frieda by Dormello).

Just recently, another stallion that Ann bred, Don Massimo (Don Larino x St.Pr.St. Little Star by Santander H) won the 6 year old tests at the CDN Zandhoven, the CDN Schilde, the CDN Flemalle, and made it a quadrouple win at the CDN Herentals in Belgium! This essentially secured him a spot to represent Belgium at the World Championships for the Young Horses in Verden with his rider Larissa Pauluis!

Amazingly, Ann had three mares invited to the Mare Performance Test where they were presented by Andrea and Clemens. Don Massimo's half sister, Little Sue (Dimaggio x St.Pr.St. Little Star by Santander H) was awarded the States Premium Candidate title, and Statesman's half sister, Westend (Status Quo x St.Pr.St. Weissandra by Donnerschwee) was awarded the Verband Premium title. Ann's third mare, Roundabout (Fidertanz x Rudonja by Don Schufro) not only was awarded the State Premium Candidate title, but was also invited to compete at Rastede!

So we send out a huge congratulations to both Nancy and Ann, and we'll keep our thumbs pressed and fingers crossed for Rastede! Stay tuned for full coverage of that event on July 21st!

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June 21st, 2011 - Oldenburg Developing Horses Could Not Be Beaten at the German National Championships in Balve, Germany

From June 16th to the 19th, a very successful weekend brought acclaim for elite Oldenburg developing horses in Balve, Germany. Der Stern OLD (Dormello x Asionela (Sion)) bred by Wilfried Schlotmann, triumphed with two brilliant victories in the Tesch Inkasso Cup. This Cup was comprised of a S3* Intermediare II held on Friday, and then the S3* Grand Prix held on Sunday. Ridden by Isabel Werth, the 10 year old Der Stern OLD dominated the competition in both tests with a 72.421% in the Inter II, and a 72.850% in the Grand Prix!

Also coming from the same mare line, Desperado OLD (Dressage Royal x Balalaika (Rouletto) bred by Karl Lenk, presented himself in top form. Under Carola Koppelmann, he won with an outstanding 71.800% in the Prix St. Georges qualification for the 2011 Nürnberger Burgpokal, a championships for the Developing Young Horses held in December in Frankfurt, Germany! Desperado OLD already made a name for himself having not only been the top priced horse at the 2007 Oldenburg Fall Elite Auction, but for winning the 5 year old Dressage Horse Championship title at the 2008 World Young Horse Championships in Verden, Germany. So with this latest victory, he confirms his exceptional class.

Just a hair behind Desperado was another top class Oldenburg. The eight year old mare, Della Cavalleria OLD (Diamond Hit x Revue (Rubinstein I)) bred by Elisabeth Münstermann placed 2nd with a 71.700% under Kira Wulferding. With these joyful results, the Oldenburg developing young horse stars succeeded in winning the three highest developing horse tests in Balve!

June 20th, 2011 - Rio Mio Wins the Pre-Green Championship at the Nashville Country Show in Franklin, TN

Rio Mio (Rio Grande x Joyeux (Jupiter)), bred by Barbara Carry of Gift Hill Farm continues his dominance in the Hunter shows! Shown by Sarah Young and his owner, Lynn Cunningham, the 5 year old Oldenburg gelding had three firsts, a second, and a third winning the Pre-Green 3' Division Championship at the Nashville Country Show in Franklin, Tennessee!

Barbara reports that Rio Mio's dam, Joyeux, will be bred to a Rio Grande son. She says she is very excited, and is looking forward to Joyeaux's new foal along with even more great results from Rio Mio. Photo of Sarah and Rio Mio by Flashpoint.

June 19th, 2011 - Jaye Cherry and Santana Win the Cornerstone/Markel Open High Point and the Keen Perpetual Trophy

Jaye Cherry of Los Angeles, California could not be happier with Marta Kauffman's new young gelding, Santana! With Jaye's help, Marta purchased Santana (Show Star x Andra (Donnerschwee)) at the 2010 Winter Mixed Sales auction this past December. Since debuting earlier this spring, Jaye and Santana cannot be beaten. At the 2011 Dressage at Flintridge, Santana earned excellent scores in all of his Training Level classes, including a win with an 80% under the Olympic judge Linda Zang. Because of these high scores, Jaye and Santana won the Cornerstone/Markel Open High Point award and the Keen Perpetual Trophy!

Jaye was also thrilled with the results of her student Bryce Quinto who is also keeping up her winning ways with D'Jedefre (De Kooning x Alabaster). She also had great scores which resulted in her being the Junior Reserve Champion of the show! Jaye also helped Bryce purchase D'Jedefre last year at the 2010 Summer Mixed Sales auction. So another big congratulations to Jaye and Bryce. Keep up the great work!!

 

June 18th, 2011 - Sweet Rock Solid aka Stibby Me Wins Big at Third and Fourth Level at the Dressage At The Meadows in Virginia

Lousie Rascoe of Longview Farm in North Carolina is elated at how well her Weser-Ems approved pony stallion, Sweet Rock Solid aka Stibby Me is doing under rider Bailey Cook in the dressage shows competing against horses! At the Dressage At The Meadows in Doswell, Virginia, Stibby Me and Bailey won the 4th Level Test 3 with an excellent score of 66.75% which was the High Score Award of the day! They also won the 3rd Level MFS Challenge in the USDF Test of Choice class with an amazing 70.9%, and then on Sunday won the 3rd Level MFS Challenge sponsored by the Blueskies Environmental Association with another amazing 69.3%!!

Stibby Me (Pr. Sweet Dream x Elany (Downland Donner)) was bred by Werner Menke in Germany, and was imported to the US in 2006 after competing successfully in the 2005 German Bundeschampionate as a 3 year old. He has sired many Premium Foals who are just getting started in their careers. We send out a big congratulations to Lousie, Baily and the whole Longview Farm team! Photo by Jessie Henderson.

June 17th, 2011 - Rock Solid Warmbloods' Oldenburg Stallion, Rock Solid, Was Just That in His First Show

Theresa Schnell of Rock Solid Warmbloods in Indiana is thrilled with how her 5 year old stallion, Rock Solid or "Rocky", is progressing under his trainer and rider, Angela Hecker-Jackson. Angela spent time training in Florida with Rocky under Michael Poulin who had some very positive comments about Rocky and his future.

Rocky (Rosenthal x Parabola (Parabol)) was bred by the late Angela Barilar of High Point Hanoverians, and purchased as a colt by Theresa. At the end of May, Angela and Rocky were in Kentucky at the Kentucky Dressage Association Spring I & II for Rocky's debut into the dressage arena.

Theresa and Angela were very happy with how well Rocky performed at his first show with Theresa commenting that she was, "pretty excited for his 1st show ever, and he was as cool as cool can be!" He and Angela were 2nd in the FEI 5 year old Qualifier test with a great score of 7.4!

So congratulations to Theresa, Angela and Rocky! We look forward to more!

June 16th, 2011 - Drum Roll Please Wins the Young Hunter Under Saddle Class at the 2011 Devon Horse Show and County Fair

The three year old Oldenburg gelding, Drum Roll Please (De Laurentis x Feiner Dance (Feiner Stern)), bred by Meg Sherman of EquiStar Farm and owned by Amy Louise Trout is remaining a favorite at the Hunter Shows as he is debuting under saddle. In 2010 he was the USEF Horse of the Year for 2 year old Hunter Breeding, and at the 2011 Devon Horse Show and County Fair he won the Young Hunter Under Saddle Section A Class ridden by Kim Zindel-Buzby!

Meg Sherman is very happy with how he and his younger half brother, Sinsational Fox (Sinatra Song x Feiner Dance (Feiner Stern)) owned by Marcia A. Heylin & Foxwick Farm LLC are both developing. We look forward to hearing more about these two and their Hunter careers! Photo of Drum Roll Please by Larissa Barilar.

June 7th, 2011 - Oldenburgs Shine Once Again at the Markel USEF Young Horse Selection Trials

The Markel USEF Young Horse Selection Trials went very well for the OHBS members and their Oldenburg horses! At the Western Trials held at Dressage at Flintridge and the Eastern Trials held at Morven Park in Leesburg, Virginia, Oldenburgs were at the top of the rankings!

At the Eastern Trials in the 6 year old Dressage Horse division, Somerhall and Sabati were third and fourth overall with great scores!

The Oldenburg mare, Somerhall (Sir Donnerhall x Arantscha B (Archipel)), bred by Theo Berkemeier, was ridden by her owner, Ashley Wimmer. The pair were second in the Preliminary test and then third in the Final Test resulting in a super average score of 7.708 and third overall. Ashley imported Somerhall from Germany as a 3 year old, and has done most of the training herself very successfully. In 2009, the pair were 2nd in the USEF 4 year old class at Dressage at Devon, and they went on to be 3rd in the FEI 5 year old Eastern Selection Trials and 10th in the Markel/USEF National 5 year old Finals in 2010.

Sabati (Sandro Hit x Rosalea (Rubinstein I)) bred and owned by Nancy Holowesko of Crosiadore Farms was ridden by Ulla Parker to a fourth place finish in both tests resulting in an average score of 7.676 and a fourth place overall. Sabati also had a fantastic year in 2010 ending up 7th in the Markel/USEF National Finals for the 5 year olds.

In the 5 year old Dressage Horse Division, Biscaya was the Reserve Champion with Folkestone just a hair behind in third, and De Feiner Star in fourth!

Biscaya (Johnson x Audrey (Argentinus)) was bred by and was purchased by Nancy Holowesko at the 2006 Oldenburg Fall Elite Auction as an Elite Foal. She imported her, Ulla got her started, and she was presented as a 4 year old to the Oldenburg breeding committee who gave her the Special Premium title with the highest Mare Performance Test scores given in 2010. Because of this, she earned the Graf Anton Gunther von Oldenburg award for being the champion mare for the 2010 inspection season.

In these trials, Biscaya was second in the Preliminary test with an excellent 7.96 and was even better in the Final test with a score of 8.02 resulting in an average score of 7.996 and the Reserve Champion title!! Both of these scores are above the required 7.8 to qualify for the national finals, so if Biscaya is in the top 15 six year olds in the country she will be invited to compete at the Markel USEF National Finals to be held at the Lamplight Equestrian Center on August 25-28.

Folkestone (Fidertanz x El.St. Katullika (Rubinstein I)) bred by Rosemarie Boets was one of the stars of the 2010 Spring Elite Auction where he impressed everyone with his expressive movement, elasticity, and exceptional character. Christina Vinios and her parents, Zachary and Lou, were thrilled when they won the bid for him. They imported him to Florida where Christina trained at first with Robert Dover, and then began working with Oded Shimoni when Robert had to focus on his duties as the national coach of Canada. At Morven Park, Christina and Folkestone were 3rd in the Preliminary test, and tied with Biscaya for second place in the Final test with the same, fantastic 8.02 resulting in an overall score of 7.932 and third place overall!

De Feiner Star (De Laurentis x Feiner Dance (Feiner Stern)) bred by Angela Barilar and owned by Greg Strait and Melinda Brown also did exceptionally well in the 5 year old division with his trainer and rider Christopher Schruefer. He was a very close fourth in the Preliminary test and fourth in the Final test resulting in a great score of 7.656 and a fourth place overall. De Feiner Star was really a star in 2010 having won big at the Dressage at Devon breed show earning the Born in the USA Grand Championship and the Great American/USDF Breeder's Championship for Stallions.

Last but not least at the East Coast Trials, Marmara was second and Whellington was third in the USEF Test for 4 year old Horses! The Oldenburg mare, Marmara (Licotus x La Montana (Landadel)) bred by Erich Saathoff was purchased by Nancy Holowesko of Crosiadore Farms at the 2007 Oldenburg Elite Foal Auction. Nancy's trainer, Ulla Parker got her started under saddle and at Morven the pair were second place!

Mo Swanson of Rolling Stone farm reports that Whellington (Welcome S x Anika (Archipel)) was great at Morven Park, especially considering this was only his third time in the dressage arena and his second show! Mo's trainer and rider, John Lee Amber, did very well with the young gelding who is sure to have a great future. Of course Mo and her husband Jim are also over the moon about the huge win of Somer Hit who is out of their fourth generation of breeding, and who earned a qualifying score to go to Verden, Germany for the World Championships. Somer Hit is sired by the Oldenburg stallion, Sandro Hit, but he is registered Hanoverian. We send them a big congratulations anyway!

At the Western Trials in Flintridge, the 6 year old Champion was the Oldenburg, Sir Deauville (Sir Donnerhall x Estella) bred by Karl-Heinz Drees and owned and ridden by Sherry Van't Riet! The Reserve Champion was also an Oldenburg, Soleil (Sunny Boy x Ricoletta) bred by Werner Martens Achternhoff and owned and ridden by Bekki Vrono.

So a huge congratulations to all of these fantastic horses and their breeders, owners and riders!! We will be pressing our thumbs and crossing our fingers for the best of luck in the National Finals to be held in August for those who are qualified!

Ulla Parker is not missing a beat after being back in the saddle for only a short time after giving birth to her beautiful daughter. As the trainer and rider for Crosiadore Farm in Trappe, Maryland, she is doing a fantastic job, and this past weekend, it showed again at the Potomac Valley Dressage Association Morven Park Spring Show.

Riding the Special Premium Mare Biscaya (Johnson x Audrey (Argentinus)), she won the FEI 5 year old Dressage Horse class with a 74.40%. This is a qualifying score that will be reported to the USEF. The USEF will then invite the top 15 in each age group to the Young Horse Championships which will be held in Lamplight, IL later this summer.

Ulla also earned a qualifying score with Sabati (Sandro Hit x Rosalea (Rubinstein I)) bred and owned by Nancy Holowesko of Crosiadore Farm in the FEI 6 year old Dressage Horse class. Photo of Sabati by Nancy Holowesko.

The success for Ulla and Crosiadore Farm did not stop there. The 4 year old Marmara was second in the USEF 4 year old Test too!

May 19, 2011 - Christina Vinios Scores an Incredible 88.00% in the FEI Young Horse TOC at the Gold Coast Dressage May Show With her Elite Auction Horse, Folkestone

When Christina Vinios attended the 2010 Oldenburg Spring Elite Auction with her parents Zachary and Lou, she fell in love with the rideable, elastic, big moving gelding, Folkestone. Folkestone is sired by Fidertanz, is out of El.St. Katullika (Rubinstein I x Katlina (Admirand)), and he was bred by Rosemarie Boelts. At the time of the auction, the 4 year old had not been shown, but his lines were very proven with his dam having already produced the licensed stallion Del Rio and the S Level dressage mare Katlaya. His incredible character was certainly on display in the training sessions and during the bidding! Click here to see the video of Folkestone and Christina at the auction.

Christina has been a friend of Oldenburg along with her grandmother, Jean Vinios. With the support of her grandmother and parents, Christina purchased Folkestone, and imported him to Florida where she has been training. Dressage-News.com reports on the Gold Coast Show: "On Saturday, Christina rode the gelding by Fidertantz out of a Rubenstein mare in their first ever FEI five-year-old class and scored 88 per cent before two judges, Fran Dearing and Thomas Poulin at the Gold Coast May Dressage, a national competition.

Now, an excited Christina is looking at “a bunch of plans” including heading to Leesburg, Virginia next month for the last of the three qualifiers to select a horse for the World Breeding Championships for Young Horses in Dressage in Verden, Germany Aug. 3-7. The other qualifiers are in Wayne, Illinois for the Midwest and La Cañada-Flintridge, California for the West Coast.

“I’m ready to go for it,” she said. “We’ll try our best.”" Click here to read the full report from Dressage-News.com.

May 15, 2011 - Oldenburgs Shine at the CDN in Achleiten with Augustin OLD Winning the Grand Prix Special with a 77.48%

Victoria Max-Theurer dominated the recent CDN at Achleiten, Austria, with her Oldenburg stallion, Augustin OLD (Auguste der Starke x St.Pr.St. Weinrubina (Rohdiamant)). The pair won the opening Grand Prix with a resounding 76.064%, and then incredibly bettered that with a 77.292% in the Grand Prix Special!

Third place in this very competitive group was Brigitte Wittig with the Oldenburg mare Biagiotti WW (Breitling W x (Diego)) scoring 74.063%, and in fifth place was American Jan Ebeling on the Oldenburg mare Rafalca (Argentinus x Ratine (Rubinstein I)) scoring a 67.708!

Photo of Augustine OLD by Becker from www.max-theurer.com.

May 12, 2011 - Jan Ebeling and Rafalca are 11th at the 2011 FEI World Cup and Then 5th & 8th at the Horses and Dreams CDI3* in Hagen, Germany Breaking Their Personal Score Record

Jan Ebeling and the Oldenburg mare, Rafalca, are hitting a new level of performance, and they just keep getting better! Not only were they great in the 2011 FEI World Cup Finals in Leipzig, Germany, they then went on to even more last weekend in Hagen, Germany at the Horses and Dreams CDI3*!

In their debut on the international stage representing the United States, Jan Ebeling and Rafalca (Argentinus x Ratine (Rubinstein I)) had an excellent result amongst the world's top horses and riders. The pair placed 10th in the Grand Prix with a very solid score of 68.207, and then went on to the final Freestyle where they scored 72.589 placing 11th overall!

Jan and his trainer, Wolfram Wittig decided to take advantage of their time here in Europe, and continue to get the experience of competing against some of the best and toughest dressage riders in the world. Last weekend, Jan and Rafalca competed at the PSI Horses and Dreams CDI3*. They placed 5th in the Grand Prix scoring a personal record of 70.872% and were then 8th in the Freestyle with a 73.875% having received an incredible 77.500% from O judge Eric Lette.

Rafalca was bred by Erwin Risch in Germany, and then found by Jan's friend and partner, Christian Heinrich. Thanks to Jan's long time trust in Christian, Rafalca was purchased by Jan's support team headed by his wife, Amy Ebeling, and including Beth Meyer and Ann Romney in 2006. Rafalca had been in training with her previous owner under Wolfram Wittig, and Jan has continued to work with him as much as possible since. He credits Herr Wittig for much of their success. We congratulate them all and look forward to much more from this pair in the future!!

Photo of Jan and Rafalca from The Acres Facebook Page

April 16, 2011 - Sandro's Heir Completes a Very Successful Winter Tour in Florida Training Under Lars Petersen & Winning the PSG at the White Fences CDN With a 70.789%

Pangaea Farms could not be happier with their stallion, Sandro's Heir and his trainer/rider, Annaliese Farber. The pair spent the winter in Florida training with Lars Petersen, and the hard work paid off! Emily Yeomans reports the following results:

Palm Beach Champions Cup CDI 3*** March 24-27, 2011
9th in the I1 CDI Freestyle with a 65.425%.
Wellington Dressage Classic II CDI 3***, March 11-13, 2011
65.877% in the PSG, finishing 16th out of 62! - Can you tell it is a Pan-Am Year!
Palm Beach Dressage Derby CDI 3***, March 4 - 6, 2011 
7th in a huge PSG CDI with a 68.42%, this great score gives the duo their first set of Canadian Pan-Am qualifying scores for entrance to the top 15 head-to-head trials that will take place in late summer!!!! They also had a 66.14% in the I1!
Welcome Back to White Fences CDN,  February 26-27, 2011
Sandro's Heir WON the large Prix St. George class with an impressive 70.789%!!!  They also placed 4th in the I1 with a solid 66.04%.
Sandro's Heir named to the 2011 Dressage Canada Long List, January 1, 2011

Emily continues, "We could not be prouder of our stallion and his talented rider Annaliese Farber for achieving this impressive benchmark their very first green Small Tour season." So a big congratulations to the whole Pangaea team!