Yesterday I wrote about the intent and experience of the Young Horse Shows series and final. As both a rider and a breeder while attending this horse show, I was continuously impressed by the quality of horses being bred and raised here in the United States and the talent they were displaying in the ring.
These shows help breeders know what they can improve on and where the sport is headed, and also help them give their horses exposure and experience. The judges are knowledgeable and they readily offer what they know to the competitors and spectators; it is a wonderful learning experience as well as a competition. Lisa Lourie of Spy Coast Farm made the comment, “I really enjoyed and learned a lot while listening to the judge’s evaluations and thoughts when they were telling the audience about the horses during the in-hand classes.”
Several special awards were given out during the weekend. Tryon International Equestrian Center sponsored the inaugural high point Best American-Bred Perpetual Trophy. This was won by Diamant d’Heure ABF, a 4-year-old Belgian Warmblood stallion bred and owned by my family’s AliBoo Farm of Minooka, Ill., with his score of 9.45 in the 4-year-old jump chute class. He also earned a score of 8.82 in the in-hand/at liberty division, an 8.78 in the under saddle, and a score of 8.03 in the jumping under saddle.
Diamant d’Heure and Taylor Flury
Photo by Hallie Kitay
“Wilbur,” as he is lovingly known by all, is by Diamant d’Semilly who is currently ranked No. 3 on the World Breeding Federation sires list and out of Grand Rose ABF (Rio Grande x Lord Incipit) a winning hunter mare. He is the grandson of AliBoo Farm’s foundation mare Viva La Rose and the first approved stallion to be bred at AliBoo. Last year he was champion in the 3-year-old jump chute at the YHS Finals.
Wilbur does have his first foal crop due next year and will be used as a breeding stallion as well as campaigning to the highest of his potential. One of the things always remarked upon about him is his great character.
Nutrena graciously sponsored a Best Turned-Out Horse Award that was won by Kimmel SCF, bred and owned by Spy Coast Farm of Lexington, Ky. Kimmel earned second in the 4-year-old under saddle class with a score of 9.01 and a third in the 4-year-old jumping under saddle with a score of 8.24.
Kimmel is a 4-year-old Belgian Warmblood Stallion by Amaretto d’Arco, a winning international grand prix horse ridden to fame by Shane Sweetnam before being sold to Katie Dinan, and out of the mare Rolette (Lester x Voltaire) who competed in the 2008 Olympic Games in Hong Kong with British rider Ben Maher.
Kimmel and Willie Tynan
Photo by Winsmore Photo
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Lourie explained how they chose this cross: “Amaretto d’Arco and Rolette really complimented each other in terms of their build, their temperament, and their way of going; they improved upon each other to create an even better horse. It’s interesting because we have two full brothers [via embryo transfer] of this age group [Kimmel and Kentucky Bourbon] and the one that looks like d’Arco rides like Rolette and vice versa. We ultimately chose to keep Kimmel as a stallion, and he is the first approved stallion we have bred. The 4-year-old foal crop was really our first real foal crop, and we have continued to learn and improve upon each subsequent foal crop.” Irishman Willie Tynan is the head trainer at Spy Coast farm with many years of experience working with young horses, and under his tutelage these young horses get their start and foundation.
Young Horse Show sponsors Blue Chip Farm, BWP/NAD, and AliBoo Farm sponsored the high point coolers for each of the five divisions. Carrasca Z (Asca Z x Calato), a 4-year-old Belgian Warmblood approved stallion bred by Hyperion Stud and owned by AliBoo Farm since he was a weanling, earned two of these coolers, winning both the High Point In-Hand/At Liberty cooler with a score of 9.64 and the High Point Jump Chute cooler with a perfect score of 10.
In addition to these placings, he was the reserve high point in the jumping under saddle class with a score of 8.37 and finished second in the 4-year-old jumping under saddle class. He also earned the accolade of being the first horse to ever earn a perfect score of 10 in any class at the Young Horse Show. Janet Flury of AliBoo Farm remarked that, “Hank is truly perfect in all ways and he is even more special because he was named after my father, Hank Nowakowski. Hank is a breeding stallion, but he will also be campaigned to his full potential.”
Carrasca Z and Taylor Flury
Photo by Hallie Kitay
Another BWP Stallion, Klinton OBF (Clinton x Heartbreaker), bred and owned by Old Bull Farm earned the High Point Jumping Under Saddle cooler with a score of 8.63. Klinton has been started and developed under the trainers at Spy Coast Farm who have been campaigning him in the Young Horse shows this year. Irish rider David O’Brien works with Tynan in starting the young horses at Spy Coast and was in the irons to ride Klinton to this award.
Old Bull Farms is a breeding program run by Dr. Paul and Jeannine Johnston in Nova Scotia, Canada for the past 20 years where they have bred several exceptional horses. Klinton is out of their foundation mare line and they have two full sisters to him; this mare line has produced several top performing horses. Not only is Klinton performing well in the show ring with top results but he has also sired several promising foals this year and has more due next year.
Faramund (Fidertanz x Donnerschlag), a 4-year-old Hanoverian Stallion bred by Dr. H. Von Tiedemann in Germany and owned by Hannah Salazar Dressage earned the Dressage Cooler with a high score of 92 percent in his 4-year-old Dressage Test. Salazar imported Faramund as a 3-year-old and has brought him along to great success in his young career.
Faramund and Hannah Heritage Salazar
He was the champion last year of the 3-year-old under saddle division and the 3-year-old in-hand/at liberty classes at the YHS Finals, as well as being the champion stallion during the breeding divisions at Dressage at Devon (Pa.). Salazar told us about why she uses the Young Horse Show program to help develop her young horses.
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“This is a great opportunity to get Faramund and other young horses out, exposed, and confident at shows; this program really allows them to sort through their greenness in an environment where it is understood,” she said. “I also really like the professional and great handlers that handle my horse in the ring here and feel very safe and comfortable knowing they will show my horse to his best potential. I’m hoping to develop Faramund into an upper level dressage horse and right now we are focusing on his career.”
The last cooler for the High Point Under Saddle Division was earned by Monticello (Rosenthal x Hall of Fame), a 5-year-old RPSI Gelding with a high score of 9.18. Monticello was bred by Patti Brantley and ridden by owner Jennifer Smith in the 5-year-old under saddle class. Monticello is no stranger to winning as he was the champion of the 3-year-old in-hand/at liberty class during the 2012 YHS Finals.
Monticello and Jennifer Smith
There are many top-notch young horses in the YHS series that show promise for bridging the gap between great American riders and American-bred horses. We live in a wide-ranging equestrian community and these shows help to bring the breeders and people associated with young horses together.
This is a program we at AliBoo Farm have committed to supporting as we believe it will continue to grow and improve, as well as being a much needed program for the young horses. A big thank you goes out to the many generous sponsors who support this program it would not be possible without each and every one.
You can find results from the 2014 Young Horse Show Finals here. Read Taylor’s first blog installment about the Young Horse Show series, “Giving Young U.S.-Bred Horses A Place To Shine.”
Chronicle blogger Taylor Flury rides out of her family’s AliBoo Farm in Minooka, Ill., and competes primarily in the jumpers. She also runs AliBoo’s breeding program. Flury’s top mount is the U.S.-bred Role Model (Roc USA—Darling Devil), who claimed U.S. Equestrian Federation Horse of the Year titles in 2011 and 2012 in the 5- and 6-Year-Old Jumper divisions.
