Upstart yearling colt Winston, of Diana Dodge’s Nokomis Farm, captured the Dave Kelley Perpetual Trophy awarded to the best young horse at the Sallie B.
Wheeler U.S. Equestrian Federation National Hunter Breeding Championship, held Sept. 4 in Warrenton, Va.

The win may have come as a surprise, as the newcomer received a higher conformation score than the highly regarded 2-year-old filly Anastazia, best young horse at the prestigious Devon Horse Show (Pa.) this spring. This is the second year in a row that Anastazia, handled by Kenny Wheeler (husband of the late Sallie Wheeler), narrowly missed out on the best young horse title at the championships, having also taken home second prize last year as a yearling.

“We are delighted,” said Dodge. “[Winston] was great on the day, and [Anastazia] is also a lovely filly.”

Dodge firmly believes in the importance that shows like the USEF Championships play in patiently bringing along a young horse. “This was such an important part of the sport to Dave Kelley,” she said. “Dave didn’t want to overwork young horses. [Kelley] tried very hard to establish breeding shows. He would have wished to have more attention paid to this class.”

In the yearling colt division, Winston, handled by Matt Collins, beat out Chance Farm’s DaVinci, also handled by Wheeler. Winston, by decorated Oldenburg stallion Welt Hit Star, is out of Jardhu (by El Corona).

Earlier this summer, Winston placed fifth in the Morven Park Summer Dressage Sport Horse Breed Show (Va.), finishing behind his stablemate Renaissance, who placed third. “[Winston] is so lazy sometimes; there he didn’t care to trot out as he normally would,” Dodge said. But he was named best young horse at the Dressage At Lexington Breed Show (Va.).

Conceived through artificial insemination and embryo transfer and carried by a sedate Belgian mare, Dodge quipped, “He can be so relaxed, his surrogate mother probably had a calming influence on his temperament!”

The champion colt’s bloodlines flow from some of the richest warmblood veins out of Germany and the Netherlands. His sire, Welt Hit Star, is by German-bred Welt Hit II (by Weltmeyer) and out of Gina. The young stallion earned the reserve championship at the 1999 100-day testing at Prussendorf, Germany. He now stands at Sarah and Gerd Reuter’s European Performance Horses in Barboursville, Va.

As a 13-year-old, Winston’s dam, Jardhu, was awarded the 2003 Mare of the Year title at The American Warmblood National Inspection. Dodge discovered the mare, whom she also owns, in the Netherlands with the aid of former trainer and rider Jules Nyssen. Jardhu now competes at the Grand Prix level with Gerd Reuter.

Jardu’s sire El Corona (d. 1992), the renowned Amor’s last-born son, only lived to the age of 6 before succumbing to a freak accident. Amor (d. 1990) was considered by many to be one of the top European stallions. Living well into his 30s, the Gelderland stallion made the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horse 1997 list both as a top jumper and dressage sire.

Dodge also owns Winston’s twin sister Jenufa, who was also conceived from AI and embryo implantation. “We were extremely fortunate getting twins from the breeding,” she said. “I now have two wonderful young
horses.”

The equally formidable American-bred Oldenburg filly, though not entered at the breeding championships, received an elusive blue preferred designation during the American Warmblood inspection. Nokomis Farm’s Surprise Party also competed at the championships, finishing second in her division to Anastazia.

“She is out of a homebred mare of mine Harvest Moon, by Sir Thompson,” said Dodge of Surprise Party.

Dodge was coyly content when asked about plans of Winston’s future, “He’ll let us know what he wants to do. The good ones always do.”