Bloomington Farm

Forever has all the attention now that the other foals are at the vet farm for breeding and she enjoy every minutes of it.  I can see  she misses her playmates however and she really enjoy me being around.  When I leave she follows me;  if I don't stop to look at her she will call me!  Geez, another Dragon this one.  She is so friendly, there is nothing she likes better than being brush and touch and talk too.  She is starting to loose her baby's hair so she doesn't look the best but she is the best!  Isnt't she cute?

No good news... Zalanta and Anime are not in foal...  As much as we were expecting this for Anime considering the poor quality of the semen, we had high hope for Zalanta.  This was the last try for those two untill next year.  Not much success so far but still hoping for Wagrusa and Prelude result. 

Again this year we only can take  two foals at the keuring so the two oldest, Feather and Firecraker will be at Prima Equestrian keuring near Toronto. Wish them good luck!!!

We have been waiting to received Cantos semen to breed with Anime ( Indoctro / Emilion) as we believe this should be a wonderful cross. Anime was presented as a yearling at the Pineland Farm Keuring in Maine where she was Best Young Horse and number one yearling in North America. We missed some heat to wait for  Cantos semen  and we almost gave up but after a long wait we finally received the semen and was bred Sunday.

However the semen was terrible.  Our vet from St-Hy called me right after the insemination and the progressive motility was only 7%!!!  What a shame... Wagrusa conceived with a 10% progressive motility with Hickstead but I knew that if there was one chance as out of 1 million to conceive she would be in it, and she was. She is quite fertile but Anime is not the same and has not prove her fertility as of yet.  If she gets in foal that would take a huge miracle. 

I still have three mares to breed Wagrusa, Prelude and Nabella!  I hate to have foals so late, and no keuring for me next year as they will be too young. Well I will be able to concentrate on my older ones which might be a good thing.

Zalanta (Flemmingh / Goodtimes) was bred to Uphill yesterday and we have high expectation on this cross.  Zalanta was 3rd in the 2007 KWPN-NA Keuring TOP TEN as two years old.  She has already given us Dragon Bloom which is developing into a stunning two years old. He was a First Premium foals and selected to the Championship at the Iron Spring farm keuring.   Now we have to be patient and wait two weeks but I have to say I am very optimistic.

Jumping the paddock seems to run in Jenni's genetics!  After Enzo here comes Caledonia! She has been sent for training and jumped from her 6 feet round pen almost from a standstill ! Ok we know now that she has scope for sure, I can't wait to see how she will do free jumping. Last year as a two years old I videotaped her through a chute without any helper. I was alone with my video and on my voice she willingly did three rounds over the small jump. So she finds jumping kind of fun, I knew that but this is nice!

I can't take any pictures now as I forgot my camera at Imajica in Vermont last week-end!  We had a very interesting day organized by Scott Toldman and hosted by Imajica, looking at different horses and commenting on them and on how to prepare for a IBOP test.  We ended the day by having a presentation on the foundation sireS of the modern KWPN horses. I would like to thank Madeleine and her daughter for all the trouble they went into TO provide all such a wonderful day.   I enjoyed it so much that I will go back next week-end... (Well, this is a good reason to get my camera back!)

I am overwhelmed with  the opportunities I had so far.  From what I thought was a once in a life time chance with Prelude, here comes another one. I was not looking for another prospect but how can you say no to such an opportunity !!! 

Harmonie the full sister of Prelude is very well known in Europe.  She has been  a very successful international jumper in Europe and is listed as one of the best offspring of Calvados.  For the past several years she has been leading the ranking for jumper broodmares with offspring in sport in Holland. Her breeding index is a staggering 184. Click here for the list.   She has received ALL the highest predicate a mare can have in Holland: Elite, Preferent, Prestatie and Sport. 

Despite the time off from her broodmare duties to become an International jumper she  has produced a Ster level L mare, a ZZ level  SBS Approved  stallion, an Elite, Sport, Preferent International jumper, an Elite sport ZZ level jumper, a Z level jumper  and a 5 years old Elite mare.  Her three 2007 ET offspring has just passed their EPTM test with very high score of   75.5, 81.5 and 83.5, her  2005 filly received a 85.5 score and 87 for her 2003 filly.  She is quite a superior mare who doesn't seem to know how to produce anything but athletes so there is no wonder why she is the number one right now. Her dam Electra was a National jumper and her grand dam an International jumper.  Her fillies have followed her step and  produced keur, Elite, approved stallion and again very high EPTM test.  

And no… I didn’t buy this mare but the next best thing :  one of her 2010 ET filly by Nabab de Rêve. Nabad de rêve is a son of Quidam de Revel and he is currently 5th in the WBFSH jumping sire ranking.  Nabab de Rêve was very successful as an international jumper.  In 2002 he was elected to the equestrian press Horse of the Year. Nabab de Rêve is a proven sire of great jumpers and is known to give to his progeny much power, good technique and a great attitude.

On the sire side of this filly you  have only top sires and international jumpers :  Nabab de Rêve / Calvados / Voltaire / Le Mexico

This is a picture of Harmonie... I know she looks like Prelude. In fact  both Prelude and Harmonie look just like their sire, Calvados without any doubt. I am undecided as of yet if I will keep her in Holland to be prepare for her EPTM test as a three years old or bring her  home as soon as she is weaned. 
                
                   

Firecraker Bloom has been sold. She will be joining her uterine brother Epsom Bloom  at Derby Down Farm were she will have the opportunity to develop her full potential.  As much as we are sad to let her go we have no doubt that this is the best as we have high expectiations for her. We really do believe in her dam Wagrusa as a producer of top horses and the best way to prove this is to give her offspring the opportunity to be train in the best hands and have the exposure they deserve.

Congratulations to the new owners; Louise and Christina Serio, Jennifer Burger and Jennifer Rowland.

        FIRECRAKER BLOOM 

Now Feather and Prelude are finally home.  We pick them up yesterday night and I think they were very happy to be home.  Prelude must have lost 200 pounds and  was so hungry.  As for Feather she is …. so beautiful!  The week she was here was so intense in care that I didn’t pay much attention to her look.  And of course she was premature so maybe not the most striking filly.  But boy oh boy, has she changed!  And to think that this filly was such in a bad situation that we almost lost her.  She is a very bony filly with big hocks and joints. This type of horse usually becomes very big but we will see.  Her eyes are particularly remarkable, very big but soft and confident.  I am very happy with her.

We let them in the paddock for 30 minutes as this was the first time that she was out since she was born.  You can see the difference it makes as she looks like an oversized new born.  She didn’t have the coordination and the assurance that you would expect of a month old foal.  But I am not worry as this will come fast enough.   Prelude ate her hay and grain with much appetite, it was good to see.  I am so relief but of course we have to monitor her and her foal closely. 

             FEATHER BLOOM

Here is a close up of Jenni's filly funny blaze in this picture taken when she was 6 hours old.  Do you see the back of a sitting dog looking at a shooting star?  This filly has a lot of ''je ne sais quoi'' which makes you being fond of her very fast. It might be charisma, I don't know but I really like her a lot.

First I was shocked at her blaze which I found quite different but then I started to like it and then to love it.   I still have no name for her... the one I had didn't hold the road.  It has to be something a little bit funky and start with an F…. oh well…. Funky Bloom maybe?

Jacques went to see Feather yesterday at St-Hy and they are now optimistic and hopeful that she will be able to come home soon. She is able to get up without any help but they still are trying to find the right dosage of medication so she can be treated at home without problems.  They will take another series of x-rays tomorrow to check her joints just in case.  I just can't wait to have her  to pamper  and give her the peace and quiet that she desperately need. During the night when it was quiet she never had seizure, only during the days with lots of action around. 

     

What a week-end!!!

Well there were no pictures of Feather that Saturday.   On Thursday she broke into a fever and had seizures. On top of that her navel started to drop some blood so she was rushed to the St-Hy Hospital where she went through a battery of test.  She had a little pneumonia but nothing to be concern as the antibiotics could take care of that. However the seizures were out of control so  they scan her brain, took some liquid out of  it to culture, x-rays,  checked her out completely but could not find anything wrong expect a little bit of scar tissue in her brain probably from the lack of oxygen at birth.  She was on so much medication, anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, anti ulcers and anti seizure that she became too weak to get up by herself. They needed someone to get her up every hour.

I was touched by one of my client who offered me to buy her yesterday even if her condition was so depressing.  He was ready to take the risk, and fully aware of the gamble.   Maybe he had more faith in her than I had.  And maybe knowing that there were peoples who really believed in her gave her some strength as she got better today and had no crisis. We have to take her one day at a time.

But now are the good news:  Jenni had her foal Monday at 3 o’clock in the morning. 

This mare is so special, she has a way to tell me what she wants.  I feel she talks to me sometimes but , the problems is I don’t always listen. This time she was trying to tell me that she wanted to be alone to have her foal. But since the sound of my camera wasn’t working and I wanted to be there when her water would break, I decided to camp for the night in the stall adjacent to hers.  Her foal alert was only a back up just in case I would fall asleep, which would not happen of course.

Her stall was all clean up with fresh straw, her tail has been wrapped and I just had to be patient….I was expecting the big moment before midnight.  Then she started to walk, and walk and walk… I could not see her but I could hear.  At  1:30 in the morning she was still pacing and it took me all that time to understand: it was her way to tell me that she wanted to be alone!  

So I packed my things and went home to sit in front of the TV.  It didn’t take a minute for  her to stop walking and she just stay put.  She stayed like that, very quiet, not moving so after 15 minutes  I decided to lay down a bit but to  continue to keep an eye on her…  so I thought… but I woke up by the sound of the alarm. It was 3’o’Clock!!!   20 seconds later I was in her stall and the foal's legs were showing up. She lay down and started to push.  She is 22 years old but she sure doesn’t look her age, however the contraction might not be as strong as before. She needed a little help but not much.  At 3:15 she  gave me a nice little black filly with a funny face. Her blaze looks like the back of a sitting dog that would be looking at a shooting star. Stange, neat and very unique!

Jenni is the epitome of a responsible and experienced broodmare. I just can’t imagine a foal not making it with this mare. She is not the most delicate and gentle  with her foal, as they better listen to her. First she took a rest and blood from the umbilical cord had all the chance to flow to her foal.  Then she got up and when the filly was up and wandering around she took action; she placed herself near the foal, pushed the filly hindquarter with her head to her side and started to lick her tail and hocks to stimulate her. If she was trying to play around, a nip on her bump would make her understand that it was business going on here.  It did not take long, her filly had to understand that you can’t fool around  with this mom and within an hour she was drinking. Every 20 minutes or so Jenni took charge again  and with her front feet would scratch the side of her filly until she got up to drink. Her placenta came out in 30 minutes and she had plenty of milk. I have my colostrum ready for next year hoping I won’t need it.   She is just an amazing mare. And of course her filly is curious and trustful.  I like that.

So this was a happy ending foaling season.

Last year I had four foals and felt that I could handle 3 times more than that… but this year!!!!  I am done.  It was not an easy season.  But at least I had three beautiful fillies, one with some challenges but nothing that I won't be happy to take charge when she'll come home.      

Some names  come  naturally but others need more time. Prelude's filly is  smooth, calm and she has this silky light coat.  She is so trustful, she let anyone comes near her as  if it was her friend. She never stands up right away when we come in her stall. She makes me think of a teenager that you want to wake up at noon!  She takes her time, stretch, yawned and waits before she decides to get up. She starts to run in her stall and bucked but always smoothly.   I was expecting her to become more wary of people as she would get more aware of her world, but she is not.  Well, mind you, she is only one week today so she still has time to change but so far, so good.  I think her name will be  Feather Bloom, it seems to fit her well.

I will take pictures of her next Saturday. For now here is a picture of her at 3 days  while she is sleeping! This is her main occupation!

WOW  The past two weeks have been the  most intense weeks of my breeding career!  I went through the best and the worst.

The best: A  wonderful vet; Ingrid Bill. I feel so privilege to have her. Not only is she only ten minutes from my farm but it takes her 8 minutes to be here when I urgently need her… even in the middle of the night. (She must sleep in her car, all dressed up just in case!)  She is so dedicated to her work; I wish every breeder would have the chance I have.

The next best thing:   Two much anticipated fillies!

On April 24^th after 340 days of long waiting, Wagrusa’s foal decided that it was enough and he had to get out! NOW.  And he didn’t take the time to prepare himself adequately as being so much in a hurry he presented himself upside down!  The feet were in the wrong side facing the sky!  We immediately put Wagrusa on her feet and started to walk her as I was calling the vet.   As she was coming into the driveway (8 minutes later) the foal had repositioned himself and was ready to get into business.  The foaling went well after that but Wagrusa retained her placenta and the few days following the birth very intense. She hit a fever up to 106 F and she went lame. She had numerous lavages, antibiotics, shots up to seven one day and ice to keep her legs from foundering, temperature taken every hour.  Ingrid found a specialist who came right away to trimmed her feet. Thanks to Mike Meriam,  the next day the lameness was gone!

And of course,  she had no milk, none that we could see or extract anyway but her filly … (YES IT WAS A FILLY but no time to celebrate!!!)  was taking her responsibility very seriously.  She was suckling and suckling nonstop.  She was working so hard on it that we thought she would get exhausted.  But she never gave up.  Never!  She systematically refused any milk’s substitute. She was suckling 55 minutes and sleeping the rest of the hour. And she went back again and again.  She had this attitude: ‘’Just leave me alone and take care of my mom, I know what I have to do!’’ And she proved she was right as she was thriving, being so full of llife  and energy. She was unbelievable!  If she keeps this attitude later on in life she will win all her class for sure.  

Above is a picture of her at 6 days!  Doesn’t she look healthy and full of life?  She was just the perfect filly in such a hard time, she has to be proud of herself. Her  name was a no brainer as  it came naturally to me: Firecracker Bloom   ( ok she earned every single letter of her name but the rule of the KWPN oblige us to take one off) so she will be called officially :  FIRECRAKER BLOOM!  

Now after a week or so of this regimen and as Wagrusa was coming back to herself  I was finaly starting to have some much needed rest when Prelude in foal to Mr. Blue started to show signs of being very uncomfortable.  She was restless and her foal was moving as I had never seen that before.  I mean this was crazy, her belly was bouncing on the right, on the left like if there was a big fight going on inside her or some ET wanting to escape!  And she was straining so much. The vet examined her but there was nothing wrong, no twisted uterus thanks god. We gave her some medication and everything went normal.

Three days later, at 323 days of being in foal, she seemed to experience another period of  colic but much milder this time.  I stayed at the door to watch her, her belly was still very low and I couldn’t see any change that would make me think she was ready to foal. Her vulva was distended as it was three days ago and I was wondering if I should gave her some medication.

Then I heard Jenni her stable mate, whined. I looked at her and knew right from that moment, just by  the way that she was looking at Prelude that this was no colic, this had to be  the real thing.  I waited maybe 5 minutes but nothing was happening, no water breaking.  I decided to go in and put on gloves to check her vagina… Oh God!  A red bag delivery!

Everything went very fast from that moment; I cut the placenta, found the legs, cut the amniotic membrane and grab the legs. She went down and I started to pull.  She really helped me out on this one as I was all alone, she pushed as much as I was pulling and here she came… a filly!    Alive!  She was born on May 6^th at  9:15 pm.  I toweled her, took the mucus out of her nose, dip her navel. My cell had died on me just when I tried to call the vet so after I felt everything was in control I ran to the house, call the vet and 8 minutes later she was there! 

The filly was big but weak. She could not get up without help and could not drink. She had an hernia and was premature.  I had to stay up all night to pull the colostrum and feed her out of a syringe.  She was just the opposite of Firecraker!  She was sleeping 55 minutes out of the hour. But I could not let her go that long as she would only accept few ounces at a time. I guess Firecraker was my inspiration to continue, I did as she did, never stopped and it paid off;  19 hours later she was able to stand up all by herself and started to drink from Prelude.

Jacques had been gone for two days and when he arrived at noon, he took my place so I could have few hours of much needed sleep. At four in the afternoon, she had won the battle and she is getting stronger and stronger, what a relief! 

 I have not decided a name for her. I will give her some time to see her personality as for now her energy is geared on getting up and finding some milk.  But I saw her tried one or two little buck today and she did not fell !  As for a picture I will wait a little bit so she won’t be mad at me for having  shown pictures of her while she was not ready to !!!  You know how the ladies are!

The Annual KWPN-NA guide shows the family album of Firecraker.  Open it at Hickstead page and you will see on the right page her sire, Hickstead and on the left side her uncle, Grand Star, her mother’s uterine brother.  Hickstead is an International jumper, ranked number one in the prestigious WBFSH and the jumper Gold medal  winner at the 2008 Olympic game. Grand Star was an International jumper with the Crown predicate given for his outstanding performance for being ranked in the top 400 jumpers in the world.  

I have been blessed so far with two outstanding fillies. I feel that all my wishes and hard work have paid off. I am so happy.   

The new breeding index of the TOP 500 SHOW JUMPING BREEDING VALUES of MARES WITH OFFSPRING IN SHOW JUMPING SPORT has just been released in Holland and Prelude is still in the TOP 20. 

She has moved up one rank being now 16^th..  Her dam Electra is 13^th and Harmony her full sister is still holding the TOP rank with a breeding index of 184.  Prelude at 161 has increased her reliability to 58%. Mare has much less foals than stallion so the highest reliability a mare could wish to attain is no more than 69% but just to be listed in these 500 TOP MARES is a great achievement in itself  and something that any owner can be very proud of. 

Prelude only offspring old enough to compete, Unisound is also included in this very coveted list of the TOP 500 SHOW JUMPING BREEDING VALUES of MARES WITHOUT OFFSPRING IN SHOW JUMPING SPORT.  She was upgraded to the 34th rank with a breeding value of 168!   

Prelude is in foal to MR. Blue in late May.  I just can't wait ... and hopefully it will be a filly to keep.  There is no more Mr. Blue semen available for sale so this foal will be even more precious. Mr.Blue has one of the very best  KWPN breeding stallions right now with a breeding value of 160 with high reliability (84%) .

I just came back from the KWPN-NA 2010 meeting in Wellington.  What a treat!  These four days were filled on informative topics such as how to select and breed quality horses, training of young horses, free jumping and how to judge it.  A string of experts such as Paul Hendrix of Stal Hendrix in Holland , Bart Henstra KWPN jury member and Arrie Hamoen the chairman of the KWPN Stallion Committee and judge for both dressage and jumping were the speakers. Deborah Harrison gave us update from the AAEP Convention and Irene Wolfs on general marketing.

We went to Palm Beach International Equestrian Center to watch young jumper classes but this was cut short because of the heavy rain.        

However on Sunday the sun was shining and we had the opportunity to have a course walk with Laura Kraut prior to the Suncast Classic Grand Prix and Paul Hendrix gave commentary while we watched the Grand Prix.                                                                                                                                                             

These meetings are such a learning experience.  And this is also a great opportunity to meet fellow breeders like Martha from NSN Farm which whom I share a room and some very close from my farm  like  Carol and Jim from Linmar Farms near Ottawa. A special thanks to Sally and Jan Philippo from Rivercross Farm in Brigham Québec who were kind enough to provide me rides.

So I really enjoyed my stay and I look forward to the next annual meeting.

Reza the new owner of Enzo called yesterday saying how glad he was to have him close by and Enzo has settled well in his new surroundings. Enzo will  stay in his stall until tomorow morning and will then  join his new playmate Estrada in the paddock. 

Well... little did I know how Enzo would manage this new situation!!! Here are the updates:

This morning Reza received a call from the barn manager where Enzo is being stabled, calling for help as he did not know what to do.  Enzo and his one month older playmate Estrada were having a blast together and Enzo decided that it would be even better if they could play outside the paddock.  So he proceeded to jump the fences with his new friend tagging along!

Thank God they did not hurt themselves and did not break anything; in fact they did not even touch the fence!   They were caught and put back in the paddock but they had too much fun with this new game and each time up and out they went again over the fence. After the third time they called the owner.   The manager  told him that if didn’t believe him , he could come and see for  himself.  So he did. He went over to the barn and saw with his own eyes… as they did it again and with quite a good form as reported by Reza!  They had no choice than to switch paddock with the stallions hoping they won’t try to jump the bigger fences… and that the stallions won’t get any ideas from the colts!

For now the stallions are in the colt’s paddock and the colts in the stallions paddock that hopefully they won’t try to jump… Thank you Reza for keeping me updated on Enzo. However I have to say that I didn’t expect he would be so much trouble!!!

 
Enzo who has been sold in September, left our farm yesterday to be send to his new owner in Toronto.  Enzo was a bit reluctant to leave his 'lifelong friends’ as this was a whole new experience for him. So we enlisted the help of Tuckson our Shetland to encourage him to go into the trailer.   He will stay overnight in the good hand of Tracy from Longwood Farm and leave tomorrow for Toronto. 

I wish you all the luck Enzo but I have no doubt that he will make the joy and proud of his new owner Reza.  He will be missed by all of us specially Samantha, our 13 years old neighbor who comes every day with her sister Katrina to help 
feed the horses. She really loved Enzo and he was her favorite. She took pictures and gave him some treats before wishing him good bye. 

Our trip to Holland for the Stallion Show was quite interesting.  We had a chance to meet the former owner of Prelude where Harmonie is staying. She is in foal to Nabab de Rêve. They are really nice people and we were quite happy to have the opportunity to meet them. Sadly we had to pass their invitation to visit their stable but this will be on our schedule for our next trip.

It was interesting to see Wagrusa's family doing so great at the Stallion show.  One of Wittinger son was accepted for the Perfomance test  and Wittinger himself made a double clear round and placed 3rd in the jump-off  becoming the overall Grand Champion of the  GMB Stallion Competition  2009/2010. Wittinger comes from the same dam line as Wagrusa.  Carusa, the dam of Wittinger’s mother  is the sister of Wagrusa. 

The Stallion show was very informative as always. We attended the College meeting where famous broodmares and their offspring were presented and the breeders shared their experience and knowledge.  I could not make it to the tour as I was sick the last day of our trip but Jacques went and had the chance to sit with Bart Henstra in the bus!  I would have loved to be there.  He really enjoyed the VDL visit with Janko who made it as always very interesting.

 What I love the most in those stallions’ shows is to be able to judge the stallions and compare my assessment with the comments of the judges. We were pretty close so quite proud of ourselves especially Jacques as he is a wonderful rider but don’t show as much interest as I do in bloodlines and conformation.

We are leaving tonight for the Stallion Show in Holland.  This will be very exciting I just can't wait to be there. On Sunday we will have the opportunity to visit VDL Stud once again and then  the stable of Edward Gal and Moorland Totilas. 

Prelude was freed from her quarantine quarters and slowly introduced to the herd.  She could see the other mares from her stall and I could sense for the past few days that she was getting anxious to meet them.

 She was first introduced to Nabella. Nabella greeted her well and seemed happy to have a new friend.  Jenni was ok but wanted to make things clear:  she was the boss.  As for Olympia everything went smoothly. Now Wagrusa!

Right from the start Wagrusa felt that Prelude had to earn her place, as she did when she arrived.

      Prelude with Nabella ...                                                                                                                                                    ...   and Olympia  

It has not been as easy for her with Jenni so why would this be different for Prelude.  They might speak the same language and come from the same country,  she still had to earn her degree! 

So for now I will let Wagrusa and Prelude clarify the situation over the fence for a while and Olympia will nicely keep company to Wagrusa.  

                                                                                
                                                                                             Prelude free and happy!

 PRELUDE IS FINALY HERE!  

One of the greatest mare in Holland has finaly arrived home  in the middle of the night, directly from Toronto after a 7 hours flight from Holland that landed at 4 PM yesterday.  She did it like a pro.  

She had been paired with two young crazy 3 years old that had not been handled much in their life obviously as they needed to be tranquilized during the trip.  The groom was thankful to Prelude as she succeeded in keeping one of them in a more manageable way during the trip. But as soon as they got out and into the trailer one of them put a fight and got trapped over the front bar of  his trailer. It took 4 men to get him out of there and again they had to give him some tranquilizer.

As for Prelude she took it all in stride. She ate, drank and went in the trailer like the sweet girl she really is.  Sympathetic was the word people use to describe her.  She is a very interesting mare with a curious  inquisitive eye.  

I am really starting to love those chestnuts mares. Here is a picture of her in her first morning in Canada.  She was greeted with Canada famous snow!!!  

We just came back from Prima Keuring with Epsom and Exodus,. We could not bring them all and we had to make a choice but they both made us very proud.  

Epsom class was presented as the best of the entire KWPN tour in North America. The judges mentioned how pleased they were to see such high quality with the mares and added that the choice of the stallions really complemented the mares which are really what breeders are striving for.  I can not think of a better compliment.  

Epsom class was all First Premium which was unique in this tour. He came second. They said he was a lovely, lovely colt, very elegant with long legs and long lined. They liked him a lot and they mentioned that the first and the second were very similar in type and this was the type they were looking for. We were very pleased with their comments. 

As for Exodus he must have made history of being the first colt to win a First Premium as a hunter and dressage colt in the same class.  It all started about a month ago when I called the KWPN-NA office to ask if it was possible to change his class from dressage to hunter. Being by Sir Sinclair he was registered as a dressage colt but he really showed more of a hunter type and I wanted to move him to the hunter section. They said only the judges could change this and to wait for the keuring to discuss with the judges.  So upon our arrival I ask the office clerk at Prima if they could contact the judges for me about my decision to change the class and was told they had taken good note of it.   

Well I never heard of anything and I presented him as scheduled. He was presented with comment about his more horizontal look and his lower action in the trot (exactly what a hunter type should be ) and  gave him a First Premium as a dressage colt considering his high quality!!!  Well, this was not something I was expecting and I ask the judges what was going on.   

They had not been told by anyone of my request and  agreed that he certainly could be a wonderful hunter but was  also a First Premium dressage colt.  I could decide at his studbook inspection in which category I would want him to be.  So he is a First Premium quality colt  dressage/ hunter, aren't we talking versatility here? 

Such a sad, sad day.   

We had to euthanize Durango today.   As a three weeks old he unfortunately  broke his elbow.  We tried all we could  to save him but it was not enough.  After three operations and a long period of hand walking, Bowen therapy we thought he was getting better.   

However we saw his conditions deteriorating in the past few weeks.    Arthritis has stolen the quality of his life and he was in constant pain...we had to end his journey.  It is so unfair and as much as I know this was the right decision,  it is  heartbreaking.   

Jacques and I decided we would be with the vet for his last moment.  I went to get him in the field and for the first time he wasn't eager to come with me. They all followed him to the gate and Dragon was scratching his neck and back as we were walking.  Durango  stoped several times and this was to much for me. I thought I could handle it but I could not. I gave the shank to Jacques for his final moment and ran home to cry. 

Durango had a hard time in the Hospital when he had his accident. He was only a baby  but so so strong a real Swazaneger , all muscle and bone , so strong that I never could hold him between my arm as I do when my  foals are born; he was getting away even at one day old.   At the vet hospital there was a warning on his stall:  Beware, dangerous foal!  He was not happy at all, and would kick and bite anyone coming near him.  He came back to us as a wild wild foal, and he almost broke the arm of Jacques who had to go to the hospital. 

But it was not long that we discover his real personality. A sweet, sweet  little thing.  Our daily walk became the highlight of my day.   We would pace along the road or in the wood and he really enjoyed it. At the end he was following me like a puppy dog, nobody could have guessed he was once considered the monster of  St-Hy.

We decided to bury him in a remote part of our land where there is a small meadow surrounded by woods.  We use to go there as well, from time to time, so he knew this place, now it is his final resting place. R.I.P. Durango.This will be your home now and forever.)

Adieu my sweet little Durango,  you will always stay in our heart and we will never forget you.    

Dragon was vet check today.   During the examination twice the vet exclaimed: Amazing!  At the end she asked me if the owner was willing to train him to his full potential.  I asked to what level she thought he would be able to reach and her respond was: ‘ Grand Prix’.

Of course this is the goal of every serious breeder to produce offspring able to perform at this top level, but it is a long and difficult road that very few have the priviliege to attain.  However, it is encouraging coming from the mouth of a vet who is also a dressage rider.  I always have been proud of Dragon, his attitude first has given me the best moment of my breeding life but his quality has also been recognised where he got First Premium and was tied in the Championship of Iron Spring Farm huge keuring with a foal who went on to win the Champion dressage colt at Devon the following week. I knew I had a special one here, right from the start.  

Anyway the vet was impressed to see such good balance and engagement of his hind legs especially at this awkward stage  yearlings have to go through. I am really proud of him.

This vet had also made good comments on my broodmares band. While student at the vet school, she was shown a picture of a 24 years old Hanoverian broodmare taken as an example on how a broodmare should looks like when well taken care of. Even at this old age, she was in good shape and certainly didn't show her age. Well she told me that my broodmares could have also been used as such example. How gratifying !  

Well this was a very busy week as Dragon Bloom was sold to my sister Julie.  She realized she couldn't let him go and had to buy him before a serious buyer came to see him.  She knew there are very few like him. Dragon has this special personality who easily bond with you and makes you feel special. He loves peoples and peoples love him.   He will stay on our farm until he is ready to be trained so this is great as we will have the possibility to continue to enjoy his loving attitude. Congratulations Julie !

Epsom Bloom has been sold to a wonderful family in Pennsylvania, the acclaimed hunter/jumper trainer Louise Serio and her daughter Chrissy are delighted to add Epsom as one of their future Grand Prix prospect. It is so comforting to find a good home after all the care and concern we are providing them. 

Epsom is such a loving colt  with tremendous potential. I have no doubt that he will make the joy and pride of their new owners. Congratulations to Louise and Chrissy Serio from Derbydown.

Enough of bad news please... Anime did not get in foal to CHIN CHIN!   Well maybe it is her way of telling us that she will be ready to be back in shape for the spring. Well, what can we do.  Nabella has been bred to Johnson on July 8th, and Olympia to Zapatero. If not in foal this will be it for this year. 

 Jenni has been confirmed in foal to Ferro today!  This is great news as she is 21 years old now and if she had not got in foal we would have retire her but she seems to have decided to continue her career.  She is such a great mare. So as of now we have two mares confirmed in foal.

On the downside, Nabella is not in foal...Well, I did not dance enough I guess... I really love her  foal  from Sir Sinclair but with the CEM going on it is just too risky to try to import fresh semen from the state. Ferro or Johnson would be good combination and their semen are great  so I have to decide soon. 

Anime has pulled a check ligament and has to be on rest for 6 months so she will not be presented at her inspection this fall as planned. This is such a pity... so we anticipated our plan and she has been bred to Chin Chin. This should be an amazing cross and I am very excited. We will know next week the outcome.   

Nabella and Jenni were brought to St-Hy to be bred. Nabella was inseminated to Indoctro and everything went great. She had no reaction to the semen and she can be brought back home tomorow.

Now I have practice my fertility dance!  Well, it has worked the last time with Hickstead. My repro vet had warned me that it would take a miracle for her to catch as  motility of the semen was only 10%!  So you see, everything is possible.  

Olympia has given us the only filly this year and she is a pale chesnut.  She looks like a deer. Olympia is the broodmare that anyone would dream of owning.  She was a maiden acting as if  this was her 10th foal. She knew exactly what to do. She broke her water at 10 to 10 PM on May 22, 2009 and 20 minutes later everything was done. She licked  her for 5 minutes, took half an hour break and then just dedicated all her attention to her baby. She is quiet, patient and has a ton of milk.  This little girl was born earlier than anticipated and needed to unfold.  Olympia is just great with us and the baby as she does everything to help us.

GREAT NEWS  TODAY. Our vet has confirmed that Wagrusa H has been 14 days in foal to Hickstead. This was a great relief as this semen is quite expensive with no guarantee. We are so proud of her.

Wagrusa H is our best mare. She was imported from Holland in 2008 and comes from a very good mare line. Her siblings include Approved stallions and high level jumper . His brother from the same mare was a Grand Prix CROWN Approved stallion. She is a young mare but already has 3 foals on the ground and her  first one was bought by the famous VDL in Holland as a stallion prospect. Wagrusa H is a predicate mare; Star and Prok.  We expect this foal to be a Grand prix prospect and hopefully a stallion prospect.  

Here is our third of the season. Jenni has given us a wonderful colt from Padinus at 2 this morning. He is black with a blaze and two hind socks. This one will need a few days to unfold but he sure will be gorgeous.

And here is our second edition!  Exodus Bloom was born at 7:20 PM on May 17. By Sir Sinclair out of Nabella (Rolls Royce) this little guy looks like his sire. Same color, same head, same buttock and soooo smooth and friendly.  We were kind of hoping for a look alike of his dam but hey, it is a good thing that we choose a pretty  good stallion as she doesn't seem to give much of herself.  But we will see, they can change so much.

We have just received news from Dr. Raggio of St-Hyacinthe Hospital and Wagrusa should be inseminated Tuesday as we expected. He was raving about Epsom nice attitude and conformation. He has been very friendly and cooperative with everyone. Sometimes it takes outside viewers to make us realized how lucky we are.  

Wagrusa and Epsom had to jump into the trailer for a three hours drive to St-Hyacinthe Vet Hospital where they have a great repro team. She should be bred to Hickstead on Tuesday I guess.

Epsom made us so proud of him. He was a bit reluctant first but with a little help he went right in. At the Vet clinic the resident comments on how nice he was. He said  he had seen about 300 foals this year and this one was by far the nicest one...well, we won't argue!!! Thanks.  

 I miss him already... maybe Nabella will do me a favor and foal tonight so I can use my newly spare time on her.

 IT'S A BOY!  Yes, Wagrusa did it again!  337 days, same as last year!  

 I  checked  on Wagrusa around 8 PM... Business as usual, nothing special but I had the feeling that this was the night!  I cleaned her stall very carefully and added a ton of straw.  At 9:15 PM, I heard the foal alert, ran into her stall but there he was, all cleaned up! Darned, I missed him.  I have an infrared camera, a foal alert device, did not leave the house for the past 3 days but I still managed to miss the foaling!   

Well,  she didn't need me to deliver her colt like a pro. He is stunning, everything I was hoping for except for the sexe. I would have given everything to have a filly but he is so cute.  He has this huge star on his forehead, a snip and a hind sock. He is strong with good legs, strong topline, well put together.  With this fantastic look and excellent bloodline he is a star in the making!  Pictures will come soon. 

We were informed Dragon Bloom has won the Prize for being the Best Offspring of the 2008 KWPN-NA keuring tour resulting from the 2007 KWPN-NA Stallion Auction. We were thrilled but not that  surprised as he really had good score.  Still, Dragon never fails to amaze us! 

Our foals are not even on the ground yet and we have to prepare ourselves for the next year. We have taken our first breeding decision of the year:  Hickstead.

We had been following this stallion  for the past 3 years and  he never stopped to amaze us. He is such an athelete,  one of a kind champion.  We believe he will be a wonderful combination with Wagrusa line.  She is tall, very athletic and comes from a very good performance mare line.  The result should be spectacular.  

The decision of the KWPN to approve Hickstead was the final incentive.     

Now... there is a long way to go before we see anything running in the field and a lot of thing can go wrong. But here we are, taking this first step by reserving the semen and hoping for the best!

Wish us all the best as this will be one and only attempt!

Our two weanlings has been separated from their mom today; Dragon has been calling but Wagrusa was the only one to call back.  Zalanta and Durango didn't care at all. These two share the same lack of interest on this separation. In fact,  Zalanta seems to enjoy not having to share attention anymore. They settle easily .

Our only breed show of the season was the ISF keuring in the State but maybe we should have pushed our effort to make it to Devon. It would have been quite a long drive but Dorado ISF who was tied fifth in the Championship with Dragon at the big ISF keuring, was First at Devon USDF Prospects in-Hand colt class.  FIVE foals in Dragon's class were in the TOP TEN at Devon with the lowest score being 77!  Quite a class indeed! No question why we were so impressed with the quality of the foals presented at Iron Spring Farm!!!  

We came back from Iron Spring Farm keuring with First Premium for Dragon Bloom. We could manage to bring only one foal with his dam Zalanta.  Dragon was just fantastic. We had a lot of good comments on his behaviour. I took so  much  time to braid his mane but he stay quiet and patient up the end. He is so easy to handle.

A keuring is a good opportunity to have independant opinion on our horses. They found him very expressive in his movement and conformation, refine, lean, light footed and with good use of his  hind legs.

Selected for the Championship the jury added that he was a very leggy foal, lean in the leg, good shoulder, very willful, long line and that he had a good rectangular body.

Well that was a lot of qualities for our little one and we were quite happy on our way home as we drove 13 hours, taken a 2 hours rest during the trip. Zalanta and Dragon were the best, they even lay down while on the road.  !