Breeding Program - 20 years strong in 2013

I bought the first stud fee to a warmblood stallion in 1993, to breed to my saddlebred dressage mare for a horse for myself. Despite her breeding she was schooling Second and Third levels before her retirement, and could put together a respectable Sec. Level test. I chose the Grand Prix Hanoverian stallion Domingo. Unfortunately, we never saw a foal from ES Domingo. Both Domingo and my mare were deemed as unfit for breeding.  My first lesson in breeding. That mare became a super schoolmaster.

We purchased our foundation broodmare, Action Battle, or "April," in July 1994 (shown right), and our first foal "Daxx" was by Domingo's 3/4 brother, ES Diamant, owned by Glenwood Farms, out of "April," born in 1995.

Since then I've raised a small number of exceptional foals. Some I've kept, some I've sold. I've added some nice broodmares to our 'herd,' some I've raised as foals, and some I've purchased. We imported the Premium Thoroughbred mare I Must Fly xx who gave us 3 fantastic foals. In 1999 our colt Remarkable, out of I Must Fly, was named the ISR/Oldenburg Grand Champion Colt - Midwest, and was a premium with 8.5 on type, and our mare La Championita was the Reserve Champion Mare - Midwest.

In 2000 we were honored to have our foal Lizette named ISR/Oldenburgs Champion Filly - Midwest earning a rare '9' on type, our filly Coeur de Championne HF was also a Premium foal, and her mother, Verb. Pr. St. La Championita HF was awarded Verband Premium with RPSI, and was the highest scored premium mare in North America that year. 2001 brought the licensing of my young stallion Remarkable HF with the RPSI and AWR the following year.

image © Shorthorse Studios

In 2000 I began my association with the German registry Rheinland Pfalz-Saar. Our foals that are registered & branded through this registry receive German registration paperwork (the "passport"). We've hosted 9 RPSI inspections. We've also hosted in years past, KWPN-NA, ISR/OLNA, and Westfalen inspections. Our Westfalen horses also receive German registration and passports. Unlike many of the North American Registries, our horses are entered directly into the German studbooks and and inspected and graded by the same German inspectors. In 2005 I had my first foal registered with the German Oldenburg Verband/Oldenburg Horse Breeders Society (now separate and no longer affiliated with the ISR/Oldenburg NA), also my first foal premium award from the GOV. It is important to note that the German Oldenburg Verband/Oldenburg Horse Breeders Society is the original and official registry of the Oldenburg Horse in Germany and world-wide.

We produced one KWPN-NA foal, Cartouche HF. His dam was an imported Ster/Sport mare that I leased for one breeding season.  Cartouche HF was named a Ster gelding at his 3yr old Keuring. He was also tied for fourth in the North American keuring tour the year he was inspected.

image © Shorthorse Studios

In the fall of 2002 we acquired the farm above, and we expanded our breeding operation. We bred or acquired several lovely warmblood broodmares in our program. Stallions were selected individually for each mare, with important emphasis put on temperament, conformation, and overall athletic ability.

We began to include more and more frozen semen breedings into our program. In 1999 I first used frozen semen with the stallions Coriander and Linaro. Those breedings were very successful, and I continue to utilize the best Warmblood stallions in the world for our breeding program. More recently, I had foals by Royal Diamond, Stedinger, Royal Dance, Sempatico, Sir Donnerhall, Abke, Balou de Rouet and others!

I have helped several small breeders begin their successful breeding programs as well, and I continue to be available for consultations for match making. We are proud of our offspring and hope their new owners will keep in touch with us over the years. Check our News Page for updates on the horses, or see our Sold Page for horses we've sold.

Until they each closed operations, in my spare time I sat on the Board of Directors for Midwest Breeders Group, which I co-founded; and Warmblood Breeders North America. WBNA leased and imported 3 stallions approved with the KWPN-NA to offer to North American breeders. The stallions were Iroko, Freestyle, and Heirarch. We chose to close down Midwest Breeders Group about a decade ago and WBNA also was closed down after several successful years.

Since 2009 I have held a seat on the Board of Directors for the Wisconsin Dressage and Combined Training Association either at the Chapter or State level, or both. I have held several positions, first as the Alternate State Representative. In 2010 I was nominated and appointed to the State Board of Directors to serve as Member-at-Large (served until December 2011) and the Webmaster, an office I currently hold. For 2013 I assumed the roll of Vice President (while continuing as Webmaster), and eventually I became the State President and served for 3 years in that position. The Wisconsin Dressage and Combined Training Association is a Charter Group member of the United States Dressage Federation and is a 501(c)3 non-profit. I continue to support them in the capacity of Webmaster.