Day 1 – Finals of the stallion show competition
Thursday evening is holding a very special treat that I did not expect. Over the past several months, approved stallins have been competing against one another in dressage and/or harness. These test results were compiled and the final was held tonight. I thought this was fantastic because it allowed me to see the stallions in actual sport competition, and to hear what the performance judge had to say about the horse’s strong and weak points. The long tests culminated in te naming of winners in various categories. Very prestigious indeed! It was a great show, but not well atteneded due to te scheduling veyr late on Thursday night. Hopefully they think it through better next year.
The completitors here were the best of those competing, In brackets I am showing how these guys placed in eth overall competition as it came to a close. Also, in a few cases I took video of the tests. This video still needs to be processed, but at least I have it!
It is starting with the less advanced horses at the European Level L.
* Meije 440 [Champion]
* Gjalt 426
* Norbert 444 [Reserve]
* Maurits 437 [top 10]
* Olgert 445
* Michiel 442
* Felle 422
Next was a group of stallions slightly more advanced, at Level M
* Doaitsen 420 [top 10] – video
* Jesse 435 [top 10]
* Loadewyk 431 [top 10]
* Beintse 418
* Jense 432
* Haitse 425
* Hinne 427
* Jisse 433 [top 10] – video
* Jorn 430 [Champion]
* Jerke 434 [reserve]
Level Z
* Rindert 406
* Arjen 417 [champion] – Video
* Dries 421
* Eibert 419
Driving competition
* Wierd 409 [champion]
* Bente 412 [5th place]
* Harmen 424 [3rd place]
* Lutger 436 [4th place]
* Maurus 441 [2nd place]
To me personally, the biggest surrise was how fantastic the Tsjerk sons were at dressage. I am not sure of what I expected, but it was not that. I thought Norbert was really aewsome, and gorgeous. In the driving completition I once again fell in love with Harmen, That guy is just wonderful. The judges pick on him a bit because he is more “old style” with lots of bulk and hair and shorter front legs. But maybe that is just what I like about him. Michiel, the stallion who was approved in Amwerica last year and is now standing in the Netherlands, is really a lovely horse too and I was very impressed by him. I sure wish he would come back to America. Wierd did not have an especially good test tonight, but he had a really good lead going in, so he still won the overall competition. Young Maurus was darned impressive though.
Well, I am typing this at midnight Thursday. Hopefully I can get something posted tomorrow – the internet connect at the stadium is abyssmal, which is killing my plans. Well, we shall see.
No sleep in 36 hours is finally taking it toll.
A quick stallion show post – and we have not even left the USA
I am waiting for my mom, dad and sister to arrive here and pick me up. We’ll then drive about 5 hours to Dulles airport outside Washington DC, park and check in and wait for a 6pm flight. A whole day of traveling and waiting.
Anyhow, to kill the time I looked through some old video tape and came up with Olof 315 from the stallion show 2003. This was taken before they started putting a number on them that matched their stallion number. But I checked the program and in 2003, number 260 was indeed Olof.
The quality with my new camera will be better (I hope). But this video is using the old video tape.
Anyhow, to the lady who wanted to see Olof, here is a short video. It take a few seconds to get going, so be patient.
More tomorrow from the present time, I am hoping.
And 2009 starts – with the Stallions Show!!
We leave January 7th and arrive January 8th in the Netherlands. The annual “hengstenkeuring” (which we just call “the stallion show” in English) starts on the 8th. The stallion show is held in Leeuwarden Friesland and is the time where the best young stallions from 2008 go through final evaluations to see which ones can make it to the “finals” of stallion selection. Since the “final” is a 70 day test which occurs after the finalists have been trained and matured a bit more, this show in Leeuwarden is the last time to see these guys all in one place and in one show.It is a big event in a large indoor arena – *packed* with Friesian crazy spectators. There is just nothing better.
But there is so much more than that…
- The older, approved stallions compete against one another for the “World Championship” title. These guys are legends in the Friesian world.
- There is a full program of events and clinics. You can see the program here
- There are a variety of open houses, parties, and get togethers
- We get to see our friends and visit horses who are relatives to our horses here
- Visiting Friesland is pure joy for me. I love the place, the people, the horses, the event – everything about it.
This year I am going to try – and I will emphasize try - to write and submit videos directly from the show. Who knows if it will work? But you should bookmark this site – just in case!! I’ll be writing more soon about the equipment I plan to use, etc.
In the meantime, here is a teeny video of Wikke, a foal born here on the farm 18 months ago. Wikke is owned by Sara Andrew and I live near them. On New Years Day Wikke was trimmed by the farrier and I helped hold hm. As Sra walked him to the pasture I took a teeny video. I am really interested to see Wikke develop – my Cori is now pregnant to Heinse 354 with Wikke’s full sibling.
Wikke at 18 months, New Year’s Day 2009. I think he is so pretty.
Our annual visit to Friesland
The 2007 Stallion Show in Friesland
 Lexie and Mark |
The annual stallion show was held in Leeuwarden, Friesland on January 12-13, 2007. Visiting the show and our dear Friesian friends is a highlight of our year. This year Dee and Carlton’s granddaughter (Jeannine and Carole’s niece), Lexie, was able to attend. This photo is Lexie with Mark, the famous Friesland driving champion.
We have added a new page of videos and breeding information for the FPS stallions. Just look for the stallions/breeding link in the left navigation column. You will be able to see many clips from the show on this page. Our intention is to continue building this page over time. Enjoy!
And Speaking of Stallions….
Breeding season is just around the corner and we’re selecting the stallions we will use for next year. This is always a very exciting time for us as we try to continue to improve our breeding program. We should have an update soon ….
And Speaking of foals …
Cori is now into the second half of her pregnancy. She is doing great and is big as a house. We are happy to note that the baby’s father, Heinse 354, just had a half-brother win the 2007 World Championship. This means that Heinse has had two half-brothers win the championship in the last three years. Heinse also has the highest lifetime percentage of star mare offspring (51.8%) of all US stallions and for active stallions with 50 or more judged offspring, he is 5th in the world. He also has another son going to the stallion finals in Drachten this year. Not too shabby. Cori also just had another half-brother make it to the stallion selection finals in Drachten.
Yes, we are looking forward to this baby.
