versatile. He’s game for anything...he entertains himself by free jumping at his own leisure! So I’d like to get him with a very good event trainer.” Aside from his athletic ability, Atlantis is quite the
character and spends much of his free time—when he’s not jumping—entertaining Ashby with his antics. “He’s a very silly horse too! When I took him to his first public appearances, he would do the jump chutes and when people were clapping, he would stop in front of the judges and look at them as if to say, ‘Did you see that?’ or ‘Is that cheering all for me?’ At another inspection, he was showing off at freedom and he grabbed a plant out of the plant holder and went running off with it! He does things for attention; he’s a comedian, really.” “I think he’s a very good ambassador for the breed,” Ashby continued. “He was the first stallion to be imported, showing aptitude for both jumping and dressage. I think that’s part of the testament to their work ethic—they’re really able to go in any direction.” Like Maxamillion,
Atlantis has proved to be a favorite in the barn and a definite favorite of Ashby’s. “He’s very quiet for a stallion. I can put him next to
anyone...mares, foals, any stall, and you don’t hear a peep out of him. He’s a gentleman. He’s just a really cool horse and he’s got a great personality,” she says with a smile.
Iberian Brilliance
Painted and spotted horses aren’t the only ones considered to be ‘colored’; there are several rare coat colors, including palomino, cremello, and perlino, that fall in the color category as well. Even more rare is a cremello Iberian horse like the one Jenni Johnson of JC Andalusians purchased in March of 2009. “Saphiro was bred and born in Germany,” Jenni
says. “He is a 15.3h cremello Lusitano, a color still quite rare but becoming increasingly popular. He is registered with both IALHA and approved for breeding with the Portuguese stud book (APSL).”
Jenni and her husband Ben first learned about the
flashy Lusitano several years ago when he was advertised for stud. “I had inquired about breeding to Saphiro several years ago to a Warmblood mare I had at the time. Though we unfortunately lost that mare, I kept tabs on Saphiro afterwards. This spring I was considering bidding on one of his breedings that had been donated to IALHA, and I recalled an ad for him at stud online. I couldn’t sleep one night and went to the online ad to refresh my memory on some of his stats as I considered bidding for the pairing with my mare. I was floored when I saw his ad had just been changed from ‘at stud’ to now ‘available for purchase.’ I immediately wrote to Ginger Vosburg, who owned him at the time. I was absolutely NOT in the market for another stallion. I already have two mature stallions and a rising 3-year-old colt I bred and am retaining for a client. But I spent the rest of the night awake thinking about him and trying to figure out how in the world we could buy him! “I was enamored by Saphiro without ever
having met him,” she continues, “primarily because I had met several of his foals, all of which had his classic baroque build and amazing temperament. I am ashamed to admit that I previously always thought double dilutes looked a bit odd. I was never a fan of the pink skin and light eyes, but I was drawn to Saphiro and I find him to be one of the most beautiful horses on earth! My husband and I flew out to Washington state to meet Saphiro in person.” Although they waited until they met the horse to make any decisions, Jenni admits that they had already “arranged for both a tentative pre-purchase exam and transportation” back to their farm, JC Andalusians, in Virginia. The rest is history. Saphiro arrived at his new home in March and
Atlantis is a Knabstrupper stallion imported from Denmark by Ashby Mitchell.
quickly settled in. He has been very successful in the dressage arena this year, despite having a long lay-off after he suffered an injury in 2007. “It is hard to take Saphiro anywhere and not get noticed. We have started
Warmbloods Today 21
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