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Horsey Genes
any years ago my grandmother asked me an interesting question: “Where did your passion for horses come from? I can’t think of anyone in our family history who was crazy about horses like you.” She was trying
to figure out which distant family member had a “horsey gene” that I must have inherited. Surely there had to be an ancestor responsible for passing along this disease? I was in my mid-twenties, and my only answer at the time was, “I have no idea. At age five when I took my first pony ride, I was
instantly hooked.” Looking back on the conversation, perhaps my grandmother answered her own question in the question itself. Te key word was “passion.” I can list numerous relatives, including my grandmother, who are extremely passionate—I mean, over the top, seriously enthusiastic—about one particular thing that is practically all consuming in his or her life. Tere’s religion, art and antiques, fishing, hunting, books, music, coins, travel, horses, and more. So there it is. Passion. Te constant striving for perfection in one interest. Tat inner-drive to learn more, improve and excel. And it’s very prevalent in our family. In this March/April issue, our second anniversary issue, we have a number of examples where the passion and drive that people
demonstrate with their sport horses is more than admirable. I guarantee that you’ll be impressed with what the Stranskys are doing: every dime that young jumper rider Daniele and her coach win in competition goes directly to charity, specifically to help Haiti. Her mother Liliane is the catalyst and has organized the Step by Step Foundation and many charitable events. Another interesting feature is about dressage trainer Linda Smith who spent six years doing everything possible to make her
horse sound and comfortable. She shares this long ordeal that must have been tremendously difficult. We also have eventer Boyd Martin and Remington XXV doing very well despite the horse’s career changes, high highs and low lows. Even though Remington is now 16, Boyd cherishes their relationship and isn’t ready to give up on the Hanoverian. Karen Reid’s persistence as she worked with the Germans to build her Holsteiner breeding business was clever and impressive.
Even though she hit some bumps along the way, her entrepreneurial spirit never wavered and her business model has worked well for over 20 years. Ten there’s the happy ending for the stallion ES Donavan. Although in the article we could not share the unpleasantries of his younger years, the love and passion that the Williams and Costellos bestowed on him is inspiring. And inside this anniversary issue you’ll also find more interesting features and point of views, such as breeding for color, helpful sports psychology from eventer Doug Payne, and what breeders think of the 70-Day Stallion Test. But let’s go back to the ‘horsey gene’ theory. When I interviewed Matthias Rath at the Alltech World Equestrian Games, who
now rides the world champion dressage horse Totilas, he pointed out that his siblings didn’t take to horses and dressage like he did, and that he follows in the footsteps of his parents. Tat brings me to wondering what is truly responsible for this innate equestrian “disease.” Is it one’s environmental upbringing, or an inherited horsey gene, or an inherited gene of passion? Maybe it’s not so black and white and is some combination of the above. But regardless of where this inexplicable passion for horses comes from, genetic or not, if you’re like me, you wouldn’t trade it for the world.
ublisher’sWelcome
Liz Cornell, Publisher
Our Mission: Warmbloods Today is the only magazine in North America focused on the entire spectrum of Warmblood breeds. It’s a place where people from all aspects of the sport horse community can come together: amateurs, owners, trainers and breeders. Each issue contains interesting, informative and often heart-warming stories of peoples’ experiences with their horses, along with thought-provoking opinions from various professionals and amateurs. We cover all horses from European descent bred for the sports of jumping, dressage, eventing and driving including the Iberian breeds and American Warmbloods.
10 March/April 2011
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