of
Best Bred
WITH COUNTLESS HOURS, DOLLARS AND RESOURCES INVESTED, BREEDERS CONTINUALLY STRIVE TO IMPROVE THEIR BREEDING PROGRAM TO PRODUCE THE ULTIMATE SPORT HORSE—HOPING FOR THAT ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME FOAL. IN THIS ISSUE, WARMBLOODS TODAY INTERVIEWS THREE BREEDERS WHO HAVE BEEN BREEDING SPORT HORSES FOR DECADES AND WHO ARE WILLING TO SHARE WHAT THEY CONSIDER UNTIL NOW THEIR “BEST OF BRED.”
Concho OHS OCTOBER HILL FARM is a breeding and training facility
located on over 200 acres in Hudson Oaks, Texas. In the late 1990s they purchased their first Warmblood stallion Lordship by Lord Calando and began to expand their business into breeding. They are currently home to over 100 horses, including stallions, broodmares, youngsters, sale horses and boarders. Wendy Davis, owner and president of October Hill
Farm, estimates that they have produced over 110 foals since 1997. She says she can remember the arrival of their 100th foal just two seasons ago, which was celebrated with a foal naming contest. Of the many successful foals they have produced,
Wendy says her favorite is Concho OHS, affectionately known as “Chimi.” Chimi is an RPSI approved stallion born in 2003 and is owned by October Hill Sales. His sire was October Hill Farm’s own Holsteiner stallion Cascani, and his dam was a Westfalen mare named Ravenna. Wendy credits her sister, Erin, with the decision to
breed Cascani to Ravenna, resulting in Concho. Erin, who is a successful jumper rider herself and is the head trainer at October Hill Farm, was the one who suggested the cross. “Ravenna was one of my sister’s high-amateur jumpers, a true speed horse who had two gears: fast and faster,” recalls Wendy. “It was Erin’s idea to cross Cascani, a very mild-tempered but extremely talented stallion with great jumping technique and rideability, to Ravenna, a hot-potato personality who always jumped with extreme caution even if she did not do it with style.”
100 January/February 2012 They opted
to use embryo transfer so that Erin could continue competing Ravenna, and eleven months later Chimi was born. Wendy
admits that they really didn’t realize just how special Chimi would be when he was born. She says he was “an early bloomer and grew like a weed,” making it hard to see his full potential at the foal stage. “We knew we had a true talent on our hands when we started free jumping him however!” They began free jumping Chimi around two years of
From top: Erin Davis and Chimi at the Tyler Rose Horse Park. Photo by Connie Kelts Chimi (Conco OHS) at age three. Photo by Wendy Davis
VETERAN BREEDERS SHARE WHAT THEY BELIEVE IS THEIR BEST (OR FAVORITE) FOAL BRED TO DATE.
By Gigha Steinman
age. Wendy explains that in their arena they have a free jumping chute with five foot tall portable panels at the closed end which is intended to stop the horses after the final jump. Wendy recalls that they had set the jumps at a schooling height of about three feet, but were in for a surprise when they sent Chimi through the chute. “Apparently Chimi did not see these five foot high panels as anything more than another jump. After he finished the jumps in the chute he continued on and also cleared the panel with hardly any effort! Then he galloped forward
Two fillies at top with title: photo courtesy W. Charlot Farms
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