big will do. But, he was still very easy to start, like his dam, and naturally balanced. He was so non-reactionary at three and four, that I didn’t know if he would make an FEI horse, but at the end of his four-year-old year I started seeing something. Then at five he was giving me half steps and turning in some pretty fun mediums. When I finally found his ‘electric core,’ I knew I had found a horse I could take to the upper levels. He is the best fit I’ve had in my entire life, not just because of size, but also our personalities and our take on things fit well.” Oak Hill Ranch owner Richard W. Freeman, Jr., a New Orleans entrepreneur who
still rides at age 73, attended the Games to watch Paragon and Heather compete and comments, “Paragon was outstanding. He was the clear crowd favorite for the balanced gaits that he displayed. I was thrilled with the way he filled the diagonals with his flying changes.” Sharon Londoño, Oak Hill Ranch manager and President of the North American Danish Warmblood Association, remembers, “Paragon was the leggiest foal we have produced to date and he floated with every stride. He was a Premium foal.” Fourth place in dressage was the 10-year-old Canadian-bred Hanoverian stallion
Viva’s Salieri (by Viva Voltaire, out of Slinja by Salieri, bred by Augustin Walch, owned by Augustin and Christine Walch, W. Charlot Farms, Stratford, ON) ridden by Canadian team member Tom Dvorak, Hillsburgh, ON. The pair earned consistently good scores in the Prix St. Georges test (71.711%), Intermediaire I (73.079%) and Intermediaire II Freestyle (77.300%) for an average of 75.190% to finish fourth individually and lead their team to the silver medal. Tom comments on the battle for medals at the Games and how Viva’s Salieri
is to ride, “I fought as hard as I could and I didn’t leave anything behind. We gave it our best, and it was a personal best score for us in the Freestyle. Viva’s Salieri is a wonderful, willing and athletic horse. He is a real gentleman in his nature and I always look forward to riding him.” His breeder Christine Walch shares some information about Viva’s Salieri’s
breeding and how he looked as a foal. “My husband, Augustin, purchased his sire Viva Voltaire as a two-and-a-half-year-old at the Hanoverian Stallion Approval in Verden, Germany. He purchased him because of his outstanding performance pedigree, featuring Voltaire, Grannus and Argentinus. Viva was the only stallion that had two offspring competing at the Pan Am Games in dressage. Quite honestly, Salieri did not ‘stick out’ when he was a foal. However, I will never forget the day we had him free run in the arena for the very first time as a three-year-old. His gaits and athleticism were outstanding, and I do remember saying to my husband, ‘we have never had a horse that moves like him.’ ” Tom’s Canadian team mate Crystal Kroetch, Calgary, AB, riding her American-bred
Hanoverian Lymrix (originally registered as Leopold Q, 2001 gelding by Loerke, out of Felicitous by Wertherson, bred by Suzanne Quarles, Someday Soon Farm, Mt. Airy, MD) helped the team silver Canadian effort with an eleventh place finish in the Prix St. Georges. They moved up considerably in the individual competition and finished sixth overall with an average of 73.663%. Crystal remarks after her Prix St. Georges ride, “Lymrix was fairly electric today, but he stayed with me the whole way.” Lymrix’ breeder Suzanne Quarles is a well-known Hanoverian breeder and
currently serves on the board of the American Hanoverian Society. “As a foal Lymrix was a good, solid, honest citizen, a good mover and very correct. We are always looking for the perfect mix and Lymrix was nice enough that we repeated the breeding with a full sister being born a year later. We sold him [Lymrix] to a rider as a three-year-old and she took him to the first FEI Young Dressage Horse Competition at Devon and won. Then he sold to Crystal. I am so glad that he found his way to her.” The other Canadian-bred Hanoverian was the ten-year-old gelding Viva’s
Veroveraar (by Viva Voltaire, out of the rescued Thoroughbred/Canadian Sport Horse mare Slim Sadie by the Thoroughbred stallion A Fine Romance, bred and
Opposite page left to right: ➊ Heather Blitz and Paragon were individual silver medalists and team gold medalists. Photo by Allen MacMillan/MacMillan Photography ➋ Canada’s Tom Dvorak and Viva’s Salieri finished fourth individually and lead the Canadian team to the silver Photo by Allen MacMillan/MacMillan Photography ➌ Viva’s Salieri as a foal crossing a river at W Charlot Farm in Stratford, ON. Photo courtesy of the Walch family
This page top to bottom: ➊ Lymrix ridden by Canadian Crystal Kroetch finished sixth individually to help their team win silver and qualify for the 2012 London Olympics. Photo by Dee Kochensparger/MacMillan Photography ➋ Viva’s Veroveraar with his rider Esther Mortimer of Guatemala. Photo by Allen MacMillan/MacMillan Photography ➌ Julio Cesar Mendoza of Ecuador riding the U.S.-bred Friesian stallion Ivan. Photo by Allen MacMillan/MacMillan Photography
Warmbloods Today 51
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