party for Cinco last year and put the photos on Facebook. “He has a toy we take to shows,” she says with a laugh. “He rolls it out of his stall and looks at you to roll it back. So cute!”
The Kids Are Alright!
Maggie Sjoberg of Maggie’s Menagerie in Ila, Georgia, would be considered by many members of the AHHA an ambassador of the American Holsteiner breed. As a past AHHA board member for many years and former chair of the AHHA Breeding Committee, she has had much to do with the development of the AHHA as an organization and the American Holsteiner as a successful breed. At her farm in Georgia, she stands the approved stallions Conifer, Mr. Wizard and Something Gained, produces many foals and promotes her horses in sport with her daughter and trainer Abby Sjoberg. In 2012, Maggie Sjoberg received the Best North American Bred Mare Award from the AHHA for her high-scoring mare Z Yvette 325. Tere is probably
no one who believes more strongly about inspections than this former breeding committee chairman. “Te AHHA inspection process has had everything to do with the quality of the Holsteiner horse bred in this country,” she says. “I have been in the unique position to have watched from the very beginning the evolution of the Holsteiner breed in this country. In the early days, mares were presented that were not good enough to be bred at all, much less bred to produce Holsteiners. Trough the knowledge and expertise of our American and German judges, and a coming together of breeders in centralized locations, breeders have become more knowledgeable about type, quality and marketability. Te percentage of premium mares and foals increases each year and a consistency of type is evident. Te approvals sites are a place where breeders, riders and interested observers can come together to learn about the horses and the organization.” From her years of involvement in the sporting arenas, Sjoberg
has developed widespread awareness of the breed’s perceptions among riders and owners. “Te most common perception about Holsteiners among jumper riders is that they are the breed best
44 July/August 2013 SPECIAL HOLSTEINER SECTION
suited to the discipline. A new and growing perception due to breeders like Wendy Webster with Hunter and our Marlon line with, for example, Ben (Mr. Wizard) ridden by Phillip Dutton, is that Holsteiners are going to be well-suited to the discipline of eventing as it has evolved today. [When crossing the two breeds,] the influence of the American Holsteiner has given the traditional Toroughbred event horse the gaits to win in dressage and the scope to be clean on the final day in stadium. Recently we asked Phillip to tell us what he thinks Ben brings to the table to make him a good CIC competitor. His response was, ‘Ben is such a forward thinking horse. Tis really helps him in all three phases.’ I expect this sport to be a growing market for the American-bred Holsteiner in the future.” She points to her home-bred stallion Conifer as
an example of the versatility of the breed. “Conifer is a wonderful example of everything good about the Holsteiner horse. His breeding was planned when I was still active in dressage and he was supposed to be a dressage horse. With his huge, rhythmic gaits he certainly would have excelled in that discipline. However, Abby prefers the jumpers and he has also excelled in that arena.
To top it all off, he is an excellent sire, producing dressage, jumpers and event horses.” “Te American breeders have been blessed to
have at their disposal access to two of the greatest sport horse breeds in the world: the Holsteiner
from Schlesweg-Holstein and the American Toroughbred,” she continues. “In both cases, we have inherited the expertise of past generations of breeders for use in going forward with our breeding programs. Trough my years on the AHHA Breeding Committee, I have had the opportunity to learn from many of the best breeders in Holstein and have tried to use that knowledge and their bloodlines in combination with the Toroughbred to breed a sport horse that can excel in all disciplines here in America. Planning breedings each year and then waiting for the results the next is one of the things I most enjoy about the breeding side of the business. Keeping some of the foals and raising them for sport, then following their progress is also a very
Top: AHHA’s Best North American Bred Mare of 2012, Z Yvette 325, bred by Maggie Sjoberg. Right: Abby Sjoberg riding U-Turn, by Mister Wizard. Bottom: Casibus, a three-year-old son of Conifer, has earned top honors with the USDF for his performance in Material classes this year, besting the entire nation with an average of 84.00% and was the USDF Horse of the Year in Materiale.
A&S Photography
Shawn McMillen
CBP
American Holsteiner Horse Association
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68