THE KWPN-NA – SERVING NORTH AMERICAN BREEDERS FOR 30 YEARS
I
n 1980, a talented dressage rider named Jeff Ashton Moore was preparing his Toroughbred mount for a hopeful spot on the U.S. Equestrian Team for that summer’s Olympic
Games. But seemingly a world away, mounting international tensions led to the United States’ boycott of the Moscow Games. Suddenly, his Olympic dream was over. Undeterred, a group of Moore’s supporters combined
resources in an attempt to find and import a new top-quality competition and breeding stallion for him. Moore and partner Eliza- beth Searle toured barns throughout the sport horse-producing powerhouse coun- tries of Germany, Denmark, and Sweden, but ultimately found what they were look- ing for in a place which, at the time, was thought to be quite unexpected: the Dutch countryside. Tough excitement ran high as the pair
lion from an unknown registry with no registration possibilities? What had we done in an impetuous moment?” Elsewhere in North America, other riders and breeders, such
returned stateside with a talented three- year-old Dutch stallion named Taxateur (Obelisk - Talisman xx - Amor x Commandant), they also recognized they had a fundamental flaw in their plan. “We were fine with the idea of him as my next FEI horse, but suddenly realized that there was no infrastructure in the U.S. for Dutch horses as there were for Hanoverians, Holsteiners and Trakehners,” explained Moore in a 2008 article for the KWPN-NA newsletter. “Who, other than some of our friends, would want to breed to an unknown stal-
Susan Taylor & Waino Pihl
north of Lansing. Susan Taylor and her husband Waino Pihl acquired the land in the mid 1980s as they purchased a number of working farms to form what is now a high quality KWPN breeding and training program. What is the primary focus of your breeding program? Claybrook Farms focuses on breeding professional and upper amateur level jumper
L
and hunter horses. Annually, Claybrook sells or leases about 8-12 horses per year. We want to produce foals as good as the top foals that we buy at the KWPN Select Foal Auc- tions in the Netherlands. How long have you been breeding KWPN horses? Claybrook started breeding horses in 1991. Susan does all the breeding and oversees
• Taxateur with J. Ashton Moore.
as Mary Alice Malone (Pennsylvania), Madeleine Austin (Ver- mont), Sandra Heinrich (Texas), John van Dongen (Canada), the de Groot family (California) and Tish Quirk (California), were also importing KWPN stallions. As interest in Dutch Warmbloods grew, breeders realized the need to establish a regis- try for structure and support in North America while maintain- ing close ties with the parent KWPN organization in Holland. Moore and Searle led the charge to convince the KWPN to take a chance on their idea of found- ing a North American registry for Dutch horses and, after extensive negotiation, they agreed. In 1983, the Dutch Warmblood Studbook in North America was estab- lished as the North American Department of the Royal Warmblood Studbook of the Netherlands (KWPN) to promote breed- ing and enjoyment of the Dutch horse in the United States and Canada. In order to uphold all breed standards, the KWPN-NA works directly with its parent organiza-
tion, the KWPN in Holland, on all matters including breeding, registration and inspection rules and breeding goals. Trough a continuing program of services, the KWPN and KWPN-NA have formed a strong relationship that offers the greatest pos- sible support to North American breeders, owners and riders of KWPN horses. For thirty years, the non-profit KWPN-NA association has brought the passion and focus of the Dutch breeder home to
Claybrook Farms, Ithaca, MI •
www.claybrookfarms.com
ocated on approximately 120 fertile, rolling acres with about 60 horses, 2010 KWPN- NA Breeder of the Year Claybrook Farms is located in central Michigan 30 minutes
the training, while Waino focuses on the genetics and marketing. If you had to pick a favorite horse from your program, which would it be and why? We have three exceptional foundation mares, but Pikina Field (Corland x Pele) is our favorite. She has produced a keur mare, three horses that jump at least 1.25 meters, and a beautiful stallion prospect. Her offspring have beautiful conformation and gaits, but also have a strong competitive spirit and a desire to jump. What breeding lines have been the most influential in your breeding program and why? The VDL stallions Goodtimes, Corland and Indoctro are the breeding lines that have produced our
Genuine CBF (Corland x Zhin Zhin Balia SHB by Chin-Chin).
Susan Taylor from Claybrook Farms, 2010 Breeder of the Year.
44 September/October 2013
top horses. We are looking for a modern, athletic horse with a good personality and competitive en- ergy. Any combination of these three stallions produces great offspring. We are now moving into the next generation of VDL stallions. What are some of the successes of your program? Last year we had four mares qualify for keur during the annual KWPN inspections. Since 2008, CBF horses each year have won Young Jumper Classes at major U.S. shows. We have produced three horses that have competed as high as 1.4 meters and this year an 8-year-old gelding is competing in the Grand Prix classes.
SPECIAL KWPA-NA SECTION
Renee Weedon-Organek
KWPN-NA Harvey Van Dyke BREEDER SPOTLIGHT
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 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84