Year Of The Mare
Sunsprite has been a mare-focused program since the get-go, but this year will be the “Year Of the Mare” more than ever as many of them hit the show circuits. “This is in keeping with the idea that future broodmares should have a competition record before retiring to the breeding shed,” Pam explains. “Future owners of Sunsprite mares will be able to take advantage of the depth of our bloodline selections for many years to come. Sunsprite’s motto is ‘Your Gateway to Top Performance Blood’ and we take it very seriously.” Don and Pam have found kindred spirits in the eventing community, and their sane body, sound mind emphasis has made their horses super suitable for the multi-faceted disciplne. Thanks to their athletic abilities and elegant gaits, Sunsprites excel in dressage and jumping, too. Temecula dressage trainer Nicholia “Niki” Clarke is thrilled to have the ride, for a year now, on Sunsprite’s Parody *M*. Out of foundation mare Piroschka *M*, and by Guy Laroche, Parody was champion filly, 3-year-olds and under, at her first show, the Annual American Trakehner Association convention in 2008. In 2010, the mare earned the ATA’s Model Mare status. Now 7, Parody and Niki had a terrific 2013 at
Second Level dressage with scores consistently in the 70s. Niki sees FEI potential in Parody, much of that due to her temperament. Started by Tamie Smith on an eventing track, Parody easily switched to dressage. “She’s very trainable and reliable,” reports Niki. “She was young and inexperienced last year, but she was confident and relaxed and nothing we did proved to be much of a challenge for her. I think her trainability will enable her to move all the way up.”
One of their first homebreds, Sunsprite’s
Woodstock Magic (Woody), made his mark in the jumper ring. A Weltmeyer grandson by Welt Klasse, the 1997 foal is out of the Thoroughbred mare Rodan’s Princess. He was trained by Canadian show jumping breeder Isauro Flores, who recalls the handsome chestnut as “extremely athletic. He would often put his hind end up two to three feet over the 4’3” fences.” Woody also had the trace of independence Pam seeks. In Woody’s case, that manifested in a “tremendous sense of humor” and his knack for nipping Isauro’s cap and flinging it far away. Sunsprite, Isauro concludes, “is a breeding program that is at par with those in Europe.”
This is exactly what Pam set out to do in modeling Sunsprite on the carefully researched pairing and continual refinements for which European sporthorse breeders are known. Sunsprite conducts business as Sunsprite Ranch, LLC, which breeds, trains and sells young sport prospects. The company has also bred two foals in Germany, with the cooperation of Stephanie Herken-Wendt of Gestüt Majenfelderhof.
Perfect Pairings Sunsprite’s horses are the undisputed stars of the program but, much as they don’t like it, Pam and Don are widely recognized for their generosity and joie de vivre, toward individuals and the equestrian sport as a whole. Don was not a horse guy when he met Pam, a lifelong horsewoman
www.facebook.com/sunspritewarmbloods sunspritewb@yahoo.com
originally from Mexico, but he has endeared himself to the equestrian community in many ways. As a tireless volunteer ring steward, he is beloved for calming nervous young riders with gentle jokes and encouraging everybody. His handmade stadium jumps are favorites on the circuit. Not surprisingly, Don was honored with Area VI’s Exceptional Volunteer award last year. Debbie Rosen sees her wait to get a Sunsprite ride as part of Don and Pam’s commitment to perfect pairings between horse and rider, and also part of their mission to “spread the wealth.” “They are single-handedly putting a bunch of us on great horses,” says Debbie. “They are always thinking of ways to promote us as riders and the sport, and I think that is kind of remarkable when
you think about the big picture.” Galway Downs event organizer Robert Kellerhouse is another influential fan. “Sunsprite is a great supporter of equestrian sports because of their vertically integrated equestrian program which includes breeding, raising and training of sport horses at all levels of eventing, as well as helping to support eventing competitions in the region through volunteering, sponsorship and providing a quality entry base.”
At present, the following riders are part of the Sunsprite team: James Alliston, Taren and James Atkinson, Kristie Bigham, Niki Clarke, Emilee Libby, Attila Rajnai, Debbie Rosen, Tamie
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www.ridingmagazine.com | March 2014 | California Riding Magazine 15
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