THE CHALLENGES OF BOTH COMPETING
MULTItask S BREEDING SPORT HORSE STALLIONS
Who doesn’t seek clarity in the workplace? You want to know your role and your supervisor’s expectations, and be in a well-defined work environment. Directness and transparency are all the more necessary for those who wear more than one hat. And so it is with a breeding stallion who competes in one of the sport horse disciplines.
By Patti Schofler
gerous to himself and those around him. Clearly, these multi-task- ers require careful and sensible management. For clues on how that works best, we turned to the following:
W
Natalie DiBerardinis is the general manager and breeding manager at the 400-acre Hilltop Farm in Colora, Maryland, which markets over 20 stallions with ten on the property available for fresh cooled semen. Four of the ten compete in dressage, three of which with resident trainer Michael Bragdell. Prominent Hill- top sport horse names over the years include Contucci, Riverman, Royal Prince along with today’s U.S.-breds Qredit, Sternlicht and Doctor Wendell MF. Andrew (Drew) Palmer owns and operates
Royal Palm Farm in Eufaula, Alabama, home to 11 stallions, nine of which compete in eventing and dressage. His resume features Trakehners In- cantare, Inamorato, Tatendrang, Apollo Sun, Sti- letto, Cardinali and Heroic Measures, as well as Irish Draught Crystal Crest RID and Swedish Warmblood Fuego. Drew recently competed with Anissa Cot- tongim’s Tatendrang to win the Area 3 Preliminary Championship, CHC International CIC* and Red Hills International CIC*. After a childhood riding any horse she could get herself on,
Barbara Ellison was first based in Woodside, California, and moved in 2011 to 215 acres in the Williamette Valley in Wilson- ville, Oregon. There the breeding operation stands six stallions in the tradition of her first Holsteiner stallion in 1996, show jumping champion Liocalyon, who, among his other accomplishments, consistently placed in the top three in the 1.45m division at the Spruce Meadows, All Canada, and North American tournaments. Barb is actively involved in every aspect of the farm from the day- to-day training of the youngsters to managing the details of Wild Turkey Farm’s extensive breeding program.
38 January/February 2015
Top: Natalie DiBerardinis of Hilltop Farm. Bottom: Hilltop’s Michael Bragdell trains and competes the six-year-old Olden- burg stallion Qredit Hilltop (Quaterback x Dream of Glory).
ith his life divided between the breeding shed and the show arena, the stallion may at the least demonstrate his confusion and at the worst react in a manner dan-
WT: Do you find it important to compete a breeding stallion? Natalie: Yes. In a stallion’s early years, before they have offspring, all you have is their competition record and bloodlines. It’s important to have them seen. And the further you develop them, the more you know who they are as individuals and what they may pass along. Then when they’re older, it’s about their offspring and how they develop, so their competition record be- comes less of a focus. Plus, mare owners like to see their stallions showing. It’s good for their offspring sales. That said, you have to be smart, especially with an active breeding stallion. With heavy demands on them during breeding season, one show weekend a month is often enough or you may want to adjust your show plans to fit outside the breeding season.
WT: What are the issues for a stallion with two jobs? Natalie: There is a vast difference in the demands on a stallion who breeds 10 horses a year versus 50 or 60 a year. With young stallions, you want to make it
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Courtesy Natalie DiBerardinis
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