and utilizing stallions that suited her particular mares, we see in the third, fourth and fifth generations riding horses with brilliant movement and excellent brains. Tey excel at the higher levels that demonstrate their excellent work ethic. Hilda retains most of her young horses and starts them, to help her decide which mares to keep in her program. Selecting and cull- ing have become an art with her, and lucky are the many recipients who have been chosen by this doyenne of breeding to carry on with her mare lines when space becomes a problem. Hilda has never begged us to accept horses that have not met
breeding criteria, nor will she tolerate horses that she deems inferi- or in any way. Colts with less than sterling behavior or gaits? ‘Call the vet’ is her motto. Many are the stallion prospects that are now ‘singing soprano’ thanks to her keen eye.
Mo Swanson Te largest breeder of dressage horses in North America is Mau- rine Swanson, affectionately known as Mo. Covering and foal- ing Rolling Stone Farm’s more than 20 mares each year requires diligent recordkeeping, meticulous planning, nursing foals, hours and hours of ultrasounds and carefully preparing stallions, not to mention many nights of sleep deprivation while waiting for foals to arrive. To be so successful on such a large scale is no small feat. Year
are not often available but Judy quickly recognized her athleticism and generous nature. When she later decided to sell most of her mares in order to relocate to her home state of Texas, Elfenfeuer’s current owner/rider Alice Tarjan jumped at the chance to purchase such a nice horse.
Hilda Gurney
Closer to home is another outstanding breeder of high quality dressage horses. Based in California and nurturing her fifth genera- tion of quality bloodlines, Hilda Gurney began breeding using the Ramses stallion Condus. As an Olympic rider, but one without very deep pockets, it was her goal to produce horses of the high- est caliber that could carry her to glory. Branching out from the straight Trakehener bloodlines that were in her initial generations,
after year Mo and her husband Jim have bred a total of six ap- proved stallions and produced many champion riding horses. Mo has been a leading U.S. breeder several times and her stallion Shakespeare’s five-year-old daughter, Verband Premium Shyriana, so far leads the country in 2015 with a score of 8.7, vying for the U.S. Young Horse championships held in August. Mo’s young stallion Dheputy excelled in his stallion test and since then has earned the year-end champion title in both 2013 and 2014 for USDF Stallion of the Year. Tis farm is at the fore- front of North American breeding, with 75 percent or more of its youngsters receiving premiums. Many of these foals have enough merit to be awarded foal of distinction and stallion prospects on top of the premiums. To achieve these accolades so regularly is without precedent. As are the previously-mentioned breeders, Mo is a strong
believer in the quality of the mares that she keeps in her pro- gram. She too has mares that are third and fourth generation producers for her farm. Knowledge regarding the quality of each mare’s progeny and their subsequent ridability is part of what keeps this northern Pennsylvania farm at the very top of its game.
Choosing the right stallions for these meticulously selected
mares requires careful and sometimes brutal calculations. All these breeders know the risks of being unrealistic—fooling oneself can be financially devastating. Instead, they apply the knowledge they have developed over many years to continue developing and improving the Oldenburg breed, one outstand- ing foal at a time.
LEFT TOP: Alice Tarjan competing her mare Elfenfeuer who was Grand Prix Amateur Horse of the Year in 2014.
LEFT BOTTOM: Te stallion Dheputy bred and owned by Mo Swanson has earned numerous championships already by the age of six.
38 May/June 2015 SPECIAL Oldenburg SECTION
Mo Swanson
Oldenburg Horse Breeders’ Society
SusanJStickle.com
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