BREEDER SPOTLIGHT KIM VON DISTERLO • Kimberlee Farms, Somis, CA •
www.kimberleefarms.com
How did you become involved with the KWPN breed? As a hunter/jumper rider in my youth, I started my breeding
venture with a Thoroughbred mare that I matched with Best of Luck four times. One of those four was the mare Irresistible, who became the foundation mare for the farm and earned her Preferent status with the KWPN-NA in 2012 based on the results of her daughters at their respective keurings.
What is the primary focus of your breeding program (dressage, jumping, harness, etc.)? Jumping primarily, and occasionally a dressage horse.
How long have you been breeding KWPN horses? Thirty years.
What makes the KWPN breed special for you? To me, KWPN horses are attractive horses, with athleticism and excellent temperament.
Why should equestrians choose a Royal Dutch Sport Horse as their next mount? I think the specialization and separation of the KWPN-NA rid- ing horse into distinct breeding directions of dressage, jumper and hunter types gives purchasers an advantage in the selec- tion of young prospects, based on breeding direction types that have been primarily determined by the individual pedigree. Not every equestrian is a pedigree expert and by having the breeder and/or KWPN jury determine the most appropriate breeding direction, it takes some of the guess work out of the search.
What are the goals of your breeding program? To breed horses for temperament and soundness. Everyone
dreams of breeding international horses, but you have to be re- alistic. The biggest market in the U.S. is for amateur horses, and a great temperament from both sire and dam are paramount.
What factor is most influential for you in your breeding program? Matching the right horses with the right buyers. That’s more
important to me than getting the highest dollar possible be- cause I believe that’s how people will come to my program in the future.
If you had to pick a favorite horse from your program, which one and why? Gisela KF, who is a third-generation product of my breeding
program. She exudes class and has a great future ahead of her in sport and in breeding.
What breeding lines have been the most influential in your breeding program and why? With an emphasis on quality over quantity, I typically breed
two to four foals a year. Holland-based KWPN stallions Indoctro and Corland are favorites, along with Popeye K and Apiro, who are based in the U.S. I like to be on the cusp when a horse is in the process of becoming a special stallion and breed to him while it’s still affordable. One example of a stallion I used very
42 September/October 2015 SPECIAL KWPN-NA SECTION
This is Helina KF (Apiro/Zadira/Great Pleasure), 2014 KWPN-NA cham- pion 2-year-old hunters.
Kimberlee’s Gisela KF Ster Prok. She was 2013 Overall Claybrook Farms Champion with a score of 84.1, 2013 KWPN-NA Reserve Cham- pion 2-year-old jumpers, 2014 Top Five Jumper Mares and 2014 third in the Claybrook Farms Cup 3-year-olds.
early in his career is Zapatero VDL, now the sire of four of our fillies. One is Gisela KF (Zapatero VDL/Zadira prov Keur/Great Pleasure), the overall champion of the Claybrook Farms Cup in 2013.
What are some of the major successes of your program or what aspects are you most proud of? Two young mares out of Irresistible and by the VDL Stud sire
Great Pleasure were national champions in the hunter division at the KWPN North American keurings. Another full sister by Great Pleasure out of Irresistible, the three-year-old Dallas KF, won top honors in the USDF materiale division for Dutch-breds and was reserve champion all breeds in 2011. Several grand- sons and granddaughters of Irresistible have also won titles with the KWPN-NA. We were also the 2014 KWPN Breeder of the Year. v
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