Warmblood By Julie Winkel Proudly Bred in the USA
More U.S. farms and breeders are making their mark every year as the horses they produce are finding competitive success. We have a long way to go, however, to catch up with the
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Europeans. European breeders have been in the business of producing top-quality riding and sport horses for hundreds of years—much longer than American breeders. As a result buyers have a nice quantity of quality horses to choose from over there, at every level. In my opinion, there is much more to suc-
cessful breeding than simply producing a healthy, strong foal with good bloodlines. There has to be a system, one designed to: 1) raise the foal in a healthy, safe envi-
ronment that provides good nutrition as well as veterinarian and farrier care; 2) provide correct handling of young-
ster on the ground and an introduction to groundwork; 3) start each youngster under saddle,
Kevin Winkel and Osophia by Osilvis at age nine winning the Grand Prix at Paso Robles last October. The pair also won the $30,000 GP in So- noma in September.
teaching good basics; 4) build a slow and progressive system of jumping
training, structured according to the individual’s mental and physical development; 5) choose the right competitions and environments to
continue the education and development of the budding sport horse, installing confidence with experience; 6) market the young horse to potential buyers; 7) continue to compete the youngster while assessing the best career path for him, whether it be hunter, child/ adult jumper, dressage or a Grand Prix prospect; 8) manage health and soundness issues along the way, with career longevity the priority. For more than 25 years now we have been fortunate to
have the Young Jumper Championship and Jumper Futurity programs in the U.S. to help us develop our young horses. The YJC encourages the correct development of young jumpers, offering over 450 qualifying classes nationwide, leading to three regional championships for the East, West and Midwest. The Jumper Futurity, limited to horses foaled in North Amer- ica, is designed to showcase America’s breeding programs. Each year three $10,000 4-Year-Old Regionals are offered as a stepping stone to the Young Jumper Championships. Special award programs are also available to young dressage horses.
98 January/February 2016
merican breeding programs are really taking off—some- thing all American equestrians should be very proud of.
Separately the USEA offers an east and west Young Event Horse championship program. Additionally the Young Horse Trainer School, presented
by Linda Allen, Jose Alejos and myself, is something I am very proud of. It is in its fourth year at Maplewood Stables in Reno, Nevada. Our next scheduled session is Sep- tember 7–11, and registration is already nearly full. I am so excited to see the growing en- thusiasm for specializing in the development, training and marketing of U.S. bred horses! As a breeder myself, I know all too well the
hard work, skill and sometimes sacrifice that goes into producing a horse with Grand Prix potential. Our whole system of breeding/rais- ing/training is the key. And I don’t stand alone. Other breeders such as Barb Ellison of Wild Turkey Farm and Lisa Lourie of Spy Coast Farm
have similar programs to ours. For example, at Maplewood, we stand our own stallions that we have found as young horses that we developed to successful Grand Prix careers. We breed them to mares we have competed on
and are familiar with not only their bloodlines but with their character, personality and heart. We raise our youngsters in a natural environment in pastures with other horses their age and gender. We employ excellent horsemen who start them under saddle when they are late three-year-olds, then we put them back out in the fields. They return as four-year-olds ready to learn the basics. We introduce low jumps with lots of vari- ety—no drilling. Field trips to local shows follow. By and large we let the horses tell us whenever they are ready to do more. The road to Grand Prix is long and difficult with plenty of bumps along the way. For me the most gratifying thing in the world is to have a horse that I bred and raised win his or her first Grand Prix. It’s an amazing feeling, one that I hope—and expect—more and more American breeders will experience as well.
Julie Winkel is the owner of Maplewood Stables in Reno, Nevada, and is an accom- plished hunter/jumper competitor and USEF judge. Julie offers internships, as well as full training for horses and riders and sales horses. She also stands two jumper stallions. You can learn more about Julie and Maplewood Stables at
www.mwstables.com.
Flying Horse
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