an uphill posture. An attractive foal can certainly gain more points—pleasing the eye is an asset. “One of the challenges in evaluating foals is often the
wide difference in the age of foals being presented,” Brad says. “A month-old foal is quite different in appearance and movement versus a five-month-old foal ready to be weaned soon. Since foals change rapidly, comparing evaluation scores of a month-old foal and a foal ready for weaning may not accurately reflect how the horse will look and move as a three-year-old.” For some breeders, those challenges outweigh the
benefits, especially when dam and foal have to be loaded and hauled to the inspection venue. “Most of our breed- ers do not have their foals evaluated, as it is voluntary,” Brad
says. “Most experienced breeders know when they have a good foal so it is my view that they find limited benefit in transporting mares and foals to inspection sites. The extra cost, time requirement, and risk of injury of these youngsters is also often cited as reasons as to why most experienced breeders do not have their foals evaluated.” An example is Jean Brinkman of Valhalla Farm, Wellborn,
Florida. She’s the breeder of the Trakehner stallions Stiletto *Pg* (Martini *Pg* *E* x Abdullah *Pg* *E*), Tanzeln *Ps* (Enrico Caruso *Ps* *E* x Pregelstrand *Ps* *E* ) and Impres- sionist (Hailo *Pg* *E* x E.H. Mackensen). “I normally do not present foals,” Jean explains. “Of course, I evaluate my own foals and normally can pick out the stallion prospect and certainly the ones with the conformation and gaits for dressage or jumping. I’m just not a big fan of transporting my foals anywhere! Mainly because of the stress and also because I’ve been breeding so long, since 1968, I feel secure in my selections. When we do have mare inspections at my farm, I rarely include the foals.” Distance and the time commitment can also prevent
breeders from presenting foals. USDF Gold Medalist Whit Watkins of Moody, Texas, is a rider who also breeds Trakehners. Her two full siblings, Miciah and Morena Mia (Leonidas *Pg* x Erzsand *E*), showed to Intermediare II and Prix St. Georges, respectively, while her mare Marin (Leoni- das *Pg* x Abdullah *Pg* *E*) competed through Fourth Level. Whit chose not to present her horses as foals. “The inspections were too far, and I couldn’t take my babies,” she explains. “But Marin did her mare performance test as a three-year-old, and tied for first.”
Are Scores Valuable? So do foal scores really make a difference? And for whom— the horse, the breeder, the spectators or the breed orga- nization? That depends in part on who you ask. Specta- tors at breed inspections certainly enjoy watching the foal presentations. And breeders love to see what other breeders have produced. The judges’ comments help them all learn more about certain bloodlines and preferred conforma- tions. Breed enthusiasts can use inspection results to visual- ize a foal’s future or later compare competition results to his early debut in the show ring. A high scoring foal can help sell him as well. And more data is always useful to the breed registries. But as breeders point out, they risk injury to a valuable
foal when transporting him or her to a distant keuring. An awkward growth spurt can result in poor scores that don’t reflect the youngster’s true potential. And that poor score can impact the value of both sire and dam. At the event breeders normally need a professional handler to present an unpredictable youngster, and of course mom and baby should be braided and groomed for the best presentation possible. The scales are mostly tipped in favor of presenting a foal
at an inspection—if the timing and venue make it worth the trip. But it’s an opinion that varies from breeder to breeder, from foal to foal.
58 November/December 2017
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