River House’s 23rd annual Hanoverian Inspection took place on Sunday, 25 July 2010. Despite some runway problems in Milwaukee, which prevented two of the AHS delegates from attending, the 2010 Inspection ran rather smoothly! Fortunately, it only takes one judge for the show to go on and one judge, Gerd Zuther, was able to attend. His wife Yvonne, stepped in to assist in recording the scores. The five River House foals were very cute and showed off well, although I (Nora) must admit that Rue Baby was the star! Of course, I am not biased, or anything like that. We also presented three of our mares for the Studbook inspection: Mandolin (Maronjo/Argentan/Matcho x, better known as Emma’s ‘Mandy’), Bette Davis RH (Bretone/Weltmeyer/Lord Udo xx), and Bahai (Baroncelli/Rotspon/Matcho x). All three easily passed and were accepted into the Main Studbook. Bahai was the Reserve Champion Hanoverian Mare for this in-hand inspection of the mares, while Eliza Rutherford’s lovely Royal Corazon (Royal Prince/Donnerhall) was Champion. Valerie McCloskey’s Thoroughbred mare, On April’s Dawn, was named Champion Non-Hanoverian Mare. Judge Gerd Zuther congratulated all of the breeders on the exceptional quality of the mares, as well as the foals, presented at this inspection site. I also chose to present Bahai in the Mare Performance Test. The MPT consists of free jumping and an under saddle test in which both the gaits under saddle and rideability are scored. Bahai did exceptionally well, receiving an overall score of more then “8″ and receiving a “9″ on rideability! Again, Gerd complimented the breeders and riders of the mares for their overall quality, preparedness, and presentation at the Mare Performance Test. These scores make her an Elite Mare Candidate. All she would have to do to receive the title Elite Mare is have a foal… I’m thinking embryo transfer. I am very proud of the little Bahoodles! Below are some photos from the inspection, including the food at the Saturday night Inspection party! Here’s a link to EMC Bahai free jumping: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP8OAK8oOrI
The CVDA Kathy Connelly clinic went really well last weekend. Farleight was a good boy and worked very hard. Kathy long-lined him a little bit, which was really helpful. With the long-lines, she worked on making him accept the half-halt. Under saddle, we mostly worked on the carriage and getting him forward from a light leg. She was very positive and Nora hopes to find the time to get Farleight down to MA to learn more about using the long-lines this month. But, it’s going to have to wait until after the Brentina Cup with Tony. Below are some pictures that Barbara Handelman took at the clinic and generously shared.
With their scores from this spring in Florida, Nora and Tony (the elite Hanoverian stallion Bretone) have received an invitation to the Brentina Cup. This competition is for young adults and involves riding two modified versions of the grand prix (the Brentina Cup test and the Young Adult Grand Prix test) at the Festival of Champions. Tony and Nora will be heading to the USET headquarters in Gladstone, NJ in early August for this event.
Tony and Nora also just returned from a Developing Rider Clinic with Debbie Macdonald at the same venue. Debbie was a fabulous instructor and had many good things to say about Nora and Tony. Nora is looking forward to working with Debbie again before the Brentina Cup.
The trip from Florida to New Hampshire was hard on Farleight, but he still managed to qualify and receive an invitation to the Developing Horse Championships in Illinois later this month. Nora is very proud of him, but she has decided not to take him to the championships this year. She is worried that the 18+ hour drive and the stress of the high performance competition may just be too much for him this year. So, they’re going to stay home and focus on training and maybe go to the Region 8 PSG Championships. Perhaps they can do the Developing Horse Grand Prix next year?!
Nora and Farleight will be heading to CVDA’s Kathy Mann Memorial Clinic to ride with Kathy Connelly next weekend – which should be exciting and helpful. Nora has also been taking Farleight and Tony to get help from Pam Goodrich whenever time permits.
Bahai – Nora’s petite, but lovely mare – won several ribbons showing in the level I, II, and III jumpers at HITS Ocala this spring. Lately, she has been focusing more on her dressage and has been giving solid performances in the FEI 6 year old classes and at third level. Nora hopes to continue training her towards the Prix St. Georges next year, as well as continuing to develop her remarkable jumping ability.
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- Tony in his stall at USET Headquarters (Gladstone, NJ)
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- Suma Bear guarding Tony’s stall at USET Headquarters
Mijou (Matcho X / Argentan) and Gleucksfee (Glorieux) both had beautiful baby boys this week!
On June 18th, Mijou had a big, black colt by Bretone. He is very elegant and is definitely a stallion prospect, given that Mijou already has one approved son. We have yet to come up with a good, stud-worthy “B” name!
Gleucksfee had a gigantic colt on the 22nd of June. He is chestnut like his sire, Werbellin (Weltmeyer / Legat / Lantan). He is very strong and attractive. Nora hopes that he will grow up to be her first big time jumper, given the superb talent of both his parents over fences. We might call him “Williston” or “Will Scarlet” and, obviously, “Willy” for short, but we’re still undecided.
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- Mijou’s and Tony’s little stallion prospect
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- Mijou’s and Tony’s handsome black colt
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- Nora’s new jumper prospect!
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- Nice butt! Doesn’t he look like he could jump the moon?
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- The Official Foal Chaser
On May 20th, Bette Davis (Bretone/Weltmeyer) was the first to foal – giving us a beautiful bay, but sure to grey, filly by Maronjo. She’s tall, strong and full of energy. We’re still trying to settle on a name – currently ‘Moshi’ and ‘Miata’ are the front runners.
Rue Facile (Rubinstein/Rescator), Nora’s fabulous retired FEI competitor, had a lovely Bretone filly on May 30th. Officially we are calling this little cutey ‘Bedelia’, but she is affectionately known as ‘Rue Baby Rue Baby Rue Baby….’ She is already showing that she has inherited an aptitude for passage from her two talented parents, as well as a giant set of ears from Rue!
Weltfee (Weltmeyer/Lord Udo) foaled just after Rue on May 31st. She has a very handsome Bretone colt that we are calling ‘Bogart’. He has a lovely neck and confirmation for dressage. The Weltfee/Bretone cross continues to produce wonderful dressage prospects.
Mijou (Matcho/Argentan) and Gluecksfee (Glorieux/) are still waiting patiently for their foals.
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- Am I a Miata or a Moshi?
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- Miata/Moshi showing off her lovely physique
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- Rue LOVES her baby!
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- Rue Baby, Bedelia, has her mama’s GIANT ears!
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- Bogart prepares for his close up
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- Bogart flexes his future FEI neck
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- Mijou looks about ready to pop
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- Gluecksfee, AKA FiFi, awaits her Werbellin baby
Copy and paste these URLs into your browser to view a few of Nora’s many many pictures!
http://picasaweb.google.com/nabatchelder/RiverHouseSouth#
http://picasaweb.google.com/nabatchelder/MoreFromFlorida#
http://picasaweb.google.com/nabatchelder/Montana#
Make sure you click ‘read more’ below if you want to see something exceptionally cute!
Are we proud of Emma Batchelder!! Soon after the Haitian earthquake, she and a surgical team from Dartmouth Medical Center were on a Partners In Health jet loaded with supplies. After arriving in the Dominican Republic, they and their gear went overland to Port-au- Prince, where they spent nearly two weeks serving the disaster victims. Emma is a post-op and critical care nurse. She and her fellow nurses had to improvise due to lack of the equipment they are used to, as well as making decisions and performing procedures that they might not do in a stateside setting. She will remain forever touched by the faith, resilience and gratitude of the Haitian people in the face of such excruciating horror. Thank you Emma for representing us and thank you for those who kept watch on the New Hampshire farm, allowing Emma to go: Lisa, Teresa and Jason.
Sorry to you who missed the fall German trip. Kathy Feehery and Amy Bresky got super new partners as a result of Verne’s efforts. Rosalie, Kathy’s new mare was shown extensively in Germany and will, hopefully, help Kathy break the 3rd/4th level barrier. She is drop dead gorgeous and an in-hand winner, so look for her at the Northeast breed shows. Amy has another winner in Farlight. He is tall, dark and handsome. He did his first Prix St Georges in Germany, a week after Verne found him, winning the class with a 65%. And he is only seven and looking like a CDI contender. Amy showed him shortly after his arrival in Southern Pines with great success and scores to 68%. Many congratulations to these lucky ladies. We anticipate the continued progress of these teams. For the rest of you, Jeanie and Verne are planning a May trip to Germany, we have some very exciting weanlings to two year olds at River House as well as a number of trained horses in Florida for the season. Check it out!
It seems like we just got home to New Hampshire and it is time to head south for the upcoming season! We had a very busy summer with Verne doing lots of clinics in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and New York. We had three super foals, two by Tony and one by Maronjo, although Trina kept her mare and Maronjo colt here all season so we had a total of four romping about.(see more about the inspection and competition news under the months) The inspection was a work of art under Emma’s direction. She again prepared and hosted a lovely party for friends, neighbors and Hanoverian breeders. If you have never been to one of her catered events, you really owe yourself to come next time!! The girls have both applied for graduate school and are in the interview process but Nora will be on the Florida farm for the winter and Emma will be holding down the fort in New Hampshire with Lisa and Jason’s able help. The first week of November, after teaching a five day clinic in Southern Pines, Verne and Nora loaded up eight horses and three corgis in two trailers and, with Jason as third driver, headed out to Williston, Florida. Jeanie is really hoping they will be back to pick up her five horses and one corgi before the snow arrives!! The Florida farm looks to be hopping this winter. We hope you will get down for some sun, to take in the horse immersion in the Ocala area, to hang out with our gang and to see all Florida has to offer. See you then!!
The Jacksonville Dressage on the First Coast show the first weekend in April was really fun! The new horse park is all it should be with great stabling and rings and a fabulous indoor with seating for large audiences. Nora and Jeanie as well as Cindy Rose were entered. Verne drove back and forth two hours from the farm as we had clients to keep riding! Tony finished up his Florida tour by coming second (by a fraction of a point) to Gwen Poulin and the seasoned Much Ado in the Grand Prix. He earned a 81 % on Sunday in the Freestyle! His Florida scores for the Freestyle were 72, 74 and 81%. Featuring Cirque de Soleil music and choreography by Karen Robinson, Tony’s freestyle is wonderful to see. He loves it, too! Cindy finished up her Florida experience by getting a 67% and her bronze medal!! Congratulations Cindy!! Jeanie was pleased with Weide’s fifth in the Grand Prix. It was a pretty clean test but a little tense in the indoor.
Two days after the show Verne and Jeanie headed North with the first load. After a staight shot of twenty- six hours they blurred home to the New Hampshire farm! Verne rested briefly then headed back to Florida via a one day clinic at UMass and a four day clinic in Southern Pines, N.C. Once back on the Florida farm (no rest for the wicked ) he finished putting the edging boards around the new sand ring. Ouch!! is all we have to say.
Jeanie was excited to be asked to do a clinic at Jamie Fells Tap Root farm in Hinesburg Vt. Jamie has an enthusiastic group of juniors and young adults, many riding our favorites, mares! It was a lot of fun.
Verne continues to have many clients on the Florida farm. He will do another four day clinic in Southern Pines in mid- April and then head North for Nora’s Amherst graduation anda heavy clinic schedule for the summer. Emma has nearly finished her orientation at DHMC ‘s intensive care center. She is also working three twelve hour shifts a week. She was up at four o’clock the other morning to ride her wonderful Maronjo mare ( out of SPS Arielle) before heading off to work. That’s dedication! Things will, unfortunately, settle down soon as she has been making frequent trips to Colorado to see her SO. He is being deployed soon. Please keep him in your thoughts. More time to ride but less time to see her friend!
We have our first foal of the year! Arielle has a really lovely Bretone colt. He is long-legged and very chipper. One of the easiest foalings ever. It never ceases to delight, teaching the newbies to enjoy human contact. This little guy seems to like having his halter put on if only so he can buck around the paddock trying to shake it off!!
We had a full summer as usual! The inspection was a big success with a great party catered by Emma. The food and company were to die for! We had a lovely group of horses and lots of local success. See the latest issue of the Hanoverian News for a write up and photo of Susie Boardman’s awesome mare, bred by Eliza Rutherford. SPS Mijou’s foal was deemed top filly on the day. Micanopy RH by Maronjo, was quite young but still showed off her movement and elasticity. Mijou’s babies often top the inspection. SPS Weltfee had the best colt for movement-he was looking a little awkward on the day,however, Baaron Miller by Bretone (and named for Captain Miller) is absolutely beautiful now with exceptional conformation and movement. We are really enjoying the Tony/Weltfee cross.
As we showed quite a bit in Florida, we did only a few shows up here. Nora got her five year old, Bahai out and took Amanta and Tony to GMHA. They also went to the region 8 championships where they both placed in their individual classes and Amanta was the I1 freestyle champion and Tony the reserve grand prix freestyle champion! Congratulations!!
Our old lady, Greta by Grande has passed on to that pasture in the sky. She was 27 and had had 17 foals, including a set of twins. Greta had two Weinsteins, a Gastronom, a Santano, the twins by Arrian and the rest from Maronjo. Her Maronjo babies were extra special, including breed show champions, high point dressage horses as well as best loved friends. Her Santano, we recently heard, is doing PSG on the West Coast. Her last baby, Maggie, a 16.3 hand grey known for her spectacular extension, has gone to Colorado. The next to last, a petite bay named Mandolin, is owned by our dear, dear friend Lisa LeBlanc and is here for the month of November,in training. Mandolin just did her first flying change!! We are so proud that Greta’s offspring live on. She was our first Hanoverian bought at a dispersal in Canada with Jeanie pulling Verne’s hand out of the air and crying”we can’t afford it!” She came with a foal at foot and bred back. Greta, when she stopped producing, was one of the last five Grande mares known to still be breeding. (he had 1500 offspring and an enormous impact on the breed-Greta looked just like him- a chestnut, 15.3 hand little power house) Thank you Greta for establishing us as Hanoverian breeders.
Verne and Nora have been on the Florida farm since early November getting things ready for the winter season. Nora has some new jumpers and plans to head to HITS as well as playing Dressage. Emma is with Jeanie in New Hampshire. She is working full time as an intensive care nurse at Dartmouth and moonlighting in the ER at Cottage(when she isn’t baking Christmas cookies and talking to Captain Miller). She is interviewing at nurse anesthetist programs and will know her next step soon.