Donoso and Start got a canterjob on the snaffle and Halagador got a pessoa workout. I finally found a snaffle that D is happy with so now we will are now working out on that one, Halagador seems to like the same. At the moment I am very pleased with everything. The horses are doing well on their diets thanks to Jorge that keeps up with all the their individual needs and my many instructions.
Today a rainy foggy day in Madrid

Tina from last week is getting her horse vetchecked tomorrow. I have just started to search for a horse for Dagmar's friend Elisabeth, Dagmar is the lady that bought Nr 526 from us last year, we had a really nice time with her and her husband Androsch. 

Dagmar 
 

And Halagador, possibly one if not the most beautiful black PRE stallion in the world, now has two clients. First we have a very famous and official dressage authority, the other is a client from USA. Let's see how this will develop. I am stuck with the feeling it's a real pity having to sell this horse, he will be my last black PRE, it's this one or noone beacuase no other could ever live up to my expectations. He's a horse for a beautiful woman or an ugly man :) Unique.
Halagador

Found Start sleeping and Donoso did his usual sounds when he saw me yesterday. We had a glorious day with sunshine and D went into a swingy passage and did some happiness jumps, big smile on my face :) My beautiful stud stallion is simply the best! Yes Donoso is now my horse, aswell as the rest of the Vikinga gang; Start, Picara, Novedosa and half of Halagador.
And today Javier's new beautiful boy arrived! 
P & Javier
 
  

Viggo played with Start doing his diagonal races, like we needed more excitement.. Girls got a good cleanup with hairstyling, looking smashing and I think Nova has grown, she looks very tall now. I got a bit worried because Pica did not look very pregnant from the side - until I went over to her other side and from there was a bump. She is very deep and has good chest width so she carries the baby well. Also it's her first and belly muscles are tight. I have been calculating when she is due but there are so many modells, to me Nr 2 seems best but I'd be happy to hear your experiences. Pica's last covering date is 20tieth of April. 

1. Adding 11 months from last covering 

2. Subtracting 23 days from last covering

3. Subtracting 1 month and 3 days from last covering
Picara today
  

I have got new booking on Festivo, a spanish breeder covering one mare this year.. Excellent and go for it I say, keep breeding excellent horses because in three years there won't be many PREs available and you will be one of few offering quality horses on the PRE market. It is an understatement to say the spanish breeders has diminished their breeding programs radically :( 

Here's one of my favourite breeding stallions having fun today

        

Germany has decided for one of the two horses we viewed day before yesterday so now we wait for the vetcheck for this beautiful well trained luxury horse!

Back from christmas holidays, even though I have somewhat disconnected I have been working with various clients. D from USA has now reserved some super exciting PRE youngstock, one of them being Donoso's son Pinturero BAT! That will be D's first offspring exported to this part of the world. Today I have been viewing two horses with T & J from Germany, it was a very nice meeting and even though we have been driving all day. At one point I almost backed over a lamppost and gave my car another scar but I assured them I AM a good driver. T said she prayed for us so I think she was not totally convinced! Despite no spanish meal I think I left them satisfied at the airport, safe and sound, only good horses can make you feel good despite many kilometres and no food!

Now I can't wait until tomorrow because then I will go and see MY horse family and I'm anxious, it has been over a week.. Cheerio til tomorrow!

PINTURERO BAT reserved for USA

Vikinga PRE horses will celebrate christmas munching away on fresh new green luxury hay I went to buy them he other day, whilst I go to Sweden to do the typical things swedes enjoy when the temperatures are below cero, the wind is freezing and the cold is biting your cheeks.. 

We are updating Horsespre web with new wonderful horses in sparkling colours, see some videoclips and prices and a brand new EXCLUSIVE but NOT EXPENSIVE collection for you, enjoy!
 

VIKINGA PRE; Start - Donoso VII - Picara PM - Novedosa PM
Wishes all friends a FABULOUS CHRISTMAS TIME!

 - May all your dreams come true! - 

Hi dear all, thank you so much for all response from last blogpost, now let's move on..
I am riding Coco once a week and giving Jessica a lesson another. J told me that C had been naughty several times with her, suddenly he just takes off which can of course be scary and also dangerous. Last time I rode him I could feel the tendency but I corrected before he got the chance to think more about it. So from now on he gets the workouts on the double bridle so that J can feel she has a 100% break control. Coco is a very sensitive horse but also very sensible. First day on doublebridle he tried it with J but when he realized she was in control he was happy and then we could all enjoy a great workout. I remember in the beginning of Festivo's training he disconnected with me, on a snaffle, and I realized that he was very sensitive to pressure. He also had a problem with having been disciplined in the wrong way. I trained him on a pelham for a while so that I could relax knowing I had a break. As he did not like the snaffle and I do not love the pelham we continued on the doublebridle and that was the bit F was most happy with. Everything has a solution, so let's focus on that.

Last week I went to view some very intresting PRE broodmares, top movement girls, some could even make a carrer in dressage. This is a granddaughter of Ermitaño III, the one and only Elite Graded PRE stud in the world, her dam is Qualified Graded like several others of her grandparents. She has a very prestigeous brand. 
Granddaughter Ermitaño III
See reference Nr 613 www.horsespre.com under BREEDING for more info
 

And this is a daughter to Ermitaño III. She is a in foal and has one offspring, a powerful and impressive lady.
See Nr 614 www.horsespre.com under BREEDING for more info
 

As probably most of you know I have been helping Javier with his sales company Iberian Horse Service S.L via Horsespre quite a few years now. Javier has now got himself a new business partner, a male one, and even though I am still collaborating I am now self-employed. Yeguada VIKINGA PRE now belongs to me and the horses has been split up, which is the reason we are selling Halagador. This has not been my choice, as Javier left me he now wants to build up his own stud with his daughter and I had had no choice in the matter. Sometimes life is like that. My parents has bred and kept 3 of our Vikinga PRE horses for 4 years. Horses that we later sold and Javier and I shared the profit. My parents were happy to help and I am very greatful to them for their help. I have happily trained the horses we have had together through Vikinga PRE but it has also been hard work as I have fibromyalgia. Now I am passing through a period of feeling abandoned and unappreciated, personally and professionally there is a big hole as Javier and I have shared everything and done everything together. To feel alone is hard but I have my family helping me, again. I share this with you because I know that sometimes it is comforting to know you are not the only one going through rough times.
This is life and I repeat to myself; Without the contrast of the darkness the light cannot exist. All will be well and everything that happens is for the best.

Me and the light of my life; Donoso VII
 

Brr, Madrid has gone cold and we are having 1-2 degrees with alot of wind, yesterday it was snowing horizontally! Ladies has got thick winterrugs both inside and outside now. With fresh inspiration from SICAB we continue our day by day training. Coco the new student is doing very well. We are working out on the pessoa as he is tight and gets choppy in the canter. He is slowly getting the flying changes but until canter has improved the risk is he is going to change front first and back later. He also needs straightness through the topline, he get parted in three and neck, shoulder and croup are not always aligned. A firm contact between aids is what we need right now. Coco is a intelligent horse and learns quickly but his body needs more gymnastics so he can move better and more correctly before he advances teqnically. Donoso is playing out his tempi-two's and this has improved the overall quality of his flying changes. As always pure pleasure work as he is absolutely through in his body we can just play and have fun. He loves his training and so do I!

Yesterday I got a phonecall from one of Spains top breeders asking me for recommending a rider to come and work for him. This is a great oportunity for a serious dressage rider, excellent skills in bases of dressage are fundamental. You are welcome to send your curriculums to me, including a video of you riding, and I will forward the suitable applications.

Here a sneakpeak of a merited PRE stallion of excellent quality I am happy to recommend any serious dressage rider or PRE breeder. He is working PSG level + piaffe/ passage and a Grand Prix talent. He has several medals from important A-championships in Spain. And he can really move this beautiful guy!

SICAB is over and it has as always been a intense and wonderful experience. Great to meet friends and collegues and celebrate a year of work, collaborations and friendship. I only regret I did not manage to see everyone, this event is big and the hours seems like minutes rushing by when there is so much you want to talk, do and see. This year the competiton was celebrated in a slightly smaller scale, SICAB normally has around a 1000 horses competing during the week but this year the number of participants was around 500. I enjoyed very much seeing some beautiful horses and movers. Even though you can see a red thread in composition of both mares and stallions there is still unequal quality of especially the movements. You still see hocks that go up and out behind (like trotting horses) and many are not diagonally correct. Some of these still get good scores because they move with big gestures which I think it is a mistake when the horse do not have a correct coordination front and back and the movement naturally produces a hollow back and lack of rhytm. A classy typical spanish horse moving with grace and ease is such a divine sight and if you want an example of what I am referring to do look up this years Campeón Adulto Mejores Movimientos 2012 - YERBERO - Reproductor Calificado and Joven Reproductor Recomendado for dressage and Campeón Adulto Funcionalidad SICAB 2011. Yerbero is pretty close to the perfection of a typical classy spanish horse moving with grace, ease and power. Neither of his parents has ever competed, to me he is not a horse produced by calculation of bloodlines nor merits from parents (neither has competed not even once), he is simply a grand horse, bred in the spanish manner and one that came out with distinction thanks to a spanish professional breeder with a good eye for quality. As I have no pictures from SICAB I post these where Yerbero is winning the goldmedal in FIECVAL, The European Championships 2011, next to Festivo that got the bronze.
Yerbero (middle) scored 28,333 in the funcionalidad, outstanding!