This weekend we went to view some horses and I rode boys as usual. The groom called as he thought Hagge was going to colic, but he was only making is usual groaning sound so false alarm and he got a good workout to calm my nerves. I am in stables every day as the heat is getting to us I want the boys to get out twice a day. Walker in the morning and training or paddock in the evening with refreshing shower. On saturday we said a final goodbye to Ravel that is finally off to Candy in USA, she REALLY can't wait anylonger and who can blame her, it has been a long process with castration etc etc. Yesterday Minna that is a happy owner of Ingrato and Kameron, brothers to Halagador, turned up for a visit at our stables, Minna entered stables and recognized Halagador instantly, I think you can see why!
Kameron
  
Yesterday I rode Donoso, Hagge and Start so Festivo and Molinete was up today. Molinete only gets a short lounge warm-up now, his trot is rhytmical and canter is slow with incredible balance! His contact is super and he is very light on legaids, I forgot how much fun it was to ride a young horse! And I what a pleasure to ride THIS one!
Festivo is going back to stud station as we are going to collect him for frozen semen. I have had inquiries from mareowners from all over the world - thank you so very much for your interest in our stallions! Our plan was to freeze for all the countries but in the end I am afraid there are too many rules and regulations, several weeks of cuarantene is necessary and right now we do not want to expose Festivo to another longtime stay at station as season is over. So we decided we only freeze for EU countries for now.
Beautiful Big Baby at studshow in Aranjuez March 2011
  
           

We're having hot temperatures here in Madrid, nevertheless I have been working out horses non stop, I give myself lazer treatments on a daily basis, yesterday I did three and the day before yesterday all five horses, yay!
Today we had a visit from David de Wispelaere from USA, living in Germany. David is a renouned classical dressage trainer of all races, he promotes riding with harmony and lightness and feeling for the horse. You can read about his principles on his webpage here; http://www.dwdewispelaere.com/ 
I enjoyed meeting David, there was a mutual understanding and it was encouraging to meet someone with same training philosophy, view of and attitude to the horse in general. Seeing him ride my horse was also a pleasant experience!
David de Wispelaere on Festivo MR

Here we are sweating away, not complaining at all though, I love it!
Working three boys a day and I am quite satisfied with my work, all five are so different so it is a very colourful and fun gang to work with! Festivo has been resting after TRC so I do him everyday now and then two more, yesterday Molinete and Halagador, today Start & Donoso. Festivo will stand back from competitions now, he has done alot this year, the bronze in EU championships in spring, then standing at stud and now Calificado grading so now he will work on his dressage at home. I am getting Start into competition form, no competiton in August but in September there is the big CDN*** in Toledo which is now my exciting goal with Start. Not sure which ones to do, will decide alittle further on. Now when Donoso has his Calificado status it's not necessary to do anymore championships, it's more interesting to develop his dressage curriculum from now on. Halagador is now doing a super extended trot, he loves to show off his spanish walk and now he is also doing a spectacular spanish trot! And Molinete needs alittle more time to grow into his body before he can enter a championship, he's tall, growing and needs filling out, movements are l o v e l y, we'll see this autumn how he has developed!
A norwegian PRE breeder wanted to use Donoso but no veterinarian was able to help her with insemination. A real pity and I am surprised how the breeding stations/vets won't help a lady that brought her mare all the way from Norway, July is a perfect month to get a mare pregnant in the north of Sweden. Donoso will have PREs and PRE/warmblood offspring in Spain, Sweden and Finland next year and perhaps in Switzerland too but that's not confirmed yet. Halagador and Festivo will have offpspring in Spain, Festivo possibly in Australia also as their breeding season is in October-December.
This is Festivo MR last year when he won Best Movements and qualified for SICAB in Caravaca de la Cruz.
 

I promised to write some general informational about this event and here it is.

Both PRE stallions and mares are graded. First grading is APTO which is a basic approval, no test is required only a general study by official veterinarian confirming that mare/stallions is compatible by blood with its parents (is registered and has a passport). To get your stud stallion graded and approved for breeding with any kind of artificial insemination, the Tribune of Qualified Reproductors (TRC) need to pass the horse. The test is over one day and described below. Theoretically Elite grading also exists but so far there are no tests elaborated for this level, hence no PRE stallions are graded Elite, as far as I know.

Requirements for application to grading;
If your stallion is 4 years or older and your mare 3 years or older you can apply for TRC. The stallions has to be over 155 cm and the mares over 153 cm. You have to submit the following certifications from the University of Cordoba including;
1. Xrays that confirms the horse is free from OCD - Osteochondrosis,

2. Vet cert measuring quality of semen,
3. Vet cert excluding defects which inhibits reproduction

On arrival to grading the horse's angels are measured carefully as they have to be well within the racestandards.
(Donoso was very cooperative and thought everything .. needed to be measured..)
 
The first test is the morfology that is very much like the presentation by hand in championships only longer and more strict and the evaluation lasts 15 min. Three judges mark the horse that has to reach a score of 85 or more. If you compare these scores to results in championships it is a very high score. Also a horse with one note of 'very bad' or two notes of 'bad' are disqualified even if total score is 85 or more.
Donoso VII
    
No matter what scores the stallions get in the ridden test, he cannot pass and get tthe itle Reproductor Calificado if he does not get sufficient scores in the morfology. The first part of the grading is where most horses fail. Ridden test is performed. For mares the ridden test is optional.
Donoso VII
     
Festivo MR 
       
In the ridden test the judge looks at the quality of movements in all gaits, rideability and general impression of the horse under saddle. The judge ask the rider to do different excercises, which he finds necessary, varies from one horse to another. To pass you need a score of 24 (out of 40) or more which is also a high score in morfo-functional shows.

Feel free to ask if there is anything else you would like to know, now I have some more riding to do, have a great weekend!
     
/Proud owner, happy rider!
 

Festivo MR, our big baby has joined Donoso VII and the gang of Spanish Kings - today he is our Big King!

We landed hard on couch with wine and swedish sweets, went up at 4 am today but who cares - Yeguada VIKINGA PRE now has two TRC stallions - how cool isn't this!? H A P  P I N E S S!!!
He had a big audience and a TV reporter team behind him all day, you can see it this evening if you have Channel 1 Televisión Española!
Festivo MR - Reproductor Calificado 2011
  
Judges; Juan Manuel Carnero Sánchez, Javier Bayo Sánchez, Ignacio Bravo Garcia
           
Jorge Conde Lázaro, judge ridden test
     

All photos by Javier Villard

Had to wait for heat to pass, car showed 39 degrees today, woah!!  My garden has had some serious work done to it, it is now decorated with one pretty palmtree, one beautiful orangetree with 12 big oranges dangling from it and one lemontree with babylemons! I love trees and always dreamt of having these ones in my garden so it was very special to see them being planted and today I harvested my first orange - delicious! And now I have a swedish set up watering system that will NEVER fail, thanks to Maths and my dad. We will plant a pretty lawn later on this autumn, it is too hot for that now.

And so for the boys. Today Donoso and Festivo's was up and I started with Donoso, no warmup needed, we are enough warmed up here so we went straight into it and after a little while HE DID HIS FIRST CONFIRMED PIAFFE - PASSAGE - PIAFFE transition - woahhhh!! I saw it in the mirror and it was so beautiful I was really moved! (No smiley for that feeling..) And Donut was going  Only you with true passion for riding knows what it means to endure the ups and down on your own, getting on with it and believing in yourself that you can do it, and then the joy when something finally comes together - wiiiiiiii - IT IS SO WORTH IT!! I LOVE THAT HORSE - WHAT A GUY!! Donoso is a horse of a lifetime, I am so aware this. We finished with that lovely feeling.

And so Festivo... I decided to lounge with Pessoa, he is ridgid in shoulders, especially the left one wants to push out and he is NOT through in his back especially in the right hand, here he overbends to the right and does not want to stretch topline. SO, big darling, we need to STRETCH. Since he is big but very well mannered I thought it was a good thing to lounge in indoor, I was all by myself. I walk in and ... ping - the loungeline opens and horse is loose! Uff, it is not very interesting to have a indoor with two big entrances with no doors in this situation - adrenalin went in and up and I started to to get him down the shortside. Festivo is a cool guy, he does not go up in high energy but - he has BIG STRIDES, so fibromyalgia body had to work it, nothing else to beg for! I managed to keep him moving (and what movement with all that happiness!) on short side he was playing looking at the mares on the other side of the road. But after 15 min and many turns I had no body and I decided I have to go forward and see if he would join up with me. HE DID NOT. Off he went slowly and I did not even try to pass him. Trotting beautifully up the lawn where there was a southamerican party and a swimmingpool. Quietly he sailed through the garden, and the partypeople, and came out behind house where the outdoor arena is in process of being made. I managed to round up three partyguys that did not seem at all worried, I had to explain that I was not going to catch that horse on my own. The guys were very helpful and calm and did exactly what I told them, arms up, run left, down arms, stand still etc and we got him by the wall. But Festivo decided to have more fun and make bullfight move on one of the guys that he passed elegantly. He sailed down on owners drive in where I had to snap him in the Pessoa because cheeky F would not join up with me, he had too much fun! He was very controlled, he's a cool guy and a clever horse, no stress just BIG and independent. You can see how he thinks where to go most conveniently and REALLY who can blame him for wanting to stretch out after having worked hard at breedingstation several months? He was happy. Then we worked in the roundpen, stretching, stretching and some laps later work back popped up and shoulders were where they had to be! Super, Festivo had a good day too!!

And finally a picture of the youngest Molinete working hard doing the same job with all the gear on.
Molinete XI

Here some pictures from yesterday, wishing you all a HAPPY MIDSUMMER!
  
Festivo MR