Michaela McGrath and her fjord mare Ausdan Karin had qualified for the Royal London Show earlier in the year and the eagerly awaited day dawned last month.
An 04:30 start was made to make sure Ausdan Karin was turned out to perfection. It was a sunny day, not that it mattered as all the classes were inside in the main arena. Ausdan Karin was warmed up amidst lots of interest from everyone. Michaela & Steve also met up with fjord gelding Cobra-Joker. Steve said his humans were the typical fjord types (cheerful and funny).
Michaela said Ausdan Karin was 'on fire' as these results show:
(In-Hand)
- Pure Foreign Breed. THIRD
- Home Produced Rare/Foreign. THIRD
(Ridden)
- Pure Foreign Breed. FOURTH
- Home Produced Rare/Foreign. FIFTH
- Open Rare/Foreign. FIRST
- Concours D'Elegance. FIRST
They qualified for the Championship among other first and second placed winners and : over to Steve - we were awarded ... Wait for it ...
ROYAL LONDON RESERVE CHAMPION OF BRITAIN
We got home just before midnight and we all were shattered but it was worth every minute.
We were lost for words and close to tears with what we had achieved in the short time we have had Ausdan Karin, it just goes to show that what you put in you get back ten fold.
Absolutely right Steve and we, along with everyone else we are sure, congratulate Michaela, you and of course Ausdan Karin on a wonderful set of results all in one day and a great boost to the breed in achieving!
ROYAL LONDON RESERVE CHAMPION OF BRITAIN with AUSDAN KARIN
among such wide ranging and prestigious breeds.
Article by The Fjord Horse National Studbook Association of Great Britain
Sweetwater’s Zorah Belle (Zoobie) being driven by Leslie Berndl at Shady Oaks Combined Driving Event in Lodi, California at the Advanced Single Pony Division. This was Zoobie’s first go at Advanced and she won the overall Advanced Division!
Leslie Berndl, a US National Champion at Single Horse, has been driving Zoobie since 2015. They have competed in 10 Combined Driving Events in Oregon, California and Florida – winning all 10. Leslie and Zoobie were North American Preliminary Single Pony Champions for 2015 and won the Florida Triple Crown in Preliminary Pony Division for 2016.
They will compete for the US National Single Pony Championship at the Kentucky Horse Park October 6 – 9.
Zoobie’s grandsire is Konggard HK200 bred in Holland by Bob Van Bon. She is owned and was bred by Teressa Kandianis of Ferndale, Washington, USA.
Note : thank you so much Teressa for this article and the links below showing on video the marvellous performances at Shady Oaks.
Warm congratulations to Zoobie, her breeder and her driver. Success for the US National Championship at Kentucky!!
On occasion of the 55th Anniversary of the Swedish Fjord Horse Association, the annual important stallion evalutation and also the biggest breeding show of the year for fjordhorses was organized on 10th - 11th September in Vetlanda.
On Saturday : the stallion evaluation and performance test for stallions and also a test for 3 year old horses to find good talents in jumping and dressage.
Link to info and pictures HERE
Click here to find the results of the stallion evaluation
On Sunday : “Riksutställning”, a big national show.
Best of Show was Gandhi.
Link to more pictures HERE
Pictures by Helena Kättström.
Congratulations to the Swedish Fjord Association and to all participants of the week-end !
