The 2004 Grand Tour Through Oldenburg Country

Walks

A Walk on the Premises Of

(This article is a continuation of: "A Visit at Mathieu Beckmann's")

The Road to Vechta

The final destination of our two-day trip was Vechta for the 2004 Vorwerk Stallion Show, so after having left Wettringen to visit Laudabilis at Hengsthaltung Beckmann, Thomas and I took the long route to Vechta doing some stallion station-hopping along the way. We had contacted Harli Seifert to visit her stable in Löningen, but were running late. When we finally found her mansion-barn in the forest everything was closed. We walked a bit around the premises outside, rang the bell, but nobody opened. Another time then.

Thomas was smart enough to bring the Guide, that is the "Ausgewählte Hengste Deutschlands" book in which a large collection of stallion in Germany are listed. So we looked up addresses close to Löningen, and decided to go to Stall Ramsbrock in Menslage, which was the town next to Löningen. Stall Ramsbrock, owned by Heinrich Ramsbrock, is a gorgeous facility partly with the typical old German "Fachwerkhause," the white buildings with wooden spines and beautiful markings painted on them. Ramsbrock seemed closed too -- no human to be seen -- and as we had not made an appointment, we did not insist to enter the buildings unattended.

So again we ended up watching the architecture rather than the horses, but Thomas and I couldn't care anyway. We were having a blast talking and driving around in horse country, where you can hop from one "Institution Stallion Stallion" (like Sprehe, Bockmann, Kathmann, Ramsbrock, Seifert, Vorwerk, Schockemohle) to another virtually within ten minutes driving distance.

The Schockemöhle Experience

From Menslage we headed to Steinfeld/Mühlen to go to Reitsport Schockemohle. It's a tack shop which you can compare to Harrod's in London. It is so beautiful, so pricy and so much fun to hang around in. I ended up buying my "trillionst" saddle pad, and as I am in my "beige-period" I bought a white pad with a beige and gold brim. It matches perfectly with my horse's beige halter, beige polo wraps, and burberry beige stall blanket. Thomas confessed he's in a green period and ended up being a kakhi halter, rope, saddle pad and polo wraps. We're crazy!

From Reitsport Schockemöhle to Stallion Station Schockemöhle is one kilometer (2 minute drive). Schockemöhle's barn is HUGE. You can get lost there without a problem and finding your horse there is like looking for a needle in a haystack. I had been at the barn in Muhlen before, during the 2003 Oldenburg Stallion Licensing to look at the Sandro Hit colt Debra Wiedmaier had bought at the auction. I remember we had to walk almost ten minutes just to find the colt.

When we drove up to the premises some grooms saw us approach, but did not come out to meet us, so we just started wandering around in the corridors with no-one caring for what we were actually doing. I could have easily stepped into the box of Balou de Rouet, Come On or whatever legendary show jumping sire and started grooming him or so. Nobody would have noticed. But we were not there for the show jumping stallions, we wanted to see the wonderful dressage studs. When we finally found the dressage corridor, we bumped from one super star into the other: Sandro Hit, Don Primero (who looked old), Sunny Boy, Royal Hit. I was curious for Sir Donnerhall and Don Kennedy, the youngsters I saw at the Licensing in November. They had definitely matured and were more muscled.

It was stallions galore in that corridor, but what surprised me the most (and Thomas concurs with me) was that all these million dollar making studs are being kept in dark, dusty stalls. Their stalls are clean and well filled with straw, but the hall ways are filthy and unswept and the horses look ungroomed and dirty.

A groom came over to put Sandro Hit on the thread mill. She threw his blankets off, didn't pick his hooves and just put him on a walker machine, which was more a rotating band of manure than an exercise machine. But Sandro Hit didn't care. He was just preparing himself for an exciting 2004 breeding season as you can see pictured.

Dinner with the Westendarps

Another way in which Thomas and I are mutually linked is through Johannes Westendarp. Johannes has indirectly linked us together without him even realizing it. I first visited his beautiful farm in November by being invited to it through my American friend Holly Simensen. She is keeping two brood mares there which I know from their performances at breed shows in Europe. I met Holly for the first time at the 2000 Palm Beach Dressage Derby through Mary Phelps. Thomas is linked to Johannes through his Danish friend Lone Boegh Henriksen, who purchased the licensed Hanoverian Rosentanz (Rohdiamant x Sao Paulo) at the 2003 Hanoverian Licensing. As Johannes owned Rosentanz before Lone and is a renowned trainer of young dressage horses, Lone decided to keep the stallion at Johannes' barn until the 30-day performance test.

When I told Ines Westendarp that we were coming to Germany for the Vorwerk show, we were invited for dinner. By 5.30 PM we were at Hof Westendarp where we saw Ines and Johannes taking care of their kids. Matthias was playing with a tractor and trailer, which he called "Anengeh" (Anhanger), and Alexa was bustling about. When the babysitter came, we left for an Italian place close by. Three German girls who are friends of the Westendarps joined us for dinner, which was delicious!

We drove back to Vechta round 11 PM and were both dead tired in fact. So, not paying close attention we took the wrong road leading us into Bramsche instead of on the highway to Vechta. After 40 minutes of driving we back in Osnabruck having travelled the same road twice. It was an almost Kafkaesque situation. Round 12.15 AM we were at the hotel, tugged to the room and fell a sleep right away.

Meeting Suzanne Davies and Irene Linnegar

We decided to get up at 8 AM. That was tough. Fortunately we both took a warm shower and had a very wholesome breakfast which kept us on our feet until dinner timer. Our plan was to visit Gestut Kathmann in Vechta that morning (they are standing Dormello, Florencio, Rhodes Scholar, etc). but we decided to ask road directions at the Oldenburg Center, where the stallion show would take place that afternoon. We were there round 10 AM and saw Lisa Wilcox schooling Roadster and Jazz Time, while Ernst Hoyos was walking Royal Diamond.

The center was still quite deserted and most doors were locked until Thomas turned around and said to a lady, "You're Suzanne Davies, right?" Thomas had met Suzanne before at the 2000 World Championships for Young dressage horses. She rode (and owns) the 2000 5-year old Champion Dimaggio. Of course the news that Dimaggio would be standing at stud at Vorwerk's was the scoop of the week and to meet Suzanne in Vechta was just even better.

We decided to go for a coffee at a nearby MacDonalds because everything else was closed anyway. Suzanne and her friend/stable manager Irene Linnegar spoke openly aboard their farm in Sussex and their views on breeding. Suzanne was enumerating her collection of brood mares and stallions and was reciting one fantastisc pedigree after an other. I was stunned by the quality blood lines she had collected at her Pepper Farms in England.

The nicest story of the morning, however, was without a doubt that of their Dimaggio foal whose dam died at birth. Suzanne and Irene looked for a foster mother quickly and ended up trailering the foal to a hunter farm, owned by the heiress of Cadbury chocolates. "A butler even came over to invite us to tea," Suzanne recalled. "She had game keepers who skinned the dead foal and put the skin on our foal like a little jacket. The dam immediately accepted the foal as her own. She really seemed to want a baby."

Lone Boegh Henriksen and Rosentanz

After our coffee we returned to the Oldenburg center where Lisette Milner stood in the arena watching Lisa. As Lisette has been training with Ernst Hoyos in Meppen, Germany, for the past 9 months it was no real surprise to see her there, but still.. I was surprised. We said hi and went for another coffee in the Center, where visitors finally started to show up. Among the arriving spectators were Lone Boegh Henriksen with her husband Oluf and friend/veterinary Barbara.

The five of us went to the stables to check out Rosentanz, who seemed very nervous and was pacing in his stall. This was not like him because each time I have seen Rosentanz, he was the most relaxed horse imaginably, most of the time just doozing off in his stall. Johannes noticed that Rosentanz was nervous and took him out of his box to put him under the solarium. "They put a mare in front of his stall and he was getting excited," Johannes said. Under the warm solarium lamps, Rosentanz calmed down quickly and was interestedly looking round to all the people, who were wandering about in the corridor, watching all the Vorwerk stallions.

The Vorwerk Stallion Show: Rosentanz Walking on Roses

The indoor arena of the Oldenburg Center was filled to the roof with spectators. The first horse to appear was Danny Wilde under Lisa Wilcox, followed by Mon Dieu under Mareike Peckholz. I already noticed that Rohdiamant was not stabled in Vechta and he also did not appear in the show. "Every day he's walked, but he's in no show condition. We had to choice to present him in hand or not at all. We decided it would be best not to show Rohdiamant and just feature some nice offspring," Gudula Vorwerk explained.

The first Rohdiamant offspring to enter the ring was Rosentanz under Johannes. The dark bay Hanoverian has only recently been broken in and still looks very green when ridden, but he shows a nice, large trot with good suspension for a 3-year old and an outstanding walk which covers much ground.

In the canter, Rosentanz still tends to lose his balance a bit, but he shows much potential and scope. "Rosentanz is still young. When he's five or six he'll be mind blowing," Westendarp confessed.

It was the first time that Lone saw her own horse under saddle and she was brimming with pride and excitement. Her baby had done well and I believe there is hardly anyone who will contest that.

The other Rohdiamant representative in the ring was the state premium mare Rhonda who showed a superb piaffe-passage tour and a fantastic extended trot, but completely failed in the canter showing no engagement or scope whatsoever.

The Vorwerk Stallion Show: Wilcox and Relevant Charm the Crowd

The Vorwerk show was a parade of Vorwerk stallions, offsprings and foals. After the Rohdiamant get, stallions such as Rubinero, Revan and Royal Diamond (not so good as at the Althengst Parade). I was back awake when a grey Royal Diamond offspring out of a Veltenthird dam came in the ring. Owned by Gestut Hoftehof and ridden by Daniela Domnick, this big boy was an imposing mover with a phenomenal trot. After the break, Roadster came into the ring followed by a very nice get of his out of a Don Gregory mare; a liver chestnut youngster owned by E. Bunjes. Very nice supple horse.Don Gregory himself showed the piaffe-passage and tempi changes under Leonie Brammall (no extensions).

The highlight for most visitors was the appearance of Relevant under Lisa Wilcox. The American steals everyone's heart with her charm and love for horses. "Relevant is like china for more. He can easily get broken and I need to spare him," Wilcox said, "that's why I'm going to ride some exercises and that'll be it." Uwe Heckmann shouted over the microphone praising Lisa and wishing her luck at the Olympics in Athens while Wilcox rode the FEI movements. She missed on change in the tempi's and Lisa's reply in the microphone was just "oops". It was just endearing.

Relevant is a superb sport horses and can be considered a serious candidate for an Olympic medal in Athens if all goes well.

The Vorwerk Stallion Show: Breathtaking Dimaggio

While Relevant and Lisa charmed the crowds and stunned them with their grace, the horse that definitely stole the show at the 2004 Vorwerk stallion show was Dimaggio. World Champion in Arnhem at age 5, and now back in the picture by being stationed at Vorwerk. Dimaggio is by Don Primero x World Cup I x Lindberg and owned by Suzanne Davies.

Dimaggio entered the ring under Vorwerk's bereiter Mareike Peckholz who only sat on him for the second time in her life. Considering this, the girl did a good job, but Dimaggio's talent just outshone that of his rider. The chestnut has a phenomenal trot with very strong and balanced engagement. His canter is ground covering and uphill and his walk shows well lengthening strides.

Dimaggio is a tower of power and destined to be an excellent FEI horse.

The Vorwerk Stallion Show: Oluf's Brilliant Idea: Champagne

Vorwerk's Jazz Time closed the 2004 stallion show by demonstrating mostly spectacular trot extensions. "I rode him as last beause I know I can control him," Wilcox said. At the end of every stallion show, the audience gets so wild that adrenaline rushes everywhere, even in the horse's veins. Naturally, it's vital that a rider can stay in the saddle at that moment.

When the show was over our little Danish/Belgian group went to the stables where Lone's husband Oluf decided to celebrate Rosentanz' successful show ring debut with two delicious Veuve Cliquot champagne bottles.

We didn't really loiter for long in the stables because Oluf and Lone still had to drive back to Denmark (5-hour drive), while Thomas and I needed to get back home to Belgium. On the road we discussed the Vorwerk show in detai,l but were also often silent, just thinking and recollecting the piles of impressions we had gathered in a tumultuous two-day tour through Niedersachsen. I was home at 9 PM, totally wasted.

Leonie Bramall on Ronda and Don Gregory

Making an impressive appearance at the 2004 Vorwerk Stallion Show in Vechta, Germany, were Canadian Leonie Bramall aboard the Oldenburg mare Ronda.

Ronda BM is the daughter of Vorwerk's leading sire Rohdiamant and is a state premium mare. The dark bay Ronda represented her sire at the stallion show and did him all glory. Bramall's PR staff wrote the following about Ronda's performance: "with a spectacular show of her dynamic and supple trot mechanic including piaffe and passage, this dream mare with nerves of steel danced her way into the hearts of the public under the fine hand of Leonie Bramall and received one well earned applause after the other."

Ronda indeed excelled in her trot work and pi-pa tour, but the canter work needed some more work. It was short and not ground covering enough.

At the Vorwerk stallion show, Bramall also presented good old Don Gregory. Bramall is a former Vorwerk team rider and it was easy for her to reconnect with her former mount Don Gregory.

It was fascinating to see how the now 16 year old veteran of the station played with his talents for collection and top basic gaits in a demonstration at the Grand Prix level. Piaffe, passage, double pirouttes and one tempi flying changes with reins in one hand. Don Gregory playfully bewitched not only his rider and the public but also show moderator Uwe Heckmann!