Those who attended the first day of the 2015 Oldenburg Saddle Licensing on 31 March - 1 April 2015 probably had a few favorites on their list of potential champions. Boreas, catalogue nr 58 and a of Bordeaux, was probably not one of those. However by the second day, the tables had turned. Under the saddle, the dark bay stallion impressed with his balance, calmness and elegance and ultimately became the champion of the 4th Saddle licensing in Vechta.
The rider behind this surprise champion is David William Taylor. He acquired Boreas as a foal at the 2012 Oldenburg Elite Auction in Vechta and spent the next two years rearing and ultimately training him at his stables in Vechta, just minutes from the Oldenburg headquarters.
“We’ve considered showing him for the licensing in November, but he just wasn’t ready," Taylor told Eurodressage. "There’s already so much pressure on young horses to perform and I have always believed that you need to train a horse for a life-long career, not for a single spectacular show. So we decided to take the time with him and wait."
The wait was certainly worth it. Dr. Wolfgang Schulze-Schleppinghoff, Breeding Director at the Oldenburg Center, summed it up: “Our Champion Stallion made his big entrance while being ridden. He was by far the best stallion under saddle and extremely rideable, fully in charge and absolutely sovereign at every moment.”
David is hardly a newcomer on the German horse scene. He started his professional education with German trainer Jörg Dietrich, then worked for show jumper Albert Ronne, and took lessons with Helen Langehanenberg. David has worked at the Hanoverian Verband for several years prior to switching to Oldenburg, where he spent the last seven years running the sales stables in Vechta as the dressage liaison.
Ultimately, he chose to shift his focus to his own business and went independent full time in 2015. The connection with the Oldenburg horse center remains strong through the joint pre-auction screening of the horses with Uwe Heckmann, riding at the auctions and as the partner stables for the training and showing of auction horses.
“I've learned a tremendous amount about horses and the horse business from some of the biggest names around and I am extremely grateful for that. At the same time, I have been blessed with an increasing number of clients who share my view that its not only success that matters, but how you get there, and never forgetting that the horse comes first. I just felt that I had to be there 100% in order to be able to deliver on that," Taylor stated.
The success at the licensing was certainly a good beginning. Unfortunately, the year didn’t get off to such a great start. Earlier in 2015, David lost his favourite 8-year-old Simple Noble (by Sandro Hit x De Niro), who he had trained up to Prix St. Georges level and was working towards Grand Prix. As devastating as something like that can be, David is now focused on the future.
The competition season is starting again and there are several youngsters he has high-hopes for. For one, the new, American owner of Boreas has agreed to keep him with David for the time being. David has also been training Bernadette Brune's exciting 4-year old KWPN bred and Oldenburg approved Tolegro (by Totilas x Krack C) and there are several more promising 3-year olds coming up this season.
Several 3-year olds, some owned by David and some of his clients, will make their competition debut a young sport horses this season. One of David's bright stars in the barn is Bernadette Brune's 5-year-old Biscaya OLD (by Bordeaux x Quattro B), who was the 2013 Oldenburg Young Horse Champion. Taylor also looks forward to campaigning the 11-year-old Quiroga (by Quando Quando). This large string of horses will make David's competition schedule a busy one.
“It’s such a pleasure to work with these horses and I am just having such a great time at the moment," David stated. Together with a partner and a string of loyal clients, David has a steady pipeline of 11 youngsters that he and his team will be training up over the next three years.
“I’m already excited to see what they will be like once they are out of their 'ugly phase'," David joked.
For more information visit www.taylor-dressage.com or like Taylor Dressage on Facebook
Photos © Kiki Beelitz - private
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