Evaluation of our foals

Very high standards set out by the Bavarian Breeder Association

At the end of October it was time once again. The large amounts of excitement bubbled within us. Our mare and her foal proudly stood in the centre of attention. The third generation of our very own Curly foals were up for appraisal and critic in front of a large commission of the Bavarian Breeder Association for Special Races.

They were all measured – withers and cannon bone – then it was off to the hard riding area to show off step and trot. To end the test the horses were able to freely move around the riding area showing off all of their step styles and movements.

They were evaluated in the following categories:

Race and Venereal Type
Quality of Body Build
Correctness of the Fundamentals and Movements
Step
Trot
Gallop
Gaited horses were tested for their various step arts
Overall Impression
Each evaluated mark was accumulated and amounted to an overall score.

We are extremely proud that our curly foals were honored with an overall score of 8.0 by the Association.

The overall score was much higher than that of their parents. We see this as a positive development in the European Curly horse breed.

All of our broodmares are entered in breeder book 1 of the Bavarian Breeders Association for Special Races. Two more curly mares were entered in that list including, O-Wy-Maehem and Curly gaited horse WWW Katrina.

Goodbye Cheyenne

A round trip for the sold Curly horse: out of America over Germany to Austria.

At 4o’clock in the morning a shrill peeping noise awakens me from my dreams. Slowly I begin to become aware what day the 3rd of October is. With this date I am not referring to the holiday or better known as German Unification Day. A queasy emotion is felt in my stomach that is trying to tell me that the time has come, today we must bid adieu to Cheyenne.

A thick mist still covers the horse pastures and from the stables a soft snorting can be heard. Funny, Diamond, Mae and Sparty all lay with their foals peacefully and slumber in their boxes. Even our stallion Levi is still dreaming of his jumping adventures with Gina. Only one is standing in her box and alert to every sound – Cheyenne. It is as though she knows that today is the day of the second biggest travel of her life.

The steps into the trailer go smoothly without any problems. We start the pick-up and off we go to Bad Mitterndorf in Steiermark to family Rundhammer and family Hochegger.

It really pays off that we diligently practiced getting on and off the trailer with Cheyenne. She stands steady without nervous movements. It is now 10o’clock. The sun has chased away the last of the mist and a white and blue sky greets us in Munich. Quickly we clean the trailer and fill up the hay. When our Curly mare is offered water she flings the bucket inclusive of its contents back at me. Maybe she wants to tell me that she wants to continue on the journey. We are greeted in Steiermark with a breathtaking hilly backdrop and a friendly wave from Tanja. A steep path guides us to the picturesque property of family Rundhammer who have made a transnational name for themselves as producers of bio-beef.

On the way to her new king-size box Cheyenne receives a big surprise. Christine; a friend, riding teacher and new co-owner of Cheyenne; bough a small donkey as conversationalist and playmate for our Curly mare. The donkeys’ box is right beside Cheyenne’s. With an ear shattering “laa, laa, laa” the little donkey expres- ses his happiness as he sees Cheyenne enter the stables. This loud noise made Cheyenne put back her ears and start walking backwards as if to say “get me out of here”. We tried a second time. This time we first took the donkey out of the stable so the two could get acquainted, after that there were no more problems leading Cheyenne into her new box.

After the first introductions around the stable we decided to put Cheyenne on her new fenced in pasture to let her discover her new home. I just want to note that the name pasture does not even come close to describing the elegance of this piece of land. A better term would be a pasture paradise. In the rustic oven a wood fire blazes and a cozy feeling pioneers in the quaint kitchen. Tanja places two steaming plates in front of us on the massive wooden table with the explanation that this is a Celtic stew that we must try. Wasn’t there a lot of human sacrifice with the Celtics? Quickly I pushed aside that though and enjoyed the delightful dish. After business was wrapped up with both side’s content, feeding suggestions and further training options were discussed. With a heavy but happy heart we said goodbye to Cheyenne. Knowing that she has a new home with two warmhearted loving horse people made the goodbye a little easier. Cheyenne, we will come and visit you soon.

Here again thank you family Rundhammer for the wonderful hospitality. For our next visit we would gladly like to rent your rustic Swiss stone pine rooms. And I almost forgot the bio boiled filet of beef was absolutely delightful. The Canadian saying “take care” says a lot, so with these words, take care of yourselves.

Curly Petra