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Friday Nov 13. Visit Isadora and
Gullinn by Johanna Elgholm at Herresta. Isadora and Gullinn were fat, furry and happy at Herresta. As previously discussed its not the right time to pass judgment on two years old in the autumn...Gullinn has grown a bit since last time and seems to have inherited a rather thick (but hopefully well raised) Orri neck after her father Døkkvi. She is somewhat inbred on Orri so its no big surprize. my hope is that Orris great riding talent and expression under rider comes through equally strong. I will take a closer look at her after being started and approximately 1 month of training (oct/nov next year)-but hopefully the building and movements I saw when she was just a foal shines through. Her mother Gullborg has a long well set neck, but she is daughter of Odur with a short (but well sett neck) one and he is a strong breeder. Isadora, also fat and furry looks better conformation wise at present -also with a pretty head. Hopefully the combination of one of my all times favorite stallions; Stigur fra Kjartanstödum (Isadora's mother is one of his highest scoring offspring) and Isar fra Keldudal gives me a true gærdingur-with five well separated strong gaits....!-- |
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Visa fra Sundsberg (blup 127) has
just started training again after a winter break. These pictures are taken by Rune Ibert when we visited Vignir at Ringdal this week-end (Nov 13'th) and this was the 3 time Vignir rode Visa after a longer winter break and shows her true natural talent for all five gaits. It seems so easy for her and gaits are so well separated and clear (Stigur and Sörli comes to mind with much the same qualities). And her character,that is so important in breeding, is just wonderful, bold, lots of positive willingness and forward thinking but at the same easy to handle, calm and friendly. I am very eager to start breeding her of coarse, but will see to it that her true potential is brought out and Vignir has the last word on when she is done with training. I am truly thankful for his strong belief in her and all his effort and superb training. We are "always" talking about great stallions-but actually its a few mares in the history (Ragnars Brunka, Sida fra Saudakroki and a few others) that have influenced the development of Icelandic horses the most! And my hope is that Visa -if she keeps healthy and fertile-will strongly influence Swedish and Norwegian breeding in the coming years-such natural talent is very rare indeed! And the fact that she is a superb individual and at the same time has this great pedigree (if you sum up her parents, grand parents and grand -grand parents it adds up to a median riding score of about 8.50!) makes her particularly interesting and valuable in breeding. Big thanks also to Birgitta and Rune at Sundsberg for letting me buy and develop her, and for them following up on her while I am in Norway. Visa was very special right from the beginning-we could all see that-and I fell in love with her the minute I saw her. But still its a long way to where she is today and apart from first class upbringing, starting and subsequent training it takes a lot of luck.... We all look forward to follow Visa in the future as she (hopefully) carries some of the best from Icelandic and Swedish breeding (Svalur, Mokkur, Isar, Von....). Visa is out of the suberb Keilir son Isar fra Keldudal out of the great Hravn daugther Isold fra Keldudal and although lots of Saudakrokir blood in her, no Orri. Even if he is a great stallion and one of my favorites as well, we must take care that he doesn't get a too dominating position in the Icelandic horse breeding to keep diversity and reduce the risk of too much inbreeding. This being said, Visa is going to Garri fra Reykjavik (Orri son....) when she is done with training. The ultimate goal as the intelligent reader will pick up right away is to create the ultimate five gaiter, a true gærdingur-with great action in tölt and trot (through Garri's genes) as well as the beautiful flying pace of Nattfari....(through Isar's genes). All this in one and the same horse is what will bring the Icelandic horse a small step forward. |
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Our breeding mare prospect Gnipa
fra Holum hass arrived Holland and her new owners Hans and Els. They send us these nice pictures from their beautiful farm and we wish them all the best with Gnipa both in coming competitions and in future breeding. |
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MAKE USE OF WORLD FENGUR AND
PROVEN STALLIONS Like in research its important to keep the number of variables down. The same goes for breeding. And in order to evaluate the qualities of your breeding mare as early as possible (breeding takes time!) it could be a good idea to use proven breeders and top quality stallions, at least in the beginning (one less variable!). They have more judged offspring so their breeding value (blup) has a stronger basis and its many offspring to compare with. In addition I like them to have some extreme qualities. I recommend using World Fengur and study the offspring of the stallion you choose more closely. Then you get a glimpse into the breeding quality of the horse and go beyond the individual (50% of genes from each parent, 25% from each grand parent etc.) It could be rewarding to take a closer look at the highest judged offspring after a stallion to get an idea about which combinations works the best.... The more quality you have behind a horse the better is the chances for she becoming a success-but as we all know there is no guaranty, and even full sisters could be very different-just take a look at your own children... In my short breeding career I have done just this-to take advantage of the great breeding work having been done through decades before me and the wise decision to register and collect data in World Fengur. And stallions that I decided to use early on in my breeding outside Iceland were: 1.MÖKKUR FRA VARMELÆK. He is a very strong and proven breeder, particularly he trows great head/shoulders and is father of the highest judged Icelandic horse with regard to conformation (Diva fra Gategården). 36 out of 101 judged offspring have reached 1 class! He was behind several of the best horses shown in this years World Championship. If you ask Icelandic breeders which horse they regret to have sold abroad -they often mention Mökkur. Unfortunately I was not able to find the offspring I wanted after him, and hat to settle with the next best; getting a granddaughter after him; Visa fra Sundsberg, her mother being: Vaka fra Österåker is the kind of Mökkur daugther I was lokking for but never found (see picture). Mökkur has great results both in 4 and 5 gaits and that also show what an extraordinary individual he is. 2.ASKUR FRA HÅKANSGÅRDEN. He has already proven to become a great breeder, has a strong an very interesting pedigree and is a great individual (three times World Champion). After him I bought two 1 years old in 2006 , just after I started breeding; Litla Mari fra Håkansgården under one of Håkansgårdens best breeding mares the 1 prize winning (8.42 for riding abilities) Svalur daughter Heiddis från Fällan. Last year Frida, Litla-Mari's older full sister became Sweden's highest judged young mare (8.23). Ljomi fra Sundsberg, a wonderful palomino stallion prospect after the 1 class breeding mare and Atli daughter Dama fra Ôrvik. 3. ISAR FRA KELDUDAL. He has an amazing pedigree with most of them receiving honors award and with extreme riding quality all the way through. And he is a very strong individual that showed his talent already as a four yrs old. His first offspring is now being shown and he turns out to become a great breeder as well. This years highest judged four yrs old mare (Visa fra Sundsberg) is under him. He has particularly strong pace and gives well built and willing horses with talent for all five gaits. I bought two 1 yrs old mare foals after him; Visa fra Sundsberg (8.15 to 4 yrs)under Katla mentioned above and Isadora fra Karlsro under a 1 prize Stigur daughter, to be started next winter. But do not forget the mothers! If you look behind successful breeders there is often strong mothers with exceptional gaits. A couple of examples is chosen from some up and coming stallions outside Iceland that is likely to influence future breeding, the two Orri sons: 4. DÖKKVI FRA MOSFELLI Behind him you find Dimma fra Gunnarsholti that became double Landsmot winner in both tölt and 4 gait. I have one daughter after Dökkvi, Gullinn fra Smedjan to be started next winter. And 5.GARRI FRA REYKJAVIK Behind him you find the great mare Isold fra Gunnarsholti that scored 8.53 for riding abilities only six yrs old with an exceptional tölt. I am planning to take my Visa to him when she has been shown coming summer. |
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