On behalf of the Spanish-Norman
Horse Registry, Inc.,
President Allan H. Hamid & Registrar Linda Osterman Hamid are pleased to formally announce exciting news
and a great honor
for a special ambassador of the
Spanish-Norman breed.
The
image of the magnificent Spanish-Norman foal, El Coquetón, is
featured on a beautiful Christmas card produced by the prestigious Leanin' Tree greeting card company!
Sired by the
Andalusian stallion Elixir TG, El Coqueton lives up to his name,
translated from Spanish as 'big flirt', as evidenced by his
wonderful disposition and sweet nature. A photo taken when
he was a month old captured the attention of renowned artist
Susan von Borstel who was inspired to paint a beautiful
winter scene which was selected by Leanin' Tree for their 2003 Classic Holiday
Christmas Card series.
This
lovely painting of El Coquetón with an oat straw in
his mouth, him glancing back at a cardinal
on his rump is proving to be one of the new favorites.
Spanish-Norman fans can purchase this unique Christmas card in
their local tack shop or by placing a catalog order. El Coquetón
appears on the top right of page 12 in the catalog; item number
C70497. Online ordering through the Leanin' Tree website
is also available by CLICKING HERE.
Warmest
congratulations to Ken and Susan Gordon of Iberian Cross Farm,
Litchfield Michigan, proud owners and breeders of El Coquetón,
who is a joyful messenger to extend the card's greeting of
"Best Wishes for a Warm and Wonderful Christmas
Season."
Cordially,
"Friends"
When my
neighbor, Joan, turns her mare out in the pasture
a cowbird almost always flies up and perches on
her back. It looks like it's always the same one,
and it stays and rides around even when the mare
walks quickly down the hill.
When I saw Sue Gordon's posting
of her Spanish-Norman foal on the Internet I
immediately imagined a bird on the baby's cute
furry rump. I'm always looking for ideas for
greeting cards for Leanin' Tree and this one
seemed like an inspiration for Christmas. Sue was
amenable to the idea and kindly sent me an
enlargement of the shot.
I wanted red, white and green so
I included a row of green trees and made the bird
a cardinal. It seemed that a bit of grass nesting
material in the bird's beak would tie into the
grass the foal was eating... sort of an
interspecies affirmation of friendship.
The original pastel is 18" x
24" on canvas. I call it,
"Friends". I hope you enjoy
it.
Best,
Susan von Borstel is a nationally known
artist of horses, wildlife and people. She offers
original oil paintings, commissions, portraits
and fine art prints.
Susan von Borstel grew up crazy about horses and
wild about art. She started painting and drawing
horses at a young age and went on to receive a BA
degree from the University of Colorado in Zoology
and Art.
She has completed over 200 commissions of horses
and dogs using shape and expression to suggest
deeper, hidden meanings which give her works
"staying power."
After being chosen to illustrate the horse breeds
for the multimillion dollar Kentucky Horse Park
in Lexington, Kentucky, she went on to join the American Academy of Equine Art and won the
People's Choice Award in the AAEA annual art
show.
Susan won first place for oil paintings at the
Western States Horse Expo in 1999 and 2000. Her
work has appeared on numerous magazine
covers, in magazine articles and at many art
galleries.
News items, photos, articles and notice of
events may be submitted for consideration and
publication. Please direct your comments, questions and/or
submissions to: newsletter@spanish-norman.com.
