July 2002
Volume 2, Number 1

From the Editor...

GREETINGS-SALUDOS-SALUT-GRUSSE-DZIEN DOBRY

Today I am extending greetings to you in Spanish, French, German and Polish: the native languages of countries where the Spanish-Norman has recently generated interest and enthusiasm. The Spanish-Norman horse is gaining an international audience of aficionados!

In May the German horse publication CAVALLO, with a wide distribution in Scandinavia and many other European countries, spotlighted the Spanish-Norman in an article with two color photos. As a result of the magazine feature, I received a phone call from Horst and Katharina Fehring of Stade, Germany. Luckily for me, they both speak English very well, and I have since enjoyed many conversations with them.

The charming couple was captivated by the Spanish-Norman breed. Proud owners of an Andalusian stallion, imported from Spain, the Fehrings asked if they could become breeders of Spanish-Normans in Germany using their PRE stallion from Andalusia, Orgulloso XL as foundation sire. They sent his pedigree and beautiful photos of their champion stallion, a bronze medal winner in the Campeonato de Alemania Norte del Caballo de Pura Raza Espanola. The Spanish-Norman Horse Registry, Inc. is pleased to welcome Orgulloso XL, from the breeding farm of Escobar Barrilaro de Sevilla, as our newest foundation sire.

Next, the Fehrings began their quest for the perfect Percheron mare. Mais oui, in France they located a lovely, seven-year-old, gray, a champion mare of Normandy in the year 2000. I received a copy of the registration certificate for Helva de Fauveliere from the Societe Hippique Percheronne de France. Helva arrived safely in Germany and will soon be bred to Orgulloso XL. Our warmest wishes go to the Fehrings for much success and pleasure with their Spanish-Norman breeding program in Germany.

Katarzyna Fehring is from Poland originally, and she told me that the major horse publication in Poland is doing an article in the August issue about her as a Polish woman, breeding rare Spanish-Normans in Germany, using her Spanish stallion and French mare to re-create the medieval knight's horse which will be registered as a Spanish-Norman in the U.S.A.! We look forward to an English translation of that article!

Another exciting event for the Registry, and me, as Registrar, is the recent issuance of a certificate of registration for the first Spanish-Norman, sired by a Lusitano. Congratulations to owner/breeder Alison Head of Looking Glass Farm, Hamilton, Virginia, on the Spanish-Norman colt Eldorado LGF, sired by the Portuguese stallion Calhambeque, out of the Percheron mare Jane's Emblem Janet. The accomplished dressage horse Calhambeque shows successfully at Intermediare I and II and is owned by William and Dianne Boyd of Mt. Gilead Lusitanos, Leesburg, Virginia. A warm welcome to Eldorado LGF or 'Elvis,' as they call him.

It's always such fun to meet Spanish-Norman owners in person - especially after already knowing all about their wonderful horses. Allan and I enjoyed meeting Judy Cardella and her husband David of Amber Sky Stables, Colts Neck, New Jersey. We're big fans of Judy's gorgeous, black mare Mantilla TCV, sired by Maestro. Judy has been taking dressage lessons four days a week, and Mantilla TCV has been making phenomenal progress with her trainer Gail Osterlund. Judy has been submitting Mantilla and Gail's winning scores from dressage shows for the Spanish-Norman high point award. There is good competition going for the year 2002 trophy.

Good luck to Mantilla TCV and all the strong performance competitors. The Spanish-Norman is proving itself in a number of disciplines and impressing the crowds with special exhibitions at horse expos.

Kathie Woehrmann of St. Charles, Missouri, emailed with an update on her husband's, four-year-old, Spanish-Norman, Koby Doblado, (Alipaz x Oakstone Lacy.) She took some photos on June 29, the day her husband Daniel rode Koby in a clinic with Frank Grelo. Kathie writes: "Koby is a tremendous horse, and they are a wonderful pair."

Petra Sherman of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, sent us some delightful photos of Soldado H.H.F. and a video clip that is the embodiment of harmony, unity and love and respect between horse and rider.

Men do rave about the Spanish-Norman as a horse of substance, great presence, athletic ability and outstanding temperament. My husband Allan is always in a fantastic mood after riding his stallion, Romántico H.H.F.

Our website administrator Sue Gordon and husband Ken were blessed this season with the arrival of two fabulous Spanish-Norman colts who have already proven to be wonderful representatives of the breed.

On January 27, the Percheron mare Blair (Dolly) produced a black colt, sired by Serenity Acres Andalusian Elixir TG. The colt's flirtatious manner earned him the Spanish name 'El Coquetón.'  One darling photo taken by Sue and sent over the Internet caught the attention of the well-known artist Susan von Borstel. 

Susan was inspired to paint a beautiful winter scene of EL Coquetón (See Below) with an oat straw in his mouth, with him glancing back at a cardinal on his rump. El Coquetón won praise from his veterinarian who evaluated him as a "tough athlete, a warhorse with the heart and strength to be an exceptional event horse."

The Gordon's second colt was born Easter Sunday, out of the Percheron dam Jessica Lavon and by the Andalusian sire, Majorio II of Avalon Farms. Also a romantic type, the gray colt was named Novarro. Sue reports: "He's an elegant mover, almost a 'dancer' with high action.  He's a 'talker' and whinnies and nickers constantly." Both geldings have unique personalities and are excellent representatives of the Spanish-Norman breed.

The July issue of the Horsemen's Yankee Pedlar featured the Baroque breeds. With kind permission of the publisher, we will reprint the Spanish-Norman section.

That's all from me for now!

HASTA LUEGO-A BIENTOT-CIAO-AUF WIEDERSEHEN-CZESC 

Cordially,

Foundation Sires

As of July 2002, we now have 92 purebred Andalusian stallions registered as foundation sires with the Spanish-Norman Horse Registry, Inc. New stallions since our last newsletter are: 

• Attention Foundation Sire Owners: 
  We will gladly provide a link from our website to yours. All you have to do is let us know!
  
  

"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.

www.susanvonborstel.com

Widespread Influence and Widespread Appeal
by Christina Keim

The term "Baroque Breeds" is an umbrella that includes such horses as the Andalusian, Lusitano, Lipizzaner, and Spanish-Norman. What these breeds share is a common heritage, docile personality, and striking good looks. But the slight differences between the breeds are perhaps what make them most unique, distinguishing themselves not just from each other but from the horse world in general. 

The Spanish-Norman

For Linda Hamid and her husband Allan, the Spanish-Norman was a creature they saw in their minds' eye long before they saw it in the flesh. As the co-founders of the breed, the Hamids have a unique perspective on why the Spanish-Norman is so captivating.

These are the horses of the knights," says Linda Hamid. "My husband is a historian. He determined that the knights' horses must be descended from Spanish stock." With the help of Dr. E. Gus Cothran of the University of Kentucky the Percheron and Andalusian were genetically typed as descendants of the now-extinct Norman horse of the knights. Both breeds share the genetic markers of Spanish horses. By crossing the two, the Spanish-Norman was created to simulate the horses once ridden by knights and nobility. This crossing results in a horse that possesses substance, bone, and an athletic personality. They are popular as field hunters, according to Hamid, and are also used in medieval game recreations. 

Since Spanish-Normans must have at least fifty percent Andalusian blood in their pedigree, it stands to follow that the new breed would share some of the development characteristics with its foundation stock. As of 2002, there are 92 Andalusian sires that have been approved as foundation sires for the Spanish-Norman. The offspring of any registered Percheron mare and one of the approved foundation stallions can be registered with the Spanish-Norman registry. All 92 sires are recognized by the I.A.L.H.A. Hamid says her breed has a tremendous work ethic.

"They are almost anxious to work," says Hamid. "All different types of trainers endorse the breed for this reason." Hamid emphasizes that this breed is a sport horse breed, and it's representatives are athletes. "These are performance animals, not just halter horses," says Hamid.

The Spanish-Norman breed exploded on the national radar when the Hamid's stallion, Romántico H.H.F. became the only American-bred horses of Spanish descent to win a USET ribbon. And the amazing piece was that the ribbon came at the Festival of Champions in Gladstone, N.J., in freestyle reining, a sport typically dominated by a relic of our cowboy heritage -- the American Quarter Horse. 

"We took him to the Quarter Horse Congress in 1999," says Hamid. "He took a fourth place in freestyle reining there. He was the only non-Quarter Horse out of 8500 horses at the show." Hamid says that when Romántico entered the arena, you could have heard a pin drop, and for a moment they thought that they had made a mistake in bringing him to Congress. "I think the overall reaction was respect that a larger horse could still be so agile," says Hamid.

The Spanish-Norman in particular has been breaking barriers for Baroque breeds since Romántico's success in the freestyle reining arena. (Romántico has left the reining arena behind for now and is in dressage training.) The breed has proven popular especially with men, who, Hamid says, look to the Spanish-Norman as a field hunter. "I think they appreciate the substance. I have heard so many stories of men looking for a horse of another breed, then choosing the Spanish-Norman," says Hamid. 

This past year saw a prominent German national equestrian magazine run a feature on the Spanish-Norman. Hamid says that this milestone shows that the breed is generating international interest. "We are beginning to see some breeding in Europe and some exporting of American bred horses," says Hamid.

The Ky. Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky is featuring a Spanish-Norman mare, Victoria of Fox Run, in it's daily Parade of Breeds. Victoria, owned by Victoria McIntire and Ronald Phillips of Fox Run Farm in Richmond, Kentucky is also being trained to demonstrate many of the medieval games this breed was once used for. The Horse Park is currently working on a program that will demonstrate and showcase these games. The mare is often one of the flag bearers in the parade.

For the tenth year, the Spanish-Norman Horse Registry recognized an outstanding member of the breed with it's 2001 High Point Award. This honor is given to the Spanish-Norman generating the most points in their given discipline. This year's recipient as Sir Norman of Tiverton, a hunter/jumper gelding owned by Hummingbird Hill Farm and JoAnne Fiola of Tiverton, R.I., and trained by John Blair. Hamid says that this is a very competitive award, and horses are earning points in several disciplines.

Til next time...

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