Stellar: Burning Bright into the Future By Sara Brooks Stellar; it’s a word that means “exceptionally good, outstanding,” and “featuring or having the quality of star performer.” Though his name may be a mere coincidence, a more befitting word could not exist to describe Mary Procopio’s Haflinger stallion, Stellar TVR, who is working his way towards FEI-level competition with accomplished dressage trainer, Tracy Rowe, a USDF Gold and Silver Medalist. I made the trip to Stellar’s home at Rowe Stables in Okemos, Michigan in summer 2017 and was pleased to find that not only does Stellar live up to his namesake and beyond, but also that Mary and Tracy have forged a wonderful, respectful partnership that allows Stellar to reach his fullest potential. Long-time readers may recall a bit of Stellar’s history from his recent feature in our Spring 2017 issue, but allow me to briefly reintroduce this
very special stallion. Stellar came to the United States from Austria alongside his dam and when he became available to purchase as a two-yearold, Mary seized the opportunity to include him in her breeding program. She knew that he had a lot to offer the Haflinger breed in North America, and her commitment to the quality of the breed also allowed her to view Stellar through the lens of future development and enrichment of modern Haflingers and their capabilities both from a pleasure and competition standpoint. “I got him as a two-year old,” Mary explains, “and then when he turned three, I decided to present him to the warmblood registries in addition to our [Haflinger] breed registry.” After learning about the German sporthorse registries, Mary decided that it would give more credibility to Stellar from a breeding perspective if he could
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gain entrance into the German studbooks since these registries offered a distinct legitimacy that cannot be achieved elsewhere. In addition to being licensed and approved through the American Haflinger Registry and the American Warmblood Society Sporthorse Registry (AWSSR); Stellar is also the first Haflinger stallion in North America to be lifetime licensed and approved through the German registries Westfalen N.A./RPSI and Weser Ems. He is included in their highest stud books, and he has produced 100% Premium foals with RPSI and Westfalen N.A., including numerous Gold and Silver Premium foals (through RPSI) as well as a Premium foal through Westfalen and Weser Ems in 2018, three Site Inspection Champion foals, a Book I mare approved for breeding, and three Westfalen Premium mares, including two that were site inspection champions in 2018 and one that was AHR Gold classified and inspected in 2018. Stellar successfully completed his first competition season at First Level with Tracy in 2017, and the two are planning for the push to the upper levels now that he is nine-years-old and at a point in his training wherein the foundation laid by Tracy can begin to produce the muscular and mental development needed for FEI-level work. I had been looking forward to meeting Stellar since getting to know him through my work with Mary and Tracy on the previous article, but I could not have prepared myself for how truly wonderful he is in person. I expected to be blown away by his beauty, which I was, but I was impressed more than anything with his demeanor. From the moment that Tracy opened his stall door and invited me in, Stellar was the consummate gentleman. He looked towards Tracy to make sure that I was “okay,” and then carefully reached his muzzle out to greet me. As Tracy and I stood there talking, he was attentive and patient. His soft brown eyes peeked out from below
