Nando: Ambassador for the Breed

Building a Champion’s Legacy

Submitted by Chuck Hendershot

The 2018 summer show season added another chapter to Nando’s story and his legacy as a champion and a sire of champions. Nando (Jessica X Notaris) was imported from the Netherlands in 1999 as a weanling stallion prospect by Hendershot Haflingers. He developed on our farm in upstate New York over the next few years and as a three-year-old was the AHR National Champion Stallion, and also won the National Champion Western and English titles at the AHR National show. Although he still retains his athletic nature and ability to perform in all equine disciplines, Nando drives, rides English, Dressage and Western, jumps, reins, works cows, and races barrels and poles. Today Nando is content enjoying his personal paddock with a great view of the Appalachian Mountains. He also enjoys the reports of how his offspring are carrying on his championship legacy, a legacy that is being built in the halter ring, both as young futurity prospects and as old halter competitors and in the performance rings at all levels and disciplines. The summer of 2018 is a prime example of how this terrific stallion is passing on his traits and promoting the Haflinger breed in the United States.

Millennium’s Easter Treasure with Nicole Cable

Although it was a shortened season in 2018 with the loss of the Walnut Hill Driving Competition, Nando’s offspring started out of the gate fast and kept the pace up all summer. The season started in June with the traditional Father’s Day competition at Morven Park in Leesburg, Virginia. Three years ago, Haflingers were not a common sight at this event. However, in the last three years Haflingers have grown in numbers at the show and in 2018 were represented in every division of the competition. A Nando daughter, Millennium’s Easter Treasure, captured the top honors as the Champion in the Horse Division. She accomplished this by making a clean sweep in all the classes, with the exception of one second place finish to a Friesian Stallion in Reinsmanship. Not to be outdone by his sister, Nando’s North Star made an admirable showing over the weekend narrowly missing out on the Reserve Championship in a very competitive all-breed division. This marks the third straight year that Hendershot Haflingers has captured the Single Horse Championship at this show. In addition to this major win, Haflingers captured championships in the pony division, the working vehicle and the antique vehicle division. Nando’s offspring’s strong showing at this competition has certainly opened eyes to the Haflinger in Virginia horse country.

Millennium’s Easter Treasure with Ray Cable win the Jack Benny

Millennium’s Easter Treasure continued her winning ways in June with a trip to the Haflinger breed show – The Buckeye Show in Ashland, Ohio. At this show “Bunny”, Millennium’s Easter Treasure’s barn name, captured the top honors in driven dressage winning both the ADT Training and Preliminary classes. She was second in the halter class for six- year-old mares. In the open driving division, she started out strong with wins in the Turnout and Working Pleasure classes before her whip became ill and had to withdraw from the remainder of the show. But for some bad luck, it was easy to see another Championship at the end of this show weekend.

Millennium’s Easter Treasure wins Best of Show.

AHR Nationals at Lexington, Kentucky, was the next stop on the 2018 show tour. Nando sent a strong contingent to show with four of his offspring competing over the four-day event. Again, the star of the show was Millennium’s Easter Treasure capturing her second AHR National Championship Mare title, having previously won as a three-year-old in 2015. However, this year she followed the Mare Championship up with her first National Championship Best of Show title, after finishing the 2015 show as the Reserve Best of Show. Of course, she was not done. She went on to win the Open Driven Dressage Championship and the Open Pleasure Driving Championship, capturing the titles in Working Pleasure, Reinsmanship, Open Mares to Drive, and with Mr. Ray Cable at the whip, the Jack Benny title for drivers over 60. A special note this was Ray’s first time to drive Bunny in a competition ring.

Millennium’s Easter Treasure and Nicole Cable prepare for driven dressage and pleasure

Nando’s North Star (“Buster”) was trying hard not to be outdone capturing the Reserve Open Driven Dressage Championship, losing to his sister and giving Nando a one – two finish in this discipline. Buster was third in the six and over stallion and gelding halter class. Buster let us know he was a little disappointed after being the champion gelding in 2015 and 2016 (as a three and four-year-old) and the Reserve Best of Show in 2016. We gave him a carrot and told him to work harder next time. He certainly tried in the opening pleasure driving classes, starting out strong capturing the Pleasure Turnout title in a highly competitive class. Although he was right at the top of all the driving classes, climbing the mountain that was Millennium’s Easter Treasure proved to be to difficult in Kentucky. His stall was adorned with a lot of red ribbons over the weekend, but he missed out on another reserve championship with a driver error in the obstacle class costing Buster a couple of valuable points overall.

Nando’s Nittany Knight (”Nittany”) made his second trip into the show ring at the Nationals, having captured the AHR Yearling Futurity Stallion championship in 2017. His class entries were limited to inhand trail and halter. Nittany was second in the two-year-old stallion class to an imported stallion from the Netherlands and stood as the Reserve Two-year-old Champion – stallions and mares. Nittany also captured a second place in inhand trial. Nando’s Legacy (“Duke”) made his show debut at the National show. It was this yearling stallion’s first trip off the farm and he stood the test well. Although in-hand trail was an adventure, he captured the Yearling colt title for the show.

Nando's Nittany Night

Nando was not finished for the show. His offspring, Nando’s North Star and Nando’s Nittany Knight, full brothers out of our Limited Edition mare captured the Produce of Dam title. They then combined with Millennium’s Easter Treasure to capture the Get of Sire and the Best Three Haflingers. The second time Hendershot Haflingers captured these titles following up a sweep in 2016 at the National show.

The next stop on the 2018 circuit was the Lorenzo Driving Competition in Cazenovia, New York. This was the 43rd year of this large all-breed driving event, that like Morven Park, it has continued to see the presence and competitiveness of Haflingers grow each year. Millennium’s Easter Treasure added another Single Horse Driving Championship to her resume. She was on the top of the podium most of the weekend but never finished out of the money in any class. Nando’s North Star was competitive all weekend finishing regularly in the top six of very strong and competitive classes with horses from all over the East Coast, especially since everyone learned that Walnut Hill was not being held in August. This was the second show in a row that a Haflinger, and in particular a Hendershot Haflinger owned horse, captured the Single Horse Championship. In addition, two other Nando descendants were at the competition. New Level, a Nando son, and Nanticoke, a Nando grandson, competed and showed very well in the Utility and Novice divisions respectively.

The final performance show of the year was the Central Ohio show in Ashland the last weekend in July. Scheduling conflicts resulted in Millennium’s Easter Treasure sitting this one out. Buster had his opportunity and he did not let it go to waste, and brought home his first Open Driving Championship of the year, capturing first places in Pleasure Turnout, Open Pleasure Driving, Stallion/Gelding to Drive, Working Pleasure and Open Cone Scurry. He added third place finishes in Obstacle cones and Reinsmanship to round out his weekend. Buster was the Reserve Obstacle Driving Champion for the weekend, but the show marked a milestone as his whip, Bill Hendershot, captured his first ever blue ribbon in an obstacle driving class. I do not know if it is just the whip maturing or the horse, but at 83 years old, this whip is becoming more dangerous if he starts to win obstacle classes to go with his strong showing and many blue ribbons in the pleasure driving classes. Congratulations to both Bill and Buster. Bunny did say they were lucky she had to stay at home.

Nando's Declaration

The final event for the year was the AHR futurity. Nando sent three prospects to the show in Ohio this year; Nando’s Nittany Knight, a two-year-old stallion prospect, Nando’s Legacy, a yearling stallion, and Nando’s Declaration, a yearling stallion. All three did extremely well. Nando’s Nittany Knight captured the two-year-old stallion title to go with his yearling stallion title from 2017, then followed it up with the Champion Junior (Two and under) Stallion Title and the Grand Champion two-year-old title. This left a tough act for his younger siblings to follow, but they tried. Nando’s Legacy was the champion yearling stallion and Nando’s Declaration was second in the yearling stallion class for the event.

Nando's Legacy

Overall 2018 was a very successful year for Hendershot Haflingers and Nando’s offspring in all the show rings, halter and performance. The thing is that it is a typical year for the product of this champion stallion who has produced champions at all levels and wins in all the disciplines. Nando does enjoy his view from his personal paddock to watch over his mares and offspring and to listen to the tales of their exploits in the show ring. Oh, did I mention that the paddock is on top of the mountain? Well, it is. But, Nando is not satisfied, he wants to build it higher and higher with the continued performance of his offspring – a true champion building a champion’s legacy.