Family first

Michael Eilberg is being kept busy with a young family and a stable of exciting horses. Jane Carley catches up with the producer, trainer, coach, rider… the list goes on!

They say that introducing a new generation to the world can bring fresh perspective and inspiration, and that’s certainly the case for Michael Eilberg, who is reaping rewards with a stable of home-bred horses as well as enjoying the happy chaos of life with a young family.

In 2013 he was on the bronze medal-winning team at the European Championships in Herning, before taking team silver at the World Equestrian Games in Caen, both with Half Moon Delphi, then adding team silver at the Europeans in Aachen in 2015 with Marakov. He also rode the outstanding mare Woodlander Farouche to gold in two FEI World Breeding Championships for

Young Dressage Horses in

and now many of the young horses they have bred or produced from youngsters are proving themselves in competition.

“We felt that we would have more control of the horses’ destiny if we bred and owned them,” Michael explains.

Two are starting out in Grand Prix this year. MSJ Dante VX (Dante Weltino x Quattro B) crowned a great season as runner-up in the Inter I freestyle at the 2022 LeMieux National Championships. Dante was one of the first of their own horses that Michael produced from a youngster and was purchased by Mount St John from Holland in utero. Figlio (Leo),

PICTURED

Above: Michael Eilberg with MSJ Encore, produced from a youngster and now winning at PSG.

Below: Michael and wife Maya with Joshua, Elise and Amalia.

2011 and 2012.

The Eilberg family – father Ferdi is a medallist himself and renowned trainer, sister Maria is also an international dressage rider, and mother Geri has a keen interest in breeding and youngstock – were already building up their own breeding programme, by Fidertanz, was purchased to replace a great favourite of Geri’s that they sadly lost.

MSJ Encore (Eric) came to the Eilbergs as a foal and won the KBIS Seven-Year-Old Championships in 2022. He has already been successful at Prix St Georges this year.

“He’s an example of the bloodlines that we like, as he has the same dam as our mare Dornroeschen, and is by Escolar,” he comments. “He’s a lovely big horse that has taken time to develop, but is now going from strength to strength.”

He picks out the homebred EDH Zorro (by Blue Hors Zack out of a daughter of Farouche) as Eric’s ‘polar opposite’. “While he is the same age as Eric, we have taken a different path with him. Zorro has so much talent for piaffe and passage, but is very hot and was not easy to show as a young horse. In the end my wife Maya took him over for a while and improved his way of going simply by teaching him movements.”

With such a talented string of horses it would be tempting to hit the show circuit, but Michael has other priorities at the moment.

Michael married Maya Goldberg in 2018 and they have three children, Joshua, four; Amalia, two and six-month-old Elise, and the demands of a young family have shaped his competition plans for this year.

“I don’t want to be away for days on end at shows. Whereas in recent years I’ve concentrated on progressing with two or three horses, by going to local shows I can get more horses out and give them competition experience.

“Eric and Zorro are ready to go out at small tour, while Figlio and Dante are at Grand Prix, but not quite ready for the Premier League shows. So we will stay at home and go to more local shows where we can still compete at that level, but a bit more low key.

“I can go to a day show with those horses and then have a little bit more time with the kids, and then go to another day show with some other horses.”

Breeding horses has become a family passion, Michael explains.

“We used to breed from some of my old show jumping mares but we got really into the breeding side about seven years ago. Our lines stem back to Dornroeschen, and then we try to bring our own horses into it. Mum has been the driving force behind the breeding programme; it’s her biggest interest and she has the emotional connection to all those horses.”

Amongst the home-bred horses is a direct descendent of Farouche, by Vitalis.

“Archie is a four-year-old, a lovely chestnut gelding, and we’re very excited about him. We chose Vitalis for Farouche to get a little bit more of that old fashioned stamp, he’s quality without looking fragile. He’s got huge feet, but to see him move in the field, he’s quite something.”

The immediate plan for Archie is general grounding, Michael suggests. “He’s quite a big boy, so I’d be more likely to target five-year-old classes than get him out this year. Four years old is very young to be going to competitions, I feel it should be quite an easy year. To go out and have a good experience you have to put quite a lot of work into them. But he’ll definitely be out as a five-year-old.”

He comments that along with the highs of breeding exciting youngsters, you have to be prepared for the lows.

“We lost Archie’s full sister – she was stillborn just ten days before the mare was due to foal. She was absolutely beautiful; it was very sad.

“There are so many lovely moments but it can be a painful process as there’s so much that can go wrong. It’s not for the faint hearted and there’s a lot of work, especially looking after youngsters.”

With such a pool of young horses coming through, he says that they may now need to switch the focus back to training and producing those on the ground.

“I’ve suggested this to mum, but she enjoys the breeding side so much she’s not easy to convince!”

This year’s exciting colt foal, EDH Fonzarelli by Franklin out of a De Niro mare may make the decision that bit harder – and brings up the dilemma of when to sell a homebred youngster.

“We never wanted to sell them as foals, the plan is to keep them, start them and then see what happens. It’s a business, so you need to sell, but we always train them on first and I think that’s part of the enjoyment to see what they make.

“With EDH Fonzarelli we thought that we should sell him as a foal to give us a bit of breathing space with the youngsters, but as soon as he was born, it was out of the question!”

While the family prefers to own most of the horses outright, MSJ Encore is owned by Nicky Hannam who also has shares in Zorro and Dante.

“I met Nicky and her family through teaching in Canada and she’s very passionate about the horses as are we, and enjoys the training and the process.

“Now we’ve got quite a lot of nice horses for sale, that we’ve trained up, from six to eight years old, and some at higher levels.”

He concedes, however, that it can be hard.

“You can get quite emotionally attached to them. If you are riding for an owner, if they decide to sell, it is what it is. When they are your own you have to make the decision; you can decide to keep them a bit longer, but if the person comes along to suit that horse you have to sell.

“It’s also important to be realistic about the horse’s ability – every now and then you will get a horse that proves you wrong, but the big picture shows that not every horse you breed is going to make Grand Prix.”

With two horses starting Grand Prix and exciting prospects following behind, returning to international competition is once more on the horizon. It’s a prospect that Michael welcomes.

“I think the big difference in the future would be that I would take it for granted less. I didn’t think it was that big a deal at the time. In some ways I think that helped me, as I just got on and did it, but what I was achieving didn’t really resonate with me. Now, having to rebuild everything, having had a family and taking a break from more intensive competition, I definitely appreciate the good days more. I’m also starting to work under my own name rather than under my parents’ umbrella, and it means more if my horses do well.”

He recalls going to Keysoe last year and winning five out of seven classes.

“In the past if I did that, I wouldn’t even register it, and just go on to the next show. I was riding all these amazing horses and I just expected to do well. At Keysoe I really soaked it up. Nicky’s family came over for the show and it was amazing to be able to celebrate that with them.

“Most of all I enjoy the process of training our horses to the top of the sport as I now appreciate its a good job well done if you do.”

British Dressage has joined forces with leading equine sales website HorseQuest , our of cial Classi eds Partner. We nd out how you can bene t from its services.

What is HorseQuest and how does it work?

HorseQuest is the UK’s leading equestrian sales site, founded in 2000 by director Alison Roeves, a former breeder and judge. Now in its 23rd year, HorseQuest has grown beyond recognition with an established audience attracting over 740,000 monthly visits and 3 million monthly page views.

As HorseQuest continues to thrive it remains true to its original objective, to be a userfriendly website that appeals to everyone from the private horse owner to top competition riders and breeders across the world, providing advertisers with quality, effective advertising at fantastic rates and offering a first-class helpful service without compromise.

How do I find my next dressage horse on HorseQuest?

With over 800 quality dressage horses and ponies currently advertised we understand the need to search and filter by height, age etc, users can do this via our search facility. We do also encourage users to browse the listings by competition / ability level. Our dressage listings are split into categories, from Age Classes through to Advanced, allowing you to browse without filtering too. After all, your perfect partner could be simply one year older or 10 miles further away!

Can I narrow my search just to horses that are reasonably local for viewing, or can I see what is available overseas?

We have a strong established customer base in the UK, Europe and the USA. Browsers can filter by UK regions and international listings.

What sort of information can I get on the horses that are for sale? Does it include videos? All listings include three photos and three videos, unlimited text, and three-generation pedigree. The HorseQuest Hub offers helpful tips browsing HorseQuest and on creating adverts. As an advertiser, you have access to one-to-one support from a small team of dedicated, knowledgeable staff. If you need a hand creating your listing, we’re available to help.

How often are the sales pages updated?

The sales pages are constantly updated with new adverts posted daily between the hours of 9am and 5.30pm, seven days a week!

All adverts are approved by our sales teams before they go live.

How much does it cost to advertise on HorseQuest? How do I advertise?

Advertising packages start from just £36 for a single horse or pony. Have multiple horses to list?

The yard page option is designed to allow riders and dealers to advertise multiple horses at a reduced rate, providing huge benefits.

I’m on the move for much of the day, does HorseQuest work on mobiles and tablets?

HorseQuest is fully responsive so will work well on whichever device you choose – PC, tablets and mobiles.

We’re flexible to suit you – we know you’re busy, so we make the process of advertising as easy as possible for you. You can place your advert online 24/7 with full support seven days a week.

Any helpful tips from HorseQuest?

We would recommend creating a free HorseQuest account when you start your search journey –it’s quick and easy to set up!

Your HorseQuest account includes access to a ‘Virtual Stable’ – whilst you’re browsing HorseQuest you can save adverts you like the look of, so they’re all in one place when you want to find them!

You can also set up Email alerts and receive adverts that meet your search criteria straight to your inbox daily!

Bd Member Benefit

The code BDP10 will give members 10% off adverts, renewals and upgrades plus a free leader upgrade worth £7.50.

12th August 2023 Newton Stu d

ZEAL MONACHORUM, CREDITON, EX17 6LL

FREE ENTRY & GIN BAR!

GATES OPEN 11.00am | FOAL GRADING FROM 12 NOON

There will be a marquee (and gin) so don't worry if it rains!

Enjoy a presentation and grading of the 2023 foals

Ridden demonstrations by the Elite Dressage team