Ebony Park Friesian Magazine April 2013

APRIL 2013

Tash’s Training Tip - The Secret Remedy ~

Keuring Results In - Zeus Awarded Ster & Jorrit Wins Best Trot!

News From Holland - Deformities and Dystocias ~ Loes’ Learnings

Ebony Park Friesian Magazine www.ebonyparkstud.com.au

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FREE FROM FEAR Natasha’s NEW workshop, ‘Free From Fear’ is coming in late May 2013!! ➡ Is fear stopping you from enjoying your horse or perhaps even getting to ride? ➡ Do you suffer from fear or anxiety before or when you ride? ➡ Are your fear or nerves affecting your performance in the warmup arena or during a competition?

If so then Free From Fear might be for you!

Click here to fill out your name and email to ensure you are notified of our pre-release special offer tickets!

These tickets will be available only to those who fill in their details, and will be offered to you first - before they are available to the general public!

I look forward to meeting you and sharing this free from fear experience with you, so that you can connect with a group of people to reignite your passion of riding and horses and completely transform your experience.

Ebony riding Park Friesian Magazine April 2013 2

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IN THIS ISSUE • PAGE 4: KEURING RESULTS • PAGE 5: NOTE FROM TASH AND 2012 DATES • PAGE 6-9: NEWS FROM HOLLAND DEFORMITIES AND DYSTOCIA DELIVERIES

From the Editor Hi Fabulous Friesian Fanatics!! :) WOW!! What a super busy month we have had!

• PAGE 15: MITAVITE DRESSAGE EXPO

In the last week alone Tash, Loes and the boys (along with the rest of the team) have been off to Dressage with the Stars and the Keuring... all within the space of a few days! But I will let them talk to you about that!

• PAGE 16: YOUR GIFTS ARE WAITING FOR YOU!

This month in the mag we have a wrap up of the Keuring, with heaps of photos for you!

• PAGE 10-11: TASH’S TRAINING TIP - THE SECRET REMEDY • PAGE 12:-14: ABE’S PERSPECTIVE

• PAGE 17: EBONY PARK ROCKSTAR OF THE MONTH • PAGE 18-21: PAYMENT PLANS!!

• PAGE 22: EBONY PARK TV - TASH PRESENTS AT THE KEURING • PAGE 23-24: DRESSAGE WITH THE STARS PHOTO GALLERY • PAGE 25-26: KEURING PHOTO GALLERY • PAGE 27: BEST FRIEND PICTURE BOARD

I found a fantastic article on deformities and dystocia (irregular) deliveries of foals that focuses on Friesians which I have shared with you!

Tash gives you the secret remedy... and of course we have some updated photos of our mares available on in utero payment plans which is really exciting!

Have a fabulous month!! :) To Yo u r D r e a m s Becoming Reality,

• PAGE 28: LOVELY LOES’ LEARNINGS • PAGE 29: 5 MINUTES WITH ANKY VAN GRUNSVEN

Kate Langdon

• PAGE 30: CONTACT INFORMATION

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Keuring Results!!

As you know, March was a massive month here at Ebony Park!! We had the Keuring, which is where the dutch judges from the KFPS come out and judge the purebred Friesians - which is so huge because it only happens once every 2 years! Ebony Park had a fantastic run with Jorrit awarded best trot, and Zeus being upgraded to Ster stallion!

Congratulations also to Sarah, with Agamemnon of Ebony Park scoring equal highest in the IBOP for Victoria!!

Here are the results of the Keurings around Australia so far: VICTORIA Mares and Foals Otte fan Wildcroft - 1st premie Okkie fan Wildcroft - 1st premie Jewel van Gelder - no premie Leah of Blackwood - 3rd premie Amara van Gelder - 3rd premie Bellize - std 3rd premie Anneke-Johanna - stb no premie Elatsje A Bits - stb 3rd premie Fopke fan Wildcroft - stb 2nd premie ster Ibetsje fan Sable ranch - stb 3rd premie Eva Fardau - stb no premie Vrouwke fan Wildcroft - withdrawn Afke fan Dulve - stb 2nd premie ster Zwenneke fan Wildcroft - 1st premie prov.kroon Zaretta TK - 1st premie prov.kroon Amarinske - remains 2nd premie ster omi fan Dulve - 2nd premie ster Ilona TJ - stb no premie Afke van Hamelspoel - remains 1st premie crown Champion: Zaretta TK, reserve champion: Zwenneke fan Wildcroft Stallions and Geldings

Bauke fan Widcroft - 2nd premie ster Douwe van Akarana - stb 3 premie Dion -stb geen premie Tyske of Wildcroft - stb no premie Wilbert van Gelder - no ster Zeus of Ebony Park - ster Agamemnon of Ebony Park - no ster Friso van Gelder - no ster Amadeus of Oakside - no ster Dante of Ebony Park - no ster IBOP Zeus of Ebony Park - 73% Agamemnon of Ebony Park 74.5% Paulus Sybren van Bokkum 74.5% Special Award: Stallion/gelding with the best trot on the day: Friesian Show blanket donated

by Tweespan Ruitersport.

075 Jorrit fan Stal Redia TASMANIA Olivia D van Wallbrook - 3rd premie Nenna-Monique van Wallbrook 2nd premie Fenna van Wallbrook - studbook Femke van Berkley - 2nd premie ster Giselle KP - 3rd premie Vanja 3rd premie Champion - Femke van Berkley Reserve - NennaMonique van Wallbrook

Elmer van Gelder - withdrawn State Champion Nynke van Gelder Reserve Champion Ynke fan de Greidpleats WESTERN AUSTRALIA Nikolaas of Antyk Friesians - 2nd premie Malikni N.S. 3rd premie Zofia - withdrawn Amelia FS 2nd premie ster Fallon FS - not studbook Isis P.J. - studbook no premie Tulip van Gelder - wirthdrawn Tahlia Stb 3rd premie Tallulah - studbook 3rd premie Ymke KP 2nd premie Florensz KP - 3rd premie Knights Templar - observation only Tzar - no ster YJames Gray - no ster Azreil F.S. - no ster State Champion: Ymke KP Reserve Amelia FS Best Friesian bred in WA: Amelia FS Congratulations to everyone who presented their beautiful horses at the Keurings around Australia we have shown that Australia has some fine examples of the breed, and it was fabulous to see such gorgeous horses all together in the one location!! :)

Nynke van Gelder - 1st premie Nya van Gelder 2nd premie Demi van Gelder withdrawn Ynke fan de Greidpleats - 2nd premie ster

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DIARY DATES

Note from Tash

Hi Super Friesian lovers!!! :) Happy Easter!!!!! :):):)

I trust you had a super time and hopefully got a lot of chocolate!!!! :)

After the

MASSIVE month we have had with the boys last

month, this month is all about

preparation... so there are no

competitions planned.

But stay tuned we have a big

month of events for Your Riding Success in April!! :)

As you will see in the magazine, we have had a sensational month here at EP! I was SO happy with my Champion man Abe for coming top 5 in the Grand Prix Kur at DWTS and also very proud of Zeus gaining a ster grading at the Keuring! He has done his beautiful father Elko very proud. :) This month is filled with workshops every weekend so we are not coming out with the boys again until May. I have been riding Zeus and getting some very nice flying changes out of him, so we are looking forward to bringing him out to compete Medium! Dante is also perfecting the leg yield so he can come out Novice.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my team. Kate, Loes, Danielle and Phil - no results we achieved last month could have been achieved without you. So thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. Also a big thanks to Tom who did a week of work experience and certainly made me laugh and keep things light amongst all the drama of a big weekend.

Thanks also to Nicole for playing with us at the Keuring ... and getting us there ... if it wasn't for your navigation skills we would still be driving around the middle of the city!!!! :) Also to all the super people I have met this month in lessons, Friesian experiences and buying horses, I love connecting with you and hearing how much fun you have had! Thank you for allowing us to serve you and give you what you need!

I hope you have a super month and enjoy reading this month's magazine.

As always if you need anything please call or email! We want to help!!!!

To Your Success,

Natasha Ebony Park Friesian Magazine April 2013

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Abe was pretty pleased with himself after the Grand Prix test :)

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News From Holland - Deformities and Dystocia Deliveries A foal with crooked legs or a curved neck can surely be viewed as one of the biggest disappointments for a breeder.

Ve t e r i n a r i a n s C a t h e r i n e Delesalle and Marco de Bruijn go into the importance of fast and adequate measures.

A s Ta k e n f r o m t h e K F P S website - I thought this article was really interesting, as it focuses on Friesians, something which is not that common!! :) You have a decent mare and you’ve bred this mare to a decent stallion. Your veterinarian has been your sparring partner.

Yo u ’ v e v a c c i n a t e d a n d dewormed your breeding mare by the book, you’ve pampered her throughout her pregnancy.

Your foaling unit resembles a Hilton suite and in return you get a crooked foal ... Or even worse: the neck or limb deformities in your foal are so pronounced that a normal passage through the birth canal is simply impossible, leaving you with a life threatening situation for both mare and foal.

Will your veterinarian be able to reposition the foal inside the mare in order to make a normal birth possible? Or will this end up in a caesarean section for the mare or even worse a foetotomy on a dead foal inside the mare?

Foetotomy entails that your veterinarian cuts the dead foal into pieces by means of a thread saw in order to be able to evacuate the foal out of your mare. It needs no explanation that cutting a foal inside a mare is not without risk.

Causes In some cases the cause of passage problems is quite clear.

For example, a foal suffering from hydrocephaly evidently will have problems passing the birth canal. Hydrocephaly is caused by a disturbance in the drainage of cerebrospinal fluid from the head via the spinal canal. Due to this disturbance, the fluid accumulates inside the skull of the developing foal with wellknown consequences. Most

probably hydrocephaly has a genetic basis.

It is very difficult to say whether the syndrome of crooked legs and curved necks has a genetic basis in the Friesian breed. For calves and lambs we sure do have enough evidence to claim genetic causes, however for Friesian horses this seems not to be the case.

Most Friesian foals that are born with these problems weren’t positioned correctly inside the mare’s uterus in the first place.

The equine uterus is scientifically referred to as “uterus bicornis”. It essentially has the form of a pair of trousers. The part that covers your buttocks is the corpus and the legs represent both corni, hence “uterus bicornis”.

Experience learns that unfortunately the latter situation is not always recognized in time.

The foal dies inside the mare, the mare becomes completely exhausted. This is a most alarming situation. Will your veterinarian be able to join you in time? In general, a foal needs to be fully born within 45 minutes after the mare’s water breaks. Once the mare's water breaks the foaling process cannot be stopped. From this point on, time is critical, otherwise the foal will suffocate.

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News From Holland - Deformities and Dystocia Deliveries Under normal circumstances the foal develops itself inside the uterus, with head, neck and front legs positioned inside the corpus and hind quarters poisoned in one of both legs.

Logically, the placenta that forms the inner lining of the uterus has the same conformation.

The placenta is expelled within 6 hours after birth and has the form of trousers with one enormous leg (this leg formerly covered the inside of the pregnant horn) and a small elegant leg (the non-pregnant horn).

Under normal conditions, foals are born with their head and front legs first. However, in cases where head, neck and front legs develop in one of the uterus horns, the foal will present its hind quarters first to the birth canal, a so called breech birth.

contrast to human babies where even very subtle hypoxic accidents have great impact on further functionality of a child.

Nevertheless, if oxygen deprivation lingers on long enough in these foals, prognosis for acceptable viability will decrease fast.

Another recipe for disaster is the transverse foetal orientation. In these cases the foal develops with front legs, neck and head in one horn and hindquarters in the other horn. Obviously, the central corpus of the uterus doesn’t need to enlarge during pregnancy in these cases. The only thing that happens is stretching of the corpus due to the weight of both connected horns that need to harbour important and voluminous body parts of the developing foal. It needs no explanation that no foal with a transverse uterine

position is able to have a natural birth, since its back or belly is directed towards the birth canal.

Transverse foetal positions also have other important consequences. Since no foetal parts can enter the birth canal, the birth process will be aberrant.

Sometimes even quite subtle, which makes it not always easy for the owner to grasp the severity of the situation in time.

The lack of mechanical stimulation by foetal parts in the birth canal in cases with transverse foetal presentation is a problem and masks the ongoing birth process.

Luckily this only happens in 1% of cases. A very big problem is that the fetal cord in these foals is already severely compressed in the birth canal, when the head of the foal still is positioned inside one of the uterine horns.

If the birth process is hampered in these cases even more by for example limb deformities, there is an important chance that the foal will suffer from oxygen deprivation and even aspiration of amniotic fluid during birth.

Luckily oxygen deprivation does not always mean life long neurological deficits in foals, in

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News From Holland - Deformities and Dystocia Deliveries Consequences Partial or total transverse foetal positions almost always require external intervention by manual repositioning or caesarean section. Owners and veterinarians that have little experience with the Friesian breed will have little experience with transverse positions which often leads to a series of time consuming and quite often nonproductive attempts to manually reposition the foal inside the mare’s uterus.

Experience learns that in 9 out of 10 cases these manual attempts are unsuccessful. They are time consuming, and mean while the clock is ticking.

The only way to go for the owner is to try to discern when the birth process has started.

Than it is of utmost importance for the owner to try to verify correct foetal positioning.

When the mare’s water has broken and the mare starts pushing, within 10 minutes the front legs need to become visible inside the mare’s vagina, together with the nose of the foal.

If this is not the case, it is time to react and to call your veterinarian. Meanwhile, keep the mare from pushing by walking her around.

If your veterinarian is “lucky” he or she will be able to swing the thread saw around the neck of the dead foal in order to transect it.

Then, in general, two scenarios are possible: in uncomplicated cases your veterinarian will be able to solve problems by simply repositioning the head or one of the legs of the foal.

However, in more complicated cases, the foal is positioned too deep inside the mare’s uterus, rendering it unreachable for the hand of your veterinarian.

However, it needs no explanation that as of that point on you are left with two separate body parts with very sharp edges inside the mare’s uterus ...

In these cases it is important that the mare receives uterine relaxing drugs as soon as possible, sometimes even sedative drugs and the mare needs to be referred to an equine clinic as soon as possible.

However, once the foetotomy procedure takes up longer than 45 minutes, the mare becomes exhausted and the birth canal gets severely damaged, which obviously is not favourable for future fertility.

Full blown transverse foetal positions can’t be corrected m a n u a l l y, a n d t h a t ’ s a n important lesson to learn. Even worse, a dead foal that has a transverse position quite often can’t be subjected to foetotomy in order to be able to evacuate the foal out of the mare.

As mentioned previously, the uterine corpus has a long and s t r e t c h e d conformation in these cases, leaving the foal out of reach for the veterinarian to grasp its belly or back.

In general, foetotomy helps you to achieve evacuation of a dead foal by means of two or three simple cutting procedures.

In other words: Time is of Essence! Fast and accurate handling are key to success.

Correct assessment of the situation at home is of outmost importance, followed by swift intervention. Or successful manual reposition and subsequent natural birth or swift referral to an equine clinic.

Options At the equine clinic, several options are possible, depending on the viability and intra uterine position of the foal, ranging from foetotomy to Controlled Vaginal Delivery or caesarean section.

Experience shows that a transverse position of a viable foal almost always entails a caesarean section.

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News From Holland - Deformities and Dystocia Deliveries Luckily the caesarean section has a good prognosis for the Friesian mare (90%). This good prognosis also entails future fertility results. In general the uterus is less challenged by a caesarean section than by time consuming manual repositioning or foetotomy procedures.

If the uterus has healed successful the mare can be inseminated again during the 3th or 4th reproductive cycle.

Survival chances for the foal however are less favourable.

When taking a look at scientific literature the mean acceptable time interval between start of the birth process and eventual delivery of a fully viable foal by caesarean section is somewhere around 70 minutes.

However, it is important to keep in mind that the majority of these studies was conducted in thoroughbred horses, so let’s not compare two totally different worlds.

This means long-term successful oxygen delivery to the foal, even during a difficult birth. However, still, the main message is that swift and adequate handling is key here.

A stitch in time saves nine.

As mentioned previously, a partial or total transverse foetal position often entails the birth of a foal with crooked legs or a curved neck.

More and more we think that the aberrant position leads to limb deformities rather than a genetic disease is cause of this. It needs no explanation that a foal that needs to develop itself inside the uterus horns rather than in the corpus of the uterus, lacks proper space for development. Moreover, a “crooked” foal often grows out into a nice well-proportioned horse which makes a hereditary disease less plausible.

Joint venture research between the Wolvega Equine Clinic and the Utrecht University has shown that external intervention is significantly more needed during birth in Friesian horses when compared to other breeds. Most often these external interventions were needed due to presence of partial or total transverse foetal positioning. The research group of Professor Vandenplassche of the Ghent University, Belgium has reported similar findings in the Belgian Draft horse population in the past.

Interestingly also this large scale study couldn’t find any indication for a genetic basis in the pathophysiology of crooked legs and curved necks in draft horse foals.

Source: KFPS website (text: Catherine Delasalle & Marco de Brujin)

At the Wolvega Equine Clinic in Friesland, The Netherlands, many caesarean sections are performed each year, and this has shown that time intervals even exceeding twice the aforementioned (70 minutes) still can entail successful birth of a perfectly viable Friesian foal.

Most probably the transverse foetal position which is mostly encountered in the Friesian breed entails absence of foetal parts in the birth canal and thus lack of stimulus for the mare to start pushing and thus less pressure on the placenta to dislodge from the uterine wall.

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Tash’s Training Tip - The Secret Remedy Ok! This month!

For anyone who wants: • More time • Increased productivity • Better results • Goals reached • STOP procrastination once and for all...

Here is the ‘secret’ remedy!

Take the picture below, cut it out and put it in your wallet!!!

Don’t ask why! Just do it!!!!

You finally have one and now you will have no trouble getting all those things done!!! :) Ok, a bit silly! But IS IT?!?!?!

Is it silly to put our dreams in a corner and say I’ll do it later, I’ll get to it someday, I’ll do it when I get a round to it!

Let me tell you something that language DRAINS your energy! It keeps you stuck doing NOTHING, it gives you an excuse rather than taking responsibility that you haven’t done it yet!

I get so angry at my husband if he uses the word “should” at me! Grrr!!!!! SHOULD! No!!! To quote Yoda “Do or do not there is no try” - EXACTLY!!!

There is no try, should, can’t, could, possibly, maybe, or any other of those pathetic, noncommittal, energy draining hopeless words!!!!!

Ok, now you have done that!

Phew! I hope you know what this means!

You know when someone asks you to do something, or you know you have to do something and you say the words .... “I’ll do it as soon as I get around to it!”

Well here is your round TUIT you have been looking for!!!

My response is always the same - Don’t tell me - show me!

There is WILL, CAN, MUST, words of power, commitment and strength.

While we are talking about ‘talking’ - the other thing I see people do that holds them back and keeps them stuck, is ... ‘talking’ about what they are going to do.

The “I’m gunna’s” of the world!

So if a client says I’m going to start exercising - I say oh no!

Don’t talk about exercising start exercising! So the rest of the session is us walking around the farm!

Don’t talk about learning French - call up, book in your class, and tell me when your first class is!

Don’t talk about riding your horse - talk about how good your ride was!

Don’t talk about entering your first competition - talk about how excited you are now you have entered your first competition!

I don’t ‘do’ future tense! I do present tense!

Now I know you will say “But we have to say what we want”!

I tell everyone I am going to the Olympics 2020! Well that’s ‘talk’ - I’m not doing it! But I am taking actions towards it, I am riding, I am competing, and I have planned every year leading up to 2020, so my entire life is already taking the actions I need to take to get there.

Ahhhhh! Worse if you say ‘should’ than if you say ‘I’m going to’!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Tash’s Training Tip - The Secret Remedy I do like to say instead though “I am a 2020 Olympic Gold medalist”. Yeah you call me weird ... that’s ok! :) People use the escape ‘when I get around to it’ because when they think of the goal they see all the obstacles in their way.

Lets say you have a desire to compete advanced.

You have had this desire for years, but you see all the ‘obstacles’ - “I don’t have enough time”, “I don’t have a float”, “I don’t have a good enough horse”... so you file it away and hope you will get there ... on that fabulous day called ‘someday’.

Instead ... take ACTION! Knowledge is power! Firstly, get the advanced dressage tests and look through them what movements do they have - which movements can you already do?

I love language - how we language our world is how we experience it. I love the word MUST! That word just turns me on and presses all the right buttons!!! What is your ‘word’?

Just compare: • I should ride...

• I must ride!

• I might exercise today...

• I will exercise today

until I get that”, blah blah.

There is never a perfect time, never the right time, never a time where you won’t hit unexpected detours, disappointments and criticisms - all you find is an excuse for not starting.

Here’s to your success at someday arriving, getting around to it and HAVING all your dreams coming true!!

• I could compete advanced...

• I can easily compete advanced Or are you a ‘duck’ person! You know you need all the ducks lined up PERFECTLY before you will take action - “I’m waiting for this” or “have to wait

To Your Success,

Natasha

I remember when I was Grade 4 looking at a GP test - going!

Yay!!! I can enter at A and salute! I’m almost there! And guess what ... there is walk across the diagonal in there ...

I know all of you can do that too!!!!! We are almost there!

Do you see by taking action it suddenly begins to look easier!

I bet you didn’t know that all of you could do parts of the Grand Prix test!

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Abe’s Perspective Hey super riders! My name is Abe and I am Natasha’s superstar Friesian stallion and her one and only horse she likes to ride.

I told her I thought it was very unfair that she was the only one to share how to ride - as lets’ face it... I’m the one that really makes it all happen - so this is my chance to teach you how to really ride a horse... with advice straight from the horses mouth! *Taken from April 2013 Your Riding Success Monthly. If you would like to view Your Riding Success March Monthly click here

Hello wonderful peeps! :) How have you been this month?

I have had an AMAZING month!!!!! I don’t know if you know, but I had a very big, important show last week called Dressage With The Stars. Tash was all excited about it... I didn’t really care too much about it... Until she told me if I did well she would give me a brownie!!!! I LOVE my brownies!

I will do anything for them! Plus it seemed important to Tash and let’s face it, I love to perform - and if I paid attention I knew I would win it!

So Friday came and my stylist team arrived to make sure I looked absolutely stunning for the event. I was plaited, brushed, stroked, combed and shined until I looked impeccable. Tash turned up – also looking ok (haha) and she got on and we headed into the warm-up arena. On the way we had to pass the showjumpers – omg it looks like they have fun! … Looks a bit like too much hard work though, so I neighed to them all wishing them luck, and then it was time for Tash and I to warm-up.

Sometimes at big comps Tash goes a little retarded and the cues she normally gives me turn exaggerated and I get annoyed and don’t know what she is doing up there. It seemed today she wasn’t so obsessed with getting it right, and was trusting me to do my job. I like it when she lets me do my thing and trusts me… I know sometimes I don’t have the best reputation for behaving and doing it exactly right, but this Grand Prix test is getting easier and easier for me, and I think I finally get how to get my legs to go the way she wants them to.

We finally head over to the ring and it looks like a lot of people are watching – which is great! I love a crowd!!!! :) We enter the ring and each movement Tash is doing a great job, giving me some cues and constantly reminding me to stay engaged and use my body with heaps of – what she would call - half halts. She needs to back off a bit more in the piaffe – I’m doing it Tash! She can’t feel it as well as she should – sigh – but that’s ok I have to be patient – she can’t be as good as me :).

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Abe’s Perspective She also rode a bit like a crazy monkey in the two’s – I’m like sit back crazy woman – I've got this! Luckily I could still do the movement and score a 6.5! Even while she was swinging away like a monkey in a tree. We finished the test and I knew I had won it – it was so awesome!!!! :) Back to the stables and … yes! SCORE! One brownie to Abe!!!! YUM! I love it!!!! I was very happy but then 30 minutes later they saddle me up again but this time half my mane is out … this means only ONE thing… PRESENTATION!!!!!!!!! :):) I LOVE presentation!!!!!

Apparently – I hadn’t won … what’s with that?!?!?! Oh well I knew I was the best, so we came into the arena 6th but I screamed out to the crowd and shook my mane and pranced around so everyone could marvel at my beauty. Tash was trying to make us look all composed and in control and I’m like just let loose crazy woman! I got to do a bit of a big canter and then back to the stable again.

dark. As we went to the back of the arena I could hear the crowd and it sounded BIG!!! YAY!!! I got really excited! I was so pumped to get in there and do an amazing test!!!!! Tash felt that and didn’t give me much of a warm-up – we were ready to rock!!!!

We entered the ring and it was so cool1!!!! I just wanted to gallop and buck!!!! The thing is as much as I wanted to do that – I knew that would upset Tash! She was really trying to get my attention – those half halts again and I knew if I had any chance at the second brownie I had to block out the crowd, not think about showing off and just do what Tash said.

So I did, I did my movements – I think they were good!!!! Best thing was Tash was really happy after the test and I love seeing her smile! It feels good to know I have pleased her and made her happy! We must have done well because I was only in my stable a little bit and then back out with my mane out for another presentation!

The next day – breakfast came late :( TOM!!!!

Tash had left my care to Tom who was helping out for the week! Well - Tom slept through his alarm and came running into the stable ten minutes late with no socks on throwing me my food. Tash turns up 5 minutes later and takes my Lucerne away!!! I only got to have my grain and then she saddled me up for a practice ride. I was shitty I didn’t get to have my leisurely weekend Saturday breakfast - so I didn’t really listen to her. We then went into the indoor to practice riding to the music and I did a crappy test, which Tash wasn’t happy about but whatsoever!!!! Tash – there were no judges, no crowd, it wasn’t a real performance and I am not performing and putting in 80% when it’s not required. So after that I got back into the stable and got to finish my breakfast as long as I promised Tash I would bring it for that night.

Saturday night again I was primped and prepared and looked beautiful - Tash came and got on and we walked to the practice arena in the Ebony Park Friesian Magazine April 2013

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Abe’s Perspective I got to gallop around a bit more and it was fun to show off and show the crowd what a beautiful Friesian can do. Even the International judges commented on my hair and how beautiful it is!

over the back into the contact. Sometimes she has to trot to use the forward energy but that can be hard if you are not used to it.

On the Sunday I had to help Tash present at the Keuring. By then I was so pumped and excited as EVERY stallion had been out to strut his stuff except me!!!!

Tash was trying to talk and ride at the same time – good luck Tash! What lots of people don’t realize is although she sits there and doesn’t look like she is doing much she is actually working really hard. She was explaining how important it is to get your Friesians really round and through.

How we have to respond to your leg, not by going faster but by coming more into the bridle and over our backs. I wasn’t very helpful on the day showing it so I thought I better write a quick 3 step guide for you if you need help with it.

Tash was really bad at this at the beginning! She had 8 years of practice with her first dressage horse before she even got me and now has had another 8 years with me, and I would say she gets it about 40%. So that’s the best thing about the journey. You are constantly learning, growing and improving. Tash is and so am I. Together we respect we are doing the best we can with what we know and tomorrow we will know more and therefore do better. In the meantime, love where you are at and enjoy the learning process!!!!

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2.

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If you only use leg and no outside rein – you won’t get it. If you create energy but let it escape out the front that won’t work.

You need to be able to harness the energy or ‘catch’ it with the rein. If you don’t I will run on the forehand and disengage my back.

This doesn’t mean use a lot of hand – I love it if you hold in front because I can curl my neck under and get short in the neck. And I won’t come over the back that way either. I have to come out in the neck, so you need to give me space to do that. So keep your reins out in front of you and ride legs to hand, not hand to leg.

I know it might be hard to do so start off in a walk - Tash never comes out of walk unless she has me working into the bridle and stretching

To Your Success,

Abe

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Your Gifts Are Waiting For You Now! Are you enjoying this months issue of the Ebony Park Magazine?

Did you know we also send out weekly blogs and we have even more Friesian resources for you?

Click on the picture below to go to our website and fill out your name and email to subscribe now and receive your FREE Friesian resource pack!

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Ebony Park Rockstar of the Month Achillies of Ebony Park & Lara We did 2 prelim tests and scored a 62.5% and a 61%, not bad for our first outing! We can only improve from here on in.

We have a couple more comps coming up here, so I am really looking forward to that.

Thanks again for breeding such an awesome horse!” -- Lara Ryder *Make sure you email us whenever you take an Ebony Park horse out and get some pics or footage, so that we can include it in the next magazine! We want to hear form you and share in your successes!!! :)

Congratulations to Lara and Achillies on their first outing together... we can’t wait to hear all of your updates in the future!! :) “After being together for a month Achillies and I embarked on our first competition together on Sunday 10th March here in Albury. He was perfectly behaved and didn’t put a foot wrong all day. A lot of people came up to ask about his breed and tell him how handsome he was, he loved all the attention.

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COME TRUE!!

M A E R D N IA FRIES

2013 In Utero Payment Plans Ebony Park Kir!en

e to r e h Click k out chec e on ag her p bsite! e our w Ebony Park Kirsten x Ebony Park Jorrit foal due 13th November 2013 We only have one purebred studbook friesian mare left on an in utero plan for a foal born this year.

So if you don't mind if its a colt or a filly, then an in utero plan is for you. Payment are under $500 per month, so if this is a budget that works for you, then contact us now!

Previous Progeny:

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COME TRUE!!

M A E R D N IA FRIES

2013 In Utero Payment Plans

Deja Vu of Ebony Park

e to r e h Click k out chec e on ag her p bsite! e our w

Deja Vu of Ebony Park is one of our purebred Friesian broodmares, born right here at Ebony Park at the end of 2009. She is by 17.1HH stallion Ebony Park Elko, out of one of Natasha’s competition broodmares, Ebony Park Gjanna, who is around 15.3HH‌ but somehow the height genes have passed this gorgeous mare by! She is our little pocket rocket, and is super easy to handle, taking everything in her stride just like her parents.

Deja Vu has her first foal due in August 2013 to Ebony Park Jorrit So if you don't mind if its a colt or a filly, then an in utero plan is for you.

Payment are under $300 per month, so if this is a budget that works for you, then contact us now!

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COME TRUE!!

M A E R D N IA FRIES

2014 In Utero Payment Plans Int"gue of Ebony Park

e to r e h Click k out chec e on ag her p bsite! e our w Intrigue of Ebony Park is one of our up and coming broodmares that we bred right here at Ebony Park. She is the very first purebred Jorrit foal that we have produced, and has her sires his pretty head and wonderful paces, together with her dam’s friendly and chilled out personality – with a bit of spunk. We can’t wait to see the foals she produces for us in the years to come!! Intrigue will be bred for the first time in 2013 and her 2014 foal is available on our in utero payment plans. Payment are under $300 per month, so if this is a budget that works for you, then contact us now!

Photos:

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2014 In Utero Payment Plans Victo"a of Ebony Park

e to r e h Click k out chec e on ag her p bsite! e our w Victoria has an amazing story – she was the first foal of Ebony Park Famke, one of our foundation mares. She was born 6 weeks early, and she was not expected to make it through her first 24 hours of life. However, as you can now see, she is a lovely 7yo mare, she is strong and healthy, and has the pride and carriage of her sire, Ebony Park Abe, coupled with the gentle nature of her dam, Ebony Park Famke. We are very proud to have her as part of our stud, as she is the only purebred progeny of Ebony Park Abe so far (there are more due in 2013!). Payment are under $500 per month, so if this is a budget that works for you, then contact us now! Victoria’s 2014 foal is available on a payment plan.

Progeny:

Photos:

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Ebony Park TV Tash’s Keuring Presentation

Click on the video above to play the movie - you will be taken to the YouTube link so you must have an internet connection.

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DRESSAGE WITH THE STARS!

Tash and Abe before and after their fantastic GP performance 60.55% and 6th place!

Loes and Zeus compete in the 5yo class with a scare of 67.6%! (below and below right)

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Tash and Abe in the GP Kur - a PB with 5th place and 63.9%!!

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DRESSAGE WITH THE STARS!!

Tash and Abe during the Grand Prix - an awesome effort coming 6th with 60.55%

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KEURING 2013

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KEURING 2013

Congrats to Zeus for getting Ster status, and to Jorrit for winning best trot!! :)

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BEST FRIEND PICTURE BOARD!

We want to celebrate with you, any photos of you and your horse - they don’t have to be dressage photos, and they don’t have to be Friesian photos - just a photo of you with your best friend! Just email your photo to info@ebonyparkstud.com.au and we will share it on this wall next month!

Misty Stebbing one of my ADDHD/ Autistic children and our connection ponies. this program teaches these children connection and touching without fear. I love this photo as this young boy rarely looks at anyone but he does after his time with our ponies

Kellie Mitchell with her 2yo Friesian warmblood gelding by Jorrit his first time at the beach!

Lesley Davies and her boy Rianko supporting a good cause :)

Misty Stebbing - Skippy, my 26yr old TB with my granddaughter who is showing him her dolly.. he is such a gentle old man...

Below - Michelle Gill and Arrow

Sian and EP Bastian at their first competitions they came home with a blue ribbon! So proud!! :)

Ali Ford - Ali and Lilly her Clydie cross Ebony Park Friesian Magazine April 2013

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Lovely Loes’ Learnings!!

Hey Everyone!! :) We have had a MASSIVE month in March!!

Zeus qualified and competed in the 5yo class at Dressage with the Stars which was really exciting!! We did a super test, and Zeus was awesome! We didn’t make it into the top 10 horses, but we are still so proud of him!

Then on the Sunday (was it really only a week ago!?!?) we had the Friesian Stallion Keuring, where we presented our horses to the dutch judges. Zeus once again was a superstar - he gained ‘ster’ status, which means that the judges thought he was an excellent example of the Friesian breed both in conformation and movement!

Dante was also presented, and the judges really liked his conformation and movement, as well as his breeding. They just thought he was lacking in strength in his hind end, which was because he is so young, and said they were looking forward to seeing him in 2 years to be presented again (this is the

same thing that happened to Zeus 2 years again, so we are looking forward to bringing him back again!!)

Jorrit was also presented in hand at the Keuring, to renew his breeding permit. Not only was he a superstar, and not phased at all by the crowd and the other stallions that were there, but he also won best trot from a permitted stallion!! This horse can move!!

We w o u l d l i k e t o t h a n k Tw e e s p a n Ruitersport for their donation of the Friesian show blanket that Jorrit won as a result of having the most awesome trot!! :) Hope you had a fabulous Easter - check out my quick wrap-up of the Keuring by clicking on the video below :) Until next month,

Loes

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5 Minutes with Anky van Grunsven Anky van Grunsven was born in Erp, the Netherlands.

When she was six years old she got her first pony, a Shetland pony named "Heleentje". At first she would only clean and brush Heleentje. After taking the first riding lessons from her father, she joined the pony club in Erp. At age seven she started showing, something she was not too good at in the beginning. Only after graduating from high school she decided to start riding professionally.

Prisco was the first horse that was really her own. Anky rode her very first dressage test on Prisco at "L" level in 1980. She advanced to "Z" level in 1982.

There were ups and downs. Her persistence was rewarded in 1990 when she won the Dutch championships for the first time. With her mount Bonfire she became Dutch dressage champion a second time in 1991. They won the national dressage title a total of nine times.

Anky became the World Champion Musical Freestyle in The Hague in 1994.

She won the World Cup Final seven times. The first time in Hollywood in 1995 where "Bonfire's Symphony", her freestyle music, played an important role.

She also won in 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2000 where she rode Bonfire. In 2004, 2005 and 2006, Anky and Salinero won the World Cup Finals.

The highlights of Anky's career until now are of course her two gold medals at the Olympic Games in Sydney and in Athens. The first one on Bonfire (2000), who finished his career winning in Sydney. She won the second gold medal aboard Salinero (2004), who at the time just started his sports career.

In 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2004 Anky was named "Rider of the Year" in the Netherlands and she was honored as "Sports Woman of the Year" in 1994. In 2001 she was named "Rider of the Century". Anky also received two royal decorations "Ridder in de Orde van Oranje Nassau" and "Ridder in de Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw".

After the successful Olympic Games in Athens, Anky and her trainer and partner Sjef had a son, Yannick Janssen, who was born on November 23, 2004.

Yannick Janssen always joins Anky and Sjef when they travel to major shows. Anky and Sjef were married in Las Vegas in April 2005 in the presence of Yannick Janssen. On March 6, 2007 daughter Ava Eden was born. Only a few weeks later she wins the National title with Keltec Salinero and that year she wins the European Championships in Turin. The Dutch team wins gold. In 2008 Anky wins the two most important competitions of this year: the World Cup Final and the Olympic Games! Anky is the first rider even who wins individual gold three times in row with two different horses (Bonfire 2000 and Salinero 2004 & 2008). Salinero has now been retired.

During the 2012 Olympics Anky won bronze in the team competition. With nine Olympic medals, this makes her the most successful rider in the history of the modern Olympic games! She now has one more medal than the German riders Reiner Klimke and Isabell Werth.

Source: www.anky.nl

FACTS DOB: 2.01.1968 Country: Netherlands Website: www.anky.nl Current World Ranking: Current Trainers: Sjef Janssen (who is also her husband!)

FUN FACT Anky has her own clothing line (as well as a range of saddles) ANKY Technical Casuals, which she is very much involved with the designs for!!

This casual and horseriding clothing and saddlery company sponsor a number of top dressage and eventing riders, including fellow dutchman Adelinde Cornelissen!

Anky herself is also a “figurehead” or sponsored by the company.

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WE WOULD LOVE TO THANK OUR AMAZING SPONSORS

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Ebony Park does not assume any responsibility or liability for any loss or damage which may result from any inaccuracy or omissions in this magazine, or from the use of information contained herein, and we make no warranties, express or applied with respect to any of the material contained herein.

CONTACT US

Address: 611 Belgrave-Hallam Road, Narre Warren East VIC 3804 Website: www.ebonyparkstud.com.au Email: info@ebonyparkstud.com.au Phone: 0422 227 364 or 03 9796 8690 Ebony Park Friesian Magazine April 2013

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