SEPTEMBER 2012
Tash’s Training Tip - What’s Your Dimmer Switch Set On? ~ Lovely Loes - Jumping Friesians! Delightful Danielle - My First Foal ~ Pastures For Friesians Follow Up with Jim Burrell!
Ebony Park Friesian Magazine www.ebonyparkstud.com.au
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From the Editor Hi Fabulous Friesian Lovers!! :)
IN THIS ISSUE
How are we all doing? Pumped that it is spring, which apart from meaning foals are born... warmer weather!!! :)
• PAGE 4: PASTURES FOR FRIESIANS FOLLOW UP
• PAGE 5-7: NOTE FROM TASH AND 2012 DATES
• PAGE 8-9: TASH’S TRAINING TIP WHAT’S YOUR DIMMER SWITCH SET ON?
• PAGE 10: LOVELY LOES’ LEARNINGS
• PAGE 11: DELIGHTFUL DANIELLE’S TALES
• PAGE 12-14: MY RIDE ON TAMBO...
We have had a flat out August... preparing for the breeding season as well as a couple of workshops that Your Riding Success is running! We are so excited for everything we have planned for the remainder of the year! :) I would like to give a hug congratulations to Lauren & Kylie on becoming part of the Ebony Park family - they have both designed their dream Friesian on our in utero payment plans, and can’t wait for 2013 when the resultant foal will be born!!! :) We have other exciting news - Natasha was absolutely stoked to be on the front cover of the Spring Horseland Catalogue - it’s her favourite store, and she has been shopping there for over 20 years! So you can imagine the thrill of getting the envelope with her face on it - and the catalogue inside after 20 years of browsing the catalogues and shopping at this amazing store Ebony Park personally uses Horseland Narre Warren for all our horsey needs - they are so awesome!
• PAGE 15: PHOTO GALLERY
Have an awesome month, and we can’t wait to hear all of your stories!! :)
• PAGE 16: 5 MINUTES WITH KRISTY OATLEY
To Yo u r D r e a m s Becoming Reality,
• PAGE 17-21: BREEDING SEASON 2012 - STALLION LIFTOUT
• PAGE 22: CONTACT INFORMATION
Kate Langdon
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PASTURES FOR FRIESIANS! - Jim Burrell shares his opinion... This month I wanted to share a fantastic response to our pastures articles from last month that we received from Jim Burrell, a Friesian breeder and owner for over 28 years... he bred three of our horses - The Carrock Tambo, The Carrock Zip and The Carrock Dancer!! :) Dear Tash, Kate and all at Team Ebony Park, I read with interest Kate’s article last month on feeding pasture to Friesians. While I agreed with the main thrust of the article I would like to share some of our experience of feeding Friesians over more than 28 years. We have always been a pasture based horse stud and only use concentrates, hay and silage strategically and with selected horses in times of pasture shortage. Our pasture are purely ryegrass based (with some lucerne as hay paddocks). I sometimes despair that I spend more time on a tractor getting our pastures right than I do riding horses!!!! Our experience is that horses actually preferentially graze rye grass and will leave most clovers in any pasture sward. I think that if most people actually observe their horses grazing they will see what I am stating. Therefore I do not sow any clover, despite the claims of nitrogen fixation and protein benefits attributed to clover in a ryegrass/clover pasture base. When we were last overseas between 2008 and 2010 the managers of our farm proudly sowed some of the paddocks to rye and clover. When we walked the paddocks, with them, they enthusiastically showed us the feed (all the clover) in the paddocks they had sown. The clover was more than 6 inches (12 cm) high but there were big areas of closely
cropped and over grazed grass (ryegrass). It was all the evidence I needed of preferential selective grazing of rye over the clover, and ample evidence for the managers. Modern rye-grasses provide ample levels of protein to meet the requirements of Friesian horses (and other breeds) so clover is not needed to meet this requirement. As for the nitrogen fixation benefits, I agree it does provide this, but only in proximity to the clover plant. I prefer to provide the nitrogen needed on a regular basis through broadcasting (by hand or mechanically). If pastures are over grazed, by grass seeking horses, it just opens up the sward to weed invasion by weeds such as capeweed, mustard, dock, erodium etc. If I don't have clover in my pastures I can use a far cheaper broad leaf spray to control weed than the clover safe broad leaf spray most commonly used (Tigrex). So looking at it holistically I can see no compelling reason to include clover in any horse based pasture despite traditional wisdoms - particularly if horses don't like it!! I actually stir the pot by calling clover a "three leaf weed", and only partially tongue in cheek. Ryegrass should best be grazed when it has 3 leaves. It only has 3 growing leaves at any time, when the fourth leaf emerges the first leaf starts to die, so effectively we are wasting 33% of our feed if we allow this to happen. We treat our horses like any other large grazing animal and strip graze to control intake and to allow pasture to grow ahead of the horses so we have a bigger body of feed. We might put the horses in at the 2.5 leaf stage so we do not waste feed by letting it start to die.
Depending on the time of year determines how often each new leaf occurs. At this time of year (August) leaves may appear about 18 - 20 days while in spring it is down to only 7 days. That means we can graze the paddock every 3 weeks while it is obviously longer in winter. If we don’t have enough grass that is when we feed hay and concentrates. It is very important not to over graze the sward. If we over graze it take much longer for the plant to recover and start to grow new leaves, so it really is false efficiency. the saying is, "it takes a leaf to grow a leaf", so leave a bit of green leaf to help the plant recover quickly. The other problem with overgrazing is it opens up the sward to weed invasion as a healthy sward provides too much competition for the weed seedlings to get established. I have included a couple of references that people may like to include in their resources. The first is a range of websites developed by an early client of ours, Jane Myers and her partner, it is highly recommended - click here. The second is a great book on grazing horses and should be in every horse owners library. Avery A Pastures for Horses – A Winning Resource. A Manual for Horse Owners and Managers Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, Barton, ACT Aust. Publication R96/021 1996 - click here to purchase Kind regards, keep up the great work, Jim Burrell
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Note from Tash DIARY DATES
Werribee Saturday 8th September VDC Ebony Park Abe Grand Prix Zeus of Ebony Park - Elementary 3C & 3D
Sunday 9th September VDC Ebony Park Abe Grand Prix Special Zeus of Ebony Park - Novice 2C & 2D
Hi Super Friesian lovers! :) I mentioned last month I was in Africa for three weeks going through Botswana, Zambia and finishing in South Africa. I thought you might like to see some pictures and hear about my trip ... especially the last bit which was a based on riding the horses through the bush twice a day! :) The first two weeks were mainly in Botswana. The weather was great in the middle of the day - 24-28 degrees and perfect sunshine. It is the dry season right now in Africa which means ... no rain! So for three weeks we never had a drop, and it was so nice to look forward to the next day's activity without checking the weather in case it was going to rain! That being said the mornings and evenings were still cold with 5-8 degrees start at 6.30am! Brrrr... but very quickly forgotten when you are out and spotting animals. Phil and I were very lucky ... as expected :) But we got to see all the big 5 especially wonderful sightings of lion and leopard. For those of you who were like us ... what is the big 5? We thought it was the most dangerous 5 animals and we thought hippo was in there as they kill the most people in Africa. But it’s actually the 5 most dangerous animals to kill. So they are Rhino, Buffalo, Elephant, Lion and Leopard. I got quite upset in Botswana as we never saw any Rhino, and after speaking to our guides learned they are getting poached at a rapid rate with over 300 killed already this year :( It is such a big problem with big crime syndicates set up all over Africa and with the money being huge, people - including vets - are being corrupted for the job. With a problem such as this, there is never an easy solution. And it was so very sad to see what we humans are doing to the animals of the world. Ebony Park Friesian Magazine September 2012
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Note From Tash - Continued amazing experience to let them take us for a walk around the bush.
Then we were in Zambia to see the Great Victoria Falls.
Then my favourite! The cheetahs! They were purring as soon as we got there and LOVED their cuddles almost as much as I loved giving them! They loved licking Phil's arm, apparently mine wasn't hairy enough! And again it was great to hear their numbers are increasing again as their numbers had
It was amazing to see and hear the water with the spray getting us quite wet ... and it’s not even the wet season. And then the next day we headed over to the Mikani Big Five to experience the lions and cheetahs up close and personal. The lions were magnificent to be around after seeing them in the bush and such an
Africa. For the last two weeks our tour had two options Camping or accommodated tour. Phil and I definitely took the accommodated tour - which still included 2 days of camping in the Delta, and yes, we did have beds - we weren't staying at the Hilton. So we were looking forward to our last week staying at Ants Nest which is a luxurious lodge in the Limpopo region of South Africa. We were not disappointed from the moment we arrived to the moment we left Phil and I wanted for nothing. We had hot chocolate and cookies with our wake up call delivered to bed. Then for breakfast whatever we wanted, with either cooked or continental including freshly warm made croissants. Then you could have a choice of activities for the morning.
rapidly decreased 10 years ago. Then off to our last week to get pampered in South
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Note From Tash - Continued Phil and I always chose horse riding - so we would go off for 3 hours through the bush looking at impala, zebra, giraffe, buffalo and eland.
drinks. Back at 6.30pm for a hot shower and then another chef prepared meal of a 3 course dinner, before you went to bed! It was so great! ... even though I did put on over 3kg! :) It was worth it and such a great experience to be pampered and treated like that.
Then you would be back for an hour to lounge by the pool for a freshly cooked lunch prepared by the chef including dessert! Then another 2 1/2 hours to lounge by the pool, have a massage - that’s what I did and Phil went to the gym, then at 3.30pm it’s afternoon tea time with a freshly made cake - the chocolate brownies were the best!
As for the horses and the riding - if you are thinking of going, let me tell you the horses are AMAZING! So well cared for and their footing through sand, rocks and mountains so secure! They were all easy to ride, and not at all like trail horses, as they were all sensitive and very much happy to canter fast whenever the opportunity came up. Phil had only been riding 2 months before - we started with twice a week lessons which lasted around 25 minutes, and we had only just progressed to cantering off the
lunge in the last week. He did so well as full credit to the horses he was on. He handled riding 4 hours a day no problem and sometimes we would canter 10 minutes at a time and he was still smiling and loving it and finding it easy. So if you have ever thought about seeing Africa, I would highly recommend Ant's Nest. You get so close to the animals - a lot closer on horseback than in the vehicle as they are used to the horses smell and don't see you on their back. Its also a lot of fun cantering through the bush and up mountains! Click here to go to their website for more info! Hope you have an amazing month! To your success!
And then afternoon activity where we rode again to sundowners somewhere in the bush for chips and
Natasha
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Tash’s Training Tip - What’s Your Dim Switch Set On? “Never look down on anybody unless you're helping him up.” --Jesse Jackson It’s been said that horse riding is a ‘bitchy’ sport. Now I don’t like to take that on as my reality. However a few occurrences lately have prodded me to explore the notion of judging others in this article.
I want to talk today about energy. Now this might be a bit “woo woo” but I know EVERY one of you knows what I am talking about. There are people that are energy givers and there are people that are energy drainers.
Do you have a light in the living room that has a dimmer switch on? We did in our old house, and sometimes we would have the light on low and sometimes up full depending on how much light we wanted.
Then have you ever walked into a room and it doesn’t feel quite right. The ‘energy’ of the room is negative and cold. Have you ever spoken to someone and gone away feeling worse? Perhaps not good enough, defeated, deflated.
Whatever it is, I can also guarantee you made everyone you met that day just a little but brighter because of you. Have you ever spent a day doing something amazing, creating something, giving something and how do you feel? Energised? Fulfilled? These are all things you feel when your dim switch is on high.
What’s your dim switch set on?
Have you ever been in a room where one person lights it up!? There is a saying for it – “they light up a room”. Have you ever spoken to someone who makes you feel inspired and strong and powerful, and as you walk away you feel uplifted and energised by the conversation?
out of you and onto others. People were saying “what’s with you? You look REALLY happy? What drugs are you on?”
Have you ever seen a person you think wow he/she is just beautiful. And you agree it’s not the physical appearance as such, it’s more than that. It just shines out of them. Compared to a mean spirited selfish, nasty person, even if physically they are meant to be gorgeous you can feel the cold dark energy.
When someone is positive, loving, generous and satisfied with their place in the world, it shines out of them. I’m sure you have felt this. At some stage in your life when you were feeling REALLY good! Maybe you had just fallen in love, maybe you had just received a promotion. Whatever the reason, it is something that made your heart sing. Then because of that you felt so full of love and gratitude and fulfilment it literally spilled
Have you ever gossiped? Said something mean about someone? Judged someone? These are all energy draining activities. Dragging others down so we feel better doesn’t allow us to shine. The quote by Booker T. Washington says “One man cannot hold another man down in the ditch without remaining down in the ditch with him,” and this is completely true. So if we want to rise, if we want to shine, if we want to achieve success and fulfil our
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Tash’s Training Tip - What’s Your Dim Switch Set On? life purpose, one of the first things we have to do is ensure we protect our own light. When we are doing negative things especially judging others it dims our light. Now when I started studying NLP one of the first things I learnt was when you judge you really judge yourself. This means if you can notice someone is stupid, fat, ugly, untalented, loser, or whatever else your mind makes a snap judgment on you are judging yourself. The same goes for when you notice someone is beautiful, smart, talented, creative they are all things you notice that you are. So I made it a point to notice one good thing about everyone I see. Now I dare you go out and try this! When I started I began to realise how negative and judgmental I was of others. It took a lot of conscious awareness to notice the good instead of the bad. Now it is automatic to notice the good, and the bad of someone will have to be pointed out by someone else for me to notice it.
I also believe this helps when you are riding your horse. When you focus on yourself – your fears, your expectations, your riding, it creates a block. I recently had one of the best tests of my career – well the judges didn’t agree! But I loved it! I was only focused on my horse! What I could do each
moment to help him, prepare him and assist him to be the best horse he could be. As I left the arena an observer said that was beautiful - the word that sums it up is ‘harmonious’. I love that. I love that if my horse is scared I can feel confident and he feels it too and is ok. So what is your dim switch on? Is it on full and shining to all you meet!? If so Yay! I can’t wait to meet you! You must be a gorgeous, amazing person! You are an energy giver! Or is your
dim switch on low, focused only on self and you feel you need to judge others and pass comment to make you feel better. Well I don’t want to be rude … but I don’t want to be around you!!!! You are an energy drainer! The best thing is you can change - if you have been an energy drainer you can flick that switch and be an energy giver. All it takes is a commitment to noticing the good and the amazing in others and a cessation of all gossip and passing judgment on others. p.s just a side note! That voice that judges, that voice that says she’s an idiot, he’s a loser, it doesn’t go away entirely. It’s part of our ego, and we wouldn’t be human without it. All I’m saying is - don’t give power to that voice. Don’t believe it to be true, because it’s not.
To Your Success,
Natasha
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Lovely Loes’ Learnings Hello everyone!! Hope you had a fantastic month! I did and it’s going to get even better, it’s SPRING!! This month I wanted show you something really different... normally at Ebony Park we are all about dressage, but I had so many people ask me if Friesians could actually jump! YES THEY CAN!!!!! Every horse can jump, but it is the same with people, some are more talented in jumping than others. So - Friesians can jump, but they are not really built for jumping. Friesians are more built for heavy work and because of their movement they do quite well in dressage!! But last month, I decided to do something a bit different, and I took Achillies over a few jumps and he LOVED it!! He was flying over the jump!!!
So I should say just for pleasure jumping, you mos t ce rtainly c an wi t h your Friesian! And you never know - maybe your Friesian is talented in jumping and you could try a little competition!! Until next month!
Loes
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Delightful Danielle’s Tales Hello everyone! Spring has finally arrived! So I hope you all enjoy
the warmer weather!! As it is spring... the breeding season has started! So I thought I would share with you all that I am breeding my first foal EVER - can you tell I am SUPER excited!!! When I first came to
Ebony Park for work
experience last year, I fell in love with Friesians, and I have a big soft spot for Jorrit... I just love his gentle personality, his movement... and then
when I saw his foals... I just knew I had to have one! :) They are absolutely gorgeous, and share his beautiful, laid back temperament and finer
features.
So earlier this year, after having a chat to Natasha and Kate, I went on a search for a broodmare so that I could breed my own Jorrit foal... and found my paint mare, Charisma. Kate has been absolutely fantastic - sharing her knowledge about breeding and everything that is
I just love his movement!
involved - from getting my mare cycling properly, scanning and inseminating her... all the way to
foaling and looking after a new foal! I feel really
confident that this will be a great experience for me, as I have so many knowledgeable people around me to help me every step of the way! :)
Natasha has been awesome, and I am really
grateful to have this amazing opportunity to breed with such a quality dressage Friesian! I hope you all have another awesome month!
Danielle
The gorgeous Jorrit!!
Ebony Park Friesian Magazine September 2012
My mare Charisma 11
My Lesson on Tambo... The Carrock Tambo at Ebony Park A dream of mine was fulfilled on the 29th of August, 2012. I finally had a ride on a schoolmaster at Ebony Park; The Carrock Tambo is a special horse – doesn’t get too much more educated than Grand Prix level! I had Sarah J with me for emotional support and chief photography, as witness to what was to unfold. Going from my faithful Stormy Rivers (aka Dante), a cute 15yo QHxTB, to a half-Friesian FEI Grand Prix beastie was going to require extra attention to detail and taking in every bit of expertise Loes could throw my way to help me ride him. By way of background, I found my boy at rising 4yo and due to uni, work, family, more uni and then a big move away from the city, we haven’t managed to get out of HRCAV Level 4 as a result, though we always placed in dressage outings. For this reason, when I work him now I sometimes feel like I’m still training a young horse. His movement, bless his cotton socks, will always ultimately be limited by his breeding, and I also believe that I can get some lovely work out of him despite his disadvantaged lineage, if I work at it to compensate for that. Approaching this lesson I had to really think about what I wanted to take back to my boy, and how it should feel when we’re doing it right. Another day, another time I will come back and work on movements I am only still dreaming
about. This day was going to be about more tangible goals to kick. Loes began by asking me about my work with Dante and what I wanted to do with him that she and Tambo could help me with. I explained the above to her and her brain formulated a lesson plan in zero seconds flat. I swear it was that quick! Loes verbally mirrored my ramblings back to me as I mounted and adjusted my stirrups and warmed Tambo up. For a horse who quietly plodded along beside me to the arena, his walk was swinging and active without much driving work from me. It took a few 20m circles for me to find a nice level of contact and I think he was about to give up on me when we hit our stride and he submitted to my hands that were afraid of asking for too much – the last thing I wanted was for an educated horse to roll his eyes at me and wonder how I got through the gates. Loes got me to rotate my pelvis back further than I had really ever done and it felt so much more connected. As she explained, it helped me feel which hind leg was coming up; something I’d never really worked on sensing until then. The other main point worked on in the 20m walk and trot circles was to insist on MY rhythm from us and not settling for Tambo’s decision on what that rhythm should be, and this was done through seat and the timing of my rise in rising trot. Once we got this pattern of cooperative submission
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My Lesson on Tambo... established it was time to transpose that into the trot-canter transition. I can be a bit of a dragon with my transitions on Dante, so I didn’t have to be told twice to pull Tambo back into trot to ask for a more willing canter transition the next time – I DO know what a nice one is supposed to feel like and I tried it again to get it right and, voila! Loes helped me understand that I could ask with my leg for the same rhythm whilst half-halting before the canter aids and if I needed to, to wait an extra stride to make sure I did have his submission in the transition to canter. After a few attempts we got there without him resisting me. Once in canter I played with Tambo’s lengthening and recollection and that was lovely, because of the ground he covers in one stride and the softness of his stride that my choppy little QH takes heaps of work to achieve a fraction of. From here Loes helped me get a leg yield and it was a rocky start with me not asking enough with my outside leg for Tambo to push his quarters over. Once I stopped being afraid of that, and when I steadied my inside contact whilst half-halting for softness I was able to sink into a nice position with shoulders back and pushing with the core strength in my abdomen. When leg yield was consistent we moved on. For the shoulder-in Loes gave me a quick revision on what we were aiming for – hind feet on one track moving straight and front feet on another track moving forward with straightness.
Once I stopped confusing ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ rein (which I thought was a confusion of the distant past!), scaled back to a walk and I set my focus on the corner at the end of the track I had some good results. How refreshing to be able to achieve a shoulder-in with leg, seat and a steady contact, and no whip in sight! I moved up to a trot and repeated on both sides of the arena, and whilst I lost my focus at times I had some gorgeous moments of connection and rhythm. The last movement for the lesson was the walk to canter transition. This is something I managed to teach my own horse. I loved listening to Loes description of what my pelvis is to do in this transition. Prior to this lesson I had worked it to a point where I would ‘think’ canter from walk, and it would happen much more consistently and willingly than our trot to canter transitions and I couldn’t figure out why. Loes explained about lifting my inside hip and ‘popping’ it forward, and this made perfect sense – I do this much more subtly when I think ‘canter’ from a walk, than activate a canter aid from a trot (which just flags another area to work on!). These were the loveliest transitions of the lesson and I was able to maintain a soft contact into the canter most of the time that I asked for the transition. The work for me was in keeping my leg on to ask for impulsion, keep my outside rein steady and half-halt so that we didn’t break into trot. The things I found challenging were getting a soft enough trot for a nice sitting trot, and my
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My Lesson on Tambo... feet kept betraying me. My heel was bunching up, or toes pointing outwards, which, as Loes explained, was unbalancing my top half in those instances and that’s when my shoulders would come forward. Pushing my heels down on every second footfall of the trot in the sit was her advice to me and I will be working on that at home. It didn’t help that, in hindsight (and with the benefit of Sarah’s observations of the same thing), my stirrups were a bit long and it’s a bad habit of mine not to recognise that. In trying to be a ‘proper’ dressage rider I tend to deceive myself into thinking that I can lengthen my leg by riding longer. I just need to accept that I’m a shorter rider and remember to pull up one or two more holes just when I think it’s high enough. It’s that or, next time I have a lesson here I’ll just cross my stirrups over and be really tough on myself! The other take-home lesson that Dante will appreciate is that I didn’t realise how tough I can be with my outside hand and that I need to release a lot sooner than I have been after establishing the contact. During the lesson Loes asked me at regular intervals if I had any questions. I elected not to think of any and to just take her instruction and direction, knowing I’d come up with something to discuss at the end. I didn’t go out of my way to try anything fancy I’d picked up in my travels and I wanted to make an honest and working connection with Tambo using the same sensitivity for his attention to me as I can with my horse on my better riding days. I was aiming for mindfulness with him,
rather than seeing how many of his ‘go’ buttons I could find to bluff my way into a piaffe or one time changes. As much fun as that might have been to try, it wouldn’t have helped me with my horse back home, even if I managed to get anything like that out of Tambo. It sounds age-old, and we concluded with the truism that when all else fails, and even when nothing else is failing, working the basics of rhythm and contact will get me everywhere; it’s all there in ‘the basics’. My lesson on Tambo was a dream come true, as I had told all and sundry that I was going to ride a horse at Ebony Park, come hell or high water. In the end it was a simple Facebook competition to promote the Ebony Park page that got me there – not a hard task at all, being that I have loved the EP ethos (and the horseflesh) since I first became a subscriber a few years ago and I only lived a short drive away. I will book myself in for a lesson again when I’ve done some more work with my fella and need to set my sights higher again for us as a combination. One day I’ll have a Friesian cross - or even a full Friesian - because I still believe it is the breed for me in terms of work ethic and general temperament. Meanwhile, I’ve got a fun and willing horse who has heaps yet to learn and to teach me and after a very constructive and fun lesson with Loes I’ve got some extra tools in my utility belt. Thank you so much, Ebony Park, for a wonderful afternoon and sharing some of your magic with me! I don’t plan for it to be the last time. -- Iznaya Kennedy, winner of the Ebony Park Facebook Competition 2012
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PHOTO GALLERY
Getting ready for a competition in Tatura with Abe
The Team at Natasha’s recent Health & Fitness Workshop which she ran with Personal Trainer Craig Blythman!
Four of the Ebony Park Friesians practicing a quadrille - Allison (from Sable Ranch) and Jorrit, Tash & Abe, Loes & Dante, and Danielle & Zeus
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5 Minutes with Joann Formosa Growing up dreaming about representing Australia on the world stage, Joann Formosa has finally realised her dream over the weekend, winning paralympic gold in dressage over the weekend. Twenty-five years ago, Joann’s body was pulled in opposite directions when she attempted to open a gate while riding a horse at her home in Victoria. She was crushed against the gate, severely damaging her central nervous system that led to incomplete paraplegia. Consequently, her limbs become tired quickly and she has had to learn not to push through the pain barrier. Debuting for Australia at the 2006 World Equestrian Games in England, Joann left the country for her first ever overseas trip. Despite suffering from homesickness, she found that she was quite comfortable competing on any horse, a trait she has carried right through her career. Upon her return from England, however, she suffered another serious horse riding accident when she was forced to jump off her horse after it had bolted, damaging her leg. Not to be deterred though, Joann has continued to press ahead towards the Paralympic Games. She was the 2011 National Champion in her grade and won gold in the freestyle test and individual test at the 2011 Oceania Championships in Werribee, Victoria. The 51-year-old Victorian, who also has severe allergies that flare up around the likes of horse feed, chemicals and hay, said it was riding that gave her a purpose in life. ''That burning desire is always there that's what keeps me going,'' Formosa said. ''It wouldn't matter what it takes, I'd get on regardless. I don't think I could live without being able to ride my horse. That's what keeps me going knowing that I can still do it regardless.'' Team coach Julia Battams said Formosa, who will also compete in the freestyle-to-music routine, was proof that accidents did not prevent people from doing their passion in life. ''It's her absolute life,'' Battams said. ''This is what she does. It actually keeps her going. If it wasn't for riding, she would be a very, very unwell, very sick person. The riding keeps her active, keeps her mobile and gives her a direction, and gives her something to work towards.'' Formosa teamed with her horse Worldwide PB about eight months ago and formed an instant partnership that has led to strong form this year. ''We've got a really close bond,'' Formosa said. Horse riding is a large part of her life, it is what keeps her going, and it is what brought her a Paralympic para-equestrian gold medal on Saturday when she beat 11-time champion Lee Pearson to win the grade 1b individual championship in London.
Facts
Until Saturday, Pearson had won three golds, that is every event, from each Games since Sydney. But his reign was finally ended with Formosa scoring 75.826 per cent, eclipsing her idol's 75.391 and giving Australia its first equestrian gold - in both the Olympic and Paralympic arena - since 2000.
Disability: Spinal cord and
Joann is interested in anything related to animals and likes to help out wherever possible at local pony clubs. She happily volunteers much of her time at local schools, believing giving back to the community is the right thing to do. Stemming from her time spent at university studying art, Joann is a talented artist and draws whenever her hands are working properly. She also has a keen interest in carpentry and enjoys building things around the home.
Home: Broadford, VIC
nerve damage DOB: 19/02/1961 First Competed for Australia: 2006 Coach: Manuela McLean
Source: The Brisbane Times, APC corporate (www.paralympic.org.au)
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Ebony Park Jor"t Jorrit is an exceptional dressage stallion that made it through to the very prestigious 70 day performance test for approved stallions. In the performance test in Holland, Jorrit was within days of being approved as a stallion but a muscle strain hindered his movement and was unfortunately eliminated late in the test. He was also awarded a breeding permit from the KFPS when they came out for the 2009 Keuring. This is only awarded to very select Friesian stallions who possess the desired characteristics of the breed. There are only a few Friesian stallions in Australia that hold a current KFPS permit, and Ebony Park is very proud to offer Ebony Park Jorrit to the discerning Friesian breeder. This permit is limited to only 20 mares so please Born 12/05/2003, 16.2hh, Jet Black book quickly and as early as possible to avoid imported Friesian ster stallion disappointment! By the Grand Prix Dutch Approved Dressage Friesian Jasper 366 Scored 82% for the IBOP (2009 Keuring) Foalbook ster stallion with a Current KFPS Breeding Permit for 2011-2012 Registration Number: 5280 0420 0305 315
Photo by Nadeen Davis Click here for video of Jorrit!
Ebony Park Friesian Magazine September 2012 Click here to visit Jorrit’s page on18our website
Ebony Park Elko
Unfortunately, due to a paddock injury to his knee, Elko is no longer able to be ridden, and has been retired from the competition arena. Ebony Park is extremely disappointed and upset by this incident, however we are very happy that he is still able to be bred, and has still retained his breeding permit (not something to be taken lightly, as the KFPS are very strict about awarding breeding permits!). When Elko was able to be ridden he was destined to be Natasha’s Olympic Grand Prix horse. He had everything! Three amazing paces, the desire and trainable temperament, and was quick to learn and improve. In his short career he scored up to 72% in preliminary and gained 44 grading points qualifying him for the 2006 Australian Dressage Championships in Novice in only 2 months of competition.
Born 21/04/2001, 17.1hh, jet black imported Friesian ster stallion By the Champion Approved licensed Dutch Friesian Stallion Teunis 332 Foalbook ster stallion with a Current KFPS Breeding Permit for 2011-2012 Registration Number: 5280 0420 0120 011
Click here for video of Elko!
Click here to visit Elko’s page on our Ebony Park Friesian Magazine September 2012 19 website
Ebony Park Abe
Abe has had consistent results of over 62% at the Inter I level, and currently competing and winning at the Grand Prix level in 2012 with scores over 60%, improving with each competition! Early in his career Abe was the horse to beat in Novice bringing home 3 Novice Championships with scores up to 71%. He also took home an Advanced Championship in 2008 and competed and qualified for the prestigious Dressage with the stars in the PSG and Inter I Kur in March 2010.
Abe is now establishing himself in Grand Prix and he hasn’t disappointed. His piaffe/passage is amazing and we are now waiting for him to develop the strength to catch up. This horse is destined for a legendary Grand Prix career. Ebony Park Abe is an exceptional stallion to ride. He is powerful and responsive and carries you through any situation with pride and attitude.
Born 29/03/2000, 16.2hh, jet black imported Friesian ster stallion.
To ride him is pure joy! He is solid, strong and powerful! First Friesian stallion in Australasia to Abe takes you into a test almost like a war horse taking compete and win at Grand Prix level in you into battle. He is proud, noble and loves to show off dressage. and be the centre of attention. Abe has been awarded the sports predicate from the KFPS. He is the first stallion in Australia to achieve the award due to his outstanding results in the dressage arena. By the Champion Approved licensed Dutch Friesian Stallion Anne 340 Registration Number: 5280 0420 0010
Click here for video of Abe!
Click here to visit Abe’s Ebony Park Friesian Magazine September 2012 20 page on our website
Zeus of Ebony Park Zeus is Elko’s first son that we have bred, and we have eagerly been waiting the years until he was old enough to work. At 4 1/2 he is already competing in Novice level dressage, with scores over 68%! Zeus is a delight to work with, having an exceptional canter just like his father, and a swinging, easy trot. He is still taking time to mature with some growing to do, but in another year we are so excited to see where this boy is at! He has inherited the beautiful, willing Friesian temperament from both sire and dam. This will be Zeus’s second season standing at stud, with his first babies due later in the year, and a wonderful opportunity for people to get access to Elko’s bloodlines!
Born 22/11/2007, 16hh, jet black Friesian BBook1 stallion. By our imported Friesian stallion (who has a breeding permit) Elko van der Woalderhoeve Registration Number: AU0360 0420 0706 076
Click here to visit Zeus’ page on our Ebony Park Friesian Magazine September 2012 website
Click here for video of Zeus! 21
DREAM HORSES AVAILABLE!
If you are looking for your Dream Friesian, click here NOW for more information!
Does anyone have photos of Ebony Park horses or your other horses that they would like to share with us? We would love to put them up on our website! :)
If you are interested in any of our young stock, or if you have anything you would like to share with us, please email us on Ebony Park does not assume any info@ebonyparkstud.com.au or visit responsibility or liability for any loss or www.ebonyparkstud.com.au damage which may result from any or call Kate on 0422 227 364 inaccuracy or omissions in this magazine, As always we would like to thank our sponsors:
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CONTACT US
If you would like to have a chat with us dial 03 9796 8690 or 0422 227 364. Ebony Park is located in Narre Warren in Victoria, one hour's drive from the Melbourne Airport. If you share the love of the Friesian horse and would like to see the stallions or the youngstock, please contact us and make an appointment. We can also assist you with locating your new Friesian.
Visit Us: 611 Belgrave-Hallam Road, Narre Warren East VIC 3804 Website: www.ebonyparkstud.com.au Email: info@ebonyparkstud.com.au
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