Building a Dream

PART 3

BUILDING A DREAM

LIFE AFTER THE AUCTION

The Team at Callaho are more than just breeders and producers of sporthorses. They are a family, and for them, the real reward lies not in the selling of the horse on the Auction but in seeing the value that their horses bring to the lives of their new owners. This sense of purpose and community extends throughout everything Callaho Stud has done over its 23 year history and continues to do today.

Over the past two parts of our Building A Dream series with Callaho we have seen just how much Callaho invest in each part of the process. From the breeding and foaling down of the mares, to the handling of the foals, the backing process and the preparation for Auction, no part of a Callaho horse’s journey is left to chance.

In this final part of our Building A Dream series, we move beyond the Auction to look at the journey Callaho takes with each of the families and riders who own these special horses. In this edition, we speak to three riders who have produced Callaho horses from Auction to the top of the showjumping sport. Zdenek Muchna, Tamara Rueda and Martyn Swanepoel and their respective Callaho partners Callaho Le Padre (2014 Auction), Callaho Liantos (2016 Auction) and Callaho Falvio (2017 Auction) are all evidence of the Stud’s talent for not only breeding exceptional sporthorses but also providing continued support and encouragement to each and every buyer. HQ caught up with these three riders to hear more about their journey with their Callaho partners since the Auction.

ZDENEK MUCHNA – CALLAHO LE PADRE

Lissabon/ Padinus/ Calato by Capitol I – 2014 Auction

What led you to purchase Callaho Le Padre from the Auction? At the time, Ronelle Gilbert, an owner I ride for, was keen on buying a young horse and walking the production road with them, so we went to the tryouts, and I rode 12 of the horses on offer. I didn’t try Callaho Le Padre, but Carl Boonzaaier was riding him, and Ronelle really liked him. My concern was that I thought he was too flashy and would be outside our budget. Luckily, we were still able to get him.

Can you tell us a bit about Le Padre? Le Padre is such an intelligent and sensitive horse. He’s lovely to ride on the flat, and when it comes to getting over the fence, he always pricks his ears and locks on. He’s keen to do his job, and you can’t fault his technique when doing it. He jumps with textbook front-end action, and he finishes a jump perfectly behind. He’s very photogenic. If you look through his pictures, you’ll see he always looks good over a fence. He’s been like that since day one, and he’s taken very little training in terms of jumping technique.

In terms of his personality, he’s a spunky horse who loves a buck and a play. Yet, in reality he’s still an absolute sweetheart. He’s lovely to handle, and the grooms always enjoy him; he’s a very polite horse to work with. Everyone at Manor D’Or always teases that he’s the poster boy because he’s such a gentleman to be around, and I’m sure that has a lot to do with how he was handled at Callaho.

Please describe your journey with Le Padre since the Auction. How did you produce him to where he is now? We gave him a bit of a breather after the Auction and started him slowly. From then, his production process went very smoothly. We spent time getting him used to different arenas and equipment. He went to his first little training show at Burlington in the 70cm. He never touched a pole and just cantered around in his usual playful way.

Since then, we’ve climbed the grades, and he’s always been a clear round jumper, not the fastest horse, but consistently clear. Unfortunately, about three years after the Auction, he had a health scare, necessitating a year off while we monitored him. In the end, this turned out to be a good thing for him as he had some time to grow up and grow into his body. After that, he came back even better.

I’ve always been a bit nervous about going up the grades with him as he jumps the jumps perfectly but never clears by miles. My concerns were completely unfounded, though, as he’s stepped up easily each time. His technique is really his best asset, and it just makes it all so easy for him. We’re currently in the 1.45m classes, and whilst we’ve had time faults, he’s been clear.

Ian Callender-Easby has always had a soft spot for Le Padre’s dam (the Padinus mare), and he’s followed our journey closely. So far, he’s impressed all of us with results and where he’s got to.

What are your goals with Le Padre? My goal with him this year was always to keep him in the 1.40m and 1.45m. If he’s happy to make the step up to the 1.50m, then we’ll do it, but as I say, he’s gone up the grades easily every single time, so I don’t anticipate a problem. He really impresses me.

What are your views on the Callaho production process and the horse currently in the sport? I think Callaho is forever adapting their approach to the younger horses, and they have a very holistic approach to how they train the horses and what they expose them to. You only have to look at the number of Callaho horses in every class, especially the open classes to know that the process is successful. And more to the point, if you look at the number of Callaho horses in the prize-givings, you can see that the horses hold their own and are really successful.

75% of the buyers on the last Callaho Auction acquired the horse without even trying them. Does this surprise you, considering you also didn’t try Le Padre? It doesn’t surprise me. The videos give you a true reflection of what the horses can do. People watch the videos and read the comments and if the vettings are sufficient, they can feel pretty confident in going ahead and buying the horses from Callaho. Plus, the relationships Callaho has with the trainers mean that clients can be guided by their coaches, the professionals, who know their riding best. The trainers are really invested at Callaho, and Callaho involves them in the process – that is also a great aspect.

TAMARA RUEDA – CALLAHO LIANTOS

Lissabon/ Heartbreaker/ C-Indoctro – 2016 Auction

What led you to purchase Callaho Liantos from the Auction? At the time, I had a few going horses, and I was really keen to buy a young horse that I could produce from a young age. An obvious choice was a Callaho, as we’d always loved the horses that we’d seen from them in the past. My mom and I went to the Auction; it was the first Auction we had been to, and we were lucky enough to find Callaho Liantos.

Did you try Liantos before buying him? I hadn’t been to the tryouts, and originally when we went to the Auction, I was keen on buying another horse. Unfortunately, we couldn’t buy her, so we looked at the catalogue in detail and bought Liantos as a bit of an impulse buy, to be honest. It was the best buy I could ever have made – he’s the best thing that ever happened to me.

75% of the buyers on the last Callaho Auction acquired the horse without even trying them. Does this surprise you? No, it’s very interesting to me as I think that even though it is very valuable to sit on the young horses, Callaho have set up a great process in that the videos show every aspect of the horses – the trot, the canter and the jump – and the write-ups are very accurate. I’ve bought a few horses from the Callaho Auction and have compared their write-ups to the horse I’ve received, and they are excellent representations. This is because so many professionals have input into the writeups and ratings of the youngsters, so you can trust the process and trust what you are reading.

Tell us a little about his character. Liantos is the horse of my dreams. Since the day I bought him, he’s only ever exceeded my expectations, and honestly, I think that he’s the best horse that I own. He’s as good as any other horse that I could have purchased overseas or really anywhere in the world. I believe he’s competitive, and he’s got all the qualities that make a wonderful sporthorse. He’s a super-intelligent, athletic, sensitive and modern horse. He’s perfect!

Please describe your journey with Liantos since the Auction. How did you produce him to where he is now? Callaho laid an incredible foundation with Liantos in that he was ready to go as a four or five-year-old when we bought him. He was developed and balanced, and all his foundation, flatwork and basics were there; from then on, it was jsut a case of building on these.

The production on my side was tricky but exciting. When we bought him, the catalogue said that he needed a skilled or professional rider (which he did!), and I wasn’t quite there at the time, but luckily it all worked out with a lot of perseverence.

The biggest challenge was that Liantos is intelligent and a fast learner (a bit too intelligent at times), as well as very sharp and sensitive, so he was always one step ahead of me in the beginning. As a young horse, he was very naughty and liked to get me off regularly, maybe once or twice a week, but luckily it seems to happen less nowadays.

In terms of his physical attributes, he’s always been careful and athletic. He’s always found things easy in his body, and everything I’ve done with him from being a young horse, he’s taken in his stride. The hardest thing to manage with Liantos is his brain, so we usually keep things interesting and change up his work quite a lot; we hack him a lot just so that he doesn’t get bored. The minute he gets bored is when he gets clever, so we just try and keep it interesting.

He possesses the same qualities he had when we first bought him. His sensitivity has stayed the same, and obviously, his athleticism, balance and intelligence have stayed with him throughout our journey. Having said that, he has matured a lot, and in the ring, he really knows his job. He loves to win! He’s always been a fighter and super brave, and in fact, what we liked about him at the Auction is that he seemed brave and super balanced.

What do you think of the Callaho horses currently on the circuit? The thing that is most common with the Callaho young horses is that they are all very rideable, and they always want to do the job and take you to the jump. If we look at the sport now and where it’s going, this rideability is key, and Callaho produce very modern, athletic and rideable horses. In the 1.50m classes today Callaho horses make up a large section of the field, and in the young rider classes, the classes are usually made up of 50% Callaho horses. In every grade, we see that they are competitive and usually in the places.

I’ve also seen many young horses being placed with professionals recently which is very exciting, as this gives them the best chance of getting to the very top. We have many limitations in South Africa, especially in terms of importing horses and our exchange rate, so for Callaho to be producing top sporthorses that we can buy at affordable and fair prices is very exciting for the future of our sport and allows us to strive for international levels.

MARTYN SWANEPOEL - CALLAHO FALVIO

For Joy/ Silvio I/ Cassini I – 2017 Auction

What stood out about Callaho Falvio that led to you purchasing him from the Auction? I have always been a big fan of Callaho horses. I love the thought they put in with regards to breeding, and the process and production of the young horses there make for an easy transition into the sport. I went and tried Falvio at the Stud and liked him lots. I knew straight away that he was a horse for me. I was thrilled when he arrived home.

75% of the buyers on the last Callaho Auction acquired the horse without even trying them. What do you think of this? You obviously found your tryout with Falvio valuable? With all the information Callaho supplies you with, coupled with the breeding strategy (and your knowledge thereof), you don’t necessarily have to try the horses. There are so many ‘siblings” in the sport now that it is easy to spot the damlines and progeny of the stallions that appeal to you. That being said, I always like to go and try the horses to help me make a final decision on a favourite! I now have three Callaho horses in my string, and I’ve tried every one of them.

How did you find Falvio when he came off the Stud Farm? I love the info they give in the Callaho Catalogue as it paints a very realistic picture of what you are buying. The horse that was delivered to me was exactly as they had described him!

Tell us about your production journey to date. I had originally bought Falvio for my wife to ride. She rode him for a bit but found him too ‘blood’ for her liking. I then started riding him and loved him, just as I had at tryouts. He was a natural athlete and competitor from day one, and he often gets placed just because he is careful, naturally covers ground well and is very conservative in the time he spends in the air. He has been a pleasure to produce. I bought him off the 2017 Auction, and we jumped our first 1.50m class this year, five years after coming off the farm.