The Horse of A Lifetime

A One Of A Kind, Once In A Lifetime Horse

I Remember the first time I sat on "Waldaire".  It was in Warrenton, Virginia at Katherine Dauphin's Farm. She was his Breeder & Owner at the time. His scopey walk, swinging trot & light-rhythmic canter were a joy to ride. His manners & willingness to work were exceptional. As we started to work together, I soon realized that he was a fast learner & really aimed to please.

We worked our way together up The Levels in Dressage to the Intermediate I, winning dozens of National & Regional Awards, along with breeding some lovely Mares & watching the foals grow & mature.



Waldaire was schooling & training all of the Grand Prix movements when Ellie Rawle purchased him from me for a Breeding Stallion for her Watermark Farm. Ellie finished his training under the guidance of her Mother Anne Rawle, & got him into the Grand Prix ring very successfully & I was thrilled !!  






I was able to visit Waldaire each year as I attended The Dressage at Devon Show. I got to ride him & check out several of his foals & it made me so happy that a tear would come to my eye. The Rawle's & I would walk the farm together, looking at the Mares & Foals, the Yearlings, & then the Two Year Olds.  Later Ellie would sit on a few of the 3 & 4 Year Olds & tell me of some of the other youngsters they had bred.




One of the most exciting days was when I got to ride "Wizard", Wally's Approved Son. He is truly a clone of Waldaire. His mind, gaits, talents & color are a true match !!  What a thrill !!  We will all look forward to watching him carry on the Legacy of his Father.


I want to thank the Rawle Family for giving Waldaire the most amazing 2nd half of his life at Watermark Farm. A beautiful 100 acre working, breeding & training farm southwest of Philly. The Rawle's treated him like a king.

                                                                                    







                                                                Forever in my heart,

                                                                             Dana Fiore



                           

Late in the fall of 2003 I was perusing the Dressage Daily website and happened across the advertisement for Waldaire in the Horse Market section. His show record was impeccable and his fabulous bloodlines were of even greater interest to me. After conferring with my mother and father, Anne and Bill Rawle, we made inquiries to Dana. As we have had family in the Wellington area arrangements were made for me to fly down and see him in person shortly thereafter.

Our first canter in Wellington

When I rode him the very first time, I was honestly SOLD in 2 strides that I had to have this fabulous horse. The power, the obedience, the cadence and the self carriage...it was what I had been seeking as a rider since my days as a Young Rider. He was perfect. Getting a line of one tempis that he willingly continued around the short end of the arena with perfect balance and rhythm didn't detract with my desire to have such a fabulous horse, either! It was a bonus that he was a licensed breeding stallion who stamped his offspring and, well, it was a case of Must. Have. This. Horse. :)

Our first Grand Prix test

So I'll fast forward a bit and say that shortly after going to visit Wally in Wellington we were allowed us to purchase him! The day he left Wellington it was in the mid 80's. The day he arrived here at Watermark Farm there was a high of 20*. And thus began Wally's new adventures in Pennsylvania! We spent some time getting to know one another and began to show Grand Prix.

 He won several more Year End Awards and was the consummate show horse - ever aware of an audience and how important he was but always focused on his work! In the fall of 2006 we made the decision to retire him from competition as it was time to shift our focus to his offspring. Wally did not relish having a less active career - he would bang on his door for attention if he was not the first horse to be worked each day! From the moment he set a hoof on our property he was truly a King in his Castle!

Every autumn that Dana was in the area we would have a wonderful visit and the opportunity to share Wally's wonderful offspring with her.

When Waldaire and I travelled to the Florida Horse Park in Ocala, she came upstate and showed her new horse Redford at the same time. It was a really fun opportunity to have a small reunion in a wonderful facility! But there was no greater thrill than to have her ride Wizard. Since the first moment, I had to fight the same tears she had in her eyes as she "knew" exactly how much he is like his father...my heart sang with joy to be able to share him with her that day.




It has been an honor to have Waldaire in our lives. My heartfelt gratitude goes out to Dana and my parents for allowing him to be a part of my life.

Rest in peace Wally. I will miss you forever. 

Thank you. ~Ellie

 Waldaire

March 1, 1989 - December 16, 2012

Demystifying Lateral Work Clinic Times - POSTPONED to 1/6/13

TIMES:

Demo begins promptly at 10 AM

10:30 Anecia & Theo
11:15 Jill & Atreo
12 noon Karyn & Tasker
12:45 Pat & Beau
1:30 Janet & Ziggy
2:15 Fiona & Savannah
3PM Lauren & Rochelle

Due to the heaps of rain we have gotten, trailer parking will be on the roadside (west edge) as it is no fun to pull trailers in what was once grass. We encourage some overlap of riders during their warm up/cool down time, so the lessons are set at 45 minute intervals but feel free to enter the ring 5-10 minutes ahead of your time slot and linger after you have finished.

We will have some hot refreshments - hot chocolate and coffee as well as some extra blankets (coolers) to help keep our auditors from freezing to death. Bundle up and we look forward to seeing you all on Sunday!

Due to the shift in weather, this clinic is postponed until next Sunday 1/6/13. The Flying Change Seminar will be bumped to the 13th. Snow dates will be the week following until this clinic series wraps!

As the year winds to a close, we will look back at our friends who have crossed the Rainbow Bridge Part 2

Alexis WF

There is never enough time with the young and talented horses in our lives it seems. Alexis passed away a few months ago and we just have not had the heart to talk about her leaving us at such a young age. Apologies to those who had been following her career for not keeping you all in the loop.

RIP Lexy.

2004-2012

As the year winds to a close, we will look back at our friends who have crossed the Rainbow Bridge

2012 has been a tough and wonderful year all rolled together and the next few blog posts will reminisce about those who have passed on in the year...

*sigh*

Double Bounce aka Bounceybounce, Ounce of Bounce, Bounceditty, Beatley Bee and just plain sweet Bounce.


Show jumping, foxhunting, eventing, dressage schoolmaster...nothing was too taxing and while Bounce had opinions, she tried her heart out when push came to shove. She taught many riders what a real flying change felt like along with proper lateral work and increasingly difficult dressage exercises during her days as a riding horse. She was one of the most sure footed horses who was a grand fox hunting mount - never batting an eyelash at the most trappy of obstacles, albeit she was not a huge fan of cows!

Bounce and Dice out Foxhunting on Children's Day

Bounce was a grand mare who enjoyed her last few years of retirement babysitting the weanlings and bossing the field with her aging friends. Her distinctive whinny was clear as a bell and heard round the entire farm often over the years. We will miss her beautiful face and charming personality but are well aware that she is more comfortable now. Rest in peace sweet mare.

1987-2012

Clinic Reminder! FB continues to grow! 2012 Breeding stats

A few updates for the Farm News...

Our FB audience continues to grow. We zipped right past 15,000 Likes last week and are enjoying interacting with our new fans around the globe. If you haven't been past our Page, pop on over and check out what's happening over there!

We had a good turnout for our first Winter Series Clinic on Sunday with super rides, nice horses and excellent auditors. This coming Sunday's clinic should be equally interesting and if you are debating riding - please email Ellie@watermark-farm.net ASAP to reserve your time as we are nearly full. And a quick reminder for our Auditors - it is COLD - please bundle up!!!! Brrrrrr!

On the statistics front - as we all know statistics can be manipulated to reflect the information that is desired, but...the German FN (national federation) has a mathematical formula for ranking breeding stallions. Dressage Royal is in the 90-99% Security of Breeding Value group with a 143 valuation. Congratulations DR!

Happy Riding!

BIG breeding news!!!

Dressage Royal

UNO Don Diego

Dressage Royal's licensed son UNO Don Diego (out of a Falkland x Tanneberg mare) is coming to the USA!! He will be standing at Iron Spring Farm and competing for their stable!

UNO Don Diego

Eurodressage has a nice write up of what Don Diego has done so far in competition and reports that he is trained through Grand Prix! What a feather for Dressage Royal's cap! Another son out competing at such a high level!!!



The traditional breeding phrase of "if you like the son, breed to the father" is very important in this case - as Dressage Royal has produced a high percentage of FEI level offspring from very small foal crops! We have a good supply of proven Frozen Semen in Chesapeake City, MD at Select Breeders ready to ship! Contact us to arrange for your shipment and breed your next champion!

Clinic Times for Sunday!

First Demo Horse will start at 10:30 AM on Sunday December 23rd. We realize this clinic is very close to Christmas Day and will berepeating this series in February. Nonetheless, there is a great deal of information to share, so we would love to have a headcount for the Auditors. Please email Ellie and let her know that you are attending as an auditor so that we have enough handouts for everyone.


TIMES: 
10:30 AM Discussion and Demostration 

11:15 AM Jill


12:15 Lauren

1:15 Pat

2:15 Q&A Discussion

10% Inventory Clearance on Tack!

We're in the midst of reorganizing the tackroom for winter! Take advantage and save $$$$! Multiple piece discounts also available!

 List of available saddles and links to photos -

Brown 17.5 Dressage - https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150359905940239.398518.160425195238&type=3

Black Frank Baines 17.5 Dressage - https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151000349700239.476736.160425195238&type=3

Black 17.5 Dressage - https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151000337195239.476735.160425195238&type=3

Brown 18” Dressage - https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151125300025239.490311.160425195238&type=3

Other Tack - https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150942618780239.471115.160425195238&type=3

Black 18” Dressage - https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150359933060239.398529.160425195238&type=3

Black 17” Dressage - https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150359912885239.398521.160425195238&type=3

Black 18” Classic Dressage - https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150359902375239.398517.160425195238&type=3

 There are some other pieces available - new with tags Keiffer short 28" black neoprene girth, a KK curb and various other items.

Mountain Horse Winter riding boots (worn a handful of times), size 9, wide calf. (email for photos)

Some other items still to be photographed and added, so check back in a few days!

Three Part Winter Clinic Series is About to Start!!

Part I: Riding Fundamentals Sunday December 23rd

The focus of this clinic is to address the body language to facilitate better equitation, body control and more effective communication between horse and rider. Basic lateral work, rein back, suppling and gymnastic exercises will also be included. More advanced movements and techniques will be added for the more advanced students and horses as their proficiency and confidence allows.

The clinics that follow in the coming weeks will have the same rudimentary start for beginners but at the same time move participants towards a greater understanding of more complex exercises and technique. The Clinic Series culminates with Part 3 on January 6th with a seminar and clinic on Teaching The Flying Change.

Part II: Demystifying Lateral Work Sunday December 30th

The focus of this clinic is improve the execution, precision and quality of your lateral work. Basic lateral work, suppling and gymnastic exercises will be included. More advanced exercises and techniques will be added for the more advanced students and horses as their proficiency and confidence allows.

This Clinic is the middle session of our 3 part series with culminates with a Seminar and Clinic on Teaching the Flying Change on January 6th.

Part III: Flying Change Seminar Sunday January 6th

First Demo Horse will start at 10AM. 

The focus of this clinic is to discuss the techniques and execution of the Flying Change. A 'how-to' session will be included at the start of the day with lecture being given by Anne. Basic lateral work, suppling and gymnastic exercises will be included as part of the discussion. Various methods will be discussed and shown throughout the day.

This clinic is the culmination of the weeks leading up to this session, so it may behoove participants to sign up for the prior sessions. More advanced exercises and techniques will be added for the more advanced students and horses as their proficiency and confidence allows.

If demand warrants, we will repeat this schedule again in February 2013 to allow for additional participants and the sharing of knowledge before the start of the show season. These clinics build on the techniques discussed in the previous week's session, so it may be of value to attend all three. 

Any questions? - email Anne@watermark-farm.net or to sign up Ellie@watermark-farm.net