Search This Blog

Monday, January 30, 2012

Wall Street WF Undersaddle Video Added!



A snippet of this morning's work! More to follow later this week and some undersaddle photos too!

Hansel is by Waldaire out of Wallstreet Rose (Wallstreet Kid - Flaming Rock xx - Sunny North xx) and for sale to an approved home. Please contact Anne@watermark-farm.net for more information and pricing.

And for the record - iPhone photos and videos do not compare to what good cameras produce...just sayin'! :)



5400 Fans for the Farm Page!

Wow! It is a bit mind boggling when you think about how many supporters we have all over the globe. Five thousand, four hundred different people LIKE our page, our program and our horses! Just WOW. Facebook is an amazing community and we appreciate having people know the name Watermark Farm all around the world!


Thank you to all our fans for the support, LIKES, comments and feedback. We appreciate all of you taking the time to click a button when you are pleased by an image or comment - it means a lot to us all.

We are working on a prize for our 5500th fan and are very open to suggestions. So if you have an idea of a cool prize - please share it!!

Saturday, January 28, 2012

New videos will be coming soon!

I promise to put up some new video of Wyatt WF this week.

He is going very, very well undersaddle and becoming even more impressive with every ride - all good things when he was well above average to start with, right?

But as a teaser - settle your mind back for a second, picture a very peachy orange chestnut and then a very impressive collected trot in the exact same rhythm as chorus in this song



Who would have thought that the ever so impressive genetics of Weltmeyer would be a match for Toby Keith???? Ah well, live, learn and laugh! :)

So as promised, new video will be up for all to see in a few days...

Friday, January 27, 2012

Attention Mare Owners with mares due in 2012!!!

This is a big shout out to all our mare owners with foals due by our stallions in the coming months! :)


As we have no foals of our own coming this year, we would love to brag about the girls that are in foal and then share them with the world! We will be adding them to the Blog, Farm Page on Facebook and then the respective stallion's Offspring Page on our website. So what we would ask of you is the following:

Please send us a copy (or the link) of her pedigree.
A photograph and the appropriate photo credit.
And her due date.


If you would like the foal to be listed as being for sale, we will happily place a Contact Owner button nearby, so that interested parties can deal directly with you!

And if you have not already done so, please send your farm website link to Ellie@watermark-farm.net and she will update our Links Page over the weekend.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

5300 Fans for the Farm Page!

Our Fan base is very much international and that is a really cool thing to think about! Having people know the name 'Watermark Farm' all over the world...just awesome! :)


Someday perhaps we will be able to be proud of our horses in their new homes in all parts of the world! We love having them here in the US and Canada to check on their show success and see them from time to time, but it would be pretty neat to have them off on adventures in far flung locations!


But in the meantime, we will keep training the ones that are here on the farm, reporting back to our followers and fans while keeping things informative and interesting for one and all!





Sincere thank you's go out to all of those who comment, LIKE and add our Page. We truly appreciate the support and feedback - where ever it may come from!

Best wishes to all and THANK YOU!!

Monday, January 23, 2012

Featured Horse ***Wilona WF***




From the beginning Wilona has delighted us with sensible nature and free shoulder. She is a barn favorite to work around and ride each day. While she is not the tallest of our riding horses, she covers plenty of ground and is an efficient in her way of going. She is the best of her dam As You Wish WF combined with all the great qualities that make Waldaire's offspring so special.



We see quite a bit of Wilona's TB ancestors in her - Neckar (who she is linebred to), Waidmannsdank, Volkorn and his son Volturno (Wilona's great grandsire).





















This video is of Wilona as a coming three year old.
And this is from June 2011 with Ryan Wood riding -


And this is a hunter round with a petite young woman riding from September 2011 -


and then a bit of loose schooling from last week -




As you all can see, Lona has a very fancy way of going and is careful over fences. She is extremely grounded and calm to work around...just a sensible and very sweet girl.

She is for sale to an approved home. Please contact Anne@watermark-farm.net for more information.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Happy Customer Feedback!

Just what every business likes - Happy Customers!


"Recently, I had the opportunity to send my beautiful horse to Anne, Bill and Ellie Rawle at Watermark Farm for winter camp. Adelaide WF, my gorgeous 7 year old AWR mare, is out of one of their flagship breeding stallions Adamant. Bought as a 4 year old, she is a joy to work with every day. Her level head, excellent ground manners, self assured work ethic and eye catching looks make her a barn favorite wherever we go. This year, my busy holiday schedule gave Addie an inconsistent work schedule and sporatic days off. We lost our training groove and seemed to become stagnant with our workload.

In steps Watermark Farm. Since purchasing Adelaide in 2008, Anne, Bill and Ellie have been a huge support resource. Addie and I are treated as family. Anne, Ellie and Bill are always a phone call, text or FaceBook chat away. Anne, Bill and Ellie know their Adamant offspring like the back of their hand. No question is too big or too small. They celebrate our accomplishments and walk me through our frustrations. Addie and I trailer in for occasional lessons to keep up our training program. Therefore, when I considered sending Addie to a winter camp to kickstart our show season, there was no other logical choice but Watermark Farm.

The next 10 days were as follows: Addie was assessed of her condition (healthy, happy, exuberant and underworked). I was kept in the loop via daily phone calls and texts (while I was vacationing in Florida’s West Coast). Our favorite hands on therapist Hoppy Stearns was called out for some chiropractic adjustments. After that, Addie was worked according to what Addie NEEDED. I mention this because some riders want a horse to do what the rider thinks they need to do based on what level they are currently working on. This is not always what is best for the horse. Addie was given a workload based on what was in her best interest. For her, it was going forward, going straight, open her shoulder and back exercises to keep her back up and engaged so her hind end moves freely. Each day, I got a phone call or text along with pictures of her progress. Lunging, side reins, riding, cavalettis and riding aid techniques were employed each day. At the end of the camp, Anne and Ellie trailered her to my barn where they were having a schooling show. Ellie rode a beautiful First Level Test 1 that showed off Addie’s wonderful progress and attributes.

For my first ride since Addie’s winter camp, I hopped on and had a most amazing ride. Everything that I was struggling to accomplish on my own magically happened. She was soft, forward, comfortable and we were able to pick up where we left off before the crazy holiday season. We had a blast!!! We have exercises and suggestions to follow to continue on this successful path. Addie and I are looking forward to 2012!!!! Bring on the shows!

In summary, the Rawles love their horses. They are knowledgable, helpful, kind and encouraging. Adelaide and I are proud to be part of the Watermark Farm family. Thank you Anne, Bill and Ellie for taking care of my girl!!! xxoo ~KSR"


It goes without saying that we are always thrilled to have happy customers. Beyond that, we particularly enjoy having a customer who enjoys having success with their horse! The shared happiness brightens everyone's day and puts a smile on our faces.

If you have a horse from our program, we'd love to hear what you are up to and your plans for 2012!

Happy riding!

Friday, January 20, 2012

Some changes for the website are finally up!

I know, I know. I've been promising to get these pages up and going for ages. So without further ado, check out an option for performance breeders!





In a nutshell, these opportunities will allow other breeders to gain access to our carefully selected genetics without having to take on the full possession of the mare! Equine Reproductive Services has long since handled the breeding of our mares with great success! Embryo transfers are becoming more and more commonplace these days and we rely on the experienced team of professionals at Select Breeders Service to facilitate the egg retrieval. After the successful recovery of an embryo, there are several options for breeders - cryopreservation and shipment to the recipient herd of your choice or implanting in your own host mare! Technology is amazing!

So if you are considering breeding your future champion, please peruse your donor mare options!

Monday, January 16, 2012

Supporters are what make it all worthwhile!


So our fan count on the Farm Page on FB is up to 5200!!

Thank you all so much for all the 'Likes' and comments about our horses! It has been very fun to share them with our new friends from all over the globe!










On a slightly different note, we had a bit of fun on Saturday and took Wyatt and Atreo over to Springdale Farm in Chadds Ford for their schooling show! Thank you to all the folks at SMF for allowing us to invade your lovely facility!!! And if you are looking for a super nice indoor with great footing and friendly faces - this is the place to go! They are having another combined test on the 4th of February, so hopefully we shall see more of our friends there! And as a side note - Wyatt doesn't mind tinsel! :) He did a somewhat expressive 2nd 2 in the small arena (it fits just fine BTW) and schooled some of the 4th level movements both before and after. Mom and Atreo did just fine in their first 'show' environment! I showed Karin's lovely Adelaide (by Adamant) in the 1st 1 and she was a very good girl! She reminds me of her sire so strongly - always aiming to please her rider and checking in to see if she did the right thing 'good enough'? Love the user friendly types! And if anyone is thinking that they don't want to jump - join me on the 'Dressage Only' side! :-D


So I think that's everything for this bright and chilly Monday morning! Stay warm, stay focused and enjoy your horses! Happy riding!

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Congratulations Avebury WF!!!!






First, we will start with the ones who make it all possible! Heartfelt thank you's go out to the team at Phillip Dutton's farms who spent their time and energy preparing (cleaning) our stallion Avebury WF! Susanna, Kelly, Emma and all the others - we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your efforts!!! Thank you Ryan Wood for all the great rides!

Avebury WF was Preliminary Horse of the Year!!!

Thank you to the American Warmblood Registry for his new saddle pad!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Videos! Videos! Lots and lots of videos!

It was video day in the indoor! The jumps are not massive. The lighting is iffy. The quality of the video (on YouTube) is a bit dodgy. Hopefully everyone has an extra helping of patience and can make themselves sit through the footage! :)

I'll share what we watch for -
Does the horse make the necessary adjustments in the approach to the fences, so as to have a good take off spot?
Does the horse use its neck and back so that it can maintain a smooth arc over the fences?
Is the horse relaxed between the fences and on the 'open' side of the ring?
How is the rhythm?
Does the horse bring its knees up and high in front of their elbow (the first time through the grid)?

So with all that in mind - Enjoy!

Wallace WF http://youtu.be/2d8hi3MBm9M


Daylily WF http://youtu.be/HpVnN1sb82c


Wylie WF http://youtu.be/pmnWSvytiI0


Wilona WF http://youtu.be/6he0laf6eYk


Wakanda WF http://youtu.be/xxbFvsZ8Or0


Wizard WF http://youtu.be/b8QOeOcVPBU


Avebury WF http://youtu.be/BQNctXvh4-s


Don William WF http://youtu.be/_pwleMpBGL8


Whodini WF http://youtu.be/NmLuh9bITY0


Wall Street WF http://youtu.be/T33nbbqdfSU



And at the end of the day, we had an impromptu photo shoot for a possible client of Wall Street -





So while his front legs could be less underneath his body (he is leaning forward a bit) - it gives everyone an idea of how he looks! :)

Happy riding!