Snapshots from around the farm!

We've had some spectacular weather for a few days and been back out in the outdoor arena soaking up the sunlight!

Enjoy the photos -

The mornings are still cool but the spiders have made a few webs to capture the last of the flies and other insects.

The young mares have been getting a bit more attention and loving it -

And last but not least - OREO!

Election Day Approacheth!

Just a reminder that tomorrow (November 8th) is ELECTION DAY!

So get out the vote!!! Support your politician of choice! Support those who want to improve the local economy and spend our tax dollars wisely!

Oh and does anyone else think this looks like a waste of $12 million? I sure do!

Featured Horse ***As You Wish WF***

As You Wish WF, or Kitty as she is known around the barn, is a highly entertaining mare with loads of personality! She is a reserved and dignified mare who shows her sweet and demonstrative side after a nice cross country run.

Kitty was born here on a cool March day and was the only foal we ever had from our Volturno daughter Volante. Volante was rescued from an unfortunate situation - sadly her older full brother and dam were unable to be saved. In spite of her rough beginning, Volante was a fun horse and went on to have a super riding career. Emily competed her through Prix St. Georges and both Emily and I evented her through Preliminary. Volante's dam was owned by a customer of Denny Emerson and competed through Intermediate and with her illustrious sire, it was not a surprise that she had a super gallop, huge stride and loved to event. She was also a great horse to foxhunt with one exception - she was a lanky 17.2 and many of the forrest trails are trimmed to a height appropriate for a 15 hand horse - so those rides involved a lot of ducking and cobwebs!

In any case, we opted to breed Volante to Adamant late in life and that breeding produced Kitty!

Kitty was a vast improvement on her dam, mentally, conformationally and correctness of movement. We opted to breed her as a 4 year old in order to secure her genetics for another generation of horses to enjoy either here on the farm or in sport. Her filly by Waldaire was a bit of surprise when she arrived - she was black! Needless to say, it was a delight to have such a nice foal and Kitty began her undersaddle career after weaning.

Kitty was easy to start, fun to ride but didn't seem to relish life in the dressage arena. We sent her to Sally Cousins in Aiken in the winter of 2008. While there, Kitty learned all about eventing, scooters, dogs, ATV's, and all the other bits of excitement that are 'normal' to an event horse. She was reported as being steady in the open and blossomed into a cross country lovin' horse!

In the late summer, I began competing Kitty at Novice level and moved up to Training in the spring of 2010 after a 12 year hiatus from eventing. For a rusty Dressage Queen, she was (and still is) the ideal horse. She is bold and careful out cross country with a natural uphill gallop, quick reaction time and sensible good nature. Also from the DQ perspective, she is the ideal dressage horse - a bit of an internalizer who needs the rider's confidence and reassurance that it will be ok in the flat, fenced box. :)

For part of the winter of 2010, Kitty spent time at Phillip and Evie Dutton's barn in Aiken with Ryan Wood taking over the ride. That went well, I enjoyed getting a super tuned up Kitty back in April and we competed through June of that year at Training and were preparing to move up to Preliminary. Then the pesky Mid-Atlantic weather pattern kicked in - our cool temperatures disappeared, the good footing turned to concrete, so galloping long distance and jumping several days each week got shelved - with the idea of competing lightly in the fall season and then another winter down in Aiken for both Kitty and me! Sounds super exciting, right? Unfortunately, a car wreck totally changed that plan and Kitty has shifted to more of a school mistress roll here on the farm with my hope that someday I will be able to jump again.

Here are some shots of Kitty with our 2011 working students -

There is a mix of video footage of Kitty and her daughter Wilona HERE. She is fun to ride - like all the horses I've been lucky to ride for several years, our relationship has evolved into a well rehearsed bit of conversation. I have complete faith in her to take care of me in the area where I lack confidence (cross country where those jumps do not come down!) and we work together in show jumping and dressage! She has throughly enjoyed having younger riders as she is a bit of an Alpha...her cheeky side peeks out at me and I laugh at her for getting up to her old tricks. That being said, she was a marvelous tool for less experienced riders - if they were told to change their way of riding, Kitty would respond instantly to the correction. A true gift to a rider who is learning 'feel'. :)

So hopefully that gives everyone a bit of insight of what makes our Kitty tick. :)

Voting is just around the corner!!!

So it is almost time to hold our politicians accountable! Mark your calendars - either the hard copy ones or on your Smart Phones! Get out the VOTE!!

Let's get a hold of the wasteful spending and those who are rubber stamping projects like this one!!!!! After all, what is another $12,000,000??? Who cares what the water supply is like for the City of Chester?

Come on Upper Oxford Township - we need to support Joe Sexton (a write in candidate) for Township Supervisor. He is opposed to wasteful projects like this one! The recent purchase of a backhoe by the current township officials is inexcusable. The one that was owned & paid for the township residents was in need of a NEW BATTERY. There was nothing else wrong with it. But NO!!! Our Supervisors purchased a BRAND NEW $58,000.00 Backhoe instead of simply replacing an inexpensive part. THIS IS INEXCUSABLE!!!! And as a write in - you need to not vote a straight party ticket - fill in your circles, write in his name...let's put a stop to irresponsible government - local, regional and national!!!

Deep Frozen Discount Ends November 7th at Midnight! Plus a really cool article link!

That's right all you bargain hunters! Our 50% Off Sale on in stock Frozen Semen ends at Midnight EST November 7th!

We extended the sale for 1 week due to the catastrophic weather that hit New England over the weekend. On CNN this morning the powers that be are reporting 'hopefully Friday' when asked when the electricity will be restored. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those who are trying to care for their livestock in these conditions.

So now on to some cheerier news!

CHECK OUT Catherine's blog entry for The Chronicle of the Horse!!! Master Horseman George Morris has a ride on her Winyamaro!!!! Enjoy the video and her thoughts - such a treat to have insight into the mind of a top rider & trainer!

(and as an aside - Catherine is the coolest lady out there! She wiling shares her own saddles with students, teaches the most fantastic lessons, is a superstar of a competitor and is flat out GENEROUS in every way! What a class act!)

Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween from all of us here at Watermark Farm!! Hopefully everyone has gotten their treats and not had to trick anyone this year!!

Here is a fun shot of our Artesian WF (Again and Again x Aly Alice xx) down at Madeira's Fun Show with his junior rider!

They have had a wonderful year so far in the VHSA shows and enjoyed the victory lap over the weekend in full costume! Who's afraid of the Big Bad Wolf??



The changes in our 2012 Stallion Line Up are published! If you have any questions about the LFG policy or options, please send Ellie@watermark-farm.net a note.

With those new fees being 'official' - our Deep Discount 50% Off Sale will be ending in one week - November 7th at midnight EST.


Speaking of changes, this is still a work in progress but check out our new Working Student page!! There are lots of biographies to go up and accomplishments to add but it is a starting point for those who are interested in learning what our breeding, riding and training program entails!

So I think that is it for now. Not too shabby for 9:30 on a Monday morning! :)

Happy riding!

Reminder - our Deep Frozen Discount (50% off sale) is still going strong!

Just a shout out reminder that our deep frozen discount is still going on!

But it might end sooner than later due to dwindling supplies, so get your order in ASAP!!

Here's a small refresher as to who's in the line up of available stallions:

Again and Again

A direct son of Abundance (Absatz/Dominus/Goldfisch II) out of the spectacular producing TB mare Nobody Much (Our Tops/Goya II/Jacopo). He is one of the earliest US Bred Grand Prix horses. Even rarer still - he produced GP horses! His full brother is none other than the Hunter Hall of Fame inductee - Ruxton. Their full brother Rushton was also very successful in the Working Hunters, while still yet another full brother competed in the LA Olympics in Show Jumping and was well known as a 'packer-type' of jumper.

Again and Again has been a reliable producer of upper level horses for dressage. He also had several well respected show hunter offspring and event horses. His get tend to be forward thinking horses with big gaits, light mouths and excellent jumping technique.







Adamant is another Abundance son.

He was out of a lovely, kind TB mare Villa May (In Spite Of/Villon/Pillory). Adamant was a successful as an FEI horse, mid level jumper and hunter, event horse and superlative fox hunting mount. He consistently produced multi-discipline offspring with oodles of talent and the mind suited for the amateur rider. His offspring tend to have an elegant appearance with long legs, good sense of rhythm and a sense of responsibility towards their rider.









Avebury WF is a son of Adamant out of one of our Dekor (Durchlaucht/Radetzky/Femor I) daughters - Dynasty WF. Dynasty was one of the 'keeper' mares for us out of a superlative damline with multiple licensed stallions, FEI horses, champion show hunters and open Jumpers to it's credit. Avebury does not disappoint his ancestors in any way - he moved from Beginner Novice to Open Preliminary in less than 8 months of training and has the talent to move beyond as an eventing stallion. That being said, he is spending the winter here at the farm preparing to show as an FEI dressage horse in 2012.

He has a few foals on the ground currently and they have the following qualities in common - leggy appearance, good temperament, kind expression, refined heads, excellent engagement and power from the hindquarter and good use of the shoulder. Our Aloysius WF will be lightly started this winter, so check back for video footage.











Dressage Royal is the international superstar that we represent here in the United States. He is by the legendary Donnerhall out of a super producing Rubinstein/Futuro/Magister mare. He has consistently produced super elastic offspring with good minds, international quality movement and a steady temperament.

The licensed stallions Damsey, Doringcourt, UNO Don Diego are just a few of the stars he has produced thus far. Desperado OLD continues to shine as the upcoming international star - he was World Champion as a 5 Year Old in Verden and is now beating top combinations in the Small Tour in Europe. Our own Dressage Royal offspring are daily delights - very attractive, powerful movers with excellent conformation and type.










Showtime WF is an interesting stallion for those who are interested in producing show hunters. He has been campaigning for several years as an A Show Horse down in VA.

He is one of the lovely performers from our super mare line (Today I'm Trying - Viking Spirit/Royal Coinage/Alycidon) and had the perfect hack winning gaits. His jumping form was definitely what the hunter folks are looking for, so if that is your avenue of competitive interest - consider Showtime!











Waldaire is our senior stallion and the grand master of Watermark Farm. He is another domestically bred Grand Prix stallion with ample reason to be proud of his accomplishments both in the show ring and breeding shed. His lifetime average score is over 65% (earned between 1994-2006) and that does not include freestyle scores! His canter is divine (and he passes that along), with a great sense of power, suspension and 'lift'. His walk is rhythmic, pure and undulates through his entire body.

His offspring are powerful movers, very grounded and show high intelligence. They are fun to start and even better to ride. Several are out competing in the hunters with good success. A number have gone on with their AA riders as dressage horses. We have had rave reviews from event riders as they are bold over new material and very careful over fences. He reliably adds bone, so Waldaire is an excellent choice for TB mares.









Wizard WF is the youngest stallion on our list of available stallions. He is continuing to develop as a top FEI prospect with a larger foal crop due in 2012. A number of professional riders have been kind enough to ride him for me during the last year and all of them ask if there is a chance that I would send him with them to FL, or SC as a competition stallion. He is a blast to ride, powerful moving, very obedient and attentive to the rider and even more fun to compete. Over fences he has good bascule, use of the shoulder and easy changes. Actually his changes have been easy from the beginning. :)

His first foal arrived in 2011 and is a stunning black filly with some hind socks and lovely blaze. She is out of a Wallstreet Kid (Warkant/Eiger/Perfekt I) daughter.