WINTERSPRING FARM FRIESIANS

The Friesians captivated us with their beauty, majesty, animated power, and personality. I was too impatient to wait for the fillies to grow up, so nine months later I purchased Kasper. Kasper was a horse that was ready to ride and drive, and he was already a champion. Kasper is a star gelding standing 16.2 hands.  He was my schoolmaster. Now, Lisa Singer and Dana Bright may protest that they spent many hours teaching me to drive, which is true, of course, but without Kasper’s patient and tolerant disposition, I never would have learned to drive. I can assure you, that it is not as easy as it looks!

Kasper has won many blue ribbons for me. His show stopping elegance has cameras clicking wherever we go. He is so dear to me that he is not for sale at any price.

In January of 2001, our schedules permitted us to go to Leeuwarden, in Holland, to see the Stallion Show. My husband and I were in firm agreement before we departed that we were not going to buy any horses in Holland!!!  Well, as they say . . . the best laid plans of mice and men sometimes go astray. Perhaps it was the intense visual bombardment of one fabulous Friesian after another in the parade of stallions all vying for the right to become a breeding stallion, that made us lose our senses. We decided to take “ just a look” at a few broodmares.

The first stop was at an elderly Dutch couples residence. The barn had a steeply pitched thatched roof with a small entrance.  Inside, the cows were on the right, and the Friesian mares were on the left, in stanchions like the cows. Liskje van Bourboom, a 1995 daughter of Leffert (preferent), and granddaughter of Hearke (preferent) was lead out into a small paddock. Such a beautiful fine head, with a foretop that touched her nose and a long luxurious billowy mane and tail. She exhibited a huge under stride at the walk and the trot. She was in foal to Jasper for a 2001 foal, and that foal is our three year old stallion Ethan.

The next stop brought us to another thatched roof barn. Far in the back corner, a Friesian star mare stood. I held out a sugar cube to her and she took it. What a beautiful mare she was, indeed. She was in foal to Sape for a 2001 foal. Beautiful ears that tipped in at the peaks, a wonderful neck that beautifully tapered to where it connected with her head. This was Arlena, star mare extra ordinaire, not just in physical appearance but in her bloodlines. A daughter of Oege (pref.) and a granddaughter of Hearke (pref). No less than eight model mares on her papers, five of whom are also preferent. All mares on her papers are at least star.  Sape had just been named World Champion Stallion at the 2001 show. 

The last stop we made was to a rather modern barn with box stalls. This was the home of Oeke fan’e Wigeri, the 1988 daughter of Hearke 254 (pref), granddaughter of Lammert. She was a first premie star mare who has already past her test for model mare.  She was in foal to Jasper. Oeke’s owners won her in a lottery held by the FPS.

Later that evening, my husband asked me which one I wanted (interestingly bypassing the question of should we buy). I told him I didn’t know. Oh, I knew, but I didn’t know how to tell him. You see, I wanted all three. The following day, we were in a tack shop called “Tweespan” when I found the courage to tell him that I wanted three pregnant mares from Holland. When I told him, he just smiled and had that twinkle in his eye, like he knew all along what I was thinking.

The mares arrived at WinterSpring Farm in February of 2001 (flew in during a terrible snow storm). Unfortunately, Oeke foaled prematurely and we lost a beautiful filly. Arlena had a beautiful colt to Sape, and Liskje also had a colt to Jasper. Jasper was named the 2002 World Champion Friesian Stallion. So now we have two three year old colts, both sired by World Champion Stallions. Arlena’s colt is Denzyl of WinterSpring; and Liskje’s colt is Ethan of WinterSpring. Both colts are currently for sale.