Amazon: Ava MacCoubrey

1. What makes Pablo so special to you?

“Pablo is a very special horse. It was love at first sight when we met and we bonded right away. Every time I see Pablo, I get a smile on my face. He is such a good horse and he is so sweet to all the people around him.”

2. How is Pablo to drive?

“He is certainly not the easiest horse to ride. Although he is a real learning horse and does everything correctly, he is a challenge and that is what I love about him. Lori Bell, his owner was his previous rider. She rode Grand Prix with him.”

3. How is Pablo in the stable?
“Pablo is very social in the stable. He always stands with his head out of the stall and always has his ears forward when you walk by. He loves to eat and will do anything for a treat! When it's feeding time, he neighs to make sure you don't forget to feed him."

4. What's the best thing you've experienced with Pablo so far?

“Pablo guided me through my first international competitions and my first year riding in the juniors. This year we went to the North American Dressage Junior Championships. We finished in the top ten all three days and I was the best Canadian rider in the ranking with him. I think that was our best performance. Pablo has recently retired. He is back with his owner and during the day he enjoys a very large meadow. He also loves to ride outside.”

5. Have you ever visited a foal auction? Would you buy a foal at an auction or would you prefer to buy a three or four year old?
“I've never attended an auction, but it's definitely something I want to do in the future. I think I would prefer to buy a three or four year old.”

 

Click HERE for the interview with breeders Jan and Greetje Nijhuis.

Click HERE for the interview with owner Lori Bell.

Breeder: Jan and Greetje Nijhuis

What was Pablo like as a foal?

“Pablo was a beautiful foal and could move well. All of his mother Kadivette's foals were special and about nine of her children have been sold at auctions.”

How is his mother Kadivette?

“We still have his mother Kadivette (Voltaire x Ursus). She is now 25 years old, but she looks much younger. She walks in the meadow with a horse of our neighbor. She is a sensitive mare, very sweet to handle, but she was not so easy under saddle. She has competed in M-dressage. She has the elite predicate and has produced many good foals. Several children compete at Z-dressage or higher and she is the dam of Onkadivette (Come On x Voltaire) who has competed at Z1 dressage, of which daughter Victoria ter Kwincke (Emilion x Come On) jumped 1.40m and another Emlion daughter jumps 1.35m . Furthermore, son Goldwin (Montender x Voltaire) is not without merit in the eventing sport of Great Britain.”

Do you still follow Pablo?

“We used to breed very actively; always went to Holstein to inseminate mares and brought many foals to auctions. At the moment we are no longer very active in equestrian sports. It's nice that Pablo is doing so well with his Canadian rider! I still take care of his mother Kadivette every day. We also have a gelding in the sport, but we no longer breed.”

Why did you choose the Prinsjesdag Auction and do you advise other breeders to sell foals through the auction?

“We gave up Pablo ourselves at the time and he was selected, which was nice. We have had many foals at auctions. Nine children by Kadivette have been sold at auctions alone, of which Onkadivette (by Come On), Raphael (by Espri), Traumblume-Divette (by Escudo I), Unique BH (by Escudo I), Zandro (by . Sandro Song) and Esprit Z (by El Bundy I) were also sold at the Prinsjesdag auction. We are therefore enthusiastic about the Prinsjesdag auction and would recommend it to other breeders as well.”

How did you experience the auction at the time?

“The Prinsjesdag auction was still in Middenbeemster at the time. It was always fun at the auction. Because it was already twenty years ago and we sold many foals through the auction, I can't remember much about it. It was still in the Golden Age.”

 

Click HERE for the full interview with owner Lori Bell.

Click HERE for the extraordinary story of Amazon Ava MacCoubrey.

 

Amazon: Zoë Kuintjes

1. What makes Brittsion so special to you?
“Brittsion is a very nice horse to ride. In the show ring she even goes the extra mile for me and works just that little bit harder. I don't have to work that hard myself. She is also very nice at home in training. †

2. How long have you been a combination with Brittsion?
“I've been driving Brittsion for Dik Kat from Primeval for four months now. Before this she was ridden in the light tour by my trainer, Derk Schekkerman. I'm in his stable and he asked me if I wanted to ride her in the Juniors. I already rode another, slightly less experienced Junior horse, but with Brittsion I get the chance to ride at the top.”

3. How does Brittsion get along?
Brittje, as I call her, is very calm and affectionate in the stable. She is a real cuddly horse and loves it when you brush her for hours or take her for a walk. We always have a set ritual when I drive. First I brush her extensively, then I walk her by the hand for a while and then I get on.”

4. What's the best thing you've had with Brittsion so far?
“I thought the best thing so far was that we were allowed to be part of the Dutch Juniors team at the CDIO in Hagen, Germany and that we won silver here! I am also proud that the national coach has included us in the A-squad so quickly. It went super fast. I had only ridden a country test four times and by then I had already achieved the necessary three required scores.”

5. What do you hope to achieve with Brittsion?
“I hope that we can achieve many more international successes and that we can go to the European Championships next year. This year I was also in the race for the European Championship, but Brittsion suffered a minor injury for the Dutch Championship, which means she has to take it easy. We are very careful with her.”

read HERE the interview with breeder Dirk van der Oord.

read HERE the interview with buyer Dirk Kat from Primeval.