china blue farm · 2019. 3. 10. · rosenthal being selected as the usef number one dressage...

76 SIDELINES JANUARY 2013 FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE

By Lauren R. Giannini

In 1986 in Santa Ynez, California, Priscilla Tamkin established China Blue Farm, naming it for her show hunter: “He was your classic amateur horse. He was perfect everywhere. On the trails, in the show ring and at the barn.” A gelding of unknown breeding, Tamkin’s horse of a lifetime more than 25 years ago remains the standard for what she wants to breed.

“We are dedicated to producing high quality animals that can be enjoyed and ridden by juniors and amateurs,” said Nancy Frost, breeding manager and trainer at China Blue. “Through the stallions we stand, our goal is to breed horses which will improve and further the sport.”

The farm’s program shifted its emphasis from breeding a small band of mares to outside stallions to standing several of their own. In 2000 Priscilla bought the stallion Baccarat, son of Quidam de Revel, whose show jumping genes endowed 10 offspring competing at the 2002 World Equestrian Games. Rounding out the current sire roster alongside Baccarat are Ragtime and Samoan Chief.

“A primary focus has been to stand a top quality hunter stallion, Ragtime, on the West Coast,” Nancy said. “Ragtime’s offspring have had great success across the country, both in hand and in the performance ring, creating a top quality line for the junior and amateur hunter.”

Ragtime, the pre-potent star at China Blue, is a 1996 bay Hanoverian by Raggazzoni (grandsire is Rosenkavalier) out of Griseldis by Grande. As a three-year-old, he received the highest marks for rideability and top scores overall in the 100 day test. A consistent champion in regular working hunter and regular conformation working hunter, he also recorded wins in the jumpers and equitation. Ragtime was the 2010 and 2011 USEF Hunter Breeding Sire of the Year. He was again at the top of the Hunter Breeding Sires in mid-November (when Sidelines went to press).

Nancy has been with China Blue Farm for 10 years. She does most of the training and puts a foundation on the young stock, which is key to their success in the show ring, both in hand and

under saddle. She also runs Sapphire Ridge, her hunter-jumper-equitation program based at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center. Her own list of mentors reads like an equestrian Who’s Who.

“I grew up riding with Jimmy Williams, Bert de Nemethy and Gordon Wright,” Nancy said. “The best advice I got from Jimmy is ‘think like a horse so you can work with them effectively.’ It’s true – you have to understand their psychology to train them.”

Nancy gets along very well with Priscilla’s vision of China Blue Farm. The mares aren’t bred every year: they get rested from the rigors of producing foals. They do not sell the foals out of China Blue mares: they keep them and compete them or lease them to qualified riders. They compete out of Nancy’s Sapphire Ridge. They know where all their foals are and where they will end up: back at China Blue Farm. Their horses can look forward to a pleasant retirement.

“We want to stand quality stallions and ship semen to the breeders in the USA and Canada,” said Nancy. “Part of our goal is to help mare owners and breeders to produce outstanding animals that are conformationally correct, athletic and have good minds. Through this, we hope to improve the sport. We try to make matches that will be successful for juniors or amateurs to ride. But really, what we do at China Blue, it’s all for the love of the horses.”

All photos by Capture the Moment

China Blue Farm – Living Up To Its Namesake

Ragtime at The Oaks in the Regular Conformation Hunters with Carol Wright in the irons.

Rendezvous, a Ragtime progeny by Misty View, is show here competing in hand at the International Hunter Futurity West Coast Championships and the Sallie B. Wheeler Championship at the Show Park Summer Show.

FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE SIDELINES JANUARY 2013 77


By Dani Moritz

It all started with a dream -- a dream to produce modern Warmbloods fit to compete in all English disciplines.

The dream was that of the late Angela Barilar’s. And through years of passion and dedication, her dream has endured the hardest of times and has transpired into a hallmark of American breeding -- High Point Hanoverians in Chestertown, Maryland.

High Point Hanoverians is home to four world-class stallions -- Rosenthal, Sinatra Song, Furst Impression and Coeur d’ Amour -- and a quality band of broodmares. They offer breeding, training, young horse raising, lessons and services to help people find or sell their horse.

Some of their stallions’ successes include: Sinatra Song being the highest scoring three year-old Hanoverian stallion at the Bundeschampionate; Furst Impression finishing his 100-day stallion testing at Paxton with a notable score of 122 points; Rosenthal being selected as the USEF Number One Dressage Breeding Stallion in 2007 and being the top producer of premium GOV foals for North America; and Coeur d’ Amour being named the Champion Stallion at Dressage at Devon 2012.

But despite Angela’s success, she wasn’t raised in the saddle. In fact, her parents knew little about horses. Nonetheless, she bought her first horse when was she was 12 and began riding Western. While attending Washington State, she switched gears to eventing and competed through the preliminary level before purchasing her first stallion, Duellglanz, when he was three days old.

Angela then purchased one imported filly named Gretchen and, shortly after, Angela married her husband, John, and they received their second Hanoverian yearling filly, Wishful, as a wedding present from Angela’s parents. Both of these fillies later became her foundation mares and began making her dream a reality.

eHigh Point Hanoverians

High Point stallion Coeur d’ Amour, with his Champion Ribbon at Dressage at Devon 2012.

After meeting a trainer by the name of Klaus Schengber, Angela and her new business partner set out to found High Point Hanoverians, which quickly became a success. Among their many achievements, Angela was named the Third USEF Dressage Breeder of the Year for 2010.

But while 2010 marked a triumph for High Point Hanoverians, it also marked a tragedy.

Angela was suddenly diagnosed with stage four brain cancer and passed away July 31, 2010 -- leaving her dream to her business partner, Klaus, her husband and her daughter, Larissa, who was 18 at the time. “We put every effort into continuing my Mom’s dream,” said Larissa. “The death of my mother has changed our lives forever, but we have adjusted to our new normal life.”

At Angela’s request, her family hosted a celebration of life a year after her death. According to Larissa, Angela was a very positive and upbeat person and didn’t want any tears. They held it during the Oldenburg inspection because that was one of Angela’s favorite time of year.

The celebration was held at Angela’s Garden -- a garden planted and built in memorial of the woman whose dream started it all. During the celebration, Klaus gave a speech while holding Wishful, one of Angela’s two foundation mares, and Larissa released 50 butterflies to say goodbye to her mom’s gentle soul. “The celebration was all we could have ever hoped for,” said Larissa. “People had a great time. They told stories, they laughed, they cried and stayed up well into the night. It was so fitting for her.”

Angela’s Garden -- a garden built in memorial of the woman whose dream started it all.High Point

Hanoverians: A Dream Come True

Continued on page 82


Wishful passed away early this fall at the age of 27. “It felt like the end of an era because the horses that my mom had started with are gone now,” said Larissa.

Only 20 years old, Larissa has planted her feet firmly on the ground at the farm and has partnered with Klaus to keep the dream going. She works alongside Klaus training, breeding and marketing for the farm, as well as with her dad, John, who handles the books for the farm and a young man named Joe who began working there after Angela’s passing. “The farm is run as a family business and even though we are not all blood-related it seems like we are,” said Klaus.

Larissa has learned so much more about the farm -- and about her mom’s duties -- since Angela’s passing. “I was 18 when she passed away so I just got out of school and still had a lot to learn,” said Larissa. “Part of my job now is semen processing, shipping and foal watch. In case of a problem, Klaus and I always foal the mares out together”.

Along with keeping up with the farm, Larissa hopes to advance her riding career. Like her mom, her passion is eventing but she also hopes to learn more dressage and aspires to win a recently added class at Dressage at Devon. The class, which is a three-year old class that is judged under saddle and in hand, was created in memorial of her mom. “We had a trophy made for her called the Angela Barilar Memorial Trophy and I’d love to win that one day,” said Larissa.

While Larissa is no ordinary 20 year-old, she wouldn’t trade it for anything. Getting up at 6 in the morning on a daily basis, late nights during the foaling season and basically being on call 24/7 is just a part of her life. “Honestly, I have had to grow up a lot in the past couple of years,” said Larissa. “It’s definitely a change of pace for me but it’s something I had to grow up into. At this point I enjoy every minute of it because every day brings change and new challenges.”

Together, the High Point Hanoverian family keeps Angela’s legacy going and, each day, more of Angela’s dream comes true. “That was her plan for us, her dream [was] to have her daughter follow in her footsteps,” Larissa said.

All photos by Larissa Barilar, unless noted

High Point stallion Rosenthal, a 1998 16.3 hand Black Hanoverian (Rubinstein/Karon / Woermann). In 2007 he was the #1 USEF Dressage Breeding Stallion.

Photo by Angela Barilar

Presenting the Angela Barilar Memorial Trophy at Dressage at Devon 2012. John Barilar holds the trophy while Larissa, Angela’s daughter holds her mother’s dog Puckie, while Angela’s business partner Klaus Schengber stands next to her. Photo by Nancy Miller


Keeping up with Coeur Dashian! The young filly shows off her star power as she jumps a hedge.

Keeping up with Coeur DashianBy Dani Moritz

Although Coeur Dashian wasn’t specifically named after the reality TV star Kim Kardashian, she might as well have been. The jet black Oldenburg filly, born April 26 at High Point Hanoverian in Maryland, knows she’s got it and is ready to flaunt it.

Owner Larissa Barilar says she would fit right in with the famously loved (and hated) Kardashian sisters. “If she was a person she would definitely be high maintenance and in the headlines, as she already is,” said Larissa.

Larissa says she is inquisitive and brave and notes that, “if she was a person, she wouldn’t be very well liked because she would know everything about everybody.”

Coeur Dashian became the “Foal to Follow” at Dressage at Devon this year after Klaus Schengber, Larissa’s business partner of High Point Hanoverians where the filly was bred, was invited to an Olympic going away party for Steffen Peters. Klaus ran into Lori Kaminski, who was looking for a foal to do a story on. And Coeur Dashian was a perfect fit.

Coeur Dashian also placed fourth out of 19 foals in the 2012 Dressage at Devon Filly Class. Her father, Coeur d’Amour, won the Stallion Championship at the same show. Apparently, fame is in her blood.

As of now, Larissa thinks Coeur Dashian’s future is wide open and Larissa and Klaus will decide what disciplines she will most likely excel in when she comes of age.

For now, this little star is enjoying life as a filly -- soaking up the sun and loving the attention.

Photos by Larissa Barilar

The future of High Point: Three pregnant broodmares enjoy their time in the pasture. From left to right: Rubentanz (by Rosenthal/ Wokentanz II); Fantasia (by Feindbrand/Matcho xx); and Rachel (by Rubinstein/Parabol).

Cleopatra under the flowers at High Point.

Klaus Schengber and Fuerstin, a two-year-old mare by Furst Impression, at Dressage at Devon 2012 where she won the Oldenburg class.


Morgan Measey


eLeatherdale Farms

Leatherdale Farms – Life With HorsesBy Lauren R. Giannini

Marriage made in horse heaven pretty much describes Louise and Doug Leatherdale’s partnership, both personal and professional. Their shared passion for horses has evolved into a blossoming international program to breed and compete first class dressage horses. Leatherdale Farms’ equine progeny has been making its mark in the international horse world for several years.

The Leatherdales’ West Coast rider Sue Blinks and Robin Hood made it to the finals of the United States dressage team selection trials for the London Olympics. Diane Creech, from Canada, partnered with Devon L to take the first reserve spot on the Canadian dressage team for London.

“We owe a lot of our success to His Highness – his offspring are all over the world,” said Louise. “In his first year Highness bred over 600 mares, some of the best around the world. He was exceptional. We have a mostly female (rider) market in the US and around the world. Some may only ride on weekends. We hear from women in England and Australia, telling us how much they love their horse. His Highness stamped his get with temperament and rideability. His offspring are dressage horses and quite a few become hunters.”

His Highness earned the distinction of being the “horse of a lifetime” for the Leatherdales. Highness (2000) was the Hanoverian licensing grand champion in 2002, champion of the stallion test at Prussendorf at three, and champion of the four-year-old dressage stallions at the Danish licensing at five. With Klaus Balkenhol overseeing his training, the colt’s rideability first manifested itself at age two and a half when he was started under saddle by Susanne Meyer.

“We bought and named His Highness in 2002 at Verden: he was the most magnificent stallion we’d ever seen,” said Louise. “We felt like we had a rock-star son – his pictures were all over Germany.”

About five years ago His Highness suffered a tragic accident and had to be euthanized, but his legacy lives on with many illustrious outcroppings. In February 2012 His Highness’s daughter SPS Helena gave birth to a colt sired by Totilas. The Leatherdales

have a limited supply of His Highness’s frozen semen, which is available only to select mares.

Labor of LoveLeatherdale Farms consists of several entities. Louise and Doug

make their home at their picturesque and beautifully appointed farm about 20 minutes west of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Sue Blinks, an Olympian and one of the top grand prix competitors in the USA, is their rider at Leatherdale West in Santa Cruz, California. Diane Creech was born in the USA but grew up in Germany where she embarked on her dressage career: she visited Canada on a “see the world” trip and opted to stay. Diane’s training business is based in Ontario. Then, there is their European operation in the heart of the Hanoverian hub.

The Leatherdales stand seven rated stallions, including Damsey, First Dance and Rob Roy, in northern Germany at Hengststation with Jens and Susanne Meyer. Damsey (2002, Dressage Royal out of Ria Grande) who boasts genetic legacies from Donnerhall, Rubinstein, Ramiro and Grande, has been proving himself a top performance horse in his outings on the European circuit with Steffen Frahm. Damsey was one of 15 young horses selected for the short grand prix at the year-end finals in the Louisdor-Preises in Frankfurt last month

Love StoryLeatherdale Farms started with Doug who owned broodmares

The late His Highness. The stallion stamped his get with temperament and rideability. His offspring have become dressage horses and hunters.

Photo courtesy of Leatherdale Farms

Leatherdale stallion Damsey with his daughter Diana, who won the Championship Mare Show in Verden Germany at the World Breeding Championships. Photo by Kiki Beelitz Continued on page 94


His Highness’s daughter SPS Helena gave birth to a colt sired by Totilas. The 2012 colt’s name is Tobias L (Totilas/SPS Helena/His Highness)Photo by Kiki Beelitz

Canadian rider Diane Creech competing Hallmark, a son of His Highness.Photo courtesy of Leatherdale Farms

Doug, Louise and Sue Blinks at the opening party of Leatherdale Farms West in Rancho Santa Fe, California.

and was breeding jumpers. “I’m a farm kid from Canada and I don’t remember a day in my life when I didn’t own a horse,” he said. “Louise was a city girl who loved animals. She was a quick learner – how to deliver foals, genetics, Hanoverian bloodlines, shipping the frozen semen – she’s pretty knowledgeable. We do it together.”

On one of their first dates, after dinner, Doug asked Louise if she minded running back to the farm: he wanted to check on a mare in foal. “I had never been around horses until we married 25 years ago,” stated Louise. “I had always wanted to be a vet, but I was never going to get through the organic chemistry. I was in health management and after we met, I just wanted to deal with the horses. I love it. I tried riding, but my strength is with the mares and the foals.”

Shortly after Doug and Louise were hitched, their breeding aspirations went through some major changes. They began importing mares from Germany, because, as a breed, Hanoverians were proving to be the most versatile and successful sport horses on the world stage.

“We decided we needed to move on,” explained Louise. “Our heart was in dressage and every horse can use some dressage training. We decided to breed quality, but not quantity. The mares we keep at home produce only three or four foals a year. We don’t like to breed every mare every year. We like to give them a chance to recuperate.”

Leatherdale Farms’ Equine Progeny In Europe“We feel strongly that a horse shouldn’t be an ornament and that

a stallion should show,” said Louise. “Hampton (by His Highness), First Dance, and Rob Roy are all doing Prix St. Georges. Our

youngsters are doing well. Fairbanks was champion Oldenburg stallion at his licensing in 2009 and Herzensdieb, which means heart thief, was the Trakehner licensing champion in 2005. Beltano (2009) is headed for his 30-day testing in December (Sidelines went to press before the testing). It’s a big trust element to hand these horses over for the 30-day test and the 70-day test. We just go over for the final part. Our partner checks on them during the testing.”

The 30-day test includes free jumping, under saddle and cross-country. “They must be all-around sport horses,” stated Louise. “If you’re going to be a breeding stallion in Europe, you have to have it all. The testing starts with about 5,000 young stallions and gets them down to about 100 for licensing.”

The Leatherdales have established themselves as reputable breeders, especially in Europe, but their commitment to excellence is making their name better known in the United States. In the course of a year, they expect that their stallions will sire 800-1000 foals around the world. Not all of them will be aimed at international competition: they may be endowed with great dressage potential, but quite a few will fulfill their destinies as superb riding horses in whatever discipline their owners embrace.

For the Leatherdales, however, the focus is on producing gorgeous foals with great minds, incredible athleticism, rideability and spectacular gaits. “If you’re going to stand stallions and sell semen, the horses have to compete and become top performance horses,” said Doug. “Our next objective is the Pan Ams in three years, then the Olympics in 2016. We have several horses we’ll be qualifying, including our top German stallion, Damsey. We hope that our horses can make another Olympic team.”

Leatherdale horses enjoying life on the farm.Photo by Susan Sexton



“Ralphie”Heather Cooke of Alachua, Florida:Dancing in the Rain! Hedgerow’s Fireworks aka Ralphie sired by Sparks Will Fly (Welsh/TB) out of Hi Hopes (Welsh/TB). This is Ralphie enjoying the rain after weeks of a dry spell.Winner of the Helmet Cam by HedCamz - www.hedcamz.com.

“Zatrina”Jeanette Smith, of Shadow Hills, CaliforniaThis is a picture of Zatrina. She is a Grant’s Zebra. We fed her mother that morning and as we were driving our cart back down to the hay barn, we found little Zatrina laying on the ground, 5 minutes old. We took this photo just after she stood up. She is located at the Hearts N Hands Animal Rescue in Ramona, California.Winner of the Buck Brannaman “Lessons on Horseback” DVDs - http://brannaman.com/

“Aut of the Balou”Allie Armento, of Graham, North CarolinaTaking a minute to lie back, relax and enjoy one of life’s biggest blessings. This is Aut of the Balou by the Dutch Warmblood stallion Amazing owned by Cornerstone Equestrian and out of our TB mare DoUThinkUCanDance. Bred by Worth A Shot Farm and now owned by Amanda S.

Winner of the electric bit warmer from Bit Blanket - www.bitblanket.com

“Castellano”Jennifer Pesnell of Choudrant, LouisianaI call this photo “weaning sucks.” It was taken the morning I separated Castellano, my 2012 Hanoverian colt by Cabalito, from his dam Rheamorka.Winner of the Custom Pencil Portrait from Equestrian Artist Agatha Kacprzak - www.facebook.com/horsesseenthroughmyeyes

eFoal Photo Contest

A Showcase of Fabulous FoalsThe Sidelines Magazine “Who’s Your Daddy” Foal

Photo contest brought out hundreds of the cutest foals we’ve ever seen. We received photos from all across the county of funny, sweet, cuddly and downright adorable foals. Enjoy this great showcase of sweet little equines and congratulations to our top four winners and our runner-ups.

We want to thank everyone who entered the contest and also thank our sponsors for great prizes: A helmet camera from HedCamz; a Custom Pencil Portrait from Canadian Equestrian Artist Agatha Kacprzak; the complete DVD series of “Lessons on Horseback” by Buck Brannaman; and an electric bit warmer from Bit Blanket.


“Maggie May”Lauren Steiner of Germantown, Tennessee

“Moon Cricket”Louisa Davidson of Snowmass, Colorado

“Annie”P. Wynn Norman of Archer, Florida

A filly out of Spikes, by Desert PartyAndi Davenport of Bandera, Texas

“Garota De Ipanema”Michelle Foley of Keene, Kentucky


china blue farm · 2019. 3. 10. · rosenthal being selected as the usef number one dressage...

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