Welcome Spidey!

We're pleased to report the birth of our second purebred Arabian of the year. We're still working on a real name, but are calling him Spidey for the moment, in honor of his long, spider-like legs. He's not what we were expecting from our large-boned Russian-bred mare, but we're thrilled all the same.

Spidey has an incredibly elegant, typey Arabian head with large dark eyes, a teacup muzzle and the tippiest ears we've ever seen. He's nicely put together, with long, long legs and a lovely shoulder. His markings are just as nice, with a little bit of chrome (4 short socks and a star), but not enough to be extravagant.

All in all, we're very pleased with this crossing. We'll be giving Sabi the year off from Kkoi, but plan to breed her to Rosenthal for a 2008 half-Arabian foal. After seeing what she could produce with Kkoi, we're really looking forward to next year.

A moment to breathe...

We finally have a moment to breathe - between births, horse shows, and other farm business - and wanted to present a fuller picture of our farm.

Evergreen Farm is both a boarding and Arabian breeding operation in Berryville, Virginia. We're very fortunate because our boarders are not just customers, they're friends and we have a very close knit family here. In addition to our own children, we have quite the group of kids that enjoy time here with their horses. Foaling season has been a real blast, with no less than four kids present for every birth! Although we hate staying up to watch the foaling camera, the kids revel in staying up all night, or taking turns in the cold barn aisle, waiting for a pregnant mare to give birth. Its been a very fun season with plenty of expectation, excitement and energy as our mares gave birth to beautiful babies.

Horse shows are just as much fun, with our students, boarders and friends bringing their own horses and ours, to their first horse show ever, their first Arabian show, or their first show with a new horse. The camaraderie makes for a good time, whether we have good rides or bad. At our last "A" rated Arabian show in Lexington, we were even able to bring a good friend into the "Arabian world". She enjoyed herself so much, she has even decided to buy one of Kkoi's 2007 foals!

The season is still young and we have a long summer ahead of us. We still have two more foals due - both purebreds - and have several more big shows planned. Our purebred mare Sabi, by the imported sire Stuyvesant, is the next due to foal...any day now! We're expecting her foal this year to be on the bigger side, since both sire and dam are 15.2 hands, and it should have great athleticism. Zaheera, a Zedann daughter, will be our last to foal in July or August. We're expecting her foal to be a stunning, refined, classic Arabian with all the desert fire and personality you'd expect.

In the meantime, we're pointing our riding efforts towards the VAHA Futurity Show in Culpeper on June 8-10. Once again, we'll be bringing EF Kklassique Beauty, EF Fiona's Prince K, and a slew of friends to compete in the ever-growing sporthorse divisions. If you happen to be there, be sure to look for our string of stalls and say hello!

Complete results from BRAHA

We now have complete results from Team Evergreen for the BRAHA (Blue Ridge Arabian Horse Association) Spring Show on April 14, 2007 in Bel Air, MD. Evergreen Farm was well represented by seven horses and nine riders/handlers, and came home with more than 50 ribbons - a very successful outing. For many riders, this was their first show, and the group represented good sportsmanship, good horsemanship, and most of all - FUN!

In addition to the results already posted below (see post from April 22), Megan Santmeyer, Alana, Nikki, Heather and McKenna participated in the full range of classes.

Megan Santmeyer on EC Wayne

• 2nd Place, Hunter Hack 12" fences
• 2nd Place, English/Hunter Jr. Rider
• 4th place, Open Sport Horse in Hand
• 5th Place, Walk-Trot Barrels
• 5th Place, Walk, Trot Plug

Alana Nappi on Chloe

• 2nd Place, Beginner Hunter O/F 18"
• 3rd Place, Open Sport Horse in Hand
• 4th Place, Beginner Hunter O/F 18"
• 4th Place, Walk-Trot Barrels
• 6th Place, English Pleasure, Go as You Please
• 6th Place, Open Walk-Trot English/Hunter Jr. Rider

Nikki Zuleger on Bucephalus

• 2nd Place, Open Sport Horse in Hand (This is especially sweet because Cephie is our 24 year old foundation broodmare!)
• 4th Place, Halter Handling
• 4th Place, Walk-Trot, Maiden Horse and/or Rider

Heather Webb on Chloe

• 1st Place, Hunter Walk Race, 12 and under
• 2nd Place, English/hunter walk
• 3rd Place, Hunter Hack O/F 12"
• 6th Place, Walk-Trot barrels

McKenna Hayes on EF Senor Rojos

• 1st Place, Hunter Walk Race, 12 under
• 3rd Place, English/hunter walk

McKenna Hayes on Chloe

• 4th Place, Walk-Trot plug
• 5th Place, Walk-Trot barrels

New babies and fabulous show results

Where to start? It was a big weekend for Evergreen Farm in the show ring and on the farm. On Friday, we headed down to the Virginia Horse Center for the very first all sporthorse Arabian show sponsored by the Virginia Arabian Horse Association. EF Kklassique Beauty and EF Fiona's Prince K took to the show ring in their first "A" rated outing of the season, and they were both superstars.

Beauty and Prince both competed in the Novice and Junior Sport Horse Under Saddle classes on Saturday. The competition was stiff, and with 19 horses in the Novice class, the Coliseum was full. Considering their youth, Beauty and Prince were both very well behaved and acquitted themselves well against much more seasoned horses. In the Junior class, with nine horses, Beauty and Prince really let their talent shine, garnering a third place for Prince and a fifth for Beauty. Heather Richards, one of our boarders who rode Prince for his owner (Katie Winters), was so happy with his behavior and performance, she literally cried.

On Saturday afternoon, it was off with the saddles and into the sport horse in hand ring. Prince and Beauty both showed in large, competitive classes, and Beauty came home with a 4th place in her Purebred Mares 3-5 year old Open class.

Sunday was dressage day. Beauty and Prince both tackled Training 1 and 2 tests, and again, really showed their true potential. Despite some youthful misbehavior (both of them were certain the judge was going to eat them), they both managed to put in one great test. Beauty pulled a 59.357 in Training 2, which while not enough to place in a very large class, thrilled us to pieces. In Training 1, Junior Horse, Prince managed a 59.137, which again thrilled Katie and Heather. It was also good enough for second place out of eleven horses.

Team Evergreen was accompanied by several close friends to the VAHA show. Becky Sine brought her seasoned show horse Plakat for their first ever outing to the Horse Center. They both did incredibly well in their three tests, and are looking forward to their next outing in June.

Jessica Howard brought her half-Arabian half-Mustang, Arizona's Wildfire and really cleaned up. Jess and Wildfire have been very successful on the open dressage circuit, but this was the pair's first Arabian show. Not only did they post a second place in Training 3, a score of 66 in First 1, and a score of over 71 in Training 4, they took home the neck garland for high score of the day in Training Level out of more than 70 rides!

All in all, it was a super weekend for Team Evergreen and friends and a great way to start the show season.

Meanwhile, back on the farm, Evergreen's 2007 foal crop added another baby. Cappricio (affectionately known as Eve) gave birth to a lovely half-Arabian foal by Kkoi. Eve is an Oldenburg mare by Contucci out of a Riverman mare, so we have quite high hopes for this cross. The filly is quite a splashy chestnut with a big blaze and four white socks, with lovely conformation. Both mom and baby are doing well and settling into their new lives on the farm.

At long last...introducing EF KKoi's Braveheart

The stork has finally arrived for Missy. At 4:41 am on April 19 Missy gave us a stunning colt. Ben, as we're calling him, is by far the most unusually colored foals we've had to date. We've known for a while that Kkoi carries the sabino gene, but this is definitely the most apparent its been in his foals. Ben is a bay, but in addition to the ordinary black mane hairs, his mane is also partly red. And his tail, rather than being solidly black, has white hairs on the sides and underside. Although many foals are born with light tails that change color over time, he actually has pink skin in these white areas, leading us to believe that he'll keep his unusual tail color into maturity. He also has three tall stockings that extend above his hocks and knees and several other white patches throughout his body.

As for his conformation (truly the most important thing!), we couldn't have hoped for better. Missy is a wonderful pony, but needed height and refinement - both of which we got in this little colt. He's huge, already 2/3 the height of his dam, and while he clearly has the look of mom, Kkoi added the much needed refinement. His personality is terrific, and he is already the darling of the farm.

Team Evergreen Update

In other news, Team Evergreen had their first outing of the season, heading to the BRAHA Spring Show in Bel Air, MD. The farm sent 8 horses and at least twice that in people to the show, and managed to come home with more than 50 ribbons. We'll update this blog as the full results come in, but for starters, here's the tally:

Rachel Dors with Apple Blossom

• 1st Place, Halter Handling
• 1st Place, Western Walk-Trot
• 2nd Place, Western Jr. Rider
• 3rd Place, Intermediate O/F
• 3rd Place, Intermediate O/F
• 4th Place, Partbred Sporthorse
• 4th Place, Intermediate Walk-Trot

Taylor Torrance with Snickerdoodle

• 4th Place, Beginner Hunter U/S
• 4th Place, Walk/Trot Hunter Hack 12" fences
• 5th Place, Open Walk/Trot Junior Rider
• 1st Place, Open Walk Race

Debbie Torrance (in her first show in almost 30 years!) with Grace

• 3rd Place, Walk/Trot Maiden Horse
• 3rd Place, Walk/Trot Maiden Rider
• 5th Place, Walk/Trot Green Horse and Rider

As I said, we'll post more results as they come in, but congrats to all the members of Team Evergreen on a great job. For many of the kids that went to the show, this was their first big show experience, and the team really banded together, pitched in, and showed some great sportsmanship and Evergreen spirit.

Still waiting!

After the arrivals of Nani and Princess, we have had a long drought with no foals in sight. Our wonderful pony mare, Missy, grows bigger and more unhappy looking by the day. The poor mare is now more than a week overdue, and boy does she look it! She has definitely developed the "mare stare" that says "Please take this thing out of me!" All indications are that Missy will give birth sometime this week, so check back soon for an update.

Nani and Princess continue to grow and keep getting better looking by the day. Nani is very solidly built, displaying her QH and warmblood roots proudly, but she has the personality and curiosity of every Arabian foal born here at Evergreen. Never a shy one, she'll always be there at the gate, ready to play with any passerby. Princess is a bit more reserved, but friendly and curious once she gets to know you. She still has amazingly long legs and the finest head we've seen. Her big, lofty gaits are breathtaking to watch.

And finally, we'll soon have results from the first Team Evergreen event of the year. Pam, Debbie Torrance and Lori Santmeyer took a gaggle of girls and half the horses on the farm to the BRAHA Spring Show where early reports are that the group garnered over 50 ribbons in one day. Check back soon for the full details!

Photos of the new little ones!

I'm very pleased to be able to post photos of the newest little ones here at Evergreen Farm. Both newborns are doing well. It was a little too chilly to put the babies out to play today, so they amused themselves by frolicking around the foaling stalls.

Nani (EF Epona's Shenanigans) is a lovely bay filly with just a little snip on her nose. Lacey has been a great mom, and we are looking forward to breeding her again in the near future. She'll probably take a year off from motherhood, get going under saddle, and then be bred back to KKoi for a 2009 foal.

EF She's Alada Baskin Kkoi (Princess), Patience's lovely filly, is very flashy with four high whites and a big blaze and we expect her to be a star in the halter ring. Her type-y ears, tiny muzzle, and extraordinary long legs will really stand out.

Our next two foals are due within the next few weeks. Little Miss Heartbreaker (Missy), our wonderful children's pony is in foal to Kkoi and due any day now. Cappricio (Eve), a spectacular Oldenburg by Contucci out of a Riverman mare is also due within the next two weeks. Check back soon for the latest news on our foals and an update on Team Evergreen...