This message is from: Nancy Lehnert [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Hello everyone! My name is Nancy Lehnert, sometimes better known as
Nancy's Fjord Horses! I am new to the mailing list but have been reading
the E-mails for a few days and love the conversations. It is wonderful!
I've been an equine enthusiast all my life and have raised horses since
1964. I was introduced to the wonderful world of the Fjords when I met my
late husband, Jim Clow in 1974 and they have been a part of my life ever
since! Lucky me! Guess that makes me one of the old timers of this
breed in the States?! Lou Thiesen and I joined up about eight years ago and
his work enhances the operation with his horsemanship as well as his
carriage building abilities. Just ask Dave McWethy about the quality of his
Thiesen Carriage. Lou was asked to be the driving clinician for the Kansas
Equifest in Feb. That's where we met Steve McIlree and Cynthia Madden who
were kind enough to drive Tank for the demos. Needless to say, Tank was
wonderful to work with and stole the show!!!
Note to Brian Jacobson:
I enjoyed meeting your folks when they were still in Colorado and we were
back from Wyoming for a visit. Jim had purchased his first Fjord mare in
1964 from Art and Betty Pfister in Aspen, CO when Jim still lived in Old
Snowmass. I am glad you have carried on your father's good work of
breeding the Fjord horses and I appreciate your imput to this mailing list.
Jim and I lived in Buffalo, Wyoming bordering the Purdy Ranch. Gene Bauer
bought many of Bob Purdy's horses. I met Gene in Montana when he was
visiting David Parker who had imported the stallion Ask ( a son of Grabb).
I was standing the stallion King Gjestar whom Gene had raised. That was
one of the first Fjord Horse Playdays in the country. We are so fortunate
to have so many more shows, fairs, exhibitions and evaluations now.
One of the other historic Firsts was the 1984 Fjord Gathering in Hood
River, Oregon. Jon Hegdal, who was head of the Norgesfjordhestlag, visited
for the event. Fjord owners from Canada, Washington, Wyoming, Alaska,
Idaho, and Oregon came and many with horses. Everyone demonstrated
something with their horses-- riding, packing, driving, plowing etc. None
of us had seen so many Fjords in one place together before! It was
wonderful. I still get the awe struck feeling when seeing the horses at
shows today.
Traveling to the Fjord shows in Norway and The Netherlands, was a very good
learning experience for me. Paying close attention to the judging of
hundreds of Fjord horses gives one a better eye to judge horses. What
helped the most was being able to speak with the judges and breeders in The
Netherlands and ask questions about the pedigrees as well as the faults or
strong points of the horses.
I imported horses from The Netherlands in 1987 hoping to add to the gene
pool in the States. The stallion Glengard (a Bjorgard son) was one of
those. He sired the mare NFH Dokka who achieved a First Place Blue ribbon
for conformation and movement at the NFHR Evaluation.
( The day after being evaluated, Dokka didn't show well at halter because
she was so worried about an upset foal she knew outside the ring that she
didn't want to stand like a statue pony. Yes, she has a very strong
mothering instinct! )
As Carol R. says, there isn't the perfect horse and even in this mare,
there was still room for improvement. So I asked David Klove, a Norwegian
Judge, who saw the mare, what I should look for in the stallion I would
breed to her. He told me she needed one with more bone, better movement
in the front legs and a little bit shorter back. That's what I went
looking for.
Having noted bloodlines from Norway I admired, I next purchased a Ramstad
son MVF Ravel out of Froya. Both sire and dam had been evaluated by the
Norwegian judges and received good marks. I next had a very competent
Equine Vet assess the young stallion for the standard teeth and testicles
but more stringently for conformation and movement since no evaluations
were going on at that time. Ravel was next unofficially evaluated and
approved by Jon Hegdal when Jon was with the film crew documenting the
Fjords in the USA. The response of Heather Mason, an AHSA r-rated judge,
(who also raises Warmbloods and competes at Dressage shows at Grand Prix
level) after having seen a video of Ravel in motion stated I love his
movement!
As far as Evaluations go, I believe in them whole heartedly!
I believe that a stallion's value is not just in what he is, but more
importantly, in his potency to produce offspring as good or better than he
himself or the mares he breeds. Bob VanBon once told me that a very good
stallion in Holland was gelded because his offspring were not of good quality.
One of Ravel's two year old fillies placed First in a large halter class at
Libby, Montana last year. The nick between Dokka and Ravel had worked
well... The filly had inherited her sire's good front legs and movement!
What is
