This message is from: "Arthur Rivoire" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Hello Everybody from Carol Rivoire at Beaver Dam Farm in Nova Scotia -
I was happy to see Lori Albrough's two posts regarding the importance of THE WALK, and how a good walk is evident in many Fjords, and that we must keep it in the breed. -- In her second post, Lori talked about the wonderful gaits on her 3 yr. old mare sired by Felix, out of the Dutch imported mare, Rjellgrimm, who is by Myrstein, the same sire as Ann Sullivan's mare, Riena, both mares imported by Beaver Dam Farm. - Anne's mare, Riena, received a "10" for her walk at this year's Ohio Evaluation. > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > Lori wrote . . In all paces the most important quality is the purity of the rhythm. In walk you want to see an even four beats. Most Fjords I've seen DO have a good > rhythmical four beat walk, that is a trait in the breed that we definitely > want to be aware of and preserve. In her second post, Lori wrote about her young mare, Peregrine. . . . . When my coach saw her she said 'that horse has remarkable freedom in her shoulders' (that means remarkable for any breed, not just Fjords) and she is so right, the > things Peregrine can do with her body and the freedom in her front end just amaze me. The hind end is equally wonderful with an active hind leg that > just won't quit. . . . . . The feeling I get from her in the trot is something that you can work for years to get on another horse. ... > >> She (Peregrine) is out of Rjelgrimm, our Myrstein daughter, who is half-sister to Anne Sullivan's mare Reina who she talked about recently on the list, these two > mares were imported from Holland in the same group by Carol R. > > Lori ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ So, what do the different bloodlines produce? Myrstein is an exceptionally good stallion! Myrstein has the big, regular, rhythmic, swinging walk with exceptional freedom in the hindquarters and shoulders Lori described. --- (Our stallion, Gjest, has this same quality of freedom in the front and hindquarters) --- Myrstein is known for passing this on, and in all the years we've been breeding and importing, we've come to depend on Myrstein offspring for exceptionally good movement and athletic ability. Myrstein is, (I believe) still actively breeding in Holland. He's a year younger than Gjest, which would make him 26. -- When both Gjest and Myrstein were standing as Dutch Studbook Stallions, they were known as The TWO BEST MOVERS of all the stallions. At one time there was a famous trotting match race between Gjest and Myrstein. The results were close, but Gjest won. Somewhere, I have a full-page color newspaper photo of Gjest with a couronne of flowers around his neck for winning this race. It was a big thing in Holland. -- Myrstein is acknowledged one of the all-time best stallions in Fjord breeding. He was born and bred in Norway and then purchased by the Dutch Studbook. Myrstein has every level of certification including ELITE. Out of all of Holland's approved Studbook stallions, there are only four Elite Stallions. Myrstein got an "AA" rating with 99 points on the Dutch Riding Test. He got a "10" for his walk . . . . just like his daughter, Riena, this year at the Ohio Evaluation. -- He also got an "18" (2 x 9) for temperament. The reason Myrstein is so highly regarded is his movement, and the fact he passes it on to his sons and daughters. I remember seeing Riena and Rjellgrimm as yearling fillies in Holland and choosing to import to them to Canada. -- Riena was at a huge breeding farm, in a field with about 30 yearlings. The breeder had picked out several to show me, but my eye kept going to a filly running in the back of the field. When I asked about this filly, the owner put me off, but I insisted, and eventually we caught her, and copied down her brand. At that point, I knew nothing about her except she was well made and a beautiful mover. -- Later, we checked her brand, and that's when we discovered she was a Myrstein daughter, and was the Champion Filly in all of Freisland. Next thing we called the owner, but he said he didn't want to sell his filly, which was extremely disappointing. I really wanted that horse. I knew how special she was. -- But, luckily, the next day the breeder called and said he would sell if we'd meet his price. Getting Rjellgrimm wasn't quite as difficult. She was for sale allright, but finding where she was pastured was a nightmare. --- We were told the filly was in a field outside of such and such village, going northwest so many kilometres, turning right, then left, etc., etc.then taking a little path round a shed, and after the sheep pen. By some miracle, after several hours, we found her. I had a German friend with me that trip. This woman was the consumate horsewoman. She'd been on the German 3-Day Event team, and had raised Trakhaeners. The lady knew sport horses, and really liked this Myrstein daughter. She saw a lot of power and ability there. So, we bought her. Over the years, we've had other Myrstein sons and daughters, and all of them have been wonderful movers, very strong, and athletic. -- When Riena was a 4-yr-old, we bred her to Gjest and she had a beautiful colt we named BDF Ran Reinstein - after both Riena and Myrstein. Ran is now owed by Mel and Joanne Goble, and he's a coming 4-yr-old, already going well in harness, trained by Mel. -- Arthur and I saw Ran in Aiken, SC last Spring and he looks like Riena, and moves with the freedom, length of stride, rhythm, and regularity of both his dam, Riena, and his sire, Gjest. -- Ran is a perfect example of what certain bloodlines produce. -- I believe Ran is the only Gjest/Myrstein cross in North America, and as such is particularly interesting to watch --- especially considering he's owned by such a super horseman as Mel Goble. When the Sullivan family took Riena to the Ohio Evaluation this year, the judge's were extremely impressed with her movement, particularly her walk. In the Evaluation, Wayne Hipsley and the other judges gave Riena a "10" for her walk, and commented something to the effect that Riena's walk was what the breed should be striving for. -- *** Anne Sullivan could give you the complete story. So, what do the various bloodlines produce? This is an important question, and one that can be answered by Fjord Registries and breeders in Europe. -- For that matter, all breed registries in Europe. -- Very unfortunately, but understandable, we in North America, are not going to have the benefit of this kind of valuable information for a very long time. However, it would be possible to make a start on such a data base with the Evaluation system we have going. -- Not hard at all, I would think, although certainly not the complete story of stallion lines in North America. I'm talking about using only the conformation and movement scores to assess what individual stallions pass on. -- I'm not talking about performance testing as that's much too dependent on too many variables. -- When I first saw Gjest in 1985 in Holland, I had the good luck to talk to his Studbook handler. The man told me that Gjest had an extremely good work ethic, and he had excellent movement, both of which he passed on to his sons and daughters. -- It was this vital information that enticed me to try and buy this stallion. And, now after sixteen years breeding Gjest in the U.S. and Canada, and producing over 70 foals from him, I can say with certainty that we know the qualities Gjest passes on. We know what this particular (Gjest's) bloodline produces. Kind Regards, Carol Rivoire
