Sakura Hill Farm: 2011

December 24th,2011 Wishing our clients, family and friends a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Sakura Hill Farm Click Here to view the animated Christmas card. December 10th,2011 Ahsianita proves her worth as both a broodmare and a performance horse Ahsianita made her debut in the show ring at the RMI Mid-Florida Series December show in the 1.0m and 1.10m divisions with several clear rounds and good ribbons including a 2nd place. She then went the following week to Tampa to debut in the 1.15m division in which she delivered a very positive round. Ahsianita will return to RMI this weekend before taking a month long break before starting up again at the HITS Florida circuit in January. October 31st,2011 C-Quito proves to be quite popular amongst the Sakura Hill Farm mares and clients. We are happy to announce that Sakura Hill Czola's (by Alla 'Czar) 2012 foal by C-Quito is now under contract as an in-utero option taken by a prescient person in Tennessee. Also, another very prescient lady in Tampa has opted for a custom 2013 foal from Kaiserin (by Kaiser de la Cour) and has chosen CQuito as the sire. Odds are that it will be an elegant gray with exceptional conformation and the scope to do the Derbies! We look forward to what both of these crosses will produce. October 1st,2011 Wyoming (the "Ming " of the Ming and Ping duo of 2010) stood out from Day One because of his elegant exterior and statesman-like demeanor. Nothing has ever perturbed Ming. He quickly gave evidence of becoming a very big boy indeed and his affectionate nature made us concerned that he find a partner that would forge a long-term working relationship with him to develop him to his potential. We are truly thrilled that just such a person has purchased him and - lucky us!- lives just north of us and for the forseeable future, Ming will be staying at Prosperity Farms with his buddy Ping et al. Watch for him at the October Young Horse Show with us and his new owner! Sakura Hill Wyoming September 15th,2011 Sakura Hill Farm attends the 2011 KWPN-NA Florida Keuring Grenache S (Chello III VDL x Ulysses m2s), Stamroos W (Heartbreaker x Ramiro) and Ahme P (Olympic Ahorn x Olympic Ferro) all attended a very successful KWPN-NA keuring held at Pennock Point Sport Horses in Reddick, FL. We are so happy for Grenache S and his California owner! He stole the show with his youthful yet purposeful movement and got First Premium at the KWPN keuring at Pennock Point yesterday. The youngest to be inspected, he strutted his trot up and down the arena like a pro under the capable handling of Janko! Grenache S is sired by the VDL stallion Chello III and out of Ultra-niki m2s Z. The first "second generation" foal bred by Sakura Hill Farm, he was imported and purchased in utero. Grenache S Ahme P Stamroos W August 7thth,2011 Sakura Hill La Czaritza (owned by Andrea Hayden) attends the BWP-NAD inspection at WB Equestrian, Sanford, FL. Sakura Hill La Czaritza (by Crown Affair) did us, her new owner,, and her sire and dam proud by nailing top scores at her BWP inspection. The 82 for the regular book and the 84 for the Hunter book should give her scores among the top 2 or 3 in the nation given out to all horses for 2011.
August 4thth,2011 Sakura Hill Farm attends the GOV Oldenburg inspection at Yancey Farm, Ocala, FL. Cantanita S (by Olympic Canturo) received a First Premium, Kaiserin (by Kaiser de la Cour) is now duly inspected and Kallanica (by Callaway 4) awaits the results of her sire's inspection in Ontario. July 30th, 20110 Sakura Hill Farm presents our newest broodmare/sporthorse addition-- Stamroos W (Heartbreaker x Ramiro x Uppercut xx)
June 30th,2011 Sakura Hill La Czaritza Sold to Prosperity Farms We are pleased to announce that Sakura Hill La Czaritza has been sold to Prosperity Farms. We and Andrea will have an opportunity to watch this filly show what she is made of at close hand at the Hunter Breeding classes and beyond! We are so excited to be able to have her stay so near with those who have known her since birth! June 25th,2011 Rain couldn't dampen the spirits of the First Annual Spring Social & Young Horse Expo Article May 5th,2011 Sakura Hill Farm's Cinco de Mayo Surprise! Czola never disappoints! She has had outstanding foals by Lotus T., Cunningham, and now Crown Affair.We bred this foal with the high hopes of obtaining a filly for our broodmare band and, of course, to have fun with at the shows - hunter br...eeding and hunter rings. Czola's Alla'Czar on top with the good TB on the dam side is a perfect foil for Crown Affair with the direct Cor de la Bryere and Capitol bloodlines. Crown Affair's recent successes in the hunter derbies are an additional +. We are VERY excited by this filly--La Czaritza! April 27th,2011 Sakura Hill Farm and Lake Ridge Farm partner up to host the Mount Holyoke Dressage Team Practice in Preperation for IDA Nationals Sakura Hill and Lake Ridge Farm, owned by Cheryl Youngman, hosted the Mount Holyoke Dressage Nationals Team practice on April 29th. Their 5 riders rode three of Lake Ridge Farm's horses as well as Ana Bella and Ahme of Sakura Hill Farm. A productive and fun morning was had by all and it was especially nice for Monica to see some of her old classmates from college. March 9th,2011 It's a girl! We are stunned to have a filly- Sakura Hill Cantanita (Olympic Canturo x Ulysses M2S). We were all geared up for a colt! Many many thanks to all those who have sent congratulations and smileys! It is heartwarming! March 1st,2011 The Spring Social & Young Horse Expo The Spring Social & Young Horse Expo hosted by Sakura Hill Farm and Prosperity Farms will be held June 25th, 2011 from Noon-5pm. February 1st,2011 Sakura Hill Farm's Newest Additions Sakura Hill is proud to present our newest addition to our broodmare band >Sakura Hill Keiserin "Kassie" by Kaiser de la Cour (Verdi x Kayack x Starter) out of a Lantaan (Lord x Liguster) mare. Her 2011 filly, Sakura Hill Kallanica "Kalla", born 15 days ago by Debbie Stephens' Grand Prix Jumper Callaway (by Calando I). January 29th,2011 Sakura Hill Zorriola sold to Brazilian grand prix rider Sergio Campos Sakura Hill Farm is happy to announce that Sakura Hill Zorriola has been purchased by Brazilian grand prix rider Sergio Campos. We are eager to see them compete and go up the levels at this year's Florida circuit. It is wonderful to realize how many friends and fans Zorri has made for herself over the years, especially in Mount Holyoke- where she and Monica were the entertainment of the season her first year- in more ways than one-and here in Florida. Always herself, she does command attention! We cannot read the future but we are convinced that if the past is any prediction, hers will be a good one. *2010 News*2009 News

I have decided to write, photograph and video the process of starting the newest arrival to Sakura Hill Farm--- Ultra-niki m2s Z (Ulysses m2s x Calvados x Joost), a 2007 imported Zangersheide mare and half paternal sister to Ahsianita (Ulysses m2s x Olympic Ahorn x Erdball xx). Niki is the first mare bred by my mother and was specifically bred to join our mareband with her linebreeding on the Dutch -niki mareline. She arrived in the States as a four year old, unstarted and in foal to VDL Chello III in the early spring of 2011.

In these posts I will keep things casual and by no means is this a "how to start your youngster" guide, merely a journal of my experience and thoughts.

Let's start with a bit of background:

Ultra-niki ("Niki") was imported from Europe in foal (with Grenache S by Chello III VDL) in March 2011, having lived in a field for the majority of her life until then. Upon arrival, she was sent to our foaling farm where she has spent the last 8 months. In September she and her foal attended the KWPN-NA inspection (where Grenache S received a First Premium :-)). Her trip to the inspection and overnight stay proved uneventful and she and Grenache proved easy to handle. After weaning Grenache, she then went to Sakura Hill Farm for a month to regain her figure and arrived at Lake Ridge Farm (home of the Sakura Hill performance horses) on November 3rd, 2011 to begin her education as a riding horse.

As a weanling in 2007 in Europe

Her education thus far has been:

Ultra-niki October 2011 at Sakura Hill Farm

Leading
Loading/riding in a trailer
Wearing a bridle (which she had to wear for the KWPN inspection)
She has been braided once and stood well although she was a bit wiggly.

Thus far, Ultra-niki has lived in Europe (birth-March 2011), the quarantine farm (2-3 weeks), the foaling farm (April 2011-October 2011), Sakura Hill Farm (October 2011-November 2011)--->Lake Ridge Farm (November 2011---onward).

A few assumptions before we begin, (although one really should never make assumptions about youngsters):

The Ulysses blood has proven itself to be friendly, rideable, very sensible and easy to work with. Let's see if this holds true with Niki
Niki has quite a low percentage of blood due to her dam Ushiniki (Calvados x Joost)---44.22% blood compared to her half sister's 48.45% blood (Ahsianita) who is very quick off the ground and has excellent technique over fences. Her sister is quite laid back and quiet even with the 48.42% blood-- perhaps Ultra-niki will lack a bit of oomph under saddle.
Niki is much more substantial and broader built than Ahisanita. Her movement is very powerful with a lot of suspension and reach. She will be very powerful, but perhaps not be as sharp and cat-like as her sister over fences. This was what we saw when she was free jumped casually as a yearling in Europe--- much power with a great hind end, but perhaps a bit slow off the ground.... we'll see what she shows us when we tackle free jumping later on.

The following posts will be a day- by- day (as long as I can keep up with them) report of what I call "The Niki Chronicles", my experience, photos and videos of the starting process of Ultra-niki (the greats, the goods, the ups, the downs).

I hope you enjoy the narration and wish me luck!