The stud was established on a small scale in 2000. Following the move to our current location in 2004, we have gradually developed the stud. We have invested in good facilities to ensure we can provide the best and safest environment for our horses to grow up in and learn.
The Hanoverian breed was selected as the foundation for the stud for the following reasons.
- The very high standards of selection and performance testing set by the Hanoverian society which are applied to all potential stallions before they are licensed and all potential mare candidates for the State premiumElite award.
- The Hanoverian is known for good temperament, athleticism, beauty and grace.
- The impressive record of Hanoverian horses internationally underlines the importance of the relationship between a sound breeding programme and the highest level of achievement in sport.
The Hanoverian Verband also licenses appropriate stallions from other societies. This gives us access to a wide choice of genes and talent to match with our mares.
Our aim is to produce quality British-bred dressage horses using top German bloodlines.
Our breeding programme is driven by fundamental principles that are very important to us.
Developing strong mare families.
At the heart of our philosophy is building on our fabulous foundation mares though their daughters and their daughters’ daughters. We have focused on understanding our mares and developing the bloodlines to continually improve our breeding programme. We performance test our mares and we also prove our mares in the sport.
Creating beautiful exciting horses with wonderful temperaments.
Breeding and producing horses with fabulous natural movement but also with very good rideability.
Providing our horses with the highest levels of care and management.
Throughout their life with us we ensure they are well handled from birth, are regularly seen by the farrier and dentist and receive any other treatment that they need. As young horses they live in social groups of their own age. We do not raise colts so they live together until they are four. They have quality feed and haylage which is made here on the farm. In the Winter, youngsters are housed in large airy barns with plenty of clean straw and ad-lib haylage. They also have outdoor areas to play in. Once in work and stabled, the horses have stables which are large and most have a dual aspect. They go out in the field and hack out. We know the history of each of our horses.
Correctly training our horses for a long-term career in dressage
All the horses born here will be under saddle and usually will have started their competition career before they leave us. We can ensure that they have the correct start to their training right from their early education. Our training is based on the scales of training and is relevant to each horse’s age and stage of physical development. Some of our horses take part in the young horse classes but many need more time to grow and mature. Our goal is the long-term for our horses and we see the young horse classes as a step along the way for those who are naturally ready to take part in them. They are not produced specifically for these classes. We do not want to compromise our horses’ long-term health by asking too much too soon.