Horse Shows

Del Mar Charity Fair 2010

Sterling was Open Western Pleasure Champion and Grand Champion
Majestic was Friesian Amateur Saddleseat Champion and Reserve Grand Champion
Tiede was Dressage Suitability Grand Champion
Ate was  Reserve Open Huntseat Pleasure Champion

Del Mar Story

Del Mar has been one of our favorite shows for many years. Gone are the days where we hauled poor Sterling the 11 hour drive from Sonoma, and entered him in every single class possible. This year we loaded up 5 geldings and made the lengthy drive south.

The GOOD:

~ we were stalled closer to the action, next to Anne Specks' Rancho Del Mar Stables, so we didn't have to hoof it 2 miles just to get a horse in the ring.

~ Sterling was the STAR! Our 17 yr old " sterling mule" handily conquered the open western pleasure division. Never mind the rear straight up ( he is trick trained to rear) when having his photo taken by the Saddle and Bridle magazine and Saddle Horse Report reps following his championship win. We have never seen Babs move so quickly:)

~Majestic was also spectacular, winning the Amateur Saddleseat Pleasure Open.

~ Tiede, our new import, walked away with the Dressage Suitability Grand Championship

The BAD:

~altho stalled closer to the arena, there was no loud speaker at our barn, so we never knew what class they were on, which resulted in us frequently having horses in the warm up arena over an hour before their class, simply because we could not hear anything and we were afraid of missing our class.

~ not expecting a "hand gallop" to be called for in the Amateur Saddleseat Pleasure Championship, it was not something we had practiced. Majestic swapped leads in the championship at the hand gallop, thus causing him to be 2nd. [ upside--the judge commented after the class on an otherwise beautiful ride and said he was really sorry to lose his winner when Majestic jumped leads].

~ Ate was very well behaved and magnificent in the huntseat classes. We are baffled as to why more and more judges do not seem to like this former national huntseat champion--- and we would love your input... If you have seen Ate show, please tell us what we should be doing differently?

~ Janna competed all week with 2 cracked ribs -- the result of an unsuspecting horse kick the previous week, and was unable to breath, laugh, cough, fart, etc, without shooting pain. The day after getting home from the show, she had a basal cell carcinoma removed from her left thigh, resulting in 8 stitches.

The UGLY:

5 weeks after BSF, as his employer, facilitated an 18 month J1 visa for our visiting dressage rider from Holland, and just days after competing in 5 classes at Del Mar, compliments of BSF, our trusty trainer/groom abandoned his position, without notice, to go to work for our customer, who has boarded 2-3 horses at BSF for the last 2 1/2 years. We had to scramble to have the horses fed and cared for since our Dutch worker pursued his greener pasture. He moved into the customer, Marielle's Belvedere house, was provided a car to drive and yieled a brand new iPhone, and bragged about having to only work 1 hour per day for the same pay,working for our customer that purchased 5 friesians from us. It is unfortunate this employee learned the concept of opportunism verses loyalty.

LOYALTY:

-noun .... The state or quality of being loyal; faithfulness to commitments or obligations.

OPPORTUNISM:

-noun...The policy or practice , as in one's personal or business affairs, of adapting actions, decisions, etc, to expediency of effectiveness regardless of the sacrifice of ethical principles.

The positive from this experience is that Janna is personally handling the training of Sterling, Ate and Majestic and those three boys love seeing her and having her personal and caring touch. Running a successful horse business has its challenges but the greatest reward is seeing the twinkle in our favorite boys' eyes when Janna comes to the barn to ride them.


We are members in good standing of the following organizations:
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  • California Dressage Logo
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  • Friesian Show Horse Logo
Black Sterling® is a registered trademark of Janna Weir. ©2020 Black Sterling Friesians for sale. all rights reserved.
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