We're having hot temperatures here in Madrid, nevertheless I have been working out horses non stop, I give myself lazer treatments on a daily basis, yesterday I did three and the day before yesterday all five horses, yay!
Today we had a visit from David de Wispelaere from USA, living in Germany. David is a renouned classical dressage trainer of all races, he promotes riding with harmony and lightness and feeling for the horse. You can read about his principles on his webpage here; http://www.dwdewispelaere.com/ 
I enjoyed meeting David, there was a mutual understanding and it was encouraging to meet someone with same training philosophy, view of and attitude to the horse in general. Seeing him ride my horse was also a pleasant experience!
David de Wispelaere on Festivo MR

Now you will be able to follow another Vikinga PRE competing, our first offspring Reina Vikinga has just done her PRE show debute! This special lady initiated our studfarm that was registered same year (2008) as she was born. Of course I was thrilled she came out buckskin, movements in beauty and colours is my passion! RV is actually a buckskin-dun, she has both C and D gene. We saw her mum in a flying trot 2 weeks before she gave birth and bought her instantly. It was exciting times to be starting our stud and we named her Reina Vikinga, Reina from her mum and Vikinga from her 'new mum' (me) so now we were two blond 'viking-girls' in Spain!
RV Spain 2008
   
Of course we also named our studfarm after her. We had to register her in a rush before she left for Sweden, she was given the wrong 'sirname' RG instead of 'VIK', then our breeders code did not arrive so we had to use Javier's old breeders code and on top of that she was NOT compatible by blood with her father! What a spanish byrocracy mess expected us.. Most importantly was to find the dad so she could be inscribed in PRE studbook, this took us one year, alot of investigation and many bloodtest of possible stallions. In the end she was compatible with a very exclusive Peralta stallion called Firme AP. She has a delicious mix of Yeguada Militar & pure Carthusian bloodlines. Beautiful Reina Vikinga grew up in Sweden, Halmstad on our farm, and as far as I know she was the first swedish buckskin PRE!
    
Very early we could see that she was a highly intelligent horse, she always wanted to do something and she needed a person that stimulated her on a daily basis. As I did not have time and spent alot of time in Spain I was happy (well, quite unhappy actually!) to sell her to Sölvi in Norway that was a super match for her.

The PRE show took place in Norway and this is she has how elegant she is now!

Very special lady Reina Vikinga
  
       

Here we are sweating away, not complaining at all though, I love it!
Working three boys a day and I am quite satisfied with my work, all five are so different so it is a very colourful and fun gang to work with! Festivo has been resting after TRC so I do him everyday now and then two more, yesterday Molinete and Halagador, today Start & Donoso. Festivo will stand back from competitions now, he has done alot this year, the bronze in EU championships in spring, then standing at stud and now Calificado grading so now he will work on his dressage at home. I am getting Start into competition form, no competiton in August but in September there is the big CDN*** in Toledo which is now my exciting goal with Start. Not sure which ones to do, will decide alittle further on. Now when Donoso has his Calificado status it's not necessary to do anymore championships, it's more interesting to develop his dressage curriculum from now on. Halagador is now doing a super extended trot, he loves to show off his spanish walk and now he is also doing a spectacular spanish trot! And Molinete needs alittle more time to grow into his body before he can enter a championship, he's tall, growing and needs filling out, movements are l o v e l y, we'll see this autumn how he has developed!
A norwegian PRE breeder wanted to use Donoso but no veterinarian was able to help her with insemination. A real pity and I am surprised how the breeding stations/vets won't help a lady that brought her mare all the way from Norway, July is a perfect month to get a mare pregnant in the north of Sweden. Donoso will have PREs and PRE/warmblood offspring in Spain, Sweden and Finland next year and perhaps in Switzerland too but that's not confirmed yet. Halagador and Festivo will have offpspring in Spain, Festivo possibly in Australia also as their breeding season is in October-December.
This is Festivo MR last year when he won Best Movements and qualified for SICAB in Caravaca de la Cruz.
 

Hi everyone! Guess what, I have tried longdistance healing (from Sweden, where else) incredible stuff and it works, no idea how but it does and that suits me fine!
Big baby (can't help it, he will always be my big baby) Festivo MR has got inquiry from a Australian mare! Donoso from a mare from Switzerland and a quite a few from Sweden! But we have decided not to leave Festivo behind at studstation again this year to collect for frozen semen, I feel he's needs to be at home working steadily, he has done alot the last year. Donoso already have frozen semen at Flyinge in Sweden and here in Spain so that's very convenient. Otherwise I am pleasantly busy training all five and here's Molinete from today, he's a sweety, so comfortable and light and dream to sit on! Here he is ridden 1 month only.
Molinete XI
  

Today Start was the only one in line for a workout, Festivo, Donoso, Halagador had a party in walker that young Mr Molinete started, Moli is up!
Moli and the PRE gang

I promised to write some general informational about this event and here it is.

Both PRE stallions and mares are graded. First grading is APTO which is a basic approval, no test is required only a general study by official veterinarian confirming that mare/stallions is compatible by blood with its parents (is registered and has a passport). To get your stud stallion graded and approved for breeding with any kind of artificial insemination, the Tribune of Qualified Reproductors (TRC) need to pass the horse. The test is over one day and described below. Theoretically Elite grading also exists but so far there are no tests elaborated for this level, hence no PRE stallions are graded Elite, as far as I know.

Requirements for application to grading;
If your stallion is 4 years or older and your mare 3 years or older you can apply for TRC. The stallions has to be over 155 cm and the mares over 153 cm. You have to submit the following certifications from the University of Cordoba including;
1. Xrays that confirms the horse is free from OCD - Osteochondrosis,

2. Vet cert measuring quality of semen,
3. Vet cert excluding defects which inhibits reproduction

On arrival to grading the horse's angels are measured carefully as they have to be well within the racestandards.
(Donoso was very cooperative and thought everything .. needed to be measured..)
 
The first test is the morfology that is very much like the presentation by hand in championships only longer and more strict and the evaluation lasts 15 min. Three judges mark the horse that has to reach a score of 85 or more. If you compare these scores to results in championships it is a very high score. Also a horse with one note of 'very bad' or two notes of 'bad' are disqualified even if total score is 85 or more.
Donoso VII
    
No matter what scores the stallions get in the ridden test, he cannot pass and get tthe itle Reproductor Calificado if he does not get sufficient scores in the morfology. The first part of the grading is where most horses fail. Ridden test is performed. For mares the ridden test is optional.
Donoso VII
     
Festivo MR 
       
In the ridden test the judge looks at the quality of movements in all gaits, rideability and general impression of the horse under saddle. The judge ask the rider to do different excercises, which he finds necessary, varies from one horse to another. To pass you need a score of 24 (out of 40) or more which is also a high score in morfo-functional shows.

Feel free to ask if there is anything else you would like to know, now I have some more riding to do, have a great weekend!
     
/Proud owner, happy rider!
 

Festivo MR, our big baby has joined Donoso VII and the gang of Spanish Kings - today he is our Big King!

We landed hard on couch with wine and swedish sweets, went up at 4 am today but who cares - Yeguada VIKINGA PRE now has two TRC stallions - how cool isn't this!? H A P  P I N E S S!!!
He had a big audience and a TV reporter team behind him all day, you can see it this evening if you have Channel 1 Televisión Española!
Festivo MR - Reproductor Calificado 2011
  
Judges; Juan Manuel Carnero Sánchez, Javier Bayo Sánchez, Ignacio Bravo Garcia
           
Jorge Conde Lázaro, judge ridden test
     

All photos by Javier Villard