News & Horses: "Cuatrero"

Vaquero HGF Steps Down from Sport.

May 13, 2022

Life has its stages. On Sunday, March 13 2022, Kerrigan closed a beautiful stage of her riding career with Vaquero HGF as this combination said a final goodbye to the competition arenas.  Vaquero HGF  made his last strides in the competition ring at the national level Grand Prix Special at WEC, OCALA . There is always a horse that marks your life and sports career, and for Kerrigan Gluch, that horse has been Vaquero HGF. Her evolution, from Young Riders to Grand Prix, has been a journey full of all of the joys and sorrows necessary to achieve success. Retiring your first important equine partner is always bittersweet—but Vaquero’s career and success began quite a while before he partnered with Kerrigan.  This is his story: Bred in Michigan for Success around the World.  Bred in the beautiful state of Michigan, Vaquero HGF has the bloodlines of two of Hampton Green’s most well-loved stallions—Idilio II on the dam side, with Cuatrero IV  (Marin Garcia) for his sire. Originally selected by Courtney King-Dye as a future prospect, owner Kimberly Van Kampen was forced to make other plans for Vaquero following Courtney’s untimely departure from the sport. At 3 years old, Vaquero was sent to Spain for his early training, and to see how this American product would do in competition against the best young horses in that country.  In the hands of Daniel Martin Dockx, Vaquero became an elite young horse prospect for Spain. He made his national debut as a four year old, finishing in the top 10 at the National Young Horse Championships and among the top five of PRE breed.  In 2013, he campaigned at the five year old levels and again finished the National Young Horse Championships in the top 10, and in the top 3 PREs in the country. His last year of young horse competition at 6 years, Vaquero finished 6th nationally, and the highest ranked PRE in the country. The year ended with a bronze medal at SICAB, which is particularly notable in that he is the first PRE horse bred in United States to win a medal in the prestigious PRE World Championships.   The Growth of a New Partnership Vaquero HGF  and Kerrigan Gluch  began their partnership in 2015. Together they achieved many successes representing the colors of  American Flag in both the US and Europe. Gluch and Vaquero  were one of the most dynamic and successful dressage combinations in the Young Rider level in US. The pair made numerous appearances at the international level, more precisely a total of 36 entries. On February 20, 2015, Kerrigan faced the center line for the first time with Vaquero in Wellington, Florida . As an 8-year-old, under the training of Oded Shimoni, Kerrigan and Vaquero HGF won the Bronze Medal at NAJYRC and went on to become the USEF Reserve Young Rider National Champion.  Their successes continued and in 2016, this duo was selected for the European Tour. They concluded their Euro Tour in the ribbons at the Young Riders Nations Cup in Hagen (Future Champions), Germany, the only PRE among the best warmbloods and young riders in Europe. In 2018, with the help of Robert Dover, they debuted in the U25 level with scores up to 68%. Two years later, at their peak of their level, Kerrigan Gluch and Vaquero HGF took home the runner up Champion of the USEF Brentina Cup.  Following his success at U25, Vaquero never showed the same enthusiasm for the Big Tour. After several national starts, rider and owner decided that the horse had given enough and deserved to have a say in his own future.  After an early rigorous start in the young horse circuits of Spain, Vaquero became the great companion of battles for a young rider on the long road to Grand Prix . This horse not only taught her the way but allowed her to fulfill her dream of representing the United States on foreign land. At 16 years old, Vaquero has nothing more to prove. On March 13, Kerrigan and Vaquero took their final salute together at X. Still 100% sound and able to enjoy pleasure rides with his special girl, Vaquero will be rewarded with a peaceful retirement at the farm of his birth. Thank you Vaquero HGF for all these years…

2013 in Review

July 17, 2014

It’s hard to believe that this is the 10th HGF Year in Review article that we’ve posted on our site. Those of you who are faithful readers of our annual reports, we hope we’ve kept your attention over the years, and that the story of our farm, its horses and people, will keep your interest for many more years to come. We thought it would be hard to outdo 2012, but 2013 surely had its highlights! Grandioso and Daniel Martin Dockx kicked off the year with a string of CDI wins that started with Sunshine Tour, went to Madrid, then on to a really big victory at the GP and GP Kur at the Glock Show in Treffen, Austria. At every show, the scores went higher, but the 79% in the Kur at Treffen put the pair on the map in Europe. Dani would later say, “In my career, there is now only ‘before Treffen’ and ‘after Treffen’. From there, Grandioso astonished the multi-national crowd at Aachen by finishing 8th in the GP Kur with over 78%, among only the most elite horses of America and Europe. Their performance at the European Championships was consistent with the trajectory of the year, scoring their personal best in both the Grand Prix and the Special and finishing 22nd overall. At the end of the outdoor season for 2013, Daniel and Grandioso were ranked 23rd in the world in the FEI rankings, and the pair returned to Malaga for a period of rest and to continue their work with trainer Jan Bemelmans. In the meantime, Daniel was preparing Michigan-born Vaquero HGF for the National Young Horse Championships. Throughout the year, Vaquero was ranked 6th overall in the RFHE (Spanish Federation) rankings for 6 year olds, and 1st in the Copa ANCCE (PRE Rankings). He maintained this position following the Championships in October, and has since been put on the developing list for Spain. A last minute decision to participate in the Breeders Cup at SICAB in December resulted in the pair taking 3rd and achieving something never done before in the history of SICAB—the first American-born, and possibly foreign-born, horse to medal at the highly competitive Spanish Breeders Finals in Sevilla. Daniel continues to work with several other HGF horses, including Bolero CXLVIII who has made considerable progress since returning to Spain in April this year. In their first national outing at PSG, they scored 70%, and have started to prepare for the Grand Prix, for which the horse shows special talent. On the homefront, HGF horses and riders have had their share of success. HGF-sponsored Rachel Chowanec, on Lendon Gray’s Embrujado XI, was again USEF Reserve National Champion, this time at the Young Rider division. Cuatrero IV and Kerrigan Gluch were invited to both NAJYRCs and the Festival of Champions, until an unfortunate injury sidelined their year. HGF-bred horses and their riders continue to make headlines: Cindy Ramirez Smith and Carina HGF received a Gold Medal from the United States Eventing Association; Nicholas Fyffe and Fiero HGF were added to the 2014 National Futures Squad for Australia; Decoroso HGF and Decente HGF were USDF All Breeds winners with their owners and riders; and all our owners had a great year learning and showing on their horses. This past summer, HGF in Michigan hosted over 15 charity events, impacting our community with support for various causes. Hampton Green Farm was named the 2013 “Agent of Change” by the Muskegon Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce, for its work for local charities. Additionally, HGF hosted perhaps our favorite event of the year for the 3rd time—the Dressage4Kids Lendon Youth Dressage Festival Midwest. This year we had almost 50 riders, a very honest and meaningful dinner speech by Nicholas Fyffe and a fantastic lecture on training for soundness by Dr. Rob Van Wessum. The EDAP program (Emerging Dressage Athlete) and the various Dressage4Kids events are growing nationally and HGF is proud to offer this opportunity to our local youth riders. Many HGF horses found new homes this past year. One of our shining stars in the international Grand Prix circuit, HGF-bred Encanto XI, was sold to Wellington, Florida, shortly after taking second in the GPS at Sunshine Tour. Grandioso’s full brother, Grandioso VII (Adelante) was sold to a prominent breeder in Spain, and two very talented sons of Bolero were sold to an Adult Amateur and a young rider, respectively. Several foals have gone to professionals this year, as well. Nine foals were born at HGF in Michigan in 2013, coming at a time when we need to replenish our herds, especially with several of our older mares retiring. We had a strong crop of 2013 babies, from the performance bloodlines of Albero II and Remache, and we are excited to present them for sale when they are ready. And, not least, the Global Dressage Festival finally resolved all of its legal issues with the Village of Wellington in late 2013. In addition to restoring the property’s inherent rights to be used for equestrian commercial activities, the GDF show grounds is now able to be used year-round, as will the Van Kampen Arena, designated for non-profit use for 28 days per year. The GDF is a game-changer in American dressage, and now that the series has no less than 7 CDIs, including a Nations Cup (concurrent with the Florida Youth Dressage Championships), a 5 Star, and three CDIWs, the GDF will soon establish Wellington as the Winter Dressage Capital for the world. 2014 is now here and we have so much to look forward to! Dani and Grandioso start the road to Normandy, which we hope will lead to a position again on the Spanish team for the World Equestrian Games. The D4K Winter Intensive Training (WIT) program at HGF is kicking off with the Dover Horsemanship clinic this week and our students are gearing up for international level competition this winter. USPRE will host its annual celebration in Wellington on January 21-26. (For more information, see www.usprea.com.) The PRE horse continues to shine in the world, wherever it is given the opportunity. Young horses mature. Riders gain more skills. Magic sometimes happens. Stay tuned and we’ll see if we can do it again this year! All the best for 2014!

Vaquero HGF: First American-Bred Horse to Medal at SICAB

December 22, 2013

Vaquero HGF: First American-Bred Horse to Medal at SICAB Throughout the year, the PREs of Spain compete in rated dressage shows for qualification in the year-end Copa ANCCE (Breeders Cup) Finals. The top 12 ranked horses of each division are invited to compete against each other for two days at SICAB—the highly visible (un-rated) Dressage Finals held in conjunction with the annual Breed Finals for PRE horses, sponsored by the National Association of PRE Breeders in Spain. Vaquero HGF went into the competition in solid first place in the rankings—having earned his qualifying scores at CDIs at Sunshine Tour, Toledo and other shows. A panel of national judges working at SICAB put him 7th on Day One and 2nd on Day Two, for a finish with the national title of Bronze for the Copa ANCCE 2013 in the 6 Year Old Dressage Division. This is the first time that a PRE horse bred on American soil has achieved such an honor at the annual national celebration of PRE breeders in Spain. Vaquero is a 2007 PRE stallion by Cuatrero IV out of Encina HGF, born at HGF in Fruitport, Michigan. He was sent to Spain in 2010 to begin his training with Daniel Martin Dockx. Together the pair has finished as the top PRE in the official Young Horse Championships of Spain in 2012 and 2013. They are ranked 6th overall (out of 80) at year-end in the RFHE 6 Year Old rankings for Spain, and first among PREs. Daniel and Vaquero are preparing for the Small Tour next year. Photo Credit: TopIberian.com

Fall News 2013

November 17, 2013

Winter is not far away in Michigan, and the staff is busy closing up the farm for the cold weather. In 2013, our mares gave birth to nine healthy foals by sires Camaron IX and Cuatrero IV—five colts and four fillies. All foals are now weaned and have been moved to their new pastures, and the mares are enjoying a year of rest. We will rebreed again in 2014. Meanwhile, in Wellington we are getting ready for our busiest time of year. Working Students Kerrigan Gluch and Rachel Chowanec each have two horses in training. Kerrigan is preparing Lentisco for international competition at Junior level, and has already competed him this fall with scores in the high 60s. She is also riding Infanta HGF this winter for the D4K program. Rachel is preparing Idolo Americano for the Small Tour, and continuing to school the Grand Prix movements with Embrujado. Both girls were invited to ride for Anne Gribbons this past week, thanks to a scholarship from Renee Isler. They rode their tests for Anne, who then provided valuable suggestions for improvements and exercises helpful for horses with baroque conformation. Rachel and Kerrigan are in training this fall with Maria Lithander, a long-time friend of HGF and a rider who achieved excellent results on Idilio at the Small Tour and others of our young horses. Jim and Luis have the rental barns ready for our winter boarders. Canadian Olympian Jacquie Brooks is returning with her clients, as is Lendon Gray with her Dressage4Kids WIT Program, which is bigger than last year. Now that the issues with the Village have been resolved favorably for the Global Dressage Festival, there is much excitement for the upcoming season of 7 CDI competitions and twice as many national shows, all in one location, and all a short hack from Hampton Green. SICAB, the annual international PRE horse fair in Sevilla, Spain, is just a few weeks away. USPRE, the national PRE Horse association, will be there and will host the International Breeders Reception on Thursday evening. Vaquero HGF will defend his national ranking at the Copa ANCCE against the other 6 Year Old PREs vying for the Copa title. Many HGF friends and clients are planning to attend this year. Finally, we want to congratulate the Schiefele family on their recent purchase of Baroco HGF. This outstanding four year old shows great promise and, paired with their Junior Level daughter, should be a top prospect for all levels as grow together. Elena is an EDAP rider who trains regularly with Maria Lithander, and will be part of the WIT program this winter with Lendon Gray. Upcoming Events for Winter 2014: Daniel Martin Dockx Clinic, January in Wellington, TBA USPRE Week, January 20-26 USPRE Party, Wednesday, January 22, at Global Dressage The Great Charity Challenge, PBIEC , Saturday, February 1 Florida Youth Dressage Championships, February 18-23 The Nations Cup at Global Dressage, February 18-23

2013 Show Roster

July 7, 2013

This coming winter and spring, HGF will have a number of our horses in training and dressage competition here and in Spain. This is the starting line-up for next year: Cuatrero IV--2000 bay stallion, foundation breeding sire, brother to Grandioso, will be competed by EDAP Rider Kerrigan Gluch at FEI Juniors in Wellington. Idolo Americano--2003 gray gelding by Idilio, 2007 Champion American-bred Stallion at Devon, returning from Spain later this month to be trained by EDAP rider Rachel Chowanec for U25 Grand Prix competition later this year. Bolero CXLVIII-- 2004 bay stallion, breeding sire for HGF and brother to Fuego de Cardenas, will be trained this winter by Nicholas Fyffe of Australia. Baroco HGF--2009 gray gelding, son of Bolero out of Escapada, will be trained and shown by Nicholas Fyffe. Grandioso III--1999 bay Stallion, trained by Dani Martin Dockx and competing at Grand Prix for the Spanish National Dressage Team. Encanto XI, 2002 gray Stallion by Evento, trained by Dani Martin Dockx and competing at Grand Prix in Spain. Vaquero HGF--2007 gray Stallion by Cuatrero, trained by Dani Martin Dockx and competing FEI 6 Year Old level in Spain. Also watch for: Fiero HGF--2008 bay stallion by Grandioso (Ibiza), owned by Robert Dover, trained and competed by Nicholas Fyffe in Wellington. Genio HGF--2006 bay gelding by Grandioso (Ibiza), owned by Martin Schaudt and trained by Jasmin Schaudt in Stuttgart, Germany. Icono HGF--2006 gray stallion by Idilio, owned by Martin Schaudt and competed by Jasmin Schaudt. Icaro HGF--2006 gray gelding by Idilio, owned and competed by Annie Morris, schooling Second and Third level. Infanta HGF--17 hand 2005 gray mare by Idilio, owned by Mary Magee of Chicago, to be trained by Rachel Chowanec and competed at Third Level. Iris HGF--2008 gray mare by Idilio, owned by Valerie Lazarra, trained and to be competed by the owner at Training Level. Brioso HGF--2009 bay gelding by Bolero, owned and trained by Andrea Landis. Cochise HGF--2008 gray gelding by Cosaco, owned by Isabel Ferriera Gould and trained by Andrea Landis. Innato HGF--2006 gray gelding by Idilio, owned and trained by Suzanne O'brien, Training and First Levels. Decoroso HGF--2006 chestnut stallion, owned by trained by Cindy Ramirez, training Third Level, USDF All Breeds Champion at 2nd Level. Carina HGF--2009 bay mare, owned and trained by Cindy Ramirez, Training and First levels and Jumping. Cocota HGF--2009 gray mare by Cosaco, owned and trained by Maria Lithander. Descarada HGF--2007 gray mare by Mejorano, owned by Beth Baumert and trained by Annie Morris. Decente HGF--2006 bay gelding by Decoroso VIII, owned by Sandy Hartenstine Williams and competed by Christina Arrington. Ideus HGF--2005 gray gelding owned by Mary Smith and competed by Hannah Pierucci. Diaz HGF--2005 gray gelding owned and competed by Kelly Farmer. More young HGF-bred horses are in training and will make the roster sometime in the next 12 months. Good luck to all competitors!

US-Born VAQUERO HGF Tops 5 Year Old PREs at Spanish National Young Horse Championships

July 7, 2013

Hampton Green Farm is proud to announce that Michigan-born Vaquero HGF, ridden by Daniel Martin Dockx, topped all PREs in the Five Year Old Division of the Spanish National Young Horse Championships, held last week in Zaragoza, Spain. Additionally, Vaquero HGF was the only PRE to place in the top ten for the division. The Spanish National Young Horse Trials, this year hosted at Feria de Ecuzar, brought out more than 150 young horses in the four divisions (4 Years, 5 Years, 6 Years, and Developing Horse 7-9 Years). There were 60 horses in the 5 Year Old Division, roughly divided equally between PREs and warmblood horses. Qualifiers for the finals were held at rated shows throughout the year, and this year's championship field presented the finest exemplars of the best studfarms in Spain, as well as many high-quality imported German stock. Vaquero HGF is by Cuatrero IV, out of Encina HGF (by Idilio II). Vaquero's sire was imported from the Yeguada Marin Garcia and is closely related to Grandioso III. Vaquero's dam, like Vaquero, was bred at HGF's Michigan location. As a three year old, Vaquero was selected by Courtney King-Dye as a future prospect, however, following her injury, Vaquero was sent to Spain to be started by Daniel. The pair had a very respectful showing at the 2011 Four Year Old National Championships (finishing in the top 10 horses, and top 5 PREs). Competition photos to be posted as we get them. Final classifications athttp://www.topiberian.com/shows/2012/ecuzar/docs/caballos-jovenes/medallero.pdf

Spanish National Championships 2012

July 7, 2013

The Spanish National Championships will be held in Zaragoza on 5-15 October. HGF will compete in the 5 Year Old Division in the Young Horse Championship with Vaquero HGF (Cuatrero x Encina x Idilio). Live coverage on-line at .

Nation's Cup at Global Dressage Festival

July 7, 2013

Mica Mabragana and Cuatrero IV were part of Team Latin America II at the first North American Nation's Cup (CDIO), held this past weekend as the final show of the 2012 Global Dressage Festival. Team Latin America II finished 5th of 8 teams, and Mica and Cuatrero did their first Freestyle together, also their first time under the lights in the International Arena. The pair performed a clean test in front of close to 800 spectators on a night that was characterized by team camaraderie and the excitement of the close competition. We are proud of this young combination for representing both HGF and Argentina with a beautiful, clean and expressive ride to the music of Ravel's Bolero. Mica's scores of 63.6 and 64.5 contributed to the Team's totals for Fifth Place, along with team members Jessica McTaggart of the Cayman Islands on Ray of Light, and Luis Reteguiz-Denizard of Puerto Rico on Nalando. This show marks the end of the 2012 Florida winter season for HGF, where Cuatrero returned to the show ring with a new rider, after four years of no competing. He and Mica showed consistent improvement throughout the season and handled the pressures of new situations extremely well. We expect that Cuatrero will continue to improve as the routine of competition becomes more familiar, and that Mica and Cuatrero continue to develop their partnership into a very competitive combination for the future. For the summer, however, Cuatrero will take a break and return to HGF Michigan, where he will stand to HGF mares.

5* Week at HGF

July 7, 2013

5* Week at HGF Wrapping up a terrific week of dressage at HGF in Wellington! On Monday, Daniel Martin Dockx took a week away from his work with Grandioso and the other horses in Spain to come to Wellington to work with Mica Mabragana and Cuatrero. During these days, a number of other riders had the opportunity to school with Daniel, including Endel Ots, Robin Lubert, Bruce Miller, Maddy Guthrie, Joli Burrell, and Mica with Infanta HGF. In addition to the training, HGF was part of the Global Dressage Festival's 5* West Palm Beach, with Mica competing Cuatrero in the National Prix St George and Intermediare I. For Mica and Cuatrero, this competition is preparation for the upcoming Nations' Cup in two weeks--the final show in the GDF Series and North America's first Nations Cup featuring 10 teams at the Small Tour. Cuatrero came back strong from his rest following some soreness after the Palm Beach Derby, and with Daniel's help on the ground, the pair won the Open PSG class with 71.4% on Saturday, leading a class of top-ranked horses and riders. Again on Sunday, Mica and Cuatrero received 68% and Second in the Open Intermediare 1 (placing First by one of two judges).At this past weekend's show--which featured the 5* Freestyle extravaganza on Friday night to a full house--the PREs dominated the Open and AA Small Tour classes, posting First or Second Place all weekend. Congratulations to riders Endel Ots, Lily Zilo, Janne Rumbaugh and of course our own Mica, and many thanks to Dani for his help on the sidelines!

March 2-4, Weekend Wrap-Up

July 7, 2013

Mica Mabragana took both the CDI and National Level High Point Awards for USPRE at last weekend's Palm Beach Derby in Loxahatchee, FL, with Cuatrero at the International Prix St. George--64.8%--and Infanta HGF (owned by Mary Magee of Chicago) with 67.7% at First Level. Cuatrero had a good first day in the international show, but appeared to go slightly irregular in the Intermediare I, with difficulties in the canter work. Will update before their next outing. Daniel Martin Dockx won the Grand Prix with Encanto at Dos Lunas in Sotogrande, Spain. This elegant facility near Marbella, owned by Mrs. Anunciada Torras, serves as a riding club for both Dressage and Polo. For the Spanish report, seewww.topiberian.com .

HGF at Sunshine Tour, Week Two

July 7, 2013

HGF at Sunshine Tour 2012, Week 2 Vaquero HGF (Cuatrero x Encina x Idilio) finished the second week of Sunshine Tour with a Second Place in the FEI 5 Year Old Finals with 75%. They were the highest scoring young horse of any breed for Spain in the circuit, and also took the ANCCE Young Horse award for PREs for both weeks. In the Big Tour, Grandioso and Dani were 3rd all weekend behind Portugal's Rubi and France's Riwera de Hus, but topping a class of close to 40 again in this final week of Sunshine Tour. In the Grand Prix, they scored 70.2, finishing with a 73.9 in the Kur. Additionally, 10 year old Encanto HGF (Evento x Cantora) received 66.1 in the Grand Prix.

Mica Mabragana Takes First FEI Win of 2012 with Cuatrero

July 7, 2013

At last weekend's Gold Coast Opener in Wellington, HGF Rider Mica Mabragan debuted 11 year old Cuatrero in the National PSG and Intermediare I. Cuatrero (Cuatrera x Adelante) is the younger brother to Grandioso (Cuatrera is the dam of Grandiosa), 2011 Champion of Spain. He was last competed in early 2008 at 2nd level. Shortly after he went to Courtney King Dye who was preparing him for the small tour at the time of her injury. Cuatrero returned to HGF, but developed a hoof condition that took many months to correct. Thanks to the patience and skills of Dr. Steele and HGF farrier Mike Phillips, Cuatrero returned to work with Mica last summer. On Friday, In his first class in four years and first time at FEI-level, the pair placed in the PSG but were still a bit rusty with a 62%. On Saturday, Cuatrero was more on his game and Mica rode a beautiful Inter-1 to win the close-scoring class with 65.6. A spontaneous round of applause after the ride from the attending Judges' forum topped off the morning. Mica is very pleased with her stallion and we are all looking forward to more good news from this pair. Cuatrero is the sire of Vaquero HGF, trained by Daniel Martin, who placed in the top 5 PREs at the National Young Horse Championships in Spain as a four year old last fall. Cuatrero is also the sire to Diva HGF and Bohemia HGF.

Spring News at HGF

July 7, 2013

The Wellington Season has officially ended, and all the horses here will have the month of May off to rest and enjoy the breezy warm days. Our young riders posted another winning season: Kerrigan Gluch won 6 of her 9 Junior classes with Cuatrero, establishing strong averages toward the Region 2 NAJYRC classification. She also placed 4th in the Florida Youth Championships with Lentisco. Rachel Chowanec and Embrujado received scores to 67.8 in both Young Riders and Prix St. George at the big shows with many firsts, and re-introduced Idolo Americano to the showring with a high score of 71.9 at Third Level. Congratulations and nice work to both young women who worked very hard this season in the barn as well as the arena. In Michigan, Sandie Talbot and her staff are getting ready for the mares to foal and the stallions to return. HGF is expecting a large group of foals this year, by stallions Cuatrero IV and Camaron IX out of our Marin Garcia brood mares along with those of our other featured performance lines. With new ANCCE Revision guidelines stipulating that all presented stock be past their 3rd birthday, all remaining 2010 stock will be presented for Revision in the fall. Spring cleaning is finally starting, and the farm is recovering from a particularly long and wet Michigan winter this year. We have a full slate of charity events planned for summer 2013, as well as lots of work for the students--horses to start, Lendon Gray clinics, the LYDF Midwest, Dressage at Waterloo and more. In Spain, Daniel Martin Dockx and Grandioso, along with other Spanish competitors, are headed next to CDI4* Treffen at the Glock Horse Performance Center in Austria, the weekend of 15-19 May. We will inform as to live coverage of this show.

Hampton Green Farm 2012 Year In Review

July 7, 2013

Its been more years than we can count that we’ve been doing the annual Year in Review at HGF—but this one, hands down, tops them all. HGF was founded with a purpose—to promote the breeding, training and development of one breed, the PRE horse, for one sport, dressage. Our claim from the first was that a well-bred, well-trained PRE could compete among the best warmbloods in the world. This year we proved it beyond question. HGF’s Grandioso, as a green Grand Prix horse, finished 29th out of 50 at the London Olympic Games amongst, by all accounts, the best field of dressage horses in history. The past twelve months following his progress were some of the most exciting in our equestrian lives, and to be there in London was an experience that we still find hard to put into words. There is simply nothing left to prove, and we continue to thank our rider, Daniel Martin Dockx, the Spanish Federation and Jan Bemelmans for their faith in our horse and their support all along the way. In 2012, we also had success with our other horses here at home and in Spain. Encanto began his first full year at Grand Prix and quickly achieved his own qualifying scores for London, although with the emphasis on Grandioso we did not compete him as much as we plan to this coming year. Vaquero HGF finished 2012 as the top-ranked Five Year Old PRE in Spain, not an easy task considering the quality of the young horses in the National Young Horse Championships in Zaragoza in October. Mica Mabragana brought Cuatrero back to the show ring after several years without a trainer following Courtney King-Dye’s accident. Mica and Cuatrero competed during the winter season at the international small tour levels at the Global Dressage Festival in Wellington.Also in 2012, we said good-bye to our first generation of competitors. Beautiful Idilio II was retired, and has been enjoying his relaxing schedule, long days of turn-out and light work with young rider Rachel Chowanec. Cosaco IX passed away last spring in Michigan, but left us many top quality sons as his legacy. Camaron remains at HGF as a breeding stallion and a mount for the owner, and also appreciates a lighter riding routine without the stress of competition. This past summer was a busy one for HGF in Fruitport where we hosted a series of events for local charities and enjoyed the musical routines of our working students and various local riders. Our work with Dressage4Kids continued with a second Emerging Dressage Athlete Clinic and Lendon Youth Dressage Festival in July. This year Endel Ots flew in to speak to the youth riders and give his advice and experiences as a young man making his way up in the equestrian world.Our breeding program, managed by Sandy Talbot, produced 5 foals in 2012 and saw 9 mares in foal for 2013. Our young horses continue to attract top professional riders who will be coming out on their own HGF-bred PREs in a few years. Throughout the country, HGF-bred PREs have been making a name for their owners and riders, and we had 5 Team 70 riders again this year. Looking forward, we have much work to do in 2013. Lendon Gray’s Winter Intensive Training program starts this month at HGF in Wellington. The WIT riders, all 21 and younger, have just arrived last week with much excitement for their winter in Florida. HGF is also a sponsor of the new Florida Youth Championship at Global Dressage Festival, and everyone is excited about the young talent that is coming out for this season. Our own sponsored youth riders are busy getting their horses ready to show. This year, Kerrigan Gluch will be showing Cuatrero at the FEI Junior level with sites on the National Championships at Gladstone and the North American Championships. Idolo Americano has returned from 2 years of finishing school in Spain and has just begun his new relationship with Rachel Chowanec as a U25 prospect for this top-ranked young rider. Bolero CXLVIII has returned to HGF and is currently in training with Nicholas Fyffe, Robert Dover’s rider for Fiero HGF. And Dani Martin will be coming to Florida this spring to look at Baroco HGF, (Bolero x Escapada) a four year old future prospect for Spain. And later this year we will start the run-up to the European Championships in Denmark…the next challenge in Grandioso’s international career. We thank all of our clients and friends for their support and well-wishes this year. Now is the time to look forward. Young horses grow up, improve, get stronger, get smarter, develop abilities for collection and produce movement that we could only imagine to be possible. This is our wish for all of you for 2013!

WIT is Working!

July 7, 2013

Kerrigan Gluch of Mount Pleasant, Michigan, and Rachel Chowanec of Columbia, Connecticut, are having the time of their lives... As working students for HGF, they are riding all shapes and sizes of PRE horses daily. And as part of Lendon Gray's WIT Program, they are becoming serious dressage riders. WIT stands for Winter Intensive Training, and 15 young people from around the country are here at HGF to train with Lendon Gray and attend her lecture series with top riders and trainers, tour barns and veterinary facilities, exercise with guest trainers, filling their days with top notch education for the aspiring international dressage athlete. Its paying off for all of the WIT riders, which is covered in depth at . For Rachel and Kerrigan, the hard work is showing in their scores this season. After only their first qualifying class, they've both landed fifth in the national rankings for their respective divisions--Rachel at Young Rider and Kerrigan at Junior Rider. Rachel is in her second year at Young Rider level with Embrujado (owned by Lendon Gray) and she has placed both First and Second in good sized classes at the Global Dressage Festival in front of International judges. Likewise for Kerrigan, who only started to ride the rather complicated Cuatrero last fall, and who has scored to the mid-sixties with him in the Qualifier JR classes in front of full international panels, receiving thumbs up and 8s from judges such as Anne Gribbons. Both young ladies have set their sites on Gladstone and NAJYRCs, and they've only just begun the road to Kentucky and New Jersey, which will happen later this summer. We'll keep you posted on their progress.

Daniel Martin Dockx' Other Projects

July 7, 2013

We have just returned from Malaga, Spain, where we had a chance to photograph some of our up-and-coming FEI horses. In addition to Grandioso, Daniel has three HGF horses in training: Vaquero HGF (Cuatrero x Idilio; 2007)--nationally top-ranked PRE in Young Horse Division and Copa ANCCE Conquero HGF (Cosaco x Cantora: 2007)--not competed to date Bolero CXLVIII--(Utrerano x Urano II)--well-known breeding stallion for HGF and half-brother to Fuego de Cardenas, recently re-purchased by HGF and returned to our training program. Groom Mohamed Dana assists Daniel in his program.

June News

July 7, 2013

We have nine new foals at HGF, all healthy, strong and full of character. Our 2013 breedings include 2 colts by Camaron, 3 colts by Cuatrero, and 4 fillies by various sires. Additionally, we have a number of young horses available to age 4. Interested buyers should contact the HGF office for a complete sales list. The HGF Team had a successful show weekend: --Young Rider Rachel Chowanec and Embrujado scored over 68% in both the Team and Individual Tests at Waterloo Dressage in Grass Lake, Michigan. --Kerrigan Gluch maintained her average with scores of 63 and 64% with Cuatrero in the Junior Division. --Andrea Landis showed her own Brioso HGF (Bolero x Quintera) in the USEF Four Year Old Division and scored 71%. She now joins the ranks of HGF's TEAM70. --Daniel Martin Dockx competed Vaquero HGF in the CDN*** at Dos Lunas for a high score of 77% in the FEI Six Year Old Final Test and for the fourth time in four outings, won the Copa ANCCE Award (top scoring PRE for the show). And this week is our Youth Week at HGF featuring the Emerging Dressage Athlete Clinic and the Lendon Youth Dressage Fesitval Midwest. Dressage4Kids announced the riders of the EDAP clinic: Kylie Heitman Rachel Chowanec Kerrigan Gluch Katrina Sadis Anna Logan Kailey Gehl Nicole Gallant Ella Angelo Claire Kendall Katja Creswick Katherine Esterline (Auditing is allowed, free of charge, no lunch provided.) The LYDFM is bringing out riders of all ages to 21 years old, from Western Michigan and several other states. Join us this Saturday evening. Dressage4Kids Annual Dinner at HGF is Open to the Public When: Saturday Evening, June 22 Where: Hampton Green Farm, 5440 E Farr Road, Fruitport, MI What: Dinner with Special Guest Speaker Nicholas Fyffe and Lendon Gray. Cost: $20.00 per person donation to D4K Contact: 231-865-6000

Four Year Old Vaquero HGF Finishes in Top Five PREs at Spanish National Young Horse Championships

June 16, 2013

This past weekend in Almeria Spain, Vaquero HGF competed in his second horse show with notable results. He and his rider Daniel Martin Dockx placed in the top five PREs nationally at the Four Year Old Level, and in the top ten for the Four Year Old Championship overall. The first class of the competition had close to 60 horses and was divided into two days. Following the Preliminary Test, fifteen horses would move on to the Finals. Vaquero placed 13th with a score of 6.9. In the Final Test, Vaquero moved up significantly to 7th place with a score of 72.6, giving him a cumulative score of 248.7 and a 9th place overall, and 5th of the PRE Horses nationally at that level. Vaquero is a 2007 gray PRE colt by Cuatrero IV out of Encina HGF (Idilio), born at HGF in Fruitport, Michigan. In late 2010 as a three year old, Vaquero and his pasture mate, Conquero HGF, traveled to Spain to be in training with Daniel Martin. Conquero has yet to be shown. Both horses will continue their training with Daniel at Hipica Dana. Video of the ride and the rest of the Championship can be seen at TopIberian:http://www.topiberian.com/index.php?option=com_seyret[&]Itemid=67[&]task=videodirectlink[&]id=5315[&]lang=es

SICAB REPORT 2010

June 16, 2013

Another year, another SICAB--another missed Thanksgiving with no regrets. SICAB--the annual PRE convention and show held in November in Sevilla--was another highly predictable and highly enjoyable event. It's a breed show like none other--with the best examples of the PRE horse gathered together for a final year-end competition--in-hand, under saddle in a number of disciplines, and of course, in the hearts of the hundreds of thousands of attendees. This year, a number of USPRE Directors and officials were on hand, and several important meetings were held throughout the week in reference to better services for the PRE Breeders in the US, and for continued promotion of the PRE horse within the dressage community in the States. We took advantage of the days together to spend time with our friends at ANCCE, particularly Revision Veterinarian Jaime Chapa, Manolo Ridriguez and Pedro Pons, ACPRE New Zealand Director Melanie James and her husband Richard who are also owners of HGF horses, Michele Widner, her family and rider Juan Perez, Rafael Ortiz, Arancha and Perico from the LG office, and more. We spent a day visiting Yeguada Marin Garcia--the birthplace of Grandioso, Cuatrero, Adelante, and many other HGF horses. We shared a wonderful meal with Javier Marin Fidalgo and his wife Margareta before traveling on to the Malaga region to see Daniel Martin and the HGF stallions newly stabled at his Hipica Dana training facility in Fuengirola. We were pleased to see all of the horses schooled and settled into this new stage in their training. Encanto continues to be prepared for a Grand Prix debut at some point in 2011, and we are hopeful that the others will be ready for their next levels sometime soon as well. On Monday, we return back to the States and begin our focus on 2011 and the Wellington Season. It's a Pan Am year, so things could get interesting... PS--Yes, that would be a carriage crossing behind the Spanish team horses, part of the Espectaculo Performance held in honor of the visiting Infanta, the daughter of the King of Spain.

HGF is proud to present our 2009 Sales Offerings:

June 16, 2013

This year we are happy to offer two young stallions, both under saddle and in training with Ana Gilmour. Both horses are exceptional in many ways and will only be offered to qualified buyers. Please contact HGF for more information.Additionally, we have a number of young horses from our top show stallions, including Bolero, Mejorano, Idilio, Cuatrero and Cosaco--from weanlings to three years-- that are starting in the training program. Please contact HGF at 231-865-6000 or hamptongreenfarm@aol.com to inquire about our available sales horses and our Young Horse Program.