Pond View Farm - Tennessee

Thanksgiving is a time to give, a time to connect and a time to reflect on our blessings and the things that matter most in life.

Wishing all our friends and family near and far a Happy Thanksgiving holiday: remember to count your blessings, not your calories today!
🍁🎃🍁🍂🍁

The World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH) only accepted the KFPS as a member four years ago in 2020. International GP rider Marc Peter Spahn was one of the driving forces. At the time, together with his dancing partner- the approved stallion Elias 494 - often seen on the international dressage arenas around the world. Proving that Friesians are more than "just carriage horses".

For the first time in history a friesian horse is selected for the FEI WBFSH Dressage World Breeding Championship for young horses!

It is Patricia Mannaerts Frisian Dressage that will represent Belgium in Ermelo (the Netherlands) with her friesian stallion Dalton. As this have never been done before, we asked Patricia a few questions about this historical moment.

What are your goals for the weekend?

"My goals for the weekend are simple. Try to enjoy this highpoint of my dressage carreer. Placing doesn´t interest me at all, I´m assuming it will be last place because we don´t know how the judges will react on the first Friesian ever at the young horses world championship."

From your opinion, what are the advantages/disadvantages educating a friesian for this level of dressage?

"From my perspective there are mainly disadvantages taking Friesians to high dressage levels. Because the tests are made for warmblood horses. So you need a Friesian that looks as much as possible like a warmblood. Then you can stand a chance to compete at a high level. For me I am just hoping to ride the best possible test with Dalton, then I will be happy!"

Good luck Patricia!
No matter the placing, you and Dalton will be the winners for the friesian community reaching this milestone for our wonderful breed 🏆

During the recent Houston Dressage Society’s Summer Show I and II held in Katy, TX our special Friesian mare was once again a shining star and stellar ambassador for the breed in
Dressage: Hilde fan Seldsum Sport (Onne 376 x Oepke 266), successfully reignited her Dressage Show career after being in training and then successfully shown by the professional team of Lyndon Rife Dressage in Pilot Point, Texas.
While competing at this event against several other breeds, she was able to win both Second Level Test 3 classes which also included the 2nd highest score of the show with a 71.31 %, earning her Reserve Champion Overall High Point for this event. In addition to this accomplishment, she was also able to earn FHANA High Point Champion ribbons on both days of the show among the other competing FHANA Friesians.

We are beyond excited and grateful for these successes, especially since this was the first recognized show for "Tamina" as we call her at home this year after she was sidelined for part of the 2023
show season due to complications from a farrier issue. It’s so good to see her back in the competition arena under the guidance of Lyndon Rife and his team of professionals. This mare continues to
show us time and time again how much she loves her job and wants to shine. Bringing this mare back correctly and getting her ready for competition again certainly takes a village. Thank you again to all involved in our incredible journey:

Lyndon Rife and the entire team of riders at Lyndon Rife Dressage for all their efforts – we could not have done it without all of you!
Diego B De Carvalho - Farrier work
Jenesena Ursone/Emma Winter – Grooms Extraordinaire
Charles Tota – Tota Comfort Saddle
Janna Weir/Black Sterling Friesians for trusting us with this special, one in a million Friesian Dressage star
Special THANK YOU to all the staff at the Houston Dressage Society – we look forward to seeing you at the next show this week!