stallion showcase

The 3500-mile trip to attend the Stallion Showcase GB was worth every minute it took me to get there. What an utterly fantastic weekend we all had. Addington is the perfect location for this type of event, with space for growth in the future too. Heated indoor arena (which I was especially thankful for), warm-up arena accessible to the public, great PA system, super safe stables for the stallions with plenty of room for people to wonder through and get up close and personal with the boys. The Light family, headed by Shirley should give themselves a very VERY big pat on the back; you pulled it off to perfection. It ran superbly, just like a well-oiled machine, something we are getting use to when the Light family are at the end of the reins. The Stallion book was super and so well produced, at £7.00 a copy it was well worth it, I in fact bought 2 one to take notes in and the other for best on the book shelf.

It was lovely to watch Pippa and William Funnel during their masterclass, both entertaining and informative. Billy Mexico and Billy Congo are two of the MANY boys there that I could very easily have taken home with me. John Whitaker made it all look far to easy, even though there were no more holes left on the top of the wings for his horses to jump. Warrior ridden by Shane was just breathtaking, what a very exciting horse he is for the future. Balloon is another one to watch, he jumps huge fences with ease, but also has the elegance and paces not to look out of place in the dressage arena, exciting. Fiona Bigwood’s masterclass was priceless, it was so funny and educational at the same time, I hope someone videoed it!!!!!!! :D

Saturday was so busy in the stable area right from the doors opening at 9:30 that we didn’t manage to take a breather until just before 3:00. :eek: We grabbed a quick lunch then it was back to the stables until well after 6:00. Sunday was quieter for visitors, probably due to the fact that we didn’t have as many dressage horses in attendance, but what was there was lovely. Santana came in and showed his powerful athletic movement, I could not believe he was only a 4 year old; he is a very exciting stallion for British Breeders to have on their doorstep for the future. Franklyn Sugar was as impeccably behaved as he was turned out, what a delightful boy. He is going to have a very exciting future ahead of him. Just managed to get a glimpse of Flammengold at the end of his presentation he looked a very nice person too.

There are some many knowledgeable breeders in the UK, who know exactly what they are looking for in a stallion and oh my goodness they were spoilt for choice this weekend. I think quite a few short lists have now become long lists again.

Claire and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting each and every person who took the time to stop, chat and give Legrande a cuddle. It is so important not only to see a stallion perform, but also to see his conformation and temperament too, what better way than to meet him in the stable. It worked very well for both stallion and mare owners alike. Legrande is having a duvet day today, one I feel he well and truly deserves. Thank you all for your lovely comments about him, he is a very special boy, but if the true be known I am a little biased. :D


Finally I am astonished and thrilled at the £12,500 raised by the Silent Auction for the charity HELP FOR HEROS a truly worth cause to support. A big thank you must go to all who donated a lot, as well as those who put in the bids.

WELL DONE TO ALL

I only have to wait another 12 month until next years Stallion Showcase GB now………….. twiddling thumbs…………… :rolleyes:
 
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eventrider23 said:
Maesfen - I found out last night what happened with the telephone number is that the new sim card that had been bought for the hotline failed to work and once we were there, internet was VERY patchy and so they could not update with this issue. The email address though was the one on the SSGB website as I know quite a few email bids came through there. Sorry ! :)
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Thanks for that J. No problem, I just assumed they'd all be too busy to even look at emails during the show which is why I didn't use it, my mistake. :o
 
congratulations! will the results/winners be published soon?

Suppose I would have heard by now...?

Maybe it's a good thing, I got a little carried away with my slips I was sweating all the way home :lol:
 
One word 'Fabulous'
I had a great time and got to meet lots of new friends including Cruiseline and the wonderful Legrande.
Ditto to everything that Cruiseline has quoted, I think that the Light Family deserve a Medal Very well done
 
ritajennings said:
One word 'Fabulous'
I had a great time and got to meet lots of new friends including Cruiseline and the wonderful Legrande.
Ditto to everything that Cruiseline has quoted, I think that the Light Family deserve a Medal Very well done
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It was lovely to meet you too, it was an amazing weekend full of delightful people and stunning stallions.

I LOVE your boy, what a very smart chap he is. It was so nice to see such a wide range of stallions, something for every mare owner, no one was disappointed.
 
breezing said:
I couldn't get there ,Balloon sounds interesting anyone got any photo s of him and his breeding ?
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Hopefully this will work for some pictures;
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/album.php?aid=21871&id=111655045513419

There are also a few videos on youtube under breenequestrian.

Tinks81 said:
balloon is lovely but very hot !!! x
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Really?
I watched him the whole time he was in the warm up and he looked very cool and calm (unlike some of the others :)) and was lovely in the stable yard as well.

Has he been hot at shows you have seen him at?
 
millitiger said:
Hopefully this will work for some pictures;
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/album.php?aid=21871&id=111655045513419

There are also a few videos on youtube under breenequestrian.



Really?
I watched him the whole time he was in the warm up and he looked very cool and calm (unlike some of the others :)) and was lovely in the stable yard as well.

Has he been hot at shows you have seen him at?
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I watched him in WU and in the arena too - looked a saint to me and a poppet in the stable - heard there was a lot of interest in him???
 
Put this way, we are seriously considering giving our mare a year out of eventing just to have a foal by him- he totally blew me away :)
 
Originally Posted by Tinks81
balloon is lovely but very hot !!! x


tipsytiger2 said:
I watched him in WU and in the arena too - looked a saint to me and a poppet in the stable - heard there was a lot of interest in him???
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Well, I watched him with a lot of interest as his breeding is very close to my foal's sire - Bon Balou - in the warm up both days, in the ring on Saturday (jumping) and Sunday (dressage), and had my hands all over him in his stable after his set on Saturday... He felt hot... but that's probably because he had just jumped the top of the wings in a quiet and workmanlike way, quite a few times ;)
 
I don't understand the comment about Balloon either. While I was admiring another stallion I was told how, after coming 4th in the finals of his age class, Shane Breen's toddler ran up to the stallion shouting "Balloon was such a good boy" and hugged him round his knees. Balloon looked down at her and stood like a rock till the little person had finished her cuddle. That doesn't sound like a hot stallion to me!
 
millitiger said:
Hopefully this will work for some pictures;
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/album.php?aid=21871&id=111655045513419

There are also a few videos on youtube under breenequestrian.



Really?
I watched him the whole time he was in the warm up and he looked very cool and calm (unlike some of the others :)) and was lovely in the stable yard as well.

Has he been hot at shows you have seen him at?
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Well i only see him at shows being ridden x

not so much hot maybe that is the wrong word but maybe sharp ?
 
millitiger said:
would you mind pm'ing me what you mean?

looking to use him on a sharp mare and don't want anything fizzy.

thanks :)
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Sharp and Fizzy i would say are 2 different things .........

To be honest i used Balou du Rouet on a sharp mare i had and have ended up with an angel x
 
after Celia Clarke was seen storming out of the stallion showcase reception on Saturday (as the lady at reception had the nerve to ask HER to pay £7 for the breeding book) she posts this on Ken Rehill's fb page slamming the showcase

odd how everyone who attended found it a wonderful occasion and two who did not, are saying it was a failure. Odd too, how those who continually say they are being victimised appear to be the only ones doing the victimisation


Ken Rehill Everyone will understand why I'm sitting here, eating Haagen Daz, pissing myself laughing.

Joanne Metcalfe I don't what u up to now!

Ken Rehill that is a photo of a failed stallion show, the same failed stallion show that went to press telling everyone how bad mine was. Based on the numbers, they have done worse than I did.

Joanne Metcalfe I think its a good time to make the point that people have no idea what to expect and what they are looking at - me thinks education on breeding to all of us is needed!

Ken Rehill Correct

Anna Hesketh Well I thought yours was fab last year!!

Silva Bedding Ken, you are a bigger person that that! Whatever, we need to stick together!! We are some people taking this very seriously, we must do it together!!Knowledge is not coming over a day, you are also still learning, we all are!! I respect you a lot!

Ken Rehill It's a nice idea Silva, but they should have thought about that when they were slagging me off for the last two years, and now they look stupid getting fewer spectators than the Expo did. They described the Expo as "an embarrassement to British breeding"...........based on their own measure, surely this latest effort has earned the description??

Lesley Brodie What flavour Haagen Daz? It tells a lot about a man!!! Let the pictures do the talking. Take care. Lxx

Ken Rehill Three different flavours, which should tell you even more about the man.

Sean Aston how can we have good stallions over here when the person who grades them for the bsja has not got a clue what he is looking for

Deborah Corff I didn't know they sold Haagen Daaz in England. Invented in Pennsylvania USA.

Ken Rehill I guess it's one american who has a passport!!!

Kirsty Louise Millard Wow! That is really bad! It was really poorly advertised compared to yours. I only knew about it because of fb friends but there was nothing in any of the mags that I saw! Hey ho if they were that rude they deserve all they get (or what they got)! Esp as SSGB is desperate for more registrations I would have thought with all of your stallions they would have got behind you a bit more! K xxx

Ken Rehill well, I offered shirley all 11 stallions back in June. I left two messages, but she never returned the calls. In fact the SSGB was better advertised, and they did several things a little better than I did, with a slicker operation. And there is no comparison between Addington and Keysoe at the end of the day. But they caused a lot of bad feeling in the last year, from slagging off the Expo very publicly.

Katy Holder-Vale We had a great day today, had non stop people in the stables with our horses, genuine breeders,and very interested and complimentary, displays went well and we got some great photos.

Celia Clarke Kirsty do you mean SSGB (ie Stallion Showcase) or SHBGB (Sport Horse Breeding of Great Britain)? SSGB is nothing to do with SHBGB or any other official studbook or breeding organisation and was actually a privately run event set up by a couple of stallion owners who thought they could do better than the Expo. but from the reports I got I think the jury is very much out on that one, certainly as far as audience figures are concerned.

Penny Richardson
What on earth is the matter with you, Ken and Celia. You are both supposed to be supporters of British breeding , yet you are being thoroughly nasty about an event you didn't even attend.

Why not commend people for at least trying to do some...

Ken Rehill I didn't see or hear you saying the same thing last year to the small group who launched a tirade of abuse and negativity towards last years Expo Penny? That group also happened to be those that ran this years failed attempt at a stallion show. sorry sweetheart, but when you take the kind of crap I did from those idiots, you'd understand that there are a number of us laughing at them now. And don't ever question my commitment to improving breeding in Britain, I'm leading the way.

Penny Richardson
Hi Ken

I just think all this sillyness, nastiness and crowing has all got a bit much on both sides. And I'm sorry to say it, but you don't help yourself by calling people who've been in the business for an awful lot longer than you, "idiots"...

Ken Rehill Rather than mouthing off on my facebook Penny, call me on 07540321666, we can have proper conversation, I'm waiting for your call.
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I had a great day at the Stallion Show on Saturday. The place was packed! The stallions were well presented and the owners very approachable. Really enjoyed seeing so many quality stallions in one place and am now hoping to use a British based stallion on my mare this year.

Re the silly Facebook comments: What else did anyone expect?
 
Bearskin said:
I had a great day at the Stallion Show on Saturday. The place was packed! The stallions were well presented and the owners very approachable. Really enjoyed seeing so many quality stallions in one place and am now hoping to use a British based stallion on my mare this year.
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Hurray - Believe in British Breeding!!
 
Bearskin said:
Re the silly Facebook comments: What else did anyone expect?
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Those comments have brought a smile to my face, what a hoot. I sometimes miss the Ken/Ciss show for the amusement and imagination they bring and how they can't accept others can do things better. Am I very sad? :)

ROFL at C in a huff, I can just imagine it - don't you know who I am? .;)
 
Bearskin said:
I had a great day at the Stallion Show on Saturday. The place was packed! The stallions were well presented and the owners very approachable. Really enjoyed seeing so many quality stallions in one place and am now hoping to use a British based stallion on my mare this year.
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That is such good news, but not surprising as there are some stunning stallions based in the UK, as we had the pleasure of seeing over the past two weekends :D
 
What I liked about the SSGB was talking to Jan Rogers of the BEF who said how much she had enjoyed the show at Hartpury and how much she was also enjoying the show at Addington. Both shows were different, both were well supported and there is room for both of them in the UK! They aren't in competition. They are both being run to promote British breeding. I've also spoken to Shirley Light who organised the SSGB and she said exactly the same thing. Isn't that great that the organisers of these shows support each other?

In Germany and Holland and France there are stallion shows every weekend at the moment and frequently more than one on at a time. UK people have been looking longingly at the European stallion shows for years and now we have two of our own. What is even better is that both of them are different. Fantastic!

With both of these shows drawing excellent crowds (about 1000 at Hartpury and close to that number over the weekend at Addington) and a real buzz about the stallions that were on show this is a big step forward for British breeders. We also have the Futurity which is excellent and something that no other country has got.

These are exciting times for British breeders. We should all stand together and support each other. Many of the stallion owners have posted on this thread to say how much they enjoyed the weekend. Several others have said they will be bringing their stallion along next year. Both shows have been a success and everyone involved in organising them deserves a huge thankyou for all their hard work. And encouragement to make them even bigger and better next year. :)
 
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