15 National Championships, and Two Reserves,  with Five Horses, in Four Days!!!

Rihanna:

Received Highest Score in Training Level Test 4, with a 68%

National Champion Friesian English Show Hack Junior Horse

National Champion Friesian Dressage Suitability Jr Horse

National Champion Friesian Dressage Suitability Open

World Champion Dressage Suitability Open

Ritske:

National Champion Friesian Dressage Hack Open

World Champion Friesian English Pleasure Hunt Seat Junior Horse

Sterling:

National Champion Friesian Western Pleasure Amateur

World Champion Friesian Western Pleasure Amateur

Majestic:

Reserve National Champion Friesian Dressage Suitability Amateur

National Champion Friesian Country English Pleasure Saddleseat

National Champion Friesian English Pleasure Hunt Seat Amateur

World Champion Friesian English Pleasure Hunt Seat Amateur

World Champion Friesian Country English Pleasure Saddleseat

Ate:

National Champion Friesian Dressage Hack Amateur

Reserve National Champion Friesian English Show Hack Amateur

World Champion Friesian Dressage Hack Amateur

World Champion Friesian English Show Hack Amateur

- by Janna Goldman, Oct 18, 2010

Wow.  What a show.  i am still tingling from the magnificent event put on at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

  It was our best show, EVER.

Approximately 130 friesians vied for top honors, judged by a panel of three nationally recognized judges.

We had had a tough year thus far, with a groom  from holland walking off the job. I broke my ankle in two places a few weeks prior to the nationals, when cantering Majestic in a circle-- he tripped, and fell on me. [Needless to say, i showed anyway, against  doctors orders. The cards were not stacked in our favor, it seemed.]. Ron said riding with a broken ankle was a bit like riding with a twitch on. haha.

The light at the end of a tunnel with all the bad fortune preceding the nationals, was a wonderful Prix St George rider, Barend Schuursma.

It was AMAZING to see how our sale and show horses responded to a REAL trainer-- just UNBELIEVABLE.  Ate learned to carry himself, Majestic learned to be the best in dressage AND huntseat, AND saddleseat, adjusting his frame according to his rider's needs, and Sterling got in the best shape of his 17 yr old life.

There are very few riders in this country as talented as Barend. I saw Totilas at the World Equestrian Games, and was awed by him.  Barend RODE Totilas, when he was young stallion, in holland.

Okay, nuff said.

Barend worked for us years ago, and had followed our ups and downs with various dutch riders over the past few years, who come over for 3 months, on a tourist visa....some contributing more than others to BSF. Barend had two sale horses, Rihanna and Ritske, and our 3 remaining show horses, Sterling, Majestic, and Ate, finely tuned for the 5 day show in Del Mar.... read: they were at the top of their game.

In looking for a few TOP sale horses to take to the Nationals, Barend looked at literally hundreds of horses in holland,  to find a "special" one that he wanted to show , and that would have FEI potential. He found just that in the 5 yr old ster mare, Rihanna, and boy, was she a HIT!! Rihanna won 4 national titles, and would have been five, as  she had the highest score in the Training Level test, however Barend was eliminated due to the fact that he was carrying a whip ( he didn't realize that whips are not allowed in national championship dressage classes). What a special mare. Whoever ends up with her is VERY lucky... she is the nicest mare we have ever imported!

We had planned on taking the Sport and STER gelding,  Jitze, to the show, but he was sold the week prior, so we loaded up Ritske, who had not even been in the U.S. one week, before going to the show.  Boy, did this boy RISE to the occasion!!! Ritske won two national championships, including one of the largest classes of the show, the Friesian Dressage Hack Open, with 12 entries. When not showing,  he was ridden by the amazingly talented singer, X Factor winner in the U.K., Leona Lewis, around the del mar fairgrounds. Leona purchased this sweet gelding the week following the show, and has named him "Spirit", after her grammy nominated first album, Spirit.

Our BSF team was completed by Cyndi, who was groom and driver extraordinaire, and Ron Goldman, who loves his Majestic horse more than anything and i can't imagine a more supportive partner---he got his exercise running into the ring 16 times, for victory passes.

Sterling started the week off with a win in western pleasure-- as if to say to the others , "look, this is how you get it done, and if you do it right the first time, they won't show you so much". After Sterling won  both the national and world championships in amateur western pleasure, we scratched him from the rest, to give him, and ourselves, a break. Plus it was lightly raining on sunday, and sterling did not want to get his tail, that drags the ground 3 feet behind his body, all wet. [read, we didn't want to have to wash it again!]

Majestic started the week with a reserve national championship in dressage suitability.  He was near perfect, with a "1", "2", and "3" vote from the judges, so we decided to switch divisions, as we didn't think we could improve his performance. I rode him saddleseat in two amateur country pleasure classes, and he won unanimously across all three judges cards both times. I usually show Ate in huntseat, but  thought i would give Majestic a try in that division, and  he was SPECTACULAR, again winning unanimously, both huntseat national championships. Majestic is kind, sensitive, and really WANTS to do his best.  Very few horses have his sensitivity. You can see it in his brown eyes.

Ate is my favorite. Precocious, temperamental, and spectacular-- usually. He exudes quality. Thank god my horses are trained off my voice, as i had no use of my right ankle when riding, so i could only cue the canter from my voice, and weight in the saddle.  Ate was good in his first class, but he broke into the canter , when he was supposed to be trotting, in front of one judge, and then  broke from the canter, into the trot, in front of that same judge the second way of the ring.  Somehow he still ended up  with two first place votes, and was reserve champion in the eng show hack qualifier.  I was determined to make NO mistakes in the championship, and sure enough, Ate delivered, and he won the world championship unanimously.  We were presented a special perpetual trophy as  Amateur Show Hack World Champions. Ate also exuded his brilliance and quality to win the dressage hack amateur national and world titles.  What a great horse. I was thrilled to ride with my friend, and superb dressage competitor, Seelchen, who has two BSF friesians she shows, and was in the tippy top of every class she entered.

Horses imported and sold by Black Sterling Friesians  that walked away with national titles are too many to list-- and i am sure we are forgetting a few......

Gerrit won numerous walk and trot and junior exhibitor walk-trot championships, as well as the Open Walk-Trot National Championship with trainer, Lance Bennett.

Alwyn and Chelsea came all the way from Canada to win upper level dressage classes.They were Prix St George National Champions, as well as Friesian Dressage Sport In Hand Champions!

Della and Diane Caldemeyer Reid and her daughter, Alexis, came all the way from Montana. Alexis and Della won the WT rider National Championship, Reserve in the National Pleasure Championship, and Alexis is only 11 yrs old! Della won the Baroque Mare In hand World Championship and the Liberty Mare World Championship; Reserve in the yearling World Championship with Della's Colt by Maiko.

Alibi and Chenoa looked magnificent together in driving-- and Alibi does it ALL, winning the friesian highpoint and versatility award at the show in reno in october. Alibi was 3rd in Third Level Dressage National Championship, and Reserve USDF Musical Freestyle National Champion, and Reserve Second Level Dressage National Champion. Check out the photos above of Chenoa driving Alibi.

Gorryt ( Milo) and his trainer also showed in Saturday evening's  dressage exhibition, as well as racking up the wins in upper level dressage competition, including the 3rd Level National Championship!

Jilke (Cali) and Debbie Stuart, from our neck of the woods, won the Trail Class, and Open Western Pleasure, and Reserve Huntseat Pleasure.

Bas, and Colleen O'Dell, were a successful pair showing together in walk and trot classes.

BSF sold the champions, Hielke, crowned World Champion Dressage Hack Open and  World Champion Show Hack Open, annd National Champion Show Hack Open as well as Warwick, Reserve Champion Dressage Suitability Open, with trainer, Tim, from the LA Equestrian Center.

And Norman and Jesse, expertly shown by Seelchen Feibush, garnering Reserve Championships in both Am Dressage Hack classes, and Reserve World Champion Dressage Suitability.(Norman was also Regional Dressage Suitability Champion and Grand Champion).

Ferdinand ( D'Artagnon) and Charlene and her father, trainer Chuck Court from Canada, had outstanding performances  in driving.

Mister F:

First and Second Level Dressage Amateur National Champion

and the list goes on....

As the 2010 season comes to an end, we congratulate all the BSF horses for their performances, and wish all the riders and owners the very BEST in 2011.