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| Padi's
Copper Flash was a superstar at the Catalpa Corners Horse
Trial Aug 2-3. He finished in second place at Open Training
level in a large field of horses.
Mountain Piper has also
been showing in the hunter ring this summer, bringing home 2 firsts,
a second and a third at the Huntermark Summer Series July 19.
Seelie Court turned in
another great performance at Lost Hounds Horse Trial in June.
Placed 6th after dressage with all 7s and 8s she moved up for a 4th
place finish for the weekend. |
Padi's Celtic Rose continued
right where she left off the end of last season. Ridden by her
trainer Amy Hunter Roisin competed in her first Hunter Derby in
Mason City in June. Mary Jo reported the event as
follows:
"Friday - Hunter Derby Day (*gulp*)!!! We got
Roisin all spiffed up and off we went for the jog.The course in the
grand prix ring was… wow…what can I say…scary as ****.
Although max height was only 3'3", there were many oxers.
set at max width. I walked the course with Amy and we were both
wondering what the heck we had signed up for. Princess was about to
go from junior high to college in the span of an hour. Most fun
moment was the bank . . .leaping UP and out into space. She must
have had a 5 foot drop…looked like Rolex. The whole crowd went
"whoooo!". Amy held on and off they went down that scary
line like champs! Second to last fence was a max height/width oxer
with a stone wall thing-y at the base and they ended up with a long
distance so Roisin had to fly like a bird. Last fence was birch
poles…I think I started to breathe again at that point. Amy did an
amazing job and Roisin trotted out of the ring quite proud of
herself, I think. Definitely happy to be done, but not rattled one
bit. She did it. Not everyone got around…and she was easily the
greenest horse in there. The rest of that evening is a little hazy,
as I proceeded to have a few beverages to celebrate!! Princess got
lots of treats and hugs!!"
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We are finally getting some normal summer weather here in Iowa and are very
happy to have it! Due to the early foaling season we recently weaned
Kieran, Brody, and Neelah. Spider is enjoying the attention that comes
with being an only child in the mare herd, but he will soon join his siblings
playing in the "kids" pasture. We are bursting at the seams with
wonderful young horses and are very motivated to negotiate with prospective new
homes. You're invited to check out our revised horses
for sale page for details on these youngsters as well as several riding age
and an exceptional RID mare. July 4, 2008
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Floods
rampage through Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, and many smaller
communities in Iowa
Thank you to all who have called and e-mailed their concerns for us
as we live through record smashing floods from several area
rivers. Fox Hollow Sport Horses is located near Shueyville,
Iowa between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City and fortunately
the farm is not directly affected by the devastation. We are
all at home and safe, as are all the horses. Diane and Bruce both
work in Iowa City, but can not get there due to closed roads and
bridges. Pat's office has been relocated out of downtown Cedar
Rapids. June 15, 2008
The Saddle
and Leather Shop
Very sad and upsetting news to the Iowa
horse community is the total flooding of the historic Saddle
and Leather Shop in the Czech Village neighborhood of Cedar
Rapids. Our thoughts and prayers are with our old friends Kris
Jones and Nan Barta as they struggle with the devastation of their
business which has been at the heart of area horse activities for
over 60 years.
June 15, 2008
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For information on how you
can help, or to send assistance to members of the Silver Bits Pony
club who were devastated in the May 25, 2008 tornado check their
blog Silver
Bits Pony Club or contact:
Silver Bits Pony Club Tornado Relief
c/o Bridget Bryson
32110 Westbrook Street
Cedar Falls, IA 50613
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Padi's Copper Flash
and Sarah Hauschild finished 5th at the Silverwood Horse Trial June
7-8, their first competition at training level. Despite
horrendous weather that resulted in cancellation of the cross
country phase and a long drive home in driving rain they were very
pleased with their performances.
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Seelie
Court and Lynn Cronin started out their competition year
at Greater Dayton Horse Trial May 10-11. They kicked off their
weekend with a 35.5 in dressage that included all 8s on her canter
work. Show jumping proved to be an adventure on a VERY windy
day followed by a super cross country round on Sunday which put them
in 10th place when all was done. A great start to the
season! Seelie Court is owned and was bred by Lynn Cronin.
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| The young Morgan cross Mountain
Piper competed in a schooling horse trial with Ralph Hill
on May 25 finishing second in the dressage portion. Piper is
owned and was bred by Barb Laughlin and ridden by Andria Pooley.
Mountain Blues also
competed with his owner/rider Mary Hansen. He was bred by Liz
Freeman of Flying Harp Farm.
Padi's Copper Flash
and Sarah Hauschild participated in a Training Level Event clinic
with Ralph Hill the next day and proclaimed it to be a top notch
learning experience.
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Many thanks to Belinda Jones who
posted her photos from the day on her web site
Galloping
Winds
Piper #4624 #4625 #4629 #4633
Mountain Blues #4621 & #4656-#4659 |
Padi's Copper Flash and
Dandelion Jazz Man
traveled together to compete at Bara Trac I Dressage Show in Mason
CIty, Iowa on May 24. Both showed they could ignore the 30+
mph wind all day and turned in excellent tests under Sarah
Hauschild's riding bringing home between them a first, two seconds,
and a third.
Click here for
videos
Dandelion Jazz Man was bred by Dandelion Farms In Montana and is
owned by Pat Jensen.
Padi's Copper Flash was bred by Fox Hollow Sport Horses and is
owned by Carol Strank. |
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Eyes are smiling in Ireland!
The decision to send Mountain Pearl back to Ireland last year has
paid off for the genetics of the Irish Draught breed. When we
partnered with Eddie Meehan of Longwood Stud we had high hopes that
Irish Draught breeders in Ireland were ready to use his outcross
bloodlines. Coupled with his enormous talent and world renown
temperament, Mountain Pearl found 35 mares waiting for him,
including 22 RID mares with a wonderfully wide assortment of
bloodlines. We are delighted to announce that the foals
have started to arrive - the first was this lovely filly out
of an RID mare by It's The Quiet Man. |
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Competition Season Has Begun!
Mother's Day Weekend:
Padi's Celtic Rose turned in solid performances to
start her year at Mason City bringing home a number of ribbons despite a
range in weather from 80 degrees to cold, windy, and rainy.
Padi's Copper Flash competed at the Longview Horse
Trial near Kansas City scoring a 31.5 in dressage to lead after that phase
and finishing 9th for the competition.
Harkaway Trewlaney
has settled very nicely into his new home and career in
California. Bred by Maggie Tyler of Wisconsin, this purebred
ID by Mountain Pearl out of Misty River Lass RID is now owned by
Debbie Davis. "What a star he is! He’s my hero."
Debbie exclaimed as she reported that he placed second at his
very first competition, the Galway Downs Spring Horse Trials. Liam
is competing under the name of River Pearl. Many thanks to Cory who
raised Liam and forwarded us this recent update. |
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Mirassou Pearl - American Saddlebred Sport
Horse Champion again!
Apologies to Rachel Alexander for not posting this
wonderful news last fall! Rachel's saddlebred cross Mirassou Pearl
(Mary) was awarded the 2007 FEI American Saddlebred Sport Horse Champion for
the second year in a row. In addition, they took home home Reserve
Champion Sport Horse In Hand and Reserve Champion Intro Dressage at the
Oueen City Dressage Circuit for 2007, which is the greater Cincinnati area.
Congratulations!
USA foals are arriving!
Last year, in order to allow Mountain Pearl to return to Ireland, we started his
breeding season earlier than usual. As a result the foals are here
early in the year to cheer us up through this long snowy winter. Rachel
delivered the last for Fox Hollow for the year on February 19 - a spunky colt
who was ready to stand the minute he felt earth under him.
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It's a healthy sport horse colt for our friend Dan
Hinkel of Cedar Rapids born 5/6/08. |
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Emerald Mountain
Filly foaled 3/5/08
out of Diamond Godiva RIDSH
owned by MaryLee McGee |
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"Deklan"
colt foaled 2/28/08
out of Manu Forti's Irish Rose RID
owned by Jennifer Dunlap |
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A Legend Passes
Tribute to John McCarthy
This morning we received word
that our friend John McCarthy had passed away in
County Cork
,
Ireland
. John was, in
a word, legendary in the world of
the Irish Draught Horse.
Spurning the tractor, he continued to work with horses
through the seventies continued the family stallion master
tradition which began when his grandfather stood Brian Boru and
The Conqueror around beginning of the 20th century.
John bought the great Ben Purple in 1973, who was
followed by many of the finest stallions the breed ever produced
including Flagmount Boy, The Conqueror (named after his
grandfather’s stallion),
Mountain View
, Ben Gold, Red Hackle, Mountain Pearl, Glenlara, and Welcome
Diamond.
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Always fearing for future of the breed John
McCarthy joined Mrs. Mary Quinlan as one of the founders of the
Irish Draught Horse Society where he served as the first
Treasurer. He and
his friend Billy Cotter traveled the country helping other
counties to form branches.
He worked tirelessly to educate people about the breed
ever since.
Our own Mountain Pearl owes his very RID
status to this visionary man. John purchased him from a family
member who had bred him while John owned
Mountain View
. Inspectors
advised John to not keep the young bay horse a stallion due to
the amount of white markings he carried.
John refused to heed such nonsense and brought him
forward for inspection and performance testing as a 4 year old
where he passed with flying colors.
John was reunited with Mountain Pearl in September 2005 at
the IDHSNA Central Region Inspection in Iowa, USA (pictured
above).
“Our horses are
something we can always be proud of”
John McCarthy in Irish
Draught Horse Society, 25 Years
You were right, John, and much
of the credit belongs to you. We can only hope to be
worthy to carry on the tradition.
Thank you, old friend.
January 7, 2008
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