Best American Dressage Horse Breeders

In our area many of the dressage trainers have incredibly well bred babies on the ground (breeding for the horse it would cost $$$ to import) - it might be worth checking into through your local network.

Ones in the NE that I can personally vouch for:

Imajica.net Madeline and Liz Austin. I purchased a yearling filly from them this year

Huntington farm S Stratford Vermont - mare in my profile picture came from there ( although she was breed in Germany)

Vermont warmbloods - looked there this year. Very nice brood mares and Geof is lovely

Maple wood warmbloods - very high quality and super nice owner

Foxwood Hanoverian

High Point Hanoverians in Chestertown, MD.

Walkabout Station

Walkabout Station in Texas, just outside of Houston- they breed from European bloodlines. Jan and Gary Marquardt are great to work with, they breed for fabulous movement, overall health and great temperament. I am proud to be an owner of one of their horses.
www.walkaboutstation.com
walkaboutstation facebook page

:smiley:

Riverhouse Hanoverians in Florida. Breed great AA horses

Not mentioned yet:

Nancy Holowesko/Crosiadore
Mo Swansom/Rolling Stone
Chris Kropf/Hawk Hollow
The Wagners/Wally Woo
High Valley Hanoverians

[QUOTE=J-Lu;8815902]
Perhaps you should start a thread on who DOESN’T breed for amateur friendly brains. All breeders know that most horses are ending up with amateurs and non-elite professionals, and all breeders know that horses end up somewhere on a bell curve of temperament and rideability.

So, who DOESN’T breed for brains, soundness and rideability?[/QUOTE]

Beg your pardon? Seriously? I know of more than a few breeders that use the “flavour of the day” stallion with those recognizable international bloodlines. It gives bragging rights and makes some people giddy with excitement when they regale their friends on who their horse is related to. Show of hands here…how many of us know people like that? So yes there are the breeders that are conscientious and try to produce horses for the amateur market but there certainly are those that market bloodlines.

Scot Tolman at Shooting Star Farm in NH, Breeders and Importers of Dutch Warmbloods. Carefully cultivated and managed mareline, and produces great athletes with sound minds. KWPN-NA Breeders of the Year, 2015, among other achievements.

SSF stood Zeoliet until he passed away, and also stood Donatelli (OLD) before he went to Canada, Dreamscape Farm (I may forever regret selling the Donatelli mare that I bred and raised.)

Scot has always been easy to contact, and graciously shared his time and his thoughts/reasons for stallions to consider when I bred my mare. On the website, his journal is fun to read, going back many years. Most of his info/journal/updates are now on the SSF FaceBook page.

ETA: Dreamscape Farm-- Didn’t mean to leave them out! Jennifer and Armin Arnoldt are in BC, standing a number of stallions. They get great reviews from mare owners as being very easy to work with. And they produce a fair number of foals every year.

[QUOTE=Salar;8817213]
Beg your pardon? Seriously? I know of more than a few breeders that use the “flavour of the day” stallion with those recognizable international bloodlines. It gives bragging rights and makes some people giddy with excitement when they regale their friends on who their horse is related to. Show of hands here…how many of us know people like that? So yes there are the breeders that are conscientious and try to produce horses for the amateur market but there certainly are those that market bloodlines.[/QUOTE]

And how many of these breeders stay in business in “the long haul” with this strategy in America? Sure, there are breeders who do fad breeding. I suspect there’s a bunch going on because of Valegro these days. But over time, it’s recognized that people aren’t going to buy the “non-exceptional” offspring of fad crosses, which means they have to bank on producing and selling exceptional horses. Which major breeders in the U.S. have been in business for a long time and rely on “fad” breeding as a business model?

Vermont Warmbloods in Williston, VT–lovely horses, super temperaments, and as mentioned Geoff is great!

Majestic Gaits in NH–super mare lines, Kathy is incredibly knowledgeable, and breeds consistently excellent temperaments, youngsters get great handling foundation too, which is a big plus!

Foxwood Hanoverians in VT, Eliza breeds some REALLY nice horses, and all I’ve met have been very sweet and easy.

Green Gate Hanoverians–Rachel Ehrlich breeds some very nice horses with ammy friendly temperaments, she also bred Sternlicht who is doing very well at Lamplight right now, I believe he was 3rd in the 6 y/o class.

Twin Lights Farm in Mass, super breeder of some really fancy sport ponies

[QUOTE=Salar;8817213]
Beg your pardon? Seriously? I know of more than a few breeders that use the “flavour of the day” stallion with those recognizable international bloodlines. It gives bragging rights and makes some people giddy with excitement when they regale their friends on who their horse is related to. Show of hands here…how many of us know people like that? So yes there are the breeders that are conscientious and try to produce horses for the amateur market but there certainly are those that market bloodlines.[/QUOTE]

Well, Wb’s are actually a small genetic group and many of them are related to each other somewhere along the pedigree. Also, the criteria for being a Wb breeding stallion gives any of them a level of credibility. Not saying there isn’t marketing and promotion involved but if you look at the “flavor of the day” he will share a similar pedigree to many, many proven horses. He, himself may not carry the best of those lines compared to other stallions, but breeding to him will not give you much more bragging rights then another stallion.
I seriously do not know of any breeders that are giddy to brag since most breeders understand how this works.
Some are giddy because they spent a small fortune to get a mare in foal and they finally have…

Below is an example of a typical group of stallions that are turned out each year. It is many combinations of similar bloodlines. They are looking for the best combinations for the next generation. No bragging as they are all related to a
sh!t ton of famous horses top and bottom.
http://www.eurodressage.com/equestrian/2016/02/07/igor-champion-2016-kwpn-stallion-licensing

Re. Majestic Gaits

I looked at Harpo MG when he was an unbroken 3 yo. He had horrible x-rays. Already arthritic changes in R hock ( he had only been turned out since his purchase from MG ), OCD in both hocks, OCD in both stifles and OCD in one fetlock. He was deemed suitable only for “light duty” Meaning lead line therapeutic riding although at 18hh that seemed unlikely.

Initially, MG was going to give Harpo’s owner a deal on another weaning for compensation - but that never happened.

I know this could probably happen to any breeder and that OCD is common in warmbloods - it’s always a little buyer beware out there.

Sherry Smith / Dogwood Sporthorses (GA) - she is a very small WB breeder, usually producing only 1-2 foals every 1-2 years. One of them is Alyssa Pitt’s Quintessential Hit (Quaterback / Sandro Hit). They finished #1 in the USDF HOY standings at Third Level last year, and started PSG this year with scores into the 70’s. Another one is Totil Hit, (Totilas / Sandro Hit), the young stallion featured in the series “The Education of Toti” in Warmbloods Today magazine. Next year will be her biggest foal crop ever - a Sandro Hit mare that evented through Prelim is bred to Chilli Morning, another Sandro Hit mare (dam of Quintessential Hit and Totil Hit) is bred back to Totilas, and the dam of that Sandro Hit mare (Wolkentanz II / Donnerhall) is bred to Negro (sire of Valegro).

Another small breeder here in GA is Julie Ballard Haralson / Haralson Farms. She breeds lovely KWPN horses, usually with frozen semen from top stallions in Europe on competition mares.

Others:
-Nancy Holowesko / Crosiadore Farm (MD) - has had a good bit of success in the YH classes, has one doing well at PSG with Dorie Addy-Crow, another youngster (4 y/o) scoring into the 70’s at Training level with Dorie Addy-Crow, another one scoring into the 70’s at First Level with his amateur owner, one scoring into the 70’s at Fourth Level with Ashley Madison, and bunches more showing at various levels here and there.

-High Point Hanoverians (MD) - they actually breed more Oldenburgs than Hanoverians, but they started in Hanoverians and the name stuck. They produce not only dressage horses, but also horses that do well in hunters and hunter breeding.

-Mo Swanson / Rolling Stone Farm (PA) - not exactly a small breeder, as she produces well over a dozen foals each year, but she has nice bloodlines.

  • Marne Martin-Tucker / Aspen Leaf Farms (MD) - has several homebreds she is competing herself this weekend at Lamplight (including in the YH Championships).

  • Jen Vanover / Maplewood Warmbloods (NY)

  • Geoff Osol / Vermond Warmbloods (VT)

  • Tricia Veley / First Flight Farm (TX)

And let’s don’t forget Judy Yancey / Yancey Farms (FL), who has been in the game longer than just about anyone else in the U.S., and has produced 4-5 approved stallions, as well as many horses that have done very well in the YH classes and beyond (I think she has at least one competing this weekend in the YH championships at Lamplight)

My Galten Farms guy is Canadian bred but his breeder has horses all over the US and they are all very athletic and good minded.

I also need to give a shout out to Twin Willows Farm…a friend,s TWF mare was #1 AA for third level last year.

Just bought the nicest young horse ever from DG Bar.

Unfortunately, it was also the WORST buying experience of my entire life- and I’ve bought many, many horses, both here and abroad.

Absolute worst buying experience of my entire life. And not a cheapie horse.

Would not consider ever going through anything like that again, and situation is still not resolved, might even go legal on this one.

How about this one? Jennifer Mason of California has two half-brothers out of her Brentano II mare in the Developing PSG Championships at Lamplight. One or both of them were embryo transfer foals - one by Quaterback born in April 2008. and the other by Festrausch born in May 2008. That’s pretty cool!

I have no personal experience, but caution is recommended with DG Bar.

http://www.liolomasdutchwarmbloods.com/ Good, solid horses with good breeding at good prices. It looks like Chelsey is taking over the sales barn. When I was looking, I looked here.

[QUOTE=Beentheredonethat;8817996]
I have no personal experience, but caution is recommended with DG Bar.

http://www.liolomasdutchwarmbloods.com/ Good, solid horses with good breeding at good prices. It looks like Chelsey is taking over the sales barn. When I was looking, I looked here.[/QUOTE]

Curious as to why you recommend caution with DG Bar based on no personal experience.

I’ve had a Debbie Harrison horse, and he was fantastic. I’ve seen others that are, IMO, meh.

Experiences of people I know, somewhat to well.

I think the Deb Harrison breeding are a good, solid way to go. They may not be “the best,” but I think you get good quality, good price, and an honest business deal. I have had personal experience with a now defunct breeder barn who wasn’t very honest.

I think most people say they do breed for those things, but not necessarily in that exact order.

[QUOTE=J-Lu;8815902]
Perhaps you should start a thread on who DOESN’T breed for amateur friendly brains. All breeders know that most horses are ending up with amateurs and non-elite professionals, and all breeders know that horses end up somewhere on a bell curve of temperament and rideability.

So, who DOESN’T breed for brains, soundness and rideability?[/QUOTE]