So much fun to read, lots of luck, you deserve it.
Congrats, MH. He is certainly living up to his Donnerhall heritage!
Wednesday Aug 10
Fantastic day!! Henk von Bergen and his lovely wife, drove over from the Netherlands to observe both Prince and Dewert with Jen in their training with Klaus.
The sessions went well and there was really good passage and half passes for Prince and good half steps and collected trot for Dewert. I took some lovely still photos and once uploaded by Jen, I will try to get one or two posted either here or on Facebook.
We then all went out to a fantastic restaurant that served excellent German food. It has a wonderful view of the quaint town of Billerbeck and the surrounding countryside. Although the conversation was in German, I did get the meaning of most of it and Jen helped to translate the rest. Topics included the FEI rider and trainer clubs, Totilas, the European Championships,FEI Young Horse this past weekend and owner/rider relationships. Super oppertunity to listen to two of the icons in the sport.
Thanks for sharing
Sounds like HEAVEN to me! Thank you for keeping us posted.
Thank you for inviting us to be there vicariously with you…you so deserve this!
Photo
There is a photo posted on Facebook under Don Principe.
I am going to try to upload another one. If anyone here wants to post one, I can email it to you
Amazing Morning! Monday Aug 15
This morning, after Jen warmed up Prince. Klaus asked to get on. This was somewhat of a wish of mine I had just spoken of to Jen, just a few minutes before bringing Prince out. In Fact, Jen thought I had asked Herr Balkenhol but I had not.
So after a few minutes of “getting to know you aids”, they went to work developing even more self carriage in the trot and canter. The piaffe and passage were awe inspiring! I have it on video! So after a short ride, Klaus gets off, tells Jen that Prince is a “TEAM” horse :0!!! and that she, as the rider, has the right basics, needs only to refine it.
Klaus then tells me that “maybe” we should leave Prince here when we go home. What a compliment that was then compounded by an offer to “trade Grand Prix” horses( of course NOT Dablino). I think some of this was in jest, but still, made me proud of my horse, his current and past riders.
Thanks Jim, Courtney, Jen M and Jen B!
You must be on the moon; that is very high praise, indeed! Are you considering leaving Prince? Hopefully you will post the video. I would love to see it. 
Maryanna, you have to be floating in the clouds with pride and happiness. All your hard work and determination is paying off. More power to you!
Whew, high praise. As Mary Lou said, more power to you!
NO- of course not!! Prince will not be “left” behind. LOL! He is , as my husband tells people, “THE other man in my life”.
The quarantine on a stallion that stays past 60 days is too much to pay for and way too long.
Yes, I am on cloud 9!
Wonderful:)
Tuesday Update
Klaus has left to coach for the European Championships. Jen rode Prince in the morning and the work was really good canter. Dewert had a very good work in the indoor( it had started raining again) with several other horses. It is not unusual for up to 6 horses to be working in there at the same time.
Then in the afternoon, the farrier came to"reset" the boy’s shoes. Turned out both of them had worn the toes of the front shoes so much that they needed new ones. I “think” that happened due to the hand walking on the courtyard cobblestones, although we really don’t do that much there but hand graze more.
It is interesting how the farrier works here. They have an assistant and an apprentice. SO that there were three men working ont he same horse at the same time. A horse could be done in under 30 minutes, including new hot shoes.
Dewert was very well behaved and Prince actually fell asleep. Of course, when someone is holding your foot up with a padded cloth and you don’t have to do it yourself, then sleep is a great option. LOL!
Wednesday will be a light work so that the boys get accustomed to the new shoes. Then I return my car rental to Muenster. Jen will drive me to Amsterdam Thursday morning for my flight home for a week. She will also be picking up Dave and Lukas, her husband and son, along with a neighbor who is coming for a visit.
September 13 update
Don Principe and Jennifer Baumert have had a very intense and remarkable two months here at Klaus’s facility.
They were filmed for DressageClinic.com. I have had a few very nice emails about the quality of the riding/training. I was back in the USA when this happened and am not a member, so I have not personally seen the video.
Jennifer rode both horses in a lesson with Klaus in front of visiting Henk von Bergen. Henk and his wife Wilma, who drove over to watch the sessions from their new home in Germany near the Netherlands border. Henk will be giving a clinic at Cross Creek Farm in Columbus, NC in early November. The visit will help with the continuity of the training.I took a bunch of super nice photos from this morning’s rides. The sun was up and no rain!
During this period, Prince and Jen have been invited to perform at the Pfiszer Equine Phantasia in Springfield, MA on November 14 and 15. They will travel up there after the Henk clinic and will do three evening performances of their GP Freestyle. If you live in the NorthEast, please come out to see them. Prince LOVES visitors!
Last week, Prince and Jen competed at a show about 2 hours away. They did the Grand Prix and placed 5th out of 19. Not bad for a first time out in Germany!
This past week, they have been runing through the GP test with hints from Klaus on how to ride it better. Competition coaching is slightly different than pure training and this has really shown up in the quality of transitions especially.
Today we have our final rides with Klaus. The majority of our time today will be spent doing laundry and packing to come back to the USA.
The shipper picks us up at 8 AM tomorrow for the trip to Shipol, Amsterdam. There, the horses are in a sort of “Animal hotel” for a few hours of quarantine before being loaded into the flight containers. I will, once again, be traveling with Prince as a working groom.
The plan is for both horses to go to Cloverlea Farm in CT after clearing US quarantine and train until Dressage at Devon. The Sunday before Devon, Jen and Prince will debut their new GP Freestyle during a benefit to be held to help pay for more advanced training for the pair.
Visit from Prince’s Breeder
Forgot to tell you about the most wonderful experience. And a cute thing as well.
Each day when Klaus comes out to teach Jen, he askes her " how is MY stallion today?" to which she responds, “MY stallion is good”. Taken into context this is important as Klaus is , in general, NOT a fan of stallions! LOL!
We had been trying to get Prince’s breeder to come see him before we returned. Bt since Adelheid runs a hotel and Hans-Heinrich runs a large breeding farm with agriculture offerings as well, it was not happening. So finally, this past Friday, the Brunings cleared their morning calender and made the 2 and 1/2 trip from Bruchausen to Rosendahl.
It was heartwarming to see them and to watch Adelheide with Prince. Klaus taught Jen during the visit and they were able to see all the GP movements. Klaus told Hans Heinrich that Prince was a true International horse, his piaffe, pirouettes and tempis could consistantly score tens and if there was a 12, his walk was all of that. Also, that Prince/Jen could win at any of the large “tournements”(competitions) any where in the world. They just need a bit more time to refine and hone their partnership.
Afterwards, Klaus gave the Brunings a tour of the farm and I went along. It was facinating to listen to the Olympic rider/coach and the breeder discuss what they each thought was important in breeding today. It is very interesting to note that here at the Balkenhol’s, there is a dominence of “D” blood, followed closely by “R” and “F”. The confidence in the soundness of body and mind, and reliability of work ethic are strong in these slightly “older” lines. There is concern of the too light foundations on current breeding stallions. There are several newer lines in the young 3 and 4 yr olds. Bellisimo, Herzendieb, His Highness and an older line, the full sister to Goldstern. There is a lovely Don Larino/Rubinstein mare that I drool over LOL!
So cool! Have a safe trip home!!
Back in the USA!
The van picked up our horses early Wednesday morning at Klaus Balkenhol’s in Germany. The trip took 2 hours longer than we expected as the driver had to pick up another horse in the Netherlands that was very out in the country–coblestone narrow roads. When we arrived at Shipol, we discovered that Dewert had pulled a front shoe (had the new set put on the day before). So the driver vet wrapped and taped the foot very well for the flight.
The boys loaded well into the container once they came off the van. The equipment was tagged and loaded on a pallet as freight. The shipping contaner then had two large plastic containers full of water placed inside along with the hay nets that we would later hang once in the air. It was several hours of waiting for the horses in the flight container at the Animal Hotel before loading later that evening.
I flew as a working groom for this flight back to the US. The KLM animal attendant was with the eight horses as they were lifted into the plane. About an hour after takeoff, I was able to go back and hang the hay nets and offer water to the horses. All of them handled the take off just fine. The trip had some turbulance but nothing too severe.
We arrived at JFK around 8:30 Wednesday evening. All the horses cleared and were on the van to federal quarantine within 2 hours of landing. Reports from the shipper have been positive during quarantine and Prince/Dewert are scheduled for release tomorrow afternoon if all the paperwork comes in on time.
What an amazing experience and trip for all of you! And thank you for sharing all of the highlights and letting us live vicariously through your adventures. Congrats of a successful and educational experience!
Welcome home!! So exciting to have such a great trip. Good thoughts and wished for an uneventful trip home!
