I’m casually in the market for a new show horse. Realistically I know that in order to afford the quality that I’m looking for I’ll need to buy either a weanling or yearling. I’d like to find something that will be able to do the 1.30m amateur jumpers.
Where can I find American bred jumper babies?
Go to the USEF website. Under “Ranking and Results”, select a recent year, maybe 2017. Select “Leading Breeders” select “Jumpers”. Start googling the breeders to see which ones sell their stock. Many of the farms do.
You can look at the AHHA breeder directory on their website. And don’t forget that there are smaller breeders out there who really produce excellent quality offspring.
If I wanted what you want, I would contact Elizabeth Houtsma in Missouri. Hillside H Ranch. Be prepared to buy in utero.
Exactly what OTM said!. Find a stallion you like (and leading sire results on USEF are a great place to start), and then look for breeders using him. You might even prefer to lease a mare (many larger breeding operations offer this) and have her bred to the stallion of your choice. Obviously, this is a longer-term plan, but then you’d really get exactly the lines you want.
However, the risk with breeding or buying in-utero are not insignificant. There can be all sorts of health issues with the foal, and even if it pops out healthy and gorgeous, it may end up being too big/small/hot/wrong gender/etc from what you were hoping for.
And someone on COTH has a signature line something like: definition of HORSE: A 4-legged mammal that spends its whole life trying to find expensive ways to die.
I once purchased a lovely colt at 1-week old. He had the bloodlines I wanted, and was gorgeous and personable. He did some limited showing on the line with success and was lightly backed as a 3yo. That summer he developed suddenly increasing ataxia, and subsequent vetting showed he was a severe wobbler. He was put down that fall. There are thousands of stories of heartbreak to balance the thousands of happy endings.
If you can afford something ~2yo-ish, you’ll have a better idea of size, type, temperament. To find something affordable and still available, you might have to do some detective work and find a smaller breeder, or take a chance on newer bloodlines, e.g. the sire and dam the offspring of the bloodlines you’re looking for, vs direct son/daughter.
Echo what everyone has said and remember the breeding still doesn’t guarantee you the 1.30 plus horse! Mine has the same sire as Lillie Keenan’s Super Sox (Salito, and he’s producing others at that level) and a dam that did the 1.40+…Super Sox is a winning Grand Prix horse mine is a 3ft6 hunter lol
Thanks everyone.
I understand the risks and realize that I may not end up with what I’m looking for. My budget for this next horse is low low 5 figures and I certainly can’t buy a made 1.30 horse, or even a 4-5 year old with that budget.
I did exactly what you are talking about doing 6 years ago: I knew I didn’t have the budget for the quality of horse I wanted that was already riding age. I purchased a yearling gelding from Silver Creek International (I would highly recommend them!) and couldn’t be more thrilled with how my guy has grown up. We are taking it slow with him so it is yet to be determined whether he will make a 1.30 - 1.40 jumper (or if I have the skill/bravery needed for that level).
Research bloodlines, see which ones you are drawn to and then try to find a youngster with the bloodlines, conformation, and movement you are looking for.
I’ve done it twice now.
My gelding is 9 now, I bought him as a yearling. The breeder was a local vet with a very small but successful breeding program. I loved the stallion, and there were three full siblings (foal, yearling, and 2yo) to see. He’s now my 3’6" A/O hunter, and we were even 4th in one of the Canadian Hunter Derbies. I would never have been able to afford a horse of his quality without doing it that way.
My mom and I went halves on a weanling last fall. This time we went to a larger breeder. The stallion isn’t well known, but the dam sire is the same as my geldings sire (Cabardino). The filly had already done her RPSI inspection and had scored very, very well. I think she may actually end up nicer than my gelding. The goal with her is to take her to the 3yo classes at the Royal in Toronto in 2020. My mom and I each already have our own horses so we haven’t decided yet if she’ll be a sale horse or if we’ll keep her.
Now, I should add that my parents have a farm so adding a baby to the mix doesn’t cost much. It wouldn’t make as much sense if we had to keep her somewhere where board was significant.
As far as finding breeders, ask around. Decide how far you’re willing to drive. Decide how much you’re willing to spend for each age group. Some breeders will individually price babies, some will price by age so you could get a steal or you could get ripped off.
We found both of our babies by word of mouth.
I have a nice 3yo filly I bought from Majestic Gaits as a weanling. Kathy is incredibly professional and the horse is stunning. She has some lovely ones coming this year!
i bought off bloodlines, pics and video, and also the mare’s strong record of producing performance horses/successful FEI jumpers. I didn’t need to see the filly in person and got just what I was expecting (but better!). I didn’t narrow my search to local…it really opens your options to look regionally and nationally for top quality.
another COTHer has one of her half brothers who is a bit older and he is lovely too.
BTW the stallion was not proven but the mare was for my filly. I actually prefer that, or better, both.
I bought one at 6 weeks old and one at 3.
its definitely a gamble. I would try to find a pairing where you can at least see an older full sibling. Even if it’s just 3yo, you can see more what you’re likely to get.
the biggest risks with this are the youngster finding a way to kill itself, and the temperament not being suitable for you. When I think of amateur friendly, I don’t think of dead quiet but I think of a horse who is willing to cooperate with the directions you give it. You may want to specifically talk to breeders about combinations that offer that type of sanity.
I have a youngster that I purchased as a weanling after doing a lot of research. Here are some of the things I did:
Once I selected a list of young horses to look at, I did the following:
(sometimes concurrent with the above)
The weanling I bought was young when I went to look at her (~3-4 months). I was impressed with her demeanor at a young age. Fast forward one year and FEI judges have commented on her excellent disposition. So the research paid off.
If you are willing to look across the border Klondike Victory Farm in Alberta breeds jumpers and they have an amazing selection of lovely, talented youngsters. They would have many yearlings and 2 year olds that would fit your budget. www.kvf.ca
I would strongly recommend buying a 2- or 3 year-old if you can. I chose and vetted my horse as a 5-month-old. I waited to see how some OCD-like lesions changed over the next few months, then bought him as a yearling. His temperament is perfect, but he turned out to be taller and more heavily-built than anyone could have predicted AND ended up having long hind pasterns / saggy fetlocks that vets have been telling me mean he is probably not going to hold up to work, especially given his size. No one could really see that at 5 months. I’ve asked the vets how to avoid this in the future and they said that at 3 years old conformation should be clear enough to make a safe decision (2, still a bit iffy). I won’t be putting myself through that particular heartbreak again.
If you live in Colorado you are not too far to fly to Alberta I think? Your money will go further in Canada and there are lots of warmblood breeders there, including Klondike Victory Farms. In Manitoba there is WKM Farms in Manitoba who have a VERY successful jumper breeding program, Boulder Ridge Ranch in Manitoba have great bloodlines in particular excellent dam lines.
Also, if you can hold off until the fall, the Fall Classic Sale by the CWHBA has had very successful sales graduates. Telephone bidding is an option.
Good luck in your search!
As a fellow AB Resident, I agree. KVF puts out some * gorgeous * horses, I highly recommend looking into them or checking out the Fall Sale.
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