December 2011

Wishing all our Friends a Very Merry Christmas and a Wonderful 2012!

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November 2011

Stallions Galore with Larkshill Stud on Tour!

October and November have been busy with 2 trips to Germany to watch the Oldenburg and Trakehner Stallion licensing. Both events were very interesting as always, seeing the progeny of the young stallions forward for grading and then watching the slightly older stallions at the evening Gala shows really helps with choosing the husbands for the mares! One of the huge benefits of going to these events is to see for yourself how correct the stallions are and what their temperaments are like in the arena and in the stables.  It is only by seeing them "up front and personal" that you can see this, videos can be made later which emphasize the good points only. Many a talented stallion has come off my breeding list for mean spirited behaviour in the stable or incorrect limbs when viewed closely!

We also caught up with many breeder friends at both events and another benefit of going to the gradings is sharing information with them and picking their brains about trends and stallions and the direction the breed societies are going.

To read a full report of the stallions we saw on my trips click here and read my latest blog in the Horse Breeders Magazine. You can also read an interview with the Magazine by clicking here.

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August 2011

Larkshill Foals 100% Premium!

Herr Bodo Willms Vice President of the Oldenburg Verband, Germany and Heather Stack of Larkshill Stud Larkshill Total Triumph by Totilas out of St.Pr.St Show Hit Oldenburg Premium Foal

We were very honored that the Vice President of the Oldenburg Verband Herr Bodo Willms visited Larkshill Stud to inspect our foals along with Dr Karsten Kühl and Lois Allard from the Oldenburg Verband. We are absolutely thrilled that all of our foals received the coveted Oldenburg Premium Foal Award! Total Triumph was particularly praised and Herr Willms commented that he had looked at 6 Totilas foals in Germany and Holland and our “Toto”  was the best one! He even asked for a photo for the Oldenburg magazine. I am so proud of all the foals - they are all superstars!

	Larkshill Total Triumph (Totilas x St.Pr.St. Show Hit)		Oldenburg Premium Foal Stallion Prospect
	Larkshill Rheindancer (Sarkozy x Rheindayla)		BEF ELITE Graded Foal Oldenburg Premium Foal
	Larkshill Mirella (Rohdiamant x Pr.St. Machita)		Oldenburg Premium Foal
	Larkshill L'Amour (Dimaggio x Libitina)		Oldenburg Premium Foal

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August 2011

Larkshill Supremacy Shines in Germany!

		In February this year I made the tough decision to send Supremacy to Germany for Mare Grading and Performance testing, as we believed her to be Premium quality and it is not possible to receive Premium status in the UK for Oldenburg mares. I am delighted to announce that when she presented to the Oldenburg Verband they liked her so much that she was selected to go forward to the Performance test for Premium mares. We are so thrilled that a British bred mare has been judged in the top 5% of mares in the studbook.
		I went to watch her at her Performance test and she received excellent scores for her paces - all 8's and she loose jumped superbly! Whilst her ridden test was not fault free she still received excellent scores for her paces under saddle from the German judges. We are absolutely over the moon that she will be awarded a Verband Premium. Talking to the head judge afterwards he said if she had been more settled in her ridden work, she would have received the State Premium award and if I wanted I could present her again next year when she has had more time under saddle. What an achievement!

However the real icing on the cake for me is that whilst she was in Germany, she was approved to breed to the World Champion Fürst Heinrich (my favourite all time stallion and sire of Woodlander's fabulous mare Farouche!) and as she is now in foal to him, so hopefully she will be rather busy next year having her foal!

I am so proud to have this wonderful young homebred Premium mare representing the Stud, she is quite spectacular in every way and she has a very special place in my heart!
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August 2011

Larkshill Rheindancer is Graded Elite!

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July 2011

Another Exceptional Broodmare joins the Larkshill Herd!

Elite Bugatti St Discovery x Don Schufro x Flemmingh In foal to Bretton Woods

Elite Bugatti St is an exceptionally well bred and highly graded mare. She was awarded Keur status at her grading, scoring highly on all 3 gaits. Following a very successful performance test and completion of the strict KWPN X Rays she has now been granted ELITE status.

Her breeding is impeccable, with line breeding to the legendary Donnerhall and a blue chip dam line. Every mare is graded ELITE and has the Sport dressage predicate too. This exceptional quality of the dam line is truly outstanding. We are thrilled that she is in foal to Champion stallion Bretton Woods due January 28th!

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June 2011

St.Pr.St Ronja's son Darnell Wins and Qualifies for the Bundeschampionate
and her 3 year old Daughter Diva is Champion Mare!

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June 2011

Our Totilas colt is here and he is a Total Triumph!

What is really special about this colt is his intelligence. Never before have we seen a colt foal as bright. As soon as he was born he was very quick to stand and get the hang of his long legs and straight over to the milk bar and latched on without any trouble, very unusual for a colt . He stands quietly for his foal slip to be put on and already lifts his feet up for checking every day - you can just see him working everything out and wanting to please - just like his famous sire!

With the first Totilas foal auctioned at Vechta yesterday selling for an incredible 105,000 Euros, Totilas is set to become a breeding legend as well as being a living sporting legend. I am convinced our boy has a very bright and successful career ahead of him.

The combination of World Class genes from his World Champion sire and from his State Premium dam, who herself comes from 5 generations of State Premium mares, has resulted in a World Class stallion prospect.

We have named him Larkshill Total Triumph because we believe he is just that and we couldn't be more proud!

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A Regal Black Filly is Born in Royal Wedding Week!

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April 2011

Scrumptious Easter Present for Larkshill - Stunning Black Filly by Dimaggio!

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April 2011

St.Pr.St. Ronja's foal is born with lots of Designer Bling!

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March 2011

Don Presidente, Sire of St.Pr.St Ronja's foal is New Ride for Imke Schellekens-Bartels!

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February 2011

Pr.St. Machita's First Foal is here and she is Amazing!

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January 2011

Introducing a Wonderful New Mare!

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December 2010

Wishing all our Friends a Merry Christmas and a Happy & Healthy 2011!

November 2010

Machita's breeder has two more Oldenburg Stallions Graded !!
.................and Heather meets Totilas!

The Oldenburg Gala was wonderful - Damon Hill definitely stole the show and it was great to see so many stallions in one evening. It was also fun to go back to the Trakehners and I loved the Reserve Champion Millennium as well as the Champion Imhotep - both carrying Gribaldi blood. We went to see Millennium at Sprehe on Sunday as he is every bit a Champion in the flesh! It is very pleasing to see the Trakehners moving more to performance horses in their stallions selections. It was also interesting to see so many stallions at the Oldenburg grading with Trakehner dams - they obviously want the blood which is good news for us and our breeding program!

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November 2010

Fürst Larkshill Sold to a Top Young Rider!

We are thrilled to announce that Fürst Larkshill will be a future Grand Prix horse for young rider Daisy Jackson. Daisy is currently in training with Nicola Jourdain and Gill Fullen. Daisy is a member of South West BYRDS and is currently competing at medium level on Sarah and Rebecca Eccles, Stafford Salamander. Daisy is very focused in her ambitions and aims to go to Germany after her A levels to continue her training. She hopes with the help of her trainers to ride Fürst Larkshill at Grand Prix and ultimately of course to represent Great Britain!

Fürst Larkshill is by the World Champion stallion Fürst Heinrich out of Monik by De Niro. He was awarded the prestigious Oldenburg Foal Premium in 2006. He was bred at Larkshill Stud and sent to Germany as a 2 year old to be professionally produced. Now back in the UK, he won and qualified for the Badminton Young Horse Championships first time out beating all the 5 year olds! His paces and temperament are outstanding and he just loves to work. This young horse is absolutely World Class. Congratulations to Daisy and Tango (as he is known at home!), we look forward to watching you being superstars together!

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October 2010

Wow! 3 Oldenburg Premiums for Larkshill Foals.........

.........And to us they are just as exciting as Totilas' 3 Gold's!

The Oldenburg Verband have inspected our foals and I am over the moon to announce that they awarded us 3 of the coveted Foal Premiums. The first went to Larkshill Legacy by Benetton Dream out of Libitina, the second to Larkshill Tänzer by Benetton Dream out of Pinakothek, bred by us and now owned by Debbie, Jack and Daisy - huge congrats to you all. A small mention about Larkshill Affinity, she decided she could only canter and buck and play on the day of the inspection so she couldn't be awarded a Premium but she has already received her BEF Higher First Premium so are pleased for her!

And then onto Larkshill Debonair by De Niro out of St. Pr.St. Show Hit. According to the Verband he is the best colt we have bred and obviously a Premium!! They commented especially on his outstanding walk and canter. So now the dilemma is whether to keep him as a future Stallion!

We always knew Debonair was World Class and it looks like we are not the only ones!

2010 Oldenburg Premium Foal and Stallion Prospect Larkshill Debonair by De Niro out of St. Pr.St. Show Hit

2010 Oldenburg Premium Foal Larkshill Legacy by Benetton Dream out of Libitina

2010 Oldenburg Premium Foal Larkshill Tänzer by Benetton Dream out of Pinakothek

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October 2010

3 Gold Medals for Gal and Totilas at the World Equestrian Games!

Congratulations to Edward Gal and the amazing stallion Moorlands Totilas who claimed their 3rd Gold medal in the Grand Prix Freestyle at the 2010 World Equestrian Games. He and the Dutch Team scooped Team Gold, and then he went on to win Gold for the Grand Prix Special and then they made it a hat-trick winning the Freestyle scoring a sensational 91.8%! Also huge congrats go to Laura Bechtolsheimer, who produced a personal best score of 85.35 with Mistral Hojris to become the first ever British rider to take three medals at a World Dressage Championship - Silver in the Team, Special and Freestyle! We are thrilled and so excited that St.Pr.St. Show Hit is in foal to Totilas, it will be black and the foetal sexing indicates it's a colt - hopefully it will be a mini Toto! !

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September 2010

Young Love and Aika with her 3 foals!

Affinity and Debonair kissing (!) and our lovely mare Aika with her 3 foals! Aika is the best nanny a herd can have, she is patient and tolerant with all the foals and they all love spending time with her! The photo shows Legacy nearest to Aika. Legacy was weaned a few days ago and you would never tell, she is so happy with her family and loving all the extra attention!

July 2010

Larkshill Affinity Captures the Judges Hearts at the Futurity!

Affinity was the youngest foal presented at the Solihull Futurity and was amazing. At 4 weeks old she showed maturity beyond her years. The judges loved her and gave her a Higher First Premium Award! She got a fantastic 9 for her walk, 8.25 for her trot & 17 for her athleticism & 8 .75 for her attitude! They commented that she will be even more impressive when she is older & stronger. They said that she is one to watch for the future & predicts she will have a very promising dressage career ahead of her! Well done little Princess!

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July 2010

St.Pr.St. Show Hit is in foal to Moorlands Totilas!

We are delighted to announce that St.Pr.St. Show HIt is in foal to Moorlands Totilas. Show Hit is is one of only 10 mares in the UK to be approved and 100 worldwide. Totilas took the dressage world by storm last year and received standing ovations where ever he competed, breaking one world record after another! We have 6 foals due in 2011: Pr.St. Machita x Rohdiamant due 31st January 2011 Zouelle x Wynton due 5th April 2011 Rheindayla x Sarkozy due 23rd April 2011 Libitina x Dimaggio due 29th April 2011 St.Pr.St. Show Hit x Totilas due 28th May 2011 Aika x De Niro due 14th June 2011 We are now welcoming enquiries for next years foals

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June 2010

Aika produces a Dream Dressage Princess!

Our last foal of the year is here and she takes my breath away! Affinity is the most beautiful foal I have ever seen, she is absolutely exquisite. She has inherited her sire De Niro's World Class movement and Aika's sweet nature and good looks! She has elevated effortless paces & lovely uphill conformation. Aika's last foal was a Premium Foal & sold to Australia as a stallion prospect! With her dream dressage pedigree of De Niro, Donnerhall, Fürst Heinrich, Florestan and Rubinstein - Larkshill Affinity has it all!

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June 2010

Fürst Larkshill Wins and Qualifies First Time Out!

So the champagne is flowing and I am over the moon with Fürst Larkshill's first UK outing! We took him to a Badminton Young Horse qualifier on Sunday and much to our surprise and joy he won! He was in a mixed class of 4 & 5 year olds and as he is only 4 and it was only his second ever show, we didn't expect very much.......... so when the scores went up and he won by more than 5% we were thrilled! Thanks to Matt Burnett who rode him and to Darren Mattia who is producing him.

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May 2010

Larkshill Debonair is born and he is Magnificent!

Introducing Larkshill Debonair, full bother to Premium & Elite foals Supremacy & Decadence and he is Magnificent! He is suave, elegant and totally charming hence the name Debonair! Power, presence and huge effortless movement combined with a World Class dressage pedigree. As we have retained his full brother and sister he is offered for sale to an exceptional home. A true World Class Contender

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May 2010

Larkshill Lakota Wins First Time Out!

Congratulations to Fiona Johnstone who owns Larkshill Lakota by Kostolany out of Champion mare Libitina. We have just heard from Fiona that Lakota proved herself to be a real star at her first affiliated dressage competition by winning both of her tests - one of which she scored 73%! Well done to both of you!

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May 2010

Introducing a New Broodmare!

We are delighted to introduce Zouelle. She is a real beauty with three powerful, elevated paces and she is such a sweetie!! Her breeding is amazing, she is by the Champion stallion Special D (Métall / Ferro) out of a Preferent mare by Equador (Voltaire). This is a seriously impressive mare from a blue chip dam line full of Preferent and Keur mares. She is in foal to Licensing, Performance Test & Pavo Cup Champion Wynton for a 2011 foal. We are meant to be selling this mare, but I am slowly and surely falling in love!

Prada finally has her Foal!

Congratulations to Debbie, Daisy & Jack the new owners of Prada on the birth of her foal by Benetton Dream - a stunning bay colt with lots of bling!! This one was certainly worth waiting for!! His name is Larkshill Boogie Woogie Tänzer!! Apparently he spends so much time dancing around the field on his long legs, so Boogie Woggie is obvious and Tänzer which is the German for Dancer - how wonderful!! I am thrilled and so pleased Prada & Tänzer are in such a loving home.

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Easter Monday 2010

Introducing a New Ballerina!

Our Champion mare Libitina gave birth to an adorable black filly by Benetton Dream at 6.30am today - what a lovely Easter present! This is Libitina's 7th foal and she is very lively, cantering around the barn full of the joys of Spring! Long legs, striking looks and huge movement this little filly is certainly going to be a dancing Diva! We have called her Larkshill Legacy.

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March 2010

St.Pr.St. Show Hit Approved to Breed to World Champion Totilas!

We are delighted to announce that St.Pr.St. Show HIt has been approved to breed to the sensational Moorlands Totilas in his first year at stud. Totilas took the dressage world by storm last year and received standing ovations where ever he competed, breaking one world record after another! He was the winner of the European Championships 2009 and the World Cup Final 2010. The owners of Totilas wanted to be sure that he only breeds to mares of exceptional quality - hence the very strict approval process. Show Hit is is one of only 10 mares in the UK to be approved and 100 worldwide. How exciting - a Totilas foal for 2011!

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March 2010

Dreams Do Come True..........

For those of you that know me, you will be aware I have been searching for some time for an exceptional mare to join the herd. I had a dream so decided to see if i could make it come true..............

I have been following the horses bred by one exceptional breeder from one extraordinary mare family. That breeder is Herr Sieverding in Germany. His phenomenal mare family has produced more Champions and Premium mares than any other in Modern Oldenburg History. They produced not only the 2007 Oldenburg Licensing Champion Sieger Hit, but also the 2008 Oldenburg Licensing Champion Fürstenball (who sold as a foal for 110,000 euros!) and in 2009 the second Reserve Champion Hot Spot owned by Blue Hors stud as well as 2 other graded stallions!

To breed a licensed stallion is a huge achievement but to breed one Champion after another is truly extraordinary. And it is not only the colts who do so well from this family, there are countless Premium mares, many of whom are also Elite and go onto produce Premium daughters.

So we are extremely grateful to Herr Sieverding to allow us to acquire one of his mares from this family to start our own dynasty. Her name is Pr. St. Machita she is a Premium 4 year old performance tested Oldenburg mare and she will stay in Germany with Herr Sieverding to be put in foal for a 2010 foal!

We are absolutely thrilled and honoured to be allowed to bring such an extraordinary mare to England and look forward to creating our own dynasty with her!

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February 2010

Larkshill Goes Dutch!

Moorlands Totilas KWPN Horse of the Year

What an amazing few days. We are just back from Holland for the KWPN stallion days & Germany for the stallion shows. We were thoroughly spoilt by the KWPN and got to see so many quality stallions. There was a showcase of Jazz sons including a special demo by Parcival, Gribaldi was awarded a Preferent & his two sons Painted Black and Totilas performed for us! Totilas being awarded KWPN Horse of the Year! It has given me much food for thought & a real insight into the up and coming Dutch sires. Then onto Germany, to see my new mare (more to follow...) and to watch the sensational Fürstenball at the Schockemöhle show. As soon I saw this young stallion at the 2008 Oldenburg grading I fell in love. He became Champion of the grading and last year was Champion of his performance test scoring a massive 154 for his dressage. He was phenomenal under saddle - I am well and truly smitten!

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January 2010

Larkshill Desert Storm is causing a Storm Down Under!

We have just heard from Jane Jones in Australia that Desert Storm ( Aika x Dr Doolittle) is loving all the sunshine and attention in his new 5 * home. We are eagerly awaiting her next foal by De Niro. .."I think you would agree that he is looking incredibly well. He was such a darling on the day & very cheeky. We were jumping up & down, flinging whips to make him prick his ears & he just stood there thinking we were idiots!! I was in a total sweat & he was as cool as a cucumber!! There is no doubt about it, he is an extremely quiet, gorgeous soul. I love him." Jane Jones, Yering Equestrian Park

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December 09

My Nieces are both FEI World Dressage Challenge Winners!

I am just back from spending a week with my sister and nieces in Abu Dhabi and I am thrilled to say both Charlotte and Madelaine won their FEI classes in Dubai!! Charlotte won the FEI adult Advanced class on her new horse Ronaldo and is also the overall winner in her FEI Zone at this level! What makes this win so thrilling is that Charlotte is only 16 and managed to beat all the adults to win the class in only her third ever competition at this level. She had only had Ronaldo in the UAE for 2 months so the partnership is still developing and I can't wait to see them in future competitions. We spent the summer touring Europe looking at horses and finally found Ronaldo in Holland, a KWPN 11 year old gelding by Jet Set D.

Now onto Maddie! She has taken over the ride on Sugar Creek Willy and has had some amazing results (better than her big sister managed with this horse but shhhh don't say I said so!). Maddie was the highest qualified rider with many wins at over 70% and is building a great partnership with Sugar. She surpassed herself on the day and won the Junior Elementary class! I am so thrilled as dressage is Sugar's second career, having been a race horse in the US previously. Well done both! How fabulous for me to have 2 riders in the wings, now all I need to do is get the Larkshill horse ready for them! Click here for more photos!!

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November 09

Larkshill Stud on Tour at the German Oldenburg & Hanoverian Stallion Gradings

Well we have just finished our tour of Germany where we attended both the Oldenburg and Hanoverian Stallion Licensing, as well as meeting up with many German breeders! We make sure we go every year as it is the only way to get a real understanding of the bloodlines and see potential sires face to face. Highlights for me this year were the two Premium Danone l sons. The black Danone I x Welt Hit II x Noble Roi xx was the Reserve Champion at the Oldenburgs and was sold for 130,000 euros to Switzerland and we believe will be standing with Marcus Gribbe. (see photo)

At the Hanoverian grading, again a Danone l son was the second highest selling dressage horse indicating that it was also the Reserve Champion (the Hanoverians no longer name a Champion). The Danone I x Rouletto x Aktuell sold for 320,000 euros to Austria. I also loved the chestnut Fidertanz x De Niro x Jet Stream xx - who sold for 330,000 euros - this horse was a real powerhouse.

We were lucky enough to visit many German breeder friends and indeed one very special breeder but I can't say too much yet..........more of this to follow!
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October 2009

Fürst Larkshill Sparkles at his first competition in Germany!

Our fabulous Fürst Heinrich stallion went to his first dressage competition today and has behaved impeccably. He is being produced slowly and carefully and it was agreed that although he is only 3 years old we would let him go to one "party " as a 3 year old for experience.

Well he was superstar loading and traveled like a pro and he worked in with other horses quietly and calmly. He was one of only three 3 year olds in a class of 18 - all the other horses were 4 year olds and we are delighted he came 5th!! The judges really liked him and gave him a 8.5 for his canter but commented that at the moment he was a little croup high - so they think there is more movement to come!

Well done Tango!
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September 2009

Both Foals Awarded the Coveted Oldenburg Foal Premium!

We are very honoured that the Oldenburg Verband again chose Larkshill Stud as one of British venues for their mare and foal Inspection tour.  We presented Rheindayla for grading and we are delighted that she passed with flying colours and was graded into the Main Oldenburg Studbook.

Larkshill Decadence by De Niro out of St.Pr.St Show Hit was awarded the coveted Premium title just like his big sister Supremacy last year! We are thrilled as this colt is quite sensational and is being retained by the stud as a stallion prospect. So with all of St.Pr.St Show Hit's foals being awarded a Premium we look forward to welcoming her foal by De Niro next year!

Larkshill Salvador by Sarkozy out of Rheindayla was also awarded a Premium to add to his collection of awards including Reserve Champion at the BEF Futurity and his ELITE title!

Dr. Karsten Kühl of the Oldenburg Verband, Germany and Heather Stack of Larkshill Stud Larkshill Decadence - Oldenburg Premium Foal with his dam St.Pr.St Show Hit

August 2009

Larkshill Riaza is Awarded a Premium at her Grading!

We are thrilled that Larkshill Riaza has been awarded a Verband Premium by the Westphalian Verband. The German judges came to the UK to inspect foals and grade mares. This is the highest award that can be given in this country and we are over the moon! Riaza is by Premium stallion Riccio out of St. Pr.St. Show Hit. She is Show Hit's first foal and we are so delighted for her owner Helen and of course Show Hit! I have been out to the field to tell the horses the good news and tell her little sister Larkshill Supremacy that she has a lot to live up to!

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August 2009

Larkshill Salvador Reserve Champion & Graded ELITE!

Our Sarkozy foal Larkshill Salvador was sensational at the Solihull BEF Futurity yesterday. He was graded ELITE and was the Reserve Champion! He scored an amazing 19 out of 20 for Athleticism, with exceptional comments about his canter, 9 for his walk and 9 for type and temperament. We are thrilled, we knew this colt was World Class and now we have the results to prove it! He is offered for sale to an exceptional home.

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July 2009

Sarkozy Foal is German Reserve Champion!

A Sarkozy / De Niro foal was the Reserve Filly foal Champion at the recent German Foal Championships. This is Sarkozy's first crop of foals and to have a reserve Champion so soon is amazing - this filly was sensational, built uphill, moving with such cadence and lift - a little ballerina! We are looking forward to taking our Sarkozy foal Salvador to the BEF futurity show in August. Watch this space for results............
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1st July 2009

HRH shows off for the Camera!

Our young stallion prospect His Royal Highness by Champion Stallion His Highness out of BEF Champion mare Libitina enjoyed strutting his stuff for the camera! We had friends visiting who were here when he was born 2 years ago and they asked if we could get him in. Needless to say HRH loved all the attention and was very interested in the mares - but we have told him he has to wait a couple more years yet to get the ladies!

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30 June 2009

Larkshill Riaza is Reserve Champion at her First Show!

Congratulations to Larkshill Riaza and her owner Helen Dobbing on a very successful first show! Helen reports that Ria behaved like a dream all day, walking on and off the box with ease and traveling like a pro. She won her in hand class & went on to win the Reserve Championship! An outstanding result for Show Hit's first foal, showing she has beauty, movement and a fabulous temperament - just like her mum! Well done Helen & Ria, we are very proud of you both!

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21 May 2009

Full Brother to Elite & Premium Foal Supremacy is Born!

We are delighted to announce the arrival of Show Hit's De Niro colt - Larkshill Decadence and what a stunner! Power, presence and huge effortless movement - this boy is a True World Class Contender! I am totally smitten by Decadence, he is charming, captivating and totally adorable!

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Benetton Dream has won Bundeschampionate Qualifier!

"The five year old Dressage Horse class was huge at the Bremen qualifier so it was split into two groups. Holga Finken won aboard the 2007 Bundeschampion Benetton Dream. The dark bay stallion by Brentano II x Rotspon was previously trained and competed by Ann Sophie Fiebelkorn, but Finken took over the ride in 2009. The new combination won the 5-year old dressage horse class with an impressive score of 8.3".

Both Libitina and Pinakothek are in foal to Benetton Dream for 2010 so we are delighted with this result!
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First Sarkozy Foal to be born in the UK!

Larkshill Salvador - Sensational colt foal by Sarkozy out of Rheindayla. This is Rheindayla's 3rd colt in a row and her last two were Champions and we are sure this one will be too - he is the best yet! He has a Dream Dressage pedigree, exceptional movement, is built uphill and has tons of presence - this colt is breathtaking and a future Champion!

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April 2009

Larkshill Stud is featured in British Dressage Magazine!

We are thrilled that an article about Larkshill Stud and our methods is in the April 2009 edition of British Dressage Magazine! We have received so much positive feedback about the article already, so thank you to everyone who has called and emailed! Now we are just waiting for the next Olympic dressage foal prospects to arrive!!!! Rheindayla is due on the 3rd April! To read the article on Larkshill Stud in British Dressage Magazine click here

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March 2009

Aika's Colt Arrives Safely in Australia!

Aika's stunning foal by Dr Doolittle has completed his journey to Australia. He spent 3 weeks in quarantine in Newmarket and has now arrived safely in Australia. He is currently in quarantine in Sydney and will shortly be going to his lovely new home with Jane and Jeff Jones at Yering Equestrian Park. We all really missing this little chap, he has won over the hearts of everyone who has met him - even the routine vet at Newmarket said how adorable he was! We wish him and his new owners all the luck in the world and look forward to hear how he progresses.

Congratulations to my niece Madelaine Drakeley, who has won the Ridden Stallion Championship at the Dubai International Arabian Horse Championships - the largest Arabian Show in the world, with prize money totaling $4,000,000!!!!  Madelaine was riding Al Khattar Wrsan, a 6 year old son of Monarch AH, bred and owned by His Highness Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahayyan – the pairing has been together since January 2008. This is a great achievement as Madelaine was the youngest competitor and rode her stallion brilliantly to beat 21 other competitors - I am so proud! Madelaine is quickly catching up with her big sister Charlotte, who won the same class last year on The Specialist, also a son of Monarch AH and owned by H.H.Sheikh Sultan. Well done Maddy!

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February 2009

Snow, Snow & more Snow!

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January 2009 Larkshill Supremacy is a Movie Star!

January 2009

Sarkozy Dazzles at his Performance Test

Congratulations to Sarkozy on a fabulous 30 day Stallion Performance test. He scored an amazing 9.01 for his Dressage and was the Reserve Champion. His huge paces were rewarded with excellent scores: canter 9.13, trot 8.69 and we are delighted that for his walk he received 9.5, which is very impressive, especially for a Sandro Hit son! He received a score of 8.88 for both his rideability and his conformation. What a little Star!

We are thrilled with these results as Rheindayla is in foal to him for 2009. I fell in love with this young stallion last February in Germany at the Schockemöhle stallion show and decided to purchase some semen as I thought he would be a superstar - he is surpassing my expectations!
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November 2008

De Niro Is Named Stallion of the Year 2008 Congratulations to De Niro on being awarded the Hanoverian Stallion of the Year 2008. De Niro is the sire of Larkshill Supremacy who has exceeded all of our expectations this year - being awarded one of the very few Elite scores at the BEF Futurity and receiving the prestigious Premium title from the Oldenburg Verband. Her dam St Pr St Show Hit, is back in foal to De Niro for 2009 and we are eagerly awaiting the next little superstar! De Niro is also the dam sire of our fabulous colt Fürst Larkshill who is currently in Germany training.

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November 2008

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October 2008

Premium Success at the Oldenburg Grading and Inspection

We are very honoured that the Oldenburg Verband again chose Larkshill Stud as one of British venues for their mare and foal Inspection tour.  We presented St.Pr.St. Show Hit for grading and we are delighted that she passed with flying colours and was graded into the Main Studbook.

The Verband inspected our filly foals - Larkshill Supremacy and Larkshill Limited Edition. We are thrilled to announce that both fillies were awarded the coveted Premium title! Well done girls!

Larkshill Supremacy Oldenburg Premium Foal		Larkshill Limited Edition Oldenburg Premium Foal

August 2008

Carl Hester Crowns our mares Champion & Reserve Champion Broodmare at the British Breeding Championships!

We are all on Cloud 9 and can't stop smiling as you will see from the photographs!

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August 2008

Larkshill Supremacy Top Scoring Dressage Horse and Elite!

Our first show of the year and what a result! We took Diaz (Larkshill Supremacy) and Ede (Larkshill's Limited Edition) to the BEF Futurity show. First and foremost they were both impeccably behaved and loaded and traveled quietly and really enjoyed the day.

Diaz was first to go and was amazing. She scored a massive 9.16 points and received the Elite Title - only 4 dressage foals in the country have achieved this! She also received the highest score of the day out of all the horses in the dressage category and qualifies for the Championship Show.

It was then Ede's turn - she wasn't quite as extravagant as she usually is at home and just missed the Elite title by 0.1%. She received a very high scoring First Premium award with 8.90. 3rd highest scoring horse of the day in the Dressage category, just behind big sister and also qualifies for the Championship Show!

The icing on the cake was that Horse & Country TV were filming the event and followed both fillies' progress through the vetting and evaluation and then interviewed me - watch this space to find out when it will be on Sky! We are so proud of both fillies, they really are little stars!

Larkshill Supremacy Receives the prestigious Elite Award Scores 9.16 receives 9.5s & 9s for all categories Qualifies for the Championship Show!		Larkshill's Limited Edition Receives a High Scoring First Premium Scores 8.90 receives 9.5s, 9's & 8.75s for all categories Qualifies for the Championship Show!

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August 2008

Fürst Larkshill is off to Germany!

We have finally decided to send Tango our Fürst Heinrich / De Niro colt to Germany to continue his training. We are so excited about this young colt's future and wish him lots of luck. We will keep you updated with his progress.

Fürst Heinrich / De Niro / Volturno Premium Oldenburg Colt 21 April 2006

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May 2008

Not one but two stunning black fillies born on the 18th May!

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April 2008

Sensational Kaiserkult foal born 26 April!

Saturday Night Fever has an amazing chestnut colt. We had high expectations of this foal by Kaiserkult and we are delighted to say he is an absolute cracker! He is a big strong colt with very long legs and is a born athlete. This foal will be a phenomenal dressage horse. We have named him Larkshill Sovereign as we feel sure he will rule his world one day! Sovereign is offered for sale with his mum or at weaning.

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April 2008

First foal is born and he is a masterpiece!

Prada gave birth to a beautiful black colt on the 2nd of April and he is absolutely stunning. We have named him Larkshill Picasso as he is surely destined for greatness and is truly a work of art! We haven't ever had a foal who is quite this confident at such an early age! His pedigree combines some of the finest bloodlines: Hohenstein, Latimer, Sixtus and the very influential Kennedy. He is very correct, has a huge walk and loves showing off his advanced dressage movements in the field already!

Sadly he is will be for sale as we already have our stallion prospects and can't keep any more colts.

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December 2007

An Early Christmas Present for the Stud!

I am delighted that our new brood mare has arrived form Germany. We have been looking for a while, searching out the best bloodlines to compliment the existing mares and of course ensuring she has superb movement and the all important kind character. Pinakothek more than match's this criteria!

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December 2007

Charlotte is tipped as 'One to Watch' as she notches up another Win!

Extract from the Khaleej Times: "DUBAI — The third edition of the Emirates Equestrian Centre Dressage Show saw Charlotte Drakeley standing out in the Preliminary Juniors class. There was a record number of 97 competitors at the Union Properties-sponsored event, but it was the win of Drakeley from Al Reef Stables on her mount Holly that caught the eye. Click here for the full story

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November 2007

Charlotte Qualifies for the FEI European Dressage Championships in 2008!

I am very proud to announce that my niece Charlotte Drakeley has won the Junior Rider, Middle East FEI World Dressage Challenge 2007. Riding Cennen Arlach a 12 year old pony owned by Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan (the Crown Prince of the United Arab Emirates), they were the clear Champions and the crowd's favourite, as Charlotte is only 13 and one of the youngest riders in the Championship! Charlotte has now qualified for the FEI European Dressage Championships in 2008 - well done Charlotte, I am so proud.

Our breeding programme is already underway to try and breed Charlotte her dream Grand Prix horse - no pressure then!

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November 2007

Success at the Oldenburg Grading and Inspection

We are very honoured that the Oldenburg Verband chose Larkshill Stud as one of British venues for their mare and foal Inspection tour.  We presented Libitina and Schweben for grading and we are delighted that both were both graded into the Main Studbook.

The Verband then inspected their foals - Larkshill's His Royal Highness and Larkshill Highgrove. We are thrilled to announce that both colts were awarded the coveted Premium title! Well done boys!

And the good news doesn't stop there! They also inspected Fürst Larkshill our yearling colt by Fürst Heinrich who was awarded the foal premium last year. The fabulous news is that they confirmed he is good enough to go forward for grading in Germany next year. We are absolutely over the moon!

His Royal Highness (left) Oldenburg Premium Foal Highgrove (right) Oldenburg Premium Foal

October 2007 Spirit is a talented Show Jumper! We have just received an update from Donna, Spirit of Orion's owner. Spirit is still his cheeky lovable self and he has been doing incredibly well at show jumping. He is already winning at discovery level and he is now jumping clear at newcomers (1.10m). Congratulations Donna and Spirit - we can't wait to come and cheer you on!

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September 2007

Fürst Larkshill Impresses

I just wanted to share these photos with you of our young Fürst Heinrich / De Niro colt Tango, he is quite simply breathtaking. We are planning to send him to Germany next year to prepare him for grading with the Oldenburg Verband.

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September 2007 - Trakehners UK Show

What another amazing show - 3 Reserve Champions!

Larkshill Rheinzauber Reserve Foal Champion

Not to be outdone by his big brother, Rheinzauber also excelled. Rheinzauber was the Reserve Foal Champion and top colt foal at only 6 weeks old! He was the youngest foal at the show and was amazing, so bold and confident. He won his age class and then went on to be the Reserve Champion. The German judges commented on his outstanding type and conformation with excellent movement despite his young age. Another one to be kept entire as a stallion prospect! As usual Zippy captured the hearts of everyone and many gave him a cuddle!

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August 2007

Tarino qualifies for the Winter Regional Championships - first time out!

Tarino went to his first dressage competition on Sunday and was brilliant. He won both of his classes scoring 66% and 71%. He was so calmed and relaxed, working in quietly in the indoor school. When it came to his tests he was a bit more talkative, much to everyone's amusement! Well done Tarino!

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July 23rd 2007

Last foal of the year born and what a cracker!

Dali foaled at the civilized hour of 11.30am. She made it a hat-trick this year as all of our mares have chosen the field to foal in - clever girls! As always Dali made it look easy and Zippy was on his feet in 10 minutes looking for the milk bar.

He is a super bay colt foal, nicknamed Zippy as he is constantly zipping around the field, showing off! He is absolutely stunning with bags of confidence and character - a real head turner. He has superb Trakehner type with a beautiful dished head and excellent movement with great knee and hock action. Zippy is very friendly and inquisitive and is already capturing the hearts of all who meet him! We have named him Larkshill Rheinzauber as zauber means charmer in German and he certainly lives up to his name!

Larkshill Rheinzauber

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July 9th 2007

Second His Highness foal has arrived!

Monday morning 10.30am and Schweben insists on joining the herd in the big paddock. After half an hour of being closely watched (we've been on foal watch for the last few nights) she finally relaxes and has her foal, with the whole herd watching in the middle of the field! I think Libitina had a word and said it's the "in " thing to do this year. It was a really easy foaling and guess what - another black His Highness colt - yipee!

We are delighted with him, he was a week early but is healthy and full of life. He is stunning with very long legs! Schweben is the perfect Mum, relaxed and loving. We have high hopes for this little chap, we will post more photos as soon as possible. Check out the tongues in the middle photo!

Larkshill Highgrove

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July 2007

Symphoniker is impeccably behaved at his first show!

Saturday was Symponiker's first outing, the Midlands In Hand show. It was torrential rain and knee deep in mud! He sailed round the Warmblood class and after a very close call was placed second. We were especially pleased as this class was judged by Ted Green (Chairman of the Hanoverian Society) and we wanted to know what he thought of him. He really liked him but as he was a little bum high on the day, he placed him second but looks forward to seeing him in the future. No photos I'm afraid as the weather was so dreadful but trust me he looked gorgeous!
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June 2007

Ria loves her photo shoot and plays to the camera!

Yesterday was Ria's photo shoot and wow did she love the camera. She took advantage of galloping around the school showing off before settling down do do some good work. She is so athletic and has a huge uphill cater and of course she is drop dead gorgeous too!

Click here for more photos

Larkshill Riaza

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May 2007

First His Highness Foal has arrived!

Saturday afternoon 5.30pm and Libitina finally gives us a colt that we have always wanted from her! A stunning black colt by His Highness - he is absolutely outstanding and we are thrilled.

Libitina likes to have her foals early and this was no exception being nearly 2 weeks early! She also prefers to foal in the field, so needless to say she had her way again, with us just watching and smiling.

He is a lovely strong colt, with lots of presence and he is pinging around the field. This is her first colt after 5 fillies so we are really delighted especially after the very sad news that His Highness has recently been put to sleep after a freak accident. We will be keeping this little chap entire as a stallion prospect.

For more information and photos click on Libitina's foal.

Larkshill's His Royal Highness

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October 2006

We are delighted to announce that we have decided to keep our Fürst Heinrich colt entire as stallion prospect.  Joining him will be 2 colts purchased at the Elite Hanoverian Foal Auction in Germany.

		Symphoniker is a stunning black colt by Stedinger by Sandro Hit. Stedinger was the unequivocal Champion of the 2002 Oldenburg Grading and first reserve champion of the 2004 main premium ring. To date he has 5 Licensed sons including the champion of the 2006 Oldenburg Keuring Status Quo.
		Dream Boy is a stylish dark bay colt with wonderful paces by Don Romantic by Don Schufro. Don Romantic was the Champion of the stallion grading in Herning. He was also the Champion of the material test at Vilhelmsborg and received 10’s for both his canter and ridability.

		And then came our biggest achievement to date in Trakehner breeding................. Lexington wins the Best British Bred Trakehner of the whole show!  This is such a great achievement for the Stud after just 6 years of breeding and we are over the moon!
Larkshill Lexington BEST BRITISH BRED TRAKEHNER

September 2006 - Oldenburg Verband Inspection Tango is awarded a Premium! We took Tango (Fürst Larkshill) by Fürst Heinrich on his first outing with his dam Monik by De Niro. He attended the Oldenburg Verband’s foal inspection and we are thrilled that he was awarded a premium. The representative from the Verband liked him very much and said he had very good movement and excellent conformation and is a super prospect for the future!

August 2005 – Best British Dressage Foal Show Libitina does it again – her second foal to receive 82% - what a consistent producer of quality foals. It was Lexi’s first outing and wow did she shine in the ring. She took it all in her stride and loved the attention. She scored 82% and was the highest placed Trakehner and came 13th out of 75 dressage foals – we were delighted!

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July 2005 – The Royal Show

Another outing for Lakota and this time we all went to the Royal Show for the first time. It was quite unlike any of the other shows we have been to, full of Shire Horses with all their brasses shining
and lots of pomp and circumstance.

Lakota took it all in her stride and even tried to say hello to one of the gentle giants!  She did
brilliantly, she was beautifully behaved and was the highest places two year old, (unfortunately they amalgamated the 3 year olds and 2 year olds!). The judge commented on what a lovely mare
she was but the older horses were more developed.  A happy day out for all of us!
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June 2005 - British Dressage Young Horses Championships

Lakota went to the British Dressage Young Horses Championships and was placed 3rd in the
2 year old class – as always she loved all the attention! She was also the highest placed Trakehner
so received a special rosette!

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September 2004 - Trakehners UK Show

Legend made the trip to the Trakehner Show at Addington and we were rewarded with a second
place in the 2 year old class, Legend was brilliant!
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August 2003 - Best British Dressage Foal Show

Libitina and Lakota did brilliantly at their first outing. Not only did Lakota load easily and travel like a pro, she then strutted her stuff in the ring and won her class and scored an impressive 82%.  Her scores were Type 8.5, Frame 8.0, Conformation 8.0, Movement 8.0, Overall 8.5. This qualified her for the evening Championship which was amazing fun. After a quick nap, (where she was heard to be whinnying in her sleep!) Lakota came out fresh for the Championship where she was placed 7th overall out of a total of 62 foals – needless to say we were over the moon and a little bit merry!

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August 2003 - Trakehner Show

Another show for Legend and again she was in the ribbons coming 3rd out of all the yearlings
and 2 year olds – Fabulous!

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July 2003 - British Dressage Young Horses Championships

Our first outing with Legend as a yearling, and what a great result 2nd in the yearling class we
were delighted! Hopefully this will be the sign of things to come.