News Vista del Lago - Pure Spanish Andalusians

USEF Horse of the Year (HOY) Region 1 Award : Well, the only one who showed this year was Chelsea and Campy, but they did a great job, bringing home the Reserve Champion HOY A/L Youth award for Region One.They did a lot more training at home than showing, but it is paying off and I thnk they'll be a force to be reckoned with done the road. Stay tuned!

Fandango Calendar Boy : In May, world reknowned photogrpher Bob Langrish was in our area and photographed Fandango. I recently discovered that Fandango is on the cover of the 2010 For the Love of Horses Calendar. He is also the on the inside of several others including the 2010 Horse Lovers Mini Calendar (see the head shot of him in the month of October). He's my pin-up boy!

Babies: We were blessed with two exceptional colts this year. In March Jicara gave a fabulous bay who looks like he will become a little Fandango. We named him Jicarazo VDL and we love hime to pieces. He is super friendly and very inquisitive. Oneida, in May, produced a grey colt that we named Jazzistico VDL. He is a little tank, although he won't be so little. Mom is 16.2 and this guys has plenty of substance. Together, they are some of the nicest foal crops we've had.

USEF Horse of the Year (HOY) Region 1 Awards : After a fun year of showing the fillies, we were pleased to be awarded two USEF Horse of the Year Awards for Region One for the Andalusian/Lusitano Halter Horse. Estrella de Noche VDL was the overall Reserve Champion HOY A/L Halter Horse for our region. Granadilla VDL was the Fourth Place A/L HOY A/L Halter Horse. What makes these awards so special is that the horses are competing against ALL horses - stallions, mares, colts, fillies and geldings. We are so proud of our girls and our breeding program.

IALHA Region 1 Championships : What a great time we had! We took our bay P.R.E. filly Grandilla VDL, sired by Fandango D, Estrella de Noche VDL, our black P.R.E. filly out of our mare Senorita Escalante, and Chelsea's gelding Campeadore VDL, also sired by Fandango. The two year old fillies made us proud with Estrella de Noche VDL bringing home the Champion Filly 2 and Under and the Champion Mare - Amateur to Handle awards and Granadilla VDL was named the Reserve Champion Filly 2 and Under as well as Reserve Champion Mare - Amateur to Handle. Not bad for their second time out.. To top it off, our daughter, Chelsea, handled Estrella de Noche with me at the helm with Granadilla. So, to sum it up, Chelsea beat the pants off me.

Campeador VDL won the Reserve Champion Geldings - Amateur to Handle class and took a Top 5 in Senior Geldings and Best Movement. Chelsea is having the time of her life showing theses horses and not doing a bad job at the ripe old age of 13!

September, 2008 ~ News from Mimi Zobairi about Centelleo (Fandango D x Jicara II)

Centelleo made his 2nd level Open debut at September's 3 star CNDC Dressage Derby, judged by Jayne Ayers. He earned an astounding 68.947% on Test 1 and 66.757% on Test 2. He was one of the highest scorers at the show! He is continuing on in his 2nd level work with my trainer, the fantastic Christiane Noelting. I know he will continue to make us all proud.

Viva del Mar: We took three horses to the Del Mar show. Of course Campeador VDL, Chelsea's gelding went, and we took two 2 year old fillies. It was their first time out and they handled the excitement very well. Grandilla VDL (Dia), is our bay filly out of our Jugueton V mare,Oneida, and sired by Fandango D. Well, we missed our first class due to a tack glitch, but Chelsea went in to the Fillies 2 and Under class with Estrella de Noche VDL (Stella), our black P.R.E. filly out of our revised black mare. They came in a respectible third on just their first time out. We then took them into the Mares - Amateur to Handle and Chelsea took first wtih Stella and Dia got a second, qualifying them both for regionals. Dia also went into the Best Movement class and was third, again qualifying for Regionals, with Chelsea and Campy taking the second place ribbon. Campy and Chelsea actually stole the show. Campy won his Senior Gelding Open class, his Gelding - Amateur to Handle class, he was the Champion Gelding all ages and the Reserve Supreme Champion, beating out the stallion in the class. Not bad for a day's work. Chelsea ran her little heart out going into a total of 7 classes on Saturday morning.

Fiesta of the Spanish Horse: Campeador VDL (Campy), and Chelsea's went to Fiesta to represent Vista del Lago. I had planned to take two of our 2 year old fillies, but I broke my shoulder in February and was not mended in time. This was Chelsea and Campy's first time out this show season and had just started working with Warren Mather in halter. Campy won his P.R.E. gelding class, took a third in his Senior Gelding class, a third in his Gelding - Amateur to Handle class and the biggest thrill of all was taking a second in the Best Movement which was a class of 5 and it was Chelsea's first time to attempt this class. We're looking forward to the next show to see what they can do.

Revision News: We breathed a big sigh of relief on Tuesday when our mare HP Escalante I was inspected by Dr. Jaime Chapa at the revions site of Barbara and Mal Currie's Oak Hill Ranch in Agoura - and passed! What made this so important on this particular revision is that I bought my black mare as a 3-in-1 package. Since she subsequently had the foal she was carrying as well as being bred back to Fandango, we actually had 4 horses' fate riding on this presentation. Obviously I believed she would pass when I bought her, but I have been waiting for over a year to present her and it was time to weigh in. Not only was she accepted into the Spanish Stud Book, but Dr. Chapa took one look at her proclaimed her to be black, not bay as her Spanish records indicated. I had already had a DNA test for coat color performed at UC Davis, but I didn't even get a chance to make the request - Dr. Chapa beat me to it.

It could not have been a more perfect day (except for the traffic getting there). Everything ran like clockwork. The horses were all well behaved and Dr. Chapa had such a calm way around the horses and they definitely repsonded to him. The accomodations were fantastic and we were treated to a lovely lunch after all of the horses had been presented. Thanks to everyone who made this happen.

September, 2007 ~ News from Mimi Zobairi about Centelleo (Fandango D x Jicara II)

Well, just got home from the show. Unbelievable news!! The show was two days, triple rated, and had two separate judges - so on each day he was judged a different judge for 1st level Test 1 and 1st level Test 2. Yesterday, he came out doing some airs above the ground and he ended up receiving a 63.333% from Loris Henry on test 1. But then he calmed and on test 2 he received a 69.444% from Lilo Fore. Today, he was in the groove and he received (!!!!!) a 72.666% on Test 1 from Lilo Fore and a (!!!!) 70.833% on Test 2 from Loris Henry.

This was a show where all the horses were huge warmbloods and the judges were tight with the scores. And, it was his very first 1st level show. I came home with 3 first place ribbons and 1 second place ribbon. Against warmbloods at an all German facility! The judges wrote that he was supple moving, had a willing work ethic, was very forward, harmonious, and they complimented his canter (as usual).

And, the best news is about his steadiness and character. As he was leaving one ring from his test, another riding on a huge horse was having problems. Their horse was bucking, rearing, and refusing to go forward. The judge said they were about to be disqualified. So, Tayo and my rider went to him and led him to the entry of the dressage court. Then, Tayo stood at the corner of the dressage court until the horse was done with his test. Afterward, the other horse's rider and entire entourage thanked us.

Then, today during warm-up, a girl was thrown badly and her horse was galloping at breakneck speed through the indoor arena and no one could catch him. There were about 7 horses in the arena. Tayo and my rider went to head him off and help to stop him. Tayo never spooked or acted up. Then, as soon as someone caught the horse by the reins, Tayo went right back into practicing his test, like nothing happened!

Victory at Yarra Yarra! Centelleo (Fandango D x Jicara II), owned by Mimi Zobairi, blew away the competition at the February 18th dressage show at Yarra Yarra Ranch in Pleasanton, CA. Elizabeth Searle judged this triple rated show and awarded Centelleo with a 72.609 on his Training Level - Test 1 performance and 72.859 on his Training Level - Test 2 go. To top it off, she wrote "Very Attractive Horse" on each test and gave him 8's on all his gaits. Centelleo is now in training with USDF judge and Gold Medalist, Christiane Noelting and will be moving up to First Level. I'll be posting more show results as the season progresses. The Fandango D x Jicara II cross is proving to be a dynamic pairing. We can't wait to see the 2007 result of this breeding!

Congratulations to FIANZA VDL, owner Jean Bohannon and trainer Christy Hopkins of Painted Desert Andalusians for several wins at the IALHA Region One show. Fianza won her Mares - Amateur to Handle class with Jean presenting. Christy took Fianza to a Reserve Championship in the Fillies 2 and Under Open class. We are very proud of all three of you - Congrats!!!!

And, Fandango continues his successful breeding program with another 100% conception rate. Thank you to Alex Mejia who purchased Divertida from us. We had bred her and passed her on thinking she was open, but low and behold, the pregnancy was missed and she was in foal when she was checked again on the other end. Great work, Alex!

Unfortunately, two of our own mares slipped, but we had 3 foals and each of our clients had beautiful healthy foals. We have two P.R.E bay fillies and a bay colt. Fandango continues to stamp his offspring with size, color, athleticism and the best temperaments you can ask for. We currently have 4 of our own mares pregnant for 2007. Stay tuned!

Winding up the year. We sold all 2005 babies and found wonderful homes for each of them. We (Fandango) can also boast a 100% conception rate. All of our mares and the mares of our clients are pregnant. We are looking forward to a productive 2006!

We have a lovely new crop of foals this year. Two colts, and get this - a FILLY!!!!! We thought it would never happen. Regalada gave us an exceptional gray filly. This is her nicest foal to date and we couldn't be happier. This little gal is beautifully put together and sweet with lots of spunk. Jicara outdid herself this year (if that's possible) with another tall, big boned bay colt. This guy is a beauty with his dam and sire's charisma. He is solid bay with a small star as his only markings. Very possibly our Fandango replacement. Banbury Bandolera also gave us a bay colt. Another tall boy, this one is a little shy, but boy can he move. Stay tuned.

Nationals! We went to Fort Worth again for Fandango's second trip to the Nationals. Fandango's trainer, Jutta Heinsohn, left California for the big state of Texas (Stargate Sport Horses) so at the end of the summer we had no choice but to send Fandango to her. Jutta tuned him up for the Nationals and worked on Doma Vaquera which they had been working on before she left. They brought home a National Championship in Dressage - First Level, a Reserve National Championship in Dressage - Second Level and another Reserve National Championship in Doma Vaquera - Basico. It was a very successful show for Fandango and he had a great time strutting his stuff.

Fandango went to The Fiesta of the Spanish Horse in Burbank, California, his first show of the 2004 season. This is a relatively big show, combining three shows in one. It offers open dressage, Foundation sponsored classes for the Pure Spanish horse and IALHA Andalusian breed classes.

Trained and ridden by Jutta Heinsohn, Fandango was in the ribbons in every class he entered. On Friday he competed at First Level Open Dressage, bringing home a blue in each of his tests, with the third highest score of the show and the highest score for an Andalusian. His scores qualified him for the Nationals at First Level.

Saturday, he showed in Best Movement with Jutta handling him. He moved with his usual fluid, powerful reach, placing fourth. Later in the day Jutta showed him in Hunt Seat - Open. It was a tough class, big and well represented. Fandango qualified for the Nationals again, with a third place in this class which pleased us to no end.

Sunday was Dressage Suitability, also a good sized class where Fandango delivered a strong, consistent, performance where he placed fourth. Not a bad start for the season!

Our newest addition arrived - a lovely colt out of our mare Oneida and sired by Fandango. This yet unnamed colt is BIG. He has a lovely head and nice long neck, a long sloping shoulder and powerful hindquarter. He is as gentle as can be and promises to be a stunning colt. His dam, Oneida, is a whopping 16.2 mare sired by Jugueton V, a notable Champion of Spain. We are expecting great things from this one. Watch for pictures!