Amidst the rolling hills of California gold country, Carbondale Farms hosted its seventh annual German Oldenburg Verband mare and foal inspection in early August.
The lynchpin of the North American division, Holly Simenson and Tobias Hanke from the home office in Vechta, welcomed the mild 80-degree temperature for the day. On hand to be of service to Carbondale Farms and other exhibitors was handler Jens Richter. Seven mares and seven foals were inspected in total. All foals and two mares were awarded Premiums.
Carbondale Farms presented the only Weser-Ems entries at this inspection, LDV Storm Dancer (Welsh Section B Mare) and colt Alonzo Babers (Alra Amber Sir Andrew, Welsh Section B). Even at her advanced age of 23, LDV Storm Dancer’s quality shown through and the jury commented on her natural abilities present in her younger years. In addition, the jury commented that Alonzo Babers is a mirror image of his sire and awarded him a Premium.

Carbondale Farms presented Carbondale’s French Connection (French Kiss, Hohenstein, Rubinstein I). Carbondale’s French Connection is a beautiful 3 year old black mare bred in Germany by Carbondale Farms and imported as a 2 year old. The jury gave her an unprecedented overall score of 8.0 with an 8.5 for impulsion and elasticity at the trot and an 8.5 for overall general impression and development. She was awarded Premium Broodmare status and comments on her score sheet read “outstanding mare!” and “premium mare of the highest quality.” Simenson said, “If we hosted a mare performance test in the United States, this mare would get very high scores.”
Carbondale Farms presented Smarty Marty (Cantini) out of Filoli (Condino), owned by Portola Valley Training Center. Filoli is a veteran mare at our German Oldenburg Verband foal inspections. In 2001 Canto Prima Luce, by Cantini out of Filoli, was named National Foal of the Year by the USDF. As Smarty Marty trotted endlessly around the arena, the jury commented, “We are just going to let this colt continue to trot. He is such a delight to watch. It is so very important in Germany for jumping horses to have good movement as well as the talent and athleticism to jump. This is an excellent example of a good quality jumper prospect.We award him Premium.”
Catherine Benedict presented a colt and a filly, embryos out of Charlton Lattice by Landwerder. In the premium ring Simenson remarked, “When Linus was presented at the trot, we were thinking there were few foals anywhere with better movement and then Charlton Lani entered the ring. We are really impressed with the quality, type and extraordinary movements present in these foals.” Both Linus and Charlton Lani were awarded Premiums.
Eva Nybo presented Hickory (Candyboy) and her filly Lady Luck (Landkonig). The jury liked the mare’s type and inherent athleticism and the filly’s overall type and movement. Hickory was entered into the Main Mare book and Lady Luck received a Premium.
Gateway Farms presented the mare Chatari (Cor Noir), her colt Rumba (Rotspon) and Rafiki (Rotspon), a 3 year old black mare out of Chatari. The jury commented about Rafiki, “This is a wonderful mare who uses herself well and has excellent movements. She is entered into the Main Mare book and we award her Premium.” Chatari was entered into the Main Mare book with above average scores, Rumba was awarded Premium.
Laurel Ritter presented the mare Indochine (Impresario), her filly Rafaela (Rosenthal), and Watseka (Weltklasse) a 1998 Chestnut mare. Both mares were entered into the Main Mare book with good scores. Rafaela was awarded a Premium. The jury stated, “These mares are examples of the types of mares the German Oldenburg Verband wants to see in breeding programs in the United States.”
This year’s German Oldenburg Verband mare and foal inspection hosted by Carbondale Farms will stand the test of time as one of the best inspections anywhere, anytime, in terms of the quality of horses. Tobias stated, “Today’s inspection is equivalent to what we would see in Germany.” The day ended with a traditional champagne toast and a casual friendly, tasty barbecue. Carbondale Farms looks forward to next year’s event with great anticipation.