It was a fluke of fate that got Wendy Costello and her husband Marty, co-owners of Kent Island Sporthorses in Maryland (formerly Riverland Farm of Mequon, WI) into horse breeding. Like many equestrians, Wendy was an Adult Amateur that rediscovered riding later in life while looking for horses for her daughter. Along the way she caught the breeding bug and her search led her to an unforeseen partnership with the elite Hanoverian stallion, Donavan.
“He has a special place in the hearts of everyone that comes in contact with him,” says Wendy. “Someone just sent me pictures of their new Donavan baby. I always tell people, it doesn’t matter what kind of animal he is, if he had been born a cat or dog he still would have been a remarkable animal. His character and everything about him is just remarkable.”
Donavan had received a very high score of 136.16 during his stallion testing in California in 1988 and earned the reserve champion title for the testing. However, before Wendy and her husband, Marty, purchased him in 1999, his competition career was hit-and-miss as he traded trainer and owner’s hands several times. Donavan even spent a few years under the tutelage of George Williams; where he blossomed and just missed an opportunity to compete with George in Europe.
Wendy was determined to do right by Donavan. She wanted to keep him close to home and find him a rider that would bond with him and work with him to complete his Grand Prix career. While there were many riders available to ride Donavan, Wendy decided to go with a rider recommended by her veterinarian, a rider who at the time was relatively unknown, Jessica Jo Tate.
Jessica had been out of town when approached with the offer. When her mother, Candy, told her about the offer, Jessica responded, “the Donavan?,” which is how he was known in that portion of the United States.
“We saw JJ move up the ranks with Donavan, and we love her. I never had to worry about Donavan, because horses come first in her life. He lived with her 99 percent of the time when he was competing. I told JJ ‘you bond with Donavan, you show him you are his best friend because you need that partnership in dressage.’ He competed and gave exhibitions until the age of 20, and then we retired him. He didn’t want to, he loved the limelight. By then JJ was also riding Donavan’s babies.”

Introducing Rosall
Meeting Israeli Olympian, Oded Shimoni, set another auspicious series of events in motion. Jessica and Wendy met Oded at almost the same time while attending a CDI*** event with Donavan, but they didn’t know it at the time.
Jessica was looking for an instructor to train under and Wendy had seen Oded while he was lined up receiving an award and was intrigued by the Israeli flag on his saddle pad. “At the time Jessica realized she needed to be on a team or training with others, under one person, and she was out looking for that trainer, while I was speaking with people that had known Donavan as a youngster and introducing myself as his new owner. I saw the flag on Oded’s saddle pad and was intrigued. At that time I didn’t think Israelis rode, so I walked up to him and said ‘I didn’t know Israel had an Olympic team?’ He just laughed and said he was it. Later JJ comes over and tells me that she had found a trainer.”
That trainer was Oded. At the time Jessica was looking ahead, thinking about her career and about what sort of horses she would need to meet her professional goals—competing in the World Cup, qualifying for the Olympics, etc. While visiting Germany to watch the World Equestrian Games with Oded, Wendy and a group of close friends and clients, Jessica mentioned that she would be interested in participating in another partnership with Wendy, like they had with Donavan. Jessica would ride the new horse, and compete with him, and Wendy could market him as a breeding stallion.
They didn’t know it, but Oded had filed this little piece of information away. A few weeks later he called up JJ and told her to come to Germany that he had found a stallion for them.
“JJ immediately liked Rosall, and while I trusted JJ and Oded to know if he was going to be a great performance horse, he had to be a stallion with the temperament I was proud of; a stallion that I could promote whole heartedly, like I had with Donavan. A stallion I was drawn to, that had a good mind and that I truly believed from his bloodlines would throw like-minded babies. While JJ went back a second time to ride him and really get to know him, we did what most people do: considered cost, how it would be different from Donavan, and how we would promote him.”
Then Wendy flew to Germany to meet Rosall. She knew immediately it was a good match. He wasn’t pushy or standoffish; instead she describes him as being a “doll, very open and engaging.” Before coming to the United States Rosall completed his 30 day testing in Munich-Reim and was champion at the testing.

Heading East
So how did they all end up on the East Coast? Another interesting twist of fate. Marty had attended the Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, Wendy and Marty were married there, and he taught there for a time in the late 1970s. Both Wendy and Marty loved the area and always wanted to retire in Maryland.
Meanwhile, the partnership in the Equestrian Center Jessica had been training with for five years was ending and she was looking for a new facility. The owner of GoodNess Ridge Farm, Shari Glickman, was actively pursuing Jessica to move her training business to her farm in Maryland. Jessica knew she wanted to head East to be closer to Florida, where she spent the winter competing and training. The news that Wendy and Marty were moving to Maryland made it all seem meant to be.
“I already joke with my friends ‘don’t ever try it!’ But the reality is we did it. It can be a good stress if you look at it as a new opportunity. I have been in the middle of the country for as long as I have been a breeder. Now a new group of people can come out and see my babies and stallions in person.”
Rosall certainly hasn’t had any problems adjusting. This spring at Dressage at Devon he won the prestigious 4-Year-Old Stallions Materiale class. The Oldenburg Horse Breeders Society (GOV) has also given him an unlimited breeding license, and Wendy says they think he is one of the finest stallions in the country for US breeders. She plans on breeding Rosall to her Donavan daughters, which she thinks will be a good match. At age 22 Donovan is also still breeding and showing off for onlookers from his pasture in Maryland.
“The timing for these moves couldn’t have been better. Through JJ we’ve now had the opportunity to know the U.S. Coach for Young Horse Training, Scott Hassler, who is also located in Maryland. This is very helpful as a breeder of sporthorses. I don’t pretend to be an expert and I don’t expect to compete with the big breeders in numbers because I don’t have their resources, but I can offer newer breeders my time and experiences and high quality stallions. I have been in their shoes. I started out with one stallion and went out and found a good broodmare.”
For more information on Kent Island Sporthorses visit www.donavan-stallion.com, call 443-249-3566 or email wendycos@gmail.com.