#stall kullaberg

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HVA CONSULTANT GRADING Due to difficulties with traveling abroad for the HVA grading show, we got busy at home with setting up a professional studio backdrop, grooming a mare that refused to stand still and dig out an old camera for an online consultation with the HVA. Having the honour to own such a fine mare as ZHG Vespa with such extensive and impressive pedigree lines that date back to SSE Winter Is Coming and several old bloodlines from RDEC such as RDEC Gottecourt and RDEC Vandalist, means that keeping those lines alive comes with a great responsability. It felt important to us to have Vespa graded and approved for breeding and I'm thrilled to announce that the HVA gave its approval and then some! The HVA officials ended the grading with some beautiful notes and a very impressive score:

Genuinely, I think she's one of the most elegantly built prospective hanoverians that we've received thus far, very well done! For Vespa, we've given her a grade of 97%, and she has been approved for breeding!

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– HVA FUTURITY SHOW

"Isn't he growing into quite the beauty," Iris remarked, stealing a glance at Luciano as he playfully tugged at Vomme's pink muzzle, the foal resisting with equal determination. They had flown all the way to California for this grading show and they were lucky enough that the tall dark foal was near on his first birthday, or else they never would’ve been able to complete the long journey here. Meanwhile, Luciano awaited his turn to enter the grading arena with Vespa and Vomme, while Iris kept a watchful eye to ensure the foal didn't wander off in the vast venue. Catching Luciano's fleeting glance, Iris returned it before he hastily refocused on the foal. ”He’s not a swan yet. Besides, he is too big to ever be able to ride fast in a jump-off.” While there was a grain of truth in his words, Iris sensed an underlying resistance, most likely directed at her, beneath Luciano's banter. There had been numerous accounts where she’d caught the two playing together or giving each other loving scratches, but the minute he saw her, he stopped. He was nothing more than a man child, come to think of it. Iris rolled her eyes in return. So much for extending olive branches. They hadn’t spoken much since Monaco. In fact, they’d hardly spoken at all. Which may make you wonder what Iris was doing coming on this trip with him in the first place. Originally, her sister was meant to go in her stead, but she backed out at the last minute, citing an allegedly unmissable dressage clinic. Iris saw through the facade; there was no clinic, just a ploy orchestrated by her manipulative sister to force her and Luciano to talk about the inevitable. In the months following the excruciatingly public events in Monaco, Iris had hardly trained under Luciano’s supervision at all. Their stubborn silence even led to her missing out on the Kuse final in Spain, and she had been too proud to ask for his help and he had been too proud to offer it. They both knew they couldn’t keep going at this pace as Iris was risking her professional career and Luciano was doing the exact opposite of what a trainer is supposed to do. Yet neither of them wouldn’t even touch on the subject with a ten-foot pole. As they were instructed to enter the arena, Luciano tightened the grip on the mare’s reins. ”Well, good luck.” Iris offered awkwardly. Luciano shot her another quick glance and gave her a small nod in response, lips tightened into a thin line, his face giving away absolutely nothing. With Vespa charging forward in her customary fashion, Vomme eagerly followed by her side and they left Iris behind by the gate. This was shaping up to be a tough week, Iris thought wearily as she let out a heavy sigh.

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| CWT CALIFORNIA 2023 | Don’t lose contact. Don’t lose contact. Bentoz was normally a very hot horse, but taking him to his first international show didn’t make him any cooler, so to speak. She had been terrified the entire time they had been here, that he would eject her out of her seat at any given moment, like a pilot being ejected from a fighter jet in turmoil. He was as springy as a bouncing ball, so much so that it wouldn’t surprise her if he bounced through the stratosphere, if only she’d let him. All it would take would be to lose the contact she had with him in the rein for a split second and he’d jump the dressage fence enclosing them. Yesterday’s class had been a disaster. Today things were going much better, but her nerves were electrifying when they turned up on the diagonal for the extended trot, one of Bentoz’ favorite moves. She knew he could hear how her breath had changed, his ears flipped around towards her. He was still attentive to her minuscule aids and when she gave him the nerve-wrecking green light; his hooves almost hovered over the ground as he stretched his legs out to the rhythms of Vivaldi, and let his hind end power their way across the diagonal, in what resulted in one of the most compelling and connected moments Iris had ever shared with the dark red stallion. This was a horse that would take them far, and then some.

First international show, first Grand Prix and first win for Bentoz and Iris! We're so happy to see this stallion develop under Iris and truly blossom into this amazing dressage horse. Bentoz will soon be replacing his grand-sire Buzz in the upcoming months and we couldn't be happier about finally having reached GP-level with another homebred horse.

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CTJL MONACO, MONTE CARLO 1.30M CLASS – 3:15PM

And so she found herself astride on another midnight black stallion, several years after her soulmate had retired from showing. They were each others’ complete opposites; where he was grouchy, Capri was kind. Where he was demanding, Capri was lenient. Where he was strong, Capri was gentle. Yet they both gave Iris that indescribable, unsurmountable feeling in the saddle. She hadn’t found him in any other horse before, until now. She experienced a mixture of melancholy and euphoria when they were about to enter their first international show together, as her memories of someone so different yet so alike, blended in with what was yet to come. Even though this was a big moment for the two of them, her mind still couldn’t grasp the earlier events of the day, it all came back to her in dizzying glimpses; surprise, anger, confusion … Her name sounded in the speakers and she came out of her haze as she spun her head around and briefly locked eyes with the source of all the chaos in her mind. She gently shook her head, took a deep breath and put all her focus back on Capri; on the bubbly texture of the rubber reins in her hands, of how the sun glistened against his neck, the squeaking sound of a saddle she had sat in so many times before on a different dark horse. She softly nudged the black stallion, ears pricked forward, and entered the Monte Carlo show jumping arena together; for the first time.

Everyone meet our newcomer to our stables; CT Great Contender (out of the legendary stallion Great London and powermare CT Chadino Z). We decided to take a leap of faith and bring Capri to Monaco for his first international show after two years of being out competing in the lower classes and getting used to bigger show environments, and it seems to have gone fairly well as he managed to bring home a first place ribbon! Thank you to @calveroterranorasj for trusting me with this beautiful boy <3

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EQ FEBRUARY FREESTYLE CHALLENGE

For being a dressage stable, it's been an embarrassing hot minute since there's been any dressage horses strutting around in here. I was so happy to have come across the February Freestyle challenge going on, which allowed for more creativity than normal, so here's Iris and Kullabergs Bentoz, the grandson of Buzz, who will continue his legacy once the old man retires.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– February.

The most bland month of them all, according to many. It’s oftentimes dark, cold, grey. All the attributes horse people love. When the ground freezes over and you almost sprain your ankles on the way out to the stables, when you run out of time in the afternoon to ride all the horses before darkness is upon you, when the water in the horses’ waterers turn into a perfect mirror of ice before nighttime. February is a ruthless month. But in the south of Sweden … you can sometimes catch a glimpse of spring on sunny days; you can hear a lonesome birdsong, you can feel the warmth of the sun against your cheek, and for a very fleeting moment … it feels like spring.

And what better way to spend it than to use the outdoor arena while you can, before the sun goes back into its everlasting hibernation, and practice on this show season’s upcoming freestyle program in the haze of the coming evening.

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KULLABERGS GRAN VOMERO

”Allora. He won’t be winning any beauty contests, di sicuro.” Iris swatted Luciano on the arm, the same way a mother would supposedly tell off her child for calling someone ugly. ”Oh, don’t say that. That’s mean.” ”What?” He exclaimed, shrugging his shoulders defensively. ”I mean, look at him,” he said and pointed; like a rude little boy. ”Just stop.” She gave him a stern look. ”He’s still in his baby clothes, he’s gonna shred all of that off in a few weeks and I promise, he’ll be just lovely.” Glancing back at them was the surprisingly tall newcomer of the stable; Kullabergs Gran Vomero. Offspring to two of our most successful show jumpers in the stables. Already at birth, he stood unexpectedly tall for his age and looked to be several weeks old already, with his long yet strong legs supporting his chunky body. Despite looking a bit disproportionate, he had the most beautiful expressive eyes, and the softest most adorable pink muzzle. ”Is too bad he can’t shred off those big ears,” Luciano stated bluntly. ”You sure Gesa is the sire? There’s no donkey running around here somewhere?” He continued, feigning to look for ... a donkey. ”You’re such an idiot.” ”But Vespa is such a fine specimen of a horse, and you have her give birth to this grotesque … bestia.” He almost made it sound like a crime had been committed against his mare. ”Poverina.” Iris just clicked her tongue and tried to dismiss his hurtful words. ”Don’t listen to what he says, he’s a grumpy old man,” Iris reassured the foal as she scratched his neck. ”We’ll show him, won’t we?”

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CTJL STOCKHOLM (Iris Hammel – Eilwen VX) She had been passing by the Olympic Stadion arena every day on her way to the stable for her riding classes after school, during her entire adolescence. She had been fantasizing about riding here ever since she was a little girl; to enter the hallmark with all the other giants such as Peder, Malin, Henrik, and Rolf-Göran. During the entire show season, this was by far the most nervous she’d ever been. The stakes were high, competing on her own soil this time, while simultaneously fighting to stay at the top of the leaderboard. There were a lot of people she wanted to make proud; her parents, her sister Elina who had come to watch her compete for the first time ever since she stepped away from the equestrian world many years ago, her kind and empathic trainer, and the entire Swedish nation, of course. So sure, she wanted to leave a mark on an arena as historical as this one, but she had never expected that mark to be tomorrow’s headlines reading: ”Swedish Rider Finishes Clear Round Without Bridle!”

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Sometimes accidents happen and this time it was a bridle not properly fastened. They were approaching the final combination when Lillan’s bridle came undone, bobbing to the left and right as Iris tried to keep the grey mare’s head as still as possible so she wouldn’t get smacked in the face with both bridle and earnet. In a millisecond, Iris decided to impulsively try to finish the course anyway as the last two fences came rushing up at an ungodly speed and Lillan, bless her, was such a good and loyal horse who, through the course of this show season, had started to trust Iris enough to keep going, bit still in place, to finish the course. Knowing what a sensitive horse she was, this show had proven to test her horse’s loyalty towards her, and even though Iris completely humiliated herself (again!) at a big competition, she couldn’t help but feel incredibly grateful to having been granted a horse with such a big heart and courage as her little grey whirlwind. With all the odds against them, they still managed to clear the round, bridle or not.

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We've got another win for the pair! Even though the first round didn't go as expected, they still managed to clear themselves for the final round and go home with another ribbon to add to Lillan's successful career. They've now taken the lead in the leaderboard and will be making sure to properly fasten any loose bridles for the upcoming finals ...

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CTJL CREMA

The rays of the golden hour sun was shining upon the arena in Crema as day shifted to afternoon, and that magical warm Italian light made the dust particles in the air sparkle like little stars, dancing hastily whenever movement was present. The sunlight cast long shadows as it continued to scorch, so late into the afternoon. For sensitive and attentive horses such as Lillan, those long shadows could prove treacherous in the arena, creating threatening shapes of demons and ghosts alike. Fortunately, that’s where her blinders came into play. It was excruciatingly hot, and if Iris thought so, she could only imagine the heatwave her horse was fighting against, flying over jump after jump in front of a drowsy audience, equally as affected by the warmth as the competitors in the show ring. She had thought many times about not going, as this horse was clearly not accustomed to the warmth of the Lombardian interland, but being in the company of an Italian herself, it was almost out of the question to diss his homeland for the discomforts of temperature, and she knew the repercussions of her actions would be disastrous. So off to Italy they went …

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Very happy and honoured about Lillan bringing home another win in Italy for our small stable! Even though they both struggled with the heat, we're happy they both managed to pull through despite it all. We're extremely happy about the pair soaring to the 2nd top in the leaderboard and we hope to be able to push even further by the end of the show season!

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CTJL NEW YORK

With Vespa getting closer to her birthing date, Luciano found himself without a horse for this show season. That meant he could finally fulfill his purpose as Iris’ trainer (and stay out of the equestrian headlines for a while). And so came the time to put the little grey mare who could fly, to the test. And oh, could she fly. Sure, Iris had had a lot of experience with headstrong horses in the past, but when it came to fire-breathing F1 cars, she’d had her fair share for a lifetime. Lillan was a horse much better suited to her needs. A gentler horse, if you will. She was still young of course, but had a very soft, sensitive yet mature nature to her. She didn’t fancy getting braided and fiddled with too much, so for shows they had to leave her mane as it was; a stormy whirlwind of grey. Guess that came from her growing up in the rugged, rocky mountains of Norway. Regardless of the outcome, Iris was never worried this horse would leave her stranded in the middle of the arena for the entire world to watch, and she was most definitely not worried about making a fool of herself in front of the worst of them all; her Italian so-called ’trainer’. He was watching her from the sidelines, as she was soaring over fence after fence in the hot lunch hour across the Atlantic ocean in New York. Most likely looking for an excuse to make her life worse.

Iris is back in the show jumping ring with a horse we're betting everything on this show season; Eilwen VX. She's bred by Emeline Durand @norwegiansims and so far we've scored our first win in New York!