#stall kullaberg

[kullabergs]

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.

[kullabergs]

| 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.

[kullabergs]

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

[kullabergs]

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.

[kullabergs]

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?”

[kullabergs]

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 ...

[kullabergs]

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 …

–

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!

[ariadnew]

I... uhm... Throwback Thursday? :')

... and that's how one assumably innocent snuggle from Brizzio before they set off into a trot along the trot up line, turned into Iris making it to one of the first pages of Horse & Hound, while unknowingly flashing herself to the sofisticated party of bystanders (unfortunate children included!) at Kismet's First Trot Up. – "How could I have known he would rip a button off?" Iris asked in a heated tone of voice after the magazine had skimped down in their mailbox back in Sweden. – "You really give too much credit to your homebred horses, I'm sorry." answered Luciano, her trainer, while sipping on a freshly brewed espresso. She was suddenly struck by the horrifying realization that there was a risk that the Archie Vandover would see the explicit pictures of Iris, just in time for his morning tea. She tried her damndest to bat the thought of him choking on a lemon away. Oh well, I had burned all of my bridges there anyway... She thought miserably.

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Kullabergs Brizzio (Kullabergs Bloodbuzz Ohio x Kullabergs Giulianova) has finally turned 3 years old and his first proper show appearance is something that we're not likely to forget anytime soon...

[kullabergs]

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!

[kullabergs]

Vespa will be going on a break this season as we're getting our first foal out of her!

[kullabergs]

CTJL SYDNEY FINAL

The loud echo in the arena of Vespa’s hind hooves hitting the top bar as they flew over the second jump of the course, made Iris instinctively cover her eyes with her hands. Had it fallen? Was it over? A soft murmur of relief broke out from the packed stadium in Sydney, and she dared to look through the cracks of her fingers. They’d made it, but at the cost of Iris’ fluttering heart. The huge TV screens showed a closeup of Luciano looking back smirking at the shuddering pole. This was all just a game to him. A very very very expensive game. He wasn’t playing it safe, as he had promised her. But then again, she could ask herself why had she even trusted him in the first place? He was unreliable, unpredictable and distinctly unbelievable. Yet she couldn’t have found a better rider for Vespa than him. He was the only one that wasn’t scared of the speed she could muster up. In a way it was like they were cast from the same blazing fire. For the next minute that followed Luciano held a tight grip of suspense on the crowd, they kept on soaring over one jump after another, speeding up faster than the one before. And this wasn’t even the jump-offs. When the bell rang as they flew over the last fence, the crowd erupted in a loud roar as Luciano did a full lap of Kentucky Derby gallop around the stadium, jokingly throwing air kisses to the poor bewitched teenage girls lining the sides, most likely because he knew it would embarrass Iris. One of them was actually crying? There was nothing he enjoyed more than publicly humiliating her. She could take the Italian out of Italy but she couldn’t take Italy out of the Italian …

Vespa and Luciano managed to score yet another win and ended up with a very nice placement on the overall leaderboard, we couldn't be happier about this pair!

[kullabergs]

I Malmö rispas dimman av färjornas sirener På andra sidan sundet börjar världen Lapplandspilen råmar som ett vilddjur genom natten Gårdarna släcker sina ljus Ett stormpiskat Marstrand ber sitt Pater Noster Stockholmcity svajar i sitt rus Det är då som det stora vemodet rullar in Och från havet blåser en isande, gråkall vind ...

[kullabergs]

–”Come se non bastassero con i francesi di mer-” –”Alright, alright. That’s quite enough? The French can understand you, idiot.” Iris was quick to interrupt Luciano’s aggressive post-ride rant and looked around her paranoiacally, making sure no one had heard them. She was certain that Luciano’s hatred for the butter-loving sibling of his own domain had not gone unnoticed since they had set foot in Paris a few days prior. He began unclasping his helmet, still mounted atop of a fire-breathing Vespa after their round and had in the blink of an eye somehow miraculously managed to smuggle in a pack of cigarettes that he was now fishing up from his ever so damp jacket pocket. It was like he was begging for trouble. –”How can I ride in this shit weather, eh? Paris is bad enough as it is…” He cupped his after-ride Vespa blister-riddened hands, lit the cigarette and continued ”… then with the sun taking a time-out. Mamma mia. I’m never coming back to this stinking city.” He managed to throw an Italian gesture in for good measure while he put emphasize on the word ”stinking”. Iris was sure that by now they were being laughed at behind the show tents. Bringing Luciano to France was like having a rabid dog on a silk leash by your side, one rude Parisian was all it took for him to set off, teeth bared and all. –”You made it to the jump-offs, though.” Iris said, not really putting her heart in trying to comfort him. Luciano had gone quiet, which was always noteworthy since he never was. Seeing his eyes looking into the distance, Iris turned around to see a show official approaching them, their eyes locked on the obviously ever so forbidden cigarette in Luciano’s hand. Iris turned hastily to see Luciano’s eyes turning black. The dog was ready to leap, yet again. Sigh. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Another win for ZHG Vespa in the CTJL Paris show!

[kullabergs]

It was late in the summer afternoon as the golden hour was starting to seep through the tree crowns; its shimmering late summer light accompanying the idyllic southern countryside to the sound of birds tweeting in the treetops, a lonely bumblebee buzzing by in search of a flower to sit on and … the sound of the internal orchestra of primitive trumpets from Elefant, as he was making his way across the centerline, zig-zagging this way and zig-zagging that way, leaving an everlasting destructive trace of … horse. Iris fought hard to keep her face neutral, but couldn’t hold the sheepish grin in at the last halt in front of the judges when Elefant let out a final two-directional sigh of relief that the dressage test was finally over. So much for dressage elegance.

[kullabergs]

After not having been out showing for a long time because of the pandemic and all, it was only to be expected that Buzz would dance in the greenish arena at the Kasterup arena with a firecracker under his hind-end. Being the horse holding the highest record in the stable of most riders (mostly just Vendela) tossed to the ground, it was fair to say that when she turned him up for the centerline to perform a transition between passage and piaffe, he was practically exploding with heat and desire to run a winner’s lap around the arena with his rider hanging by the stirrups. Fortunately for her, he saved it until they exited the arena on a long rein, just as she had begun to relax.

[kullabergs]

– ”So how did I look?” – ”Fast and furious?” Iris replied to Luciano when she greeted them as they exited the arena after their gut-wrenching ride. – ”You have to see it as- as driving a Ferrari. She’s a Ferrari.” Luciano shrugged his shoulders, seemingly unharmed by the 150km/h rowing session he had just performed in Crema today. There were 29°C degrees outside, the sun was blazing and Vespa’s tack left foamy sweat marks all over her red coat. Even Luciano showed traces of the excruciating Italian heat – under his helmet she saw sweat pearls sliding down his curly hair. Apart from that he seemed completely unfazed by the near-death experience. There was simply no way to hold this horse back, not even the pelham bit, not even the bib could do it. She was an unstoppable force and Iris hereby declared Luciano her new rider during this tournament. She would not be falling on her ass again. – ”Yeah, you may have cleared this round, but let’s see how you do in the jump-offs…” She raised her eyebrows and indulged in imagining Luciano being the one biting dust. – ”Cara, you’re only jealous because I actually managed to stay on.” He threw her a devious smirk and an air-kiss, patted Vespa on the shoulder and nudged her to continue on forward, something she most willingly obliged to do. They set off towards the stables into Vespa’s fino paso trot, leaving Iris – lips pursed – already planning how she would get back at him for that remark.