by Keron Psillas | Oct 6, 2011 | Uncategorized |
Well it’s been a very busy time here at Barbier Farms. The Symposium had a great turn-out with attendees from California, Virginia, Florida, New Mexico, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Arizona, Alaska, Canada, Spain and Switzerland! Three days of in-depth multi-media lectures, lots of riding, and a Brasilian-themed reception and dinner had smiles on everyone’s faces! Beautiful horses and great food with good company in the stable….combined with Capoeira dancers!!!….made a truly a memorable night.
I’m going to take a moment and thank all the people that make these Symposiums such a success. First and foremost, as always, Debra does a wonderful job to bring all the team together and have the barn and horses looking magnificent. Domina keeps us fed and on schedule. Lisa, with her team of Sarah, Chaya, and Alea, had the horses gleaming and on time! Liz and Shanna, our dear friends from Idaho and Virginia kept all the mechanics purring along…and we had help from new friends, Riley and Karen Caton, for all sorts of tasks! A big thank you to all!
Thank you to Keron and to Riley Caton of Catonphoto.com for the gallery below. There are great moments with many of the participants. I hope you will join us next time for the learning and for the fun! Our next Symposium will take place here at Barbier Farms in Healdsburg, CA, on January 27, 28, and 29. Make plans now to join us.
As the holidays are fast approaching, we included some images from our dear friend Melinda D’Amico’s company: PAZ APPAREL. Click on the link and go see all the very cool stuff….all made from recycled canvas and vegan leather. FASHION PEACE!
We’ll be posting a number of updates in the coming week….check back with the blog often and tell your friends. We’ll be announcing the Equestrian Trips for 2012 (beginning with Carnivale in Rio in mid-February)!
Amities,
DDBarbier
by Keron Psillas | Sep 27, 2011 | Brazil equestrian trips, horses for sale, Well-being of the Horse |
We have just returned from Brasil (The 3rd Annual Lusitano Festival at Aguas de Lindoia) and are preparing for the 3rd installment in our Classical Series here in Healdsburg. A few of the special things we’ll be doing this weekend include a reception featuring the latest horses from Brasil, including Capaz do Mito, and a Brasilian-themed dinner in the barn Saturday night! There is space available for auditors and a very few spots for the clinic afterward on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Contact us if you are interested. We would love to have you join us. Click on the September Symposium link ABOVE for all the details.
We have some exciting news to share: A Larapio son (our breeding stallion) is headed to the World Championships for Working Equitation in Lyon, France! Unico HS, owned by Hilda Toledo Piza, will join the best horses in the world and showcase the versatility and spectacular temperament that make the Lusitano such a joy. Congratulations to Hilda, Mariana, and Fabio. Boa sortie!
Congratulations are in order too for the team behind Xama Do Top. Xama (sire of Debra’s gorgeous filly Graphica) was Champion of Champions at the Lusitano Festival in Lindoia. Xama Do Top was bred by Tonico Pereira and is owned by Victor Oliva of Coudelaria Ihla Verde. Victor’s son João Victor rode Xama for the championship and was named Champion Rider of the festival. What an outstanding achievement for this young man! Congratulations to Tonico, Victor, João, and all the team behind this marvelous horse.
We’ve been in Brasil several times this summer and our visits are not complete without seeing Debra’s herd of babies. Yes, I said HERD. Graphica, her filly by Xama Do Top, is turning into a spectacular horse. Her movement is beyond stunning and she is very lovable and easily handled. This is easy to understand given her exceptional breeding. But all the babies (and now young horses) are bred exceptionally well. Here’s a gallery of images from “the herd” including pix of Graphica, Dynastia, Fado, Fadista, Escritoria and Esperanza.
Equestrian Brasil is a-buzz with the anticipation and excitement of preparing for the Pan Am Games. It was a long and arduous selection process with outstanding teams competing for just a few slots. Rocas do Vouga will be sending Olympic Veteran Luiza Almeida with her mount Samba and rising young star Manuel Almeida with Viheste; Coudelaria Ihla Verde will send Olympic Veteran Rogerio Clementino on Sargento Do Top; Haras Juliana sends Mauro Pereira Junior to compete with Tulum Commando SN; and Fazenda Santa Izabel returns Olympic Veteran Leandro Silva with new mount L’Acteur VDL. Boa sortie and boa viagem to all the teams headed to the Pan Am Games!
After all the fun and learning in the Symposium is over we will be back to teaching in the US and our first clinic in South Africa! Click on the Clinic Schedule tab to stay updated….and contact us if you are interested in a clinic for 2012. Dates are filling very very fast.
Amities~
DDBarbier
by Keron Psillas | Aug 23, 2011 | Brazil equestrian trips, classical dressage, horses for sale |
We endured some freezing temps (literally freezing!) in Brasil in early August but our guests, visiting friends, and lots of baby horses made the trip truly enjoyable. Here is a small gallery of images to show you a bit of our trip, including a few with Debra and her babies in the herd!!! Visiting Allegria dos Pinhais and seeing the spectacular stallions Tenor, Ventus, and our old friend Mistral (MAC), along with Signo dos Pinhais (prospective Olympic mount for 2012) with Marcelo Alexandre riding was a real treat. Our friend, noted equestrian artist Beatrice Bulteau, just finished a commission there to paint along the length of the arena a mural of dancing Lusitanos. It was a marvelous surprise to find!
During our trip we had some great fun practicing on a working equitation course. And Keron, always behind the lens, finally got to ride! She had a great time on Xerife do Top and Rinete do Top! Those flying changes were a tiny bit contracted but clearly lots of fun for her. We visited Coudelaria Rocas do Vouga and saw ONE -DAY- OLD BABIES!!!! Best of luck to all the team at Rocas do Vouga, along with our friends at Coudelaria Ihla Verde, Fazenda Santa Isabel and Haras Juliana for the Pan Am Games! We finished up with a few days of teaching at Manege Santa Adelaide….and a marvelous dinner at Fogo de Chao. Thank you to all our friends in Brasil, especially Raul Silva, Davi Carrano, and our friends at Japu Top, who always make us feel so welcome.
If you’ve been dreaming of a Brasilian experience, contact us. Flexible itineraries, nature programs, and cultural experiences will satisfy all your family members and you’ll get to see AND RIDE amazing Lusitanos.
Looking forward: we are preparing for another great Symposium here in Healdsburg on September 30 and October 1 and 2. If you haven’t already done so, click on the Symposium link at the top of the blog and sign up! Spaces are going quickly, especially for dinner on Saturday night. Don’t miss this opportunity for in-depth study with both Debra and Dominique…..and an opportunity to ride a number of gorgeous Brasilian Lusitanos.
We’re excited to be going to South Africa for a clinic in early November….help spread the word! There is an email and contact info for our sponsor, Eleen Allison, on our clinic schedule page. She’d be delighted to hear from you and we’d be delighted to see you.
by Keron Psillas | Jul 18, 2011 | blog information, classical dressage, horses for sale |
We are busy preparing for a scouting trip to Brasil, but thought we would share some images of our latest arrival: Capaz do Mito. From the moment Capaz walked into the barn he was at home and at ease. He is super easy to work with, has a very kind demeanor, and is progressing in a very quick way. Now that I think of it, we must replace the “to work with” to a more appropriate “to play with”.
If you haven’t already, make your plans to come to Barbier Farms for the September/October Symposium. From September 30 through October 2, we will offer the third in a series of events designed to answer all your questions about enlightened Classical Dressage, show you stunning horses with correct movements, and teach riders and horses of all levels with plenty of question and answer time. Contact Debra for further information and click on the links for the Symposium and the California A’ La Barbier Week at the top of the page. Join us! All the other events were great successes, each building on the other. This promises to be the best of all.
Amities, Dominique and Debra
by Keron Psillas | Jun 25, 2011 | classical dressage, Equestrian Tourism in Portugal and Spain |
We’ve had a marvelous time in Spain, Portugal, and Bordeaux….so we wanted to share some images and a few of the highlights of the trip with you. Returning to familiar haunts in Portugal was an emotional experience for Debra and I. But taking good friends, old and new, along for the journey made it very special for us. Of course the horses are always at the top of the list of things to see. We visited the Portuguese School for Equestrian Art, right across from our Pousada (Dona Maria I) at the National Palace in Queluz. This was our first activity of the trip and it did not disappoint. Walking through the Palace Gardens to find the old riding ring was delightful….and the horses were gorgeous, putting on a lovely performance in the Portuguese tradition.
After a delicious lunch on the beach at Quincho, we journeyed to the top of the mountain above Sintra to visit the Convento dos Capuchos. It’s a mysterious place with all the cells built into the rocks of the mountain…..all cork-lined (to prevent some of the cold and moisture from seeping through), totally secluded and wonderfully peaceful. From there we made our own pilgrimage to the Manege of my Mestre, Nuno Oliveira. Over 25 years have passed since Debra and I had been there. While much has changed with a succession of owners, the heart of the place remains. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to return.
We finished our first day by going into the Alfama district of Lisbon to hear some Fado. It was a perfect ending to a day filled with beauty, poetry, mystery, and emotion. Fado is all those things and more. So this was only our first day and as you can tell it was filled to overflowing with sights, sounds, smells, tastes…..a feast in every way.
We traveled to Santarem for a Portuguese bullfighting exhibition, we visited my friend Luis Valença’s home to watch his students and performers in his renowned Appassionata equestrian spectacle, we traveled to Golega to meet the esteemed breeder of some of the finest Lusitanos in the world, Mr. Manuel Coimbra. We slept in a castle at Pousada de Palmela, played on a beautiful beach in the Algarve region on our way to Jerez, watched gorgeous handmade tiles (azulejos) being created by amazing artisans in the same way that they have been produced for over 500 years.
And thanks to our amazing driver and guide, Marco Sousa, we learned much of the history of Portugal and Spain as we made our way from one stop to the next. Did you know that Lisbon experienced a terrible earthquake and subsequent Tsunami? It happened on November 1, 1755 (All Saints Day) and caused such widespread devastation and loss of life that the philosophies of leading scholars were completely altered … religious thought was forever changed. The naive belief of God as a benevolent power was irreparably changed.
In Spain we were treated to spectacular Flamenco performances on three different nights in three distinct styles, we visited the Terry and Domecq Bodegas to see how fine Sherry has been produced for several hundred years (in the very same barrels and using the very same methods). We enjoyed a performance at the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art and a behind the scenes look at the training and structure of the school. We went to A Campo Abierto (The Open Fields) to watch a beautiful show illustrating the history and culture that exists around the horses and the bulls, and then went to Yeguada de Cartuja to watch a different exhibition that told the story of the Andalusian horses that were saved by the monks of Cartuja. Before that we had the opportunity to briefly visit the monastery that housed the Order.
All these activities (and many that are not listed) were knit together by fellowship and amazing meals. The quality of the food, almost always the freshest bounty of the sea, was spectacular. I think all our guests would agree that this was a once-in-a-lifetime trip. The opportunity to experience a new culture as an extended family member is the best way to travel. Come with us next time and you’ll enjoy the same rich experiences.
We’re grateful that our entire trip was documented by Keron Psillas, our friend and photographer. We hope you enjoy the extensive gallery.
