Happy New Year! We're celebrating with new babies!!!

Here are some pictures of our latest family additions. Debra and I are delighted with these gorgeous fellows.  They are wonderful examples of careful breeding from great bloodlines (and they are awfully cute too).

They are out of Debra’s exceptional mares (as all her wonderful babies have been) and represent the best of the Portuguese and Brasilian bloodlines. Contact her about the older fillies and colts that are available now.  Several of the babies are here in the US now, working happily as three and four year olds. Domina was featured earlier on this blog so scroll down for pictures of her!

First up:
Herodes DB by Bailado do Top out of Somatoria do Top. Bailado is an amazing young stallion with a great work ethic, huge movement, and BIG, but he retains all the finest qualities of the Lusitano of character, expression and gentle temperament. Bailado do Top is by Quadro out of Nubia. Somatoria do Top is the sister (by mother…Largaticha) of some of the most important Lusitanos in Brasil: Nicotina, Orador, and Oceano do Top. Clearly, a very finely bred baby.

Second baby:
Hermes DB by Bailado do Top out of Successão do Top.  Successão do Top is the top awarded mare of her year, champion and vice champion ahead of stallions at the International Lusitano Expo. She is by Quadro do Top out of Herancia.

Come with us to Brasil in May (check the tab above for the Brasil 2012 trips!) and you can see them both, along with the other babies in the herd.  It’s a highlight of our trip each time we go and is THE highlight for proud Mom Debra.

Thank you to Davi Carrano for the beautiful photographs.  Hermes was less than 10 hours old when the photos were taken!

Domina DB ~ Excellence in Lusitano breeding and sales

Since we mentioned Debra’s HERD of babies a couple of posts ago, we thought we should put up an image of one of her favorites: Domina DB. She is by Sol VO out of  one of Debra’s mares, Successao Do Top.  This little girl is only 3 coming 4 years old! The scope, the elasticity, and the presence are all a result of her exceptional breeding. She is beginning her training and doing very well. Maybe we’ll even see her during the next Symposium (with a focus on training the young horse- click the Symposium tab above for all the details). There are more babies like this ~ just call Debra and she’ll talk to you for hours about them.  But seriously, Domina DB is just one example of our commitment to excellence in breeding and in finding the best possible horses for our clients. Enjoy the photos.

Amities,  ~DDBarbier

Getting ready for the Symposium! (and lots of other news)

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

Brrrrrr. It was COLD in Brasil in August

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.

Capaz do Mito

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

Photos from Brasil!

Though we can’t believe the trip is over, we are so grateful for such a wonderful time! The horses were glorious, as they always are, but the best part of the trip was the old friendships renewed and the new friendships created. With great companions on the trip and marvelous farms to visit….the excitement of the Auction and then the Expo….we’re exhausted but happy. Back to States tonight…then a clinic in Canada this weekend, then off to Spain and Portugal. Debra and I hope you’ll join us soon. Whether it’s a clinic in Germany or England or Chicago or New Jersey,  better still the Symposium in September, there are horses to learn from and friends to meet all around the world.