just know where you are...

i went to a trakehner show on saturday in kiel, germany, at a huge breeding stable. i went with my friend who was taking her 3-month-old filly, betty blue, to be approved into the registry. the trakehner registry is very picky about their bloodlines (you can read more about that here).

she showed the filly together with her mother. the filly was loose and there were chasers at either end, helping get the foals moving so the judges could determine if their gaits were worthy of being registered. there were about 20 foals in all. in addition, there was a range of dressage classes, from lower levels to grand prix. very impressive, tho' the first place ribbons are yellow, which just seemed wrong.

betty was approved and she was branded with the special trakehner brand, which is a kind of a set of moose antlers. it's really very pretty. the judging was interesting - there was a group of judges and they came around to the stalls and inspected her and all of the paperwork before the judging. then, she was shown in the ring and immediately the results were given before she left the ring. then, afterwards, they came around again, stamped her papers and she was then branded.

betty blue, batavia and helle in the show ring. betty was pretty worn out by the whole experience.

betty blue's mother, batavia is 18. she's in foal again for next year with the same sire - special memory, a trakehner stallion that's in the US.

betty has the best disposition. she's just an unbelievable sweetheart.

betty let me spend a good half an hour braiding her mane and she'd never had it done before.
and i didn't even have a hold of her, she just stood for it.

batavia with curly mane after her braids came out.

pretty baby.

trakehners are very fine and pure as warmbloods go. they're very restrictive as to what's allowed in their registry. they are a bit lighter and finer than many of the warmblood breeds. they make good dressage horses. and from what i could see, they have wonderful ways of going and even better dispositions. it was, in all, very impressive.