We pride ourselves on keeping our broodmares in top condition. Hidden Ponds broodmares are handled daily. They are not simply turned out to pasture to have no human interaction. All of our mares are broke to ride, and are ridden during the off season after their foals are weaned, or on years when they do not have a foal at their side. Mares that are amenable to strangers handling their foals in public places are taken to shows starting when the foals are two months old. We show both the mare and the foal. We believe that this benefits both mom and baby, giving baby exposure very young and showing baby that mom is not worried, so they should not be either. This puts a lasting impression on a foal that is later expected to develop into a performance horse, so new situations are handled easily.
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Lake Ridge Contessa
2009 Bay Mare
Michael Vine's Oak Leaf x DGH Lake Ridge Obsession
DNA: EE Aa
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Tessa is one of our newest broodmares and show horses, having just joined our herd in December 2018. She is broke to ride. She will be shown and bred in 2019. She is by the famous stallion Oak Leaf, who is now in Luxembourg.
Tessa has been bred to GFR Silver Spirit for an April 2020 foal.
Lady Aeditha
2016 Smokey Black Spotted Gypsy Sporthorse Mare
CS Hermits Silver Shadow x Lady Karietha
DNA: Ee aa nCR nLP
Country of Origin: United States
Lady Aeditha started her show career with us in 2016, shortly after arriving home from California. She has extensive handling and spent time at the Horsemanship School in Amery, Wisconsin. Aeditha has been to a couple dozen shows between 2016-2019, and is sweet and easy to handle. She is usually given to novice youth to show, because she is so submissive and non-challenging. Aeditha represented the Gypsy Sport Horse at the Isle of Breeds during the 2017, 2018, and 2019 MN State Fair, with over 100,000 people in attendance every day. She did amazingly well and was very popular! She has also been to the Minnesota Horse Expo in 2018 and 2019. She has ponied on trails and along with the cart and done some ground driving.
Aeditha has been backed and took it very well. She is such a neat little mare and will be someone's heart horse, I'm sure of it.
Aeditha is currently for sale. Details are on our For Sale page. She will continue to be shown until such time that she is sold.
SD Faith
2018 Palomino Mare
SD Golden Boy x SD The Red Mare
DNA: ee aa nCR
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Faith is a super sweet smaller filly. I expect her to mature to around 13 hands. She is a stout girl from SD breeding.
Silver Star Crescent Moon
2016 Silver Black Blagdon Gypsy Mare
Coates Silver Thunder x Rosie's Kahlua
DNA: E_ aa nZ
Country of Origin: Canada
Luna is the sweetest, quietest yearling filly on the farm. She loves attention and follows us everywhere. Kari purchased Luna when she was only a week old, and first showed her at 3 1/2 months in Alberta, Canada, at the annual GVHS show. Luna attended the Horsemanship School in spring of 2017 in Amery, Wisconsin. She has done a handful of shows, showing in Halter classes. Luna was awarded 7th place in the 2017 GVHS Vanner Advantage program.
Luna is rather unique for a silver black, being so light in summer that she looks like a dark palomino, and in winter she looks like a dapple grey.
Luna may be offered for sale private treaty.
Shimmery
2016 Red Sabino Gypsy Mare
Coates Silver Thunder x Pearlie Girlie
DNA: ee aa nZ nPRL nSB1
Country of Origin: United States
Shimmery is our stunning red sabino mare. She is unique in that she also carries for Pearl and Silver; the only silver pearl sabino in the world that we know of. She has a thick, silky double mane and lovely long, thick tail.
Shimmery began her show career just days after arriving at Hidden Ponds in July of 2017. She took Reserve Grand Champion Halter Mare at the 2017 Kanabec County Fair her first time showing!
Shimmery was bred to our new stallion, SD Gold Top, for a May 2020 foal.
Cabaret Rose
2011 Red Tobiano Gypsy Mare
The Godfather x Blarney Stone's Coco
DNA: ee aa Tt nW20
Country of Origin: United States
Rosie is Kari's primary show horse. Rosie has been extensively shown both English and Western and attends most events with Hidden Ponds. In addition to showing, Rosie is broke to drive, and has been used for foxhunting, hunter paces, hunter trials, team penning, and has even loped the patterns at game shows.
Kari bought Rosie when she was a green broke three year old, and has put extensive time on her in order to ensure she is a well-rounded horse. She came fourth in the GVHS Vanner Advantage program in 2016, 11th in the Vanner Advantage program in 2017, and 11th in Amateur Overall and Amateur Performance in the GVHS High Point Year End awards. She was also the highest ranked American Amateur Performance mare in 2017! She has shown at Feathered Horse Classic, Midwest Gypsy Horse Association, and JJ Show Management gypsy shows and placed in Halter, Showmanship, Trail, English, and Western (way too many placings to mention here). Rosie has been evaluated as a four-star mare, and will be working toward her Versatility Medallion.
Rosie was bred to St Brendan's Cream for 2019 and in April had a gorgeous solid red colt foal. She will be returning to the show ring in 2020.
Queen of the Blagdon's Senora
2004 Sooty Red Blagdon Gypsy Mare
Andrew Mouldon's Blue Blagdon Stallion x John Sykes Blagdon Mare
DNA: ee aa W20/W20
Country of Origin: Wales (United Kingdom)
Senora is our safest, most novice friendly horse at the farm. She can be handled and shown by absolutely anyone, and is shown by novice youth and amateurs. She was originally purchased to be a riding horse for Kari's mother, who has rheumatoid arthritis, when she visits, and she is perfect for that. She is also trained to ride and drive, and shows in both. She has been used as a demonstration and expo horse, and attends most of our events. Senora is quite the world traveler, having been imported to Canada before coming to the United States. Senora was awarded 5th place for Youth Vanner Advantage in 2017. Senora is a four star rated mare through GVHS.
Though she has had five foals previously, Senora had her first foal for us in 2018. Since she is one of our favorite show horses, we don't have plans at this time to breed her back. She loves the foals, though, and stays in our broodmare pasture during the summer months to help babysit.
Giselle of Finnegan's Fields
2015 Bay Grey Sabino Gypsy Mare
Roman of HSF x Ciao Bella
DNA: Ee Aa Gg nSB1
Country of Origin: United States
Giselle is a filly that we admired for a few years before she made her way to our home! Kari has a screenshot of her foal picture on her phone that she saved when she first fell in love! Giselle is a kind and smart mare, and we hope to get her evaluated this year at the Minnesota GVHS evaluations. She is not even a full three years old in these photos...can you believe it? This mare is going to be one TANK of a fancy girl!
Giselle had a stunning silver bay tobiano sabino filly in June of 2019 by our National Champion halter stallion, GFR Silver Spirit.
Lags Mare
2010 Bay Blagdon Irish Cob Mare
Foundation Bred
DNA: Ee Aa nW20
Country of Origin: Ireland
Lags Mare was imported from the herd of Andy McEvoy in Ireland in November of 2018. Andy owned her since she was a yearling, and told me that she was out of a bay mare and by a heavy grey stallion who he would guess is now deceased. Her breeder was named Lags, hence the name "Lags Mare." Lags Mare has only been a broodmare. She is passported under the Irish Piebald and Skewbald Society.
Lags Mare gave birth to a beautiful and very stout solid black filly in May 2019.
Photos are of her in Ireland with her 2018 filly