United States Kladruber Horse Association
Very few horse breeds have the history of the Kladruber. It is a breed dating back 450 years.
After an article in the Dressage magazine about the Kladruber horses, I became quite interested in them. Already having a Lipizzaner gelding, I thought that ever owning a Kladruber horse would be a wonderful addition to our little “herd” of animals.
So I was very excited to hear last year that Petra Beltran, who used to be the manager at the Kladruby Stud Farm, was now living in San Francisco and was going to attend the clinic in Carmel Valley with her stallion Ariosa where I also was going to be. I enjoyed watching her ride Ariosa in the clinic; he looked so graceful and has an amazing personality.
I saw Petra again this summer in Carmel Valley, and learned that she had founded the United States Kladruber Horse Association, together with her friends Jana in Washington State and Katarina in the Czech Republic, and that they are promoting the breed in the United States. Since I had planned a trip to see my family in the Netherlands in August, Petra got me in contact with Katarina and I organized a little side trip to Prague to visit the Kladruber horses in their homeland.
Upon landing at the beautiful new airport in Prague, Katarina was already waiting for us and took us to her place where she has established a training and sales stable. Not all her horses were on site, because several of them were on the film location for the next Chronicles of Narnia movie!!. But her 8 year old Kladruber mare Emboscada was saddled and ready to be shown. After Katarina rode her, I was given the reins and rode her for a bit. What a great experience. So gentle, such beautiful strides and very responsive to the lightest aids of seat, legs and hands. And that only after two months of dressage training. I was impressed.
After some refreshments we loaded up in her car for the trip to the Kladruby Stud Farm. Katarina had arranged our visit ahead of time, and after a midway stop for a typical Czech lunch, we arrived at the Stud Farm about an hour and a half later. Again, we were very impressed. What a beautiful location, and to think that this has been here for hundreds of years. We were shown a couple of the 3 and 4 year old stallions that are for sale, and then we were invited to wander around on our own. We went into the big communal stall of the mares with their foals; we went into the magnificent stalls of the breeding stallions, and sat outside for a while watching some riding and lessons in progress. Although our timing was not perfect (there won’t be any mares for sale until after the selection in mid October), we enjoyed the beautiful day and were impressed with Katarina’s vast knowledge of horses and dressage. I trust her and Petra to find a good Kladruber mare for me, even if I can not fly back out to the Czech Republic again in October.
At the end of the day Katarina took us back to Prague where I had reserved a room at Hotel Rott. This is a beautifully restored hotel in the old part of Prague and just steps away from the Old Town Square. Service at the hotel and surrounding restaurants was outstanding and I hope that more people interested in this old breed will contact Petra or Katarina for their services in the process of purchasing a Kladruber horse.
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