Selena and Anne Marie with Rocky, Solo and Woody.

Now that the excitement has died down… I have not been to many of Selena’s shows over the past three years. Since we moved to Balsam Hall in Kingston, it has been so busy (and so much fun) at home that my outings have been limited to Fairhill 2012 and Bromont 2013. Fairhill was not fun, I busted my knee and Solo retired on course….Bromont, however, was a blast!

To start with there was the cheering section – 12 of them! Some of our supporters were attending their first three day event. The weather was not wonderful, but ‘The Boys’ sure were! All three of the boys in the ribbons, it’s one of those results you dream about. Putting it all together in terms of the team that travelled with them, and the team that stayed at home to man the fort, really is a logistical nightmare. Both teams work ridiculous hours and carry on when normal people would just give up and go home. Anne Marie Duarte, Emma Rafuse, Tori Morgan, Kate Sykes and Angie Huber, you really have to understand that the results would simply not be possible to achieve without your input. Without you Selena and The Boys could not have done it.

John and Judy Rumble, thank you for your faith in Selena’s program. You have been wonderful owners, patiently allowing Selena to put in the time she felt Woody needed before she attempted his first CCI3*. We are very lucky to have such wonderful owners standing behind the team.

Selena on the course walk with Clayton Fredericks.

In the same way, if it were not for our sponsors, Selena would not be able to produce horses in prime condition and run them in the very best equipment on the market. It would be totally beyond our means to maintain these equine athletes at the International level without the sponsorship. Selena has been very lucky to have been sponsored by companies whose products are second to none.

This was Selena’s first FEI event using her new Voltaire jumping saddles cross country and show jumping with both Woody and Rocky. She felt very comfortable and safe in addition to being well balanced over the fences. The saddles are a very new sponsorship for Selena and we are really happy to welcome Voltaire to the team.

Omega Alpha Pharmaceuticals have been supporting Selena’s endeavours for five years now. In that time Selena has been to the Olympics, won a silver medal at the WEG, won a silver medal at the Pan Ams and won several best conditioned awards. Her cross country times are fast and we put a lot of that down to the amazing products we use to help our horses prepare and recover from competition. BCAA for recovery, Muscle Gro to help Rocky catch up with the big boys, Chill Ultra for nerves, RegenerEQ to keep their stomachs in good order during the stress of shipping and competition….the list goes on and on. We have yet to be disappointed in an Omega Alpha product. By the way…have you heard who Omega Alpha’s new spokeswoman is? Amber Marshall of Heartland is on board with the products….Selena is desperately swotting up on Heartland and polishing her western boots….just in case….

Purina Agribrands: as you all know, we run our horses on Trimax at the upper levels. It’s palatable, easy to use and covers all their needs. We very rarely supplement it with any other grains, but when we do, it’s usually Purina Agribrands triple cleaned oats. Purina have been backing us for four full years, it’s been a perfect partnership for us as we were dedicated Trimax users from when Purina brought the product onto the shelves. Our horses looked spectacular at Bromont this year, in shining health and condition thanks to Purina Agribrand.

Draper Therapy was one of our first sponsors. They started helping us with Colombo’s very sensitive back in 2007. He was never ridden without a Draper pad, at the WEG, we were not allowed to show any ‘logo’ so it was on underneath his Canadian team pad. Now all three of the big boys work in Draper pads, wear draper therapy leg wraps and wear Draper therapy coolers for recovery.

Leather Therapy keeps our tack in perfect condition. We cannot afford to have the stitching weakened or the leather drying out. Those leather straps are VERY important when you are flying down a mountain at 650 metres a minute.

Royal Stirrups: the ONLY ones Selena feels safe and secure. They are light and flexible so she rarely loses one on course or in the dressage ring.
Schleese Saddlery: exquisite bridlework and absolutely they most fabulous girths we own. We are very grateful for Schleese’s support. They are long-time friends who came to Canada around the same time as Selena and I crossed ‘the pond.’

Auburn Laboratories, APF: This was the product we used on Solo when in 2010 he started to develop sarcoids on his neck. We gave him APF and they started to disappear within weeks. We still give him his APF daily to make sure they never return.

FITS: there ARE NO OTHER RIDING CLOTHES TO COMPARE. We love you FITS. Selena always looks great wherever she competes. This year at the second jog for Bromont, Selena and Anne Marie (her groom) both wore their matching FITS jackets. Quite the team look! Because of the rain on XC day at Bromont, Selena wore her leather seat FITS for extra security.

JoJo Sox: Selena wore her new ‘lucky socks’ at Bromont…they worked! ‘Nuff said!

La Mundial boots started sponsoring Selena with their gorgeous custom fitted riding boots at the WEG in 2010. Since then they have taken on sponsorship of the Canadian Eventing Team. We are very lucky to have such a great company looking after Selena’s long slim legs. Getting boots to fit her had always been a nightmare until La Mundial took over. Now I always think how elegant her boots look, both fitted nicely and feeling comfortable.

Haygain: We thank Haygain UK and Haygain USA for their continued support of Selena and her horses. The Haygain steamers kill off spores that might develop in what looks like perfectly good hay. We buy the best hay on the market for our horses but it’s another level of confidence knowing it has been steamed, especially for travelling.

We have a wonderful team at Balsam Hall, owners, boarders, landlords, students and staff. It’s a great place to work and there is nowhere else I would rather be.

Watch Selena’s stadium jumping round – one of only two clear rounds this put ‘Woody’ into second place at his first CCI***.

Selena and Morag smiling with Woody.

Sorry I didn’t write sooner. Was a late night last night and today I took my dear friend Christine “Pitty” around to local farms here in Canada as a thank you for all her help at Bromont.

The boys look happy out on grass today even if it is still raining!

The jog was smooth with all of the horses. Rain even held off long enough.

I was very glad to ride Solo first when it came to show jumping day. The bogie fence was the skinny (fence #5C) white rail on tip with rock wall as back ground. I don’t think all horses could see it correctly. I feel Solo just misread it.

Woody was trying his guts out over fences, but we became a little unraveled by the end. I think he have it his all after such a tough cross country course footing and all!

Foxwood High. Photo by Katie Wallis

Rocky was so close to a clear round. He has 11B down in a one stride. I think we came in with a little too much impulsion after a long day of cross country the day before. It wasn’t for lack of scope. I was very pleased with all of them. Lucky me I got ribbons on all three (2nd Foxwood High, Bellaney Rock 4th, A First Romance 12th) and they came home safe and sound.

A First Romance. Photo by Victoria Boyd

We are qualified for Rolex. I intend to compete at Fairhill for experience. We are all green at this level. Hope to have them at Rolex 2014….and who knows what else.

Selena goes over her ride on 'Woody' with owner John Rumble, who is himself an Olympic bronze medalist in Three Day Eventing.

All I can say is wow what a lucky girl I am to have three amazing horses. Now officially 3* horses!!

Woody was so honest and felt strong right to the end. We took the straight route everywhere. I was particularly pleased with his ride at fence # 14 A, B, C the HUGE drop turn left four strides to a one stride of very wide bee hives. He jumped down soft & neat then I gathered my reins got straight with no trouble and he soared beautifully over both the hives with the greatest of ease

Solo got off his line early in the first water at 4 B were the hedge is carved skinny to high. He jumped up over the high side but off to the left

However he was honest as the day is long the rest of the way and FULL of running (probably could have gone around again). All the fences I was worried about corners, skinny triple brushes & angles he rocked

Last but not least Rocky rockstar was the best he has gone for me. Relaxed and happy. Very accurate and obedient. The going was very heavy plus question after question on the course so he got a little tired towards the last three fences. Still jumped beautifully clean to the end just ran out if gallop so we coasted home safely.

What a great day thanks to my cheering section (boarders from my barn), owners John & Judy Rumble as well as mum.

Pit crew: Pitty, Angie, Matt. Superstar groom, whom I couldn’t do this without , Anne Marie.

Canadian team: Clayton, Graeme, Dr Ober and Jill, Jesse P. And of course please don’t forget Emma Rafuse, Tori Morgan and Kate Sykes who are holding down the fort at home.

Special shout out to our student Angie Huber and Wisher for a double clear cross country in the CCI1*. Her horse was full of running too!

Anne Marie has done nothing but braid since she got here it seems!

Well my horses tried really hard (sometimes too hard) today.

Woody was great. I’m sad we didn’t pull off our extended trot…we have been working so hard at it. In the warm up he did some of the best extensions he has ever done but in the ring we got a little crooked and broke to canter for a stride or two.

I was really pleased with his ride-ability and canter work.

Solo did some really nice trot work. He got quite tense in the canter but made an effort and held it together. Bromont is one of the most electric rings on the circuit so I’m pleased because as we all know…it can always be worse with Solo.

Bromont M&Ms, whoo hoo!

Rocky was a rockstar until the last counter canter circle where he anticipated the change and swapped three times!!!

The good thing is he kept picking the counter canter back up so I could do the change on the centerline (where I was meant to). The judge was kind and wrote well done on that move.

Wow, Red Bull gelato!

All the horses show great potential which is so exciting. The coach said they have shown lots of improvement. Plus “this ain’t no dressage show!”

So please cross your fingers for a safe and fun day tomorrow.

I rode Solo with Angie and Wisher. They were preparing for their test at 2:30 p.m. Solo and I went from the ring outside the barn to the ring near the dressage and cross country with them. I thought it was a good idea for Wisher to go from ring to ring to ring, so that it minimized tension going from warm up to main arena. Good for Solo too;)

Solo couldn’t go in the last warm up ring (it’s for competition horses that day) so Anne Marie held him and I went down to coach Angie.
Wisher got a little tense but soon got to work. Angie kept her busy and I kept Angie busy;) Their test started off a tiny bit tense..but it didn’t phase either of them. So Wisher got better and better. Rein back was where they lost a few marks (it’s coming though, did some lovely ones in warm up) but her canter work was great including counter canter. Also I felt the frame was more elevated then last year. Overall much more competitive. Way to go team!!

Tomorrow Woody goes first in the division at 9:23 a.m. Solo is at 11:11 a.m., which I feel is good luck. Rocky goes at 2:30 p.m. to round out the division. Fingers crossed we pull off some great tests!

Selena and Anne Marie with the boys.

Today was beautiful weather at Bromont. Bizzy and I tried to make the most of it because it’s meant to deteriorate later on this week.

I rode all three boys in the sunshine on the flat. I hacked Solo around the track with Jessica Phoenix on Pavarotti. Jess and I have been on teams together since young riders and I really enjoy when we get a chance to catch up. I didn’t hack Rocky and Woody before I flatted them because they don’t appreciate hacking with a view of the cross country course. Gets them too excited and distracted. All three boys were fabulous! Long may it continue.

After the riders’ meeting at noon I went straight out onto the course to see what we are up against this week end. My friend Nicole Parkin was headed out to walk the CIC3* so I enjoyed her company for a while till our tracks took separate paths. The course has a few directional changes on it (minor) so mostly I was just getting a look at the fences. Plenty of questions out there to test straightness and accuracy. Beautifully built which makes them more appealing. It will not only be a test of the riders’ abilities but also the horses’ endurance (quite a long track with a good pull uphill twice). Glad I have been lucky enough to be allowed to do my preparation gallops at Glen Lawrence, where there is a hill to work with, many thanks to Sean Jenkins.

Anne Marie has been practicing her stencil work!

After my course walk I went back to the house to get primped and preened for the jog, while Anne Marie did the same for the boys. I even curled my hair!! I know shocker for most of you who know me. A new skirt that mum bought me while she was at Rolex, and my O’Hanlon Eventing shirt to top it off Robin Walker’s comment while we were waiting for our turn…”Selena’s legs are as white as mine I think.” My answer “Ya they probably see the same amount of daylight” Oh well what can ya do?

I would like to shout out to Angie Huber and her horse Wisher for their CCI1* jog today. They both looked beautiful. Well it’s late & I’m off to bed. Too much gelato from down the road

I know it’s June when I look at the horse schedule. Things are heating up in more ways than one. This present weekend (writing this on a Sunday) is something different every day. It really started on Thursday when Selena took the three boys to Dreamcrest to school some corners. Corners at the three star level have shown up some straightness issues with Solo and Rocky, they are both still green at the Advanced level and sometimes they get it wrong. Selena is working hard on their straightness and on the Friday she and I drove up to Amanda and Jorge Bernhardt’s lovely farm in Mono. They are kind enough to host the Canadian team training camps there. Selena rode her three horses back to back under the scrutiny of Canadian team coach, Clayton Fredericks. It was a very hot day with a lovely breeze flowing over the arena we were using, the ‘peanut gallery’ sat in the shade of some beautifully sited trees around the arena.

Selena’s first session was with Nicole Parkin and Lexus, she rode Rocky in that session and they both worked hard. Her second session was Solo. I was impressed with all three horses how well they ‘tied to the trailer’. I know it seems like a basic skill that every horse should have, but these three are all three star fit and ready to leave for Bromont on Tuesday. At all times, one was in the trailer, one was outside tied to the trailer and one was being ridden right beside the trailer. Nobody called or paid any attention to the movements of each other, nobody pawed or fussed. Everybody did their job quietly, whatever the job happened to be at that moment. I must give kudos to Anne Marie Duarte and Selena for this, as I have not been to a show with them for over a year.

Woody was the last session and he was great. Clayton put up a red upright and had the riders jumping out of a canter pirouette with about four collected straight strides, then the fence. This exercise had caused varying degrees of difficulty during the three sessions. At the end of Woody’s session, he raised it another six inches or so to what looked like over five feet and Woody popped right out over the top of it like a Grand Prix show jumper.

Straight back home, barn by eight thirty pm, do up all the legs then bed because on Saturday Selena was loading early and taking four of our clients to a combined training at Temperance Lake Farm. We had a really fun day, the facility is lovely and the show was well run. Our ladies did a fantastic job and each of the four brought home a ribbon, two seconds and two thirds….way to go ladies! We are lucky in Kingston area to have a great series of short course events which are a wonderful introduction to the sport and good practice and schooling venues.

Today is Sunday and Selena is giving a Pony Club clinic in Brockville. We are big Pony Club supporters and she has been looking forward to going to Tess Greer’s farm, known to most of you as the home of Touch A Rainbow, and teaching her great bunch of Pony Clubbers. The weather is not wonderful today, but I know that as long as the thunderstorms stay away, nothing else is going to stop those kids having a good time.

Tomorrow we are back on the road really early to do another training camp with Clayton Fredericks in Mono. For those of you that don’t know, Mono is near Orangeville and can take anywhere from 4 to 6 hours to get there depending on the traffic as we pass over Toronto. Home tomorrow night, take the truck in Tuesday morning to have an oil change done before leaving by noon for Bromont…..phew….Bromont is going to feel like a rest.

Here is a video of Rocking at training camp with Clayton Fredericks.

Selena riding the Swedish Warmblood mare, Kailee at Grandview Horse Trials. Photo by Paige Talledo

Another weekend has flown by. Selena left Friday for Grandview and got back here around 10:30 on Saturday night. There is no such thing as a short day in an eventer’s life. Grandview was very successful. Our first timer, Paige Talledo’s lovely Warmblood mare, Kailee, was second in her division. Zephyr, Kelly Damp’s lovely little gelding by the Advanced eventing stallion, ‘Rather Well’ out of a two star Hanovarian cross mare that used to be ridden by Fran Warwick. This little guy is bred to do the job, and he was first in his division on Saturday. Thank you Paige Talledo and Kelly Damp for giving Selena the rides on your lovely horses. Our working student Tori Morgan and her horse Bentley were having a great time….until they went off course….ugh. We have all been there, and as Tori says, she won’t be making that mistake again!

This morning Selena and Anne Marie Duarte, our international show groom, started early so that Selena could load the trailer (still warm from last night) up with the ‘big boys’ and take them to a friend’s farm to gallop before she and Anne Marie head off to Montreal this afternoon. No rest for those that ‘live the dream’.

Brewing thunderstorms apart, the weather has finally warmed up enough that riding is the best life there is. There are moments in January and February where I wonder what on earth I am doing here, but in May, riding is just a joy. I much prefer worrying about grass cutting than snow removal.

Our neighbor Charlie Foreman gives us the bad news on the lawn tractor.

Grass cutting on my little lawn tractor with an audiobook on my headphones is really rather a restful, pleasant task. Sad to relate, I recently chewed up the washing line in the blades….how was I to know it was hiding in the long grass round the bottom of the tree? Anyway, I did a real good job of it and now it has to go to have the blades removed and the drive something replaced….sigh. JUST when you NEED a lawn tractor. I kind of wish someone else had done it so that I could be grumpy and throw ‘looks’ in the culprit’s direction. As it is, I have to get the push mower out now, I have a feeling I am going to be very sorry indeed that I ran over that clothes line. The ‘mending shop’ says they are backlogged this time of the year with people’s lawn tractors and it might take them two weeks!

Next week is another busy one. Selena has a dressage lesson with Gina Smith in Brockville on Tuesday, a training session in Orangeville on the Friday and the Monday, a dressage show in Ottawa on the Saturday and we both do a Pony Club clinic together on the Sunday in Brockville. The week after that is Bromont!

The cross country at MCTA was not stellar. Selena was not happy with her rides and had two refusals at the corners with Solo and retired. The corners at this level are beyond intimidating and if Solo doesn’t hit them ‘just right’ on the first go, he is not interested. Obviously Selena is schooling corners like crazy, but it’s hard to find, never mind school one of those maxed out corner questions. Recently we took Solo to a friend’s and used a show jump oxer on the turn to school up a slope into both sides of a corner. It was a good school, but Selena would like a bigger corner to work with at home. Another item for the wish list.

Here is a video of Solo schooling corners:

The stadium was tough and came before XC. Solo was the only clear round in the division. I sometimes wonder if he should be show jumping as a career. He is a truly beautiful horse to watch jump. So….MCTA, successful in terms of ribbons and another good XC school for everybody except Solo. Onward and upwards….

We had a great clinic at Balsam Hall last Sunday with Gina Smith. It was FREEZING with a brisk wind. Using radio mic and earpieces, Gina sat in her car out the wind and kept the riders and their horses toasty warm with lots of busy exercises in the arena. Thank you, Gina. It was a great day and everyone learned a huge amount.

It's fencing time at Balsam Hall!

Today Selena, our working student Tori Morgan and her horse Bentley, two client horses for Selena to ride, Kailee an Zephyr, all load up and compete at Grandview. Selena has an Entry ride and a Novice ride, it’s quite the switcheroo from the tight three star focus of the past few months. LOL. I know Selena is looking forward to Grandview and seeing some of our Ontario eventing friends to catch up.

Here at home we are videoing dressage tests. I video each of my students doing a test of their choice then I dub my comments on to the film clip so that they can see what I see. We did the first one two weeks ago and it has helped in a huge way. We are going to do another set in the dressage ring this weekend and next weekend do some jump courses. It’s amazing how instructive it is to watch yourself while someone points out your issues.

On a very exciting topic, our fencing supplies arrived on a big double semi yesterday. We are re-fencing all the paddocks. We have already torn down three paddocks ready to go with the new wood, which means we are being REALLY good this year about not letting anyone have too much spring grass, however, they all seem to be blooming, blossoming and verging on fat. Keeping weight on is not my problem. With the Purina feed and the Omega Alpha Biotic 8 the horses look absolutely fantastic this Spring, really glossy and plump in all the right places.

Scenes from Bruce Davidson's Chesterland.

The next big excitement is Bromont. I would really like to have Selena go back to Chesterland for a pre-Bromont tune-up over Bruce Davidson’s cross country jumps under the master’s eye. I don’t know if we can manage it, the cost of diesel is SO prohibitive, I am sure it is affecting every horse owner who ships medium to long distances. It’s also hard to fit the days into the schedule. This month and next month there are two days where Selena and I are both away giving clinics on the same day. Normally we try to space things out so that one of us is always here to teach and train. However, this Spring has us both on a hectic schedule, the story of our lives!

Kendal Lehari and Daily Edition on course at Rolex.

The Fork not being our best outing of the year, Selena is off to MCTA, in Maryland, to ride the three boys in the Advanced division, giving them another run before the CCI*** at Bromont in June.

The training schedule here at home has been steady with emphasis on dressage. Selena and Foxwood High have been visiting Frankland’s Farm to have weekly lessons with Gina Smith, whom we are so very lucky to have only one and a quarter hours from here. Our home base massage therapist and acupuncturist Morag McMurray, has given them the once over and all is ready for the troops to head off to Bruce Davidson’s Chesterland Farm on Wednesday afternoon. They will do a light work on Wednesday morning then head South to tune up with Bruce on the Thursday and Friday before heading to Maryland for the competition.

The fourth spot in the trailer will be filled with Andrea Huber’s ‘Wisher’, Selena’s student Andrea is running in the Preliminary. I hope the weather holds out for them and they have a great weekend. Emma Rafuse is traveling with the horses this week, the usual extravaganza of packing will begin tomorrow. It really is amazing how much ‘stuff’ you need for three horses!

Rocky’s dressage is always a work in progress, he is very willing and it’s just a question of time and above all, muscle. He is a big bodied horse with a lot of bone. Not ‘heavy’ in any way, just a big wide skeleton. We have struggled with building enough muscle on this strapping lad. Christiana Ober, the team vet suggested we try giving him Omega Alpha’s Muscle Gro. I am happy to report that both Christiana and Clayton Fredericks, the team coach, commented on his improvement the last time they saw him. We are so grateful to our sponsors, as without the sponsorship keeping our horses in top condition would be very much more difficult if not impossible for us.

I have been thrilled with Solo’s ‘rideability’ since he came back from Florida. He seems to have finally grown up and although there is a long way to go, his work sessions are just that….he is working, not arguing or looking for a way out. Who would have thought I would ever be able to say that about Solo! Selena has been lucky enough to be given two jumping saddles by Voltaire Saddles. The first one to arrive will be for Solo. We are not sure if it will be here in time to be ‘broken in’ for Bromont, but it would be nice if it was. Solo is still getting his ‘Chill Ultra’ but the dosage has gone down every show. His dressage ring anxiety seems to have melted away. We are using the Draper Therapy saddle pads on him every day, much the way we did with Colombo and that seems to be making him more willing to use his back on the flat (he is ALWAYS ready to use his back over a jump). We would like to thank Draper and Voltaire for their help. He is SUCH a big jumper, keeping his back happy is half the battle. We are finally able to feed Solo as much Purina Trimax as he wants. He has always been limited in the amount of grain we could give him without his excitement level increasing. Now that he is evening out, his hard feed intake is up where we want it and he looks great.

Foxwood High, ‘Woody’ in addition to his dressage tune ups with Gina is working through grids to keep him flexible and adjustable. Both Woody and Rocky are over 17hh, but cat-like in their agility. We want to keep that lightness of foot between the fences and the gymnastics help Selena maintain the sharp, quick footfalls that are necessary to negotiate today’s technical cross country courses. Woody is a happy soul, he loves everything he does, dressage, show jumping, gymnastics, hacking, lunging….he loves it all. Woody is a big barn favourite, he is SO handsome, everyone stops at his stall to ooh and ahh and he hams it up, graciously accepting all adulation as his due.

The rest of the barn is moving and shaking. The horses are enjoying finally working outside. We are still not in the paddocks, trying to give them a rest and making sure they have dried out enough that the horse’s feet do not cause sink holes. We are re fencing the whole property this Spring (my current nightmare is that it rains all through our fencing week) and some of the paddock fencing has already been taken down. It is going to be a hard working Spring, but I can’t wait to see everything when we are finished.

Our two sales horses are ready to move up. Rosein is going to go Training next and Selena would like to be doing Prelim on her by the Fall if she is not sold. Watson’s Cyd is probably on the same program, she learned such a lot being hunted by Bruce Davidson last season. There is nothing like having ‘The Master’ ride your horse for a few weeks to bring it along. he came back SUCH a competent jumper. We have two homebreds to start out this year, it’s a ‘never-ending to do list’, wonderful, exciting life.

I myself went to Rolex and ‘Tweeted’ the XC for @omegaalphaeq. I am a bit of a newbie at Twitter. I have played around with it for years without really getting going. I am determined to become a super tweeter. Anne Marie Duarte and Selena both tweet for O’Hanlon Eventing. Rolex was great. It was a bit chilly, all in all, but only the Wednesday was miserably cold, however I could have saved myself the trouble of packing my shorts and sandals. The Canadians did great! FOUR in the top twenty and two of those doing their FIRST four star – Shandiss McDonald was 16th and Kendal Lehari was 19th. Hawley Bennett was AMAZING and was rewarded for her amazingness by finishing in 7th. Peter Barry and the wonderful Kilrodan Abbot was 17th. Ribbons and prize money go to 20th, so all four in the main ring for presentations – way to go Team Canada and Clayton Fredericks.

‘Quimbo’…..I am in love! What a horse. Selena was telling me that most of his (Andrew Nicholson’s) horses (not Chilli Morning, the stallion that had a 33 and was in first place after the dressage) are related, and they are Spanish thoroughbreds by the same sire. Wow is all I have to say. Quimbo was beautiful to watch, poetry in motion.