Kenny Wheeler has seen a lot of quality horses in his time, and he thinks that SpanishSpear is “one of the best colts I’ve ever had. He’s a beautiful colt with a lot of class, and he’s one of the best-moving colts I’ve ever shown,” Wheeler said.

On June 1, at the Devon Horse Show in Devon, Pa., judges Rodney Jenkins and Phil De-Vita agreed, picking Spanish Spear as the Best Young Horse for the second consecutive year.

Ray Francis bred Spanish Spear (Zarr–Karacter Kount) and sent Wheeler a photo of the foal when he was just 2 months old. Wheeler liked him enough to buy him sight unseen, and his faith was rewarded when Francis showed the leggy gelding to Devon’s best young horse title last year as a yearling.

Wheeler picked Spanish Spear up from Francis last September, and the flashy chestnut has been residing at Wheeler’s Cismont Manor Farm in Keswick, Va., growing up. “He’s filled out a lot–he always had the frame, but he was up off the ground. Now he’s even better-looking,” Wheeler said.

Spanish Spear, now 2, has been broken and ridden lightly but will continue to show on the line this year.

The win was a nice belated birthday present for Wheeler, who had turned 78 the day before. This year’s title was the 32nd Best Young Horse he’d earned in his history of showing at Devon.

This One’s Mine
Just behind Spanish Spear in the best young horse judging was Moses, handled and owned by Matt Collins. The judges gave Collins a scare, lining Moses up in third in the best young horse judging at first. But after consideration, they moved him up to reserve.

“I was a little thrown by being lined up third to begin with. But it’s a spooky ring, so he didn’t show as well as he normally does, and I myself was a little bit lame, so jogging was a little bit tricky for me. But I couldn’t have been happier with him. It doesn’t get any better than having Rodney Jenkins like your horse,” Collins said.

Moses earned the blue in the 2-year-old, Thoroughbred colts and geldings class on his way to the reserve Best Young Horse title.

Collins, of Culpeper, Va., owns Moses (Aaron’s Gold–Golden Lolly) himself, while Molly Lippencott of Warrenton, Va., bred him. His dam is a proven producer, having foaled Step By Step, a wonderful junior hunter, and Henry, now owned by Cismont Manor Farm and showing.

When Collins saw a young one out of her, and by Aaron’s Gold, the deal was sealed. Aaron’s Gold is a Virginia-based Thoroughbred who stands for both the racing and sport-horse markets. “I’ve always loved Aaron’s Gold for big, correct babies that move beautifully and have great minds,” he said. “I’ve always liked the ones by him that I’ve started for the track and for other people. And now I have one–the most beautiful one!

“He’s got the most beautiful hind end I’ve ever seen–it’s textbook. I like everything about him–his size, his mind, his look. He’s a 2-year-old and he’s broke, so I hacked him around Devon that day to let him see everything. His mind is wonderful.”

Collins plans to show Moses lightly this summer and aim him for the 2-year-old under saddle classes at the International Hunter Futurity (Ky.) and for the Sallie Wheeler/USEF National Hunter Breeding Championships (Va.) this fall.

Collins also showed last year’s reserve champion from the Sallie Wheeler/USEF National Hunter Breeding Champion-ships, Nokomis Farm’s Winston. Now 3, Winston (Welt Hit Star–Jardhu) is still entire. He earned the blue in the 3-year-old non-Thoroughbred colts/geldings class and then was third in the best young horse judging.

Alla Czars All Winners
It’s been 11 years since Dowell “Junior” Johnson has held a horse and won a class at Devon, but he more than made up for the gap this year, handling the Best Yearling, Patricia Michael’s Czierra (Alla Czar–Rowdy Alphabet).

He also held Whimczical (Alla Czar–Kalidascope) to win the 2-year-old, non-Thoroughbred filly class, and Czierra’s full brother, Ma’czaratti, to second place in the 3-year-old non-Thoroughbred, colts/geldings class.

Czierra’s got great appeal, according to Johnson. “She’s flashy and she’s pretty. Everyone loves her when she walks in the ring. She’s got everything that a conformation horse should have. She’s got a long neck, and she’s growing all the time. When she stayed in the ring in the Best Young horse judging [and ended up fourth], I was really thrilled,” he said.

Johnson, of Goochland, Va., is an extremely experienced horseman and was a frequent sight at the head of the line in breeding divisions. But he took a break from showing in the ’90s, and just started rebuilding his business four years ago.

Patricia Michael is thrilled he’s back in action. “He brings out the best in each horse. He just has a way with them that I haven’t seen from anyone else. He’s able to speak to them, and he doesn’t lose his temper ever. He’s able to gain their respect, though, almost instantly, because he reads them so well. The horses adore him and want to work for him,” she said. “He keeps the horses in fabulous condition; he oversees everything about their care–the farrier, the feeding, everything.”

Obviously, Johnson is a fan of the Alla Czar breeding line. “I’ve had a lot of luck with them. They’re conformationally correct and have great minds,” he said.
Camille Greer stands Alla Czar in Gilbert, Ariz., and the striking bay stallion has been the USEF Leading Hunter Breeding Stallion for four consecutive years.

Michael first bought Ma’cza-ratti, the 3-year-old. “I was looking for a baby to stand on the line, and I called Camille. She didn’t have anything at that time, so she referred me to Renae Coates [a trainer and breeder in Arizona with ties to Greer],” she said.

“I got the video of Ma’czaratti, and I knew when I got the video that he was what I was looking for. I just wanted something I could raise and handle. I went down to visit and see all the babies, and his full sister was there. I just loved her too, and had to have her.” Both horses are full siblings of Czartistic, bred by Coates, who was USEF 2-year-old hunter breeding national champion in 2003.

Little did she know, when adding Czierra to her flock, that the Devon Best Yearling title would follow. “It was nail-biting and thrilling. It was really fun, because when I was up in the stands, and they initially called her in second, I was watching and waiting and hoping. They ended up moving her up, and when they announced it, the crowd all around us were yelling and clapping–obviously they agreed with the decision,” Michael said. “Right now, I’m just riding the wave, taking each day as it comes and enjoying it.”

Whimczical is also a wonderful representative of Alla Czar’s legacy. Bred by Greer herself, the striking roan filly has been very successful. “She has a hard time competing with the colts, but when she’s standing with the fillies, she’s hard to beat. It’s tough to have a filly beat the nice colts. It’s always been like that,” Johnson said.

Whimczical’s owner Karen Severns, has also added to her string. This spring, her boyfriend bought her another Alla Czar foal, bred by Greer.

Prue’s Ponies Prevail
Prue Richardson has to drive more than 12 hours and cross the Canadian-U.S. border to get to Devon from her Northwind Farm in Palgrave, Ont. But the trip has been more than worthwhile–for four out of the last five years, Devon’s pony breeding champion has been sired by one of Richardson’s stallions.

And this year, she got to take home all the honors–as owner and breeder of the pony breeding champion, Northwind Marodonna (Small-Land Martello–Northwind Just A Laugh), a yearling gelding. Francis Flavin handled the pony for her.

“He’s a breeding I planned many years ago,” Richardson said. “I wanted a stallion to cross with a Cusop Jovial daughter. I bought [Marodonna’s sire] Small-Land Martello, and this is the first time I’ve shown one of his offspring.”

Richardson, who stands seven stallions and has 14 broodmares, has a thriving pony breeding business and looks at Devon not just as an opportunity to show at a historic, prestigious venue, but also as a marketing tool.

“It’s hard to get new stallions recognized until they put babies on the ground that get noticed,” she said. Since Small-Land Martello and Llanarth Debonair are relatively new additions to her stallion roster, she chose two of their offspring to show at Devon. The Llanarth Debonair filly, Northwind Debutante, took third in her 3-year-old mare class.

Richardson has had three crops of Small-Land Martello babies, but Marodonna is the first she’s kept, having sold all the others as weanlings. Marodonna is the perfect representative for his sire. “He’s identical, marking, movement, temperament, everything. He’s a very typical hunter pony; he’s all the things you want–beautiful, correct, a pretty mover,” she said.

Martello is the son of a very successful British Riding Pony stallion, Small-Land Maytino. Richardson bought and imported him as a weanling seven years ago.

All of Martello’s offspring have names beginning with “Mar”, and Richardson has some unusual inspiration for Marodonna’s name. “He’s named after a very famous Brazilian soccer player, because he’s a very fancy mover,” she said. “His full brother was born recently, and it was easy to find a name because the World Cup was on. I’m not really a soccer fan, but they’re great names.”

And the results at Devon proved that the pony breeding division produces winners–the 2002 pony breeding champion, Orlando (by Richardson’s Bengad Rochea) won the large pony hunter stakes class with Reed Kessler aboard.