Taylor To Host An Academy Grooming Clinic

Taylor McFall and Kilbarry Prince

Taylor McFall is hosting a free grooming clinic for the Academy @ Dragonfire. All students are welcome to enjoy this day of hands-on bathing, clipping and braiding ponies with Taylor. Several ponies will be available and everyone will get a chance to help, and to learn how to prepare a pony for the show ring. The clinic will start at 1:00 PM on Saturday, October 18th. Please come and enjoy this educational and fun day at Dragonfire!

2015 Foal Fever Mounting

The Twain has had yet another very successful season in the breeding shed, and we simply cannot wait for the Spring of 2015. Amongst the many beautiful mares bred to him this season, these stellar FEI performers stand out in the crowd.

Ballinakill Glory

Topping the list is the great Ballinakill Glory, owned by James and Andrea Pfeiffer. From the time they found the talented Irish Sport Horse as a three year old in Ireland, Ballinakill Glory showed great promise and did not disappoint on the high hopes her rider, Kelly Prather,  and owners had for her. With career highlights that include finishing 16th at the World Cup Finals in Poland in 2009, winning 2 World Cup CIC3 * events, the Inaugural CCI2* at Fair Hill, several Advanced horse trials, and most recently completing the Rolex Kentucky CCI4*, Ballinakill Glory proved she was up to any challenge. She is by the Thoroughbred stallion, Mark Twain and out of the Irish Draught mare, Ballinakill Popsey, who brings King Of Diamonds into the pedigree.

Governess

The winning 1* mare, Governess, is also expecting for 2015. Governess is a Belgian Warmblood/Selle Francais mare who is by Jamestown, a Quidam de Ravel son out of Black Diamond, a Darco mare. She is a full sibling to 4**** performer, Goodknight, and has an impressive record of her own with many wins. Governess competed with both Jolie Wentworth as well as with her owner, Kate Miller.

Vanity

The impressive young Holsteiner mare, Vanity, rounds out our top three. She is by the late elite Holsteiner Stallion, Liostro and out of Panorama, by Sabotage.  Owned by Elizabeth and Tessa Robinson, Vanity's winning career has been managed by Robyn Fisher, and will continue to compete after her foal by The Twain.

We congratulate the owners of these fantastic FEI mares for choosing The Twain in 2014. Not only did The Twain successfully cover these top performing mares, he also bred many promising young mares with exciting pedigrees and talent of their own. Although he has started his Sport Horse breeding late in life, The Twain will most certainly make a mark on the American Eventing world that will last for generations to come. In the mean time, the anticipation for next year's foals is practically unbearable as we all wait to see these future stars emerge.

Congratulations Patricia!

Many congratulations go out to Patricia Stevens of San Juan Capistrano, CA, on her purchase of Axiom DF. This youngster is sure to have an illustrious career, and is well on his way already to making a name for himself on the eventing scene. With strong wins both in FEH and YEH, Axiom DF is primed for the Four Year Old Championship competition at Galway Downs later this year.

Axiom DF, Four Year Old YEH winner

Axiom's beauty and talent are matched by his temperament, making him an ideal event horse for any rider. Bred by Dragonfire Farm, and presented by Earl McFall, he was a hit at The Event at Rebecca Farm.

Axiom DF will continue his career with Dragonfire through the 2014 West Coast YEH Championships and will then go on to his new home at Hawley Bennett Eventing, located in Temecula, CA. Congratulations again to Patricia and Hawley on this stellar prospect and future partner. We wish you success and happiness with this special horse.

photos by Sherry Stewart

JoJo Sox Joins Our Team

We are thrilled to have JoJo Sox join our elite family of sponsors.  Thanks to the innovation of Jessica and Joanna Godwin, JoJo Sox has created durable, slip free, eco-friendly socks. These performance-based socks for boots take advantage of materials such as COOLMAX and Bamboo to make the most comfortable sock available. Check out the website here!

Sock of the Month Club...YES PLEASE!

Dragonfire Sweeps All Three Divisions at the Woodside Future Event Horse Series

From left to right: Let's Go DF, Tropic Delight, and Simple Dreams DF

Team DF gave the eventing world a taste of the future with entries in the Three Year Old, Two Year Old, and Yearling classes at the Summer Event at Woodside's FEH. All three youngsters were a beautiful display of temperament and athleticism, giving solid performances with Earl McFall at the lead.

Winning the Three Year Olds by over sixteen points and receiving the highest score of the day was Let's Go DF, a  16.3 hand Holsteiner gelding bred and owned by Dragonfire Farm. By Linaro and out of Rani D, Let's Go DF is everything an event horse should be. He is powerful in build and light in movement, with an obviously willing attitude and quiet demeanor.

Let's Go DF, Three Year Old FEH winner

Topping the Two Year Old class was Nancy Dein's homebred filly, Tropic Delight. Her long striding walk and sharp look did her owner proud, as she strutted on the triangle. Tropic Deight is a Trakehner by E.H Lehndorff's and out of Tigerlily, an imported mare by Latimer.

Nancy Dein and her own Tropic Delight, Two Year Old FEH winner

The crowd favorite and Yearling winner was Simple Dreams DF, a classy and spirited filly by Dragonfire Kirin out of the ISH mare, Highland Empress (Master Imp/Cavalier Royale). This filly showed how much she thought of herself as she modeled quietly and perfectly before showing on the triangle with style and a little flair. She is bred and owned by Dragonfire Farm and earned the second highest score of the day.

Simple Dreams DF, Yearling FEH winner

Dragonfire Produces Top Performers At Rebecca Farm YEH

Five days of exciting competition at The Event at Rebecca Farm (Kalispell, Mont.) kicked off on Wednesday with the USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) test for four-year-olds and five-year-olds. The series is best described as an eventing talent search. The goal is to identify young horses that possess the talent and disposition that, with proper training, can excel in the uppermost levels of eventing. The ultimate aim of the YEH is to identify future four-star horses that will represent the United States in International competitions to come. Dragonfire Farm's goal of breeding top class event prospects is well under way, with Classic Twain DF and Axiom DF already making big impressions in these futurities.

Ten lovely four-year-olds gave the judges a great deal to look at. The horse at the top of the leader board at the end of the day was Axiom DF, ridden by Earl McFall. This stunning 16.3 hand Holsteiner gelding by Ariadus and out of a Trakehner mare, Lucid Opposition, has tons of presence, a ground covering stride, and a powerful jump, all topped off with a great temperament.

Axiom DF and Earl McFall

Twenty three horses were presented in the five-year-old YEH division. In second place was Jennifer McFall and Classic Twain DF, who won the four-year-old YEH West Coast Championship last year, and is now continuing his success in the YEH program as a five-year-old. Classic Twain DF, a full Thoroughbred by The Twain and out of Sapphire Magic, earned a qualifying score for this years' Championship at Galway Downs in Temecula, CA.

Classic Twain DF and Jennifer McFall

"Max" and "Jake" out for a hack in Kalispell

Dein Digs Deep For The Win at Rebecca Farm

Lucid Opposition and Caroline win at Rebecca Farm

One of the most important concepts in competition is to keep competing until the end. It sounds simple, but when you are faced with less than perfect conditions, or an unforeseen adversity, it is not always easy to keep your head in the game. It is especially difficult in our sport of Eventing that spans over three days and three different disciplines, where so many things can go wrong.

Caroline Dein learned this valuable lesson at Rebecca Farm. After a very nice Dressage test, she received a disappointing score that landed her in 17th place. This can easily ruin any body's weekend just as it is beginning, and keep you from doing your best. But she kept her mind focused on the task at hand and continued on with a determined attitude.

The Event at Rebecca Farm is notorious for its difficult cross country courses for all levels, and this year did not stray from that reputation. Caroline and Lucy had one of the fastest clear rounds of the day and they shot up to 5th place once cross country was done.

Caroline and Lucy boldly go cross country

Caroline's focus continued through on Sunday and she produced one of the few clear rounds in what proved to be a very troublesome show jump course. That double clear round was a personal victory for Caroline, as it is something she has long been working towards, but it also catapulted her into the top position of the Young Rider Preliminary division for the win. We couldn't be more proud of her perseverance, performance, and her achievement.

Caroline achieves form and function at Rebecca Farm