U.S. Mangalarga Marchador Association (USMMA)

Tag: Summerwind Marchadors

  • Always Keep Learning!

    Alan Villaça CLINIC @Silver Stables,  Phoenix AZ 

    A USMMA event!  Hosted by Silver Stables and Summerwind Marchadors

    Alan returned to Arizona again this year and the USMMA took advantage of his longer stay to sponsor another clinic in January.  Our 2024 clinic was successful with some members saying it was the best clinic ever.   

    High praise and well deserved.  Alan is able to analyze the horse and the rider quickly to help each individual and each situation.   His suggestions and direction helps the riders or horses improve with immediate results.  It also inspires confidence to try new things that may have been avoided before the clinic – more speed, lead changes, flying lead changes, immediate halts, better backups are some examples.    

    For gaiting, Alan had many suggestions for each person and each horse, but overall, he thought most of our horses needed more hindquarter development and consistent disassociation exercises to gait better.  We talked about what we could do to add that.  Alan often rides the horses out on the trail or roads before gait training as a warm-up for the horse and to relax them before schooling.  

    Obstacles were new to some riders and some horses, but a fun time trying to master them all. Our obstacles:  a gate, 3 barrels, a jump, backup box, halt, dismount letting go of the reins with the horse remaining still, then walk off on a loose rein.  The jump was set at an easier level for some and an advanced height for those that knew how to jump.   The competition was based on the ABCCMM test PROVA FUNCIONAL (functional test), similar to Working Equitation. 

    USMMA members came from many states – AZ, CO, IN, NM and TX.  We were delighted to have 2 youth riders participate from the Silver Stables riding program.  We had 11 riders in 2 groups split into morning and afternoon sessions.    Many people rode their own Marchador, but 5 riders rode a Marchador they had never met and did so well.    It was informative, challenging and fun!    

    The Clinic Plan:

    Jan 18

    • Ground work exercises to practice flexibility and disassociation.  Riding the ground work exercises with your horse.  
    • Riding free walk, collected walk, extended walk, relaxed gait, collected gait, extended gait.  May include canter to improve the gait.   
    • A short gait competition with the class and explanation of the judging.

    Jan 19 

    • Questions and practice of any Day 1 exercises. 
    • Individual Obstacle training and practice, in hand and under saddle.   Obstacle course set-up and practice. 
    • Timed rides and practice, followed by a fun competition.

    The Results:

    For our combined scores in gait and obstacles, Alan first placed the horses in order and explained why they were placed in that order starting with the 5th place up to the top – as they do in Brazil.  Everyone got to pick a prize from the prize table.  

    Morning session best:  

    • Stella Quinn / Fidalgo do Summerwind, marcha batida (owned by Emma Keith)

    Afternoon session best: 

    • Jennifer Scanlon / Jedi-Knight do Summerwind,  marcha batida (owned by Elizabeth Sims)
    • D.j. Sims / Boneca da Lusonatica, marcha picada (owned by D.j Sims)

    About Alan:

    Alan Villaça is a riding instructor at the ABCCMM (Associação Brasileira dos Criadores do Cavalo Mangalarga Marchador) and a technician in Animal Science. Born into a family of breeders, Alan continues a tradition spanning generations, having been a Mangalarga Marchador breeder for over 20 years in the South of Minas Gerais region.

    As the owner of the Alan Villaça Equestrian Training Center (CTE Alan Villaça), he dedicates himself to horse training and the development of new talents in the equestrian world. Additionally, he provides specialized consulting for horse farms and teaches various courses, including:

    • • Starting and training,
    • • Gait and morphology,
    • • Halter training, 
    •   Carriage driving,
    • • Hoof trimming and shoeing,
    • • Dressage and equitation,
    • • Competition training.

    With profound knowledge and a passion for the Mangalarga Marchador breed, Alan Villaça is a reference in the field, contributing to technical advancement and the strengthening of equine culture in Brazil.

    Photos by Jennifer Jeung

  • March News – from our members!

    Reported to Aline Greene, newsletter editor

    4 Seasons Marchadores, MT — Lori Silcher and her Marchador stallion Baluarte Piry, submitted a video to become “America’s Favorite Trail Horse”.  The videos were submitted to the ACTHA where fans voted for their favorite.  Lori came in 2nd place, showing off the versatility of the Mangalarga Marchador and gaining many new fans!  Here’s her video:


     

    Mounted Archery in TX. Casablanca do Premier

    Cascade Marchadors, OR — 3 Marchadors, all from Oregon, participated in the Nemethy Brothers Mounted Archery Clinic and USA Championship in New Braunfels, TX  held February 20-26, 2012.  Susan and Holm Neumann participated with their 2 Marchadors, Pele do Premier and Casablanca do Premier.  Ronnie Keithcart and Connor Keithcart participated with Marchwind Cobre.   Susan and Holm hauled 5 horses from Oregon – a 5,000 mile round trip.

    The results:

    • Eric Denzler, only 5 months in the sport won the Quabaq, a Turk aerial competition shooting at a target on top of a 25 foot pole, on Pele.
    •  Alan Minton won the Senior Division on Casablanca.
    •  Marchwind Cobre took Connor Keithcart and Marton of Hungary to wins in the Junior Division,
    • Casablanca also carried Massae from Brazil.  Pele carried Holm Neumann and Lynn Woodward in clinics and competition.

    Flying Oaks' New Sign tells everyone more about the MM breed

    Flying Oaks Ranch, OK — In February, Flying Oaks hired ranch manager Matt Brendal.  Matt’s horse background is in Natural horsemanship and horseshoeing.   He is also a competitive participant in American Competitive Trail Horse Association (ACTHA) events.  Matt says this about the Marchadors: “I had never heard of Marchador horse before my contact with Rick. From my limited experience these horses seem very intelligent, sensitive and gentle. They are wonderful horses to work with and I look to forward to this opportunity to learn more about them.”

     

     

     

    Rancho de los Cielos, CA — An article about the Marchador breed was written and published in Italy! by Alessandra Deerinck,  a new USMMA member purchasing a “de los Cielos” foal (Rio de los Cielos x 1681 Marengo da Tosana).  The article shows how Alessandra applied her methods to some of our horses. Video from those sessions will hopefully soon be available on You-Tube. Read more about Alessandra on her website, www.human2horse.com   We hope to translate the article and publish it soon.

    Alessandra wrote about how easy it is to train and work with Marchadors, how intelligent they are, and how easy it is to form a bond with them based on her experiences working with our Marchadors.

    Alessandra Deerink is a veterinarian trained in Italy whose experiences with horses include 12 years as a jockey racing Thoroughbreds, and greater than a decade in the U.S. re-fitting Thoroughbreds for life outside the race course, endurance riding, and promulgating the training discipline that has become her life work: Liberty riding and training.  

    The essence of Alessandra’s, and her mentor, Carolyn Reznick’s, training is the bond between rider and horse, based on the language of gesture and behavior that horses use among themselves. Alessandra and Carolyn believe one must develop companionship to have a true two-way conversation. Both begin developing a relationship when a horse is unconfined, when the horse can say “no” and go away.

    Alessandra ascribes to theory and methodology originally described by Carolyn Resnick, author of Naked Liberty, and of a series of training videos, beginning with “Introduction to the Waterhole Rituals” that established her methods of creating a bond with horses based on her studies of wild horse behavior.  For over 25 years, Carolyn was a noted clinician, trainer, and Arabian horse breeder from her Sonoma California ranch, Stonehenge Arabians. She still provides clinics and individual teaching in her methods from her present ranch in Escondido, California, and she has played with a   Marchador she calls Marchador, since 2007, a white gelding imported by Susann Gabriel. Read more about Carolyn Resnick at her website at http://dancewithhorses.com

     

    Koyote Libertas – from the photo shoot

    SW Future Foal @ Summerwind, AZ  —  Laurie and Don Klassen from SK, Canada came down for a visit.  Laurie owns Beethoven do Summerwind.   Laurie picked up her 2011 SW Awards prize money and had a great time with Koyote Libertas, before she and Don drove on to Sedona!

    The following weekend was a MM photo shoot with fun photographers Tamara Gooch and Jess Lee and St. Patrick’s Day was our first ever ACTHA ride.  It’s hard to believe that next month we’ll be heading off for Colorado!

  • Frozen Semen = Vigor

    by Lynn Kelley

    We met the precious cargo at Scottsdale Equine Reproductive Center!

    In 2011, we were unbelievably excited to receive the first shipment of frozen semen exported from Brasil.  Ho-hum, you say.  It happens all the time.  NOT!   We had worked for over four years to see this happen.  There were two main issues.

    In Brasil, each breed is regulated by the Ministry of Agriculture.  For this to work, the ABCCMM had to modify its registration regulations, which had previously not allowed the use of frozen semen.  Then the Ministry of Agriculture had to create the rules for exportation for the MM and approve veterinarian clinics for collection and exportation.   To our knowledge, there are only 2 clinics in Brasil that have been approved so far.

    Ximoio de Maripa semen arrived in 2011 from Agro Maripa! He is pure blood Abaiba of very old genetics.

    The second is that there is not much demand for frozen semen in Brasil.  With so many horses and land, often the preferred method of breeding is still live cover.  For us to get Brasilian Marchador semen, the breeder needed to want to do this for us – for the good of the Marchador breed around the world.

    Enter Mr. Marcelo Baptista, owner of Agro Maripa who fulfilled our dream.   Agro Maripa collected and shipped 3 Maripa stallions of excellent quality and impeccable lineage to us in March 2011.

    Talisma Kafe, from Haras Elfar, is a stallion whose semen has been collected and we are working through the importation process for 2012

    Frozen semen (and later frozen embryos) is very important for the future of the Marchador breed here in the U.S.  Imported frozen semen adds many things:

    • Diversity – new bloodlines, new individuals to the North American gene pool.
    • Quality – these stallions are first-rate individuals, champions in their own right and proven producers.  Often not for sale, frozen semen offers a way to bring their blood here.
    • Excitement – it is exciting to be able to have a larger catalogue of beautiful Marchador stallions to choose from.

    Today, there are 13 USMMA registered breeding stallions in North America. We froze La Paz Jivago (100 breeding doses) before gelding him for owner Rox Rogers.

    For us the diversity and quality were the key items.  The excitement is just an added bonus!  We could have an immediate boost in quality in one generation.  For diversity, one could argue that we are okay there for now.  Because we  are fortunate to have many breeding stallions here in the U.S., enough to breed the mares and cross-breed the resulting next generation.  But what about the third, fourth and fifth generation?

    We may not be alive to see those MM foals born, but we are doing this for them.  Continued importation is the key for maintaining and improving the quality of the Mangalarga Marchador breed here.  We plan to import more semen, from different bloodlines and make it available  – a semen bank – either through the SW Future Foal franchise or the M Foundation.

    Connie Claire with La Paz Jivago foal DaVinci do Summerwind. DaVinci was the first MM foal born using frozen semen in the U.S. We are expecting a 2012 foal from Oma de Maripa using his frozen semen!

    We would encourage MM breeders to freeze their stallion’s’ semen here if it’s viable  (before they are gelded or get too old).  Perhaps your great grandchildren would like to have a foal from him someday!

    Frozen semen lasts forever.  It is a great investment in the future of the Mangalarga Marchador breed!

     

     

  • MMs are on THE HORSE SHOW

    by Lynn Kelley

    Television coverage of the Mangalarga Marchador by RFD TV in October and November.   Rick Lamb posts his shows on youtube.com, so if you haven’t seen the show yet, here is the link:
    http://youtu.be/wfNjEjCuIxw     Sit back, kick your boots off and ENJOY!

    www.youtube.com

    In Brazil, Diana investigates plans to bring top Marchador bloodlines to America. For more information about The Horse Show, visit http://www.thehorseshow.com/

  • Video – Interview at Agro Maripa, Brazil

    An interview with John and Lynn Kelley during their 2011 visit to Brazil.   Photos are all Mangalarga Marchadors from Agro Maripa.  John and Lynn imported a mare from their breeding:  Azenha de Maripa.

  • Media Kit — ABCCMM National Show 2011

    by Lynn and John Kelley

    This is  the press kit we developed  for the media traveling to Brazil to attend all or part of the 11 day tour offered by the ABCCMM.   RFD TV and the HORSE SHOW with Rick Lamb attended the event along with 5 USMMA members.

    You may need to click on the link on 2 separate screens to open the pdf file.  News about the MM breed, the planned agenda, the national show and more.

    Brazil Press Kit

  • Birth announcement!

    Bella and baby

    A beautiful new Mangalarga Marchador foal born! Imported mare Bella (Elba Cruzalta) has some special bloodlines and this is her first! The new colt is nicknamed Tigre because of the stripes until the owners choose his real name. Sire is La Paz Jivago. Congratulations to Keith and Alice Mosing, TX.

     

     

  • In memory – Chanel de Miami and Tapixaba do Vale Vermelho

    The USMMA lost 2 great mares this year: Summerwind’s Chanel de Miami 1996-2011 and 4 Seasons’ Tapixaba do Vale Vermelho 1998-2011.. They left us before their time and the only saving consolation is the foals they left behind them.

    Chanel de Miami, USMMA 0000001

    Chanel had 5 foals: Artemis and Enya will stay with Summerwind. The others are Destiny do Summerwind in TX and Caesar do Summerwind in CA. Her first foal Coco de Miami is deceased, born in FL.

    The kind soft eye of the Marchador

    Tapixaba had 4 foals, all pintos! 2 foals Tapi’s-Pinga and Ze Travao are with 4 Seasons. The others are Casablanca do Premier in OR and 4 Seasons Edipo is deceased.

  • The IMPORTERS series – Article 3 – Summerwind Marchadors

    John and Lynn Kelley at Summerwind, CO

    The IMPORTERS is a series of articles about the history of the Marchador breed coming to the U.S. and the breeders who brought them in.  This is the third installment of the series – Summerwind Marchadors.  The bloodlines highlighted in this article are Favacho and J.B.

    If you click on this link below (it will take 2 screens), the full article is available for viewing.  Enjoy!

    the importers.summerwind

  • Last Marchador foal of 2010

    Last Marchador foal of 2010!
    Last Marchador foal of 2010!

    Enya do Summerwind, born December 30, 2010, the coldest day of the year in AZ!  Enya is the daughter of La Paz Jivago and Chanel de Miami.  We couldn’t be happier!