The temperatures are starting to fall here in Normandy as the days begin to grow shorter. Now that summer is over and the humans have had their fun, the birds can once again start thinking about their yearly trip down south. Despite the dip in temperatures, however, news about our amazing horses and co. keep arriving hot from all over the world.
As September has ended and we move into the spooky season, we want to again take the time and share some of the highlights that have made this yet another great month for us, giving a little peek into what we’ve all been up to :)
Some of our little château babies (who truthfully are perhaps not so little anymore) are starting to shoulder their way into the ranks of the grownups; four of our older foals took to the stage in Denmark to compete in some exciting competitions and managed to bring home some impressive results!
Rosée de Fontaine
Rosée de Fontaine (Revolution/Desperados - Deevoice) came 5th in the 4yo qualifier for the Danish Young Horse Championships in Aalborg, just narrowly two-upping our beloved Valentina de Fontaine, who managed to grab 7th place. Both foals… sorry, ‘horses’, did great considering it their first big competition and they have surely gained a great deal of new memories, useful experience, and pride from everyone at home.
Ruxbury de Fontaine
Ruxbury de Fontaine (Revolution/Jazz - Grandine) was meanwhile participating in an LA competition, and not letting the slightly lower difficulty get him down, he blasted through the competition to secure a wonderful second place. Ruxbury is far from finished showing us what he’s got, and he seems eager to quickly rise to the same playing field as his peers.
Flamboyante de Fontaine
Flamboyante de Fontaine (Franklin/Vivaldi - Diva), keeping with this winning streak, placed 3rd in the 5 year old finals at the french young horse championships in Saumur with a wonderful score of 82.40.
Estelle de Fontaine
Lastly, our prancing star Estelle de Fontaine (El Capone/Vivaldi - Diva) has only gone and done it! Estelle wooed the crowd, and perhaps more importantly the judges, with her impressive performance at the 5yo qualification for the Danish Young Horse Championships, securing her, and rider young horse world champion Victoria Vallentin, a well-deserved first place.
We couldn’t be any prouder of our amazing, young horses, who are now taking their first steps into the real world and setting forth hand in hoof to brave the exciting professional journeys that lay ahead of them.
In another part of the world, slightly farther south, we have news from our dynamic duo who have been putting up a fantastic fight against some eerie odds. Namely, Wendy and Andreas travelled to Ermelo, Netherlands to participate in their first ever Grand Prix Special. It was a huge stepping stone for our queen Wendy and a step up from anything she’s ever attempted in the past.
But Wendy being Wendy, she rolled up her socks and got down to business as usual, unfazed by anyone else Wendy put on a spectacular performance and took home gold with a jaw-dropping 75.6%!
After the performance at Ermelo’s competition, Andreas flew down to grace us with his presence here in Normandy; it was that time of year when we get all of the foals here at the château in, while the big boss gets his notebook out. A whole day was spent showcasing the foals to Andreas and his team, and many a frown went into trying to pinpoint some future superstars. Some of the lucky ones that have caught Andreas’ eye will eventually get their golden ticket to Helgstrand Dressage, where they will train with the best of the best. All in all, the atmosphere was extremely positive and Andreas left with a satisfied look on his face, which we like to think was because of the foals that he saw and not the irresistible nature of the french cuisine.
On a different note, our Château de Fontaine team continues their competition journey - where the motivation is higher than ever and the results are getting better and better. Andreas, watch out! :)
And lastly, the foaling season is coming to an end, with our last little straggler being Dijon de Fontaine, out of Riva de Fontaine (Revolution/Don Tango) and Dynamic Dream, marking a very fitting end to the season indeed. Because, with Dijon, we can celebrate three generations of strong family bonds here at Château de Fontaine: with grandmother L’actrice, first mum Riva, and little baby Dijon. We can’t help but feel like the stables here at Château de Fontaine are becoming more and more like the big family it should be, and a happy home for everyone!
