2005 Dressage at Devon - Breed Show

Liberty Gold Sweeps it All at the 2005 Devon Breed Show

September 29, 2005

The chestnut Hanoverian stallion Liberty Gold has swept it all at the 2005 Dressage at Devon breed show. The 2004 German Hanoverian Licensing Champion and Adelheidsdorf HLP Champion ruled the turf in the Dixon Oval becoming the 2005 Grand Champion of the Devon Breed Show.

The Londonderry x Weltmeyer bred stallion won six classes in total today, sweeping the winner's ribbon in the 4-year old stallion class, the Materiale class, the stallion championship, the mature horse championship, the Cosequin East Coast Final, and the Grand Championship.

Owned by Otto Fuchs of Hilton farm in Virginia, Liberty Gold was professionally presented by a team of Liberty fans. Rider and trainer Erin Sweeney, instructors Carter Bass and Jim Koford, braider Bethany Woods and German handlers Christian Thelker and Hannes Brüning all contributed to Liberty Gold's major success story in Devon. "He showed in six classes and his last round in the Grand Championship was the best," Bass stated.

It was striking to see the connection the stallion made with his two young German handlers. "The German connection really did it," Carter Bass said. "Liberty realised he spoke German, he said 'Wie Gehts' and understood them right away." Brüning and Thelker were invited by Maryanna Haymon to handle her stallion Don Principe and they took on Liberty Gold as well. The two young men, who are in their early twenties, got the cheapest flight possible on Singapore Airlines out of Frankfurt to fly to New York, where they did some sight seeing for two days. Then the duo hopped on the Greyhound to go to Devon. "We couldn't rent a car because we weren't 25 and it's too expensive," Thelker said. "In Germany we are just the boy handlers, but here we look like real professionals," he joked.

Liberty Gold has been in the States for almost one year now. After finishing his Stallion Performance Test in Germany, Liberty Gold has been breeding for three weeks collecting frozen semen before being shipped to the United States in November 2004. "He's been settling in the U.S.A. getting used to the 100° heat. He's turned out in the paddock every day and ridden in the afternoon," Erin Sweeney explained. In May 2005 Sweeney became the High Point Champion at the Morven Park show with him. He also bred to 50 mares in the States of which only one was from Hilton Farm. "We had many customers and we gave a reduction on the stud fee if he was bred to a State Premium Mare or Elite Mare," Sweeney added.

Not only has Liberty Gold been dominating the young stallion scene in Germany in 2004, but the chestnut star has conquered the States this year at Devon as well. The plan for next year is to stand him offering fresh cooled semen and "keep him healthy and happy," Sweeney said. Despite his perfect conformation and outstanding paces, Sweeney lists Liberty Gold's golden character as one of his biggest assets. "He's so sweet, it's ridiculous. When we shipped him to the States, he was in a crate with two other geldings with no head dividers. He just finished breeding but he stood there as if he was the third gelding. In quarantaine he was so quiet that he actually gained weight."

In Devon also, Liberty Gold displayed a perfect temperament. "In the Materiale classes he was making eye contact with the people and didn't pay attention to any of the wild horses jumping round. Nothing sets him off," Sweeney said. "In 1998 I started selling young horses and nothing hurts my feelings more than someone calling me telling that a horse has injured them. Temper is so important because they pass it on. Liberty Gold has such as a great temperament to offer plus he has the gaits. He's flat-footed all the time, solid, confident and secure, but when you ask him for that bit extra, it's there."

by Astrid Appels

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