My Early Days with Friesians, p5
Friesians Gain Popularity
One day while taking a nap in a stall, I was awakened by a man standing over me. His name was Bill Turnquist. He wanted us to attend his show at the Los Angeles County Fair in Pomona. We did, and as years went by, the LA County Fair became synonymous with Friesian horses.
From that first show onward, Frank and I hauled those horses from coast to coast. We got the correct carriages and the correct pants and became unbeatable at carriage shows. I thought it was unfair — how could anyone compete with those striking black horses? And most of the people competing had learned to drive only as a hobby.
We had a wonderful time. We competed in all kinds of competitions, including formal coaching classes and the then-new rage, combined driving events (CDE). We even won something they called the North American Driving Championships, a competition held back on the east coast.
Time went by and other people started getting Friesians, too. After a few hundred were in the country, Frank and I sat down at his kitchen table and I wrote a hand-written letter to the Friesian Registry in the Netherlands, asking if someone could come over and inspect the off-spring. They did, and that began the annual arrival of the men in derbies, the FPS judges. Of course, things sky-rocketed from there.
After many good years with Frank, I moved on to work at the Willows Ranch in Oregon for Judi Knapp, where, along with her horses, I found many good things.
It has been my unique experience to have knowledgeable horsemen say to me years ago, "What is that?!" And to have others coming up to me years later, to tentatively ask, "Is that a Friesian?"; and finally now, to hear, "Hey, there's a Friesian!"
One day while taking a nap in a stall, I was awakened by a man standing over me. His name was Bill Turnquist. He wanted us to attend his show at the Los Angeles County Fair in Pomona. We did, and as years went by, the LA County Fair became synonymous with Friesian horses.
From that first show onward, Frank and I hauled those horses from coast to coast. We got the correct carriages and the correct pants and became unbeatable at carriage shows. I thought it was unfair — how could anyone compete with those striking black horses? And most of the people competing had learned to drive only as a hobby.
We had a wonderful time. We competed in all kinds of competitions, including formal coaching classes and the then-new rage, combined driving events (CDE). We even won something they called the North American Driving Championships, a competition held back on the east coast.
Time went by and other people started getting Friesians, too. After a few hundred were in the country, Frank and I sat down at his kitchen table and I wrote a hand-written letter to the Friesian Registry in the Netherlands, asking if someone could come over and inspect the off-spring. They did, and that began the annual arrival of the men in derbies, the FPS judges. Of course, things sky-rocketed from there.
After many good years with Frank, I moved on to work at the Willows Ranch in Oregon for Judi Knapp, where, along with her horses, I found many good things.
It has been my unique experience to have knowledgeable horsemen say to me years ago, "What is that?!" And to have others coming up to me years later, to tentatively ask, "Is that a Friesian?"; and finally now, to hear, "Hey, there's a Friesian!"
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