Klosterhof Medingen

A visit to Klosterhof Medingen is always a special treat. To see the Wahler family horses at their home stable, interacting with their handlers is a delight. And, as always, they present the king of Klosterhof Medingen, Caprimond, to his adoring fans. He knows he's a star and is very good at posing for the cameras. This year, at age 28, he's finally starting to show his age and is buckling over a little on the knees. Though his handler, Peggy, says he is her favorite horse on the farm, states that he is still okay for the grandchildren to ride a little. Truly a grand old gentleman.
In adddition to seeing the stallions presented for our inspection, we were lucky enough to have a chance to watch Theresa Wahler schooling the Trakehner stallion Herbskoenig under the watchful eye of the master of Klosterhof Medingen, her father, Burkhard Wahler. Theresa warmed up the beautiful, typey young stallion and then schooled him in the beginning of passage. Mr. Wahler, mounted on his riding horse, watched from the middle of the arena and spoke to us briefly about his stallions and his theories on breeding. Of course, everyone at KM is exceedingly proud of the status of senior sire De Niro as the number one sire of dressage horses in the world, according to the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH). Last season he bred over 800 mares in Germany, which was 300 more than the year before, and which was 300 more than the year before that. Yet, you can scarcely find one for sale in Europe, so coveted are they as performance horses and breeding stock. Mr. Wahler elaborated as he watched Theresa. To paraphrase, he said it's hard enough to raise a superior horse when you start with two superior animanls, let alone when you begin with less than brilliant animals. But, he went on, even when you have two excellent animals, the result is sometimes not as good as you hoped for. Even though all breeders know this, it was good to hear it coming from one of the world's premier breeders. After all, how many people ever own a stallion that leads the world's WBFSH standings?