Report from the Road – Wim Cazemier Equine Center (Indiana)

9/1-2/2023
Spencerville, IN  USA
Host: Wim Cazemier
KWPN Jury members: Viggon van Beest & Bauke de Boer
Editors:  Viggon van Beest, KWPN-NA office, Tracy Geller-Stearns 

The second KWPN-NA harness keuring of 2023 was organized at the Wim Cazemier Equine Center in Spencerville, Indiana. This was the inaugural inspection for this site. The well-organized, hospitable, and pleasant two-day inspection was held under sunny and warm conditions in a beautiful location where the interest was great.  Be sure to check out the photos from the day at the end of this report.

The quantity was good as was the quality,  with several very high-quality horses!

Host Wim Cazemier, Penelope C, Jason Schmucker, Scot Tolman, Bauke de Boer & Viggon van Beest

FOALS/ WEANLINGS – Harness

A total of nine foals competed for the championship title. Three Foalbook and Register A and six Reg. B foals were judged in two separate classes, resulting in two foal championships. The average quality was good to very good but the winners were truly stand outs in comparison.  All foals could have easily been rewarded with a first premium.-  Congratulations!

Two foals were selected for the Foalbook/Register A final. Tana BHF (Atleet keur x Lillian ster by Vaandrager, OWNER: Glen Yoder, BREEDER: Lavon R. Yoder) This lovely filly became the Champion.  Thimo (Atleet Keur x Dorenda ster by Plain’s Liberator, BREEDER/OWNER: Dutch Central Stables) was named as the Reserve champion. 

Tana BHF

Tana BHF is a well-developed filly, has good type and rectangular model, and has a lot of refinement. She has a beautiful neck, is long-legged and has a solid foundation. In movement, she makes herself stately, uses her neck well and has a very good use of the foreleg. Her hind leg use, and posture are also above average.

Tana BHF

Thimo is a very well-developed colt, he has a good harness type and has a lot of masculine expression. In the trot, he shows a nice front and good posture, but he had to give way to the winner, especially in the use of the foreleg. Incidentally, this foal also had a strikingly good walk. 

Thimo

Five Reg. B foals were invited for the final of their class. The colt T Jay C (Melody Acres My-Quest x Jay Rose keur IBOP (tp) by Plain’s Liberator, BREEDER/OWNER: Wim Cazemier) once again left a crushing impression.

T Jay C really needs no introduction; his conformation is very appealing and even with a magnifying glass, there would be no negative points to this colt. He simply approaches the ideal picture of a harness horse. In movement, you literally become even more quiet, and you only sit back, watch, and enjoy. He is so complete and really radiates that he has his eye on the prize! 

T Jay C

Second in the Register B class was the very attractive weanling colt Tippin’ Point (Jeffro ster x Navannah by Graaf Kelly, BREEDER: Enos E.R. Schwartz., OWNER: Navannah Partnership)

Tippin’ Point is sufficiently developed and has a very good harness type; a lot of refinement and appearance and a beautiful head. He has a lot of quality in the foundation but could be a little more muscular in the topline. In the trot, he impressed a lot with his good front, his great use of the foreleg and his strong hind leg. He also has good posture, balance, and technique.

Tippin’ Point

Tobias C (Nel-Mar Hummer x JO Roxanne RMA elite IBOP (tp) by Colonist, BREEDER/OWNER: Wim Cazemier) came third and this colt also appealed very much. He is very well developed and has a very good rectangular model. His long neck is well formed, and he has good connections, very good withers and a hard and correct foundation. His croup could be a bit more modern. In the trot, he showed a lot of front, good posture and good suspension. The use of the hind leg is more than sufficient, but he could show a little more action in the foreleg.

YEARLINGS – HARNESS: 

The well-developed yearling mare Skye Rose C,  (Melody Acres My-Quest x Jay Rose keur IBOP (tp) by Plain’s Liberator, BREEDER/OWNER: Wim Cazemier)  the full sister of T Jay C, also left a very good impression with her beautiful conformation, which is characterized by a lot of refinement and charisma, good connections, a very appealing front, and a remarkably well-developed withers. She has a lot of youth, and she was also convincing in movement. She presented herself beautifully and with a lot of balance. Her movement and posture are also good and in addition to action, she also has a very nice movement sequence in the use of her front leg.

Skye Rose C

TWO-YEAR-OLDS -HARNESS:

The two-year-old Rosie Jay C PROK (Nel-Mar Hummer x Jay Rose keur IBOP (tp) by Plain’s Liberator, BREEDER/OWNER: Wim Cazemier) is a half-sister of T Jay C, and was another appealing mare. Very well developed, a very good harness type, an impressive withers and shoulder, strong connections, a neck that stands well on her front and sturdiness, are some of her characteristics. Her croup could be a bit more modern. She also convinces in the trot by her free and happy way of moving in which she shows a lot of power, action and front, which she does in a very easy way with a lot of rhythm and balance.

Rosie Jay C

THREE-YEAR-OLD AND OLDER MARES – HARNESS: 

One foal book, two Reg. A ,3–7-year-old mares and an 8-year-old Register B mare were inspected. 

Most notable among the three-year-olds, who were all declared Ster, was the Reg. A mare Penelope PROK (Jaleet IBOP (tp) PROK x JO Roxanne RMA elite IBOP by Colonist, BREEDER: Lester A. Graber, OWNER: Scot Tolman) This very complete mare has a good harness type and a lot of charisma and hardiness. She has a good rectangular model, good connections with a striking wither and a well-placed neck. In her free and happy trot, she makes herself very dignified and puts her neck on very well, whereby she also comes back remarkably well in the front. She moves strongly from behind and well through her body. Partly due to her strong use of the hind leg, she can really climb upwards and shows a lot of power, strength, rhythm, and balance. 

Penelope PROK

Second-placed was the three-year-old foal book mare Princess Grace (Hermanus x Iota IBOP (tp) by Silver Oaks Cartier, BREEDER/ OWNER: Martin M. Schmucker) Princess Grace was also an appealing mare, especially in movement. She has a good type, has a good neck, but could have a little more youthful enthusiasm and be a little more muscular. In the trot she has a good front, a good moment of suspension and good use of her front leg. Her slightly bent hind leg is well used in movement and more than sufficiently brought under. 

The third placed Posieni (Intign ster IBOP (tp) PROK x I M-A Daisy by Wouter 2e-Bez, BREEDER/CO-OWNER: Amos R.S. Schwartz, CO-OWNER: Wim Cazemier) characterized herself by having more than sufficient harness type, a lot of refinement and charisma, a good neck and a remarkably light head-neck connection. In the trot she showed a lot of allure and a lot of front with good leg action. A little more power all over would benefit her.

Eight-year-old Reg. B mare Kemma (Nel-Mar Hummer x Hikemma by Manno, BREEDER: Slabaugh Equine OWNER: Dutch Central Stables from Grabill, was the most notable among the four-year-old and older mares. As such, she was moved to Register A and deemed Ster Quality. She is an impressive harness type mare with an enormous front and solid legs. Her topline could be a little stronger. Her enormous front was also her strongest point in the trot, where she also showed good front leg action. She should have a little more power and suppleness in her hindquarters.

The five-year-old foal book mare Navannah (Graaf Kelly x Havanna ster by Delviro HBC, BREEDER: Daniel OWNER:  Navannah Partnership) was declared Ster. She is more than sufficient in harness horse type, has very strong connections, correct legs and has a lot of allure. She could be a little more expressive and more refined in her front. In movement she shows a lot of front and a lot of impulsion and action. She could move her front leg further away, whereby the moment of suspension could be a bit more generous, but she does have good technique. 

Five-year-old Reg. B mare Nashville (Exalted Effect x Janextra by Jonker, OWNER/BREEDER: Justin Bontrager) was also able to move up to Register A and was deemed studbook quality.

Driving Classes-  IBOP, Young Drivers & Fine Harness classes:
Thank you to our cup class sponsors, Dutch Harness Show Association!

IBOP- HARNESS:

Since April, the IBOP in the Netherlands has been held in accordance with a new pilot test and this pilot has also been adopted in America. On the first inspection day, four mares were registered for the IBOP, which unfortunately could not pass. No more IBOPs were driven on the second inspection day.

STER & KEUR MARES:

Seven Ster, Keur and Elite mares of average to good quality appeared in the ring for this class, where a mother and her daughter were evenly matched. It was the six-year-old mare Mijona keur IBOP (tp) (Hermanus x Dijona ster by Patijn pref, BREEDER/ OWNER: Martin Smucker & John Graber) who claimed the win. This very expressive harness type mare came to the ring with a lot of front, switching power and a lot of action in the legs.
Her mother, the Ster mare Dijona (Patijn pref x Jidono keur pref by Renovo pref, BREEDER: K. van Til from Oostwold, NL, OWNER: Enos E.R. Schwartz)  At the age of 15, she certainly stood her ground and showed a lot of front, use of the front leg and good technique.

OVERALL CHAMPIONSHIP:

At the Overall Championship for Reg. B mares, the beautiful half-sisters Sky Rose C and Rosie Jay C participated. The differences were very small and, in the end, the youngest, the yearling Sky Rose C, came out on top because she has a little more refinement.

The second General Championship was an easy victory for the very strong performing brand new three-year-old Ster mare Penelope C. Mother Dijona and daughter Mijona also showed themselves well again, but Penelope could not miss the victory.

STALLIONS for LICENSING:

Two stallions were offered for licensing this year, but after the linear scoring on hard surface and the assessment of the movement in hand, both stallions could unfortunately not be invited for the second round, namely the IBOP.

FINE HARNESS CLASS – MARES:

For several years now, points for the Sport predicate have been awarded in the fine harness classes, just like in the IBOP, which provides an extra incentive for participation. Fine Harness Cups for mares and stallions were held on both inspection days and just like on the first inspection in Honey Brook, these classes generated enormous enthusiasm and encouragement. Appealing horses took part in each section and various horses were able to add points in the hunt for their Sport predicate.

Dijona ster

Seven mares were entered on the first day, so this class was ridden in two groups. The first two places were allowed to participate in the grand finale the next day and the others in the small final. The victory in the first group, which consisted of four mares, went to the very convincing, action-packed, eager and unstoppable Mijona who beat the nine-year-old mare JO Roxanne RMA elite IBOP (Colonist x Fabulous A.G. Starlight by Wouter 2e-Bez,  BREEDER: David S. Zehr  OWNER: Wim Cazemier and Lester Graber).

In the second group, three mares entered the arena, and the victory went to Dijona, who went around the track with a lot of front and action in her technically very good trot. The seven-year-old Ster mare Lillian ster (Vaandrager HBC x Gentana keur IBOP (tp) by Cizandro, BREEDER: John Beachy  OWNER: Glen Yoder) was placed second. 

Lillian Ster

The next day, in the small final, it was thirteen-year-old Reg. A mare Fleur (Zimon VSH x Nikita J keur by Renovo pref, BREEDER: Clarke and Karen Vesty  OWNER: Martin Schmucker) who was presented expertly and claimed the win with great conviction, especially in her forehand. 

Fleur

In the grand final, mother Dijona and her daughter Mijona met again, and this became a real battle. Once again, the very expressive and action-packed Mijona couldn’t be stopped, and she was selected for first place. 

Mijona Keur Ibop Harness

Her mother Dijona was a very good match and went to the extreme, but in the end had to settle for second place. Lillian and Jo Roxanne R.M.A. placed honorably third and fourth.

FINE HARNESS CLASS – STALLIONS:

The Fine Harness Cup for stallions on the first day, in which three horses participated, was a great battle with the final result after the first round looking completely undecided. All three stallions were asked to drive over again and eventually the nine-year-old Licensed stallion Jaleet IBOP (tp) PROK (Atleet keur x Dorenda ster by Plain’s Liberator, BREEDER: Wim Cazemier,  OWNER: Shooting Star Farm ) was the first-place winner. Jaleet has a beautiful frame with action-packed movement and showed more and more looseness. The second place was for contemporary and beautiful ster stallion Jeffro (Barno x Cealarda W by Ganges, BREEDER: Breeder Daniel J. Miller,  OWNER: New Horizon Equine Center) and third place went to the four-year-old Reg. B stallion O Empire LDM (Dondersteen W x Hallucinate by Whiskei aang, BREEDER: Leroy D. Miller, Clear Creek Stables OWNER: New Horizon Equine Center LLC).

Jaleet KWPN-NA licensed stallion

On the second day, the same trio took part again and Jaleet was able to convincingly maintain his victory from the day before and O Empire LDM and Jeffro switched places as the latter now had more trouble with his balance.

First Premiums:

**These remarks are for a snapshot in the lifetime of a horse. Not all first premium or ster horses are mentioned in “The Report from the Road”; only those horses that really stand out to the jury.**