DONI | 21 YEAR OLD SACHSEN-ANHALT | HOUSTON, TX

Doni is out of Donaumonarch by Sir Shostakovich by Dinett at Renate Mohring in Germany. Donaumonarch was a jumper and Doni started as a jumper but he has arthritic hocks so Dressage became his calling.

Doni is a Chesnut with a blaze and three stockings and is quite a goofball. At 21, he still has the personality of a baby and a twinkle in his eye. He sucks his tongue and he is terrified of the clippers… but under saddle, he is a true gentleman. He lives at Solstice Farm and trains with Marie Morgan.

 “I had been looking for a horse for a few months in the states. I heard that Hans Biss had a horse for sale in Germany who was currently ridden by a blind woman. I am a timid rider so that sounded good and safe to me, but I had ridden so many sale horses that were not as advertised that I was reluctant to buy one sight unseen. So my husband and I went to Germany and stayed with Mr. Biss. Turns out the horse ridden by the blind woman was a terrible match for me, but Mr. Biss had set up some other test rides. One was at a Trakehner auction, which was terrifying and the other was a farm with two horses, a gorgeous dapple gray mare, and Doni. When they brought Doni out I was disappointed. I hated chestnuts, especially flashy ones! I was told he was previously owned by a kid who jumped him but he kept bolting after the jumps so they were selling. I did enjoy riding him even though he was a little spooky but I think that was because he had just recently been brought to the sale farm. I tried the mare as well, but her movement was so huge I couldn’t post the trot! So we came back the next day and I rode Doni again and that was that. He stayed in Germany for a few months to get some dressage training and so that he wouldn’t have to arrive in Texas in the heat of the summer. This was in 2001.”

Flo rode Doni from the time she imported him in 2001 until 2016. They did Dressage. She loves this horse because he is a saint, lazy, safe, and calm but when you ask for something exactly he immediately responds correctly. He is a wonderful teacher and has been half leased several times. He is currently half leased by an AA rider who is getting her confidence back after a serious fall!

Doni loves sugar, carrots, apples, watermelon, and peppermints. He is not picky! He has won the title HDS 2007 First Level Adult Amateur Champion!

Flo shares her favorite memories with Doni, “Once, I was warming up before a show and I heard a crazy noise. A hot air balloon was landing a few yards from the warm up arena. Doni never even batted an eye. Another favorite is a story I was told by my barn owner/trainer. A little girl was going to have a lesson. She got the horse she thought was the lesson horse but it was in fact Doni. She proceeded to brush him, climbing under his belly and between his legs. Doni didn’t move a muscle and let this little girl do all that before the mistake was realized. Truly a saint!”

His owner, Flo, shares, “I took my first riding lesson in 3rd grade and have been riding pretty much ever since. I started riding hunter/jumper. I got my first horse (which was actually two horses because I couldn’t decide and my parents were awesome) in middle school and did schooling and A rated H/J shows as a Junior and then A/A. I had to retire my last hunter right around graduating college and took a break from riding since I was a college grad with a new job. I was an unhappy person! A few years later I got a new job and one of the girls rode so I went to a lesson with her and before I realized what was happening I was a rider again! My favorite thing about owning horses is being at the barn, the smell of hay, the noises the horses make, how excited they get when you walk in the barn hoping you have a treat. And of course the bond you form with your own horse, knowing.”