Louisville Kentucky Equine Photographer | Zoe the Dutch Warmblood
Ululate, Zoe, is a Dutch Warmblood Mare. Her sire, Zeoliet, has 130 offspring competing internationally in show jumping and 145 in dressage. In 1995 Zeoliet was in 12th place on the World Breeding Ranking for Showjumping sires. Zoe’s dam, Wendelmoed (1980) is a proven mare, having been awarded the ster and preferent predicates from the KWPN, studbook of the Royal Dutch Sport Horse. She was bred by Jay and Martha Riekenberg of Leander, TX
Zoe & Susan, her owner, train with Lauren Baggett. Susan shares that Zoe is a very optimistic mare, that is not “mare-ish” like most mares. If Zoe were to tell you her philosophy in life she would probably echo Roy Rogers: “A stranger is just a friend I haven’t met.”
The pair does eventing. Zoe has lovely gaits, and the judges are always raving about them when they show. In stadium jumping Zoe is quite cat-like and can find her way out of any tight spot that Susan may get her into. Their favorite part is Cross Country because they both love galloping and jumping!
“My friend Joan first bought Zoe in 2005 and I was awe-struck. Joan is like a member of the family and when she found herself too busy to devote time to Zoe she sent her up to my sister’s farm in Iowa. In January of 2014 I spoke with Joan. We both agreed Zoe was wasted as a pasture ornament and needed a job. Joan said I could have her and I was over the moon! Zoe loves her new job and especially likes having her own human again. Her heart is too big not to have a person in it.”
This lovely mare loves apples.
“Once a year representatives from the KPWN in the Netherlands come to America to inspect Dutch Warmbloods in a process called kuring. The year Zoe was inspected she was the top mare at her regional inspection and tied for 6th place nationwide in the jumping phase. They set up a jumping lane for the horses to free jump. Instead of exiting the lane Zoe turned around and jumped the line backwards. She kept going back and forth over the jumps much to the amusement of the judges and crowd.” I bet this was quite a sight to see!
Zoe shares, “I started living on horses when I was six. My mother has been a life-long horsewoman and in 1965 we moved near a stable where she took a job as an instructor. I became a barn rat, cleaning tack, sweeping aisles, etc. Later we moved to the midwest and built a barn so we could keep the horses at our own place. I competed on the circuit until I was 18 when I went off to college. Almost 25 years later I visited a stable near my home. One whiff of that horsey smell and I was hooked again! My favorite thing about owning horses is the bond you forge.” It’s safe to say that Susan’s life is horses!
Susan said to never use soap on your horse. (Other than occasionally washing her tail and socks.) After she rides she will hose her down (using a high pressure setting on the hose nozzle) and scrape her two or three times. Zoe is incredibly shiny because she never has the natural oils washed off. However, this would never work for a light colored horse.
Susan shares, “Zoe truly is the sweetest horse I ever met. During the training process we sometimes get into disagreements, but she never holds a grudge–she is so forgiving! She loves praise and you can feel her swell with pride when she’s told she is doing well. She is a big girl (around 16.2) and she can be quite a handful sometimes, but when my 89 year old mother gets on her she knows to set all that aside and behaves like an angel. My mother is still an excellent rider and I think Zoe appreciates her clarity and tact.”
Susan leaves us with, “Every day brings a new memory. Zoe has always loved jumping, but I had never seen her happier than when I took her to school cross country. You could just see her thinking, “This! This is what I was born for!” We’d ridden out on trails and in the pasture, but getting to gallop out in the open AND jump? If a horse could grin she would definitely be grinning! Recently we went to Pine Hill and competed at the novice level for the first time. The course was more challenging and the minimum speed was faster. Galloping across the open fields and through the woods was so fun and so exciting. Zoe just wanted to go, go, go! I daydream about that quite often and can’t wait to go do it again!”
Karinda K Equine Photography is a Louisville Kentucky equine photographer located in Montgomery, TX. Karinda creates timeless portraits of you with your beloved horses, and other farm animals. Serving locally Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin, Texas communities. KEP also serves Wellington and Ocala, Florida, Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky, Aiken, South Carolina, Tryon, North Carolina, and Norco and Woodside, California and their surrounding communities.
