Thoughts from Haflinger Haven

February 2012

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 11:20:00 GMT

Well, February started fairly warm this year, and ended brutally cold. Juan continued to drive the horses when he could, and we are looking forward to competing with our pair (Farma and Benetton) this spring and summer.

On a sad note, we lost our old pony Misty on February 27. After many, many years of teaching children to ride and drive, she passed away from complications of extreme old age. We will all miss her happy face. Rest in peace Misty, and we thank you for all the memories. Link to Facebook album of Misty: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.303806549683591.75129.135441763186738&type=1

So, we are looking forward to putting the cold winter behind us and getting on with a fun competition season. We will be updating our calendar as soon as our schedule is firm. Please consider coming out to one of our competitions and cheering on team Haflinger Haven!

Almost Spring

Wed, 04 May 2011 02:21:24 GMT

Spring is late to arrive this year. April was the wettest and coldest on record in Washington State. With all the tornadoes that our Southern states have had though, we can hardly complain. Today, it is still cold, but the sun is out and the grass is coming up green. Although we have gotten a late start, we are looking forward to our competition year. We have four CDE events planned as well as a few smaller, local shows. Check out our "news" page for our updated competition calendar.

We are excited to be putting a driving pair together this spring. We will be pairing Benetton and Farma. We are not sure if we will be ready to compete with a team at the September Driving Trial at Happs, but that is our goal. It has been an interesting process, putting a team together. It isn't quite as laborious as teaching a green horse to drive, but you follow similar steps. We hope to have video and pictures of the process up soon. A big thank you to Robert "Bob" Griswald for his help with this process.

We didn't breed last year, so are not expecting any foals. We do have Bob, Fall and Amos for sale. We are hoping to clear out a little room in the barns so that we can breed for next year.

If you would like to schedule a tour of the farm this spring or summer, please let us know; we would be happy to have you!

Almost Winter

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 09:21:06 GMT

The weather has been so cold and wet and miserable, I can't believe that it isn't even winter yet! The horses are all well though and the barn is fairly warm when all the doors are closed up. Then, we have to worry about resperatory problems if the bad weather lasts too long! Goodness, the worry never ends. So, I try to busy myself with "inside projects" and dream of summer; at least spring would be preferable to this. It looks like a fairly nice week coming up though but, as usual, sunny weather means cold weather. I'm not sure if I want to trade the wet for cold; it's a toss up! We at Haflinger Haven would like to wish all of our friends, around the world, a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Good thoughts to you of warm weather and blue sky!

September Events

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 02:24:43 GMT

Well, the summer has flown by with good weather and some bad. Some, like the rain we epxerienced at the Happ's CDE In June 2010 was horrible. That was industrial stregth mud that seemed to stick to everything and didn't want to come off! We managed a respectable 3rd place in Training Single Pony but it was like trying to dance Swan Lake in a bog.

We have purchased a new Kutzman marathon cart that we expect to be delivered anyday. We are excited to try it out at two events in September, Happ's Driving Trial Twice and the Teddy Bear CDE. You can get more information on both of these events on our "Events" page.

Aleks Markovcic will be joinging our team as navigator or "Gator." This is an essential part of the driving team, just as essential as the driver for it is the navigator who is responsible for keeping the wheels on the ground around the hazards! He will also be responsible for keeping the proper time on the course and making sure they stay on course, don't miss any markers or hazards. It is a tough job but full of adrenalin which, last time I checked, is still a legal drug and one of the most adictive! So, come out to one of our events and cheer our team on!

Tabitha

February 5, 2010

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 06:47:46 GMT

It feels as though we have escaped winter early here in the Pacific Northwest. The flowers are beginning to bloom, the horses are shedding their winter woollies and the days are steadily getting warmer and longer. It is easy to face the spring with optimism and hope for a great new year.

We are excited about getting back out to competitions with our horses this spring, summer and fall. Keep an eye on our calendar as it will be updated with our planned shows. This is a great time for people looking to buy a Haflinger or interested in learning more, to come and meet us at the shows and see the horses performing and (we hope) looking their very best.

We are also excited about attending the 2010 World Show in Austria this year. This is always a fun, festive and educational experience for everyone. We are hoping that the air travel and the weather treats everyone well on their journey.