Bed-Down Baby Mamas
About
Meet the two mares at the heart of my breeding programme: Donaukaiserin (Dona) and Golden Girl (Ella).
Two very different mares, but both proven in their own right and, most importantly, both mares I believe have something genuinely valuable to pass on.
I'm looking to breed for athletic, intelligent and rideable dressage horses, with good movement, soundness, trainability and the temperament to succeed in sport.
The stallions weren't chosen simply because they are fashionable or successful. I looked at the individual mares, what they already bring to the table and what we wanted to improve or complement.
I'll be sharing the process, including how I chose the baby daddies, the reasoning behind each cross and the journey from pregnancy to foal, and beyond.
Dona
Dona is a St.Pr. and Pr.St. Trakehner mare by Axis TSF, out of the Elite mare Donaufreude III. A substantial mare with plenty of presence and even more personality, she has already proved herself as a producer. Her offspring include Donauperle PUR, who has competed successfully through L-level dressage in Germany, and Dark Diamond, both by Herakles TSF, as well as Bluewood Donaustern (Star) and Bluewood Donaukrieger (Dave). Dona's own State Premium and Verband Premium status, combined with the quality and performance of her offspring, give us plenty of confidence in her as a broodmare. Closer to home, her offspring Star and Dave are both now successfully progressing through British Dressage with Star now ready to begin Advanced Medium.
For 2027, Dona is carrying a foal by Sezuan's Donnerhall, a cross chosen to build on her proven production while adding the qualities we want in a modern dressage horse.
Ella
Ella is a 15.2hh registered Trakehner mare who knows rather more about dressage than most broodmares.
She competed successfully through Advanced Medium, accumulating more than 270 British Dressage points before retiring from competition. Even more remarkably, Ella achieved this after losing an eye to uveitis.
Losing an eye didn't stop her. She adapted, continued competing and performed at a level many fully sighted horses would be proud of.
Ella is also, quite frankly, a character. Intelligent, confident and entirely convinced that she knows best, she brings plenty of personality alongside her impressive performance record.
For 2027 she is carrying a foal by Fidertanz, chosen to complement her qualities and produce the type of modern, athletic and rideable dressage horse we are aiming for.
Follow the journey
From choosing the stallions to scans, foaling and watching the youngsters develop, I'll be documenting the Bed-Down Baby Mamas journey across my social channels. Links Below
And a huge thank you to Bed-Down Bedding for supporting the project.