Volume 1.19 | January 2019
BEHIND THE BARN DOOR
Your KWPN-NA E-Newsletter for January 2019
It's Time for the 2019 Stallion Service Auction!
Oh happy day - the 2019 KWPN-NA Stallion Service Auction is now OPEN! We have an awesome line-up of 25 stallions now available for bidding. Don't miss your chance to get a great deal, and remember, proceeds benefit our KWPN-NA member programs! But don't wait - the auction closes on February 13th!
We Want to Hear From You!
We realize it's only February but it's already time to start thinking about the 2019 keuring season, and we want to hear from you! If you are considering participating in a keuring this year, please take a moment to send in a 2019 keuring survey, as this helps us decide where to host keurings based on interest. But don't delay in making your voice heard - surveys are due NOW! Last call!
Have you renewed for 2019?
Don't forget to renew your KWPN-NA membership for 2019, which can easily be done with a few clicks of your mouse through the KWPN-NA Member Portal!
Did You Know Our Members Receive
Free (yes, FREE!) Classifieds?
Got a few extra mouths to feed? We can help get your horses SOLD! As one of our many member benefits,
the KWPN-NA offers FREE CLASSIFIEDS on our website for current members. And remember, all classifieds will be featured in our new monthly e-blast series. Don't miss this FREE marketing opportunity!
The Time of Their Lives!
KWPN-NA members had the time of their lives at our Annual Meeting held at the 2019 KWPN Stallion Show in Holland last week! Thank you to everyone who joined us! If you couldn't be there, catch up with all the excitement and see who won what on the KWPN website.
Congratulations Verdades!
January was a fairy tale month for Laura Graves and her KWPN gelding Verdades! Laura was named as the US Equestrian of the Year, Verdades was crowned as the US Equestrian International Horse of the Year, and the pair kicked off the 2019 competition season with CDI-W Grand Prix & Freestyle victories in Wellington, unveiling an all-new freestyle! Wow!



January's KWPN-NA Member of the Month

Lauren Woodruff
Sedalia, CO
The culmination of a bit of luck, a lot of work and just enough guts to jump into the deep end of the pool: that’s how Lauren Woodruff, our KWPN-NA Member of the Month for January 2019, describes how she started The Hillside Center. In addition to becoming an equestrian mecca in picturesque Sedalia, Colorado, Hillside is now also the home to a blossoming KWPN breeding program, and thanks to Woodruff’s enthusiasm and efforts, in 2018 the farm brought a KWPN-NA keuring back to the area for the first time in decades. Let’s learn more about Lauren:

KWPN-NA: Tell us a little about yourself and The Hillside Center.

Lauren: Before we started Hillside, I was a professional chef and decided it was time to change the pace of our lives. Little did I know how many late nights I would still work when I began this venture! After we purchased the farm it quickly became a beacon in the Denver dressage community, and within five years of ownership I found myself developing a breeding and import sales program as well. I would call myself an accidental breeder; I found some quality mares in The Netherlands with significant bloodlines for the US market (Vivaldi, Don Schufro, Krack C) and imported with the intent to sell. The breeding of those horses was so significant to our community and the research was so alluring to me that I decided to pursue breeding as part of my business. I chose to try an embryo transfer to Totilas on my Don Schufro mare and it was successful! My filly was stunning and I knew as soon as I met her that I had found my place within the equestrian community as a boutique sport horse breeder. This is my third season breeding and we are looking forward to meeting four offspring for 2020. I am incredibly honored and humbled to be on this path of learning with the KWPN breeding community who have welcomed me with open arms.
 
KWPN-NA: How would you describe your role as an equestrian?

Lauren: I will always feel my role as an equestrian is that of a student! I am constantly learning as an FEI-level rider, a barn owner and a breeder. I feel that a deep level of service comes into each of these spaces. My goal no matter what role I’m in is to act as a steward of the highest good for the horses; those of my community, the horses I ride and the foals I raise are all the most important part of me. I am so grateful to have incredible trainers and clinicians at Hillside who support and share this value with me. I could not operate Hillside at the level it is without their guidance! 
KWPN-NA: What are some of your most recent or notable accomplishments, or things you are most proud of?
 
Lauren: I am new to breeding but am very proud of how far I’ve come as a horsewoman. Five years ago I had hopes of a small family boarding business with less than 10 horses, and that grew into a dressage training, breeding and import sales program with over 25 horses on the property and an active training community. Being flexible in my goals has allowed me to grow in ways I could never have dreamed when we initially opened the farm.

KWPN-NA: Tell us about your breeding program, and what is your favorite thing about being a breeder? Also, what is the toughest or least favorite?

Lauren: My breeding program is brand new, but I’m so proud of what I’ve contributed to the community thus far both at the local and KWPN-NA levels. I enjoy bringing my enthusiasm for Dutch bloodlines to Colorado in the form of our current stock and planned foals in the coming seasons. The most difficult part of breeding is the losses; last summer right before our keuring I lost our stunning Totilas filly to inoperable colic. It was devastating and the entire area mourned her. Breeding has tremendous highs but the lows are just as tremendous.
  
KWPN-NA: Who was/is your favorite Dutch horse?

Lauren: As a Dutch horse, I loved UB40 and it was sad to see him pass last year. He has greatly influenced all disciplines, and I see him in my own program through his progeny. My favorite horse is Gribaldi for his incredible influence upon the KWPN with Totilas, Painted Black and all of their progeny. You can always pick out the Gribaldi blood from the way the shoulder moves. 
KWPN-NA: Last year was the first time in a long time that a KWPN keuring was held in Colorado. Why did you want to do it?

Lauren: When I began breeding, I knew I had stepped into my future in a big way – I was so passionate about it and shared that with the Colorado community. Many other breeds are inspected annually here in Colorado and I was surprised to see that the KWPN had not been hosted in 25 years. As a true newcomer, I had no idea what I had signed up for but the KWPN breeding community was so incredibly supportive that I felt the event was possible. We ended up having a wonderful time with great attendance and I receive inquiries about the next keuring regularly!
 
KWPN-NA: What else would you like our readers to know?

Lauren: My husband is a physicist for Los Alamos National Laboratory and travels out of state weekly for his job. I run the barn, the business, breeding, riding and being a mother on my own! When our Grand Galaxy Win x Don Schufro colt was born I had my daughter alone so she attended the birth with me. It was amazing to watch a 3-year-old place her hands on the colt, just having emerged, and introduce him to the vet as “my baby brother, Carla!” She still believes he is her full brother. I’m very proud to be a part of the KWPN community and am grateful for the experiences breeding has brought us. 
Thank You to our Sponsors:
KWPN-NA | 859.225.5331 | drew@kwpn-na.org | www.kwpn-na.org