Cheese bread! Cachaca (sp)! Old friends! New friends! Marchador horses! It was a trip to heaven – I mean Brazil! It was the best of all worlds – I got to attend the National Show AND go out to visit farms! Perfect!
Photos below! If you click on the photo, it will show full-size and then you will need to hit the BACK button to return to the gallery and post.
We visited two farms in Brazil, a favorite of mine, Agro Maripa and a new one for me, but by no means new, Morada Nova. Exquisite horses and fantastic Brazilian hospitality. I am always happy to be in Brazil.
At the National Show, the event provided a good mix of entertainment and business. We met old friends, and some new ones there. It feels like home to me. I went down with Rick Schatz, the Marchador breeder from Flying Oaks Ranch. We did some business there on the Brazilian Saddle Horse project. We did some shopping. We admired the horses in the show and at the farm booths. We did some ABCCMM registration work on U.S. Marchadors for several breeders.
Of great interest was the ABCCMM/APEX collaboration on the project Brazilian Saddle Horse. APEX strives to promote Brazilian products around the world and has many offices here in the U.S. They have already worked with the ABCCMM promoting the Marchador breed in Europe and also at the Carnaval in Rio 2013. Their next events may be in the US in an affiliation with the PBR, Professional Bull Riding. We will have to wait and see. Also in the works is the Marchador at other big horse and non-horse events like the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.
To read more about Brazil and the national show, you can keep reading!
On the streets behind the arena, horses are warming up, being groomed or being presented to admiring crowds! This may be a favorite mare of mine Zinhaga de Maripa being ridden by Sergio, the trainer.
Young stallion in training at Agro Maripa training and sales facility in Minas Gerais. Had we more time, we would have also gone to the fazenda in Jaguaruina, SP.
One of Ximoio de Maripa’s first sons, a young stallion about to start his saddle training. Perhaps a Hawke do Summerwind will look like this someday.
Brazilian champion stallion Teorema da Morada Nova coming out to entertain and wow the European and American crowd. And he was stunning! After winning the national champion, it’s his first or second breeding season. We can watch for his foals!
The future of Morada Nova, the foals born last winter.
The Marchador sculpture greets you as you enter Morada Nova. We enjoyed the fazenda with its Brazilian style and art collectibles. The grounds were lovely and the horses came in from the fields to be presented to us.
Good friends Kate Barcelos, ABCCMM and Rick Schatz, OK at the 2013 Nationals.
Presentation of horses for conformation class. There are 5 independent judges in each class. Like the Olympics, they throw away the high and the low score and then add the 3 to determine the winner. If it is unanimous, that is one really special horse!
Marcelo loves his horses – “too much”! This is Herdeiro de Maripa I think. Zinhaga x Buri de Maripa.
In front of the Agro Maripa sign with Claudia Godoi, ABCCMM. Claudia showed us all around when we first arrived and took good care of all of the ABCCMM guests.
Agro Maripa – the Marchador mule breeding farm. They use the gaited mules for work on the ranches. This is an old farmhouse he has restored. I have seen the project from start to finish during trips to Brazil. It looks fabulous now, inside and out!
The poster for the 2013 Nationals!
The M Brand Award and a banner for the horse are given to the champions of every class. There are champions in every age bracket by sex and by gait – marcha batida and marcha picada.
CHIO 2012 – Marchador/Brazil Opening Ceremony An international competition week in Aachen Germany. The EAMM Sela de Ouro was also held there this week. During CHIO: 360,000 visitors during the week, 50,000 visitors in the jumping arena where the opening ceremony took place, 82 Million TV viewers from all over the world
Dr. Ann, Dr Laura collecting data from Epico Capim Fino, who became the Champion of Champions at this year’s show
Dr. Ann Staiger of Cornell University is researching gaited horse breeds to find the “gait gene”. Her studies also include lots of measurements of the angles and body parts of the horse to determine the role of conformation and gait.
Ann recently traveled to Brasil during the 2012 MM National Show at the invitation of the ABCCMM and collected several hundred 100 samples there from champion Marchadors. To date, this is the best and largest cooperation from a gaited breed association that she has received.
We are all looking forward to her final paper and maybe a video presentation!!!
Ann pulling hair for the DNA during a championship class
Attached is a copy of an article that appeared in the ABCCMM magazine. It is in Portuguese and English. Enjoy.
The study includes all gaited breeds and participation is welcome. For more information about the study or about Ann, please visit the Brooks Equine Genetics @ Cornell website by following this link http://ansci.cornell.edu/brooks/study_intro.html
There are many reasons to visit Brazil! But the best reason is for their horses! Did you know that Brazil is #4 in numbers of horses? (The U.S. is #1) I go for the Mangalarga Marchador – the National Horse of Brazil.
And to have fun! Brazil’s people have a great sense of humor and warmth. And passion, especially about their soccer and their horses! They are very serious breeders with some families having many generations in horses. Some of the original bloodlines and farms are still working – after two centuries!
Ever been? Take a look. The song is about Minas Gerais (General Mines), the mountainous state in the south of Brazil where the photos were taken.
In July, I traveled alone, and in July there is only one choice for me – the National Mangalarga Marchador Exposition in Belo Horizonte, MG. Why? Because everyone is there!
The ABCCMM (Brazilian Marchador Breeders Association) holds the MM National Show every year in July for 11 days. To participate in these championships 1.500 Marchador horses and their riders from all over Brazil travel to Belo Horizonte. All of the horses have to qualify to come by winning in several regional competitions. At the National Show, you can see the top Mangalarga Marchadors of Brazil in one place, at one time. It is like a candy store for the eyes.
The Marcha competition in front of the Judge’s Lounge (Arbitros)
In Brazil, the land of endless spaces and great distances, special emphasis is placed on the Marchadors’ natural gait, for which they were named, called the MARCHA. There are 2 championships given in each age and sex category – Champion of the Marcha and Overall Champion. For the overall Champion, there are three parts and the scores are combined to determine the winner:
Conformation
Marcha
Functional Test
All three parts can be going on at the same time for the big ring. The Marcha tests are carried out on the outside – an oval track, very similar to a race track with the horses moving at a good speed. There are separate classes for Marcha Picada and Marcha Batida. The horses move at a constant pace for 40 to 60 minutes. The breed is known for endurance and the gait is tested to ensure it holds up over long distances.
The judging is SO different.
One of the 5 judges of the Marcha competition and the independent auditor.
Overall, there are about 30 judges present for the entire eleven days, and they are long days, from early morning until after midnight! There are five judges evaluating the marcha competition . Each judge is accompanied by an independent person, from an auditing company. That person is the one who marks the notes and the scores from the judge he is with. While the class in going on, the judges cannot talk to each other, only to the auditor.
Each judge rides every horse in the class! The Brazilians love to have other people, even strangers test drive their prize horses. However, in this case, the judge is checking the temperament of the Marchador as well as the gait. The gait is judged on many aspects, not just the smoothness. These are:
Gesture – the front leg lifts and forms a C
Comfort
Style
Length of stride
Regularity
The Functional Test includes obstacles like jumps and barrels and requires walk, gait, canter, backing and lateral work.
The functional test part of the class was added four years ago by the ABCCMM to test the temperament, the versatility and the overall training of the horse and rider. The fuctional test is similar to Working Equitation or a Trail Class, with obstacles like a gate, poles, barrels and jumps, performed in a pattern in specific gaits for each obstacle.
This year, I got to stand with the judge during the Functional Test to learn more about the judging and point system. What a thrill! We run this Functional Test in a simplified version here in the U.S. with our Marchador horses.
After every class champion is named, there are final classes to name the CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS. All of the different age champions compete against each other (male and female are in different groups). The Champion of Champions this year was from a breeder I know, so I was as proud as he was when the name was called.
Oma de Maripa in front of the Agro Maripa booth with me and Marcelo Baptista, owner and breeder.
There is the general festive atmosphere and much to do at the National Show. At night, there are bands playing and serious horse auctions. Sometimes the Marchador is for sale (100% or 50%), but also breedings and embryos go for high prices. During the day, in other arenas, there are sporting events like pole bending, team penning and barrels. The big breeders have booths where they display their awards and their horses. The vendors are selling food, drink, saddles and more! If you see a Marchador you like, chances, are you can ask to take it for a test drive!
It was a whirlwind trip, but the ABCCMM makes it a memorable one every time. I would love to share it with you, for real.
Do you need a reason to go – here are my top 5! Mark your calendars!
November 2012 – Marchador Fest! Marchador Museum Grand Opening!
February 2013 – Carnaval in Rio! Featuring the Mangalarga Marchador!
July 2013 – National Mangalarga Marchador Exposition!
2014 – Soccer World Cup!
2016 – Summer Olympics!
The Marchador is the feature for Carnaval in 2013!
Below is the letter John sent to the USMMA Board with his resignation. Susann Gabriel is now the new USMMA President.
Susann,
I wanted to give you a heads up on the announcement that I plan to send to Aline for the next newsletter. I suggest you or someone from the Board provide additional information on this policy change so the membership will get a perspective on the change.
There has been a change in the USMMA Organization. I have resigned as President of the USMMA, effective May 5, 2012. Susann Gabriel, an eight year USMMA Board Member, current Vice President, and passionate owner of Marchadors will become President until the next USMMA election in 2013.
The USMMA is a strong organization, with a solid balance sheet and outstanding reputation in the United States, Brazil, and Europe. The USMMA Registry includes nearly all the owners, breeders, and Marchadors in North America. We have a strong working relationship with Brazil, evidenced by the very successful 2012 Sela de Ouro and Clinic recently held in Ocala Florida.
The USMMA Board has recently approved a policy change that I cannot support and over my strong opposition. It was clear to me that I should step down. The direction approved is to move toward a requirement that US inspections for Mangalarga Marchadors be performed before a horse can be registered with the USMMA, based on the USMMA breed standard that is similar to the ABCCMM standards. Here are a few of the reasons behind my strong opposition:
– I do not believe, at this time, that we should be excluding Marchadors from the USMMA based on inspections. We had already enacted safety and quality measures with parental DNA and a verification of no genetic defects at birth. I believe the number one goal for the USMMA should be growth and diversity. I fear that this change will discourage some USMMA members from registering horses perhaps simply because of the cost of inspections or fear that their horses won’t be accepted and we will lose Marchadors and perhaps those members from our base.
– The Marchador is a BRAZILIAN breed. I believe our current process of encouraging American breeders to join the ABCCMM and voluntarily seek ABCCMM inspections keeps that connection strong. I believe, for breeders especially, that inspections provided valuable information but should not be mandatory or a requirement to register Marchadors with the USMMA.
– In my mind, the quality of the MM breed in the U.S. is a three legged stool. One of those aspects is genetics. However, limiting the gene pool also creates an adverse affect – poorer quality in the breed. The other two legs of the stool are presentation and training. If a very well-bred quality Marchador is not presented well or trained correctly, then it will look like bad breeding. We all imported or bought the highest quality Marchadors to begin breeding programs. It is the other two legs of the stool that I personally feel need the most attention. The USMMA could do more with education, more with show kits, more with clinics and bringing up gait trainers than will ever be accomplished with an inspection program.
Lynn and I have enjoyed our time actively involved in the USMMA Board of Directors but it is time for new leadership. We are confidant that the USMMA will continue to be a successful organization. We will continue to support the Mangalarga Marchador as members of the USMMA and as members of the Brazilian Association, the ABCCMM. We will also maintain dual registration of our Marchadors including inspections performed by ABCCMM authorized inspectors. We will now focus our time on our personal goals of improving the quality and diversity of the Marchador breed via imported frozen semen and frozen embryos from top Brazilian breeders and developing the M Foundation.
We will try to be available to other members to help in any way we can since we share a common passion, the Mangalarga Marchador.
Many people will still have questions after reading this letter, so here is some more from the SW Future Foal perspective and our thinking.
Inspection & Registration
We believe strongly in the Brazilian inspection process and the quality of the MM breed. There is a process to become members of the ABCCMM and to obtain ABCCMM inspections. Every SW Future Foal is from ABCCMM inspected parents and is provisionally registered with the ABCCMM. They are also registered with the USMMA, so if the new owner does not want to inspect, the USMMA paper becomes primary.
We do not believe the USMMA should link registration with inspections nor change its registration policy to require mandatory US inspections. Today about 10% of the current Marchador horse population whose owners are “unknown” to the USMMA. We would like all Marchador horses to be registered and not become lost. We think mandatory inspections could make more animals (and their offspring) unregistered (for a variety of reasons, could be cost, could be quality, could be indifference – the owner doesn’t care about inspecting) and there is a real downside to that, in our opinion.
When we originally founded the USMMA, the registration process was designed similarly to the Andalusian design where all Andalusians (and half-Andalusians, for that matter) are registered with the IALHA. Then if the owner or breeder desires, they can complete the paperwork and process to get their Andalusian registered and approved in the Spanish association – Pure Raca Espanol or PRE. Fresians and Icelandics both have inspections where quality is assessed, but it is not tied to registration of the horses.
We also do not believe that any U.S. vet has the experience and knowledge of the MM breed to become an inspector for conformation, gait and temperament or for judging a Marchador. We put our trust in ABCCMM inspectors. It is the ABCCMM Horseshoe M brand that is the international mark of the Marchador horse and of its quality. Substituting a USMMA brand is not the same in our mind.
As mentioned in the letter, John was the only dissenting vote on this issue. As such, it was clear that he could no longer continue as President. If John had remained as President, both he and I would have had to work on communication and implementation. Clearly, because we are so against this policy, we did not want to work to make it a reality.
ABCCMM, Brazil and the USMMA
The Marchador is a Brazilian breed. The ABCCMM (the Marchador association in Brasil) will always have more knowledge, more horses, more money and resources than the USMMA. We have encouraged Marchador owners and breeders to become members of the ABCCMM and to inspect and register their Marchadors with them, as we do. We would love to see that continue. (The ABCCMM is creating a new registration book to solve some of the paperwork problems of the past.) We would like to see everyone that owns a Marchador travel to Brasil to feel the passion, ride their horses and relive the history at the birthplace of the breed.
Partnering with the ABCCMM also helps us with the other aspects of marketing and promoting the breed:
the rich history and passionate stories of the Marchador breed,
the breed’s value in Brasil,
their marketing and international press about the Marchador,
training for the marching gait that is the hallmark of the breed &
visits back and forth, for clinics, shows and other.
A New Beginning
This is just our opinion and obviously others, just as passionate about the MM breed felt differently. In the end, it does not matter what we think. It only matters that the USMMA continue to grow and prosper and that the Mangalarga Marchador get more recognition and attention here.
It is a good thing to refresh the association; to get new members involved and working. John and I have been around, since the beginning of the association in 2004 when we formed it with other founding members and great friends, Cristiana Guerra, MM Horse Farms and Tresa Smith, Montana Marchadors. Now eight years later, with a strong membership and bank account, it is a good time for us to step aside.
Remember that our work was voluntary. We did it because of our passion for the breed. Now it is time for others who are just as passionate (and hopefully younger) to take on the work we need for the next decade.
