Toschufro TT (Jason Bannister)

Devon, PA – Each year, Dressage at Devon (DAD) selects a foal to follow on its path to the Breed Show at DAD where hundreds of colts and fillies show each year. Each foal is the product of careful breeding and watchful tending as they, hopefully, grow into champions. This year, we will follow Toschufro TT (Totilas x Baba x Don Schufro), an inquisitive, leggy, bay colt with a white star, born on January 1, 2015.

Breeding
“For my first breeding ever, I was determined to start at the top,” said breeder Elizabeth Souther Tarbell (Greenwich, CT).

Totilas captured world attention with his 2010 World Equestrian Games performance. With partner Edward Gal, Totilas became an unprecedented Triple Gold Medalist: Dressage Grand Prix Special, Dressage Grand Prix Freestyle and Dressage Team Grand Prix and, at the same time, a world record holder.

“After seeing the video of this unprecedented performance (Grand Prix Freestyle), I knew I wanted to breed to this amazing stallion.” She purchased four doses of Totilas semen shortly thereafter. The next step was finding just the right mare. “We wanted to breed Totilas to a mare that had performed, at least, at FEI level and we wanted to breed to a mare sired by Don Schufro.” (Donnerhall x Pik Bube)

An extensive search led her to Dr. Heather Farmer and her husband Dorian. Their mare, Baba, was personally trained by US Olympic coach, Anne Gribbons, to Grand Prix and Baba’s sire was Don Schufro. “Baba was exactly the mare we had been seeking. In fact, we liked this mare so much, we bred to her twice, and Toschufro’s half brother, Don Rubinstein TT (Rubinstein x Baba) was born February 21, 2015.

When Baba became pregnant, an embryo transfer was performed and Toschufro’s surrogate mom, Opal, has proven to be a caring and maternal protector. According to Elizabeth “Opal is a veritable wall of protection given her large, 1800 pound+ Percheron stature.”

“Toschufro TT is everything we had hoped for. He is inquisitive and bold and we are very pleased with what we see in him so far,” says Elizabeth. “During the course of the summer, we plan to take Toschufro and his surrogate mom to one or two breed shows. In the meantime, he is already accepting a halter and blankets and we will continue his ‘baby training’ through the summer.”

“Our ultimate goal as horse breeders, as responsible human beings, and in our partnerships, will always be to ensure that the future of Toschufo TT and all the dressage horses that we promote and manage have an opportunity to enjoy the solid and steady training required to be able to compete up to Grand Prix and, while doing so, be given the chance to be…horses.”

Dressage at Devon 2015

We look forward to seeing Toschufro and hundreds of other foals at Dressage at Devon. The breed division takes place September 29 through October 1. The performance division begins on October 1 and runs through October 4.

Look for additional updates on the Dressage at Devon website (www.dressageatdevon.org) as the show draws near. Reserved seating is available online for Dressage at Devon 2015 at www.dressageatdevon.org. Box seats are in demand so, for information as to availability or for group sales, please contact Robbie Kankus at [email protected],[email protected] or 610-358-1919.

About Dressage at Devon
Dressage at Devon (www.dressageatdevon.org) has been a premier North American Equestrian event since its founding by the Delaware Valley Combined Training Association in 1975, and became a separate organization in 2006.  It combines world-class dressage competition and the world’s largest open breed show with the international Fall Festival show and special activities for the entire family.  The six-day event attracts hundreds of horses from around the world and thousands of spectators.  Dressage at Devon is a 501(c) (3) PA non-profit organization, benefitting equine education.