We think that we may have broken some 'age' records at these Evaluations. 11- year old Hayley Martin of Sonview Gypsy Ranch may well be the youngest participant in a GVHS Evaluation to date as she rode their mare, Hazel, in an English Pleasure Evaluation. At the other end of the spectrum we had Poppy Black, just shy of 80 years old, handling her mare, Belle, for a Conformation-Movement evaluation!

Many brought their young horses out for a Conformation/Movement evaluation to get a better idea of their potential. Some owners brought horses that have no DNA verification of parentage. These horses required an acceptable score on their Conformation/Movement evaluation in order to move into the regular Gypsy Vanner Studbook.  Finally, several horses that are current or potential breeding horses were evaluated for Conformation/Movement. This is a valuable tool for breeders to identify specific weaknesses in their breeding horse so that they can thoughtfully match with a horse strong in those areas when planning their breeding.

The Performance Evaluations covered all disciplines, Western Pleasure, English Pleasure and Driving. An Evaluation of over 70 percent in a discipline combined with a Conformation/Movement evaluation score above 70 qualifies a horse to receive a Gold Medallion of Quality in that particular discipline. It appears from the smiles on some participants' faces, that there will be some new Gold Medallion horses from these evaluations. A further distinction can be achieved, the Versatility Medallion of Honor, when a horse achieves a Gold Medallion of Quality in all three disciplines. While no horse has yet been awarded this honor, it appears that there are a few in Ontario who could be potential candidates in the future!

MARE POWER !