Foals

Pizzazz is officially a "Pre-Green" Horse!

	Pizzazz has been spending the fall with Stephanie Von Bidder of DayBreak Farm in Aiken, SC. Stephanie has done a fantastic job continuing Pizzazz's education and miles. Shown here, she won a (3') Hunter Derby in Aiken.....and is now officially "six" and officially doing 3' in the A shows and Pre_Green. In her first show, she was champion (again!)....winning all of her classes! She has had many of those.......when Daniel Geitner had her in Atlanta last summer, she won 13 out of 13!!.....and then Stephanie went on to continue that. Pizzazz is a 16.2h mare by Paparazzo, out of Claim to Fame's full sister, Flawless. She is one lovely mare...no vices, and just floats down a line! Her changes are gorgeous! She is for sale....to a good home, of course!


Happy Holidays from Flying Colors!

	Just wanted to take this opportunity to say Happy Holidays to all our friends!!We appreciate your business, showing at Flying Colors, and those who've become part of our extended family by owning our Flying Colors horses!! We wish you all a happy, healthy and PROSPEROUS New Year! Shown in her Santa hat, is Stormwatch.... a special filly who went on to live in the Boca Raton, FL area and is now a whips horse at Four Winds Hunt. She has shown, led the field at Live Oak Hounds with me, and now is the apple of her owner's eye!!....that's what we wish for all our young horses...owners who care for them and love them..and keep in touch with us!!!


Another Claim to Fame foal with Beauty and Brains!

	We were so thrilled when Oliver Brown, National Champion Hunter Breeding Handler, wanted to breed his prized mare to Claim to Fame. Oliver is a very special friend, who prepared and handled Cash to be the first and ONLY Pinto Horse to EVER win (115+ years)the Devon Hunter Breeding Show! Scout is shown here at the International Hunter Futurity Finals in KY ......and two weeks later with Oliver's wife, Joan, foxhunting him leading a field at the famed Rappahannock Hunt in VA. That says so much for a young four year old to go to a national competition with a young rider, and then safely carry Joan foxhunting two weeks later!!.......Claim to Fame has foals who are beautiful,correct, talented.........but rideable with great minds!!! We're so proud of Scout, and the Browns for keeping him!!!


Newsprint and Daniel Geitner in Aiken!

	I always enjoy riding Newsprint, Claim to Fame's full brother...........but decided to let him have a good ride for a change, haha! Daniel Geitner pioleted Newsie to 1,2,2 and Resere Champion at the Aiken Fall Festival II 09/11. I certainly enjoy working with the Geitners, and it's so fun to see another of the horses I've raised and trained do so well. Newsie is a special, sweet 16.3h guy!!!! Then I went on to win two Championships at my next show at Horse Shows in the Park!!


Live Oak Team wins Aiken Hunt Night!!!

	What fun we had in Aiken,09/16/11! Our team won the Hunt Night Team Competition! Made up of Kathy Nofsinger, Alachua, FL and me representing Live Oak Hounds and Arnie Bloom of Aiken Hounds filled in to complete our team.......we had a near perfect round, if I say so myself... It was such fun. Debonair also won the Open Hunter (riding against the professionals)!


Frozen Semen from Colaire-special pricing!

	We are excited to be expecting our first foal by Colaire, our 16.3+h black pinto son of the legendary stallion, Voltaire. So we're offering to share the excitement! We are offering breedings to him for a special of $300 per dose. The semen is stored with Peterson and Smith Equine Reproduction, a Select Breeders affiliate known for their 1st qualilty!


A "Blue Day" at Flying Colors!

	This was the kind of "Blue Day" I like to have!! Pizzazz, our five year old, is showing in Atlanta with Daniel Geitner.........and won EVERY CLASS entered......TWO DIVISIONS.(Champion of both).........while I was in Ocala with a 2 year old filly by Claim to Fame, who won every class entered too.......and was Best Young Horse under both judges........ It don't get much better than that!.....Both are for Sale on our sale page!! This is Claim Applause, just before we took her to the ring........Robert Robold did a great job of handling her, and Lynn Rothart braided her beautifully, as always!


Counterclaim contributes to a happy ending!

	A VERY sad thing happened last summer to a fellow breeder in Tallahasse, Shannon Shiller of Majestic Oaks. Lightning struck a tree that her entire broodmare band of 4 were standing under. Luckily her husband, John, was home and he ran out and actually did CPR and jumped on chests trying to revive them. Only one horse survived, and she was 30 days in foal! Needless to say it was a stressful wait to see this foal, hoping the lightning strike didn't harm him! Well, the wait is over and look what she got......a very special and beautiful colt by Counterclaim. He looks to have even gotten the lovely head and neck Flying Colors Sires are known for. We are SO HAPPY for the Shillers and Joey, her mare. What a wonderful happy ending to such a heartwrenching story!!


First ever Pony Foal born by Claim to Fame

	I've always suspected that our boys would make lovely pony sires bred with the right mares......finally, it's proven! Betsy Nelson bred her 13.2 welch cross pony to Claim to Fame and here is the beautiful foal shown as a newborn! We are all thrilled with this pony......what a beautiful head, conrformation and coloring! Congratulations to the Nelsons!!!


Perfect Puzzle born at Live Oak Hounds!

	We were thrilled when Daphne Wood chose Counterclaim to breed to her lovely Bank Hannoverian/TB mare, Artemis. Known worldwide as judges of conformation, Daphne and Marty Wood, have judged the top Hound Shows in the world! They recently won Champion and Reserve Champ at the prestigous Virginia Hound Show, besting 800+ hounds from all over the US and Canada (a feat never done before). They have also bred winning horses at Devon! Counterclaim was chosen not only for his conformation, but especially his temperament. It takes a special horse to be a professional whipper in's mount at the fast and furious Live Oak Hounds Foxhunt. I look forward to riding beside my "grandhorse" some day. Perfect Puzzle is shown here at three days old. Daphne was so thrilled with this filly, she's bred the mare back for a "matched pair'......


Claim Your Pik!.....(aka Teddy) scores a 68.75!!

	Claim your Pik, aka Teddy, the firstborn son of Counterclaim has been started under saddle by Marsha Hartford Sapp of Southern Oaks in Tallahassee. He just competed in a dressage "ride a test" and won an incredible 68.75 with an "8" for gates.......his first time out! The judge, Sandra Beauleui of Maine, said of him "Very talented youngster that has upper level potential!" Marsha is also impressed with his rideability, attitude, and willingness to work!!


Look for us at HITS/Ocala in 2011

	Colaire, our big black six year old Voltaire son, and Pizzaz, our lovely five year old Paparazzo daughter have been in training in Ocala all fall and are showing and for sale at HITS/Ocala this winter. WE ARE THRILLED THAT COLAIRE WAS CHAMPION OF BABY GREEN AT HIS FIRST SHOW AT HITS.......WINNING HIS OVER FENCES WITH HIS INCREDIBLE STYLE AND HACKING BEAUTIFULLY!His second show he got great ribbons in every class, in a field of 36! We are very proud of these two youngsters, that we bred and raised at Flying Colors!! Not to be outdone, Pizzazz just had a great HITS IV,m winning great ribbons in her o/f classes, plus wining one (out of 30+ horses!) Both are very lovely.......check out our sale page!!!


Home from Aiken with Rodeo Drive!

	Just got home from a wonderful trip to Aiken,SC with friends.........took my youngster, Rodeo Drive... His first out of town hunting/showing trip alone. He was a star!.......jumped all the jumps asked in the Hitchcock Woods with the Aiken Hounds....then went out with Why Worry Hounds on Sunday! The second photo is of Rodeo' and Debonair hunting with the Live Oaks Hounds, my home hunt. Both now lead the field.........and had a special day out together, with my friend Cheryl Kuhlo riding Debonair (Trey)...what a blessing these two wonderful horses are!! (Rodeo is half brother to Claim to Fame, and Debonair was out of Queens Colors, one of our foundation mares)


Debonair and Cate do it again......Newsprint too!

	We're so happy to have returned from HITS/Ocala 2010 where Debonair and Cate Billings were the Champions of her Eq 15-17 division winning both O/F classes! She's also got great ribbons in the USEF Medal and Adequan Hunters. Cate also gave Newsprint his first ride at a show over 3'.....by entering Children's Hunters....a huge class! (he hadn't been in a show in many, many months and hardly ridden this winter due to my injury)...His first 0/f class was a 2nd out of 24..and he went on to win good ribbons in the three other classes too! He took a great ribbons in the hack even though he had one bad transition. Got lots of compliments on how pretty he is.....his black and white sparkled! I look forward to showing him myself soon..........pictures and video on my website and YouTube will follow! Here is a photo of me and Newsprint as we headed out on the X_Country Course of Red Hills Horse Trials on March 5, 2010. I organized the Live Oak Hunt "outriders" who do crowd control/PR on the XC course......Newsprint was looking good and loved all the attention..people and kids underfoot everywhere...he was a gentleman!!


Aiken Hunt Night Winners!!

	Once again, Debonair (aka MR. Perfect), was a star. Two weeks after winning the Talent Search in Jacksonville, I took him to Aiken, SC to participate in the Hunt Night Competition (a horse show for proven foxhunters). We were going with a three "man" (Lady) team from Live Oak Hunt. Unfortunately our third member had a heat stroke!!! so the team wasn't allowed to compete (we rode as two but not judged to win).......however DEBONAIR AND I DID win the FIELDHUNTER CHAMPIONSHIP and my teammate (shown with me),Kathy Nofsinger, was Reserve Champ. Our third member, Dacia Funkhouser Johnson, won both of her classes before getting sick........I joked it was nice of her to win, get sick enough to drop out so that I could be Champion..and then recover! Of course, that wasn't the real case!


Debonair and Cate win USEF Talent Search!

	Earlier this summer I offered Debonair, (Mr. Perfect as I call him!) to my neighbors, Rob and Cathy Billings (Little Pond Farm), for their daughter, Cate, to have as a "back up" EQ horse. Cate works so hard and only has one horse...to compete in all the big shows and indoors! She came over to ride him as often as she could, although it was really probably less than a month because she went to Vermont to show this summer. We went to one "practice show" to see how he'd do (he doesn't do 3'6 with me, haha and actually hadn't been in an AA show in quite awhile due to my wrist surgeries). The Jax Fall Series II 08/29/09 was their first to seriously compete. We were so proud when they scored an incredible 86 in the Hunter Phase of the Wasington (WIHS)...handily winning in their very first class! They ended up second overall due to a rub in the jumper phase in the indoor arena where he was not used to being!.. However, they went on to WIN THE USEF TALENT SEARCH against many of the best riders in the southeast who's BNT's had brought them to practice in that scary arena before this week's Maclay Regional Finals! What a thrill to have a horse I've bred, foaled out, raised AND TRAINED to do so well. Of course,Cate deserves most of the credit......to walk in that class on a green horse, survive the pressure of waiting for all the others to jump before she did (leading from the flat phase) and win! She'd only had about four jumping lessons with her father over the summer on him, and of course his help at the shows ( However, Bobby Braswell stepped up to help her school for that last jumping class, even though his lovely daughter, Molly, was in the class as well!) Of COURSE I have it all on video!!! P. S. THE NEXT WEEK CATE WENT ON TO WIN THE MACLAY REGIONALS ON HER HORSE, FIGARO, BESTING 50 OF THE TOP EQUITATION RIDERS FROM THE SOUTHEAST! WE'RE SO PROUD OF HER, AND SO EXCITED SHE'S RIDING DEBONAIR TOO! IT'S GOING TO BE AN EXCITING FALL!!!


Counterclaim's first foal wins his first show!!!

	Congratulations to Lorri Wallis and Claim Jumper (CJ)! They live in Magnolia, IL and just went to CJ's first show ever.......and won his two year old hunter breeding class! We're all so proud of this gorgeous, huge and sweet youngster! Lori has already lightly backed him and is thrilled with his quiet, willing attitude. Claim Jumper was the first test foal ever born to Counterclaim. He is out of a breeding stock (solid) APHA mare. Lorri is a long time horsewoman who was a founding member of the first ever Pony Club in Oklahoma (must be where CJ's western name/term came from)She's a long time horsewoman who rode hunter jumpers as a child. We so appreciate her keeping us up to date with news and photos of our first Counterclaim foal. Glad too to see he's following in the family tradition!!


Pizzaz......Reserve Champion Best Young Horse!!

	Pizzaz is beginning her show career now. As a three year old she was Reserve Champ Best Young Horse at RMI/HITS. As a four year old, she's starting her under saddle/over fences career.......She was just Champion of Hopeful Hunters at the HSITP show at Canterbury........winning her under saddle class and over fences too.and again Champion in Weirsdale (just south of Ocala) again winning all of her classes and Champion once again. Then it was on to HITS/Ocala and the Aiken Spring Classics, where she won lots of blue ribbons too! Then it was on to Atlanta where she won EVERY CLASS ENTERED....CHAMPION OF TWO DIVISIONS.... This is one fancy girl with a bright future. She is for sale!


Claim to Fame had 100% pintos in 2009!!!

	Just got this photo of another filly being born sired by Claim to Fame. Krys Waltrous of Littleton, CO bred her favorite mare, Doobie, to 'CTF.......and this is her darling filly born 5/03/09!! Of course, ALL of Counterclaim's foals are pintos, so Flying Colors foals are coming with 100% color this year out of BOTH of our stallions.....see our Foal Page to see some of the other cutie's who have arrived so far! Guess Claim to Fame got sick of his son getting so much business because he's homozygous and set out to prove he can do it too!!


Exclaimation wins Reserve Champ and on to Ocala!

	We were proud to hear from Dr. Susan Funk, Bedford, VA....that Exclaimation (by Claim to Fame) was the Reserve Champion in Hunter Breeding for the Silver Stirrup USEF Awards for 08...........in the tough VA district. We're proud of you both!!! Susan called March 23, 2009 to report in that she and "Sport" were at Lynn Palm's Training Institute in Ocala for a week's clinic. Sport spent a few months there last winter.....as a two year old!Now he's just spent the Spring of his third year with Lynn. These two (Susan and Sport) get around! Perhaps when he wins his next ribbon in the show ring, he'll take a bow????? (Claim to Fame does a few "tricks" too.......like laying down for me to get on!! MANY THANKS TO LYNN PALM FOR ALLOWING US TO POST THIS PHOTO OF HER RIDING EXCLAIMATION WHILE HE WAS IN TRAINING WITH HER!!


FALL 07 HUNTING TRIP TO VA AND MD!

	Once again I headed north for my annual trip to visit friends, fall colors and wonderful hunts. I have a goal to ride with as many famous foxhunts as I can, and am steadily gaining on it! This year I again headed to the Middleburg/Warrenton, VA country (sooo beautiful and what horse country!) I was thrilled to go out with the famous Piedmont Hounds. I loved their look of tricolor (pinto) coloring....and it was really special to start from the historic village of Unison in their original country above Upperville. We saw the hunted fox, who eventually evaded us due to the pooor scenting in the dry conditions. However, the country was gorgeous, the people so friendly and I so enjoyed being there! Then I headed to Green Springs Valley Hounds..near Baltimore, MD. I was surprised how beautiful the country is....as pretty to me as Middleburg! They have a reputation as one of the hardest hunts in the US (maybe the world!!) as steeplechase horses are made in their fields! Well, the reputation is certainly true.... We immediately saw a big red fox pass right in front of us and off we went. No fence was under 3'6 but when we headed to the FOUR BOARD FOUR FOOT HIGH pasture fence (complete with horses inside) I almost died (in more ways than one!) Thank goodness I was on Debonair, as he has the kindness to save me, and the scope to save himself! The following day I was thrilled to be invited to ride Hunt Colors with Duck Martin, MFH whipping in........what a treat!! Thanks to Carol Fenwick for sending me these pictures! As an 2/8/08 update.........I just returned from a Progressive Show Jumping show where Debonair and I were the Amateur Owner Champions! What a neat horse this is......and am heading to Fitzpatrick, AL in two days to hunt him as a guest of Midland Hounds......along with the MFHA President, Mason Lampton and his guest, MFHA of United Kingdom, Lord Daresbury!!! Talk about versatility!!!


MFHA CENTENNIAL FIELDHUNTER CHAMPIONSHIPS IN VA

	Well, here they are.......my memories of the MFHA Centennial Fieldhunter Championships at Morven Park, Leesburg, VA held May 27, 2007. I qualified my homebred, wonderful horse, Debonair, on February 14, 2007 at the South Creek Hounds in Tampa, FL. The truth is, he was on his FIRST FOXHUNT in November of 2006, when I'd injured my regular foxhunter, Hunt Colors. He certainly rose to the occassion! Only four horse/rider combinations were chosen from the entire Southeast US!! I was the only rider from Florida. A total of sixty four were qualified for the finals from all over the US and Canada! People came from as far as California for this competition! I drove Debonair to Virginia by myself (15 hours on the road!) and was the houseguest once again, of Dr's Kent Allen and Rae Stone(his wife). They are the perfect host/hostesses!! Rae and I schooled together and competed together. She made the final test, which I'm very proud of her for doing (especially, on her pinto!!) We had such a good time!! When the big day came, I got up at 3:30 am!! (only went to bed at midnight!!) We had to drive forty five minutes, get checked in and pick up our numbers, get ready for the Best Turned Out Class, and be in the judging area at 7 am!!! It was a glorious day. I competed with thirty of the best dressed foxhunters in North America...and was thrilled to TO WIN THE RESERVE CHAMPIONSHIP OF BEST TURNED OUT.......photo of us with the red ribbon!! Debonair was absolutely wonderful: walked through the crossings, waited patiently at the fences, jumped everything beautifully (except the one I got him in badly to...ugh....I couldn't be more pleased with HIM.......ME, I could SHOOT mfor blowing a fence!! The judges still liked him enough to place us in the top ten of our division, so all in all, I really was happy. As I (jokingly) say....."If you can't ride good, at least you can look good", haha!! Photos by Jordan Koepke........


BREEDING DISCOUNTS!!

	We will be excited to offer THREE stallions for our breeders in 2012! Claim to Fame, who has been proven in EVERY way (top comformation wins in the country, movement, performance and jumping style, temperament, and producer of winning quality foals) is a lifetime approved breeding stallion for RPSI and the AWR. You won't find a kinder, more beautiful stallion anywhere! 100% OF HIS 2009 FOALS BORN WERE PINTOS EVEN THOUGH HE IS NOT HOMOZYGOUS!! We are also pleased to offer his black homozygous (for pinto!) son, Counterclaim. This young stallion has already proven himself to be very fertile. In 07 most mares he bred caught on the first try!! His first six test foals were born in 07, and many are shown here. He is just starting his under saddle career, so hasn't accumlinated a show record yet. Consequently, he is still priced very reasonably.....guarentee your chrome for next year with this handsome youngster We have also collected some frozen semen from our young black pinto who's sire is the famous but deceased, Voltaire. Contact us if you have an interest ...... Returning and multiple mare discounts available in addition to premium and warmblood mares......contact us now!