21. May 2024 – It’s time for a little update.
Olivero has now developed into a very fine riding horse. Breaking him in was completely unproblematic and he learnt very quickly. Everything is fun with him. In addition to our weekly dressage lessons, we also take part in pole lessons, free jumping and section riding. He really enjoys free work and circles. However, he finds work in hand rather stupid. 🙂
He is very well-behaved and brave in the field. We have already experienced our first short trail rides. He is my reliable companion through forests, fields, streams, villages, bumpy excursion sites, inclines and bottlenecks. As we are involved in working equitation, we also regularly travel to courses and clinics. He does a great job. He is always easy to handle away from home.
Of course, things don’t always run smoothly for us either. We first had to get to know each other and training young horses can be exhausting. So I’ve also had the odd flying lesson. Riding a Lusitano is a pleasure, but also very demanding.
But Olivero is learning more and more not to react quite so impulsively when he gets excited and I have learnt to give him more guidance and safety. Fortunately, we have a great trainer with Lusitano experience to help us with lessons and training.
He is now really great to ride. And so we grow together every day and become more and more of a team. Olivero is an incredibly cuddly clown and exactly the horse I’ve always dreamed of.
In the meantime, I have also visited Leonie and his dad Ermitaño and his grandfather Xinfrim. I walked around the pastures where Olivero was allowed to grow up. A magical place where very special horses are born. And Leonie is one of the warmhearted people I have ever met. You immediately feel welcome at La Perla. I still haven’t regretted my purchase at La Perla for a second.
Olivero and I have lots of exciting things planned again this year. You can visit us on Instagram and see how we will soon be training with fire, fog and cattle. We also have our first working equitation competition coming up and much more.
Original March 2021: Olivero la Perla – my blind date horse
If you had asked me in the summer of 2020 if I would buy a horse that I only knew from pictures and videos, I would have shaken my head in horror. Never! I was looking for a young horse as a future companion for dressage, working equitation, trail rides, leisure time buddy and friend for life. A loving upbringing and good socialisation were very important to me. I was also prepared to combine my search for a horse with a short holiday in Portugal or Spain. I also hoped that I might even find my future horse in Germany. But then everything turned out quite differently.
While I was searching the internet for suitable young Iberians and my mailbox was filled with the most flowery horse offers, I came across the video with the stud presentation of Yeguada la Perla. WOW! The video really touched me deeply. I quickly decided that I would not buy a horse until I had visited this wonderful stud. So I wrote to Leonie and told her my idea of my future companion. I soon received an answer and the pictures of a dun stallion made my heart beat faster. All the basic data of the horse fitted my ideas perfectly. And if it hadn’t been for Corona, I would have soon been on a plane to visit this wonderful horse. But since this was not possible, dear Leonie provided me with more photos and videos.
In the meantime, I looked for information on the internet and searched for people who had bought a horse there in order to exchange experiences. Without exception, everyone was overflowing with enthusiasm and love for this stud and the pearl they had bought. I received an absolute recommendation from all of them to look for my horse there. I quickly realised that no other horse offer could inspire me any more. This dun simply had a very special, unique charisma.
Unfortunately, the Corona situation did not really change and a trip became more and more impossible. Then there was a concrete interested party for MY horse. I actually burst into tears. Someone wanted to buy MY horse… He was exactly the horse I had imagined, from exactly the kind of breeding I had wanted. I wouldn’t have been able to try him out anyway. A young horse will always be a bit of a surprise. And my heart said: “This is the right one! You don’t want any other horse.” So I bought him. And many people around me secretly, and sometimes openly, called me crazy.
Olivero stayed at the stud over the winter. Again and again I received photos and videos of my treasure. He is currently being accustomed to people and is being lovingly prepared for transport to Germany with a lot of calm and horse sense. I am allowed to take part in this process via videos. Not long now, and I will finally have the long-awaited blind date with my golden pearl.
And as soon as travelling is easier again, I will visit the stud to see with my own eyes where Olivero grew up and to meet his dad Ermitano. I will report back!