2018 December Paso Robles Magazine

ROUND TOWN
By Bec Braitling
I am thankful to report the horse
show season is finally winding
down. Being on the road competing
can be exhausting and exhilarating
at the same time. We finished the
season at Galway Downs International,
bringing home some blue
ribbons and a few personal-best performances.
This was followed by a
quick trip to the UK to source some
more exciting three-day event horses
to import to the United States.
I thoroughly enjoy scouring the
globe for up-and-coming horses
but also love that some of the best
are bred in our own backyard. Let’s
meet one of our local breeders!
Brian Jalbert is the owner of
Oak Meadow Farm, a Holsteiner
sport horse breeding farm in
southwest Atascadero. Brian didn’t
get involved in horses until he was
in his late 30s, when a job brought
him to the Central Coast from
southern California. The once avid
sailor was forced to sell his boat,
leaving a huge hole in his recreation
time. The constant exposure
to horses on the Central Coast led
to riding lessons and things moved
quickly from there.
Horses met his recreation needs
and pretty soon he decided to buy
a property in Atascadero, which
eventually led to breeding — first
as a hobby and tax shelter but then
as a more serious enterprise. Brian
was introduced to the Holsteiner
breed early on by Anke Magnussen,
who owned a business in
Atascadero importing Holsteiners
from Germany and, needless to say,
it was love at first sight. He was initially
impressed by the athleticism,
versatility and willing spirit of this
wonderful breed, which is aptly
described in the Holsteiner motto:
Character, Class and Charisma.
He bought his first Holsteiner
mare in 1985 and soon owned another.
Being a relative newcomer
to the equestrian community, Jalbert
relied heavily on the advice
of others and got lucky. Early on,
he was influenced by the legendary
Holsteiner breeder Lieselott
Wiendieck, who gave some advice
which has been at the core of his
program through the years. She
said, "You only need one or two
mares. Select them very carefully
and breed them to the best stallions
you can find."
This advice has served him well
as that little farm has produced two
North American champion mares to
the Holsteiner registry and his Oak
Meadow Holsteiner foals typically
earn foal premium awards. The inspiration
to continue breeding is the
joy of working with the new foals
each year — being a small farm he
typically has just one or two foals as
the goal has always been to produce
the best possible sport horse he can.
Brian bases stallion selection
on two factors. First, he tries to
select a compatible type. Each
mare is vastly different and each
needs a stallion that will complement
her good qualities while
not adding any undesirable traits.
For example, the heavier-bodied,
old style Holsteiner mare needs a
lighter, more refined stallion, while
the other mare, which is a more
modern type, can do well when
crossed with a stallion with more
substance and bone. He also suggests
sticking with a winning combination.
If the results of a cross
are successful, he will repeat again,
oftentimes more than once.
Although he admits he’s not a
"line breeder" — one must also
consider pedigree — he favours
sticking with older more established
lines rather than going
for the current "stallion du jour"
which may be a passing fancy.
Jalbert has used artificial insemination
using fresh, chilled semen
exclusively until this year, which was
his first venture into breeding with
frozen semen. This method makes a
wider range of stallions available to
American breeders and his aim is to
do more with this in the future.
Brian’s advice to new breeders:
breed the best to the best! Some of
Brian’s progeny has already made
waves on the international stage in
the sport of three day eventing with
local trainer Andrea Baxter piloting
Oak Meadow bred “Enfinity”
to some impressive finishes and has
her sights set on the Young Horse
World Championships, Modial Du
Lion, Le Lion- D’Angers France
16 | pasomagazine.com PASO Magazine, December 2018