Full Fjord Immersion

Hi Everyone;

Dani, Jennifer, Lucy and I started out July 16th at the Midwest Fjord Horse show held this year in Cedar Rapids.  I was really glad I was not grooming for this one!   It was HOT and muggy!   It was really fun watching so many Fjords showing.  It was also fun watching the trail class to see who might be able to work in therapy.  There is a really neat class - Walk - Trot trail.  The horse starts out the obstacle course being led through different stations.  The rider then mounts 1/2 way through and completes the course.   I had never seen this aspect added to trail.  It was a good addition.  It seemed most like a therapy class to me. 
The most impressive classes were the driving.  So nice and elegant.  To me the highlight was wandering back in the barn and visiting with owners.  The stall that stopped me was a lovely grey dun stallion with a pedigree plaque on the door.  It caught my eye -"Anvil's Fjellrosa" - that was our Rosa!  She was this stallion's paternal grandmother!  Made me feel at home - made me miss Rosa.  
We stayed at the show as long as we could.....

In Loving Memory

Hi Friends;

It has been a few days since I have checked in. Last time I told you about the loss of Patch. Today will be an update of the memorial list.


Not many folks at One Heart realize that the very first Norwegian Fjord horse donated to One Heart was Rosa. Rosa was the result of me internet surfing and finding a Fjord affectionato and "broker". This was the summer that we were working so diligently with the Sons of Norway to locate the more infamous Alma and Dagmar. Through the internet contact we were referred to the McCollum family in northern Minnesota. They had an older mare who was no longer having foals. Her primary function was as a producer of fine, Norwegian Fjord foals. When those days appeared to be finished, they considered donating her.


Again, as no example to anyone with basic sense.....I accepted this old mare sight unseen over the phone/internet. Shock of shocks, I also found her a free ride from close to the Canadian-US border all the way to Iowa. Our friend Meg was taking her trailer to the Minnesota Horse fair and the McCollums always made a point to come to the same fair. The transfer was made in the late spring and Rosa arrived at the Jungle in 2004 - Several months prior to Alma and Dagmar.


Being the first Norwegian Fjord horse for One Heart met with such honor that the true royal nature of Rosa was hidden for years. Our interest was if she was ready to go to work in the therapy arena. She passed immediately and went to work immediately. She was well suited to the task although when we asked if she was trained to ride or drive, the donors didn't know. There is a good chance that she had never been trained for either.

Rosa's registration papers did not indicate her suitability for the therapy arena so were simply filed away.

The Legacy of Alma and Dagmar

Today is the day I tell you about Dagmar. The story can't be told without including Alma. It also can't be told without starting at the beginning.

In 1991, within a month of each other, two sisters gave birth to daughters of the same father on the spring grass of Nebraska. These leggy beauties were born with baby doll faces, fuzzy golden hair and a noble heritage tracing its linage to the times of the Vikings. Soon a white mane and tail with a distinctive black stripe running from their ears, through the mane down the length of the back ending at the dock of their tail would give the fillies their color designation; brown dun.