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Horse Hobby Success
Flying Lion Farm produces Warmbloods and Thoroughbreds in Zephyrhills.
By NICK FORTUNA
Juliana Whittenburg and Gary Ellebracht have full-time jobs and a full-time passion for their hobby, breeding quality Warmbloods and Thoroughbreds, a pastime they hope will eventually supplant their current careers and allow them to work exclusively in the horse-breeding business.
Whittenburg and Ellebracht have only been breeding horses for a few years at their 20-acre Flying Lion Farm in Zephyrhills but have already gotten a taste of success. At September’s prestigious Dressage at Devon event in Pennsylvania, the couple placed 10th in the large and highly competitive Breeders Group after submitting the Weser-Ems colt Le Andros and the Oldenburg filly Isabella.
In addition, those two weanlings and 2-year-old Holsteiner filly Wind Song placed 12th as a group in the Get of Sire Class.
“We were up against the biggest and best breeders in the country and came home 10th,” Whittenburg said. “This is the biggest show in the country, and the horses did excellent overall, so it was wonderful.”
Isabella and Le Andros also have received recognition from the United States Dressage Federation this year. Isabella was rated the No. 1 German Oldenburg Verband weanling filly and named a winner of an All Breeds Award in the Dressage Sport Horse Breeding Division, while Le Andros was the division’s top Weser-Ems pony or small German riding horse weanling colt.
Whittenburg and Ellebracht also own the United States Equestrian Federation’s 2007 Hunter Breeding Yearling of the Year, Zeja Vu, who was bred by Lisa Dworkin. Dworkin owned the sire of Isabella, Le Andros and Wind Song, a Holsteiner sire named Le Santo, who died at age 25 in August. Dworkin also was the friend who first inspired Whittenburg to get into breeding horses.
Whittenburg and Ellebracht are so busy that only a true passion for horses would allow them to compete at such a high level. Whittenburg is an administrative assistant at an oncology practice, and Ellebracht repairs cell phone towers. They also distribute a pair of products – one is a pasture vacuum used to remove horse waste from farmland, and the other is a nutritional supplement that aids in horse breeding.
The couple owns 41 horses, including two crops of Thoroughbreds that were born in 2007 and 2008. The couple expects to foal 10 Thoroughbreds and two Warmbloods next year.
“We breed Warmbloods for the show ring and Thoroughbreds for the track,” Whittenburg said. “I’ve always loved the babies. We both have to work our full-time jobs, but we hope that one day at least one of us can quit. Breeding horses is very rewarding. We spend a lot of time with them, making them used to people. You can walk into our pasture, and they all come up to you looking for hugs and kisses.”
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(c) 2007 Horse Capital Digest.com |
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