Leaving Spain and flying back to Holland was a little surreal. I was very much looking forward to getting to Ireland where I could catch up with old friends and do some teaching, but in Holland I was just taking a few days to catch up with the family of Donnerwind.

It was great to see everyone at Donnerwind's old barn again, but it was a sad time as "Opa" (Dutch for Grand Dad) had recently passed away and it was my first trip back to his stable with no Opa there to greet me. Its always good to see how all the Donnerwind progeny have developed when I go back each year though. The website of the stables is www.stalnijenhuis.nl

I also spent a day with Jeroen Groener from the Dutch stables www.dinkelhoeve.com - and we went together to look at some Trakehner stallions and foals at a foal show in Germany at the stables of Gestut Weisenhof who stand some magic stallions. The photos below are of the foal show... Trakehner's are definitely one of the most beautiful and elegant of all the Warmblood breeds as these photos show! The grounds here at the stud were amazing and it was very interesting to see how the show was run.
Right - next stop Ireleand!