Dr. Elizabeth Callahan of Cool Na Grena Sporthorses, Oxford, MD was the recipient of the 2009 USEF Leading Event Breeder of 2009. Didi, a practicing equine vet, has been breeding horses for the last 25yrs. Although she only produces 2-3 foals a year the matings are carefully selected with the goal of producing a well rounded athlete that has both the movement for dressage and talent for jumping.
The breeding program was founded upon TB mares with performance backgrounds, but Didi is now in the 3rd generation of her breeding program. Her current mares include Leia (Le Champion/Princess Nancy), Balmoral (Bugatti Hilltop/Princess Nancy; photo above) and ISR/OLD Elite mare Rehobeth (Riverman/Noontime Surprise). Before they became broodmares, Didi actively competed them herself in both dressage and eventing. Didi is recognized by the ISR/OLD registry as one of only a handful of breeders to have attained three star awards for premium foal production, premium mare production and performance success. The 2009 Eventing Breeder of the Year came mostly from the success of Slate River (Riverman/Etoile; photo right) who won the Poplar Place CCI**, The Weatherford CCI ** and was 11th at the Fair Hill International***. He finished 6th overall in the USEA Horse of the Year points.
Didi has been a long time client of Select Breeders Services Inc., in MD and regularly uses frozen semen in her breeding program
“I like the convenience of frozen semen - not having to worry if my mare will ovulate on a day when Fed Ex can't get to me or the stallion owner doesn't collect. With the timed insemination protocol that SBS uses, every 6 hour ultrasounds aren't necessary. SBS has been great to work with. I know that I will always be getting the proper number of sperm cells and I feel confident that it is properly stored and shipped”. Dr. Elizabeth Callahan, Cool Na Grena Sporthorses
We wish Didi continued success with her breeding program. To learn more about Cool Na Grena Sporthorses, visit their website www.cngsporthorses.com.
Log in to join the conversation.