Tanderra Performance Horses and Ponies is located just outside Myponga above the reservoir, at “Woodbank”, a one hundred acre sheep and hay farm with sweeping views of the sea and the cit of Adelaide. We stand Kinnordy Rilke (Studbook Appendix stallion by Riverdance (Imp)) at stud. He has been started under saddle by us (while serving his first full season of mares) and we have his first foals on the ground now. One word to describe them – wow!
Our broodmare band is dominated by first class imported Hanoverian blood and includes Kinnordy Dancing (Daktylus), the dam of Queensland Grand Prix dressage horse Gym Star One. We have five horses in work, including Rilke, all in dressage training as well as in training for carriage driving. Our “poster girl” Tanderra MEC Giyan by Belcam Gambler x E.Pr.M. Kinnordy Gravity (Graf Landau x Daktylus) is just starting in the sulky and is schooling confidently under saddle at Elementary/Medium level. She won two classes at the 2012 Gala Day, her first ever show, her rider being seven months pregnant at the time. It says something about our faith in her temperament and giving her rider a smooth ride that we were confident enough to take her out!
With a young family of four children under the age of six years, we have limited our competition program until now but will step out in 2013 with a super team of young horses including the gorgeous baby yearling filly TWB Garland Gem by Gymnastik Star (Imp) out of Pr.M. Kinnordy Gala (Graf Landau x Winterkoenig) also the dam of Rilke.
My background includes working for various horse studs including Silvia McLachlan’s and Pendower Pony Stud in the Adelaide Hills and completing the Horse Mastership Course at the NSW Equestrian Centre under the guidance of Heath and Rozzie Ryan. On returning to South Australia, I worked for SAPOL training young horses and also as a show jumping groom for the Brice and Clark families. I trained extensively with dressage rider Heather Currie while I was based in the mid north. After Michael and I married, I moved to “Woodbank” south of Adelaide and we began to develop the family sheep farm and establish a horse breeding herd.
I started competing in dressage riding my mother’s Andalusian gelding Blackford Campanello who went on to win State and National titles and campaign at elementary level. A long search for just the right partner led me to a successful partnership with the wonderful Dynasty Park Shine (Hot Courage TB x Arabian) who I competed on at Dressage with the Stars in 2000 and who taught me the meaning of making a true connection with the horse.
Shine never realised his full potential, his career cut short by a pedal bone injury but through him and his delightful “quirks” that I needed some help with I met Clive Reed, World Cup show jumping rider at the Northern Equestrian Centre. Clive showed me a video of horses from Kinnordy Stud in Queensland and it was love at first sight.
We specialise in taking on “difficult to handle” mares and mares with special needs. So far Rilke has had 100% success rate with mares that have “missed” previously or proven problematic to serve or get in foal (including one that event the vet said wasn’t going to get in foal!). We are not a big name stud and we are not the fanciest but we will care for your mare like she is part of our family and we will do our best to deliver you a beautiful foal that will allow you to realise your dreams.
We welcome visitors by appointment to meet the ever charming Rilke, our mares, foals and youngsters, some of which are offered for sale.
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