WHAT'S NEW
April 2012 ~

WE'VE MOVED!
We've moved to Templeton, California - a pleasant rural community located in central California, about 30 miles inland from the Pacific. Templeton has a mild climate, and is conveniently located for both northen and southern California horsemen. We're located right off of Hwy. 101. Photos coming soon!

late February 2012 ~

Well, 2012 is really off and running!
Frank is gearing up for a big trip to three competitions:
Arizona CDE - Coolidge, AZ
(March 9-11)
Afterward, Frank is staying in AZ for two days to give a clinic, then heading way east, to:
Live Oak International CDE - Ocala, FL
(March 22-25)
Then a couple of weeks of layover in FL, and on to:
Southern Pines CDE - Raeford, NC
(April 13-15)
Frank is competing a 4-in-hand of German Riding Ponies belonging to Carina Krahn of British Columbia. (Carina is also headed east to compete a pair and a single.) Leaders Nixon & Nonios, wheelers Donna & Rocco and spare Nelli are all young (5-7 years) and have only been driven as a team since December - but they're coming together very well, and will be shown at Intermediate Level.

Meanwhile, Marlies is staying home, recuperating from her accident (spooked horse spun out from under Marlies and she suffered a broken pelvis) and - getting ready to move! Yes, we've found a permanent home, and they'll be more on that later!

early December 2011 ~

We're very busy considering that this is usually the quiet time of year! We are working an interesting group of horses and ponies: two 4-in-hands, a couple of pairs, and several singles. Everybody is regularly ridden, driven, or long-lined - our days are long and full!

October 2011 ~

The barn is really full with a wide variety of very interesting and talented horses. Frank and Marlies are traveling to Arizona to give lessons at Helen Atwill's, and Frank is getting ready to spend Thanksgiving weekend at the Carman Ranch up in northern California.

early September 2011 ~

We've had some wonderful successes at both ridden and driven competitions over the summer. The barn has been very full, and we're thoroughly enjoying our new life here in the States!

MARLIES and RODGER (Hackney horse Koopman's Lightning Rod) have qualified for the Southern California Dressage Championships to be held the weekend of the 10 & 11th. We'll keep you posted!

On the driving front, Frank is preparing Zak and Alfred for their USEF Advanced Level debut at the Shady Oaks CDE to be held in Lodi the following week. Shady Oaks is the most prestigious CDE on the west coast. We'll keep you posted as to how the young boys (and old Frank) do!

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WHAT'S NEW
JULY 2011 ~

We're very busy here at Nine Oaks getting ready for the Duck Club CDE to be held July 29-31. We, and many of our clients, are competing several turnouts and we are actively helping with the organization of the event. Meanwhile, we have entries in the Driven Dressage Festival in Arroyo Grande, CA onJuly 16&17 - it's the summer season!

We just updated our sales page with a pair of lovely Haflinger geldings and their carriages and harness. This is a ready-to-go pair, with all of their equipment...

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WHAT'S NEW
LATE MAY 2011 ~

Well, we sure had a good time at the WSS Vineyard Classic CDE May 6-8. Frank showed William and Freckles and won the Intermediate Pair Horses (Geoff was at Rancheros Vistadores). Frank also took Zak and Alfred both as Intermediate Singles, and Ann McClure showed Cartano as an Intermediate Single - we were busy! It's especially important to show these young horses a good time and give them happy and safe experiences their first few times out. We're very excited about their progress and potential!

Photos: www.christiebsphotography.com

Meanwhile, it's spring on the ranch, which is always busy - the ranch horses, young and old are all busy, customer horses here in training are all working and making good progress, and oh yes, there's the wedding!

Marlies is in Germany as of this writing, as our only son Ralph is marrying his longtime sweetheart Sandra. Then the kids will come here to California for their honeymoon. Exciting times!

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SPRING 2011 ~

We just got home from our first driving competiton of 2011. Geoff showed William and Freckles as an Advanced Pair, and Frank showed the new boys Alfred and Cartano in their first event ever in Intermediate Pairs. Details and pictures soon!

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WHAT'S NEW
EARLY SPRING 2011 ~

We just added another new page to the website with information on the videos Frank produced back in Germany. This series of videos based on competition driving (CDE) is highly acclaimed. Videos

***Upcoming Clinic***
The German Training Scale for riding and driving horses.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Nine Oaks Ranch, $80, 10:00-5:30

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WHAT'S NEW WINTER 2011 ~

Big News!
Our dear friend Harry De Ruyter has been named as the Dutch National Trainer for Driving! Congratulations Harry!

There's a lot going on!
Check out our new pages on the website:
Calendar of Events
Photo Gallery

WINTER TRAINING
We have a lovely winter training facility - check out the Nine Oaks Ranch page or give us a call to come for a tour and visit.

COMPETITIONS - we travel!
We're getting ready for our first big competition of 2011- the Arizona CDE/HDT on March 12&13. Check our calendar page...

Our trip to Germany last fall resulted in the addition of three new equine members of the Nine Oaks Family - all young geldings with tremendous potential:

"Zak" - Dutch Warmblood
"Alfred" - Dutch Warmblood (brother to Chester Weber's famous leader "Rolex")
"Cartano Z" - Holsteiner (new member of Geoff Gee's pair)

(photos of these three on the Nine Oaks Photo Gallery page - click here)

These horses came from our good friend of 30+ years and colleague, Harry De Ruyter of the Netherlands. Harry is a team world champion 4-in-hand driver, and a top source for high quality horses. Watch for these exciting prospects as they make their competition debuts this year!

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FALL 2010 UPCOMING EVENTS ~

Germany
October 2010
Frank is traveling to Germany with clients on a horse buying trip.

Driving Clinics with Frank
Contact us for dates:
Arroyo Grande, CA (multiple dates)
Grass Valley, CA (Nov. 26-28)
Woodland, CA (Nov. 6-7)

OTHER NEWS ~

For Sale: There are new items listed on our For Sale page - check out the Kuehnle pairs carriage!

WEG
Frank and Marlies both traveled to Kentucky to enjoy the World Equestrian Games and visit with lots of old friends from Germany, the USA, and Europe.

Shady Oaks CDE
September 2010
Frank journeyed north to Lodi, CA for this prestigious event, and coached his students to great success. Geoff Gee with Frank on the backstep won the Advanced Horse Pairs marathon, and was edged out by less than a point for the overall championship by former national pairs champion and host of Shady Oaks, Fritz Grupe. Allyn Carman won the Preliminary Single Pony Championship with Bud Lite, and Frank helped many others throughout the weekend as well.

Frank and the four-in-hand of Calero, Davino, Rambo & Asco completed their first advanced level CDE in the US at the Woodland Stallion Station Vineyard Classic CDE in May with a blue ribbon!

Koopman's Lightning Rod ("Rodger") a well-known Hackney horse owned by Ann Mc Clure of Arroyo Grande, CA, is in dressage training with Marlies - look for them at upcoming dressage shows.