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Arturo
Alvarez Pou
& Nefydd Buccaneer
Jerez
2002
WEG
 
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Arturo Alvarez Pou
& Nefydd Buccaneer
Welsh Pony Stallion
WEG Jerez 2002 Exhibition
Still from Dressage un Ltd Video
Sue Horey,
owner, Ribble Valley Stud,
finds Bucky |
Paul and I decided to
reform my Ribble Valley stud here in Spain, I had bred Welsh ponies
in the U.K., and had missed them dreadfully when I came to live
here. I met and married Paul in Spain (A GOOD MOVE). He is
just as nuts as I am about animals in general and in particular
horses. One day he suggested that we start breeding Welsh ponies in
Spain and perhaps introduce and educate the Spanish in the delights
of owning and riding ponies as children.
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| Paul and R.V.
Super Star foal out of Bucky's sister, the
foal's grandfather is
Bucky's father, the other Welsh stallion at C.A.V.A.
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I went to Wales to buy the foundation stock for our newly
formed stud and quite naturally went to the stud were I had bought
my son's first Welsh pony some 35 years ago. I had bought a
delightful stallion (I couldn't believe his owner would sell him to
me), 2 brood mares, with my eye on two more and a filly foal. That
was my quota and I certainly wasn't looking for anything else when, I saw this wonderful head over a stable door. I just
had to have that foal no matter what it was, male or female or how
much it cost. It was a colt foal, exactly what I didn't want!!!! But
I was in love and bought him on the spot, even giving his breeder
more money than she was asking because I thought she wasn't asking
enough!!!! He was just 5 months old and yes it was Buccaneer.
We backed him as a three year old, after doing hundreds of miles of
long reining, his attitude to work was super, he loved every minute
of it and learnt so quickly. By the time he was a 4 year old he had
won the Valencian Championships for 4 year olds in level one
dressage ridden by the girl who backs all the ponies for us. We were
delighted.
At the beginning we were told by everyone, including English friends
here, that we were wasting our time and our money, even after the
Valencian championships no one was queuing up to buy ponies.
In the meantime from him being 2 years old we were invited to take
him to Madrid for Spain's biggest indoor show, Equemad, to do in
hand exhibitions with him. It was here that Maya and Victor
[Alvarez, parents of Arturo - Bucky's rider] first saw him. They
came every day to see him and tried to buy him. But this is one pony
that does not have a price. For the whole of the following year they
tried constantly to buy him and the answer was always the same. By
this time we had licensed him as a stallion and covered his first
mare.
We didn't hear from Maya and Victor at all in the following year and
then one day out of the blue at the end of his 4 year old year we
had yet another call. This time from an English girl who was working
with Victor, she is the daughter of a friend of ours and had worked
here for a short time. She was speaking on their behalf and finally
convinced me I should at least go and see C.A.V.A.[training facility
of Victor Alvarez] soooooo of course I went. It is a 6 hour journey, and boy am I glad I went. It took me a
little while longer to make up my mind, I was worried he wouldn't
settle away from home. Silly me, Bucky is the king of C.A.V.A.
Maya and Victor adore him as much as we do and their three children
all love him. Victor is one of our most respected dressage trainers
and riders in Spain (he was Beatriz Ferrer-Salat's trainer) and
theirs is one of the few dressage centres that has lots of ponies
(almost all Welsh) for their smallest pupils to learn on. They also
have lots of fun activities. Bucky is now in the hands of their ten
year old daughter, Ariadna and she has already taken the Catalunian
Pony championships on him and only two weeks ago in the Barcelona
Olympic Stadium at a category B F.E.I. Show won her junior class in
competition with horses. It was wonderful that second was
Buccaneer's own father who we imported from Wales for one of Maya's
clients last year.
Victor is a wonderful, dedicated man whose handling of his small
pupils is gentle and kind, always praising something before any
correction is made. Maya is totally dedicated to her children. We
are so happy there is a third child to carry on after Ariadna has
out grown him.
It is a very good arrangement all round, we are more than happy to
let them have Bucky free of charge, they have been so good to him
and for him and they in return are more than happy to have such a
spectacular little pony for their children. They have, in fact
become our Spanish family.
Oh by the way we now have 26 Welsh ponies and cobs.
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Bucky normally comes home
for 2 months "holiday" in January and
February, but we didn't bring him home this year as it is Ariadna's
first
season with him and we wanted her to have the 2 months off season to
get to
know him properly. We are very selective about breeding from him as
we do
not want dozen's of baby Bucky's flooding the market.
Of the 26 ponies 3 are the little Welsh mountain ponies, one a
lovely,
lovely Coed Coch brood mare who has given us some wonderful foals, 2
are
cobs, both from the Derwen stud in Wales. The cob stallion is
standing at
1.62cms now at only 4 years old. He has just been backed and we hope
he will
have a career in dressage. The rest are all the beautiful and
elegant Welsh
section B riding ponies.
It is still quite difficult to sell the ponies, probably most importantly we are very, very
fussy
where they go. If we sold to everyone who crosses our doorstep we
would not
be able to keep up with the demand. However when we do eventually
allow some
one to buy one we have a contract in which they agree to let us have
them
back when they are ready to sell on and we resell for them. That way
we
continue to have some control over where they go. I know I should be
able to
let go when they are sold but somehow I just can't. I suppose that
really I
am the wrong sort of person to breed ponies. Hence the 26 ponies!!!!
They
certainly help to keep us poor, but give us hours of pleasure that
only
another horse owner would understand.
Maya and Victor's third child is a boy called Victor, Vitin, to the
family.
He has already told me he wants to be a champion with Bucky like his
brother
and sister.
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