VDL Ulando H….gone but forever with us

Ruth Armstrong, owner of VDL Ulando H, was kind enough to share the personal side of Ulando with us. I cannot imagine how awful it must be to go through this heartbreak of losing a horse so close to you. Ruth, of Armstrong Farm in Mono, Ontario, is a warmblood breeder for sport disciplines. Originally from the UK, she has been in Canada for 18 years, and has over 30 years experience with horses in Europe and North America. She has competed internationally in show jumping and FEI 2* level eventing. Her husband Morley Armstrong, an active Lt Colonel in the Canadian forces, works tirelessly behind the scenes to keep the busy farm on track. Ruth’s daughter Tiffany (age 12) has started her eventing career and is becoming a big help around the family run farm. Ruth is also the Ontario president of the Canadian Warmblood Horse Breeders Association and a National Managing Director. A busy woman: mom,coach, competitor, wife AND a breeding farm….

Armstrong Farm stands several stallions, including Frenchman, Ilian de Taute, VDL Ulando H, Holburg, and frozen semen by Beau Regarde and Tango Selune. Michael Pollard’s exciting new stallion Querdolan Vitarel (currently in the UK with Bettina Hoy) will be a new addition. Ruth also bred and produced the stallion P.S. I Love You, top Canadian stallion and now a top west coast derby hunter star.

For more information about Armstrong Farm, it’s stallions, or breeding program, please visit www.armstrongfarm.com, the Armstrong Farm facebook page, or email [email protected].

From Ruth:

Hi its Ruth here owner of VDL Ulando H.

Thank you so much for your touching tributes of Ulando. My heartfelt condolences to Michael and the Pollard team on their loss of Icarus and Jude. Also hats off to Katie who like the trooper she is handled this horrendous situation long distance for me with tact and compassion. Thank You.

You all know the talents of this horse but I thought I would share a little bit of the “person” he was.

VDL Ulando H was my special boy coming to me with some confidence issues. I spent a few years re-starting him and teaching him to believe in himself and to trust me. At first I often wanted to take him in my arms and say “Let’s have a watch TV and chill day” …my daughter Tiffany would have had no problem but my husband Morley….. not so keen having Ulando parked next to us on the sofa!

From the white eyed, white sweaty creature that did not want to play…you and I, my boy, came along way in these last 6 years.

It took at few years of patience and lots of in hand work for Ulando to go to a fence without a stop or a wriggle, and then he suddenly started to blossom and the ribbons mounted. He had the most enormous jump, it was like being launched…you never felt lift off but you always knew you were in flight and then–boom–the back end bascules… and he would do dressage all day as he loved it, and he owned the dressage ring.

I have so many wonderful and hilarious memories to draw on: John Holling in a dressage lesson asking me for more, more, more till I could barely breathe with exhaustion; and he would be sipping his drink…cool as cucumber, and I …a soaking wet chewed string, and he would say, “Not bad, he’s straight now!” With Garry Roque jump schooling me while he pinged me to the top of the standards, and he would take a puff on his cigarette with a huge grin and in his slow drawl would say, “Well, honey your still on and he’s happy…come around again.”

I fractured my back a few years ago for the second time and his athletic jump was a bit hard on the painkillers; so when the jumps got higher and so did Ulando keep getting higher, I asked my friend and horseman Robin Walker to take him for a spin around HITS. I had complete faith that Robin would listen to me in how Ulando needed to be ridden and still remain in the tack! Fingers and legs were oh so crossed! As I pulled Ulando off my trailer I was telling Robin that he is a bit explosive over the fences…I laughed till it hurt watching Robin in the ring clear everything by an extra three feet and the look I got when he came out of the ring said several thousand words, in only the way Robin can say them… I almost died laughing and I still see that face to this day.

Ulando was both loving and mischievous . He would not keep his blankets on, he’d tip over his buckets and poop in his water buckets, pull my hair elastics out, and steal your drinks: he could drink out of a pop can or a beer can….though I do think he preferred beer. My 12-year-old daughter Tiffany could lead him around like a puppy and yet with me he could have a day where he would be a fire-breathing, piaffing dragon to his paddock and you would shout at him and he would say, “But I was only playing”..and give you his tongue. On more than one occasion I had turned him loose in his paddock, closed the gate, and I was almost at the house gate to find him behind me…laughing as only he could do. Ulando was all about knowing him as a person , gaining his trust and love that was his key, all the talent was there naturally and he never forgot anything good or bad.

The last event he won with me I lost my stirrups coming to a coffin and he put in a trot step to a brush and an invisible ditch and picked his own way all the way through, and for the very first time was flag hunting. Then he started to drag me around the courses ,that brought tears to my eyes knowing he was now a true and very real competitor. Last year, June 2011, I made the decision that he was indeed ready to be an international horse and gave Karl Slezak the ride. I was stressed because he was picking at his food and when I went to see him he just put his head in my arms and breathed a big sigh…as if to say “OK mom you still have me and love me, all is cool.” His voracious appetite returned and Karl and I were happy. Karl loved riding Ulando and we had a dream to try for the Canadian team and he did a fantastic job in the 8 months that he rode him with many accolades to their names, including winning their first Advanced in a very strong field and thus proving my belief in Ulando, but the gods were against us and he sustained a minor injury.

Ulando’s legacy have proven to be winners from free jumping classes, cup classes, and are just making their debut successfully in the event and jumper & dressage rings. I have two particularly spectacular young ones with a Burggraaf dam line which I hope to see Michael up on. Luckily I have a solid bank of frozen semen which is of excellent quality so business will be as usual for breeding. Info at www.armstrongfarm.com.

Michael had always admired Ulando and an exciting business partnership was struck. Michael loved Ulando and he was the one horse in the barn that he personally did up from start to finish, he knew and understood the key to Ulando was to have him love you back,to be his security blanket. Once you had that he would give you his all and more. That meant a lot to me. It is particularly devastating to us both that we did not get the opportunity to see them develop together. With all my heart I believe they would have been a dominating force.

Thank You to everyone who new and loved or had Ulando in their lives , and another huge thank you to the eventing community.Your support has helped me through this black time it truly means much. Ulando will rest forever at Michaels but we will remember him here with love and pleasure.We must all look to the horizon and pray for a fairer weather future.

R.I.P VDL Ulando H I was proud to be your person xox

Candian Warmblood approved Dutch bred stallion by Corland /Fanietta /Ahorn