hump day haflinger series #22

Sometimes, even if you already have one fantastic Haflinger, there is another that is just so special to you, you have to have him. The reason may be many, but they are strong. Emilie, from A Blonde, Brunette, and a Redhead has Abercrombie, who is an amazingly gorgeous Haflinger, inside and out. But she has a very special Haflinger that she is trying to raise funds to purchase that was previously owned by a very special friend of hers. And she has very special plans for this guy! I feel lucky that I was able to meet him at Equine Affaire and see him and Emilie ride. 

Avanti

Haflinger:  Avanti of Cedar Lane, but everyone calls him Avanti. Emilie also likes to call him “Sir".

Sire and Dam: Aristocrat TOF x Assita TOF – and as far as she knows, he only has two full siblings.

Age: 13 year old stallion

Height: 14.2 hh

Favorite Food: Bananas, peppermints, and cinnamon candy. And he likes Lipton Green Tea from a bottle…as well as red Powerade or Gatorade.

Personality: Totally mischievous – likes to push your buttons sometimes to see what happens. He also believes he is Mr. Big Bad Macho Stallion. If he were human, he’d be the handsome, vain jock who spends hours at the gym everyday and flirts shamelessly with all the girls at school. Funny enough, he can be shy around taller, non-Haflinger mares, though!

His biggest quirk is that he absolutely loves his gums rubbed. Sometimes he can get pushy about it, and might try to nip in order to get someone to rub his gums. Emilie will tell him to “Be nice”, and he will concentrate really hard on only sticking out his top lip and wiggling it in order to say, “Pleeeeeease”.

Likes: Avanti likes to gallop, show off, and pose for photos. He loves bareback rides. He really enjoys getting out and working, no matter what he may be doing. He is always happier afterwards, and will often fall asleep and let the cross-ties hold his head up.

He is so beautiful!

Goals/Plans for the Future:

Emilie moved to Wisconsin at the end of February , after several years of living in Kentucky , to work on a Haflinger farm again. Because she now lives on a farm and is able to walk out the back door to the barn, a few opportunities have opened up to her, which have led her to think seriously about what she would like to accomplish in her career as an equestrian.

After the prompting of a few of her students and friends, she has begun a fundraising project to gather sponsors to enable her to purchase and campaign Avanti.  Avanti was owned by her boss and friend, Rachel King, at Deer Haven Farm. Sadly, Rachel was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer and passed away in 2013. Avanti was sold to a farm in Ohio, but where his new owners kept Emilie updated on him and even let her ride him at a few events. Losing her friend and a horse was an extremely difficult situation, for many reasons; not only had she come to know and love Avanti, but Rachel was like a second mom to her.

Avanti and Rachel

Because of Emilie's move to Wisconsin and a few positive changes in her life, Emilie would love to be reunited with her equine friend and to carry on the legacy that Rachel left behind. While she has many goals for the two of them, her immediate plan is to get him back in shape and move up the levels in dressage, as well as start showing again. In a few years, her biggest - and perhaps most important - goal is to use Avanti as the "poster pony" to help raise money for cancer research. Emilie still has a lot of learning and planning to do to reach this point, and she is looking into starting a non-profit. She envisions them traveling around to various events to perform musical freestyles, as well as organizing charity trail rides and other horse-related fundraisers.

For those of you who know Emilie personally and/or follow her blog, you may ask what this means for Abercrombie. Don’t worry – Abercrombie is still her forever horse. She would never sell him except in dire circumstances, and even then, she thinks she’d live in a cardboard box and eat Ramen noodles three times a day first (she kinda loves Ramen so don’t think she's kidding here). Her goals for him remain the same overall, and she would like him to be like Avanti’s protégé, and to take his place as “poster pony” someday when Avanti retires. These two are her heart horses: Avanti is her best friend, and Abercrombie is like her kid. She loves them both dearly, and can’t wait to see what the future will bring for them!

Did I mention he was handsome?

You can scroll through her blog to find out just how much Rachel meant to Emilie and how important her vision is for Avanti. If you want to talk to Emilie yourself to get any additional information on her project, please feel free to email her at goldenheartdressage (at) gmail (dot) com.

For a detailed look at what she hopes to accomplish, download her sponsorship proposal.

And if you would like to donate to her cause to purchase Avanti and use him to help raise money for cancer research, you can donate here The Avanti Project.

Spread the word! Emilie has a vision and an excellent cause. Let's help her meet her goals.