I bought two yearling’s in 2025.. here’s why
Spring of 2025 was an interesting time for my husband and I. We were still living in New Jersey, but our move to Florida was just within reach, with plans on leaving the first of June. To put it nicely, I was ready to leave the northeast. We both were, but working in a barn during the NJ winters had really beaten me up at this point. To top it off, Blue was already in Florida. So I was without my horse, in between jobs, and honestly pretty miserable. Alessi (husband) could attest to this.
So that being said, I had to give myself something to do that was still in the horse space. I think it started from watching some of the youngstock auctions held frequently in Europe. Which sparked my curiosity of breeding, which then led me down a rabbit hole of researching and reading up on all the things - past and present stallions, what they tend to throw, prominent damlines, etc. I’d watch all of the Longines Tours and would make note of how the horses jumping the biggest tracks were bred. The information you can access is endless these days, so there’s no reason why I couldn’t educate myself despite this being a pretty foreign topic.
I then started to look into US breeders to see what we were producing here in the States. Given that the culture and accessibility of young horse development here is light years behind how things are done in Europe, there’s a much smaller pool of people breeding quality stock in America. But they’re out there still, and I began inquiring to start learning more about their programs. Deep down, I had always hoped I’d be able to work with young horses again, this time in the showjumping world instead of western. It was something that was incredibly rewarding, and really tested my horsemanship (and patience), way more than riding the made horses I’d been sitting on. Even if green, there’s still nothing like teaching something from nothing. And we all know the price of quality horses is crazy.. but if bought when young, it could lead to something really special down the road. It’s a risk, sure. But isn’t everything with horses?
Time to introduce the two youngest members of the Allaman family. The first happened to be in our backyard all along, bred and raised by Tallin Farm in Colts Neck, NJ. I went into this thing hoping to find a smaller type filly. I have a strong preference for mares, and likely won’t import one anytime soon given how much more I’d be spending in quarantine. So this was my opportunity to finally be a girl mom again. Brian showed me everything - from his 2025 babies to his 3 year olds. What I ended up bringing home was NOT a small filly, but rather a colt that will likely mature to 17H. So much for that…. but C Tallin’s Chacco De Revel Z or “Revel”, impressed me from the first moment I saw his breeding and then really impressed me after seeing his video. He’s by Chacco Blue II, one of Chacco Blue’s most prominent offspring, with wins and many top placings at the CSI4 and 5* level. I’m a bit biased for Chacco Blue’s, owning one myself that has been such a blast to ride. The few others I’ve been around and the people who own them all feel the same way about theirs, too. Most of CBII’s offspring are young still, so it will be interesting to see what comes of them. The few that are of competition age are already proven competitors in their 6 and 7yo age classes. Revel’s dam is from a strong holsteiner stamm by Quidam De Revel that has produced generations of top jumpers. The granddam actually produced Tallin Farm’s most prominent stallion Carmague, who jumped 1.50 and has produced multiple 1.60 horses.
Revel is kind, brave, and quite easygoing. He loves attention, and takes to learning new things well. His demeanor tells me he will make a nice amateur friendly horse one day. He will be a big, powerful mover once he matures, similar to his sire. Chacco Blue tends to pass excellent jump technique, as seen in Chacco Blue II and many others, making the offspring popular in both jumper and hunter rings. But my hope is that Revel will be bloody and scopey enough for the bigger tracks!
And since I didn’t get a filly.. I kept my heart set on one that was introduced around the same time Revel was. She was bred and raised by MK Sporthorses out of Atlanta, Georgia. Her story is interesting, in fact owner and breeder Kristina wasn’t offering her to the public at the time I inquired about her stock. Delilah Z went by “Tiny”, because she was exactly that. She was a very late bloomer, significantly smaller than her classmates. So much so that Kristina and Matthew had their vets look her over, just to make sure there wasn’t anything abnormal. Reassuring that she was fine and would eventually catch up to the others, it was believed to be a combination of having a tough surrogate dam and that she likely took after her real dam’s size significantly more than her sire. So at the time I inquired, it was kind of a wildcard on what she’d grow up to be. But looking at her breeding, and seeing that I don’t mind and actually prefer the smaller rides for the jumper ring, her small stature and rocky start wasn’t all that concerning. Alessi and I welcomed her to the family in the fall, where she goes by a few names … Lilah as I like to call her, or Kiwi since Alessi loves the name. And Tiny is her alter ego, because she most definitely is a spunky, opinionated mare already!
The sire Dominator 2000 Z needs no introduction, having won multiple CSI5* 1.60 events and winnings of 1.4 million in prize money. His offspring are proving to be just as talented, with many jumping at 1.50-1.60 level. The dam is the incredibly talented 8yo Cereuza Z piloted by the equally as talented American rider Taylor Flury. She’s small, 15.3H, but already jumping in some CSI2* classes. The damline is littered with multiple 1.50 and 1.60 level jumpers. When looking at her pedigree, it’s safe to say that she is destined to jump the big sticks. And could prove an equally as valuable broodmare someday, also.
She’s also done a fair bit of maturing from the spring, and I do believe she will grow to be ~16.1H. She has a huge step already, is incredibly athletic, with a personality that does not let her small size dictate her feelings about life!
The fun thing about yearlings is how much they change. Every breeder I spoke with said the same thing - nobody buys them at this age because well, they’re kinda ugly. It’s their version of the terribly awkward teenage years. When I first met Revel, he hadn’t shed his winter coat out and wouldn’t let us touch him after spending all winter roaming like a wild horse in the countryside of NJ. And Lilah looked like a different horse every time I’d get photos of her from Kristina between the spring and fall when we purchased her. Honestly neither of them were great to look at when Alessi and I met them for the first time. But we saw their videos as babies, which is a much more accurate description of what they’ll look like once matured. And come the spring of 2026, it will be really cool to see how they’re looking as fresh 2 year olds.
No doubt it’s a risk and somewhat of a gamble. But even if it doesn’t turn out how I want, there’s a home and a job for everything. And if it does? I could be owning something at 5 or 6 that I would never have been able to afford. And when you truly love the process, the end result isn’t as big of a deal anyways. It’s been so fun for Alessi and I both, and it’s so great to see him get excited about owning and developing something from it’s young years. It’s a long journey, and right now Revel and Lilah are simply living their best life growing up in a field here in the beautiful Ocala countryside. But I’m so grateful for the opportunity be apart of developing quality, American bred youngstock - the future of our sport!
Lilah’s sire, Dominator 2000 Z
Lilah’s dam, Cereuza Z
Revel’s sire, Chacco Blue II
Revel’s grandsire, Quidam De Revel