On August 1st of 2019, Dr. Michelle Whitehead arrived in Canada from Great Britain; the next day, her three purebred KFPS-registered Friesians also landed at Pearson International Airport in Toronto by way of the UK and Amsterdam. “After the lengthy quarantine [a month for the mare and seven weeks for the stallions] I was finally able to bring them home,” said Whitehead, now a full-time faculty professor at Sheridan College in Oakville, ON. ‘Home’ is the hobby farm in Schomberg where she lives with her husband, Paul, a photographer and graphic designer who works for Nobleton Feedmill, their three children, her mother, plus three dogs and two cats (“Also imported!”) and her three “black beauties.”
The equine component consists of two stallions and one mare who are all graded “Ster” or “Star” Predicate (standard minimum requirements for in-hand movement and height). The stallions are seven-year-old Nick Van De Olijftak and five-year-old Tys; the mare is Demy Van Gosveld, 10. All have impressive credentials. “Both stallions were presented during the 70-day approval test in the Netherlands where they both completed a ridden and driven IBOP test, which is a test for horses four years and older designed to establish an objective assessment of a horse’s natural aptitude and suitability for a specific use. It’s like a first level dressage test where they need a score over 77.5, which mine both received. The IBOP is also a means to collect data which the KFPS uses for breeding value estimates of sport aptitude.
