Feijen followed her season closely. “I watched everything I possibly could,” he says. “It has been incredible to see. Her rider manages her carefully and only brings her out when it truly matters. But when she does compete, she makes it look easy. Incredibly careful, very willing, always attentive. As a breeder, that is deeply rewarding.”

Natural talent from day one

Anyone who saw Lady grow up would not be surprised by her current level. “From the moment she was turned out as a foal, she did things other foals simply do not do,” Feijen recalls. “A water hose on the ground? Most foals step over it or walk around it. Lady took a canter stride and cleared it with two meters to spare, as if it were an oxer. That’s when you know you have a jumping horse.”

She confirmed that promise repeatedly in free-jumping competitions. “We almost always finished in the top three, and sometimes she even won.”

A break as a broodmare

When Lady turned four and started working under saddle, her extreme carefulness also became a challenge. “She was so cautious that she almost became afraid to make a mistake. It held her back,” Feijen explains. “At a certain point we decided to stop for a while and let her have two foals. She simply needed time.”

After those two foals, including a colt by Mr. Blue, things started to fall into place. “In her first competition after that break, she immediately jumped exceptionally again. Interest from buyers came straight away. The first time I was able to say no, but one show later the demand became too strong and she went to Tal Milstein.”

Through Tal Milstein, Lady eventually found her way to her current rider, Fernando Martinez Sommer. “He really took his time with her,” Feijen says. “First weeks of walking and lunging only, then slowly building up. No rush. And look where she is now. As a small breeder, experiencing something like this is rare.”

And her offspring?

Lady’s Mr. Blue son is still owned by Feijen and is currently with Evy Boonen. “This year he produced a stunning foal by Ermitage Kalone, and the mare is in foal to him again. After that she will return home and I’ll breed from her myself. Who knows what the future will bring.”