Galentine’s Day 2024: Mare Crush Edition
Haven’t heard of Galentine’s Day? You’re really missing out!
Galentine’s Day was born in 2010 thanks to the television series Parks & Rec. The amazing Leslie Knope (played by Amy Poehler) invented a day to celebrate her female friendships which happens to fall on the day before Valentine’s… Feb. 13.
Heels Down is putting our own spin on this fun and new tradition. We’re celebrating the beauty and power of mares everywhere with our top five favorite mare crushes. Read on, and happy Galentine’s Day!
On Cue
The 16-year-old Anglo European Warmblood mare (by Cabri d’Elle x On High—Primitive Rising) had quite the record with Boyd Martin in the irons. She went from back-burner ride for the American 5* eventer to front and center (where she belongs, clearly) in 2021 when she won the Land Rover Kentucky 3-Day Event National Championship title, and fourth place overall. With a total of 18 career starts – including 2 CCI5*L starts – and 5 FEI wins, she’s a favorite to watch. Last year, the bay mare cracked the top 10 at Burghley, was won the 4*S at Bromont.
Why we love her: “She doesn’t like to get caught from the field; her favorite thing is to run away from you, so she’s always either Boyd’s first or last horse to ride—either straight out of the stall or when I bring her in from turnout, so I don’t have to catch her twice,” Boyd’s barn manager Stephanie Simpson told the Chronicle of the Horse.
Kalinka Van’t Zorgvliet
Kalinka is a true freak of nature, in the best sense of the phrase. She’s racked up top placings in the show jumping arena around the world for her grand prix rider, Karl Cook. The 14-year-old Belgium Warmblood mare (by Thunder VD Zuuthoeve x Goldfee Van’t Zorgvliet—Flipper D’Elle) is all business when it’s time to tack up and jump, Karl has described. With more than 100 FEI starts to her name, she’s had dozens of wins. And she’s developed a reputation for being pretty darn spicy.
Why we love her: “She’s a leaper. She doesn’t do it much at home, but she is just so excited to be jumping at the show. It’s her favorite hobby; she can get really jazzed up,” said her groom, Sarah Griffin in this COTH interview.
TSF Dalera
There are some mares who are just born to dance. And one of those is TSF Dalera. This gorgeous 17-year-old bay Trakehner mare (by Easy Game x Dark Magic—Handryk) dazzles audiences internationally in the FEI dressage ring with Jessica von Bredhow-Werndl. In August, the pair scored a smashing 90.82% to win the CHIO Aachen Deutsche Bank Prize CDI5* freestyle, helping to secure a sweep of the all five-star classes in Aachen for von Bredow-Werndl and Germany. The list of accolades for the all-star lady team is long: they won the FEI Dressage World Cup Final last year, and hadn’t been beating in a CDI test since 2021, according to the COTH.
Why we love her: “I was very emotional, as one or another saw, because of this incredible mare. She’s always—I’m getting emotional again—leaving her heart in there for me,” said an emotional Bredhow-Werndl from Aachen. What a class act!
Fleuresse 4
This lovely, floaty, 7-year-old Oldenburg mare (For Romance x Dorofinja Mae— Hardenberg Donnerschwee) is helping para rider Fiona Howard’s dreams come true in the dressage arnea. While being a relatively new partnership, the pair scored 70.500% and 75.678% to finish second and first respectively in Grade II classes during a CPEDI3* appearance at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival 3 in Wellington, Fla. last month.
Why we love her: Outside of being a lovely dance partner to watch, this incredible mare is doing her part in raising the profile of para dressage in the U.S.A.
HH Azur
This list couldn’t be complete without the Queen herself. “Annie” as she’s known affectionately around the barn, retired from the sport of show jumping last year after a long and successful career with veteran rider McLain Ward. The drop dead gorgeous 18-year-old Belgian Sporthorse mare (Thunder VD Zuuthoeve x Sion VD Zuuthoeve—Sir Lui VD Zuuthoeve) had an unbelievable run with McLain – in 2017, they won the Longines FEI World Cup Final in Omaha and was on the silver medal winning team at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. Happy retirement, sweet Annie!
Why we love her: “She’s a queen. She’s a never-end of energy. She’s, in the most wonderful way, arrogant. [But] she’s a warrior. She’d follow you off a cliff,” McLain described in 2022 after winning the $200,000 Empire State Grand Prix at Old Salem.