Hail To The Mares

Great Britain’s Emma Blundell, of Mount St. John, reaps the rewards of a modern approach to sport-horse breeding.

- Patti Schofler

From a nation steeped in tradition, in a business confined by centuries of rules, British dressage horse breeder Emma Blundell stands proudly with one foot in the present and the other in the future. She envisions a day when mares best stallions in high-performance careers over most of their lifetime and rise to the Olympic podium, at the same time passing along Europe’s best genes, the very ones that made them stars in the arena.

Mount St. John Equestrian defies common practices. The mares on the 1,500-acre Blundell family farm, in lush North Yorkshire, England, are destined to be competitive dressage horses, aiming at the top of the sport worldwide. And thanks to the most advanced breeding technology, these mares at the same time prove their worth as the foundation for the sport through their offspring. Further, only the fillies born at the farm are kept. Colts are sold. It’s all about the girls.

Mount St. John Equestrian raises more than 100 horses, breeding 25 per year, at what was once an 11th century preceptory of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. Five centuries later the headquarters of the monastic knights was rebuilt into a manor house. The nearest village is Felixkirk, known for its 11th-century church and classic inn and pub. The Blundell family purchased the property in 2000 and have beautifully mixed the old with the new, including state-of-the art horse keeping and up-to-the-moment technology for breeding. This combination is the result of a well-studied plan.

About Emma Blundell