Although many of her production years were behind her when Marefield purchased Galatee from the late Bari von Buedingen in 1991, this sturdy yet feminine mare from old foundation bloodlines was needed to fill a gap in the breeding program. We were rewarded with seven foals over the following eight years. Bad luck did attach to some of Galatee’s later offspring, however, so we retired her from the breeding program in 1999, even after an uncomplicated delivery of a healthy filly that year.

In the meantime, Diligent, a Domingo daughter born to Galatee three years earlier, was the top-priced horse at the Graf Bae Dispersal Auction in 1992. Galatee’s first foal for Marefield was Lantana, a black filly who sold quickly and is now a broodmare at the Florida farm of owner Sharon Blanchard. Rapidan sold as a riding gelding. Amanda Raphaelson is enjoying steady little Ariadne as a riding horse and Ariadne, who is indulged with organic carrots (much sweeter), has to be enjoying her new life, too.

Ariadne’s larger full sister was designated as a keeper for the breeding program but, sadly, she was lost during colic surgery when she was a 2-year old, one of the unlucky later foals born to her dam.

While Galatee lives the life of a babysitter and will provide us with no more offspring, she has earned a place in our breeding listings on the strength of her last foal, Raphaea.

In 2002, Raphaea was one of two mares to pass the AHS/VhW Inspection at the Hilton Farm site. She was Filly Champion and Young Horse Champion, Raleigh 2002, where she also won the Hanoverian Young Horse IBC with a score of 81.1% from judge Hilda Gurney. At Devon, Raphaea came in 4th at the USDF Northeast Breeders Filly Championship.

With those achievements behind her, we are now eager for Raphaea to enter the breeding program as the carrier of her mother’s legacy.