https://www.hiddenpondsgypsies.com/

Hidden Ponds GypsyVanners and Cobs, Lever Street NE, Isanti, MN (2026)

06/05/2026

I never imagined that I'd sell this girl, but vet bills happen to the best of us.

HP Party Girl was the only foal I actually insured as an embryo. I had bought her dam, Queen of the Blagdon's Senora, mainly to be a broodmare because she was such a beautiful mare. I had had a vet check done on her prior to purchase, and I knew her previous foal was a breach so I had specifically asked that the vet check and make sure that the mare was breeding sound. I spoke with the vet, who assured me that Senora was breeding sound and that the breached foal was just a one-off.

Well, she wasn't breeding sound. After two years of trying to get her in foal, I brought her to a repro specialist who just put a tube and a flashlight in her and showed me that her cervix had been ripped apart by her last foal. He told me that her odds of getting pregnant and holding to term were very low.

I started to look into surgeries to close her cervix (which can be done at a few vet hospitals around the state), and in the mean time, since she wasn't breeding, I was hauling her all over showing her and using her as an exhibition horse.

Finally, in 2017, she got bred. Because it had taken so long and I wanted this foal so bad I insured her embryo. She surprisingly held to term and this beautiful, mostly white filly was born.

I never bred Senora again. I have a strict rule that I don't breed horses I'm especially attached to. I love all my girls, but I have broodmares and I have personal horses and I won't risk the lives of my personal horses for a foal. Senora loved being a mommy more than anything, and wasn't crazy about showing, but she did her best for me for several years, and later for my mother. She ended up GVHS Top Ten in driving several years in a row, and Vanner Advantage top ten, and she even earned her Legion of Honor before she retired at the age of 21.

Party Girl's sire was my first gypsy stallion. He was such a sweet boy and I enjoyed showing him mostly in local shows, because we didn't really have breed shows locally at the time that I owned him. I exhibited him also, at the State Fair and at the MN Horse Expo and at several other local events.

So Party Girl was exceptionally special to me. She was the only offspring I had out of one of my very favorite girls. But ultimately, she ended up being what I call a "trust fund baby." Although I loved her, she wasn't what I needed any more. She didn't fit my breeding program so I wasn't using her for a broodmare. I switched my focus from showing my mares to showing my stallions so I didn't need her as a riding horse. So she mostly just got to hang out and get fat. She gave me one foal a couple of years ago, a cute little gelding who was her perfect clone.

So when the tens of thousands in vet bills came up last fall with those three mares that got botulism, I had to make some hard decisions, which included putting some mares up for sale that I really didn't want to sell. It's tough selling one to save another, especially when you're more attached to the one you're selling than the one you're saving. But it's also hard for me to give up on a horse that's not willing to give up on themselves.

Party Girl left for her new home today, carrying some precious cargo with her to continue her dam's line. I wish her safe travels and I wish her new family the very best with her, and I hope to someday see her again. I have some horses that even after they're gone, I'll always feel like they're mine, and I carry them close to me forever. She is one fo those.

06/04/2026

This one is a hard goodbye. HP Party Girl was born here 8 years ago. She is a daughter of the stallion I used to own and show, St Brendan’s Cream, and out of my very best girl, Queen of the Blagdon’s Senora. She was the only foal Senora had for me. Senora was one of my primary show horses for several years until my dad died and my mom moved back to Minnesota, and started showing her. Senora is 22 years old and has been retired now for about a year and a half. Party Girl was a tough decision that we make sometimes as breeders. I wish her owners the very best with her.

06/04/2026

“Oh, it’s a horse!”

I had lifted my two year old son up to the window of the trailer so that he could see what was inside. It was an exciting day, because I was picking him up in the truck instead of the car and there was even “the grey trailer” attached to the truck.

He paused. “He’s a sad horse. He needs a hug.”

I’m not sure what exactly it was my son saw —- if it was the wounds all over her body, or the way her head just hung down and she didn’t even look up, or how skinny she was, with a rail down her back, but something made him notice that she wasn’t like the other horses.

I buckled him into his car seat.
“Why is he sad?” He asked. How do you explain neglect and horse flipping to a two year old? None of my other horses looked like this, and he knew it.

“She misses her mommy and daddy. And she had to leave her friends and she misses them.”

“He misses his mommy and daddy?” (We are still working on pronouns). “He was mean to his friends.” (Someone has been throwing wood chips at his friends on the playground and has had more than one time out and bicycle privileges revoked for it).

“No, she wasn’t mean to her friends. She just had to leave them. So she is sad.”

I had seen her posted locally the night before. A woman who buys and sells horses a few minutes from my son’s daycare had her, just for the day. She operated as a layover facility for someone who buys and sells horses at auction. This filly was just laying over for the night and the farm manager was given the opportunity to place her before she shipped on off to the next auction.

As someone who raises babies, the babies always pull at my heart strings. Leaving the farm as a foal is always so confusing for them, but that is only supposed to happen once, when they go to their excited new family after weaning, and they get to settle into their new life. It isn’t supposed to happen over and over. This one probably left her home in good condition. A month or more of passing through feedlots and auctions will wear you down, though, especially if you’re the human equivalent of a five year old child.

I knew I was spending too much. They wanted $1550 for her, and I didn’t pay that but I know I still payed way too much for a beaten up, grade, emaciated filly who might even be sick. And of all of them out there, I’m not sure why this one. I know better. I know that I could spend the same amount of money and get a healthy one right from the breeder where I had its history. I know I shouldn’t support horse flippers. I know I could have gone to the auction and filled my trailer with babies like this for what I paid for her. I know what I’m supposed to do if I need a grade baby (which I don’t), and I didn’t do it anyhow. I broke all my own rules because something about her said she needed to stop; that she wasn’t going to make it through many more auctions. That she could only last for so many trailer rides and so many loose pens with horses three times her size before her body failed her.

So I hooked up the trailer and went and picked her up.

I was told that she was feral, but had halter broken quickly at the layover facility and even accepted a bath and mane braids. Now that I’ve spent some time with her, I know that someone loved her. Her feet were done not too long ago. She ground ties. She lets me touch her everywhere, even on injuries. I can pick up her feet. She is fine with fly spray. She jumps right into the trailer and stood tied in the slant. She doesn’t want to be haltered, but after the last month or more of being run around, I don’t blame her. Somewhere along the line it was lost that she is halter broke. Sweet. Very well mannered. Someone put hours and hours into this filly. Someone raised her with love. And then someone sent her to an auction someplace, and the cycle started.

Her coggins is dated May 12, with a report date of May 14. It says “Rubber Duck Farm” in New Mexico, which I’ve since learned is one of the largest horse exporters for slaughter in the United States. He ships the big ones off to Mexico for slaughter, but sends the little ones to auction because they’re no good for meat. After that, she got shipped around the country passing between auctions and somehow ended up in Minnesota, en route to the next place. And that’s where I interrupted that cycle and brought her back home.

She is pretty beat up. She has a weeping leg and marks all over her body presumably either from falling and getting banged up by other horses or equipment or being bitten by other horses. She is very underweight. I’m starting her off with just hay to make sure her body can handle that before she gets any concentrates, so weight gain will be a slow process. She has a vet appointment Tuesday for a fresh coggins and a health check.

But my gosh is she sweet. Through all of the trauma, she is still kind. She is still good. She still does what is asked of her. Hers is a temperament that you can’t find every day. A horse that is still good even when she is scared. And she is just a baby.

I decided to call her Treasure, because she was one man’s trash.

Welcome home, sweet girl. Welcome home, my sad, sad little Treasure.

06/03/2026

One day, on a sunny day in July, a little filly was born. And she was a beautiful baby.

And she stood up and looked out at the world and she touched her mama for the first time and felt loved.
And she was a healthy baby.

And as time passed, she grew and she learned from her herd and she explored the world and she blossomed.
And she was a curious baby.

And then one day, she was pulled from her mama. She was weaned.
And she was a sad baby.

And weeks passed. And one day she was run up into a trailer and the trailer started moving.
And she was a lonely baby.

And she was dropped off in a loose pen with other big horses that chased her and bit her. And she ran. And she fell.
And she was a scared baby.

And she was ran into the auction pen, and bidding went fast and low, and she was run into another trailer, and shipped to the next auction.
And she was a confused baby.

And this happened over and over, even though
She was a good baby

Because at the end of the day, all she was
Was A throwaway baby

Don’t breed horses that don’t have a future.

***********

Her name is Treasure, because she was one man’s trash.

She is in quarantine and isolation far away from anyone else on the farm, and has a vetting appointment next week. I’ll save her story for another day. Suffice it to say that I have a soft spot for foals.

06/02/2026

Charlie and Pantomime are buddies, but pantomime was away at training and then swapped out with Charlie so they haven’t seen each other for a while. Charlie was so excited to see Pantomime again that he couldn’t contain himself. Meanwhile, Pantomime couldn’t have cared less.

06/02/2026

Is any one looking for superb quality, old fashioned Irish type mares any more?

Name: HP Rodeo Queen
Birthday: February 2024
Registration: GVHS
Color: Bay tobiano
Color DNA: Ee Aa nW20 nT
Pssm1: negative
FIS: negative
MYHM: negative
EMH: 14.3 hh
This Just-In x Lags Mare
Isanti, Mn

HP Rodeo Queen is clone of her imported mama, The Lags Mare. She is Westmoreland lines topside, so is heavy traditional bred. This outstanding filly is only two years old, pasture kept, and just kept on hay/grass, so imagine how incredible she will be as an adult! Her mane is already very long for a horse her age, and if someone wanted to grow it out and keep it braided up, it would go to the ground.

This outstanding filly just loves to be loved on. She is calm, quiet, and embraces the gypsy disposition. She does well with baths and loves to be clipped. I wish I could keep every one of them, but especially this one, but I have held back her sister. This is a kind, quality young mare who will make an excellent addition to any breeding program or a loving and sweet family mount.

06/02/2026

3 year old cremello c**t looking for his next adventure!

Name: HP Billionaire
Age: 3
Registration: GVHs
DNA: ee aa CrCr
Pssm1: negative
FIS: negative
EMH: 13.2-13.3 hands
SD Gold Top (13.2 hh) x Wild Rose Gwenhwyfar (15 hh).
16k
Isanti, MN

This is such a sweet, docile, and easy to work with boy. He loves attention and does well for baths and body clipping. He is halter broke and nice to work with. He has never been bred. He is pastured with stallions, c**ts, and geldings. He has never had any health concerns.

Yes, he was pretty excited to be out and running around! While he is super quiet, he had been in for three days because I had bathed him and it rained, so he was excited to finally get out and run!

06/02/2026

𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐆𝐲𝐩𝐬𝐲 𝐕𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐐&𝐀
(an interview)

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒊𝒈 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘: 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒕?

It really depends on the current exchange rate, age of the horse, which CEM quarantine facility you’re using and which airport you’re flying into, but a rough estimate is around $14,000 for fillies and c**ts under the age of 2 and geldings; $18,000 for mares 2 and over, and $25,000 for stallions. This doesn’t include the cost of the horse and doesn’t include any extra fees that might be incurred, and doesn't include transport from quarantine to your home.

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒓𝒂 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕?

It’s really easy for horses to get stuck in quarantine longer than expected. From what I’ve noted, about 10% get stuck in quarantine extra long, and entire plane loads can get stuck. It costs around $500/day for USDA quarantine and CEM is around $1000/week. I tell people to budget for an extra $10,000 per horse, and if they don’t use it, great, otherwise, they’ll have it and hopefully it is enough.

𝑯𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒂 𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒄𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒆?

Yes. I had one get stuck in CEM quarantine for 9 months. It was a whole ordeal and I had to get on meetings and phone calls with USDA officials in Washington, DC. They even got the Irish government involved. That was the last horse I imported. It was very expensive.

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒔 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏’𝒕 𝒂𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒂𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒆?

You can either get a loan or you can sell your horse to someone who wants to continue to pay the quarantine.

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒔 𝒊𝒇 𝒂 𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒆? 𝑫𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏?

Make sure you take out insurance before the horse leaves the farm. This does happen. I’ve known of several that have died in quarantine on either side of the ocean and one who even died on the plane from a heart attack. Horses weren’t made to fly.

𝑰'𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒖𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒃𝒚 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒎. 𝑫𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒂 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒂 𝒃𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒉 𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓?

If you can get several together from the same farm on the same flight, it cuts costs by around $100-200 each horse. Not really enough to justify buying more from a farm if they don’t have more of what you want.

𝑫𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈?

No, I mean not unless you're wealthy enough that horses getting stuck in quarantine won't affect you much financially. It is extremely expensive. When things go well it can be very rewarding and exciting but when things go wrong, they go very, very wrong. Personally I prefer to take a safer bet and buy in North America, even if it doesn’t have quite the same excitement as buying overseas. At the end of the day, you know how much you're paying for the horse and you know that it is going to arrive.

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒔?

Horses in the US tend to be handled a lot more. That can be good or bad depending on whether they were handled correctly or not. Most of the horses coming from overseas as breeding stock or young stock have had minimal handling. The ones broke to ride tend to ride very differently. While in the US, we use a lot of leg and seat and have little to no mouth contact, the imported ones I’ve ridden and own all tend to want heavy mouth contact and absolutely no leg contact. It’s really hard to train that out of them.

𝑾𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏?

Never say never, but probably not. They’re not rare in North America any more and you can find anything you want here, and for less than it costs to import something most of the time.

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒃𝒊𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈?

I’ve already talked about the expense and risk, so I guess that is the first.

The second I guess is a bit patriotic…since they’re not rare or hard to find any more, I prefer to keep my money here in America, with Americans, and support other Americans, rather than foreigners.

And the last is that most people don’t seem to realize that the vast majority of horses overseas are not eligible for registration with American registries. It used to be easy to register imported horses with GHRA, but the last few years they’ve decided to become more strict with what they will accept, similar to GVHS. So basically you’re paying a lot of money to bring over a grade horse. Unregistered gypsies aren’t worth as much as registered ones, so that sort of defeats the point in paying a premium to import something. You can buy grade gypsies here and get several of them for what it costs to import a single grade gypsy from overseas if papers don't matter to you.

𝑪𝒂𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒆 𝒂 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈?

Yes! I was asking Hermit’s Cobs about blanket spotted palomino c**ts for six years and even visited their farm. Back in 2020, I finally said “I’m going to do it.” Diane sent me these muddy pictures of a c**t --- he was just covered in mud and had extra long baby hair; you couldn’t see him at all. So I had no idea what I was buying. He came off the trailer and I couldn’t believe what I had! He was gorgeous, absolutely my dream pony in every way. And best of all, he has the best temperament also. He was the only one I imported that went perfectly smoothly, without any issues during transport or quarantine. It was a very rewarding experience.

𝑰’𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒐𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒍𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒇𝒍𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒔, 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒅𝒐𝒛𝒆𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒔. 𝑰𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒅?

No, I’ve seen those pictures also and I think that was either fake or a private jet. Horses in quarantine are put in boxes, three to a box, and they’re not allowed contact with one another, unless it is a mare and foal, which takes up two box slots, or, sometimes they will pack a bunch of weanlings from the same farm into one box together, up to five in a box. The boxes are sealed to minimize any contact between horses.

𝑨𝒏𝒚 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒅𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈?

We as Americans have already imported the very best of the best and they either live or died here in North America, so the bloodlines are prevalent here and so are quality animals. Lloyds, SD Flash Harry, Bob the Blagdon, Lenny’s Horse, Lion King, SD Woolly Mammoth, SD The Don, The Boss aka The Business, Hermit’s Alfie of Brackenhill, Clononeen Mull of Kintyre…some of the biggest names in the breed worldwide are or were here already. Don’t be fooled into thinking American stock is inferior than what is available overseas. They have all types and quality there; same as we do here. They’ve sold us some of the very best, so don’t believe that we don’t have the best available here already. Horses don't lose their status or quality, or their ability to produce or sire quality, just because they've flown across an ocean.

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05/31/2026

Beautiful HP Rarity is still available with or without her 2026 c**t by Gitt a Hunka Burn N Love! She can be put back in foal to one of my stallions before she leaves ❤️

05/29/2026

Beautiful Diamond is now under contract!

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