New Life - Color My Valentine Melody NP Z

Poland's Natalia Paliszkiewicz (24) is a well-known figure in show jumping. She has been riding horses for as long as she can remember and decided a few years ago to combine her passion with entrepreneurship. For several years, she has also focused on breeding show jumpers, with the ultimate goal of one day training a breeding product of her own to Grand Prix level. For her most recent breeding decision, her choice included the stallion Colorit Z.

Natalia has been running her own equestrian accommodation since 2024: NRJ Equestrian Centre. "I train horses with a lot of respect," she says. "My horses, including my sport stallions, go out to pasture in herds every day. Generally, they have no shoes unless they need corrective or orthopaedic shoeing. In training, I do not use rein aids or other aids; instead, I focus on ground work and two-way communication with the horse. My main horse is the stallion Cappucino Hippica, with whom I won a gold medal at the Polish Academic Championships. We are currently competing in the Medium Tour."

Natalia took her first steps in breeding with her first own horse Insygnia, a Polish Warmblood. "Together we worked our way up to international Small Tour level. I always wanted a foal from her, so in 2022 she was inseminated by the stallion Taloubet Z. On 1 April 2023, she gave birth to a beautiful colt. The emotions involved were incredible; I knew immediately that it would not be just one foal. My first breeding product, Taloufyre, is still with me and later this year he will take his first steps under saddle. For now, we are still working from the ground, and I am really impressed by his great character and quality."

In 2024, Insygnia gave birth to a filly by the stallion Dourkhan Hero Z, named Dragonfyre. "She is fantastic: big, long-legged and very friendly. Later, we bought another mare, Chin Chin Melody, and decided to set up a small family breeding programme. I plan to breed two or three foals every year. That way, I can spend enough time on each foal to work with them myself, saddle them, show them in competitions and possibly sell them later. I really focus on quality over quantity. I want to give each horse time to grow up well-socialised into a future top sport horse."

On Valentine's Day, Chin Chin Melody gave birth to a beautiful filly by Colorit Z. "Chin Chin Melody is the first horse we bought specifically for breeding. She is a big mare with a noble head, good movements and a very friendly temperament. Moreover, she has a very good hind leg use. Although she is leathered and very nice to ride, I did not compete her because she went straight into breeding. However, her siblings have already proven themselves in the sport."

Natalia deliberately chose the stallion Colorit Z (Coriano Z x Capitol I) for this mare. "I wanted a stallion that has proven himself at the highest level and also has offspring that are successfully competing at the top. Colorit met all those requirements. In addition, I was looking for a big, elegant stallion with a good, balanced canter. Moreover, I am a big fan of horses with Capitol in their pedigree. I hope the foal will inherit his powerful canter, good jumping technique and elegant conformation."

As the foal was born on Valentine's Day, she was named Color My Valentine Melody NP Z. "As a perfect finishing touch, she even has a small heart-shaped spot on her side, which fits the theme beautifully," laughs Natalia.

Natalia is hugely enthusiastic about the young mare. "She is the most people-oriented filly I have ever met. As soon as she sees me, she comes straight to me in the pasture. She is a beautiful chestnut filly with four white socks and a blaze; to me she is simply perfect. She is very affectionate and actively seeks contact. Moreover, she is growing well and is very curious about the other horses in the herd. I believe that her gentle and willing nature will make her a very pleasant horse to work with. She has a very good uphill canter, which makes me confident that she will be a fantastic sport horse in the future." Exactly what the future holds is still open.