Frankie Chesler to 'Tip Toe Through the Tulips' in Holland

By Brigitte O'Neill

June 28, 2004 - As Tiny Tim once sang "Tip toe from your pillow, to the shadow of the willow tree, and tip toe thru the tulips with me," Chesler of Orangeville Ontario has 'tip toed' off to Holland - the tulip capital of the world, for what will be the riding adventure of a lifetime.

Chesler had planned to compete in the Ontario and Quebec circuits but has altered that plan since being offered the chance to show and train in Europe this summer and fall season. Chesler noted, "I recently sold the last of our homebreds that were ready to show, and only have babies at the farm so I travelled to the Shepp & Waldman Stables in Tull En't Waal The Netherlands to look for some new young mounts. While I was there, Alan Waldman asked me if I would like to stay on and show, making his barn my home base. I could not believe the offer and jumped at the chance. This will give me more of the International show ring experience that every rider needs."

Shepp & Waldman Stables is in the town of Tull En't Waal The Netherlands and is operated by Egbert Shepp of the Netherlands, the head of the Dutch Breeders Association and Alan Waldman originally from California USA, a Grand Prix rider and trainer. Shepp and Waldman started their joint venture in 2001 and have over two hundred young horses and potential Grand Prix mounts. They have recently sold some of the top Grand Prix horses in North America and hope that Chesler can assist them in highlighting some of their superior horses to both future clients and current customers. "Many years ago I showed on the Ontario Circuit and became friends with Alan, Frankie and the Sher-Al Farm family," Waldman remarked, "I have watched Frankie grow and mature into an exceptional equestrian and we hope that her experiences in the next few months here in Europe will propel her to future glory in Canada and around the world."

Chesler will be working out of Tull En't Waal and showing in Germany, France, Belgium, Holland and The Netherlands with her four horses VDL Nuit de Pomme, VDL Oscar, Rembrandt, another young horse yet to be named and some of Waldmans other mounts. Chesler will be returning to Orangeville around the end of November and hopes to bring back with her memories and experiences to last a lifetime. "I need to thank all the people that have made this possible. If I were to list them all, it would probably take up an entire page! Thanks from the bottom of my heart to my family, friends, sponsors and everyone else that have aided me on my journey to Europe. I hope to make all of you proud."

Frankie has remained a member of the Canadian Team for the past five years riding on the team at The Washington International (2000), in Helsinki Finland (2001), Drammen Norway (2001), Ikast Denmark (2001), Falsterbo Sweden (2001) and at the Spruce Meadows Masters (2002). Frankie spent the summer of 2001 in Europe riding on the Riders Tour in Spangenberg, Hachenberg, Balve, Gera and Berlin where she qualified for all five Grand Prixs and never had more than four faults in each. Chesler looks forward to this journey and hopes that it will bring her the experiences she needs to further her career in this equestrian sport.