Page 39 - The Game August 2006

Your Thoroughbred Racing Community Newspaper The Game, August 2006 39
Dagmar and Yvonne Schwabe
Photo Right - Yvonne and 2006 filly by Chapel Royal out of Shebandowana, mare of Wanna Runner (El Corredor). who is back in foal to El Corredor.
Commissioned painting of Dance Corps with jockey David Clark wearing the now sixth generation family silks. There is also a true likeness of Dagmar and Karl Schwabe standing to the right.
The painting which hangs in the entry to the Schwabe home, is by English artist and family friend Tom LaFontaine, who has commissioned paintings for the Royal Family as well as many paintings across North America.
Yvonne Schwabe with some of the colts born in 2006 at her farm.
Sixth Generation in Thoroughbreds
When Yvonne Schwabe has a horse running in her name, the jockey wears the silks of her ancestors. She is the sixth generation to bear the colours of her family.
Yvonne’s parents, Karl and Dagmar Schwabe immigrated to Canada from Germany in 1954 bringing with them their passion for horses.
Erica Von Levetzow, Yvonne’s grand- mother on her mother’s side, was a jockey in Germany whose family was deep rooted in the world of thoroughbred racing.
Karl’s family had a farm with work horses for which he had always had a fascination. After working as a criminal lawyer in Germany, Karl took up a different profession in Canada, starting an investment company focusing on farms and properties.
In 1961, the Schwabe’s invested in property of their own, a 200 acre former sheep farm in the Acton area of Halton Hills. It was here that Yvonne along with her sister Petra and their parents would spend their weekends in the small cottage on the farm while farm manager George Robertson remained in the main house on the farm.
George had always dreamed of owning a farm of his own which he would call Persley Den after a beautiful valley in his homeland of Scotland. In honour of George and his hard work at the farm, Karl did just that and named the farm Persley Den.
In the early days the farm was a refuge and a place to play for the family. Yvonne and her father had become more like buddies as they would spend long hours riding through trails on horseback.
In 1973, they added an extension to the original farm house and the family moved to the farm.
Dagmar was not one to shy away from hard work as she busied herself planting trees, cutting grass and painting fences.
“The majority of the beautiful, tall trees you see on the farm today were planted by my mother.” beams Yvonne who still lives on the farm with her mother, who is now 83.
A day at the races at Woodbine Racetrack was the beginning of owning thoroughbreds for the Schwabes in Canada. Karl had an opportunity to chat with Mr. E.P. Taylor and later that year found himself raising his hand in a bid for a yearling at the local sale.
“We had to renovate the barn very quickly.” laughs Yvonne.
The horse, Neade, gave Avelino Gomez his 2000th career victory.
They also built an additional barn with an arena as well as a house for farm manager Brian Ferguson and his wife Lorie.
Karl then purchased a yearling filly who was very sick, Hildessa, who would eventually become the foundation mare for their successful breeding and racing stable.
Hildessa was the mare of Hildesheim (named after the place where Karl was born in Germany) who was the winner of 1971 Nathalma Stakes with jockey John Bell in the irons. She also won the Canadian Stakes in 1974 with jockey
Hugo Dittfach.
Hildesheim went on to produce
Centenarian, named because of the 98-year-old fellow who purchased the horse who claimed he would be a centenarian when the horse would run in the Queen’s Plate.
The Schwabes bred locally as well as in Kentucky and Maryland and had a strong contingent with Windfields Farm.
They bred horses to sires in the $10,000 range and were enjoying breeding and racing success with their offspring and always maintained one or two runners of their own at the racetrack under the guidance of trainer Glen Magnusson including the very successful homebred, Dance Corps, a multiple stakes placed winner of the 1984 Shepperton Stakes. Dance Corps was an important part of the family’s racing success and was retired to the farm with career earnings in excess of $400,000. He is the only horse to be buried at the farm.
During this time, Yvonne and her sister dabbled in show horses and Yvonne even- tually began breaking yearlings at the farm. She attended boarding school at Havergal School for Girls in Toronto and studied animal science at both the University of Florida, for one term, and the University of Guelph.
Upon completion of her schooling, Yvonne became involved full-time in the breeding of thoroughbred racehorses with her father .
Sadly Karl Schwabe passed away in 1995.
Yvonne then decided to get aggressive in the breeding business and slowly built up a band of 8 broodmares including the Mt. Magazine mare, Shebandowana.
Shebandowana, is the mare of multiple stakes winner, Wanna Runner (by El Corredor), who is a graded stakes winner of $566,950 with 4 wins in 8 career starts.
Yvonne sold the talented colt to trainer Bob Baffert as a yearling for $80,000 in the 2004 Fasig-Tipton Sale in Kentucky for owner Mike Pegram.
A half-sister (by Kafwain) to Wanna Runner will be up for auction at the Keeneland September Sale with consignor Hill ‘N’ Dale Sales Agency in Kentucky. The mare currently has a Chapel Royal filly at her side and is confirmed back in foal to El Corredor.
There are currently 25 mares at the farm, the majority of which are owned by Ted Burnett’s Josham Farms Ltd. with 21 foals being born in 2006.
“I generally sell in Kentucky and Canada,” says Yvonne of her sales decisions, “I put horses where I think they are going to sell the best.
“Ontario sired horses stay in Canada where European pedigree horses usually go to Keeneland September.”
Yvonne, who has a busy life co-ordinating the perfect matings and travelling to sales, admits that she couldn’t run the farm without the dedication and expertise of farm managers Brian and Lorie, “They are instrumental in making this business work. We make a fantastic team.”
Mare De Sister with her 2006 filly by Tomahawk