There is a fairy tale quality to Gypsy Vanner horses that people find enchanting. Their long manes and feathered legs, the light and bouncing quality of their gaits and their soulful eyes speak volumes of a time when these horses lived side-by-side with the gypsies that roamed the British Isles in colorful caravans. Bill and Wendy Ricci’s Kuchi, a spectacular 10-year-old Gypsy Vanner mare, is a stunning example of this rare breed. She is the first Gypsy Vanner horse ever born in the United States and she will be joining us at BreyerFest in July.

 

When the Riccis first saw Kuchi as a three-year-old in 2002, they immediately recognized her quality. “I knew we had something special in Kuchi the minute we saw her,” said Bill Ricci, who now owns the striking Gypsy Vanner mare with his wife.  “All I could say was ‘wow’.  It was her look, conformation, personality and presence.”

 

But Kuchi was owned at the time by U.S. Gypsy Vanner Society founders Dennis and Cindy Thompson who discovered the breed in the UK and were the first to import 16 Vanners to the US in 1996. Kuchi’s dam Bat was among that first group. “For the first two years we called her Baby Bat, because it took Cindy that long to come up with the perfect name,” recalled Thompson. “She found out there was a Gypsy tribe from Afghanistan that loved color and structural correctness and was also famous for a dance they did, the Hoochi Kuchi. It was a perfect fit because Kuchi has brilliant color, is structurally correct and dances when she walks.” 

 

Thompson agreed to sell Kuchi to the Riccis after his wife passed away, but he reserved two of Kuchi’s embryos to continue the bloodline. Because she is showing and in training, Kuchi has only given birth to one of her eight foals. The others were born via embryo transfer, a technology that is becoming more common with show horses.

 

So far, Kuchi has proven she can do it all. She’s been ridden Western in the Extreme Cowboy Challenge. She then went on to win the Wind Spirit Challenge at the first Horse Capital Expo in Ocala, Florida, a timed event that had her competing against horses of a variety of breeds. She is currently in dressage training and is doing quite well. And that doesn’t count her career as the super-model of Gypsy Vanners! Her image graces numerous calendars and books and now she is a Breyer portrait model!

 

BreyerFest guests will have the rare opportunity to meet Kuchi and her owner. Kuchi would love to see you!  

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 30th, 2009 at 9:08 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.