Members of the South Lane Farm team, including Master Trainer Robert Gharibzadeh.

January 7, 2011 – Vankleek Hill, Ontario – South Lane Farm, one of Canada’s top breeding facilities for Hanoverian and Canadian Warmblood horses, is pleased to welcome Master Horse Trainer Robert Gharibzadeh to its operation, and to announce the establishment of an official young horse training program.

Louise and Joe Palmer opened South Lane Farm 15 years ago as a business specializing in the breeding and training of young horses. Their picturesque farm is conveniently located in eastern Ontario between Ottawa and Montreal. The operation can now be recognized by the Hanoverian Society in Germany (Hannoveraner Verband) as an official young horse training centre for the Hanoverian breed.

Over the last few years, horses produced through the South Lane Farm breeding program have been sold to numerous equine professionals, including Olympic Champion Eric Lamaze. In fact, one of its foals, Rosetta out of 2009 Hanoverian Champion Mare Felicia, was recently awarded the prestigious title of 2010 Canadian Champion Foal from a field of 57 entries across Canada.

With the addition of Robert Gharibzadeh to the program, South Lane Farm has expanded from a young horse breeding facility into an advanced training center for all three Olympic disciplines.

“After many years of building the farm with the intention of developing a young horse training centre, Robert is the final step in completing this goal for us,” said Louise Palmer who, with Gharibzadeh’s help, has developed one of South Lane Farm’s home-bred horses from the basic dressage levels up to Prix St. Georges. “His knowledge and background on the correct training of horses is most important, both for advanced level horses and for the proper training of young horses which gives them the best possible start to their sport careers.”

Robert Gharibzadeh has 30 years of experience working with horses and has the distinction of being a German Certified “Pferdewirtschaftsmeister.” This certification is the highest level attainable as an equine professional in Germany and loosely translates into English as ‘Master Horse Trainer’. In order to achieve this recognition, one must study for many years under the tutelage of accomplished Masters and it is then only awarded after 12 weeks of rigorous testing on all aspects of equine training and management.

Gharibzadeh worked with many notable professionals during his career such as George Theodorescu, Herbert Rehbein, Karsten Huck, Gilbert Bockmann and Holger Schmezer. This solid foundation for training gave him the opportunity to coach several students to success at the German Championships in dressage, jumping and eventing. In addition to being a rider and trainer, Gharibzadeh is also certified as a judge up to M Level in Germany for both dressage and jumping and holds qualifications for the Bundeschampionat (German Young Horse Championships).

In September of 2010, Gharibzadeh moved from his base in California to his new home at South Lane Farm.

“I feel I have a great opportunity to develop some very exciting horses and to share my training skills with a group of dedicated horse people,” said Gharibzadeh. “This is a tremendous opportunity for both myself and my family to help in the further building of South Lane Farm.”

Gharibzadeh continues to train horses and riders across North America who are competing in dressage and show jumping at all FEI levels. His presence at South Lane Farm also means that students aspiring to achieve their master certifications can apprentice under his tutelage while they work toward their degrees.

South Lane Farm now offers a complete facility to develop horses and riders of all levels in Canada and is ready to welcome new clients. For more information about South Lane Farm, please visit www.southlanefarm.com.