By Chris Gould / CWHBA
Photography: Messenger Creations; Purple Horse Designs; Eiren Crawford

It’s the story of Warello a Canadian Warmblood gelding who's dressage career touched several lives and culminated, at age 20, with a CWHBA Lifetime Achievement award and Year End Level 3 (FEI) Dressage High Point Award. Sometimes it is important, as breeders, to be reminded why we do this.
Warello, born in 2003, was by Warkanson, a Hanoverian stallion from the famous W line of World Cup (Woerman). Warkanson was imported to Alberta by Gerritt and Ute Brinkmann. Fellow horseman Rudiger Dupierry, brought his quality Thoroughbred mare, Lara’s Choice xx (Lord Vancouver xx) to be bred in 2002. After Warello matured he was developed to FEI level by dressage trainer and competitor, Angie Golley. He was later campaigned at Grand Prix by Eiren Crawford and, in his final year, 2024, was a schoolmaster at FEI competitions for a developing rider, Sara Jackson (Vey).
In Crawford's words, here is how he touched so many lives. “Apparently Warello (Connor) was a very naughty young boy, but Angie Golley did an incredible job training him to Grand Prix and making a very solid citizen out of him. The horse that came to me to be represented and sold was a very good boy, but turned out his wild side could still come out every once in a while. He came back to me after being sold, and became mine. He wasn’t always easy, but he was always worth it.
“I don’t know how to summarize everything that Connor was to me. He gave me everything a horse could give, making all my dressage rider’s dreams come true. What aspiring DQ doesn’t dream of Dressage at Devon, Friday Night Freestyle in Wellington, and The Royal Winter Fair? He provided me with all those opportunities. He taught me so much. I look back and wish I still could have been a better rider for him, with the lessons I learned with him...

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