BELINDA NAIRN-WERTMAN

Belinda was born in Wellington, NZ, and lived outside of Auckland in the town of Whenuapai, until she was a year old, when her father's military career took the family to Thailand for five years. After a brief return to NZ, the family moved to New Haven, CT, while her father completed his Masters and Doctorate degrees at Yale. Upon graduation, the family moved to Santa Barbara, CA, where her father taught at UC Santa Barbara. When the opportunity came for him to build and run Prescott College in Prescott, AZ, Belinda's fate to become a horseman was sealed. Growing up in AZ, her riding interests evolved from all forms of Western riding, to Three Day Eventing. Only after getting her parents' permission to further her equine education at the Talland School of Equitation in England, did she find out that she was still too young to attend. Undaunted, she moved to CA, to ride Hunters at Foxfield for a year. In 1972, she left for England to study with Molly Sivewright at the Talland School. When she returned to Prescott in 1973, she ran her own stable, featuring every size, shape, and breed of horse. When given the opportunity to work with Karl Mikolka in MA, she pulled up stakes and headed east. Karl was the first of her dressage mentors, but hardly the last. Belinda also spent considerable time training with Gunnar Oostergaard, George Theodorescu, and Herbert Rehbein. Her nearly one and a half year stay in Germany at the Theodorescu's Gestüt Lindenhof was followed by her first selection for the USA's Olympic Dressage Team in 1984, with Alegria.

Belinda and Alegria in LA 1984 (photo by Dr. Danny Marks VMD)

In 1982, after the purchase of Inspo from previous owner and founder Dave Johns, Belinda shifted from Inspo's focus on Hanoverians, and began a long association, that continues to this day with Dutch horses. Her first KWPN horse was Christopher (Cadmus x Farn), who eventually took her to the Seoul Olympics in 1988. Christopher was followed closely by Unanimous (by Rigoletto), who ended up the capable hands of Steiner Dressage, and took Betsy to to the 1990 WEG. Since that time, Belinda has made several trips to Gladstone to compete for various Championships, and spots on USET Teams. Some of the well known horses that Belinda imported and trained to FEI level include: Alegria, Winslow, Christopher, Zodiac, Disney, Candyboy, Calimero, Cidor, Sorcerer and Kirby. Other top horses that had great dressage careers in the US who were originally sold through Inspo include: Prego, Beethoven, Monarch, and Metallic.

Belinda is currently competing A.J. Stapleton's Friesian gelding Wietze (v. Rypke) at I-2, and Iron Spring Farm's Sir Sinclair (Lord Sinclair x Flemmingh). And let's not forget Watch Me (Sir Sinclair x Wolkentaz II), the super mare from ISF that Belinda recently took to KY for the Young Horse Championships. Watch for news from the 5YO FEI classes next year.

Belinda and Goffert 369(photo by Ken Yee)

Stay Tuned

BILL WERTMAN

Bill was born in SE Michigan, and raised in the town of Clarkston. In 1972, he fulfilled a lifetime dream to go to Jackson Wyo, and in 1975 he decided to make the move permanent (so he thought). In 1976 Bill went to work for Paul Gilroy and Mary Hutz at Dog Creek Ranch, and started guiding hunters that fall. A big part of life at Dog Creek involved building the herd of horses needed to run the rapidly expanding Hunting and Packing business. The horses needed to be very versatile. Some would be expected to ride, pack and drive, and except for the ones that the hands at the ranch rode, be bombproof enough for any guest. That is where his start with warmbloods began. Wyoming Warmbloods, that is.

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Bill and Daisy at the South Buffalo Fork Camp in the Teton Wilderness

While some of the horses were raised at the ranch, the vast majority were bought at auctions all over Wyoming, Idaho and Montana, as the need for more horses increased with the expansion of the business. In 1981, Bill started running the Bear Creek Camp, after Paul bought two more camps in the Teton Wilderness. He might still be running it if not for a perfectly innocent trip to PA in 1990. Those who know him, knew that it would take someone very special to drag him out of the hills. Enter Belinda; and the rest is history. He finally loaded up his truck, told his dog Maynard to load up, and headed east. Now, between being in charge of the breeding business that Inspo has developed, standing Dutch stallions at the farm, importing and distributing frozen semen from Holland, helping with farm management, and travelling to Europe many times during the year, Bill barely has time to lope his mule, Levi. Let's not forget the new trick that the old dog learned. That's right, he's his own web geek, so now you know who to blame for this.

As the demand for quality Warmbloods increases in this country, Bill and Belinda must spend more and more time in Holland looking for appropriate horses; as much as 3-4 months a year. Having a great and dedicated team at Inspo makes it possible.

THE TEAM

Amber Trainor

Just when you think that you'll never find another good 'un, along came Amber, from the Great White North. After stints with the likes of Gina Smith, Johan and Penny Rockx and Laurie Smith, Amber decided to take the plunge and apply for a full time position in the States, with Inspo. It has been a long and sometimes frustrating process, making sure that everything is Kosher with the INS, but for Inspo it has been well worth it. Amber not only trains and shows the young horses for Inspo, but has enjoyed success at FEI with John and Audrey Shoemaker's MVP (Amethist x Ariban). We've decided that she can't leave. She may be the only one on the outfit that can tell all the Friesians apart with just a glance.

Rob Ambler

We told Rob a long time ago that there is nothing he can do to get run off the farm. All he does is muck stalls, fix fence, mow grass, weed eat, and just about anything else we can think up in a day. All done while whistling his heart out. He's priceless.

Jeanne Pakes

How does one describe Jeanne? For what she means to Inspo, she deserves her own page, but that's for another day. Jeanne was born in Northern England, on a cold and damp night. As if there's any other kind up there. But I digress. When she was young, she ran off with Gypsies and found herself rubbing horses for swarthy people who spoke a language even weirder than her own. A chance meeting with a Horse Shouter brought an opportunity to come to America and settle in the quaint hills surrounding Catasauqua, PA. It was there that she fell in love with her first husband, 76'ers star Darrel Dawkins. In the locker room one night after a Sixers loss, Jeanne got into it with the owner, Fitz Dixon, and threatened to bite him. Well, that was that, and she had to leave her idyllic life on the Planet Lovetron, and seek employment. Two days later, at a vodka tasting on South St., fate took a hand and she met Belinda. Twenty Five odd years later (some of them very odd), she is still here, rubbing horses, threatening to bite people, and dreaming of the day she will return to the placid hills of Catasauqua, this time married to a Yeungling heir. She also happens to be the best damn groom in this, or any other, dressage barn.

Alex Robertson

While not officially an employee of Inspo (or any other outfit for that matter), Alex has become an intregal part of the Inspo Team. On any outfit, it's very important to have someone who will ride virtually anything with hair. Alex does it with the joy and enthusiasm of someone who knows that this is what he truly wants to do in life. Alex and his wife Tanya have their own farm in Ocala, but travel north with us in the summer to continue riding not only some of our horses, but horses for Iron Spring Farm as well. Alex also brings along his own group of sales horses that are a big part of his business.

Kara Flood

Because we spend so much time out of the country or at shows, not to mention Florida, it is very important to have someone we can count on to hold down the fort, and Kara fits that role very well. She has a background in many areas of the horse business, and is not just Amber's groom, but someone who's not afraid to tackle any job. Okay, she's vertically challenged, but she rides to the barn on a chopper in the summer, so no one messes with her.

 

Janni

He's the Dog Genius. Linguist, assistant trainer, (semi) fearless guard dog, and faithful beyond words companion to Belinda. Sometimes I swear he would drink Grape Kool-Aid for her. Oh yeah....I forgot to mention that when we make one of our frequent trips to Holland, he forgets Belinda, and becomes the devoted vassal of Jeanne. Then Belinda returns home and sets off the most God Awful Girly Dog caterwauling you ever heard, and he immediately becomes her's again.

And me? I learned a long time ago, never ask a woman which she would choose..............me or the animals. Don't ask........don't tell.

And Finally.......

Carla Hastings

Carla is no longer with us. I don't mean that she has passed on, just that she is on one of her "I've got to get a real job" kicks. But rest assured, she'll be back. She can't help herself. The real world is not for her. Let's face it, she's got an Inspo jones.