Harrowsmith’s Frontenac Friesians

Dec 18, 2014

Those who were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the six gorgeous black horses that walked in this year’s Santa Claus parades in Sydenham and Harrowsmith (and who won “Best New to the Parade” at the Kingston parade) may be interested to know that these regal animals, the Frontenac Friesians, call Harrowsmith home.

Known for their characteristic “upright head sets, high stepping trot, shiny black coats and luscious tails and manes”, Friesians have a mystical and noble presence and have appeared in many popular films, including Ladyhawk, Zorro, and Lord of the Rings, in which they were cast as the Dark Riders.

The Frontenac Friesians have yet to star in a major Hollywood film and spend their time at a small hobby farm located on Bradford Road, where their proud owner, Debbie Givens, gives them plenty of love and attention. The horses are named Lyske, Sunday, Viktor, Joe Black, Dave and Andy and they made a memorable impression on those who saw them walking in the parades.

Givens is well versed in the art of caring for horses and previously ran a large horse boarding facility just north of Kingston. She eventually decided that the facility was too large to manage and enjoy while she was also working full time, so she decided to scale down and moved to a small hobby farm in Harrowsmith in 2008, where she resides with her husband and two daughters.

With help from her mother, Debbie was able to pursue her “bucket list dream” of acquiring the best purebred Friesian mare she could find. She did just that and the mare that she was driving carriage with at the parades is named Lyske Meintse, and came from Kettle Creek Friesians in London, Ontario. Lyske has been judged by the FPS, the Holland group that controls the integrity of purebred Friesians world-wide, as a “Star”, meaning that she is in the top 30% of the FPS's quality judged breeding mares.

Givens has since bred Lyske with two different purebred Friesians from Michigan and in 2013 she gave birth to a filly, Sunday, and in 2014 to a colt named Viktor. While there are no births on the horizon for 2015, Givens has acquired frozen semen from the Netherlands and is hoping for a purebred Friesian foal again in 2016.

She also breeds half Friesian horses and her mare Andy, which is part thoroughbred and part standard bred, was bred twice with a Friesian stallion named Jisk in Peterborough. In 2011 she birthed a half-Friesian colt named Joe Black and in 2014 birthed Dave

The Friesians’ laid back and amazing behavior at the three local parades, especially given their young ages, demonstrates that these animals are highly trainable and reliable and that they like to please.

Givens said she practiced with her horses a few times before the parades and was thrilled with their behavior, saying humbly, “I know my horses.”

When I visited at the farm, Givens was feeding the herd and said that she can’t wait to retire in 2019 so she can devote more time to the animals she loves so much. Until then she will continue to breed, ride and show them - and she may even be convinced to sell one of these majestic lovelies, though she admits that a sale might take a wee bit of arm twisting.

Givens is a member of the Ontario Friesian Horse Association and the Friesian Horse Association of North America. For more information visit the Frontenac Friesians on facebook or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.