Our History

Barbiselle Farm started with his founder Lodovico Quaini who began the activity in 1910. After the stop caused by First World War, he went through, he carried on his work and family project at “Cascina Barbiselle”, in which 25 families lived at that time. He was considered largely a pioneer and a manager.

Lodovico Quaini and his son Paolo, forth of 7 sons, started the standarbred breeding in 1940. At that time, Paolo Quaini, twenty years old, used to follow his father at Horse Fairs and Auctions to buy sires and mares. We remember the first subjects: Xante a grey horse and Desgrave (historycal postcard front and back), that after a wonderful racing career became an important sire, driven every week in Porta Venezia – Cremona for breeding.
Paolo Quaini, obstetrician and gynaecologist in Turin, used to race at Vinovo Racetrack with a lot of horses like: Dorlisca, Loingrin, Ultimo, Oliveira, Oxford, and many others. He won in 1964 Gentleman Championship in Cagne sur Mer with Intrigante.
His great passion for horses leaded him to meet a great Standardbred Trotting Industry manager: Mr. Vincenzo Gasparetto who will become good friend of him. During the sixties they will import from the USA, under the name of “San Damiano Standardbred”, some of the best Classic racehorses. The first one arrived in Italy with his talent scout was Lansing Hanover, his first Granchampionship racehorse, winner of Città di Trieste, Premio Roma, Città di Padova and Ouberon in Cagne sur Mer now called Vitesse, but also 2º at Lotteria, Costa Azzurra and Gran Premio della Fiera.
Followed, Brogue Hanover great winner both in Italy and France with the fantastic driver Walter Baroncini. And then, Some Fire, that conquered Gran Premio delle Nazioni and Inverno; finally, Murray Mir and Broker’s Choice. These great and famous racehorses that contributed to write Standardbred history were driven by the most famous drivers like: Vittorio Guzzinati, Walter Baroncini, Sergio Brighenti, Anselmo Fontanesi named “il Morino” and Pino Rossi. In 1990 Herschel Walker arrived from the USA, gave him great satisfaction racing in Italy with his drivers: Hakan Wallner, Vittorio Guzzinati, Wim Pal and Marcello Mazzarini.

He retired from racing at Barbiselle to breed together with other outstanding champions like Friendly Face and Campo Ass and the last stallion arrived from Canada: Berndt Hanover a great promise for the European and Italian Trotting industry. Nowadays, Paolo Quaini, dedicates himself, together with his daughter Elisabetta, to the Standardbred Farm, improving and renewing all the time mares and sires always showing winning products.

Join Barbiselle World

Since almost 100 years the Quaini’s has being managing and live on Barbiselle Farm. At the beginning there was Lodovico, the farm founder with his wife Giannina and their seven sons. Paolo, one of them, followed him taking care of the farm, enlarging it and now,with his daughter Elisabetta, dimensioned the business for the future challenges.

The present goals are: high genetics,  excellent productivity and milk standards, good crops rotation, animal food quality, environment consciousness and care, good relationship and respect for the employees.
Our animals: milking Holstein cows, heifers and young bulls, horses, and Suffolk sheep live with us in a peaceful Cascina placed in the green Po Valley. The farm is around 250 hectares, entirely irrigable.

The core business is milk production, with 450 milking cows producing the milk that is delivered to the Cooperative Latteria Soresina for producing the famous PDO cheese Grana Padano.  
On the farm there are more than 1.000 cattle.
Horses, in particular trotters, are present on the farm that breeds them and brings them to the racing career. There is also a lab for making frozen semen and some stallions are present too.

A small flock of Suffolk sheep enriches the landscape.
Crops rotation are suited for the herd and includes corn for silage and corn wheat, ryegrass and tritticale. A large extension is dedicated to Alpha-Alpha. The farm is self sufficient and guarantees excellent crops.
Since December 2010, the farm has been equipped with a  photovoltaic (PV) system where solar panels are placed on building roof tops to produce green energy, mainly for the farm use and for decarbonisation of the farm activity.

L'azienda Barbiselle

Da circa 100 anni la Famiglia Quaini è proprietaria e gestisce e vive a Barbiselle.
Lodovico è stato il fondatore dell’azienda con la moglie Giannina e i suoi sette figli tra cui Paolo che ha proseguito negli anni il lavoro del padre ingrandendo l’azienda che oggi, insieme con la figlia Elisabetta, è stata dimensionata per cogliere le sfide future.

Le scelte di oggi: genetica di grande livello, eccellente produttività e qualità del latte, buone rotazioni colturali, qualità dei foraggi, rispetto e tutela dell’ambiente, rispetto delle persone che lavorano in azienda.
I nostri animali : vacche da latte di razza Holstein, manze e torelli, i cavalli, le pecore di razza suffolk vivono con noi nella pace di una grande cascina immersa nel verde della pianura del fiume Po.
L’azienda si estende su una superficie di circa 250 ettari interamente irrigabili.

L’attivita’ principale è la produzione di latte, con 500 vacche in mungitura. Il latte viene conferito alla Cooperativa Latteria Soresina per essere trasformato nel famoso formaggio DOP Grana Padano. L’azienda conta piu’ di 1.000 capi di bestiame.
I cavalli da trotto allevati in azienda e portati alle competizioni sportive sono una tradizione di Barbiselle che è anche stazione di monta equina corredata da laboratorio per il congelamento del seme.

Le rotazioni colturali sono impostate al servizio della stalla e contemplano la coltivazione del mais da foraggio e da granella, cereali autunno vernini come il il loietto e il frumento da fienagione e per insilaggio. Una vasta estensione e’ dedicata alla coltura dell’erba medica. L’azienda consente l’autonomia produttiva e prodotti eccellenti.
Da dicembre 2010, un impianto per la produzione di energia rinnovabile da fonte solare è stato installato sui tetti delle stalle per soddisfare il fabbisogno aziendale di energia e abbattere le emissioni di anidride carbonica.