The Livestock Conservancy classifies the Poitou Donkey, a native breed of France, as a critical species that is in danger of becoming extinct.  Their large ears, long heads, heavy boned muscular bodies, and dreadlock like coat are unmistakable.  According to the conservancy, in the late 1800s the Poitou jacks were bred to a specific breed of draft mare (the Mulassier) to produce working mules.  The French mule breeding industry was expansive, being promoted throughout Europe while keeping the breeding stock within the Poitou region of France. By 1980, partly due to its limited geographic region, the breed had fewer than 80 registered animals.  A group of organizations came together in the late 20^th century to help protect the breed from extinction and by 2012 there were approximately 2,500 pure Poitous registered in the studbook.  Since then, a few American breeders have joined the effort to breathe new life into this dying breed.

Leah Lively’s story with horses began as many others do.  She rode horses as a child but as she grew older, moved away from horses when it was time for college, then marriage and kids.  But her love for horses never dimmed.  Leah took up riding again when her daughter began to ride ponies at the age of six.  She couldn’t have imagined the journey she’d travel over the next eleven years on a quest for a foal.  It’s a heartbreaking story but once it came full circle, Leah found her joy again.

Like most people, Marne Martin-Tucker began her love of horses when she was a little girl.  She grew up in a family that bred horses as well as other types of animals.  But it wasn’t until she moved to Europe that she began to ride dressage horses more exclusively.  She said, “It was fantastic to have such deep mare families in Europe to purchase mares from in order to begin my own breeding program.  Lots of nice stallions are always available for frozen or cooled semen breeding but the quality of the mare is the key.”

Kanoe Godby has a vision to breed Gelders horses with a purpose.  One that is a willing partner, possessing a kind and calm temperament, and able to compete in many disciplines, with talent for a professional.  Gelders horses are the foundation breed of the modern Dutch warmblood sport horse and officially considered a rare equine breed.  Kanoe said, “I feel very strongly that preserving the old, foundation blood of the Dutch Gelders horses is an important endeavor, to compensate for the everlasting aim at more modern. Gelders horses will bring traits like width, strength, bone, and substance. As well as a good, calm, amateur friendly temperament.”

In 2013 we published an article about Frank and Mary Chapot of Chado Farms in which we included information about their then 5-year-old stallion, Gemini (photo left, 2021).  He is the clone of the famous show jumper gelding, Gem Twist, who was also owned by the Chapots.  When Gem Twist was born it would have been difficult to predict how accomplished he would become in his lifetime therefore, he was gelded as most young colts were back then.  Throughout his life, Gem Twist won Best Horse at the World Championships, was three-time AGA Horse of the year with three different riders, and won many Grand Prix throughout the world.  His most notable accomplishment was when he won both Team and Individual Silver Medals at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea with Greg Best aboard.  With the idea they may decide to pursue the process of cloning him in the future, the Chapots made the decision to preserve tissue from Gem Twist prior to his death in 2006 at the age of 27 years old.

Meet “B” (photo left)! This 2021 colt is the result of breeding with frozen processed by Paul Loomis of Select Breeders Services in April 1990 from the Hanoverian stallion, Banter (by Bolero). 

Nestled along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail in Shelbyville, KY is Cerulean Farm owned by Jeanette Aumon.  She has been breeding horses for 21 years with a mission to restore the best quality of original breed standard, type, conformation, athleticism and temperament of select national foundation horses.  She also strives to be the source of world-class horses specialized to excel in all disciplines suitable for both the professional and amateur rider.   

In 2012, Select Breeders Southwest (SBSW) had the honor of welcoming Radical Rodder, the 1998 AQHA World Champion in Senior Western Pleasure, into their stallion barn in Aubrey, Texas. SBSW had previously been freezing semen from him for several years but now they had the opportunity to include him and his owners, Diane Chilton and Dr. Howard Harper, as part of the SBSW family. Many SBSW team members were privileged to be able to be with Radical Rodder for his last trip to Diane’s ranch where he and his stablemate, Tumbleweed, were laid to rest on April 11, 2019. Paul Loomis said,“It was our great honor to have provided a home for this legend on the final leg of his incredible journey. He has been a fixture at SBSW for many years and will surely be missed but not forgotten.”

About seventeen years ago and after having three beautiful daughters of my own, I was eager to return to my inherent passion for horses and riding. I started by inquiring about riding lessons for my oldest daughter and encountered show jumping for the first time and was enthralled. I befriended a horseman and trainer named David Erlandson, who made it his mission to find my oldest daughter and I suitable mounts. Within months, David found not only a perfect horse for my eight year old daughter, but also found a perfect partner for me. This quickly grew to four horses for me, of which three were stallions! It was happenstance. I was looking for a horse to ride and jump. At the same time, an Irish Sport Horse importer was dissolving its business and word of this was traveling through a channel of horseman. Through quick timing, I became the owner of three impressive Irish stallions: one sired by Cavalier Royale (Royale Diamond; photo top left), one sired by Clover Hill and one sired by Rockrimmon Silver Diamond (Diamond Power; photo bottom left). Hence, by default and obligation to maintain the very special gene pool carried by my stallions, I entered the breeding industry as an amateur.

Adam Bowden, the owner of Diamond Creek Farm, is no stranger to the racetrack. His love for horses and harness racing began as a little boy when he grew up going to the racetrack in Maine with his father. His passion for racehorses continued through his college years when he spent time as an intern at Hanover Shoe Farms. It was during his time as an intern that his vision of becoming a major stallion operation, not only in the state of Pennsylvania but throughout the world, began to take shape. Diamond Creek Farm is well on its way to reaching this objective. Although they have only been breeding horses since 2006, they have already branched out into Ohio and hope to expand into New York, New Jersey and Ontario, Canada in the near future.

Karl Ludwig-Hollen began his career in the horse breeding business back in 1990 breeding Appaloosa horses and German sport ponies. His interest in western riding dated back to his first introduction to the American Quarter Horse while visiting a cattle ranch near Elko, Nevada in 1985. As a result, he began taking western riding lessons in the early 90’s. After he spent time visiting western horse shows he made the decision to focus on the sport of reining. He knew that in order to compete at the level he desired he would need to switch his interest solely to the American Quarter Horse.

Dawn Chamorro of Cypress, TX bred a few of her own mares over the years but didn’t start breeding seriously until 2015 when she purchased her stallion, Supremat OLD (Sandro Hit x Granada). Though it’s been three years, she still considers herself a “newbie” to the breeding industry. Dawn said, “Nobody tells you how much goes into the breeding world. It has definitely been a learning experience. I truly admire everyone that is involved in this industry. There is so much more to it than one can imagine.”

Greengate Farm, established nearly 30 years ago by Warren and Rachel Ehrlich, is nestled in the peaceful farming community of New Braintree, Massachusetts. The farm consists of two facilities, a 15-acre main farm and an additional 45-acre facility used for grazing and layup. Their breeding program began after Rachel was in a car accident that ended her ability to compete in the sport of combined driving. It was during this time that she became interested in researching the bloodlines of warmbloods. Now, Greengate Farm is focused exclusively on the breeding and sales of premium quality warmblood sport horses.

Giacomo Capacci Arabians (GCA) is situated on 70 acres of beautiful rolling hills in Tuscany, Italy. The Arabian horse has always been a part of Giacomo’s life for as long as he can remember. The passion he and his team have for this breed is evident in all that they do each and every day whether they are caring for the stallions, preparing horses for the show ring or tending to the needs of the broodmares and foals that call GCA home.

Lesley Feakins, owner of Trevelyan Farm, grew up in the United Kingdom before moving with her husband and family to the United States in 1989. Then, in 1996, they moved to a beautiful farm among the rolling hills of Lancaster County in Pennsylvania. The farm began with an active riding lesson program, summer riding camps for children and some breeding with a few Thoroughbreds and warmbloods. It wasn’t long before they began to focus entirely on breeding and phased out the lesson program in early 2000.

It was 15 years ago when Richard and Wendy Keddell noticed that most of the jumping horses in New Zealand were either Thoroughbreds, Stationbreds and Clydesdale crosses. They took this as an opportunity to begin breeding quality European warmbloods within New Zealand and thus their journey with Mount View Sport Horses began. Their facility sits in the foothills overlooking Tauranga harbor and Mount Maunganui and is an ideal setting for breeding, raising and training warmbloods for showjumping, dressage and eventing competition.

Teresa Russo of Australia started her career in the horse breeding business about 14 years ago. It all began in 2003 when she bred her first mare JTO Juanita (Kings Legend x Lena San) to the stallion Seligman Spin (Docs Spinifex x Lady In Red). From that point forward she continued to breed her mares to have one or two foals a year mainly for her own use to keep her busy and have young ones to work with. It wasn’t until many years later that she ventured into the realm of owning her own stallion.

Lucy Tidd’s interest in equine reproduction began when she attended veterinary school at Cornell University. It was there that she spent several summers doing equine reproductive research for the university’s Theriogenology Department. She enjoyed collecting stallions, evaluating semen and breeding mares but upon graduation she decided to pursue a career in small animal medicine instead of working with horses full time. Once she made that decision she felt she wouldn’t have much use for all of the equine experience she had gained. However, in 2008 she purchased a 15.2 hand homozygous black Morgan dressage stallion named GKB Coal Magic (photo left and below) Ragtime Voodoo Magic x Metis Koffee) which began her endeavor as a stallion owner.

Steve Joyce’s farm, Cabin White Farm, in Guilford County North Carolina gets its name from a poem written about the rich history of the revolutionary war in that area. Steve’s love of horses began as a teenager when he would muck stalls at a local stable after school that hosted hunter shows, horse trials and local hunt club events. He fell in love with the sport horse and began to take an interest in foxhunting. He said, “I love many things about the sport including a handsome field hunter. I took a particular interest in the cross-bred hunter, the crossing of thoroughbred and draught horses, to produce a horse with plenty of blood and constitution.” This love is evident in the athletic offspring produced as a result of the breeding program at Cabin White Farm.

Breeding, raising, training and competing show jumpers is what business is all about at Pomponio Ranch in San Gregorio, California. Owner, Signe Ostby, has a beautiful facility nestled in a peaceful valley between San Gregorio and Pescadero. It all began about 10 years ago, when Signe’s son had a great stallion named Uno de Laubry (Galoubet A X Laudanum). At the time, she had some wonderful performance mares and decided they would be a good cross with him. She started slowly and is now standing six stallions and breeding up to six of her own mares a year. Many of these mares have achieved “Elite” status with the Belgium Warmblood Society.

Connie Arthur, of Lone Tree Farm in Waterford, CA, began breeding horses over 40 years ago. Her first horses were Thoroughbreds (TB). Over the years, she has owned three TB stallions as well as a Dutch Warmblood stallion. After the death of her last TB, she had decided not to remain in the breeding business but one of her students approached her with the idea of purchasing an Irish Draught stallion.

In 1997, Millard Morris purchased the historic 89,000-acre Tongue River Ranch in Texas. Mr. Morris enjoys maintaining the Cowboy Heritage of the ranch as it was when it was founded in 1898. One of the main components is the horses it takes to accomplish the daily tasks on the ranch. Therefore, they began their own breeding program at Tongue River Ranch in 1997 which caters to everyone from the cowboy to the highest level of competitors.

Schengrund Stables, LLC (SSLLC) is located west of Hershey, Pennsylvania in Campbelltown. The founder and owner of Schengrund Stables, Dr. Kevin Schengrund, fell in love with the Morgan horse as a child and wished to create his own breeding program in order to help better the breed. In 2003 this dream became a reality and their first foal crop arrived the following Spring. At SSLLC their goal is to produce top quality Morgan show horses for all divisions including English pleasure, park, park harness, hunters and western pleasure. Their success is evident with success of their stallions, HVK Man About Town and ECP Anchor Man, and their offspring.

In 1991, the Ca’ San Giorgio Breeding Farm in Italy was founded by the Chittolini-Dubowy family. It began when they started breeding their own show jumping mares after they retired from the show ring. Their founding broodmare band began with selecting the best European bloodlines from the best performing German and French maternal lines. As Stefania Chittolini (photo left with Ladro di Cuori CSG) said, “Only quality produces quality.” In 2007, they moved their entire operation to the Netherlands. However, after four short years they decided to return the breeding operation to Italy but continue to have the foals grow up in Holland. Currently, their horses are performing all over the world in countries such as the United States, France, Great Britain, The Netherlands, Germany, Russia, Italy and more.

Melissa Froesch has spent her whole life around horses whether it be breeding or riding them. She and her parents, Bert and Margaret, make up Team Froesch who operate Glenara Park. They are in the business of training and breeding World Cup showjumpers in Bradford of Victoria, Australia. When training their horses, they take into consideration the ‘whole’ animal which is referred to as a holistic approach to training. This means they take into consideration the physical, biological, chemical, social and psychological components of each and every horse. This philosophy has allowed them to become leaders within their industry and produce champion after champion whether breeding with fresh/cooled/frozen semen or through their embryo transfer program.

Christina Potter and her husband, David, began Northeast Trakehners, LLC in 1999. Their mission is “To import, breed, raise and sell Trakehner horses sound in mind, body and soul, true to the breed in conformation and athleticism for the purpose of pleasure riding or driving on through national and international competition of any equine discipline.”  Today, Northeast Trakehners, LLC. is proud to have bred and own several successful Trakehner horses which include their three stallions: Inamorato, Isamu and Marseille.

Some people are born and raised around horses while others, like Rebeca Martin of Rancho de Suenos, are privileged to begin working with them a little later in life.  Like many, she was drawn to horses when she was a little girl.  Rebeca said, "We were never raised around horses.  I saved my 25 cents an hour babysitting to go to Arts riding stables every 6 months or so, to ride (walk) nose to tail with others.  But I loved it!  The squeak of the saddle was exhilarating!"   When she reached her forties she was fortunate enough to begin working with and showing horses.

Future Farms in Australia, located on 70 acres within a thirty-minute drive to the airport in Melbourne, is the creation of Doyle and Kate Dertell (photo left). The love they have for the Arabian horse is the reason Future Farms was formed and why it has become one of the leaders in Australia. They have not limited themselves to one particular discipline but their horses perform in many disciplines from the show ring, flat racing and endurance. Though training is an integral part of Future Farms, they also have a very successful breeding program which includes a small broodmare band of both imported and domestic mares. However, as we will discuss in this article, the stallions of Future Farms are considered the cornerstone of their program.

In 2014, Martha Reeves was in search of a new horse for her to compete with in barrel racing competitions. Her good friend, barrel horse trainer Ryann Pedone, called to say she had found a horse she thought would be a good match for Martha. However, when Ryann mentioned it was a stallion Martha’s immediate response was, “I don’t want a stud!” Ryann explained to Martha that he was a sweet horse, had never been in the breeding shed and acted more like a gelding than a stallion. Though she was hesitant, Martha decided to give him a chance. Martha said, “I’m so glad I tried him as he is a great barrel racing horse. He was gentle, quiet and easy to ride.”

Horses have been a part of Vicky Castegren’s life since she was 9 years old. In 1999, she moved onto her first farm but after several years of riding and showing she decided to take some time off to start a family. After the birth of her first child she had four mares due to foal and realized her current setup would no longer meet her needs. So, in 2009 she purchased a new farm in Barboursville, VA which had facilities for breeding mares and stallions. She jumped right in with both feet and it didn’t take long for her business to evolve into what is now known as Hyperion Stud. Today, Hyperion Stud consists of three facilities in which to breed, train and sell sport horses as well as offering superior stallion services. The facilities are the main farm in Barboursville, a turnout facility in Madison, VA and a training facility in Wellington, Florida.

Hacienda del Sol Andalusians is located on the east coast of Florida in Vero Beach and is owned by Dr. Leonardo and Maria Mandina. They were both born in Cuba but spent several years living in Spain which is where they fell in love with the Pura Raza Española (PRE), aka the Andalusian Horse. So, in 1995 they began their breeding program with one goal in mind: To produce world class PREs with outstanding genetics, conformation, movement, temperament and dressage athleticism.

Blanny Hagenah of Avalon Appaloosas has been breeding all-around Appaloosas for nearly 30 years. Horses have always been in her life but while she was living in the Pacific Northwest she became interested in the “Nez Perce” horses. The Nez Perce horse is a spotted horse breed of the Nez Perce tribe of Idaho whose conformation is longer and leaner than the typical Quarter Horse or other stock horses. They were a popular, colorful breed which was well known for their kind disposition, soundness and versatility. Over the years her breeding program has transformed into producing good-looking colored Appaloosas and colored Sporthorses with correct conformation which can succeed in a variety of disciplines.

Rocker b Ranch in Barnhart, TX has been breeding horses since it was founded in 1871. The 173,000 acre ranch was originally named the Bar S Ranch but after Senator William Blakley purchased it in 1954 he changed the name to Rocker b Ranch. Then in 1964 he deeded the ranch to Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. In the beginning, horses bred by the Rocker b Ranch had more of a Thoroughbred influence. That is until 1957 when the focus changed to raising quality American Quarter Horses and has remained as such ever since.

In 1995, Kerry Bradac was married and living in Marmarth, North Dakota. She was showing horses but because she lived in such a rural area she thought the idea of raising a few show prospects each year would be a lot of fun. There were three foals in her first foal crop. Of those first three foals one was a Congress Champion, the second was a Congress Finalist and the third was a Futurity Champion. Thus, what began as a hobby to keep her busy in her spare time has become a life’s passion.

Hilltop Farm, Inc. is one of the largest sport horse stallion stations in the United States. Shortly after Jane MacElree entered the horse industry she purchased two stallions, Cabaret and Nureyev. Her primary reason for acquiring these stallions was for their development as competition horses but it didn’t take long for the breeding industry to take hold of Mrs. MacElree. In 1989, she purchased 400 acres in Colora, Maryland. It is laden with lush rolling hills, a world renowned training barn, beautiful pastures, and riding trails. Today, many stallions, broodmares, and young horses call Hilltop Farm home. This summer they will celebrate 25 years of business.

Jock and Brooke Hislop of JB Quarter Horse Stud in Naracoorte, South Australia began breeding Quarter Horses after Jock spent ten years on the pro rodeo circuit as a bareback rider and occasional bulldogger. They chose to breed horses as a way to stay involved in the sport of rodeo which they hold dear to their hearts. They believe there is a growing market for high quality rodeo performance horses and when crossed on cow savvy mares, a strong crossover into the campdrafting arena as well. Their breeding program is based around their two Quarter Horse stallions, Only Foolin Around and PC Peppys Jack Frost.

Dana Galliano is the proud owner of Circle C Farm in Covington, Louisiana. She has been in the equine breeding business for nearly 20 years but horses have been a part of her life since she was a little girl. As a youth she was consistently ranked in the top ten competing in AQHA running classes. Her love for the American Quarter Horse, as well as other breeds, has remained a part of her life and led her to owning the 2008 cremello stallion, Elvis White Diamond.

Paul and Michelle Brent own and operate Cavalli Park Performance Horses in Australia where they breed and train show jumping horses. They began their career in breeding more than 15 years ago when they found it was increasingly more difficult to purchase high quality show jumping horses in Australia. Also, the thought of breeding for the enjoyment of creating top horses from the beginning was appealing to them.

Ricky Glen (photo left), of Ricky Glen Cutting Horses in Western Australia, has been breeding horses for more than 20 years but his commitment to the equine breeding industry really began when he became the manager of Morning Sun Ranch.  Ricky and the owners of Morning Sun Ranch, Barry and Leah Ryan, made the commitment to purchase stallions and mares from the United States. Therefore, they all attended the NCHA Futurity sales in Fort Worth. They purchased a total of three colts, one yearling and two weanlings. Ricky said, “When Peptos Stylish Oak, a weanling son of Peptoboonsmal, came into the ring we had not even inspected him prior to the sale. However, when the bidding pulled up, we had one bid and he was ours. The rest is history.”

Haras de L’Hermet was founded by David Maisonette (photo left with the his mare, Charms My Name) in 1993. It is a picturesque Quarter Horse breeding farm situated on approximately 160 acres in the heart of the Loire gorges in Haute Loire, France. They offer many services such as breeding Quarter Horses and Paint Horses, equestrian tourism, boarding, import of frozen semen from the United States, brokering of frozen semen from American stallions as well as sales preparation of foals for futurities.

Becky Bailey of Batavia, OH began breeding Quarter Horses more than 15 years ago. Her dream then was to buy a few broodmares in order to build a small business so that one day in the future she could run the breeding farm after retirement. Little did she know that this dream would lead to her owning, One Hot Krymsun (photo left), one of the top Western Pleasure Quarter Horses in the world.

More than 35 years ago Iron Spring Farm (ISF) began with the goal of helping North American breeders gain access to the best sporthorse bloodlines available without having to travel to Europe. Located in Coatesville, PA, the farm is home to outstanding warmblood stallions, mares and their offspring. Following the belief that producing quality horses requires great bloodlines they choose the best stallions and mares for their program. They focus on finding horses with great temperaments, quality movement and correct conformation.

In 1999, Almut Cooper of Germany, took a vacation to the United States. It was while visiting a working ranch in Montana that she became hooked on the Quarter Horse and Paint Horse breeds. After returning home, she became the proud owner of a paint horse before the end of the year. Her venture in breeding horses began with the dream of purchasing an offspring of the NRHA Hall of Fame stallion, Hollywood Dun It. However, the reality was that such an offspring wasn’t in her budget. She put Plan B into action by searching for a good Quarter Horse mare she could purchase and breed to Hollywood Dun It using frozen semen.

Halfway between Parma and Piacenza, Italy there is a small town named Alseno. Within this region of Emilia Romagna sits an Arabian breeding farm, Shazin Stud, owned by Mr. Khaled Al Enzan and his son Rashid. During a trip to Italy in 2013 Mr. Al Enzan was looking for a place where he could buy Arabian horses. He randomly stumbled upon a beautiful property that housed a vacation retreat, a landing strip and stables with Spanish and Arabian horses. On that day there were 400 ultralight aircraft on the property for a special event. Struck by the beauty of the structure (photo left) and driven by his passion for horses he decided to buy the property and turn it into an elite Arabian horse breeding farm for halter show horses.

Nestled on almost 700 acres in Wallkill, NY sits Blue Chip Farms, the leading commercial Standardbred Breeding and Boarding Farm in the state of New York. This beautiful farm with its rolling hills was founded in 1969 by the Kimelman Family then purchased in 2001 by Tom Grossman. Mr. Grossman became interested in Standardbred racing when he was a teenager and bought his first horse in 1989.

In 2003, Rachel Spencer was looking to purchase a “fancy, young hunter prospect”. She was not a horse breeder and was not looking to purchase a stallion. However, in the process of her search she came across a young stallion which trainer Tommy Serio had in for training. After watching him go for the first time she asked if they would sell him. After some negotiations she purchased the 1997 Bay Dutch warmblood stallion, Popeye K (photo left; Voltaire x Eloretta). Now she was in the breeding industry. Rachel said, “We had never intended to purchase a stallion. So I have had a very steep learning curve!”

Most women who own horses can say they were born with the “horse lover gene” and that it’s been with them their entire life. Ann Myers, owner of the AQHA World Champion stallion, Zips Chocolate Chip (photo left), is no exception. Though she was born a city girl in Dallas, TX she always dreamed of having her own horse. She took riding lessons as a little girl and then at the age of 10 her father’s friend gave her the first, but definitely not the last, horse she would own. Since she was a little girl she had always dreamed of living on a farm and having her own breeding program but it wasn’t until 8 years after she married her husband, Phil, that this dream came true.

In 1978, Mr. and Mrs. Allen Skolnick decided to partner in the purchase of three Standardbred yearlings. More than 35 years later their Southwind Farms is a household name in the Standardbred racing industry. After the success of their first yearlings they decided to purchase property to expand their broodmare band and breeding program. In 1980, the first property they purchased was 390 acres in the Catskill Mountains of New York. Six short years later they decided to move their facility to a more strategic location near four major race tracks and other prominent Standardbred breeding farms in New Jersey. The 235 acres, which was originally a dairy farm, is home to Southwind Farms broodmare band and nursery for their foals from the time they are born until they are sold as yearlings.

Three hundred rolling acres in Guthrie, OK have been home to the breeding division of the Lazy E Ranch since 1984. In 1989, following the acquisition of the Quarter Horse racing stallion, Special Effort (Raise Your Glass x Go Effortlessly), who is the only Triple Crown Winner in Quarter Horse racing, the Lazy E Ranch began to earn recognition as one of the top Quarter horse breeding operations in the country. The Lazy E Ranch was also later home to Easy Jet (Jet Deck x Lenas Bar) who was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 1993. Easy Jet was considered the “sire of sires” in the racing world and sired more than 2500 offspring in his lifetime.

For over 50 years the Lansdowne family has been raising beef cattle in Australia. For the majority of those years their operation was located near Katherine in Northern Territory. Then 13 years ago they decided to move their operation to a 45,000 acre plot of land in central Queensland. Horses play a big part in their lives as all gathering of their Brahman cattle is done on horseback. 

Terry Waechter founded WATCHMAN PRE Horses, Inc. in 2007. “WATCHMAN” is the English translation of her German name, Waechter. Terry (photo left) felt this translation was appropriate because it embodies the idea of guardianship. The Pure Spanish Horse (aka Spanish Andalusian or PRE) was formerly established as a breed in the sixteenth century and originated in Spain. WATCHMAN PRE Horses, Inc. has taken the guardianship of this special breed seriously as they focus on preserving the breed as it was all those centuries ago.

Courtney Cantrell lives in Goliad, TX and is a professional barrel racer who has racked up big wins on the rodeo circuit. She grew up in a rodeo family and says, “My dad, Marvin Cantrell, is a National Finals Rodeo qualifier and my mom, Cindy Gayle, was an intercollegiate champion and has owned several nice barrel horses. I have been riding my entire life. I continue to season a lot of young horses and plan to rodeo pretty hard in the future when the time is right.” She rides to win but for her it’s the people involved in the sport that mean the most. She said, “Winning a big competition is great but my proudest accomplishment has been meeting so many different people throughout the horse world and establishing all of these wonderful life time friendships.” 

Rancho de Los Arboles is a 32 acre farm dedicated to breeding, raising and training hunters and jumpers in Oak Point, Texas. The farm is owned by Ellen and John Eakin (photo left with Thanks For The Gold). Ellen says she is chiefly responsible for the horses and John manages the land and facilities. Together they experience all the fun and excitement of breeding, training and showing their outstanding warmbloods.

Manja Troeger began her horse breeding career 24 years ago when her first foal, a pony, was born. Shortly thereafter she bought her first Appaloosa mare and then the first Appaloosa foal was born at Vogtland Farm in 1998. Little did she know that less than 10 years in the future her breeding program of Appaloosa horses and her dairy farm would be destroyed.

Michelle Morgan remembers being a child growing up in the city of Lubbock, Texas and spending most of her time dreaming of horses and wishing with all her heart for a horse of her own. Her parents could never afford to give her a horse. The desire was so strong for Michelle that somewhere along the line she decided if she couldn’t have a horse she would just have to pretend to be one and that bit of whimsy went on for years. Michelle freely admits it was a little crazy even for a kid and she says her family teases her about it still to this day. Her prospects for horse ownership didn’t improve much even as she entered young adulthood. Michelle met Mickey, fell in love, they married, Mickey took on medical school and soon there were children. Michelle recalls “those were lean years”.

Mike Goebig (photo left riding Stand and Deliver) and Dwayne Knowles opened Broadmoor in Kutztown, Pennsylvania in 1986. This beautiful facility is a full-service Morgan horse training and breeding facility. Both men have success in the show ring but also choose to share their craft with others. Along with their own training and breeding programs they open their barn to the area 4-H groups as well as other youth groups who wish to learn more about the Morgan horse. They also donate their time to various fund raising auctions to support the Morgan horse world.

Francesca Fasani and her daughter, Sara D’Imperio, run a small Quarter Horse farm. It is located in Angera, Northern Italy on the shores of Lake Maggiore and not far away from the Swiss border. Francesca started breeding horses almost 40 years ago when she and a friend bought a Trotter broodmare. However, many years later Francesca came to experience the world of Western Riding when she bought an Arabian Horse of the Asil line that had already been trained in this discipline.

Since the age of 5, Marie Emrey has owned, worked and shown horses or ponies. Her original dream was to become a veterinarian but she ended up a biologist doing research. Though her areas of interest were equine lameness/ biomechanics and genetics she wasn’t working in either of these fields and therefore opted to become a certified farrier. She was mainly doing corrective shoeing on weekends and evenings. As a result of these efforts she was able to retire early from her research position to focus on what she loved most…breeding horses. In 2001, Marie and her husband, Jay, purchased undeveloped land in Cecil County Maryland and subsequently began building Lazy J Sporthorses and Ponies from the ground up.

Bob Loomis (Left with wife, Pam) is a recognized master in the world of training and showing reining horses.  His amazing career began in 1967 and after winning six championships he has more NRHA Open Futurity victories to his name than any other rider in the industry.  He quite literally wrote the book on reining (Reining, The Art of Performance in Horses by Bob Loomis).  Not only is Bob in the NRHA Hall of Fame, so is his phenomenal stallion, Topsail Whiz (Topsail Cody x Jeanie Whiz Bar).  In 1972, Bob began his breeding program.  His goal from the start was to raise NRHA Champions because he wanted to raise horses he could “win on.”  And win he did!  He is the only breeder to show, train and stand 3 generations of NRHA million dollar sires; NRHA #1 All Time Leading sire, Topsail Whiz (photo bottom left) followed by West Coast Whiz (Topsail Whiz x My Moon Stone Chex) and Topsail Cody (Joe Cody x Doc Bar Linda). 

Owning a sporthorse breeding farm in Maryland was not what Wendy and Marty Costello envisioned when they began taking their teenage daughter to riding lessons almost 25 years ago. Wendy had always loved horses and purchasing one for their youngster was the perfect opportunity to finally own one. Then Wendy’s childhood passion for horses was reawakened. At first she only wanted to have her own horse but then she had a dream of breeding one of her own.  Her first mare was a dressage trained thoroughbred (TB) approved for breeding by the Hanoverian Society. The initial thought when breeding her was that the foal would be her “last/best/forever” horse. But in the same instance she became the owner of the stallion she was to breed her mare to, Donavan (photo left by Karen Leitz: Elite Stallion, Derwisch x Akelei).

In the Show Jumping world the name Chapot requires no further explanation. Frank Chapot (photo left with young Gemini) has been training and breeding show jumpers since the early 1960’s. Back then his training barn consisted of slow thoroughbreds (TB) which he bought off the track. One such horse was a stallion named Salonga Carrier. Although he cannot be considered the foundation sire of Frank and Mary Chapot’s breeding program at Chado Farms he is the stallion which introduced them to the world of breeding.

Where in the world can you find a nine time AQHA World Champion stallion (most of any stallion in history), a two time APHA Super Horse, the 2011 Barrel Horse of the Year for 4 Year Old Stallions and a Galapagos Tortoise? The answer isn’t on a coast or an exotic island somewhere but in Pilot Point, Texas at High Point Performance Horses. Owners Jason Martin and Charlie Cole have trained over 100 AQHA World Champions and 200 AQHA Congress Champions. However, they don’t limit themselves to just one discipline; horses in their show string have won championships in Western Riding, Western Pleasure, Hunter Under Saddle, Pleasure Driving and Halter. At any one time they have 70-80 horses in training at their facility.

Tina Martucci and Gianni Daga founded Nejd Arabians in 2009. Though they have yet to have their own facility they are currently working out of the Arabian Show Training Center located in Dalmine, Italy which is owned by Luca Oberti. They began their breeding operation with the purchase of the Arabian mare, Aisha (SDP Taylor/Mata Hari) and a colt, Safeer (Ajman Moniscione/MO-Saifa). They then purchased a second mare Hayda Al Mali (Royal Colours/MM Eleelene) and a foal by Psyrasic and Aisha born in 2013. The latter mare is currently in foal by their 2009 colt, Safeer.

When Ilona English wanted to replace her very first horse she felt it was a good time to consider breeding horses. For the past 26 years she has been building the breeding program she started with the purchase of her first Thoroughbred mare, Party Doll, in 1987. When she purchased Party Doll she knew she was in foal but was unaware the mare was carrying twins. Although it was a challenging experience for a first time breeder both of the foals survived and became great riding horses. From that point forward she was hooked on breeding sporthorses.

In the 1990’s the reining horse industry in Italy was on the rise. This boom gave birth to Le Colombare Quarter Horses located in Asola in the province of Mantova, Italy. The facility focuses on both the reining horse and cutting horse industries. Giovanni Nodari and Massimiliano Ruggeri decided they would invest in reining horses by visiting the United States and purchasing high caliber foals. Unfortunately, they determined the caliber of foals they wished to purchase were not within their budget. Thus, they decided to invest in good mares which they could breed in Italy to top stallions in the industry.

When Maryanna Haymon was told many years ago she could no longer ride horses she knew she had to figure out a way to remain in the horse business. She found her answer in the sport horse breeding industry. She would be able to continue her love of horses, remain a part of the sport horse world and leave her imprint in the industry. Maryanna and her husband, Wendell, own Marydell Farm in Columbus, North Carolina. The region boasts a temperate climate which allows grass to grow in the pastures 10 months of the year which is the ideal setting for breeding and raising young horses. Allowing their “horses to be horses” with lots of outdoor exercise helps them reach their optimum growth potential.

Nestled on 250 acres in Lake Panasoffkee, FL sits S.E. Montgomery’s Flying M Ranch. Montgomery has been active in the cutting horse industry since the mid 1980’s after he attended his first cutting horse show. The rest as they say is history. Growing up in Cookeville, TN Montgomery’s family had working horses but his heart for horses had to be shared by his passion for golf. At the age of 20 his trucking industry moved him to Florida where he has resided ever since. For over 30 years he has owned and showed cutting horses, taking only a brief hiatus from the cutting industry in order to follow his other love…golf. Upon his return to the cutting world he decided it was time to take things seriously and knew in order to succeed he needed to begin breeding the top cutting horses in the world.

Four years ago Barbara Roux, owner of St. Bride’s Farm in Upperville, Virginia, purchased a beautiful, athletic, Holsteiner stallion named Coronett 2 (Corrado I/Hanka VI/Cassini I). All three stallions in his stallion line have produced top international and Olympic jumping horses. Born in Germany in 1999 Coronett 2 competed successfully throughout his show jumping career and at the age of nine was part of the Irish Nation’s Cup team in Wellington, Florida.

Select Breeders Southwest, Inc. is pleased to announce Radical Rodder (HotRodders Jet Set x Flashy Bar Flower), owned by Diane Chilton, will remain at their facility for the 2013 breeding season. Diane purchased Radical Rodder in March of 1992 when he was a yearling. Shortly thereafter his sire, Hotrodders Jet Set (Docs Hotrodder x Miss Clique), passed away as a result of a tragic injury. Diane received pressure from many breeders to stand Radical Rodder at stud due to the popularity of his sire. With Radical Rodder being the first stallion Diane would own it was not a decision she made lightly. She had been a mare owner since 1979 which allowed her to understand the mare owner’s side of the breeding industry. She knew that if she did keep Radical Rodder a stallion she could help others achieve the ultimate goal…a beautiful, athletic foal.

Cuoghi Quarter Horses is one of the top Quarter Horse breeding facilities in Europe. The beautiful facility where his horses are bred and trained is located in the Northern Italy town of Castelvetro, near Modena. Roberto Cuoghi’s passion has brought him incredible results in the international arenas for both the reining horse and cutting horse industries. In the late 1980’s Mr. Cuoghi purchased the stallion Snapper Cal Bar (Cal Bar x Cee Miss Snapper). This stallion not only is the founding stallion for Cuoghi Quarter Horses but also transformed the European Reining Horse Industry.

Michael Wilson of Willdraft Stud in Australia began breeding horses 30 years ago. He began by breeding a handful of mares which had proven themselves in the show pen. It didn’t take him long once he began his training operation to determine what mares produced offspring which were easy to train, willing to perform and of sound conformation. Once he figured that out he started breeding more mares and his breeding operation has continued to grow based on those criteria for his foals. He has won many major awards throughout the years but the ones he finds most rewarding are those he won on the horses he bred, raised and trained.

The Allevamento Frisoni PGP comes mainly from the passion and love for horses that unites two generations, and that certainly will be passed on to the third. After several work and holiday trips in Holland, we literally fell in love with the Friesian horse and its ancient history. Our excursions took the form of real cultural missions, exploring all the nuances of the breed from its origins until today: in this regard we have to thank some of the most famous Dutch farmers who have transferred a wealth of knowledge and invaluable experience. Inevitably we started the first purchases, the first sales, the first foals were born, and now we own a breeding farm that counts about thirty horses of which some are still living in the beautiful Friesian area.

When Debbie and James Glover began in the horse industry it was raising race horses. Their focus soon changed to the world of Western Pleasure riding when they purchased the 2002 AQHA World Champion Western Pleasure mare, Vital Signs Are Good, for their daughter Kristen. Vitals Signs Are Good is a daughter of the famed Zippos Mr Good Bar and granddaughter of the infamous Zippo Pine Bar. The partnership between Kristen and Vital Signs Are Good dominated the AQHA World Show and the Congress. They amassed a total of 9 AQHA World Championships and 27 Congress Championships in Western Pleasure and Western Riding at both the Amateur and Open levels during their career together.

La FRASERA is a noted Arabian Stud Farm and represents the result of twenty five years of hard work and passion for horses for Francesco and Serenella Santoro. Francesco and Serenella Santoro live in Sacrofano near Rome and have owned horses for more than thirty years. Their very first stallion, Satir, only just passed away at the significant age of 32. At the end of the 70’s Mr. and Mrs. Santoro decided to transform La Frasera in a farm which would only select the best genetic lines of "Straight Egyptians" in the belief that the undeniable beauty and purity of these subjects could improve the strength and quality of the entire race. The Santoro family is well known in the International Arabian Community and Francesco Santoro is also a respected International class A judge.

The Fell Pony is a working breed of mountain and moorland pony originally bred on the fell farms of Cumbria, in the old counties of Cumberland and Westmorland in Northwest England. The Fell pony is noted for hardiness, agility, strength and surefootedness that enables them to live and thrive in the tough conditions and climate of the Lakeland fells. The Fell Pony was originally used for light agriculture and as a packhorse for the transportation of farm goods. Being good, fast walkers, they would often travel up to 240 miles a week. Early in the registry it was noted that 50% of the ponies were brown but they are now predominantly black with some being brown, bay or grey. They stand an average of 13.2 hands, with an upper limit of 14hds. Though they may be relatively short they are powerfully-built and strong enough to carry both adults and children.

Stacia Purcell began riding as a young girl in Montana. When she went off to college she took her 3 year old with her as a project for her “horse breaking” class at Montana State. That is when she knew for sure that horses were going to be her life. Her dream of one day owning her own horse breeding farm came true in 2005 with the founding of Seafire Sporthorses, now based in Elkton, Florida, about an hour from Ocala. In 2004 Stacia purchased one of the top producing broodmares in the US Selle Francais registry, Bid Seven, and bred her with frozen semen from the stallion Quattro B. The resulting filly was named “Rhapsodie du Soleil” and not only was she the first Quattro B foal to be born in North America but she was also his first offspring to be registered Selle Francais in the world. In 2010 she purchased the imported KWPN stallion, Richard (Kroongraaf-Le Mexico).

Gianpaolo Gubbiotti and Paolo Capecci started their breeding and training business in 2000. Cà di Gianni had recently moved to central Italy, to Vocabolo Caldese di Celle near Città di Castello, a beautiful medieval Umbrian town located near Perugia and Arezzo. Gianpaolo and Paolo manage their business in perfect harmony, while Gianpaolo (photo right) is concerned with all aspects related to organizational and commercial structure, Paolo (photo left) is a worldwide respected handler. Cà di Gianni stands several internationally famous Arabian halter stallions and offers fresh, chilled and frozen semen. The breeding objective of Cà di Gianni is to improve the quality standards of Arabian horses and to produce horses whose "type" is superior.

Some of us may work in the confines of four walls with the benefits of heating and air conditioning. But for others, the great outdoors with wide open pastures and prairies are their “office”. It would be very difficult for them to get their jobs done without a great partner in their horse. That is where breeders like Mike and Robin Stewart of Munday, TX with her parents and partners Robert and Jamie Weaver come in. They started breeding Quarter Horses approximately 40 years ago because their family enjoys working with horses and raising colts.

Jennifer Weske-Monroe of Melissa, Texas has spent the past 15 years breeding quality colorful Morgan horses for her Monroe Exotic Morgan Collection (MEMC). It all began with the purchase of her cremello Morgan stallion, MEMC Tequila Cuervo (photo below right), when he was just a yearling. At the age of three he was one of only three registered cremello Morgan stallions in the world. It was at that time when she took him to Select Breeders Southwest in Aubrey, Texas for an initial semen evaluation. She has been utilizing them for her stallion service needs ever since. Shortly thereafter she purchased the most complimentary rival to her stallion, the cremello Morgan stallion Nashboro Sir Galahad (photo below left).

It’s a family affair at Watermark Farm in Oxford, PA. Bill and Anne Rawle, assisted by their daughter Ellie have been breeding good minded, talented and correctly built horses for dressage, eventing, hunters and jumpers since the 1960s. And what a talented family they are - Anne is USEF “S” dressage judge and trainer who competed successfully through Grand Prix dressage, Intermediate eventing and in the Amateur Owner hunter and jumper divisions. Bill has competed internationally in Nordic Combined skiing as well as dressage and show jumping. Ellie has had great success in the dressage arena as both a Young Rider and then in the open classes, earning her USDF Gold Medal and attaining international ranking at Grand Prix. Many of their competitive successes have been on horses they have bred and raised at Watermark Farm.

Readily recognized by their chestnut color and platinum mane and tail, the Haflinger stands out in a crowd. Although Haflingers are more than just a pretty face, they are great all around horses competitive in many disciplines. Our Featured Breeder this month is Haflingerhof Karlsbad, a distinguished breeder of Haflinger ponies in Germany. The Haflinger was developed in the Southern Tyrolean Mountains of present day Austria and northern Italy. Surefooted in the mountainous terrain and known for their hardiness, Tyrolean ponies were used for transportation and packing between the villages and farms of the region. The first official documentation of the present day Haflinger (named for the Tyrolean village of Hafling) was in 1874 when the foundation stallion 249 Folie was born of the half-Arabian stallion 133 El' Bedavi XXII crossed with a refined native Tyrolean mare. All Haflingers can trace their lineage back to Folie through one of seven bloodlines (A, B, M, N, S, ST, and W).

The Tommy Manion Ranch is located in “Horse Country USA” (Pilot Point, Texas). You can’t drive up Highway 377 without noticing the beautiful Spanish style home on the hill and the infamous stallion names listed at their front gate. Tommy Manion began his career showing American Quarter Horses in various events including halter, western pleasure, western riding and reining. When their son, Kyle, was born he and his wife, Chris, began to focus more on breeding horses rather than showing them which allowed them to spend more time at home as a family. Their vision of becoming a world class breeding operation came to light as they narrowed their focus to breeding the best and most prominent cutting horse stallions in the industry.

Winbak Farm is a long time client of Select Breeders and they are now next door neighbors to our new facility in Chesapeake City, MD. To and from work, our staff drives past Winbak's mares and foals out in beautiful green pastures, and we even get a glimpse of Standarbreds training on the track during their morning workouts. This month, we decided to feature Winbak and their annual yearling sale held in September. Elizabeth Lewis-House, marketing manager for Winbak Farm, gives us a glimpse of what goes on during the auction.

Our Featured Breeder this month comes to us from the beautiful Ozark highlands region of southwest Missouri, where Joseph and Gail Mailloux of Two Silos Farm breed classic Egyptian Arabian horses. They’ve had the good fortune to have bred some beautiful young horses who have gone on to successes in the show ring and in breeding programs all over the world. This year, the Pyramid Society awarded Two Silos Farm an Egyptian Event Breeding Excellence Award.

Not many stallions have quite the resume that Pik L has which is why we wanted to share his story. Often times a stallion is either successful in the show ring, not leaving much time for breeding, or finds success as a sire through his offspring’s accomplishments. It is rare to see a stallion do it all. For those of you who are not familiar with Pik L, he is a licensed Hanoverian stallion, owned by Ann Sparks of Horses Unlimited, who placed 4th in his 100 day test in Germany, receiving scores such as 8 on character, 9 on rideability, and an 8 for his canter. Since then he has trained and shown successfully through Grand Prix. In 2003, he placed 4th in the Pan American Games and in 2007 was the reserve horse. In 2004, at CHIO Aachen, placed 4th in the I-1 Freestyle with a 73.25%, then came home to the states and won the PSG and I-1 Freestyle at Dressage at Devon with scores in the 70’s. In 2005, he was on the gold medal team and placed 1st individually at the USDF Junior Team Championships and the following year won all the 3 junior classes with scores up to 73%... the list goes on.

This month’s featured breeder article takes us to the town of Moragnano, Italy, home of Rio Arabian Horses where the farm sits on top of the Parma hills and is surrounded by beautiful views of the valley. Francesca Bellingeri, of SBSItalia, had the pleasure of interviewing the owner, Maurizio Rio, who along with his daughter Carlotta, founded the farm in 1995. Even though the farm has been established for some time now, it wasn’t until a few years ago that Mr. Rio re-evaluated his breeding program with a clear mission to produce horses with impeccable pedigrees that must be “suitable performance horses and also able to compete in halter events”. He now believes he is on the right path to achieve these goals as a breeder.

Berragoon ASH Stud was established in 1974 on the Riverina Plains in southern New South Wales, Australia. In 1984 the stud relocated to Holbrook, in the South West Slopes area of NSW. Managed by Sara & Charlie Grills and Debbie Mills, the stud encompasses more than just their own breeding program of Australian Stock horses, they also have an on site reproduction facility for mare management and embryo transfer services and run a commercial herd of 300 Angus cattle.

Owned and operated by the Harrison family, Double H Farm is a recognizable name to those involved in the sport of show jumping due to their success with horses such as Orlando, HH Radco, and HH Rebozo who finished 4th at the WEG last year. While many of Double H’s horses are dominating in the show ring, there is another side to this competitive farm with the development of their breeding program. In the beginning, the main focus was competing but recently Double H has added breeding to their list of services. And why wouldn’t they, when not only have the stallions proven to be successful competition horses but their broodmares Quick Star, Maybelline, and Cantate Z, have as well.

Debbie McKay competed in Eventing and Showing for many years, but one day decided her heart was just no longer in it and instead she put her competition mares in foal, and so began Aspen Way Stud in 1998. The breeding goal is to produce horses and ponies of international quality for Australian buyers, so they don’t have to take on the risk and expense of importing stock from abroad. Deb laughs, “Since making this my business philosophy, quarantine fees have doubled … along with the European prices, so this has certainly worked in my favor”. However, the success of her breeding program is best represented by many major awards in the show ring and the growing success of her homebred stallion, Aspen Way Gala Night (left, photo credit Julie Wilson).

A tragic accident serves as a reminder of the benefits of frozen semen. Many of you may already know that in August 2010, a promising young stallion, Good as Gold, owned by Lauren Efford of Goldhope Farm in Coatesville, PA, was humanely euthanized after suffering from a tragic pasture accident. Good as Gold was a product of Goldhope Farm’s breeding program and they had great hopes and expectations for him as a breeding stallion and performance horse. As a 3 year old in 2009, Good as Gold received his provisional breeding license with the Oldenburg Registry of North America. Next stop would be the Advanced Stallion Test in October of 2010 held at Majestic Farm in Batavia, OH, during which he would be evaluated for basic gaits as well as participate in the discipline specific test for dressage stallions in hopes of receiving his lifetime breeding certificate. Sadly, he never made it.

Alain Seheut of Olde Country Farm gained an early education in breeding horses working alongside his grandfather, who was a successful breeder in France. Thus it was inevitable that when Alain moved to the US several years later he would develop his own breeding program. Olde Country Farm, in Glyndon MD, breeds Warmbloods predominantly for dressage, although many go on to careers in jumping and eventing. They stand the Premium German Oldenburg Stallion, Soprano (left). Alain’s goal is to breed the type of horse that can compete at the national and international levels. He believes that longevity in performance is key; so in addition to athletic ability, he breeds for soundness in both character and conformation.

Dr. Elizabeth Callahan of Cool Na Grena Sporthorses, Oxford, MD was the recipient of the 2009 USEF Leading Event Breeder of 2009. Didi, a practicing equine vet, has been breeding horses for the last 25yrs. Although she only produces 2-3 foals a year the matings are carefully selected with the goal of producing a well rounded athlete that has both the movement for dressage and talent for jumping.

Many horse owners may be unfamiliar with the Arabian racing industry, but for Cre Run Farm in Doswell, VA, it is their passion. For the past 25 years, Cre Run has been breeding and developing some of the world's top Arabian race horses such as Da Adios (left), the US all time money earner, 2008 World Arabian Horse of the Year and 5 time Darley Champion and Sam Tiki (below right, photo credit: Leslie Gicewicz), a member of the Racing Hall of Fame as well as siring 4 Darley champions. Cre Run's goal has been to "breed for the ultimate Arabian. One that possesses Arabian type but also has correct confirmation, bone and substance," says Cre Run owner Deborah Milahoff. Countries such as Poland, Egypt and Russia developed their herds through racing and it made perfect sense for Cre Run to do the same.

Dianna Orona of Fox Creek Farm is utilizing the SBS international affiliate program to the full advantage. Located on a 160 acre farm 5 miles west of Manhattan, KS, Fox Creek Farm has a world class breeding program founded upon the German Riding Pony. Their goal is to produce an athletic sport pony, correct in both conformation and movement, with a quiet, friendly temperament suitable for smaller adults or children.