The Desert Breds and boarders/riders of The Riding Center have been very busy. In 2010 we saw lots of action on the endurance trails. Katie Davis returned to her endurance roots and debuted DB Airs Aidah in her first LD rides this fall. Their first ride they finished in 3rd, and their second ride they finished in 1st place and won Best Condition (BC)! A great start to Aidah's endurance career and the two make a great team!
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| DB Airs Aidah and Katie Davis and Ozark Trail Endurance Ride, 35 mile LD |
DB Bint Dahmah also made her debut on the endurance trails this year, first with Sheri Devouassoux at the helm in the Endure for the Cure ride in July. Then Elena Macia joined her cousin Katie on the Ozark Trail riding Bint Dahmah for a 2nd place finish in the 35!
Lori Zackrie took a break in between jumping and fox hunting with the Shawnee Hounds, and took her two endurance veterans, Ehmirah and DB Bolero, to the Ozark Trail ride. Lori finished 3rd and 1st place in the LD's and BC in both!
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| Lori Zackrie and DB Bolero at Ozark Trail Endurance ride, 1st place finish 35 mile LD and BC |
DB Hula Mayya made her endurance debut also in the Ozark Trail. With Paula Kaigh setting the pace in front on Ibn Desert Dhellal, Hula and her rider Cindy (me) finished in great condition (Hula was in better condition than Cindy :)).
Paula Kaigh didn't let the dust settle on any endurance ride she tackled and had another fabulously successful season. With her two geldings, DB Dahman and Ibn Desert Dhellal, she completed 7 out of 7 rides that included 5 1st place finishes and 3 Best Condition awards for a total of 250 miles.
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| Paula Kaigh and DB Dahmah 55 mile Ozark Trail Endurance Ride 1st place finish and BC |
And Sheri Devouassoux was instrumental and getting several young Desert Breds in shape for their first rides and getting them through those rides in great condition and well paced. First she took Ibn Dhellal thru a very frigid State Fair Express ride in the spring. Then with a brief outing to Old Dominion just for a bit of an extra challenge, she returned to our little midwest corner to take DB Bint Dahmah, DB Zahrah and DB Al Amhara on their first LD rides.
While the endurance riders were braving frigid temps, dust and heat, The Riding Center horse crowd was wowing judges in the show arenas. Lindsey Kelley, Devin Isselhard, Katy Jasper, Ginny Sanders and many more I am sure forgetting to mention competed in hunter/jumper shows such as Cornerstone Farms. These girls are very enthustiastic about the 2011 season and have formed their own club, the Midwest Performance Horse Club, and will truly be a force to be reckoned with this upcoming season!
Desert Bred Arabian Stud farm was so pleased with the turnout for the Open House we held with Guest Speaker Joe Ferriss. So many people came from quite a distance a way, and it was wonderful to catch up with old friends and make new ones. We also got to catch up with even more kindred spirits at the Al Khamsa convention in Kentucky and were honored to have been able to demo two of our studs, DB Khrush and DB Ibn Jalam.
It's always a joy to see our friends find their perfect horse and this year was no exception. Carl and LaVon Bowlin welcomed the gentle arabian mare Copper into their family, along with a bouncing baby boy (more on him in another post!). Jill and Keith Maschoff joined our Riding Center family, along with two quarter horses, Chloe and Bailey, and one of the Desert Bred geldings, DB Shetan. It's been wonderful seeing them get back into the swing of being horsey people again!
Sara Yoch brought another man into her life, a handsome brunette named DB Kalif and she's very excited about their upcoming adventures.
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| Sara Yoch and DB Kalif |
Katy Jasper, who had quickly outgrown DB Shetan, found the challenge she needed in the spry little Desert Bred mare DB Caprih. Caprih is a warmblood jumper in a 14.1 hand arabian body :).
Lindsey Kelly joined The Riding Center gang as well with her gorgeous Thoroughbred gelding Mikey. Lindsey was able to quickly bring Mikey out of race track mode into a beautiful and graceful hunter horse and made their show debut this year!
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| Lindsey Kelley and TB Gelding Mikey at Cornerstone Farms H/J Show |
