Competition News! Part 1

It's been a while since I last posted, but my excuse is its been super hard keeping up with all the DB Arabs and their owners!  From show to endurance ride, it's been a busy spring, leading into a busy summer.  So hang on to your hats folks and fasten your seatbelts - we've got a LOT of news to cover!

First off, we have oodles of congratulations to pass around for the many successes of several junior riders at the recent Cornerstone Hunter/Jumper Show. 

First, hats off to 4 yr old Ginny Sanders riding DB Bint Dahmah, (DB Najem Huda X DB Dahmah), owned by DB Arabians.  Ginny has been taking lessons from her Aunt, Sarah Sanders and enjoys 'cantewing' :).  The lead line class was a bit tame for her, and she didn't quite understand why they weren't 'cantewing', but she was all smiles nonetheless.  This was DB Bint Dahmah's first show, and future olympian Ginny had her well underhand.  Ginny and B. Dahmah placed first in lead line, and she was ecstatic about her pretty blue ribbon.    Personally, I am very impressed by her equitation - I wonder if she could give me lessons? :)  I would love to have my heels that perfectly positioned :).  Ginny, B Dahmah and trainer Megan White are pictured left  and below (photos courtesy of proud mom Bobbi Sanders).

Anna Rosenstengel also showed DB B. Dahmah (sorry, no pics of Anna :( but if anyone has some, please share!).  Anna showed B Dahmah in flat classes and cross-rails and came away with two 1st place ribbons, 3 3rd place, 1 4th and 15th.  Certainly a rainbow of ribbons to decorate her room - very successful day to be sure!  A HUGE congratulations to Anna!

And this beaming young rider on the left is Kaity Jasper and her first horse, gelding DB Shetan (Ahmar Shetan X DB Jazzal)  (photos courtesy of Bobby Sanders).

Kaity and Shetan were outstanding in all their classes, and came away with two well earned 4th place ribbons.  They should also have won an award for the being Best Dressed - check out that color coordination!  What a pretty picture!

(Left, Ginny Sanders and B Dahmah show off their Blue ribbon).

Not pictured is Devin Isselhard who showed her TB Mare, Jeanie in the Jumper classes at Cornerstone on June 18.  They did WONDERFULLY and earned two 2nd place and a 4th!

It's a Girl!

Memorial Day brought us a beautiful surprise - a gorgeous filly!  This little girl is the pride and joy of first time mama, DB Grey Legs (Julilah) owned by the Gray family, friends of (and boarders of) Desert Bred Arabians.  Her sire is Aswad Khayal (pictured below).  Her dam has a tail female line of Hamdani (to Sindidah).

At first she was a bit camera shy.....

But then she agreed to pose, with mom close by for comfort.   A pretty black bay with a very sweet face :).  No official name yet, but the unofficial barn name is Roxie, in honor of Roxie, one of our very hard working helpers who was the first to greet her in this world.  Welcome Roxie!

Julilah has proven to be quite a performance athlete and was shown extensively by her junior owner/handler Lindsey Gray in Hunter classes, including a trip to Nationals.  And just for fun, they competed on the endurance trails as well.  We're looking forward to Julilah junior following her mama's hoofprints!

(photo left - Aswad Khayal )

Exuberance

How to live an exuberant life.....

Keep your tail high.......

Show off when you have an audience.....

Frolic in a meadow occasionally......

Make time to play with your friends......


















Dance when the mood strikes.....

Always be ready to flirt..........

Never forget how to make a snow angel....

Don't ever hesitate for a good splash in the mud!

Photos, from top:  Alwal Bahet; Aswad Khayal; GR Desert Aladdinn; DB Ibn Najem Huda and DB Mirath; DB Airs Aidah (previous 4 photos by S. Haege); DB Najem Huda (photo by d. McWhirter); Bao Zahrah (photo by c. Stafford); DB Yuniya (photo by c. Sanders)

Spring is Here!

 Spring is exploding all over the place on our trails at The Riding Center.

The white blossoms of the Dogwoods are shining in the sunshine.

The Redbuds are popping everywhere you look.

 Even the horses have to stop and admire the pretty colors.




















 Is this a wild violet?  Wild geranium?  If you know, let me know!  But they're just precious and carpeting the woods.
















And these blue flowers (below) are Virginia Bluebells I'm pretty sure....they just make everything look like a magical elfin forest.

And buttercups?  Where the woods aren't carpeted with blue or violet, these charming little yellow flowers fill in the gaps.

Don't miss out on the beautiful weather and sights.  Come join us for a ride!  See you soon!  (photo left by Sheri Devouassoux)

Congratulations Paula on 1st Place Win!

Applause all around to Paula Kaigh, and her gelding, DB Dahman, for finishing 1st Place in the AERC Eagle Ranch Endurance ride in Missouri last weekend!  Paula won the 50 mile ride just seconds before her nearest competitor.  The picture left is the race to the finish line  - I like how determined and focused both horse and rider look :).

Paula and Dahman have accrued 1030 endurance miles together, that include 7 first place wins and 6 best condition awards.

Baby Pics!

We got to hear from MaryAnne (below) about her ride at DVE, and now we get BABY PICS!  How lucky are we to hear from our friends with Desert Bred babies (even grown up ones like MaryAnne's!)

Recently our friend Jenny e-mailed us pics of her new filly, Labwah Al-Shaykhah, out of her mare HS Marayah.  Marayah was bred to our stallion DB Khrush.  Khrush's tail female line is Davenport, going back to the rare mare Werdi, along with a sire line that goes back to Furtha Dhellal, A Hamdani bred by Khalid Hamid al-Dawsari, a Dawasir Bedouin living in al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia.






Jenny says "Labwah’s a great kid – super friendly, sensible and very trainable. She’ll make a terrific companion, and has lots of athletic potential. She also has Khrush’s beautiful soft eyes…".  And judging from this picture, Labwah is loaded with flexibility!











Labwah was her mare's first foal. "Marayah was a great mom! Protective, but let us do anything with the baby, and not too permissive."

Labwah looks like she can't wait to start jumping just like her dad :).  Thanks Jenny for sharing these pics, we're so glad you're enjoying Marayah's first filly.  Please keep us posted on your adventures to come!

Desert Breds at Death Valley Encounter (and family trees)

It's always exciting to get updates from the owners of our "Alumni" Desert Breds out there.  They're doing everything from crossing the Tevis finish line to dressage, sport horse champions to a child's pony.

Recently, Maryanne Riley was kind enough to send us pictures of her and her gelding, DB Blue Al Ashab (Desert Jalam X DB Blue Danieh) from their adventure at the Death Valley Endurance Ride (photo above).  Isn't the scenery GORGEOUS?!  How lucky they are to be enjoying the winter sun, dry trails and beautiful mountains to gaze at. 

Maryanne shared their most recent success:  "Al-Ashab completed 4 50s back to back, doing 200 miles in 4 days at the Death Valley Encounter multi-day ride. 10 out of 70 riders did it on one horse. He is awesome!"  Al-Ashab has accomplished quite an endurance record in the short time he's been out west with Maryanne - 760 endurance miles with 300 LD miles, with 26 completions out of 28 rides - he truly is awesome!  We look forward to hearing more from Maryanne and Al-Ashab!


Maryanne rode with April Cyrek, who also  completed 150 miles at DVE on her stallion DB Air Alamahn (DB Shahhat X DB Yuniya) (Maryanne and April pictured below).  April and Alamahn together have completed 620 endurance miles (so far :)) with 255 LD miles.  Don't they look like they're having WAY too much fun?

Alahmahn's dam, DB Yuniya, has produced incredible performance athletes.  Her tail female line goes back to the rare Davenport mare, Werdi.
Our stallion, DB Khrush (out of DB Yuniya by Desert Dhellal), has been very successful in sporthorse events.

DB Airs Aidah (above) is incredibly light and responsive as well, and will be a joy to her next owner in her future performance career.

And this beautiful girl, DB Bint Yuniya  - above(AAS Nader X DB Yuniya) shows every sign of being able to follow the hoofprints of her older brothers and sisters.  What a family tree!

Do you have news to share on one of your Desert Breds?  Please let us know - we'd love to share!