A Spooktacular Open House

We had an Open House on the 31st this month - a SPOOKTACULAR Open House actually :).

Everyone got to enjoy plenty of Halloween goodies, along with Chili and Hot Dogs catered in which were just the ticket on a fall day.

It was great to see everyone who came - lots of friends and horse buddies, and quite a few new ones as well. And plenty of little ones in adorable halloween costumes. The best was our friend Trish who came as Tippi Hedren from Hitchocock's The Birds - complete with dive bombing birds bombing her head - awesome!

While everyone enjoyed the smorgasboard, The Riding Center staff put on a horse demonstration exhibiting The Basic Handle and how it builds a foundation for a well rounded horse for any discipline.

Some of the principles of The Basic Handle as developed by Monte Foreman was described and demo'd. First Rodger Davis explained the history of how it was developed and who Monte Foreman was. Then Sarah Sanders brought in DB Ibn Jalam (pictured above). Sarah went thru some of the elements of the Basic Handle with Ibn - spins, rollbacks, lead changes, stops - to show what a finished horse looks like and explained how these could build a light and supple horse for reining, cutting, or even a pleasure trail horse.

Then some of the assistant trainers came in and went thru some of the basics with less finished horses (DB Bint Dahmah, DB Kalila and DB Zahrah) to show how to go thru schooling a horse in some of the moves. Besides the spins and rollbacks and stops, they added some hunter jumps into the mix.

And for the grand finale, Sarah brought out DB Khrush (pictured below from a dressage show)and showed how the Basic Handle can be used for a dressage horse to become lighter and more supple.

It was a great day!

Staff Meeting

Notes from this weeks staff meeting, picture above:

"Now Zahrah, next time we heard those cows, you need to be a little snappier on those rollbacks.
And Huley, you need to let the younger ones share your hay...it's not ALL for you"

Meet Our Staff

The staff of Desert Bred Arabians (aka The Riding Center of Freeburg, IL), has many talents.

Multi-tasking is second nature.

(photo above by anonymous guest)

You never know when you might have to do everyday tasks on horseback. If the mailman calls in sick, we can fill in!

We are always there to offer sound advice. (photo by C. Stafford)

Our commute to work is the best! The back of a pickup with two lovable dogs. (photo by anonymous guest)

We are fearless and boldly go where others have never gone before! (photo by S. Haege)

And we always have a positive attitude! Come ride with us - it's guaranteed fun!

(photo by S. Haege)

Brierbank Show - Marzooq Wins First Place!

Last weekend some of us went to the Brierbank Schooling Dressage Show. It's a great venue to bring young and inexperienced horses to. It's quiet and lots of space and time to school your horses. The judge is fair and gives great tips on what to work on with your horse.

Trainer Sarah Sanders brought Desert Bred Arabians' stallion, DB Khrush (pictured left). Khrush has been to oodles of shows and competitions - hunter, dressage, endurance - and was a great model for the younger horses on how to be relaxed and in good form :). Sarah showed him in First Level and he made everything look so smooth and easy.


Our friend and boarder, Cathy (left), took her gelding, DB Abayan (Marzooq). Cathy and Marzooq have been developing wonderfully as a partnership. Their bond and mutual trust really grown and must have been reflected in their performance together, since Cathy and Marzooq came home with 1st Place in their class! Congratulations Cathy - we knew you could do it!

4 yr old DB Hula Mayya (left) and 3 yr old DB Sonnata joined the boys as well. For the girls, it was an adventure with all kinds of new experiences. First time in a stall overnight, or first time away from home, but they both took it in stride. Sonnata was very relaxed and bold, and she only had a dozen or so rides under saddle. Her owner showed her in Intro Test A, and it was a great growing up experience for her. Hula Mayya also was shown in Intro A, and was honored with a 2nd place finish and a score of 55. A very nice foundation to build upon! Congratulations to all!

Tevis Memories - Part II, Angels on the Trail

The Tevis Fever is contagious at Desert Bred Arabians (aka The Riding Center of Freeburg, IL), and many of our boarders and friends caught the bug. Paula Kaigh (pictured at left, on AAS Sivad Yasmeen during a Tevis training ride), shared her story:

I first wanted to try Tevis from talking to Casey Davis. At one of my first riding lessons, she asked me if I was afraid of heights. Little did I know...

I tried it twice, 2001 and 2002. I went out in 2000 to check it out and to cheer on Yasmeen who was eventually pulled.

In 2001, my horse Lyric went lame at 46 miles. I wasn't looking so good either. In 2002, Prince, looking perky and refreshed, and I, looking anything but, arrived at Francisco's, the 86-mile mark, about 2 hours over time.

I was most surprised by my motion sickness in the night ride. I usually only get motion sick if I'm spun around, but I was really tired, and those #@@^%$% glow sticks appeared to be floating all over the place making me very disoriented.

But I still can't wait to do it again. Absolutely. Now that I am more accustomed to long rides and have a faster horse (DB Dahman, pictured at left, and DB Ibn Desert Dhellal), I think I will hold up better and finish earlier thus limiting the amount of night riding.

My first Tevis attempt in 2001 is a vivid memory. My first Tevis attempt started smoothly enough with a single-file, nice, steady trot just before sunup. I was reassured by the less-than-frantic pace and started to believe for the first time that I might not be in quite as far over my head as I previously thought. Then everything changed.
The Riding Center had nine horses in the race. One rider, Mike, started toward the front of the field of 200-plus horses. Sarah Sanders and Kate Jordan were the last to leave camp because Kate was on an excitable stallion. The rest of us—Rodger Davis, Katie Davis, Sally, Amanda, Elena Macia, and I were somewhere in the middle. Within minutes of the start Katie’s horse Amiga tied up, so she and Rodger, her sponsor, were out. We trotted on. Sally was sponsoring both remaining junior riders, so a short time later when Elena’s horse Fabayah tied up, the three of them proceeded very slowly toward water and assistance for the mare while I trotted ahead on Lyric, an upset gelding whom I barely knew. As Lyric nervously climbed Squaw Peak tugging on the reins and franticly calling out, absolute dread of the next ninety miles replaced those earlier, more confident feelings. Robinson Flats, the first vet check and hold located 36 miles into the ride, might as well have been on the moon!
About the time I thought our situation couldn’t get much worse, my jittery mount freaked at one of the 37 gazillion rocks along this incredibly scenic trail and tossed me over the side. Here is where I strongly suspect divine intervention. I landed without my characteristic THUD, cradled by sage brush on the steeply banked side of the mountain. I cannot begin to explain how I managed to hold onto the last two inches of one of my split reins. As I lay there on my back, rein in one hand, arm stretched way over my head, head cocked back, staring straight up Lyric’s nostrils, a female rider came to my assistance. First, she yelled “Rider down” just as loudly as possible. I’m not sure if she was only trying to embarrass me further or if she had a valid reason for broadcasting my predicament. Regardless, she then dismounted and held Lyric so that I could roll over and climb out of there. I thanked her, she remounted and rode on.
I stood beside Lyric catching my breath and wondering at the futility of mounting again just a few feet from the scary rock that set this whole scenario into motion. Then, miraculously, a cherubic voice called out my name. “Paula, how’s it going?” This is where my faith was truly renewed. Turning to my right I spied two horses approaching out of the dust, one a springy young bay gelding, the other a no-longer-so-excitable black stallion, and their riders Sarah Sanders and Kate Jordan. Perhaps I had conked my head a little harder than I realized, but in that moment I thought I saw halos, not helmets, on their heads, and as the three of us trotted off together, Robinson Flats was once again within reach.

Tevis Memories - Part 1, A Family Affair

The Western States Trail Ride (Tevis Cup) is this weekend and here at Desert Bred Arabians we find ourselves musing over our own Tevis memories.

Desert Bred Arabians and the Davis Family, along with many of our boarders and friends, have had a long romance with this endurance challenge. But our first experience with the Western States Trail wasn't on a horse, it was the 100 mile run.

Rodger Davis (below) initially completed the 100 mile run as a result of a bet in 1978 and he was hooked. Apparently the Tevis bug is contagious, and this virus eventually infected Rodger's daughter, Katie (pictured above, on Zeke), his sister Casey with completions in '81 and '97(pictured at bottom), and Casey's daughter, Elena Macia.

Katie knows how challenging a Tevis completion can be, and the frustration of getting pulled both early in the race and late. She's been pulled at only 10 miles in to as late as 85 miles in. But with two completions to her name, she has the right to brag at having finished as first place junior both times!

But the pride from having such an accomplishment isn't her favorite memory from the ride, "...it's sharing and accomplishing such an incredible feat with my Aunt Casey, cousin Elena and father Rodger."

While Tevis is unique in so many ways - the steep climbs, the heat, the heart pounding drop offs - Katie found her biggest surprise at the end of the ride. "In '98 Zeke trained mostly on the latter part of the trail so he was very familiar with it. After traveling 90 miles, he still had the energy to buck a couple of times during the last 10 miles because he was in a hurry to get home! I was very taken by his spurt of energy after a long, hot day of canyons and trail."

It's been 7 years since Katie last attempted the Tevis Cup, but the lure of the ride is still calling. Would Katie still want to tackle Tevis? "Heck ya! I'm literally chomping at the bit to take on that challenge again. If I could, I'd do it every year!"

Endure for the Cure - Bittersweet Success!

With all the rain we've had in the midwest this spring and summer, it's slowed down our progress in building the endurance resumes of some of our horses.

Endure for the Cure came up on the calendar and luckily it wasn't going to be the usual high heat and humidity for this ride. And although ride management does a fantabulous job taking care of horses and riders (handing out cool towels in VC line - AWESOME!), it may not be the preferred ride to start out some of your newbies at. But this year, a little cool weather and a promised window between T-storms, and it seemed like the perfect time to bring some horses.

Attempting their first LD ride at this event were Desert Bred Arabians' young stallion, DB Ibn Jalam (pictured above from his performance at the Al Khamsa convention last year) along with the horse version of the energizer bunny, DB Caprih (pictured below at a H/J show). Caprih is just cute as a bug, and a dynamo in a small horse body (she's about 14.2). She's incredibly balanced and athletic, so it was exciting to see her taking on a new discipline outside of the show ring in endurance. Sarah Sanders, the head trainer at DB Arabians, was riding Jalam and one of the young assistant trainers, Megan, was riding Caprih.

Providing transportation, housing and all around inspiration was Paula Kaigh, one of our boarders and endurance guru with over 1000 miles racked up. She was bringing her 5 yr old gelding Ibn Desert Dhellal who was adding one more LD to his young career.

The 3 started the LD together and all was going smooth as silk. They were pacing well together, and stallion Ibn Jalam behaved like a gentleman on trail and off. The 3 were in the lead into the second loop, and eventually Sarah and Megan chose to slow up a bit so Caprih started paying better attention to taking care of herself, eating and drinking.

Paula finished in 1st, at least a half hr ahead of other riders, and Sarah and Megan were likely in 2nd and 3rd out on the trail. But SURPRISE - ride management advised because of some confusing trail markings she had missed going around a certain meadow. To get a completion she would need to go back out and get that meadow. Argh! Sarah and Megan ran into the same problem, but they were told while they were still on the course, so they didn't have to come all the way in to find out. By then, RM figured out the snafu and had sent someone out to advise other riders of the confusing spot and to better mark the turn.

So back out to that evil meadow went Paula...which meant a 45 minute detour for her, all to pick up that meadow that took a whole 7 minutes to go around. Double argh! Even more frustrating to know that even if she had done that meadow, she still would have finished well in first with that 30 minute lead that she had.

But the ride was still a success - Ibn Desert Dhellal added 25 miles to his mileage and gained much more in experience and maturity. Ibn Jalam and Caprih began their journey on learning what pacing, eating and drinking was all about. Definitely a great foundation to their endurance careers!