A Year in Review - Part II

And more of 2011!

It was a pleasure to welcome new boarders Fran Jenkel and her lovely Missouri Fox Trotter Baby Girl, along with Jill Stone, new owner of Fancy and Beethoven.  Fancy has been giving people lessons for years, just a nice trusty mount to have.  Beethoven is a Desert Bred arabian gelding who charms everyone he meets.

Carl and LaVon Bowlin's Quarter Horse mare had a gorgeous colt this year, by the DB Arabian stallion DB Ibn Huda.  They've named him Ibn Alfahl Huda and call him Sulaymann.  LaVon says he's purrrrrfect - perfect personality, perfect color, perfect in every way :).



Sulaymann and mom Buttercup.  Photo by L. Bowlin




Sulaymann and Buttercup.  Photo by L. Bowlin





Sulaymann already showing off for the girls!  But they don't look too impressed, poor little guy.  Photo by L. Bowlin

 

Sulaymann trying to get his buddies to play.  Photo by L. Bowlin

2011 also saw the opening of our new Cross Country Course!

Photo by B. Sanders

And 2011 was full of days hanging out with your friends, such as this outing to beautiful Pere Marquette.  Gorgeous!

Photo by J. O'Neill

Photo by J. O'Neill

A Year in Review

Wow, this winter has gone by fast and I am so tardy in doing a 2010 wrap up, but let's get started!

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!

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! 


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.



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.




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!


Lindsey Kelley and TB Gelding Mikey at Cornerstone Farms H/J Show

 More in next post - To Be continued in Part II - BABIES!

Presenting Our New Cross Country Course!

At Desert Bred Arabians (aka The Riding Center boarding stable), we're always looking for different ways to challenge our horses.  Pursuing a variety of disciplines keeps them versatile and fit. 

So we're very excited to have a new cross country jump course set up in our fields.  With a variety of heights and types of jumps, there's something for everyone from the novice jumper to the veteran.

It was lovely to have guests from ST. Louis and Cornerstone Farms in St. Jacob come out and take the tour.  Thanks ladies for helping us break them in! 

Photos by Bobbi Sanders - thanks Bobbi!

Fall Endurance - Desert Bred horses take top honors!

The weather has been kind this fall with beautiful sunny weather and cool temps, so it was time to hit the endurance rides!

We were very excited to have a ride almost in our backyard - Paul Sidio created a new ride on the Ozark Trail in Black, MO based out of Brushy Creek Campground. A couple of our boarders had made that a favorite spot to visit, and we were eager to check out this ride! (Brushy Creek pastures pic left)

With stalls for horses, a lodge with a restaurant, and miles and miles of trails, what a great place for an endurance ride!

Paula Kaigh brought her two geldings, Ibn Desert Dhelall and DB Dahman, Lori Zackrie brought her mare Emirah and her gelding DB Bolero. Cindy Stafford and Sheri Devouassoux brought DB Hula Mayya and DB Al Amhara for their first endurance rides.  They were joined by Kate Davis and Elena Macia who were riding DB Airs Aidah and DB Bint Dahmah in their first and second endurance rides respectively (picture left - Hula Mayya and Ibn Desert Dhelall chilling out in their comfy stalls) 

In the Friday 25 mile ride, many successes among the Desert Breds in what turned out to be a very challenging trail.  Single track most of the way, with very technical footing.  There were quite a few pulls, but 100% completion among the Desert Breds.  Sheri piloted DB Al Amhara to a top 10 finish!  (Sheri and Al Amhara pictured left, photo by Brushy Creek photographer).  Paula Kaigh and Ibn Dhelall sponsored Cindy and  Hula Mayya to a very steady finish in 13th and 14th places.  Ibn barely noticed the 25 miles of hills - at the finish line he didn't have enough sweat for the P&R guy's heart monitor to register a pulse!  And most importantly of all, congratulations to Lori Zackrie at winning Best Condition in the 25 on her (non Desert Bred) mare Ehmirah (with a 3rd place finish)!  It's been wonderful watching Lori and Ehmirah's growing partnership together while they train at our stable, The Riding Center.

 In Saturday's rides, Lori (on DB Bolero), Kate (on DB Airs Aidah) and Elena (on DB B. Dahmah) swept the top 3 spots in the 35 mile LD, with Lori winning Best Condition once again. 

In the 60 mile endurance ride, Paula and her lamborghini of a horse DB Dahman tied for first with Julie Jackson, with Paula winning Best Condition!  (left pic - Paula leaving the vet check with Dahman)

Left - Kate Davis and DB Airs Aidah pose for the camera before starting their 2nd loop.  Airs Aidah and Kate finished 2nd place

Left - Lori and DB Bolero, winner 1st place and Best Condition.

Left - Elena and DB Bint Dahmah sailed into a 3rd place finish.

After the Ozark ride, DB Airs Aidah and stallion DB Khrush took on the AHDRA III ride in Oquawka IL.  Kate Davis and Aidah won the 30 mile LD as well as Best Condition!  Sarah Sanders and DB Khrush finished the 60 mile endurance ride in 5th place.  Congratulations ladies!

We're On Facebook! Oh MY!

Other exciting news, we now have Facebook pages!  Check us out - at TRC Desert Bred Arabian Stud and The Riding Center Stables of Freeburg IL Facebook pages.  It's a great way for us to be more 'live' will news, announcements and staying in touch with all our horse friends and family.  We've started creating photo albums of new pics and old, so please come visit and let us hear from you!


http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Freeburg-IL/TRC-Desert-Bred-Arabian-Stud/151376214899413

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Freeburg-IL/The-Riding-Center-Stables-of-Freeburg-IL/100172140050144

Playing Catch Up

So much has been going on in our world, that this roving reporter just can't keep up!  So let's get down to it, and start with the most recent first!

For those of you who aren't familiar with Desert Bred Arabians, the breeding program is affiliated with The Riding Center in Freeburg IL.  This past weekend we hosted an Open House full of activities, and were so happy that so many were able to attend and braved the drizzly weather.

We had farrier demos (thank you Kevin Beck of Mustang Method Horseshoeing!), TRC Flex-Tree Saddlery with their tack on display.  Mid Rivers Equine Hospital was there with their very cool mobile unit.  And Sarah Sanders' students and assistant trainers performed riding demonstrations.  It was a very successful day!

Jamie Lamborn warming up DB Khrush (photo by B. Sanders)

The younger set charming the crowd with their riding skills



Dr. Olivia from Mid Rivers Equine giving a tour of their mobile clinic



Our guests and friends!

Devin and her ex racehorse, turned jumping champion mare, Jeannie.  Jeannie can jump 4 ft and make it look easy as pie!

Endurance champion Paula Kaigh showing how having versatile riding skills makes her a better rider.  Jumping in her endurance saddle no less!

Ex racehorse Mikey has come a long way from being a green horse in the past few months!

Kevin Beck demoing proper Natural Balance trim.  Jack was a perfect foot model!  Kevin explained how having a shortened, flat toe is better than a long toe - if too long its like us trying to run in swim fins :)

Rodger Davis helping give play by play commentary during the farrier demo

Mid Rivers Equine Mobile Unit.  Very cool!  They will be at The Riding Center for 2 weeks, vet here Tuesday and Thursday.  Come check it out!

Baby News!

The stork has blessed us with two arrivals recently.  First, a fourth of July baby, a black colt out of DB Dharma (Desert Dhelall X Sindidans Amiraa) and Aswad Khayal (Aswad Sihr X Bint Rivanna).  Mom and baby are doing wonderfully, but they aren't helping out this photographer by being close by when I happen to come by with my camera, lol.  Until I can get some close ups, we'll have to be content with these teeny tiny views - mom was drinking out of a pond in her pasture and baby was splashing in the water.  It was very cute - its times like those I wish I had a monster zoom on my camera.

And more recently (3 days ago in fact) GR Desert Farasha (Desert Jalam X DB Fabayah, tail female line to Maahra) brought a bouncing filly into this world who is just all legs.  A pretty chessie with cute little pink nose.  This filly is by DB Ibn Najem Huda (DB Najem Huda X DB Jamala - tail femail strain is Dahmah) and is gorgeous just like both her parents.  Welcome to this world little girl!  And first time mom, Farasha, is doing an amazing job, standing super still when baby girl is trying to get the hang of playing "now where did those udders go again?".

Left - GR Desert Farasha filly, 3 days old.

Left - checking in with mom to make sure the scary lady with the camera isn't something to worry about :).

left - mom and baby - I'm amazed that a baby so TALL was just inside that little belly a couple days ago!

And handsome dad on the left here - DB Ibn Najem Huda.