Welcome to my website!
Sunday, December 27th, 2009Welcome to my website! I am a second generation horsewoman who has managed horse breeding farms in the U.S. and Europe for over 30 years. If I can be of assistance in your program, please do not hesitate to contact me.
June 28, 2010
It’s no coincidence that with the beginning of the breeding and show season, my free time for website updating flew out the window!!! It has been a very busy and intense breeding season thus far, with mares still coming in. That is encouraging in this economy.
Of course, with our Legends program, offering breeders the chance to breed to *Aladdinn, Bey Shah, *Muscat, *Nariadni, Khemosabi, Ruminaja Ali and Brass, serious breeders are anxious for the chance to produce first generation foals from these great stallions–for the first time in decades.
After judging in Punta del Este in January, the next show on my judging schedule was the best breeding show in the U.S. Scottsdale is the place to be in February. It is the biggest show of the year and the launching point for many horses who will be competing at Nationals. Ten days of judging, great horses and sun (for the most part) in February is a wonderful way to break up the winter doldrums.
Meanwhile, back in Colorado, the pronghorns were looking for feed under the snow.
And our resident fox decided to break into our chicken pen and make off with four of our six hens. The following day, he returned to the scene of the crime to see if he could pick off the other two…
In March, I helped my friends at Parnell’s Irish Cobs take a number of horses in the local St. Patrick’s Day parade. All of the horses took the noise and chaos in stride. A great testament to the placid nature of these unique horses. A young gelding, Anois, was participating in his first parade, and with only 40 days under saddle, he never made a misstep the entire route.
A well-dressed Labrador for the parade!
Irish cob, Lisdoonvarna–note her bushy moustache–a trademark of the breed and considered lucky by the gypsies.
April found me in Ireland, my home away from home, where I went to take care of a dear friend for a week. Thanks to Eyjafjallajokull the Icelandic volcano, my visit was extended by another eight days, while the airspace over Ireland was shut down. Therefore, instead of being at the Arabian Breeders World Cup in Las Vegas, I was watching it on a computer feed from Ireland. Not quite the same thing….
Abbey next to Rock of Cashel
Saddlery shop, County Kildare
A gallery of observers, the Burren, County Clare.
In May, I found myself in Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands in Washington State. This is a place I’ve always wanted to visit. Amazing wildlife such as sea lions, harbor dolphins, Orcas, Bald Eagles, etc.
Lighthouse
Ever wonder where Wilson ended up after “Castaway”?
June started out judging at the 30th annual Egyptian Event in Lexington, Kentucky.
This show was one of the first shows to use a score card and one of the first shows to use international judges. I attended this show in the early 80’s when I lived and worked in Prospect, Kentucky for Lasma Arabians. It was very nice to be back as a judge–particularly when I got to judge with two judges I greatly admire. Renata Schibler, from Switzerland is a great friend. We judged together in Australia last year and had a blast. Mohamed Machmoun, from Morocco is someone I’ve wanted to meet for some time. I watched his judging at the Breeder’s Cup in Las Vegas last year and agreed with a lot of his scores.
We had a fabulous time judging the show, despite high temperatures and high humidity. Something I had forgotten about Kentucky. However, watching fireflies tack back and forth over the paddocks at the Kentucky Horse Park in the evening brought back a flood of memories of walking the paddocks in the evenings amongst the mares and foals at Lasma.
*Bask is now buried at the Horse Park, and I had to go pay my respects. He was one of my all time favorite horses and I was fortunate to not only see him many times, but work with many, many of his great daughters and sons in my career. I “borrowed” a lily from the landscaping to place on his headstone.
*Bask bronze at Kentucky Horse Park
*Bask’s grave
If judging great horses wasn’t enough fun for the week, we also were fortunate to be invited to the opening of the Al-Marah galleries at the Museum Of The Horse. This gallery, devoted entirely to the Arabian horse is spectacular! It is full of artifacts from the Arabian Horse Trust as well as many interactive exhibits. Kids have a special space dedicated to “The Black Stallion” and can also visit several interactive screens where they can pick out an Arabian horse, name it, follow its development and then make a picture of it by the end of the exhibit.
We had to go through the gallery too quickly, as the opening was just before the judging of the Championship classes at The Egyptian Event. I will definitely be back to see the gallery at a more leisurely pace. The Championship classes at the show were outstanding. Looking out over the front and back line in all of the Championships was very satisfying. All the horses were of superior quality.
Exhibit from the Al-Marah gallery
Another exhibition at the Museum of the Horse that we got to visit was the “Gift Of The Desert” exhibit, sponsored by the Saudi Arabian Equestrian Federation. This exhibit covered the art, history and culture of the Arabian horse with over 300 items from museums around the world. A stunning exhibition.
Myself, Renata Schibler and Mohamed Machmoun at The Egyptian Event
As a final treat, the day after the show, Anna Bishop of the Pyramid Society, took us to visit Claiborne Farm. Anna used to work at Claiborne and we were very fortunate to have her as our tour guide! One of the greatest Thoroughbred stud farms in the world, Claiborne has been home to greats such as *Princquillo, *Nasrullah, Mr. Prospector, Bold Ruler and of course, Secretariat.
The only other time I visited Claiborne, I was thrilled to be able to see Secretariat, who was 17 at the time. It was one of the highlights of my equestrian life! He loved having visitors and when the groom asked if we wanted our picture taken with him, he didn’t have to ask twice!! I got to stand next to this magnificent stallion and drape my arm over his massive shoulders. He was a perfect gentleman and I still treasure that picture.
This time I visited Secretariat’s grave, which is in a hallowed space along with all of the other greats of Claiborne who have passed away. Usually, when a great horse is buried, the head, heart and hooves only are buried. Secretariat is unique in that his whole body was embalmed and buried at Claiborne.
It was a thrilling ending to a spectacular week of horses at the Egyptian Event. My thanks to the Pyramid Society for the opportunity and honor of judging their show!
With breeding season in full swing, we are working all hours God sends. However, I’ll try to be a bit better about updating the site.
Next show is the Colorado Arabian Horse Club show July 11, and then Canadian Nationals in August.
January 26, 2010
It was a welcome change to leave the snow and ice of Colorado for the beaches of Punta del Este, Uruguay to judge their 26th annual Arabian Horse Show. I was delighted to get to judge with Michael Byatt (USA) and Fabio Amorosino (Brazil). We had a great time together!
The “International Week Of The Arabian Horse” started out with the Breeder’s Cup Show, where a score card was used for the first time.
The show was held at a jumping facility that had the largest hydrangeas I’ve ever seen!
The following day was a regular show with halter classes judged comparatively and the final day was the halter championships, performance and liberty classes.
At the weekend, a sale was held inside the ballroom of the Conrad Hotel. It is the high point of the summer season in Punta del Este for everyone to attend the sale. The horses seemed to tolerate being in the hotel amazingly well.
This is my second time in Uruguay, and I absolutely love this country. Excellent wines, excellent food, friendly people and wide open countryside. I think this is a hidden gem of a country that more people should discover as a vacation destination.
Of course, I had to go looking for wildlife and just off coast of Punta del Este is Isla de Los Lobos–one of largest sea lion sanctuaries in the world. The male southern sea lion (Otaria flavescens) is spectacular–with a huge lion’s mane of fur.
They have square muzzles with an upturned nose and are much larger than the sea lions I’m accustomed to seeing in California. To see thousands of them in the water and on the island was fabulous. One enterprising family (male, female and two offspring) hang out in the harbor to take what the fishing boats throw out after cleaning the fish.
Judging in Uruguay was a great start to the new year! Thanks to Heber Viana and the Arabian Horse Association of Uruguay for the opportunity to judge this show.
December 26, 2009
The wren, the wren, the king of the birds
On St. Stephen’s Day was caught in the furze
Up with the kettle and down with the pan
Give us a penny to bury the wren!
Happy St. Stephen’s Day (Ireland)
I hope all had a good holiday season, no matter what the holiday happened to be!
I am off to Uruguay in the New Year to judge the first Uruguay Arabian Breeder’s Cup in Punta Del Este. It will be a welcome respite from the severe winter we are having here.
The thought of sandy beaches, surf, sun and great Arabian horses is getting me through our latest blizzard.
Although it has been a while since the last post, it was not for lack of things to do.
Earlier this month, I judged the Colorado Arabian Horse Association Christmas Show. It was nice to judge a “hometown” show!
It was a really fun show with some excellent horses. More entries than I would expect for a December show! No halter classes, only performance, but a great sense of fun and cooperation between all exhibitors. We had to muscle through 77 classes the first day including the trail classes that were supposed to be the second day. This was due to a large snowstorm that was due to hit Sunday morning. The plan was to try to end the show as early as possible on Sunday so everyone could get on the road before the worst of the snow hit. The snow started Saturday night, but the Sunday classes went on as planned and we were out by 3pm. I have proposed a Santa Hat class for next year. Jim Hitt set the bar, so I expect more exhibitors to get in the Santa spirit next year!
September 16, 2009
What a wild, busy summer!
In mid June I judged halter on a 5 judge panel at the Region 10 Regionals in St. Paul, Minnesota. This is probably one of the most competitive halter shows in all of the Regions. Not surprisingly, I was rewarded with seeing some really excellent horses. I want to commend the show committee for their commitment to the halter division by raising the money to hire the additional judges and make this Regional show as fair as possible for the exhibitors.
At the end of June, I was in the state of Goias in Brazil for the 33 annual Centro-Brasiliera do Cavalo Arabe show at the Rio Quentes “Hot Park” near Caldas Novas. I first judged this show about 22 years ago in Belo Horizonte.
This was the best idea for a horse show EVER! Hold the show at a huge water park! Rio Quentes is a very large totally enclosed resort with several hotels, a beach with a wave pool, lots of chutes and water slides, freshwater diving, soccer fields (which became the show arena), paintball woods, zip lines and on and on.
About 3,000 people were there for holiday and many stopped by the show in their bikinis and terry cloth robes to watch the show. With a relaxed show schedule, exhibitors, trainers, breeders and even the judges got to have fun in the park! Caldas Novas is a geo-thermal area of Brazil, and the Rio Quente (Hot River) really is hot–geo-thermally heated, and there were many thermal pools to float in and enjoy the theraputic properties of the hot pools. Many of the pools had bars in the center where you could swim up for a caipirinha (Brazil’s national drink, made with cachaca, a powerful fermented sugar alcohol).
Although the number of entries was small, the quality was excellent, and I think this idea of holding a show at a destination resort will catch on. Definitely one of the most fun locations I’ve ever judged in!
Thanks to the Brazilian Arabian Horse Association and to Joao Sorvilo and his family for a wonderful show in the park!
Of course, after the show, I had to go to my favorite place on earth–the Fazenda Barranco Alto in the Pantanal, in Mato Grosso du Sul in the west of Brazil. No matter how many times I go there, it isn’t enough. It is just magic. This time we had a really great tapir encounter, saw the giant river otters, tons of birds an a gorgeous yellow anaconda…christened “Cindy”. I was delighted!
Tapir
The highlight was seeing a giant anteater carrying her baby on her back. She carries the baby for six months until it is old enough to be weaned! I also finally got to see a tamandua (tree anteater) on the last evening. I have wanted to see one of these for a long time.
Jabiru storks in the Pantanal
Crab Eating Fox
Of course, I do have to work as well, so the year has been busy with mares and breeding and all the rest. Now that September is here, it should be a bit calmer.
April 25, 2009
The “Twelve Apostles”, Coast Road, Victoria, Australia
What a crazy month!! I had the honor of judging the Arabian National Championship show in Weribee Park, Victoria, Australia. A fabulous show with some superb horses. The following week, I judged the Arabian Show at Brigadoon, in Western Australia in the Swan Valley.
The international judges were treated to a wonderful tour along the justifiably famous Coast Road. The scenery was extraordinary and the rock formation of the “Twelve Apostles” was stunning. The hospitality of everyone I met in Australia was simply humbling. I stayed with a number of wonderful people in Victoria and Western Australia–always so much nicer to see the “real” Australia as opposed to hotel rooms. I had great tour guides (Tess, you know who you are) and was able to re-visit friends from my last trip. Listening to the stories of the people who were affected by the fires in Victoria was devastating. It is impossible to comprehend the extent of the fires and how tragic the result. But the people are determined to rebuild and rise from the ashes. The indomitable Australian spirit. 
Kangaroo, Brigadoon, Western Australia
I am a wildlife nut, and Australia has some of the most unique wildlife on the planet. Seeing a group of koalas in the wild was a real treat!! There were four or five, high up in eucalyptus trees–most sleeping, but one eating and active. Kangaroos were abundant, and the Aussies were tolerant of this Yank who wanted to stop and take a picture of every kangaroo I saw. The birds are spectacular–sulphur-crested cockatoos, black cockatoos, galahs, brilliant parrots and parakeets. An emu who nearly caused our car to crash in Exmouth, Western Australia and a huge bustard–the size of a stork. I nearly scared an echidna (like a large hedgehog) to death as it crossed the road–I rushed over and it ran off the side of the road and curled up into a defensive ball. I left it in peace, but it was great to see one!!
Koala–Coast Road, Victoria
Quokka–Rottnest Island, Western Australia
The wildlife highlight of the trip was the opportunity to snorkel with whale sharks at Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia. These huge sharks, which can be 30 ft. in length are very placid and feed only on plankton. They swim along the surface of the ocean, scooping up plankton as they move along. The two sharks we swam with were very tolerant and one was very interested in me and kept following me as I snorkeled. You are not allowed to be too close or to be in front of it. However, the more I tried to get out of its way, the more it kept following. It was absolutely brilliant!!!!! I want to go back right away and do it again! Great thanks to the Arabian Horse Society of Australia for the opportunity to judge the Nationals at Weribee Park and also the Western Australian Arabian Horse Association for the opportunity to judge their show at Brigadoon. What a fantastic trip–and country–and horses–and people–and wildlife!!
February 4th, 2009
Went to help my friends at Parnell’s Irish Cobs with a demonstration at the Rolling Thunder Draft show a few weeks ago. Watching those big 6-up and 8-up horse hitches is always amazing. The ground shakes as these “big boys” trot by with nice action and a bit of flash. The stands were packed out for both days. Perhaps in this advanced age there is a yearning to go back to a time when transportation was a lot simpler and a good team of horses was a farmer’s biggest investment.
February 6, 2009
Breeding season starts soon! Scottsdale show is just a week away–hope to see a lot of my international friends there! And enjoy some sun and a bit of fresh orange juice!
January 3, 2009 HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Its hard to believe it is 2009! Last year was an interesting year, and while times are hard for everyone, I prefer to be optimistic and look forward to the coming year! Peeking over the wall and being open to new adventures! Foaling season will start soon, and breeding season gets underway in February. There is the Scottsdale show to look forward to–I really like watching the yearling classes to see what different bloodlines are producing. In March it is off to Australia to judge shows in Victoria and Perth. I love OZ and know I will see some great horses there. I always have unexpected and delightful adventures whenever I’m there. Can’t wait.
December 19
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and all best wishes for the New Year to all my friends and clients.For those in the southern hemisphere, welcome to summer!!! Meanwhile here, it has been snow and cold–as it should be for the beginning of winter!
Hard to believe it has been nearly two months since judging halter at the U.S. Arabian National Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was a honor and delight to see the best horses in the country.The new halter scoring system was used for the first time at our National show, and it was a huge improvement over our previous system.
After a few hiccups with using PDA’s we reverted back to the scorecard and never looked back. The serious breeders in the audience really appreciated being able to score along with the judges and to see what the scores were after each horse.
Two things made this work really well. One was using the “exit the ring” protocol, whereby each horse showed individually. What a pleasure to be able to concentrate all of my attention on the one horse without a lot of distraction in the ring. It only took about 4 minutes per horse, and the trainers had a fresh horse for the whole time they showed. The horses looked better and showed better than they ever did under the old system. Furthermore, they were able to really show at the trot when they entered the ring, and those horses that could move, had a perfect opportunity to show off.
This style of showing is better for the horse, much more humane and was much better for the judges as well. The second thing that really made it work was having 5 judges and throwing out the high and low score. This kept any judge from unduly influencing the placings and insured that the best horse won the class. A running tally of the scores was posted in the paddock and there was a lot of good natured ribbing and competition between trainers as they watched to see who was coming in with the best scores.This really is a huge step forward in halter judging in America, and other breeds should take a look at what we are doing in the Arabian breed. For the first time, owners and breeders have feedback on their halter horses and judges have transparency in the decision making process. It is a win/win situation for everyone.
I couldn’t help but put this picture in–while I was in Uruguay in Punta del Este in September, I met up with this gorgeous bull seal. He was just hanging out on the boat slip. He had some slashes on his face. I suspect he was fighting over females with some other males. He was very tolerant of me, although I didn’t want to stress him out by going too close. What a magnificent guy!
October 19
Uruguay–land of mate, gauchos, grilled meat and beautiful horses! An amazing country that should really have a higher profile than it does.I had a fabulous time judging Arabians at the 103rd Livestock Exposition in Montevideo. The quality of the Arabians was very high and the horses were very professionally presented.I was one of three international judges, the others were Jorge Concaro of Argentina and Leonardo Pinheiro of Brazil. We had a most enjoyable time judging, despite cold and windy conditions. It was hard to stay focused on the Arabian arena, however, as in the next arena, native criollo horses were being judged, and I was fascinated with them. The fact that they were ridden by gauchos didn’t hurt either
After the show I was able to visit several farms, and came away very impressed by the quality of both the halter breeding programs and also the excellent Endurance horses being bred in Uruguay. There are no performance classes there, like we have in the U.S., but their horses were extremely functional as well as typey.
There is no doubt that Uruguay is a growing force in the world arena of Arabian horses and is a country to watch–great things are happening there! A big thank you to Heber Viana and the Sociedad de Caballos Arabe del Uruguay for a fantastic experience!
After Montevideo, it was on to Avare, Brazil for the Brazilian Arabian Breeder’s Cup. 
This show was truly a breeder’s show, with exceptional quality from yearlings through the aged mares and stallions. The classes were deep and a pleasure to judge. There were five of judging at this show with myself, Alan Preston from Australia, Dr. Santoro from Italy, Marcello Borges from Brazil and Cathy Murphy-Wright, also from the U.S. We were quite close in our decisions, and the use of a score card allowed exhibitors and owners to know exactly what each judge liked when placing each horse.
In addition to halter, this show had Western, English and Driving classes. I always know I am going to see superb Western horses when I judge in Brazil and this show had many excellent ones from which to choose.The halter horses could stand as Champions in any arena in the world, and in fact the Champion mare had been pinned Champion mare in the U.S. at the first Arabian World Breeder’s Cup in Las Vegas in 2007.
It was an extremely fun show from start to finish. A special highlight was visiting Haras Meia Lua owned by Lenita Perroy and seeing the legendary Ali Jamaal, who at age 25, looked half his age and was every inch a king. A very big thank you to Joao Sorvillo, Maria Helena Vidal, and everyone from the Associacao Brasileria Dos Criadores do Cavalo Arabe for a stellar show and wonderful time! 
After Avare, it was off to Fazenda Barranco Alto in the Pantanal. After my first visit in April, I made a vow I would return again the next time I was in Brazil. Little did I know it would be less than six months before I was back! This ranch is my version of heaven on earth.It is home to an incredible array of wildlife and birds, and Lucas and Marina manage this working ranch in a way to insure that the wildlife will thrive.Last time I was there, it was the end of the wet season. This time it was the end of the dry season, and the difference was profound. The Rio Negro had retreated to a fraction of what it had been. There were young lambs in the fields, calves with the cows and birds and mammals nesting and denning with young before the rains return.
A giant anteater
My good friend, Jaede, after seeing the pictures of my first trip, asked to come for this one, and it was great to watch her experience the same astonishment and amazement that is normal when you arrive at the ranch. Jaede is an expert horsewoman as well, and spent some time working with a mare for Lucas and Marina that had been giving her former owner a hard time. The mare was kind and willing, but had “issues” and it was an education for all of us to watch Jaede work with her. The reward was time on the river in a canoe to see otters, fishing for piranha, riding through varied terrain, watching howler monkeys, hyacinth macaws, caiman and capybaras. This place is just plain addictive. I adore it and cannot get enough.
Neotropical otter
I was blessed to get to come once. Twice was extraordinary. Thank you Lucas, Marina, Letitia and Emelia! Note to self–see what can be done to make another trip to Brazil!
August 8, 2008
Last weekend I helped my friends at Parnell’s Irish Cobs with a display of their horses at the first Fort Collins Irish Festival. The horses were a big hit, especially with the kids. Temple Bar, a four month old colt who had never been off the farm, worked the crowd like a star.
Parnell’s Roisin, a stunning mare, surveys the kids vying for her attention
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I was able to cross something off my bucket list that I had wanted to do for many years. Snorkel with wild manatees. I went to central Florida and had an amazing time floating with these gentle animals. Manatees have no predators (except humans and motorboats) therefore they are very tolerant of humans floating with them. Those that do not want to interact will just swim away.
It was sad to see that every manatee we saw, from young calves on up have scars on their backs from boat propellers. Even in areas where it was posted to go at idle speed, I saw boats at high rates of speed, ignoring the manatees below them. These are one of the most unique mammals in North America yet it appears that boats have preference in the water as far as the law is concerned.
This young manatee was very active and inquisitive. Note the multiple scars on the back .
July 10, 2008
I recently went to a driving day held by our regional driving club. A great time was had by all. There was a cone course set up in the outdoor arena and an obstacle course in a hay field. There were Friesians, Appaloosa, miniatures, Irish cob and Morgans. Sadly I didn’t see any Arabians. Used to be that Arabians were widely used as driving horses. Driving is becoming more popular, especially with the older crowd as it is easier on the body than riding.
As the cost of gasoline continues to rise, having a driving horse in the barn might not be a bad idea!
May 15, 2008
The Horsin’ Around Saddle Club are a great group of people. A few years ago, I judged their show in Rapid City, South Dakota and had so much fun that when they asked me this year, I was delighted to go back. Judging open shows keeps me sharp on all breeds and is a challenge when you have Quarter Horses, Appaloosas, Morgans, Arabians and Half-Arabians all in the same class! I was allowed to “talk” the classes this year, which I really like to do. I like to let the exhibitors and spectators in on how I selected the winners and why. I don’t ask them to agree with me, but want them to know what went into the decision making process
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The Black Hills of South Dakota are a special place. Here is a handsome fellow I met along the way.
April 30, 2008
I recently judged a show in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. This is a great area on the western side of the country and reminded me a lot of Colorado without mountains.. Very agricultural and lots of cattle. The city of Campo Grande has over 600,000 people, but feels like a small town. I really liked this part of Brazil. The quality of the horses was excellent. The champions could compete anywhere.
After the show, I headed for the Pantanal, an area I’ve wanted to visit for over 20 years. It is one of the most wildlife-rich areas of the planet. I stayed at the Fazenda Barranco Alto–a working ranch that takes only 9 people at a time. As it was the end of the wet season, the only way into the place was by air. Lucas and Marina treated me like family and I was agog at the amount of wildlife spotted each day. It was my version of heaven
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I have always loved the Nelore breed of cattle that are raised in Brazil. They came originally from India, and are bred for their heat tolerance and disease resistance.
Every day we saw a diverse array of wildlife, from capybara (the largest rodent in the world) to highly endangered Hyacinth Macaws. Howler monkeys, giant anteaters, tapir, jabiru storks. Amazing. The one species I really wanted to see was the giant Amazonian river otter and I wasn’t disappointed. Canoeing on the Rio Negro offered a once in a lifetime opportunity to see these huge, yet inquisitive otters. I am already scheming on how to get back to the Pantanal. I have only touched the tip of the wonder of this place.
A young capybara. Their hair is usually dark, but the high salt content of the lakes bleach the coats blonde.
