A chestnut surprise

A couple of weeks before Catalyst came into the world, I received an e-mail from a dear friend asking if I would consider taking on another stallion. My instant reaction? No, I have three mares and two boys already, why would I want another one? She believed this one was special (and I have nothing but the utmost respect for her opinion) and he was in danger of being gelded.

But, I started thinking. Cavalier is at the end of his career, Catalyst is young, and my only show mare was injured and no longer able to compete. Thus, I didn't have a horse I could campaign at the national level for a while. So I thought, what could it hurt to look?

Well, no one ever "just looks" and he looked beautiful from the photos. He had beaten warmbloods and won a championship at a USDF show in hand. His foals were even more impressive, demonstrating his strong ability as a sire ad they too had wins at USDF shows. Plus, urging from my better half made things hard to resist. So, a few weeks later I had a big chestnut horse on a trailer headed my way.

I was sure I was crazy. An 8 year old stallion not even started under saddle as a show prospect??? I certainly was anxious waiting for him. I thought I had made a huge mistake, it was too late to change my mind.

But, when he stepped off the trailer all of those fears went away. He was just stunning. He had a long, slender neck, a nearly infallible body, extreme type, and an unmistakable presence.

Within a few weeks we had three outside mares bred to him and I was planning our entry into the show ring. From there, Breeze was named champion in halter, a winner in SHIH, he went onto regionals where he was Reserve Champion in one division, Top 3 in another, and then he finished off the season 11th at nationals (by .7 points) and 4th under one judge. In 2010 we hit Scottsdale and without a trainer he was named Top 6 in SHIH Open, Top 6 in SHIH ATH, and top 10 Halter AOTH.

Not to mention, he proved a great mount under saddle and was gentle enough for me to start without a trainer.

He always liked jumping, though, so we let him have a try over fences. A local trainer took him over his first fence and he showed promise.

Then we took him to Wilson Dennehy who agreed.

Breeze is now headed to Sport Horse Nationals 2010 in Idaho to compete in Power and Speed Jumpers, Jumpers Open, SHIH Open, and SHIH ATH.

Future plans include main ring competition at the national level in AO Halter and AOTR hunter pleasure in addition to dressage. He has nowhere to go but up as both a show horse and a sire.

As far as my research has shown, no horse has ever won a title in halter in Scottsdale and a national jumping title in the same year. Breeze will be the first :).

Struggling to find the next generation- Catalyst MLM

The search for a great junior colt began in 2003 when I began searching for the perfect complement to RB Cavalier to produce a great son to carry on his legacy in the Arabian horse community. I leased many mares, two of which were unable to conceive due to reproductive issues, one of which passed away 10 days overdue on an operating table due to serve colic, and one of which produced a beautiful colt for me.

That colt was the incomparable Candescent MLM, an athletic and typey boy with tons of personality. Candescent came out a bright candy red and my mother was instantly smitten with him. After two years of her continually asserting her affection for the little guy, I gave him to her as a mother's day gift. He will now pursue a career in racing and eventually become her mount. She has hopes he will go onto a national level career in sport horse after he races for a couple of seasons.

Her acquisition of Candescent promises a legacy in the show arena for Cavalier, but left Cavalier with the prospect (since Candescent may be gelded) of no "heir apparent" once again.

That's when I met the beautiful Sefit En Raa, one of the daughters of *Ali Atik still in the US. Raa is a gorgeous black mare with a small star. Crossed to Cavalier she promised consistency in phenotype and genotype, and would produce the only Al Khamsa, Blue List, American Foundation Bred foal by RB Cavalier and would secure his legacy within the preservation groups. Plus, she was black and the beautiful color can't hurt :).

Well, after Raa became mine, she produced the colt I had been dreaming of for so long: Catalyst MLM. He was everything I ever wanted, except he came out chestnut. It was nature's little joke, I guess. The only 2 foals by Cavalier since 2003 to be any color besides black were my little guys, one chestnut, one gray.

Even with the shocking color, the little guy stole my heart. He is the spitting image of his sire in every way, and has his personality. He is gentle, submissive, and easy to handle. Not to mention, he has his sire's powerful movement.

Click here to see Catalyst moving as a youngster

His show career will not begin until next year when he is a 2 year old and begins his Sport Horse In Hand pursuit geared towards Sport Horse Nationals. Watching him grow has been very fun and he embodies the Bedouin horse in every way.

RB Cavalier: The Stallion that Started It All

In 2002, as a 14 year old girl, I decided to purchase an Arabian horse. That's when I met RB Cavalier. Some would say it was a bit crazy for a young girl to have a stallion, but Cavalier is a unique individual.

He's a rarity in so many ways, but his temperament is what made him the most logical choice for my first Arabian show horse. He is forgiving, gentle, and mild-mannered. In fact, he is so easy going that many people are shocked to learn he is a stallion at all. He is a true gentleman and has a powerful, old world look that has made him an asset to breeders seeking substance, movement, and temperament.

Cavalier is also part of a shrinking bloodline within the Arabian horse. He is Al Khamsa, Blue List, Asil, 88.5% AFB, and has a line to the famed *Turfa, who was noted for her incredible trotting ability. (*Turfa pictured at right)

Cavalier is one of the only a few Al Khamsa sons of Arabi Fadh Onyx currently producing, and is arguably his most look alike son. Onyx was a tall, powerful stallion who passed away at the age of 25. He was prepotent for his look and sweet nature. (Arabi Fadh Onyx pictured at left)

Cavalier began his show career in western pleasure with me in 2003 and together we collected numerous championships and reserves in western pleasure. We competed at the National Level and beat multiple national champions across all age divisions of amateurs.

In 2006 Cavalier suffered an accident at a trainer's facility and nearly died after sustaining 6 broken ribs and a punctured lung. After a year of recovery, we hit the ring again without a trainer and won another championship in western pleasure before starting a career together in SH.

He shined in his career as a SH winning many titles and is now at the end of his show career at a sagely 19. He will be celebrating his retirement at a special celebration this fall in Colorado. He has achieved the following in his career exclusively with me as his rider/handler:

2010 Region 8 Reserve Champion SHIH Stallions (over a national champion!)

2010 Region 8 Reserve Champion SHIH ATH Stallions
2010 Region 8 Top 5 (3rd) SHUS ATR
2009 Region 8 Champion SHIH Stallions
2009 Region 8 Champion SHIH ATH Stallions
2007 Region 9 Top 5 (4th) SHIH ATH
11 Champs/Reserves in Western Pleasure
Champion Liberty
Reserve Champion Halter
Sport Horse Show Hack winner

Cavalier has his own website at: http://www.rbcavalier.com/ and will be making appearances on this blog as well. You can also find him on Facebook.

The Colt Curse Blog

Hi and thanks for stopping by! I'm an Arabian horse enthusiast, exhibitor, and breeder that has been involved with the breed since 2002 when I purchased my first Arabian, RB Cavalier. Since then I've gone through the growing pains of trying to establish a small breeding program with high quality horses geared towards sport horse disciplines.

I am, however, what some would call a bit unlucky. Why? I've managed to produce 100% colts since I produced my first foal in 2008... so I'm 4 for 4. Working with the boys is a lot of fun, but I wouldn't mind a filly now and then. However, I can't say that there's ever a dull moment when you have a non-horsey life, maintain a breeding program, and show your own horses.

So I have created this blog to share the adventures of my five boys, their training, show results, personalities, trials, and triumphs. In addition, I hope any amateurs or aspiring breeders will enjoy following all of the ups and downs of stallion ownership and promotion.

Since three of these "boys" are youngsters, I'll be sharing any tough decisions made along the way as many if not most young colts don't deserve to stay stallions. And although my boys look great now, they are still growing and developing. I do believe that beautiful colts make incredible geldings and I won't be sorry if any of the youngsters end up losing their boy parts.

The next few blog posts will introduce all 5 of the boys:
RB Cavalier- 1991 black stallion and resident since 2002
AO Breeze- 2001 chestnut stallion and resident since 2009
Catalyst MLM- 2009 chestnut colt
Caalypso MLM- May 3, 2010 gray colt
Booster- un-named son of RB Cavalier born July 30th, 2010