News & Pictures from Lisa (Pandemonium's owner!)

Did you guys know the sire of Bella's baby is named Pandemonium and he is closely related to Barbary++++ - which means he is also related to our very own Festivity, Cameo and Barbary!!! Isn't that exciting?

Pandemonium is owned by a lady named Lisa Morales who was kind enough to send pictures of her stallion with Bella.

I can't wait for that baby to come! What do you think it will be???

Our Mascot, Little Dish

The barn is much less exciting when Dakota isn't there. At least once a week he manages to get loose and make us all chase him down. Often we run on foot, in the car, and on horseback to hunt him down while he chases every squirrel & bunny in town! He loves the girls and the horses very much!

Ruby has a new home in Maryland!

Ruby our very own wonderful Icelandic has found a new permanent home in Maryland on an island no less. She will have the life she deserves and although we will miss her terribly, we are all happy for her & Kathleene, her new owner. www.Clyde-bred.WarmBloodHorse.com Kathleene has Ahkal-Tekes & breeds sheep - she is even starting her own sheep breed called Harlequin Sheep. We love adding her to our extended horse family.
A special thanks to all the girls who scrubbed Ruby today and groomed, fed, & loved her one last time :). (p.s.) It is almost 11 pm and there is no hauler in sight! I am so tired! Jordan, you rock with her dreds!

Another trip to Malibu Creek to Swim?!

I must be crazy. Thank goodness Holly & Linda came along or the day would have been impossible! Six girls wanted to come along - Ashley & Sonnet, Jordan & Gracie, Tallulah & Tiko, Hannah & Angel, Geffen & Poetka and of course Brooke & Lola! The day was filled with laughter, adventure, dunking & jumping and of course Lola ran away again (no fisherman or Daniel in sight!). Ashley even rescued another shoe. Tiko was the deep swimmer, Angel was the pro, Gracie was solid, and Geffen jumped and ducked like the big girls! It is Monday and I am still tired from all that fun!
The highlight of the day was the incredible Easter Egg hunted hosted by Serena & Tallulah - it was the perfect ending to a LONG day! :)

Sonnet finally comes home from Alamo Pintado

Sonnet was finally released from the hospital and thanks to our wonderful families she was able to come home! Luckily the day we went to pick her up, the girls were on their first day of Spring Break! So me, Ashley, Brooke, Julia (& of course Little Dish) jumped in the truck and trailer and headed to Santa Ynez. It was very exciting! The girls took Dakota and found Sonnet in the pipe corrals with the racehorses. Dr. Erin, her wonderful vet, suggested the girls take her to graze while I dealt with the paperwork. While the girls were enjoying the sunshine they got to see a stallion collected! It was very entertaining for them and I heard about it the whole way home. Sonnet was clearly so happy to see Ashley - she missed her so much and their reunion was very touching.

 

While driving home we saw a huge field of wild mustard flowers. The scene was so beautiful we decided to pull over and have an impromptu photo shoot. The beauty of the scene really captured the moment and the pictures are some of my favorites!

Val Paradiso - the ranch on Paradise Valley Road

It's easy to see why the street that leads to this property was named Paradise Valley. BDS renamed the 8 acres at the end of the cul-de-sac "Val Paradiso". There are dozens of bird that live on the property and sing every morning. This property is certainly one of the most beautiful places in Hidden Hills and one of the best kept secrets!

While Cefarino has been building away at the Plum Tree we moved some horses over there to enjoy the open spaces. The horses love running free on the property and eating all of the knee high grass. We love visiting them there and although we miss them at the Plum Tree, we are sad to see them leave Val Paradiso. Wouldn't this property make a great summer camp? It even has a working bathroom!

Callaia turns 1!

On March 18th Callaia celebrated her first birthday! Thanks to everyone who continues to show her so much love. She is a lucky girl!

Conquering the big hill at Saddle Creek Road!

Hannah was the first rider ever to brave the BIG hill at the Saddle Creek cul-de-sac! To top it off she was on Festivity who she had never ridden before.

Following her closely but not quite making it were Ashley & *Iberia and Brooke & Gala.

Those girls that paved the way were Julia & Angel and Tallulah & Tiko.

I hear there will be another trip up there soon!

Nice work, Hannah!

Who will be the FIRST ride to ride down the hill?!

Brooke & Spiderman

Brooke is so lucky to have had her amazing stunt riding caught on film! We owe Lilian for these great shots and Brooke you have shown us what a great rider and sport you really are! The pictures are posted in order - can you believe Brooke stayed on after her foot touched the ground? Incredible!

St. Patrick's Day Gymkhana @ Hidden Hills!

A sincere "Thank you" to the Bliss Wendelburg & the Hidden Hills Horsemen on a wonderful event & great day! All of the girls had a great time riding and Poetka certainly earned extra treats tonight!

A huge congratulations to our girls who enjoyed their new experiences with their horses at this very show:

Kristin Kulik who enjoyed her first show ever & competed in the keyhole leadline class with Julia (Embrulia)!
Geffen Goldstein who stepped up to the Pole Bending & Keyhole and earned ribbons in both classes!
Hope Garrett debuted today and took home a red, white, and blue ribbon in her classes!
Alexa Kramer graduated from the walk-trot division and did a fantastic job showing Poe in Pole Bending, Keyhole & Drop the Bucket!

Congratulations to our "veteran" gymkhana show girls who also had a very successful day:
Helena Jacobson & Poe were back after winning the Year-End High Point last year. Watch for Helena & Festivity in the summer.
Honour Fottrell braved the green barrels and had a fun day (& was also finally given her gift for winning her Year End High Point in 2007!)
Mandy Morris showed a tremendous improvement from the last show and earned two St. Patrick's Day garlands & trophies!
Tallulah Tepper showed courage and faced her fear with Tiko & the chalk line. Her bravery paid off and she too won a garland & trophy!

Brooke Cohen dazzled the crowd racing around on Lola & won two of her classes. She also was the trainer-of-the day and schooled our newest pony Spiderman. She may of had a little slip off but she also won a trophy & garland with him in the process. Thanks for taking one for the team!

Also Congratulations to our Daily High Point Winners:
Hannah Kulik & Jade earned the High Point trophy & rose garland in Division C!

Jordan Parr & Gracie earned the High Point trophy & rose garland in Division D!
The next Hidden Hills Gymkhana will be held in August - the 3rd Annual Back-to-School Gymkhana!

Callaia's First Day Out (11 & 3/4 months!) w/Sera

Today was the first time ever that Callaia could be turned out to run and play like a normal baby! Surprisingly, Sera was even more excited and ran and bucked around like a young horse! It was great to witness as the road to this point in her journey has been long and filled with many challenges. Thank you to all of the wonderful people who made this moment possible.

Tallulah gets a horse of her own! Welcome Triana!

Tallulah is so lucky - on March 10th she got her very own horse! A pure Spanish mare named Triana who came from her friends at the Stanley Ranch (http://www.stanleyranch.com/) in Reno Nevada. They are famous breeders of Spanish Arabians and have owned many National Champions. Triana loves the trails and especially loves jumping. We are thrilled to welcome Triana to the Sapphire Arabians team!

Welcome Home to Bella!

Bella has arrived safely to the Plum Tree like a beacon of hope and light. She is incredibly sweet, beautiful and feminine. Geffen is in love with her and Brooke can't wait to get started on her training. We are so lucky to have her! She is stunning!

Malibu Creek State Park/Swimming w/The Horses

Well, it turned out to be another adventurous day when we took 5 horses to Malibu Creek State Park for a quick swim to cool off. Ashley returned with Gracie, Hannah rode Angel, Julia Embrulia was on Festivity and Brooke rode Lola, as she was up for the challenge! Holly joined us with Gala who seemed to enjoy the stream more than we all thought!

Lola got loose, Dakota drained the car battery, the retro was hit twice and we were saved by Daniel and the man with the fishing pole. Banana bread kept us alive and the day was fantastic!

Mare of the Month - Persjaa

This month is seems fitting to feature Persjaa, our mare that traveled long and far to reach us. Persjaa turns 25 today and is a *Pesniar daughter which makes her a half sister to our very own Poetka VF. They look enough alike to be full sisters and even share many of the same personality traits. Persjaa was an accomplished hunter/jumper horse in her day and has earned championships in Western Pleasure, Hunter Pleasure, and Working Hunter. She also competed in countless "Paper Chase Races" which is equivalent to our hunt rides with the West Hills Hounds (minus the coyotes).
Persjaa's travels unfortunalty left her sick, weak and dehydrated when she arrived and we have all been working around the clock to help make her feel better. It has been a group effort and it has been incredibly touchning to see the girls rally to make her feel at home here. She is feeling better each day and we are so grateful we were able to save her. A sincere thanks to all that helped her these past two weeks especially Dr. Katie Prince & Heather and Holly Blackmore. I will not forget how great the girls were too - especially Brooke & Tallulah who were there on her first night. Also, Jordan, Mandy, Ashley, Hannah, Alexa, and Julia. Thanks for loving Persjaa from day one. Also thanks to the Kulik family who gave her a new blanket and made sure I was warm & fed those two days I lived at the Plum Tree.
We are thrilled that Persjaa has joined our Sapphire Arabians family and look forward to creating many wonderful memories with her!