It's hard to believe 9 years have passed since the wonderful Don Marco joined our herd. He is, and always will be, an absolute dream come true for me. The journey started with Garbosa XI, his sister, and through her untimely death a door was opened and through it walked Don Marco. Life has never been the same.

As a show horse, Don Marco has competed all the way to the National level, and scored Reserve National Champion Colt in 1990. As an exhibition stallion, he thrilled crowds throughout California with his presence and athleticism. If he had ended up in a different home, I have no doubt he could have gone as far in competitive dressage as anyone would have wanted to take him. His elegant presence and his fluid gaits are the epitome of a dressage horse.

But instead of continuing to pursue ribbons, scores, and fame...he ended up being the answer to someone's prayers. Mine. As luck would have it, his truest and most far-reaching accomplishment is his prowess and prepotency as a sire. His foals are the mark of his greatness. He is undefeated in Get of Sire, a class in which a stallion's offspring are judged for their quality. Those offspring who show the most uniform quality and consistency win the award for their sire.

In Get of Sire, Don Marco's foals have competed against the foals of Andalusian greats such as Genio, Teodoro, Legionario III, Ravel, Ofendido V, Davido MC, and Navarre. All of those stallions are household names in the Andalusian world and are known as legendary sires. Don Marco has won the coveted Get of Sire title over all of them. He was owned by Dragonwood Farms at this time, and shortly thereafter he made his journey to the Pacific Northwest to live with me. I was already sold on his bloodlines (since my first mare was his sister) but, after seeing the foals he produced, every other stallion I had been considering paled by comparison.

Don Marco is 19 this year and we are not accepting any more outside mares for breeding to him at this time.

Click here to find out more about this exciting stallion. Online video available as well.

 

The first time I ever saw Notorio, I was looking at a sale tape for Don Marco. I was already very emotionally involved in the idea of "Don Marco," but when Notorio came onto the screen...there was no question. Don Marco was coming home with me. Notorio's presence filled the screen. I had to have the means to create 'more of him.'

As fate would have it, the opportunity came along to lease Notorio the following year. It seemed impossible that not only Don Marco, but Notorio too, could be in my barn! But sometimes truth is stranger than fiction and Notorio moved to the northwest. Shortly thereafter, the process was begun that eventually made his temporary visit into a permanent stay.

In the looks department, Notorio is the 'classic' Andalusian... balanced, easy to handle, but with a sizzling presence and impressive stature. He competed heavily on the California show circuit in his youth, and was one of the top halter and performance horses each year he was shown. He was actually the 1997 High Point Halter Horse, accumulating more halter points than any other Andalusian in the country.

Notorio had earned 6 national titles by his sixth birthday, and has since retired from showing to become a personal riding horse for his owner, Debby Mudler. Although it has been years since he has seen the inside of a show ring, he is still remembered as a crowd favorite that brought a smile to everyone's face. Debby and Notorio are hoping to enter the dressage ring in 2007 to show that Notorio is as versatile as he is beautiful.

In the meantime he is following in his sire, Don Marco's, footsteps and proving that he has what it takes to succeed in the breeding shed, as well as the show ring. His dam is the beautiful Jarana, the 1998 National Champion mare. She is the only mare I know of who has produced 100% National Champion offspring. With a Nationally recognized sire who is undefeated in Get of Sire, and a dam who has produced 100% National Champion offspring, Notorio's impressive accomplishments should come as no surprise. As a sire, Notorio enjoys recognition as one of the elite few American Andalusian stallions to have a foal exported to another country. His photo has been used countless times in books and magazines and videos as the representation of the ideal Andalusian type.

Notorio is a dazzling individual.......convinced that he was put on this earth to be admired by all who see him. His pride and arrogance are endearingly combined with a charismatic and fun-loving temperament.

Click here to learn more about how wonderful Notorio is!

Malibu K is a multi-National champion performance horse. He is the poster child for Andalusian versatility... having competed successfully at the National level in Saddleseat and Driving, and then, in his second career, as a dressage horse. Anyone who thinks a saddleseat or driving horse can't change hats and compete successfully in dressage has not seen Malibu. His gaits are poetry in motion...with powerful extensions that would make a warmblood breeder sit up and take notice. He has a temperament which makes him easy to manage by even the most novice handler or rider. Typically, we do not even use a stud chain on him and he can be ridden in mixed company. Conformationally, he has a strong, broad-chested build to him with a deep body, excellent bone and hooves, and a powerful hind end.

As a breeding stallion, Malibu has been under-utilized. Most of his life was spent in a training barn, and he was only bred once or twice as a young horse. He sat there, practically right under my nose, for years. He was the 'favorite' horse of my friend Gayle Lord, and she held onto him until the very end when she was dispersing her wonderful herd. One day, I was flipping through the studbook and came upon Malibu's pedigree. Although I was familiar with (and admired) his sire line, it was his dam's lineage that stopped me in my tracks. He is a grandson of Pandora...a mare whose blood runs through some of my best horses. I couldn't email Gayle fast enough. He is the perfect stallion to cross onto my mares who are closely related to Don Marco, or to Don Marco's daughters, and a great way to concentrate the bloodlines I am striving to maintain in my herd. Gayle and I came to an agreement that night, and Malibu was on his way the following week. I've been kicking myself ever since that I didn't follow up on him years ago.

He is a class act all the way.

Click here to visit Malibu's page.

(PS...If any of these links don't work, go back to the home page and try from there. This website has evolved and taken on a life of its own over the last 11 years, and some of the links have changed. I try to keep up with them, but inevitably, I've missed some. But they DO all work from the front page. I apologize for the inconvenience!)