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December
17, 2008
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Well, my good intentions of
keeping you up to date on the news seemed to get
side-tracked. I realized that I haven’t even
reported back on the World Show So, here goes.
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Lanis and I at the World Show. |
It was great to meet so many friends, although I
was there so little time, I seemed to have
missed visiting with some of them. Lanis and I
met at the airport and the first night we ate
with Fred and Vicki Benker, Gwen Zimmerman and
Joey and Patty Shortino. Gwen is the one who
owns A Classic Edition------a mare that I
am proud to say that I raised. She not only was
Honor Roll Halter Mare in the nation last year,
but also is going to repeat
the honor this year. Joey is the one who is
responsible for showing her and he has done an
incredible job keeping her sound and healthy
throughout her venture. A big surprise to me is
that they intend to show her in Performance
Halter Mares next year and, believe it or not,
she is a great rope horse. She received 11
heading and heeling points in one weekend alone
and now only needs one more point in heading to
make her an AQHA Champion. That is quite a feat
for any horse, let alone a big, heavily bodied
16 hand mare. We had an great time listening to
Joey’s stories and in my opinion we need more
people like Gwen in the horse business. She has
so much enthusiasm and loves her horses so much.
She called to tell me that she is now showing in
riding events and I told her that I was going to
live vicariously through her. I can’t imagine me
showing in pleasure or even halter, for that
matter. I get
too nervous just watching when one of my horses
are being shown.
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|
A Classic Edition |
Thursday was the first day of open halter. We
got up early and watched all the halter classes.
We met Joy and Lucy McGuffin and Fred Tabor. If
you remember, the McGuffins are the ones who
bought Rebecca’s embryo by Classic Link and Fred
is one of the most respected trainers in the
Paint Horse business. That afternoon, Lanis
and I, Fred and Vicki Benker and Joy and Lucy
took a trip to Terry Bradshaws to see the up and
coming young stallion, My Intentions. He is
owned by Bitterlake Paint and Quarter Horses and
Jim Snow. I had seen him as a baby and really
liked him. I expect great things of him in the
show pen and I intend to breed to him this year.
He is by Playgirls Conclusion out of a Touchdown
Kid mare. It was a long ride but worth it. That
night Fred Tabor joined us for an awesome dinner
and lots of horse talk. For the second night in
a row, I had a filet. . After all, when you are
in Oklahoma, you should Eat steak.
Friday we met Russ Ellis, and low and behold,
he had a shirt and a hat saying Ellis Quarter
Horse Farm on it. I felt right at home. Russ
bought the cremello stud colt from Lanis and we
totally enjoyed spending the morning “analyzing”
the horses with him. Of course, my good friends,
Fred and Vicki Benker were there too. Vicki and
I have become great friends and Mike and I are
planning to go to Ocala to visit her and Fred in
January. She owns the gray mare, Twice the
Romance, a half sister to Juliet and Rocky as
all three are out of the mare, Shanes Lady
Romantic. I don’t know if I will come back to
good ole Wisconsin after being in Florida for a
few days. (I failed to
tell you that the temperature as I am writing
this is 26 below zero) After the halter classes
we ventured out to Halvorson Ranch. Rebecca
Halvorson met us there and showed us the
stallions. Now, for a hostess, there is no one
better than Rebecca. She makes you feel so
comfortable and at home. We thought Kids Classic
Style looked really good. He seems very healthy
and happy. Joy and Lucy had to catch a plane
back home to Sonora, Texas and Fred Tabor had
to go back to his ranch in Aubrey, Texas. Of
course, the girls were able to get a bit of
shopping in before they left for the airport.
That evening, Lanis and I ate with Russ Ellis
and we were joined by Marion and Bill Brakefied.
Marion owns JMK Malibu Ken, the sire of 3 of our
foals this year. It was a time to discuss and
visit about the horse business and enjoy good
company. I was proud of myself because I didn’t
over-eat the croissants at Charlestons.
Our last day of halter came way too fast. By
then I had discovered the fabulous cookies at at
the coliseum and my friend, Denny Reiners from
South Dakota brought me 2 cinnamon rolls, so I
was in danger of not staying the same weight
that I was when I left Wisconsin. As you know,
I love to eat and sometimes get a little carried
away with it. That evening we had a wonderful
meal----just the Benkers and Lanis and I. It was
a time to reflect on what we had seen and just
visit. I could not believe the time had gone by
so fast. I had seen some wonderful horses and
visited with many people.
Sunday morning I flew home and arrived in time
to watch football that afternoon. As I reflect
on what I saw, I did not see any great
improvements in the quality of horses in the
last few years. In the past, I always was so
impressed with the mare classes and not so much
with the stud classes. This year, I don’t know
if it is because I am getting older or what, but
it was difficult for me to find a lot of horses
that really appealed to me. Perhaps
my expectations are too high or I have set my
standards too high. All I know is that when I
used to go to the World Show, I would come home
in absolute awe of what I had seen and that
isn’t the case anymore.
Now, as to what is going on here at our place.
Goldie, as we called her, is at her new home in
Florida. The lucky filly left with Donna, the CK
Kid filly. From what I understand from Gwen
Zimmerman, her new owner, Joey Shortino is
trying to get her ready to show at the Gold
Coast shows. She had absolutely no fitting
until she arrived at his ranch. Even though she
is younger than most of the fillies that will be
showing, if anyone can get her ready, I
have confidence that Joey can do it.
Rocky, whose registered name is Such A Knockout
is in Maine, waiting for his new owner to pick
him up and take him to her place in Canada. Ben
and Sharon of GBF Enterprises picked him up
between storms last week. He is already gaining
fans as they absolutely loved him and wanted to
know more about him. Lucie Boulet is going to
have so much fun showing this colt. He is so
pretty and correct and has so much muscle
besides.
I think I told you that I sent Fred to Stacie
Riehls for some handling., Well, she is doing
such a great job with him that I hate to bring
him home. He now knows how to lunge, cross-tie,
clip, get his feet handled and so forth. I plan
to keep him and if he were here he would just do
the routine of going outside for the day and in
the barn at night. I have been trying to get up
and take some new pictures of him but with the
temperature at -8 and the wind chill at -26, it
has been difficult. The last pictures of him
were taken on November 24 and I will show
you. Keep in mind that they are not the best
and I will get some new ones just as soon as I
can. The cold weather makes it difficult to
take pictures as I am not proficient with my
camera and can not figure out how to get good
contrast with the snow,
especially on the light colored horses.
I will also show you some pictures I took on
December 11 of Rebecca and Tardee and the 2
younger babies. They are not the best quality
pictures. As soon as weather permits, I will
take some up to date pictures of Fred for you.
This terrible cold cannot last all winter, can
it? I did take some pictures of his dam, Miss
Bunny Tardee on November 4 and also found an old
picture of her dam, Bunny Nightshade and will
show these to you. The Tardee mare is 22 years
old. The picture of her dam, Bunny Nightshade
was taken in 1987 and she was 5 at the time.
Both mares are 15.3 and I expect Fred to be even
taller than that when he matures.
|
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Mss Bunny Tardee
11.4.08 |
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This
is
the
dam
of
Miss
Bunny
Tardee
Picture taken in 1987---21 years ago. The mare was 5 years old at the time.
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|
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I am wondering if you noticed the ad for Casino
Cool in the December Quarter Horse Journal. He
is owned by my dear friend, Joanna Strickland
and is the sire of Casino Clu that we own with
Rodger Shabel and Lanis. Casino Cool is a good
15.3 NN son of Ima Cool Skip out of a daughter
of Quincy Feature. He has great legs and his
foals have gorgous heads, necks and bodies. It
is too bad that he has not been promoted until
now as I think he offers a lot to our quarter
horse industry and at a reasonable stud fee.
People have been buying his daughters
for broodmares and I know of some very high
priced foals out of his Daughters.
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Casino Clu and Lanis. |
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Casinos Ms Elite
owned by Vicki Livasy |
Better get to work----Christmas is not far away
and I have not done my shopping yet. But then,
that is normal for me. As soon as I get updated
pictures of Fred, I will have Vicki add them to
the web site.
Sandy
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October
31, 2008
October 31
Happy Halloween!! This month has
gone by so fast and soon I will be
going to the World Show I have been
going for so many years and I look
forward to seeing many of the people
that I have been visiting
with either on the phone or via
email for the last year. Lanis,
Carri Jones and I usually meet there
and of course we know all of the
good dining places in Oklahoma
City. As you know, eating is one
of the big attractions of going to
an event and we certainly have found
some great supper clubs. It is
almost like a routine---we stay in
the same hotel each year, Lanis has
the car warmed each morning and the
Diet Mountain Dew and pretzels ready
for the day. We are always there
early to watch the halter classes.
In the afternoon, after our lunch of
beef stew, we normally visit some of
the area horse ranches, although we
have been known to go on extensive
trips to see horses. Each year, I
come back miserable from eating too
much, but it is a trip that I
love. This year, Carri is probably
not going to go as she is now
raising Bernese Mountain Dogs and
her female, Sosha, will have her
first litter of puppies. Talk about
nice dogs, check out Carri’s web
site on my links page. For those of
you who know Carri, when she does
things, it is always first class and
her dog operation is going to be the
same.
"Sosha"
On a sad note, you probably already
know that Vicki and Mark Livasy lost
their wonderful stallion, DC
Precision. I regret that I was
never able to see him in person but
from pictures of his foals, he was
truly a breeding horse. I
especially loved the bottom side of
his pedigree as Tardee Impressive is
one of my all time favorite studs.
Miss Bunny Tardee is also a daughter
of Tardee Impressive and that is
where the muscle comes from in my
program. My heart goes out to
Vicki, as her boy was truly a part
of her family. I know it is not
much comfort, but at least she has
some wonderful offspring to remember
him by.
Rocky as we have known him, will
soon to going to his new home in
Canada. I cannot wait to meet
his owner, Lucie Boulet. We have
become great friends via email. I
admire her enthusiasm and her
ambition to make this colt a great
one. After much deliberation, she
has come up with the perfect name
for him. He is called, and the name
reflects him, Expect a Knockout.
What a great name for such
a fantastic colt. I will keep you
up to date on his accomplishments as
I hear about them from Lucie. She
will start his career as a
yearling. I am convinced that this
colt will do great in the show pen
and then excel as a breeding
stallion.
Fred has gone to "school". By that
I mean that we sent Fred, the NN
palomino weanling stallion by Kids
Classic Style out of Miss Bunny
Tardee to Stacie Riehl at Legacy
Performance Horses in
Shiocton, Wisconsin for some basic
training. Dr Fox was at Stacie’s
farm the second day he was there and
she told me he was “crying” for his
friends. I know that training is
good for him and I thought it would
be really nice with him gone, but I
do miss him. He is maturing into
this huge muscular stallion (even
though he is only 9 months old) that
I have been waiting to get out of
Miss Bunny Tardee. The fact that he
is NN makes him even more appealing
to me. If I am going to have him
around, I want him to have manners.
Stacie does such a great job at
handling the stallions for Dr Fox’s
breeding program, I decided she
would be the one to educate Fred. I
guess I should be calling him by his
real name, which is Classically.
I want to go and see him but think
that perhaps I should not look
overly anxious, and give her at
least a week to work with him.
Little Donna (she is not small but
we call her that because she is so
cute and feminine) is going to her
new home in Florida next week. She
must not know that she is going to a
warm climate because she is growing
this thick coat of winter "fur". Her
new owner, Gwen Zimmerman , owner of
Winsome Farms LLC, is also the proud owner
of a Classic Edition, the buckskin
mare that we raised that is the
current High Point AQHA Halter Horse
in the nation and also won the award
last year as well. “Mama Cass” as
they call her has a new venture in
life. Gwen decided to have her get
her ROM in performance and then she
plans to show her in Performance
Halter Mares. Can you believe that
big, massive mare earned 11 points
in roping in one weekend? That even
amazes me. I am so proud of her for
being so versatile. Wouldn’t it be
amazing if she could be both High
Point Halter Mare and High Point
Performance Halter Mare in the
nation the same year? That is what
a quarter horse is supposed to
do----both perform and halter.
Just a note that we have a full 2008
sister to A Classic Edition and she
is NN. You can see pictures of her
on the foal's page.
I was able to take some new pictures
of Goldie last week. She perhaps
already had winter hair, but
because of her fine coat, it doesn’t
appear that bad on the pictures.
She is absolutely gorgeous. Not
only does she have all the pretty
and muscle in the world, she is also
going to have a lot of size. She
needs someone to give her a chance
to become a great show mare.
Marion Brakefield who owns Malibu
Ken has been wonderful to me and I
feel obligated to find a show home
for this filly so that she can
promote Malibu Ken.
"Goldie"
Last, but not least, take a look at
the new pictures on the galleries.
I knew that fall and winter were
coming, so I took the opportunity to
take pictures of the beautiful
scenery around our farm. I threw in
a few other pictures just for fun.
I will give a full report of the
World Show after I return.
Sandy
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October
1, 2008
October 1
When I wrote the
last time, we were experiencing cold weather
and the cold has returned again. However, in
the interim, we had the most beautiful warm,
sunny days and I was able to catch up on
pictures of the babies. Check out the foals’
page for new pictures. Mike took advantage of
the weather and baled third cutting hay. Boy,
is it beautiful! I haven’t fed it to the horses
yet because I am afraid that it will cause them
to get shaky in their legs and they are doing
great right now.
It was a sad day
yesterday for me as three mares left on their
way to Texas. I never thought that I would sell
CJ MissCool Evidence, the 16 hand APHA/AQHA mare
by Ima Cool Skip out of a daughter of Obvious
Conclusion. When Fred Tabor and Joy McGuffin
were here last January, they fell in love with
her, but I really didn’t want to part with her.
They purchased an embryo out of You Bet I'm Cool
and bred her to Classic Link this year. We did
the transfer here and I kept the recipient mare
at our place because we didn’t think it would be
a good idea to move her with the terrible heat
that they had in Texas this summer. As it came
time to ship her, Fred asked me again about the
double registered mare and I agreed to sell her
to the McGuffins. They also purchased her
embryo by Mighty Clue, which is in another
recipient. Mighty Clue is owned by Dave and
Kari Sipes and David Creeley and stands at
Triple C Ranch in Kentucky. I think the cross
will be awesome and with Fred fitting the
resulting foal, I think it will show very
well. The intentions for CJ Miss Cool Evidence
are to breed her to the McGuffin’s new stallion
Mighty CK Kid. He is sired by CK Kid and out
of a daughter of Mighty Awesome and is NN
besides. Wait until you see pictures of him.
He is only a yearling but look out Paint
World!!! Fred has promised me pictures and I
will put them on the web site for you to see
when I get them. I did take some new pictures
of CJ MissCool Evidence before she left, even
though it was a rainy day when I did. I will
have Vicki put them on this page for you to
see.
There are new
pictures of Fred on the foal’s page along with
new picture of the other babies. Fred is really
getting big---he is close to 14 hands now and
taller than that at the hip. He is very good
minded but has started that baby boy stuff of
trying to bite me. Just a typical boy, I
guess.
|
Fred |
The Quarter Horse
World is getting closer. It is the only real
time that I know I am going somewhere. I keep
telling Vicki Benker that we are going on a
trip, but still haven’t gotten away from here.
I have had quite a few calls on the babies and I
hope the prospective buyers don’t mind them with
winter hair----they are still fine but when I
put them out today, I am afraid the beautiful
summer coats are going. It is in the 40s today.
Sandy
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September
9, 2008
|
When I
last wrote, we were experiencing hot
weather but boy has it changed.
This morning it was 49 degrees and I
am perplexed with trying to keep the
babies short haired. Their daily
routine is to go outside for the day
and in the barn at night. Well, for
the last few days, they have had to
stay in the barn longer as it has
been cold. Bob, our number one and
only helper, told me that I go
through this every year and
eventually “give up the fight” and
let them grow hair so why don’t I
just give up now. He is probably
correct as Fred is already growing
hair and some of the fillies have
never lost their winter coats.
Sissy
left for her new home in New
Brunswick, Canada the last Wednesday
of August. I really hated to see her
go as she is such a sweetie. Her
new owner, Jennifer Lemon is so
happy with her and promised to send
me pictures of her and her dog
playing together. I was also so
happy with the couple who hauled her
for us. GBF Enterprises out of
Maine picked her up and they did a
fantastic job of taking care of her
and keeping in touch with both me
and Jennifer. They met in Skowhagen,
Maine where Jenn was showing her
gelding (who by the way, cleaned up
in every class he was in) I will
keep you up to date on Sissy as she
has a great show career in front of
her.
My good
friends Carri and Marcus Jones came
to visit me last weekend.
Consequently I have gained more
weight as it seemed like we spent a
lot of our time eating. They picked
up a recipient that is carrying an
embryo by Carri’s stallion,
Caribbean Kid and Miss Carri Clu.
She named the embryo “Debbie Debris”
as when it arrived for Dr Fox to
implant, it had some debris on it.
I told Carri that it had better be a
filly with a name like that.
The
babies are doing great. All of the
Malibu Ken foals are NH and the
three babies that I have left by
Kids Classic Style are NN, as is the
CK Kid filly. I hope that you have
seen the new pictures that I have on
the foal’s page. I would love to
keep the fillies but I already have
too much work and do not need to
add more horses. My intention is
to keep Fred as he is NN and out of
Miss Bunny Tardee and Kids Classic
Style. I don’t think that I will
get another NN out of her----in fact
I am hoping that I get another
embryo out of her next year. She is
22 years old now and cripple and
only has one eye. I will show you
some new pictures that I took on
September 7 of Rebecca, her NN
daughter by Ima Cool Skip. If Fred
will mature to look like Rebecca, it
will be my dream come true. At this
time, he has not disappointed me,
but I am very critical and I know
that horses can change. Time will
tell.
I
noticed that A Classic Edition is
still leading the nation in Halter.
She is a full sister to Valentine.
That mare makes a lot of money in
the Incentive Fund as she was also
high point in the nation last year.
That is a good reason to put your
babies in the Incentive Fund.
Have
you seen Marion Brakefield’s web
site on Malibu Ken? Vicki Livasy
is creating it and it is gorgeous.
As you know, I have several mares
bred to Kenny for next year and I
really am impressed with the foals
that I have by him. We do have a
pending sale on Rocky and he will go
to a wonderful show home. That is
important to me as I want to help
promote Malibu Ken as much as I can
for Marion. Take a look at her web
site on the links page of this site.
Mike is
gone to Madison for Senate business
so I am trying to catch up on the
news. We watched the Packer-Viking
game last night and even though we
both miss Brett Favre, we had to
admit that the Packers looked pretty
good with Aaron Rogers. We are
football fans during the winter in
Wisconsin. What else do you do when
the weather is so miserable. Lol
Better
close for now. I will have Vicki
show you the new pictures that I
took of Rebecca and also a few
additional pictures of some of the
other foals.
Sandy
|
|
August
1, 2008
I
received an email mentioning
that I have been very lax on my
news updates and I thought I had
better get off my butt and do
it. As I get older, my memory
gets worse so I probably won’t
be able to remember all that has
happened since the last update.
The
babies are doing great. I have
weaned all of them except the 2
youngest ones and even though it
has only been a week , they are
eating everything that I give
them. It is always a
pleasure when they eat so good.
I have started putting them
outside during the day in pairs
and they love it. Mike has
named the “brown” ones Peanut.
Of course, we have 3 sorrels and
1 bay so they are all called
Peanut. In that way, he can’t
get them mixed up. I think
after this many years, he would
be able to distinguish one horse
from another.
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Goldie, 5 months |
Sissy |
Sissy |
|
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Sissy |
|
We
have been cutting and baling hay
for over a month now. The
summer starter out cold and
rainy so all of the crops are
slower to mature. We have been
extremely lucky to get our hay
in with only a little shower on
one small field. You are not
going to believe how much hay we
have. We are close to 9000
bales and have just started
doing second cutting. There is
absolutely no room in the arena
for horses. Thank heavens they
can go outside.
The
last two weekends, I had friends
visit. Vicki Benker came from
Florida. Now, Vicki is not a
“seasoned flyer” so she flew
into Milwaukee and drove here
from there. That way, she could
fly non-stop. I thought our
weather was terrible---hot and
humid and she thought it was
cool and wonderful. It amazes
me the different concept of heat
and humidity. I don’t think
that I should go to visit her
until this fall or winter. I
have been promising her that I
will visit her and I definitely
will now as I told her that if I
didn’t I would give her
Rebecca. While she was here, we
took a ride around Lake
Winnebago. Lake Winnebago is
one of the largest inland lake
in the country and a lot of
people use it for recreation and
fishing. Now, just to show how
little I get away from the farm,
that was the first time that I
had traveled all around it. We
spent a lot of the time Vicki
was here eating and I ate so
much more than she did. No
wonder she stays so thin.
Last weekend, Lanis, our partner
on some of the horses, drove
here from Mississippi. He
stopped in Kentucky to look at
some property that he bought and
then drove from there to
Wisconsin. He absolutely
loved the foals---thought that
they are an exceptional crop,
which I truly agree. I don’t
think that I have had a better
crop, including the year that we
had 5 foals and 3 of them were
World Champions, one died and
one is Janie (Kids Classic Gal)
that we kept. Mike put Lanis
to work cutting hay and Lanis
loved it. Of course, we ate
well every night as Lanis is a
connoisseur of fine dining so we
took him to our favorite supper
clubs. Saturday night, we even
sang karaoke after the meal at
Century Elm Supper Club.
As
I told you, the babies look
incredible. I am going to try
to update all of the pictures.
I took some of Goldie
yesterday. She has so much
muscle and pretty and would
truly make a World class show
horse. I snapped few of Sissy
but I did not take the time to
clean her up so they are not the
best. Rocky is going to Canada
after he is weaned. His new
owner has great plans for him
and from the way he looks, he
should do great for her. He has
turned a steel gray color and
with the 3 white socks and white
on his gorgeous head, he is
going to be a real knockout.
How about that----that is what
Lucie is going to name him.
Now, I promise do better on the
news and I will get new pictures
of all of the babies as soon as
we get a few nice days. Until
then, please be patient.
Sandy
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Please click on each thumbnail
below to view larger.
|
Lanis cutting hay |
Mike unloading hay |
Mike unloading hay |
Please click on each thumbnail
below to view larger.
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Molly in the hay field |
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June
14, 2008
June 14
One thing that
I can say is that life has not been dull at
Ellis Quarter Horses. Let me tell you about
my life starting 3 weeks ago. Lanis, our
partner on several of the horses---also one
of my best friends, came to visit us and see
the babies. He was only here one day and we
went out to eat that night. Shortly after
returning from an awesome meal, the
recipient mare carrying the baby of Miss
Bunny Tardee and The Finest Mocha foaled.
The filly was premature and could not stand
to nurse. She was unbelievably pretty
with a pencil neck and prettiest back and
hocks you could put on a baby. I took some
pictures of her and will show them to you.
Well, it was a long ordeal trying to save
her. Mike and I got up every 2 hours in the
beginning and then every 3 eventually. We
had to give her fluids and milk the mare and
feed her with a bottle. This went on for 2
and a half weeks when last Tuesday, she
really crashed. Her stomach bloated and Dr
Fox ultra sounded it and the intestines were
full of fluid and her navel was infected.
She told me that it was inevitable that she
would break in severe diarrhea and in her
weakened state, she just couldn’t handle
that. We made the decision to put her
down. It was a tough decision as I had
really grown attached to her. It is
amazing what a person can withstand when you
want so much for the baby to live. I had so
little sleep and was still able to
function----probably not the best, but there
is so much work around here that you do what
you have to do. When it was all over, it
took me 2 days to recover completely.
Please click on each thumbnail
below to view larger.
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Filly by Bunny Tardee and
The finest Mocha
"Her first day." |
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During that
time, Dr Bill and Marion Brakefield came to
visit us from Talledaga, Alabama. They own
JMK Malibu Ken and you will never find
better people anywhere. They loved the
Kenny foals (as do I) and we had two
wonderful night out with them. Mike gave
them a tour of our area as Neenah is the
home of Kimberly Clark Paper Company and
there are a lot of big mansions in the city
where the paper barons lived. Despite the
fact that I was not my usual self, we had a
wonderful time. I really love my Kenny
babies and have bred most of my mares to him
for 2009 foals. I think that Kenny is
probably one of the best breeding stallions
and one of the best kept secrets in the
horses industry. Wait until next year when
his foals hit the ground.
Unfortunately I
have not had that much time to take pictures
of the babies. I do have a few that I will
have Vicki add to the foals page. I also
tried to get some updated pictures of the
mares and have some of them done, so I will
post them on the news for you to see.
Please click on each thumbnail
below to view larger.
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Goldie, "That Perfect Clu" and
Sally |
Eva,
"CJ Misscool Evidence" APHA/AQHA |
Eva, head |
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Phenomenal, "Phenomenal Affair" |
Rebecca, "You Bet Im Cool" |
Rebecca |
Remember when we had all the rain? Well,
we got it again this week. Last Thursday
night, it rained over 4 inches and it
flooded our back barn. When I looked
outside, the front pens were like lakes and
the backyard of our house had water up to
the edge of the barn and the house. We ran
sump pumps all night and were able to keep
it from flooding the lab. At one time the
water ran through the aisle of our other
barn and out the front door. I don’t know
when we will be able to get in the fields to
make hay. Thank heavens we have quite a bit
of it left over from last year and should be
okay until we can harvest the new crop.
I had a
pleasant surprise yesterday. Lanis wanted
me to test the Georgie filly for her HYPP
status. I told him that I knew she was NH
as she has so much muscle. He thought that
she could be NN as did my friend Jackie from
Australia. Well, I was wrong and they were
right----Georgie is NN. Wow----what a filly
to be NN. I have a few more pictures of her
and I will have Vicki put them on her page.
I guess I had
better get this finished as Vicki is taking
DC Precision to Lexington to get his semen
frozen next week. She has sent me pictures
of his foals and also of the foals of
Jamaican Hottie and both are doing such
wonderful jobs as sires. Take a look at her
web site to see them----you will be
impressed.
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May
1, 2008
May 1, 2008
It didn’t seem as though April would ever
end-----I can’t remember a colder and more
rainy month of April for years. After all,
this is supposed to be the start of Spring.
We had one week of rain when it flooded
everything. We had sump pumps running
trying to keep the water out of the barn.
One night, I came out to the barn at 2 AM
and saw that the water was approaching the
lab and I knew that if it got in there, it
would ruin our beautiful wood floor. Mike
told me that I couldn’t stop it, but I was
persistent, and stayed up all night sweeping
it to the floor drains. I felt like a
zombie the next day but I did prevent it
from getting into the lab.
We had two new babies this month. Both are
by Malibu Ken and both out of Shanes Lady
Romantic. The stud colt was born April 20
and I really don’t know what color he will
be. I have never had a baby born that the
minute it got to his feet, started running
and bucking. He is one strong little boy.
Check his newborn pictures on the foals
page. We are calling him Rocky. He has a
gorgeous colt but you know me and stud
colts---fillies are by far my preference.
Carri Jones and I have a passion for
fillies.
The next baby was really a surprise.
Romantic was out with the herd of recipients
and didn’t show any signs of being close to
foaling. She was due on May 9. Thank
heavens I put her in the other barn. We
have been overwhelmed with horses that Dr.
Fox has here for breeding and there was no
room in the warm barn. I am sure that if
she had been outside, we would have lost the
baby. As it was, the poor thing was born in
a small stall in the cold barn. Mike went
to that barn to feed on Sunday morning,
April 27 and came over to tell me that there
was a baby there. What a gorgeous filly she
is. Again, I don’t know what color she will
be as her dam is gray and her sire
palomino. As the filly was unexpected, the
pictures of her on the foal’s page were
taken several hours after her birth. I am
sure that both her and Romantic appreciate
the nice big stall in the warm cozy barn. Lanis
has named her Juliet and I think the name
fits her as she reminds me of Julia Roberts.
The babies are really growing. We had a few
days of nice weather and then back to the
rain and cold. I was able to take new
pictures of Goldie, which you can see on the
foals page. She is absolutely gorgeous and
has the most golden color with a snow white
mane and tail. Malibu Ken has really done a
terrific job for me. I am breeding several
of our mares back to him as I couldn’t be
more pleased with the resulting foals. Both
Marion Brakefield, his owner and Karen Berk
the stallion manager have gone out of their
way for me and I truly appreciate it.
On April 22 we had a tragic loss at our
place. We lost Anna the recipient that was
the mother of Fred, the Kids Classic Style
palomino colt out of Miss Bunny Tardee. She
started acting colicy and we ended up
taking her to the vet clinic and finally
lost her. The autopsy showed that her cecum
had twisted and there was a lot of dead
intestine. At the time she was carrying
the embryo of Caribbean Kid and Miss Bunny
Tardee. I had just checked her that morning
and the fetus was very active. What a loss
all the way around. Not only did we love
Anna but her death made Fred an orphan and
we lost the only embryo we had this year out
of Miss Bunny Tardee. I am going to try to
get another out of her as she is 22 years
old. It seems to be harder, the older they
get. Fred is doing great though and I
absolutely love him. I will try to get some
current pictures. He is a half brother to
Rebecca and has muscle like she has. The
fact that he is NN and palomino make me
think that I would be a fool to sell him. I
haven’t been this excited about a stud colt
for years. There is not too much that I
would change on him.
Let’s hope the weather in May is more
conducive to picture taking and I will get
up to date pictures of the foals. Mike says
that I need to sell them so let me know if
you are interested in any of them.
Sandy
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April
4, 2008
April 4, 2008
I think this has been the worst winter that I
can remember as far as raising babies is
concerned. There is no way that I can get the
mares and foals outside during the day because
the snow has ice under it. They have to take
turns going out in the arena to play and with
the veterinarian working out of our barn, we
have to take the arena down every other day so
that they can collect stallions. It will be so
nice to be able to get them outside all day.
There is definitely something to be said for
late babies in Wisconsin.
One of my best friends, Jackie Hardwicke from
Australia and her good friend, Jackie James came
to visit me. They spent 2 days here and then we
flew to Kentucky to look at the stallions.
Another great friend, Vicki Benker met us
there. Lanis drove up from Mississippi the
following day and we toured some of the breeding
farms. Jackie, Jackie and I drove to Grace
Bertons the afternoon we got to Kentucky. I
was the designated driver as the Australians
drive on the opposite side of the road. Well, I
do not fancy myself as a good driver---in fact,
Mike never lets me drive. We did make it but it
was thanks to the GPS and Jackie directing
me. Grace Berton and I have been friends for
years and she and I were best friends with
Dudley Pillow. We were all “Cool Skip fans” and
we would discuss breeding and blood lines for
hours at a time. I tell Grace that she is my
hero for packing up and moving Sir Cool Skip and
Cool Stylin Star to Kentucky, along with several
of her Sir Cool Skip mares. I truly believe the
Kentucky deal is the way to go but I am just too
old to move there. Sir Cool Skip looks
great!! I hadn’t seen him in years and his
muscle definition is incredible and he
definitely is not showing his age. The Sir
Cool Skip daughters and Grace’s young stud,
Style are what a breeder dreams of producing.
What a great program she has going for her.
The next morning, we went to Triple C Ranch and
Lanis met us there. It couldn’t have been a
more pleasant experience. Kari and her husband
Dave, along with Eric Creeley and Pam were hosts
extra-ordinary. David Creeley even made the
trip to be there while we were there and to top
it all off, Grace Berton also joined us for the
“tour” What an operation they have. We were
very impressed with all of the stallions that
were there. Caribbean Kid exceeded our
expectations. Of course, I am partial to him
because I raised his mother and still have his
grandmother. He has so much hip and is so
pretty and besides that his disposition is
unbelievable. I don’t think I have seen more
front end on a stallion as there is on Seriously
Secure and Mighty Clue truly resembles Caribbean
Kid in mass and pretty but with color. Both
Jackies decided that they want to export frozen
semen from Caribbean Kid to Australia. Another
stallion that impressed me was Courtnay’s stud,
Stylizer. I had seen him a year ago and he has
matured so much since then and has really made a
nice horse. Last and of course not least was
Western Sundown. As you know, I raised him and
sold him to Terry and Karen Sartain. What a
beautiful animal he has grown into. He is a
full brother to Kids Classic Gal, the dam of
Donna from this year and he is also a full
brother to the filly out of Dandy Dee Gal. All
in all, every stallion on the place is really a
nice individual and you would have to choose the
one that best fits your mare if you decided to
breed her there.
From Triple C, we made the trip to Paris,
Kentucky and visited Xalapa Farm, which is owned
by Mac and Linda Crawford. Talk about heaven,
this has to be it in Kentucky. The scenery and
facilities are beyond belief---it is like being
in a fairytale world. I don’t know if you are
aware of it, but Connie Mason and her husband
Zane are there. Connie was the manager for Chip
Knost for years and they don’t come any better.
I was so impressed with The Finest Mocha. He
has matured so much and has so much size and
pretty to him. His babies are carbon copies of
him and Mac is so lucky to have two gorgeous
colts out of JMK Blink Blink, who he had to put
down recently. Elusive Kid looked really good
too but the Australians were more interested in
the NN stallions so we spent more time looking
at his get and him. Mac invited us to come back
and believe me, I am going to take him up on his
offer as I would love to spend a whole day there
just looking at horses.
The next morning, Vicki flew back to Florida and
Lanis, the 2 Jackies and I went to Clint
Fullertons. He was a wonderful host and we
really enjoyed our visit. Of course, by then
the weather had changed and it was raining.
Thank goodness we had 2 beautiful days before
then. I loved TD Kid. He is double registered
and NN besides. I guess I am a little partial
as his dam is out of the mother of Skips Shane,
which fits right in my program. This is the
first time I had met Clint and our group
was impressed with his horse knowledge and
willingness to take the time to show us whatever
we wanted to see. They dropped me off at the
airport and I flew back to “good old Wisconsin”
that afternoon. Lanis took the “Jackies” to
Memphis so that they could “tour” Graceland
before they flew to Texas the next day. All in
all, it was a wonderful visit and it was just
good to get away from our farm for a few days.
I am thankful for all the wonderful friends that
I have and Being able to spend time with them
was so great. I am looking forward to November
when both Jackies will return for the World
Show. Jackie Hardwicke and I are like sisters
and we keep in touch via email but it just isn't
the same with her in Australia.
Now, back to the things going on at Ellis
Quarter Horses---the babies are growing and
there is not one of them that I am disappointed
with. I think this is the best crop that we
have had. I cannot decide which filly I like
the best and of course, Fred is something else.
Our weather was nice for a day and I was able to
get pictures of 3 of them. I will have them on
their pages and also on the news page. As soon
as we get another break, I will get pictures of
the others. It is hard to believe but the “next
batch” is due to foal the end of this month.
Shanes Lady Romantic and her recipient are
next. Both foals will be by Malibu Ken. The
last baby will be The Finest Mocha foal out of
Miss Bunny Tardee whose recipient is due the end
of May. At least the weather will be better by
then,--it had better be.
Sandy
P.S. Please check out the foals page. New
pictures 4/2/08.
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March
3, 2008
March 3, 2008
Babies, babies,
babies!!!!! I know that I am way behind on the
news but unlike last year when we only had two
foals, it seems as though they are coming like
rabbits this year. One thing about it, we have
the most awesome foal crop that I think we have
ever had. Let me begin by telling you about
each of them---and there are six!!!!!
First of all, the
palomino stud colt out of Miss Bunny Tardee is
unbelievable. I was afraid that he would be HH
as I bred NH to NH. The reason that I did it
was since the mare is 23 years old and throws
so much body on her foals, I wanted to try her
once on the stallion that I consider has the
most body in the industry today, Kids Classic
Style. My intention was to breed muscle to
muscle and see what I would get. Of course I
assumed that since it was early in the year, I
would just breed her on her next cycle to an NN
stallion and would be set. Well, it was June
before we were able to get another embryo out of
her. That one will be by The Finest Mocha.
Fred, as we call the baby, had me sweating for
about a week and a half as I was so nervous to
get his HYPP status back from UC Davis.
Imagine my surprise when he came back NN.
Believe me, he looks just like his NN half
sister, You Bet Im Cool. The trouble is that I
have been so busy that I haven’t had time to
take up-to-date pictures of him. I promise that
I will soon----sure wish I could get them
outside but due to the snow and ice, that is
impossible.
On February 15,
everything started to just explode around
here. Cooleah had a chestnut filly by Kids
Classic Style. The filly wasn’t due until
March 7, but then this mare always foals
early. Unfortunately the navel did not close
and the filly was quite sickly in the
beginning. We were afraid that we would have
to take her to Madison to the University
Hospital but Dr Fox, being the miracle worker
she is, was able to get her turned around at our
farm. Of course that was during the period when
we were having the large amounts of snow. The
filly did develop navel ill in one joint and we
are still treating her for that.
Please click on each thumbnail
below to view larger.
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Valentine----chestnut filly
born February 15
Kids Classic Style and
Cooleah |
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Then on Saturday
morning, February 16, as I was walking down the
aisle to treat the baby, I glanced across the
aisle and there was a bay filly in the stall
with Janie (Kids Classic Gal) The mare foaled
early and we were nervous about her as she is a
maiden mare but the filly was just standing
there healthy as can be. Well, we do have one
problem. Janie, being the prima dona that she
is, has decided to only let her nurse if she
faces the same way as Janie. The poor little
thing has to crank her neck around to drink.
Besides that, she is not giving a lot of milk,
so I have been supplementing the baby with
Buckeye milk replacer. The directions say to
leave the milk replace in the stall and the baby
will drink it----however, Janie must think she
is a baby as she was devouring it. So, that
leaves me, holding the pail while the baby
drinks. Right now, we are calling her Donna but
I don’t know for sure if that name will stick.
She looks like a carbon copy of her mother.
Please click on each thumbnail
below to view larger.
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Donna---bay filly born
February 16
CK Kid and Kids Classic Gal |
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That left me with a
break until February 22. On that day, Shanes
Night Lady, who we call Angelica, had a chestnut
filly by Kids Classic Style. Of course, since
the mare is gray, you never know if the filly
will stay chestnut or turn gray. Mike is
calling her Georgie as she was born on George
Washington’s birthday. Talk about elegance and
class. This filly is huge and has that special
look about her.
Please click on each thumbnail
below to view larger.
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Georgy chestnut filly
born February 22
Kids Classic Style and
Shanes Night Lady |
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Three days went by
and it was February 25. I walked out in the
barn and there was a chestnut filly in the stall
with Dandy Dee Gal (PDS) Talk about
surprise. This mare always goes 3 weeks late
and she showed no sign of being close to foaling
and here was a baby---filly besides---born 4
days early. Penny as we call her, is a full
sister to Janie and Barbie and Western Sundown.
She is tall and elegant and I just love her.
Please click on each thumbnail
below to view larger.
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Penny
chestnut filly
born February 25
Kids Classic Style and
Dandy Dee Gal |
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Last but certainly
not least, we had another filly---this one a
palomino out of That Perfect Clu (Sally) and JMK
Malibu Ken. This one was born on February 28.
We knew she was going to foal but it took both
Mike and I to pull the baby out of the mare.
Then to top it all, the mare got very colicy and
despite banamine, Mike had to hold the baby out
of the way so that Sally wouldn’t roll on her.
He has been calling her Goldie. She is a sight
to see with her long legs and gorgeous head and
big hip.
Please click on each thumbnail
below to view larger.
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Goldie palomino filly
born February 28
JMK Malibu Ken and
That Perfect Clu |
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Now, when will I
have updated pictures of all of these babies?
As I said I would like to be able to get them
outside in order to get really clear ones. I
will try to at least keep them up to date in the
stalls and perhaps if the lighting is good
enough, in the arena. I have a break now as we
are not expecting any more foals until the end
of April. I didn’t ever in my life think that
would make me happy, but I guess I am just
getting too old to be going from morning to
night taking care of babies. I usually have
them halter broken at a few days of age, but
this year, the only one that leads even halfway
is Fred.
Guess I better get
back to the “nursery” Poor Coco has been put
on the back burner as I have no time to spend
with her. I just put her outside during the day
and in the barn at night. When spring comes I
will be able to get the “kids” outside and that
should help.
Sandy
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January
28, 2008
January 28, 2008
January has been the coldest and
snowiest month that I can remember.
The horses don’t seem to mind it but for
me to take them outside and bring them
back in the barn with the temperature
below zero, is a real effort. Poor
Coco---going from being a show horse to
31 below zero. When we brought her in
the other day, she had a tear drop
frozen on her face and I took a picture
of it and will show you. We keep the
barn around 50 degrees so it is pleasant
in there. Soon the babies will arrive
and I will turn the heat up some more to
make it “more comfortable for me” By
this time I thought that I would have a
foal. Anna, the recipient who is
carrying the foal of Miss Bunny Tardee
was due last Sunday. I suppose she
“knew” that the Packers lost and didn’t
want to brighten my day with a baby.
She looks like she could go another 2
weeks but the recipient that is carrying
the baby of Dandy Dee Gal and Kids
Classic Style is getting closer, as is
Cooleah who normally goes 320 days.
Both of these are “due” the first week
in February but I think I will have a
baby before then. I can hardly wait.
I received a phone call from Bob
Jorgenson right before Christmas and he
was looking for a Christmas present in
the form of a mare for his wife, Barb.
It seems as though Barb had to
experience the very tragic loss of her
favorite mare and Bob was looking for
something to replace her. Barb had
always admired Caroline (Exceptional
Romance) and although she is still in
Mississippi, we were able to come to an
agreement and she now belongs to Barb
and Bob. It was such a touching story
and it just made me feel good to find a
husband so interested in finding a good
mare for his wife. Most of the husbands
I know, think horses are a waste of time
and try to discourage us to have them.
Caroline will make Barb a great
broodmare and she is such a good minded
filly, Barb will love having her
around.
I know you all have been hearing about
Caribbean Kid. He was raised by my good
friend Carri Jones and is out of CJ Miss
Cool Tardee, the mare that she bought
from me as a baby. Bonnie as she calls
her, is by Ima Cool Skip and out of Miss
Bunny Tardee and is a full sister to You
Bet Im Cool. I am so proud of him and I
am also proud of the way that Carri and
her two partners, Kari Sipes and David
Creeley are promoting him. I learned a
long time ago, that advertising is what
makes a stallion’s babies worth money
and they are certainly doing the right
thing with him. I have followed his
growth from when he was a little baby to
the beautiful individual he is today and
look forward to his first foals which
will be born this year. I am planning
to breed Miss Bunny Tardee to him as I
really think the cross between him and
his grandmother will be a great one. I
am a firm believer in line breeding my
horses.
We are supposed to get a break in the
weather this next weekend---I certainly
hope so. This is just too cold for me.
I will write news and have pictures just
as soon as a foal is born. I am hoping
that I have a lot of fillies this year.
Anna, the recipient carrying the foal of
Kids Classic Style and Miss Bunny Tardee
had her baby just after midnight last
night. Boy was I surprised to see two
white feet and eventually a palomino
stud colt. He is the first foal
of this recipient but is really filled
out and is going to have a lot of
muscle. I snapped some pictures of him
around 1 AM. I am going to name
him Fred. I am sure that I will
overwhelm you with pictures. We should
be having 2 more foals within a week and
I will put picture of them on the site
as soon as they are born---along with
updated ones of Fred.
Sandy
Please click on each thumbnail
below to view larger.
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Caribbean Kid |
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Caroline |
Caroline |
Caroline |
Please click on each thumbnail
below to view larger.
Fred----palomino colt
----born----January 28 Kids
Classic Style and Miss Bunny Tardee
"No Kid Left Behind" Coco at play!
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Click below for old news from Ellis Quarter Horses
2007 News
2006 News
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