CHALLENDON ARABIANS NEWS

CONGRATULATIONS TO CA HERMOSO GET 2008 US NATIONALS WINNERS

AUR U READY TO RUMBLE CHAMPION HA WESTERN PLEASURE - AGAIN! Triple crown winner in 2006. Owned by Steve and Karen Freeman and Shannon Aguiano

 

MOSQUITO V (CA Hermoso x Mosquerade V)   National Champion Working Cowhorse Futurity
Owned by Jane Robinson, Shown by Bob Hart Jr.

CA ULTIMO TOP TEN IN ARABIAN HUNTER PLEASURE. Owned by Cheryl Yokum.

Broadway Joe (CA Hermoso x Broadway Bey B)  Top Ten Arabian Hunter Pleasure, Jr. Horse, Shown by Katie Beck.
Owned by Chelsea or Ann Knoop.

CA Hermano (CA Hermoso x Citation of Merit) Top Ten, Arabian Hunter Pleasure 18-34. Shown by Jayme Martino, Owned by Carrie or Taylor McAnnich.

LYFE of REILLY (CA Hermoso x Delphia)  Top Ten Half-Arabian Hunter Pleasure Open.  Shown by Cynthia Burkman
Top Ten Half-Arabian Hunter Pleasure AAOTR, 18-39.  Shown by Samanth Hilliard.
Owned by Samantha or Michael Hilliard.

VICTORIOSA (CA Hermoso x Date with an Angel) Top Ten Half Arabian Western Pleasure Open. Shown by Jody Strand.
Top Ten HA Western Pleasure AAOTR 40 and Over, Shown by Annette M. Hoeffer. 
Owned by Annette Hoeffer.

SHEZA PERFECT STAR (CA Hermoso x Sheza Perfect Chip).  Top Ten, Half-Arabian Western Pleasure Futurity.  Shown by Randy Sullivan, Owned by Rebecca L. Gordon

 

AHW ranks CA Hermoso top western pleasure horse; ranks CA Ultimo and CA Hermano among top hunters. See October 2008 issue!

 

Congratulations to our 2008 Canadian Nationals Winners:

  • Chery Yokum with CA ULTIMO Res Champion Arabian Hunter Pl AAO 40 & Over

Nancy Maximuck with KARAMOSO Top Ten Arabian Western Pl AAO 40 & Over

Congratulations to owner BECKY GORDON, Winner's Circle Farm in Rantoul, Ill on CA HERMOSO daughter SHEZA PERFECT STAR out of Sheza Perfect Chip, who won the HA Western Pleasure class at the ABU All Arabian show. SHEZA PERFECT STAR is headed for US Nationals with trainer RANDY SULLIVAN. We wish this team the best of luck and will be posting photos soon.

 
 
Carrie McAninch with CA Hermano
Carrie McAninch
Photo: CA HERMANO with his new owner, TAYLOR MCANINCH. TAYLOR will be profiled here in a few weeks. Please return.

July 5, 2008

Best wishes to CAMILLE ESLICK who will be showing the beautiful CA HERMOSO daughter, CA GALICIA at 2008 Youth Nationals where she will be offered for sale. Click here for photo and more information. Her video is on YouTube ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wOU_TdgKG0). Click on "View in High Quality" for best quality video.

May 11, 2008: Two CA Hermoso offspring will be showing with trainer BRIDGET FITZPATRICK:

Congratulations to NICOLE PHELAN and her parents, LYNDA and JIM PHELAN, on the purchase of CA SULTANAA . Nicole and Sultanaa will be competing in 2009. Best of luck to this beautiful team!

Congratulations to TAYLOR and CARRIE MCANINCH on the purchase of CA HERMANO+/, who has won multiple National championships in hunter. Be sure to see Taylor's Ad in the Arabian Horse Times for US Nationals. Highlights of his 2008 shows include:

Scottsdale

 Arabian Hunter Pleasure JTR 14-17 Top 10

Arabian Hunter Pleasure JOTR 14-17 Reserve Champion

Arabian Hunter Pleasure Open   Top 10

 Fiesta Del Mar

 

Pre-show

Arabian Hunter Pleasure Open 1st 

Championship

Arabian Hunter Pleasure Open Reserve Champion

 

Rancho Murrieta

 

Arabian Hunter Pleasure Open Reserve Champion

 

Region 1

 

Arabian Hunter Pleasure Championship JOTR 14-17 Top

Arabian Hunter Pleasure Championship JTR 14-17 Top 5

Arabian Hunter Pleasure Championship Open   Top 5

CLICK HERE for Hermano's impressive show records.

 

May 2008 marks the anniversary of the sad loss of our wonderful stallion, CA Hermoso+++/, a horse loved by so many people who have comforted us with their wonderful tributes. Click here for our memorial to CA Hermoso+++/. The Arabian Horse Times has written a beautiful memorial to him in the November 2007 issue and we thank Mike Villasenor for this moving tribute.

We thank all of you for your appreciation of CA Hermoso+++/, who will always live with us in our hearts.

Looking to the future, Challendon Arabians is offering breeders two new stallions, a CA Hermoso+++/ son and a *Jullyen Jamaal son out of a GG Samir granddaughter, CA Brillante.

  • CA Galan (CA Hermoso+++/ x CA Citation of Merit, Multichampion Producer) beautiful 3 year old colt offered in the 2007 Iowa Gold Star Futurity (www.goldstarfuturity.com)
  • CA Brillante (*Jullyen Jamaal x CA Amara, GG Samir granddaughter), available in 2008.

The Arabian Horse World has listed Priscilla Richardson of Challendon Arabians as the 15th ranked breeder in the May 2007 issue. It is an honor to be recognized and we would like to express our thanks. We would also like to express appreciation to the Arabian Horse World, the Arabian Horse Times and the Modern Arabian Horse for their kind memorials to CA Hermoso+++/. Note: Challendon has 3 horses in the Top Ten performance rankings of all time: CA Hermoso (#1 in Western Pleasure!), CA Ultimo and CA Hermano in Hunter Pleasure. Click here for charts from Oct. 2007 AHW issue on our Offspring Page.

Congratulations to Becky Gordon with WELL STAR who won the Western Pleasure Futurity Class in Springfield, Ill. Photo coming soon.

2007 US Nationals

Final Results: Congratulations to our winners!

  • CA Hermano with Jayme Martino Res CH Arabian Hunter Pleasure AAOTR 18-35
  • CA Hermano with Julie Beckham Top Ten Arabian Hunter Pleasure AAOTR 55+
  • Victoriosa with Jody Strand Top Ten HA Western Pleasure Open
  • CA Ultimo++/ with Sheryl Yochum Top Ten Arabian Hunter AOTR 35-55

We congratulate our winners and thank all our contenders for their great effort.

 

We had several national champions returning to defend titles including among the Challendon bred horses headed for 2007 US Nationals:

  • CA Ultimo++/, Nine Time National Champion in Hunter Pleasure with Cheryl Yochum
  • CA Elegante & CA Hermano with Brass Ring Stables
    • CA Elegante US Nat'l. Champion Hunter Pleasure Jr. Horse
    • CA Hermano, US Nat'l Champion Hunter Pleasure Open & Amateur*
      • Hunter Pleasure Open with Kristen Schiltz
      • Hunter Pleasure AAOTR 55 + with Julie Beckham
      • Hunter Pleasure AAOTR 18-36 with Jayme Martino
  • CA Mejor+/ with Greg Harris
    • Champion Arabian Western Pl JO 14-17 Youth Nationals
    • Top Ten Arabian Western Pleasure AAOTR 55 & Over Champ US Nationals
    • 13th Ranked Western Pleasure Stallion by Arabian Horse World
  • Victoriosa with Jody Strand, Champion IABS HA open and amateur
  • CA Karomoso with John Ryan, has been top ten and Res Ch; will compete at US Nationals 2007 in:
    • Western Pleasure Open with Johnny Ryan
    • AAOTR 36-54 with Nancy Maximuc

 

 

2006 was an amazing year for us and we really appreciate the hard work and commitment of all our trainers, breeders, exhibitors and owners. The 2006 wins are listed on the Home page and more complete records are listed on our Show Records page.Here are a few highlights of our team having a great time with their horses:

AUR U READY TO RUMBLE takes TRIPLE CROWN. The Half Arabian son of CA Hermoso+++/ has been undefeated in the bridle and has taken the championships in the HA Western Pleasure at Scottsdale, Canadian and US Nationals. Congratulations to owners Steve and Karen Freeman and Shannon Anguiano.

CA ULTIMO+// now has 9 National Championships, winning the Arabian Hunter Pleasure AATR 40 & Over beating out 71 horses. Congratulations to amateur owner Cheryl Yochum who rides this horse so consistently and presents such a beautiful picture. Click here for interview with Sheryl Yochum and photos of CA Ultimo++/, aka "Hootie".

VICTORIOSA triumphs at Canadian Nationals

(HA daughter of CA Hermoso+++/ bred by Jo Ellen Erickson)

  • Champion IABS HA/AA Western Pleasure junior horse CANADIAN NATIONALS
  • Champion IABS HA/AA Western Pleasure AOTR 40 & over CANADIAN NATIONALS

Congratulations to Annette York on the purchase of Victoriosa! Victoriosa is just starting her career and we look forward to more achivements from this beautiful mare and her new owner!

Victoriosa was bred by a true blue CA Hermoso+++/ breeder Jo Ellen Erickson. Congratulations Jo Ellen on producing this magnificent mare who is just beginning her show career. Jo Ellen owns CA Flama, full sister to CA Hermoso and CA Tapatia. CA Flama has won a  National Top Ten in hunter pleasure.

 

We welcome a newcomer to our team.

She is SPANISH KHISSES by CA HERMOSO+++/ out of a multi-champion mare KHISSES BI BASK+/, owned by Lynn Olson. In training with BILL PORCHER, on her first time out at the So Cal Futurity at Santa Barbara, SPANISH KHAISSES went champion in 3 yo Western Pleasure and third in the 3 year old Futurity. Owner Lynn Olson says she has always wanted to breed her champion producing mare to CA Hermoso+++/ and is very pleased with the results. Watch for Spanish Khisses with Bill Porcher in 2007.

shim

Spanish Khisses

 

Thanks to Barbara Porcher for photo.

News from GOOD DAY RANCH

We are so proud to be supporters of this wonderful program in Colorado for at risk girls headed up by Donna Otabachian, PhD, pictured above. The colt show with her is out of the CA Hermoso+++/ daughter Mirakles Happen who was the result of our donated breeding. We encourage all of you to get involved with this worthwhile program, endorsed by the AHA. Information is provided below and the website is www.ranchgooddays.org. Watch for this colt, Real Good Deal, 2005 Colorado Breeders Sweepstakes champion weanling colt, who is now in training as a reiner.

These horses and llamas wait anxiously for breakfast, which is being served by Christine, one of the girls in the Ranch Good Days program. The animals are the first residents that live on the land, which is under contract to become the permanent home for the ranch therapy program for at-risk girls. (Jane Bachrach photo)

A COMFORTING PLACE FOR GIRLS TO HEAL AND GROW

By Gina Guarascio

More than $5 million in federal money will be coming into the Roaring Fork Valley soon, but not soon enough.

Donna Otabachian, the executive director of Ranch Good Days (RGD), has been keeping the dream alive that somehow she would be able to build a place for girls to go that have very few other optifound that place, up on a sprawling mesa in Missouri Heights, on property that was owned by longtime area resident Elana McNulty. That property was foreclosed on earlier this year and was in danger of development.

Now, an agreement with several partners has come together to preserve about 370 acres of land near Upper Cattle Creek. RGD, also known as the Colorado Girls Ranch, is a nonprofit organization started by Otabachian that will temporarily house girls who need a home. The program uses animals, mainly horses, to help heal the wounds of a hard life.

“A lot of times foster care isn’t successful. These girls need a place to go for about three to six months, until their family situation improves or they can transition into independence,” said Otabachian of the mission of RGD. “We’re trying to incorporate cultural support and find out who they are and what they’re here for — to give the girls meaning in their life gives them hope.”

Although the federal government has committed to underwrite the purchase of the land through the USDA Department of Rural Development for an undisclosed amount, Otabachian said the 2007 U.S. Farm Bill that includes the funding hasn’t been passed yet. Nevertheless, she said RGD has had a license for the land, formerly known as Pleasant Valley Ranch, since June of this year from the current landowners, who are now founding supporters of the Colorado Girls Ranch program.

“We hope that the bill passes before winter break as it includes many programs that are safety nets for our children,” said Otabachian, referring to programs like food stamps and even renewable energy research that is included in the bill. “It’s just a waiting game now.”

A special homecoming

While she’s waiting for the major funding to come through, Otabachian has already gotten her El Jebel home licensed as a foster care facility with six beds to serve at-risk girls from counties statewide and the Indian nations of the four corners region. “I’ve been keeping the dream alive,” said Otabachian, who holds a doctorate in education administration and a master’s degree in psychology. She previously worked with at-risk youth in Denver at a program with 70 kids, 50 who were Native American, and saw a major need for something that didn’t yet exist for girls.
“I had three orphans, kids that were runaways,” she said. “I couldn’t bring them all home with me, nor could I understand why there wasn’t a phone number that I could call to get more assistance from the state.

“The boys ranch has been around since 1952, and now we have six beds available. These are the only beds in an all-girl’s facility available in the entire Rocky Mountain region,” Otabachian said.

The Colorado Boys Ranch in La Junta has about 90 beds and has been successful in helping boys avoid high risk-behavior involving drugs, alcohol, sex and violence. But, she said, the girls have been left out of the picture for some reason.

Eventually, Otabachian hopes to house about 40 girls ages 14 to 21 at the ranch, which will have a fully licensed staff as well as support from universities, like CU Boulder, for medical, dental and psychiatric services.

“A think tank got together in 2003 to identify the gaps in service, and we found there is nothing available for girls, nothing for Native Americans. The Ute tribes are sending girls out of state,” said Otabachian, who added that the ranch in Missouri Heights was historically part of the Ute Nation territory. “Our ranch was homesteaded in the 1860s after the departure of the Ute Nation. For them (Ute nation families) to come here is a no-brainer.”

Land preservation

“The land is the project, the project is the land,” said Otabachian, quoting a saying from Northern Ute Indians that embodies the mission of RGD.

RGD came to Pleasant Valley Ranch on invitation from Elana McNulty in July 2005. According to Otabachian, after the ranch foreclosed in January of this year, the investors who ended up with the land worked with her to make her dream a reality.

“We plan to preserve it. It’s remote, but close to all these wonderful towns. This will benefit the girls from the Ute Nation,” she said. “Part of our mission is trying to bring back the harmony and balance of the nation.

“The partners didn’t want to see the land carved up and turned into mini McMansions,” she added. “We already realize we need to save the land. I came from the Front Range, and I tried to have a ranch there, but it fell through because of development.”

Shannon Meyer, the associate director of the Aspen Valley Land Trust (AVLT), said she has already talked to Otabachian about conservation easements on the property.

The AVLT is currently working with Wendy McNulty to secure conservation easements on some of the other remaining ranch property from the McNulty family holdings that date back to the turn of the century.

Cutting edge therapy

RGD will use Equine Assisted Therapy (EAT) and equine reproduction to teach girls important life lessons. The ranch will also serve as a habitat for rescued animals.

Arrianna, Lilly and Sierra Rose, all purebred Arabian mares, will be part of the healing process at RGD. Developing relationships, training, horsemanship instruction, and caring for the horses naturally affects the people involved in a meaningful way, said Otabachian.

Otabachian said she expects many research papers to come from the professionals working at RGD. She is hoping to partner with local mental health care practitioners as well as bring in students and professors from outside the area to work with the girls.

“It’s wonderful to have a facility for mental health practitioners to operate. They can watch the therapy in action,” Otabachian said. “The girls come in deplorable shape with all sorts of health issues. Most of them are on Medicaid, and there are very few, if any, doctors that can accept Medicaid in this area.”

Otabachian wants to make RGD a medical facility for people on Medicaid.

“It’s a pretty big project. It’s like a village within a village. It’s addressing a serious lack of services,” she said. “We’re looking to bring the university system up there because they have the funding to work in this environment. That’s what is exciting; this is a real place of hope for these girls. It’s an exciting way to observe cutting edge services.”

Therapy for the girls at RGD also involves things like going to the Carbondale Mountain Fair, hoopin’ at the hula hoopin’ competition at the GEO Store, and going to the Glenwood Hot Springs or to the movies when funding allows.

A successful model

“There are six other states that are looking at this to see how it works. We want to be successful so we can give them a road map (to) create this type of thing,” said Otabachian, who is hoping the money and the partnerships come together for all the right reasons.

Otabachian is looking for additional financial assistance to get RGD through until the federal funding finds its way from Washington. She said she needs to raise about $10,000 before Christmas to help with the foster care program she is running and to get facilities built for the animals and girls who will be coming up to the ranch.

More information about RGD is available at www.ranchgooddays.org, or by calling 963-9400. Donations can be sent to P.O. Box 976, Basalt, CO 81621. Volunteers are also needed.



June 2006

CA Hermoso+++/ & Bill Porcher go roping at the Western States Horse Expo

Bill and Sonny cowboyed up in the Region 3 Breed Promotion at the Western States Horse Expo in Sacramento. 60,000 people attend over the week end, and 5,000 people enjoyed the competition on Saturday night, where Bill entertained the crowd with a roping demonstration. Although Sonny had never been roped off, he handled it without a problem.

Our gratitude to our trainer Bill Porcher is huge. He has trained Sonny since he was 3 years old and through his wise judgement and skill, has shown him to all his wins, keeping him in the superb condition mentally and physically. We not only have won the Triple Crown and multiple National Titles, we have enjoyed a warm friendship and the gracious hospitality of Bill and Barbara Porcher. Bill has been captain of TEAM HERMOSO+++/ bringing other trainers to the recognition of the value of the Hermoso+++/ bred horses.

At the barn party Greg Gallun stood CA Hermoso+++/ up, and "Sonny" did a fine job, with his stablemate Enzo, greeting fans and serving as breed ambassadors. It was a stupendous event - visit www.arabianhorses3.org/Horse_Expo/Expo06.html for more photos. 25 Arabians were presented, 12 in a special competition on Saturday night competing in an American Idol style show judged first by official AHA judges, then by the audience, who cheered throughout the entire competition.
 

Region 3 Director, left, Deborah Johnson laughs with Judge Edie Lehman while Judge Laura Doran escapes rope thrown by prankster Bill Porcher.
Greg Gallun stands Sonny up at the Barn Party.

Have some news about your CA Hermoso+++/ bred horse? Send it to us!

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