Paradise Farms Arabians

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A Continuing Of Greatness

by Jeff Wallace

For the more seasoned and serious breeders and enthusiasts of the Arabian horse, it was one of those very special moments, a Magnolia moment after all.

One that will not be forgotten by a chosen few ...

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It was a sunny day during the Scottsdale show, earlier this year, when an elegant, stylish and dark bay filly, alongside handler extraordinaire Keith Krichke, became the Junior Champion Filly. A title that is never an easy one to garner due to tough competition all around, it was a mystic and magical moment for breeder/owner Jessie Szymanski-Hoag of Paradise Farm Arabians. The winning filly’s name is Mystic Magnolia PF and here is just how special this win is in Jessie’s own words and why it will remain in the hearts of a close-knit few forever.

“Mystic Magnolia PF winning the Junior Filly championship at Scottsdale with Keith was such a surreal moment,” Jessie Szymanski says. “That class was filled with world class quality fillies. Keith and “Maggie,” as she is affectionately called within her intimate family, trotted into Wendel with so much pride and charisma, that you just couldn’t keep your eyes off them. I simply could not be more proud of her, as I am still filled with an abundance of joy. I don’t think I have ever seen my father more excited, it was a very special moment for us and we are so grateful for how it turned out.”

You see, it all started when Jessie and her father purchased a select few of the Battle Hill Farm mares carrying the BHF prefix. One very special, indeed, being the stunning Mystic Rose BHF, a daughter of Padrons Psyche and BHF cornerstone mare NV Ali Bey, a National Champion Mare of Brazil and superb producer in both Brazil and in America.

Not too long after her purchase and carrying the Paradise Farms Arabian banner, Mystic Rose BHF showed her heart out for Krichke during the 2014 United States National Championships show in Tulsa and was pinned the Reserve National Champion in her mare halter class. Just across the arena, however, and winning a top ten was her spectacular grey daughter, Mystic Love WRR (Beijing BHF, by Falcon BHF x Felisha BHF), in the competent hands of Maureen Krichke, Keith’s lovely and talented wife. This is quite validating of the mare family of whom we are speaking.

When you buy into greatness you simply have a better chance than most to create your own layer of magnificence. Most importantly, you have to know how to connect the dots and this most often

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requires an artful team with an experienced leader riding herd. Just so you know, you are absolutely going to love the rest of this story.

Actually, the story began in 1989 when doctors’ Dorris Ragsdale and husband Lynn Smith brought two big beautiful and winning fillies home to West Virginia, from the annual Scottsdale All Arabian show. They had just recently established Battle Hill Farm, and the chestnut filly Tevkah (*Muscat x Vietka, by *Nariadni) and the grey Bey Serenade SF (Bey Shah x Brandie Alexandra, by *SR Nadom) founded a breeding program that would have a positive impact on the breeding of Arabian horses in America at the highest of levels. Lynn and Dorris over the next twenty years or so, would make breed history while the man at the end of the lead for the BHF-bred horses for most of these years was none other than Keith Krichke.

Later, when the eventual United States National Reserve Champion Mare Bey Serenade SF was bred back to her famous sire, she gifted the farm with a stunning

Mystic Rose BHF

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Count Me In FF with Frank Szymanski, Dave and Jessie Hoag.

grey colt Falcon BHF, who would go on to be not only their herd sire, but a national champion in halter, in the hands of David Boggs. When this special colt became a marvelous grey stallion, he was in turn bred to the aforementioned Tevkah, which produced the United States National Champion Mare Felisha BHF. Felisha continued the legacy when bred to her half-brother Denali BHF (Falcon BHF x NV Ali Bey), producing a bay and nearperfect daughter Dulcinea BHF, who was named United States National Champion Junior Mare the very same year her glorious dam won the title in the senior division, alongside Keith, of course.

RH Inat

The already mentioned third cornerstone of Battle Hill Farm was the big, bold bay Brazilian

Desiree BHF

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National Champion Mare NV Ali Bey, a direct daughter of legendary producer Ali Jamaal and Bey Shah daughter, Mystical Bey. It was David Boggs, who offered this Brazilian jewel to Battle Hill Farm, and they immediately agreed with her having an important position within the program.

She would bring them not only Denali BHF, but also Mystic Rose BHF, when bred to Padrons Psyche.

When Battle Hill Farm closed its gates for good, Keith highly recommended to Jessie Szymanski-Hoag and her father, Frank Szymanski, who, based on his own long-term involvement with the countless successes of the farm, convinced them to buy into the greatness established at BHF. And so they did. There is no way around it, that is a fact. But could Jessie create another wondrous layer of her own? This is what any knowledgeable person in the breed would ask themselves knowing how difficult this would be.

Silver Laace

Frank had a horse he grew up with and worked at a stable when he was young. Later he passed on his passion for horses to his daughter Jessie. “My dad introduced me to horses when I was in second grade,” Jessie remembers. “He bought me riding lessons, and what can I say? It took off like a wild fire from there.”

Nowadays, Paradise Farm is a true family business. “We all are involved,” Jessie says. “My dad, my husband, David, and I foal our mares out. My dad does about 100 acres of hay for our horses while David farms soybeans and corn on his family crop farm.”

You know the horses you bought because you really badly want them? Jessie bought Silver Laace, a Sol Debut daughter out of Knight Vision just for this reason. She is not only line-bred to *Bask, with some influence of *Salon, *El Paso and *Ansata Ibn Halima, but also exactly that “white ethereal” beauty Jessie searched for so badly. “She was Reserve National Champion Mare AAOTH in 2012,” Jessie says, “and she has given us two lovely foals so far, my favorite is Crystal Laace PF by Beijing BHF.” Another broodmare is RH Inat, bred by Robin Hood Farms. The dark chestnut mare is by RA Ignite (Khadraj NA x RA Lalani) out of DA Patience (Padrons Psyche x Play Girl MSC), a pedigree full of many well-known breeding heroes like Fame VF, Bask, Padron and Gdansk. “We bought her because she has a great body with lots of substance, awesome ears, and overall, is a really nice mare,” explains Jessie. “So far she has produced four great foals for us.”

She continues, “At a certain point we wanted to improve our breeding program and find high quality mares. When the Krichkes introduced us to the Battle Hill Farm breeding program, it stood out to us, as they were winning one national champion title after another. Their horses had quality, substance and movement, so basically, the whole package. Battle Hill’s program was

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like no other, and we were in awe—and still are.

Needless to say, we have been collecting mares from their unparalleled program ever since. Once we had the opportunity to purchase Mystic Rose BHF and her daughter Mystic Love WRR, and a few select others, adding their program to ours improved the quality of our foal crops by great lengths, and we are proud and grateful.

“This past winter we decided to purchase Felisha Valentine BHF, one of Felisha’s daughters by multiU.S. National Champion Stallion DA Valentino. I have always loved and admired the physical beauty and breeding of Felisha. She is truly magnificent and I think a dark bay daughter of Valentine will make a great addition to our breeding program.

Frank Szymanski

Mystic Love WRR

Felisha Valentine BHF

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Jessie and father Frank Szymanski

Dave and Jessie Hoag

Nicodemus PF

She quickly gave us a beautiful filly by twice World Champion Stallion and this year’s Scottsdale Champion Stallion, Kahil Al Shaqab. I am also looking forward to showing her this year in the amateur mares class at the U.S. Nationals.”

“Owning Mystic Rose BHF is a dream come true,” Jessie shares.

“I feel so fortunate to own such a special mare. Not only is she magnificent herself, but also she can produce it, and has done so more than once.”

At this moment Mystic Rose BHF is the queen of Paradise Farms who resembles the quality of her dam line and expresses all the greatness of her illustrious sire Padrons Psyche. Not only has she herself been extremely successful in the show ring with her numerous national championships, but she has produced a reserve national champion as well, Mystic Love WRR. “One of my all-time favorite show moments was when Keith showed Mystic Rose BHF and Maureen showed her daughter Mystic Love WRR for us in the Supreme Mare Championship at Nationals in 2014. It was so awesome to own two mares in that class, let alone mother and daughter. Mystic Rose ended up winning reserve in that class, as she never looked better. I was so proud of them both.”

Quality begets quality, but buying into greatness doesn’t assure you the ability to continue a breeding legacy. With all

these high-class mares, Jessie and her father Frank accepted the challenge of not being only buyers of great horses. They studied, accepted advice, and learned from experienced breeders of the past. Now they have accomplished the rare feat to continue the greatness.

One example is the formerly mentioned Denali BHF daughter, Desiree BHF, who produced Nicodemus PF, and was sold to Lynda and Tom Fosnot. This bold trotting bay went National Champion Hunter Futurity at the U.S. Nationals in 2015.

But choosing Ever After NA as the sire for Mystic Rose BHF’s next foal was another tremendous idea of Jessie’s.

This bay stallion has lines to Bey Shah, Nazeer and *Padron, too, but also added the blood of famous horses like *Muscat, Negatraz and *Aladdinn.

“I knew the moment Mystic Magnolia PF was born, we had something special,” Jessie remembers. “She was so extreme with her big dark eyes, little tippy ears, and very dished face—a memory that will last forever.”

With this special filly, Mystic Magnolia PF, Jessie SzymanskiHoag and her father Frank have an everlasting memory … that of a sunny day in Scottsdale when they watched the greatness of their own efforts beautifully layered on. ■

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9921 South County Line Highway Riga, MI 49276 Frank Szymanski - 419-704-3033 Jessie Szymanski-Hoag 419-704-3043 Paradisefarmsmi@gmail.com www.paradisefarmsarabians.com

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