Northern Lights Arabians

Northern Lights

A

R

A

B

I

A

N

S

and-beam barn from spruce and pine logged and milled on their tanding next to her homebred stallion, Arezzo NL own property. Dianne began looking for a stallion to breed to (*Jullyen El Jamaal x MFA ComingUpRoses), in their mare. Identifying Desperado V as a possible candidate, she the center of the Tulsa arena, with his National talked to Sheila Varian, and in spring of 2000, Dianne and Jeb Championship Trophy in her hands, Dianne Sanford found themselves at Varian Arabians’ Spring Fling. Impressed by reflected that a long-deferred dream had finally come the beauty, athleticism, and temperament of the Varian horses true. As an eight-year-old growing up in the New York suburbs, and the breadth and depth of Sheila Varian’s expertise, Dianne she had come to grips with the fact that her parents could not and Jeb came home determined to build from scratch their own afford to buy her a horse. They were able to drive her to a stable for weekly riding lessons, but owning one of those horses seemed breeding program that would emphasize the characteristics they an unattainable goal. So she created an Arabian stable of her own had so much admired. Seeing the northern sky ablaze one night that existed only on paper: breeding the best fictional stallions to with the pulsing lights of the aurora borealis, they named their the best fictional mares, meticulously recording all the important farm Northern Lights Arabians and embarked on the adventure that continues to this day. details in the three-ring binder that served as her breeding farm Over the next five years, log: sire, dam, temperament, they bought one or two color, markings, probable mares each year, choosing performance discipline, and horses for quality rather than training plans. quantity. They bought some Years passed and the mares from Sheila Varian fantasy breeding farm moved and some who had been no closer to reality. Dianne bred by others, including grew up, went to college, got Marty Shea, Sheila Morgan, married, graduated from law Mike Nichols, and Ev Shea. school, had a son, and began They loved the sturdiness, a long legal career with the level-headed temperament, U.S. Justice Department in and balanced movement Washington, D.C., riding of Polish-bred mares, and when she could, but still never admired the delicacy and able to afford the money or refinement imparted by adding time for a horse of her own. a little Egyptian into the mix.

As a single mother, for years “We found ourselves very she took her young son with attracted to Fame VF line her and planted him at the rail mares,” says Jeb, “and soon while she took a group riding found ourselves with three of lesson every week. them: MFA ComingUpRoses, Finally, in 1998, remarried

by Fame VF out of a Benraz to another Justice Department daughter; Annie Oakley V, by lawyer and with her son off to Preceding page, facing page, and above: Arezzo NL (*Jullyen El Desperado V out of a Fame college, Dianne was able to buy Jamaal x MFA ComingUpRoses), 2008 U.S. National Champion VF daughter, and Mariah her first horse: an EgyptianWestern Pleasure Junior Horse. He is pictured above with trainer Star, by Starof Fame V, out related bay mare. Her husband, Rob Bick. of a Huck/Moska daughter.

Jeb Sanford, was supportive of Those three mares have been her enthusiasm, and quickly fabulous producers for us and continue to be the foundation of found himself learning more about horses than he had ever our breeding program.” expected. Having both pursued legal careers in Washington for In 2002, ComingUpRoses, “Rosie,” reabsorbed a pregnancy many years, Dianne and Jeb were ready to learn something new. over the summer and when she came back into strong heat that Jeb had taken over his family’s medical publishing business, September, Dianne and Jeb agonized over whether to try again which could be managed anywhere, and in 1998 they moved to so late in the season. Recognizing that an August foal would have northern Vermont. a lot of catching up to do, but reluctant to lose a year with so On a large piece of open land, they built a four-stall post-

S

2 6 NORTHERN LIGHTS 6 WORLD

beautiful a mare, they decided to go ahead anyway. A year later on August 8, 2003, Rosie delivered a bay colt who was stunning from the moment he entered the world.

As they assembled their broodmare band and gained experience in breeding, foaling, and socializing foals, the Sanfords were also enjoying early success in the showring. They bought Annie Oakley V as a three-year-old in 2001, and on the recommendation of friends, asked Rob Bick and Caralyn Schroter if they would train her. A big, pretty, solid-boned mare, Annie seemed to be an ideal western pleasure horse, but proved to be a little fast with her feet. Rob and Caralyn suggested that Caralyn ride her as a hunter and see how she did. Annie Oakley ended the year as a newly minted hunter by bringing home two National Reserve Championship trophies, winning at both Canadian and U.S. Nationals, with Caralyn Schroter in the saddle.

“That experience confirmed an instinct for us,” Jeb explains.

“We always thought we should let the horse tell us what he or she wanted to do, not the other way around. The result is not always what you expect. But if you have preconceived notions about what a horse must do, regardless of what the horse is telling you, you’re going to have an unhappy, unsuccessful horse, and a lot of frustration and disappointment for the humans.”

Their ownership and success with Afire Storrm, multiNational Champion mare, was another journey through the

4 6 NORTHERN LIGHTS 6 WORLD

Jeb and Dianne Sanford with Arezzo NL.

“We got Arezzo NL after Nationals in his three-year-old year,” says trainer Rob Bick. “We took him to his first show in Florida in January 2008 — it was just a small show; we wanted to get him off the place and get him around the ring.

He was champion there, and then we went to Scottsdale where he was Top Ten Western Pleasure Junior Horse. At Regions 12 and 14 he went Reserve Champion to two different horses, and then at Canada, those two horses went Champion and Reserve with Arezzo placing third. But then at U.S., he put it all together to win it. Throughout the year he bred quite a few mares, too — we were collecting him a lot. So that was a full year for him. He’s a goodminded, quiet, nice horse.”

5 6 NORTHERN LIGHTS 6 WORLD

realm of the unexpected. On the advice of their friend, Frank Chisholm of Palmetto Arabians, the Sanfords drove to Michigan to see a suckling chestnut filly by Afire Bey V out of a Brass daughter, owned by Marty and Tim Shea. They liked what they saw and bought her on the spot.

Arriving at the farm in January, the chestnut filly was raised with all the other horses, enjoying all day turnout through the winter and the comfort of the barn at night. In 2004, when she was almost three, Dianne and Jeb sent her to Rob Bick to get started under saddle. Rob called a couple of months later and asked if he could show her in halter a little bit first. As Jeb explains, “We knew she had halter potential, but we had chosen not to show our young horses at halter. You see too many stressed-out youngsters in halter classes and we never wanted to subject ours to the physical or emotional demands of that kind of experience. But with Rob, it was different. We had confidence that the horse’s welfare would come first.

That’s why we chose Rob and Caralyn as trainers in the first place, and they have never disappointed us.” So Rob showed her at halter, winning a championship at Region 15, and she was unanimous National Champion Junior Mare at Canadian Nationals.

Following the win in Canada, the phone lines began to light up with inquiries from interested buyers, and finally, the Sanfords received an offer they felt they couldn’t refuse. Afire Storrm took the U.S. National Reserve Championship that year with her new owners, DST Arabians, and followed up by winning the top spot the next year.

“They’re smart,” says Rob Bick of the Sanfords. “They listen to their horses and they listen to us. They’re happy to have their horses do anything they want to do. They’re wonderful people.”

Adds Caralyn, “The Sanfords are realistic and steady – they have long-term goals. They love their horses, and they love breeding beautiful horses that other people will love and enjoy.”

Meanwhile, back on the farm, the original barns expanded

to provide 15 stalls for the growing herd. In the first few years, Dianne and Jeb did all the work, blowing snow to get to the barns in pre-dawn winter darkness to feed and turn out before going to work, coming home before dark to blow more snow, clean stalls, put feed around and bring the horses in for the night. As the number of horses grew, they hired help to clean the stalls, but continued to do everything else that needed doing.

The ground froze solid by early December, “But the horses were incredibly healthy,” Dianne says. “We had no colic, no respiratory issues, and very few health problems of any kind. I think the climate was easier on the horses than on the humans. But the winter of 2003-2004 proved to be a turning point for the humans.

In January, the thermometer dropped under 20 below zero and stayed there for three weeks.”

In August 2004, Northern Lights Arabians moved to a farm in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains in rural Rappahannock County, Virginia, about two hours southwest of Washington, D.C. All of the Sanfords’ 15 horses moved with them in two 18-wheel tractor trailers that arrived in the middle of the night, creeping cautiously down the narrow dirt road that leads to the farm. Jeb loaded horses all morning in Vermont, and Dianne unloaded them at three a.m. in Virginia, with the help of trainer and friend Larry Jones, and his wife Rie, who live just down the road.

The relocated Northern Light Arabians now sprawls over 83 acres of rolling land, with pastures surrounded by forest and views of the mountains. The farm was established by an exConfederate cavalry trooper, William Johnson, who rode with the famous outfit known as Mosby’s Rangers. The Sanfords appreciate their role as caretakers of a historic property and are proud to continue the tradition of horsemanship established by Johnson, who built his farmhouse here in 1870. The original structure is part of the current house, which overlooks the

6 6 NORTHERN LIGHTS 6 WORLD

All three of the primary foundation mares for Northern Lights Arabians have Fame VF breeding: Top left: Mariah Star (Star Of Fame V [by Fame VF] x Mochaberry Bey V by Huckleberry Bey ), with her 2007 colt Mikado Star NL

by Arezzo NL. Top right: Annie Oakley V (Desperado V x Always Graceful V by Fame VF), with her 2007 colt Aventino NL by Arezzo NL. Left: MFA ComingUpRoses (Fame VF x Benraz Fancy by Benraz).

7 6 NORTHERN LIGHTS 6 WORLD

pastures and is separated from the barns only by an aging swimming pool. “When I take our dog out in the morning, the horses hear the porch door bang and are immediately calling to me for breakfast,” says Dianne. “They can see me out the end of the old barn and are not shy about letting me know they would like their grain. Some days they get fed before I do. It depends on how much noise they make and whether I’ve had at least my first cup of coffee.”

Starting with the historic old barn and two shed rows that form a courtyard, the Sanfords have expanded their capacity to 25 stalls, adding a new outdoor arena and a new open barn at the end of it. With four dedicated foaling stalls and several more big

stalls that accommodate mares with foals, they can produce four to six foals a year. “We really don’t want to do more than that,” explains Jeb. “A primary reason we’re in the breeding business is to handle and know every one of our horses ourselves. The time we spend teaching citizenship and manners to the young horses stays with them for a lifetime. We don’t ever want to grow to the point that we can’t do that. Along with our farm manager, Amanda Harry, we watch the mares for heat cycles, call the vet for breedings, and participate in the breeding appointments. I’ve

become an expert at hitting the ‘Freeze’ button on the ultrasound machine. During foaling season we spend many nights watching/ sleeping in the barn and we handle every foaling ourselves.”

Dianne enjoys handling the halter training, using techniques she mostly learned from friend and trainer Larry Jones. “We asked Sheila Varian when we first began,” she remembers, “who in the East was really good at starting young horses, and, without hesitating, she said, ‘See if you can find Larry Jones.’ Well, we did find him, and he now lives right down the road from us.

8 6 NORTHERN LIGHTS 6 WORLD

Top left: Kabala NA (Millennium LOA x *Kwestura) is in foal to Enzo for 2009.

Top right: Mattihari (Zodiac Matador x Lanada B by *Bask) has produced many foals of consistenly high quality.

Bottom left: Moondance NL (Sundance Kid V x Mattihari), ridden by Rob Bick to Top Three Western Pleasure Junior

Bottom right: Martinique NL (Sundance Kid V x Mattihari).

Horse in Regions 12 and 15. She will be bred to Arezzo in 2009.

9 6 NORTHERN LIGHTS 6 WORLD

We have admired his knowledge, skill, and care of our horses for years, have learned so much from him, and he has never let us down.”

“We met Jeb and Dianne about seven years ago,” say Larry and Rie Jones. “Their three-year-old gelding to be started under saddle was the very beautiful and sensitive Mojave Kid V by Sundance Kid V. The Sanfords drove from Vermont to Virginia to be a part of Mojave’s start up and first ride. On that day a cherished friendship began based on common values related to horse training and human relationships.

“Jeb and Dianne provide an environment for their horses where critical social lessons are learned during turn-out,

combined with gentle firmness reinforced daily with skilled handling in the barns. Their astute breeding decisions are creating wonderful young horses of the highest quality who emerge from their Northern Lights upbringing to become excellent horses in training and competitive show horses. We respect and applaud their accomplishments and are ever grateful for their friendship.”

Drawing on advice from trainers, reading a lot of books, watching a lot of videos, asking a lot of questions, and making a lot of mistakes, Dianne and Jeb have gained experience with many aspects of horse care and training over the past 10 years.

Although their current 25-horse farm requires more help than in their first years, they still do much of the feeding and much of the youngster socialization, and enjoy bringing the horses into the barn most nights. “If we’re really busy at work,” says Jeb, “we have to rely more on our very conscientious farm manager, Amanda Harry, to do the day-to-day work. She has one full-time assistant and two enthusiastic teenagers who work part-time.

Amanda has full responsibility for managing things when we’re away and follows a training schedule for our yearling and twoyear-old horses who are still growing but need something to

10 6 NORTHERN LIGHTS 6 WORLD

Right: The 2008 filly Marielle NL (Arezzo NL x Mariah Star).

Middle left: The 2008 filly Arianne NL (Arezzo NL x Annie Oakley V).

Middle right: The 2007 colt Mikado Star NL (Arezzo NL x Mariah Star).

Bottom left: The 2007 colt Aventino NL (Arezzo NL x Annie Oakley V).

11 6 NORTHERN LIGHTS 6 WORLD

occupy their minds. We are lucky to have her with us because she is talented with the horses, hardworking, and reliable.

Twenty-four out of 25 stalls are currently full, with six foals expected in 2009. Three mares are in foal to Arezzo: Annie Oakley V (Desperado V x Always Graceful V), Mariah Star (Starof Fame V x Mochaberry Bey V), and SS Maya VII (Desperado V x Gai Primavera). Annie and Mariah have each produced a colt and a filly by Arezzo, and his foals bear his unique stamp.

The Sanfords are eager to put Arezzo’s foals into the hands of people who will appreciate their quality and put them into the showring. “People stop and look when Arezzo is being led around the show grounds,” says Jeb, “so we know his beauty is being noticed. He is a naturally soft, balanced mover, and he has passed on that quality to every foal. But we also know that we need to expand his audience by getting those foals out there so people can see them and think, ‘Wow. I want one of those, too.’

Arezzo will be at Scottsdale with RBC Show Horses — promoting him and his foals is our No. 1 priority. We really believe he has the potential to make a positive mark on the breed.”

In an effort to keep their breeding program diversified enough to produce outcrosses, the Sanfords are also using other lines to breed back in.

They are excited about the Enzo foal carried by their Kwestura daughter, Kabala NA. “We bought Kabala from Mike Nichols a few years ago, one of the four daughters produced by Kwestura while she was in the United States.

She is by the late Millennium LOA and so her pedigree can’t be reproduced. She has her mother’s extreme head and a

well-balanced body, and we think the combination with Enzo will be spectacular.”

The Sanfords have also had very successful results crossing Sundance Kid V with their double *Bask mare, Mattihari, who produced Moondance NL (by Sundance Kid V), ridden by Rob Bick to Top Three Western Pleasure Junior Horse in Regions 12 and 15. Dianne says, “We plan to breed Arezzo to Moondance in 2009. She is a beautiful mare; combined with Arezzo, with beauty and western pleasure talent on both sides, we think she’ll produce a winner.” Mattihari has produced two other top-

12 6 NORTHERN LIGHTS 6 WORLD

Top left: The 2006 filly Acadienne NL (*Jullyen El Jamaal x Annie Oakley V).

Bottom left: A full brother to Arezzo NL, Amalfi NL, in training with World and NRHA Champion reining trainer Bryant Pace in North Carolina.

Bottom right: The 2007 filly Madrigal NL (Sundance Kid V x Mattihari).

13 6 NORTHERN LIGHTS 6 WORLD

family noticed him at Scottsdale; Stan Sr. had trained our mare SS Maya VII several years ago and all the Whites have always been generous with their expertise and goodwill. At Scottsdale, Stan Jr. told us, ‘If you want to win a National Championship, put him out on the road and keep him there. Make sure he gets a lot of exposure.’ We took that advice seriously, and Rob was in total agreement with it. We wanted as many judges and horse people to see him as possible because Arezzo is our ideal Arabian: a horse whose beauty turns heads, but also a horse who can learn, who can move and enjoys doing it, who is masculine, but soft and round and balanced, and whose mind is quick and sound. We just had the feeling that he had it in him to be the best.

“Throughout the show season, Arezzo had great rides, but he always ended up as the bridesmaid, never the bride.

So the experience of hearing his name called as National Champion was unforgettable.

We felt that our belief in him had finally been vindicated, that the expense, stress, and small disappointments along the way had all been worthwhile. Rob felt that way too, and we could see it in his face brakes nicely after only a couple of months under saddle. He puts his head down, tucks himself under, and seems to be having as he took his victory lap.”

The experience of living with Arabians has been a rollera lot of fun. Bryant hopes to have him ready for Scottsdale by coaster adventure for the Sanfords. “We don’t have as much 2010. For his breeding career, we’re looking for purebred or Half-Arabian mare owners interested in producing soft-moving, money as some people in this industry,” offers Dianne, “but we athletic, working western youngsters with a lot of style and a very have enough to do what we want to do on the scale we want to do it. Some years are profitable; others aren’t. But we’re proud pretty head.” “Rosie’s” two recent fillies, also full siblings to of the quality of the horses we have produced and continue to Arezzo, are showing similar promise as beautiful western horses. produce every year.

After their show season with Arezzo in 2008, the Sanfords “We are thrilled when we win in the showring. But the real are still savoring the taste of victory. “Standing next to Arezzo reason we sleep in the barn, get covered with mud, pick hay out in the show arena with that National Championship trophy of our hair, and bring horses in when it’s sleeting, is because we in my hands, I was in tears,” says Dianne. “Breeding a stallion love them. It’s not about status or glitz for us; it’s about how we yourself and launching him onto the show circuit, even with can grow as people from our relationship with these amazing a trainer as good as Rob Bick, is a risky venture, kind of animals. From our horses we learn every day about the value of like taking a canoe down the rapids. Arezzo was Top Ten at tact, patience, communication, body language, the beauty of an Scottsdale, turned a lot of heads on the show grounds, and we arched neck, the calmness in a dark eye, the loveliness of graceful received a lot of interest from potential buyers. But we had movement, and the kinds of forbearance and intelligence that brought him there to show him, not to sell him. they have and we don’t. I can no longer imagine our life without “It’s a major commitment to campaign a horse through them; at the risk of indulging in cliché, I have to say that my the full show season, and western pleasure junior horse is a very childhood dream has come true.” competitive class. All three generations of the Stanley White quality fillies with Sundance Kid V: Martinique NL in 2005 and Madrigal NL in 2007.

Arezzo’s dam MFA ComingUpRoses has continued to produce beautiful, talented foals since his birth. His full sibling, Amalfi NL, is in training with World and NRHA Champion reining trainer Bryant Pace, in North Carolina. “Amalfi is the most laid-back stallion we have ever produced,” says Jeb. “Just after Nationals, we went to see how he was doing. Bryant had him comfortable in the bit, turning and dipping and hitting the

14 6 NORTHERN LIGHTS 6 WORLD

Two other full siblings to Arezzo NL: The 2007 filly Ravenna NL, top and bottom left, and the 2008 filly Verona NL.

15 6 NORTHERN LIGHTS 6 WORLD

Northern Lights Arabians Jeb and Dianne Sanford 9587 O’Bannons Mill Road Boston, VA 22713 540.987.9480 · fax 540.547.9343 diannesanford@mac.com

w w w.n or th e r n lig h t s a ra b ia n s . c o m Phot os © Jeb Sa n f o rd · De s i g n e d an d p ro d u c e d by Arab i an Ho r s e Wo rld · 1 / 0 9