Although everyone at Phoenix Farm has been blessed by working with wonderful human trainers and coaches, in the end it is our horses who are our greatest teachers. Meet the equines who inspire and educate us every day. The greatest of these was Master Merlin, a horse of a lifetime for John and Heather who passed away in September 2009. Please visit his page to learn about this special horse.


Firebolt
9-year-old
15.1 hand liver chestnut Appendix Quarter Horse mare


img_0931.jpg"Alba" was a horse we never looked for or planned on aquiring, but she came in to our lives just the same. Alhough the original plan was to sell her as a nice, cute, lower-level horse, she has proven to be so much more than that. Currently competing at preliminary and preparing for the classic-format CCI1* at Galway Downs, this "little mare that could" has wormed her way in to our hearts—and off the for-sale page. As quiet and easy on the ground as you could ever want, she has the heart of a lion when a fence is in front of her. Who knows, maybe 10 years from now she'll be Wesley's first event horse. UPDATE: Alba finished second in the Galway Downs CCI* with steeplechase. We are so proud of our little girl!

Mystic Millennium
10-year-old
15.0 hand Bay Tobiano APHA gelding


mystersj.jpg"Myster" is the latest addition to our stable. This funny, fesity horse had tried out a lot of careers, before he found his true calling in eventing. Bred and originally owned by farm manager Roxanne Rainwater, Myster and Heather started working together early in 2010 after his penchant for bucking proved too painful for Roxanne. They did their first event together in May of 2010, and have garnered high-placed ribbons at beginner novice and novice. On off weeks Myster enjoys giving lessons to qualified students.

Western Jubilee
16-year-old
16.2 hand gray Thoroughbred gelding

Heather and Sam Cross Country“Sam” is a horse who had spent most of his adult life in search of his perfect situation. After an abysmal start as a racehorse, he also failed as a foxhunter and as a children’s event horse. In 2004 he suffered an accident in competition that threatened to end his career. But Sam is a fighter, and he battled back. It was late in 2004, shortly after he had begun to be ridden again, that Heather was encouraged to try him by her trainer Sharon White. The pair had an immediate connection, and Heather purchased him as a Christmas present to herself in December 2004. In 2005 they entered multiple events at novice and training levels in Area II, never finishing worse than fifth, including two wins. Sam has found his home at last, and Heather has found the partner she’s always dreamed of. Sam was cast in his stall in early 2007 and injured his neck. but he has returned to riding and competition, but he he will no longer be able to compete at the higher levels. In 2008 they were the Area VI Reserve Novice Champions in eventing and made their successful Second Level debut in dressage. Sam spent the last year teaching our student Zoe Feldman the ropes of eventing, bringing home ribbons, and qualifying for the AEC's and Area Championships. Zoe has now moved on to a horse of her own, and Sam continues to teach many others here at Phoenix Farm.

Phoenix Secret
13-year-old
15.3-hand, bay Thoroughbred gelding by Class Secret (by Secretariat) out of Native Monarch


shawnxc1“Shawn” is our first homebred and the inspiration for our breeding program. John competed his mother “Ariel” in eventing and raced her over hurdles and over timber. She was also a winner on the flat track. Born with a serious kidney infection Shawn spent the first week of his life in the NICU at the Marion du Pont Scott Equine clinic in Leesburg, Va. Heather spent all day every day at the clinic, caring for him and holding him on her lap. Day by day he fought the infection, grew stronger and blossomed into a phenomenal horse. Competed by professional Sharon White, Shawn is a ribbon winner through the intermediate level and a winner at novice, training, and preliminary. Top riders and trainers have evaluated him as a serious prospect for the top levels of the sport. Following a pasture injury, Shawn returned to competition in 2007 with former Phoenix Farm associate trainer John Michael Durr, garnering ribbons at preliminary and intermediate, and placing sixth in the classic-format CCI* at Rebecca Farm. We feel so blessed to have our first homebred ascend to such great heights, but he’ll always be our little “Scrawnie Shawnie”. Unfortunately, Shawn has proven to be Ariel’s only foal. Shawn is currently on lease with the Raynor family, and we hope to see him out competing soon!

Camargue
12-year-old
18-hand bay Hanoverian gelding

schulzhead"Schultz" is one of the kindest horses we have ever known and had the pleasure to own. He exemplifies everything there is to love about a warmblood, and he is a wonderful combination of talent and heart. Unfortunately, he's one of those horses that'sschultz' been plagued but a lot of stupid soundness problems, so at present he is doing a job as Phoenix Farms resident schoolmaster, teaching new riders the ropes. Either way, his kindness and heart are an inspiration to us every single day at the farm.

The Youngsters:

Although most of our homebreds are offered for sale, we have two extraordinary fillies we will be keeping, and Heather has claimed one of the geldings for her own. The fillies are orphans whom we raised from with the help of nurse mares. They stand as a legacy to their wonderful mothers and the quality of our breeding program. We look forward to their future accomplishments in the show ring and the breeding shed.

Phoenix Amani
4-year-old
Bay Irish Sporthorse filly by Formula One out of Gussie Up (Wayne County IRE)
img_5106.jpgAmani has made her eventing debut, placing sixth in the OBN at Shepherd Ranch in August and third at Woodside in October. She is beautifully built, with a huge jump and excellent gaits, and her attitude toward jumping can best be descirbed as "can-do" and professional. John's princess is growing up to be a queen!

Phoenix Bellisima
2-year-old
Bay pinto Oldenburg/TB filly by Palladio out of Lizzie's Hero (Pardner's Hero)

dscf0157,jpgThis little girl has been everything we were hoping for from the start--flashy, fancy, female, and COLORFUL! Her mother Lizzie was an extraordinary mare, and we miss her every day, but she lives on in her darling daughter. And if she has a jump anything like her winning Dad's? Then look out, world, because here we come!


Phoenix Promiscuous 2-year-old Chestnut Hanoverian gelding by Panzyr out of Phaedra (xPik Solo) dscf6285.jpg”Piper” just takes your breath away--bright chestnut, with tons of chrome, he already has that certain something that says, “Look at me!” He has the type and bloodlines for dressage, but he should also excel as an eventer. He will be Heather's future mount, and she is planning to pursue both paths with him. If he has half the jump, and the wonderful temperment, of his sire, they'll be nothing they can't do.



Horses from our past:

There are a couple of horses from our past who deserve mention here, even if they are no longer with us.

ChuckieRunning on Empty: "Chuckie" was John's first CCI horse. A 16.2 hand classically bred Thoroughbred gelding by Wind Driven, who took John to three CCI* and placed in two of them. (4th and 10th) Chuckie was the epitome of a classic TB event horse--big gallop, big jump, mild disdain for dressage, and heart and try ten miles wide.

BentleyCorniche: "Bentley" was a true gentle soul, who despite his enormous size (nearly 18 hands )was everything an event horse should be--kind, generous, willing, and smart. This lovely horse helped Heather return to competitive eventing after she had been severely injured, and helped her regain her confidence and her joy. He may not have looked like a typical eventer, but he had it all when it counted most. We lost Bentley too soon to colic, and he is missed every day. Bentley taught us that the most important quality for any event horse is not the size, shape or ability of the body, but the heart that beats within it.

GusGus Costadi: Though Gus' fame took place largely after Heather had stopped riding him, she remained a part of his career throughout his life. Heather met Gus after he had been recently started under saddle, and she brought him along and competed him through the training level. Lovingly called the "Flying Sausage" due to his exuberant jumping and "pleasingly plump" frame, the ride on Gus was passed to Heather's friend DeAnna Hines. With Deanna, Gus went on to be a winner at the advanced levels of eventing, including a 11th placed finish at the 1996 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, where Heather accompanied him as his groom. When Gus passed away following a pasture accident in 2000, he had been teaching a young girl all about the sport he loved. Gus was a part-warmblood who should never have gone advanced. At Rolex, every fence was at the top of his scope. But, it never occured to him to say no or refuse any request made of him.


The important thing to remember is that our horses are our greatest and most frequent teachers. Every horse you have teaches you something, even if it's not always what you wanted or hoped. They key to good horsemanship is taking the good lessons and the hard lessons and carrying them with you from one horse to the next.


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