Sisko
9-year-old
17.1 hand bay Thoroughbred gelding
Siskoo
is the latest addition to Phoenix Farm, and we have
big hopes for him. Found and started by our dear
friend, Zabou Cullum, Sisko had retired from a
successful racing career on the flat track. He's a bit
of a difficult individual, and has some quirks, but
his phenomenal jump and correct movement show a lot of
promise for the future. John and Sisko have made their
Training level debut in 2009 and are on their way to
the Training Level Three-Day at Galway Downs. We look
forward to big things from this pair.
Western Jubilee
15-year-old
16.2 hand gray Thoroughbred gelding
“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 of 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. 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. As
Heather is pregnant, Sam has spent 2009 teaching our
working student Esley about the fundamentals of
correct riding.
Phoenix Secret
12-year-old
15.3-hand, bay Thoroughbred gelding by Class Secret (by Secretariat) out of Native Monarch
“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,
and 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 Phoenix Farm associate trainer, John Michael
Durr, garnering ribbons at preliminary, and contesting
the CCI* at Galway Downs. A freak accident on Roads
and Tracks did not allow him to finish, but they
roared back in spring of '08, finishing 3rd in their
first intermediate together. 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, but at 19 she was still sound and active and
competing in eventing in Area I. After years of
watching everybody else have fun, John has decided to
take over the reins himself and is aiming to make his
competitive debut in the fall of 2009.
Camargue
11-year-old
18-hand bay Hanoverian gelding
"Schulz"
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's 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. His
soundness continues to improve, and we hope he will be
able to return to the competition ring soon. Either
way, his kindness and heart is an inspiration to us
every single day at the farm.
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.
The Youngsters:
Although most of homebreds are offered for sale, we have two extraordinary fillies we will be keeping. Both are orphans that we raised from with the help of nursemares. They stand as a legacy to their wonderful mothers and the quality of our breeding program. We look forward to their future accomplishments.
Phoenix Amani
Foal of 2007
Bay Irish Sporthorse filly by Formula One out of Gussie Up (Wayne County IRE)
John
can't help but be giddy when he imagines riding Amani.
Her talent just shines through in everything she does.
She has the gaits, jump, and attitude for the upper
levels, and all that chrome doesn't hurt either. "The
Princess" started ponying and longeing this summer,
and she will be started under saddle in the sumeer of
2010. We can't wait!
Phoenix Bellisima
Foal of 2009
Bay pinto Oldenburg/TB filly by Palladio out of Lizzie's Hero (Pardner's Hero)
This
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!Horses from our past:
There are a couple of horses from our past which deserve mention here, even if they are no longer with us.
Running
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.
Corniche:
"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.
Gus
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.