by Kate Rhodes

from Khamsat Vol. 31 No. 3, January 2021

by the PTF

Treff-Haven: Champions of The Horse

by Kate Rhodes

“If I knew then what I know now” ~Tina Penniman

I did not expect to hear that accent on the other end of the stories about horses in the past and paints a beautiful picture in phone. That northern New England sharpness and directness was your mind. She loved and appreciated each individual for who they not mistakable, and it felt like home as my father spoke similarly. were and were not. She still loves a functionally conformed, well It took me by surprise because I was a new transplant from Mas- trained, thoughtfully conditioned horse in the ring to be inspectsachusetts to Arkansas and it was the last thing I expected. He told ed. However, “feed ‘em and lead ‘em” was not their mission and it me he noticed I had just purchased MB Leisa (Imperial Saturn shows in the individuals she chose to breed as well. x Leilaah) and had moved her back to Arkansas. He owned her My favorite quote ever came from Tina and it was in regard mother, Leilaah, and used her in his breeding program and he and to looking at both the individual and the pedigree when assesshis wife wanted to come see Leisa. ing a horse for a particular purpose. Little did I know that this was one “It’s like being able to like lemon of most pivotal moments in my life meringue pie even though you may as a horsewoman. I said yes and have not like lemons”. One of my most never regretted a day… valuable lessons regarding pie was

Homer Penniman was raised in learning about their acquisition of Vermont, mainly by his grandpar- Nagsous (Makhsous x Nagliah). ents while his father served in the They wanted to buy Nagliah at the military. His grandfather was a far- Gleannloch sale but that did not rier who raised horses, used drafts happen. Nagsous was at her side at for farming, and even had The Justin the time. They were contacted shortMorgan boarded at his barn at one ly after to purchase Nagsous and point. Homer unknowingly was chose to take the chance. Had they raised relatively near W.R. Brown’s retained a narrow focus on acquiring Maynesboro Stud, and told me a sto- the dam’s lines only, they would have ry about an old horseman who com- missed owning a hugely prolific and mented that a particular horse “al- influential stallion. To quote Ralph ways had his tail up” and didn’t like Suarez on his Egyptian Arabian it in his face when he was hitching Blogspot: “Nagsous was 10 foot tall him to drive, but had seen that trait and bulletproof.” I met him. I know often in the area. Homer remarked Tina Penniman and Treff Haven Alizeer (Treff Haven many of his get. This headline is no that he didn’t understand what he Xplorer x Aliama) exaggeration. was hearing at the time, but he sus- For me, another major impact pected many horses like this in Vermont were bred or influenced by was seeing Bint Lebleba (*GAF Hosam x *Lebleba) and seeing her the early imports of W.R. Brown and wished he had known then and her offspring changed the course of my future as a breeder what he knew now. Regardless, he was raised where one respected both instantly and permanently. She was a big, substantial mare the work of the animal, took responsibility for its training and care, with a gorgeous face, awesome bone and was a freight train of a but did not glorify that which was not there. That came to be the mover. I saw six of her offspring and they were all unmistakably quality I most admired in him as a breeder and a horseman. It her children. Lebby influenced me greatly, enough that I bought shows strongly in the stock he bred. her son, Treff-Haven Sabeel. I remember leaving their farm the first

Tina Penniman is a strong-willed, soft-spoken woman who time and my mother and I looked at each other and knew how we thinks deeply about the horses she has seen and chosen to raise. “I were going to move forward. It was going to involve using the Penlove the Arabian breed!” Tina is passionate about everything Ara- niman’s stock and studying the choices they made. bian, and more specifically, the Al Khamsa Egyptian Arabian, but Many associate Treff-Haven Arabians with the Non-Nazeer, is honestly a true champion of all good Al Khamsa lines. She tells New Egyptian group. This is because both Homer and Tina

recognized, in the heyday of breeding Arabians, that there was a high percentage of breeding to Nazeer-bred stallions and mares and then onto themselves again and again. They simply recognized the need to keep variation and lines alive for future generations long before the genetic bottleneck took hold. It was not to create a “new group” as so many have misunderstood over the years. The EAO did not inbreed small groups, thus eliminating lines, and Homer and Tina tried to follow this as closely as possible. Over the years they bred many with Nazeer and owned many lines, both Straight Egyptian and combined source, that did not fall into the Non-Nazeer category.

My last memory of Homer was when he was sick and we sat in his house and we talked horses, and the future of his animals, the future of the Straight Egyptian Arabian and the future of our beloved Al Khamsa Arabian horses. I still talk with Tina on a regular basis, share stories about the horses we have now and how she feels they relate to the horses she saw in the past. Homer and Tina poured their heart and soul into breeding and it was evident when one got to see the variety and quality they had to offer. I only wish I had listened better to Homer. A new ear is not as capable of hearing things a seasoned ear can catch. Had I known then what I know now… So I listen more now in hopes of gleaning whatever I can.