E A S T MAN O R AR A B I A N S
SCHATZBERG PHOTO
E A S T MAN O R AR A B I A N S
Front cover
and above:
Holdin aces (arezzo nl x Hollygolitely ddF) witH tommy garland.
I couldn’t ask for better owners. They believe in what I am doing and what we are trying to accomplish. To win for people like them is a great feeling. — TOMMY GARLAND
2018 ScottSdale champion WeStern pleaSure holdin aceS (arezzo nl tommy garland, up, and rob Wright and erica reSzitnyk, at leFt.
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hollygolitely ddF)
With
EAST MANOR ARABIANS by Gary Dearth s a child growing up in East Nassau, New York, Joelle Wright dreamed of showing and breeding Morgan horses, but an Arabian mare intervened and changed her destiny. “My dad’s oldest brother’s wife, my aunt, came from a family who bred and showed Morgan horses,” says Joelle. “I was a horse crazy kid who dreamed of someday showing and breeding Morgans, but when my husband and I could afford a horse, I bought Newmar Ameera (Newmar Sonada x Jenniel). It wasn’t a conscious decision of choosing the Arabian breed over the Morgan breed, it was because I fell in love with this one mare that changed my direction.” At the time, Joelle was working for a trainer named Rich Gold. “I cleaned stalls and groomed for him,” she says. “My aunt told me to get a job with him because I could
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The first time I went to Varian Arabians I felt like a tourist. I had my camera and my video camera. I was like a kid in a candy shop. — J O E L L E W R I G H T 4 b EAST MANOR ARABIANS b WORLD
Above And fAcing pAge: 2008 U.S. nAtionAl chAmpion WeStern pleASUre JUnior horSe Arezzo nl (*JUllyen el JAmAAl x mfA comingUproSeS) With Joelle Wright.
learn so much.” That was 25 years ago, and as Rich says, “She was a hard worker and completely dependable. And she expects the same from the people who work for her now.” Joelle’s husband, Rob, has shared her Arabian horse journey. “I was not a horse person when we met,” says Rob. “I attended college with her for a while and had to take an equine science lab so I could ride horses while I was at school with her. When Joelle bought her first Arabian, we constructed a stall in the garage of our new house. It was a real carport pony. Later we built a barn. But the problem is, when you build a barn, you fill it. And when you build a bigger barn with more stalls, you fill that too.”
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Joelle is up at 4:30 a.m. every morning feeding and watering all the horses. She cleans stalls and does whatever needs to be done. She grinds it out every day. — R O B W R I G H T
With Joelle’s growing appreciation for the breed and what appealed to her, along with Rich Gold’s suggestion that she show her new mare, it wasn’t long before those stalls began to fill. “I had an obsession with Desperado V (Huckleberry Bey x Daraska). He was such an athlete and so different from what I had seen locally,” says Joelle. “The people around here had mostly Crabbet combined with Egyptian blood. So when it was time to acquire a few mares, I went to Varian Arabians. That’s when I purchased the dam of Holdin Aces (Arezzo NL x Hollygolitely DDF). I felt like a tourist. I had my camera and my video camera. I was like a kid in a candy shop. Desperado V was there, and so was the then three year old Sundance Kid V (Desperado V x Sweet Shalimar V).” Joelle’s husband Rob recalls negotiating with Sheila for the first time. “I thought I would be able to negotiate with Sheila,” he says. “I made an offer and she informed me that the price was the price. And we bought the mare. There was no horse trading involved. We got to be pretty good friends after that, and she taught Joelle a lot.” As Joelle and Rob’s East Manor Arabians grew, there was always one constant — Joelle’s dedication to her horses and her hands-on approach to their care. “Currently there are seventeen horses here at the farm that I take care of,” says Joelle. “All the
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A rezzo NL
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horses go out every day. I feed, help the farrier, assist the vet. I usually have one person to help, but sometimes it’s just me. I do everything. I foal out the mares, and I handle the babies to make sure they become good citizens. I tell anyone that I hire that there is nothing on the farm that I am going to ask them to do that I don’t do myself.” Rob adds, “Joelle is up at 4:30 a.m. every morning feeding and watering all the horses. She cleans stalls and does whatever needs to be done. She grinds it out every day. I’m in New Jersey at our business Monday through Thursday every week, so she takes care of everything.” In 2003, a colt born way out in the middle of nowhere in northwest Vermont, would have his own impact on Joelle’s destiny. “I knew that Jeb and Dianne Sanford had Varian breeding that I liked and they had bred to *Jullyen El Jamaal (Ali Jamaal x Jullye El Ludjin),” says Joelle. “The minute that their colt by Jullyen hit the ground, he was all anybody around here talked about. That was Arezzo NL (*Jullyen El Jamaal x MFA Cominguproses). I bred Hollygolitely DDF (Maclintock V x Hucks Halo V) to him when he was being campaigned by Rob Bick for junior western pleasure. The result of that mating was Holdin Aces. Later we purchased Arezzo in partnership with another couple. Ultimately, the partnership was dissolved.”
Knowing the horse as well as I do and him trusting me and me trusting him, we just laid it on the line. — T O M M Y G A R L A N D In 2015 Holdin Aces won Arabian U.S. Open Silver Champion Western Pleasure at Central Park in New York City with Tommy Garland.
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“Arezzo will always hold a special spot for me,” says Rob Bick. “Jeb and Dianne Stewart had him in training with me, and winning the 2008 U.S. National Champion Western Pleasure Junior Horse with him really helped me get on the western map. Sheila came out to be in the win picture. He was one of the first big winners for *Jullyen El Jamaal. Arezzo is a beautiful horse and very typey. He was a nice horse to work. I always thought he would sire reiners, and by golly, I was thrilled to see that he did that with one of his daughters winning at Scottsdale — the four-year-old filly Arezzona Bound (Arezzo NL x Angelina D) won the reining futurity at Scottsdale this year. He had a knack for being a reining horse himself. He stopped well naturally and was very handy. When I loped circles on him, he had the feel of a reiner. He got a late start on it so didn’t really get a chance to prove himself. He has a perfect head and tail carriage for reining. And he naturally goes to the ground when he stops.” Six years ago, Joelle sent Holdin Aces, a promising three-year-old western pleasure horse, to Tommy Garland. “Before I put a horse in training with Tommy,” says Joelle, “I had watched him at the shows in my area. I loved how he schooled his young horses. He is known for his bosal work. It impressed me that his horses always looked happy. Every time I see my horses at Tommy’s they have learned and progressed in their training, and they are always happy. They love doing their job. And Tommy is very honest about their abilities.” Of Holdin Aces, Tommy says, “He has always been very good-minded and trainable. He is
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2016 U.S. N atioNal t eN t eN l adieS S ideSaddle W eSterN H oldiN a ceS
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WitH
K aitlyN G arlaNd .
Holdin Aces witH Joelle wrigHt At tHe 2015 U.s. nAtionAls.
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athletic and always tries. Ace moves very well, and I have tried to make sure I don’t change that. I couldn’t ask for better owners. They believe in what I’m doing and what we’re trying to accomplish. To win for people like them is a great feeling.” At this year’s Scottsdale show, Tommy’s faith in Holdin Aces was amply rewarded when the pair won the highly contested and exciting Arabian Western Pleasure Championship. Rob was in Scottsdale at the show while Joelle anxiously waited at home. “We can usually plan so that we can go to the shows together, but that doesn’t always happen,” explains Rob. “This year I was at the Scottsdale show while Joelle was home. A couple of years ago I took off a week of work to watch the farm while Joelle went to Scottsdale. We had two and a half feet of snow and minus thirty-degree temperatures. I buried the tractor in the snow and couldn’t get it out. But Joelle was good — I only got one text message from her about how warm it was there. However, when she got back, she showed me all of the pictures of the fun she had in warm, sunny Scottsdale. This year I got to go to the show. During the championship class I was up in the stands. And nobody knows who I am, so I could hear what the people around me were saying. They were saying things like, ‘Look at the grey, he can really hand gallop’ and ‘This is the coolest western pleasure
I tell anyone I hire that there is nothing on the farm that I am going to ask them to do that I won’t do myself. — J O E L L E W R I G H T
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class I have ever seen.’ The crowd was electric. In the end I couldn’t stand it any longer, and I went down and stood at the out-gate and hoped for the best. I was standing with Erica Reszitnyk, Tommy’s assistant, when they announced the Reserve Champion, and I thought we were probably just Top Ten. When they called his name as the Champion, I couldn’t believe it. We have been doing this for a long time and it seemed like we were always a bridesmaid and never a bride. It was fantastic. I don’t think until I watched the video later of the workout that it sunk in. And I was so happy for Tommy.” Twenty-five years ago, Joelle Wright began her Arabian horse journey with one Arabian mare and encouragement from a good friend and horseman who still breaks her horses. “Joelle has a good eye for a horse, knows the breeding, and works very hard at it,” says Rich Gold. “I have started a bunch of her horses, and her youngsters are so easy to work with because she handles them so much. It’s incredible how much time she puts into her horses.” And her partner in this from the beginning is her husband Rob, who says, “For Joelle it is a labor of love.” As it should be.
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“Ace” with Joelle wright.
A R A B I A N S 298 Dusenberry Hill Road, East Nassau, NY 12062 For breeding information contact Joelle or Robert Wright at 518 766 2182 · rjwjkw@taconic.net 16 b EAST MANOR ARABIANS b WORLD
A R A B I A N S 298 Dusenberry Hill Road, East Nassau, NY 12062 For breeding information contact Joelle or Robert Wright at 518 766 2182 · rjwjkw@taconic.net Designed and by Arabian Horseb World · 3/18 EAST MANOR ARABIANS 4 b produced WORLD