Made Four Each Other:
Stephanie Armellini’s Unconventional Path to Stallion Ownership with NSBA and Congress Champion MadeFourIt
Stephanie Armellini never intended to be a stallion owner. As a full-time trainer, she was focused on her horses and clients. But, as the saying goes, life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. Today, Armellini coowns the talented young stallion MadeFourIt with her friend and business partner Dennis Oyer.
MadeFourIt is a six-year-old NSBA World and Congress champion stallion by Machine Made out of Hope Four The Best, a daughter of RL Best of Sudden. From the moment Armellini saw the stallion as a weanling on a social media video, she knew he was special. After hopping on a flight to see him in person, she and Oyer purchased the young prospect.
“Barb Miller posted a video of him when he was maybe 30 days old,” says Armellini. She laughs, “I said to myself, I don’t know what this is, but I want it.” Miller had recently moved from Florida to Tennessee, so Armellini flew to see him. “I loved everything about him. What I’d seen in the video—the way, even as a baby, he was able to stand up and lope off—was even more impressive in person. So, I called Dennis and asked if he wanted to partner on him with me,” shares Armellini. They brought the colt home to South Florida and raised him there.
Her intuition about the horse’s talent and potential proved to be right. After relocating to Ocala to work for Katy Jo Zuidema, Armellini started MadeFourIt, who is fondly known as JP, early in his two-year-old year. “He was always very easy. We knew early on he was going to be a nice horse, but we had no idea it would turn out the way it has,” she says. Once started under saddle, that ability to stand up and lope that initially impressed Armellini remained. “He’s square bodied and upright; he’s 15.3 and big bodied but can lope around as slow as anyone. His topline has been strong
from day one. We joke that he’s like the star athlete that never has to work too hard to be exceptional.”
In March of that year, Armellini and Zuidema took JP to a weekend show in Venice where Zuidema rode him for the first time. “Pretty quickly she decided he was going to be her Congress Masters horse that year,” Armellini says. But, once again, life had other plans, and the COVID pandemic hit, cancelling the Congress.
Despite the disappointment of missing the Congress, Armellini and Zuidema knew that the horse was bound for great things. “He trained up so good and so fast. He was impressive from day one. We didn’t know what was going to happen with horse shows, so we decided to wait and show him the next April at the Sudden Impulse
Futurity at the World Equestrian Center,” says Armellini. Though he had a slight bobble in his first outing, JP still placed top five in the Sudden Impulse Maiden Three-Year-Old Western Pleasure.
After that Armellini says, he got on a roll. “After that first show at WEC, he won every novice horse class we showed him in,” she says. “It was a stellar year.” Stellar indeed. MadeFourIt’s accomplishments in the western pleasure arena in 2021 as a three-year-old are impressive.
They include:
• Champion Novice Horse Western Pleasure at The Premier
• Champion in the inaugural Carl Yamber Memorial 3 & Over Novice Horse Western Pleasure held at the Tarheel Summer Classic
• Champion Tom Powers Green Western Pleasure
• Unanimous winner Tom Powers $2,500 Limited Horse 3-Year-Old Western Pleasure
• NSBA World Champion Green Western Pleasure
• NSBA World Champion 3-Year-Old Novice Horse Open Western Pleasure
• Congress Reserve Champion Level 1 Open Western Pleasure
• Unanimous Congress Champion 3-Year-Old Limited Open Western Pleasure
• The Championship Show Green Western Pleasure Champion
As the stallion’s success accumulated over the show season, Armellini naturally began to consider his prospects as a sire. “Owning a breeding horse had never been a thought in my mind. I honestly didn’t know what to expect. But the farther into the year we got, the more I started to realize it was something we wanted to do,” she shares.
Following the stallion’s exceptional Congress, Armellini met with Mike Hay of Pilot Knob Quarter Horses in Reddick, Florida. “JP was having such an incredible year and seemed to have a pretty big fan club, so I met with Mike and said, if you think this is worth it and he can support himself, we’re in,” says Armellini. She emphasizes that she doesn’t see herself as a typical stud
owner, but credits Oyer with backing her decisions and dreams for their horse.
Armellini admits she didn’t know what to expect from MadeFourIt’s first year at stud, but once again, he exceeded expectations. She says, “It went so much better than I ever hoped it would. We had a lot of interest, and everyone was incredibly supportive of him as a stallion.” That first foal crop showed that JP could pass along his best traits to his offspring, which is the hope of every young stallion owner. “All of his babies are very square and do the same thing he did at their age,” Armellini says. “I hoped he would pass that on, so it’s been incredible to see.”
Along with his physical talent and athleticism, Armellini has always valued the stallion’s great mind, laid-back demeanor, and trainability. All of which are traits he seems to be passing on to his foals. “In starting his babies myself and talking to other owners, his babies are easygoing and smart. I’m thrilled about that because
we all love having good minded, trainable horses to work with. It makes our life so much easier,” says Armellini. She also believes that his offspring will excel in multiple arenas and disciplines. “I think they will make great non-pro horses. For sure, he will produce pleasure horses; all of the babies have size, so I think some will go on to have great all-around careers. We have bred a few hunt seat mares, so I think he’s going to produce some western-type hunt seaters as well,” she says.
Reflecting on the journey MadeFourIt has taken both she and Oyer on, Armellini says, “It’s changed a lot of things for me. A lot of emotions have gone into this, and it’s been an amazing ride. I love having Dennis as my partner. He’s super supportive and I go to him with all decisions. He lets me do what I think is right,” Armellini says.
Today, Armellini operates her training business in Ocala, Florida at a farm she owns with Keith Stone who operates a successful hauling business. Learning and growing in the breeding has become a big part of her life and program. She says, “I have really started to love the whole process as I’m learning more about the breeding side of the industry. I have collected a handful of horses and now have a breeding operation. It sometimes gets tricky at the beginning of the year running mares back and forth and focusing on my training horses, but it has also changed some things for the better. It’s given me a different perspective
on our industry. I have enjoyed it more than I realized I would.”
MadeFourIt’s oldest foal crop turns two in 2025, and Armellini he is eager to see them hit the show pen under saddle. She is also eager to see JP continue to mark his foals with his talent and trainability. “I’m excited about what he can contribute to the western pleasure industry,” she says.
As much as Armellini has enjoyed her unconventional route to stallion ownership, it’s clear that her journey all comes back to her love for one exceptional horse. In fact, you could probably say they were made for each other. She shares a story about JP’s playful tendencies. “He’s got a lot of personality. He loves turnout and one day I got a call from Mike that I needed to come to his place and catch my horse. They only live a few miles from me, so I drove over. JP was turned out and wouldn’t let Mike catch him, but of course I walked in and caught him right away. It’s become a running joke between us. He is for sure my horse. He doesn’t mess with me like he does other people. He’s my pet,” Armellini laughs.
