About the Blog

My whole life I had always wanted an Arabian. Mainly because I watched the Black Stallion and my Mom took me to work with her when she worked at an Arabian Facility. My grandpa on the other hand wanted me to get a Haflinger. He had seen them in parades and had fallen in love with them. He learned somehow and to this day I have no idea how he found out but he knew that they would be the prefect horse for me. For the longest time I fought over it looking at Arabs and kept insisting that I get an arab. Then one day I had an epiphany; it was a horse, a horse I could get and I'd wanted one for years! My Grandpa and I went to the Lynden fair in 2000 and I fell in love with a gelding from 3R Farms. It took me several days to convince him and when he was ready to buy they said that they had sold him. I was devastated! Then my Grandma came to me and said “That horse wasn’t meant for you, the right horse will come along soon”. I will never forget those words.

On September 6th 2001 my Grandpa, Great Grandma and I went to the WHA event in Lynden, Washington. I was on a mission to go get a horse even though my grandpa didn't know it. We look at all the horses at least I did I ran around the whole barn looking at every horse that was for sale in second flat. That was when I saw a horse rubbing her tongue up and down her stall door. I stop and stared at her, it was the funniest thing. Then Emily (her breeder) walk up and said "Marquisse if you keep doing that no ones gonna want to buy you." I walked up to the silly pony and stuck my fingers through the chicken wire and petted her nose she moved her head so I’d itch behind her ear. I stood there and petted her and talk to her for a while and went to get my Grandpa to tell him I found the horse I wanted. I showed him her itchy spot. As he started to like her he spoke with Emily about her and he said we'd call her after my Grandpa thought about it. After those few days my Grandpa still hadn’t called so I started secretly e- mailed Emily asking about Marquisse. After a day of several emails I presented them to my grandpa and he finely called her. He set up an appointment to go up to there farm to see her and ask questions.

When we arrived, she was outside and Emily told us all about her lines and showed us her Dam Marlee. They talked payment while I ogled at the horses one horse unparticular. We went back a week or so later to give Emily the down payment on Marquisse, it took at lot of convincing on my part but I now had a horse! That day I went out into her field and sat under the tree just watching her and talking to her. When she walked up to me she sniffed me allover and then tried t chew on my shoes. I spent a half hour talking to her and telling her about me.

About a month later I went back up there to see her for a second time. We had decided to board her up at Emily’s until the winter was over as our barn was not fixed for horses yet. That time I brush her and talk to her. The next time I brought my mom and we tried to feed her a apple but she’d only lick it she had never had an apple before! Then I brought my best friend and showed her Marquisse. Then one day I over heard my grandma and grandpa talking about the ‘horse‘. I budded in and asked what they were talking about. It is strange how you have super sonic hearing when certin words are spoken its like hearing your name in a crowd. They told it was going to be a surprise but they told me anyway. They had decided to bring Marquisse home to a near by stable! I was so excited I think I may have scream! I remember her pulling up in the horse trailer at the barn. I was so excited! Jessica who offered to haul her down let me unload her and I lead her to her new stall. I believe she stayed at that facility for 6 months and every time I went into the barn she'd whinny to me. I loved that! So that is how Marquisse came to me and how I came to her!



I wrote that when I was 13 although I did go back and edit a lot of it. Marquisse was my first horse and is very special to me. She was my first in the world of horses in every way. She was the first horse I really fell off of she was the first to go to a show with me she was just always there with me. She was the perfect partner for a 12 year old going through her younger teens. She was my life and I will say she is still my life at 21. In fact I rode her out on the trails yesterday (Feb 15 2009) and had a blast.



Ever since my Grandfather introduced me to Haflinger’s I had fallen in love with them. I have been breeding Haflinger horses since 2005 our first foal was born on the farm April 26th 2006. We had a fabulous filly. Over the years Marquisse and I have been showing all over the west coast. She has racked up a lot of Hi-Points, Championships and just last year she got me my first belt buckle. In all this time because she had been a show horse and I have never bred her. This year will be the year that I will be breeding her for the first time.

I am excited and petrified all in one and it is a strange sensation. My favorite horse in the whole world, having a foal. The reason I am going to be blogging about it is so that I can log everything and look back on it all. Her foal will stay with me need it be a stud colt or a mare. Although I’d rather have a filly! This blog will morph after she foals and will go on to follow the foal as it grows and turns into a grown horse. It won’t always be pretty and it won’t always be happy but it will be an adventure and I am looking forward to it.




You may wonder what the blog title means as it can be taken in many different ways. First off this is a fantastic thing. Second which is a rather big second is that our farm name is Hopeful Farms. Named appropriately after the Black Stallion books. The movie had a profound influence on me and so have the books so I decided to call our farm Hopeful Farms with Marquisse being my not so black, black not really a stallion, stallion. Then when I wanted to name this blog I again turned to the Black Stallion. In the movie right after Alac sees the Black he runs to his father and says “It’s the most fantastic thing!” speaking of course about the Black. I found the quote quite fitting.

So here we are about to start this fantastic adventure.