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Visitor Comments ~ Notes from Nancy ~ Our Horses

Warm hospitality and breathtaking horses in a picturesque pastoral setting...

Warm hospitality and breathtaking horses in a picturesque pastoral setting greeted me the first time I visited RHR.  The beauty was overwhelming, and that was just the beginning of my education in all aspects of horse ownership, riding and breeding.

I was enthusiastically welcomed and taught the "rules of the ranch" which were always humorous but with a definite purpose.  Nancy's philosophy of "when a horse and human interact, both need to be learning something positive in a safe interaction",  was reinforced time and time again as I discovered the joys of "horsing around".   My experiences were taught with large doses of humor but with always a very effective meaning as "the moral of the story". 

The variety of experiences have covered the gamut of training, riding at shows and on trails, basic care and conditioning, stallion breeding with both AI and live cover, veterinary care both on the farm and in a small town veterinary clinic as well as at Washington State University's Veterinary Teaching Hospital. Participating in both local and national level shows whetted my appetite for more. My proudest moment was when I placed first in a local show and won a trophy for my efforts!!! 

Nancy's methods are based on a very effective tradition of safety first, education at all times and enjoyment by both the animals and the people.  Her horses are a testimony to how rewarding her methods can be as the horses actively seek out human interaction and seem to enjoy and encourage playful, but respectful behavior on their parts.  I would highly recommend experiencing all aspects of horse interaction in this educational and entertaining setting.

Michelle Spain, Golden Morning Star Arabians, Moscow, Idaho

I slid the gamut from dorky stranger to dear friend at RHR in five minutes. Thanks to no charm of mine. Such is the generous-hearted hospitality of the Wights (among whom I include their full-time staff, Cristy and Bryony) that you feel you can do nothing wrong.

The kitchen always cackles with cheery conversation, and on every side, there are ears that hear and mouths that answer and laugh. Good humor fills the air like the steam from the food that covers the table. The warmth and vigor of the family infects not only you, but even the animals act like their human keepers, vibrant, responsive, and affectionate. More beautiful and gentler creatures -- or more energetic -- I've never seen.

And should you need a quiet hour, climb a staircase to the bedroom window, or stand outside beside a gentle horse and watch the clouds' shadows glide over the hills. Here, contentment and harmony reign. RHR is perhaps at once the most lively and the most peaceful place I've ever stayed.

Ben Zedek Smith--First class hippophile, Tokyo, Japan

As part of the Equine Sports Performance course I was studying in Southern England , I was to undertake 6-8 weeks work experience at a placement in the Equine industry. Nancy kindly offered me a place at RHR over the summer, and invited me to join her and the farm staff at the annual Egyptian event in Lexington , Kentucky .

My time in Kentucky was more wonderful than I could ever have imagined. Not only was I surrounded by some of Gods most beautiful and exquisite creatures, but each and every person I met made me feel so happy and welcome. During the week in Kentucky I learnt so much about the Arabian horse and the different showing classes in which the Arabian horse is presented. A good friend and client at RHR, Michelle Spain, had her Egyptian Arabian filly RHR Bint Chelima at the event, and was placed in the top ten in the futurity fillies class. The excitement surrounding this was infectious, and although I had only known these people for a few days they had made sure I felt so welcome and involved, that I was just as ecstatic and tearful when the filly did so well.

At the end of the week we traveled up to Seattle and spent a couple of days in the city visiting friends, and on my birthday going to an International rare breeds dog show with the familie's two Egyptian Pharaoh hounds and a very rare Cirneco dell'Etna. The following day we traveled over to the ranch which is situated in the beautiful landscapes of Northern Idaho .

My time at RHR was spent during the breeding season, and whilst much of the breeding work is done here on the ranch, the embryo transfer work is done over in the veterinary hospital at Washington State University. The facilities and staff at the University are awesome, with much of the work being done by world famous Theriogenologist, Dr Ahmed Tibary. Between the staff at RHR and the staff at the university I now have a wider understanding and knowledge of all aspects of breeding including collection and shipping of the semen, Artificial insemination, internal examinations of the mares and general care and handling of Mares, foals and Stallions on the ranch. During the summer I also had the opportunity to ride and start training some of the Arabians to be ridden English hunt seat. Having mostly ridden warmbloods and thoroughbreds before, I was surprised at how willing and accepting these horses are under saddle and found each of the horses on the ranch a pleasure to ride.

The three months I was at the ranch over the summer was just not long enough, so Nancy kindly invited me back to stay for the following year. I am presently staying at the ranch helping Cristy with day to day care and training of the horses, and hope to accompany them to Scottsdale , Arizona and the Egyptian Event in Kentucky next year. The family and staff at RHR have made me feel so welcome and at home on the ranch. Staying here has been a life changing experience, and it has helped me focus on the career path I wish to take.

Bryony Hatt, England

My experience at Rockin' Heart Ranch was a truly lovely one. And I would recommend it to anyone who wanted to learn more about the Egyptian Arabian horse and how to run a horse farm in general.

In the short time that I was there I learned more about the Egyptian Arabian horse than I could have learned from anybody else. The staff, both Cristy and Bryony where especially nice to me going out of there way to show me things that I did not know about the Egyptian Arabian horse and horse breeding practices in overall. I also got to watch the breeding and collecting of the stallion which was very well organized by Nancy and her team.

Although all of the horses where lovely, my two all time favorites as I am sure Nancy her family and staff were aware of were: Cowboy and little Almaas. I just got so attached to them like I did to the dogs that at the end of my stay I wanted to take them home with me.

My favorite part of the day besides getting to work with the horses and ride them were the meals which Nancy or her staff prepared. Since I am a vegatarian one of my favorite meals
was Vegetable Lasagna. Nancy was kind enough to make sure that I ate lovely vegetarian meals.

The farm altogether has a lovely friendly and hardworking atmosphere. And as you can see I really enjoyed my stay and learned so much.

Faye Huxham, South Africa