1. Tell me about yourself

“Matt and I reside in Northern California. My husband and I have been married for almost 25 years and we are the proud parents of three amazing young men. For my “big girl job,” I am a dentist and have my own private family and cosmetic dental practice. In addition to that, we are Callaway Performance Horses, breeders of APHA and APHA/AQHA western pleasure horses.”

 

2. How did you become a horse owner?

“My older brothers and sisters went to a horse camp every summer in Southern California and when I was old enough to attend at age 7, I went to Rawhide Ranch too and have been hooked on horses ever since!” “Because we lived in the city at that time, I just went to horse camp in the summer. Later, when my parents moved to Northern California, is when I got my first horse at 12 years old.”

 

3. What made you decide to try your hand at breeding horses?

“As an undergraduate student at UC Davis, I was admitted into Dr. Jan Roser’s equine breeding internship and started to learn the ropes there. All of this was before ultrasound was used as a daily breeding tool. It was all daily teasing and palpation back then. After that internship, I got a job while still an undergraduate, with a breeding program learning the ins and outs of mare management and stallion handling.”

 

4. What was your first cross?

“I bred my first mare back in college. I adored that mare, “Toodles” and that cross was just for me. I ended up selling her foal. I bred her two more times over the years and kept one of her daughters eventually. But that was before I was breeding seriously for a superior equine athlete. All of that was before I was even in dental school.” “I would say I did not become a serious breeder until about 22 years ago at the same time we were starting our own family. I didn’t want to leave horses, but showing really wasn’t a possibility with small children and the dental practice.” “My first real WP cross was an AQHA Zips Chocolate Chip/ Impulsions mare that I bred to Zippos Sensation. It was a huge success and one that I repeated several times. One of the daughters of that cross, Ima Sweet Sensation, my sweet Claire has been a blue hen and a cornerstone of my breeding program. She has been on the APHA leading dams list for several years and almost every one of her babies has a show record.”

 

5. What bloodlines have you worked with in your program?

“That is definitely changed over the years with the industry. I have bred to some pretty great stallions: Zippos Sensation, Lazy Loper, OHK, VSCR, Machine Made, NDIL and RLBOS.” “Currently, we have several double registered daughters of RL Best of Sudden, a DR Machine Made/RL mare, a DR NDIL and two world champion APHA mares by VSCR and Lazy Loper. As much as I love their sires, the mare power on their dam’s sides is just as strong! Proven show mares and producers, each and every one of them.”

 

6. What would you say has been your most successful crosses?

“I have had so many that have been wonderful! I can’t really say any single one in particular is the most successful. I have a small bias because currently I am showing (and breeding) one of my all-time favorite horses. A heart horse. But really, any baby from Claire has been phenomenal, regardless of who she’s been bred to.”

 

7. What would you say makes your program most successful?

“I start with extremely well-bred broodmares who have proven themselves and whose pedigrees are filled with individuals that have proven themselves (particularly on the mare side). I do my research as to which crosses nick. I will not keep any mares that have poor dispositions. We have a strict vaccination, worming, and farrier schedule and I’m a total nerd when it comes to proper nutrition for broodmares and growing horses.” “I watch the senior stallions and the junior stallions and see how they are performing as well as how they are producing. I also keep in mind how those stallion owners are marketing their stallions and their babies.” “We work extensively with the babies, so when they leave here to go to their new homes, they’re extremely well handled. They lead, tie, load, stand for the farrier, wash, have been blanketed, have lived in the barn and out in the pasture with other horses.”

 

8. What is your nutrition program for your mares and foals?

“I buy two semi loads of hay every year for my mares and babies. I feed both alfalfa and orchard grass. I have a nutritional analysis done on my hay analyzed by Dairy One. I supplement based on that analysis. Usually, it’s LMF Super Supplement A and LMF development A. Both are meant to balance out the micro minerals in California hay. Additionally, all my horses get platinum performance and the show horses get K Finish as well.”

 

9. When do you prefer to have foals born? “Because of the nature of futurity horses and lunge liners, I like to have my babies born January through March. Plus, it means I don’t have to wean babies in the worst part of the summer. I’m lucky that most years that the weather is very mild in northern California compared to other places in the country.”

 

10. What piece of advice would you share with a person who would like to start breeding horses? “Do your homework. Learn genetics. Get all your horses genetic testing done and ask lots of questions. Not every horse is actually worth breeding. Start with knowing what your breeding goals and what you want the end result to be.”

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12. What is the best way for people to contact you?

“Facebook messenger or text.”