Why Gypsies?
As with almost everyone who sees a Gypsy horse for the first time, I fell in love with the physical appearance of the breed. I wanted to own one, but I wasn’t sure that the breed was suited for our ranch lifestyle.
In 2010 I found a very traditional looking Gypsy cross named Shy for sale and bought my very own faux Gypsy. Very soon I found out why his name was Shy. He wanted nothing to do with people and was very standoffish. After several months of learning to trust us, he began to show his playful personality and his unflappable demeanor on rides and working cattle. He was my buddy.
Several years passed and I began to worry about which horse would be my next dependable sidekick. I needed a Shy backup. After doing research on the Gypsy breed I realized that the things that I liked most about Shy were inherited from his Gypsy blood. I began to search on the internet, and I found a blue eyed piebald Gypsy that looked like he could be a much hairier brother to Shy.
In the course of this search I also looked at many Gypsy farms. It was during this time that I realized I had a dream that I had never acknowledged. I wanted to breed Gypsies. I already had the land and infrastructure to support horses (we already owned quarter horses), so it was an easy step to take. Luckily my husband encouraged me, and in 2016 I bought my first Gypsies.
As time goes by, I appreciate this breed more and more. Their gentleness, their love of being with people, and their calm temperament and trainability. As hard as it is to see my much loved horses leave, it is wonderful see someone else’s dream of having a Gypsy join their family realized.
Ranch History
We bought our ranch in 2010. We immediately started running cattle on it, and had to have horses in order to gather, doctor, brand, and move our herd. We purchased quarter horses for this purpose.
After caring for quarter horses for several years, it was an easy transition to go into breeding Gypsy horses in 2016. We bought five mares and 3 weanlings that year, and in 2017 our first 2 foals were born on the ranch. Since then we average 3- 4 foals a year using quality studs from various other farms. In 2017 we also purchased a stud prospect, Enzo.
In 2018 we were blessed to find a family that shared our love horses and our vision of creating well trained Gypsy horses that the whole family can enjoy. We do not produce many horses a year, but they are among some of the best trained Gypsy horses that you can find.
Our Gypsies are trained here on our ranch. After weaning is completed, they go through a couple of weeks ground work program, and then they are put back out to pasture until they are started under saddle. We have found that the preliminary ground work class helps their confidence tremendously when they come back for training. Very quickly they are ready to help us work our ranch. They check fences and cattle, gather and sort cattle, trail ride, and play. They are exposed to everything from machinery to wildlife giving them a very calm and level headed approach to seeing and experiencing new things.
In 2019 we began showing Enzo and Faith, who we purchased as a weanling, as 3 year olds as a way not only to expose us as a Gypsy farm, but as a way to expose our horses to new and different experiences. In addition to bringing home multiple world titles each, Enzo brought home a High Point Horse award and Faith took both a High Point Mare award and a Reserve High Point Youth award. Enzo ended the 2019 show season with a High Point Gypsy Vanner Award from GVHS (Gypsy Vanner Horse Society). Faith not only participated in the open classes at shows, but was also ridden by a 10 year old (he turned 11 right before World) in youth classes. They also brought home their own world title, not to mention a GVHS Youth High Point award for earning a fifth overall in the 2019 show season.
Amid the chaos of the Covid pandemic, we still managed to attend 4 shows in 2020. Enzo and Faith both won National titles, as well as GVHS High Point Awards (a 5th overall for Enzo and a 9th performance for Faith). At the Texas FHC Show immediately following Nationals, Enzo was the Reserve Champion Open in WJT/WTC and Faith was awarded Grand Champion Trail. We can’t wait to see what the 2021 show season brings!
2021 will be a big year for us since Enzo’s first foal crop will be hitting the ground. We are beyond excited to see what our boy produces!