A lifetime of breeding…

Dayton Ridge Farm is located on top of beautiful Dayton Ridge, just West of Richland Center, Wisconsin. DRF was established in 1988 as a small family farm who's main focus was raising our children off the beaten path. As the children grew, so did their interest in horses and riding with Mom. This interest quickly evolved into weekends wrapped around Pony Club, 4-H, and showing at our local Hunter Jumper shows. These were good times when the boy's learned practical life skills. While partnering with their mounts, (some not so nice...) they learned that when you fall down in life, you get up, dust yourself off, get right back on and do it again, only better this time! Being a young family with a tight budget meant Mom was always scouting the sale barns for an inexpensive mount that might "just need some training". What could go wrong! Everything! Hence "some not so nice!" We made the best of it and boy... Could I tell you some stories!

Ultimately, it is this experience that brought me back to breeding. Encouraged by my Father, I started breeding at the age of 12. As a young girl I paired several breedings to both my Anglo Arabian and my Quater Pony mares. Much knowledge and life experience was gained handling these foals which laid a solid foundation for what I strive to do today. Breed: Sound, Sane, Steady, Teachable, Trustworthy, Dependable & Delightful Mounts! With the move to Richland Center, I had decided to give up breeding. It was the untimely and horrific loss my beloved mare "Cannan Countessa" and her impending foal, coupled with two young children at my feet, and one on the way, that convinced me I should never breed a mare again. Well, the boy's grew up and went on with their lives leaving Mom with an assortment of horses out in the paddocks. Most were auction horses that we had picked up and put time into only to be faced with underlying ailments that limited their athletic ability and usefulness for any competitive purposes. It took me a years time to re~home all 16 horses appropriately. It was at this time that I returned world of breeding.

Now that my children are grown, with hopes of having good stock for my grandchildren to ride, I’ve been breeding Connemara's, Sport Ponies, and the occasional Warmblood since about 2002. After carefully selecting HK's Danny Boy, Skyview's Triton and a few foundation mares, I’ve come up with quite a little herd of quality ponies, mid~size horses & smaller warmbloods to sell. Most are double registered with the American Connemara Pony Society & the NorthAmerican SportPony Registry ~ American Warmblood Registry. Both Danny & Triton are licensed with the NASPR ~ AWR and Registered & inspected with the ACPS. All foals from both stallions inspected to this date are 1st premium with NASPR ~ AWR. Foals are handled regularly from birth and given attention to all their nutritional needs, with regular de-worming, vaccines and farrier work. Under saddle training does not usually starts until age 3, allowing adequate time as to not interfere with proper growth. So come on in and take a look around.

If you see something you like, give me a call so we can talk horses. If you don’t see what your looking for… give me a call anyway, as you never know what I might have hiding in my back paddocks!

 Cherished Memories…

Sooner or Later we all lose that special horse, Dave & I buried "Our Erin", after she lost a battle with colic. Dave truly appreciated her for the thoroughbred that she was, and for the confidence she placed in every step as they ran with the wind together. She was always game, and Dave fostered that, creating a bond like she'd had with no other. It's hard to see that era end.

Thankfully, she's left behind 5 great offspring to carry on. Katie 1996, Lacey 2004, Duke 2005, Traveler 2007 (Dave & I delivered Trav on our first date!), and Ivy League 2008.