Desert Rose Ranch Arabians

DRR Forty-Four Degas is a black 1/2 Arabian and 1/2 Percheron filly foaled in June 2008.  She is sweepstakes nominated with AHA, conformationally correct, extremely gentle, very willing and is already 15.3h at two years old.  Several of her 1/2 siblings on the Percheron side are multi-champion winners in several disciplines and she shows the same promise.  She was imprinted at birth by her highly acclaimed natural horse trainer owner and handled daily since.  All reasonable offers will be considered.

DRR Jamil Degas (Jamil) is a 1/2 Arabian and 1/2 Percheron gelding that was foaled in June 2003.  He is sweepstakes nominated with AHA and is already 16.1h and is still growing.  He has been handled and trained since birth by his accredited natural horse trainer owner and is now receiving under saddle work with a well known Virginia trainer.  He is extremely gentle, conformationally correct and is showing potential in several disciplines.  Several of his half siblings on the Percheron side are tearing up the show ring with one - Thee Patriot - winning multiple titles in major events on the West Coast.  The owner will discuss any reasonable offer.

Bob participated in the Father’s Day Car Show held annually in Warrenton.  Some great old cars were on display with many friends like Fred Furtado (who brought his own car) and Dean Eckleberry stopping by to say hello.

Hilde - our 7 year old Friesian mare - is being ridden here at her very first dressage test by Virginia Pony Club champion Michaela.  We are especially proud of both because the marks received from a highly acclaimed judge were nothing short of outstanding considering the short time Michaela had to prepare Hilde for this event and also for the lack of previous exposure Hilde has had as well.  We look forward to Michaela continuing to work with Hilde and know that more wonderful experiences are yet to come from both.

Bob & Linda (along with Linda’s sis Lauren and bro-in-law Ken) visited Niagara Falls on the Canadian side to celebrate their 45th anniversary in June 2009.

Bob & Linda attending the Warrenton Va June 21 2009 Father’s Day Car Show along with their 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 two door hardtop (stick shift with O/D and 312 cu engine but who is counting????

 Warrenton celebrated its 250th annivary with a wine and arts festival on the weekend of 25 & 26 April 2009.  Bob participated in the festival and promoted his DVD as well as the upcoming Frank Bell clinic.

DRR Bocephus (Bo) is presented here with his new owner Carolyn York winning the blue ribbon at his first dressage test of the year.  We always feel like proud parents when one of our off spring does well and our congratulations to Carolyn for all of her fine efforts with him.  We look forward to much more success from this classy pair in the future.

We wish to thank Stephanie Harding for purchasing our beloved Percheron mare ” Maggie Degas”.  Maggie has been our gentle giant favorite here at The Desert Rose Ranch and she has produced some beautiful 1/2 Arabian foals for us over the years.  It is always a bit of a sad day when it is time to sell one of our treasured horses, but in this case - Maggie has found a wonderful new home and we have met some new friends in Stephanie and her husband Brent.   Thanks again Stephanie and we hope you have many pleasurable years with Maggie.

It is with great sadness that we have learned of the passing of John Sharp at his home in Prineville Oregon this February 2009.  This picture was taken when Frank Bell and I visited John in 2005.  It was a real privilege to finally meet John after years of reading about his horsemanship feats and further to learn that the majority of his adult life was spent near my childhood home in the high desert country of Oregon.  Frank’s words say it best in that “I’ve lost a great friend but will retain wonderful memories forever”.

John Sharp is a somewhat unsung Oregon cowboy who is finally getting the recognition he deserves at age 92. John is featured in the December issue of Western Horseman beginning on page 100 and the article is a tribute to his contributions to the horse training world. He first perfected a technique back in 1936 of training wild mustang horses that never had human contact with the use of a 12 foot bamboo pole and this method is proving useful in other instances as well. His grand daughter is now carrying on the tradition taught to her by John and she has produced an excellent video in her own right. The article attributes John first gaining international recognition after he attended a clinic put on by Frank Bell in 1997 after which the two linked up to participate in several Wild Horse Work Shops. Frank then produced his own video with John using the pole technique and Frank has now passed on that information to his accredited instructors like myself. I participated in one of Franks clinics in Oregon at the grand opening of another of his AI’s in 2005 and then he and I visited John at his Prineville ranch where the above picture was taken. What a pleasure it was to learn from and listen to the stories of a true no frills but honest to goodness real life cowboy trainer.