Prairie Wind Ranch

Where we have been . . .

Prairie Wind Ranch originated on a mere 2 acre mini-farm near Spearfish, South Dakota. Steve was a police officer for the city of Spearfish, so we were required to live within 3 miles of the city. We rented pasture close by and it worked amazingly well for several years. But at the first opportunity we purchased 160 acres 25 miles northeast of Spearfish and began the long process of rehabilitating a neglected old farmstead. We purchased Alex in 2002 after a nationwide search for the best bloodlines available and our lives have been blessed by his presence. We are grateful for every day that we have with this magnificent stallion.

When we made the decision to cross breed Friesians, it wasn’t our intention to thumb our noses at the meticulous breeding requirements of the purebred Friesian. We are grateful for these strict requirements, as it has resulted in the most consistent, and pure, breed standards of any breed we know. The incredibly kind, people oriented temperament has been preserved – not to mention the magnificent presence and beauty. But, we recognized that the dreams of many who wanted to own a Friesian would go unrealized due to the prohibitive price of the purebred. So, we offered Alex’s stallion service to quality mares of all breeds. We were making dreams come true and we continue to enjoy the stories from owners of these offspring who are thrilled with their Friesian cross. For personal reasons, we stopped breeding to outside mares after 2009.

Where we are now . . .

In recent years the number of Friesian cross breeders has grown considerably and, as a result, the number of Friesian crosses on the market has also increased. In 2007 we made the difficult decision to drastically curtail our breeding program in response to this surplus market situation. We felt it was the responsible thing to do as breeders. We were surprised, however, by the overwhelming reaction of the public. They have implored us to continue breeding and have backed up their request by reassuring us that the offspring we produced were some of the best quality in the nation. We have always been proud of the quality we produced, and it was gratifying to receiving such an outpouring of support. Thank you for the many encouraging emails we received. We will breed Alex on a very limited basis to our own mares as long as the demand for these foals holds strong.

In the meantime, we have made progress on the rebuilding of the ranch and moved there in February 2007. The main barn is fully functional with stalls, indoor riding area, wash rack, and living quarters. The round corral is finished, and other corrals and shelters are underway. It has, and will continue to be, a long-term project with much more to be done. But the horses have plenty of room to stretch their legs and are content and we love being able to watch them from our windows.

Where we are headed . . .

So, here we are in early 2010. Breeding season is approaching and we have re-evaluated our goals as breeders and as stewards of our horses and the horses we are responsible for bringing into this world. The resulting plan is one we are comfortable with and are embarking on with renewed enthusiasm. Here is an overview of where we are headed:

Limited breeding of our own mares to Alex. We have three mares that have crossed exceptionally well with Alex and have produced exceptional Friesian crosses. We are expecting foals from these three mares in the spring of 2010. We have not decided how many will be bred back. More information on these mares is available on the Our Mares page.
New ventures! We are excited about some new breeding ventures we embarked on recently. They are outlined below:

Blue Roan 3/4 Friesians: For years we have enjoyed being exclusive breeders of blue roan Friesian cross horses. We have produced some exceptionally beautiful blue roans that take your breath away when they move with that Friesian presence. One of our favorites is a filly we named Sapphire and we kept her as a wonderful example of what we like to produce. Sapphire was bred to a first premium Friesian stallion for a 2010 foal. We are hoping for a 3/4 blue roan Friesian cross, but whatever the color, this foal promises to be spectacular! Photos of the Friesian stallion can be seen here: Friesian Harts. More photos of Sapphire can be seen on Sapphire's page.

Drum horses: We fell in love with the Drum horse several years ago and made a vow that someday we would own one. We have watched the market for several years and have enjoyed seeing the variety of Drum horses produced. In 2007 we hand picked three outstanding Shire mares as foundation mares for our drum horse program. In 2009 we embarked on a search for the Gypsy stallion that possessed the qualities we were looking for, and found Ainsley. We are very excited about the foals that are due in the summer of 2010!

01/03/2010