4-24-22
10:20 am Sunday
A Shoutout to joy, hope, diversity, Dales Ponies, and my lovely wife Shuna.
Please wish her luck on her epic journey to preserve germoplasm from our two exceptional imported Dales Pony stallions Taz (Kingmaker Talisman) and Robin (Roandale Ragged Robin).
Shuna has done an amazing job working with our rare Dales Ponies.
We as a family love these ponies. We love that we can go on adventures as a family, have transformative experiences and create hope-filled memories. These animals have changed our lives. It is a story of hope I want to share.
Shuna will haul Taz and Robin across the state of Washington to WSU to work with her former professor Dr. Tibary to collect and freeze semen from them. Dr. Tibary is a very experienced and talented theriogenologist and it is a privilege to have the opportunity to work with him. We recognize you Dr. Tibary. Thank you!
We believe that Taz, one of few remaining Wheatside line stallions, is highly important. Shuna has told me on many occasions that he is one of the nicest horses she has ever ridden. He was bred to be incredibly athletic and sensitive but approaches the world with a gentle, calm confidence. He rides like a high end sports car. He is amazing and is a treasure. His line lives on now in the offspring he has already produced and we will preserve semen so his line can be even better represented in the future Dales population here in North America.
What a wonderful job Martin and Helen Rhodes of Kingmaker Dales Pony Stud in France did in keeping this line going! How fortunate we are in the United States that Ken Raspotnik imported him into the USA.
We recognize you, Helen, Martin, and Ken! Thank you!
Robin is another rarity. He is one of a small handful of extremely rare blue roan Dales Pony stallions. I believe there are fewer than 10 of these blue roan Dales Ponies stallions in the world.
Not long ago, there were only two (unrelated) roan Dales Ponies left in the world. Charlie and Gina Parker purchased both of them with the aim of preserving the roan color in the breed and renamed their stud Roandale Dales Pony Stud. Although they do not breed specifically for color, they have produced many gorgeous roan Dales Ponies. Roan is a dominant trait, so 50% of each heterozygous roan pony’s offspring can be expected to be roan. Our stallion Robin carries many wonderful bloodlines, including those of both of the original two roan ponies, and he is awe-inspiring. His temperament is unworried, kind, and spirited. He is highly intelligent, incredibly strong, and athletic. It is a privilege to help preserve the genetics of this Roandale treasure. We recognize you Charlie and Gina Parker. Thank you!
These Dales Ponies are incredible, the story of those who help care for them is incredible, the joy that they bring our family and others who know them is incredible. We believe preserving this breed and the diversity it helps encourage is key to unlocking humanity’s hope. This shoutout by no means touches upon all those who have made a difference, but this is an effort to bear witness to some of the accomplishments of my wife and the others whose efforts to preserve Dales Ponies have made a difference.
Your work and accomplishments do not go unnoticed. Thank you all for your contribution. We look forward to continuing to help this breed, this lifestyle, and these values of hopefulness thrive into the future.
