I’ve had my share of mares and geldings, but there has always been something special about the mares who truly loved their jobs. As most people know, mares can be difficult, and often you have to earn their affection. To me, that has always been part of the reward. No horse will work harder for you than a mare who wants to win.

Growing up, I was fortunate to ride several special mares, but Lia (“Annarilla”) was the first horse who showed me a level of drive and passion I had never experienced before. She had this incredible sense of, “Just hold on, I’ll take care of you,” and she was exactly what I needed at that point in my riding career. My time with Lia was shorter than with some of my other horses, but she taught me more than I could have ever imagined. Even now, years later, I still find myself realizing things she taught me. I see a lot of her in Fadalka.

The first thing I noticed about Fadalka was the star on her face. It’s unmistakably a heart, and I always thought that was the cutest thing ever- not to mention she is stunning in every other way.

Unlike Fadalka, Lia didn’t have fancy bloodlines. She was older, had crooked legs, and none of the qualities you would want to reproduce in a breeding program. I always joked that we should breed her because she had a heart of gold, but physically it wouldn’t have been responsible.

When I bought Fadalka, I tucked away a dream in the back of my mind: maybe one day I could breed her. At the time, it felt completely unrealistic. I was headed to college, I didn’t have my own farm, and what business did I have raising a foal?

Years later, I poured my heart into researching every modern breeding option I could find and started pitching the idea to my parents. They rolled their eyes and told me to keep dreaming. But if I am one thing, it’s persistent.

I researched. I made plans. I spent hours on the phone with veterinarians. I talked to trainers, breeders, semen distributors, and anyone willing to educate me. Eventually, I sat down with my parents and presented everything as a business investment.

Now, we all know that if I bred my horse, those babies would never be an investment—they’d probably never leave my ownership. But how else do you convince your dad, who loves hearing the word “investment”?

For over a year, I kept pushing. My trainer and her daughter—my best friend Olivia—laughed every time I brought it up because of how unrealistic it seemed. Then one day I told them, “I think I might have actually convinced my parents.”

Their concerns were valid. Where would I keep a foal? How would I train it? How would I afford it? For the first four or five years, it basically eats money and causes trouble.

They had bred one pony before—Olivia’s childhood pony—and the resulting foal, Stewart, was absolutely atrocious to deal with and never became particularly successful. Needless to say, they weren’t eager to revisit the experience.

Because their opinions mean so much to me, I continued researching and refining my plan. I spoke with my veterinarian, who thought it was a fantastic idea.

Then, in a small-world kind of way, everything started falling into place.

That was the tipping point. Suddenly everyone started taking the idea seriously.

Once I had their support, things started moving quickly, and then came the most exciting part: choosing a stallion.

I became obsessed. Photos, videos, bloodlines—I bored everyone to tears asking for opinions. Did this one jump well enough? Was that one too long-backed for a mare who was already a little lengthy? I researched breeding methods, semen availability, success rates, and every possible combination I could think of.

Once we decided on ICSI, frozen semen became a viable option, which opened thousands of possibilities. Suddenly I could breed to stallions from all over the world—even some legendary horses that were no longer alive.

Olivia’s horse of a lifetime, Peri, is a powerhouse black jumper sired by one of the breeding world’s greatest legends: Indoctro.

As I researched bloodlines, I discovered that Fadalka has a half-sibling out of the same dam by Indoctro who went on to win European Young Riders and achieve significant success.

That felt like confirmation.

I considered many stallions, but I kept coming back to Indoctro. Between Peri, the proven cross, and my admiration for him as a stallion, I just had a good feeling.

Then suddenly it was real.

In January 2026, we aspirated follicles from Fadalka at Peterson Smith Advanced Fertility Center and proceeded with the ICSI process. A week later, we learned we had three viable embryos. One was transferred into a recipient mare.

Today marks Day 139 of gestation for my first Fadalka Zeldenrust × Indoctro foal.

The second embryo was recently confirmed with a heartbeat and is now Day 28.

Excited doesn’t even begin to describe it.

Thank you to all of the incredible people who helped educate, guide, and support me through this entirely new world. To name just a few: Ashley Wallace, Mindy Taylor, Kathy Hickerson, Stal Zeldenrust, and the entire team at Peterson Smith Advanced Fertility Center.

This dream felt impossible for a very long time. Now, two little heartbeats later, it finally feels real.