S Just Dream On

"A Champion For All Times: S Just Dream On"

by Gina Mishek

A National championship is the ultimate goal in breeding and showing Arabian horses. If the energy that has been put into trying to win that title over the years could be harnessed, it could move mountains. It is very easy to get lost in the idea of simply winning, of conquering over the competition. But what does it really mean to be a National champion?

Winning a National championship is about history. Its the history of the Arabian horse, from the war horse of the desert, sleeping in a Bedouins tent, all the way up to the modern champions that we have seen wearing rose garlands over the past decade. Each National champion is an addition to that history, and is a representative of the pride and love that every breeder has for the Arabian horse.

S Just Dream On (Magnum Psyche x S Justadream) already stands proudly among the National champions and centuries of treasured Arabians that have gone before her. That she was a unique horse was obvious from the day she came into the world. David Boggs of Midwest Training Centre, Rogers, Minn., attests to that fact. When S Just Dream On was born, she took our breath away," Boggs relates. She was perfect; the best possible combination of her dam and sire, S Justadream and Magnum Psyche. How appropriate for her to be named S Just Dream On!

Indeed, S Just Dream On was the fulfillment of a dream for her owners, Debby and Michael Stephens of Resting S Ranch. She was what we envisioned when we started breeding, says Debby Stephens. Our emphasis at Resting S is form to functionwe want them to be beautiful, but we also want them to be able to be ridden. Stephens, who is excited to have recently ridden S Just Dream On, has a close relationship with the mare, but she notes that it is particularly gratifying that other people appreciate S Just Dream On as much as she does.

Rachel and Michael Wilmet who bred S Just Dream On after having purchased her dam, S Justadream, from the Stepehenses, says that there is a connection between the mother and her offspring. I dont think you can not connect S Just Dream On to her dam. They both share the qualities that make them great. Just by looking at S Just Dream On, and the way she comes into an arena, and how she performs, it is obvious that she is a National champion.

S Just Dream On has a show record that anyone would want for their horse, but she has made more than a fleeting impression on those who have seen her in center ring. I had the opportunity to judge S Just Dream On at Region VII last year when she was a 2-year-old, says judge and trainer Mitch Sperte. She is certainly my kind of horsein fact, shes everyones kind of horse. She has the potential to do what only a handful of horses have been able to do, and that is to ascend to the highest levels of our sport in both halter and performance. She will be able to do it because has all of the attributes needed to do soconformation, beauty and athleticism. As a halter horse, she has the quality that is imperative for a National contender, combined with the elegance and refinement that an Arabian mare must have. She has the whole package, including attitude. Although I know that is a lot of adjectives and attributes for one horse, she deserves it all. She is truly special.

Sperte implies that exaggeration is not needed in describing S Just Dream On and what makes her an exemplary representative of the breed. Fellow trainer and judge Michael Byatt has similar feelings about her. She is, unquestionably, one of the highest quality, most beautiful fillies that I have ever worked with. And certainly, she is a filly with the most beautiful eyes Ive ever seen.

John Rannenberg of Rohara Arabians, also a trainer and judge, is also sure of the qualities that have made S Just Dream On a champion, and which will take her to the winners circle again and again. My first impression of her was when she was 2 months old, and even then, her quality was exceptional. I had the same feeling when I saw her that I had about her mother, who I saw for the first time at nearly the same age. When I saw S Justadream, I thought I had seen the next great horse; I came home and I went on and on about her. And when I saw S Just Dream On, I had the same reaction. I thought, She is spectacular. She is just an exceptional filly. Shes extreme in beauty, quality and structure, with extreme length of neck. Shes bred royally, and it shows. She was destined for greatness.

S Just Dream On is making her return to National competition this year, and Keith Krichke is proud to be leading her through the gate. When I think about S Just Dream On, I think that she is one of the most beautiful individuals that Ive ever handled. She absolutely reeks of quality. Krichke says that from nose to tail, her quality is complete. Her type, on a scale of one to 10, is a 10. She is absolutely incredible through the face, concave and dry. Her eyes are those really large, soft eyes, with a lot of expression. Shes got a great set of ears, well shaped and defined, and that all is set on top of a great, long, well-set neck; one of the best that Ive ever seen. From there on back, her body flows really well and is so smooth, and she has great tail carriage. Plus, she has a lot of style and charisma. Shes just the kind of horse that, even when shes not posing, just to look at her in the stall is a thing of beauty.

Debby Stephens notes that S Just Dream On will have a breeding career in the future, but that the show ring will be the mares milieu for now. It is fitting that a mare of such exemplary traits, who captures the highest accolades in competition, will one day move on to add her unique qualities the perpetual legacy of the Arabian breed.

Bob Battaglia of Battaglia Farms notes that S Just Dream On is a mare for the ages. Beauty is timeless, he says. The renowned master artists of the worldRaphael, DaVinci, Michelangelopainted masterpieces on canvas or sculpted them from marble. Their visions of beauty, their dreams, live on and still enrich our lives today. S Just Dream On is living art. A beauty like hers is the highest and most lasting achievement in the art of breeding Arabian horses. Her attitude, her gorgeous face, her long neck and her big black eyes say it all. When she turns and looks at you, she is simply breathtaking. Whether she standing still or trotting across the pasture, when you see here, you know she is one of the very best examples of our breed.