Dream Acres LLC

Show Horses

Emily Grey

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Even among the ranks of memorable horses, Emily would certainly stand out. Throughout her show career, this special mare gained quite a following. She was purchased as a western prospect and she did that job pretty well – until we put hunt tack on her and she found out how much fun it was to move. For anyone who doesn’t think a Saddlebred belongs in hunt tack – well – she sure made a believer out of more than one die-hard.

Emily delivered a gorgeous chestnut foal in May 2009 … Sir Earl Grey. Looks like he’ll stay chestnut … and that Emily has found her true calling as a momma! She’s retired from the show ring … at least unless she tells us she wants to relive her glory days!

See our Breeding page for pictures of Emily and Sir Earl Grey!
Highly Charmed
Shown (at right) winning at the Dayton Charity; taking his championship victory pass at Heartland Classic (below); and taking blues at Midwest Charity and at St. Louis, Highly Charmed is close to earning his permanent Champion status. He began his winning career with us early in 2008, and in 2009, “Alex,” as we call him at home, has won blues and/or tri-colors at virtually every show he's attended. One of those came at the toughest western Saddlebred competition in the country – the St. Louis National Charity Horse Show. In his first full season with us, he showed successfully enough to be among only 16 horses in the United States to qualify to show in the Western Invitational at the World's Championship Horse Show in Louisville in August, 2009.

He is by WCC Santana's Charm, the first of two stallions to win the Amateur Five-Gaited World’s Champion Of Champions title. Alex is a full brother to fine harness champion I'm A Lucky Charm, currently in Missouri with renowned trainer Mike Roberts.
Photo credit below and to the right,
Tracy Kelsey Photography


Alex winning at St Louis, 2009

Alex winning at the Midwest, 2008
Heir Express
No stranger to the winner's circle in the highly competitive country pleasure division, this grand horse's breeding is often immediately recognized due to his striking resemblence to his famous sire, Heir to Champagne. Missouri-bred Express was one of trainer Mike McIntosh’s favorites, and he remains a favorite of mine to work at home. I bought him as a western prospect, due to his beauty, manners and expression. We had a great winter working and a few very successful shows the following spring, but this horse was bred to move and I foolishly thought his maturity would make him happy to slow down. I was wrong -- he let me know he needed to trot big! We believe that every horse should have a job he loves, and Express LOVES driving -- in fact he's been an absolute star in country pleasure driving. I give Express all the credit for making driving a lot of fun!
Congratulations to Carrie Mathes for her Novice Country Pleasure class and championship wins at Twin Rivers in 2011 ... on Heir Express under the direction of Shelley Fisher.

Horses of the Past

Avanzare
May 31, 1991 - October 8, 2009
Avanzare, fondly known as "Zar," enjoyed a well-deserved retirement for several years at Dream Acres before his passing in October 2009. Purchased by Joan when he was only 4, Zar won some nice ribbons before finding his true niche in the hunter country pleasure division. Zar was 2006 USEF National Horse of the Year, winning numerous ASB hunter country pleasure classes in the Midwest and finishing among the top horses in the country in the Hunter Country Pleasure finals at St. Louis two years in a row.

Zar is responsible for getting Joan back into hunters, which was one of two disciplines she followed as a youngster. The other was more traditional for Saddlebreds -- saddle seat. However, we at Dream Acres believe in letting the horse choose the division, and then the blue ribbons will follow!!!

Click picture to the right for a view of Avanzare's accomplishments.

Zar in 1996 as 5 year old with Ellen Lifson, up.
Bold Flare
This grand gentleman is Bold Flare, the last colt raised by my mentor, Marcella Lahr, and a grand fine harness and equitation mount. I finally was able to get him, in his latter days, and give him a good home until he died. He was indeed a very special horse -- he was trained for fine harness by Jim Taylor and maintained by Bob Whitney for awhile, then Lahr brought him home for me to train him to canter. What a thrill this horse was! I had just married and wasn't able to buy him at the time, and Lahr was losing her vision so she needed to sell him. She always teased me about my close relationship with Flare -- and we both deeply regreted that I wasn't able to buy him in his heyday. But Flare was destined for success -- he was purchased by Barbara Goda for her son, John, back in the '80s ... and John won in equitation at Louisville with this grand horse. Flare ended up changing hands several times before I was lucky enough to get him back in his early 20s. He'd had a hard time of it, but his last years were good and happy ones. He is buried at Roselane Farm in Sheridan. I am forever grateful to Lahr, who taught several world champion riders and mounts ... and Flare, who sealed my love for Saddlebreds. They are pictured here winning a big fine harness class at Indy 500 (now Indy Charity Horse Show) in 1984.
Dream Acres, LLC
Joan S. Todd
2867 East 600 North
Greenfield, IN 46140
317-670-4383