The Story Of How Sunlit Farm Came To Be...and A Little Bit Of Our History

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The story of Sunlit Farm has it's roots firmly planted in a love of the equine species. Founder/owner Stacy Nichols was born into a horse loving family and began her own love affair with these gentle creatures just about as soon as she could walk. Her introduction came with the family's purchase of several horses, among them an off the track Thoroughbred mare named BrandyWine, a lovely show champion Welsh pony mare named Mojave Magic, the spectacular Quarter Horse mare pictured above left, Witches Gold and the horse who would undoubtedly leave the biggest impact on Stacy's early show ring experiences, the Arabian gelding Samir Hadji, pictured above right.

By the tender ago of eleven years, Stacy was well on her way to being the tough and focused competitor she is today and she was already garnering many awards and much praise from her peers. At the age of twelve, Stacy made the decision to become a professional trainer...and took to the Class "A" Arabian show circuit with a vengeance!

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From there, the family decided to expand their small breeding operation and set out on a somewhat larger scale, producing quality foals who would be suitable as show, breeding and recreational horses. Then one year, there was a colt foaled to one of the Sunlit Farm mares....who was christened "Brutus". This became the horse who would be Stacy's inspiration behind Sunlit Farm Training Services and the backbone of the Sunlit Farm program.

"Brutus" at 10 weeks, getting prepared for his show ring debut!

As a yearling................................and as a two year old

The foundation for Sunlit Farm Arabians and Sunlit Farm Training Services

Click here to visit Brutus' Family Tree Page!

On the road to building her reputation, Stacy found great success in the show ring with two horses in particular, Samir Hadji and Kassaul. Both Arabian geldings, these two horses would prove pivotal in the Sunlit Farm story. Many show ring titles would be bestowed on the rider and her mounts in Halter, English, Western, Hunter and Over Fences classes over the course of just a few years, as they became more well known. The more they won, the more clients they began to gain.

Although versatilty has been her hallmark, it was the Crabbet bred gelding Samir Hadji who would lead Stacy to wholeheartedly believe in the versatile abilities of each and every Arabian horse. It is this love of what Arabians can do and her desire to learn as much as possible that lead her to seek certification as a judge. The road she chose to gain the experience and knowledge necessary to become one was the IAHA Youth Judging Program. The first year she participated in the program, that endeavor earned her 1983 Region 1 Reserve Champion in Halter Judging and she was a member of the 1983 Region 1 Champion Team Overall. In her second year of competition, she was awarded the following honors: 1984 Region 1 Champion in Halter Judging, 1984 Region 1 Champion in Performance Judging, 1983 Region 1 Champion in Halter Oral Reasons, a member of the 1984 Region 1 Champion Team in Placings, a member of the 1984 Region 1 Champion Team in Oral Reasons, a member of the 1984 Region 1 Champion Team Overall and 1984 Region 1 Champion High Individual Overall. This lead to the U. S National Championship Show where she and her team were 1984 U. S. National Top Ten (4th) Overall and 1984 U. S. National Champion Team in Oral Reasons.

Jumping was one of this pair's favorite events -- and they excelled in that arena. In both 1982 and 1983, Stacy and Hadji were named Junior Queen in their local horsemen's club, and went on to become 1983 ETI National Reserve Champion Hunter Seat Equitation.

 

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Stacy would like to sincerely thank all of her clients through the years for their support of and belief in her abilities.

Copyright 2011 © Sunlit Farm Arabians/Sunlit Farm Training Services/Stacy Nichols - All Rights Reserved