As Holly Dillin says of her Western Cross breeding program, “Our slogan has always been ‘Breeding Beautiful Athletes,’ and that still rings true. That is my goal with each foal I produce.” Holly’s first homebreds were foaled in 1995, and she has since bred over 200 Arabians and Half-Arabians and has owned over 257. Her love for the breed is shared by her husband, Linden Dillin, and daughter Jenna, each of whom enjoys the horses in their own way. For Linden it’s about bonding with the using horses – he takes a string of Arabians and Half-Arabs – bred by Holly of course – on annual elk-hunting trips to the San Pedro Wilderness in New Mexico. “When he’s home, Linden loves bareback trail rides and sitting in the grass while the horses graze around him,” says Holly. “In 2017, he bred his best pack mare, WC Desperada (Renaissanse x Katelynn [Half-Arabian]), to WC Ali Gazal (*Gazal Al Shaqab x JE Ali Selene) and the resulting foal is a filly that he absolutely adores. He looks forward to her first trip to New Mexico next year.
“Our daughter Jenna was sitting on a horse with me before she could walk!” Holly adds. “Thank goodness she was born with the ‘I love horses disease’ … and that’s one you never get over! When she wasn’t at school, she was at the barn or riding the mare, Powder, who helped me raise her. Once she went to her first few shows she was hooked and was counting down the days until the next show. Showing is definitely her favorite thing to do with our Arabians! But she also truly enjoys helping foal out the mares, working with the weanlings, and taking all of our photos and videos for marketing. I am so blessed that she enjoys helping me with my breeding program!
“As far as what I enjoy most, that’s an easy one! THE FOALS!”
We visited with Holly
