ECAHS now has new Officers and Directors. Here is a little introduction of the Officers. Please welcome them and offer your support in anyway you can.
President-Lisa Littrell
After short stints in Washington and Tennessee, I live in the town of my childhood, Hartselle Alabama with 25 horses, 3 cats, 2 dog, 4 chickens and my elderly Mother.
My first word was “horse” much to my parents’ disappointment. Thinking it might lessen the never ending talk of horses my grandfather was allowed to give me my first horse at 3 years of age. My grandparents lived on a farm as he raised cows and it was there that Sawdust lived. It was a very short walk from our house to PaPa’s and I wore out the path between the two. Being so young when I got her, there is not a time that I don’t remember having a horse or riding. Saw-dust, an Appaloosa, meant the world to me and in my eyes was the most beautiful horse in the world. However photos of her do not confirm this beauty.
My passion for the Arabian horse was fueled by The Black Stallion series by Walter Farley. As a result, I have owned, shown and bred Arabians for over 35 years. My first Arabian was an Az-raff Ferzon bred gelding that was with me till he died at 36. From the very beginning, the horses that caught my eye were of Crabbet breeding. Not too long into my breeding program, founded on mares of Ferzon breeding, AM Canadian Beau drew me to Al Marah Arabians. Today my herd is predominantly Al-Marah breeding with tail female Ferzon mare lines.
Over the past 35 years I have been very active in a local Arabian Club, Tennessee Valley Ara-bian Horse Association (TVAHA), where I was the first President and one of the founding members. I’m TVAHA’s Delegate to Convention and have managed our All Breed Horse show for over 20 years. We are now seeing parents bring their kids to show with us that got their start showing as kids at our show. We feel that the open shows are one of the best avenue to promote and introduce the Arabian horse to children and non-Arabian people
Currently I show in the Arabian Sport Horse disciplines and open Hunter/Jumper. Very recently I have also started riding and competing in Endurance. Might have been wiser to start before I was almost 60 but it is great fun and a challenge. As much as I love competing at heart I’m a breeder and look forward with great excitement to my next 30 years of breeding. To support my horse habit a job is a necessity. With degrees in engineering I currently work for Curtiss Wright selling into the commercial nuclear industry.
It has been a pleasure to attend the Crabbet Celebration over the years and I have a great respect and fondness for the horses and members of ECAHS.
Vice President—Patricia “Patty” Gerdes
Patty is a retired educator after 38 yrs teaching secondary sciences. She has been breeding and showing Skowronek line Arabians since 1984 but has downsized her broodmare band to 8 mares with limited breeding and now concentrates on showing. She operates Pecan Knoll Arabians in Denton, Texas. Patty has been an ECAHS Member for more than ten years and has attended nu-merous Crabbet Celebrations. She has never failed to do any task asked of her at the Celebrations. She has served as Judge for Trail and Mounted Games Classes and has conducted numerous Trail Clinics in conjunction with the Trail Classes. Patty’s Half-Arabian Gelding Maurizio +// retired after 2023 USNationals show. Mario won numerous Scottsdale, Regional, and National awards in English Trail, Western Trail, Ranch Riding, Sport Horse, Dressage, and Hunter Divisions. Patty’s purebred Mare Arabian Cat Ballou PKA +// has won numerous Scottsdale Show, Regionals, and National awards in Ammy and Open English and Western Trail and Ranch Riding, Sport Horse, and Horsemanship classes. Cat and Eagle represent five generations of Patty’s breeding program. Patty’s other Show horses also include Daniels Irish Rose that has won numerous awards at Scotts-dale, Regionals, and Nationals in Country Pleasure and English Show Hack- Including 2023 USEF HOTY National Champion HA Amateur Country Pleasure. Patty has added two KMA Wezterly sired young geldings to her show string. American Eagle PKA is a Working Western Horse that has won numerous awards in the junior horse divisions of Trail and Ranch Riding at Scottsdale, Regionals and Nationals. KMA Identity Theft has after his first year in HA Hunter pleasure won numerous Regional awards.
Secretary-Jody Buttram
My name is Jody Rogers-Buttram. My husband, Joel Buttram and myself live on a working cattle/hay farm in Northern Alabama. We have both been horse people our entire lives. We have one daughter, and she is an RN and also inherited the horse gene.
I was involved in showing Open Hunter/Jumper as a young girl. Not long after I was introduced to the Arabian breed at around the age of eleven, when my parents purchased a CMK bred stallion, named Woden.
At that point my family became involved in the new sport of Endurance Riding. I followed suit a few years later when my young gelding was old enough to compete. I dreamed of being a horse trainer and raising Arabians. Oh, how dreams can come true!
Fast forward to my twenties, I went to farrier school in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. I was still very active in endurance competitions, but always riding a CMK bred horse.
I graduated from the University of North Alabama with a GIS degree and marketing minor and promptly went to work. But I always found time for my horses, breeding a few of my own proven endurance mares to keep me in good horses coming along.
Several years later, I acquired an old stallion that was the sire of several of my successful horses, only to lose him 2 years later. I did, however, get two fillies out of Al Marah bred mares that my good friend Lisa Littrell helped me secure.
At that point, I went on a stallion hunt. I decided to bring in some of the CMK blood from the West coast that wasn’t very prevalent in the East. That’s when I purchased my stallion from the Van Gilder Arabians in northern Oregon. VG Dreams Afar traveled a long way as a 14 month old colt to start his career as a sire, endurance horse and show horse.
I established my Arabian breeding program, 3JFarm Endurance Arabians, combining two very successful and long term programs, Van Gilder and Al Marah bred mares. I breed sport horses and endurance horses. I only breed a select number of foals each year, and my horses have been successful in endurance, and showing successfully at National and Regions levels.
It will be my pleasure to help promote the Crabbet bred Arabian in any way possible serving on this board. I believe that the Crabbet horse is the successful horse for the Arabian Industry’s future.
Directors
Susie Hammond (2024-2026)
Jennifer Neemann(2024-2026)
Dawn Jones-Low(2024-2026)
Pat Bobb (2024-2025)
Carolyn Hasbrook (2024-2025)
Buzz Moore-President Emeritus
Vivian Mack will continue as Treasurer for the time being.