BreyerFest Feature: Chase N It Farm!

Horses with color and chrome are beautiful, and they are perfect when they are paired with great conformation and usability. This has been the mission of Chase N It Farm since it was established by Cherie Lonas, whose dream had always been to own and raise horses. Located in South Dakota, the farm has been home to many of the striking white marked purebred and partbred Arabians that have sparked the imagination and creativity of equine artists, model horse collectors, and painters. Together with her husband, Shawn, they have had years of breeding and showing success, with their horses exported around the world, including Australia, Switzerland, and England!

 Traditionally, Arabian horses have been known to be solid colors, with chrome possibilities such as wide blazes and white stockings. Anything else was met with skepticism, including white markings on the body, or blue eyes. However, this has been a fallacy, as the Arabian breed has always had the genetics to have more extensive white patterns. Chase N It Farms has been able to put these white marked horses on the map in the show ring!

Cherie's program started with Rhocky Rhoad, a stunning colt by Khartoon Khlassic out of PC Padrona Bey. A bright classic bay, he also sported three high white socks, a broad blaze, and white markings over his whole coat. Through testing of one of his foals, Rhevelation, it was discovered that these white markings were the product of a newly testable white pattern gene. Discovered by the University of Bern in Switzerland, the gene was designated as “white spotting 15” or W15, as the genetics did not match any other white spotting pattern that had already been assigned! Rhocky Rhoad was an International Sweepstakes nominated sire, and the winner of the 3-Year Old Prospects In Hand USDF Breeders Championship Series.

Rhocky Rhoad's progeny have had success in the show ring worldwide. One such stallion is Rhoad Rave, another full Arabian with the W15 gene. Owned by James and Stephanie Callesto, with the barn name Harley, this stallion has made his mark in Arabian shows, Color Breed Congress (a rare place to see a purebred Arabian!), Western Dressage Circuits, and has been featured in the Equestrian Magazine. Road Rhave was a 2019 Pinto World Champion, 2019 Pinto Reserve World Champion, 2019 Pinto World Halter, and was a USEF Regional Reserve Champion Horse of the Year!

Eleven Hundred Miles, another colt by Rhocky Rhoad, is a black purebred Arabian who also carries the W15 gene. Born in 2019, this foal has a sentimental backstory to his name, based off of Cherie's late father. He was a World War II Prisoner of War, and escaped eight times. When he made it to friendly territory, he measured out how far he had walked on a map, which came out to 1,100 miles. Cherie's father said that he never walked a straight line in an effort to not be recaptured, hence his barn name, “Walker.” Walker was born just a few days after Cherie's father was laid to rest.

Another foal by Rhocky Rhoad born at Chase N It Farms is this year's BreyerFest’s very own Rheverence+! Rhev is a partbred, though genetically over 92% Arabian. At only five years old, this boldly-pattered overo buckskin has shown he has what it takes to make a lasting mark in both the Part Arab and Pinto show ring, earning two Pinto Horse Association World Championships, the Half Arabian Legion of Honor, the Western Dressage Association's 2020 Register of Merit, and the 2020 Western Dressage Reserve Champion at the region 9 championships. With all of this, he also shows in Hunter and English pleasure. Rhev is proudly owned by Daniel Davis and Hallie Anders. 

Chase N It Farm's legacy already has made their mark on the Arabian and Part Arabian horse world, and we all can expect even more great things to come from this dedicated program!