Wisdom from the Breeding Shed with Lori and Peter Conway

by Cindy Reich

“Breed the best to the best and hope for the best,” say Lori and Peter Conway. “This old adage sums up how to breed horses. Successful breeding requires a mental image of what one is striving for. This pertains to all breeding, be it dogs, cattle or horses – all of which we have bred over the years.”

Peter and Lori established Conway Arabians in 2000 and since that time have developed one of the top Arabian breeding programs in the country. They welcomed 26 foals in 2024 and are expecting 16 foals this year. Interestingly, they are based at the old Town and Country Farms/Lasma South in Micanopy, Florida. Re-vitalizing an iconic farm from the heyday of Arabian horse breeding history is a nice way to see another team of great breeders filling the pastures with beautiful Arabian horses. In fact, Lori once worked at Lasma, so things have come full circle. 

“You must have a vision of your ideal Arabian horse, and be willing to make adjustments along the way,” says Lori. “Attitude is fundamental. Arabian horses are revered for their ability to connect and bond with people. As breeders we have a responsibility to preserve that precious disposition. A performance show record is a great barometer of trainability, but that is not the only way to assess a horse’s willingness. The day-to-day interactions with the stallions and the broodmares can tell you a lot.

“Our view is if we are lucky enough to get a replica of either the stallion or the mare, would we be happy with the foal? If the answer is no, then we won’t use them in our program.

“We breed for the saddle seat and western divisions. Clearly, ‘the best’ is quite a different horse between these disciplines, although many desirable attributes apply to both, such as Arabian type, attitude, quality, conformation, and athletic ability.

"Attitude is fundamental.”

“Both of our National Champion Saddle Seat stallions, Coltrane SS (IXL Noble Express x Brassmis) and Prosuasion (SF Specs Shocwave x Mz Kitty), have extreme athletic ability, great attitudes, tons of quality and very similar conformation and Arabian type. However, they have very different pedigrees and consequently each sires their own unique ‘look.’ Our younger stallion is a blend of both bloodlines, as Barrister DGL is sired by Prosuasion and out of Coltrane’s paternal sister, Noble Blitz. Barrister brings a totally different ‘look’ that is really special and we are excited for his first foals to arrive this year.

Our National Reserve Champion Western stallions, Cool River Kid (Sundance Kid V x Moments To Treasure) and Kha Ching CA (Khash PGA x Khachina Juell V) are both very beautiful and built to be successful in the halter, western, and hunter divisions. Both are sired by incredible stallions, but it is the mare lines that assured their success in the breeding shed.

“We love strong tail female lines on both the topside and the bottom side of the pedigree. For us, it is all about the mares, and we own some great stallions!

“AHA’s DataSource is a great tool. Take the time to create a fantasy pedigree and use it to evaluate the extended pedigrees in order to help make sound breeding decisions. Look up the show records of the horses in the pedigree and of full siblings, etc. What have they accomplished? What have they produced or sired? Look at what is working in other breeding programs.

“If we were asked for one bit of advice with which to start a breeding program, it would be to purchase a truly great mare. All the stallions in the world are available to you, so your success is only limited by the quality of the mares you are breeding to. Breed for yourself, breed for horses you believe in. Then, ‘Breed the best to the best and hope for the best.’”

The Conways have bred several National Champions and are proud of every one of them. “The latest superstar we bred is U.S. National Champion AEPA $100,000 class winner, Songwriter CA (Coltrane SS x ROL Fire Mist),” says Lori.

"… if we are lucky enough to get a replica of either the stallion or the mare, would we be happy with the foal? If the answer is no, then we won’t use them in our program.” 

What about the odd disappointments, we wondered? “Breeding and foaling can elicit a wide range of emotions and anxiety, but we wouldn’t trade it for the world,” says Lori.“ We have endless fun discussions about potential breedings, but we normally reach an accord by the time the mare is in heat. It is a tough decision to have a lot of great mares that sit open, because you can’t breed them all.”

And what about matches made in heaven? They answered, “We have four slam dunks: Coltrane SS x ROL Fire Mist, Cool River Kid x Beautiful Juell V, Prosuasion x IXL Noble Express mares, and the Dutch Harness mare Adeline with any stallion.”

As for a happy surprise, the Conways cite the opportunity to buy the incredible mares of Maroon Fire Arabians, the mare Beautiful Juell V and the stallion Prosuasion.

“These additions have elevated our program,” says Peter. “The future looks amazing for our youngsters that are coming up.”