| Little Valley Quarter Horses | | A Modern Day Equine Ranch That`s ALL About Horses! | | 5/10/2010 | | | Little Valley Quarter Horses
Decker, Manitoba, Canada
www.littlevalleyqh.com
A passion for horses is one thing Greg and Faye Little have always had in common. Even before they were married, their early lives centered around horses.
The Littles, of Little Valley Quarter Horses in Decker, Manitoba, Canada, have been a horse family from Day One, and it`s easy to see why. Growing up, Faye belonged to a gymkhana club and competed in gymkhana`s around the area and Greg always had trail riding horses. Greg`s father Bill raced Standardbreds on the Manitoba Standardbred racing circuit and also stood at stud a Quarter Horse stallion Dialapage, a horse that showed in halter and reining.
It was only natural that Greg and Faye`s horse passion would carry on after they were married in 1978 when Little Valley Quarter Horses was established and their breeding program started by raising a few quarter horse foals sired by Dialapage for showing at local fairs.
It wasn`t until the Little`s children arrived, Devon in 1981 and Christine in 1984, that their lives with horses really took off. Faye remembers, "We showed at local fairs as a family. The kids went into every class they could possibly enter, enjoying the costume class the most until they decided they were way too old for anything like that! My favourite costume was "The Little Stinkers" which saw the kids dressed as skunks riding a black pony which was also dressed as a skunk. We had a lot of fun in those days!"
As time passed and life got busier, Devon`s interest in horses faded and he became an avid hockey player, snowboarder and barefoot skier. Christine, however, kept her enthusiasm with horses.
This is when the Littles decided to purchase "an over our budget gelding" in order for Christine to learn to ride expertly. With the guidance of Gail McQuaker from Virden, Manitoba, and Sandy Assman from Grenfell, Saskatchewan, the Littles embarked on a very exciting and special time of their lives. Their goal was to provide Christine the opportunity to acquire skills good enough to compete in the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) World Championship Show.
As the years passed, the Littles went from showing in local fairs and 4-H clubs to showing at AQHA shows in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. During this time Ayerst Organics had decided to open up pregnant mares` urine (PMU) contracts to the public.
Greg said, "We grabbed the opportunity to submit an application in the hopes of being accepted as equine ranchers. At that time, I was working as a surveyor for the government and grain farming as well. Faye had quit her job at the local credit union. It meant a drastic change in our lives but we loved horses so much that we were willing to take the plunge and change our life style completely. We realized that this would also mean we could work with horses - our passion that we had had all of our lives. When we received our acceptance letter we were simply ecstatic! Our energy level was high and we couldn`t wait to get started. With much thought we decided to put a little extra money into purchasing all registered breeding stock which create demand from buyers for our high quality foals. We had always been Quarter Horse entheusiasts so we decided to build our ranch around that breed. We built our first PMU barn in 1991."
At this same time, Christine was showing a mare called Howdy Folks at AQHA shows throughout Manitoba and Saskatchewan. She eventually made the mare an AQHA Youth Champion. Having exposure on the AQHA circuit helped advertise Little Valley Quarter Horse Ranch and keep its name known. Christine needed a small show barn for her horses so her parents added on an addition which now houses a breeding chute/wash rack, an artificial insemination room and three large box stalls. This was followed by a large indoor arena in 2001.
In 2002, the equine ranching industry experienced growth which made it necessary to expand, so the Littles extended their existing facility which today houses up to 80 mares.
Because of their involvement in the AQHA show arena, it seemed natural for the Littles to build their breeding program around the Western Pleasure show horse. Their deep knowledge of this discipline enabled them to market and promote the resulting foals they bred with confidence. Since those early days, the Little Valley Quarter Horse breeding program has branched off into working cow and reining horse pedigrees, and now have standing at stud Dueling Chic, a son of Smart Chic Olena.
At a very young age, both Devon and Christine were heavily involved in the equine ranching day to day operations, and Christine continues to play an essential role, says Faye.
"From day one both kids helped us out on the ranch. As their public schooling came to a close, Devon looked into a career in Civil Engineering, which he is close to completing now. Christine got her Arts degree majoring in Psychology."
"With her horses still in her heart, Christine came back to the ranch to train, show and care for them," Faye adds. "She holds her Novice AQHA Judging Card, trains and shows client horses and performs numerous clinics for the general public. She is also a director with the Manitoba Quarter Horse Association. Christine has become essential for both the promotion and care of our horses as well as a very important to our equine reproduction program."
The Little`s artificial insemination (AI) program was started in 2005 involving two of their stallions, Impulsions By Mail and Only Gold Invitation. Today they have expanded that program to involve Dualing Chic. With the use of an ultra-sound machine, their mare`s conception rate has been around 95%. Semen is also shipped on these stallions.
It takes two to make the AI program work and that is where Greg becomes a major player. Along with the maintenance and ranch work, he also works with the ultra-sound machine and manages the stallions in the AI program. Besides working on the ranch, Greg serves as president of the North American Equine Ranching Association (NAERIC), sits on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Quarter Horse Association, is Sales Director for the Manitoba SuperHorse 50/50 Assoc., and is president of the Decker Community Church. Any spare time he has you can see him competing in the Select or Amateur Classes in AQHA shows or driving his 1994 blue Corvette. He is also a NASCAR buff!
When their equine ranching operation first started, Faye was deeply involved in the running of the barn and general ranch work but in the past few years her job has become that of a secretary and chief sales manager. She registers all of the foals with breed registries, contacts sales leads on the Internet, manages the ranch`s website and generally keeps Little Valley Quarter Horses involved in all venues of sales for their horses whether it is futurities, incentive fund programs or advertising. Along with her ranch involvement, Faye is the Treasurer of the Manitoba SuperHorse 50/50 Organization and Treasurer of Decker Community Church.
Faye says, "We generally sell around 70 head of foals each year. Eighty percent of these foals are sold off the ranch, which includes Internet sales. We use several methods to sell horses on the Internet. Keeping the website current is a must! Some of our customers come directly to the ranch and purchase foals but most buyers are willing to purchase by pictures or video posted on our web site at www.littlevalleyqh.com."
"We sell all over North America and will transport many of our foals to their destinations. The best advertisement is "word of mouth" that is why it is so important to sell with honesty and integrity. The horse world is small and word gets around fast," explained Faye.
"It is very important to advertise, and get your horses out in the show world. Make sure people know you are there! Five percent of our foals are sold through fall futurity sales in Brandon, Manitoba, in the hopes that in a few years we will see them coming back and competing for monetary prizes. The other 15% of the foals we raise each year are sold in a private auction sale in Selby, Ontario," adds Faye.
As equine ranchers, the Littles` foals are registered with the North American Equine Ranching Information Council (NAERIC) and are eligible for cash rewards through the NAERIC Advantage incentive program when competing in approved events. Two horses bred by the Littles, Feel The Impulse and Impulsive Tye, have earned over $80,000.00 in NAERIC Advantage rewards. In 2009, two of the top five NAERIC Advantage money earners two of our horses "Feel The Impulse", 3rd ($4860.00) and "Secure The Goods", 4th ($4735.00) were in the top 5 NAERIC Advantage Money Earners.
The Littles are now finding that people are catching on to this buying incentive program and are asking to purchase their NAERIC registered horses because they are eligible to win Advantage rewards.
In closing, Greg says, "The future looks bright for the equine ranching industry and with that thought in mind our goal is to provide excellent hormone therapy products for our consumers worldwide and well-bred horses to buyers throughout North America. Little Valley Quarter Horses will continue to improve in quality. We strive to produce attractive, athletic, good-minded individuals that will satisfy the most scrutinizing buyer, as well as continuing to improve on the quality of pedigrees, keeping in mind the changing equine industry. Thank you to the equine ranching industry for opening up a whole new world for us!"
Little Valley Quarter Horse Buyer Profiles/Testimonials
"I still have every one of the horses I purchased from you and wouldn`t change a thing at all in any one of them. They are beautiful, have great confirmation and I couldn`t ask for better temperaments."
Brenda Smith, Gilbert, Arizona
"Dean & Christa Shipley come and stay with us for a few days and pick out their foals. We pick them up at the Winnipeg Airport. We have made such good friends selling horses!"
Shipley Quarter Horses, Amherst, Nova Scotia
"You have the BEST ranch ever!! Mail N The Chocolate aka Joker, is doing amazing, he is a really good foal!"
Heather Woodcock, Manitoba 4-H member, Minnedosa, Manitoba
"It seems like every time we take Dakota someplace, people comment on what a great horse he is. They either like his color, or his personality, or both. Spirit, our other horse from your ranch, is such a good horse to work with and is really level headed says Bruce our trainer."
Jim & Diana McCoid, Apache Junction, Arizona
Little Valley Quarter Horse Breeding Program Successes and Accomplishments
Three Canadian National Champions (Pleasure Driving, Halter, Western Pleasure)
Canadian National Appaloosa Longe Line Champion
MRCHBA Longe Line Champion (2)
Maturity Champion
Numerous Halter Championships
| | | | |
|
