About the Owners

A true animal lover and humanitarian, Billie has served as the President of her county’s Humane Society, and has placed several “pound puppies” on her own farm over the years, as well as a crippled calf, several breeds of chickens and ducks, and a multitude of cats! She’ll tell you the best pet she ever had was her ferret Jennifer, who she lost to cancer, but her newest dog, Buddy, a Miniature Schnauzer who was a birthday gift from Rick in 2006, has stolen her heart! Billie is a Senior Research Assistant and Webmaster with a state policy research agency.

Rick (pictured here in Phoenix in 2004 during his first visit with the straight Russian mare Kalika, dam of US Reserve National Champion and legendary world-class sire Padrons Psyche) is a true horseman who brings energy and drive to the management of the farm. As a professional musician and chef, he learned early to entertain and host guests and visitors, a talent that complements Billie's more solitary and analytical nature. His early love of horse racing contributed to the couple's purchase of their only Thoroughbred mare and their research into Arabian racing. Rick is also pictured below during his most recent visit with Kalika when we visited her owners in Cave Creek in February 2007.

Rick and Billie currently share their 42-acre farm with 2 purebred Arabians, 2 dogs, and several cats. They also own their own Internet-based referral businesses.