Kim and Joe Orr – A Breeders’ Life.
By Denise Hearst
Life with horses began for Joe Orr when he was 22, and the manager of a car dealership. “One day a family showed up and wanted to trade in two trail horses for a car. So I sat down with them, and thought, ‘this would be a lot of fun' and I worked out the trade with them.
"I had never ridden a horse before – we grew up poor. Five of us shared a 900 square foot house. I fell in love with trail riding. Kim took English riding lessons at age 11, but her family could only afford three lessons, still, she was in love! In 1984 I purchased an unbroken two-year-old Arabian gelding, TF October Knight (Aristo Kossak x Tambourine). I put him in reining training and he became a multi-National Champion reining horse, and the ride was a blast. Three farms later, we built our current farm: Rose City Arabians in Ridgefield, Washington.”
"We set up the whole place so that we could live with our horses."
“When Joe retired he was bored, so he leased a mare, and one thing led to another,” says Kim. “I had always wanted to have a farm life, so I was happy.”
Rose City Arabians is the culmination of over 30 years of studying and loving the Arabian horse. Perhaps the Orrs’ best-known mare was Jasminia AS (Soul of Marwan AS x Jasmine Love NA), who was crowned 2020 Scottsdale International Gold Champion Junior Mare and 2021 World Cup Supreme Gold Champion Senior Mare.
Her recent sale to Royal Arabians was bittersweet for Joe and Kim. “Jasminia AS is an ethereal Arabian,” says Joe. “Black-bay with big round eyes, very correct with 20s for motion. She is a nine out of 10 for us but mostly it is her aura of royalty and ethereal presence that touches her fans. We decided to sell her to Royal Arabians as we have bred her replacement – the 2023 show-stopper filly Joie Di Vie Rose by Aria Rakeem. We retained two frozen embryos from Jasminia. As a boutique breeding farm, we must make responsible, but difficult decisions. Selling Jasminia was a tough one.
The mare Jasminia AS (Soul Of Marwan x Jasmin Love NA) was recently sold to Royal Arabans.
“Joie Di Vie is exactly what we hoped for in a filly of hers,” continues Joe. “She is dark bay with a beautiful hip and loin, a short back and long neck (very unusual) and a very pretty short and beautiful head. We will have professional photos taken this summer to share with the world. She has been playing and enjoying her herd and life at Rose City. We are in no hurry with this one. She will debut in 2025.”
Joie De Vie Rose (Aria Raheem x Jasminia AS).
Jasminia AS and her 2023 filly Joie De Vie Rose by Aria Rakeem.
The Orrs also sold Aria Raya (Baha AA x Rhianna FFW), and kept her 2022 daughter Raya Sunshine by Aria Rakeem – Scottsdale and U.S. National Reserve Champion Stallion. Rakeem is owned by a partnership that includes the Orrs.
The exquisite torture of selling horses you love was not lost on the Orrs. “It’s difficult,” Joe says. “These two treasured mares were hard to part with – we loved them dearly. But when foals are better than their dams, it’s a tough decision. And the older I get, the harder that decision becomes, especially when you build a relationship with them. Kim and I even contemplated buying forty acres in Santa Ynez so that our horses could stay with us forever.”
"It was when we befriended Bart Van Buggenhout that our breeding lessons all began to take shape."
The Orrs also dabbled in a stallion lease a few years ago, purchasing fifty percent of the stallion Enotri EEA (Shanghai EA x Enjoy E), with Enzo International owning the other fifty percent. They then leased Enotri to Al Shaqab Stud in Qatar. “We had big plans for Enotri,” says Joe, “Beginning with Michael Byatt showing him to 2016 Scottsdale International Reserve Champion Junior Colt in his first show, to being the first U.S. stallion to be leased by Al Shaqab Stud. Once his lease was up, he went to Italy to rest and play before his next lease to the UAE. Sadly, Enotri was lost in a farm accident in Italy. We have Enotri semen which we plan on using on our Rakeem daughters. We sold his daughter, Stella Rosa RC (x Estella Di Enzo), to a dear friend and honored breeder in Australia – Zarah Crawford. Stella is due to foal soon to a promising young Om El stallion, Om El Maximus (Magic Magnifique x Om El Bint Beneera), and we could not be more excited for Zarah.”
With the Orrs’ part ownership of Aria Rakeem, they have enjoyed “an amazing ride!” says Joe. “And it’s going to get even more fun as he enters western pleasure training in the future. We are expecting more foals from exceptional mares, and we, as a partnership, are not going to push. We are going to let the foals show their quality as they grow in their unique ways, getting better every year as Rakeem did. Rakeem has more attributes in one stallion than we have seen on any stallion in of our travels. With a breeding stallion you must search for balance and correct structure, and if you're lucky, an extreme feature that fits your perfect vision and can benefit your mares. In Rakeem's case his long neck and short back, added to his beautiful head and long croup make him unique. To this day, Rakeem is as close to ideal as we have ever seen. We have a wonderful team of five partners who all joined the team after one look at this amazing horse. Both Kim and I decided our goal is to have three of the world’s best Rakeem daughters to breed in pursuit of our vision. It's a long play.”
The stallion Enotre EEA (Shanghai EA x Enjoie) was on lease to a group of breeders, including the Orrs, before his untimley death. The Orrs plan to use Enotre semen in the future.
The Orrs are part of the group ownership of the stallion Aria Rakeem (FA Elrasheem x MN Habit Allal).
"In halter horses, you have to play in the top one percent."
Reflecting on the harsh realities of the horse business, Joe acknowledges regrets. “I wish that I had slowed down early on, and visited more breeding programs and listened to all the different ideologies…but we didn’t…and paid the price. No matter how much you love the horses, or trainer or breeder, you have to spend time, especially at this level of investment, and not just in terms of money. It’s important to get educated. We finally learned that in halter horses, you have to play in the top one percent. You must have a clear vision of your ideal Arabian in order to achieve the ultimate goal of Scottsdale, World Cup and ultimately Paris/Qatar World Champion. We have learned to seek mentors and have had many, for which we are grateful. We have traveled the world and spent time studying many collections, and listening to the world’s best breeders.
"The horses are family animals. They are my Zen time."
“It was when we befriended Bart Van Buggenhout that our breeding lessons all began to take shape. Bart took us, and friends, on an unforgettable European farm tour. There we met Johanna Ullstrom and Jeremy Malou – what a treat that was. We also visited Steve and Kirsty Patrick at their Redwood Lodge Stud. We now own one very special mare at Redwood Lodge: RL Mahaliaa (RL Ecuador x Redwood Lodge Samsara). The arrangement enables us to more easily take advantage of European stallions.
Peak happiness – Kim and the newborn colt, Shariq Rose (Mahder Al Jamal x Sarra Aljassimya). “He is one of only two colts in 30 years that we feel has stallion potential.”
“Our barn has never been so full of beauty, and it is wonderful to watch the dream foals come to fruition. We have six stalls. Our goal is to have three ideal broodmares and no more than six horses at a time. Today we have two broodmares – Sarra Aljassimya by Al Ayal, and RL Mahaliaa (RL Ecuador x Redwood Lodge Samsara) in France, and the third broodmare will be our two-year-old filly, Raya Sunshine (Aria Rakeem x Aria Raya by Baha AA). ‘Sunshine’ has a global fan club already.”
The mare RL Mahaliaa (RL Ecuador x Redwood Lodge Samsara) resides at Redwood lodge in France.
RL Mahaliaa (RL Ecuador x Redwood Lodge Samsara)
Sarra Aljassimya (Al Ayal AA x Safiqua Aljassimya). "She has been a homerun mare for us," says Joe.
The 2022 filly Raya Sunshine (Aria Rakeem x Aria Raya by Baha AA).
“Kim and I even contemplated buying acreage in Santa Ynez so that our horses could stay with us forever.”
This year the Orrs welcomed two of the best foals they have ever produced. “We have bred many colts in 30 years, but only two met the highest standards needed for stallion potential," says Joe. "This year's colt is Shariq Rose out of Sarra Aljassimya and sired by Mahder Al Jamal (Nader Al Jamal x Mahity El Jamaal). We also welcomed a filly out of Sarra Aljassimya by AJ Radman (AJ Marwan x AJ Rahifa), and the world will soon see her. Her name is Satine Rose.
“We feel as though we have finally arrived as breeders after 30 years, and we have our sights set on breeding a World Champion. We may have a serious competitor in our AJ Radman filly out of Sarra Aljassimya. We have people flying in from all over the world to see her…but we may be a bit prejudiced.
“We love showing, but we are stepping away from showing babies…I want them to have a good full year as youngsters. Even though we have soft and gentle trainers, they are still stuck in a stall…it just doesn’t feel right.” This from the breeders who make sure their recipient mares are treated like show mares during their year-long sabatical at Rose City Arabians.
Satine Rose (AJ Radman x Sarra Aljassimya).
The 2024 colt Shariq Rose (Madhar Al Jamal x Sarra Al Jassimya) with Joe.
“Going forward, we now have a level of quality that gives us the luxury of not not caring whether our foals are colts or fillies. And on another note, we are going to try to not use recipient mares going forward – we’d rather let our mares carry their own foals. This year we did an ICSI procedure with Jasminia AS – we had sold her with an embryo right, and we wanted filly semen.”
"We are going to let the foals show their quality as they grow in their unique ways, getting better every year."
The Orrs constructed a trail course on their property. All their mares are broke to ride. “We have all the obstacles you would encounter on the trails,” says Joe. “Once they master the course, there’s no place you can’t take them.”
It's clear that Joe and Kim have succumbed to the power of the Arabian…having built their lives and property around them. They situated their house so that the paddock fence comes to within a few feet of their windows. “We love to have our coffee out on the deck,” says Kim. “We can see all the mares and foals ... and in those moments we are connected. We set up the whole place so that we could live with our horses.”
“They are family animals; they are my Zen time,” Joe says. “For us, championships are thrilling, but foaling time is magical. The horses are our family life. Our friends, neighbors and family enjoy all of the wonder right alongside us. And we wouldn’t have it any other way."
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| For the Orrs, foaling season is a magical time – you can hear their emotions in this video. The filly is by AJ Radman and out of Sarra Aljassimya. "This filly is pretty spectacular and causing quite a stir,” says Joe. |
