The Making of a Breeder, 

by Denise Hearst

Rick Richetta grew up in Manteca, California, in the central valley. One of his first words was “horse,” and as he says, “I would go crazy when I saw horses, made my parents stop the car. My first baby shoes were felt cowboy boots. And I have pictures of me in a fringed cowboy jacket. And of course there was the rocking horse and the Breyer horses.

Rick’s lovely acre in the Oakland hills.

“For my fourth birthday I got my first horse, a 16-hand Half-Arabian, not registered, no saddle, not broke, no bridle, the hyper Arabian style, and extremely beautiful. I was thrilled.

…That is the most delightful, thrilling, satisfying, meditative, experience – way beyond any therapy that one could have. 

“I had the luck of being mentored by Harriet Hallonquist, one of the earliest California breeders, and later through a friendship with Arabian horse Scholar Carol Mulder, with whom I continue to correspond. Harriet drove me around and exposed me to the best in Arabian breeding long before I could even drive myself around. My passion for the Arabian horse is my legacy from that experience. Early on I trained horses for Bob MacDonald and was around the get of such horses as *Witez II, Nafa, Nafalla, *Bask, etc. Years later I worked in marketing for Calais Farms, and Mike Nichols, and I junior judged with Pete Cameron, with Juan Stuckey as ring steward.” 

My first Half-Arabian foal, pre-purebreds, in 1973.

Another happy twist of fate was that one of Rick’s neighbors worked in the Middle East, and he imported some desert bred mares for John Rogers, and some for himself. Rick rode some of those desert-bred mares as a five-year-old and on. “My neighbor friend, Margaret, grew up with those horses. We would put beach towels on the mares and ride them bareback and pretend we were Arab riders in the desert.”

When Rick was nine or ten his 4H teacher brought the kids to Christianson Arabians. As he recalls, “They had a historic barn with cobblestones…and a liver chestnut stallion named Justin (Mister Fix x Jovanna). When Justin came out of the barn with his tail over his back I was transported to another world.

 Rick at 16 astride the stallion Amaranth (*Dar x Ambara), who Rick had on a breeding lease. Amaranth sired Naadiah, whose daughter Naatanya (by Grey Foxx), was the dam of Brazilian Champion Mare Jur Gleenchal.

 “When I came home that day I announced to my parents that I was going to breed purebred Arabian horses. I had to work on it for a while but by the time I was 12 I had purchased a purebred Arabian mare on a five-year contract with money from my 4H livestock. Her name was Amhara (Bulls-Zi x Siddiqa), a grandaughter of Ga’zi and Ibn Ferseyn. In those days any Arabian was $5,000. That was a lot of money. I put $500 down and I bred her to *Druzba (Nabor x Druchna). That was was an expensive stud fee – $3,500, and Tom Lazor didn’t cut me a break! But that was a great cross. Amhara’s second foal by *Druzba was Grey Foxx, a successful show horse who sired several champions in performance and halter.”

The stallion Grey Foxx (*Druzba x Amhara).

Today Rick lives on a little over an acre in the Oakland hills. His riding horse, Anteros RG (*Pogrom x SW Forever Passion) stands by, ready to ride the trails. Rick’s young horses, including a two-year-old Aria Rakeem filly, Rakelle CME (Aria Rakeem x Fallan AC), are growing up in a pasture near the Valley. 

“Our horses should be living in pastures with as much space as they can possibly have,” Rick believes. “...where they can socialize and be healthy.

Rick and Anteros enjoying a trail ride in the Oakland hills.

It’s a shame that there aren’t as many real horsemen in the world anymore. Horses are a daily relationship. And they are emotional. And we are emotional, and it changes from day to day. The commitment to that relationship is important. All of my horses have modern bloodlines and they are all trainable and reliable – they are fabulous horses. The stereotypes about the dispositions of certain pedigrees are just not true. You have to create the sanity for them by giving them space, and not keeping them crammed in a stall. They have to be able to breathe, socialize with other horses and develop authentic relationships with other horses. And with you. And that is the most delightful, thrilling, satisfying, meditative, experience – way beyond any therapy that one could have. 

Rick's Aria Rakeem daughter Rakelle CME, happily growing up at Atlas Peak Arabians in a pasture in Napa.

“If I have a bad day, sitting on my horse and riding out onto the trail for hours is transformative. And your focus is on you and your horse. That bond with my horse, and being out in nature, and having my Aussies following us down the trail...that is living my dream. 

“Sometimes I think my life is being run by a 12-year-old’s fantasy. But then I realize how much life is enhanced by my relationships with the horses. They bring depth and quality to my daily existence. 

“What more can you ask for?”