The Cole Family Breeding Program and History

The Coles got their start in Arabian horses 50 years ago when 3 year old Jessica went off to nursery school.  She quickly became best friends with Anneliese Heber, whose parents, Rick and Ann, were the owners of Ranchara and very prominent breeders in the 1970s.

Before long, both sets of parents of the two young girls had become friends, with Professor David Cole and Professor Rick Heber finding they had a lot in common in the academic world, and both families having a love of quality animals.  Bevra Cole had taken extensive riding lessons as a girl and had always wanted a horse of her own, so she was immediately drawn to the Hebers’ horse operation.

One night after a social dinner, Rick Heber invited the Coles out to the barn to ride Bu, his personal riding horse.  Bu turned out to be Spruce Nabu, a daughter of Cedardell’s famed National winning Halter and Park stallion Habu.  Spruce Nabu was out of a daughter of Canadian National Champion Stallion Mishma, and the cross with Habu integrated some of the best Crabbet-Kellogg-Maynesboro and Davenport foundation lines to be found in America.

Prior to the Hebers’ ownership, Spruce Nabu had won the Kettle Moraine 50 Mile Endurance Ride as a pregnant four year old, a win achieved partly because she was willing to ford a river that most of the other horses refused and had to go around.  She had also been used to round up the neighbor’s wayward Charlois bull, a nasty creature who made a habit of getting out, but Spruce Nabu always made him go home.

One ride was all it took.  Bev Cole was enchanted with Spruce Nabu’s gameness and responsiveness under saddle and she and Dave found a way to buy her.  Spruce Nabu happened to be pregnant, and having the foal the next spring was so much fun that a breeding program was born, and she was sent back to the Hebers’ early Egyptian imports, *Tuhotmos, *Farazdac, and *Moatasim for one beautiful, athletic, great-minded foal after another for many years.

These early Cole bred horses proved to be easy for the amateur owner to handle and work with, and those that were shown were quite competitive in both Halter and a number of Performance divisions, including English, Western, Dressage, and Competitive Distance. 

Importantly, the Coles quickly established a “look” that was synonymous with their name on the papers as breeder.  The horses all had a very authentic, out-of-the-Desert type, outstanding shoulder and chest construction, high set, well-shaped necks, short backs, great tail carriage, good legs and feet, and wonderful, low-set hocks that ensured easy athletic ability under saddle.

Now, eight generations out from Spruce Nabu, Jessica continues the family tradition with descendants of those original horses, incorporating some of the modern lines via Varian/Shea/Maroon Fire breeding.  The results are exceptional, retaining the original elements that defined the “Cole Family Look,” but with some added elegance and ability through the most proven English bloodlines the world has ever known.   We invite your visit to inspect, evaluate, and discuss.