B2—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 21,1984
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Women operate Arabian horse farm
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Mary Jo stands with her favorite, Jazz. One of Copy's
daughters, Jazz is a dapple grey, half-Arabian mare.
Rita and Mary Jo take care of all the barn chores themselves. They also built a riding
ring to use for training this past winter.
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Mary Jo and Rita sit with their dogs and Lester, the cat who thinks he’s a dog. Rita
raises the boxers and the Doberman belongs to Mary Jo.
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CENTERPORT Do you like
lots of horses, dogs and cats? If the
answer is yes, you would love to
visit the brown barn sitting on a
hill above Centerport. Owner and
operated by four devoted animal
lovers, the stables of the Spate
family features Arabian horses,
boxer dogs, a Doberman, a pug,
and many, many cats. It also
displays female dominance,
female labor, and the female love
for animals.
Although Dolores, “Dolly”
Spate, owns the farm her daughter,
Rita, and friend, Mary Jo Brown,
are the principle operators of the
boarding stables and breeding
operation. With 11 horses of their
own, three ponies, and several
“boarders”, the two girls are
working on expanding their
business to include more training
of outside horses. Still mostly a
hobby, the girls devote all of their
spare time to training and selling
their young stock and mating their
mares.
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Both girls are sold on Arabian
horses. They do a lot of trail riding
and insist on training all of then
horses to travel quietly in trailers,
pass by any obstacles, and give a
smooth, pleasurable ride. Ac
cording to the girls, Arabians are
the only breed of horse that meets
their requirements.
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“It has to have good con
formation,” Mary Jo says about
selecting a horse.
“It must be an Arabian,” Rita
adds.
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BY ROBIN PHILLIPS
Staff Correspondent
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prepares a shoe to fit the horse at her anvil
favorite boxer, Tabor, stays with her constantly.
According to Mary Jo Arabians
are versatile and can satisfy
anybody’s needs in a horse.
The girls are working hard to
establish a small, selective
Arabian breeding farm. One of the
highlights in the bam is the dapple
grey, Egyptian-bred stallion, Fa-
Rousse Black Copy. “Copy” is
Rita’s pride and joy and is ridden
solely by her.
Trained her competitive trail
riding, Rita and Copy took fourth
place ribbons in their first try at
competition last summer. A show
winner before he was retired to
stud service, “Copy” reigns as
king over the mares at the stables
and also services a few select
outside mares each year.
“Dorana”, a Crabbet-bred
Arabian, belongs to Dolly and is
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Rita stands with the pride of her stable, Fa-Rousse Black
Copy, and Egyptian-bred Arabian stallion.
(omesipad
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another highlight of the farm.
“Dorana” recently gave birth to a
black colt by Copy, whom the girls
have high hopes for.
Rita comes with a
knowledgeable background on
animals. A veterinary assistant for
nine years with a local
veterinarian, Rita splits her time
between the busy clinic and her
stables. She also spent three years
supervising her father’s feed mill
operation in Centerport. A horse
and pony person for her entire life,
R|ta says horses are her first love.
Her first pony, Bobby, purchased
by her father when she was five
years old, still resides on the farm.
Rita’s two nieces, Amy and Laura,
enjoy riding Bobby with Rita.
In addition to being a veterinary
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