David and Annabella Gelbard:
Owners

"This is my signature as a breeder: I'm all about type. Beautiful faces, beautiful bodies, and great motion. And this ideal informs my dream for Brookville: a farm that excels in breeding, showing, and marketing great Arabian horses." That's Annabella Gelbard musing on the future as she introduces new staff and as she says, "It's a whole new page. A new era. Totally!"

As David and Annabella Gelbards' Brookville Arabians LLC, in Scottsdale Arizona enters its eight year, Annabella is kicking things up a notch.
A newcomer to Brookville is Ally Nelson, Farm Manager. Ally is just a super girl, says Annabella. I was thrilled that both she is family oriented. Meeting Ally, her husband and son showed me a great family connection. Its nice to have people around me who share my values.

For Annabella, the farm allows her to express herself as an Arabian breeder, marketer, and entertainer (I'm a party girl - its nice for clients to have a good time when the come to see their horses!). I enjoy owning Brookville Arabians, LLC. It's my baby, she says. I love knowing that my horses and my clientshorses are in a very safe, clean and loving environment.I like the fact that people come and compliment the facility and our staff. I love the breeding aspect - I like to see the foals being born and I like towatch them grow. I like to see them move on and go to good homes. To know that you've marked a really good horse and it's gone on to win and makes its owner proud and happy - that's the part of the business I really like. And of course I have met some incredible people through this business and I enjoy that.

Head sire status at Brookville goes to the fancy Ames Charisma (Magnum Psyche x Ames Mirage), clearly Annabella's special pet. When I first me Charisma as a foal I gravitated to his big bulgy eyes. I'm an eye person. I like people to look me in the eye when they talk to me. You see the soul of the person through the eyes, and that's what I saw in Charisma. When a horse or a person is unforgettable that means they're interesting and exciting and they have a lot to offer.

That's Charisma. He's never let me down. He has a following - people who love to breed to him year after year, like Rhoda Coleal who just absolutely loves him and breeds the same mare to him every year.

Charisma is just as his name implies - charismatic and full of himself. He responds to situations, and I like that about him because I can read him. I know when he's upset, I know when he's down in the dumps, and I know when he's happy. HE shows you that.
During Scottsdale this year (2011), we had visitors at the farm, a group of gentlemen from Bahrain. They asked to see Charisma and when we brought him out they were mesmerized by him. They took pictures with him; they were so happy - they made phone calls to their friend in Bahrain who owns a Charisma daughter. They said they're going to go home happy knowing that they've seen a classic Arabian. That was a beautiful statement from those people. It made my day.

Annabella breeds six to eight foals per year. Among her favorite broodmares is the Pardons Psyche daughter LC Pirouette (x WN Sultress). She is awesome. All of her foals have sold easily either domestically or overseas. Other favorites are *Penny Carol (Lethyf El Jamaal x Harlekyne) and Ciara Bey (Bey Shah x TW Forteyna).

The farm life is vastly different from the Gelbard's busy life in New York as parents of three beautiful children. Her daughter Makenzie is interested in horses while their middle boy is into computer games and the oldest son is a musician, he likes rock music and guitars. My husband loves horses, well, actually he loves all animals.
Looking into the future, Annabella hopes to see her daughter running Brookville one day. A team of good honest and happy clients, great Arabian horses, beautiful faces, bodies, and motion - That's what Id like to carry on with until I hand the reins to my daughter.

Click here to view the Gelbard's original profile story.