Featured in Arabian Horse Times
Dolorosa Arabians, which has been led by founders Dr. DeCarol and Jan Williamson, for more than 40 years is rooted in their faith and family values. These are two things that they look for in the professionals they work with. Matt Siemon of Siemon Stables, who trains the family’s English horses, was a natural fit for these reasons. He is a second-generation horse trainer, who places the love for his family above all other things.
That is not to say that these are the only qualities that drew the family to send their horses from North Carolina to Ohio. Siemon’s impressive show record and their inherent ability to trust him rang in closely behind as reasons to begin working together. Jordan Cline, one of Williamsons’ daughters who actively shows many of the DA horses, said they all felt like the Siemons became family very quickly.
In addition to being aligned with their personal beliefs, which are vitally important to both parties, they also agree about how to best approach training.
“Our goals are to make progress, not find perfection” Cline said behalf of Dolorosa Arabians in regard to their expectations. “We want to allow ourselves and our horses the time to learn and grow together. We have a great group of saddle seat horses and are excited to see them progress under Matt’s direction.”
Unprompted, Siemon gave the Dolorosa Arabians families a compliment for just this perspective that Cline previously mentioned. He commended them for letting each horse develop on their own timeline without unnecessary pressure to be “show ready” at a predetermined time. There are currently five horses owned by Dolorosa Arabians living at Siemon Stables: Inspector DGL, After Afire BF, CF Dressed In Style, Millionheiress CA and Black Majeic. The horses cross all English/Country English disciplines, providing a variety that also motivates the trainer.
“Dolorosa Arabians owns a variety of quality and talented horses,” Siemon stated. “It is exciting to work with the horses, and wonderful to work with a family who shares the same values as us.”
Although he feels all their horses truly have their own unique, and objectively, good qualities, Siemon did highlight their young stallion Inspector DGL as being one he was particularly excited for. He feels like the five-year-old horse has lots of show ring and breeding potential.
As a farm who does tons of breeding across all disciplines, it is no surprise that Dolorosa Arabians has a vested interest in the future of their breeding in the English divisions. According to Cline, Inspector will be the main source of English blood for their program.
“Breeding English horses used to be the heart of Dolorosa Arabians,” Cline said about the farm’s past of breeding some of the greats like DA Tristen, DA Atlas, and DA Avant Guardian. “It is a mix of nostalgia and excitement to see our horses trot through the in gates again. The excitement in the stands and the energy in the arena of those classes brought us back.”
Something that is consistent across all the horses Dolorosa Arabians breeds is the desire to produce beautiful horses without compromising athleticism. Many of their horses who go on to do western, hunter, and sport horse started in the halter arena. Cline was excited to share that they have already had two half-arabian foals by DA Tripoli who they think will be great additions to the competitive English divisions. Moving forward, they plan to use Inspector DGL to generate their Country English/English stock.
With the alignment of the Williamson and Siemon families, it is no doubt that the English division will continue to be blessed by their horses and talents.
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