How Dom came to us.

I had been searching the Internet looking at horse web sites and stumbled upon the Gypsy Vanner. It was love at first sight. I knew I just had to have one, how I did not know. I was telling a friend of mine, Rick Sutherland of Sutherland Paint Horses, what I had found and asked him if he had ever heard of this type of horse. He told me he knew some people who owned a couple of them. I couldn't believe my luck. We visited Rick in Ocala, Florida one weekend and he took us over to meet Bill and Joanne at Bit A Both Farm. I thought the pictures of these horses were breath taking; it was even more so in person!! They were everything the web site said and more. Bill and Joanne were so kind and answered all my silly questions about Gypsy Vanners. They took us to their barn and introduced us to Esmerelda and Jasmine. What wonderful horses!! I was in love!! I learned that pictures do not do them justice. I could not describe how I felt after seeing them in pictures for so long and finally seeing them in person. I kept pinching myself when we left. I think I even cried. It was so exciting. We started visiting Ocala quite regularly from that time on, either staying with our friend, Rick or Bill and Joanne. I continued to investigate the ways to acquire one of these beautiful horses, trying to find the best way for me. I kept the dream of having one foremost in my prayers and I knew where there was a will there was a way. April of 2001 I gave Bill and Joanne a deposit for one of Esmerelda's embryo transplants. Unfortunately, no egg was forthcoming after several tries. Joanne decided to try one last time to flush for an egg and still did not retrieve an embryo. At that time we all decided to see if they just missed the embryo. So we waited and prayed and on day 15 we vet checked Esmerelda. And Praise God she was in fact in foal. Our prayers were answered. Yeah!!! It was the longest 11 months I have ever lived through. On July 29th I got a call late at night and was told that Esmerelda was going into labor. I was so excited I could not sleep. The next morning I got a call from Joanne that said that I was the proud owner of a colt. Unfortunately, Esmerelda had some difficulty in delivering. I was very upset, as I had fallen in love with Essie and did not want anything happening to her. I was more concerned with her than the baby. Within a short period of time we were on the road for Ocala. We met Bill and Joanne at the hospital where Essie was being checked out. I saw my baby. He the cutest thing I had ever seen! He was born with no ill effects from the flushing. Praise God!!!   We were in awe of him. He was so tiny and cute. My daughter made the comment that he was "buff" and that he reminded her of Dom from the movie "Fast and Furious". And so he inherited the name Dom. It seemed to fit. I am happy to say that all is well with Esmerelda, and Dom is growing so fast. His temperament is allot like his mothers. He is very quite and calm. And absolutely beautiful. Sometimes I have to pinch myself when I look in my barn and realize that my dream has come true. God answered my prayer and then some. After we brought him home and were watching him in the yard one day we realized he had a perfect "V" under his chin. God marked him with my initial. Dom is now 3 Years old and will be kept a stud for future breeding. My husband wants to put him to the cart, as he gets older. I just want to ride him. But until the time comes for riding, he will be shown in halter, lung line and showmanship events in our local horse shows. We hope you enjoy looking at our web site as much as we enjoyed putting it together for you. We would enjoy hearing from you if you have any questions. Thank you for visiting us. God bless and have a wonderful day.