I am Susan Mayo and my SOF story began when I was a child under the tutelage of Linda Tellington. Linda had the SOF stallions Lothar and Darecho on her Pacific Coast Equestrian Research Farm and I was her student apprentice. Lothar was used at stud, as well as being shown endurance and he was even used to teach kids how to groom and tack up since he was so sweet and gentle. Linda also had the SOF mare Bint Gulida and I was part of Linda's crew as she competed in endurance finally winning the Jim Shoulder's ride with a record breaking 13 hours and 13 minutes.

Although it would be years before I was able to actually have my own SOF horses, I fell in love with them at this time, and from that point on all of my horses had as much SOF blood as I could afford to obtain.

In the early seventies I found out from a friend of mine that Lothar was in Arkansas with Walter Schimanski. I tracked down his phone number and called him that very evening. The next weekend I was in Cove meeting Walter for the first time, and rekindling the love I had for Lothar. This was the beginning of a friendship that grew very precious to me.

In the mid-eighties I was visiting Walter and I was teasing him about how none of his wonderful horses were trained. I have been a lifetime dressage and hunter jumper rider, and I ride everything. Walter had a little bay stallion that was about 18 months old, and I was really taken with this boy because he was a Lothar grandson. I jokingly suggested to Walter that I take this stallion home and train him and then later, when Walter was ready to use him, he would be proven as a performance horse. Walter shocked me by readily agreeing! I had actually been kidding, but t he more we talked about it, the more we both liked the idea. The little stallion was my precious Tucky (Masada El Rabdan). Tucky is a *Tuhotmos son out of Walter's wonderful mare Masada Dahmah whom many folks refer to as one of the most lovely Babson mares ever to live.

I knew about *Tuhotmos, but only by reputation and I had never really had anything to do with him or any of his offspring. The thing that attracted me to Tucky was his Lothar blood. After taking Tucky home to Texas and starting his training, I found out that this horse was truly special even in comparison to the Babson horses that are legendary for their wonderful dispositions and trainability. In no time Tucky had learned his lessons and was doing dressage, jumping, was working as a trail horse, and siring consistent, beautiful, athletic babies who like him, are easy to train. When I took Tucky home, I had no intention of acquiring him for my own, but after working with him I fell in love with him and told Walter that I wanted him. Walter was not interested in letting him go.

Masada El Rabdan
(*Tuhotmos x Masada Dahmah) at 18 years old

Several years went by and I provided Walter with semen whenever he needed it, but I kept Tucky. A very wealthy man wanted Tucky and I would come home from school and there would be a limo parked in front on Tucky's pen. Walter wouldn't sell Tucky to him either. Finally I just told Walter that I was bigger and meaner than he was and if he wanted Tucky back he would have to wrestle me for him. He believed me, so he sold me Tucky. Years later Walter remarked to folks that he would not let me take any more of his stallions home to train, because I would not give them back to him.

Walter had the wonderful blind mare Om Khamsa (*Tuhotmos x Radin Hilal) who was bred by Jean Jennings. She had given Walter many wonderful foals, but she was old, and she could not hold a foal. I have a wonderful reproductive vet names Paul Morris, and we discussed Khamsa's problem and Paul felt that we had a good chance of getting an embryo transfer baby. We brought Khamsa to Susar farm and started the ordeal of getting a baby from her. It took many efforts, but finally we got an embryo out of Om Khamsa by Tucky which made the resultant foal a 50% double *Tuhotmos and also non-Nazeer. We had carefully primed one of my mares to be the recipient mare, but as fate would have it, the timing was off, so we put one of Paul's embryos into my mare, and Khamsa's embryo went into a Percheron mare. You cannot imagine how funny it was to see the tiny Arab foal being held up to nurse the huge Percheron. We spent many days on all fours in the foaling area making sure that Bucky didn't starve! The foal was a colt, and we named him Susar El Khamor (Kha for Khamsa and Mor for Paul Morris without whom we would never have gotten the baby).

Bucky has grown up to be a fine stallion that is now competing successfully in dressage and is jumping. He has also proven himself as a sire.

Susar El Khamor
(Masada El Rabdan x Om Khamsa) 1996 stallion 50% *Tuhotmos, non-Nazeer

Walter always kept the needs and concerns of the preservationist effort in the front of his mind, so when he realized that his time was short, he sent me Masada Fa Khedena (Fabo x Om Khamsa) and her two week old filly by Fa Asar to continue the tradition of Babson/*Tuhotmos/Sirecho non-Nazeer SOF's.

Masada Fa Khedena
(Fabo x Om Khamsa) and her 2002 filly Masada Susar (Fa Asar x Masada Fa Khedena).

Khedena and Sada (Masada Susar, the last Masada baby), arrived in March of 2002. Sada was just two weeks old, and Khedena was 15. Being familiar with how the *Tuhotmos horses love to be ridden, I started riding Khedena as soon as she settled in and have continued in her training. I will not compete on her because I won't stress her by hauling, but she is a gorgeous mover and she, like all the *Tuhotmos SOF's is an amazingly fast learner and absolutely loves to be ridden and worked. Khedena is in foal to Tucky for a 2004 baby. Although Walter is gone, his wonderful horses will go forward to carry his vision.

The lovely filly Masada Susar is being co-owned by Elizabeth Powell and Susar Farm. She will be a dressage mare, and a mother, and her new SOF enthusiast, Elizabeth, will go forward in the spirit of preservation aware of the precious heritage she has become involved with. Walter spent his life teaching people about these wonderful horses, and his legacy will live on as these younger SOF owners go forward with the vision.

Masada Susar (Fa Asar x Masada Fa Khedena) 2002 filly