| Rising Sun recently relocated their business to Emery County from California. |
From the sunny Nuevo area of California to muddy Emery County, the Schiffners have loaded up, lock, stock and barrel and made the move. Last fall they began the process of relocating their horse breeding operation to the county with the encouragement of Emery County friends, Jon and Cindy Judd. The Schiffners, April and Hal love the view from their new horse ranch.
In 1980, Sleigh Quarter Horses started the business that has become a way of life for April and Hal. Their goal from the beginning was to produce and raise quality horses for sale at a reasonable cost. “Since that first day we have expanded and changed our program to accommodate the growth of the equine industry. We still offer young horses and mares in foal for sale, but we also offer the services of several stallions and breed on site and ship semen to almost 200 mares a year. We offer some of the most reasonable rates in today’s market and ship on a convenient schedule. April has a bachelors degree in animal science from Cal Poly. She also has graduate studies in biology and studied cooled/transported semen at Southwest Missouri State University,” said Hal.
Hal is especially proud of the world class champions they have bred or raised. These champions include: The Dominion, Citanbilling Magic, Exclusive Domain, The Dimension, and Encountered.
Hal is originally from Canada and has been riding and training Western horses for more than 20 years. He has been in Southern California from 1993-2004. Hal specializes in training, handling and exhibiting of American Quarter Horses in halter and Western performance, reining, trail, western riding and speed events. He offers special programs to benefit the amateur and youth owner/exhibitor.
Hal said, “We offer on-farm breeding for local mares. We have been shipping cooled semen since 1997 with great success. Our lab is modern, efficient and clean. We offer services to the mare owner needing to receive semen from a stallion at a remote location on a limited basis. We utilize the services of an attending veterinarian who is experienced in broodmare practice. Our mare care is individualized with staff on site seven days a week.
“In addition to young stock and broodmares for sale, we do accept horses for sale conditioning, halter fitting and under saddle training. Lessons are also available on a limited basis.” said Hal.
| Hal and April Schiffner operate the Rising Sun horse ranch at the junction of SR-29 and SR-10 in the county. They have been in the county since September and recently hosted an open house of the facility. They are seen here with Plus 4 More and her daughter, Chloe. |
“We have local stallions here on the ranch, also. We have Lonelyme, Lucky You, owned by David Hinkins and a Castle Valley Ranch stallion called Boogerchex. April and I have Missin Lena and Shamrock Conclusion and April owns Encountered. We have Drum Roll Please owned by Chad Bush from Phoenix, Ariz; also on the ranch right now is Takoda owned by Gerald Pollack from Price.
“This is a full-service training, breeding and boarding facility. We will offer a lesson package where you bring your own horse. I train in Western and we have Joan Brown who trains for English, hunters and jumpers. We will eventually put in an indoor arena and our outdoor arena is completed. We wanted to get out of California and Emery County is a more central location for the horse shows we attend each year. We love it here. We will attend horse shows in California, Idaho, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. We attend three World Shows and last year Castle Dale resident, Alex Judd was in the top 15. The Select World is held in Amarillo, Texas and a World Show is in Oklahoma City. We attended 30 horse shows last year and this year we’ll go to about 20. We’re on the road a lot.
“We want to become a part of the Emery County community. We plan to build a home on the ranch so we can be close to the horses. We have Laurel Nielson working for us and we will be looking for other workers later on. We’ve had to deal with the Emery County mud as we built the barn and someone told me, ‘As long as you stick with Emery County, it will stick with you.’ We have bought some hay from local producers, Chris Neilsen and Clyde Behling and hope to put up a hay barn next year so we can store hay. We probably feed 10 bales of hay a day which is two tons a week. We also order a lot of shavings for the stalls. We will buy local hay and maybe raise a little ourselves, but we’re not farmers. A local contractor, Kent Stilson, put up the barn for us,” said Hal.
April said “We keep all of the show horses in the barn and the broodmares with their babies. We have soft shavings in their stalls and the lights keep them warm which keeps the hair off. We have a phantom mount for the stallions. The semen is collected in a collection sack. The semen is mixed with an extender which extends the life of the semen and keeps the bacteria down. The bag is placed in a frozen can and placed in a container which reduces the temperature of the semen by 5 degrees per hour until it reaches 40 degrees. It will keep the semen at 40 degrees for 48 hours. We place a shipping label on the container and it’s shipped by air or UPS overnight delivery. We ship to all 50 states and Canada and Mexico. The semen must be used within 48 hours. The semen is drawn into a syringe and inserted through the cervix of the mare directly into the uterus. The pregnancy success rate is 70 percent when shipped and it’s even higher when the mares are bred here at the ranch. The breeding season ends on July 1.
“When I was 12, my Dad bought me a horse and I have loved them ever since. We have had a lot of help from friends to get this ranch completed and we wouldn’t have been able to get it finished without their help.
“Horse ranching is hard work and you put in long hours. You don’t quit until you finish. You stay up long nights with the mares and there are no vacations, but the shows we attend get us off the ranch once in a while and we put 50,000 miles on the truck last year on the road with the horses.
“We have about 70 horses here on the ranch right now. Hal is also a show judge and he’s on the Utah Quarter Horse Board.
| Broodmares are bred at the ranch and semen is also shipped worldwide. |
“We are planning a clinic on April 23 for youth for training in showmanship and trail. Later on we’ll have one for the speed events. Youth should bring their lunch and their own horse for this free clinic.
“We have tried to keep youth involved with our youth training.
“One of our youth riders from California, Stacy Potter will be spending the summer here at the bunk house and she’ll work with the horses.
“We’re excited to be in Utah,” said April.
Friends of the Schiffners have also bought the house across the road and will be relocating from California in the next three years and have plans for a horse barn of their own.
Joan Brown has been training horses for 22 years.
She specializes in English style, hunters and jumpers and is looking forward to moving to Emery County.