Ben Rabba’s Legacy, and Me
By Susan Gillen, DVM. Although Rabbiana was my first and dearest horse, I went on to ride and show many more of Jewell’s Ben Rabba foals. Each one captured my heart for their willingness to please and beautiful attitudes. Inheriting Ben’s quality of movement, they all were successful performance horses, although they were completely amateur trained. Among my favorites were Viva La Ribba (Golden State Futurity Reserve Champion Western Pleasure Junior Horse), Bwana Sahib (Region III Top Five Western Pleasure Junior Horse and Top Ten Bonanza Horse), La Contezza (National Top Ten Western Pleasure AAOTR), Calipso Mon (Multi Champion Western Pleasure and Hunter Pleasure and now owned by my sister JoAnn Harlan), and Shezzaflame (Top Ten Western Pleasure ATR Futurity). I am convinced that amateurs can be successful in the show ring if they have horses that are not just beautiful movers, but horses with incredible minds.
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