Meet the Members - Ali Willis
by Wendy Blum

Welcome to the first installment of "Meet the Members"! Some of you may remember that this used to be a regular item in Bloodlines a few years back. Well, it's back!

This issue I chose Ali Willis to profile. Ali has been a member of IPABRA almost from the beginning and is known for her super Al Khamsa Arabian s/d listing.

Ali has been involved with real horses since she was young. She started out volunteering at a small Arabian breeding and showing facility where she moved up to assistant trainer and showed purebred and half-Arab halter and Western pleasure horses at local and regional level shows. She also spent some time working for a National level English and Harness Arabian trainer. Currently, she is volunteering at a small Al Khamsa Arabian breeder where she helps out as often as she can.

A model horse collector since the age of three, Ali's first model was a chocolate Western Prancer with eyewhites given to her by her Uncle. Around 1982, she got her first new model, the Traditional Black Stallion. Ali still has both these models with the beloved Black Stallion known as Farou Al Adham. Ali's favorites to collect are the Proud Arab Mares, Classic Arab Mares, Traditional Mustangs, and Bucking Broncos.

Ali first got involved in pedigree assignment back around 1986 when she responded to an ad in Horse Illustrated. After a few years, real life interfered and Ali did not become involved with PA again until Lesli Kathman told her about IPABRA. After joining the Club's Internet listserv, Ali really became interested in pedigree assignment again, joined the Club, and started to pedigree her Arabian herd.

If you can't tell already, Ali loves Arabians! Ali's farm runs under the name of Loro Verde and she specializes in Al Khamsa Arabians (Egyptian, Egyptian Plus, Davenport/Hamidie, Desertbred, etc). The bulk of her herd traces to one or both of her foundation mares: Sirroda (Sirecho ® x *Roda ®) a straight old Egyptian mare, and Turfala (Ibn Fadl ® x Bint Turfara ®) a "Blue Star" Old Egyptian plus *Turfa mare. These two mares have started to found their own line and their descendents are some of Ali's most popular breeding stock who have produced several champion showers.

Just recently, Ali expanded into American Arabians based on CMK, Polish, and the earliest American imports. She also is interested in Morgans and is planning on having a Morgan list available sometime in the next year.

Ali also is an excellent customizer and makes highly detailed Arabian costumes. While she only has time to do maybe three customs a year, two of them have been very successful showers with one of them even NAN Qualified!

When asked what tips she had for newcomers to Pedigree Assignment, Ali said, "For the Paer, I would recommend PATIENCE above all. Don't go nuts when you see all the awesome s/d lists available. Take your time; think through each breeding carefully. If you rush out and pedigree your horses all in one fell swoop, you may run the risk of a) getting bored because you no longer have any models to pedigree and b) having to go back and ask the folks you got breedings from to remove your horses from their herdbooks because you've changed your mind. Most of us take this hobby very seriously, and would rather you wait until you are 100% certain that you want the breeding. I would also recommend that a beginner (and not-so-beginners too!) ASK QUESTIONS. Everyone in IPABRA will generally be thrilled to talk to you and help you make breeding selections. We have so many knowledgeable folk here in IPABRA that there is practically no breed that someone can't help you with. Remember, the only dumb question is the one you don't ask!"

Ali has her s/d list available for viewing online at:

http://www.loroverde.8m.com

Or she has a nice, photo illustrated snail mail copy available for a double stamped SASE. You may write her at:

Ali Willis
9620 Kings Grant Drive
Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

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