“This was the horse I’d been searching for since I read my first Black Stallion novel as a child. It was the horse that had danced through my dreams,” she nostalgically recounts.
Mary Ellen’s first Straight Egyptian mare, Myjuel El Jahaara, was the first to steal her heart, and it wasn’t long before Jahaara was followed by a second addition: Ruala Fa Daalima (aka “Fada”). “Jahaara and Fada were opposites in color, one being snow white and the other coal black. But, together they gave life to my childhood fantasies.”
The next step was establishing Sonrisa’s breeding excellence, and finding suitable stallions was the task at hand. Imperial Baarez, Ansata Hejazi, and Ansata Sirius served Sonrisa Farms’ program well, but after several seasons had passed, it was then time for a change in direction: Sonrisa looked to welcome its own stallion into the program. “After searching tirelessly for several years, a small advertisement from Kehilan Arabians caught my eye. An exquisite colt, Donatello KA, was being offered for sale.”
After the exchange of many emails and a trip to Kehilan Arabians in Texas, Mary Ellen returned home from her journey the proud new owner of Sonrisa’s first stallion. Very shortly thereafter, the beautiful Conntessa KA and her dam KA Naadya (and several others over time) joined Sonrisa’s broodmare herd. It had taken many years of patience and diligence, but Mary Ellen had finally completed laying the groundwork for her program.
With its breeding operation in full swing, Sonrisa Farms has consistently accomplished consistent breeding excellence with both of its stallions, Donatello KA and Latif KA, and its many lovely mares. Only the finest blood is combined to create the exotically beautiful, kind, intelligent, and spirited Straight Egyptians that have come to define the Sonrisa name.
