About us,
Jon and Tanya Holliday of "Holliday Sport Horses!"
Hello!!  First let me thank you for visiting our WEB page!  I hope you like it and find it informative.  My name is Tanya Holliday.  I have dreamed of
having an opportunity to raise quality sport horses since the day I started competing at local Hunter Jumper Shows at the age of 16!  Through God, the
help of wonderful friends and the support of my family, the dream has come to life!!!   God has been so good to me!  He has answered so many prayers,
put such beautiful people and horses in my life!    

I remember being in a local feed store looking at the magazine rack.  There laid this magazine with this INCREDIBLE horse on the cover!!  I told the
lady working at the counter, that someday I would have a horse like that!!  Well, that was in April of 1991.  The magazine was the "Arizona Horse
Connection".  On the cover was a stallion named "First Class", owned by Fiesta Performance Horses.  Matter a fact, I still have that magazine!  I read
the article, over and over.  I thought I should call to make an appointment to see "First Class" in person.  I spoke with Patty Melde.  Patty invited me to
come down to the farm and take a look.  I could not wait!   All of their horses were beautiful!!!   Patty showed me a Hanoverian colt by Diamont, that
was for sale.   He was a beautiful dark bay with four white socks, a neat blaze and so sweet!  I had to have him!!  We made a deal!  I named him "K.B.",
after my late grandfather.  Unfortunately, "K.B." fell ill and had to be put down a short time later.  I was crushed!!  I called Patty to let her know,.  She
was very sympathetic and knew how much I wanted a foal, especially out of "First Class".  She told me that she didn't want to put "K.B."'s memory to
shame, but had this new pilot program started that was approved by the Oldenburg Registry.  The Germans approved a cross breeding of seven Arabian
mares to "First Class"!  She said the first foal on the ground was a beauty!  I told Patty that my current situation would not let me afford to buy another
horse.  My dad was just diagnosed with Cancer and my family needed my financial support.  Well, to show you how beautiful of a person she is, she
wanted me to own that foal!  She knew that I would show him and be a great home!  We worked out a deal!  I came home with "First Edition" in matter
of days!  

Over the years, Patty and I became really good friends.  I leased an Oldenburg mare, "Cindi", that Patty had just bred to "First Class".  Cindi was a
sweetie!!!  I took her home when she was 28 days pregnant!  I was so excited!  This was going to be my first "baby"!  Cindi had the best of everything!  
About 8 inches of shavings in her stall, the best hay and pellets, the best grain and was groomed everyday!  I talked to her tummy everyday too  and
bought her lots of  stall toys!  I went a little nuts!  Cindi gave birth to one of the best presents that I have ever received!  "Fortune Hunter"!    I call him
"T.J." (Tanya & Jesus, my answered prayer)!  I fell IN LOVE with that little boy!!   He thought that "I" was "Mommy" from the very beginning!  We
have a beautiful friendship!  He is quiet the horse!   I am so very proud of that fellow!  He is so smart, has beautiful conformation and is a gorgeous
mover!  Plus, there is more to him than just being  a beautiful animal, he has this aura about him, you just want to touch him!  He looks so powerful,
almost fiery but is as sweet as a puppy dog!  He is different from any horse I have ever met!  

Unfortunately, T.J. has had a life full of injuries. It really seems unfair, but it is true.   He had a serious injury around the age of 18 months.  We had a
"Micro Burst" land on my property.  It did SO much damage!  He was hit by one of the stalls that was ripped out of the ground by  winds racing at more
than 178 mph!  It was a blunt hit, no major tearing of the skin.  I thought he was the one with the least damage. I figured he would be really body sore
for a couple of weeks and that would be the end of it.  It turns out that I played down the seriousness of this accident. T.J. Received the worst of it.  His
spine was hit with such force, it smashed his withers down and several vertebrae in his lower back.  He received permanent damage, that would effect
him for the rest of his life.  I had three other horses on the place,  Rocky was so badly torn up, I concentrated on him for weeks.  A couple of the other
horses had external injuries that kept me busy too.  A few weeks went by, I noticed that T.J. still didn't seem comfortable.   After many vet visits,
x-rays, injections, acupuncture, massages, horse "Healers", psychics, race track "non-vets" who have seen everything plus many other "things" that I
have tried.  It has come down to severe nerve damage in his back. There is really no cure.  Not without surgery. Very expensive dangerous surgery.  I do
not want to put him through that.   I admire T.J. So much, he will do anything for me. I don't want to risk losing him.  As long as he is not in pain, he
will be with me.   He is still ridable and one would never notice that he had such an injury.  But standing out in a field or in his stall, he will get a pain  
that sends a wave of tremors to his back end.  It breaks my heart to see this.  Besides this terrible time, he seems happy and I hope to have him for a
very long time.  It has been told to me, the more active I can keep him, the better.  So he is still exercised. This is the reason that his show career has
been so limited.   

T.J. now has quite the collection of foals on the ground. They are all so beautiful!  He is throwing so much of himself!  They ALL move FANTASTIC and
seem to have his easy going and trainable mind   I have foals out of other stallions, they do not show the eagerness to learn and to please as T.J.'s do!  
He and his get are unbeatable in that department!!!   

Well, now you know  how I came to this spot in my life!  It was not easy and I am NOT a wealthy person.  It has taken years of sweat and tears.  I feel I
have gained experience from working hard.   I study constantly about genetics, movement and conformation.  I take breeding very seriously.  I have
gained many friends around the country who are very knowledgeable in this field and are kind enough to continue to teach me what they have learned.  
One of the most important things I have learned is how to match mare to a stallion. Mostly, trying to improve on each other.   I only want to create a
foal that will have the best chances on improving on it's dam and sire.   This is one of the things I admire so much about the American Warmblood
Society.   "Breeding the Best to the Best"!!  Breeding this way, it is hard to make a mistake.  Unfortunately things can still go wrong and there are no
perfect horses, but it is the correct path to choose to improve our horses here in the USA.   I'm very proud of every horse I own, or have owned.  I am a
small breeder, but my dream is still in the making!  I hope to breed a horse or horses that would do America proud in the Olympic Arena.  BIG Dream,
but so far my dreams are coming true, why not go for the Gold!

I hope to honor God, the Melde's, my family and friends by being the best person in this business.   I would love to take this moment and publicly  thank
God, my mom (Betty Samson) for her love and support, Kay Samson (Late Stepfather) who taught me that no matter what you are faced with, you CAN
be happy!, my husband (Jon Holliday) for showing me how to be strong, for his love and for his support of my love of animals, the Melde's for breeding
such beautiful horses, that I made that phone call that got me where I am today  and lastly to my horses, thank you for all the nickers, licks and smiles
you have given me!
This is our "other" passion-our only "kids",
"Xanthus", "Tiffany" and "Wyatt".