Five miles inland, the ocean breezes reach a farm where the horses speak a different dialect.
Here, barn owner Glenn Garrett raises one of the oldest and most cherished breeds in the
world: the Arabian. At Cedarbrook Farms, the horses have ancient roots. www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com WBM
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by Rebecca Germain
photography by Allison Potter
edarbrook’s story began many years
ago when Garrett’s daughter became
competitive on the Arabian show
circuit. Watching her enthusiasm
C
for the sport inspired him to design and build
Cedarbrook — a 25-acre facility complete with
covered arena, round pen, equine treadmill, and
33-stall barn. Today, with his daughter all grown
up, Garrett’s farm has evolved into a breeding
facility.
Horses are beautiful animals, but the Arabians,
with their delicate profiles, dished foreheads and
large eyes, are also known for their temperament:
big-hearted but sensitive, and high strung but
strikingly intelligent. Consequently, Garrett
and trainer Missy Walsh have like-minded goals
for this breeding farm: to preserve the aesthetic
tradition of the breed while maintaining its wellknown
personality and character.
Walsh says, “We handle each of these horses
as much as possible. Some will be great halter
horses, others will excel at endurance riding,
but we want to find the discipline that works
for them.”
From the moment they are born, she makes
time to establish a relationship with each horse.
Besides learning their manners and the rules of
the farm, these foals are left to grow up and play
at their mothers’ sides until they are one. At that
point, they’ll begin to show in yearling halter
classes that judge the horses’ conformation: their
muscle definition, body structure and general
physique. At 2-and-a-half, the foals are trained
under saddle.
Catania, a halter bred Arabian show horse, and
her filly, Catrinia, in the pasture at Cedarbrook.