2025 High Hour Award Winner
Congratulations to Kimberly J Hay of Saxonburg, PA on winning the 2025 Arabian Recreational Riding Program (ARRP) High Hour Award! She logged a total of 1,380 hours on her two Purebred Arabians, bay gelding Darksong bred by Fay M Ross and grey gelding Winter Myst bred by Edward Ebner & Elizabeth Desarle as well as on her own Anglo-Arabian Bay mare SH Travellin Darknyss bred by Kimberly herself between January 1 and December 31, 2025. She is receiving a beautiful, engraved buckle from Cut Above Buckles to commemorate her hourly achievement.
Kimberly was bitten by the horse bug at a very young age when her uncle put her on a horse for the first time at six months old. She got her first horse at the age of eleven, a two year old, half arabian palomino named Smoky that she rode even through college and still rode as her second Arabian came into her life. A grey purebred Arabian named Shadow and that’s when she started foxhunting with him while still riding Smoky as well. After retiring Smoky, Shadow stepped into the hunting role with Kimberly and loved it, from the hounds to galloping through the fields with Kimberly for over twenty years. After breeding her own horse SH Travellin Darknyss (Mouse) and buying her Arabian gelding Darksong (Clen), Kimberly decided to try her hand at carriage driving. Doing so more with Clen than Mouse as Clen was always happier pulling a cart than being ridden under saddle. Kimberly and Mouse also exceled together in a variety of different disciplines, such as, trail rides, medieval games and mounted archery. Kimberly has high hopes for her current mount Winter Myst (Chance) to be her next driving horse as he is already showing to be a great trail horse.
Throughout Kimberly’s riding career she has ridden and driven in many different disciplines from hunters and western, sidesaddle, foxhunting, mounted archery, games, trail riding, cow work, and even dabbling in polo. She hopes to be able to ride and spend time with her horses for as long as she can and try new things with them whenever possible.
Kimberly is very proud of the Arabian and Half-Arabian horses that have come into her life and that she currently owns and how they have proven time and time again that the Arabian breed can hold their own amongst other horse breeds in many different disciplines!
On behalf of AHA, we say Congratulations again to Kimberly on this accomplishment and wish her all the best spending everyday riding and driving with her horses!
That is what Shoshannah loves about this beautiful breed! They listen to your directions but also take it upon themselves to keep you safe and tell you what they need. Shoshannah says she can see why they slept in the tents with the Bedouins, they are truly apart of the Family!!!
On behalf of AHA, we say congratulations again on her accomplishment and wish her the best of luck this season!
