Illinois: Iconic and ironic: Metro East farm plans to sell Arabian horses to Saudi Arabia

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y joe holleman • St. Louis Post-Dispatch Jan 2, 2019

Of all that Saudi Arabia may lack, one wouldn’t guess that Arabian horses are one of them.

But unlikely as it seems, this is where a Metro East stable comes in — providing Arabian horses to Saudi Arabia.

“For thousands of years, Saudi Arabia was a country that moved on horses and camels,” said Rodger Davis, owner of the Riding Center near Freeburg. “But once oil was discovered, it became a country of Rolls Royces and Maseratis.

“Some of the bloodlines of these animals got lost. And some Saudis feel they lost connection with their past.”

And as unlikely as it may sound, the Arabian horses that are now being bred at Davis’ 300-acre operation off Route 13 on Red Ray Mine Road are as pure as it gets.

So Davis and his head trainer, Sarah Sanders, visited several times last year with Saudi officials and hope to strike a long-term business deal...

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http://www.newspressnow.com/news/national/iconic-and-ironic-metro-east-farm-plans-to-sell-arabian/article_f23cde4b-9533-5a9e-adfe-4f15fe4ad18e.html