Windt im Wald Farm Geauga County, Northeast Ohio since 1995

KEY SERA SERA

HURRAY! Cameo Windchime, the dam of a purebred Allience champion gelding and a Half-Arabian Pinto yearling already in the ribbons, has produced  a Half Arabian National Show Horse colt that we have happily named WIW WINDSOME FORTUNE. Key is one of a limited number of living offspring sired by the American Saddlebred stallion Key Largo, whose high stepping action in the late 1970s inspired Gene LaCroix of Lasma Arabians to develop the new breed called the National Show Horse.

Most National Show Horse nominated stallions are 50% percent Arabian and 50% American Saddlebred, but there are purebred Arabian sires and purebred American Saddlebred sires that have been nominated as NSH sires. The key is that any National Show Horse is the result of a breeding between an Arabian or Saddlebred mare and a nominated NSH stallion. The NSH horse can be as much as 99% Arabian and 1% Saddlebred, but there must always be a combination of both Arabian and Saddlebred blood.

Key's breeder, Marsha Isbell of Greenwood, Indiana, intended that his name be pronounced "Kay Se-ra'h Se-ra'h," after theDoris Day  vocal of the late 1950's, "Que' Sera' Sera" (What Will Be, Will Be translated from the Spanish). Ms. Isdell has also indicated to us, though, that Key's interesting name was just as much the result of combining the Key part of Key Largo's name with the double cross of *Serafix on Key's dam line. She mentioned that when the famous equine photographer, Johnny Johnston, was working at the farm where Key was located, he took one look at Key Sera Sera and without knowing who he was or what his breeding was, immediately concluded that Key must be a descendant of the illustrious*Serafix because of the same deep chestnut coloring, the same eye, the same headset, and the same mannerisms that *Serafix had exhibited.

 Key, proudly owned since 1992 by Donna and Donald Shelatree of Venus, Pennsylvania, is out of the purebred Arabian mare, Rondeyra, a granddaughter of the imported Crabbet stallion *Serafix and a predominantly Crabbet/Blunt-bred who produced ten purebred Arabian offspring. As we have been saying and writing for quite a while now, we are convinced that Crabbet breeding produces individuals with gentle temperament and people personality who want to please. Key Sera Sera is no exception to this premise. While we admire "pretty" as much as anyone else, our number one priority in a breeding stallion has been and always will be kind "personality."

During a career that spanned his first three years, Key Sera Sera earned seven Grand Championships and one Reserve Championship at Indiana Pinto shows, as well as a Top Ten at the National Show Horse Finals. Foaled in 1983, Key has 50+ get, a number of whom have been highly successful in halter and performance classes, in New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Indiana, Michigan, and Ontario.

Thanks, Key, Donna, and Donald for helping us to produce such a very beautiful, high stepping boy! He is indeed our WINDSOME.

Anyone interested in contacting Donna Shelatree about Key Sera Sera can do so by clicking on this e-mail link dshelatree@csonline.net.

Donna Shelatree and Key Sera Sera were the subject of  a story in the July 1, 2001, "Derrick," a western Pennsylvania newspaper.  All you horse crazy girls and long-time horse aficionados, you can't miss this one!  Click Here for full story