In what looks to be a match made in heaven, hunter/jumper veteran Dianne Grod has joined the staff at Al-Marah Arabians.
The legendary Al-Marah in Tucson has been breeding Arabians for over 60 years under Bazy Tankersly’s passionate direction and expertise. As the sporthorse division has grown in popularity over the last decade, Al-Marah wanted to step up its efforts in that area by bringing a hunter and jumper expert on board.
Dianne Grod fit the bill perfectly. Now 62, Dianne is a Maryland native who has spent the majority of her professional life on the West Coast. She first established herself as a top trainer and Grand Prix jumping competitor and, in recent years, has focused on judging and private coaching.

In today’s segregated horse world, Dianne had had little contact with the Arabian scene through much of her career. That changed as she began to get judging assignments at Arabian breed shows, including the U.S. Nationals, and more recently, the fourth annual Arabian Sport Horse Nationals, which were held last September in Idaho. As she prepared by judging at smaller Arabian and half Arabian sporthorse competitions, Dianne became more knowledgeable and intrigued by this growing division. At the Sport Horse Nationals in 2006, she wound up pinning plenty of Al-Marah horses without knowing who their owner was.

60 Years of Trail Blazing
Al-Marah began as a little girl’s dream to “own a whole field of Arabians” and became one of the world’s biggest and most influential breeding endeavors. Bazy Tankersly bought her first purebred Arabian in 1940, at a time when the U.S.’s Arabian horse population was estimated to be 1,500. Inspired by breed pioneers including W.K. Kellogg, Homer Davenport, W.R. Brown, Roger Selby and Albert Harris, Bazy joined their ranks by making Al-Marah Arabians one of the world’s most productive breeding programs. She bought her first stallion and Al-Marah’s foundation sire, the Raffles* son Indraff, in 1946 and has been busy with breeding, training, educational programs, innovative ideas and community service ever since.
The root of Bazy’s breeding beliefs is that beauty and function are equally important and that good temperament rules all. A book can and has been written about Tankersley’s breeding philosophy, (the wonderful …And Ride Away Singing, by Mary Jane Parkinson). As Tankersley told audiences at a 1997 International Arabian Horse Assn. speech, her philosophies reflect the priorities and preferences of the breed’s original breeders: the Arabs. “Disposition was extremely important to the Arabs because it was against the religion of the Arabs to castrate any male,” she explained.
As a result of her beliefs, Al-Marah Arabians thrive in every corner of the horse world. They are champions in every western, english and sporthorse competitive division, they excel in endurance racing, and are naturals in cattle and ranch work. In any discipline, they are well known as loving and intelligent companions to their owners. Several Al-Marah horses earned Hollywood celebrity.
Al-Marah is equally well known for its unique and remarkable apprentice program. The hands-on, two-year program is registered with the U.S. Department of Labor and its graduates become certified horse people with an emphasis in either training or management/breeding. Apprentices interested in the hunter and jumper divisions will have a wonderful opportunity to work under Dianne’s direction.

Coming Full Circle
In some ways, Dianne is coming full circle with her move to Al-Marah. She grew up on her family’s horse farm in Potomac, MD, not far from Al-Marah’s original location in Bethesda, MD.
“Back then there were not a lot of trainers around, and not many organized activities for kids,” Dianne explains. Al-Marah was the area’s horsey hot spot with rodeos, auctions, cuttings and many youth activities. Dianne spent a lot of time there. She was friends with Bazy’s daughter Kristie and familiar with many of the farm’s trainers. “I used to watch their head trainer Harold Bright doing bridle-less cutting with the Arabs and think that he was living my dream,” Dianne recalls.
Dianne’s dreams began to change when her father, a polo and Thoroughbred aficionado, bought her one of Bazy’s first Arab crosses at an Al-Marah auction. (He also bought three purebreds.) The Arab/Quarter Horse cross, Roman Candle, went western with Dianne for a while, but she soon got on to jumping and the horse became the diminutive rider’s first Junior Hunter. Together they won the Bloody Mary Bowl and a 2.5 mile point to point race when Dianne was in her teens.
Dianne’s next star equine also came by way of Al-Marah. Bazy was offering a special breeding deal to owners of Thoroughbred mares interested in pairings with her purebred Arabian, Royal Diamond. Dianne stepped forward with a mare who wound up being not too fond of motherhood. “She tried to kill the foal,” Dianne recalls. Raised on a bottle, the baby was appropriately named Almost Wasn’t and went on to “to put me on the map” in the jumper arena. The 16.1 Arabian/Thoroughbred cross carried Diane to the Jumper Champion title from the Virginia Horse Show Assn. in 1965 and numerous other titles at the East Coast’s biggest shows.
The veteran has a long resume of professional accomplishments. She moved to California in 1965 and, under the Continental Farms banner, became well known and respected on both coasts. She represented the States in international competition at various points in her career, and was a dominant player in the Open and Grand Prix jumping classes up until her retirement from competition in 2001. From 1985 to 1996, Dianne regularly competed in team penning events and she is also famous for jumping over a car during the opening ceremonies for the National Finals Rodeo in 1997.

New Chapter
Judging and freelance coaching have kept her busy and traveling these past few years.
Dianne is excited about this “new chapter of my life.” Improving performances of Al-Marah’s horses in the sport horse divisions at Arabian shows will be her first order of business. Down the line, she hopes to bring some of the farm’s horses to the “regular” hunter/jumper circuit.
If the famously tiny, 4’9” tall, Dianne can get her body back in riding shape, she may occasionally take the show reins herself. Either way she’ll work with amateur rider Wendy Davis, who has been Al-Marah’s main sporthorse rider thus far and who was the one to recommend the position to Dianne. Although Bazy Tankersly loves the purebred Arabians, Dianne says she is “secretly hoping” to persuade the Al-Marah founder to consider some Warmblood crosses. “I judged a few at the Sporthorse Nationals and they were great,” Dianne enthuses. And there is no shortage of potential-packed purebreds at Al-Marah, where Dianne has had Wendy scouting athletic looking youngsters.
Dianne is completely confident of Al-Marah’s intentions in the sporthorse division. “I told (Al-Marah’s) Bill Melendez that I really like starting my horses in a jump chute,” she recalls. “I asked if they could build me one, and he said, ‘You mean like this?’ They already have an absolutely perfect chute, they’ve already built me a new outdoor ring and I’ll have access to their swamp-cooled indoor ring. They are doing everything they said they’d do when we first started talking. I am thrilled to be going there.”
Dianne admits it will be tough stepping off the busy hunter/jumper circuit that is loaded with long time friends. However, she already has plans for reconnecting with many of those pals by hosting exhibitor parties when the HITS Tucson hunter/jumper circuit begins next winter. Meantime, this merger of the best of two segments of the horse world seems sure to produce results that will justify Dianne’s latest leap.
For more information on Al-Marah Arabians and its apprenticeship program, please visit www.al-marah.com.