About Sparkle Plenty Ranch

We are Dave & Julia MacDougall and family, who operate SPR as a family enterprise (Julia is the Driving Force!).   It all started in 1987, when on a Sunday drive, we stopped to check out a miniature horse show in Scottsdale.  Call it love at first sight, but there was a fantastic weanling colt named Sparkle Supreme who was mopping up the competition, carrying on to take Supreme Halter Champion, and he was For Sale....   To make a long story short, he came home with us, and that was the birth of Sparkle Plenty Ranch!   Sparkle had so much promise, we recognized he wasn't just going to be a family pet.  Being confessed animal-aholics, and wanting to give Sparkle some companionship, Julia started researching miniature horse bloodlines and breeders, to obtain the best breeding stock as the foundation of our program.   For a couple of "amateurs", Julia and her mom Marilyn showed they had a keen eye for superb mini horse confirmation and breeding, and selected some outstanding foundation colts and broodmares from their search across the country.  

Within a couple of years, Julia was tearing up the local and regional AMHA shows, and in 1991, Debonaire took the National Grand Championship in Halter, plus a National Championship in Color.    Debonaire went on to take a National Grand Championship in Pleasure Driving in 1993, which set us apart from every other mini farm, in that no other stallion had ever achieved National Grands in both halter and performance.  Our other stallions Sparkle and Little Bucker (a full son of the famous Boone's Little Buckeroo) also had National Champion titles by this time.   

Our Breeding Philosophy

We have some great bloodlines, and our horses have proven themselves in the national show ring in both halter and performance.  Julia takes great care in researching backgrounds, size, and attributes of sire and dam which will be complementary in the creation of the foal.  Our intent is the typey, Arab-look of refinement, with great conformation and performance potential, with color as an additional criteria.  

We want to be able to produce horses that not only do well in halter, but can move, and have natural athletic ability. We have heard too often - What can they do? The ability to produce top halter horses that perform well has become a trademark of our ranch. This is something we have worked hard at, and are very proud of.

With our herd size, we have quite a range of options in the breeding program.  If you are looking for a special mini, give us a call, we probably have something which will come close to what you want!

Our Location

We have been in our new location in Queen Creek, about 35 miles S.E. of Phoenix, Arizona, for about 9 years now.  We have multiple pastures for grazing, and are able to get about 4 cuttings of bermuda hay off our back acreage every year.  Currently we have about 70 minis, and we take care of them all through family labor, with our teenage kids as major helpers.  Julia acts as "midwife" and helps her mares with about 15-20 new foals that we breed every year.  With all the family interaction, our minis are very friendly and sociable.  If you're thinking about getting a mini, or want to know more about them, we've got quite a variety to look at.  If you're in the area, call for an appointment!

An E-Tour Around Sparkle Plenty Ranch  (Click Each Thumbnail to See the Fullsize Picture, then use your browser BACK button to return to this page)

Everybody asks us "What kind of big white dogs are those?"  Well, we have four marvelous Akbash dogs which act as livestock guardian dogs and make sure any visiting coyotes stay OUTSIDE the fence!  The breed originated in Turkey where they guard sheep from predators, and they are big enough to fight off most anything!  They are assisted by a couple of our "watch geese" who think they are dogs!  Recently some US sheep ranchers have begun using Akbash dogs; they get along great with all our horses & critters!

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