International horse breeders now call Northeast Texas 'home'

By LORI COPE | East Texas Edition

Kador De Blaziet, a 6-year-old stallion owned by Randi and Eric Moureau-Sipiere (third and second, respectively, from right,) set some incredible times this season at Los Alamitos, Calif., racetrack and was named Horse of the Meet for 2003.

January 8, 2003 -- The up-and-coming white fence along the well-worn Farm-to-Market Road in southern Hopkins County is the first sign the farm of Eric and Randi Moreau-Sipiere is still under development. The numerous, playful yearlings in a pasture just south of the house, and the broad band of brood mares pastured near the farm's sparkling-blue lake, are signs the farm owners are serious about horses.

Yet from the road, there's no real indication the farm is actually a multi-million-dollar Arabian horse breeding operation which lays claim to one of the fastest racing horses on the West Coast and expects a representative of the King of Morroco and other international dignitaries to visit in early 2004.

Eric and Randi Moreau-Sipiere brought their international horse business to Northeast Texas in late summer of 2003. The scenic beauty of the area, the good water supply, sandy soil, mild weather, and quick accessibility to an Interstate highway were all cited as reasons why the couple decided to move their operation from Iowa City, Iowa, to Como, Texas.

"We fell in love with the surroundings," Eric related. "And everyone here is so friendly, and so helpful."

They settled on the farm, located on FM 1567, just south of Highway 11 which connects Sulphur Springs to Winnsboro, in August 2003, and by September they, along with their 15-year-old daughter, a couple of cows, and about 60 horses, were calling the place home.

The horses at the farm are not ordinary. Many of the horses sport a chestnut color, but they're not of the popular Quarter Horse breed or hybrid - they are purebred Arabian. Some of the horses are bred to be top competitors in the popular halter and performance shows, yet many are bred to uniquely run like a strong wind across a finish line.

Kador De Blaziet, a 6-year-old stallion owned by the Moreau-Sipieres, was recently voted the Horse of the Meet and the Top Aged Horse of the Los Alamitos, Calif., racetrack. And, he only ran in five races, whereas other horses had over a dozen under their saddles.

On Dec. 20, Kador De Blaziet covered the six furlongs in 1:19.38 - the fastest time of the meet. The horse also has the fastest time in a four-and-a-half furlong race in 2003.

The couple will bring their famed stallion to their farm in February where he will stand for breeding purposes (semen collection, and the breeding of about 40 mares) until May. Then, it will be back to the racetrack, where hopefully, a world record time can be set by the stallion.

Kador De Blaziet has brought the current spotlight to the Moreau-Sipieres with his big finish at Los Alamitos, yet Eric and Randi have many other horses worthy of name-dropping. One stallion they sold to the King of Morroco, Mohammed VI, is now the Senior Stallion at the dignitary's ranch. Eric and Randi have some of this stallion's daughters at their farm, and these mares are bred to Kador De Blaziet. Another "big gun" racing mare, Vega, was purchased by Omar Alhababi Al Sufian in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who wants to continue buying horses from the couple. Vega was one of the top race mares in the United States before she was exported to UAE at the end of 2002. Eric and Randi are also partnered with sisters Francesca and Guidetta Orlando in Italy on several horses, including the 3-year-old mare Selene who is racing in France this year.

The couple agree their Arabian horses are more than a business, but rather a passion. And, it was their association with horses that led to Eric and Randi meeting in 1985, while each was working on a horse ranch in Brenham. Randi had come to the Lone Star State from her native Kansas City, Mo., and Eric, along with his parents and a dozen horses, had come from France.

After the couple married in 1986, they moved their horse operation to California. At the time, "Texas was then not a big state for Arabians, or for racing," Eric related. In California, the couple worked with the noted Gilbert Van Camp Jr. horse ranch.

"California is different," Randi said. "The space is limited and it's very dry. ... It's so expensive to keep horses there," citing the need for irrigation and extra feed costs.

After Van Camp's death, the couple partnered with a man and established an Arabian horse operation in Iowa in 1991.

Even though the couple was continuing to build their reputation for quality Arabian horses, they said they grew tired of the cold winters in the Iowa, which made horse breeding difficult, and the Arabian breed, and horse racing, were now attractive in Texas.

"Texas now does more for racing, and the industry is booming," Eric said. "After looking for property (for a while), we were excited to find this place."

Bringing an international, multi-million-dollar Arabian horse operation to a small corner of the world in Northeast Texas is not a limiting factor.

"Ninety percent of our market is outside of the state and overseas," Eric said, who often utilizes his skills as a broker. He travels extensively to find the "right" horse for buyers.

Eric and Randi, both, stay busy just managing their new farm and its animals. Plans are to construct a large show barn and breeding facility on the property. "This has been a whirlwind couple of months," Randi said about the moving experience.

And even though Hopkins County civic leaders are working to establish the county as a "horse capital" within the United States, Eric and Randi chose their farm in Como without even knowing of the efforts. "But it's great that is happening. It's interesting to see the growth."