The Wombles have structured Belvedere Farm today along three main pursuits:

1. Breeding - Belvedere has an incredible group of brood mares with the goal of producing the very finest Arabians. Belvedere breeds for both performance and beauty. Some bloodlines originate from some of the better performance type pedigrees and while others aspire to more the beauty and versatility of the halter and breeding type individual. In every case, Belvedere seeks beauty, athleticism, charisma, temperament, and function.

2. Competing - The Wombles love the pleasure and agony of competition. Whether it is the yearling class at Scottsdale or an English class at Youth Nationals, you will often find a Belvedere Arabian in the mix and competing for the championship.

3. Client services - Belvedere is a full service training facility under the direction of trainer Tara Carpio. These services include a typical array of services including performance and halter training, conditioning, caretaking, and breeding services . What distinguishes Belvedere is our commitment to offering a service and experience that supersedes the norm, and on keeping the numbers manageable so that each individual in our care receives individual and daily attention.

The Facilities:

Belvedere Farm consists of 160 acres of pastures and woods. The pastures include an ample quantity of smaller turn out paddocks. The woods and surrounding timber land offer wonderful trails for riding and relaxation. An Arabian who is lucky enough to find home at Belvedere will find itself in a heaven of tall grass and excellent care.

Belvedere's incredible main barn includes 17 stalls, a lab, wash bay, tack room, and feed room. A secondary facility has an additional 16 stalls. The barn was built by Mickey Womble and is structured with concrete block walls covered with concrete fiber board and stacked stone on the outside and tongue and groove pine board on the inside. Stalls are structured so that all stalls have a window which can be removed in summer for ventilation and reinstalled during winter for warmth. The concrete walls offer security in terms of fire protection but also keep the barn cooler in summer and warmer in winter. There is a camera system monitoring each stall that shows up on TV screens in the trainer's and caretakers apartments located above the stalls in the barn. These apartments access the loft where either employee can in a matter of seconds walk out of their apartment and down the loft overlooking the stalls. They can check each animal from above without disturbing them and without having to go outside. This system and set up is particularly helpful during foaling season.

The primary training facility includes a 100 x 185 foot covered arena which also includes a covered 60 x 60 foot round pen. Mickey researched carefully the footing that best serves the Arabian in training. What he found throughout the industry and the literature was a mixed bag of facilities and teachings. Many of the training and show facilities in use today use footings that are either too soft or too hard for the Arabian’s relatively small foot. Belvedere settled on a footing similar to that used in the new arenas recently constructed for the World Games at the Horse Park in Lexington, Ky. The footing includes a porous larger stone base covered with a packed concrete fine, covered with a sand and carpet fiber mix. With this footing groomed and irrigated daily, the footing produces a support for the training horse that minimizes the impact while offering the structural support the Arabian needs. This level of care and attention to the needs of the horse is an example of the care given the Arabian horse at Belvedere Farm.