Nestled in the heart of the Texas hill country, lies Corrival Ranch, a state-of-the-art facility with equipment for breeding, training, and rehabbing equine athletes.

As co-owner Susie Phillips tells the story, the idea for Corrival started like many do, on a back porch with a glass of wine.

At the time, Phillips was managing the Equestrian Club at Cordillera Ranch in Boerne, Texas. She had made fast friends of Ben and Julie Wolff when they took their daughter Quintessa (Tess) to the Cordilla Ranch for lessons shortly after moving to Texas from Washington.

“I had just found out one of my mares wasn’t in foal so I was sitting there complaining about it with Ben and Julie,” she recalled. “They looked at me and said ‘So let’s go buy some.’”

Before they knew it, a partnership was formed and 60 acres of land plus a 22-stall barn was purchased in Sisterdale, Texas, just 40 minutes from the San Antonio Airport.

But more importantly, a dream to build a world class horse facility was born.

Originally used to raise AQHA race horses dating back to the early 1970s the facility now known as Corrival Ranch (meaning friendly competitors) focuses on breeding and boarding performance horses, with a dedication to producing the ultimate all- around Quarter Horse in conformation, athletic ability and disposition.  The ranch has a significant expansion under way and that is expected to be completed by mid-fall 2023.  When done, the ranch will have three barn complexes incorporating a total of 82 stalls (60 14-by-14 ft. and 22 12-by-12 ft.) each with StableComfort stall mattresses; a 135-by-225- ft. covered arena; a 200-by-225-ft. lighted outdoor arena; a covered 8-horse walker; an uncovered eight-horse walker, 60-by-50 ft. covered round pens; 36 pastures and loafing sheds, and 24 25-by-25 ft. turn outs.  Additionally, a rehab and therapy barn is under construction, which includes a Hudson Aquapacer, a Nautil Equine Salt Water Spa, a surgical suite and a vet office.  The rehab center will also offer cold laser therapy, pulse PMF and Bemer equipment and services.

Finally, the ranch offers lodging for up to 22 guests with the restored Ranch House, Paddock House and Cabin available for nightly rentals.

Soon after opening as Corrival Ranch, professional trainer Scott Jones decided to reopen his Showstring operation, after a break from the training business.

One of the first horses sent to him was Al Call You Later (Claude), a 2019 16-hand bay AQHA/APHA (regular registration) stallion by Allocate Your Assets out of Jazz In The Park.

“From the second he got off the trailer I knew he was going to be nice,” Jones said. “I knew the Wolffs were looking to have a world-class breeding operation. I knew he would cross well with some of the most important mares they own. Adding a stallion like Claude made sense.

So just a few weeks into his training, the Wolffs, Tess and Susie came to watch Jones work him and by January of 2022 they decided to purchase him.

“The first time we saw Claude we just thought he was exotic,” Ben Wolff said. “The way he floated and extended at the trot made it look like his feet never touched the ground. Scott had been working with him and loved his temperament and he just seemed to fit easily into our program. He’s fun to watch – really mellow and beautiful to look at.”

In 2022, Jones rode Al Call You Later to a Reserve American Paint Horse Association World Championship title in Green Hunter Under Saddle and they were declared Intermediate Champions as well.

This year, at the APHA World Show in June, Al Call You Later was named unanimous World Champion in All Age Driving with Marion Troyer in the cart and Reserve World Champion in Junior Hunter Hack with Jerry Erickson in the irons.

And at The Premier, in Lexington, Kentucky, Al Call You Later won the Junior Driving.

Jones says Claude’s movement really sets him apart from other horses in the show pen.

“That trot is really memorable,” he said. “”But in a stallion, you always want to see a horse that is trainable and Claude really is.”

He is continuing his show career in Driving, Working Hunter events, and the Working Hunter Under Saddle.

“He’ll have a great stud career later,” Jones said.

But Al Call You Later is not the only show horse to join the Corrival Ranch since its establishment a few years back.

In June of 2022 the partnership purchased what was essentially AQHA Professional Horseman Dale Livingston’s entire breeding operation, including 25 horses including weanlings, yearlings, broodmares and two stallions, Ima Platinum Dream and Unbridle Your Dreams.

“We are and always will be very grateful to Dale for allowing us the opportunity to own such a great legacy within our industry,” Ben Wolff said. “We are centered around trying to build something for Tess for years to come between the farm, breeding business and equine rehab center.”

Ima Platinum Dream, a 2010 gray stallion by Huntin For Chocolate and out of Ima Bodacious Dream, had already been established as both a show horse and a sire. He is the earner of 65 AQHA points and $1,272. With only 115 foals, Ima Platinum Dream’s offspring have earned 2,040 AQHA points and $83,492.

Unbridle Your Dreams (Special) is the only standing son of Ima Platinum Dream. The 2018 gray stallion out of Wild Gypsy Soule, is 16-hands tall and just getting started in both the show pen and in the breeding shed.

He stood the 2023 breeding season at Mike Hay’s Pilot Knob Quarter Horses in Reddick, Florida. But before that even got started Hay dropped the youngster off with Florida professional trainer Stephanie Armellini in Anthony (near Ocala), to advance his under saddle training.

“I started riding him the day after he arrived on Dec. 1, 2022,” she explained. “I was in love from the very first ride. I knew he was my kind of horse.”

Armellini  describes Special as a big, beautiful dapple gray horse with a big, soft step.

“I feel like he just draws your attention to him whether you like him as an individual or not, you have to look at him,” she said.

Armellini started working on the youngster’s basics but in just a couple months later he had to return to Pilot Knob to fulfill his breeding contracts.

Then in April, just two weeks after returning from the breeding shed, Armellini showed Special to circuit championships in both Green and Junior Hunter Under Saddle and had some placings in Trail at a show in Tampa.

“That was his first time in the Trail pen so we were in a snaffle for that show,” Armellini said.

From there Special went to The Premier where he and Phillips were Reserve Champions in the $2,500 Limited Rider/Limited Horse Hunter Under Saddle and Armellini showed him to a top five placing in Green Junior Trail.

Next up was the Big A Circuit where Special had wins and a Reserve Circuit Championship in Hunter Under Saddle and top five placings in Trail.

At the 2023 NSBA World Show, Armelini and Special placed fifth in Green Junior Trail Limited Rider; seventh in 4&5- Year-Old Limited Open Trail; sixth in the 4-6-Year-Old Limited Open Hunter Under Saddle; and 10th in the Green Hunter Under Saddle.

Armellini will show Special in the Green and Junior Trail and Green Hunter Under Saddle at the Quarter Horse Congress and Phillips will show him in Select Hunter Under Saddle.

“After that will be the AQHA World Show  and then the Florida circuits,” Armellini explained.

“My hope is to put a solid show record on him and hopefully a big title,” she said. “He goes back to the breeding shed the beginning of next year so it would be great to get him some recognition before then.”

But in addition to successful stallions it also takes some outstanding mares to build a successful breeding operation and the Corrival Ranch team thinks they found just that in Ma Donna, a 2021 gray mare by Allocate Your Assets out of Truly Graceful.

“This is a funny story,” Jones recalled. “I was in Boerne (Texas) for Susie Phillips’s birthday party last December. I was about to leave to head to the event when I saw a canter video uploaded to Facebook. I got in my car and flew out to Corrival Ranch, ran in, and told Susie that she needed to see this horse.”

Jones had his former training partner, David Miller go out to see her the next day.

“Everybody knows a horse like this would be an incredible addition to a program, both as a show horse and as an eventual broodmare, ”Jones said. “We flew out within days and did the pre-purchase and the rest is history.”

Jones said Ma Donna (Hannah Grace) has been easy since the first day he started riding her.

“She’s the total package,” he explained. “She’s easy to be around, sweet and smart. But most importantly, she can trot and canter both directions.”

Phillips and the Wolffs are determined to keep the focus on the Corrival mission – to breed the ultimate all-around Quarter Horse and provide equine athletes with world class equestrian facilities and rehabilitation services. A lot of thought and work go into selecting the perfect stallions to achieve their goals.

“What’s unique about these guys is that Al Call You Later is double registered, and we are working on getting APHA papers for Unbridle My Dreams,”  Ben Wolff said. “And, we think having the opportunity to essentially double the classes you’re able to show their offspring in is invaluable to those who choose to breed to these two amazing stallions.”

Julie Wolff said she and her husband spent a ton of time with Phillips trying to figure out what stallions would fit their program and where they wanted to take it.

“Both are incredibly good minded and both have excellent conformation,” she said. “To our knowledge there are only four producing stallions by Allocate Your Assets and Al Call You Later is one of them and there is only one producing stallion by Ima Platinum Dream and that’s Unbridle Your Dreams. We are very excited about the outcross potential.”

The Wolffs still remember the first time they saw Unbridle Your Dreams.

“We just fell in love,” Ben Wolff said. “He was beautiful and so easy going. I even rode him on that first visit and was just so struck by how effortless he made it all seem. When we talked to Dale (Livingston) he admitted the same, that he was very easy to break and be around. He’s had two years of breeding now and he’s still that way. Just easy going and mellow. He has two foal crops on the grown and they are absolutely gorgeous. One cross we have really liked on him is a foal out of Fashioned By Impulse. We are really excited about this one.”

The Wolffs had a similar experience the first time they got to see Al Call You Later.

The same attention to detail is paid to the babies when determining their future.

“We have yearlings and 2-year-olds at six different trainers around the country and we really take our time to try to figure out where we think the horse’s potential is and what trainers have had at least some experience with Ima Platinum Dream offspring,” Ben Wolff explained.

The Wolff’s said they could not be happier about working with Jones.

“He is open, communicative and collaborative,” Julie Wolff said. “He’s everything we could ask for in a horse trainer. Now he’s training Tess too and it’s interesting to watch him communicate with her in a different way than he does with us but in a way that works for her. It’s fun to watch that magic happen. We just think the world of Scott.”

And they have had just as great experience with Armellini.

“Stephanie is killer,” Ben Wolff said. “She has so much fire and enthusiasm and smarts, she really is the whole package.

It’s really all about finding who you click with and we really have been so lucky to have met some incredible trainers to help us on our journey.”

But luck can only play so large a part. Business experience also plays a huge role and the Corrival partners bring to the table plenty of that.

Ben and Julie are serial entrepreneurs. Prior to founding Corrival Ranch, the couple co-founded and took public multiple technology and telecommunications companies. Julie served as each company’s primary legal counsel and Ben served as its chief executive officer. As active investors in private companies and mentors to their founders, Ben and Julie have been involved with a wide range of companies in the food and agriculture sector, including a winery, a commercial bakery and a shellfish farm. Ben graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a degree in Ag Business and Julie graduated from Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon with a degree in Business Administration. Ben went on to earn his law degree from Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon and Julie earned her master’s degree in Business Administration and a law degree from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. In addition to 14-year-old Tess, the couple have two other daughters, Courtney, 30 and Stephanie, 25.

Susie Phillips’ interaction and involvement with the horse industry runs deep, from running and operating her family breeding program to managing a successful equine apparel business providing show clothing to top riders. Susie has certificates from Colorado State University in Breeding Management and artificial insemination.

While breeding and raising World and Reserve World Champions, Phillips currently shows two of her AQHA mares in  Hunter Under Saddle classes but stays involved in all major associations including AQHA, NRHA, APHA, PtHA and NSBA.

A graduate of Campbell University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and Sociology, Susie lives in Boerne with her husband, Jason Phillips, and their two children, Ellie and Cody.

The Ranch House

In addition to the most modern boarding amenities, Corrival Ranch also offers lodging with total accommodations for up to 22 human guests.

The Ranch House is fully equipped to be your ranch-away-from-home with a fully stocked kitchen furnished with stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, and everything you need for a good cup of coffee with a golden Texas sunrise. Visitors can enjoy family meals at the dining table or barbeque outside on the large stone patio overlooking one of Corrival’s lush pasture landscapes. You can spend your days strolling this working Quarter Horse ranch or visiting nearby attractions in San Antonio. If it’s quiet you crave, the ranch house is streaming ready with WiFi and movie streaming services.

Rehab Facilities

Corrival Ranch’s world class rehabilitation center is at the national forefront of equine care for post-surgical, post-injury, layups and conditioning of the high-performance athlete. No matter the breed or discipline, Corrival Ranch offers a comprehensive and all-inclusive program using a full suite of proven equipment for all rehabilitative concerns including whole body treatments using a Theraplate, targeted therapy with a cold laser, healthy strengthening with an Aquapacer, or non-medicinal and effective treatments with a Pulse Equine PEMF session. Every horse’s treatment plan is custom created in tandem with you, your trainer and your veterinarian to achieve sound improvement.

Phillips and the Wolffs are looking forward to watching the future unfold for Corrival Ranch and it’s show and breeding horses. They invite everyone to come visit the Ranch and see for themselves or catch up with them at the Congress or World Show where many of their horses will compete this year. To make an appointment to visit Corrival Ranch or for additional information on breeding to the stallions, visit them on the web at www.corrivalranch.com or call (210) 338-0830. You can also connect with them on the Corival Ranch Facebook page.