Welcome to Cavalleria Rusticana
Cavalleria Rusticana Equine & Kennel is located in Waxhaw Horse Country in south, central North Carolina. We take pride in our passion for building solid citizens through health, temperament, and conformation of our Old World crossbred Friesians, Iberians, Gypsy Vanners, and Drafts and farm-bred Jack Russell Terriers known in the AKC as “Russell Terriers”.
Our Old World Breeding Program: Focus on Breeding Great Minds and Bodies Alike
We leaving the world better than we found it. And we love everything Old World. Old world breeds are the focus of our breeding program. On the equine side, we breed baroque crossbred Friesians, Iberians, Gypsies, and Drafts. These breeds have been used in war for centuries. They must have sound minds and be capable of handling stress. Today, these breeds are the foundation for modern “war horses”. While horses are not much used in war anymore, horses are still made to constantly deal with stress. Horses built for fox hunting, mounted archery, and other equine sports require sound leadership and great training. On the kennel side, our English Jack Russell Terriers (JRTs) are also bred for great minds. Originally bred to hunt fox, today they make excellent companions for people and outstanding barn hunters.
Old World Farm-Stays and Weddings
Villa di Cavalleria is our Guesthouse. It is listed on Airbnb for farm-stays. Please visit our Events page for more information and to book a farm-stay. Coming in 2024, Cavalleria will open as an event venue for small weddings…more information coming soon.
I know three things really well: murder, music, and horses…
Well and dogs lol so I guess really four. After my French Bulldog program met with great success at the 143rd Westminster Kennel Club dog Show in 2019, my Frenchie dream came true and I was content. Now I’m excited to shift gears to breed good citizens in Jack Russell Terriers….and my own dream horses: crossbred Friesians, Iberians, Gypsies, and Drafts. Our animals and our farm is a labor of love for our family. Together, Todd and I are excited to move forward in this new phase of our lives towards focusing our farm goals on breeding for health and temperament, beautiful conformation, and trainability, which all leads to horses, dogs, and humans living harmoniously together. Welcome to to our farm, where old world quality is alive and well preserving the past and building the future.
—Dr. Laura G. Pettler, PhD, MS, LPI, Forensic Criminologist, CREK Horse Trainer, and Dog Fancier
Breeding horses and dogs take me back to my roots…
I had a ran a farm when my kids were young. We had all kinds of animals. My daughter Kali and I would ride around in a cart pulled by her pony. Kali loved to help me on the farm. Now, Laura and my focus is on breeding really smart and sensible horses and dogs. We are looking forward to learning a pretty cool new sport called Barn Hunt. Our Jack Russells love to hunt the farm, so we know they’re going to do great at the sport of Barn Hunt with the AKC. I actually bred Jack Russells back in the 1990s on my farm. I enjoyed those days very much. Most of my experience with horses has been with Quarter Horses, Paints, and Appaloosas. I’m new to Friesians, but taking care of them teaches me something new here at Cavalleria every day. Our work on the farm is never done, just done for the day, but I love it, the farm has become the central focus of my life. Laura and I look forward to you becoming part of our family by making one of our horses or dogs a new member of your family.
—D. Todd Ellis, CREK Operations Manager
The Vision
My very best friend in the world, Charlotte Cannon, a renowned horse trainer and top Toy Sheltie breeder in the United States. Recently, she wrote to me, “The ones I meet at my clinics of these breeds '[Friesians, Gypsians, Iberians, and Draft crosses] are very misunderstood. That being said, I see lots more TBs, WBs, QHs, and Arabs than your crosses. The biggest thing I see today is there are very few horse-developers today.” —Charlotte Cannon, 2023.
There are lots of untrained fantasy horses out there and way too many dogs loaded with behavioral problems. The market is flooded with them both. But what is lacking is horses and dogs equipped to do great things. The gap is glaring between “broke, broke, broke,” and unmannerly, spooky, stressed out fantasy horses and dogs that are solid citizens. There are lots of breeders out there who breed because they love babies, but not as many horse-developers or dog fanciers out there who love training. The bedrock of our breeding program for both our horses and dogs is different. We aim to intentionally make solid citizens that thrive with their people and other animals in the world. The foundation for this philosophy is to minimize breeding-blindness by not saddling our stock with breeder insecurities and baggage. Instead, breeding horses and dogs with great health, great minds, and good conformation capable of good decision making and that can handle pressure in positive ways. Horses and dogs that can handle stress, horses and dogs that can solve problems, and horses and dogs who choose to be good citizens because they want to not because they have been “cowboy-upped” or strong-armed into submission.
Horses and dogs need healthy boundaries. Friesians, Gypsy, Iberians, and Draft crosses are horses of strength who definitely require prudent leadership. Jack Russell Terriers also require prudent leadership. Prudent leadership is a foundational piece of our program. Just like people, horses and dogs who are taught to cope with the world are winners in life. The opposite is also true. A child with no boundaries, no leadership, and no coping skills becomes an adult who often flounders in the process of making grave errors. As a forensic criminologist, I’ve seen this over and over again in my work, killer after killer. Interestingly, our breeding program is in part a reflection of my work as a criminologist and my more than 20 years in solving murders.
Our breeding program not only invests in health and conformation as many breeding programs do. Our breeding program is centered on the psychology of the horse and dog. Developing horses and dogs from birth who will inspire people to heal their own trauma and grow more than they ever imagined. The philosophy of our breeding program combines all of my passions into one single dream: to breed fantasy horses that ride, train, and live like Quarter Horses and Jack Russells that life and train like calm, sensible dogs. If we can accomplish these goals we have cracked the case and will leave the world better than we found it.
—Laura