Horseman Patrick Swayze – Rest in Peace

Actor Patrick Swayze died this week but many do not know that he was a very good horseman.

He had a 20,000 acre ranch with his wife Lisa Niemi about 45 minutes north of my home in New Mexico. His ashes have been scattered there. Rancho de Dias Alegres, which translates as “Ranch of Happy Days,” was turned into a wildlife reserve and timber farm by the actor, who would often fly there in his own plane.

Patrick’s most famous horse was the Arabian stallion Tammen (pictured above). He was bred by Tom McNair. Unfortunately Tammen and Tom have both passed away.

Swayze tell us “I grew up with horses. My father was a cowboy in Texas. We lived in Houston. At the age of eight, I visited the Gleannloch Farm and from then on I was lost! I dreamed of nothing but Arabians, and when I imagined Arabians, they were Egyptians!”

Below is a YouTube video of Pat riding Tammen with his friend Olivia Newton-John. Both he and Olivia use to have their Arabian horses trained and boarded at the same trainer in the mid-west. The video took place sometime in the early 1990’s.