By Brianna York
As featured in the Winter 2025 issue of Arabian Horse World
Malieka. The word means queen in several languages.
There is no more perfect word to describe the beautiful little chestnut mare who exploded onto the Arabian scene with Hannah Feldman in 2008 and proceeded to rake in roses and blue ribbons for the next eight years.
On the surface, the story of Malieka and her impact on the Feldman family and trainer Donna Waggoner can be tied up with a neat little bow: a talented kid with committed, passionate parents gets connected with the perfect horse for her youth years and hooks up with a trainer who expertly guides them to an almost impossible number of wins.
However, the real story of Malieka’s impact on the lives of the people around her throughout her time with the Feldman family is a much more complex and rich story than that. There’s a good reason that Malieka and Hannah’s journey touched so many people and inspired us all. It’s because more than a little bit of serendipity and magic created their partnership right before our eyes.
In 2007, Hannah and her parents had already invested in the horse they thought would be her new show horse. After a year of play days, practice shows, and riding lessons, it was clear that their daughter was ready to move on to bigger and better things with this new horse. However, fate had other plans, and when Hannah’s grandfather, Duane Scudder, told the family about a mare they just had to buy, Malieka came into their lives.
This was the first moment of serendipity for the Feldman family, as the mare had been hanging out in a pasture for the past five years after spending time collecting ribbons in Liz Bentley’s barn. Her show record made it clear that she could do the job. It included a Reserve Champion in 1998 in the prestigious Breeder’s Cup Yearling Fillies class with Keith Krichke. Still, Hannah’s dad, Gary, admits he was a little miffed by this new addition to the family herd.
“I was actually a little upset at first,” Gary Feldman said with a laugh, pointing out that they had just purchased a different horse that was set to be Hannah’s show horse. “She immediately demonstrated how special she was, though,” he adds.
Trainer Donna Waggoner, who had both horses in training, immediately advised that they should keep Malieka and sell the other mare. As their first act as a unified team, the Feldmans and Donna focused on Malieka and sold the other mare. With this critical decision handled, Malieka, affectionately known as “Mali,” and Hannah began creating a partnership that was soon to be something magical.
The early days of a special partnership.
“They just always fit,” Donna said when asked what was so special about Hannah and Malieka.
“People always told us that there was just something about them in the ring together,” Julie Feldman said. She’s quick to point out that this was partially because of the strong sense of team at the heart of their partnership with the horse and Donna. “It was everything,” she said. “The right color jacket, Donna’s horse care and presentation skill, Malieka’s shiny coat, the beautiful clip job, Hannah’s lessons, and her dedication to being a great rider. It was all of it that created their unique look.”
But it was also about so much more. There were so many ways that Malieka, Hannah, and Donna might not have come together. After all, Donna had taken a break from training horses in 2007 and was not even sure if she would return to it full-time. Hannah was just starting to get her feet wet with the idea of showing at a higher level, and her parents were not even sure which of their two horses they should keep. Malieka had been in a pasture, seemingly ready to be done showing and have some foals. She had already had one baby and could have easily had many more.
The beautiful pairing who danced through arenas throughout Hannah’s youth career collecting ribbons and accolades almost didn’t happen.
Hannah and Malieka winning the Scottsdale show in 2010 in Walk/Trot Equitation. At left is Hannah’s grandpa, Duane Scudder, and at right, smiling, is trainer and coach Donna Waggoner.
Julie points out how much Malieka changed them all. “She was at the center of everything,” she says. Malieka was the connective tissue at the heart of a partnership formed in 2007. This has led to a long-term relationship that includes the Feldmans purchasing a property and giving Donna a home for her training program. Without Malieka, Hannah might have moved in another direction as a rider, Donna might not have returned to training horses full-time, and her parents might not have become ambassadors for preserving the Arabian horse.
First horses are incredibly formative for riders, and Malieka’s story reads like a storybook tale from a Disney movie. Hannah said that she remembers clearly one of her early riding lessons with Donna, helping to lunge her horse, and the lunge whip was so heavy that she struggled to swing it. It’s easy to forget that Hannah was still in walk-trot when Malieka came into her life because she has always been wise beyond her years.
The reality, however, was that Hannah was still a small child, and Malieka could be a bit tricky and smart in the ring. Hannah laughed when asked about showing her and highlighted how much Malieka taught her about showing. “Malieka was tricky. Donna and I followed a system to prepare her for classes. She had to peak at the right time during a show,” she said.
By 2009, Malieka and Hannah had formed a solid working partnership, with a year of local showing under their belt. For Donna, this was a tipping point. She had been riding primarily open horses until this point in her career. Hannah was the first youth rider she had developed. When Hannah and Malieka handily won in 2009 at the Scottsdale Show in Walk-Trot 10 & Under, Donna realized that she loved being a coach and developing youth riders to their full potential.
Hannah and proud grandpa, Duane Scudder.
Competing at the highest levels of competition might have seemed like a cakewalk for Hannah and Malieka. Still, during those years, it was not at all unusual to have eighty kids entered in each class at the national show. Even competing in walk-trot, each class Hannah and Malieka trotted into was populated with many former national champions and experienced kids.
“During the peak of Malieka’s success,“ Gary said, “we actually felt like the underdogs at Nationals.” Gary talked about taking their two-horse trailer with all of them crammed into the family’s truck across the country to Youth Nationals each year. The whole family immediately highlighted the memories they made during each of those trips despite being stabled in the back forty.
Carrying three rose blankets back to that stall at the very back of the fairgrounds in 2012 and 2014 was a rare feat and one that inspired many others. Since her passing, many people have messaged Hannah about Malieka, saying that her partnership with her first horse was incredibly inspiring and that it made them believe in their own journey so much more.
“The wins were great, but Malieka taught me much more than that. She taught me how much hard work and dedication it takes to be successful,” Hannah said.
Hannah, Malieka and Donna winning their first National Championship in 2010.
Hannah and Malieka winning the Hunter Pleasure JOTR 14-18 in 2014.
In 2014, Hannah and Malieka won three national championships including Hunter Pleasure JOTR 14-18, Hunter Pleasure JTR 14-18 and Ladies English Side Saddle JTR.
When asked how they handled the stress of supporting such a successful youth pairing at a high level of competition, Hannah’s parents quickly pointed out that Hannah was always wise beyond her years and incredibly composed. Gary said that a horse dad’s job is a little different than a horse mom’s job but that he always knew that Hannah would have things under control and that she and Donna had what essentially amounted to a professional relationship surrounding the management of Malieka.
Gary videoed Hannah’s classes and watched with pride as the chestnut mare with all the chrome, and her small but mighty rider grew up together into an inspiring partnership. He quickly points out that Hannah had to earn her success and that they wanted her to be a horseman and not just a rider. “That’s so important when it comes to all of this,” he said. The right first horse can kindle a fire of enthusiasm for equestrian pursuits, but only with the right support system.
“We fed each other,” Julie says about the team that made Malieka and Hannah a great partnership. “We were always a team.”
When Hannah showed Malieka in 2016 at the Scottsdale Show, the team who loved her knew it was time to make a change. Malieka was fighting some of the inevitable signs of aging, and they wanted her to leave the ring looking just as beautiful as ever.
Malieka’s retirement ceremony in 2016. Malieka’s support team from left: Gary and Julie Feldman, Hannah, Grandpa Duane Scudder, and trainer/coach Donna Waggoner.
But that wasn’t the end of the story for Malieka. She went on to teach other children to ride, and Gary even learned to ride on the horse that he had once been skeptical about buying. There’s something full-circle about Malieka’s life with the Feldman family, from raising Hannah to helping bring new people into the breed and giving back to the parents who supported her pairing with Hannah throughout her youth career.
“She is the reason for everything,” Hannah said, and the words ring true in so many ways.
Malieka might have left the Feldmans and Donna in early December of 2024, but her spirit lives on in everything that Donna and the Feldmans do today. Malieka’s influence led the Feldmans and Donna to form a business partnership that has lasted for most of Hannah’s life. Malieka offered Hannah the chance to bond with her grandfather over his beloved Arabian horses, and she taught Hannah to be capable, thoughtful, and dedicated. Malieka showed Donna that she was not only a skilled horse trainer but also a gifted coach who was blessed with the ability to help young riders grow into real horsemen. Last but not least, Malieka inspired so many of us with her beauty, goodness, and exemplary representation of the Arabian horse and what the breed means to horse people worldwide.
“It was a true honor to be her person through all these years,” Hannah said. “There will never be another one of you, Mali.”
Hannah and Malieka garned 7 National Championships and 3 Reserve National Championships in their career.
