Send Us Your SBS Frozen Semen Foal Photos
Pull out your cameras and start snapping! We'd like to see photos of your foals born in 2013 from semen frozen by an SBS affiliate lab or resulting from embryo transfer performed at one of our SBS affiliate labs. The winner of the best foal photo will win a $50 Dover Saddlery gift certificate. Photos will be posted to our website and will be judged on composition by our SBS affiliate members. Click here to see the current submission of foals from 2013.

In the 1990’s the reining horse industry in Italy was on the rise. This boom gave birth to Le Colombare Quarter Horses located in Asola in the province of Manotva, Italy. The facility focuses on both the reining horse and cutting horse industries. Giovanni Nodari and Massimiliano Ruggeri decided they would invest in reining horses by visiting the United States and purchasing high caliber foals. Unfortunately, they determined the caliber of foals they wished to purchase were not within their budget. Thus, they decided to invest in good mares which they could breed in Italy to top stallions in the industry.

When Maryanna Haymon was told many years ago she could no longer ride horses she knew she had to figure out a way to remain in the horse business. She found her answer in the sport horse breeding industry. She would be able to continue her love of horses, remain a part of the sport horse world and leave her imprint in the industry. Maryanna and her husband, Wendell, own Marydell Farm in Columbus, North Carolina. The region boasts a temperate climate which allows grass to grow in the pastures 10 months of the year which is the ideal setting for breeding and raising young horses. Allowing their “horses to be horses” with lots of outdoor exercise helps them reach their optimum growth potential.

Centro di Riproduzione Equina Centauro (CREC) is located at Bagni di Tivoli near Rome on a historical Standardbred farm. The facility, situated on an almost 100 acre property, is a state of the art veterinary practice, built according to the latest guidelines for animal welfare. The care of the horse is of utmost importance at CREC; horses are housed in stalls at night with turn-out in large paddocks during the day. Every day the CREC team provides the most advanced reproductive techniques to the equine breeding industry by bringing together specialized experience and the best in patient care.

Nestled on 250 acres in Lake Panasoffkee, FL sits S.E. Montgomery’s Flying M Ranch. Montgomery has been active in the cutting horse industry since the mid 1980’s after he attended his first cutting horse show. The rest as they say is history. Growing up in Cookeville, TN Montgomery’s family had working horses but his heart for horses had to be shared by his passion for golf. At the age of 20 his trucking industry moved him to Florida where he has resided ever since. For over 30 years he has owned and showed cutting horses, taking only a brief hiatus from the cutting industry in order to follow his other love…golf. Upon his return to the cutting world he decided it was time to take things seriously and knew in order to succeed he needed to begin breeding the top cutting horses in the world.

When your mare has made it to 320 days of pregnancy you are in the home stretch and soon will be the proud owner of a newborn foal. Are you ready? While labor and delivery are certainly a significant event, generally all will go off without a hitch and more likely than not, you will need only to be a quiet spectator. It is usually best to allow the mare’s natural instinct and abilities handle the delivery however, your presence is important in the event of trouble or an emergency; if it appears that your mare is in distress during her foaling, call your veterinarian for assistance. Being knowledgeable of normal labor and delivery will allow for quick action and recognition if abnormal events should occur. There are also a few things to keep in mind in the weeks leading up to her due date that will aid in making for a safe and memorable foaling for you and your equine companions. Here we review pre-foaling plans and provide a supply list for your foaling kit.

Four years ago Barbara Roux, owner of St. Bride’s Farm in Upperville, Virginia, purchased a beautiful, athletic, Holsteiner stallion named Coronett 2 (Corrado I/Hanka VI/Cassini I). All three stallions in his stallion line have produced top international and Olympic jumping horses. Born in Germany in 1999 Coronett 2 competed successfully throughout his show jumping career and at the age of nine was part of the Irish Nation’s Cup team in Wellington, Florida.

Select Breeders Southwest, Inc. is pleased to announce Radical Rodder (HotRodders Jet Set x Flashy Bar Flower), owned by Diane Chilton, will remain at their facility for the 2013 breeding season. Diane purchased Radical Rodder in March of 1992 when he was a yearling. Shortly thereafter his sire, Hotrodders Jet Set (Docs Hotrodder x Miss Clique), passed away as a result of a tragic injury. Diane received pressure from many breeders to stand Radical Rodder at stud due to the popularity of his sire. With Radical Rodder being the first stallion Diane would own it was not a decision she made lightly. She had been a mare owner since 1979 which allowed her to understand the mare owner’s side of the breeding industry. She knew that if she did keep Radical Rodder a stallion she could help others achieve the ultimate goal…a beautiful, athletic foal.

With 2013 officially here, preparations for breeding season are in full swing at the Four Sixes Ranch. You don’t have to look far to see new faces around the ranch as interns from various parts of the United States have arrived at the ranch. And speaking of new arrivals, we are also welcoming our first foals of 2013! The breeding season will officially begin the first week of February, and is always a busy, yet exciting time for us. The Four Sixes Ranch currently stands 21 resident stallions as well as manages the frozen semen of several off-site or deceased stallions. Throughout the season we will breed more than 1,500 mares and welcome more than 150 foals into the world.

Select Breeders Services and Hassler Dressage present an Equine Reproduction Symposium on February 16th 2013 at the Riveredge Training Center in Chesapeake City, Maryland. Be prepared for breeding season by attending this informative seminar conducted by leading equine professionals. Please see the flyer below for more info.

We have lots of news to share with you on the successes of our clients, their stallions and offspring around the world. Four Sixes Ranch reports some fantastic results for their stallion, One Famous Eagle (photo left). His first foals are now 2 years old and beginning their racing careers. So far his offspring have earned $2,382,014, making him the leading freshman sire of all time for racing Quarter Horses, breaking the record previously held by First Down Dash. His biggest runner, ONE DASHING EAGLE, is currently the #1 money earner this year. He won the $1 million Ed Burke Million Futurity, was the fastest qualifier and winner of the $2.4 million All American Futurity, and was the fastest qualifier and winner of the $1.118 million Golden State Futurity on November 4th. With this recent win the colt set a record for most money earned by a racing Quarter Horse of any age in a single season.

Cuoghi Quarter Horses is one of the top Quarter Horse breeding facilities in Europe. The beautiful facility where his horses are bred and trained is located in the Northern Italy town of Castelvetro, near Modena. Roberto Cuoghi’s passion has brought him incredible results in the international arenas for both the reining horse and cutting horse industries. In the late 1980’s Mr. Cuoghi purchased the stallion Snapper Cal Bar (Cal Bar x Cee Miss Snapper). This stallion not only is the founding stallion for Cuoghi Quarter Horses but also transformed the European Reining Horse Industry.

2012 marks the 25th anniversary of the formal incorporation of Select Breeders Service and we continue to expand and grow in our effort to be a leader in equine reproduction services and technology. This year we are very excited to share with you some big news! Select Breeders Service is pleased to announce a partnership with David Scofield, DVM, Board Certified in Equine Reproduction, to expand our veterinary care and mare management services in Chesapeake City, Maryland. Through a newly formed division of SBS, operating under the name SBS-Veterinary Services (SBS-VS), Dr. Scofield and the SBS team will offer services including management of breeding and foaling mares, advanced diagnostic techniques and therapies, embryo transfer, and routine veterinary care from a newly renovated facility. Dr. Scofield brings to SBS-VS a strong background in general equine practice, embryo transfer, mare management, foaling services, and infertility of the mare and stallion. Coupled with SBS’s proven commitment to stallion reproduction and quality service, SBS-VS is excited to offer expanded mare management and veterinary services in Chesapeake City.

In recent issues of the SBS monthly newsletter we presented a couple of blog articles about reproductive efficiency, titled Measuring Reproductive Efficiency and A Review of Reports of Reproductive Efficiency. At SBS we ship out 1000s of frozen semen shipments a year, however, it is very difficult for us to get the pregnancy data back from the mare owners we send semen to. In the future we hope to simplify this process by enabling our clients to respond to an automatically generated email through our website. This would be great information to have available for review by mare owners considering frozen semen. We do track fertility data for the mares and stallions we manage at our SBS affiliate locations and we try to combine this data as a group for analysis. We summarize this information for you here.

In 1971, with the help students from across America, Ms. Velma Johnson’s efforts of protecting America’s horse became reality with the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. Ms. Johnson saw the American Mustang as an icon of the West and fought to protect them and land they roamed, creating a legacy that lives on today. This act declared the wild horses and burros to be “living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West”. Carrying out this task has led to the establishment of the Wild Horse and Burro Program, through which the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages and protects these animals both on and off the range as well as working to maintain the rangeland that they call home.

Now that your mare is safely checked in foal, the next step in the journey begins. It is time to plan ahead to ensure you have all your ducks in a row with regard to the care and management of your pregnant mare and for welcoming the arrival of your foal. Firstly, where will your mare foal out? If she is to foal out at home it is assumed you have a suitable foaling stall, a pasture with shelter and safe fencing to house the mare and her foal. Start to compile your foaling kit, emergency plans and contacts, secure a source of colostrum and research options for nurse mares. Of course we all hope for a normal, successful delivery, but we have to be prepared for worst case scenarios. If the unexpected happens at such an emotional time, having a plan in place will alleviate stress and save time when tough decisions have to be made. If your mare will foal out at another facility she should be moved at least 30 days prior to foaling so she can build up immunity to her new environment.

Here we take an interesting look at the predominant sires of the 2012 Olympic horses for all three equestrian disciplines. To collect this data we compiled an Excel spreadsheet of the horses that placed at the Olympics either Top 10 in the team competition or Top 20 in the Individual final. The sire, dam and damsire information was obtained from the Olympic Preview issue of The Chronicle of the Horse or the FEI database. The sires whose names appeared the most formed the basis of this article. The notable sires of jumping horses were Nabab de Reve, Quick Star and Baloubet du Rouet, for dressage horses it was Donnerhall, Sandro Hit and Ferro and for eventing horses Master Imp, Cruising and Heraldik xx.

Tamworth Equine Veterinary Center is one of two Select Breeder Services laboratories in Australia, in the southern hemisphere. Being at the center of the Quarter Horse and Stock Horse breeding industries, we are well positioned to meet the needs of stallion owners wishing to utilize artificial insemination techniques. The veterinary center is situated on a 30 acre alluvial river flats property and we receive mares throughout the breeding season for artificial breeding procedures. Additionally we have access to a 400 acre grazing property in which to turn out broodmares and embryo recipient stock.

The Allevamento Frisoni PGP comes mainly from the passion and love for horses that unites two generations, and that certainly will be passed on to the third. After several work and holiday trips in Holland, we literally fell in love with the Friesian horse and its ancient history. Our excursions took the form of real cultural missions, exploring all the nuances of the breed from its origins until today: in this regard we have to thank some of the most famous Dutch farmers who have transferred a wealth of knowledge and invaluable experience. Inevitably we started the first purchases, the first sales, the first foals were born, and now we own a breeding farm that counts about thirty horses of which some are still living in the beautiful Friesian area.

Congratulations to Our 2012 Foal Photo Contest Winner! Shera Rubin wins a Dover Saddlery Gift Certificate for $50 for her foal "Hailstorm" (Consul x Risky Pam). This photo certainly has the cuteness factor - Kisses!
Runners Up were Counting Cards and Splitting Memories

When Debbie and James Glover began in the horse industry it was raising race horses. Their focus soon changed to the world of Western Pleasure riding when they purchased the 2002 AQHA World Champion Western Pleasure mare, Vital Signs Are Good, for their daughter Kristen. Vitals Signs Are Good is a daughter of the famed Zippos Mr Good Bar and granddaughter of the infamous Zippo Pine Bar. The partnership between Kristen and Vital Signs Are Good dominated the AQHA World Show and the Congress. They amassed a total of 9 AQHA World Championships and 27 Congress Championships in Western Pleasure and Western Riding at both the Amateur and Open levels during their career together.

Trips scheduled from SBS-MD:
Jan 26th - Feb 9th 2013: Dupuis Farm, Saco, ME
March 18 - 30 2013: Wisconsin Equine Clinic, WI
Tentative trip to Alabama in March.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II celebrated 60 years on the throne earlier this month. As part of the many celebrations a spectacular Diamond Jubilee Pageant was presented May 10-13th at Windsor Castle. Over 550 horses and more than 1000 dancers, musicians, and performers from around the world came together to pay tribute to the Queen, who attended a special performance on May 13th. The theme of the pageant was a journey around the world, reflecting The Queen's State and Commonwealth visits during the course of Her Reign. Horses were key performers in the celebration and many of the Queen’s own horses joined the parade. Follow these links for photos and video of the Diamond Jubilee Pageant. Here is some additional information about the Queen’s favorite past-time and the strong connection she has to the horse.

The Fell Pony is a working breed of mountain and moorland pony originally bred on the fell farms of Cumbria, in the old counties of Cumberland and Westmorland in Northwest England. The Fell pony is noted for hardiness, agility, strength and surefootedness that enables them to live and thrive in the tough conditions and climate of the Lakeland fells. The Fell Pony was originally used for light agriculture and as a packhorse for the transportation of farm goods. Being good, fast walkers, they would often travel up to 240 miles a week. Early in the registry it was noted that 50% of the ponies were brown but they are now predominantly black with some being brown, bay or grey. They stand an average of 13.2 hands, with an upper limit of 14hds. Though they may be relatively short they are powerfully-built and strong enough to carry both adults and children.

Possibly the most versatile breed of horse, the Australian Stock Horse (ASH) is a fine working and performance animal renowned for its toughness, resilience and strength. Add to this agility and speed and you have a horse with a cosmopolitan blend of attributes ideally suited for work or play. Hence the slogan - The Breed for Every Need. The ancestry of the ASH dates to the arrival of the first horses in Australia; brought from Europe, Africa and Asia. Some of the original horse breeds in these early imports included the Thoroughbred, Cape of Good Hope Horse (largely descended from the Barb and Spanish horse), Arabian, Timor Pony and Welsh Mountain pony. In the 1830s, additional Thoroughbreds were imported into Australia to improve the local strains, and the mid-20th century saw infusions from the American Quarter Horse.

Select Breeders Southwest, Inc. wishes to express our condolences to the Schmersals, Dorminy Plantation and the Driscolls for their loss of Commanders Nic. We had the opportunity of standing this wonderful stallion for the partnership during the 2006 and 2007 breeding seasons. He was wonderful to be around and a great athlete. We are honored to have processed his frozen semen and sending the shipments throughout the world so that all who wished could have a little bit of Commander Nic. His legacy will live on through his offspring.

The reining horse world lost a great sire this month when Royal Chic Olena passed away. Select Breeders Southwest in Aubrey, TX was fortunate to have spent time with "Roy" and his owner Marian Hunter. In his 20 years he sired earners of over $198K. Though he may be remembered by some as an Equi-Stat Top 20 Leading Reining Sire or an NRHA Top 25 leading Sire is 2004, he will be remembered by all who knew who him as a gentle soul who will be missed in this world. May his athleticism and kind spirit live on through his offspring.

SBS-North Germany is part of Tierklinik Lüsche, a 12 veterinarian practice and full service equine hospital that offers one of the most advanced sport medicine, lameness, surgical, diagnostic imaging and reproductive medicine clinics in Germany. Situated near Bremen, SBS-North Germany is located in the middle of many well known Hanoverian and Oldenburg breeding centers.

Stacia Purcell began riding as a young girl in Montana. When she went off to college she took her 3 year old with her as a project for her “horse breaking” class at Montana State. That is when she knew for sure that horses were going to be her life. Her dream of one day owning her own horse breeding farm came true in 2005 with the founding of Seafire Sporthorses, now based in Elkton, Florida, about an hour from Ocala. In 2004 Stacia purchased one of the top producing broodmares in the US Selle Francais registry, Bid Seven, and bred her with frozen semen from the stallion Quattro B. The resulting filly was named “Rhapsodie du Soleil” and not only was she the first Quattro B foal to be born in North America but she was also his first offspring to be registered Selle Francais in the world. In 2010 she purchased the imported KWPN stallion, Richard (Kroongraaf-Le Mexico).

News from SBS Italia - Spat Split and White (Spat Olena x Arc Joy Surprise) and Massimiliano Ruggeri were the Level 4 Open Champions with a score of 224 at the NRHA/IRHA Derby in Reggio Emilia May 13-19 2012. Congrats from SBS - a well deserved win!! (photo left).

Breeding your mare is a big decision and the prospect can seem quite overwhelming - there is so much to research, organize and plan for as well as many different people to coordinate with. To make this process as stress free as possible, for everyone involved, it pays to be organized. The planning process will be a lot more enjoyable and exciting when you have everything lined up and are not surprised or caught off guard by any unexpected fees, decisions or situations. Here are some suggestions for how you can be more organized.

One of the great advantages of frozen semen is that the world is your market. It opens up the opportunity to expand the bloodlines of your breeding program by incorporating stallions from other countries. Importing frozen semen offers an alternative cost effective option compared to purchasing and importing young stock with those desirable bloodlines in their pedigree. But before you rush off to search the internet for your next world class stud, here are some points to consider before embarking on an import of frozen semen.

At Peterson and Smith Equine Reproduction Center in Summerfield, Florida, the breeding season got off to a great start and is now in full swing! Just like the other SBS affiliates, we provide a full line of stallion reproductive services. Although we are certainly freezing semen this time of the year, we are also busy providing cooled semen services on our outpatient and resident stallion clients. One of our resident stallions is Smart Sugar Badger (Smart Little Lena - Badger San Doc). This is our third season standing this wonderful cutting stallion for Flying M Ranch.

The 2012 Olympics in London is just around the corner. Athletes from countries all over the world will descend upon London to become a part of sporting history. The London 2012 Olympic Games will feature 26 sports, which break down into 39 different disciplines. Equestrianism has long been a part of the Olympics, ever since 1912, when it was held in Stockholm. Thus the London Olympics will celebrate 100 years of equestrian sports, a special event for the horse lover, since it is the only sport involving an animal and the only sport where men and women compete against each other on equal terms. A total of 41 nations have qualified for the equestrian events at the 2012 Olympics; 200 riders will be selected to compete for six gold medals. Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the USA will field full teams in all three disciplines. Get ready to watch tough and exciting Olympic competition starting July 27th 2012.

Some of us may work in the confines of four walls with the benefits of heating and air conditioning. But for others, the great outdoors with wide open pastures and prairies are their “office”. It would be very difficult for them to get their jobs done without a great partner in their horse. That is where breeders like Mike and Robin Stewart of Munday, TX with her parents and partners Robert and Jamie Weaver come in. They started breeding Quarter Horses approximately 40 years ago because their family enjoys working with horses and raising colts.

At Select Breeders in Maryland we have two new staff members we’d like to introduce you to. At the front desk welcoming visitors and answering the phone you will meet Pat Blailock our new Office and Sales Manager. Pat (photo below right) joined the SBS team in February 2012 and has over 18 years of experience in business operations, office management and customer service. Her focus is to ensure that every customer, current or prospective, is informed of the services we provide at SBS and that they receive the highest quality of customer service. Be sure to introduce yourself to Pat next time you call. Our previous office manager, Tiffany Bragdell, left us in December to pursue a full time career as a professional rider at Trevalyan Farm, Lancaster, PA; we wish her all the best and have no doubt that she will be successful, she’s a fabulous rider and trainer.

SBSItalia is proud to announce that Nadir di San Patrignano, the renowned Sella Italiana international show jumper, will be standing at SBS Italia for the 2012 breeding season. Born in 1995 Nadir di San Patrignano is by Corrado I and out of Lancerina. Corrado I was an International champion ridden by Franke Sloothak. Lancerina attended young horse competitions on the international circuit with excellent results and with Fernando Fourcade won the CSI Grand Prix in Cervia and the Grand Prix “Memorial Dalla Chiesa”. From 2002 to 2008, the international jumping career of Nadir di San Patrignano was studded with numerous placings in Grand Prix CSI, CSIO and CSIW competition and the Nations Cup. In 2005 Nadir was introduced as a member of the Italian National Team that placed 4th at the European Championships in San Patrignano, and in 2007 was proclaimed Italian Champion.

View a list of Quarter Horse, Paint Horse and Appaloosa frozen semen currently in storage and ready for distribution at our European and Australian SBS Affiliate Laboratories. This semen was frozen using SBS protocols and conforms to our strict quality control standards.

Jennifer Weske-Monroe of Melissa, Texas has spent the past 15 years breeding quality colorful Morgan horses for her Monroe Exotic Morgan Collection (MEMC). It all began with the purchase of her cremello Morgan stallion, MEMC Tequila Cuervo (photo below right), when he was just a yearling. At the age of three he was one of only three registered cremello Morgan stallions in the world. It was at that time when she took him to Select Breeders Southwest in Aubrey, Texas for an initial semen evaluation. She has been utilizing them for her stallion service needs ever since. Shortly thereafter she purchased the most complimentary rival to her stallion, the cremello Morgan stallion Nashboro Sir Galahad (photo below left).

Pioneer Equine Hospital is located in California's central valley near Oakdale, CA. We are nestled between the foothills of the Sierra Mountains and the valley's vast agricultural landscape. Pioneer Equine Hospital opened its doors in 1973. Since then has evolved into an eight veterinarian practice with a newly constructed 22,000 square foot full service equine hospital that offers the most advanced lameness, surgical, reproductive, and diagnostic imaging on the west coast and is regarded as one of the most recognized equine hospitals in the country. The doctors and staff have been successful in not only excelling in equine patient care but more importantly creating an atmosphere that welcomes a diverse population of equine disciplines to Pioneer Equine Hospital.

This past weekend the jumping world lost one of it's own. The Dutch Warmblood stallion Online passed away at the age of 16. Along with his many accomplishments he won the $10,000 Grand Prix of St. Louis in March 2009 and the $30,000 Lamplight Grand Prix in July 2009. We express our condolences to Kate Bomgaars and Newstone Farm as they cope with the loss of her beloved stallion. May his legacy live on in his offspring through the use of frozen semen.

Once a year affiliate members from SBS labs around the world get together for a mini symposium. This year the 12th Annual Meeting was hosted at our new headquarters and state of the art facility in Chesapeake City, Maryland, December 7th to 9th. The Annual Meeting offers an excellent opportunity to review SBS protocols and policies, share ideas and plans for the upcoming year and socialize with our good friends and colleagues. The business section of the meeting was held in the well appointed conference facilities of the neighboring Riveredge Training Center, home of our good clients, Hassler Dressage. During our coffee and lunch breaks we took advantage of the fabulous viewing room and watched the horses in training being ridden in the indoor arena.

For the convenience of your Canadian breeders and in order to avoid shipping delays and additional expense, US stallion owners with SBS frozen semen should consider sending some frozen semen to our SBS Affiliate Laboratory in Ontario, Canada - Emerald Ridge Farm - for storage and distribution. Semen would then be immediately available to ship domestically to Canadian mare owners. To facilitate transfer, Select Breeders in Maryland and Texas will coordinate and combine the shipment of semen stored at their locations for transfer to Emerald Ridge, enabling participating semen owners to share the associated costs of the export shipment. Interested stallion owners should contact SBS-MD, SBSW or Emerald Ridge for more information by January 20th so we can gauge the level of interest and timing of shipment.. Emerald Ridge Farm, in Rockwood, Ontario has been the only Canadian affiliate lab of the SBS network since 2007. The farm, sitting on 134 acres of land, situated 10 kilometers outside of Guelph, Ontario, has been in operation since 1997.

It’s a family affair at Watermark Farm in Oxford, PA. Bill and Anne Rawle, assisted by their daughter Ellie have been breeding good minded, talented and correctly built horses for dressage, eventing, hunters and jumpers since the 1960s. And what a talented family they are - Anne is USEF “S” dressage judge and trainer who competed successfully through Grand Prix dressage, Intermediate eventing and in the Amateur Owner hunter and jumper divisions. Bill has competed internationally in Nordic Combined skiing as well as dressage and show jumping. Ellie has had great success in the dressage arena as both a Young Rider and then in the open classes, earning her USDF Gold Medal and attaining international ranking at Grand Prix. Many of their competitive successes have been on horses they have bred and raised at Watermark Farm.

Many of our Arabian clients achieved great success at the World Arabian Horse Championships, held in Paris in conjunction with the Salon du Cheval, a multi-discipline equine extravaganza that should be on the to-do list of all equine enthusiasts! Highlights include for agent Michael Byatt Arabians (owner, Al Shaqab Member Qatar Foundation) - Sire of the World Championships with Marwan Al Shaqab for the 5th year in a row! Marwan sired the Gold, Silver and Bronze medal Senior Stallions, Marquis Cahr, QR Marc and Marajj respectively and the Gold Medal Junior Stallion, Kahil Al Shaqab. QR Marc was presented by SBS Italia client, Paolo Capecci (owner, Knocke Arabians) and Marajj (photo left) is owned by SBS Italia clients, Albidayer Stud.

Dr. Blodgett received the 2011 Racing Council Special Recognition Award for Lifetime Achievement. Since 1982, Dr. Blodgett has been at the Burnett Ranches’ Four Sixes Ranch near Guthrie, Texas, where he is the resident veterinarian and manager of the ranch’s horse division. In his tenure at the Four Sixes, the ranch has become an all-time leading breeder of both racing and performance American Quarter Horses, and in 1993 won the AQHA Best Remuda Award.

Readily recognized by their chestnut color and platinum mane and tail, the Haflinger stands out in a crowd. Although Haflingers are more than just a pretty face, they are great all around horses competitive in many disciplines. Our Featured Breeder this month is Haflingerhof Karlsbad, a distinguished breeder of Haflinger ponies in Germany. The Haflinger was developed in the Southern Tyrolean Mountains of present day Austria and northern Italy. Surefooted in the mountainous terrain and known for their hardiness, Tyrolean ponies were used for transportation and packing between the villages and farms of the region. The first official documentation of the present day Haflinger (named for the Tyrolean village of Hafling) was in 1874 when the foundation stallion 249 Folie was born of the half-Arabian stallion 133 El' Bedavi XXII crossed with a refined native Tyrolean mare. All Haflingers can trace their lineage back to Folie through one of seven bloodlines (A, B, M, N, S, ST, and W).

Legendary Quarter Horses and superior Black Angus cattle are hallmarks of the Four Sixes Ranch, a historic Texas ranch established in 1870, located just west of Guthrie, Texas. We are dedicated to the production of the greatest American Quarter Horses and Black Angus cattle in the country, but also to our role in reproductive technology. A member of Select Breeders Services for more than four years the ranch has a state of the art full-service equine clinic where we breed more than 1,200 mares annually, maintaining a 95% conception rate. The facility offers on-site breeding, transported cooled semen, on-site semen freezing and storage, mare management, embryo transfer and foaling.

Dr. Sandro Barbacini from SBS Italia recently presented at the World Equine Veterinary Association (WEVA) conference in Hyderabad, India, November 2nd-5th 2011. The exciting news is that Sandro has been elected to join the WEVA board, replacing Dr. Fernando Canonici as the representative for SIVE. Dr. Canonici has admirably represented Italian equine veterinarians for the last four years, he commented. "This turnover is an example of cohesion and Italian elegance. I wish Sandro a good job and I am certain he will represent us with active participation and professionalism."

We have lots of successes to share this month! Firstly news from the NRHA/IHRA Reining Futurity in Manerbio, Italy, November 5-12. Francesca Bellingeri from SBS Italia reports - Another success for Spat Split & White and Massimiliano Ruggeri who won the €1500 NRHA Open & the Italian Open Champion title. Massimiliano was interviewed after his win: "Spat Split & White is a very sensitive horse. I just have to ask, and he gives me everything he has. This is the first Italian Championship I have won, so it is very special. Spat Split & White is only 5 years old and I am positive we will have many more successful events together". Spat Split & White (left) is frozen and distributed by SBS Italia.

The famous stallion, Hickstead, ridden by current No. 1 international show jumper, Erik Lamaze, from Canada collapsed and died after completion of a jumping round at an FEI competition in Verona, Italy on November 6th. Subsequent postmortem analysis determined the cause of death to be an acute aortic rupture.

The Tommy Manion Ranch is located in “Horse Country USA” (Pilot Point, Texas). You can’t drive up Highway 377 without noticing the beautiful Spanish style home on the hill and the infamous stallion names listed at their front gate. Tommy Manion began his career showing American Quarter Horses in various events including halter, western pleasure, western riding and reining. When their son, Kyle, was born he and his wife, Chris, began to focus more on breeding horses rather than showing them which allowed them to spend more time at home as a family. Their vision of becoming a world class breeding operation came to light as they narrowed their focus to breeding the best and most prominent cutting horse stallions in the industry.

Select Breeders Services Italia has had a busy summer period with the organization of the 2nd Embryo Transfer course held at SBSItalia’s facility “Cascina Cristella” in San Daniele Po (Cremona). SIVE (Italian Association for Equine Veterinarians) and SBSItalia hosted eighteen enthusiastic participants, veterinarians from all over Italy and Europe (photo left), for a two day intensive program. Drs. Sandro Barbacini and Denis Necchi spoke about Advantages and Disadvantages of Embryo Transfer technique and Mare Management of the ET Recipients. A full day was dedicated to the practical course and the participants were able to perform flushing and embryo search using six recipient mares provided by SBSItalia.

Winbak Farm is a long time client of Select Breeders and they are now next door neighbors to our new facility in Chesapeake City, MD. To and from work, our staff drives past Winbak's mares and foals out in beautiful green pastures, and we even get a glimpse of Standarbreds training on the track during their morning workouts. This month, we decided to feature Winbak and their annual yearling sale held in September. Elizabeth Lewis-House, marketing manager for Winbak Farm, gives us a glimpse of what goes on during the auction.

It was definitely an exciting week at Dressage at Devon and SBS would like to congratulate our clients who participated in the week long breed and performance show, September 27th - October 2nd. Don Principe, owned by Maryanna Haymon and Harmony’s Baroncelli, managed by Hassler Dressage, both competing in the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Freestyle. Bugatti Hilltop, owned by Hilltop Farm placed in the top 10 in the PSG with his rider’s first time out in a CDI. Don Hill, owned by Virginia Leary and managed by Hilltop Farm (photo left), placed 1st in the 4 year old and older stallion class.

Congratulations to our clients who share the following success stories with us for October of 2011. Opposite is a photograph of Susanne Hassler and Baroncelli, they won the Grand Prix championship at the East Coast Regional BLM Championships, October 15-16. Baroncelli is managed by Hassler Dressage.

Did you know, SBS Italia has a collaboration with the Arabian Horse Journal to provide articles on veterinary and reproduction topics for publication in their magazine. We have a few of these articles already posted in the Knowledge Library of our website, see the topics below. The articles are well presented in both English and Italian and for sure this magazine is a feast for the eyes with all the stunning photos of Arabian horses. For those in the Arab Horse Industry it is also a valuable source for information on show results and special interest articles.

Our Featured Breeder this month comes to us from the beautiful Ozark highlands region of southwest Missouri, where Joseph and Gail Mailloux of Two Silos Farm breed classic Egyptian Arabian horses. They’ve had the good fortune to have bred some beautiful young horses who have gone on to successes in the show ring and in breeding programs all over the world. This year, the Pyramid Society awarded Two Silos Farm an Egyptian Event Breeding Excellence Award.

Not many stallions have quite the resume that Pik L has which is why we wanted to share his story. Often times a stallion is either successful in the show ring, not leaving much time for breeding, or finds success as a sire through his offspring’s accomplishments. It is rare to see a stallion do it all. For those of you who are not familiar with Pik L, he is a licensed Hanoverian stallion, owned by Ann Sparks of Horses Unlimited, who placed 4th in his 100 day test in Germany, receiving scores such as 8 on character, 9 on rideability, and an 8 for his canter. Since then he has trained and shown successfully through Grand Prix. In 2003, he placed 4th in the Pan American Games and in 2007 was the reserve horse. In 2004, at CHIO Aachen, placed 4th in the I-1 Freestyle with a 73.25%, then came home to the states and won the PSG and I-1 Freestyle at Dressage at Devon with scores in the 70’s. In 2005, he was on the gold medal team and placed 1st individually at the USDF Junior Team Championships and the following year won all the 3 junior classes with scores up to 73%... the list goes on.

It’s a busy and exciting time at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute in our 135th year of existence! In the Fertility Unit (we are optimists, though the vast majority of our patients are subfertile), we are seeing a steady stream of mares barren from the 2011 breeding season, working with researchers to find solutions for barren mares, and still breeding non-racing sport horses and Southern hemisphere Thoroughbreds. The remaining time is currently being filled with freezing semen from Standardbreds and Warmbloods for both domestic and overseas use. We have recently updated our breeding shed including modifying our phantom with hydraulic lifts to improve fine adjustability as we see a disproportionate number of stallions with musculoskeletal deficits.

Congratulations to Pam Volpone of West Chester, PA for winning our foal photo contest this year with Godiva VF (Popeye K x Vanity). Pam will receive a $50 gift certificate to Dover Saddlery. 2nd place goes to Lila Lund, Belgrade, MT with Grace and 3rd Place to the Bowling family, Downington, PA with Gold Keeper. To view all entries, visit our Foals page.

News from SBS Italia - Dr. Sandro Barbacini attended a very interesting meeting, Equine Business Management Strategies International, in the New Forest of England, August 21-25th 2011. This program provides equine veterinarians with the business education framework to improve key areas of practice management, provides a forum for strategic business discussions on pressing industry issues and facilitates networking opportunities.

This month’s featured breeder article takes us to the town of Moragnano, Italy, home of Rio Arabian Horses where the farm sits on top of the Parma hills and is surrounded by beautiful views of the valley. Francesca Bellingeri, of SBSItalia, had the pleasure of interviewing the owner, Maurizio Rio, who along with his daughter Carlotta, founded the farm in 1995. Even though the farm has been established for some time now, it wasn’t until a few years ago that Mr. Rio re-evaluated his breeding program with a clear mission to produce horses with impeccable pedigrees that must be “suitable performance horses and also able to compete in halter events”. He now believes he is on the right path to achieve these goals as a breeder.

Here in the US breeding season is winding down, but for our affiliate labs in Australia it is just getting started. At Goulburn Valley Equine Hospital they just bred their first mare August 21st. Many of their mares are currently under lights and they will start breeding Thoroughbreds on September 1st. As a full service vet clinic GVEH is a busy place and the repro department is no exception. Every year they breed about 500 mares in the clinic and many more on farm visits. With >300 mares in their recipient mare herd they perform >200 embryo transfers a season. They also stand stallions during the cooled semen season, receive local clients that trailer in for semen collections and freeze semen as an SBS affiliate lab year round. In addition, GVEH serves as headquarters for SBS Australasia.

Berragoon ASH Stud was established in 1974 on the Riverina Plains in southern New South Wales, Australia. In 1984 the stud relocated to Holbrook, in the South West Slopes area of NSW. Managed by Sara & Charlie Grills and Debbie Mills, the stud encompasses more than just their own breeding program of Australian Stock horses, they also have an on site reproduction facility for mare management and embryo transfer services and run a commercial herd of 300 Angus cattle.

Peterson and Smith Equine Hospital in Ocala FL was established in 1981 by Dr John L. Peterson and Dr. Johnny Mac Smith. This state of the art, full service equine clinic has become one of the most highly recognized veterinary practices in the United States. The Equine Reproduction Center at Peterson and Smith (PSERC) joined the SBS Affiliate Network in 2000. Based out of their 92 acre facility in Summerfield, FL (20mins south of the main clinic), PSERC offers a full range of equine reproductive services under the guidance of Dr. Phil Matthews.

There is no expiration date on frozen semen. As long as the semen is properly maintained at the correct temperature in a liquid nitrogen storage tank, the working life of frozen semen is believed to be nearly unlimited. At SBS we have produced pregnancies with semen stored for more than 20 years. By utilizing the highest quality freezing extenders available, computer controlled rate cell freezers and maintaining rigidly controlled storage conditions, SBS maximizes the duration of sperm survival.

July 26 2011 - A 4 year old Arabian stallion in Maricopa County, Arizona tested positive for contagious equine metritis (CEM) today during routine health testing required when qualifying frozen semen for international export. Five horses at the facility have been placed in quarantine and the state is working with federal partners to locate mares that have been bred to this stallion during the current breeding season.

Sara D'Imperio riding Sail Win Tatoo (Sail Win Cody x Tatoos Tickle Twist) won the IRHA/NRHA Reining Maturity Level 1 and Level 2 and placed Reserve Champion in Level 3 and 4 at Pontedera-Pisa, Italy, July 13-16 (photo left).

Congratulations to Select Breeders Southwest client Bob Loomis on West Coast Whiz (Topsail Whiz x My Moon Stone Chex) being named as the latest National Reining Horse Association Million Dollar Sire.

The racing and barrel racing industries lost a legend. Dash Ta Fame passed away on July 13, 2011 at the age of 22. He was owned by Bob Burt and stood the 2010-2011 breeding seasons at SMART Ranches in California under the supervision of Dr. Bill Swyers.

Owned and operated by the Harrison family, Double H Farm is a recognizable name to those involved in the sport of show jumping due to their success with horses such as Orlando, HH Radco, and HH Rebozo who finished 4th at the WEG last year. While many of Double H’s horses are dominating in the show ring, there is another side to this competitive farm with the development of their breeding program. In the beginning, the main focus was competing but recently Double H has added breeding to their list of services. And why wouldn’t they, when not only have the stallions proven to be successful competition horses but their broodmares Quick Star, Maybelline, and Cantate Z, have as well.

Congratulations to SBS client Nancy Reed of Land's End Farm, Centreville, MD! Her ponies, Land's End Balanchine and Land's End Lalique won the Hunter Pony Get of Sire class, at the prestigious Devon Horse Show. They represented Welsh Section B stallion, *Carolinas Red Fox. Both ponies were bred using SBS frozen semen.

Congratulations to Iron Spring Farm, Coatesville, PA! A Contango son, Don Tango, was high score dressage stallion at the 2011 KWPN stallion performance test. This is the 4th approved son for Contango, including Ravel, winner of the 2009 Dressage World Cup and bronze medal winner at the 2010 World Equestrian Games. Although Contango is now deceased, he is still available with SBS frozen semen from Iron Spring Farm.

Night Deposit Chex was the horse of a lifetime for Jessicah Keller Torpey, daughter of Tammye Hutton of Hilldale Farm. He passed away on May 29th at 14 years old as a result of a brain aneurysm. He earned over $111,000.00 during his show career. In 2005, Night Deposit Chex and Torpey were crowned NRHA Non-Pro World Champions after earning $41,507.00 that year. Tammye and Jessicah continued to show him through 2010. It has been a pleasure for Select Breeders Southwest to work with Tammye and Night Deposit Chex. They will be able to enjoy his foals for years to come with the use of his frozen semen.

Dr. Kerstin Darenius of Caballa, our SBS affiliate lab in Sweden, has recently become involved in the preservation of Swedish horse breeds with the creation of a frozen semen gene bank. For endangered or rare breeds, where the number of animals available for breeding is small, collection, freezing and storage of semen is a valuable method for preserving genetic material for future use. Many countries within the European Union have been taking action to preserve a number of valuable livestock species. During the last several years semen from cattle, sheep, horses and goats has been collected for this purpose.

Several labs in the SBS affiliate network have mobile semen freezing labs. In the US there are two mobile labs at SBS-MD and two mobile labs at Select Breeders Southwest. In Australia, Stu Keller of Tamworth Equine and in Europe, Kerstin Darenius of Caballa, also have mobile freezing labs. These mobile labs are outfitted with the same high-tech equipment for semen processing and freezing as you would find at the affiliate lab home base location. The photo below shows the interior of a mobile lab from SBSW, with programmable cell freezer, automatic straw filler and computer assisted sperm motility analysis (CASA) set-up. 

Here is some fun news! An SBS frozen semen foal becomes a Breyer model horse. The colt, Heartbreaker, was both bred and foaled at SBS affiliate lab, Peterson and Smith Equine Reproduction Center in Ocala, FL. The dam is Champion Hunter GG Valentine and the sire is Grand Prix jumper Oh Star. Oh Star was collected and frozen at Peterson and Smith and the foal was bred with his frozen semen.

Select Breeders Services Inc., wishes to congratulate SBS affiliate member Angus McKinnon, our consultant Ed Squires, and co-editors Wendy Vaala and Dickson Varner on the publication of the 2nd edition of Equine Reproduction. This is a significant achievement indeed! The book can be purchased here:

In addition to several chapters authored by Ed and Angus, SBS Affiliate Members contributed to the new edition by writing the following chapters:

Exciting news from the 2011 NRHA/IRHA Derby in Reggio Emilia, Italy - 19 year old rider Manuel Cortesi won the €20,000-added level 4 and the €10,000-added level 3 non-pro divisions aboard PC Customblack Widow (Custom Crome x Jan Crocker x Topsail Cody).This talented mare was bred by Mr. Bonanni using frozen semen from Steve Simon’s stallion, Custom Crome. The semen was frozen by Select Breeders Southwest and imported by SBS Italia.

The Haverty Family lost their beloved stallion Who Whiz It on Sunday, May 22, 2011. With earnings exceeding over $80,000 he made a name for himself in the reining world. In 2001 he was the Denver Summer Slide Futurity Champion and a finalist in the NRHA Futurity. He was also the Triple Crown Winner and USET Champion in 2004.

Debbie McKay competed in Eventing and Showing for many years, but one day decided her heart was just no longer in it and instead she put her competition mares in foal, and so began Aspen Way Stud in 1998. The breeding goal is to produce horses and ponies of international quality for Australian buyers, so they don’t have to take on the risk and expense of importing stock from abroad. Deb laughs, “Since making this my business philosophy, quarantine fees have doubled … along with the European prices, so this has certainly worked in my favor”. However, the success of her breeding program is best represented by many major awards in the show ring and the growing success of her homebred stallion, Aspen Way Gala Night (left, photo credit Julie Wilson).

The investigations of recent Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM) outbreaks in the United States are now closed. CEM is a venereally transmitted disease of horses caused by the bacterium Taylorella equigenitalis. It is commonly transmitted directly during sexual intercourse between CEM-positive mares and stallions but can also occur indirectly by artificial insemination or contact with other objects such as hands, instruments or breeding phantoms contaminated with the disease causing bacterium. 

In 2010 the Arabian horse industry witnessed history in the making with the first Ruminaja Ali foals born in 13yrs. David Cains of Stonewall Farm Arabians, Scottsdale, AZ was assisting the Dubai Arabian Stud director, Mohamed Al Tawidi, in selecting horses for their breeding program. Daughters from the legendary Arabian sire Ruminjara Ali were on their wish list, but these mares were rare and seldom available for purchase. Whilst researching the possibilities, David learned about Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) and realized what a fantastic opportunity the technology offered. Al Tawidi and Cains carefully selected a group of elite mares to breed to Ruminjara Ali using this technique. Frozen-thawed sperm were injected directly into harvested oocytes, then the fertilized oocyte was transferred into a surrogate mare. The resulting foals (pictured below) demonstrate that dreams can come true and what was once considered a possibility, could be reality. Ruminaja Ali is owned by Bergren Family Arabians and was frozen by Select Breeders Southwest.

A tragic accident serves as a reminder of the benefits of frozen semen. Many of you may already know that in August 2010, a promising young stallion, Good as Gold, owned by Lauren Efford of Goldhope Farm in Coatesville, PA, was humanely euthanized after suffering from a tragic pasture accident. Good as Gold was a product of Goldhope Farm’s breeding program and they had great hopes and expectations for him as a breeding stallion and performance horse. As a 3 year old in 2009, Good as Gold received his provisional breeding license with the Oldenburg Registry of North America. Next stop would be the Advanced Stallion Test in October of 2010 held at Majestic Farm in Batavia, OH, during which he would be evaluated for basic gaits as well as participate in the discipline specific test for dressage stallions in hopes of receiving his lifetime breeding certificate. Sadly, he never made it.

It’s always exciting for us at SBS to hear about the success of breeding with frozen semen and the horses that have been produced via this method. We were particularly intrigued by an article published last summer at the beginning of the prestigious Aachen jumper show in Germany. On July 16, 2010 a then 12 year old Oldenburg gelding named Ferrari won the RWE Prize of North-Rhine Westphalia at the opening of Aachen. What makes this horse special, other than his ability, is that he was conceived via frozen semen. His influential sire, Furioso II, passed away 24 years ago, 11 years prior to the breeding of Ferrari and because of frozen semen these valuable genetics are still present today. To read the full article that caught our eye click here.

The import permit and health certificate requirement for both cooled and frozen semen entering Canada from the United States is still in effect for the 2011 breeding season. In order to avoid shipping delays and additional expense to your Canadian breeders, stallion owners with SBS frozen semen should consider exporting and storing a limited amount of frozen semen at our Select Breeders Affiliated Laboratory in Ontario, Canada, Emerald Ridge Farm. Semen would then be immediately available to ship domestically to Canadian mare owners.

Road to the Horse, the World Championship of colt-starting is unlike any other event in the equine or entertainment industry. This event matches three of the country's best horse trainers and clinicians against one another as they train unbroken colts to ride in just a few short hours in front of a packed live audience and television cameras. Each year a notable Quarter Horse ranch is invited to provide the Road to the Horse remuda of ten three-year-old geldings for this electrifying competition.

Alain Seheut of Olde Country Farm gained an early education in breeding horses working alongside his grandfather, who was a successful breeder in France. Thus it was inevitable that when Alain moved to the US several years later he would develop his own breeding program. Olde Country Farm, in Glyndon MD, breeds Warmbloods predominantly for dressage, although many go on to careers in jumping and eventing. They stand the Premium German Oldenburg Stallion, Soprano (left). Alain’s goal is to breed the type of horse that can compete at the national and international levels. He believes that longevity in performance is key; so in addition to athletic ability, he breeds for soundness in both character and conformation.

As of September 1st 2010, the USDA implemented changes to the regulations qualifying frozen semen for export to the European Union. These changes affect the specific timing of when the required testing must occur. It is important for stallion owners to be aware that in the case of the non-resident stallion, more responsibility may be placed on the owner for scheduling testing dates with their local veterinarian. A brief summary of testing schedule options are presented below. For further information, please contact your local SBS Affiliate Lab.

Dr. Elizabeth Callahan of Cool Na Grena Sporthorses, Oxford, MD was the recipient of the 2009 USEF Leading Event Breeder of 2009. Didi, a practicing equine vet, has been breeding horses for the last 25yrs. Although she only produces 2-3 foals a year the matings are carefully selected with the goal of producing a well rounded athlete that has both the movement for dressage and talent for jumping.

  Mr. Claudio Risso (left) of Roberta’s Stable was recognized as the Best Breeder and Best Stallion Owner of 2009 by the IRHBA (Italian Reining Horse Breeders Association). It is his third consecutive year winning both awards! SBS Italia freezes semen for international distribution from his stallions Spat Olena and RS Great Jac Feona.

Many horse owners may be unfamiliar with the Arabian racing industry, but for Cre Run Farm in Doswell, VA, it is their passion. For the past 25 years, Cre Run has been breeding and developing some of the world's top Arabian race horses such as Da Adios (left), the US all time money earner, 2008 World Arabian Horse of the Year and 5 time Darley Champion and Sam Tiki (below right, photo credit: Leslie Gicewicz), a member of the Racing Hall of Fame as well as siring 4 Darley champions. Cre Run's goal has been to "breed for the ultimate Arabian. One that possesses Arabian type but also has correct confirmation, bone and substance," says Cre Run owner Deborah Milahoff. Countries such as Poland, Egypt and Russia developed their herds through racing and it made perfect sense for Cre Run to do the same.

Julie Skaife at SBS-MD recently responded to FAQ presented by the American Connemara Magazine in the article, The Frozen Option

Dianna Orona of Fox Creek Farm is utilizing the SBS international affiliate program to the full advantage. Located on a 160 acre farm 5 miles west of Manhattan, KS, Fox Creek Farm has a world class breeding program founded upon the German Riding Pony. Their goal is to produce an athletic sport pony, correct in both conformation and movement, with a quiet, friendly temperament suitable for smaller adults or children.