would have the finest care a horse could have with us. Gene and HBB won a 1995 U.S. National Top Ten in English Pleasure. That was his last show ring appearance until five years later, when he won the 2000 U.S. National English Pleasure Championship AAOTR 18-39 with me.” Hucklebey Berry was foaled June 2, 1984, at the venerable Mekeel Arabian Ranch in Temecula, Calif. He was bred by Mr. and Mrs. Leland E. Mekeel and Linda Mekeel Madsen, and sired by Huckleberry Bey (Bay El Bey x Taffona, by Raffon); his dam was Miz Bask (*Bask x Hanida, by Hanad). The Mekeels had bred his dam, his second and third dams, and he was descended on the tail-female from bloodstock made famous by early American Arabian breeders Hingham Stock Farm, Homer Davenport, W.R. Brown and Gen. J. M. Dickinson. Hucklebey Berry’s final public appearance at the U.S. Nationals came in Louisville in 2002, when he and trainer Bob Battaglia carried the flag at the opening ceremonies. After the show, the stallion returned to Empress Arabians, in Venetia, Pa., where he lived the remainder of his life. He sired 489 registered progeny, 98 of which were Half-Arabians, and one an Anglo-Arabian. Twenty-five of his progeny earned national championships, and many of them were multi-national champions. Thirteen of those 25 were bred by Empress Arabians. His list of national reserve champions and top ten winners is prodigious as well. Altogether, Hucklebey Berry’s offspring have won 144 national championships, 153 reserve national championships and 728 top ten titles. “His three winningest offspring are JDM Rain Dance, who earned 12 national championships and seven reserves; Bey Berry Love, who earned eight national championships; and EA Mybey Berry, who had seven national championships,” continues Ruscitto. “All Dolled Up EA had five national championships and 11 reserves, and Roxbury had a national championship and six reserves. “I had ridden horses to national championships before,” she adds, “but when I showed him to the 2000 U.S. National Championship in English Pleasure AAOTR, that ride was so special. Winning was just the bonus; he was the oldest horse in the class that night, and I was the youngest rider. When he went by on the rail, people would get up and just start screaming! I have never experienced anything like it, before or since. He was the king.
“The quality that I will always remember most was his intelligence. Toward the end of his life, he became reluctant to lie down. He was afraid that he might not be able to get back up, but at her clinic, Cindy Jackson D.V.M. taught him how to lie down so that he could get back up again easily without help. After a time or two, he knew exactly what she wanted him to do; he figured it out. Cindy is one of the foremost equine veterinary practitioners today, and she has dealt with hundreds of horses. She told us about HBB, ‘He is by far the smartest horse I have ever worked with.’” Hucklebey Berry died on November 15, 2011. His son Mister Matrix, who added another national championship to his accolades in 2011, is now in his sire’s stall—but he has big shoes to fill. There will never be another Hucklebey Berry. n
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