Smoky Mountain Park Arabians - 2017

SMOKY MOUNTAIN PARK

A Love Supreme and Supreme Sensation SMP

English For The Love Of

by ANNE STRATTON

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Jacque Thompson learned the fundamentals of English horses by feel—literally. As a teenager in the 1960s, she fell in love with her first Arabian, an ex-barrel racer that she was told could move like a park horse. She

had no idea what that was; her background was in field hunters. So, she enlisted a neighboring Arabian

owner for an afternoon of advice and paid attention to what she was told.

That Jacque was serious about learning was proven at her first show, when a respected judge informed her,

“If you ever get that horse under control, you’ll really have something.” The encouragement gave her hope

that her little borrowed horse was pretty special, even though he was a bit old. And maybe slightly beaten

up. And, okay, that tangle with barbed wire earlier in life had not done him any favors. But she loved Mac

Keff and determined to help him become the best show horse that he could be. She read the rulebook,

turned her mother into her ground man (calling from the saddle, “Mom! How’s he moving now?”), and

then tried hard to remember what she had been doing when Mac Keff looked right. Having no arena, she

worked with her horse every day on a path beside the small red barn where she boarded—not an easy task

on rainy days, when Georgia’s red clay turned slick and gooey.

For three years my horse and I labored together,” she remembers. “It was a wonderful time to get to know a very special Arabian—to learn his soul. Maybe your readers have one of those in their backyards too.”

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Jessica Clinton DeSoto and Jacque & Rod Thompson with Tempani SMP. With limited showing and on a shoestring budget, Jacque still managed to help her horse win three championships in open park on the Southeastern circuit. She took her beloved gelding to the U.S.

Nationals, where in spite of her contracting the flu the night before the preliminaries, he qualified for the final in open park.

“It used to hurt that I didn’t have the strength to show Mac well on the night of finals,” she says. “It

frankly hurt at the time to lose an opportunity to help him fulfill his destiny. But the experience taught me

something I needed to know, and that was that winning isn’t everything. In fact, it isn’t even the best thing.

The love of the breed, the thrill of chasing an impossible dream, and my love for my horse and his love for me were the real prizes.”

In time Jacque met her future husband, Rod. Their first date was going to the barn to see Mac. Then, like many young people, she got out of Arabians when they started their family, and over the years, Mac Keff became little more than a pleasant memory. But when their children were grown and their business was

solid, Rod suggested that they have a horse farm. Their goal now? To create updated versions of Jacque’s old

friend—beautiful, high-trotting horses capable of a real partnership with humans.

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PS Afire Chief and Jacque Thompson.

The

Stallions

The Thompsons’ first purchase was PS

Afire Chief, located at Vicki Humphrey Training Center. Jacque chose him

before she even knew he was a U.S. and

Canadian National Reserve Champion in park. At that point, they had been looking for a riding horse, but the

stallion’s good looks, over-the-top

motion and excellent pedigree impelled

Rod to suggest the change of course

that led to today: they would become breeders. Smoky Mountain Park

Arabians was born.

Afire Chief ’s pedigree backed up his

show credentials; he was by Afire Bey V and out of Justa Glow, by The Chief Justice—as English a lineage

as could be found, and Jacque’s preference. As important was that his dam lines offered the influence

of *Naborr, who sired winners in halter as well as English, and Ferzon, historically a well-known halter influence.

At the same time that Rod and Jacque were acquiring mares for Afire Chief, Vicki Humphrey told them

about a promising young stallion at Prestige Farm. They sent for a video and discussed traveling to see him, but when Rod was tied up on business, he proposed that Jacque evaluate Baskghazi from the video, and if

he was good enough, they could buy him sight unseen. “It seems a little reckless now,” Jacque admits, “but it all turned out all right. From the moment Baskghazi stepped off the trailer, I knew he was the most magnificent piece of horseflesh I had ever seen. He still is.”

Jacque is a proponent of buying breeding horses off videos when circumstances demand. “You definitely

do your homework,” she cautions. “But if you do what I did with Baskghazi, it can work. Scrutinize horses

that you like at horse shows, and once you’re sure of what you like, scrutinize your favorite horses’ pedigrees, show records, and YouTube videos. If through research you locate a similarly-bred horse for sale, ask for

a video and then view it without emotion. Turn the music off—period. Know that the horse is being

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Baskghazi

entertained and allow for that. Study the horse frame by frame.�

Baskghazi reflected everything that Jacque was pursuing. He is by one of the top Afire Bey V sons in the

country, Baske Afire, and out of RY Fire Ghazi, by *El Ghazi. As Jacque points out, nearly all the names in

his pedigree have been national champions or have produced national titlists. While Baske Afire’s heritage is well known, what may not be as easily recognized is the background of RY Fire Ghazi. Her dam was

RL Rah Fire, U.S. and Canadian National Champion in Informal Combination, and Canadian National Champion and U.S. National Reserve Champion in English Pleasure.

In 2010, Rod and Jacque added the next important component to their program. The Renaissance offered an intensely Varian- and Lasma-bred pedigree; he is by ML Afire Dream and out of Fire Essense, by the national champion *Bask son, Pro-Fire. He already had notched the U.S. National Championship in the

English Pleasure Futurity when he came to Smoky Mountain Park, and then added a U.S. National Top

Ten and the 2013 Scottsdale Championship in English Pleasure.

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The Renaissance Jacque is particularly excited with the performance of the stallions’ offspring, as she and Rod are seeing their sires’ strong points emerge in their foals. “Baskghazi puts on his offspring excellent conformation, show-off

beauty, super necks, and excellent motion (as in Supreme Sensation SMP), often with snappy hocks,” she says. “The Renaissance babies are uniquely hooky-necked and strong bodied, with squat-and-trot hocks

like The Renaissance himself. A early example of that is found in Renaissance Queen, owned by Kellye Hill.

“The Renaissance is setting everything up right, often on top of an improved wither,” Jacque continues. “I

can’t think of a single Renaissance baby that is not vertical and flexible in the neck. Their necks are set on so perfectly over their withers, at such an angle, that it’s ideal, both at the wither and also at the poll. To

borrow a phrase, just hang a bridle on them.”

There also is still the contribution of their beloved PS Afire Chief, who left three daughters in their

broodmare band. Despite leaving this world in August, he left a legacy of promise. Bred to Baskghazi, his

daughter Double Fire SMP offered a colt they named Chiefs Reflection, who, Jacque says, is definitely special. The genetic cross worked.

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The

Broodmares

One key to their success, Jacque notes, is that the mares they acquired

possess qualifications as strong as their stallions’. “That’s one reason that

most of the horses that come from this farm who reach the show ring

wind up top ten and higher,” she observes. Again, she prioritizes bloodlines, but her original broodmares also were required to have been a national

champion, be by a national champion, or be by a top ten stallion that

produced a number of national champions (the best example being Afire

Bey V). In their broodmare band are daughters and now granddaughters

of Afire Bey V, *El Ghazi, A Temptation, AA Apollo Bey, Cytosk, MHR

Nobility and more.

Escada SCA

To illustrate, among the faces at Smoky Mountain Park are Escada SCA, U.S. National Champion English Pleasure AOTR; A Love Supreme,

U.S. National Reserve Champion Park; Forever N Ever, national top ten futurity filly and closely related to English pleasure national champions

Vegaz and SHF Encore; and national winning producer Read My Mind, who is a half-sister to the 10-time national champion Toi Jabaska. And

there are more, even before adding in the young mares they’ve bred that are

just coming to show- and breeding-age.

A Love Supreme

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Foals With A Future

What has their program yielded so far? Even with the challenge of investing years in

English prospects before fair evaluations can be made, Rod and Jacque have accounted for some substantial English talent. Last year alone, Baskghazi offered multi-national champion Supreme Sensation SMP; national top ten Forever N Always SMP; and the Half-Arabians Miss Central Park (national reserve champion), Flawless Ghazi

(national top ten), and Block Buster PF (a Scottsdale and national champion in 2015, back for a national top ten in 2016).

Supreme Sensation SMP

At the same time, The Renaissance was doing his job, with such names as Essence of Fire SMP, 2015 AEPA Arabian Horse Times $100,000 Saddle Seat Futurity

Champion); the Half-Arabian Catch My Breath SMP, reserve champion in the U.S.

National English Pleasure Futurity; Renaissance Queen, top ten in English Pleasure

Junior Horse; and Ingenue SMP, top ten last year and 2017 Canadian National

Reserve Champion in Country English Pleasure Junior Horse. Others contribute to his reputation as well, such as Tish Robinson’s Amazing Grace SMP, who has been scoring consistently in regional competition.

“For no more of our horses than we’ve had out there, we’ve been very blessed,” Jacque Flawless Ghazi

says, a comment that means even more when considering that it has been some time

since the farm had a long term in-house trainer to get everyone thoroughly “launched.”

For showing, Smoky Mountain Park has patronized Joel Kiesner, Vicki Humphrey,

Tish Kondas, and Jim and Peter Stachowski.

They have a lot on their plate, Jacque admits, with more than 60 horses, counting two

stallions, mares, foals and upcoming youngsters. It’s a challenging balance of breeding,

providing basic schooling, showing, and selling. And as they have learned, focusing on

an English program—where it takes time for foals to grow up, go into training and

then prove their value—is one of the most difficult tasks in the Arabian business. But

when it is done well, it is rewarding. It may even provide a place in breed history.

Amazing Grace SMP

Block Buster PF

Miss Central Park

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Catch My Breath SMP

■

Athenas Moonbeam SMP

Select Sales Offerings

The Renaissance x Baskathena SMP 2016 Arabian Mare

Simply Amazing SMP

The Renaissance x Pretty Amazing 2017 Arabian Filly

SOLD

Chiefs Reflection SMP

Baskghazi x PS Afire Chief daughter 2017 Arabian Colt

Fernhill Phoenix

The Renaissance x Tranquillity Bey SCA 2016 Arabian Colt

Silver Charm SMP

Baskghazi x Apaladin daughter 2017 Arabian Filly

Glamour Ghurl SMP

Baskghazi x On Tulsa Time 2015 H/A Mare

Therenaissanceman SMP

The Renaissance x Dansing Ghazi 2017 Colt

Lord OfThe Rings SMP

The Renaissance x On Tulsa Time 2016 H/A Colt

Offering several talented young horses of all ages.

Some are full siblings to National Champions.

Contact us today!

865-816-2406 The Savant SMP

Sugar N Spice SMP

The Renaissance x Basks Carita, 2016 Arabian Colt

Baskghazi x I’m Sugar, 2017 H/A Filly

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For posterity!

S I R I N G E N G L I S H P E R F O RMAN C E C H AM P I O N S

.

ML Afire Dream x Fire Essence, by Prof-Fire

Baske Afire x RY Fire Ghazi, by El Ghazi

U.S. National Champion English Pleasure Futurity

U.S. National Top Ten Arabian English Pleasure

Breeders Sweepstakes Nominated • Region 12 Spotlight Stallions Scottsdale Signature Stallions • WCAHA All Star Futurity • AEPA Enrolled Sires

Lenoir City, TN www.SmokyMountainParkArabians.com

Rod & Jacque Thompson For Information Call 865-816-2406

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