whose mother gave him the valuable coin when he set out for America, hoping to ensure that her son would never be broke. “She was the person who most influenced Hermann,” Jerome explained. “He always spoke of his mother’s strong convictions and values, and he would share bits of wisdom she gave him; they were good life lessons. “Hermann was an inspiration to me and many others because he set such high standards for himself, and expected those same standards from other people, especially those who worked for him,” Jerome continued. “Hermann was Bob and Janene Boggs, the 1996 U.S. National Yearling determined, extremely ethical, friendly and Sweepstakes Filly Champion Estela, and Lyda and Hermann Blaser. polite, with his own distinctive flair and charm. He was meticulous in everything he did, and he “I didn’t know you could order margaritas by the pitcher,” had a hard time dealing with people who were disorganized he continued. “The place was packed, and we had quite or careless. He could be demanding, and he was very proud. a wait for our food. As we sat there and waited, drinking He also had a wonderful sense of humor.” pitchers of margaritas, we decided that if Tasha’s foal was a boy, he would be named ‘Garcia,’ after the restaurant. If Blaser met Arabian horse breeders Evelyn and Lloyd the foal was a girl, she would be ‘Margarita.’ That’s how LH Burton through Lida; her late husband was Lloyd Burton’s Garcia was named: in honor of that night.” brother. In 1960 the Blasers bought their first broodmare, a Gazon daughter, from the Burtons. In 1969 they bred her to *Aramus, and her 1970 filly, Brilliant-Aramus, became the first Arabian Blaser ever showed. Brilliant-Aramus produced 11 foals for him, one of which was her 1977 *Ramses Fayek daughter, LH Tasha. (The LH stands for Lida and Hermann.)
In 1980, Blaser and Jerome were in Scottsdale, watching classes, Jerome making notes about the horses in each class. At day’s end, Blaser asked Jerome what he had seen that he liked. “I told him I admired the consistency of the *AN Malik offspring, and suggested that he would be a good nick with LH Tasha,” Jerome recalled. “I walked over to Green Gate’s stalls and took it upon myself to say we had a mare to book to him. The stud fee was $10,000. I went back over to Hermann, who was surrounded by people who were excited to learn that he was booking a mare to *AN Malik. I told him that I had booked LH Tasha, and that the stud fee was $10,000. I knew he would take exception to the $10,000 stud fee, but he couldn’t say no and embarrass himself in front of an audience. We made the deal, so Hermann, Lida, Evelyn Burton, Shelley and I all went celebrating at Garcia’s Mexican Restaurant.
In 1986, LH Garcia was selected Scottsdale Champion Stallion, Region 10 Reserve Champion Stallion and U.S. National Top Ten Stallion. He was exported to Brazil later that year, where he sired 176 registered foals. “And Hermann was passionate about music,” Jerome added. “He sang with a boys’ choir in Switzerland, and he always encouraged my efforts as a musician. At his funeral service I played songs he had liked, including his favorite, ‘What a Difference a Day Makes.’ “He was passionate about Arabian horses,” he continued. “At the time of his death the last horse he owned was LH Sophia Loren, a 4-year-old daughter of MPA Giovanni, out of LH Maharani, by Eternety. She is the last link to all of Hermann’s great mares. She will never be sold. “Hermann came to the farm every day for as long as he was able,” Jerome concluded. “I was the first person he talked to every morning, and the last person he spoke with at night. Even as he was dying, we were still planning and working on things that he felt were important; he honored every commitment. His passing leaves a hole in my heart.” n Volume 43, No. 2 | 259