Good To Be Blue

“We fell in love with him. He was a strong mover, and of course, beautiful...”

GOOD TO BE BLUE

His countenance compels awe on social media, and with a pedigree predisposed to sire excellent performers, Good To Be Blue is a stallion for APHA breeders to take serious note of in this season.

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PRETTY ON PAPER

His sire, A Good Zippo, was a Superior western pleasure horse himself and an APHA Leading Sire of performance winners for over a decade, with progeny earnings exceeding $67,000.

The great breeders impart that the dam line is of great implication when considering a stallion. Good To Be Blue is blessed with one of the most successful producing dams in the business. Miss Black Ty Too is a 2001 mare by Black Ty Only and out of Im The Class Cutie, a multiple APHA World Champion producer herself. Miss Black Ty Too is an APHA Leading Dam of Performance Point Earners, with four of five foals of riding age being World or Reserve World Champions and all five foals of riding age being performers. A Good Zippo and Miss Black Ty Too proved to excel in producing champion pleasure horses together. Gotta Lota Good has won the Bridleless Western Pleasure sweepstakes at the APHA World Show twice, has been Reserve World Champion in both Junior Western pleasure and trail events, and is also an APHA World Champion in Youth Junior Western Pleasure. Ive Got Your Goodies is a Reichert Celebration Reserve Champion in the 2 Year Old Limited Open Western Pleasure and is also a Color Breed Congress Champion. Lit Up By Zippo is a 3-time PtHA Reserve World Champion, and Im Here To Stay is a World Champion as well.

FOLLOWING SUIT

“Reggie” followed in his siblings’ footsteps with a Reserve World Championship at the Pinto World Show with JT Thomas, and by earning Top 5 Honors at the APHA World Show in the prestigious Farnam 2 Year Old Western Pleasure Stakes. In 2015, he was third in the 3 Year Old Western Pleasure at the Pinto World Show.

DESTINY INTERVENING

Gerri and Liz Sanders of True North Show Horses first laid eyes on “Reggie” at the APHA World Show, with JT in the saddle. “We fell in love with him. He was a strong mover, and of course, beautiful,” Liz said. The Sanders never had any intention of owning or managing a breeding stallion, but the exceptional colt shook up the game plan, “We wanted a show horse but he ended up proving to us that he had qualities that he could offer to the APHA industry such as soundness, temperament, structural correctness & movement.” The Sanders shared that in the dayto-day, Reggie is easy to get along with, “He’s a total sweetheart. He’s so easy to be around, he barely ever acts like he’s a stallion and is very quiet.”

Reggie suffered a horrific injury not long after his show career began accelerating, effectively ending that career, “His hind leg got stuck in a fence and he had to go through intensive treatment because the infection spread to his bone,” Liz said. Reggie was exceedingly lucky to have made any measure of a comeback from the severity of his injury, but after a period of healing and rest, things

were looking up, and the Sanders made the decision to focus on breeding. They bred several mares to him, yielding impressive results, “Out of his test crop, we are excited to see correct conformation, slow sweepy legs, size for capability in all around events, and trainable minds,” Gerri said.

A PROMISING SIRE

His next crop generated remarkable results as well, with foals born from exceptional mares by industry giants like Zippos Sensation, Lazy Loper, and A Sudden Impulse. “So far our personal favorite cross has been out of our Invitation Only bred mare,” Gerri said. The mare in question, One Fancy Invitation, is sired by Calicos D Invitation (by Invitation Only) and is a 3-time Reichert Celebration Champion/Reserve Champion, APHA World Show Sweepstakes Champion, and a 2-time APHA World Show Slot Reserve Champion. Good In Blue, is out of a full sibling to

one of the most recognized show horses of today – Ill Be Sensational. “Glory” touts all key traits necessary to become a World Class all arounder, and has begun what looks to be a promising riding career. Another foal of note, bred and owned by Taylor Barrow, is a striking bay dun overo out of a maternal sibling to the great show horse and sire, Radicalized. This young stallion is proving already his capability as a sire, with exceptional prospects on the ground, and is attracting quality mares from the great pedigrees of the industry. For 2020, mares by Radical Rodder, The Good Ranger, Lazy Loper,

Serious Anticipation, and Invitation Only are to be matched with him. An exciting stallion for APHA breeding programs in the USA and Canada, with a pedigree backed with champions, a champion record of his own, and talented foals already.

Semen quality is always a matter of importance when discussing a stallion for breeding purposes, and questions about motility and viability are usually some of the first questions inquiring breeders pose. Good To Be Blue is certainly no slacker in this, “His semen is great! We’ve had a great success rate on the first shipment, including internationally to Canada and on farm. We normally

get enough cells to ship two doses to a handful of mares with 80% progressive motility on average,” Gerri said.

Good To Be Blue will stand the 2020 breeding season at McEquine Equine Enterprises in Pilot Point, Texas. Visit him online at https://www.goodtobeblue.com.