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cover story
A captivating name for a horse is essential to being remembered in this industry. A great name can intrigue and excite people before ever seeing the horse and will linger in their minds long after they heard it.
The name needed to be enough to make people take a second look. Add a catchy meaning behind the name and it becomes even better. Fiire N Ice has accomplished this perfectly. This young stallion, owned by Bret and Candy Parrish, is leaving his mark on the industry in great fashion.
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S P E CIAL F R OM TH E START
“Fiire N Ice is the perfect name for him,” said Candy. “Our dear friend Courtney Moses came up with a
Fiire N Ice was bred to be special. The 2018 sorrel
saying to go with his name: a phenomenon that takes
stallion is sired by million-dollar sire Machine Made
place between hot and cold.”
and out of Diamonds R Best, who is by multiple World and Congress Champion sire RL Best Of Sudden out of
A few years later, Fiire N Ice would make his show
World and Congress Champion Ona Good Impulse.
debut and prove to everyone how phenomenal he is.
Ona Good Impulse is by the legendary Impulsions out of Zippos Good Image who is sired by AQHA and
A PHE N OM EN ON
NSBA Hall of Famer Zippos Mr Good Bar. Last year Mary Roberts announced her plans to hold the “Kona was born here on our farm,” said Bret. “We
A Sudden Impulse Futurity this April at her brand-new
also bred and raised his dam and showed her sire and
World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Florida, headlined
dam so his pedigree is full of horses that we have had a lot of success with.” In addition to an outstanding pedigree, have
a
stallion
extraordinary
exceptional
must talent,
conformation,
a
great mind and striking good looks.
Kona
possesses
all
those qualities plus that special something that sets him apart. “Kona has always had the ‘it’ factor,” said Candy. “He has
moved
so
softly
and
effortlessly from the beginning and just kept getting better as he matured. He has always been such a good-minded
by a $100,000 Maiden Western Pleasure class. As the
and beautiful colt, but he also has a lot of heart. He’s
largest purse offered in a maiden class in recent years,
just a special horse.”
the $100,000 3-Year-Old Maiden Western Pleasure was poised to draw the most talented young horses.
A special horse needs a special name. Bret, Candy
Bret, Candy and Cody immediately knew this is where
and their son Cody thought about names for the colt for
they would debut their special stallion.
quite some time before deciding on Fiire N Ice. “We knew this would be a premier event at the most “We were trying to think of names that did him justice,”
luxurious equine facility and would make for the perfect
Cody said. “We kept coming back to just how special
stage to introduce Kona,” said Candy.
and cool he was and that led to the idea of hot and cold. Fiire and Ice just seemed to fit him.”
When the time finally came for Fiire N Ice to make his
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debut, he lived up to everyone’s expectations, winning both the Open and Limited divisions of the Maiden Western Pleasure with Cody in the saddle. For Bret and Candy, the win was special for several reasons. “Bret and I are so proud of Cody and Fiire N Ice winning the inaugural $100,000 Maiden Western Pleasure slot class at the A Sudden Impulse Futurity,” Candy said. “To watch our son pilot our stallion to such a prestigious win was an amazing experience. Cody is kind of following in Bret’s footsteps with that win. Bret won the inaugural $100,000 Maiden Western Pleasure slot class at The Reichert Celebration on RL Best Of Sudden in 2004. We purchased RL Best Of Sudden for Sonny and Alice Douglas from Mary Roberts and now years later Cody won the first $100,000 slot class at her new facility showing a grandson of RL Best Of Sudden. In a way it has all come full circle and is definitely a very special moment for us.” Of course, with three talented and accomplished trainers in the mix, it’s no surprise that there was some debate about who would get to pilot the stallion in his debut. “We went back and forth for a long time as to whether Bret or Cody would show him,” said Candy. “But we all feel we made the right decision. Not only because of the success they have had, but we think with his cadence and athletic ability in the future Kona could excel in the Western Riding and Cody has a natural talent for teaching horses to change leads.” While winning the $100,000 Maiden Western Pleasure was a huge achievement for Cody, what makes the success
<<< C H AM PI O N
Sudden I m p u l s e Fu t u r i ty $ 10 0 ,0 0 0 M a i d e n We s t e r n P l e a s ur e Sl o t
even more special is the love his family has for Kona and the opportunity to work together with the stallion. “The thing I love the most about Kona is the ease with which he does everything,” Cody said. “He glides across the ground with so much self-carriage and just makes it look effortless. He is always in a good mood and enjoys his job and that makes him a lot of fun to ride and show. But training and promoting Kona as a family is what really makes it special. Being able to work and succeed alongside family with a horse that we all love is truly a blessing.”
P O IS ED T O MAK E AN I M PACT Since selling RL Best Of Sudden to Ken and Marilyn Masterson, Bret and Candy have been striving to have another stallion that could impact the industry the way the National Snaffle Bit Association’s all-time leading money producing sire has. The Parrishs knew that it would take a truly exceptional individual to emulate the success that RL Best Of Sudden has had as a sire, and they feel that is exactly what they have with Fiire N Ice. “RL Best Of Sudden has changed the industry,” said Cody. “We feel very strongly that Kona is going to have the same impact. It is an exciting time for us as a family, but also for the industry as a whole to see the quality and talent that Fiire N Ice will produce and the impact he can have just like RL Best Of Sudden has.” 11 | PREMIER | AUGUST 2021
With overwhelming interest from mare owners, Bret and Candy have decided to make Fiire N Ice available to a select group of mares in 2022. The stallion will stand with Doug Tallent in North Carolina. “We feel very strongly that Fiire N Ice will be a phenomenal sire,” Candy said. “He has so many positive physical and mental attributes as well as genetics on his side. As long-time breeders we have waited our whole careers for a horse like this. We are excited to stand him next year and feel confident he will make an impact in the industry.” Although the Parrishs have high hopes for Fiire N Ice’s future as a breeding stallion, it is the quiet moments outside of the show arena that have most endeared them to the stallion. “When Kona is turned out in the pasture to play and Bret walks up to the gate to bring him inside, he always lopes softly up to the gate, stops and drops his head to be rubbed,” said Candy. “He has done that from day one,” said Bret. “He always lopes up to me wanting me to rub his head. That’s just one of the reasons he has made such an impression on me. I’ve been blessed to work with many great horses in my career, but Fiire N Ice is definitely the greatest I’ve had the opportunity to work with.” Article Written By: Courtney Hall Parmenter
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NSBA RES WORLD CHAMPION
M U LT I P L E AQ H A T O P T E N Y E A R E N D AWA R D W I N N E R M U LT I P L E A L L A R O U N D C I R C U I T W I N N E R
Joe Whitt Suddenlee Single S e l ect A l l A r o u n d E v e n ts
ad by Natalie Zvanya | Photos by Cody Parmenter & Shane Rux
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