PREMIER - February 2021

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Living Up to the Promise of His

You were designed

When Lee and Dr. Brenda Looney first saw Cool Breeze, a 2015 stallion by No Doubt Im Lazy out of Zippin The Breeze, they really weren’t thinking about buying another stud.

The Looneys already owned the stallion Pleasure for Certain and owned two daughters of Zippin the Breeze as mainstays in their Looney Quarter Horses breeding program. It was a legitimate conflict for a stallion out of the same mare.

“We’d already bought our Zippin The Breeze daughters from Dan and Kathryn Frederick,” Lee Looney explains, “so when Dan approached us about Cool Breeze and sent us a video of him, 6 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2021

we hadn’t thought about another stud.”

After a tragic accident claimed Pleasure for Certain in 2017, the Looneys went to the Quarter Horse Congress in search of another sire for their program. Once they saw the stunning stallion Cool Breeze, aka “Joe Cool,” they could not believe the promise they saw in the young stud.

“We knew two of our best mares couldn’t be bred to him, so we looked at a lot of prospects,” Lee says. “But we kept coming back to Joe, because he was the best stud to fit our program. For us, he was the perfect match.”

cover story

Lineage

d for accomplishment, engineered for success, and endowed with the seeds of greatness. ~ Zig Ziglar

Dan Frederick notes that the Looneys, as longtime breeders of top AQHA, APHA, and NSBA performance horses, have always possessed an exceptional eye for a good horse. “Joe’s a great mover and a good-minded colt and always has been, and the Looney’s didn’t need anybody to tell them that. They bought him because they knew what he was.”

The stallion they brought home proved to be everything the Looneys had hoped for. “He’s very laid back, he has an exceptional temperament and mind, with a ten jog and a ten lope,” Lee explains.

Proving His Prowess True to his heritage, the young stallion began winning right away at the Quarter Horse Congress in 2017, placing ninth in the Coughlin 2-Year-Old Maiden Western Pleasure piloted

by Katy Jo Zuidema. The accomplishment was soon followed by a seventh place finish in the 2-Year-Old Western Pleasure at the AQHA World Show with Andy Cochran in the saddle.

As a three-year-old, Cool Breeze’s accomplishments grew by leaps and bounds.

With Angie Cannizzaro at the helm he won the Reserve Championship at the NSBA Riders Cup in the 3-Year-Old Open Western Pleasure

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Jolene: 2020 Filly Cool Breeze x Accept With Pleasure

in Scottsdale, followed by Reserve at the Riders Cup in the 3 & 4-Year-Old Non-Pro Western Pleasure with Brenda.

Cannizzaro and Joe went on to win the Premier Sires $5,000 Limited Horse Open Western Pleasure at the Cornhusker in Nebraska and the Premier Sires 3-YearOld Open Western Pleasure at the Big A Circuit in Georgia.

At the 2018 Congress, the pair placed sixth in the 3-Year-Old Western Pleasure Futurity. That same year, Brenda and Cool Breeze showed their stuff in NonPro Western Pleasure classes, earning a Reserve Championship in the 3-Year-Old Intermediate Non-Pro Western Pleasure at the Tom Powers Futurity followed by a third place in the Premier Sires 3-Year-Old NonPro Western Pleasure at the Big A. Cool Breeze continued to advance in his four-yearold year with trainer Amanda Jackson at events like the 10-day Georgia On My Mind super circuit where he won the Reserve Circuit Championship in Junior Western Pleasure. Brenda and the stallion earned a Circuit Championship in Amateur Western Pleasure at the event, placing 1,1,1,1,2. These results mirrored their achievements together that year, with Circuit Championships or Reserve Circuit Championships at every show they entered.

The crowning jewel for Cool Breeze came as a four-year-old, taking the 2019 Congress Reserve Championship in the Maturity Open Western Pleasure with Amanda.

In 2019, the Looneys stood Cool Breeze for the first time. After an incredible show year, they felt that Joe earned his place as breeding stallion. “We’re going to keep standing him; he’s done what he needed to do in the show ring,” Brenda says.

Maternal Powerhouse

Since the Looneys began to stand Joe, the momentum of the young stallion has increased each year with mare owners and trainers recognizing Joe’s maternal line, all due to his legendary late dam, Zippin the Breeze. “His breedings sold almost immediately in

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the NSBA Stallion Service Auction and in the Premier Sires Stallion Service Sale,” Lee says.

Zippin the Breeze, a 1999 American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) bay mare by A Passing Breeze and out of Fancy Zippin (by Zippo Pine Bar), was first recognized in 2019

by NSBA as the all-time leading producer of Western Pleasure money earners.

$16,672 in NSBA earnings, her offspring have surpassed her substantially. Not only have they cleaned up with NSBA and AQHA World and Reserve Championship titles and multiple futurity wins, their total earnings per Q-Data (formerly Robin Glenn) stand at $709,540 as of January 27, 2021. It’s an average earning of $41,738 per horse, according to Q-Data.

“Breeze” is also well known by trainers and longtime industry enthusiasts for her longevity and remarkable producing record. “Joe’s maternal line is what initially attracts breeders and trainers,” says Brenda, “but seeing the

Sixteen of those horses have amassed 5,098 points, with 32 total AQHA Superior Awards earned, 56 total AQHA ROM Awards earned, and 4 AQHA Champion Awards earned (Q-Data).

Billie Jean: 2020 Filly Cool Breeze x Always Good Faith

conformation and movement of that line passed on to his foals is what really has people excited.”

For the Looneys, his maternal line was the most important factor in making the decision that Cool Breeze would be their program’s sire. “To me, as a breeder, the dam line is one of the first things I look at, in addition to seeing she’s produced well,” Lee reveals.

The progeny record of Breeze is more than extraordinary, with 17 of 19 foals becoming money earners. Although Breeze herself won

Kathryn Frederick says that Breeze took her best characteristics and passed them along to her babies with Cool Breeze being a perfect example. She explains, “She stamped them with a great front leg, deep hocks, and a beautiful top line.”

“She transcended the trends in the industry,” agrees Brenda. “That demonstrates just how strong that mare power is.”

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A Promising Sire

It’s often said that a stud can stamp his babies too, and just like his dam before him, Cool Breeze is following suit.

His first foals were born in 2020, and the results were big boned, big-bodied babies. The two foals raised at Looney Quarter Horses came

from very different dams, but the foals look very much alike.

“They are very similar in movement and shape, and the two we raised here jogged a hole in the ground from day one,” Brenda says. “They have a pretty front leg at the lope, and they all

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have the beautiful baby-doll, refined head Joe has.”

Their filly, Billie Jean, is out of a five-time World Champion producing mare, Always Good Faith, the dam of Faith Is Certain, a 3-time APHA World Champion, NSBA World Champion and earner of $40,000, most of which came from

earnings in Premier Sires classes. The other filly, Jolene, is out of a daughter of Invitation Only who is a superior mare and a Southern Belle Champion. “They’re the polar opposite, but the foals look and move just like Joe,” Brenda remarks. She comments that the 2020 foals have been balanced and correct, never

experiencing an awkward stage.

Besides the desirable physical traits, Cool Breeze is passing along his outstanding temperament.

Dan tells a story about the yearling proving his sensibility one particular day after they’d moved their breeding operation to Florida.

“We had him down in a bottom pasture, and I didn’t realize how dangerous storms will pop up and how vicious they are. As quickly as the storm hit that day it was over, and I looked down and saw a huge oak down in his pasture, but I couldn’t see him,” he says. He soon discovered Joe stuck in a precarious position. “He was in an aisle way, up to his knees in wet sand where the normal drainage path went, and he couldn’t move, but was just as calm as could be. Here’s this yearling stud colt stuck in the sand, and he let me dig him out and get him out of there. Talk about a great disposition!”

Premier Sires

For mare owners, Cool Breeze offers breedings through the Michigan Quarter Horse Association Stallion Service Sale, the Iowa Quarter Horse Association Breeders Futurity Stallion Auction, the NSBA Stallion Service Auction, and in the Premier Sires Stallion Service Sale.

The Looneys felt so strongly about the positive experience with Premier Sires with their late stallion Pleasure for Certain, they enrolled Cool Breeze before he was in the breeding shed.

Having enrolled Pleasure for Certain at the program’s inception in 2016, they wanted to be sure they had a slot for Cool Breeze with the program at nearly full capacity.

“When Faith is Certain, by Pleasure for Certain, won $40,000 through Premier Sires, the program was just becoming known and people were flocking to it,” Lee explains. “Winnings paid our way into the program and the payback is tremendous. Premier Sires is one of the bestpaying futurities out there.”

“There’s no other program like it,” agrees Brenda. “They have a great payback for stallion owners, and if you have babies out there showing, you’re going to get your enrollment fee back. It’s a win-win for stallion owners.”

The excitement will continue this February, when the first of the 2021 Premier Sires eligible foals

by Cool Breeze out of Congress Champions and NSBA & APHA World Champion producers are expected to start making an appearance.

Cool Breeze is standing the 2021 season at Tennessee Equine Hospital in Thompsons Station, Tennessee, under the guidance of Dr. Matthew DeLisle, DVM, and Heather Miller, Reproduction Manager.

The Looneys report excellent motility, and the availability of cooled and frozen semen. Cool Breeze’s stud fee is $1,500 with considerations given.

Shipments are available Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Cool Breeze fans can also find out more on the Facebook pages for Cool Breeze and Looney Quarter Horses, LLC. -Article Written By Delores Kuhlwein Photos provided by Looney Quarter Horses

For more information please contact: Lee Looney at Looney Quarter Horses ph. 731-420-0936 email: looneyqh@charter.net www.facebook.com/Looney-Quarter-Horses-LLC

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legends:

doug carpenter

legends

“It’s unmeasurable— nobody will ever come close to the impact this guy had on changing so many different lives, and the breeding, training, buying, and showing, He should be the example of how business should be done in this industry. He was a good person, he was ethical in his business, a great family man, a great horseman—a great friend and a great mentor.”

-troy compton

I

Doug and Keith Whistle, his business partner for a time

n November 2020, the horse world mourned the loss of one of its greats. Doug Carpenter spent decades at the top of his game and achieved successes in the saddle, in the sale barn, and in the winner’s circle.

His far-reaching impact comes not from a case full of trophies, but from the horsemen he encouraged to reach their own success.

dreaming big Born in Rhode Island in 1956, Doug loved horses from an early age. At the age of 13, he hitchhiked to Columbus, Ohio, to attend the All-American Quarter Horse Congress. The city kid slept on bleachers in the coliseum and dreamed of one day showing in that arena.

“Horses were his escape from his home life,” Doug’s friend, fellow trainer Troy Compton said. “He was always crazy about the horses. He had a natural eye, and he really worked on building his skills.”

With encouragement from friends, as a teen living in Connecticut, Doug focused his efforts on learning as much as he possibly could about all

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aspects of riding horses. His first big foray into professional training was working with horseman Tommy Manion in 1978. Manion assigned him an unbroke 2-year-old mare named Good Lookin Babe and gave Doug only four months to have the horse ready for the Congress Western Pleasure Futurity. In his first time showing at the Congress, Doug guided the mare to a reserve title, beating Manion, who came in third.

< At the NFR, Troy Compton (left) and Doug (eight) pose with 6x World Champion bronc rider Dan Mortenson

Troy remembers first meeting Doug around 1983. The established trainer and the newcomer sparked a quick friendship, and Troy says it was Doug who made him feel welcome in the pleasure horse community.

“He was a few years older than me, but he was part of the cuttingedge group when the pleasure futurities really started getting big,” Troy said. “I just always admired him, and he kept an eye on me. He was quite reserved, but for some reason he took me under his wing. We kind of latched on to each other.”

topping the pleasure In 1981, Doug was planning on a career change—perhaps to NASCAR racing. But before hanging up his spurs, he showed Karen Sullivan’s 3-year-old mare Miss Docs Melody in Junior Western Pleasure at the AQHA World Show. Feeling somewhat apathetic about the pleasure industry at that time, Doug showed in a work shirt, and placed first in the prelims.

The pair went on to win his first World Championship—in front of a crowd of 6,000 people.

“Doug was super intelligent about horses and people,” Troy said. “He didn’t go in the pen for his ego. He went in the pen to show the horse, and he only went in the pen when he had a good one.”

Doug would go on to show other great horses, including National Snaffle Bit Association Hall of Fame stallion Hotrodders Jet Set. He trained many successful horses for himself and clients such as two-time World Champion Miss Docs Melody, AQHA Youth World Champion Sheza Kinda Fancy, AQHA Superhorse Time To Cash In, and American Paint Horse Association World Champion Paint Me Zippo among other World Champions.

Doug offered business advice and tips to Troy as he ventured out on his own. But more than strictly Doug & Paint Me Zippo along with the Yarnelle Farms Family

Doug Carpenter’s impact on the horse world stretches across breeds, disciplines and industries. business help, Troy says Doug gave him encouragement in life as well.

Eventually, Doug partnered with Keith Whistle in 1987. He took over competition preparation for Whistle, as well as coaching Amateur and Youth riders.

“He took a back seat, and I think that was genius,” Troy said. “He let other people be superstars, while he did the training. And then he started getting really good at buying and selling horses—I think that’s really his legacy, finding great horses.” < Doug and Tommy Manion

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the art dealer After Doug’s friend and Amateur client Rodney Miller died in 1992, Doug shifted gears into Reining. In addition to showing, he began buying and selling horses for himself and for clients in both Reining and Western Pleasure.

“Doug was a visionary in bringing a West Coast-style horse back to the Midwest,” Troy said. “We hadn’t seen that type of horse in this part of the country before.”

Reining and Cow Horse trainer Bob Avila met Doug in the late 70s, and the two started doing business, which included buying and selling horses, and conducting clinics together across the United States and internationally— Doug with Pleasure, Bob with Reining.

Doug competing at the NRHA Derby

“We bought and sold a lot of horses together, and we owned some great horses together,” Bob said. “But we also had a great friendship. He used to play the country boy persona, but he was a brilliant country boy. He studied everything he did and learned from the ground up.”

“He taught a lot of young people how to look for horses, and how to be smart about horses, and how to make money with horses,” Bob said.

Some of the notable Reining horses Doug bought and sold include National Reining Horse Association Futurity Champion Boomernic, National Reined Cow Horse Association Futurity Champion Smart Zanolena, NRCHA Futurity Champion Chics Magic Potion and World’s Greatest Horseman champion Light N Fine. Other notable horses he brokered include Jac Be Quick, Roosters Wrangler, Hes Dun His Time and Bueno Chexinic.

Doug brokered horses for trainers such as Clinton Anderson, Bob Avila, Shawn Flarida, Benny Guitron, Dell Hendricks and Tim McQuay.

“He had his own set of standards, and he was very decisive about the horses he was interested in,” Doug’s wife Gwen said.

Clinician and trainer Clinton Anderson met Doug at the All-American Quarter Horse Congress in the late 90s.

Doug’s reputation as a horse broker preceded him.

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Doug enjoyed photography later in life

“When I first got to America, I was interested in who was winning in the Western performance world,” the Australian trainer said. “I heard through the grapevine that this guy Doug Carpenter was selling a lot of the horses that the top trainers were working with. I wanted to learn from him, so I sought him out.”

After meeting, Clinton started buying horses from Doug, and says his keen eye brought his clients many great matches.

“Over my entire career, all of my great horses basically came from him,” Clinton said. “He was really good at picking horses. I would always explain to my customers that Doug Carpenter was like a really high-end art dealer for serious art collectors.”

Clinton and Doug’s working relationship grew into a deep friendship.

“You can build friendship on top of business, but you can’t build a good business on top of friendship,” Clinton said. “We never let business interfere with our friendship, and that’s because we built the business relationship first.”

Clinton says Doug stayed ahead of trends when it came to the horse world.

“Doug was always really big on doing the opposite of what everybody else was doing—he said you can’t stand out from the pack if you follow the pack,” Clinton said. “He was always big about analyzing where the industries were going five years before they went there. He would self-analyze what he needed to do to position himself to do well in the next market.”

author In the mid-90s, Doug and Carolyn Pryor, editor for the NSBA, worked together to write and publish “Western Pleasure: Training and Showing to Win.” The book would become a must-read for Western Pleasure exhibitors.

“I think everyone should get his book— it’ll do the pleasure horse industry a favor to read and re-read that book,” Troy said. “There are a lot of principles in there that I think would help even today.”

the mentor Doug met his wife Gwen in Arizona in

2010, and they hit it off instantly. They began dating in 2012. Gwen showed horses as a youth, winning a youth world championship and eventually marrying JR Reichert and sharing a pleasure horse business together. That shared background and mutual friends contributed to their strong bond. Doug and Gwen married in July 2019.

“Our relationship just kept getting better and better,” Gwen said. “I think we both had the same goal in mind.”

She holds his horse sense in high regard.

“It was amazing to watch him work with a horse,” Gwen said. “He just had a way with horses.”

Gwen says folks came to Doug not just for advice on horses, but on all sorts of topics.

“He was just someone you could talk to about things and ask what he’d do in a situation,” Gwen said. “He was so knowledgeable, and he’d research.”

A common denominator of Doug amongst those who knew him well was his passion for helping other horsemen. Gwen says he was a mentor and advisor for many, drawing on his experience in different areas of the horse business. Clinton says his ability to mentor young people will be his lasting legacy.

“He always wanted people around him to be successful,” Clinton said. “He believed in a hand up, not a handout. So if you were willing to help yourself, he’d be the first guy to help you. If you were struggling and really wanted to succeed in life, he would give you every dollar he had for you to be successful. He was that type of person. And he was so welcoming to new people in the industry.”

Gwen, Emma, Doug, Kelly, Matt, & Katie at Kelly and Matt’s wedding

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Doug’s thoroughbred, Dream Marie at the Kentucky Oaks

life’s dream More recently, Doug became passionate about buying and selling racing Thoroughbred prospects in addition to purchasing and brokering Reining, Cutting and Reined Cow horses.

Bob says Doug took his foray into the racehorse world seriously.

“He went to Kentucky and he learned the business from the bottom up,” Bob said.

Dream Marie is a racehorse Doug and Gwen owned with Tim and Nancy Hamlin. The 2017 gray mare placed ninth at the highly respected Longines Kentucky Oaks race in September 2020—an accomplishment both Bob and Gwen say ranked at the top of Doug’s lifetime achievements.

“He said ‘This is the best thing I’ve ever done,’” Gwen said. “I said ‘Really? With everything you’ve done with horses?’ and he said ‘Yes. This is it. Do you know how many people try to raise one that goes to the Kentucky Oaks?’ Tim said he thought he saw a little tear run down his face when they saddled the horse [before the race]. It was just a different goal for him, and it meant a lot to him.”

something different Beyond performance horses and racehorses, Doug also bought and sold bucking bulls with Bob for a time. Bob recalls that 34 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2021

Doug, Kelly and her husband Matt trail riding

season fondly.

“We had a lot of fun with that,” Bob said. “I don’t think we really made much money on it, but we didn’t lose much money on it.”

Most recently, Doug had gotten into photography, and lately, his favorite pastime was going on trail rides aboard his mustang “Seventeen” with Gwen and friends.

Doug wasn’t one to reach out for attention, and he could be quiet until you got to know him, his friends say.

“He wasn’t a person who liked to show off,” Gwen said. “He was a quiet, humble person. He was able to talk to so many people, but he was actually a bit shy.”

Troy agrees—saying Doug was a man of few words who was focused on what matters.

“He could be somewhat intimidating because he was quiet— he wasn’t a chit-chatter—even though he was a great conversationalist,” Troy said. “I just looked at him as knowing he was really focused, and that carried over into everything.”

Bob says once you got to know Doug, he was as good a friend as you could have.

“He was great to be locked up in a pickup with, and to travel

with—and you know, we did a lot of that,” Bob said. “He could seem a little standoffish until you got to know him. He was very quiet.”

legacy Gwen says Doug was known for being honest and straightforward, and treated everyone with the same kindness. He also went out of his way to help horse folks new to the industry and trainers trying to get their foot in the door.

“He was always watching for the newer, younger trainers, the new people,” Gwen said. “He always worked with the younger guys.

Rather than just being a trainer, he wanted to give them knowledge about how to make extra money.”

Doug’s passing on November 20 was one of the many Covid-related deaths of 2020. In addition to his wife Gwen, Doug is survived by his children Kelly Treptow and her husband Matt Treptow, and Katie Carpenter and her four-year-old daughter, Emma.

Personally, Bob says Doug’s passing has affected him deeply.

“We did a lot of business together, but the friendship was the main part,” Bob said. “It was a great loss, and I just miss him.”

Doug’s memorial service was recorded and posted online. It has been viewed over 3,200 times by people across the world.

“The group of people who respected him were the cream of the crop and losing Doug to Covid has really taken us as a whole, to our knees,” Troy said.

Doug & Gwen

Troy emphatically says that Doug’s contribution to the horse world may never be equaled: “It’s unmeasurable—nobody will ever come close to the impact this guy had on changing so many different lives, and the breeding, training, buying, and showing, He should be the example of how business should be done in this industry. He was a good person, he was ethical in his business, a great family man, a great horseman—a great friend and a great mentor.”

-Article Written By Abigail Boatwright Photos provided by Gwen Carpenter & Troy Compton

“He believed in a hand up, not a handout. So if you were willing to help yourself, he’d be the first guy to help you.”

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mare power

mare power Vital Signs Are Good

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Vital Signs Are Good was hard to beat in Western Pleasure competition, and her influence continues today.

Vital Signs Are Good, an iconic mare, dominated the Western Pleasure pen during her tenure in competition. Her reign was impressive, with 13 AQHA World Championships, eight Reserve Championships and countless Congress titles. Lovingly known as “Lucy,” “The Roan Mare” and “VSAG,” AQHA Hall of Famer Vital Signs Are Good may be gone, but she continues to influence the western pleasure industry through her offspring.

She was truly one of the greats.

born a star

Lucy was bred by Kristin Rinkenberger of Morton, Illinois, and born in 2000. She was sired by the legendary Zippos Mr Good Bar, and out of Vitalism, by An Awesome Mister.

In 2002, Debbie and Jim Glover purchased the red roan filly at the AQHA World Show, where the mare won the 2-Year-Old Western Pleasure World Championship.

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AQHA Professional Horseman Charlie Cole remembers seeing Lucy win the gold globe that year.

“She was a beautiful mover, and had so much eye appeal,” Cole said.

Even as a youngster, Lucy was impressive, says Kristen Glover Galyean. “From the first time I saw her in person, it was clear—she was just born ahead of her time,” Galyean said. “She just looked super special out there—her expression, her free movement and her elegance were things I’d never seen before.”

stepping into the show pen

With Lucy, Galyean experienced a lot of firsts in the show pen. At just three years old, Lucy carried Galyean to a World Championship in Amateur Western Pleasure.

“I had gone through my youth career being second and third at the Youth World but had never won a world championship,” Galyean said. “The very first time I showed Lucy at the World Show, she took me to my very first world championship. That was a really special moment for me. I never dreamed I had many, many more to come with her.”

rising to greatness

Lucy ended up being just as talented in Western Riding as she was in the Western Pleasure.

“Her mind made it very difficult to get around her,” Galyean said. “She was so consistent, every time she showed, and she was very gifted as well.”

In 2005, Galyean and Lucy made the AQHA World Show finals in the Amateur Western Pleasure and Amateur Western Riding, back-to-back.

“We won the Western Pleasure unanimously under all five judges and loped out of the arena and straight back into the warmup, did a couple of lead changes and went back in the pen,” Galyean said. “That was the year she set the record in the Western Riding. That was my favorite memory with her.”

During her career, Lucy amassed more than 3,000 points, mainly in Western Pleasure and Western Riding. In addition to her many World and Congress Championship titles, she also won more than $300,000 in earnings. In 2007, Galyean rode Lucy to win the All-Around Amateur Award at the AQHA 47 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2021

she would always look back for me to pet her and tell her a good job, because it meant that much to her,” Galyean said.

“She was so kind, and she loved people. I think that’s why she wanted to please so much. I think that’s why her job meant so much to her—she knew that’s what I wanted from her. It’s not every day that you come across animals that care so much about something.”

new chapter

Karen and Joe Moran of Laguna Hills, California purchased Lucy at the 2009 All-American Quarter Horse Congress as a horse for their daughter Theresa to show in youth competition. They were looking for a horse to be competitive alongside A Certain Vino and Harley D Zip. “Lew Papendick and I had joked at the Congress that year that the only horse that could do it was Vital Signs Are Good,” Theresa Moran said. “So it was easy to think the whole thing was still a joke when my sister texted me from the Congress saying they were taking Lucy to the vet for a pre-purchase exam.”

Charlie Cole and AQHA Professional Horseman Jason Martin began working with Lucy when she joined the Moran family.

World Show. That same year Lucy was named the NSBA Horse of the Year.

Galyean says that Lucy was the horse to beat.

“Basically, people were out there trying to purchase horses that were good enough to get around ‘the roan mare,’” Galyean said. “When it came to showing, she was all business—she went out there to do her job, and it wasn’t very often that she made mistakes. I think her great mind is also a big part of what made her so competitive.”

Lucy had her quirks though. She hated being drug tested, and every time she won a Congress or World Championship, that was the protocol.

“Sometimes, it would be more than once a day, if she had more than one class a day,” Galyean said.

“She hated needles!”

Lucy was a little bit of a diva and insisted on a trailer with a ramp. She loved treats, and always looked for her rider’s approval.

“We’d be in the lineup in the Western Pleasure, and

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“Lucy was a very kind and sweet horse,” Cole said. “She was very calm and had a ton of try. She was a pleaser. She had exceptional movement and great expression.”

Moran says Lucy was “a dream horse” and her first ride on the mare was loping around the warm-up pen after she won the Senior Western Riding.

“I rode her bareback, with only her world champion neck ribbon and no bridle,” Moran recalled. “It was a very surreal moment, and one of my favorite memories with her.”

Once Moran got to know Lucy, she began to understand even more how special the mare was.

“She was one of the smartest horses I have ever ridden and picked up everything we were doing with her incredibly quickly,” Moran said.

Lucy took Moran to new heights in youth competition, including a Reserve title in the Youth 15-18 Horsemanship at Congress.

“It was a last-minute decision by Charlie Cole and Jason Martin to have me show Lucy instead of my other horse, Show Diva, in the Horsemanship,” Moran said. “We had never done a Horsemanship pattern together, let alone practiced,

and being known for her Western Riding and Western Pleasure accomplishments, made it even more special to be successful in a different event.”

In 2010, Lucy earned Reserve World Championships in Senior Western Pleasure with Cole and Senior Western Riding with Martin. She was also crowned the Reserve AQHA Superhorse that year. Lucy and Moran went on to win a World Championship in Western Riding at the 2011 Youth World Championship Show and Moran ended her youth career as the reserve All-Around High Point Youth.

2013 was Lucy’s final year of competition—she and Moran won the World Championship in Amateur Western Riding together.

Riding an icon in the AQHA horse show world, Moran says Lucy’s fan club was something she cherished.

“There was usually a small crowd when she’d enter any Western Riding pen to show,” Moran said. “My favorite moments were when little girls would come

up and pet her at the shows and take a picture. I was once one of those little girls that always followed her career and would be so excited to see her in person, so it was really a full circle moment for me.”

Lucy earned her retirement and went on to produce many quality foals. She died in January 2017 and was inducted into the AQHA Horse Hall of Fame in 2019.

raising the next generation

Lucy passed on her happy temperament to her 24 offspring.

Her foals enjoy their jobs and carry her signature expression with impeccable conformation and self-carriage. Her offspring include many notable horses, among them Congress and NSBA World Champion and World and Congress Champion sire VS Code Red, AQHA World Champion, 5 time Congress Champion and World and Congress Champion sire VS Flatline, AQHA High Point winner and World and Congress Champion sire VS Code Blue, Reichert Celebration $250,000 2-Year-Old Maiden Western Pleasure Champion

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and AQHA Reserve World Champion Invest N Vital Signs, World Champion VS Check My Pulse and AQHA World and Congress Champion My Vital Valentine. In total her get have earned more than 4,500 points and in excess of $470,000 in futurity earnings.

Cole says Lucy’s offspring and their get have had a huge influence on the western pleasure discipline.

“So many of the top futurity and show horses have Lucy on their papers,” Cole said.

Moran’s family has one of her Lazy Loper foals at their ranch, and the mare has her sweet and sassy, people-pleasing personality.

“She is definitely the sweetest of the horses we have on property, and a crowd favorite when we have visitors,” Moran said.

“Lucy has gone on to be just as famous as a producer as she was a show horse,” Galyean said. What she’s gone on to produce is really miraculous. It’s amazing how similar her babies and grandbabies are to her. We have a piece of her, and it’s cool for me to watch because it’s like there are pieces of her everywhere.”

“Lucy changed the industry completely.

She’s made it better and more competitive,” Galyean said. “If you get a great Code Red or Flat Line, they’re very hard to get around, because they’re just so good minded. I think horse trainers like them because they’re very trainable and enjoy their jobs. It’s easy for them, just like their grandmother, and that makes them great show horses.”

-Article Written By Abigail Boatwright Photos provided by Theresa Moran & Kristin Galyean

If you know of a GREAT mare that should be featured, please let us know! Send us an email to premiersires@gmail.com

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