2 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 3
4 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 5
6 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 7
8 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 9
10 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 11
12 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 13
14 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 15
16 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 17
18 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 19
20 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 21
22 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 23
24 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 25
26 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
Pedigree, Talent, and a Great Mind Mark Promising Young Stallion Lee and Brenda Looney of Jackson, Tennessee have always shared a mutual love for horses. In fact, horses are what brought them together in the first place. Brenda—a veterinarian—first met Lee when he brought a mare into the clinic where she was working for a lameness exam. “Our first date was a few days later,” says Lee. The couple married several months after that. Today, they’ve been married for 23 years. Their love for horses has not waivered either. Throughout their marriage, the Looneys have owned multiple successful Hunter Under Saddle and Western Pleasure horses. “Brenda’s passion is the hunt seat,” says Lee. Early in their marriage, Brenda bred and raised a standout hunt seat horse named Speak For Yourself who was out of an off the track Thoroughbred mare and by Speak Of Me. Together, Brenda and the talented gelding finished second in the nation in Open Hunter Under Saddle and led the nation in Amateur Hunter Under Saddle. In 2007 Brenda sold Speak For Yourself and the couple bought their first pleasure horse together—Accept With Pleasure. “She was our first big purchase,” says Lee. In just a few months Brenda put 100 points on the mare. At the same time, the couple was focused on growing their veterinary practice and supporting their son Jay’s academic and athletic pursuits.
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 27
phenomenal success, earning over $45,000 at the Premier Sires shows in 2017 and setting a record for winnings at that event. That same year their stallion was tragically killed in a freak accident. They say the event prompted them to rethink everything with their breeding program. In late 2017, when the Looneys set out to find their next great breeding stallion, their initial goal was to find a sire that would cross well on their two exceptional mares. As it turned out, their perfect match came in the form of Cool Breeze, a young stallion directly related to their beloved mares. Cool Breeze is by No Doubt Im Lazy and out of Zippin The Breeze, the same dam of their mares. “We kept coming back to the fact that we had the best dam line,” says Lee. After watching Cool Breeze, also known as Joe, show at the Congress and earn top ten placings in the western pleasure, the choice for the Looneys became clear. “We knew we had to find the best stallion we could find and look beyond our two mares,” says Brenda.
While balancing their family and professional life, the Looneys enjoyed the robust local show scene that was thriving ten years ago. “The local shows were huge at that time,” Brenda says. Along with Brenda’s mare Accept With Pleasure, Lee was showing the Novice Amateur Western Pleasure with Cotton Bloomin Imp. In 2013, after years away from the Hunter Under Saddle arena, Brenda felt the urge to find her next great hunt seat horse. At the NSBA World Show that year, they found Natural Mead. After purchasing the young mare, she went on to win the Open TwoYear-Old Hunter Under Saddle at the All-American Quarter Horse Congress with Nancy Sue Ryan. The next week, Brenda won both the Two-Year-Old Non-Pro and Limited Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle. “In 2014, the pleasure bug bit again,” says Lee. The Looneys horse purchase that year set them on a direction that would eventually lead to the path they’re on today. “We purchased two great pleasure mares that year, Only A Summer Breeze and Life Is A Breeze,” says Lee. The Looneys describe the two mares as part of a dominant line of mare power resulting from the cross between the great mare Zippin the Breeze and Invitation Only. At the time, the Looneys also owned an up-and-coming stallion named Pleasure for Certain. One of Pleasure for Certain’s foals, Faith Is Certain, went on to 28 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
The Looneys had confidence in the mare power behind the young stallion and the outstanding track record his mother had as a producer. That confidence led them to purchase the stallion following the TwoYear-Old Events at the Congress that year from their longtime friends Dan and Kathryn Frederick who bred and raised Joe. After the Congress, Cool Breeze went on to a successful show career. At the AQHA World show that year, he placed top ten in the Two-Year-Old Western Pleasure. As a threeyear-old he won the Premier Sires $5,000 Limited Horse Open Western Pleasure at the Cornhusker in Nebraska and the Premier Sires 3-Year-Old Open Western Pleasure at the Big A in Georgia. That summer, Brenda showed him to a Reserve Championship in the Intermediate Non-Pro Western Pleasure at the Tom Powers Futurity and a third place in the Premier Sires Non-Pro Three-Year-Old Western Pleasure at The Big A.
The next year, in 2019, Cool Breeze earned a Reserve Congress Championship in the Limited Open Western Pleasure Maturity at The Congress. After that, the Looneys say, Joe’s next job was to become a breeding horse. Before retiring to start his career as a sire, Cool Breeze had amassed an impressive $28,404.26 in lifetime earnings. For Brenda, it’s exciting to see his offspring exhibiting the same great mind and non-pro friendly traits that Joe possessed as a show horse. She says, “He was a solid show horse. In 2019, I showed him all year. We won almost all the circuits we entered, and he was perfectly happy to pack a non-pro around. We’re happy to see his babies be so non-pro friendly as well.” The Looneys look back with gratitude for all the individuals and trainers that had a hand in Joe’s show ring success. “We’re so thankful and grateful for all of the trainers who helped to shape Joe’s show career and pilot him to the winners circle,” says Lee. For the Looney’s Cool Breeze is the total package as both a show horse and now as a sire. “Have you ever been around a horse that just sucks the air out of you,” asks Lee? “That’s Joe,” he says. “He’s that pretty and that talented. To me, he’s the ideal pleasure horse.” Brenda adds, “He has full extension but goes nowhere. He looks like he has a purpose. He’s great in his hock and extends fully in the front. He has a great topline and carries his head and neck very pretty.” In just his first foal crop, Cool Breeze had tremendous success. His first foal to show was My Daddys Broke out of the mare Depreciated Assets and was bred and owned by Randahl Hoffmann. Hoffmann, now a close friend of the Looneys, is with trainers Kelby and Kaitlin Hutchinson, as are the Looneys.
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 29
30 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 31
In 2022, My Daddys Broke won the Congress Maiden Limited Open Hunter Under Saddle with Kaitlin Hutchinson. They went on to earn a Reserve Championship in the Open Division. Looney remembers the Hutchinson’s early confidence in Joe’s offspring and the young colt. “Kelby called me earlier that year and told me that his first Congress champion is going to be a hunt seater,” says Lee. Hutchinson was right and the moment was special for the Looneys, Hoffmanns, and Hutchinsons. “Joe’s first baby to show was a Congress Champion. You can’t ask for anything more than that,” says Lee. Kaitlin Hutchinson agrees. She says, “It was a cool moment to see. There were a lot of firsts for everyone. It was Joe’s first foal crop and my first Congress win. It was also the first win for his owner and first real heavy hitter that he bred and raised.” She adds, “A lot of dreams and hard work cultivated to success between a group of people that day.”
H E Y A L L U C OOL C ATS
Since then, Joe’s offspring have continued to shine in the show pen. Also in 2022, Joe’s foals had success in the longe line with Beckey Schooler and her daughter Ty Paris Dougherty, who showed Hey All UCool Cats in the Western Longe Line classes at the Congress. Schooler and the bay gelding placed fourth in the Open Western Longe Line and Dougherty earned the same placing in the Non-Pro Western Longe Line. In 2023, sorrel gelding Heez So Cool, who is out of the mare Good Miss Sunny and was bred by Vicki Pugh earned major accolades at the NSBA World Show for owners Dean and Kathy Saul. Heez So Cool and the Saul’s daughter Hayley Kittler won both the Two-YearOld Limited Non-Pro Western Pleasure and the BCF Limited Non-Pro Western Pleasure.
M Y D A D D YS BR OKE
After only a few foal crops, Cool Breeze now boasts World and Congress champions across multiple divisions. Understandably, the Looneys are looking forward to what the coming year holds and are excited to have several three-year-olds in training with the Hutchinsons. Freak N Cool is out of the Looneys former show mare Accept With Pleasure. Kaitlin has plans to show him in the three-year-old limited events and Lee is especially eager to return to the show pen for non-pro events with the talented young gelding. They also have several up and coming two-year-olds that both they and the Hutchinsons are excited about, 32 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
HEEZ SO C OOL
many of whom have ties to their early show horses, making the process and hopes for the young horses even more special. Looking to the future, the Looneys believe that Joe’s foals have a bright future in a number of arenas. “Joe’s babies are going to do well in the pleasure and I believe their niche will be in the allaround and western riding,” says Lee. They are eager to see Hayley Kittler in the trail pen with Heez So Cool this year. They are also encouraged by the feedback they have received from trainers about Joe’s babies. “Trainers have all been happy with them,” says Brenda. “They are all easy. Just like Joe, they’re great movers with strong hocks and great front ends that can jog.” Kaitlin Hutchinson agrees, “Every year Joe’s babies get better and better. They are big, strong and mature. Plus, they’re very pretty horses that have all the qualities you look for in a futurity horse.” She adds, “When you watch videos of Joe showing you can see the similarities to what he represented and what his babies can do.”
potential. “We’re very happy with those crosses,” says Lee. For the Looneys, Cool Breeze has been a pivotal step in their shared journey through the horse world, embodying both their dreams for the future and their vision for the ideal sire. Cool Breeze stands at Tennessee Equine Hospital in Thompson’s Station, Tennessee during breeding season and spends the remainder of the year at home with the Looneys on their Tennessee farm. Lee Looney manages all aspects of breeding contracts and can be reached at (731) 420-0936. Be sure to follow the stallion on his Cool Breeze Facebook page to keep up with his babies and learn more about breeding to this talented stallion.
Article Written by: Elizabeth Arnold Photography by: Melissa Baus, Premier Sires & Shane Rux Photography
The Looneys and mare owners have been impressed with Joe’s ability to consistently pass on his traits to any mare he has crossed on. They are also seeing Cool Breeze provide strong outcrossing PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 33
34 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 35
36 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 37
38 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 39
40 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 41
42 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 43
44 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 45
www.Livinglargestallion.com
46 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 47
48 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 49
50 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 51
52 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 53
54 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 55
56 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 57
58 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 59
60 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 61
62 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 63
64 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
66 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 67
68 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 69
70 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 71
72 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
74 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 75
76 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
78 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 79
80 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
FOR A FOAL WITH A FUTURE, COME TO A BREEDER WITH A
Successful Past
Offering Quality Prospects & World Class Stallions since 1985
Robin’s Cell: 419.573.9098 - robin@whatiwork4.com - DeGraffStables.com - WhatIWork4.com - DeGraffStablesMarketPlace.com Standing: Al Get Your Shine On, Caribbean Touchdown (AQHA/APHA/PHBA), DGS Vintage, DGS Replicated, DGS TheEntertainer (AQHA/APHA/PtHA), iFiesta Fudge!, Frosty The Goodbar (Proven Frozen Semen), HBF Catch My Irons (AQHA-Appendix/APHA/PtHA), & Invite The Artist (APHA-Homozygous Tobiano) Photos by KC Montgomery, Shane Rux, & Suzanne Fischer
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 81
82 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 83
84 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 85
86 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 87
88 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 89
90 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 91
92 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 93
94 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 95
96 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 97
98 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 99
100 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 101
102 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 103
104 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 105
106 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 107
108 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 109
110 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 111
112 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 113
114 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 115
116 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 117
118 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 119
120 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 121
122 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 123
124 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 125
126 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 127
128 | PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024
PREMIER | FEBRUARY 2024 | 129