PREMIER - March 2024

NOW ENTERING THE ARENA: TOTAL KNOCKOUTT

Young Stallion Set to Make His Debut at The Madness

“It’s incredible,” says Candice Hall of the feeling of watching her stallion Machine Made’s offspring succeed in the show arena. Hall and her husband Cory Seebach have owned the AQHA leading sire of western pleasure horses since 2010. Since then, Machine Made has become a $3 million dollar sire and his foals have earned over 8,000 AQHA points along with multiple World and Congress championships.

One of the foals that Hall and Seebach are particularly excited to see debut in the show pen is their own three-year-old stallion Total Knockoutt who is by Machine Made and out of the great show mare Knockin It Out who is out of the legendary mare Zippin The Breeze and by No Doubt Im Lazy.

Hall and Seebach have been married for 25 years and have enjoyed their journey in the horse industry together. “Cory is my best friend and encourages all our life adventures,” says Hall. She shares, “I have had horses since I was 10 years old, but he married into this craziness and embraces it.” The couple lives on a farm on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada with a menagerie of dogs, cats and horses. Hall is a small animal veterinarian and Seebach is a dentist. Despite their demanding careers and busy schedules, they have managed to make their horses a priority and enjoy not only seeing Machine Made’s foals succeed, but also campaigning their own.

Hall’s story began like that of most horse women. “I grew up in Victoria on Vancouver Island and begged for a horse,” says Hall. “I got a pinto quarter horse mare that my dad paid $600 for. He bought me an old cavalry saddle, but I rode her bareback most of the time. I showed her in 4-H and little local shows, and we did lots of trail riding and riding at the beach.”

At 19, Hall entered vet school where she met Seebach who grew up in Saskatchewan.

Their story evolved from there and the two settled back on Vancouver Island. Hall shares that though she had to leave her horses behind at her parent’s farm during vet school, they soon became part of her life again. “Once we were able to get settled with our first jobs, I brought my quarter horse here to our farm and now he’s buried here,” she says.

In 2010, the couple’s lives changed when, at the Southern Belle futurity, they saw Carl Yamber riding the then three-year-old Machine Made. Hall shares, “As soon as I saw him, I couldn’t breathe. I knew he was my horse. He was once in a lifetime.” Yamber was training the young stallion for the Rosciti family. “We knew he had to become part of our family,” Hall says.

Little did they know how much the talented stallion would change their lives. “We were searching for a special show horse to be my next partner in the western pleasure pen. We were not looking to own a stallion.” She adds, “That was 14 years ago, and it has been the most amazing journey— one I wouldn’t trade for anything.”

Though the couple did not set out to be stallion owners, they have embraced the journey. It’s a philosophy that defines their approach to the horse industry. Hall says, “We wanted to see him reach his full potential as a show horse and a sire. We showed him that first year at the AQHA World Show and were planning to geld him. But Steve Reams asked our trainer Gil Galyean if he could book his client’s mare Dark Jasmine to him. They did breed that mare and that baby was Made by J.” The rest as they say is history and Machine Made, along with his own impressive showring accomplishments, has become one of the leading sires of western pleasure horses.

Hall describes watching Machine Made’s babies show as, “feeling like my heart will explode.” Machine Made has sired numerous Congress and AQHA World Champions—the list of his offspring’s accolades is too numerous to list. For Hall and

Seebach, what’s most impressive about his record as a sire are his foals’ trainability and heart. “The youth and amateurs are winning consistently with Machine Made babies. He’s not just a trainer’s horse. They’re versatile, cadenced, and trainable. That makes them work for young people and nonpros. People who don’t ride for a living can hop on and have fun,” says Hall. She adds, “My husband doesn’t ride, and we put him on our gelding Cheddar Bomb and he was winning everything on the west coast. That’s just how they are.”

Along with the joy in success, she cites the connections made along the journey. “We have made so many friends along the way,” she says. “People want to brag about their babies and show us pictures. None of those relationships would have happened otherwise. And it’s great to hear from the mare owners because the mare is just as big, if not a bigger part of the equation. So, it’s nice to have people believe in your stallion, breed good mares, and promote the babies. That’s how you make a sire,” says Hall.

Over the years, Hall and Seebach have owned and shown numerous Machine Made offspring, including that first foal, Made by J, who is still showing in the Western Riding with Hall and trainer Gil Galyean. Through it all, the couple notes that they’ve built incredible relationships with their longtime trainers Kristy McCann and Gil Galyean. Hall shares, “Both of our horse trainers are family. We’re coming up on 20 years with both Kristy and Gil. It’s pretty special having that kind of relationship with people.” She adds, “It’s a whole lifestyle going to the shows and seeing our people. We’re there for each other through the ups and downs, the good and the bad.”

In the early days, Hall says she owned a Grulla mare and competed in the then thriving all-around circuit on Vancouver Island. She later began to work with McCann to learn the western riding. She says, “Around that same time we were lucky enough to have Gil show a yearling in the longe line for us at The Congress. That was our first time showing at Congress and we tied to win but ended up reserve champions after losing the tie breaker. Needless to say, we were hooked. Now we have many horses with both trainers. We have no kids and lots of pets. We lay awake at night dreaming of baby horse names. Overall, we’re just having a great time with it.”

This year, the couple is looking forward to having a great time campaigning Total Knockoutt. The young stallion will make his debut with Galyean in the Three-Year-Old Maiden Western Pleasure slot class at The Madness. Total Knockoutt, also known as Knock Knock, reminds Hall of his sire in many ways. “He reminds me so much of Machine Made,” she says. “He has the quietest, most easy-going personality. He’s very trainable and very soft. He has slow legs and a kind eye. Just like Hersh (Machine Made). She adds, “He’s so good minded. When Gil says to geld horses, we listen. He has not wanted to geld this one, so that says a lot.”

With his impressive lineage, it’s no wonder that the couple chose to keep Knock Knock a stallion. Hall notes his ties back to a legendary mare line. “He’s out of the mare Knockin It Out who is owned by Richard and Betty Jo Carr. That mare is a full sister to the stallion Cool Breeze who is out of Zippin The Breeze. We love the Zippin The Breeze line and have our own broodmare out of her. One of her babies will likely show at the Congress this year. They’re great horses and come from a fantastic mare line—that’s so important for a stallion,” says Hall.

The couple purchased Knock Knock from Dan Frederick. “The Carrs had bought their mare from Dan,” says Hall. “He had retained embryos. He’s bred a lot of great horses over the years. When we saw newborn pictures of a stunning bay colt born by Machine Made we were obsessed,” Hall says. “It took over a year to convince Dan to sell him to us. When

he finally said yes, we wrote the check that day,” she laughs. “We knew it was a do it now or miss the opportunity situation.” Total Knockoutt has grown up in Purcell, Oklahoma with the Galyeans. “We decided to wait and show him as a three-year-old,” says Hall, adding, “Now it’s almost his time to shine.”

Hall sees the growth in maiden classes as a good thing for the western pleasure industry. “I think with our pleasure horses it’s great that we’ve been letting them mature and develop more. You see a lot more people waiting until they’re three and four to show. There’s a real trend of people not expecting them to perform as a two-year-old when they’re immature. It takes pressure off the trainers to force something the horse isn’t ready to do and allows horses to peak when they’re meant to peak. Some are ready to show as two-year-olds, but the majority aren’t. In many cases it’s healthier. As a vet, I’m all about that.”

Hall and Seebach are following their philosophy of embracing the journey as they begin Total Knockoutt’s show career. “He’s a new adventure,” Hall says. “We’ll start his show career at The Madness with Gil in the maiden slot class and see how we do then make a plan from there.” She adds, “Our approach is to see where the year takes us and to try not to make too many concrete plans. We like to see what the horse is capable of and wants to do, then we go with it.”

Down the road, Hall sees a future for Knock Knock in multiple events. She says, “He’s so big and pretty, we eventually want to have him as a western rider.”

Eventually Hall may take the reins, she shares, “I have ridden him and it’s an incredible feeling.” Until then, Hall and Seebach look forward to supporting Galyean and Total Knockoutt at the upcoming shows and embracing the joy in his journey.

Article Written by: Elizabeth Arnold Photography by: Melissa Baus, Premier Sires, Cody Parmenter Photography, Impulse Photography & Shane Rux Photography