It’s a New Year – New Adventures Ahead!
This has been an eventful January at Aus Ranch and there is still a week to go. We just pulled through a nasty, windy cold snap that went on a long time. I judge a cold snap by whether or not the old Belarus tractor starts – because it almost always does. By that standard, it was cold. I am so grateful for my wonderful neighbors!
We have some very sad news and a lot to look forward to this year.
Golden Slew
He was 25 years old, and it was still very, very hard to say goodbye. After all, as one of the last sons of Seattle Slew, he was a piece of history as well as my heart. Right before the cold snap, Slew laid down and died peacefully. Of course, I was hoping for another summer with him, but at his age, a good ending is something to appreciate. We have one foal on the way by him and I’m sure hoping for another daughter.
Although his genetic influence through his daughters will carry on for generations here, what I think of first is how much I learned from this horse. He was always “more” than any other horse I’ve been around. A change in feed would affect his energy level more. A cue would result in more movement. He was the easiest horse to handle, but he did intimidate people more. He was more of a gentleman than any stallion we’ve owned, but at 16.3 and 1400 lbs, he really needed to be.
And of course, we will miss him.
Foals coming in 2024
Our breeding season last spring was a little stressful. More mares are open than we are used to and those who will foal will start in later May. CCs Last Warrior, aka Perks, is getting older and we’ll breed him to fewer mares in 2024. Fortunately, we do have three mares in foal to him, all of them from the same female family that produced Charmin N Rockin, the mare who won the Eastern Qualifier to The American last March. And as an extra bonus, two of Charmin’s full sisters are bred to the promising young sire, Ata Boy James by Ivory James. I’m really excited to see those foals and looking forward to getting them into competitive hands. Most of our foals will be for sale, except of course we have to keep a few fillies.
VF Chase This
Last fall we realized it was time to add to the stallion lineup here. We knew we needed a stallion we could breed CCs Last Warrior’s daughters to because we have a few (not enough!) that we have kept for future broodmares. The problem was, how on earth could we find a stallion to follow Perks? Perks has been such an amazing horse because he sires youth horses and elite barrel horses. He has spoiled me!
Bonnie and Paul Orvedahl of Flying O Ranch came to the rescue. Rescuing me has been a habit of theirs. Together, we found and purchased a horse that actually might just be good enough. We are excited to breed him to some really good mares from both ranches this spring!
“Chaser” is good looking. He’s pretty headed with a big, kind eye. Powerfully built and correct, he just oozes eye appeal. He’s even a great color. And, most important, he’s very nice to handle. We jumped him off the trailer on the way home at a friend’s house to show him off. Not so much as a crabby look out of him. He’s settled in here really well and is fun to have around.
His pedigree is especially exciting. Sired by Reckless Guy, his dam is the standout Ivory James daughter Chase This Ivory. She is the dam of over $760K in barrel earnings, including this year’s standout futurity horse TNR Wannaseemycancan. CanCan won over a half million dollars in 2023. Chase This Ivory is just 15 years old this year and is still producing so we expect her PE to continue to increase.
We will take a few approved outside mares to Chaser this year. Live cover only. Contact us for more information. Hopefully, we’ll get around to getting his web page up soon. Cobblers’ kids, you know.
Happy 2024!
We wish you the best in 2024. It’s going to be a great year!