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Callaway Hills Dominates A Changing Of The Guard



The circle of life was never more evident as the results were tallied for Saddle Horse Report’s sixteenth year of tracking the bloodlines and combinations that go into the making of American Saddlebreds who perform at the highest level. Three of last year’s Top 20 World’s Champion Sires are now deceased, including the record breaking five-time number one sire Supreme Heir (Supreme Sultan x CH Supreme Airs) and many new stallions moved into the Top 20.

In these past 15 years a Supreme Sultan son has been the number one sire an incredible 12 times; 10 of those years belonged to Supreme Heir and Sultan’s Santana. Now for the second time a son of CH Will Shriver leads the rating. Shown by the legendary Tom Moore for Callaway Hills, Callaway’s Blue Norther was himself the 1984 Three-Year-Old Five-Gaited Stallion/Gelding World’s Champion and ‘85 Junior Five-Gaited Reserve World’s Grand Champion and Reserve World’s Junior Stallion/Gelding Champion.

Now 24 years old, Blue Norther topped the charts after placing second the last few years. The vision of Betty Weldon, Blue Norther has been one of the finest sons of Callaway Hills icon 1976 Five-Gaited World’s Grand Champion CH Will Shriver (Callaway’s Johnny Gillen x Kate Denmark by Anacacho Denmark). He is out of the Royal Rambler daughter, Royally Blue. Joining Blue Norther in the Top 10 are Callaway Hills stablemates CH Caramac (#5) and Sultan’s Collector’s Item (#10).

The dominating Supreme Sultan influence is slowly losing its grip on the Top 20 as only two sons (Sultan’s Collector’s Item and The Irish Connection) were represented this year as compared to four in 2003. A grandson, Santana’s Charm, had the highest ranking of the family at number seven.

New Yorker sons and grandsons are still making strong contributions with Harlem Globetrotter and I’m A New Yorker both in the Top 10 and the beautiful grandson Catalyst moving up from fifth in 2003 to second this year. New Yorker is also the broodmare sire of number four ranked CF First Night Out.

Globetrotter is one of two sires in the Top 20 to also have sons in the rating. His son, CH Harlem Town, comes in at number 17 while the Courageous Admiral sired Desert’s Supreme Admiral (#14) was represented by his son, the current World’s Champion Five-Gaited Stallion Desert’s Supreme Memories, at number 16.

The rating also showed that the broodmare sires were varied with only Vanity’s Sensation of Crebilly having two daughters with stallion sons in the Top 20: CH Caramac and Santana’s Charm.

Points for the World’s Champion Sire Rating were tabulated from the results of the 2004 World’s Championship Horse Show. Championship classes in all Saddlebred divisions, first through eighth, were given a set of points while all qualifiers or single classes (Kentucky County Fair Championships included) were given a lower set of points for first through eighth place ribbons. In addition to the overall points shown on the facing page, the stallions were also rated by division and those charts are found throughout this story.

For the second time in the 16 year history of Saddle Horse Report’s rating, Callaway Hills has been home to the Number One World’s Champion Sire. This time it was Callaway’s Blue Norther who came in with 108 points which was three above his 2003 total which was highlighted by Five-Gaited World’s Grand Champion CH Callaway’s Forecaster. In 2004 he had 21 ribbon winners representing every division except in hand. Among them were some of the most powerful performers of the week, including Callaway’s Sugarplum the sensational Ladies Amateur Three-Gaited World’s Grand Champion, Callaway’s Banner Headline the Ladies Five-Gaited World’s Grand Champion, Callaway’s Born To Win the Ladies Five-Gaited Reserve World’s Grand Champion, and Callaway’s Weatherman the four-time Amateur Gentlemen’s Five-Gaited World’s Champion.

Other stars by Callaway’s Blue Norther included Callaway’s Blue Agate, Callaway’s Forecaster, Adelita, Callaway’s Guy Park, Callaway’s Halley’s Comet, and many more. Also the number one sire in the five-gaited division and number four sire in the three-gaited/park division, Blue Norther continues to stand privately under the direction of Kendra Benn at Callaway Hills where his world class offspring are developed by Bob Brison and staff.

Having been at Callaway Hills for 15 years Brison has great knowledge of the Blue Norther offspring. “They usually start out a little quicker than our Caramacs [1999 Number One World’s Champion Sire],” said Brison. “They have some similarities, but are different. Blue’s offspring training wise are similar to Will Shriver’s except with more size and stretch. Our Caramac’s and Callaway's Capital News offspring take a while longer, especially Capital News. You will start some of these colts and they won’t look like much but I tell them just wait. You have to give that bloodline time.”

Pennsylvania breeder Dick Kearney has also been around the family of his number two ranked World’s Champion Sire, Catalyst who compiled 91 points from 16 ribbon winners. A son of Manhattan Supreme out of Lakeview’s Captured Angel (by Superior Odds), Catalyst moved up from number five. Kearney had worked his sire, his dam and his dam’s sire so he had a pretty good feeling about the young stallion when a local breeder wanted him to purchase Catalyst.

“I had worked his family and he was such a beautiful horse I thought he could make a breeding horse,” said Kearney. “He’s not a colt anymore so he’s had time to prove himself. You get a useful colt about every time because they have so much quality. One of the biggest factors has been luck. It takes a lot of luck no matter how well bred your horse is.”

Catalyst was one of three stallions in the Top 20 to earn points in every division with his highest finish coming in the pleasure division which he topped. He was also the number five sire in the fine harness section and number nine among five-gaited sires. While Catalyst sired great pleasure horses like Adult Show Pleasure World’s Grand Champion A Magic Spell, Juvenile Five-Gaited Pleasure World’s Grand Champion Rock The Jukebox, and Adult Show Pleasure World’s Champion He Walks On Water, he also produced explosive performance horses like Ladies Amateur Five-Gaited World’s Grand Champion Carolina Cat, Amateur Park Reserve World’s Champion Breathe, and harness stars Reserve World’s Champion Lady Bella and Mystic Pointe.

Also making a big move from last year, the CH Courageous Admiral son, Periaptor, was credited with 90 points as the Number Three World’s Champion Sire for 2004. Winner of the Five-Gaited Stallion Stake at the American Royal for three years, Periaptor is owned by the Loose Family Trust and stands under the direction of Rob Tanner at King’s Row.

One point separated the second and third ranked sires. Like Catalyst, Periaptor had ribbon winners in all five divisions. He topped the charts in the three-gaited/park division and also finished among the Top 10 in the harness and pleasure sections. Out of the Classic Stonewall daughter Eliana, Periaptor was the sire of world’s champions Lady Periana, I’m A Hot Ticket, and Sunshine Way as well as reserve world’s champions Gone Platinum and Charming Babette.

Gaining lots of momentum, the youngest sire in the Top 5 was fourth ranked CF First Night Out. Just one point behind the third place sire who was just one point behind the second ranked sire, this son of 1976 and 1983 Fine Harness World’s Grand Champion CH Night Prowler out of the New Yorker daughter Happy Twenty-First, had 89 overall points. CF First Night Out is the pride and joy of the Neil/Stafford families at Blythewood Farm, Cleveland, Tenn.

CF First Night Out was also among the few who had ribbon winners in every division with his largest point total coming as the number one sire in the harness division. He was second among the in hand sires and fifth in the three-gaited/park division. CF First Night Out has already produced a number of household names including the multi-titled world’s grand champion CH Yes It’s True. Yes It's True was again a world’s champion performer along with other 2004 stars like world’s champions Lady Maya, The Last Straw, Performing Nightly, Night Sight and reserve world’s champions I’m First, Sugar Pine, Burn Out and At Night. With 84 points, the second Callaway Hills stallion in the Top 10 at number five was CH Caramac. The 1985 Junior Five-Gaited World’s Grand Champion, Caramac is sired by CH Will Shriver out of the Vanity’s Sensation daughter Stonehedge Vanity.

With 24 total ribbon winners, Caramac finished as the number two sire of five-gaited world’s champions, number three in the pleasure division and number eight among harness entries. Some of his stars included My Chanel, Caramac’s Capital Gain, Cara Clara, Lady Caramist, Callaway’s Holy Moly, Callaway’s Inspiration, Page Me, Nic Nac Caramac, CH Unforgiven, Callaway’s Rockaway, Callaway’s Royal Carriage, Cecile, Callaway’s Newscaster, Callaway’s CH Hardin and Callaway’s Cassandra.

While gaining 15 points over last year, former Fine Harness National Futurity World’s Champion Merchant Prince finished in sixth for the second straight year with a total of 74. The son of world’s grand champion sire Mountain Highland Memories and the great walk-trot mare, Hall of Fame Broodmare CH Buck Creek’s Precious Princess, had 17 ribbon winners this time around. Merchant Prince is the senior stallion at Bit Hutcheson’s Happy Valley Farm in Rossville, Ga. Forever known as the sire of CH A Sweet Treat, the only mare in history to win Open World’s Grand Championships in two divisions, Merchant Prince finished second in both the three-gaited/park and fine harness divisions with a host of powerful performance horses.

His cast of stars this year which included the forever young Three-Gaited Reserve World’s Grand Champion CH Rejoice, Three-Year-Old Three-Gaited National Futurity World’s Champion Marching Orders, Junior Fine Harness World’s Grand Champion The Great Gaspar as well as reserve world’s champions I’m Dreaming, CH Nightly Affair, and The Bachelor Prince.

The first stallion and still only one of two to win the Amateur Five-Gaited World’s Grand Championship, Santana’s Charm had 17 ribbon winners and a total of 61 points for seventh place on the rating. This was an upward move of four places over last year.

Santana’s Charm is owned by and stands at Bridget Parker’s Parker View Farm in Versailles, Ky., where the son of Fine Harness World’s Grand Champion Sultan’s Santana and Vanity’s Belle (by Vanity’s Sensation Of Crebilly) earned points in every division except in hand. The grandson of Supreme Sultan sired both the Three-Year-Old Five-Gaited Stallion/Gelding World’s Champion (A Silver Charm) and the Three-Year-Old Five-Gaited Mare World’s Champion (Sheba’s Charm) along with Amusing, Puttin’ On The Charm, CH Belleavanti, and All About Charm to finish fourth among the five-gaited sires.

Other 2004 stars sired by Santana’s Charm included Three-Gaited Park World’s Grand Champion Waltz, Reserve World’s Champion Charmed By Chance, Sass With Class, CH Mercer Raceabout, Cameo’s Carte Blanche, Our Silver Charm, CH Olympic Charm, In Your Honor, and My Southern Charm.

A longtime member of the Top 10 and former Number One World’s Champion Sire, Harlem Globetrotter finished eighth this year for Joan Hamilton’s Kalarama Farm, Springfield, Ky. The former Five-Gaited Stallion World’s Champion and Triple Crown winner as a three-year-old, had 24 ribbon winners this year with his best showing in the pleasure division.

The son of New Yorker and Puttin On Airs (by Mr. Magic Man) was represented by many top performers including Kalarama Co-Ed and Globetrotter’s Fantasy in the gaited division, Romantic Manifesto, Royalty In Black, Luxury Tax, and Evoq in the walk-trot/park division, Mickey Griggs and Hollywood’s Virginia Gentleman in the harness ranks and CH Harlem Heat, CH Harlem’s Strong Will, CH Harlem’s Hot Scoop, Harlem’s Proud Mary, and Harlem’s Half Moon, among others, in the pleasure division.

Another New Yorker son, former junior fine harness reserve world’s champion I’m A New Yorker, followed at number nine with 42 points from 12 ribbon winners. Out of the Denmark’s Bourbon Genius daughter, Sentimentalist, I’m A New Yorker tied Santana’s Charm for fourth place among five-gaited sires.

Owned by the George Nash family of Nash Stables, Harrodsburg, Ky., he was represented by world’s champion My New Year’s Eve, Freaky Links, Downtown Strutter, The Echo Of Thunder, Naughty and New York’s Showtime in the gaited division. I’m A New Yorker was also the sire of one of the greatest two-year-olds to ever perform at Louisville, 2004 Two-Year-Old Three-Gaited Sec. II World’s Champion New York’s Perfect Gift. Reserve World’s Champion Laguna Niguel and In My Soul also earned top points for I’m A New Yorker.

The third Callaway Hills stallion in the Top 10, Sultan’s Collector’s Item was the tenth ranked stallion with 39 overall points earned by nine offspring. The majority of his points came in the three-gaited/park division in which he finished third. A son of Supreme Sultan and Georgie’s Miracle by Duke Of Stonewall, Sultan’s Collector’s Item was the sire of World’s Champion CH Callaway’s Coraleen and the popular Reserve World’s Champion Callaway’s Merry Go Round in the walk-trot division as well as gaited stars Callaway’s Kit Carson and Callaway’s Independence Day.

Owned by Sharon Vuinovich and standing at Selwood Park Stable in Elkhorn, Wisc., former Five-Gaited Stallion World’s Champion Attache’s Liquid Asset (Attache x Mona Denmark by Oman’s Desdemona Denmark) moved from number 15 to eleventh with eight ribbon winners. His strongest showing came in the gaited division with stars like Assets and Attitude, Mahvalous Asset, and Undulata’s Georgie Girl. He also sired Juvenile Three-Gaited World’s Champion Mr. Revere and fine harness reserve world’s champion Unclaimed in addition to Undulata’s Jimmy Hollywood and Aurora’s Asset to finish with 38 total points.

Two stallions tied for the number 12 spot with Randy Tabor’s Roseridge Heir cracking the Top 20. Now the senior stallion at 3-T Farm in Scottsville, Ky., “Reggie” as he is commonly known, was third among five-gaited sires. The son of Maderia’s Gift and Cedar Creek My Red Rose by Ridgefield Heir, had 11 ribbon winners this year. Among them were world’s champions Heir Dazzle and Miss Outta My Way. He was also represented by Have You Ever, Roseridge’s Gold, Worthstyle, Seajay Lewis, Worthy’s Independent Son, Fourth Down, The Chocolate Rose and Matrix.

Also scoring 36 points at number 12, The Showboat made his first appearance in the Top 20. Owned by Royal Scot Stables, he was also the third CH Will Shriver son in the rating. Juvenile Three-Gaited 14-17 World’s Grand Champion CH The Showstopper and Junior Exhibitor Pleasure Driving World’s Grand Champion Showboat’s Casino were his top stars along with reserve world’s champion So Much To Say, The Master Showman, Showboat’s Casablanca, Magnolia Hawks and Showboat’s Boogey Man.

Another newcomer to the select club of world’s champion sires, Attache’s Thunderbolt represented Joan Lurie’s Willowbank Farm at number 13. The son of Attache and the Valley View Supreme daughter, Sweet Sharon Hope, had 34 points overall. His highest total came from the gaited division in which he was eighth. Attache’s Thunderbolt was the sire of World’s Champion Five-Gaited Mare Spider Red as well as Feel The Thunder, Liquid Thunder, and Attache’s Crown Royal. He also earned points with Absolut Leigh So, Cloudsplitter, Steal My Thunder, Co-Ed’s Impressive Lady, A Cloudburst, and The Light O’Love.

Just one point behind, Desert’s Supreme Admiral moved up three places to fourteenth. From Walter Bush’s Desert Oasis Ranch, this son of CH Courageous Admiral and Desert’s Queen Anna by Sultan's Santana had eight ribbon winners, the most notable being Five-Gaited Stallion World’s Champion Desert’s Supreme Memories, World’s Champion Ladies Five-Gaited Mare Take Me Away, and juvenile gaited star CH Chandler.

Winner of the Amateur Fine Harness World’s Championship in 1991 and a four-time reserve world’s champion before that in open and young horse classes, CH The King Of Highpoint represented John T. and Nancy Jones at number 15 with 31 points and 10 ribbon winners. Standing to the public at Alliance Stud, this son of Sultan’s Contract and Indiana Flame by Indiana Peavine rejoined the Top 20 by siring Three-Year-Old Fine Harness Worlds’ Champion Coco Loco, Three-Gaited Pony World’s Grand Champion CH Highpoint’s Fantasia and in hand world’s champion Texas Hold Em, among others.

A son of the fourteenth ranked sire, Desert’s Supreme Admiral, 2004 and 1999 World’s Champion Five-Gaited Stallion Desert’s Supreme Memories made his first appearance on the Top 20 for owner Roberta Rassieur and trainer/manager Virgil Helm. One of the most popular gaited stallions showing over the past few years, the majority of his 28 points came in the gaited division in which he finished fifth. The star of that group was four-times Amateur Five-Gaited Mare World’s Champion Such Sweet Memories as well as reserve world’s champions She’s In Style and Sonoran Sweet. Reserve world’s champion So Audacious, The Evangelist, Margaret Rose, Diamond Memories, and Enchanting Memories all added to the point total.

The royally bred CH Harlem Town was another former world’s champion performer to again make the Top 20. His 27 points were good enough for seventeenth. Sired by Harlem Globetrotter out of the many times world’s champion walk-trot mare, CH Town Dance (by CH Yorktown), Harlem Town is owned by the Jim O’Brien family’s Brookhill in Lexington, Ky. Fourth among the fine harness sires, Harlem Town had six ribbon winners this year. They included reserve world’s champions Harlem’s Santa Fe, 98 Degrees, and Brookhill’s King of Kool in addition to Kool Tyme BH, Miz Ann Emily, and She’s My Desire BH.

For decades Dr. Alan Raun’s Reedannland has been home to world class producers and the exquisite Phi Slama Jama again represented the Cumming, Iowa, facility with a Top 20 finish. Putting on one of the greatest performances ever given by a yearling in Freedom Hall back in 1985, the son of CH The Karankawa Chief and Wild and Lovely PH by Hide-A-Way’s Wild Country was eighteenth with 24 points and 9 ribbon winners. Earning points for Phi Slama Jama were Lakeview’s Rare-A-Phi, Chere Peridot, CH Mirific, Inphallible, Phi’s Fortune Teller, Reedann’s Phancy Phootwork, Queensbury Jasmine, and Mandala Remembered.

Rounding out the Top 20, former Amateur Fine Harness World’s Grand Champion Revival made his first appearance on the rating. Owned by William Shatner and standing at Alliance Stud, this son of Sultan’s Santana and Amazing Grace DSF by Supreme Spirit, had 21 points from six ribbon winners. They included world’s champion Mother Mary, as well as Galad, Joyous, Theology, Been To Paris, and Shiloh Valley’s Gives Me Chills.

Coming as no surprise, Hallston Manor’s beloved Supreme Heir topped the Deceased Sire Rating in his first year with an amazing 210 points. A two-time world’s champion performer and five-times number one sire, he had ribbon winners in every division. Headlining his stars were Three-Gaited World’s Grand Champion An Heir About Her and Fine Harness World’s Grand Champion CH Callaway’s Copyright. Although now deceased, his influence will no doubt be felt for years to come.

Former five-gaited world’s champion performer CH Heir To Champagne was the number two deceased sire with 49 points. He was followed by Radiant Sultan with 47, Attache’s Born Believer and CH The Talk Of The Town in fourth with 37 and Sultan’s Great Day fifth with 36.

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