by THERESA CARDAMONE
Aspire Arabians’ Aria La Croixx captivated the crowd and the judges at the 2023 United States National Championships. With the title of U.S. National Champion Futurity Colt added to his previous national championships as a yearling and two-year-old, owners Ivan and Sheryl Osorio gave La Croixx time off from the show ring to focus on his emergent status as a future sire.
Andy Sellman, who trains and handles Aria La Croixx at Orrion Farms in Scottsdale where he stands, brims with enthusiasm in his praise. “La Croixx brings many great qualities as a breeding stallion, most notably his perfect structure.” Andy explains further, “He is so well-made! Aside from his physical attributes is his remarkable presence and energy. It flows from him, reminiscent of World Champion EKS Alihandro. If 100 horses walked by, he would be the standout. It’s remarkable; you can’t take your eyes off him. Orrion Farms bred some of their top mares to Aria La Croixx this year, including triple-U.S. National Champion Exxaltress and Celaya, a Dominic M daughter with the most beautiful head ever.”
Top trainer Mike Wilson, who like the Osorios resides in Florida, owns one of the first Aria La Croixx foals, born earlier this year. “I bred to him
with one of my mares last year,” says Mike. “This is her third foal; her second won the Spotlight Yearling Fillies over 25 others at Region 12 this summer. She’s a very good filly, but the La Croixx filly is even more than her. I wanted to double up on La Croixx’s granddam HED Caramba, hoping for a filly I could retain for breeding. The result was the future broodmare I hoped for, AND she’s a knockout show filly on top of it. She exceeded my expectations.”
Mike lavishly praises Aria La Croixx as an emergent sire of significance. “What’s the most noteworthy is that when you see his fillies, it’s obvious the same stallion sired them,” he expounds. “All three are nearly solid bay with almost no white. They have absolutely correct conformation and quality beyond what you typically see. I was impressed to see that kind of consistency in a young sire’s first babies. My first thought was the mothers are very different individuals, very nice mares, but not the top one percent. He corrected all three mares with an impressive jump in quality in the first generation. So, it hit me hard after seeing all three fillies: La Croixx will definitely be an exceptional sire. There is no question about it.”
Noted horseman and judge John Rannenberg, a fellow Floridian based at Conway Arabians in Ocala, judged the female halter classes at Scottsdale
“La Croixx brings many great qualities as a breeding stallion, most notably his perfect structure.”
~Andrew Sellman
“... La Croixx will definitely be an exceptional sire. There is no question about it.” ~Mike Wilson
this year. After seeing Aspire’s two La Croixx fillies at their mother’s sides, John considers them equal to the best he saw in classes deep in quality. “Being a judge for so many years allows me to process what I see very quickly,” John explains. “The first impression I got of the La Croixx fillies is they are noticeably similar in style and quality, so eye-appealing! Coming from mares with varied bloodlines, the word I would use to describe them is ‘complete.’ They are high quality, very smooth and feminine, and consistently beautiful and athletic, even at their young age. I commend Ivan and Sheryl Osorio for their breeding choices and predict big futures for their homebred fillies.”
Ivan and Sheryl appreciate these stellar horsemen validating their confidence that Aria La Croixx is consistently stamping his get with his unique qualities. While his future as a sire blossoms, La Croixx will return to the national spotlight this fall, where he will attempt to add to his coffers the title of 2024 United States National Champion Junior Stallion.■