"I wish all your dreams may come true but my biggest wish for you is ... Enjoy your horses and have fun!" —Barbara
Strawberry Banks Farm Barbara Chur 716.652.9346 ~ info@strawberrybanksfarm.com 1181 Quaker Road, East Aurora, New York 14052 ~ www.StrawberryBanksFarm.com
Strawberry Banks Farm
Shared dreams live forever. by Mary Kirkman
“As the dream becomes clear, their presence is startling … their beauty overwhelms you and their spirit touches your soul.” A life with Arabian horses is a life of dreams: dreams of new foals, each better than the next … dreams of show ring greatness … dreams that you will make a contribution—give back something positive to your horses and the world around you. And when those dreams come true, there is little better in life. When Barbara and her late husband, Neil, established Strawberry Banks Farm, their dream was to breed beautiful athletes. That dream has not changed, and Strawberry Banks continues to build on its success. The first step in the Churs’ dream came when they bred the stallion Tempter (Cognac x Tonki), who then sired Ericca, a mare so special that people still remember vividly her presence in the show ring. Then came the Tempter son A Temptation, a four-time national champion in English and pleasure driving. His dam, A Love Song (*Bask x *Elkana), was also the dam of Allience (six-time national champion) and To Love Again (twice U.S. National Top Ten in English Pleasure and Canadian National Reserve Champion Park). Both were bred by Strawberry Banks Farm, and today their foals are competing and winning in the show ring, each talented and beautiful. It was first Barbara and Neil’s dream; now the dream belongs to everyone who breeds to or purchases a foal by one of Strawberry Banks’ three headline stallions—Baske Afire, Hey Hallelujah and A Temptation. There is no limit to the future, because Barbara’s commitment to the Arabian breed is as big as her heart.
Remember your childhood dream … the horses you could only dream about? There was something special about them … something really different? That is the way we feel about Baske Afire—a horse
Admiral Baske
so magical that all who saw him as a youngster said he was the most phenomenal horse to arrive in the Arabian breed in many years. We knew that his kind, but fiery temperament would enhance our breeding adventure! We feel so lucky to own and share this once-in-alifetime stallion with other breeders
Bonfire ROF
and owners so that they, too, may turn their dreams into reality. From a young age, Baske Afire consistently has been a leading sire. He has topped the charts at the prestigious Scottsdale Arabian Show, as well as at the U.S. and Canadian Nationals, in both performance and halter for purebreds and Half-
HCA Lynard Skynard
Arabians. He has taken his place in the Arabian industry as a leading sire, and what is so amazing is that he is only 11 years old! Baske Afire continues to be the most talkedabout performance sire in America. The total number of winners in all categories continues to grow—and the best is yet to come!
Voodoo Child
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baske afire
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“The wonderful selling point about Baske Afire get is that everyone wants to buy a winner, and he certainly has sired many beautiful, athletic ones,” says Melanie Murch, marketing director for Strawberry Banks. “Because Baske Afire’s foals have been so successful in the show ring, there is a great demand for his offspring.” Baske Afire has consistently sired exceptional quality, along with extremely gifted physical ability. This, of
ROL Fire Mist - AEPA $100,00 English Performance Futurity Champion
course, is a sure sign of a stallion’s greatness—quality and consistency. Recent visitors to Strawberry Banks told Barbara that on their farm tour of the East Coast, it was the Baske Afire get that stood out most in their minds; as soon as they saw the youngsters, they knew he was their sire.
Gala De Baske Buckeye English Extravaganza Champion
ERA Thrillicious Buckeye H/A English Extravaganza Champion
ROL Fire Mist (Baske Afire x Firelite DGL)
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Strawberry Banks trainer Brian Murch, long acquainted with the willing, talented horses bred at the farm, knows firsthand the success of the Baske Afires. He was aboard ROL Fire Mist, winner of the 2010 Arabian English Performance Association $100,000 Futurity at Scottsdale. “She is the epitome of a great show horse,” he says. “When she hits the ring, she’s all goforward and ears-up. You can just feel her saying, ‘I’m loving this!’ This is what the Baske Afire horses are like. You can see why everyone wants to ride them.” ROL Fire Mist get Murch’s endorsement for another reason too. “She has a brilliance that is based on extreme quality and athleticism,” he says. “When she raises her performance to the ultimate level—which she does to compete on any given day—she reminds me of so many of the national champion *Bask-bred mares of years past.”
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Murch is not alone in his appreciation of the Baske Afire get. “A lot of trainers are really liking them,” he observes. “To name a few, Joel Kiesner rode Mariachi WA, who was Canadian National Champion Country Pleasure Junior Horse, and Shawn Rooker rode Sin City, AEPA $100,000 Futurity Champion. Vicki Humphrey, Joey Canda, Mary Trowbridge and Kevin Price all have really promising young Baske Afire horses—some have already won at Scottsdale and the regionals.” Then there are the HalfArabian champions as well. Peter Stachowski drove Bask Is A Genius to the U.S. National Championship in Half-Arabian Pleasure Driving; Jim Stachowski won the Scottsdale Championship Half-Arabian English Pleasure Junior Horse with In The Line Afire; and Ryan Strand rode RH Big Time to two Canadian National Championships in HalfArabian English Pleasure Junior Horse.
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a temptation “With every step he seemed to leave the ground, and you felt as though you were riding/driving high above the clouds.”
Those who saw four-time national champion A Temptation show still talk about his presence—that soft step, his big, intelligent eye, and the way his ethereal look transformed his high-going trot. He is the quintessential example of Strawberry Banks’ breeding program. A Temptation’s striking beauty and extreme ability personify the combination of Arabian traits implicit in the farm’s bloodlines. Appropriately, it was A Temptation who accompanied Barbara in her first effort at competition herself, and the two won the U.S. National Championship in Pleasure Driving AAOTD.
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“One of the things that I love about the Temptation horses is that they have a real Arab look,” says Brian Murch. “They have a real soft, elegant way of moving. There is a lot of elasticity in their stride.” And A Temptation has another asset: his pedigree is a complete outcross for the Huckleberry Bey line which is so prevalent in English pleasure breeding. He represents the best of the past, and at the same time, a big step into the future.
DM Fool Proof - Champion H/A Country English Pleasure AOTR
Exxpectations (A Temptation x EA Candy Girl)
HS Liberty - National Top Ten H/A Pleasure Driving
Nyte Of Temptation - Canadian National Champion English Pleasure Junior Horse
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a temptation
Hey Hallelujah’s show record speaks for itself. A six-time national champion in English pleasure and pleasure driving, he is the only horse in the history of the breed to win the Triple Crown in both of those divisions. And his amazing temperament allowed him a further dimension: after winning national championships with trainer Brian Murch, he went on to accompany amateur Neil Chur to Neil’s first national championship. They were a perfect team! Since retiring from the show ring, Hey Hallelujah has repeatedly demonstrated his ability to sire top show horses. Most impressive about his record, however, is his percentage of top contenders: from a limited amount of foals, an uncommonly high number have been named national champion. “Hey Hallelujah not only fulfilled our dream of owning a horse with his many merits,” Barbara says, “but also our vision of what he could do when crossed on the mares we had bred.” The match of Hey and U.S. National
Emannuel - Hey Hallelujah x Ericca
Champion Mare Ericca (Tempter x Elegant Crystal) resulted in the Scottsdale Champion English Pleasure horse Emannuel, who exemplified the characteristics that Strawberry Banks pursues in its breeding program: superb athletes who are incredibly trainable, and to top it off, who offer the exceptional beauty of the Arabian horse. A dream
QH Tallulah - Buckeye Champion Country English Pleasure
Emannuel - Scottsdale Champion English Pleasure
come true.
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the future The dreams of Strawberry Banks have not changed over the years. “We want beautiful individuals who perform,” Barbara says, “but although we love our English horses, we support each horse finding its place in whatever division suits it best. We just want them to be the best in that division!”
Can't Get Enough (Baske Afire x CP Shiraz) 2010 filly
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Elegant Touch - 2010 filly (Baske Afire x EA Candy Girl)
Cocoa Motion - 2010, H/A colt (Baske Afire x Haute Chocolate)
Show Baby Show - 2010, H/A filly (Baske Afire x Siere Usi)
Remembrance Rose (Hey Hallelujah x Remember Romance, by Baske Afire) 2010 filly
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dreams do come true Looking back at the history of Strawberry Banks, Barbara enjoys the dreams that became great memories. First, there was Ericca’s unanimous U.S. National Championship Mare title. “How nervous we were as this beautiful silver mare of ours trotted into the finals arena, shining against the brilliant green of the fresh shavings,” she recalls. “We were not known as halter breeders, but that night the ring belonged only to her.” A dozen years later, as an aged mare, Ericca gave her owner an even more emotional memory when Barbara brought her to Louisville as part of the farewell to Freedom Hall celebration. The response of the crowd to the stately, elegant Ericca brought tears to Barbara’s eyes, and just remembering that night she still cries, knowing how happy Ericca was to be back in the show ring! Then, of course, there was A Temptation’s unanimous victory in the U.S. National Championship for English Pleasure Junior Horses. However, the greatest dream that turned into a memory came when Hey Hallelujah and A Temptation went head to head for the English Pleasure National Championship. “What an exciting night, with a magical ending!” Barbara says. “Hey Hallelujah took home the roses, with A Temptation reserve—the only time one farm has owned the champion and reserve in English pleasure in the same year. And by the way, the following year A Temptation returned to wear the roses!” For the past three years, dreams have created memories with Baske Afire too. “Watching his foals sparkle and win so many classes each year in Scottsdale and at the Nationals has been incredible,” Barbara says. “We are so proud to have him as a part of Strawberry Banks to help us continue creating our dream. We are looking forward to more stellar memories in the future.”
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Sommelier (Baske Afire x CL Bay Love) 5-Time National Champion & Reserve JB Hometown Hottie (Baske Afire x Petite Sweet) 5-Time National Champion Chaparral DGL (A Temptation x Chamorrita Afire) 3-Time National Champion
She Be Adiva (Baske Afire x She Be Jammin) 10-Time National Champion & Reserve Hey Bey Be (Hey Hallelujah x Scarlets Swirling Ember) 5-Times National Champion & Reserve In The Line Afire (Baske Afire x El Milagros California Capers) 4-Time National Champion & Reserve RH Big Time (Baske Afire x Lakeview's Savoir Faire) 3-Time National Champion & Reserve Hey Its My Toi (Hey Hallelujah x Jatoi) 6-Time National Champion & Reserve The Way She Moves (Baske Afire x Heavenlei) 3-Time National Champion & Reserve
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We wish to express our sincere appreciation for the overwhelming support of our stallions and breeding program. We are realizing our dreams, and we hope we can help you realize your own dream—may it live on forever!
The mares, top: Elegant Crystal, Solina, Ericca, Flames Rhapsody, To Love Again ~ lower left: Solina, Ericca, Elegant Crystal ~ lower right: Maggdalina
Strawberry Banks Farm 716.652.9346 ~ East Aurora, New York ~ info@strawberrybanksfarm.com ~ www.StrawberryBanksFarm.com
Shared dreams live forever. by Mary Kirkman
“As the dream becomes clear, their presence is startling … their beauty overwhelms you and their spirit touches your soul.” A life with Arabian horses is a life of dreams: dreams of new foals, each better than the next … dreams of show ring greatness … dreams that you will make a contribution—give back something positive to your horses and the world around you. And when those dreams come true, there is little better in life. When Barbara and her late husband, Neil, established Strawberry Banks Farm, their dream was to breed beautiful athletes. That dream has not changed, and Strawberry Banks continues to build on its success. The first step in the Churs’ dream came when they bred the stallion Tempter (Cognac x Tonki), who then sired Ericca, a mare so special that people still remember vividly her presence in the show ring. Then came the Tempter son A Temptation, a four-time national champion in English and pleasure driving. His dam, A Love Song (*Bask x *Elkana), was also the dam of Allience (six-time national champion) and To Love Again (twice U.S. National Top Ten in English Pleasure and Canadian National Reserve Champion Park). Both were bred by Strawberry Banks Farm, and today their foals are competing and winning in the show ring, each talented and beautiful. It was first Barbara and Neil’s dream; now the dream belongs to everyone who breeds to or purchases a foal by one of Strawberry Banks’ three headline stallions—Baske Afire, Hey Hallelujah and A Temptation. There is no limit to the future, because Barbara’s commitment to the Arabian breed is as big as her heart.
Horses are a love But Arabian horses Are a Passion.
"I wish all your dreams may come true but my biggest wish for you is ... Enjoy your horses and have fun!" —Barbara
Strawberry Banks Farm Barbara Chur 716.652.9346 ~ info@strawberrybanksfarm.com 1181 Quaker Road, East Aurora, New York 14052 ~ www.StrawberryBanksFarm.com
Strawberry Banks Farm