SMART CHIC OLENA

Smart Chic Olena not only made history as a competitor in the show pen, but as a sire he has stood out across the Western performance horse industry. The 1985 sorrel stallion, by Smart Little Lena and out of Gay Sugar Chic by Gay Bar King, became a legend long before he entered the breeding shed. The stallion, affectionally known as “Chic,” was foaled at B.F. Phillips Ranch in Frisco, Texas, where well-known cutting trainer Bill Glass instantly liked the colt.

The colt began his show career in cutting, eventually making his way to the National Cutting Horse Association Futurity Open semifinals. But following his third-place finish at the 1989 NCHA Super Stakes, he sustained an injury that made his future in the arena questionable.

It was a gamble to rehabilitate the horse, but Smart Chic Olena returned to the cutting pen with Dell Bell. The pair earned more than $114,000 and the 1990 American Quarter Horse Association World Champion Senior Cutting title. In 1993, with Craig Johnson in the saddle, Chic captured the AQHA World Championship in the Senior Reining. In less than five years, Smart Chic Olena went from earning checks in cutting to claiming some of the most prestigious titles in reining.

By the end of his show career, the stallion had earned more than $167,000 in reining and cutting events, along with a multitude of titles, including NRHA Reserve World Champion and All-American Quarter Horse Congress Champion. Today, he remains the only horse to ever win an AQHA World Championship in both the cutting and the reining.

Smart Chic Olena’s athletic ability and consistency garnered him unparalleled success in the show pen. With these characteristics passing on to his offspring, they too have earned several championship titles. Smart Chic Olena’s offspring have earned more than $14 million in reined cow horse, reining, cutting, roping and barrel racing.

“I feel that Chic’s biggest contribution to the equine energy industry is just his versatility,” Trevor Bond said. “In our opinion, he is probably one of the greatest all-around sires ever. If you look at the fact, he’s got multiple NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity champi- ons, multiple NRHA Futurity champions, and world champions across multiple disciplines.”

Bond and his wife Tiffiny have been working diligently to preserve the Smart Chic Olena legacy since 2011 when they first bred to Chic. According to Bond, there are some great studs today, but not all bring that ability to be relevant in all disciplines like Chic.

The ability to compete across all disciplines made his offspring sought after in the reined cow horse industry, which ultimately led to Smart Chic Olena becoming an NRCHA $3 Million Sire. Chic sired three Snaffle Bit Futurity® champions, four World’s Greatest Horseman champions and eight foals that earned an excess of $100,000 in the reined cow horse.

“The rein cow horse represents kind of the ultimate versatility in a horse,” Bond said. “Those are traits that he passes on, which makes a great cow horse. They’ve got to be smart, and they’ve got to be athletic.”

In 2012, Smart Chic Olena was laid to rest, but his legacy continues to impact today’s performance horse world. He has been immortalized in the AQHA Hall of Fame and the NRHA Hall of Fame and has gained the same recognition in the reined cow horse industry.

“We’re just incredibly blessed that God put us all together for us,” Tiffiny said. “Here is a sire from 1985, and here it is 2023. Thank you to everybody who honored and saw him back then to nominate him for the Hall of Fame; it is a huge honor. We’re glad to be those honorees and to be able to preserve his legacy.”

The front is smooth and inviting. And it’s got a bold middle flavor that I love but can’t really describe. The finish is warm honey-almond with a smokey tinge on the very back end. It’s damn good.

— Kory Pounds, Professional Cowboy, Cutting Horse Champion, Whiskey Advocate