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SPARKING TRAIN
SPARKING TRAIN
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REMINIC
DIAMONDS SPARKLE
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PRIMO MORALES
“There wasn’t very much to say. All of the horses were showing under nicknames, and it was really hard to figure out who they were.” As a whole, the Western horse industry now benefits from decades of detailed performance and produce records that have been compiled and shared across the disciplines and associations. Glenn, with input from industry horsemen, also developed a “black type” system for the Western performance horse industry to use in produce records and sale catalogs similar to what the horse racing industry uses. A horse name listed in “black type,” or bold type, indicates show pen success, with highest level performers in all caps. It helps to quickly highlight significant performers in a horse’s record. A more thorough view of a mare family comes through reports such as a fourgeneration dam’s produce record, which
146 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021 | REINED COW HORSE NEWS
CALAN GAY
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DOC BAR GAY BARS GEN
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MR DIAMOND DUDE POLLYANNA ROSE
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DOC’S REMEDY FILLINIC
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GAY BAR KING CAL BOOGER BAR
In Garth Gardiner’s opinion, SPARKING TRAIN is one great performer who deserves more attention as a producer from a strong mare family. A 1998 mare by Shining Spark and out of Sister Train, by Reminic, her accomplishments include earning the reserve Superhorse title at the 2007 American Quarter Horse Association World Championship Show. Sparking Train’s get include Metallic Train, the 2018 NRCHA Stallion Stakes Open Champion; oddly enough, Sparking Train’s dam, Sister Train, was the 1992 National Reined Cow Horse Association Stallion Stakes Open Champion, further evidence of the mare line’s multi-generational strength.
shows the performance and produce records of a mare’s female family for four generations, including the performance and produce records of her daughters, granddaughters, dam, sisters, granddam, aunts, etc. It uncovers the web of influence that great mares can have. Glenn says both a sale catalog page and a four-generation produce record are important for breeders. “[As a breeder], I’d want to know how [a mare’s foal is] going to ‘catalog up’ because that’s how I’m going to merchandise those foals,” she said. “I’d also want to run a [four-generation dam’s produce record] and study what sires that mare’s family had success with. “You need to study the whole picture. Commercially, that catalog page is important because that’s how you’re going to market that horse. But, to pick your studs and decide what mares to buy, I would want the in-depth information
PRIMO MORALES
SHINING SPARK
GENUINE DOC
Above: Sparking Train, piloted here in the two-rein by Don Murphey, passed her athleticism on to her offspring. Left: Metallic Train (by Metallic Cat) has added her lifetime earnings of more than $155,000 to Sparking Train’s produce earnings of more than $428,000.
[four-generation] produce records give.” In a career “built from mares,” she’s seen great mares continue to show up out of great mare families. Nancy Crawford of Holy Cow Performance Horses, with programs in Santa Ynez, California, and in Weatherford, Texas, agrees. Through the years, she’s learned the power of a breeding program based on proven mare families such as Sheza Shinette (Shining Spark x Chicks And Chex x Smart Chic Olena) and Smart Crackin Chic (Smart Chic Olena x Kwackin x Dual Pep). “[People] all focus on the stallions, but if it weren’t for the mares, the stallions wouldn’t be worth a dime,” Crawford said. “They’re the ones who produce them.”
SUCCESS IN THE RIGHT INDIVIDUAL
Glenn, Crawford and Gardiner all agree that the best broodmare genetics still
