Afires heir copyrighted by Shirley Reilich

MADE IN AMERICA A FIR ES HEIR

The Essence of English:

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Afires Heir (Author’s Note: This is the first of our “Made In America” series highlighting American horses of past and present that displayed tremendous influence on the breed as a whole.)

BY JEFF WALLACE

ctober 30, 2010, at 7:30 p.m. The bugle call sounded, swelling the hall with energy reverberating through the crowd and into the assembly of horses set to take their entrance down the storied chute into glittering lights. One horse readied himself under the familiar feel of his rider’s soft hand, ears flickering with intent. Yet to a different degree than his equine peers, Afires Heir discerned precisely what was expected; this was his fourth and final time to perform for an adoring audience. Yes, it was indeed a performance more than it was a competition. This ride would potentially script a new chapter in history; for if he won, it would be his fourth consecutive National Championship title in the esteemed English Pleasure division, concluding an entire five-year career that never placed him less than first, a feat that had never been reached in the history of the Arabian breed. Ever the consummate professional, Afires Heir—recognizing that familiar bugle call—bridled himself vertically straight over his shoulder, seeking little contact with the bit, and glided into the arena in his signature lofty trot, forequarters elevated with a round, ground-covering gait and hindquarters delivering beautiful impulsion. His effortless gait transitions implied a cheerful willingness and vast talent. When the final work-off of the class—and his career—was asked, the crowd was aware that it was observing a moment of greatness. Instead of tiring, Afires Heir reached inside himself for three more enchanted passes, Joel Kiesner merely a passenger on the back of this extraordinary equine soul. Joel Kiesner and Afires Heir 1

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Afires Heir wins his final National Championship in 2010 with Joel Kiesner

History was penned that evening as roses draped the shoulders of Afires Heir one last time. Overwhelmed with emotion, the standing crowd cheered its beloved monarch for his victory pass and eventually his exit, where he was fittingly announced as “the Arabian king of the world.”

BUILDING A LEGACY Between 1956 and 1985, the mold of the modern Arabian English horse was in development. Two key programs and their iconic leaders, behemoth in influence, both had a different vision of what that mold would look like. *Bask++, under the guidance of Lasma’s Gene LaCroix, began the movement. Heralded still today as the standard by which all contemporary breeding stallions are measured by metrics of influence, *Bask’s breathtaking athleticism is largely credited for creating the first of the true Arabian English horses. His round trot and deep hind impulsion made him really the first Arabian horse to look the English part bridled up. 3

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*Bask’s legacy needs no overview. His influence was as vast as the Atlantic Ocean, creating a slew of progeny, male and female, that took the English division to the next level.

IF YOU COULD WRITE THIS S T O R Y, I T G E T S N O B E T T E R THAN THIS…THREE TIMES THE WORLD’S BEST AND RETIRING ON HIS TERMS. –PETER FENTON Announcer at the 2010 U.S. Nationals after Afires Heir won his third consecutive, unanimous title in the English Pleasure Open class.

breeding philosophies at the time, envisioned another style of English horse with the birth of Huckleberry Bey++. “He didn’t look like his father (Bay El Bey++) or his mother (Taffona, by Raffon++),” she said. “He looked like a carousel horse.” At a very young age, it was evident that Sheila had created a trailblazing English prototype. Huckleberry Bey’s elevated rolling trot—even barefoot in a pasture—was evident. Yet he offered something additional: a long neck that hinged uniquely at the poll, allowing for greater elasticity that adhered perfectly to bridling up and remaining effortlessly elevated, effortlessly being the key descriptor. Huckleberry Bey was a stupendous sire, but one son in particular defined the “Huck legacy” and is credited for singlehandedly creating the evolved silhouette of the modern Arabian English horse: Afire Bey V. His sons and daughters sprinkle the earth, and they created a new “look” to the English divisions that still can be seen in show rings today.

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Brassmis, dam of Afires Heir

Afires Heir’s story is woven together with a stunning array of iconic characters crossing in a mysterious trend of destiny. Brassmis (Brass x EE MsIndependence, by MHR Nobility) was a 1994 chestnut mare who boasted a delectable combination of MHR Nobility and three direct lines to *Bask, as well as a tail female line that found itself weaving back to Varian breeding through Bay-Abi++. Brassmis was purchased as a 5-year-old by none other than Tim and Marty Shea, lifetime trainers and managers of Afire Bey V, through an online Cedar Ridge auction for a bargain price of $6,000. The Sheas bought her with the specific notion of crossing her *Bask-ladened lines with Afire Bey V. The nick was epic, producing one national champion—and exceptional producer— after another. But her third foal would become the pinnacle of her progeny: Afires Heir. Through her creation of Afires Heir, Brassmis gave birth to something greater than her sire. Indeed, she was the conduit for greatness, forever forging the incomparable Lasma and Varian breeding programs.

A FIR ES HEIR

On July 2, 2002, a bay colt was born that would merge these two dynasties—Lasma and Varian—into one extraordinary new chapter, bringing forward the absolute best qualities of *Bask and Afire Bey V, while displaying a genetic vigor that once again, in the vein of his pedigree greats, rewrites everything. It is, quite possibly, the greatest American story of our Arabian breed, and it nods to and honors the two most historic legacies that were made in America, while defining a new chapter as they did before him. And in doing so, Afires Heir will rival or surpass the legacies he represents. On first glance, it is easy to get lost in the dynamic combination of paternal greats in Afires Heir’s storied pedigree. However, as the saying goes, behind every good man is a great woman. Such is the case with Afires Heir and his dam, Brassmis.

A TRUE PARTNERSHIP Deep in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains lies one of the world’s elite saddle seat training operations, headed by noted trainers Joel and Ashton Kiesner. Their horses are immediately recognizable for their natural artistry, resulting in some of the most memorable show ring performances on record. Joel was Afires Heir’s trainer for every ride of his illustrious career, certainly placing the horse in the capable hands of high-ranking possibility from day one. For perspective, Joel has ridden his fair share of exceptional individuals over the span of a three-decade illustrious career. And yet, to him, Afires Heir stands apart. Joel’s voice brims with admiration and emotion, as if referring to a friend or soulmate instead of a horse. His adoration is matched only by Bill and Shirley Reilich, owners of Afires Heir since he was just 2 years old. “Bill and Shirley have done everything right behind this horse,” Joel said. “Everything I’ve asked of them, whether it was to wait on something, to go ahead and do something, whatever it was, they have been willing at every step.” When asked what role soundess played in Afire’s Heir’s brilliant career, Joel paused in thought, then proceeded with a fascinating , multidimensional answer that speaks to a greater truth. “A horse could be a great horse on a day, right?” he began. “He might be the best horse ever on that day, in fact. But to be the best horse four years in a row, never second, and stay sound during that period? Horses like that stay sound because they were easy to train; because they were built for their job; because it was easy for them. That’s how they stay sound. Horses that are not easy to train either don’t like their job, it’s not easy for them, or they weren’t built to do it. And those are all things that breed on. So you can reliably extrapolate a lot of things from

Afire Bey V, sire of Afires Heir

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Joel Kiesner and Afires Heir

that question.And when you watch a class video of Afires Heir, you can pick up this quality immediately.” Which, by the way, Joel still loves to do. “Just the other day, my daughter announced she couldn’t remember seeing me ride Afires Heir,” he said. “I pulled out his 2010 U.S. National Championship class, the final of his career, and we watched it together. As I watched, I was taken aback once again and was like, ‘Wow. That’s some horse.’ He still takes my breath away.” The pair spent a lot of time together: two Scottsdales, four U.S. Nationals, nine horse shows and countless training hours in their home base in Tennessee. The theme that comes up most about this horse? Not his number of wins or stats. It’s more personal than that. “Afires Heir had a tremendous amount of patience with me,” Joel said. “The level of stress for 5

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me on a daily basis leading up to U.S. Nationals each year is extreme…and I happen to be an uptight guy anyway. We went to Nationals together four times. It’s a daily grind of overanalyzing every single little thing: moving away from this leg just perfectly, moving into that side of the bridle just right, making sure he had suppleness and balance and poise and cadence. But let me tell you, each time they blew that bugle and it was time to go into the ring, he took over completely. He knew exactly what to do, and all the months of my preparation went out the window because the horse did everything naturally from that point forward. In fact, I honestly don’t know if he ever even made a mistake in the arena. “Afires Heir never weakened, not one time I ever rode him,” he continued. “He never got tired. He charged though everything and was a game competitor. And he was a very trusting and secure horse ©2017 NATIONAL HORSEMAN

with the people around him. If we said it was ok, he believed us. I’ll never forget loading up for his first Scottsdale in 2007. It was 4 a.m., dark, cold, the wind was whipping. Afires Heir walked up to the trailer and went in like he’d done it a hundred times. That’s just the kind of horse he was. And I could tell you a thousand stories like that.”

INTO THE FUTURE The profound siring abilities of Afires Heir precede him. His genetic vigor is not surprising given the programs that lay behind him; yet it is as if the combination only heightened the innate potency within. So broad was his reach that he was crowned 2010 Horse of Honor by the United States Equestrian Federation. In 2012, he was ranked #1 sire (up from 12th) on the Arabian Horse World

A FIR ES HEIR F E AT U R E

Joel Kiesner wins the 2016 U.S. National English Pleasure Open with Heirs Noble Love, by Afires Heir

Sire List—rare for a performance stallion against such halter phenomenons as Marwan Al Shaqab, DA Valentino and others. (In fact, the only other performance horse to hold this position in recent history is Baske Afire, a half-brother to Afires Heir through their sire, Afire Bey V.) His siring abilities are never on more display than U.S. Nationals, where Afires Heir categorically dominates the semifinal championships in the English divisions. We broke down a simple chart that looked at the Reserve and National Champion titleholders for the last five years (2012-2017) in the three primary English classes: English Pleasure Open, English Pleasure Junior Horse and the AEPA Arabian Horse Times $100,000 Saddle Seat Futurity. In a total of 30 horses claiming these highest titles, an astounding

14—nearly 50 percent—were Afires Heir progeny. What’s more, he was the sire of either the Reserve or National Champion English Pleasure Junior Horse winner every year except one. And if that’s not enough to take your breath away, Afires Heir sired the last four consecutive years of Arabian English Pleasure Open National Champions, four different horses, a titanic feat only matched in scope by the immortal *Bask. Oh yeah, did we mention he is just 16 years old? If we are so fortunate, he is only tipping the iceberg on his breeding career. “From the day he arrived to our barn he’s been a giver,” said Joel. “We never could have guessed how much he was going to give us. He gave and gave and gave all those National Championships. And that was great. But then it was time to go to the ©2017 NATIONAL HORSEMAN

breeding shed. And lo and behold, he’s one of the best ever.” Then Joel made a statement that hit home. “Afires Heir is going to pass his dad, for sure. And he is going to rival *Bask.” We look back with awe, adoration and maybe a little bit of envy at those lucky enough to have been living in the years of the greats, like *Bask and Afire Bey V, but let us not overlook the greatness that is standing in front of us at this very moment; the greatness that will forever link us to the best of our past and redefine our future in one fell swoop; the greatness that will be talked about, in reverent tones, by those who come two and three generations after us. The greatness that will be known as the king named Afires Heir. VOLUME 3:1 | 2018

A FIR ES HEIR

Where’s Afires Heir?

See who was there to celebrate the historic win of Afires Heir and Joel Kiesner in the Arabian English Pleasure Open in 2010.

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VOLUME 3:1 | 2018