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TB Dressage/Sport Horse Stallions for Appendix Baby

Only an approved TB stallion bred to an AQHA registered mare will be eligible for AQHA appendix papers. A warmblood cross will not be accepted for registration. I would love to see that changed, but people have been trying for years and gotten nowhere.

Very interesting. I just was reminded why I was obsessed with Gem Twist as a kid now watching his documentary on YouTube and now all I can think about it having a clone baby :joy:

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Life goals

Interesting question! I personally only know some of the reining stallions and while they’re very versatile and excellent horses (my reining mare is doing pretty well in dressage, and I will admit to cantering her over a small cross rail from time to time, which she seems to enjoy, but she’s also famous for doing what my friend calls “Quarter Horsing it” and plowing through tiny jumps/knocking down tiny rails because she at times can’t be bothered to pick her feet up - we obviously don’t jump often :laughing:), I don’t know if they can be considered “sporty” :laughing: speaking of reining stallions, I do love Gotta Twist It Up, beautiful buckskin, and a bigger Reiner too at I think 15.1 - I asked my dressage trainer’s husband (who trains reiners) what he thought of a cross between my 15.1 mare and Gotta Twist It Up and I got a pretty emphatic “no” because they like them so small :laughing: but I prefer 15.1 and up pretty much. So I may still consider that cross after I get my Appendix baby (because why listen to the professionals :laughing:). The only other sires I half way followed were some of the racing stallions that were preferred by the barrel racing community (not that I’m a barrel racer). I think they tend to run a bit bigger than the reiners though. I’m probably not a good person to ask since I only switched over from western disciplines a year ago but surely someone knows of a sporty QH stud?

Completely agree about Appendix’s though - I’ve not yet owned one but it seems like a good option for someone like me who wants just a little more pep and movement than what my QH mare can offer (even though I love her to death and will never part with her) while still being something I would enjoy riding (fingers crossed), as an amateur who doesn’t really care to deal with the shenanigans on a regular basis.

American WB registry is how I registered that colt. I will say that I am not a fan because they accept draft crosses too, which I think is anything BUT a WB.

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De Graf stables stands DGS Vintage. He is big, beautiful and has an unbeatable disposition. He’s proven himself over fences in AQHA competition and I think this is his first year of breeding.

I had a registered Appendix that took me through second level. You get the right mix and you are lucky. A registered Appendix has to have one JC registered parent, and the other must be AQHA registered. How good is your mare???

I love my Appendix mare. She can do anything. Great ammy horse.

Question for you though, if you don’t intend to show AQHA or breed, does registration matter?

I have not kept up my AQHA membership for years because AQHA did not deliver on dressage. The criteria to hold an AQHA dressage show is unattainable in my area. I was only interest in the points. I prefer competitions with all breeds.

artrageous’ owner posts on coth. FoxHavenFarm.
Isnt’ Sea Accounts deceased? I may be mistaken.
I have had 3 arty babies. The most recent is 2 and he is really something.
Contact Fox Haven Farm and talk to them, Arty is i think 18 or 19 but hes still rocking right along.

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Ooh, now I’m in love with Gotta Twist It Up!

Not sure about the AQHA process but I like Copycat Creek a lot from what I’ve seen. I really liked his sire. I’ve also seen some really lovely Artrageous babies.

You did not snatch up that lovely Art/Innkeeper filly, did you? I really liked her and was considering buying her but she was sold by the time I talked myself into it being a good idea.

I’ve seen enough of what Artrageous puts on the table to like him. I didn’t use to be a big fan of his, because he didn’t have much of a competition record, but I’ve changed my mind. :wink: I think he is more of a huntery-type sire, but with a nice AQHA I can’t imagine I’d kick that pairing out of my barn. He looks like he tends to round out the mare, doesn’t always produce height, but improves hip and shoulder.

OP – I’ve seen lots of nice appendixes out there, even in dressage. Their brain is really something special, they are one of sport’s best kept secret.

Stravinsky xx is an option if you can get AQHA papers with him. He was shown up to PSG and is proven for dressage. I believe he is available frozen. He is a 1998 model.

I like Copycat Creek a lot. Saketini is probably the most uphill of the horses listed so far but he is still relatively young in his stud career so you would need to talk to his people about what he’s improving in the mares. Rather Well is another that has had some very nice movers but I am not sure if you can get him anymore.

Sea Accounts is probably the most proven of those listed in terms of sport, but see if you can dig around and see any AQHA offspring by him. I like him, but he is not the dressage purist’s ideal of an elastic mover; his strengths are in his jump and event capability. He was bred to many AQHAs so I’m sure you can find some to get a feel on what they end up like.

There is a TB named Petrol standing in TX. I don’t know if he is doing anything of note currently, but I remembered seeing a video of him on a dressage breeder’s group - I found this one, he might be worth looking into if he’s done anything since this was posted. The FB page seems a bit hoodoo, but he’s a nice mover with a great pedigree for sport:

Some race bred TB stallions that would be worth looking into if you’re considering live cover, would be Stonesider, Waupaca, or Big Brown, but they are across the map from one another. They stand for very affordable fees and I have been told both would be open to non-race mares. I’ve seen and handled multiple offspring from Stonesider and BB, and they are consistently wonderful movers even out of average mares.

I am not blown away by Raven Sky. He is still young, and has a decent pedigree, so time will tell. He might make me change my mind down the road like Artrageous did, but he might not.

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Kitten’s Joy has thrown some really nicely balanced horses. His son Ken’s Kitten was doing really well in the CDS shows, but I lack the USDF membership to look up his scores.

Kitten’s Joy’s fee is pretty high, but I bet you can find a son like Bobby’s kitten who has just started breeding so is more affordable.

Do you have any more info on that Petrol horse? Like who stands him or how to find him online? Google is running me in circles. I’m interested in breeding traditional Irish horses so a fancy TB stallion down the road from me is quite interesting.

I don’t, I’m sorry. He sure does look interesting, but I haven’t seen any info about him anywhere. I first saw that video on Dressage Breeder’s Group on FB about a year or so ago when someone was looking for TBs to breed to for dressage.

Where are you located? IMHO Stonesider movers nicer, and he is a known quantity in terms of that movement stamp. He’s in TX though.

I’m in New Mexico. But there’s not much around here so the next state over is considered pretty close. I don’t have a mare looking for a date just now, but I have an ID stallion and I’ll working toward a small breeding operation so I like to see what’s around my hood.

I can’t think of many stallions I know standing in NM, but there are a lot of good (sport-good) stallions at your disposal in TX. TX seems to get the “low end” racing sires sometimes but a lot of them are great for sport. Stonesider is worth a look, especially if you’re breeding for sport and using ISH. The only drawback would be, he might not lighten or modernize a heavy mare the way you’d expect a TB to. He’s pretty substantial himself and his kids tend to have big bone and are huge. It’s one of the many reasons they don’t make the greatest race horses :joy:

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Shucks, I’m not finding Stoneside either! Google is failing me on the TB stallion front!
Might help if I spelled stonesider correctly.

Well, crap. Looks like he was pensioned, and I wasn’t even aware. :frowning: I guess one could still get his daughters, looks like he has several still of racing age.

Aikenite is in TX still, and might be worth looking into for you. I don’t have personal experience with any of his offspring like I do with Stonesider, so no idea what he sires, but I did like a horse I saw by him a few years ago listed on FB. The Yes Its True horses are always pretty nice in terms of canter and temperament, and Aikenite’s damside is loaded with good sport blood. The OATK conformation doesn’t bother me - that’s racing induced and not genetic.

Congaree is dead, which is a shame, a lot of people really like his kids for sport.

Redeemed is bound to be a good sport sire being by Include (a Broad Bush son very well known for good eventers and jump ability). His dam (Early Mass) also has sport written all over her being a Pleasant Tap daughter out of a mare with old staying lines - plus that double to Ribot and Flower Bowl means jump. I have zero experience with him though. Very classy looking.
https://www.bloodhorse.com/stallion-register/stallions/165781/redeemed

Thanks so much! That’s all quite helpful. I’m just starting to learn about TB bloodlines and there’s a lot to learn. I feel confident judging the mare in front of me, but there’s more to it when choosing broodmares.

I saw Storm Cat in person. I wouldn’t want to cross him to a QH. He is shorter, long back and short legs - not at all what I would want for a sporthorse and he had a difficult temperment. As far as Gem Twist clones, they might reproduce what you want. I spoke to the guy (name recall glitch - rode him in the Olympics) and he said that the owners of Gem Twist were very competitive and if any of them could jump to that level, they would be showing. Too bad my boys are both deceased and frozen was lost in a glitch with the vat. I would look at some Trakehners - I bred to Kougar von C and got a really top quality filly. Aqua Trakehner Farms also stands a top level jumper they brought over from Europe last fall that has sired upper level eventers as well as jumpers and dressage. He seems to have a lovely temperment and gaits and would certainly refine. No registration possibilities, but alot of gifted stallions for what you want out there. Tatendrang has been very successful at eventing and could do strictly dressage - BIG boy with some upper level eventers. Good luck!

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