Thursday, November 22, 2007

DeRenzo 2007 AQHA World Champion Yearling Stallion

There is a horse that I have been watching ever since he came about on line at the Perfectoutcross.com, that is DeRenzo. Now an AQHA World Champion Stallion. What is unique about DeRenzo is that he is sired by a thoroughbred stallion and out of a world champion and congress champion producing mare. Plus he is HYPP N/N!

Charlie Dobbs bred his halter-bred mare, RH Squeezin N Tesin, to a Thoroughbred called Is It True. Not just any thoroughbred but a G1 stakess winning thoroughbrd trained AQHA Hall of Fame member D. Wayne Lukas, and winner of the 1988 Breeders Cup Juvenile, the 1989 Jim Dandy Stakes and more than $800,000 in his 15 starts before retiring to stud. He went on to sire winners of $17,000,000 at the track. And now, one AQHA world champion in yearling stallions: DeRenzo.

Excerpts from winning interview with The Quarter Horse Journal:

“He was good from Day One,” Charlie Dobbs said when interviewed by AQHA. But did he think he was world champion good?

“Yep, I did. Sure did,” Charlie said. “He’s a great one. Best one I ever had.”

Terry and Anastasia Kull of Pekin, Illinois, bought DeRenzo from Charlie and his wife, Linda, in May and put the horse in the hands of J.T. Mitchell to fit and show.

“He’s a wonderful yearling stallion,” J.T. said. “I saw him when he was a baby, and we fell in love with him. We took a big chance because he’s by a Thoroughbred stallion, but it worked out for us very well.”

DeRenzo's connections are excited about the effect the successful outcross might have on the halter industry.

“I think it will have great implications for the industry, because we are looking for a really good outcross that has his structure, his strong feet, his good bones,” Katie Mitchell, J.T.’s wife, said. “We need change in the halter industry. We all know we need it, and this is a step in the right direction.”

Though J.T. has earned multiple world championships in other breed associations, Big D’s big win was his first AQHA world championship.

“It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” he said. “But it’s a wonderful feeling, something we’ve worked on for years. My wife won the Congress this year, her first time there. We’ve just had a great year. We’re very blessed.”


WINNER STATS (source AQHA.com)

Pedigree: 2006 bay stallion by Is It True (TB) x RH Squeezin N Tesin by Tesigned

Exhibitor: J.T. MitchellOwner: Terry and Anastasia KullBreeder: Charlie DobbsTotal class

entries: 19Purse: $10,792.57

World Champion Prizes: Custom gold-tone trophy, Montana Silversmiths sterling silver buckle with a 14-karat gold overlay, Cripple Creek Outerwear World Show jacket, Tex Tan silver halter with matching lead, Justin smooth ostrich Techno Crepe boots, 100 pounds of Nutrena feed, Professional’s Choice products and neck wreath.

Total purse and prizes for the 2007 AQHA World Championship Show: $2,634,750.

My Philosophises and Beliefs

I realize that my philosophies and beliefs will differ than some but be the same of many. I am against HYPP positive horses and believe that you do not need one to win at halter. There are plenty of HYPP N/N horses that are successful in the halter ring. Life is complicated enough without being complicated with dealing with the possiblities of an HYPP attack.

It is also my belief that an amateur can successfully fit, train, and show their own horse for halter. It is a great feeling of accomplishment when you win your first halter class knowing you did all the work to get there.