Hunters Ridge Farm is pleased to announce that frozen semen from the great, late Skys Blue Boy will be released to the public in limited quantities. The legendary Skys Blue Boy has an unparalleled sire record of more than 266 World and Reserve Championships in all divisions, including several champions named at the 2014 World Shows.
Although deceased, the demand for Sky Blue Boy’s frozen semen has been great and after careful consideration, the Monaco’s have decided to release the semen to approved mares in 2015. Given the very limited amount of semen available, the breedings will be sold using Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) process at a few select facilities throughout the United States.
For this procedure an oocyte (egg) is collected from the donor mare’s follicle prior to ovulation and cultured until it is mature. The egg is then fertilized in the laboratory by ICSI (Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection). In this procedure, a single sperm cell is selected and micro-injected into the matured egg. Once the egg divides, usually within 24 hours following fertilization, it is cultured to the blastocyst stage before transfer to a recipient mare. Since only a single sperm cell is selected and injected, ICSI can utilize very small quantities of frozen semen.
Skys Blue Boy was a 17 hand grey stallion, winner of 2 Congress Championships and Open High Point Hunter Under Saddle Stallion, that was recently inducted into the NSBA Hall of Fame. The demand for his frozen semen has been high with this being the first offering to the mare owners.
For more information, please contact Linda Monaco at 724-228-8324 or Amy Gumz at 270-389-0887
