Exciting things are happening at Masterson Farms located in Somerville, Tennessee. Ken and Marilyn Masterson, who own and stand, RL Best Of Sudden, recently went on a mission to find a son of their stallion to continue the outstanding RL Best Of Sudden tradition.
CP Surely The Best (Diesel) fit the bill. The 2012 chestnut stallion is out of Sure A Pretty Blaze and was bred by Kathleen Flynn of Australia. Diesel was born in Australia and went on to be very successful in the western pleasure pen winning every major Australian western pleasure futurity.
GoHorseShow sat down with Ken Masterson to find out the plans for their new stallion.
Q: Hi Ken! Thanks for sitting down with us. Can you tell us how purchasing Diesel came about?
A: We have long been interested in locating a son of RL Best Of Sudden which we thought could follow in his footsteps. While there are some outstanding sons — many successful as sires in their own right— we just hadn’t been able to locate or breed a stallion which we believed could fully carry on Bo’s tradition.
However, while at the Select World Show, we heard about a stallion in Australia which Bo had sired and that several US judges thought was outstanding. We went from there, did our due diligence, and ultimately convinced Diesel’s owner, Adrienne Hodgson and her husband Rob, to part with him.
Q: What is it you like about him?
A: Frankly, everything!
Q: How long has he been in the US?
A: He arrived from New Zealand on November 17 via Auckland, Sydney, Shanghai, Anchorage, and New York.
Q: Can you tell us about his show career overseas?
A: Diesel had an outstanding show career in Australia winning every major event there under the training of Natasha Humphries. He was the AUSQHA National Champion in the Three-Year-Old Western Pleasure Futurity and the NPHA Champion of the Three-Year-Old Western Pleasure Futurity.
Q: Are you breeding him this year or just showing?
A: We will breed a few of our mares this season but we plan to concentrate on introducing him here and Casey Willis showing him at the major shows.
Q: How many foals does he have on the ground?
A: He currently has ten foals on the ground — some of which are on his Facebook page. All reports are that they are outstanding.
Q: Can you tell us about his impressive US show debut at the Sun Circuit?
A: His first show in the US was the Sun Circuit in Scottsdale where he was the circuit champion in the Senior Western Pleasure. We could not have been more pleased with how he showed mainly since we had been collecting him, and he had not been shown in well over a year. In fact, this first show reminded us of the first show by RL Best Of Sudden when he won the $100,000 Reichert Celebration. Both horses truly are show horses in the best sense of the term.
Q: What are your plans for him?
A: After this show season, he will stand at our farm to the public for the 2019 breeding season.
Q: Tell us about his personality?
A: He has a great personality — loves people and wants their attention and admiration. He’s very quiet and exceptionally well mannered. He’s genuinely a character with a larger than life personality which everyone around him is very much enjoying.
Q: How does he compare to his father?
A: There’s no mistaking that he’s by RL Best Of Sudden although he’s taller (almost 16 hands), a different color (dark chestnut), and with different breeding on the bottom side. His dam is an outstanding daughter of Blazing Hot and Miss Surely Bars with an excellent show record in Australia. The strength on the bottom side with Miss Surely Bars—the dam of many outstanding horses including Certain Potential—we think will result in him having a sire record very comparable to the record of RL Best Of Sudden.
Q: Anything else you would like to add?
A: Nothing other than we are all very excited about him and his future.
Q: Thanks, Ken!
A: You’re welcome.
CLICK HERE to find out more information about CP Surely The Best.
Photos © Jeff Kirkbride, Courtsey Promotions, Mel
