Kevin and Amy Smith of Capall Creek Farm of Falmouth, Maine took a few minutes to sit down for a question and answer session to update us on the upcoming breeding season. They are fortunate enough to own Iron Enterprise (Money) as well as an upcoming junior stallion, Trade Rumors. Last year at the AQHA World Show, Money sired three of the top four horses in the Senior Hunter Under Saddle. He also sired the 2013 AQHA Superhorse, Unforgettable and is now the sire of more than 60 World and Reserve World Champions.
Q: Hi, Amy and Kevin. Now that you are entering your third year owning Iron Enterprise have you been happy with his offspring?
A: Honestly, we are blown away at what he produces. We love getting feedback from all of the trainers and owners that have his babies and hearing that he is consistently passing on a perfect combination of a great mind that is easy to train, and the incredible movement that makes them champions. More than fifty percent of all of his foals have gone on to earn their ROM. That is an amazing fact!
Q: When Iron Enterprise was owned by Rita Crundwell, he was used more of a “breed only at the farm stud”. Is that still the case?
A: Absolutely not. When we purchased him at the Rita Crundwell auction, his breeding numbers were low which contributed to his low number of foals as she was not shipping his semen. We made it our mission to find the right fit for him and see what we could do. That brought us to Select Breeders Services. Using new technology, they were able to increase his motility from numbers in the 15 to 20 percent range to where we were in this past year, which was over sixty percent.
Julie Skaife, PhD the Operations Manager for Select Breeders Service explains; we use a process called EquiPure™ to improve the semen quality of the breeding doses we ship from Iron Enterprise. EquiPure™ is a density gradient centrifugation media that enriches the ejaculate, separating motile, morphologically normal sperm from abnormal, non-motile sperm. Consequently, when semen is processed with EquiPure™ the resultant sample has improved motility and better longevity, which means we can now successfully airline Iron Enterprise’s semen to mare owners across the country.
Q: That’s an amazing difference. Has that resulted in successfully getting mares pregnant?
A: One hundred percent of the outside mares we shipped to are confirmed in foal. We successfully bred mares from Maine to Arizona including to some of the very best mares in the industry. We couldn’t be more excited for this year’s foal crop.
Q: And his foals had another great year?
A: He is such a producer. In 2013, he sired the AQHA World Show Superhorse as well as three of the top four placings in Senior Hunter Under Saddle. He also sired World and Reserve champions in Pleasure Driving, Equitation Over Fences, Working Hunter, Hunter Hack, Amateur Working Hunter, Congress/NSBA Champion in Novice Youth 14-18 Hunter Under Saddle as well as 13 top 5’s and 14 top 10 winners in seven different Congress events!
Q: Are you expecting a big breed year this year?
A: Yes, we sure are. He only has 157 foals on the ground, but those have earned more than $300,000 in winnings and nearly 5,000 points. Over 60 NSBA/World/Congress champions and Reserves. That’s why we came up with the slogan, “Produce a champion by breeding to one” as his record is truly amazing. As word spreads, we expect to see a big jump in breedings to him.
Q: Are you running any breeding specials?
A: Yes we are. From now until December 31st, we are offering his breedings at $1,500 which is a $500 discount. We also offer special breedings and considerations for World/Congress Champions and Producing mares, as well as Multiple Mare discounts. You can contact our Breeding Manager Melanie Thurston at 207-514-4790 for more information.
Q: What are some Iron Enterprise Offspring that we should watch out for?
A: All of them are going to be great contenders, a few to watch will definitely include the reigning Super Horse, Unforgettable; Naturally Graceful and Leonie Fisher who won the Novice Youth Hunter Under Saddle at Congress last year; Acacian Enterprise owned by Kristy Kelly Morris which will be shown by Stacy Hulls in the Two Year-Old Hunter Under Saddle; and, recently, they were the unanimous winners in the Two Year Old Hunter Under Saddle Futurity at the Arizona Fall Championships; Moneys Moxie shown by Keith Miller and owner Lauren Wilhelm; Red Carpet Rita who will be shown by Kristy Starnes in the Junior Hunter Under Saddle and Amy Smith in the Open/Ltd. Hunter Under Saddle Maturity and Abby Smith in Youth; and Money In Iron and Lauren Bussert will be competing in the Novice Youth Hunter Under Saddle and this duo are just coming of their NSBA World Win.
Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. We wish all the Iron Enterprise babies the best of luck at the Congress and World Shows!
CLICK HERE to find out more information about this outstanding sire.
