Advanced Level. Barbara also chose to breed her, but used embryo transfer so they could continue competing.
Family Business Horse breeding is a family venture for the Crabos. Barbara’s
father-in-law, Swedish veterinarian Bo Crabo, markets frozen semen from the Swedish stallion, Irco Mena 763 (Irco Marco 662 x Menelek xx). Irco Mena, deceased, proved himself as a sire of jumpers and eventers. He competed at the 1994 World Championships in Den Haag, the Netherlands. His daughter Wega (Irco Mena x Labrador 598) won the indi- vidual silver medal in eventing at the 2012 Olympic Games. Sultan V (Irco Mena 763 x Voltaire) competed at the same Games as a jumper for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Another part of her family team is her husband, Martin
Crabo, DVM, who practices at Chaparral Veterinary Medical Center in Cave Creek, Arizona. Martin is a third-generation veterinarian. Barbara says, “I think it’s important that if you are into breeding and you have a really good mare, then breed her. It is more expensive [to do embryo transfer]. I have the good fortune of having Martin, who can do the work. Taking advantage of embryo transfer is so great.” The challenge for the team was using frozen semen and
embryo transfer back in 1998. “It’s hard when you have a competing horse to get them pregnant. It’s definitely a chal- lenge,” Barbara recalls. “When we flushed her, Martin wasn’t sure if it was an embryo or debris. The embryo appeared immature and it didn’t look like your perfect embryo, so he wasn’t sure. So I suggested we put it into the recipient and see what happens. We did, and holy cow, she was pregnant. We are sure glad we didn’t throw it away!” That embryo was Ready, foaled in 1999. “People breed
their mares hoping to get a horse to go to Rolex,” says Barbara. “I am fortunate. Ready has been to Rolex twice [2009 and 2012].”
Ready and Willing Barbara calls the 15.2-hand Ready “a pony,” remarking, “He’s
not a great mover, but boy he can jump. Everybody thinks he is huge, because he’s got this attitude, this aura. He has this presence about him. And I’m small, 5’2.” Barbara describes her horse, very simply, as amaz-
ing. Besides competing him at Rolex, Ready also won the Advanced Championship at the USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) in 2011. Since his first CIC* in 2005, he’s logged many other wins at CICs, good placings at CCIs, and the first three-star win for Barbara in 2014. Ready’s attitude resembles that of his dam. “His mom was a bit of a runaway, but he’s stronger than she is,” says Barbara. “She would take off with me on cross country—she thought that was great fun. He comes by it honestly. Rideability is not his strong point. He’s brave but he’s been so difficult.” Then, she adds, “The Thoroughbred side definitely came out. That Thoroughbred is important, a great thing to have.” She points out that he started to settle and become easier to ride over the last few years.
She shares how she dealt with her young runaway. “He
was so strong, he would just take off. I had so little control out there. I have a whole box of bits I tried on him, and a lot of muscles on my upper arms from riding him. I was thank- ful he was only 15.2. If he was 16.2, I don’t think I could have ridden him.” She notes that at their early CCIs, their finish time was
over a minute slow. “I was fighting with him so much, trying to stay in control. He would jump anything I pointed him at, but in between the jumps he was just out of control,” she says. The pair had a terrific win at a long format one-star at
Galway Downs. Barbara had looked forward to the steeple- chase phase, expecting to push her horse this time. “That was not the case. He kept going faster and faster. I was 30 seconds ahead on the clock and I was pulley reining him trying to slow him down at the end of the steeplechase.” Fortunately, he matured in the sport. “Now he’s lovely. He can still get strong, but he listens, and we can go fast now,” she says.
TOP: Barbara and Eveready II (Irco Mena x Cruise On In xx) compet- ing in his first Grand Prix in 2013. BOTTOM: Barbara and the mare I.M. Electric (Irco Mena x Electro) competing as a jumper.
Warmbloods Today 29
Photos by Charlene Strickland
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