RICHARD SPOONER Why do you produce your own horses? I started
breeding my own jumpers mainly out of passion for the sport and a passion for the horses I was training. I had done some breeding in the past and frankly was not that impressed with my results. I wanted to try it again because I knew how good this mare [Ezrah] was. My stallion Ace (Acobat II x Fernando I) and Ez- rah (Heartbreaker x Pachat II) were both exceptional Grand Prix horses. I started breeding Ace to Ezrah and another mare, one of the last direct Landgraf daughters, Lancia. Everything that Ace has touched is exceptional.
Richard Spooner
His bloodlines are flawless. He jumped interna- tional classes like an equitation horse. His offspring have excellent mouths and are very attractive. One is just a little prettier than the next. They’re really sport horses, blood horses, not too crazy. The first two I did as a viability test: Ace of Spades (Ace
Richard is a very successful Grand Prix rider, who’s shown in North America and Europe. On the USHJA Rider Life- time Money Earned list, he was ninth as of 2015, with $1.7 million in win- nings. The Longines Global Champi- ons Tour lists his 2007-2013 winnings at €620,000. Referred to as “The Mas- ter of Faster,” Richard and his wife Kaylen have their farm in Agua Dulce, California, where they started the Ace namesakes.
Completing their round in the jumper ring, Richard Spooner loosens the girth on Ace of Spades. HITS Thermal Desert Circuit, 2015.
is going to make someone happy. I want them to have a job they are good at. Anything over that, anything past that, is just gravy. From an owner’s standpoint, it’s rewarding because you feel
x Landgraf) and Ace of Hearts (Ace x Heartbreaker). Ace of Spades does the meter 40 and 45. Ace of Hearts is one of Ashlee Bond’s best Grand Prix horses. He’s only 15.1 or maybe 15.2, but he jumps like a giant. I learned quickly that they were viable. So I was moving to Europe, and I basically sold them all
but one. Then I came back to California and I got Ace of Dia- monds (Ace x Heartbreaker) back from Ashlee. She was going to Europe so I bought her back. What are downsides? I started with a different stallion,
the Landgraf mare, and a few other mares. I got some nice horses but not quite as nice as I had hoped. They were not doing meter 40 and up. I had to take a break with breeding. Once you start it,
they are like tribbles—they can multiply very quickly and eat you out of house and home. I knew Ezrah was going to be very fertile. She had seven
viable follicles, and four or five of them took. [Using embryo transfer] I ended up with three on the ground that made it. The one that didn’t make it was kicked by the recipient mare. And your main satisfaction? When you breed a horse,
you have a responsibility. You have a sense of obligation to them. What I really hope for is to have a healthy horse that
you’re a part of it from beginning to end. As a rider, you know what’s gone right and what’s gone wrong in the horse’s life, if there are any soundness or behavioral issues. You know the horse physically and mentally. You haven’t missed anything. A horse you buy that’s seven or eight, you’ve already missed half of their life and you don’t know what happened. There are skeletons in the closet. When you breed them, the skeletons are right out in the open. I’m optimistic this year. These young horses I’ve bred—
Ace of Diamonds and Aces High—are unbelievable. I’m wait- ing till they’re old enough. Full sister and brother, they are six now, and are two of the nicest young horses I’ve ever had. I couldn’t be any happier with the way it’s gone. Ace of Diamonds is 17.1 and very similar to Ezrah. The gelding [Aces High] is about 16.3, very similar to Ace. Will Ace of Diamonds be a future broodmare? There’s po-
tential for the filly to be in breeding. Hopefully there’s no pres- sure to sell, or if there is pressure, I’ll be able to restrain myself. What about the young horse classes? The Young Jump- er classes are instrumental in bringing these young horses along. It’s a system for progression. It’s important you’re showing your horses with others in the same age group, so you can see where you’re at.
MICHELLE PARKER How did you start CCF Caramel? My mom [Carol] raises
them until they’re ready for me in California. CCF Caramel (Durango La Silla x Contango) was started early in her four- year-old year. She was the best balanced baby I’d ever ridden, which
was really impressive due to her size. She was 17.1. She was so big when she was young we thought that she would be 18 hands, but she stopped growing. I’d never ridden one with so natural lead changes. She’s
Richard Spooner and Ace of Spades at HITS Thermal Desert Circuit 2015. 26 March/April 2016
very light on her feet. Some babies you start them and they trip and stumble—they can’t get themselves organized. She was always very well balanced.
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