Elizabeth Houtsma
MultitaskingM By Patti Schofler A
man who bred five Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winners and the first Triple Crown winner ever (in 1919) was also a successful trainer of both
Thoroughbred and Standardbred race horses. Clearly John Madden knew a lot about both breeding and training. He is responsible for the popular breeding adage, “Breed
the best to the best and hope for the best.” It’s a succinct statement breeders live by—or so it seems. Such a statement begs the question of what criteria determines what is “best.” Ultimately, a breeding horse’s proof of value is in what he
or she produces, but that proof may be years in coming, if at all. On the other hand, a performance career provides valu- able information about a horse and the potential progeny. And while a performance career has long served as a standard by which to judge a breeding stallion, a career record is not always held to the fire for the arguably more important half of the equation, the mare. Traditionalists have maintained that broodmares should
not be ridden. Some believe a mare should be bred after she has gone as far as she can in her sport career and can no longer perform. Other breeders embrace embryo transfer to allow a mare to continue in her performance role while a surro- gate mare bears and raises her foal(s). But is there another— and possibly better—way to heed John Madden’s advice?
18 January/February 2019
Breed Early It is feasible to juggle a talented mare simultaneously between breeding and performance, which has many advan- tages. Breeder Elizabeth Houtsma, owner of Hillside H Ranch, Warrensburg, Missouri, and Willy Arts, co-owner and head trainer at DG Bar Ranch, Hanover, California, have similar systems that keep mares in both lifestyles. They breed young mares out of proven mare lines, usually at three, while getting them started under saddle and doing basic work. These mares foal at age four and might be bred again, all while they continue their training. “How do you know you have the best if you haven’t ridden those bloodlines for many generations? You see a lot of nice pedigrees, but you have to see the horse in front of you. I want to see her compete in the sport as it is today, not from four generations of mares that have been broodmares,” says Elizabeth. “You don’t know ultimately what that foal can do until it’s
four or five. Then the mare is going to be nine,” she contin- ues. “So why not let her have the first foal, put her into sport
Top: Cix Degrees HH is one example of a mare whom Elizabeth Hout- sma bred who is by Calido out of Andoctra HH. At age four Cix is here with her foal by Diamant de Semilly. In 2018 Cix competed and finished the year in the top 20 of six-year-olds in the U.S. and is shown above competing in a 1.3m Six Year Old class last summer with Ryan Genn in the irons.
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