Finding it hard to decide which of the SDP Buffalo Ranch stallions to breed to? Read this excerpt from an article written by Shane Plummer entitled “Stallion Management: The Who, What & Why” for his blog on: www.quarterhorsenews.com.
Hi! My name is Shane Plummer. What was that you asked? What do I do for a living? Well, friend, I sell sperm. The highest quality around. International sperm sales is my trade. White gold we call it! This bit always goes over well at my kid’s schools or at church. I can beat the tar out of the other dads on career day.
Each passing year, I hope to refine my trade of choice. Improvement and striving for excellence is my great motivator. Over the past 10 years, SDP Buffalo Ranch has made a concerted shift in our focus to being the premier stallion station with international distribution. I am immensely proud of who we are and our amazing team here, as we strive for excellence in all that we do. We take our customers’ success seriously; it is truly the only way we can succeed.
So far, our 2018 stallion roster is shaping up to be the VERY BEST we’ve ever had! We are thrilled and so grateful for our wonderful stallion owners. I am consistently asked the why behind the stallions we stand, and I thought it was important to share that with y’all. Some things just don’t and can’t show up in an ad. This venue allows for me to explain some things, and it will also serve as a great reference for breeders.
So, in alphabetical order, here is our current 2018 stallion roster. I know this is a long “blog,” but it is one that I hope mare owners can really sink their teeth into.
Following is the information on the 5 stallions listed on Select Sires:
I had been following this stallion over a three-year period before I was able to put a group of investors together to buy this amazing stallion. He was trained by Hall of Fame trainer Beau Galyean, one of the best in the business, from his late 3-year-old year through his aged-event years. From 4 to 6, Cattalou was a finalist in 27 major Open limited-age events. During that time, he was champion or reserve six times! The stallion guy and pedigree nut that I am, I lusted after this horse all that time. When the opportunity opened up to get him, I did all that I could.
When we got him here, I felt fortunate to have cutting’s No. 5 all-time leading rider and Hall of Fame cutting trainer Paul Hansma, who trains out of my facility. Paul tried Cattalou and after just one cow, got off and said he’d like to show him in upcoming Open weekend events.
For an aged event trainer like Paul to want to take the extra time to cut in weekend events on a consistent basis really shows what he felt about this great horse. Julie Hansma, Paul’s wife/partner/and I’ll add, greatest asset told me that she’s never seen Paul, “so excited to show a horse.” That was January 2016, and he started his first year at stud that very next month. We got through the breeding season and showed him as much as we could, then we formulated a plan to haul him for the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Open World title in 2017.
Before the 2016 NCHA Futurity, I had been in contact with my good friend Mr. Billy Morris, of Creek Plantation, and his plan to get more involved at the top end of the cutting horse industry. A number of stallions and mares were discussed in great detail. Over a couple months, Cattalou was one stallion that caught Mr. Morris’ attention, and he was excited to hear that we’d selected Cullen Chartier to haul Cattalou in 2017, as Mr. Morris has had a relationship with the Chartier family for more than 30 years.
Creek Plantation purchased Cattalou and has supported him in the very best ways possible through promotion, hauling him for the World and breeding him to elite mares within the industry. Cattalou and Cullen, at the time of this writing, are sitting third in the Open World standings and are the leading stallion. Cattalou’s lifetime earnings are nearing the $300,000 mark, and it will be an extremely exciting NCHA World Finals at the Futurity this year.
With his first foal crop born in 2017, I have found that his foals are a dream. My father’s opinion of horseflesh is as good as anyone’s. Regarding Cattalou, he said, “If you find a better-looking stallion, you should breed to him.” I personally think Cattalou is a flawless individual.
2018 will be his third year at stud. We have said that Cattalou is a FREAK, and I mean that in the very best way imaginable!
Hydrive Cat has been in my family since 2007. He is one of those rare stallions that literally checks every box. He is as impressive to me today as he was then – a rare combination of pedigree, ability and individual.
He had a Hall of Fame show career, having won more than $416,000, with his greatest finish as Reserve Champion at the NCHA Futurity in 2006. He has the greatest sire of all time – actually five of the six all-time leading sires in his first three generations – a $1 million producing dam, $1.8 million producing second dam, and he’s five Panel N/N. He’s quite the package.
Shortly after the NCHA Super Stakes in his 4-year-old year, we got him. Trained by Hall of Fame rider and leading trainer Clint Allen, we buckled in for a great ride the rest of the year showing. Hydrive Cat and Clint just excelled show after show, and in one of the most competitive fields in history. Hydrive was champion stallion 10 times that year alone.
During this time, we had Hydrive Cat’s full brother – SDP Buffalo Bill, who was born the same year. We got him as a yearling and he was trained by our resident trainer and dear friend Greg Smith. Greg did an awesome job with SDP Buffalo Bill; it was an exciting time for us, as we wanted this great one-two punch with these stallions. But alas, fate had other plans.
SDP Buffalo Bill blew his stifle and we lost him. It was a terrible blow for us. That loss ended Hydrive’s show career that very day. From that day forward, he was a breeding stallion.
His first foal crop was born in 2009. I have been around breeding stallions my whole life. As a whole, Hydrive Cat has the most outstanding foals I’ve ever been around. He stamps them in type more than any stallion I have ever seen. Standing in Utah that first year at stud, as that was our headquarters, he had a phenomenal foal crop.
He was the best stallion of his crop, and the industry supported him in kind. He sired more than a million dollars in winners from that first crop and had champions not only coast to coast, but across the globe! He was the AQHA Freshman Sire of the Year.
As mentioned before, Hydrive Cat was the best stallion of his foal crop and his show career ended just after his derby year. In the following two foal crops came some pretty good show horses sired by High Brow Cat that both ended up being NCHA Horses of the Year in their derby years – the great High Brow CD and the great Metallic Cat. Two legendary show horses and without a question, all-time great sires. I am not sour grapes about anything, but what could the trajectory of Hydrive been without these two great sons of High Brow Cat coming into the market?
Hydrive Cat has continued to sire champions across the globe. At the time of writing this, his get earnings are in excess of $3.5 million. Some of the biggest cutting trainers in the business have 3-year-olds getting ready for the 2017 NCHA Futurity, and I am so thrilled with what is coming through the pipeline. He has amazingly consistent babies, so mare owners keep coming to him year after year. His dominance in Australia has led him to be, by far, the leading sire of finalists and winners over the past four years. He truly is a sire of champions the world over!
I have been fortunate to operate our stallion operation in Australia for more than a decade. Through that time, I have come to greatly appreciate and admire the great show horse that One Roan Peptos is. When we say he is a world-class athlete, we mean it.
He has been a pure winner his whole life, really. From 3 years old through the ripe age of 14 as of 2017, he is a winner! He is the No. 1 money-earner of all time in Australia. At the time of writing this, he’s won in excess of $170,000 in Australia. To put that into perspective, there is a general rule of thumb for earnings in Australia as compared as to earnings in the U.S. That rule of thumb is 3 to 4:1 USA to Australia. So, with a three- to four-times magnifier, One Roan Peptos would be at the $510,000-$680,000 mark! No, I’m not joking.
One Roan Peptos is also a great sire. He has sired numerous champions in both Open and Non-Pro cutting events. Finalists at the biggest shows in Australia are consistent with him as a sire. Australia’s biggest equine discipline is camp drafting (a sport with some similarities to working cow horse), and he also excels as a sire in that.
His dam is the No. 1 all-time producer in Australia, and she, too, was an elite cutting mare, with earnings of more than $110,000 and produce earnings of $700,000! She is an exceptional mare, a true class producer, and her foals are great producers. She is simply great.
One Roan Peptos’ oldest foals in the U.S. are 2-year-olds as of 2017, all conceived with his high-quality frozen semen. He has foals in training with some of the best in the business, including Hall of Famer and two-time NCHA Futurity Open Champion Craig Thompson.
He’s had three great breeding seasons thus far, and he’s bred some of the greatest mares in the world. We were thrilled when he bred NCHA Futurity Open Champion Oh Miss Caroline, owned by Pat and Laura Collins. They have been breeding some great mares to him every year he’s been available. We are thrilled with the reports on his foals!
The stallion lineup of studs is long, and choices are many. One Roan Peptos is one of those studs that is on the market who is truly unique. He would have been great, no matter where he was born. He is indeed great, but for the USA market – he is totally unique!
Some studs just tick all the boxes. I’ve mentioned that a couple times with some of these stallions. Sire – check. Dam – check. Performance – check. Conformation – check. Value – check. Market share – check. ARC Gunnabeabigstar, Hydrive Cat, Reys A Shine – I mentioned similar things about them. They were just destined to be great from conception. Sannman is one of those rare stallions who had it from the get-go, and he’s proven it.
I chased this horse for a couple of years. I chased his previous owners at Fults Ranch, and since they are friends of mine, I gave Alvin Fults a hard time as I dreamed of having him join us at SDP! Of course, Sannman’s sire, Metallic Cat, has been the hot stallion from his initial foal crop born in 2010. Sannman was from that crop.
I’ve never seen a breeding stallion like Metallic Cat. His demand is mind-boggling, and his ability to meet the demand is even more mind-boggling. To have the demand and ability to breed more than 400 mares in a year…I’d never heard of such a thing. Metallic Cat, of course, was the No. 1 sire in the performance horse industry last year, and he’s the odds on favorite again this year. He’s already a $16 million sire!
As I just said, there are a lot of Metallic Cats out there – he has already bred more mares than MOST stallions will ever breed. But Sannman is a son of the great Metallic Cat that happens to be out of The Smart Look, and that is when the heart starts to beat a little faster and the adrenaline starts to kick in!
The Smart Look is a wow mare. She’s the No. 3 all-time broodmare with $1.8 million in progeny earnings, and she is the only mare in history to have produced an NCHA Futurity Open Champion, NCHA Super Stakes Open Champion and NCHA Summer Spectacular Derby Open Champion (the Triple Crown), that are three different horses by three different sires! When she’s the common thread in that ball of awesomeness, you just stand back and say wow! She’s got two leading sires as sons – the great WR This Cats Smart and the great Dual Smart Rey – who are Sannman’s half-brothers.
So, like I said, I chased this stud for a couple of years. I was able to get him for his initial year at stud in 2016 and having seen his first foal crop born in 2017, there are so many reasons to be excited about this sire. Sannman has a legitimate shot of all-time leading sire status, as he’s bred quality and quantity in both mares and owners. You have to have good genetics to win, but more important are the owners to support them. Horses don’t have checkbooks, so getting support is vital. I’ve seen Sannman’s first foals and the excitement from the breeders with theirs. Take notice; he’s the real deal!
Shortly after getting him in January 2016, I felt very fortunate to have Paul Hansma train at our facility. Sannman’s original trainer, Beau Galyean, did a phenonmanl job with Sannman, and he deserves all the credit in the world for training him to be the great show horse that he was. It made more sense for us to have Paul try him, because when they are standing and showing at the same time, it can sometimes be tricky to excel at both duties.
Paul took the reins and Sannman’s final year in aged events was such a fun ride for us. At his last three events, he had 11 runs in a row of 220 or higher, and he placed as champion, reserve champion and champion again, marking a 228 in his final run! His show career ended that day, and his future as a breeding stallion began. It wasn’t the end for him. It is only the beginning for Sannman.
TR Dual Rey is and probably always will be my favorite horse. I know it might be bad for me to admit that, kind of like trying to say I have a favorite child, as I’m a father of five. But, I can’t help it; TR has impacted my life and helped direct my life path. It’s funny how a horse could do that, but it’s true. I’m writing these blogs because of that horse. He is beyond special to me.
It all started in 2003. My parents had steadily been investing in cutting horses and building an amazing facility in Utah. They’d been acquiring the best mares they could get their hands on, and they wanted to have a cornerstone stallion to build their program around. In 2003, there was one stallion that stood out in the show pen and hailed from the first crop by Dual Rey, a hot young stallion then. That stallion was “TR.”
My father had been in discussions with Jim Holmes, who owned TR in partnership, and a long negotiating process ensued. My dad is a great negotiator and businessman; he worked hard to buy TR, but couldn’t get them to budge on price. I remember as if it were yesterday, visiting my parents in their home, and they were both watching TR Dual Rey’s finals run at the NCHA Summer Spectacular, the one in which he was crawling on his knees, on VHS over and over again. My mother is the wisest amongst the Plummer clan, and she turned to my father and said, “You won’t find anything better; you just go ahead and buy him.”
At that time in my life, I didn’t know what I was going to put my heart and soul into. Cutting horses were new to me; I’d grown up with race horses. But when you can be around a horse like TR Dual Rey, it changes you. A deep passion that I never knew was in me grew and fostered. I’m in the stallion management business now, not only because I grew up in this business, but because a horse named TR Dual Rey won my heart and helped me decide to forge ahead.
So, from that point on, TR Dual Rey really has helped build this place. He is an extraordinarily successful sire. He is nearing the $5 million mark. He is the No. 1 performing son and No. 1 siring son of the great Dual Rey. His foals excel at everything from cutting, cow horse, reining, barrel racing, team penning, sorting, roping – I mean everything. Not just money-earners, but champions at the highest levels. TR has blessed my life in so many ways.
My words mean little when you can just add up facts. TR Dual Rey is a true sire of great horses. Everyone loves their TRs. It has been one of his keys to success as a breeding stallion – repeat breeders. There is no greater testimony than that.