148 The Chronicle of the Horse

A Fine RomanceTop Thoroughbred stallion A Fine Romance died on June 12 in his pasture at Gail Parker Rogers’ Tamarack Lane Farm in Brantford, Ontario. He was 25.

“Fred” (Brave Shot—Two Bitter, Pluck) was born on April 20, 1991, at Tamarack Lane Farm. Rogers bred him with the intention of selling him as a race horse at the yearling sales.

“But I loved him from the very first moment and somehow ‘forgot’ to enter him in the sale,” recalled Rogers. “I was well aware that Thoroughbreds have relatively short lives on the track. As a breeder, I felt it was my responsibility to give them the best chance of successful and happy futures off the track. Having sane, sound, beautiful athletes was my goal, and A Fine Romance epitomized all of those qualities.”

Rogers didn’t intend to stand Fred as a stallion, but she loved his bloodlines for sport and racing, and he checked off all her boxes when it came to his attributes.

“He had to have exceptional conformation, movement, temperament, athleticism and a performance career,” she said. “He had to be able to mentally handle being shown and ridden with other horses.”

He began showing in-hand at 2. At his first show the stallion won his class and was reserve grand champion. He went on to have a successful in-hand show career with handler Ronnie Davidson. His list of accomplishments includes a six-time reign as grand champion Thoroughbred colt or stallion, six Jockey Club Challenge trophies, and six Canadian

Sport Horse Association stallion championships at the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto.

Rogers only grew more enthusiastic about Fred once

he got going under tack. “When we saw him

jump we knew that he was going to be the athlete we thought he would be,” she said.

At age 5, Fred began eventing with

Peter Gray and Paul Delbrook.

“He was almost human-like to work with,” said Gray. “He had a really strong sense of partnership. He was like a perfect gentleman when you were handling him, but to ride him he definitely became tuned in and focused on the rider.”

He evented through training level and then moved to the hunter ring. Fred enjoyed a competitive and consistent career on the A-circuit with Peter Stoeckl in the irons.

“One of the highlights for me was to see him showing in the combined working hunter classes at the Royal Winter Fair,” said Rogers.

“He was very willing, and he passed that on to his progeny, who have super temperaments,” said Gray. “He was certainly a modern day sport horse stallion for the show ring and for eventing.”

Fred became one of Canada’s most preeminent studs. He often combined breeding and showing on the same day and never put a foot out of line. He earned his lifetime breeding license with the Canadian Sport Horse Association and achieved Gold Premium status based on the outstanding performance of his offspring.

“He sired exceptional athletes in all disciplines right from his

first small crop, from a wide variety of mares,” said Rogers. “His offspring have shown in the hunters, jumpers, dressage and eventing. For me the greatest success has been the number of owners of his offspring who tell me they are ‘the best horse’ they ever owned. These are horses with the athleticism to compete at the upper levels, with the temperament and willing work ethic to be successful with children and amateur riders.”

A few of Fred’s highest achieving offspring include My Romance, A First Romance and A Little Romance. A Little Romance is headed to the Rio Olympic Games as a member of the Canadian eventing team with rider Jessica Phoenix, while her teammate Selena O’Hanlon competed A First Romance to the three-star level. My Romance evented to advanced before jumper rider Martien van der Hoeven bought him. The horse’s name was changed to South Bound, and the pair went on to win at the grand prix level.

Fred won the CSHA National Achievement Award as well as the Brickenden Stallion Award for Performance Offspring. He was also a Star ISR Oldenburg approved stallion and Canadian Trakehner approved. Rogers recalled that a major highlight in Fred’s breeding career was in 2006 when he was selected by Hilltop Farm in Maryland to be a guest stallion in their breeding program.

“It has been my greatest honor and happiness to have bred this incredible horse and to have been able to share my life with him for 25 years,” said Rogers. “I look forward to a long legacy of his wonderful Thoroughbred blood being carried on into future generations.”

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