Baske Afire

Arabian Horse Times
Cover Story: Baske Afire

by Mary Kirkman

From the time Baske Afire’s sons and daughters hit the show ring, he has been a sensation. Each year has polished that reputation, as step by step, he has built a record that has propelled him into the highest ranks of Arabian sires.

Baske Afire’s pedigree is rich in national champions. His sire and dam, as well as his grandsire and grandam, were national champions and producers of national champions. Most of his champions at the major shows now are divided equally between halter and performance, with nearly all of his performance champions in the English and country English pleasure divisions. In 2008, he was Top Five on 13 of the 18 AHT charts for U.S. Nationals.

The sheer magnitude of Baske Afire’s achievements tells his story. At Scottsdale in 2009, he was the Arabian Horse Times Leading Sire of Half-Arabian Halter Winners, more than 100 points ahead of his nearest competition. In addition, he was second on the Leading Halter and Performance Sires of Purebred and Half-Arabian Winners ranking.

As of August of this year, Baske Afire’s record of success reflected a total of 92 purebred champions, 20 national winners (with 46 total national wins) and six national and reserve national champion purebred offspring. At Canada 2009, the trend continued, with five national championships added, along with three reserves and 15 top tens.

In addition to winning at the national level, Baske Afire offspring also command a solid return on investment for breeders. In addition to private sales, the yearling filly HA Sahara Afire, bred by Michelle Harris, changed hands for $120,000 at the 2008 Cedar Ridge Select Sale.

Baske Afire’s significance continues to grow in Arabian show ring. His presence on the leading sire lists both by points and number of winners proves salient facts: He offers not only a high percentage of champions and reserves, but also a wide range of successful representatives—not just a few stellar individuals.

For Baske Afire, Strawberry Banks has adopted the philosophy that now is the time to write history. The farm has announced that at the end of the 2009 breeding season, the stallion’s availability to outside breeders will be limited. A total of 150 breedings are now offered for purchase, and when those have been sold, Baske Afire’s public book will be completed.

 

Arabian Horse Times Leading Sire Lists

At U.S. Nationals:

Top Five Leading Sire Of Arabians In Halter (By Number Of Winners And Points)
Top Five Leading Sire Of Arabians In Performance (By Number Of Winners And Points)
Two-Time Leading Sire Of Half-Arabians In Halter (By Number Of Winners)
Three-Time Top Five Leading Sire Of Half-Arabians In Halter (By Number Of Winners)
2008 Leading Sire Of Half-Arabians In Halter (By Points)
Two-Time Top Five Leading Sire Of Half-Arabians In Halter (By Points)

Yearling Breeders Sweepstakes:
Four-Time Top Five Leading Sire Of Arabians (By Number Of Champions)
2005 Top Five Leading Sire Of Arabians (By Number Of Winners And Points)


 

The Future Of English:

Baske Afire Get At The 2008 Major Championships

2008 U.S. Nationals

2008 Arabian English Pleasure Futurity
KD Kontagious, U.S. National Champion
Glitterati, U.S. National Reserve Champion
Turn It Up, U.S. National Top Ten
Baske Alarm, U.S. National Top Ten
Hoosier Daddy, U.S. National Top Ten

2008 Arabian Country English Pleasure Junior Horse Championship

The Way She Moves, U.S. National Champion
MBF Burning Springs, U.S. National Top Ten
Prince of Ames, U.S. National Top Ten

 

Scottsdale

2008 English Pleasure Junior Horse Championship

Sin City, Champion
Bonfore ROF, Reserve Champion

2008 Country English Pleasure Junior Horse Championship

MBF Burning Springs, Champion
MSA Camilla, Top Ten

Canadian Nationals

2008 English Pleasure Junior Horse Championship

Sin City, Canadian National Champion
Bonfire ROF, Canadian National Top Ten








   The modern vernacular of the United States has given us ways to express feelings or situations that the millions of existing words in the English language simply couldn't. "Hype" is a good example. Hype, as a noun, is uniquely temporal. Hype exists before something becomes commonplace, before everybody knows what the hype in question is all about. When everyone has seen what the hype is about, it generally ceases to exist. With that taken into consideration, there is a sense of underground or grassroots to hype. Only those who are in the-know hear about hype first. Little by little, the hyped thing grows and grows, and finally, becomes familiar to the multitudes. But those who are
au courante
get to revel in the fact that they not only heard about the hype first, but also that they got to benefit from having knowledge of the hyped thing for the longest time. And since hype is only associated with the latest, greatest things, having access to them before most everyone else does can be advantageous and useful. Of course, it can also make for great bragging rights.

   The results that stem from hype make it a binary sort of word. The aftermath of hype can be a frightening thing, or a joyous one. When hype is less than carefully applied, disaster can strike. If the public finds out that all the hype was for something that wasn't worth their time, money or attention, they'll drop it like the proverbial hot potato. However, hype can pave the path toward greatness. It can produce great respect when it is applied to something excellent, something that can change businesses, lives or, uniquely in the horse industry, breeding programs.

   It is a matter of fact that there is hype around Baske Afire. It's a fair bet that anyone actively involved in Arabian horse breeding today can picture him in their mind's eye without even trying, thanks to the marketing savvy of Stachowski Farm. Though Baske Afire's babies market themselves, Strawberry Banks Farm and Stachowski Farm provides any and all the marketing support the owners of Baske Afire get want. He's a skyscraper of a horse, but the old kind of skyscraper, like the Empire State or the Chrysler building. He's vertical, with his neck and legs that seem to go on and on. He's beautifully detailed, with a fine face punctuated by his big onyx eyes. He is unique, quite different from anything that has gone before him. And even more like those buildings from the early twentieth century, he does two things: he gives a beautiful exterior to an interior that is made for work; and he allows people to think in new ways and to pursue new dreams and ideals. The hype around him as an individual horse has not been misapplied.

   Baske Afire has a double test, though. He is a stallion, and stallions must be useful no matter how handsome they are. The Baske Afire breeding hype started early in his life. Baske Afire, as a breeding stallion, is no genetic fluke nor are his babies. His pedigree, which includes some of the most illustrious horses in Arabian history, will always ensure that his offspring are top-quality. Stachowski Farm has known he was special since he was born. But when other people started seeing him, word about him spread like brush fire. When people see a colt at that age, they generally start talking about him going to the show ring. He is a unique horse, and people have had a unique reaction to him. Everyone's immediate impulse was to start breeding to him. With a demand so impossible to ignore, Baske Afire's breeding career was off to a running start.

   By now, we all know what Baske Afire babies look like.
They've got their father's best attributes, from his conformational correctness to his awe-inspiring motion. Baske Afire takes whichever kind of mare he is bred to, whether she is from a performance pedigree or a halter pedigree, and asserts his influence to make these foals the kind that breeders strive to produce. Breeding programs are already being planned for some of his sons. Owners of Baske Afire offspring are lucky in that, if they choose to sell their foals, there is a market that is clamoring to buy them. What's more, the support that Baske Afire has from Strawberry Banks Farm and Stachowski Farm includes their massive effort to be a great marketing service. More often than not, however, breeders are hanging on to these young horses because they are so enraptured with them.

  There is much hype around Baske Afire. Some people have not yet had the opportunity to see him or his babies in person, but have only heard about them or have seen them in ads. For anyone who has seen him or his offspring in the flesh, it is undisputable that he will not fade into obscurity once his foals start filling, rather than dotting, the world's show rings. Once the hype fades, the quality he produces ensures that he will be a sire for the ages, and will rank among the fabled stallions of the breed. The Baske Afire hype is worth believing.
 

Back to Baske Afire


 Barbara Chur ~ Owner, Brian Murch ~ Trainer 
Michele Valone ~ Breeding Manager
1181 Quaker Road   East Aurora, NY  14052
  (716) 652.9346  fax (716) 652.4438

    email info@strawberrybanksfarm.com