Advertisement
Photo: Victoria DeMore Photography
Ahna Phelps, owner of the stallion Amazing (Balou du Rouet/Voltaire), has announced that this will be his last year as a breeding stallion. “I have decided that the time has come to retire him from breeding. This is a hard and bittersweet decision, as I’m sure he would love to keep doing ‘papa duty’ for many years to come. But the time seemed right.
“So if you have been wanting to breed to Amazing ‘someday,’ now is the time. He will stand for 2022 at Little Hawk Farm once more before retirement. We will be stocking up on the frozen stash, so should have plenty of that available for years to come, but this will be the last chance to breed to him with fresh.
“I can still remember the look on my vet’s face when I told her I had purchased a two year old that was still intact; it plainly said she one hundred percent thought I was crazy. And she may have been more than a little bit right! I had no idea what owning a stallion entailed, and as a matter of fact, had always adamantly expressed zero desire to ever own one. And then came Amazing. At first, it was just a little experiment. I figured I would take it one step at a time and feel my way through it. I knew he had the bloodlines and athletic ability to be considered a stallion prospect, but taking on that challenge was sure stepping outside of my comfort zone!
“From the beginning, I said he had to earn the right to remain a stallion, and he did that and so much more. He settled right into life on our little farm, and quickly became best buds with our Haflinger, Doc. Other than having to limit him to the one paddock with 6 foot high fencing (after an accidental jump out of the 5-foot one. In a burst of warm weather glee, he misjudged the stopping distance to the fence, so opted to just jump out, leaving us both stunned!), he was so easy to live with. He was always kind, easy to handle, and loved his snuggles. Anyone could work with him, and each day he proved he had the temperament to continue down the path of being a breeding stallion.
“He and I learned together. I broke him myself, took him on daily trailer rides for offsite training, and started his show career. Together, we learned how to collect and ship, how to go between breeding and riding duties like a gentleman, and how to balance all of that with his show schedule. Sadly, his show career was shortened by a collecting injury, but he proved he was a class act in every way. He was Champion or Reserve almost every time out, and always turned heads with his presence. More than once, people had to check for themselves after I told them he was a stallion as he was so quiet!
“The last few years have brought more than a little change in my life, and also Amazing’s. I now have a new career as Associate Chair of Equestrian Studies at Savannah College of Art and Design, and Amazing has been standing at Little Hawk Farm in Virginia. They have taken wonderful care of him, but I have decided that the time has come to retire him from breeding.
“I feel like I owe him a chance at a beautiful retirement while he’s still relatively young. I am eternally grateful to my dear friend, who will be welcoming Amazing to live with her (and three of his kids!) on her gorgeous 173-acre farm in the mountains of Pennsylvania.
“The last ten years have been an absolute joy, and I am beyond proud of what we have accomplished. The stories, pictures, and videos of Amazing babies being loved by their owners are the realization of a dream. I am deeply thankful for all of the incredible mare owners who believed in my boy, and I have made so many new friends along the way. I’m proud of the offspring he has produced, many of them being brought along and shown very successfully by their amateur owners. When I bought Amazing as a 2-year-old, I really had no idea where it would take me, but I would not trade this journey for anything. He has been an absolute gift to me, and it makes my heart happy to have been able to share that gift with so many.
“I want to express my heartfelt thanks to every single person along the way who has made this incredible journey possible.
“And the biggest thank you of all to Amazing: my heart, my love, my one and only.”
A note from WarmbloodStallionsNA.com
We would like to extend our very best wishes both to Amazing in his retirement, and to Ahna in her new career! It’s hard to believe, but Amazing has been in print and online with Warmblood Stallions of North America since he was eight years old!
Please visit Amazing’s Stallion Profile page here.
You can make breeding arrangements by contacting Ahna through the contact form on the page.
You can also read the “Stallion Story” about Amazing here.
