ABOUT MAMAGE

Mamage, thoughts by trainer Shan Wilson

I cannot believe that this coming spring Mamage will celebrate his 20^th birthday, and is there ever a lot to celebrate! For sixteen years Mamage has been an integral part of the development and success of Chrishan Park, bringing talent, inspiration, and accomplishment to his owners and me alike. We purchased Mamage for the Hagale family when he was just a junior horse in 1994. In 1995, I won the Open English class with him at U.S. Nationals, which was my very first national championship.

That same year, he also won two National Championships at Youth Nationals in the 13 and under division. Mamage has been extraordinary from the beginning.

In 1995 Mamage’s first two foals hit the ground. One was out of the farm pet, a little pony, and the other was Scrimmage, a purebred Arabian who has won several Top Tens in Arabian English Pleasure. During 1995 and 1996, we didn’t breed Mamage, as we were focused on collecting national championships—he won five National Championships and one Reserve National Championship in those two years alone.

In 1997, he bred only seven mares, but even out of that limited foal crop we saw the emergence of several great stars. One of these stars is CSP Miss Mamage, who I showed to the Reserve National Championship in the HA English Futurity class. Her success continued the following year at Youth Nationals where she won the HA Pleasure Driving class and was reserve in the HA Park class. Also out of the same foal crop is three-time National Champion KRA Dammage, who has picked up titles in both the AAOTR English Pleasure division and Informal Combination. The following year, there were only four foals to choose from and yet another national champion emerged, CSP James Dean. At Louisville in 2002, I had the opportunity to show James Dean to our infamous unanimous National Championship in HA Futurity—arguably one of the most exhilarating performances of my showing career.

The 1999 breeding season saw a huge increase in Mamage’s breeding program. Our 2000 foal crop produced fourteen foals, and another stream of show ring stars. One of the more notable stars is the purebred mare CSP Infinity, who has two National Champion titles, as well as one Reserve and seven Top Ten titles won in the youth, amateur, and open English Pleasure and Driving divisions.

Other distinguished offspring from this same foal crop include: RH Yes Mam—a big and impressive half-Arabian—CSP Merlot, CSP Matina, and Slim Shaddy, all of whom have gone on to collect National Top Ten titles in the English and Country divisions. The following few years continued to produce national winners from relatively small foal crops. CSP Hot Tamale, who finished third in the HA Futirity class at U.S. Nationals in 2006, is yet another example of Mamage’s ability to produce exciting English prospects. That is how, in 2006, Mamage was determined to be the statistical leader by percentages of producing national winning English horses.

While Mamage’s offspring were claiming their own accolades in the showring, Mamage himself continued to be a strong competitor. Over the course of his show career, which spanned from 1993-2006, Mamage picked up an impressive nine National Championships, 6 Reserve National Championships, 16 National Top Tens, 22 Regional Championships, and 12 Regional Reserve Championships. It is said that it takes a champion to make a champion, this couldn’t be truer than with Mamage.

Mamage continues to sire outstanding English prospects by consistently producing high trotting horses that have upright, hingy necks, and strong hind ends. The highly anticipated 2005 purebred stallion Ronde Vu, who has striking markings and free, floaty movement, is just one of these rising stars.

Another exciting prospect is CSP James Brown, a bold HA gelding who unanimously won the weanling, yearling, and two-year old halter classes the last three years at National Show Horse Finals. Just recently one of Mamage’s newest prodigies, CSP Hot Stuff, won Reserve Champion in the Jackpot Weanling class at National Show Horse Finals. We are confident that Mamage’s more recent offspring will continue his legacy of siring successful showring competitors.

In terms of performance, he was always very easy to train and eager to please. He has nearly perfect performance conformation, which allowed Mamage to endure such a long show career with strength and durability—he only required veterinary care for sports medicine reasons twice up until the final year of his show career. That is amazing. This strength and soundness is a trait that Mamage consistently passes onto his offspring as well. With regards to breeding, he is easy to collect and his semen has been exceptional. One customer sent us a letter this year praising that we had sent them semen eight times, and that they are expecting eight foals… that is extraordinary!

Beyond all of his successes as a competitor and a producer, to me, Mamage is one of those rare horses, one of those great spirits that comes into your life and touches your heart. Around the barn he is a docile, easy going, and loving animal that is always waiting to greet you with a welcoming nicker. I love his big, soft eyes and his laid back style. No matter how much we asked of him, he never laid an ear back and would always try his best. He is truly a gentle soul. Ultimately, I thank Mamage for all that he has brought to my life, to Chrishan Park, to his loving owners, and to all the lucky owners of his babies. I applaud Mamage for all that he has accomplished, and welcome the continued success the future is sure to offer.