AQHA MAGAZINE March / April 2020 AQHA March-April 2020 PRINT (1)High Res | Page 14

PG.12
AQHA FEATURE
A
THE PURCHASER
lways in the market for a good horse, Rodger
Grant, of Koobah Performance Horses,
Kingswood, NSW, who has an astute interest
in Campdraft, Challenges and Cutting, was looking for
a Quarter Horse colt to add to his breeding program.
Mark Buttsworth on
Branchvale Metal Alloy Q-93525
during Nutrien Classic Sale
In a conversation with another trainer, Steve Smith,
he was told about Branchvale Metal Alloy Q-93525,
a colt that was being ridden and presented by trainer,
Mark Buttsworth. While watching the colt’s pre-work,
Rodger was initially impressed with the way the horse
performed, particularly with him being only a 2yo.
He was soft, smooth, turned around very nicely and
worked a cow extremely well for such a young horse.
His true working ability really captured Rodger’s
attention.
While speaking to Mark Buttsworth the following day,
the rugs were taken off the colt, revealing to Rodger
the outstanding type of horse that Alloy really was.
After watching him being worked on the flag, and with
the research done on his breeding, Rodger’s interest
and level of approval on the colt rose to a high. A
firm awareness that this colt possessed everything
to be a perfect future sire left him without a doubt
that Branchvale Metal Alloy Q-93525 was the colt he
wanted to secure. When the gavel hit the sound block
for the horse, on day four of the Nutrien Sale, Rodger
had done just that.
At this stage, with the huge amount of potential
and talent this horse has, Rodger has decided that
his direction will be to stay in training with Mark
Buttsworth, to set him up for the 2021 NCHA Futurity.
After that he’ll have a bit of a spell. Rodger says there’ll
definitely be a light breeding program set up for Alloy
initially, but he would like to see how he handles
things there, as he is only a young horse. It’s also likely
that Alloy will go Campdrafting at a later date. All in
all, the horse’s future looks bright and is causing much
excitement at Koobah Performance Horses.
THE BREEDER AND SELLER
From the beginning, the colt’s breeders, Merle Potter
and Derek McGregor, of Branchvale, Mt Perry, in
Qld, knew he had the breeding to be something very
special. The couple are passionate breeders especially
when it comes to genetics.
‘For a horse to be blessed with all the desirable working
horse qualities, along with the looks, is never really a
fluke of luck,’ Merle says. ‘It takes a long time to get the
genetics that are required to produce such an exceptional
and magnificent horse. There are a lot of nice horses out
there, but then, there are those exceptional ones, and I
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