Team Behind AQHA Stallion, Good Better Best, Announces New Owners’ Partnership
By: Brittany Bevis
The team behind AQHA stallion, Good Better Best, is excited to announce a new owners’ partnership. In addition to Nancy Sue and Larry Hansch of Show Stop Farm, the interests of Good Better Best will now also be guided by partner, Leslie Bacon of Running Stag Farm, LLC., as well as her trainer, Stanley Ryan.
Good Better Best is the 2014, 16.3 hand, AQHA stallion by Good I Will Be and out of Luke Whoo. “Mag” burst onto the scene at the 2017 All American Quarter Horse Congress winning the 3-Year-Old Non Pro Hunter Under Saddle and was named Reserve in the 3-Year-Old Open Hunter Under Saddle with Courtney Brockmueller in the irons. Not only did this young stallion’s substance and style impress the judges, Mag also caught the eye of first-time Congress attendee, Leslie Bacon.
“We went over to the barn, where Nancy Sue had Mag stalled, to say hello. I asked if I could go in the stall with him. I hung out with him for about an hour. He’s the sweetest, kindest horse with a puppy dog personality. He has such a kind eye. I couldn’t believe how elegant he was and what a lovely personality he had,” Leslie says.
“We asked about breeding to him and did two contracts right then,” Stanley says. “On the spot!” Leslie adds. “Then, we added another two when we got home,” Stanley continues.
They must have seen what Nancy Sue first saw three years ago, when she foaled out Mag at her Texas ranch. “He was always really special from the beginning,” Nancy Sue says. “We groomed him for a future as a breeding stud. He lived his weanling and yearling years out in the pasture, just being a horse. Sadly, he sustained an injury when he was two years old, so he spent the entire year on stall rest. Colt Andrews started him for us, and he really just started being consistently ridden in July of his 3-year-old year. He showed at just one show before the Congress to earn his ROM.”
“I’m so grateful that the Congress let my daughter, Courtney, step in to show him in the 3-Year-Old Open Hunter Under Saddle when I was injured at the show. It was awesome, but it sure was a lot of pressure on her. She hadn’t ridden him all that much before the Congress.”
As fate would have it, while Nancy Sue was recovering in a hospital bed, just two days after having surgery, Courtney piloted Mag to a Reserve Championship finish. After the Congress had concluded, Stanley reached out to Nancy Sue to inquire about the purchase of a mare he and Leslie hoped to breed to Mag, a World and Congress Champion producer named Fun Lovin Luke. “Things just progressed from there,” Stanley says.
“When Nancy Sue asked if I wanted to become a partner on the stallion, my answer was a resounding yes! I had seen him with my own eyes and that was it,” Leslie confirms.
“Leslie has background with a little different style of horse, in the Hunter/Jumpers, but she definitely has a good eye for a horse. She knows a good horse when she sees one,” Stanley confirms. “I’ve been away from the horse industry for a little while; but, when I saw Mag, I saw what a different type of look he had. He has a lot of substance and body to him. He can lope with cadence and easily move into a strong yet soft canter. He has tremendous ring presence. He stands out.”
In addition to his movement, Nancy Sue hopes Mag will pass along his kind disposition to his offspring. “Mag is a horse that will endear himself to you,” she says. “He’s just that kind of a horse. He’s all business, but he also loves people. He’s a perfect gentleman.”
For the 2018 season, Mag will be standing at EE Ranches, Inc. in Whitesboro, Texas. Thanks to some advanced planning in 2017, his first foals are just hitting the ground. At press time, there are three foals on the ground. The very first to make an appearance, a bay colt nicknamed “Deion,” was born in early January. The colt is out of Fun Lovin Luke, the mare that’s now also owned by Leslie Bacon of Running Stag Farm, LLC.
The entire team behind Good Better Best is excited to see how this young sire will pass along his movement, mind, and majestic presence to his offspring in 2018 and beyond. For more information about Good Better Best, visit http://www.showstopfarm.com. Also, visit Good Better Best on Facebook. For more information about EE Ranches, visit http://www.eeranches.com.
Good Better Best: 2014 AQHA Stallion from Superlative Equine on Vimeo.
