Sapphire's First Foal – It's a Colt!

e Stallions & Breeding Sapphire’s First Foal – It’s A Colt! Sapphire’s first foal, Spectacular, and his dam, Bella Dancer, bloodlines. If there was anything at all to add to our foal, beside German Sporthorse by Kathleen McNulty’s stallion, Raine Sapphire’s attributes, it would be size. He’s 16.2 and Bella is Dance (by Concorde, by Voltaire), owned by Chandelle and Gia 17.2, so we expect Spectacular to be somewhere in the middle.” Spargo (Millstone, New Jersey): “They were wonderful to loan Photos courtesy of Kathleen McNulty/Replica Farm, unless noted otherwise. Bella to me for this project,” Kathleen said. “The mare has great By Lauren R. Giannini The Gelding Sapphire’s Story After his success in the Pan Ams, wherein he took advantage Mark Watring’s Holsteiner jumper gelding has a son! That’s of dual citizenship to ride for Puerto Rico and essentially right: a foal sired by a gelding – one of the most amazing modern relegated the USA’s Chris Kappler and Margie Goldstein-Engle miracles, made possible only by cloning technology. Bella, a to silver and bronze respectively, Mark continued to compete Dutch mare chosen for her outstanding bloodlines, gave birth to Sapphire. “I had people wanting to buy Sapphire the mare – I a gorgeous colt, sired by Saphir, the clone and exact genetic twin told them that’s McLain’s jumper. Then I had people wanting of the gelding Sapphire. Saphir, born with the entire procreative to buy Sapphire the stallion,” he recalled. “I’d tell them, ‘no, package, contributed the actual sperm: every molecule of that it’s a gelding.’ They’d say, ‘you’re kidding, I had someone lined DNA owes its existence to the jumper gelding Sapphire. That’s up to buy him as a breeding stallion.’ All that time in my mind why, technically speaking, one can say with all accuracy that I was thinking, ‘oh, if only you were a stallion!’ Then I started Sapphire, the imported Holsteiner gelding, has sired his first son. investigating.” There is nothing like a birth announcement in the horse world, A search of the internet to see if they were cloning horses led and this one generates great excitement. Cloning technology him to Kathleen McNulty of Replica Farm, representative for allows the perpetuation of bloodlines of an outstanding equine ViaGen. One of the foremost U.S. authorities on cloning, she like Sapphire, Mark’s inimitable partner with whom he won the has a long history of foaling mares as well as training as a vet individual show jumping gold medal at the 2003 Pan American tech. Mark took the first vital step: banking Sapphire’s genes Games. The gray Holsteiner, imported as a gelding, offered all the by taking a biopsy and storing his genetic material. “I got so right reasons to clone him: athleticism, temperament, pedigree, excited about that and thought, ‘gosh, I’m already in my late performance and heart. 40s, am I really going to wait to clone this horse?’” Mark said. The first foal, serendipitously a colt, was born on June 13, 2013 “So I called and said ‘I’m ready to do it.’” at Replica Farm in New Jersey. To clone is the first step into the According to Kathleen, the project has come full circle with reproductive possibilities. When the clone stands at stud, that’s the birth of Sapphire’s first foal. “We knew it was going to be the next big horizon in cloning technology. “The colt is so nice – we a good breeding project because Sapphire has such good named him Spectacular – and I just hope he ends up being fancy- bloodlines,” she said. “It’s also a long term project – Saphir fancy,” Mark said. Only time will tell if Sapphire’s first offspring, is only three and we have only the one test foal, but this year now a weanling, will be a chip off the original block, but already Saphir will be available for commercial breeding. There are a Mark has fulfilled a dream: his great equine partner Sapphire has lot of clones on the ground, and people are starting to see the a son. Continued on page 134 132 SIDELINES JANUARY 2014 FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE.

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