Raphaels Dancin Raven
Rae is the epitome of the successful cross of western-style horses with Thoroughbreds. This gorgeous black & white mare has a dainty, pretty head, long straight legs, and an outstanding heart girth. She also has a voluptuous, round hip - the Quarter Horse's hallmark "apple butt", which swings gloriously from side-to-side at a trot. Her conformation and amazing cadence has made her a perfect dressage candidate. She is amazingly well-muscled and big-boned, with a powerful, agile body.
Madam Rae is also strikingly marked from tip to toe. One set of lashes are white, the other, black. And although she is the "head mare" of the herd, she has the typical, gentle Quarter Horse disposition - though few fellow equines would dare to cross her at mealtimes! Here at home, she's also renowned for her vocal expressiveness, displaying her opinion with a wide array of snorting, squealing and grunting notations, often accompanied by self-taught pirouettes and other masterful movement around the paddocks.
The Paint Horse side of her pedigree is filled with World Champions, ultimately traced back to Blue Max, a very influential black overo sire. Her full brother, at only two years of age, has already earned 20 Hunter Under Saddle points and his Register of Merit at APHA shows in the US.
Sire :
Maximum Miles,
1997 APHA black tovero, 15.3½h. In addition to being a high percentage colour producer, he's also homozygous for the black gene. This big-bodied, gentle stallion has a top-notch pedigree. Champions in his bloodlines include APHA Champion Blue Max, 4-times Grand Champion and 15x Reserve Grand Champion for Halter, the amazing all-round multiple Grand and Grand Reserve Champion winner Sponkys Blaise and AQHA AAA ROB Race & Stakes Winner, Joe Queen. Now enrolled in the Breeders Trust programme, it's just a matter of time before more of his offspring develop show records of their own. His progeny out of tall Thorough mares are particularly impressive.
Dam :
Dancing Mermaid,
1986 black Thoroughbred, 16.0h. While she had limited success on the track herself she is from an impressive line of tall, black Thoroughbred racehorses, many of French origin. Her roots go back to Princequillo, the sire of Secretariate's dam, and Man O War on her dam's side, and to Nasrullah on her sire's side. Dancing Mermaid was long-legged and had a beautiful, well-sculpted head. This was among the reasons for this pretty black mare's selection for a Paint Horse breeding programme.