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Remembering Reedannland: The End of an Era

Written for the ASHA by Kim Skipton

Many of us are preparing for the upcoming Reedannland Sale. Whether we attend in person, watch online, place a phone bid, or just reminisce about the many greats that have come from the breeding program at Reedannland, we all want to be a part of this historical moment in time. At 10:00 am on Saturday, March 7, the era of Reedannland will come to an end. Robertson Equine Sales will be handling the once in a lifetime sale in Norwalk, Iowa. Buyers will have a rare opportunity to acquire top consignments from one of the most iconic Saddlebred operations in history. The sale includes broodmares, show prospects, breeding stallions and yearlings bred by Dr. Alan R. Raun. Many of the horses are second and third generation Reedannland breeding stock with the bloodlines of WGC sire RWC CHThe Talk Of The Town, WCC sire Phi Slama Jama, WCC sire The Mystery Writer, and WC sire The County Treasure most prevalent.

Let’s take a look back at the Reedannland breeding program and some of the wonderful horses that have emerged from it.  It will suffice to say, there were hundreds bred at Reedannland, including some of the greatest show horses in our breed.

The first horse on record as being bred by the Rauns or Reedannland is actually listed as being bred by Mrs. Alan Raun. Foaled in 1968, The Grand Finale was the last horse sired by the great Genius Bourbon King.  Though she is listed as breeder on just a few, Dotty Raun obviously had a good eye for selecting top breeding stallions to breed to early on!  In 1971, the first top show horse bred by Dr. Alan R. Raun was foaled. This horse came close to giving Dr. Raun his first world’s grand champion as a breeder. Originally named Reedann’s Commander, history buffs will remember him as CHShivaree. Dr. Raun owned him until 1976 when he sold him to the Feeler family. Under the direction of trainer Dick Obenauf, CHShivaree was the 1977 Three-Gaited Over 15.2 Reserve World’s Champion. He returned in 1978 to earn the titles Three-Gaited Over 15.2 World’s Champion as well as Three-Gaited Reserve World’s Grand Champion.

It would take until 1999 for Dr. Raun to breed the horse he called the culmination of his years as a breeder, 2008 Five-Gaited World’s Grand Champion CHBreaking News. The versatile gelding with the huge heart won world’s champion titles in juvenile, amateur and open, and showed until he was 14. He was sired by Dr. Raun’s own stallion RWC CHThe Talk Of The Town (by WGC sire WGC CHYorktown) and out of a daughter of WGC sire WCC CHCaramac. His second dam was also by CHYorktown, making CHBreaking News a perfect example of the line breeding often utilized by Dr. Raun. CHThe Talk Of The Town had been lightly bred by his former owner Jean McLean Davis, siring two reserve world’s champions. Under Dr. Raun’s guidance, he sired his first world’s champion, the 1996 Junior Five-Gaited Mare World’s Champion Reedann’s Country Talk, with Raun listed as breeder.

Dr. Raun bred several horses that he either sent to George Knight for training, or sold to George or one of his customers, that went on to great fame. The first was the home bred  CHReedann’s Box Seat, that was sired by another of Raun’s stallions, WGC sire Stonewall’s Main Event.  George sold him to the Adler family for Melody Adler and the pair won world’s championship titles in the juvenile three-gaited division. Another George selected from Dr. Raun’s breeding program for the Adlers was  CHJane Doe. The mare was out of one of Dr. Raun’s mares that he chose to breed to the outside stallion WGC CHBuck Rogers. This Raun bred mare had been a world’s champion in the Three-Year-Old Three-Gaited Futurity for Dr. Raun before winning the Junior Three-Gaited World’s Champion of Champion titles for George.  Later George had the Adlers buy yet another Raun bred mare, this time it was RWC Intoxicating Conversation (BHF), a daughter of Dr. Raun’s own CHThe Talk Of The Town. Another Knight/Raun collaboration was a mare that stole Doc’s heart, WC CHJaunty Janette. George bought her himself from Reedannland in early 1998 and sold her to Vicky Byrd a month or so later. The mare and Vicky would go on to win multiple world’s championship titles in the ladies/amateur division. CHJaunty Janette was also by Raun’s stallion CHThe Talk Of The Town and Dr. Raun always listed her as his most favorite home bred horse besides CHBreaking News.

A great breeder needs top stallions, great mares, and the knowledge of how to cross them - Dr. Raun had all three. Some of the stallions he stood at stud are WGC sire Stonewall’s Main Event, WGC sire RWC CHThe Talk Of The Town, WCC sire Phi Slama Jama, WC sire Copper Town, WCC sire The Mystery Writer, and WC sire The County Treasure. He owned Hall of Fame broodmares Bourbon ‘N Coke and Yorkshire Pudding, and he bred Hall of Fame broodmares Soft Spoken and Clari-Phi, as well as Positively Peggy (dam of WCC CHBreak On Through), Lady Phi (dam of WC Man On The Move and WC Isn’t She Something), City Talk (dam of WC Mister Hyde), Winsdown It’s About Time (dam of WCC Vegas Moon and RWC It’s No Wonder),Twin Cities (dam of RWC Nitty Gritty Blues), etc. Other show ring winners in the long list of horses bred by Dr. Raun include WCC CHCourageous Flower, WCC CHFight Night, WCC CHMystery Magic, WC The Gun Moll, WC CHTown Rose, WC Chere Peridot, WC Reedann’s Phorsythia, and so many more.

The last horse on record as being bred by Dr. Alan R. Raun was foaled May 30, 2019. Reedann’s The Good Doctor is a product of pure Reedannland breeding as he is by the young Reedannland bred stallion Reedann’s Meant To Be and out of a mare by Reedann’s Top Gun (a son of Stonewall’s Main Event). Buyers at the this Saturday’s sale will have a chance to bid on this horse as well as his sire., along with nearly 60 other products of the genius of Dr. Raun. The era of Reedannland may be over but the legacy will continue for many years to come.