Arabian Horse Times

Vol 43, No. 11

VJ Royal Heir
by MARY KIRKMAN

Kelli Aguirre knew she had an extraordinary horse when she bought VJ Royal Heir, but she didn’t really realize what an impact he had on others until last fall. In the arena at U.S. Nationals, where Royal Heir showed to a top ten in the AEPA Saddle Seat Futurity, she heard the comments of the crowd swirling around her. “They were saying, ‘Wow, oh my gosh, who is that? Where did he come from? What’s that horse’s name? That’s Royal Heir,’” she recalls. “And my friend and I both just sat there and smiled. You don’t need to say a word; the horse speaks for himself.”

She would hear it all again at Scottsdale, where VJ Royal Heir, due to a minor injury after arrival, didn’t even show. People simply appeared at the Showtime Training Center stalls, asking to see him. “Even if Tish was just walking him down the aisle or schooling him in the arena at night, there were people stopping their horses to watch him. Or standing on the rail, I could hear them calling others and saying, ‘Hey, he’s in the ring now, hurry up and get here.’”

That wasn’t just a proud owner’s opinion. Photographer Howie Schatzberg first saw Royal Heir at the National Show Horse Finals in September. As a purebred, he wasn’t competing, but Schatzberg was asked to do a photo shoot of him under saddle. “I was pretty blown away,” he says, and adds that by that time of year, having shot some of the most exciting Arabians and Saddlebreds in the industry, he is pretty hard to impress.

“I hadn’t seen many horses that had his presence and his attitude,” Schatzberg elaborates. “He gave me chills. He was just super exciting, and he made it look really easy. It made me smile, just taking pictures of him. For a horse that didn’t show, he was definitely the talk of the crowd that week. People were coming to my booth and saying, ‘Whoa, who’s that?’”

Trainer Tish Kondas had the same reaction when she was introduced to the colt at the age of 5 months. “I thought, ‘I’ve touched the horse of my lifetime,’” she remembers. “I’ve had the chance to work with a lot of great ones, and had the opportunity to make some underdogs into great ones, but this colt was just so regal. And he had a really positive attitude; he wasn’t cocky—he just had this look.”

For Aguirre, who grew up in Arabians but was just starting her own breeding program, Royal Heir was right up her alley. She first became aware of the son of Afires Heir and the El Ghazi mare MA Ghazta Trot when she saw him as a yearling on a video. “He had that long, hooky neck that he was already using like he knew how to use it,” she recalls, “and it was just set on perfectly, so you knew he was going to be doing something big.”

His owners at the time, Jeff and Linda Knight and Debbie Reber, agreed. “He was one of the most outstanding horses I’d ever seen,” Jeff Knight says. “Linda and I had to own him. Unfortunately, we knew that one day, he was going to be a superstar and we’d have to be conscious of the fact that he might not always be ours.”

When Royal Heir was 3, that time had come and Kondas approached Aguirre. “She said, ‘I thought you were the right person for him; you could do what needed to be done for him as a stallion and as an English pleasure horse,’” Aguirre remembers. “And she knows that I care about the horses—my horses are my life.”

Over the next year and a half, Aguirre watched her young stallion mature physically and, she says, even more mentally. “He’s developed the self-confidence that horses develop when they know what they’re supposed to be doing, and they love what they’re doing and they’re physically perfect to do their job. And he is just a super good-minded horse.”

“He’s a sweet soul, with a great heart,” Jeff Knight nods. “He doesn’t have a mean bone in him. He was game, and yet he wasn’t hyper. His personality was just as much as everything else in the deal.”

That total package is what is attracting breeders to VJ Royal Heir. Jim Stachowski has booked a breeding and Tim Shea has signed on as well. “His overall silhouette epitomizes the saddle seat discipline,” says Shea, who noticed the horse two years ago and has been watching him ever since. “He has an extraordinary neck, and he has good, strong bone. I’ve just been around him for a little bit, but he seems like a real kind horse.”

Showtime client Pam Harris is another on the bandwagon. “The first time I saw him, I thought ‘this the most gorgeous animal I have ever seen,’” she says. “I plan on breeding a couple of mares this year to him, because if he can move them that much further with his ‘pretty’ and his upright neck and his athletic ability, I should be able to get some really spectacular babies.”

“I just want it to be good for our breed,” Kondas reflects. “He’s regal and athletic, he has that great temperament, and his first foals are exceptional. This is the real deal. This is what you dream about and work your entire life for.”

One hallmark of VJ Royal Heir has been the all-hands-on-deck devotion of his friends. Knight still bubbles over with enthusiasm when he speaks of the stallion, and for Aguirre, he is that one special horse. “Tish knew I wouldn’t be buying the horse just to flip it,” she says, “and we’ve had offers for him, but he’s not for sale; he’s the horse of my lifetime. If my kids weren’t eating and I couldn’t pay my bills, then obviously things might be different, but as long as I can do it, I will. Why would you sell the horse of your lifetime?”

Aguirre considers her commitment. “It’s a huge responsibility financially, mentally, physically, emotionally,” she acknowledges. “But I feel like this is his time and I can’t waste a second. Not a second.”