By Jess Hallas-Kilcoyne

We are delighted to announce the winners of our fourth annual Readers’ Choice Awards, whose contributions to Canada’s horse community are truly worthy of recognition. Congratulations to our very deserving winners!

The 2013 Readers' Choice Awards winners are (please read more at each link):

Canadian Cowgirls: Promoting Patriotism  
LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement Society: Giving Racehorses a Dignified Retirement    
Jane James: Therapeutic Riding & Para-Equestrian Pioneer  
Walter White: Making Wishes Come True   
Pico: Celebrating Nearly Two Decades of Loyal Service
GreenScene Agritek Inc: Creating an Affordable, Sustainable Solution to the Horse Manure Problem

Whiz N Tag Chex
Destined for Greatness

Sired by the only National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Nine Million Dollar Sire Topsail Whiz, ridden in his younger days by NRHA Million Dollar Rider Duane Latimer, and owned by the first ever NRHA Million Dollar Owner Lance Griffin, Whiz N Tag Chex seems to have been destined for greatness. And now the 1999 stallion can boast a NRHA Million Dollar title himself – in August 2012 the earnings of his offspring surpassed the $1 million milestone, making Whiz N Tag Chex the fourth son of Topsail Whiz to achieve the NRHA Million Dollar Sire accolade.

Bred by Bob Loomis, owner of the now deceased Topsail Whiz, Whiz N Tag Chex, or “Tag,” first caught Lance Griffin’s eye as a two-year-old. Canadian by birth but now based in Ardmore, Oklahoma, Griffin was excited by Tag’s breeding. Not only was he by Topsail Whiz, who had already achieved NRHA Million Dollar Sire status, but his mother, Tag Chex, was by the legendary performance horse sire King Fritz. But when Griffin approached his long-time friend about selling the colt, Loomis refused. A year later, Tag was in training with Loomis’s trainer, Canadian reining icon Duane Latimer, also a friend of Griffin’s. Tag quickly became a favourite of Latimer’s, and the trainer urged Griffin to make another offer for him. Finally, Loomis relented and sold the horse to Griffin.

Griffin asked Latimer to stay on as Tag’s rider for the 2002 NRHA Open Futurity. Tag put in a very respectable performance, finishing in the Top 15, a promising beginning to a career that would eventually amass almost $130,000 in earnings, much of which was won with Griffin in the saddle.

Griffin rode Tag to numerous championship titles, most notably the National Reining Breeders Classic Derby Non Pro Championship in 2003 and 2004, and the Canadian Reining Breeders Classic Derby Non Pro Championship in 2003 and 2005. But the highlight of Tag’s performance career was undoubtedly the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Aachen, Germany, where he and Griffin, the only non pro on the Canadian Reining Team, helped secure a Team Silver Medal for Canada.

Though his victories in the show pen were many, Tag’s success as a sire is due to his ability to pass on his talent to his progeny.

His top earning offspring to date, The Great Tag (x Pines BH by Great Pine), bred by Griffin and currently owned by Denise Hopkins Santagata, has accumulated over $236,000 in NRHA Lifetime Earnings.

Hot on his heels is Dun Playin Tag (x Brennas Dunit Fancy by Hollywood Dun It), with NRHA Lifetime Earnings in excess of $223,000. Currently owned by Bob Shearer, in 2010, Dun Playin Tag followed in his sire’s footsteps by competing on the Canadian Reining Team at the WEG in Lexington, Kentucky. Although Canada finished fifth in the reining competition, out of contention for a team medal, Dun Playin Tag carried rider Duane Latimer to the podium with an Individual Bronze Medal.

Both in the performance arena and as a sire, Whiz N Tag Chex has more than lived up to any expectations Griffin might have had when he purchased the horse as a promising three-year-old. And his legacy continues to grow – how much further, only time can reveal.

To learn more about Whiz N Tag Chex and his accomplishments, or for breeding information, please visit Griffin Quarter Horses online at www.griffinquarterhorses.com.

Main Article Photo courtesy of Reining Canada