Jan Pittman riding VS Code Blue.

Call it serendipity.

Last February when Jan Pittman emailed Donna Biddulph in Oliver, British Columbia and told her that she thought VS Code Blue wanted to move to Florida she never expected his owner’s response.

“I think you’re right,” Biddulph replied.

Pittman didn’t hesitate. Not this time.

It was Pittman’s second chance to own the 2007 red roan stallion by RL Best Of Sudden and out of Vital Signs Are Good.

When VS Code Blue was just a yearling, Jan’s trainers, Bret and Candy Parrish, took her to see VS Code Blue at the Glover’s Ranch in Oklahoma where he was bred and raised.

“We all agreed he was the one,” she  recalled. “Unfortunately, it was just not the right time for me.”

But now the right time had come.

By the end of the month Pittman completed the purchase of VS Code Blue (affectionately nicknamed Peyton after retired NFL quarterback Peyton Manning. Jan had to work quickly to accommodate the many mare owners already interested in breeding to VS Code Blue.

But she enjoyed every hectic minute of it.

“I discovered quickly that I really enjoy working with the mare owners. I made some great friends,” she said. “Mare owners are the heart of our industry. They are the producers and should be recognized for their great contribution.”

By the end of the 2016 season VS Code Blue had bred over 90 mares and Pittman got right to work planning the rest of his future.

The first thing she decided was that her new stallion needed to return to the show ring. He already has AQHA Superior awards in Western Pleasure and Trail. He was the 2011 AQHA High Point Stallion in both Western Pleasure and Trail and has earned over 200 AQHA performance points. The goal now is to finish VS Code Blue’s Superior in Western Riding and Cody Parrish was charged with the task.

“That would give him three superiors and an AQHA Performance Championship title,” Pittman said. “After the 2017 breeding season I hope to show him in Western Riding.”

VS Code Blue is standing the 2017 breeding season at the Pittman Ranch in Chipley, Florida. Jan has been an avid breeder of American Quarter Horses for over 10 years.

Teamed with Ona Good Impulse (by Impulsions and out of Zippos Good Image), Jan won the 3-Year-Old Non-Pro Western Pleasure at the 2007 Quarter Horse Congress and the Amateur Select Western Pleasure there three years in a row. They also won the Western Pleasure at the AQHA Select World Show two straight years. Jan has also raised, owned or sold such great show horses as Zippos Good Image, Dont Skip My Good Image, Dont Skip Passion, Ona Good Kiss, Ona Good Cowboy, Invite Me For Cookies, Heza Cool Hotrod and Ona Rockin Diva, to name a few.

Four years ago, she and her husband, Wes, an attorney, purchased 200 acres in northwest Florida.

“It was like a dream come true,” Jan said. “I never went into the house before I bought the ranch. I fell in love with the beauty of the property. I knew we could renovate the house. It is located just 45 minutes from our beach home in Carillon Beach outside of Panama City Beach, just off Interstate10.”

Scott Kesney

Over the past three years they have built the Pittman Ranch into a state-of-the-art breeding facility, complete with a nine-stall show barn plus foaling facility; a covered arena, an outdoor arena, round pens and a walker.

In August Pittman hired Scott Kesney as Ranch Manager. He supervises horses and is charge of breeding, and training.

“Scott has a strong background in breeding, raising and starting horses,” Pittman said. “He also has excellent marketing skills which is a bonus.”

Kesney completed an internship at Equine Veterinarian Reproduction Specialist Center of Ocala before joining the Pittman Ranch and worked as a vet tech for several years managing a lab.

With a limited number of foals old enough to show, VS Code Blue is already making his mark as a sire.

Ona Good Kiss, a 2013 red roan mare by VS Code Blue and out of Ona Good Kiss, was bred by Pittman and sold as a yearling to Susan Johns, Paradise Valley, Arizona. She is a National Snaffle Bit Association World Champion in 2-Year-Old Intermediate Open Western Pleasure and was L2 Junior Western Pleasure Circuit Champion at the Arizona Sun Circuit with Jim Searles and 3-Year-Old Non-Pro Western Pleasure Champion there with Johns.

Show Daddy, a 2012 sorrel gelding by VS Code Blue and out of Show Diva, was the 2016 Bellringer Circuit Champion in Green Western Riding and Trail as well as the Circuit High- Point Green Horse.

Im Hot In Blue, sired by VS Code Blue is a 2012 red roan mare by VS Code Blue and out Simple Stuff. She placed third in the Hylton Maiden Western Pleasure Class at the Virginia Classic with Pat Heeley in the saddle, earning over $9,000.

Jan is happy to have VS Code Blue at home on the Pittman Ranch, which she describes as a family-run business.

“We all do our part,” she explained, “even my lawyer/husband helps with the upkeep of the ranch.”

Ona Good Kiss

Jan grew up in Phenix City, Alabama and has always loved her horses. Her parents bought her a pony when she was 9 years old and she was hooked.

“My mother was the typical horse show mom,” she admitted. “She was my cheerleader and I loved to compete. I started off in open shows in Western Pleasure. I did not have a trainer, just me and my first Quarter Horse named Cal’s Cracker.”

But she also was dedicated to her education. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Brenau College in Gainesville, Georgia and a Master of Science degree from the University of North Georgia in Dahlonega. She was accepted into the PhD. Program at Georgia State University.

“I owned outpatient rehabilitation centers in Atlanta and worked as lobbyist for the Georgia Trail lawyers and Expert Witness for Life Care Planners,” Jan said.

She met her husband over a case while Jan was working in Atlanta. He lived in Florida so when Jan got the opportunity to sell her clinics to a big health care organization she said goodbye to Atlanta and moved to Florida. They have been married 24 years, have  three children and five grandchildren.

At the ranch Jan relies heavily on Kesney. His assistance provides her with the time she needs to enjoy owning a stallion – talking to mare owners and planning his show career.

“I think Cody Parrish said it best for me. ‘He (VS Code Blue) is awesome minded, especially for a stallion. He is so quiet. I would trust him with a small child. Along with his desire to please, his talent is unlimited. He has so much lift and a natural slow rhythm that makes riding him a joy. He is a horse trainer’s dream,’” she said. “Plus, he is passing all of this own to his foals.”

The 2017 stud fee for VS Code Blue is $1,500. There is an additional shipping/disposable container/chute fee of $355 for domestic shipments.

VS Code Blue foals are eligible for the NSBA Breeders Championship Futurity (BCF) and Stallion Incentive Fund (SIF) programs as well as the APHA Breeders Trust. In addition, VS Code Blue is enrolled in the Western Pleasure Super Sires and Premier Quarter Sires programs as well as the Southern Belle Breeders Futurity.

Pittman has also donated a breeding to be auctioned off in the Audrey Grace Benefit Auction taking place on the Pleasure Horse Forum Dec. 12-18. For more information on that program visit www.pleasurehorse.com

I would encourage anyone looking for a prospect to call or stop by The Pittman Ranch. We have a great selection yearling and weanlings out of proven brood mares by RL Best of Sudden, Open Range, Impulsions, Dont Skip Zip, The Investor, and Radical Rodder to name a few.

For more information visit www.vscodeblue.com or you can call Pittman at (850) 774-4477.