Experienced breeders all know that successful stallions are genetically dominant. You can always pick out their foals.

That’s what’s got Sarah Nimigan and her trainers, Tim and Katy Jo Zuidema so excited about the future of Best Brew At The Bar.

Katy Jo has seen several of the foals from the first foal crop of Best Brew At The Bar.

“They all profile just like him,” she said. “They’re stunning, great across their back, square made with huge bone. I would say he’s prepotent for sure.”

And she should know.

Tim and Katy Jo purchased Best Brew At The Bar as a yearling from his breeder the University of Florida. They sold him to Texas trainer Dave Archer, who made the chestnut colt by The Best Martini and out of Prissy Legs, his Congress Masters 2-Year-Old Western Pleasure entry.

It was at the 2017 Congress that Nimigan first spotted Best Brew At The Bar.

“I watched Dave ride him in the overhang and I knew right away that was the one I had to have,” she recalled. “I wasn’t exactly sure how I was going to make it happen, but it all worked out.  At the time, I didn’t even show Western Pleasure, but there was something about that chestnut stud horse. He’s just so pretty and special looking.”

Archer showed Best Brew At The Bar to top 10 placings both at the Congress and in the 2-Year-Old Western Pleasure at the AQHA World Show that year before handing him back over to the Zuidemas in December.

Since then the chestnut stallion, affectionately nicknamed “Shock Top” because of his thick, wild mane that sticks up to make him look like the logo for the Shock Top Belgian-style wheat ale, has built quite the impressive show record.

He has recorded wins at the top futurities in the nation, including at the Tom Powers, Fun In The Sun, Show For Dough and Southern Belle Breeders. In 2018, he captured a National Snaffle Bit Association World Championship title and a Breeders Championship Futurity Championship. And, he was a two-time AQHA L2 Reserve World Champion in Amateur and Junior Western Pleasure.

That same year, Best Brew At The Bar won the Limited Division of the 3-Year-Old Open Western Pleasure at the Quarter Horse Congress with Tim Zuidema in the saddle and Nimigan rode him to a Congress Championship in the Limited Division of the 3-Year-Old Non-Pro Western Pleasure.

“He’s crazy strong over his back and great-minded and in my opinion one of the prettiest Western Pleasure horses I’ve ever seen,” Katy Jo said.

Nimigan agrees.

“He has a special look out there,” she said. “His presence is what sets him apart in my opinion. He is strong in all three gears, his topline is fabulous, and he jogs which creates a strong first impression. Plus, he loves to show, and he tries so hard out there. He knows when it is time, and he has always tried his best to rise to the occasion for me.”

Shock Top spent the first part of 2019 in the breeding shed. But he came back to the show pen even stronger.

That year he earned a NSBA Reserve World Championship title and a Reserve BCF Championship. Nimigan and Shock Top won the Intermediate Non-Pro Western Pleasure Maturity at the Tom Powers Futurity. Then at the 2019 Quarter Horse Congress he and Nimigan won both the Limited and Open Divisions of the Maturity Non-Pro Western Pleasure and finished as Reserve Champions in Amateur Western Pleasure. Tim piloted him to a third place in Junior Western Pleasure.

Nimigan said Shock Top’s personality plays a big part in his ability to transition from the breeding shed to the show pen.

“He is very intelligent, very aware of his surroundings,” she explained. “He is just a cool horse to be around. He has a ton of personality. He makes us laugh and we spoil him. It is hard not to treat him like a pet.”

But perhaps more important, is the fact that Shock Top has impeccable conformation and has always been very sound, a trait Katy Jo is excited to see he is passing on to his foals.

“I think in an era where, as breeders, we turn a blind eye to that in an effort to breed for hock and front leg, it’s nice to feel good about his babies being sturdy and sound,” she said. “Shock Top is a 10 jogger. I’m sure that some of that is connected to how sound he has stayed. But as a person who has shown and trained him and will now ride his babies I’ll admit that it stresses me out to trot in the pen on a horse that doesn’t ‘plus’ jog. I’ve never worried about that with Shock Top, hopefully that will be the case with his babies too.”

But before Shock Top returns to the breeding shed for the 2021 season, he will compete at the AQHA World Show with Katy Jo in L3 Junior Western Pleasure; with Nimigan in L3 Amateur Western Pleasure and Amateur Performance Halter Stallions; and with Stephanie Armellini in L1 Trail.

In addition to Shock Top, Nimigan is also currently showing Hows That For Ya, a 2017 bay gelding,  by Hot N Blazing and out of Queen of the Blues. They will compete in L3 Amateur Hunter Under Saddle at the AQHA World Show this month and Katy Jo will show him in L1 Hunter Under Saddle and L3 Junior Hunter Under Saddle.

After that, there are no “set in stone” plans.

“Stephanie (Armellini) is really enjoying the Trail on him, she has been working on the Western Riding too,” Nimigan said. “We will see what we feel like. The best part now is that he really doesn’t owe me a thing, so we just go and have fun showing him when it feels right. It would be pretty hard not to take him to the new World Equestrian Center for the Tom Powers Futurity in December and show him in the Non-Pro Maturity, just to say I showed him there at least once.”

The Covid-19 pandemic has limited the amount of showing that has been possible this year so that makes it even more tempting. Nimigan, a Canadian resident and University professor, in international relations, international law, and international human rights, has a P1 athlete visa and can stay in the United States for up to five years. Since Canada closed its borders to non-essential travel in March, Nimigan has been living in Xenia, Ohio, so that she could continue to show in the U.S. She has worked remotely for many years now so that was not as much of an adjustment as not being able to be with family and friends in Ontario. Luckily, she has her horse show family. Nimigan has been working with the Zuidemas for over eight years now and they have trained over 15 horses for her during that time.

“They are more like family than anything at this point, I don’t think that is a huge secret to anyone,” Sarah said. “We have ridden the roller coaster of highs and lows and everything in between and I wouldn’t change any of it for the world.”

Best Brew At The Bar will stand the 2021 breeding season at the University of Florida. His stud fee is $1,500 plus a $250 booking fee and collection fees. He is enrolled in the Premier Sires, Michigan Breeders and Iowa Breeders programs, as well as the NSBA’s BCF and SIF programs,

For information on breeding to Shock Top, contact his breeding manager, Angela Chandler at (334) 740-2628. Additional information is available on his website at www.bestbrewatthebar.com and on his Facebook page.