Promising young stallion will be at the center of Lee and Dr. Brenda Looney’s show and breeding program.

Lee and Dr. Brenda Looney know a good thing when they see it.

They saw it in Only A Summer Breeze. They saw it in Life Is A Breeze and they saw it in Geez Whata Breeze. That’s why they bought the daughters of Zippin The Breeze.

So when the Tennessee couple found themselves with the opportunity to own Cool Breeze, the only stallion out of one of the leading dams of Western Pleasure money earners and Multiple World and Congress Champions, they took it.

Good friend Dan Frederick sent the Looneys video clips of Cool Breeze early last year and they got the chance to see the handsome sorrel a few months later at the Big A Circuit in Conyers, Georgia.

“We really liked him but we weren’t looking for a stud at the time,” said Lee Looney. “It wasn’t until our stallion, Pleasure For Certain, died that we thought about looking for a replacement for him.”

While attending the Quarter Horse Congress in October the Looneys looked at many stallions, from yearlings to aged horses.

“We just kept coming back to Cool Breeze because we knew how special he could be,” Lee said. “We strongly believe that a stallion needs to have a great maternal line and they don’t get any better than Zippin The Breeze. We are very familiar with her offspring and their ability to make great show horses.”

Cool Breeze is no exception. With Katy Jo Zuidema in the saddle the stallion, sired by No Doubt Im Lazy, placed ninth in the Coughlin 2-Year-Old Maiden Western Pleasure at the Congress. It was there that the Looneys made the decision to buy him from Dan and Kathryn Frederick. A month later Andy Cochran showed Joe Cool to a seventh place finish in the 2-Year-Old Western Pleasure at the American Quarter Horse Association’s World Show.

“We thought he showed really well,” said Brenda Looney. “A maiden is a hard class with them never having been in the show pen and he was still very green.”

After the Congress the Looneys sent Cool Breeze to Oklahoma trainer Angie Cannizzaro to continue his training.

“We trust her,” Lee said. “She’s had horses (like Lazyboy and Life Is A Breeze) for us before, so we are very familiar with her program. She had Life Is A Breeze as a 4-year-old and Lazyboy in his 2-year-old year and did an amazing job on both of them. She brings consistency to his training. She gets one trained while keeping their mental health intact.”

The plan is for Cool Breeze to be shown in 3-year-old open events by Cannizzaro and non-pro classes by Brenda Looney.

“He is really great-minded so I normally ride him first then he sleeps for the rest of the day, when he’s not busy eating,” Cannizzaro said. “He is very smart so there is no limit to teaching him new things. He is great in his belly and his face to train on.”

The Looneys are very excited about the future of this youngster. Brenda got the opportunity to show him at the Arizona Sun Circuit last month where they were Reserve Champions in the NSBA Rider’s Cup 3 & 4-Year-Old Non-Pro Western Pleasure.

Faith Is Certain

“We absolutely love him,” Brenda said. “We think he’s a typical Zippin The Breeze with a big strong hock, super consistent and as a bonus he is a 10 jogger but his greatest strength is his mind. He reminds us a lot of Pleasure For Certain. His conformation is very correct and that’s really important to us.”

Cannizzaro is excited about him too.

“He is still a very natural mover and so trainable,” she said. “His topline and movement make him a pleasure to watch, train and show.”

At the end of this show season, Cool Breeze will stand to the public and the Looneys will breed him to some of their own mares.

“We would also like to potentially start doing the all-around events with him in the future,” Brenda said.

The Looneys have eight core broodmares located on their 100-acre farm in Jackson, Tennessee.

Faith Is Certain

“We are making improvements to the farm as we have just put up over 15,000 feet of Wind River four-rail HDPE fence and are in the process of building a 150-by-250 barn that includes a 150-by-150 indoor arena,” Lee said. “We have seven stalls in our present barn but the new barn will add 18 more.” Among their broodmares are Congress Championships, NSBA Champions, Southern Belle Futurity Champions and a Hylton Maiden Futurity Champion. Many have produced NSBA and APHA World Champions.

“We are expecting eight foals this year and usually try to have between eight and 10 babies each year,” Brenda said.

The Looneys raised Mr Freeze, a 2015 bay gelding by Batt Man and out of Only A Summer Breeze, a half-sister to Cool Breeze.

“Angie started him as well,” Brenda said. “He was a bit mischievous but very sweet. He reminds us so much of his dam, Only A Summer Breeze, in that he has an excellent front leg and is big hocked. He is even front to back and that is what we really like in our show horses.”

Faith Is Certain

Mr Freeze will be shown in Novice Horse Western Pleasure classes this year.

Cannizzaro is also training Life Is A Breeze, a 2012 mare by Invitation Only out of Zippin The Breeze for the Looneys.

She will be shown this year in the $10,000 Limited Western Pleasure Maturity and Senior Western Pleasure classes by Cannizzaro and in Amateur Western Pleasure by Lee and Brenda Looney.

The Looneys also own Faith Is Certain, 2014 chestnut AQHA/APHA gelding by Pleasure For Certain out of Always Good Faith. He is a two-time APHA World Champion, NSBA World Champion and he won all four of the Limited Horse Limited Rider Series of the Premier Quarter Sires and Premier Paint Sires classes in 2017. This year, Faith Is Certain is being campaigned in all-around events under the guidance of Mark Dunham.

Texas trainer Tate Oakley is preparing Geez Whata Breeze, a 2015 bay mare by Lazy Loper and out of Zippin The Breeze for the Looneys. She will make her show debut in the in the 3-Year-Old & Over Maiden Western Pleasure Slot Class at the Madness in May.

The Looneys also own two hunt seat contenders that will be competing this year. Its Always Sumthin, a 2015 sorrel mare by Allocate Your Assetts and out of Lukes Orchid is being prepared by North Carolina trainer Keith Miller for 3-year-old Hunter Under Saddle classes and the Premier Quarter Sires events.

Lazyboy

Miller is also training Iron Mead, a 2016 bay gelding by Iron Enterprise and out of Natural Mead.

He will hopefully be making his show debut this year in the 2-year-old Hunter Under Saddle events.

Brenda Looney showed Iron Mead’s dam, Natural Mead to Congress Championships in both the Limited and Open 2-Year-Old Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle in 2013, the same year Nancy Sue Ryan piloted her to a Congress Championship in the Open Division of the 2-Year-Old Hunter Under Saddle.

Brenda got her start showing in 4-H at age 10 and worked her way up to breed shows all while attending college and veterinary school. She graduated the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine in 1999 and began working at a vet clinic in Tennessee. That is where she met Lee, who also had horses as a kid, and started dating. They were married in 2001 and have one son, Jay, an accomplished high school baseball player. Today Brenda and Lee own and operate “My Animal Hospital.” Brenda is the veterinarian and Lee runs the business aspect.

Brenda has had the opportunity to show several successful show horses, including Speak For Yourself, Top 10 High Point Champion in Amateur and Senior Hunter Under Saddle in 2006 and 2007. She also owned and showed Accept With Pleasure, Southern Belle Invitation Non-Pro Novice Horse Champion in 2007.

Both Lee and Brenda showed Only A Summer Breeze, a 2008 bay mare by Invitation Only and out of Zippin The Breeze. Only A Summer Breeze was Lee’s amateur show partner but in 2014 Brenda “borrowed her.”

Natural Mead

“We placed eighth at the AQHA World Show and Lee showed her in Novice Amateur Western Pleasure, finishing Top Five at the NSBA World Show and at the Novice Championship Show.” In addition, they were Top 10 at Congress and finished the year as AQHA High Point Novice Amateur Western Pleasure Champion for 2014.

In 2016 Brenda showed Lazyboy, a 2014 bay gelding they raised by Lazy Loper and out of Mckay’s Elegant Chip, earning a Reserve in the 2-Year-Old Breeders Championship Futurity 2-Year-Old Limited Non-Pro Western Pleasure at the National Snaffle Bit Association’s World Show.

The Looneys are deeply invested in the industry. Their goal is to raise Congress and World Champion horses.

“When we set out we bought the best mares we could and we kept them and continue to add to our broodmare band,” Brenda said.

The Looneys are grateful for the support they have had from others in the industry.

“We would really like to thank Dan and Kathryn Frederick for opportunity to own Cool Breeze as well as several of his maternal siblings,” Brenda said. “Through the years, we have become great friends with them and thank them for everything they have done for us and always being in our corner.”