Deciding which stallion to breed your mare to is no easy task. There are so many things to consider. Which bloodlines cross well with my mare’s bloodlines? Which stallion offers the best chance to improve areas where my mare needs improvement? All good questions.

American Quarter Horse Association owner, breeder and exhibitor Dr. Ted Filandrianos,of Duxbury, Massachusetts, had to answer all those same questions when he was planning to breed his AQHA mare, Sheza Radical Chip, for the first time.

Dr. Filandrianos has owned the 1996 chestnut mare, sired by Radical Rodder and out of Zips Fancy Chip (by Zips Chocolate Chip), for 20 years and in that time, she has produced World Champions, NSBA Champions, Congress Champions, Superior Halter, Superior Pleasure and AQHA High Point Award winners, including The Party Starts Now, Get The Party Started and She Knows Howtoparty.

“The offspring of Sheza Radical Chip and Invitation Only created the most horsepower,”Dr. Filandrianos said. “This cross again proved successful with I Am The Party.”

I Am The Party (Benji) is a 16-hand, 2014 chestnut stallion, just starting his breeding career after amassing quite the show record. Pennsylvania trainer Jonathan Meilleur started the colt at 18 months of age and describes him as a “sponge.”

“He’s so willing to learn, since he wants nothing more than to please,” Meilleur said. “He just ‘gets’ everything you want, and he’s got such a big heart that he never wants to be in trouble. He’s also so quiet and good that my 8-year-old daughter goes in his stall all the time, and can walk him around with just a regular snap on the lead, that’s how laid back he is. Benji loves all sorts of treats, and is very careful about how he takes it from your hand, he barely grabs it at all.”

And although he is only a 5-year-old, Benji has already proven his success in the show arena.

He is an AQHA World and CongressChampion and has earned superior awards in both Open and Amateur Performance Halter.

“Benji is the epitome of ‘Form toFunction,’” Dr. Filandrianos said. “He has a strong shoulder, well set neck, short back, immense heart girth, stand up wither, big hip and straight legs, along with a beautiful head.”

Benji has also excelled in the WesternPleasure arena, earning a win in the 3- Year-Old Intermediate Open Western Pleasure at the Little Futurity, a Reserve in that same class at the Tom Powers Futurity and Top 15 placings at the All-American Quarter Horse Congress.

And now Meilleur is adding other events. With just four months of experience showing in the event, I Am The Party placed 15th in the Green Junior Trail at the Congress, with a total of 116 entries.

“He always gives you 100 percent andwants to please with every stride,” Meilleur said.

Conformation, ability and trainability are what makes I Am The Party such an exceptional horse, Dr. Filandrianos said.

A perfect example is his performance at the Florida Gold and Gulf Coast AQHA circuits in Tampa in December and early January. With only about 15 minutes of practice before their class, Dr. Filandrianos and Benji made their debut together in the Amateur Select Western Pleasure at the Gold Coast Circuit, winning their class and going on to capture Circuit Championships there in both Amateur Select Western Pleasure and Amateur Performance Halter Stallions. Even though work called Dr. Filandrianos away much of the time during the Gulf Coast Circuit, he and Benji still managed to log several class wins there as well.

“Jonathan said to just relax and have a good time,” Dr. Filandrianos said. “He always stresses that having fun and enjoying this special horse is the most important part of owning him.”

Meilleur himself teamed with I AmThe Party to claim multiple class wins at the Gold and Gulf Coast circuits and at the Winter Circuit at Fox Lea Farm in Venice, Florida. Together they claimed the titles of Reserve High Point Green Horse, Circuit Champion in Junior Green Trail and Open Performance Halter Stallion at all three circuits.

To date, I Am The party has 62 AQHA points in Trail, Western Pleasure and Hater. He will spend the next few months concentrating on his breeding career at North Farm in North Lawrence, Ohio, under the management of Debbi Trubee and Roger Landis. His 2019 stud fee has been set at $1,250 and he is enrolled in the National Snaffle Bit Association’s SIF and BCF programs, as well as the Super Sires. He is: HYPP N/N GBED N/N HERDA N/HRD PSSM1 N/N MH N/N.

“I think that with the great lineage he has, I Am TheParty will throw wonderful foals,” Filandrianos said. “But more than lineage, he’s got such a great attitude.”

There are endless possibilities for the offspring of I AmThe Party.

“He’s a pretty mover, plus he’s 16 hands, so he could even produce hunt seat horses,” Dr. Filandrianos said. “He’s a very athletic horse, being very strong and balanced, with a big heart girth, stand-up withers, and that his form to function is what is so special and unique about him. Those conformation traits, combined with a great mind, is what makes his future as a sire so limitless.”

Additionally, there is great potential for all-around performers in the future.

“All of Benji’s sisters are producing winners now,” Dr. Filandrianos said. “The genetics are there for futurity horses that can turn into all-around horses later on.”

Once the breeding season is complete, I Am The Party will return to the show arena. Dr. Filandrianos and Meilleur are already planning to be ready for Western Pleasure, Halter and Trail classes at the larger shows this year including the AQHA Amateur Select World Show in August and the AQHA World Show in November.

“Jonathan does a wonderful job with the horse, Dr. Filandrianos said. “He’s going to work on adding Western Riding to the repertoire this summer.”

Dr. Filandrianos has spent a lifetime riding horses. In high school, he rode hunters, often getting off-the-track Thoroughbreds and training them for American Horse ShowAssociation (AHSA) shows. In the mid-1980s he got interested in Reining for a few years before gravitating toward Western Pleasure and Halter competition.

And, Filandrianos’ step-daughter, Eliza Roberts, is showing I Am The Party’s full brother, He Rocked The Party, in Hunter Under Saddle, Hunt Seat Equitation, Western Horsemanship, Showmanship, Performance Halter and Trail classes this year.

For additional information on I Am The Party visit his website at www.northfarmqh.com/i-am-the-party.html. To get details on breeding to him, contact Debbi Trubee at (740) 815-3545 or you can email her atdobrien110@aol.com.