When you consider elite reining sires of the last 10 years, you can’t skip Walla Walla Whiz. From top-level open competitors to non pro show horses, those with “Walla” on their papers consistently top the leader board at all levels.
NRHA Professional and $7 Million Rider Shawn Flarida knows Walla, in and out, both as a performer and as a sire.
“For me, [Walla Walla Whiz] is a great mare producer,” Flarida relates. “Some of his mares are off-the-charts cool. His studs do well, too, but the mares are so strong. The Arceses (who own Walla Walla Whiz, among others) hold onto quite a few of them.”
Those exceptional mares—along with plenty of outstanding stallions and geldings by Walla Walla Whiz—led the chestnut stallion to become an NRHA Million Dollar Sire in 2015. As of early 2023, his offspring earnings made him an NRHA $4 Million Sire. He’s already closed in on $4.5 million!
Walla Walla Whiz is by the great Topsail Whiz and out of Shiney Walla Wanda, by legendary Shining Spark.
[READ MORE ABOUT SHINING SPARK HERE]
Walla’s sire, Topsail Whiz, ranks as an NRHA $12 Million Sire, a feat achieved only by two other horses. His dam’s sire, Shining Spark, has more than $4 million in NRHA offspring earnings. That royal pedigree set up him—and his offspring—for greatness.
Building a Name
Walla Walla Whiz went to Flarida as a 2-year-old, when The Arcese family purchased the horse. Walla experienced an injury as a 3-year-old, limiting his experience as a futurity horse. However, Flarida had no doubts the horse would make up for it in the following years.
“He was one of my favorites,” Flarida said of Walla Walla Whiz. Walla now stands at Oswood Stallion Station in Weatherford, Texas, and continues to be owned by the Arcese family. “He was so good-minded. One funny thing about him is he was always sleeping! I don’t know if he’s still that way, but he slept all the time here. If you weren’t on his back, he was sleeping. But when it was time to do work, he was ready.”
Once Walla hit the major events as a 4-year-old, his show career hit its stride, amassing nearly $190,000 in earnings, in part from winning the 2007 NRHA Open Derby title.
But it’s in the breeding barn that Walla Walla Whiz really shines. His top performers are the some of the hottest names in reining competition—and his bloodlines are starting to infuse other disciplines, too, as reining bloodlines find their way into ranch riding and roping events.
Producing the Best
Walla Walla Whiz’s top son is the undisputable superstar Americasnexttopgun, aka “Maverick,” with more than $425,000 in lifetime earnings with Casey Deary at the reins. Demonstrating Walla’s mare-producing power, Deary showed Shesouttayourleague to win both the NRHA Open Futurity and the NRHA Open Derby and to earn more than $260,000 in lifetime earnings, and he piloted Americas Supermodel to more than $230,000 in earnings. Additionally, Isnt She Perfect is an NRHA Open Futurity reserve champion and earner of more than $170,000. His high-performing progeny crosses international borders, too, with examples such as Made In Walla (more than $130,000 in earnings and the 2015 NRHA European Open Futurity champ with Cody Sapergia and Derby reserve champ with Ann Fonck) and ARC Walla Dun Did It (earnings of more than $118,000 and the 2014 NRHA European Open Futurity champ with Morey Fisk).
Each of these horses are being tested as producers in their own right, and the future is bright for Walla Walla Whiz-bred performers.
