Gai Parada+++

Biography

Excerps from an article by Mary Jane Parkinson

Gai Parada+++ Photo © Gainey Arabians When Gai Parada became U.S. National Champion Stallion in 1977, his owner, the late Daniel C. Gainey, wrote about him:

"With heartfelt gratitude to his many enthusiastic boosters, With conviction as to his destiny of becoming one of the legendary Arabian herd sires, And with wonder a what the beauty of a horse can do to the heart of a man, We now retire the elegant Gai Parada from the show ring." Twenty-two years later, Gai Parada's fans are still enthusiastic, his destiny is assured by his show record and that of his offspring, and his beauty still enriches the hearts of men.

Gai Parada+++ Photo © Gainey Arabians Gai Parada was the undisputed king in residence at Gainey Fountainhead Arabians in Santa Ynez, CA, where for many years he was heir apparent to his sire, the legendary Ferzon. Gai Parada has three National Championships and is one of only a handful of National Champion Stallions who are also National Champions in performance -- and he's the only stallion to win his performance titles before winning his halter title. More importantly, Gai Parada has sired dozens of champions as well as being the grandsire, and great-grandsire, of champions.

Gai Parada is a spinoff from one of the long-lasting friendships that develop among Arabian breeders -- the kind of friendship that occationally involves an excursion into horse-trading. The principals were the late Daniel C. Gainey and Jimmy Dean, long-time manager of the pioneer Selby Stud at Portsmouth, OH. Their friendship began when Mr. Gainey bought his first mare, Rageyma (*Mirage x *Kareyma by Naseem), from the Selby Stud more than 50 years ago. Jimmy, long-time consultant and advisor to the Gainey breeding program, tells the story of the breeding that produced Gai Parada:

Gai Parada+++ Photo © Gainey Arabians "I bred and raised Azleta (Azraff x Phleta), and she was a pretty special mare to us. One winter we were getting ready to go to Scottsdale and on the day we were to leave, Azleta was in heat. Mom [Jimmy's wife, the late Thelma Dean] said, 'Let's just put her in the trailer and take her down there and breed her to Ferzon. We have to make the trip anyway, and we want to breed her to him.' So we just stuck her in the trailer and took her on down. Dan and I had talked about this earlier. He wanted a foal out of Azleta, so we just left her there on an every-other-foal basis. He wanted the first filly, and that was okay. But when Azleta had a colt, he called to tell me about him and how attractive he was. Then a short time later he called and asked, 'Would it be all right with you if we just change the deal around and I take this colt and you take the next filly?' I told him, 'That's fine, whatever you want.'

"Then a few months later, after I saw the colt, I told Dan, 'I thought we were pretty good friends and that you wouldn't take advantage of a fellow by making a deal before he saw what he was dealing with.' He told me, 'Well, that will teach you to tend to business.' Later, I got a filly from that cross, and when Count Zichy-Thyssen wanted her in the package he bought from Dan, I let her go. Dan and I had a very good rapport. Whatever one wanted, the other would try to arrange so it would work, even if we teased each other later."



	Biography Excerps from an article by Mary Jane Parkinson When Gai Parada became U.S. National Champion Stallion in 1977, his owner, the late Daniel C. Gainey, wrote about him: "With heartfelt gratitude to his many enthusiastic boosters, With conviction as to his destiny of becoming one of the legendary Arabian herd sires, And with wonder a what the beauty of a horse can do to the heart of a man, We now retire the elegant Gai Parada from the show ring." Twenty-two years later, Gai Parada's fans are still enthusiastic, his destiny is assured by his show record and that of his offspring, and his beauty still enriches the hearts of men. Gai Parada was the undisputed king in residence at Gainey Fountainhead Arabians in Santa Ynez, CA, where for many years he was heir apparent to his sire, the legendary Ferzon. Gai Parada has three National Championships and is one of only a handful of National Champion Stallions who are also National Champions in performance -- and he's the only stallion to win his performance titles before winning his halter title. More importantly, Gai Parada has sired dozens of champions as well as being the grandsire, and great-grandsire, of champions. Gai Parada is a spinoff from one of the long-lasting friendships that develop among Arabian breeders -- the kind of friendship that occationally involves an excursion into horse-trading. The principals were the late Daniel C. Gainey and Jimmy Dean, long-time manager of the pioneer Selby Stud at Portsmouth, OH. Their friendship began when Mr. Gainey bought his first mare, Rageyma (Mirage x Kareyma by Naseem), from the Selby Stud more than 50 years ago. Jimmy, long-time consultant and advisor to the Gainey breeding program, tells the story of the breeding that produced Gai Parada: "I bred and raised Azleta (Azraff x Phleta), and she was a pretty special mare to us. One winter we were getting ready to go to Scottsdale and on the day we were to leave, Azleta was in heat. Mom [Jimmy's wife, the late Thelma Dean] said, 'Let's just put her in the trailer and take her down there and breed her to Ferzon. We have to make the trip anyway, and we want to breed her to him.' So we just stuck her in the trailer and took her on down. Dan and I had talked about this earlier. He wanted a foal out of Azleta, so we just left her there on an every-other-foal basis. He wanted the first filly, and that was okay. But when Azleta had a colt, he called to tell me about him and how attractive he was. Then a short time later he called and asked, 'Would it be all right with you if we just change the deal around and I take this colt and you take the next filly?' I told him, 'That's fine, whatever you want.' "Then a few months later, after I saw the colt, I told Dan, 'I thought we were pretty good friends and that you wouldn't take advantage of a fellow by making a deal before he saw what he was dealing with.' He told me, 'Well, that will teach you to tend to business.' Later, I got a filly from that cross, and when Count Zichy-Thyssen wanted her in the package he bought from Dan, I let her go. Dan and I had a very good rapport. Whatever one wanted, the other would try to arrange so it would work, even if we teased each other later." Next Page