“I have always loved horses,” Cuoghi said. “One of my early memories goes back to when I was a little boy, and my father used to take me through the orchards on a horse-drawn cart. When, many years later, the first ‘American’ horses were imported to Europe, I was absolutely enthralled by them. They were incredibly docile, versatile and talented. Once the first Quarter Horse shows started taking place in Italy, I was hooked and there was no going back – I had to own a Quarter Horse.”

It didn’t take long before Cuoghi did own a Quarter Horse and, being the perfectionist he is, he didn’t settle for anything less than a champion. The 1987 NRHA Futurity Open Champion, Spirit Of Five, was the first of what would become a long string of great horses in his name. “I liked her [Spirit Of Five] so much that I eventually also bought her mother, Continental Stormy. These two incredible mares are the foundation of my breeding program,” said the Italian breeder. “I bought Spirit Of Five from Eleuterio Arcese, the man who has made the biggest impact on Western equitation in Europe and definitely the man who has made the biggest impact on my life as far as horses are concerned.

“Eleuterio’s passion has always been, and is, contagious. Back in the early 1980s, we were the pioneers of this new and exciting adventure named ‘The Quarter Horse.’ He led us through America’s breeding and training facilities, and together we purchased Surprise Enterprise. We traveled across the U.S. at the speed of a tornado looking at as many reining and cutting horses as we could. In 1988, my wife, Marzia, and I traveled back to the States with Arcese and his daughter Paola. We had the best time, saw the best horses, and it was then that I came across the stallion that would change my life – Snapper Cal Bar.”

Achieving the goal
Cuoghi and the Arceses had stopped to visit Hanes Chatham in Texas, and the evening brought more than originally planned.

“My wife, who is a great cook, prepared a pasta carbonara for us,” he said. “As we were dining, I told Hanes that I was looking for a stallion to start my breeding program. In no time, he had Snapper Cal Bar saddled up, and at midnight, in the July Texas heat, we were all out looking at him work. I fell in love with him immediately and told Hanes that if [the owner] decided to sell him, I would buy him. Marzia and I left for California, and the first night we were there, we got a call from Hanes at 4 a.m. Snapper was ours.”

Initially, Cuoghi co-owned him with Arcese, but in 1992, he bought the stallion.

Snapper Cal Bar’s pedigree is a story in itself. He was sired by Cal Bar, an own son of Doc Bar out of Teresa Tivio by Poco Tivio. His dam, Cee Miss Snapper, was by Cee Bars, a son of Three Bars, out of Miss Gold 59, an own daughter of Hollywood Gold.

The winner of the 1984 NCHA Futurity Non-Pro with then-owner Merritt Wilson in the saddle, Snapper also made the Open finals. The pair went on to claim the NCHA Derby Open Co-Championship the following year and won more than $260,000 in NCHA competition, along with 12 AQHA points in cutting.

“The opportunity to sell Snapper came at a time when my wife and I had plans to enlarge our family. I was young and knew that I could not have given this great stallion the opportunity to be promoted as he should have,” Wilson said.

When Cuoghi purchased Snapper, the stallion had already sired 108 offspring. The total eventually went up to 429 AQHA-registered foals, along with five APHA-registered get. When the bay stallion touched European soil, he immediately went on to win two European Cutting Championships at Americana (1988 and 1990). In 1991, he was crowned AQHA European Senior Cutting Champion in Aachen, and in 1992, he won the Italian Cutting Horse Association Maturity.

Cuoghi’s goal has always been that of breeding high-quality prospects, both in the reining and in the cutting industry. His facility, the Impresa Agricola Cuoghi, is set in the beautiful rolling hills on the outskirts of Modena, a medieval town in Northern Italy. Though built with class and elegance, the facility is highly functional and here, Snapper Cal Bar left his mark by siring great champions in both reining and cutting.

“Quality is what I look for at home. Results are what I look for in the pen, and you never know what you have until that gate closes behind your horse at the shows,” Cuoghi said. “It’s a difficult task and takes up a lot of time, energy and money, but I love it. There have been difficult moments, but I’m a positive thinker, and walking through the pastures, looking at my horses and at my land, fills me with joy and gives me the energy I need to move on.”

Though quiet, calm and reserved, Cuoghi does not lack energy. He runs his family business, is a father of two – Cecilia, 18, and Riccardo, 16 – and has always had an active role in the Italian cutting and reining industries. He is a past president of the Italian Cutting Horse Association, and today, he is the president of the Italian Reining Horse Association.

One of his goals was hosting the first FEI World Reining Championship in Italy.

“We first spoke about this project during the European Championships in Mooslargue, France, last year,” Cuoghi said. “It is a great honor for us to have been granted this opportunity by the FEI; it confirms that Italy has done a good job over the years, and I’m very proud to be a part of it.”

Another of his aims is that of further promoting the youth committee and supporting the first European Futurity, open to 4-year-old horses, sponsored by Arcese, which will take place in 2009.

“The Italian reining horse industry has grown immensely, and I believe that the care that Italian breeders have put into their programs has paid off. We have all paid a lot of attention to our mares, and we have a long list of great sires in our country,” he said. “The stallion that has left an impact in my program has definitely been Snapper Cal Bar, and it will be very difficult to find another producer like him.”

Pedigree of champions
In 2001, Snapper Cal Bar passed away at age 20 and left a long string of champions behind, as well as an empty space in the Cuoghi breeding program and in the Cuoghi family.

“Losing Snapper was like losing a family member,” he said. “Neither of my children ride, but they love the horses. My wife does not have the passion I have, but shares the joys and the difficulties I face. When Snapper died, it was really difficult for all of us. No other horse will ever take his place, but of all his offspring, the stallion that reminds me the most of him is Mr Snapple. I really believe in this stallion and hope that he will follow the road his sire followed. And then, of course there is Master Snapper – winning the NRHA Derby Open was an incredible and unforgettable experience, and I can never thank Kelly[Zweifel] enough for making this dream come true.”

Mr Snapple was foaled in 1997 and is by Snapper Cal Bar out of Bretts Tari by Doc Tari. With Zweifel in the saddle, he made the finals in the Italian Reining Horse Association Futurity, Derby and Maturity. He won the NRHA of Germany Breeders Derby Open, was crowned 2005 IRHA year-end Open Champion and placed third in the prestigious 2006 Mallorca Western Festival Open reining.

Though Mr Snapple stands in Italy, Master Snapper now stands in the United States at Green Valley Ranch, Aubrey, Texas. The dynamic bay stallion, out of Colonel Mistress by Great Master Wake, also won the Italian Futurity Open, Derby and Maturity, and earned the Italian Open Horse of the Year title in 2005, as well as the 2006 Americana Top Honor Award – all with his trainer, Zweifel.

“He is truly a phenomenal athlete, and I consider him a very special horse,” Cuoghi said about the stallion who boasts more than $77,000 in lifetime earnings. “I believe he truly deserves to breed to the best mares, and the opportunity of him joining the great team of stallions that stand at the Green Valley Ranch is an honor for him and for myself.”

Another great stallion owned by one of Europe’s greatest reining fans is Broadmoor. By Smart Chic Olena out of Bar J Jackie by Zan Parr Jack, the powerful 12-year-old stallion was shown by John Slack to the 1999 NRHA Futurity and 2000 Derby Open finals. Dell Hendricks then took the reins and won the 2001 AQHA Junior Reining World Championship and the 2002 NRHA Open Reserve World Championship.

Though actively involved in the reining industry, Cuoghi remains a keen cutting fan, and many prospects bred by him have been seen in the winner’s circle across Europe with Gianluca Munarini in the saddle.

“Gianluca is a great trainer, a real horseman and above all, a good friend,” Cuoghi said. “When breeding cutters, I put in just as much love and passion as I do with reiners, and for me, in the cutting circuit, Be A Smart Hunter is the equivalent of Snapper Cal Bar in the reining circuit.”

By Dual Pep out of Little Lynx Huntress by Smart Little Lena, Be A Smart Hunter was purchased by Cuoghi in 2001 from Russell Harrison. Once the powerful stallion was shipped to Italy, the reins were handed over to Munarini, who cut his way to two Italian Maturity Championships, two European Open Championships and three year-end Italian Open Championships.

Today, 13-year-old Be A Smart Hunter is an all-time leading money-earner in the Italian Cutting Horse Association history, the ICHA’s all-time highest money-earning stallion, has won more Italian Open championships and open classes than any other horse, and is already the sire of a new generation of champions. In 2006, his offspring, Hunting With Class, claimed the Italian Futurity Limited Open Championship, Sweetly Huntress placed third in the Futurity Open and Miss Hickory Hunter won the first go-round of the Italian Cutting Futurity.

Joining this athlete and sire is Starlight Elan, by Grays Starlight out of Miss Elan by Doc O’Lena, whom Cuoghi purchased from Ascencion Banuelos at the end of 2004. Also under the guidance of Munarini, this stallion captured the attention of cutting fans after winning the 2005 Italian Cutting Horse Association Maturity, the Italian Open Championship and the European Championship in Augsburg, Germany, at the 2006 Americana show.