The Breeding Sire of the Year award was started in 2012 by the MFTHBA Membership Committee to recognize stallions providing significant impact to the continuation of the breed.  In addition, the award was designed to encourage foal registration in a timely manner, something that helps the MFTHBA in its task to preserve the registry of the breed.  “The committee thought it was a great idea.  We presented the award to the Board in the spring of 2012,” said Amy Stangl, MFTHBA Membership Committee Chair.

The criteria for the award are simple:

• Stallion owners must submit their stallion breeding report on time;
• Foals must be born in that calendar year and registered with the MFTHBA and in the database by December 31^st of that calendar year.

In situations where multiple stallions had the same number of offspring registered, the percentage of foals registered compared to those bred was used to break the tie.  This only affected their place on the list, not their inclusion in the top breeding sire list.  If a sixth stallion would have had identical registration numbers as the fifth stallion, a top 6 list would have been released.  There was no need to utilize the tie breaker system for the 2014 awards.

The MFTHBA office staff calculated the award based on criteria outlined for the award.  Registration numbers for each stallion in the top 25 based on the submitted stallion reports were pulled by the office at the close of business of December 31, 2014.

The committee concedes that if the numbers were pulled today, it might be different.  However, the criteria set for the award and approved by the Board set the registration deadline for the award as December 31.  Stallion owners in the Top 25 based on stallion breeding reports were mailed a letter at the beginning of 2014 outlining the awards criteria.

The MFTHBA office typically receives stallion breeding reports from over 300 stallions each year.  “When you consider the number of breeding stallions within our breed, it emphasizes what an accomplishment it is for a stallion to be recognized as a Top 5 Breeding Stallion,” Dr. Joyce Graening, MFTHBA president, added.

The actual award for the Breeding Sire of the Year, along with other year end awards, will be presented during the 2015 Three Year Old Futurity this coming June.

Starting next week we will highlight a Top 5 stallion daily, ending with us naming the 2014 Breeding Sire of the Year.  Check back each morning to see who is added to the list.

The MFTHBA congratulates all the stallions in the Top 5 for Breeding Sire of the Year and expresses our gratitude to all the breeders who are breeding the next generation of Missouri Fox Trotting Horses.