The Wrangler Horse and Rodeo News

54 The WRANGLER, Horse and Rodeo News • May 5-19, 2021 Smoke N Sparks, a na onally-ranked barrel horse sire of over $1.3 million in Equi-Stat progeny earnings, passed away due to colic complica ons at the age of 29 on April 18, 2021. He is laid to rest under the co onwood tree at the end of the paddock that he called home for 24 years at Gerald "Jerry" and Iva Korell's home in Riverton, WY; it was by this tree that he watched expectantly each spring to see new mares arriving. The Korells imagine he is s ll gazing at his ladies in heaven. "Sparks" was more than just a horse to the Korells. He was a sire. A livelihood. A comrade. A legacy. Sparks put them on the map on a na onal scale. Bar Three Stables was a small, homegrown breeding opera on that focused on racetrack and barrel horses. They had already been in business for decades and were crea ng excep onal equine athletes, but they blossomed into a countrywide known premier breeding facility. All of this was because of Sparks and some excep onal mares that produced hundreds of performers, including two- me WNFR qualifier, WNFR Go-Round winner, and Rookie of the Year RF Firefly "Cleo" (with Kelli Tolbert Thouvenell) and Be er Barrel Races World Champion and Run for the Bonus World Champion Smoke N Sunshine "Shine" (with Kathy Korell-Rach). His progeny have won countless futuri es, derbies, rodeos, high school championships, and college championships; they have set an abundance of arena records in the process. Sparks' colts were also performers in other events. On the racetrack, he had 28 starters that earned almost $157,000 with 22 wins, one stakes winner, and one stakes placed horse. One of his best performers on the track was WY All Breed Futurity Champion Chloes Smoke N Fame (bred by the Korells and owned by Richard Dolbow). Sparks also had offspring win in the roping pen, including two- me PRCA Big Sky Head Horse of the Year and three- me CNFR head horse compe tor Smokin Grits (owned by Janet and Sid Erickson). "Sparks was such a blessing. Our everyday lives revolved around him," explained Iva. "We loved him, and our place will never feel the same without him. We watched him through our front window year-round, and it's so gut-wrenching to look out and see an empty pen." The Korell's acquisi on of Sparks was like a story out of a NY Times Best-Selling novel; certainly, God had His hands all over it. The Korells lost their stallion Barjo Twist, who also produced countless top-notch barrel horses, at age 27 and were looking for a replacement. Gerald saw that Sparks was for sale in the October 1997 Heritage Place Sale in Oklahoma, and was interested primarily due to the Shawne Bug on his bo om side. Sparks was a performer in his own right. Born March 11, 1992, the leading money-earning son of Dash For Perks was a Grade 1 Stakes Winner of $96,101. He won the Kansas Futurity, was second in the Easy Jet Handicap, and fourth at Remington Park Futurity. The Korells figured that big, handsome, black five-year-old stallion would most certainly be out of their price range, but they set out to Oklahoma with prayers said and fingers crossed they could come home with him. At that me, first- me purchasers at the Heritage Place Sale had to bring cash. Iva secured a cashier's check for everything they had in savings, which amounted to $16,000. Gerald's father, Jake Korell, thought Sparks was a good gamble and sent them with an addi onal $14,000 in cash, which was anxiously stuffed in Gerald's boot tops. The Korells were shocked and elated when the final gavel drop resulted in them buying Sparks for $14,000 from then owner James Mar n III. They made a treacherous journey home in one of the worst snow storms of the decade. They were unable to stop because all of the exits and frontage roads were snowed under and closed, so they just kept trucking. Sparks, who previously made his home in Louisiana, was not too keen on his new frosty accommoda ons that first winter. But he came to love the snow and played in it like a colt annually. In the coming weeks, the Korells received several phone calls from people who were planning to bid on Sparks but were sidetracked or otherwise preoccupied when he went through the ring. No doubt, it was a heavenly interven on. Callers made mul ple offers, including paying three mes the purchase price just to be a half owner. But the Korells declined and Sparks became a fixture on the place for over two decades. Taking that risk was one of the best decisions they could have ever made. "Sparks made our livelihood. He made our lives," reminisced Gerald. "He earned his keep and our keep too by bringing in our full income for 24 years. We were devoted to him and he was invested in us. Partnership fails to describe it. Sparks was family." Sparks proved himself to be a lively, fun-loving horse. The halter was a toy rather than a piece of tack, and he amused himself by trying to grab it each me before someone could put it on. He was o en found racing around his pasture, bucking, running and spinning like a colt even un l a few weeks ago. His favorite game was to wait pa ently in his shed un l someone rode a green colt by his pasture. Then he would ambush them from the shed, bol ng out like he was leaving a star ng gate and boiling up behind them to produce some entertainment. If a colt could s ck with him, you knew it could make AAA on the track. Sparks kept his playful a tude un l just hours before he was euthanized. He passed his high-spirited, gri y, loveable demeanor and raw talent to most of his offspring. Sparks was in the top 10 on the Equi-Stat Leading Futurity, Derby, 5-Year, and All-Time Barrel Sire lists for over a decade. He is also the grandsire of over $168,000 in Equi-Stat performer earnings. At the me of his death, he was Five- Year Leading Barrel Sire #31, Five-Year Leading Futurity Sire #37, and Five-Year Leading Derby Sire #33. He will con nue to live on in the pedigrees of performers for years to come. A limited supply of frozen semen is s ll available at Sage Veterinary Services. The Korells have been breeding horses for over 60 years, and have stood a stallion to the public all of that me. Their names have become synonymous with Smoke N Sparks, so this loss is profound on mul ple levels. While they will not be standing another stallion, they will con nue to breed some of the finest performing Sparks daughters to the best racetrack and barrel sires available. The Bar Three Stables legacy that was catapulted with Smoke N Sparks will endure melessly.

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