Page 192 - Speedhorse February 2020

THE BACKSIDE
RYAN ROBICHEAUX
Industry Q&A
by John Moorehouse
NAME: Ryan Robicheaux HOME BASE: Breaux Bridge, LA
YEARS OF EXPERIENCE: 19 years. Robicheaux Ranch opened in 2000.
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND ACHIEVEMENTS: President of the LQHBA Board of Directors for the last 2 1/2 years, served on the LQHBA board since 2011. Also has served on the AQHA Racing Committee and as AQHA Director for Louisiana.
FAVORITE HOBBY: “Duck hunting, deer hunting and I’m a big LSU football fan. I like to get away from everything and go sit in a deer blind or a duck blind. My kids show livestock. It’s the same thing
as a horse. You get to buy one each year. It’s very competitive. They’re good at it and I enjoy it.”
As the manager for the thriving breeding program at Robicheaux Ranch, Ryan Robicheaux sends his kids to private school in Louisiana and, from time to time, friends at school ask his children what their dad does for a living.
“I tell my kids, ‘I sell dreams,’” he said. “We’re all trying to buy that dream—that All American winner or that Louisiana Million winner. Each summer, we’re selling that dream that might come true. I like that each year you can start off fresh again. You go that summer to the sale, you find another prospect, and the year starts over again.”
A diehard LSU football fan, the 39-year- old Robicheaux compared the entire breeding business as being comparable to the world of recruiting in major college football.
“You’re going after these stallions. That’s where it all starts. It’s just like [Alabama coach] Nick Saban recruiting a running back and [LSU] coach [Ed] Orgeron going after the same running back. Apollitical Blood, there were a bunch of farms after him. And we got him to sign a deal to come here to Louisiana and stand at Robicheaux.”
Apollitical Blood’s progeny include the
2019 Champion 2-Year-Old Gelding Trump My Record, who’s logged four wins in graded futurities last year. These two year olds have combined earnings of more than $1.6 million
in 2019... and counting. This, after another Robicheaux stallion, Five Bar Cartel, was named the nation’s top Freshman Sire in 2018.
Going for the win is part of what drives Robicheaux on a daily basis.
“A lot of people say I like to win too much. I’m very competitive, but that’s just who I am,” he said. “I always say I’m in it
to compete, I’m not in it to participate. The way of life I’ve made for myself is to strive to be the best. And I want my kids to be the same way.”
Running Robicheaux Ranch’s breeding operation is a full-time, year-round task, but Robicheaux still found time to provide some insights on his background and his profession in the latest installment of our Backside feature.
You started out in show horses. How did you transition from that to what you do now?
“What got us away from the show horses, one thing was the money and the ability for revenue in the racehorse business. What I also got away from in show horses, the winner was somebody’s opinion. In the racehorse business, it goes to the wire. It’s not how much they cost, who their sire is, who their dam is, it’s the first one that crosses the wire. It’s not someone politically involved or somebody’s opinion. It’s the fastest horse. That’s why I always say they don’t write the check before the race.”
You guys just got done with sale season. How did that go?
“The [LQHBA] yearling sale was great. I like to always brag about my state of Louisiana, but we had the highest-selling yearling in the whole country, $600,000. But all the sales were great. Ruidoso was up, Heritage was up, Texas was up. It’s good to be in the horse business right now as far as selling yearlings.”
190 SPEEDHORSE, February 2020