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You may think that heading to a good Cajun The ranch has grown to the point that it
restaurant in Louisiana is the right way to try out the local cuisine. But if you want fan- tastic food, good company, and plenty of fun, swing by the Robicheaux Ranch consignment barn at one of the area racehorse sales.
Shrimp etouffee, jambalaya, gumbo—you never know what Jude, Regina, and Ryan Robicheaux are going to haul into the next sale. The word gets around quickly, whether it’s at a Louisiana Quarter Horse Breeders Association sale or one of the Heritage Place sales in Oklahoma.
“It’s turned into where at the Louisiana sale we might serve 800 hamburgers,” said Jude. “We’ll have a stallion showcase the Thursday night before the sale, and we’ll serve 300-500 people shrimp etouffee.”
Gussie Broussard, a good friend of the Robicheaux family, started the tradition more than 20 years ago when he asked if he could cook by their booth and stalls. At first, the Robicheaux’s just fed their own clients. Now everyone makes sure to visit, as Broussard and Darrell Landry continue to serve up mouth- watering Cajun food.
“They’ve been doing it for me for free,” said Jude. “I try to pay them, and they won’t let me. They enjoy doing it. They bring in a cook wagon and everything. They’ll barbecue all day.”
It’s a fun tradition that people enjoy, but it also brings foot traffic by to see the horses Robicheaux is selling, either on behalf of the ranch or its clients. The family segued from halter horses to racehorses and now owns a 100-acre ranch in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, near where Jude and Regina grew up.
now stands eight stallions who are bred to more than 600 mares annually. More than 200 mares usually reside there at the height of breeding season, and 32-year-old son Ryan, who has taken on the farm manager role, said that they foal about 150 out every year.
It isn’t surprising that the Robicheaux’s are busy, with such stallions as Oak Tree Special, sire of 2011 World Champion Cold Cash 123 and 2012 Champion El Duero, and Heza Fast Dash, another top 10 stallion. Game Patriot, one of the first stallions ever to stand at the ranch, continues to rank high by siring the likes of Grade 1 winner Jet Black Patriot,
who also stands at Robicheaux. Another top stallion with Grade 1 winners at Robicheaux Ranch is Toast To Dash.
“We have the proven ones,” said Ryan. “But you have to almost get a new horse every year for people to come by and visit. Everybody wants to come see the new horse.”
Robicheaux stands some exciting new prospects as well. Swingin Jess is a son of
Mr Jess Perry whose runners are just getting started. First Down Illusion, winner of the Ed Burke Million Futurity-G1, first stood in 2012, and Whathaveigottado, a Grade 3 winner by Shazoom, is standing for the first time in 2013.
The family pulls together as a team to get everything done. Jude breeds the mares and for many years collected the stallions, though Ryan has taken over more of that recently. Ryan specializes in prepping horses for sale, and Regina keeps the office running smoothly, which includes all of the details involved in shipping semen.
Robicheaux veterinarian Dr. Phillip DeVille has been with them since Shoestring Ranch
“We work hard, but it’s a family thing,” said Regina, whose office overlooks Game Patriot’s paddock. “I look out the back window of my office and see Game Patriot every day.”
Jude and Regina live on the farm, while Ryan, wife Danielle, and daughters Rhylan and Rheese, live five minutes away. Come foaling season, Jude and Regina take turns helping the night watchman when the mares—as they always seem to do—decide to foal in the middle of the night. One night in early January this year, five mares foaled, keeping Jude, Regina, and Ryan busy.
Jude initially began the family’s foray into horses.
“I always liked horses,” he said, “and I’ve had them since I was 15.”
After finishing school, Jude went to work as a plumber, eventually developing his own business. He met Regina, a beautician, and they married and began raising a family that includes Ryan’s sister, Kayan.
“I’d do the horses on the side, after work,” said Jude. “I showed halter horses.”
Jude once stood a halter stallion and
by his own admission wasn’t making
any money at it. His friend Pat Ladner approached him about standing a racehorse stallion, Lightning Casanova.
“You’re going to be able to make money breeding racehorses,” Ladner correctly predicted.
Jude and Jud Griffin bought part of the acreage that is now Robicheaux and estab- lished Shoestring Stud Farm.
“It was named right,” joked Jude.
Griffin handled the business end. Jude credits Griffin with teaching him that critical part of running a ranch.
In the mid-1990s, when Griffin’s health was beginning to decline and he wanted to curtail his ranch activities, Jude received a job offer from L-J Farms in Alexandria, Louisiana. The
Danielle, Reese, Rhylan and Ryan Robicheaux
SPEEDHORSE, March 8, 2013 37
Amanda Glidden: Speedhorse
Courtesy Robicheaux Ranch