December 1, 2017
CapitalPress.com
11
For the love of Clydesdales
By HEATHER SMITH THOMAS
For the Capital Press
Courtesy of Parnell Ranch
Jack Parnell giving sleigh rides with their horses.
and he’s very spoiled!”
Most of the mares on
the ranch today are Ramsey
daughters.
“We bought a young stal-
lion, from Ontario, Canada,
to breed those mares. Breed-
ing horses is a genetic art. It
takes a bit of artistry to put
the genetic material together
to create the horse you want,”
he said, adding that it’s part
science and partly art and in-
tuition.
“My wife, Michelle, does
all the breeding. We do our
Courtesy of Parnell Ranch
Michelle and Jack Parnell with one of their Clydesdale foals.
own ultrasound work in get-
ting the mares bred, and she’s
the expert in that field,” Par-
nell said.
Michelle handles the
mares, gets them ready to
breed, does the ultrasound
and gets them bred. She also
does most of the veterinary
work on the ranch. The Par-
nells also sell cooled semen
from their stallions. Michelle
recently learned how to freeze
semen so now they are also
freezing semen from their
stallions. They are expecting
23 foals from their own mares
in 2018.
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L17-2/102
ful to ride, or drive as a single
horse,” he said.
“We try to breed excellent
horses that can show or do
anything,” he said. “The ide-
al horse could go into a big
hitch, pull a plow or harrow,
or do whatever the owner
wants it to do.”
Breeding excellent horses
is a passion. Jack and Mi-
chelle often take a consign-
ment of horses to the National
Clydesdale Sale in St. Louis,
Mo. They also have private
treaty sales at the ranch.
Today Jack, age 82, and
Michelle manage the ranch
with the help of Ben Shupe,
who moved to Idaho from
Pennsylvania a few years ago
to work for them.
“He handles every horse
on the ranch. Every horse we
own is broke to drive,” Par-
nell said.
“We keep two stallions.
We bought our older stallion
in 2000. We went to Scotland
and bought him, and had him
flown over here. We call him
Ramsey and he’s been out-
standing. He’s in a pasture
right outside my office win-
dow, where he looks in at
me,” he said. “We throw him
an apple or two every day
L17-3/106
Jack and Michelle Parnell
raise beautiful Clydesdales
near Sandpoint, Idaho.
Jack grew up in Califor-
nia, where his family farmed
with horses. He started rak-
ing hay with horses when
he was hardly big enough to
reach the pedal on the dump
rake.
Later he had his own ranch
and raised registered Angus.
“When my sons Randy
and Lon were old enough
to learn how ranching used
to be done, we bought our
first team of horses — in the
1970s,” said Parnell.
For many years Parnell
Ranch contracted with fairs
in California to do demon-
strations with their hitch-
es. They also had an annual
pumpkin harvest at the ranch
and invited 5,000 kids from
local schools.
“We’d hitch teams to big
hay wagons, and give the
kids rides through the ranch
and let them pick their own
pumpkins,” Parnell said.
“After we moved to Idaho we
did hundreds of sleigh rides.
We had a big campfire, told
stories about the horses, let
people talk to the horses and
feed them carrots.”
The Parnells now raise
Clydesdales for customers
nationwide. Budweiser uses
two Parnell stallions in their
breeding program in Missou-
ri.
He and Michelle have also
shown horses for many years.
At every opportunity Parnell
tries to promote draft hors-
es and educate more people
about them. These horses are
used for many things, and
you don’t need an 8-up hitch
or a 6-up or buy expensive
harnesses.
“These horses are wonder-
ful just to have in the pasture
to look at. They are wonder-