In 2010, a flashy young colt burst onto the reining scene. By National Reining Horse Association Thirteen Million Dollar Sire Gunner, and out of Shining Little Peach (by Shining Spark), Colonels Shining Gun was poised to do great things. In early November, the stallion, affectionately known as Jojo, added another line to his resume when he became a Million Dollar Sire. While he’s now known for his prepotency, he proved his prowess in the show pen early on.
The stallion, bred by KC Performance Horses, was shown to a third-place finish at the 2010 Scottsdale Classic Futurity by All Time Leading Rider Andrea Fappani. Fappani and the colt then traveled to Oklahoma City for the NRHA Futurity, where they finished in the Top 10 of the Futurity Finals.
As fate would have it, reining enthusiast Katarzyna Roleska was in the stands during the first round of the Futurity, and Colonels Shining Gun immediately caught her eye.
“I saw him show in the first go of the Futurity with Andrea in the saddle, and I couldn’t stop thinking about him. He stole my heart,” Roleska recalled of watching Jojo show.
The very next year, Jojo was in his new home, Roleska Ranch, located less than an hour’s drive from Krakow, a southern Poland city. While Fappani continued to show Roleska’s horses in the United States, Jojo found success in Europe with a multitude of trainers, including Clint Ramsey, Million Dollar Rider Gennaro Lendi, Alessandro Frassa, and Million Dollar Rider Cira Baeck.
With Baeck at the reins, Jojo accumulated numerous wins, including the NRHA European Open Derby Championship. The pair was also on the Silver-medal winning team for Belgium at the 2014 World Equestrian Games in Normandy, and Baeck posted her highest score ever – a 231.5 – at the 2013 Reining International de Lyon.
Roleska eventually elected to move the stallion back to the United States, and he now stands at Brent and Paula Loseke’s Colt Company. “In the United States, he has the opportunity to breed more mares, and I know that Paula and Brent love him. What makes me proud is that his offspring in Europe contributed incredibly to him reaching the million-dollar mark,” she said.
Jojo’s first foals arrived in 2013 and began dominating on both continents. A prime example is his leading money earner, NF Shining Whiz, a 2015 mare out of Whowhizthispeppychic. The mare, bred by David Perneel, was shown initially by Baeck and took reserve honors at both the Italian Reining Horse Association Futurity and the European Futurity. In 2019, she was purchased by Tamarack Ranch and shown to numerous wins in the United States by NRHA Professional Gabe Hutchins. The talented mare has now earned more than $97,000.
“My goal is for him to be a healthy and happy horse. His foals will do the rest,” Roleska said.
Colonels Shining Gun’s top money earners are:
- NF Shining Whiz (Whowhizthispeppychic) $97,937
- Snips Shining Gun (Snip O Gun) $75,511
- CSG Copshot (Finest Copyshot) $56,798
- CSG Kenzo (Shiner Brimolena) $54,749
- Copyride (Finest Copyshot) $51,225
- CSG Wisemanfear (Tejana Chic) $49,940
- Showgirl Shining Gun (Shes A Lil Showgirl) $46,262
- One Mr JJ (QHR Jamaica Express ) $37,379
- KL Less Is More (Payin On Time) $37,128
- CSG Shinethingun (ARC Think Chic) $37,052
For more information about Jojo, visit coltcompany.com/colonels-shining-gun or follow him on social media at facebook.com/ColonelsShiningGun