Super Tuff Kitty was imported by Todd McMillan of Emerald Park Performance Horses, based in Tamworth, NSW, primarily as a broodmare. Having spent years studying strong female families and proven maternal lines, Todd was immediately drawn to Clover's pedigree and the consistency behind her family, believing she represented much more than simply another imported mare.
Todd’s breeding philosophy has always centred around maternal strength and consistency. It was that focus which eventually led him to the Super Cat line and ultimately to Super Tuff Kitty. While she had already enjoyed success through her aged event career in America as a trained cutting horse, Todd saw in her something much bigger than an individual performer, he saw a mare with the ability to establish a lasting family of performance horses in Australia and contribute to strengthening the quality, athleticism and genetics of future generations within the Australian performance horse industry.
Prior to arriving in Australia, Clover had already built an impressive foundation in the United States. She was trained by Beau Galyean and shown successfully by both Beau and his wife through her aged event career. Following that, she was purchased by Stacey Powers and continued her career in Non Pro competition before eventually finding her way onto Todd’s radar.
Todd had first seen Super Tuff Kitty advertised for sale and immediately recognised the opportunity. Unfortunately he initially missed out on securing her, but the mare remained firmly in the back of his mind. A couple of years later, that opportunity unexpectedly returned. In the early hours of the morning, Todd received an international phone call advising that Clover was available. There was little hesitation. The decision was made before sunrise and by the time the morning had properly begun, arrangements were already underway to bring her to Australia.
Physically, Clover also stood out. Standing at 15 hands, she possesses a beautiful type with a long length of rein, a lighter frame and plenty of stretch through her body. Her athletic build and natural balance reflected everything Todd was searching for.
Although she arrived in Australia as a broodmare prospect, it did not take long for everyone around her to realise there was much more to the mare than simply an elite pedigree and producing ability. After entering Zeb Pearce’s program, Clover quickly began proving herself in a completely new discipline.
Despite being new to campdrafting, Zeb immediately developed an extremely high opinion of her. After only a few weeks in his program, Clover had her first campdraft start and has since completed every full course she has run. Along the way she has already posted several impressive scores, including a 93 at a local Tamworth campdraft.
Her transition into campdrafting appeared almost effortless. Much of that came from the strong foundation established during her cutting career in America, but her natural conformation and instincts have also played a major role. Stretchy, athletic and exceptionally fast across the ground, Clover has the speed and reach to catch a beast with ease. Combined with a genuine want for a cow, she naturally found the hip and quickly worked out where she needed to position herself on a beast when chasing throughout each campdraft run. Rather than needing to be taught every piece of the puzzle, she simply seemed to understand the job.
Both Todd and Zeb have extremely high hopes for the mare and share a very similar opinion of her future. Their confidence in Clover has quickly aligned, with both believing she possesses the ability to compete on Australia’s biggest stages. They also do not believe it will take long for her to break her maiden status, a level of confidence that is rarely formed so early in a horse still very new to campdrafting.
Away from the competition arena, Clover continues to excel in the breeding barn and has already established herself as an exceptional producer. She consistently produces multiple embryos each season and has been crossed with some of America’s finest and Australia’s finest sires, including Metallic Rebel, Third Edge and several other elite performers.
Now, Super Tuff Kitty has become exactly what Todd hoped for and perhaps even more. Between her own ability and the quality of her progeny, he believes she is only just getting started.
