You may know what Select Breeders Services (SBS) is but do you know how it all began? Select Breeders Service was the vision of Paul Loomis (SBS CEO and founder) in 1981 while he was in graduate school at Colorado State University. As he conducted experiments for developing methods to successfully freeze equine semen he believed then, as he does now, that frozen semen would one day be the preferred method for breeding quality horses. So in 1987, Paul incorporated SBS as a company dedicated to the responsible development of the equine industry.
Abdullah (photo middle right), a beautiful gray Trakehner stallion, was a big star of the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles where he won individual silver and team gold medals. He was owned by Terry and Sue Williams from New York and was SBS’s first commercial client. He was also the first stallion in the U.S. to have frozen semen exported to Europe.
A large inventory of his frozen semen was banked throughout the years and is responsible for the production of foals all over the world. Even more than 11 years after his death, at the age of 29, Abdullah continues to sire foals from frozen semen stored at SBS.
In 1992, Paul Loomis and Whit Byers formed Select Breeders Southwest (SBSW) in Aubrey, Texas. Shortly thereafter in 1994 SBSW introduced the industry’s first fully equipped mobile laboratory in order to serve customers all over the country with the same high quality technology that was already being offered through the main permanent laboratories in Maryland and Texas. Today there are four SBS mobile laboratories in the United States and one in Europe. Whit remained the managing partner of SBSW for 18 years until his retirement in 2010 which is when Paul took full ownership of SBSW.
Select Breeders Service Europe (SBSE) was born in 1998 after Paul began traveling to Italy to freeze semen from several Standardbred stallions. He partnered with Dr. Sandro Barbacini just as he had with Whit Byers to develop the same commitment to providing SBS quality services for clients in Europe. Dr. Barbacini is responsible for the administration of the European Affiliate program.
In 1999 and 2000 the concept of the SBS Affiliate Network was further developed with the goals of bringing SBS semen freezing and related reproductive services to breeders throughout the US and Europe and improving the results with commercial frozen semen.
Then in 2002 Select Breeders Services Australasia (SBSA) was formed as a partnership between Paul Loomis, Ed Squires, Angus McKinnon, and Jim Vasey (photo left). SBSA is operated under the direction of Angus McKinnon and based at the Goulburn Valley Equine Hospital in Shepparton, Victoria, Australia.
The SBS World Headquarters moved into their brand new facility in January 2011 and has begun a new chapter in the company’s development. As of June 2016, the SBS Affiliate Network consists of 23 laboratories…
- SBS World Headquarters ( mobile laboratory) – Maryland, USA
- Select Breeders Southwest (two mobile laboratories) – Texas, USA
- Peterson and Smith Equine Reproduction Center – Florida, USA
- Hagyard Equine Institute – Kentucky, USA
- Pioneer Equine Hospital – California, USA
- 6666 Ranch – Texas, USA
- Scottsdale Equine Reproduction Center – Arizona, USA
- Oklahoma City Equine Center (mobile laboratory) – Oklahoma, USA
- Delta Equine Center – Louisiana, USA
- Humphrey, Giacopuzzi and Associates - California, USA
- Weatherford Equine Breeding Center - Texas, USA
- Reid & Associates Equine Clinic - Florida, USA
- Alliance Stud - Kentucky, USA
- Select Breeders Services Italia – Italy, Europe
- SBS Sweden (mobile laboratory) – Sweden, Europe
- SBS North Germany – Germany, Europe
- Equine Services – Germany, Europe
- Centro di Riproduzione Equina Centauro – Italy, Europe
- Knocke Arabians - Knokke-Heist, Belgium
- Goulburn Valley Equine Hospital – Victoria, Australia
- Tamworth Equine Veterinary Centre – New South Wales, Australia
- Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club - Doha, Qatar
- I.A. Servicios de Costa Rica S.A. - Costa Rica
- I.A. Servicios de Costa Rica S.A.
A more in depth history on Select Breeders Services can be found here.
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