From the day Custom Crome was born, his disposition and easygoing attitude were apparent. The 1990 stallion earned more than $115,000 throughout his show career, but according to owner Steve Simon, people were always his number-one priority. In a Quarter Horse News (QHN) interview following the horse’s passing, Simon said the stallion was constantly attracted to his caretakers.
“From the day he was born, he’d always leave the herd and leave his mother if somebody came to the fence, whether it was me or somebody else,” Simon said. “He just had this affinity and the love and the trust of people. That’s where he preferred to be, and he remained that way all through his life whether you were just riding him or breeding him or handling him. He always put the person he was with first.”
Custom Crome, known as “Crome” to his connections, was sired by Crome Plated Jac and out of Another Greyhound (by Greyhound Step). He was bred and owned by Simon for the entirety of his life.
Pure Crome
Ridden by the seasoned Mike Flarida for a majority of his career, Crome was the 1993 National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Futurity Open Champion, winning $109,384. Flarida told QHNafter the win that aside from the birth of his daughter, the win was “the greatest thing I’ve ever experienced in my life.”
Crome didn’t post any earnings to Equi-Stat from 1994-1998, but in 1999 was back in the show pen with Rocky Dare at the Carolina Classic Derby. He and Dare placed third in a class for horses ages 6 and up, adding another $1,584 to Crome’s record. When he officially retired, Crome boasted $116,577 in earnings, according to Equi-Stat.
Successful Sire
As a father, Crome passed his reining moves and kind demeanor onto his progeny. With 408 money-earning foals in Equi-Stat, Crome is an Equi-Stat Elite $4 Million Sire.
His leading earners are NRHA Futurity Open Reserve Champion and NRHA Derby Open Champion Custom Pistol ($254,858, out of Hollywood Lady Jo x Hollywood Smoke) and American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) Senior Reining World Champion Custom Cash Advance ($231,056, out of Cash In Roan x Topsail Cody).
National Reining Breeders Classic (NRBC) Level 4 Open Champion Custom Legend (out of Dry Doc Bobbie by Dry Doc Bob) rounded out the top three with $228,287 in earnings.
All told, Crome has four earners who surpassed the $200,000-earning mark, and an additional five earners who pushed into the $100,000 club in Equi-Stat.
As a broodmare sire, Crome’s daughters have been putting in the work. One of his most productive daughters is Best Stop, who so far has produced $426,269 in progeny including NRHA Futurity and Derby finalist Hey Joe ($127,852, by Smart Spook). His late daughter Cee Miss Hollywood produced $365,079 in performers, including the horse Brian Bell recently rode while qualifying for the 2021 The Run For A Million, Mr Royal Hollywood ($72,553, by Hollywoodstinseltown).
To date, Crome’s daughters have made him a $3 million broodmare sire.
Remembering Custom Crome
Today, Crome is remembered as a pleasant individual who was born to rein. According to Simon, Crome would go sliding in his pasture barefoot, much to the owner’s horror and the horse’s delight.
“When I had Crome at home, his paddock was on a hill and he used to trot up the hill, turn around, and come running down full speed and sit down and slide and go 40 feet. If he wasn’t going straight he’d kind of pump his legs like ABS brakes to keep himself straight. And, he’d turn around and trot back up,” said Simon.
Crome passed in June of 2018 at the age of 17. He lived and passed at Simon’s facility in Marietta, Oklahoma facility.
