Pierre Esquirol: Alberta’s Man with a Plan

From the moment he could spell his name, Pierre Esquirol has been a man with a plan. At age six, the Saskatchewan-born “farm boy” sold garden vegetables he grew himself. At 14, he had a herd of 400 hogs that he traded about for cash, and at 26, he bought five thoroughbred broodmares. So, don’t feel awkward if you have thought Esquirol, a prominent breeder and yearling sale consignor in his home province and Alberta, is a lot older than he actually is.

“I get that all the time,” said Esquirol, 50. “I started in the business at a young age in Saskatchewan. I was a silent partner with my brother Eddie on my first racehorse when I was 14.”

Esquirol’s 160-acre thoroughbred stallion station and breeding farm in Ryley, AB is the result of many years in a business he loves and wants to see thrive. He has been disheartened about the troubles in recent years to get a Calgary track built (Century Downs, near Balzac, is currently under construction) but is a go-getter, optimistic and determined to lure mares from other provinces to his ever-increasing group of stallions.

Later this summer, Esquirol has high hopes that a colt he bred, Legend Fortynine, the champion two-year-old male in Alberta in 2013, will be a force in the province’s biggest race, the Canadian Derby.

Raised in the tiny village of Meota, SK, in the northwest corner of the province alongside Jackfish Lake, Esquirol was born to Elie and Estelle Esquirol and raised in farm life.

“My dad was a very influential person in my life,” said Esquirol. “He was a true-blue cowboy. I have all of his cowboy gear in my house. I just wish I had him to talk to about this business.”

The elder Esquirol, who had eight children, lived to be 100 before he died in 2012.

“My parents were supportive of my interest in thoroughbreds, but sometimes they would scratch their heads,” said Esquirol. “Making money was never my goal. I am an entrepreneur. And don’t tell me I can’t do it. That makes me more determined.”

Pierre was raised around all types of livestock including horses — and he rode his share of horses. He was introduced to the sport of racing through a close friend, Garry Marks. “He’s the one I blame almost daily,” joked Esquirol.

Esquirol graduated from the vocational agriculture program at the University of Saskatchewan and was equipped with an education on the practical side to farming.

His brother Eddie was already immersed in racing and was Pierre’s first horse partner before he went on his own, triggered by a trip to a Calgary horse sale in 1990.

“I drove there in my car to check out the mixed sale — I came home with five mares for $10,500. I sold their progeny for a total of $52,000.” That hooked Esquirol to the breeding industry for life.

Esquirol’s small breeding operation in Saskatchewan kept him busy for awhile, with enough time to raise two daughters, but he eventually moved his family to a more metropolitan area after getting a job offer from Horizon Farms near Calgary.

He was farm manager of Horizon from 2005 to 2006, preparing and selling quality yearlings that regularly topped the Alberta sale. Esquirol eventually left to try and build his own breeding and selling business and that is when he purchased the Ryley property.

“There was not a fence post to be seen,” said Esquirol. “I built it up the way I wanted it and started in the stallion business. There were only a few stallions in the province. I believed there was a door to be opened and my goal was to bring in stallions that could produce racehorses.”

Cobra King, a stakes-winning son of Farma Way, was the first stallion at Esquirol’s farm. He was soon joined by Kissin Kris (now retired from stud duty), Gold Legend, Whiskey Wisdom (originally from Ontario and Manitoba) and Formal Gold, a brilliant Canadian-bred runner who should soon be a member of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame. New for 2014 was Barbara Side’s No Hesitation, the Canadian Derby winner from 2010 and Big Lightning, a son of Bernardini.

Esquirol said he hopes to add a couple more stallions by next spring and lure some mares from British Columbia and Washington State to be bred.

While he won’t disclose how many mares he owns himself, it is enough to produce at least 20 foals each year. This fall, he will have 24 yearlings to sell.

Three years ago, he played host to his own sale of yearlings, in part because the CTHS sale was located at Red Deer and too far from Northlands Park. He met with a lot of resistance from some industry members, but takes some solace in the fact that the CTHS sale is now held on the Northlands Park grounds.

Esquirol employs a small staff at the barn and is about to launch a new website for his operation. “I have never had a 9 to 5 job in my life,” said Esquirol. “How do I make money? It’s discipline. I can buy mares for $2,500 and sell their weanlings for $25,000.”

He also is quick to note that there are a number of supporters of his horses, in particular the ownership group of Charlie Garvey, Pat Schaffer and trainer Dale Saunders, who own Legend Fortynine.

“They have been so good to me,” said Esquirol. “They come and look at all my yearlings and have bought a lot of them. I know there are people that will never buy my horses, and that’s okay. But, I do have some supporters.”

Legend Fortynine, a son of Gold Legend, is from the Boundary mare Fortynine Below, an $11,000 purchase from the Keeneland November sale in 2009 in foal to Roman Ruler. The colt won the Ky Alta Stakes on June 24 at Northlands, a key prep for the Canadian Derby.

Looking ahead, Esquirol has high hopes for a yearling gelding by Whiskey Wisdom from the stakes-winning mare Golden Remark (by Regal Remark) in the Alberta sale. There is also the hope that Century Downs, the Balzac track, will open early in 2015.

“I love what I am doing,” said Esquirol, who attends the races on occasion. “I have a great life, doing what 99 per cent of the population wish they were doing.”