# Katie Van Slyke’s 2027 Breeding Plans: An ICSI Update on Blondie, Rikki and Trudy
Preparation for the 2027 breeding season is already underway at Running Springs. In her latest breeding update, Katie Van Slyke shared the results of oocyte collections from three mares—Blondie, Rikki, and Trudy—and explained the stallion choices behind each planned cross.
Together, the mares yielded 58 oocytes, or unfertilized eggs. Those collections are the starting point for an ICSI program intended to produce embryos that can be stored for future use. The embryo results are still to come, but the update offers a detailed look at how Katie is planning ahead while exploring new bloodlines.
## Preparing Before Breeding Season Begins
Katie typically breeds her mares from around the third week of February through late May. She prefers to finish before June, although a slower season sometimes persuades her to extend that window into early June.
This preparation begins well before those breeding dates. By collecting oocytes and attempting to bank embryos now, she hopes to have more options available when the 2027 season arrives.
Recipient mares are an important part of that plan. These are the mares that carry pregnancies after embryo transfer. Katie owns a number of her own recipients, an arrangement she describes as both convenient and occasionally inconvenient. Managing them is part of the work behind a breeding program that has increasingly relied on embryo transfers in recent years.
For this round of collections, Katie says the Rood & Riddle team visited her local veterinary practice, Tennessee Equine, where Blondie, Rikki, and Trudy underwent oocyte aspiration.
## What Is ICSI?
ICSI stands for intracytoplasmic sperm injection. Oocytes are collected from follicles in a mare’s ovaries and matured in a laboratory. A single sperm cell is then injected into each mature oocyte. If development proceeds successfully, the resulting embryo can be transferred to a suitable recipient mare or frozen for later use. [Rood & Riddle’s ICSI guide](https://roodandriddle.com/embryo/) explains the process in more detail.
Using very small quantities of semen is one reason this approach interests breeders. Katie also values the opportunity to store embryos and explore breeding options for mares that may have difficulty reproducing through other methods.
An oocyte collection, however, is only the beginning. Not every collected egg will mature, fertilize, or develop into a usable embryo. The numbers in this update therefore describe recovered oocytes, rather than confirmed embryos or pregnancies.
## Blondie: Another Cross With Denver
Blondie, registered as Big Yellow Machine, yielded 10 oocytes in this round. Katie chose to use the entire collection for a cross with Denver, whose registered name is [First Thingz First](https://katievanslyke.net/pages/stallion-page/first-thingz-first).
The pairing has already produced one embryo through a previous ICSI attempt, giving Katie a reason to revisit it. She had considered using both of her stallions this time, but decided that 10 oocytes were better kept together than divided between two crosses. With a larger collection, she would have considered splitting them.
Blondie brings several qualities Katie finds appealing: double registration, bloodlines that offer an outcross, the possibility of color, and a build and way of moving she admires. Katie also points to Blondie’s successful offspring as part of the mare’s appeal.
For Denver, she sees this as a promising pairing early in his career as a sire. The immediate hope is to add more embryos from a cross she is already excited to see develop.
## Rikki: Exploring a Cross With Fahrenheight
Rikki, registered as [Gone Commando](https://katievanslyke.net/blogs/news/meet-the-herd-all-the-registered-names-at-running-springs), yielded 20 oocytes. Katie describes her as a Congress champion, NSBA world champion, and futurity champion, with an established place in the breeding program.
According to the update, two foals out of Rikki are expected in 2027: one by First Thingz First that Katie owns, and another by VS Code Red that belongs to Rikki’s previous owner, Taft Dickerson.
For this collection, Katie wanted to try a different stallion and bank embryos from another bloodline. After asking followers for suggestions on Facebook, she received strong support for Fahrenheight.
Owned by Jane Backes and sired by Radical Rodder, [Fahrenheight](https://www.nsba.com/horse-lookup?start=14300) appealed to Katie as an outcross with older bloodlines. She also believes his build could complement Rikki’s. In the update, she discusses his performance halter success and progress in trail after an injury delayed the start of his showing career.
Ten of Rikki’s oocytes were allocated to Fahrenheight. The other 10 went toward a separate cross selected by Taft, who had asked to pursue another embryo.
Katie left that stallion’s identity undisclosed, explaining that Taft could share his choice and any future results himself. For now, the publicly discussed new pairing is Rikki with Fahrenheight.
## Trudy: Trying Again After a Disappointing Collection
Trudy yielded 28 oocytes, the largest collection among the three mares in this round.
That result follows a disappointing previous attempt. Katie says more than 30 oocytes had been collected from Trudy, but contamination meant none could be used. Returning with another substantial collection gives her a fresh opportunity to pursue the crosses she wants.
This time, Trudy’s oocytes were divided between First Thingz First and [Enticed](https://gumzfarms.com/gumz-farms-enticed.html). Katie did not specify how many were assigned to each stallion.
The Denver pairing remains a priority. Katie used several Trudy–First Thingz First embryos during the past season and wants to replenish that supply. She also notes that Charlotte lost an early pregnancy from that cross, making the opportunity to produce additional embryos especially meaningful.
Enticed introduces another pairing Katie is eager to explore. Trudy is an NSBA world champion, and Katie credits her offspring with success at the NSBA World Show and multiple Congress titles. She has produced some of Katie’s favorite foals, giving this new cross particular interest.
## Waiting for Embryo Results
Each mare’s collection reflects a different goal: returning to a promising pairing with Blondie, exploring another bloodline with Rikki, and rebuilding embryo options while trying something new with Trudy.
The next step is finding out how many usable embryos develop. Until those results are available, the 58 recovered oocytes represent possibilities rather than a confirmed number of future foals.
Katie’s hope is to move into the 2027 breeding season with healthy embryos, useful options for her recipient mares, and a smoother path through the months ahead.
**Which planned cross are you most excited to follow: Blondie with Denver, Rikki with Fahrenheight, or Trudy with Denver or Enticed?**
