By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent

LEBANON, Ohio — Forty-two years after graduating from high school together, Bill Smith and Ron Maag teamed up to form Warren County Kigers.

“Our goal was very simple. We wanted to own, ride and enjoy the best Kiger mustangs that we could,” Smith said. “Like everyone else after I raised my children and retired from my job I was looking for something to do. My first thought was to do something with horses, since I had horses when I was a kid. So in March of 2004 I decided to tend to Kiger mustangs.”

To this day Bill and Stephanie Smith maintain a 50-acre farm five miles south of Lebanon, Ohio. At their farm (called Heritage Hill Farm), the couple keep a few Kigers around for riding purposes and display for the general public. And, they occasionally sell these rare, high-priced horses.

“The folks living in Oregon, California and Washington covet these horses and they don’t like the fact that we have them right here in Ohio,” Smith said. “The horses I have originated from and were captured in Oregon. There are two areas in Oregon where the Kigers run wild and capture is only permitted every four years.”

Smith is president of the Warren County chapter of the Ohio Horseman’s Council. He’s been around all breeds of horses. Six years ago he spotted a Kiger mustang at a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) horse sale in Columbus, Ohio. He’s been hooked on this breed ever since.

“The Kigers were left here by the Spaniards more than 500 years ago,” Smith said. “When you compare the DNA of Kigers residing in Spain and the Iberian Peninsula they’re identical. And their breed is pure. They don’t cross breed. If you put them in a field with other kinds of horses they’ll keep to themselves.”

Kigers were discovered roaming free in the northwestern states, and in 1977 were rounded up by the BLM. Smith, who has owned up to 12 Kigers at any given time, says the breed is rare and quite expensive.

“You rarely find a weanling for less than $3,000,” he said. “I never advertise them for sale and I’m careful who I sell them to. I also don’t breed them here. The only good stallion in the Midwest is found in Michigan.”

Last month, a woman from Strada, Germany purchased one of Smith’s Kigers for an undisclosed price. The down payment alone was $10,000.

In order to ship overseas Smith’s Kiger had to be isolated (quarantined) on the farm for 30 days.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) Wildlife Service office in Reynoldsburg, Ohio inspected his facility to make sure it was sterile prior to shipping. APHIS officials performed blood tests and administered shots on his farm as well. The Kiger was eventually shipped to Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, then straight to Germany.

“The shipping of that horse to Germany is a bit rare as there are just three Kigers in Europe,” Smith said.

The Smiths are members of the Kiger Mesteno Assoc. and the Eastern States Kiger Breeders and Exhibition Club.

For more information about the Kigers, contact Smith at 513-932-7848.