An Arkansas women is seeking a settlement from the operator of a Missouri equine reproduction facility for allegedly mishandling semen from her now-deceased Missouri Fox Trotter stud.

Attorney Christopher Swiecicki said client Gwen Glaze and her late husband purchased Southern Jazz for breeding. Over the course of his lifetime the horse sired eight world grand champions, 20 world champions, and 21 reserve world champions, he said. In 2007, Glaze began having Southern Jazz’s semen collected, frozen, and stored at the Animal Clinic and Equine Center, in West Plains, Missouri, for use and sale after the horse’s death, he said.

By 2015, Swiecicki said, the facility had more than 1,600 semen straws frozen in a storage tank, however that tank allegedly malfunctioned and all the semen straws were lost.

“(Ms. Glaze) got a letter saying that the (storage) machine went out and there was no back up; there was no insurance … nothing,” Swiecicki said. “The horse is dead … so there will never be another offspring from that horse.”

Court records show that, on March 23, Glaze filed a complaint accusing the center’s operator, Robert Leonard, DVM, of breach of contract. She is seeking $270,000 in damages.

On March 31, an Animal Clinic and Equine Center representative said the facility had not yet received any documents relative to such a lawsuit and declined further comment.

Court records show that the case remains pending.