WORKING LINESBILL CODY A SIRE FOR ALL AGES
By Larry Thornton
WIMPY P-1
Photo Courtesy AQHA Hall of Fame and Museum
Conformation is a prime factor in the success of a performance horse, and that conformation will vary depending on the discipline the horse is performing in. When the AQHA got started, conformation (halter) classes were very important as a starting point for selecting horses. But at the same time, performance classes displayed the ability of that conformation. We see that in those early years a horse was shown at halter in the morning evaluating his conformation. Then in the afternoon they were shown in performance classes and sometimes more than one performance class. The great Poco Bueno was one of those great halter horse that earned Grand Champion honors at some of the nation’s largest show like the Fort Worth Stock Show. He then became a legend as a cutting horse that prompted his connections to quit showing him and only let him exhibition performances.
The Bill Cody show record begins with 22 halter points through in 1951, 38 halter points in 1952 on the way to earning his Honor Roll title. He earned 11 points in 1953 and 11 more in 1954. His show record ends in 1955 by adding 15 points to his record. The points earned in 1955 are interesting because he was 11 years old. He reportedly won the last points at shows like Denver, San Antonio, and Albuquerque.
Bill Cody was one of those individuals that excelled at halter and was a performance horse as well. Records show that he has had a great impact on the reining horse as well as other events such as cutting. Here is the story of Bill Cody and the kind of performers he sired, and some of the impact he has had on the breed.
Bill Cody was foaled in 1944 on the famed King Ranch of Kingsville, Texas. The King Ranch has been responsible for many fine show horses through their linebreeding to Old Sorrel. They were major contest participants with horses like Peppy P-212, Anita Chica, Hired Hand, and the legendary Wimpy P-1, all descendants of Old Sorrel.
Joe Watt Hardin bought Bill Cody in January of 1946 from the King Ranch. Darroll Sprott was the next owner of Bill Cody buying the young stallion in 1950. His last official owner was Glen L. Casey of Amarillo, Texas, buying him in February 1952. Bill Cody died as the result of colic in July 1966.
The official show record of Bill Cody shows 97 halter points and the Superior Award. He was the first AQHA Honor Roll Halter Horse to win the title in 1952 under the ownership of Casey. It is interesting that Bill Cody was noted as a halter horse, but his influence has been in the performance end of the industry. A true relationship of form to function in the halter horse of the past.
Although the official record shows only halter competition, Bill Cody has been described as a noted roping and reining horse. A June 1984 story in THE QUARTER HORSE JOURNAL, “Wimpy P-1, Earned His Number” by Bob Denhardt, Bill Cody is shown in a picture roping a calf. The picture indicates good form for the noted halter stallion.
This picture is reinforced in the book THE QUARTER HORSE BREEDER by M. H. Lindeman. Lindeman profiles several prominent breeders of the 195O’s, and this includes Glen L, Casey. In that biography, Lindeman tells the following, “While recognized in the show horse world as an outstanding halter horse, Bill Cody became also one of the country’s finest roping horses. His manner in the pen, his speed from the jump and his tremendous stop makes him the envy of every roper who saw him. He also was an excellent reining horse and, in his earlier performance years, won many top reining contests.” He was shown by Roy Savage as a roping horse.
A logical reason for no performance points comes from the fact that in the beginning the AQHA didn’t award points. Stallions like Poco Bueno were brought out of retirement to put together an official show record after the AQHA started keeping records.
The halter quality of Bill Cody is a family tradition. His sire was Wimpy P-1, and he was bred by the King Ranch. Wimpy represented the King Ranch at the Fort Worth Stock Show in 1941. The winner of the Grand Championship at Fort Worth
would get AQHA #1 in the new Stud Book. Wimpy won that prestigious award giving him immortality in the history of the American Quarter Horse Association as Wimpy P-1.
Wimpy went on to be more than a figurehead of the AQHA. He proved to be a very good sire that had a lasting effect on the breed. His record indicates that he sired some good show horses. His son Kip Mac tops the list as his AQHA Champion, Superior Cutting Horse, the 1959 AQHA High Point Cutting Gelding, and an NCHA Silver Award winner. Gitana Chica was an AQHA Superior halter horse. Solis Cogdell, Caballero and Wimpy’s Image were Register of Merit show horses.
Wimpy sired several sons that proved to be good sires. They include Solis Cogdell, sire of Dinah Cogdell, 1971 AQHA High Point Working Cow Horse. Silver Wimpy, sire of the two-time NCHA Open World Champion Marion’s Girl, and Wimpy II, sire of Dawson Nowata, AQHA High Point Pole Bending Horse. Showdown sired of 14 AQHA Champions, 22 performance ROM and 10 Superior halter and performance horses. Wimpy’s sons proved to be great broodmare sires. Wimpy II sired the dams of 17 AQHA Champions; Silver Wimpy sired the dams of 15 AQHA Champions and of course Bill Cody was the sire of the dams of 15 AQHA Champions.
Wimpy was sired by Solis (pronounced So-leese). Solis was one of the first sons of Old Sorrel to be used in the King Ranch breeding program. He was sired by Old Sorrel and out of a Lazarus Mare. The significance of Solis’ contribution to the King Ranch breeding program was highlighted in an interview I had with Stephen J. Kleberg of the King Ranch. Kleberg had this
SOLIS
WIMPY
BILL CODY
to say, “From my point of view, Solis was the best producing son of Old Sorrel. Solis had the most impact.”
Kleberg went on to explain that Solis sired four very important sons in the King Ranch breeding program. Wimpy and Ranchero were two of them, and they were the only ones registered in the AQHA. Much of Ranchero’s influence comes from his son Rey Del Rancho, who in turn was the sire of such noted horses as El Rey Rojo, Rey Jay, and Callan’s Man.
Legendary cutting horse trainer Buster Welch lends more credibility to Solis as a sire when he told me that Rey Del Ranchero was “the best King Ranch cutting horse sire.” Welch rode Wimpy’s granddaughter Marion’s Girl to two NCHA Open World Championships.
Rey Jay serves as a good example of this great line’s prowess as cutting horses. Rey Jay was a top-notch cutting horse that sired top-notch cutting horses like Rey Jay’s Pete, an NCHA Futurity Champion. Rey Jay was the broodmare sire of such great cutting horses as Freckles Playboy, Jay Freckles, and Colonel Freckles, to name just a few.
As you review the pedigrees of the King Ranch horses, you will find that Solis’ daughters were major contributors along with his sons. Bob Denhardt tells us in his book THE KING RANCH QUARTER HORSE that Solis had ninety daughters in the breeding program at the King Ranch.
Solis came from the second crop of foals sired by Old Sorrel. Old Sorrel was sired by Hickory Bill. Hickory Bill was sired
OLD SORREL HICKORY BILL PETER MCCUE b 16.0 1895 ch 1915 b 1907 LUCRETIA M ch
QUARTER HORSE DR ROSE MARE sor 1923 #0000209
QUARTER HORSE MOTHER OF SOLIS RIGHT ROYAL RAPALLO b 1894 U0079870 b 1902 MRS DELANEY br 1895
QUARTER HORSE LAZARUS MARE MARTINS BEST b 1909 ch 1935 U0078884
QUARTER HORSE OLD SORREL HICKORY BILL PETER MCCUE b 16.0 1895 #0000001 ch 1915 b 1907 LUCRETIA M ch
PANDA
QUARTER HORSE DR ROSE MARE ch 1927 #0000209
QUARTER HORSE ROAN Q MARE HICKORY BILL PETER MCCUE b 16.0 1895 #0000163 b 1907 LUCRETIA M ch
QUARTER HORSE
sor 15.0 1944 U0078853
QUARTER HORSE
HICKORY BILL PETER MCCUE DAN TUCKER br 1887 #0003244 b 1907 b 16.0 1895 NORA M b 1880
OLD SORREL QUARTER HORSE LUCRETIA M THE HERO ch 1889 ch 1915 U0072141
QUARTER HORSE DR ROSE MARE #0000209
PESETITA
QUARTER HORSE ch 1939 U0070544
QUARTER HORSE CARDINAL 1 OLD SORREL HICKORY BILL b 1907 #0006476 ch 1924
PESETA 1
QUARTER HORSE U0077912
QUARTER HORSE
U0069236
Courtesy Willow Brook Farms
by Peter McCue and his dam was Lucretia M. George Clegg brought Hickory Bill to Texas from the Little Grove Stock Farm of Illinois. The dam of Hickory Bill, Lucretia H, was sired by The Hero and her dam was Bird. Clegg also purchased Lucretia H from the Little Grove Stock Farm.
Old Sorrel was the finest cow horse to ever be used on the King Ranch. The goal of the King Ranch was to perpetuate the blood of Old Sorrel. They started out by inbreeding daughters of Old Sorrel back to Old Sorrel. This didn’t work as they had hoped. So, the ranch started crossing sons of Old Sorrel back on daughters of Old Sorrel. This is the cross that produced Wimpy. The dam of Old Sorrel was a mare known as the Dr. Rose Mare. Her pedigree is unknown, but she is believed to be of thoroughbred descent. She was reportedly bought by Clegg, who found her in a carload of horses purchased by Clegg’s partner J. C. McGill.
The mother of Solis was a thoroughbred, Lazarus Mare. The Lazarus Mares were purchased from Sam Lazarus of Fort Worth. According to Denhardt’s book, Lazarus was getting out of the racehorse business, and he wanted to sell his horses. The sale came with one stipulation, the pedigrees of the horses were to be kept anonymous. This is why the King Ranch pedigrees of the past will only show the mares to be Lazarus bred. This set of mares would play a key role in the broodmare band of Old Sorrel.
King Ranch pedigrees supplied to me several years ago show that the Lazarus Mare that was the dam of Solis, was a daughter of *Right Royal. Official AQHA pedigrees now list the dam of Solis as “Mother of Solis.” *Right Royal was a son of *Rapello, and his dam was *Mrs. Delaney. The (*) in front of the names Right Royal, Rapello, and Mrs. Delaney indicates that these horses were imported to the United States.
Photo Courtesy Author’s Files
Panda was the dam of Wimpy. She was sired by Old Sorrel and out of a mare listed in the pedigree as a Roan Mare. This Roan Mare was sired by Hickory Bill. This gives Wimpy a 2 X 2 breeding pattern to Old Sorrel and a 3 X 3 X 3 breeding pattern to Hickory Bill.
Pesetita was the dam of Bill Cody. She was a daughter of Old Sorrel. Bill Cody was the only foal out of Pesetita with an AQHA show record. Many early pedigrees of Bill Cody will show his dam to be Peseta Chiquita by Old Sorrel. The Stud Book corrects this error in Volume One. Bill Cody being out of a daughter of Old Sorrel appears to be a very good cross for Wimpy P-1. Wimpy II and Silver Wimpy were out of Old Sorrel daughters.
The dam of Pesetita was Peseta by Cardenal. Cardenal was sired by Old Sorrel, and his dam was a Lazarus Mare by *Right Royal. This makes Solis and Cardenal 3/4 brothers. The official AQHA record shows that this Lazarus Mare is now listed as Piocha by *Right Royal. This gives Bill Cody a unique blend of Old Sorrel, Hickory Bill, and *Right Royal. He has a breeding pattern of 3 X 3 X 2 X 4 linebred to Old Sorrel, 4 X 4 X 3 X 5 to Hickory Bill and 4 X 5 to *Right Royal.
BILL CODY AT HALTER
JOE CODY AT HALTER
Photo
Bill Cody was a very good sire. He sired 255 foals with, 68 of them earning 1,194 halter points, 47 performance point earners of 679 points with 28 earning the performance Register of Merit with 12 AQHA Champions, 8 Superior Halter Horses and 1 Superior cutting horse.
Lee Cody was an AQHA Champion and an AQHA Superior halter and cutting horse. He was an NCHA Open Top Ten Finalist in 1957. This good son of Bill Cody was out of Rodger’s Rockey by Revenue. Revenue was a son of Young Midnight by Midnight by Badger. Badger was aired by Peter McCue. Peter McCue is the sire of Hickory Bill, the sire of Old Sorrel.
Cody’s Pet was another AQHA Champion. This horse was out of a daughter of Revenue by Young Midnight by Midnight by Badger by Peter McCue. Her name was Pet Squaw. The dam of Pet Squaw was a mare by Chief P-5. Chief P-5 was a son of Peter McCue. This makes Pet Squaw line-bred to Peter McCue. Sue Cody was an AQHA Champion sired by Bill Cody. This Champion was out of Sterling City Sue by Dodger by Harmon Baker by Peter McCue.
Lindeman’s biography of Casey indicates that Bill Cody wasn’t the only great horse owned by this breeder from Amarillo, Texas. Casey was attracted to a mare named Jole Blon S. Jole Blon S was purchased by Casey. She earned 59 AQHA Halter Points and a Superior in halter. When bred to Bill Cody, the cross produced four-point earners, including two Superior Halter Horses in Blon Cody with 59 points and Winifred Cody with 56 halter points. Winifred Cody was an AQHA Champion. Jole Blon S was sired by Chubby by, Midnight by Badger by Peter McCue. Another good cross for Bill Cody going back to Peter McCue through the dam’s sire line.
was the 1980 NRHA Futurity Champion and the 1981 AQHA World Champion Junior Reining Horse. This great show horse has gone on to be one of the premier sires of reining horses with his foals including Topsail Whiz a prominent sire in his own right. Both of these horses are in the NRHA Hall of Fame.
Joe Cody was out of a daughter of King P-234 named Taboo. This gives us our first look at Bill Cody as a cross on the King sire line of broodmares. Taboo was out of Billie Bo a roping mare by Billy Bowlegs a Cajun-Bred horse by a horse known as DJ by Old DJ.
Cash Cody was an AQHA Champion out of Poco A Poco by Poco Bob. Poco Bob was sired by Poco Bueno by King P-234. The dam of Poco Bob was Lady Blackburn III by Blackburn. Blackburn was sired by Yellow Jacket and out of Sis. Sis was sired by Peter McCue.
BILL ROYAL AN AQHA CHAMPION
Photo Courtesy Author’s Files
Joe Cody was an AQHA Champion and Register of Merit show horse, as well as a proven cutting horse and roping horse. He is the sire of horses that have earned 5,600.5 AQHA points with 86 Register of Merit show horses, 30 Superior performance horses, and 13 AQHA Champions. His performers earned 11 AQHA High Point Awards and 6 AQHA World Championships. Heading the list of Joe Cody performers must be Sappho Cody, Easter Cody, and Sapphire Cody. These three full sisters won five AQHA High Point Awards in Reining and Working Cow Horse. High Proof was the 1974 and 1976 AQHA World Champion Junior and Senior Reining Horse and Red God AQHA High Point Reining Horse. Topsail Cody, by Joe Cody,
Cody Bee was another representative of a Bill Cody AQHA Champion out of a King P-234 sire line mare. Cody Bee was out of Tom B’s Canela by Rocky Tom Bee. Rocky Tom Bee was a grandson of King P-234. His dam was Sheila H by Joe Traveler by Little Joe. The dam of Sheila H was Duchess H by King P-234. This makes Rocky Tom Bee 2 X 3 inbred to King P-234. Rocky Tom Bee also shows a lot of Little Joe breeding. He carried Little Joe through King P-234, Dipseydoodle Joe (dam of Little Tom B, sire of Rocky Tom Bee), and Joe Traveler.
One of the last AQHA Champions sired by Bill Cody was Bill Royal. Bill Royal was not only an AQHA Champion but a Superior Halter Horse with 58 points. He earned his AQHA performance points in reining and pleasure. He was a finalist in the 1966 National Cutting Horse Association Futurity, tying for 5th place. He was out of White Sox Lady an own daughter of Royal King, the famous cutting horse son of King P-234. This great mare was owned by Don Wade. Wade leased and stood Bill Cody in the early 60’s at North Wales Quarter Horses in Virginia. Bill Royal counts among his foals Royal Masota. Royal Masota was a Register of Merit show horse with 64 points. He was third in the nation in reining in 1971.
Blair Cody was another AQHA Superior Halter Horse and AQHA Champion sired by Bill Cody. Blair Cody earned over 100 halter points. The dam of Blair Cody was Sarah Robinson by Jubilee Joe. The sire of Jubilee Joe was Buger Up by Gray Eagle. The dam of Sarah Robinson was Brown Eagle by Gray
Eagle. This makes Sarah Robinson 3 X 2 inbred to Gray Eagle. Gray Eagle was sired by Beetch’s Yellow Jacket.
Blair Cody is the sire of Blair Cee, a double-bred Wimpy Stallion. His dam is Betsy Cee by Scharbauer’s King by King P-234. The dam of Betsy Cee was Betsy Scharbauer by Silver Wimpy by Wimpy P-1. This makes Blair Cee 3 X 4 line bred to Wimpy P-1.
Blair Cee is the sire of Cee Blair Masota, the 1979 NRHA Futurity Co-Reserve Champion. Miss Cee Blair is a full sister to Cee Blair Masota. Miss Cee Blair NRHA Hall of Fame member. The dam of Cee Blair Masota and Miss Cee Blair is Lady Masota Star by Bill Royal by Bill Cody. Lady Masota Star is a full sister to Royal Masota. This cross makes Cee Blair Masota and Miss Cee Blair 3 X 3 linebred to Bill Cody and 4 X 5 X 4 linebred to Wimpy P-1.
Miss Cee Blair is the dam of several good performers, including Cee Royal Step by Leo Bu Step. Cee Royal Step has 47 AQHA Youth performance points and a ROM in Youth. This good show gelding was the AQHA Reserve High Point Youth Reining Horse in 1990.
The 1994 NRHA World Champion Open and Limited Open Reining Horse is Cee Blair Sailor. This horse was fourth in the 1992 AQHA World Championship Junior Reining and is Register of Merit with 18 points. Cee Blair Sailor is out of Miss Cee Blair. The sire of Cee Blair Sailor is Topsail Cody by Joe Cody by Bill Cody. This makes Cee Blair Sailor 3 X 4 X 4 linebred to Bill Cody and 4 X 5 X 6 X 5 linebred to Wimpy P-1.
Three more AQHA Champions sired by Bill Cody were Unk Cody, Strole’s Cat, and Town Crier. Unk Cody was out of Sally Goodin Lawrence by Cowboy Mike. Strole’s Cat was out of Trammell’s Little Bit by Joe Green by Golden Chief. Town Crier was another Superior Halter Horse with over 100 points. His dam was Watt’s Niki by Nicky by Sheik P-1l. Sheik was sired
by Peter McCue giving us another successful cross on a Peter McCue bred mare.
Town Crier has had his own success in the reining segment of the industry. He was the broodmare sire of Great Pine and Duplikatie. Duplikatie the 1971 NRHA Open Futurity Champion. Great Pine was named an AQHA Champion in 1970 with 25 halter points and 17 performance points. But the real success of Great Pine has come in the National Reining Horse Association as a sire of performers and producers. His foals earned $658,904 in the early years of the NRHA. Some of his great performers would include Great Resolve (Einstein), Great Red Pine, Lady Be Great Pine, and Primary Pine (A Famous Amos). But his major impact as a sire appears to be as the broodmare sire of some of some very good reining horses. His daughters have produced many great reiners including Jacs Great Pine, Crome Plated Jac, Jacs Little Pine, The Jac Be Nimble and A Little Shady Jac.
Town Crier and his cross on a son of Poco Pine introduces us to another success story for the Bill Cody influence. Town Crier was first major stallion owned by Paul Curtner of Jacksboro, Texas. Curtner would replace Town Crier with the great stallion Poco Pine. Even though Curtner sold Town Crier, he apparently liked the Bill Cody cross for Poco Pine. In an interview from a few years ago, Curtner stated that he “liked Cody mares” and that the Poco Pine/Bill Cody nick was a “good cross.’
He went on to explain that it was a lucrative cross that resulted in a high return on his investment in one of the Bill Cody mares. He reportedly paid $800 for Annie Lee Cody with her colts resulting in a gross income of $150,000 during her producing years. Annie Lee Cody produced 8 halter point earners and 6 performance point earners with 3 Register Of Merit, 2 Superior Halter Horses, and 1 AQHA Champion. The following were sired by Poco Pine and out of Annie Lee Cody. Pine’s Chico earned 23 halter points. Pine’s Gone has 7 halter points. Pine’s Lee earned 13 halter points. Pine’s Wampy was the AQHA Champion with 17 halter points and 28.5 performance points. Annie Lee was
BILL CODY ROPING AT SANTA BARBARA
Photo
the first Superior Halter horse with 107 points. Fine’s Annie earned 102 halter points to get her Superior Award. She had 1 performance point. Pine’s Billy earned 27 halter points. Andy Pine gathered 11 performance points and 6 halter points.
Codalena was another good daughter of Bill Cody that Curtner owned. She was a full sister to Town Crier. Codalena produced 15 foals, 13 performers with 13-point earners, six AQHA Champions. nine Register Of Merit performers and three Superior performers. Codalena produced 11 foals by Poco Pine. This mating resulted in 11-point earners, six AQHA Champions, 8 ROM performers, and 3 Superior performers earning four Superiors. Poco Coda was first. She earned 41 halter points. Pine’s Princess earned 20 halter points. Texas Pine was an AQHA Champion with 37 halter points and 34.5 performance points. Wise Pine earned 35 halter points and 1 performance point. Pine Pancho earned his AQHA Championship with 27 halter and 50.5 performance points. Pine Chock was an AQHA Champion with a Superior in Halter (68 points) and a Superior in Western Pleasure (95.5 points).
Pine’s Codalena earned 16 halter points, 24 performance points, 11 youth halter points, 6 youth performance points, and an AQHA Championship. Pine’s Leana an AQHA Champion with 24 halter points, 112.5 performance points and a Superior in Western Pleasure. Miss Chock Pine earned 48 performance points.
Codalena Pine earned 5 halter and 10 performance points. The last foal from this cross is Barry Pine an AQHA Champion with 19 halter points, 62 halter points and a Superior in Western Pleasure. One of the most interesting parts of the list above is the fact that all three of the Superior performance horses were Superior in Western Pleasure.
he became the breeder of Zippo Pat Bars. He then crossed Zippo Pat Bars on his Poco Pine mares. He got the great sire Zippo Pine Bar. Zippo Pine Bar became an all-time leading sire of pleasure horse money earners and at one time the leading sire of Register of Merit show horses.
The Bill Cody influence shows up in some of the Zippo Pat Bar/Poco Pine foals. Pines Plaudit is an example. She was sired by Poco Pine and out of Plaudit Cody by Bill Cody. This good show mare earned 41 performance points with 35 of them being western pleasure points in open, amateur and youth categories. Pines Plaudit produced 7 foals with all of them being point earners. This list is headed by Zippo Pine Lady, who earned 378 points with Superiors in Open and Youth Western Pleasure. Zipper Zapper earned 52.5 performance points. Zippos Black Gold earned 30.5 halter and performance points, and Zippo Pine earned 10 open and youth performance points. All of these foals are sired by Zippo Pat Bars.
The cutting industry has its own ties to Bill Cody. The great sires Doc Wilson, an NCHA Hall of Fame winner and his full brother Son Ofa Doc, sire of two World Champion Cutting Horses in Bob Acre Doc and Show Biz Sandy have a tie to Bill Cody. This tie to Bill Cody comes through their dam Jazzy Socks was an NCHA Futurity Non-Pro Finalist with Spencer Harden. Jazzy Socks was sired by Royal King (the broodmare sire of Bill Royal). She was out of Tony Jazzy by Cody’s Tony by Bill Cody.
Earlier in our look at Bill Cody, we made reference to the success of Rey Jay as a broodmare sire of such famous cutters as Freckles Playboy and Jay Freckles. The dam of these two cutters is Gay Jay. The dam of Gay Jay is Georgia Cody by Sorghum Bill. Sorghum Bill was a son of Bill Cody. This gives Gay Jay two crosses to Solis through his most significant sons Wimpy and Ranchero while putting the blood of Bill Cody in these great cutting horses.
Bill Cody represents the ultimate in the quarter horse of the 1950’s. He was a great halter stallion that proved to be a good performer in the arena. Then Bill Cody became a good sire with his foals excelling at halter and performance. The success of Bill Cody the performer and sire has allowed his legacy to live on in many fine foals that carry his blood. He truly serves as a great
Photo Courtesy willow Brook Farms
JOE CODY ROPING
Dakota Breeders Classic
FIRST AID FOR HORSES
By Heather Smith Thomas
Injuries need prompt and proper care. Try to assess the seriousness of the problem, determining whether you can treat it yourself or need help from a veterinarian. Even in serious injuries, what you do for the horse as you wait for the veterinarian can often make a difference in the outcome.
Dr. David Wilson (Professor of Equine Surgery, University of Missouri, now retired) says it’s a good idea to have a veterinarian look at any wound, especially if it’s near a joint. Proper care may prevent joint infection.
“If there’s extensive bleeding, control the bleeding while you wait for the vet. Apply a pressure bandage first, whether the wound is clean or not. Even if there’s a chunk of wood or other foreign material in the wound, your vet can take it out later,” says Wilson.
For an instant pressure bandage to halt flow from a spurting artery, place clean towels or a folded shirt (several layers) over the wound and wrap it in place with a support bandage or leg wrap. It may take several layers of wrapping. For a leg wound, several layers of clean towel directly over the wound, held in place with a stretchy bandage or leg wrap, will usually halt bleeding.
If there is serious hemorrhage, a more effective pressure bandage can be created by placing something solid, such as a clean smooth rock or piece of wood, padded with bandaging material, against the wound. Secure it with several layers of wrap. Don’t make the bandaging too tight or it will cut off circulation.
“If that doesn’t stop blood flow (leaking swiftly through the bandage), another pressure bandage should be applied over the first one. Just keep layering until there’s enough pressure to slow the bleeding,” says Wilson.
If the wound is on the body rather than a leg, in a place that’s hard to bandage, put a clean towel over it and apply pressure with your hands until the vet arrives. If you need to secure the bandage to the horse’s torso, fold a towel into layers and hold it in place with blanket straps, bungee straps or other strapping around the horse’s body.
A strap on each edge of the folded towels will hold them in place.
“A laceration or puncture that enters the abdomen (as when a horse is impaled on a metal post) or any other injury that punctures a body cavity is a serious emergency. You’ll want your veterinarian to make sure the underlying structures or internal organs are not damaged,” says Wilson.
If air is going back and forth through an open wound on the abdomen, put a clean plastic garbage bag, folded to proper size, between the wound and towel to halt airflow in and out. Don’t leave the horse unattended after applying this type of bandage or a pressure bandage. Monitor it continually until the veterinarian arrives, to make sure it stays in place and remains tight enough to halt bleeding.
Make-do bandages for most wounds can be created from disposable diapers, to cushion and protect a vital structure or hold a dressing against a wound, or distribute pressure of an outer elastic bandage more evenly. This makes excellent padding for a small wound, being absorbent and not sticking to the wound, and also handy for an emergency pressure bandage to halt bleeding.
A disposable diaper wicks moisture away from a wound; the outside plastic helps protect the wound and the self-sticking tabs hold it on the horse’s leg until you can cover it with an outer bandage/wrap. Disposable diapers are excellent bandage padding for the bottom of a hoof, being durable and waterproof. Adding duct tape around the outside edge at ground surface and over the bottom of the foot provides more durability and keeps the bandage from wearing through.
Old sheets torn into strips and rolled up for later use as bandage-wrappings can be handy. Before you throw away old bedding or clothing, utilize the parts
that would make padding or bandages; roll or fold them to store with your first aid kit.
Bubble wrap (sheets of air-filled bubbles used for shipping fragile items) make good temporary padding under a pressure bandage or support bandage, providing safe distribution of pressure against the horse. Bubble wrap can be applied to the lower leg for first-aid care of a bowed tendon, for instance. If used over an open wound, an absorbent layer such as a sanitary napkin should be applied next to the horse. The bubble wrap can be used temporarily until something better is applied by your veterinarian. It should be changed within 3 to 6 hours, since plastic holds heat and moisture against the horse’s leg and may cause skin irritation.
Pantyhose or tights can hold a bandage in place, if there’s no elastic bandage available. To hold a bandage against the withers, for instance, sew 2 pairs of pantyhose together at the waistband. This forms a large rectangular area to go over your bandage, leaving the stretchy legs available to tie together under the belly at the girth. Since it stretches, it doesn’t cut off circulation or chaff.
Wilson says many people try to clean up a wound with whatever antiseptic they have hand, and then apply their favorite medication, but this is not a good idea. “Some of the things people put on wounds will hinder healing, especially if the wound needs to be sutured. Just control the bleeding, then have your veterinarian come—or take the horse to the veterinarian to deal with the wound,” he advises.
Most wounds can be sutured, unless too much skin is missing. “If there’s minimal skin loss, we can usually put the pieces back together unless the injury is more than a day old, with contamination and dead/ dying tissue,” says Wilson. The main thing to remember when applying first aid is to stay calm. If you panic, your horse will panic.
CLEANING A WOUND
- A fresh wound (less than 2 or 3 hours old) can be considered contaminated but not infected. A contaminated wound merely has germs and dirt on the surface and you can wash this away. An infected wound has had more time (or was immediately contaminated with dirt and manure) for bacteria to penetrate the tissue and start multiplying.
If a wound is really dirty, some veterinarians suggest adding a little tincture of iodine to warm water or saline solution, to use for rinsing it out. Dilute the mix until it looks like root beer. The water dilutes the iodine so it’s not harsh and irritation.
A product commonly misused is hydrogen peroxide. This should not be used on raw tissue because it’s irritating. Hydrogen peroxide should only be used to clean a dirty/contaminated wound that’s caked with dried blood/dirt/ manure. The bubbling, foaming action can penetrate through the debris and loosen it up. It’s also effective when cleaning out a deep abscess, or removing dried blood and dirt from surrounding hair on intact skin.
Chlorhexadine is also used for cleaning wounds, and can be diluted with water. Both iodine and chlorhexadine are inactivated, however, if they come in contact with organic material like straw or manure. Chlorhexadine should never be used in a joint wound because it can irritate joint surfaces.
The most common applications for bandages on limbs or feet are to stop bleeding, to protect wounds from contamination, to prevent or reduce swelling, and to protect the limbs/feet during transport. Sometimes a bandage is applied to protect sensitive tissues of the foot while the hoof wall is growing out.
“The foot should be properly cleaned before application of the bandage. This might mean scrubbing it or cleaning a wound, to prevent contamination from adjacent tissues. It may mean clipping the hair, wound cleaning and debridement,” says Pleasant.
The bandage materials should be of adequate width to avoid a tourniquet affect. “In horses, we use materials that are 3 to 6 inches in width,” he says. Examples include the standard Vet-Rap rather than the smaller tape for humans or small animals.
When applying any bandage, remember that the horse has fragile skin. “If the bandage will be going above the hoof it should be applied as smoothly as possible to avoid ridges and lumps that might put too much pressure over an area and lead to skin irritation and necrosis,” he explains.
“Bandages should be applied with appropriate tension. Bandages too tight may impair circulation and result in serious damage to soft tissues. Applied too loosely, a bandage may slip and bunch up into constricting ridges and lumps,” he says.
Pressure from a hose is often adequate to clean out any dirt and debris from a wound and is not irritating to skin and raw tissue. As long as it’s not a puncture wound (in which you might be driving foreign material deeper with water pressure), cold water hosing is beneficial. The cold is soothing, reducing pain and swelling, and flushes away any dead material that needs to come off.
BANDAGING FOOT AND LEG WOUNDS
– Dr. Scott Pleasant (Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine) says horse owners must understand the basic principles of bandage applications to be prepared to handle these situations.
Your veterinarian can instruct you in the basic care of the bandage, and signs of a bandage failure—in terms of physical appearance of the bandage and how the animal might act if it’s too tight or too loose.
“Check for signs of swelling above or below the bandage, as this would indicate it’s too tight. If the bandage i’s bunching up or sliding down, it is likely too loose. If the horse demonstrates discomfort (lameness, or not wanting to bear weight on that foot, or biting at the bandage), the bandage is hurting the animal or there’s a more serious problem,” he says.
“The bandage should be taken off and replaced. We don’t want to take a bandage off and find a more serious problem, caused by the bandage,” says Pleasant.
MARES WITH MORETHE LAZARUS MARES
By Larry Thornton
SOLIS ON THE KING RANCH
Photo Courtesy Victoria Short
Back several years ago, I did an article on how to read the pedigree and use it as a selection tool. In this article I made reference to when you study the King Ranch quarter horse breeding program you will see that the emphasis on this program was through the sire side of the pedigree.
King founder of the King Ranch. Robert J. Kleberg Jr. is the man that spear headed the King Ranch breeding programs that developed the Santa Gertrudis breed of cattle, the King Ranch Thoroughbreds and the King Ranch Old Sorrel Quarter Horses.
Shortly after running this article in the Foundation Quarter Horse Registry magazine, I got a letter in the mail from Silverbrook Farms. The letter was handwritten from Helen Groves, the owner of Silverbook Farm. Helen Groves was the daughter of Robert J. Kleberg Jr., grandson of Richard
7/13/96
Dear Mr. Thornton,
I read your nice article in the cow horse bulletin.
Helen was writing the letter to give me the heads up about the criteria her father used to select mares for the ranch broodmare band and how important the mare really was to the breeding program. Here is what she had to say—
As long as my father Robert J. Kleberg Jr. ran King Ranch, believe me, every attention was paid to mares selected for breeding. There were several basic criteria—
a) All mares were judged on good conformation and soundness.
b) All mares were worked in big open roundups, first between the herds and then in cutting, roping or both.
c) They had to hold their condition—usually pasture fed only. But in dry times a ration of oats for each—Nosebags were used in the early days so only the ones that actually worked were supplemented. Any mare that got poor on the same ration as her mates would not be bred.
d) Only mares showing good disposition, cow sense and physical ability were bred.
In most cases the mares were by descendants of Old Sorrel bred to descendants of Old Sorrel. At times mares showing racing ability or were good cow horses often would be bred and used to raise outcross horses—Some of the good foundation stock such as Solis were out of Mr. Sam Lazarus thoroughbreds. Tino was also bred that way. Some were “Spanish,” Standardbred or Morgan on the bottom side—not registered but showing type.
I had a very nice mare some years back from King Ranch that was by a son of Wimpy and out of a daughter of Rey Del Rancho. She won races locally, fox hunted, cut and I roped off her.
I have cutting horses now Peppy San Badger mostly.
Sincerely Helen Groves
This letter is one of my prized possessions. Just think she took the time to respond to my article with a handwritten letter. I was honored to have her give me this information. The letter allows us to look back to see the significance of the mares on the King Ranch and a group of mares we know today as the Lazarus Mares. The Lazarus Mares will be our focus in this issue for our Mares With More.
According to Bob Denhardt’s book “THE KING RANCH QUARTER HORSES”, the Lazarus Mares came to the King Ranch when a man named Sam Lazarus decided to get out of the racehorse business. Lazarus was a successful businessman, and his business interests included the Quanah, Acme and Pacific Railway and the Acme Cement Company. He was a noted breeder of good Texas bred thoroughbred racehorses.
When the State of Texas outlawed horse racing, Lazarus sent his horses to places like St. Louis, Missouri to compete. Despite his success in Texas, when Lazarus went out of state, he found that his horses could not compete for a very interesting reason. This is how Denhardt tells of what happened, “When racing was outlawed in Texas, however, he had difficulty making his stable pay because of the high cost of shipping the horses and maintaining them at the eastern and southern tracks. Then something happened that made him decide to give up racing entirely. A string of his horses that were sent to St. Louis always seemed to break last and maintain their positions. There were unsavory explanations for the poor showing of horses that should have placed in some of the races. He did not like to lose money, and to have it lifted from his pocket was more than he could stand. The situation was especially galling to him because
there seemed to be nothing, he could do about it. He decided to sell out, racehorse, broodmares, stallions and all.”
Lazarus wanted to find a place for his horses, and he felt the King Ranch was a deserving place. So, he approached the King Ranch to buy his horses. After some persistence on the part of Lazarus, Caesar Kleberg, Bob Kleberg Jr.’s cousin, was sent to inspect the mares. Upon inspection, Caesar Kleberg bought the Lazarus horses.
The selling price was $100.00 apiece, with the stipulation that the Lazarus horses were not to be registered or raced, as he didn’t want them raced or used by his “former friends” in the racehorse business.
Denhardt’s footnotes on page 96 and 97 of THE KING RANCH QUARTER HORSE indicates that there were 30 mares and two stallions sold. Lazarus also asked that the pedigrees of these horses remain anonymous and not to be used or made public. The footnotes by Denhardt indicate that the Lazarus mares came to the King Ranch in 1911 or 1912.
Much of the information in the Denhardt footnotes came from a letter written by Dr. J. K. Northway, the King Ranch veterinarian that came to the King Ranch in 1916. He told Denhardt that the two stallions listed above were suffering from moon blindness and that they put them down shortly after his arrival.
It seems that the King Ranch for the most part kept the identity of the Lazarus horses to themselves. So, this well-bred
PETER MCCUE DAN TUCKER BARNEY OWENS br 14.3 1871 b 16.0 1895 br 1887 BUTT CUT sor 1876
HICKORY BILL QUARTER HORSE NORA M VOLTIGEUR b 1872 b 1907 U0077937 b 1880 KITTY CLYDE b 1860
QUARTER HORSE LUCRETIA M THE HERO HIMYAR b 1875 U0072141 ch ch 1889 LULU S ch 1882
OLD SORREL QUARTER HORSE BIRD JACK TRAVELER b 1873 ch 1915 U0074580 ch 1882 KITTY CLYDE b 1860
QUARTER HORSE #0000209
DR ROSE MARE
QUARTER HORSE U0070544 SOLIS sor 1923
QUARTER HORSE RAPALLO BEND OR DONCASTER ch 1870 U0079870 b 1894 ch 1877 ROUGE ROSE ch 1865 RIGHT ROYAL THOROUGHBRED NAPOLI MACARONI b 15.3 1860 b 1902 (GB) b 1878 SUNSHINE b 1867
THOROUGHBRED MRS DELANEY ST SIMON GALOPIN br 16.0 1872 (USA) br 1895 br 16.1 1881 ST ANGELA b 1865
MOTHER OF SOLIS THOROUGHBRED ISMAY ISONOMY b 1875 (GB) b 1891 STE ALVERE ch 1883
QUARTER HORSE MARTINS BEST RIGHT ROYAL RAPALLO b 1894
U0078884 b 1909 b 1902 MRS DELANEY br 1895
LAZARUS MARE THOROUGHBRED GRIEF FAUSTUS ch 1877 (USA) b 1901 BELLE BROECK b 1884
QUARTER HORSE U0075412
herd of registered thoroughbreds became known as the Lazarus horses and mares.
With the pedigrees of the Lazarus horses basically unknown, Denhardt described them this way about their quality, “Lazarus had accumulated one of the better bands of Thoroughbreds outside Kentucky.”
This observation takes us to Martin’s Best, a thoroughbred stallion that played a key role in the Lazarus mares’ contribution and a stallion that was actually a product of the Lazarus breeding program.
We will rely on a ranch memo from Robert Kleberg Jr. to his nephew Dick Kleberg to tell us about Martin’s Best. This memo is now found in Denhardt’s book THE KING RANCH QUARTER HORSE, “Martin’s Best was a very, very high-class thoroughbred that we raised from some of the Sam Lazarus mares. The daughters of this and some of his inbred daughters were the best mares that were bred to Old Sorrel. His (Martin’s Best’s) whole pedigree is filled with some of the best blood in the world and I thought it would be well to have this preserved with our permanent Quarter Horse records, as the blood of this horse was very important to the foundation of our stud. For instance, the mare Charrita that Lauro (Lauro Cavazos, the ranch foreman) rode, and Solis were out of inbred daughters of this horse.”
Solis was born in 1923 in the second crop of foals sired by Old Sorrel. He was foaled in the same crop as Cardenal. They were both proven on the ranch as stock horses and then put into the breeding program. They were both out of Lazarus bred mares. More on these stallions later.
Denhardt then refers in his footnotes to his correspondence with Dr. Northway. Northway re-affirms Martin’s Best as a well-
bred horse, but states his conformation was also important in his contribution to the program. When using thoroughbred blood, the King Ranch held tight to using horses that carried the right conformation to cross on the quarter horse.
Martin’s Best was born in 1909 and sired by Right Royal. You will recall that the ranch purchased the Lazarus horses in 1911 or 1912. Thus, by reviewing this stallion we can get a picture of bloodlines used by Lazarus in his breeding program.
Right Royal was sired by an imported horse and out of a mare that was imported. Right Royal was a grandson of such great Thoroughbreds as Bend Or and St. Simon. His sire was *Rapello by Bend Or and *Rapello’s dam was Napoli by Macaroni. *Mrs. Delaney was the dam of Right Royal. Her sire was St. Simon. The dam of *Mrs. Delaney was Ismay by Isonomy. The dam of Ismay was Ste. Alvere by Hermit. (An (*) in front of a horse’s name indicates an imported horse in a pedigree today.)
Victoria Short in her book THE UNREGISTERED FOUNDATION SIRES OF THE AMERICAN QUARTER HORSE shows in her pedigree of Solis, one of the stallions she profiles, that Right Royal was a successful racehorse. She reported that he ran 69 races with 20 wins, 17 seconds and 10 thirds. He was a stakes winner as well.
The dam of Martin’s Best was Grief. Grief was also a wellbred mare sired by Faustus. Faustus was the sire of such noted horses as Bonnie Joe, the grandsire of Joe Reed P-3. Faustus was a full brother to Mannie Gray, the dam of the great Domino. What makes Grief so interesting is that if you check equineonline.com computer records it shows that she was the dam of only one registered foal and that was Martin’s Best. This would allow us to assume that if she was the dam of other foals, they were absorbed into the Lazarus herd as it was used on the King Ranch.
MARION’S GIRL BY SILVER WIMPY BY WIMPY P-1
Photo from the Author’s Files
Denhardt talks about Martin’s Best on page 128 of his chapter on outcross thoroughbred stallions used on the King Ranch. Here is what he wrote, “…One of the Lazarus mares had a colt by Right Royal (TB), who was named Martin’s Best. He was trained as a cow horse by Bob Kleberg. Later, when Martin’s Best fillies were introduced into the program, they proved his blood to be one of the most important among the Thoroughbreds used.”
Helen’s letter indicates that one of the most successful sons of Old Sorrel was Solis. Solis is mentioned again when Bob Kleberg is writing to Dick Kleberg about the influence of Martin’s Best on the success of Old Sorrel. Solis was out of a Lazarus bred mare.
Officially the AQHA lists the dam of Solis as the Mother of Solis instead of just a Lazarus Mare. This distinguishes her from other Lazarus Mares. The AQHA officially lists her sire as Right Royal and her dam as a Lazarus Mare, whose pedigree is unknown. The ranch pedigrees I received from them in the 1980’s indicate that Right Royal was her sire. But Denhardt and the footnotes indicate that she was sired by Martin’s Best and out of a daughter of Martin’s Best.
Hazel Oatman Bowman in an article “King Ranch Horses” that appeared in the September 1947 issue of the CATTLEMAN magazine indicates that Solis was an outstanding individual. Bowman described Solis this way, “The most outstanding cross of the first cross was a beautiful sorrel colt named Solis, which was se¬lected for use as a sire.”
Stephen J. “Tio” Kleberg, son of Dick Kleberg, Jr., told me in a 1989 interview that he believed “Solis was the best producing son of Old Sorrel.” He also feels that “Solis had the most impact” on the program through both his colts and fillies. Kleberg goes on to point out that Solis sired four sons used on the ranch. But the two most important sons in the breeding program were Wimpy P-1 and Ranchero.
Wimpy was selected to represent the King Ranch at the 1941 Fort Worth Stock Show. It was during this show that Wimpy earned immortality by winning the Grand Championship. The AQHA reserved the number one in the Stud Book for the stallion that was the Grand Champion at Fort Worth in 1941.
Wimpy went on to become an influential sire. He counts among his foals Silver Wimpy, Bill Cody, Wimpy II and Showdown. Silver Wimpy was bred on the King Ranch and used extensively by the Scharbauer Ranch in Midland, Texas. He sired several noted show horses including Marion’s Girl, who was owned by Marion Flynt and shown by Buster Welch. Marion’s Girl won the NCHA World Championships in 1954 and 1956. She earned $36,075 from 1953 to 1957 and was inducted into the NCHA Hall of Fame. Marion’s Girl was an AQHA Champion with 162 cutting points and 20 halter points. Flynt retired Marion’s Girl in 1957 to be bred to King P-234. But Marion’s Girl died in December of 1957, never having produced a colt.
Bill Cody was the first AQHA Honor Roll Halter Horse in 1952. This great show stallion earned 97 halter points during
ANITA CHICO BY REY DEL RANCHO BY RANCHERO
Photo from the Author’s Files
his career as a halter horse. He was also a noted reining and roping horse. He was a successful sire with Blair Cody, Cody Bee, Cody’s Pet, Joe Cody, Cash Cody, Lee Cody, Strole’s Cat, Sue Cody, Bill Royal, Town Crier and Winifred Cody all being AQHA Champions. Joe Cody was not only an AQHA Champion but an all-time leading sire in the reining horse industry. He is in the NRHA Hall of Fame, and he is joined there with some Topsail Cody and Topsail Whiz. They are in the NRHA Hall of Fame as well.
Bill Cody was out of Pesetita by Old Sorrel. The dam of Pesetita was Peseta by Cardenal by Old Sorrel. Cardenal was sired by Old Sorrel and out of Piocha by Right Royal. Piocha was a Lazarus mare. Cardenal is officially spelt as Cardinal in AQHA records.
Wimpy II became a primary stallion for John Dawson of Oklahoma. This good son of Wimpy became a leading sire with 8 AQHA Champions and 21 ROM performers in the early years of the AQHA. His AQHA Champions include Bob’s Pick, Dawson Jack, Dawson’s Dixie Lee, Dawson Mark, Dawson’s Herb McSpadden, Dawson’s Surprise, Peaka Power, Wimpess Lady and Wise Wimpy. His dam was Ann Wilson’s Daughter by Old Sorrel.
the story and his strongest branch was through his son Rey Del Rancho.
Dick Kleberg, Jr., father to Stephen “Tio” Kleberg, was very fond of Rey Del Rancho. As Tio Kleberg put it, “My father loved Rey Del Rancho.” Dick Kleberg, Jr. was in charge of selecting breeding stock for the King Ranch breeding program and he found the Rey Del Rancho horses to be consistently among the best.
Tio Kleberg described Rey Del Rancho as a horse with “a small but petite head that stood about 14.3 hands.” He was “well balanced but a little light behind” and “a very quick horse”. Legendary cutting horse trainer, Buster Welch labeled the Rey Del Rancho line to be the “best” King Ranch family for cutting. Welch based his opinion on horses like Rey Jay and Callan’s Man, both wellknown cutting horses. The record shows that this line was noted for good-looking horses, good ranch-using horses as well as good cutting horses. We will look at the Rey Del Rancho contri¬bution through individuals like Anita Chica, El Rey Rojo and Rey Jay.
Anita Chica
Showdown was another good siring son of Wimpy. His AQHA Champions include Caliente Hill, Excuse, Show Tip, Showdown Rick, Showpond and Showdown Wimpy. Pandarita Hill by Showdown was the 1959 AQHA Honor Roll Halter Horse and Show Tip was the 1969 AQHA Honor Roll Western Riding Horse. The dam of Showdown was Cacuchia by Peppy P-212, and she was out of Cuate I. Cuate I was by Solis. More on this later.
Ranchero is the founder of the second King Ranch sire line to travel through Solis to Old Sorrel. He was out of Borega by Old Sorrel. Ranchero isn’t as well-known as Wimpy, but his contribution to the influence of Solis is an important part of
was the last of a long line of halter horses bred and shown by the King Ranch. This mare is credited with 1 Cham¬pion of Champions title, 41 Grand Championships, 15 Reserve Grand Championships and 60 blue ribbons. She earned 90 halter points and the Superior Halter Award.
El Rey Rojo was sired by Rey Del Rancho. This stallion has been used extensively by the King Ranch. His foals include El Bandido Rojo, an AQHA Champion with 37 halter points and 14 performance points. The dam of El Rey Rojo was Colorada Riche by Hired Hand. Hired Hand was sired by Old Sorrel and his dam was Water Lilly by Yellow Jacket. More on El Rey Rojo’s pedigree later.
Curly Talamage developed Rey Jay. He was later purchased and shown by Tom and Delight Lee. This great show stallion earned
Photo from Author’s Files
his Bronze Award in the NCHA and his AQHA Championship in the AQHA. He earned 12 halter points, 4.5 western pleasure points and 257 cutting points for his Superior Award.
Rey Jay went on to sire such noted horses as Rey Jay’s Pete, an NCHA Futurity Champion, as well as mares like Gay Jay and Christy Jay. Gay Jay being the dam of such noted horses as Freckles Playboy, Jay Freckles, Lenas Success and Ima Son O Sugar. Christy Jay was the dam of such noted horses as Colonel Freckles, He’s A Freckles, Christy Lena, Colonel Rey Lena and Call Me Bad Blood.
We originally saw that Solis became successful because of his ability to cross with his paternal half-sisters, the daughters of Old Sorrel. We know that Solis sired 90 daughters that were used in the King Ranch breeding program. This means that they became an integral part of the breeding program. One of the out¬standing crosses for the daughters of Solis was when they were bred to Peppy P-212. Here are some examples.
Showdown was sired by Wimpy. His dam was Cacuchia by Peppy. The dam of Cacuchia was Cuate I by Solis. Peppy Jr was a stallion used by the ranch in the 1950s. His sire was Peppy, and his dam was Gabriela II by Solis. Tio Kleberg credited Peppy Jr as one of three stallions to make a major contribution to the King Ranch breeding program in the 1950s. The other two stallions were Rey Del Rancho and Wimpy.
Royal Peppy was a King Ranch stallion used by the Scharbauer Ranches. Many of his daughters were bred to Silver Wimpy. The sire of Royal Peppy was Peppy and his dam was Nicha 71 by Solis. Royal Peppy was the broodmare sire of Deuce Five and he was by Silver Wimpy. This great show gelding was an AQHA Honor Roll Cutting Horse in 1964. This makes the Silver Wimpy/Royal Peppy cross linebreeding to Solis.
El Rey Rojo was sired by Rey Del Rancho and out of Colorada Riche. The dam of Colorada Riche was La Docile by Peppy. The dam of La Docile was a daughter of Solis. This makes El Rey Rojo linebred the Old Sorrel/Lazarus mare cross through Solis and Cardenal.
We have noted the early success of Solis in the formative years of the King Ranch breeding program. Solis was put back on his half-sister sired by Old Sorrel as the first major step to successfully line breed to Old Sorrel. The next most significant pattern was the mating of sons of Old Sorrel with mares that were sired by sons of Old Sorrel. Little Richard was sired by Old Sorrel and out of Lucky Mose mare and Cardenal was who
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was by Old Sorrel and out of Piocha by Right Royal were a great example of how this worked for the breeding program.
Here is what Robert Kleberg, Jr. and A. O. Rhoad had to say in THE JOURNAL OF HEREDITY article “The Development of a “Superior Family in the Quarter Horse” about the second generation crosses through Old Sorrel’s sons Little Richard and Cardenal. “As soon as it was possible to do so, selections were made from the related offspring above mentioned. In all cases the plan was to employ only such mating’s as would complement each other as to disposition, conformation and the great variety of characteristics which make up any living creature. An example of this type of mating would be the breeding of the stallion Little Richard to daughters of Cardenal; both Little Richard and Cardinal were almost of identical conformation and were practically perfect individuals. Little Richard, however, was above average in size for the breed; he was inclined to be sluggish and did not have as light a mouth as is desirable. Cardenal on the other hand was below average size, was inclined to be high-strung and his mouth was almost to light. From this mating we secured a closer approach to the desirable traits that Old Sorrel possessed.”
They went on to explain that this cross-worked in the reverse as well and that this was the plan as it was carried out throughout the whole program. This is how they were constantly trying to improve on the horses they were using.
The key individual in this breeding pattern was Peppy and he became the poster child for this breeding pattern and the King Ranch breeding program. He was foaled in 1934. He became the first noted show horse for the King Ranch. He was named the Grand Champion at Fort Worth in 1940, the year before Wimpy was the champion. His last show was at Tucson in 1941 where he was named the Grand Champion. He was also used as a match racehorse where he reportedly ran the quarter in 22.2 seconds. He was like all the horses on the King Ranch in that he was a cow horse used on roundups, as a cutting horse and as a roping horse. As you can see his power as a sire comes through his daughters.
It is easy to see that the Lazarus bred horses were a big part of the success of the King Ranch line of quarter horse. So now that have learned a little more about them, we can now see how important the broodmares were to the success of the program. Sadly, Helen Groves passed away in May 2022. Now I wish we had visited more about the King Ranch and their great breeding program. Thank You for your letter, Helen!!!
Larry Thornton is a Pedigree Analyst and freelance writer for Working Horse Magazine, Speedhorse and Quarter Horse News. Thorton started his writing career in 1984 with his first article being printed in the Speed Horse Magazine. He was also an Agriculture Instructor for 37 years.
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