19 minute read
The Working Lines
By Larry Thornton ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
ne of the early puzzles that confronted me as
Oa pedigree researcher was the lineage of Pep
Up. The AQHA Stud Book showed that Pep Up was sired by Peppy P-212 and out of the mare
Canalita by Solis. Then I started finding pedigrees showing that Pep Up was sired by Macanudo and out of Petra R2 by Little Richard. Today the official AQHA pedigree on Pep Up is the Macanudo/Petra R2 pedigree.
The AQHA registration file on Pep Up will tell us how the confusion over his pedigree came about. His file was made available to me by the AQHA Heritage Center and Museum. We will start with a letter dated July 23, 1957, from B. F. Phillips, Jr. to the AQHA employee Ralph E. Morrison. Phillips wrote, “In looking over the tabulated pedigrees that you supplied me on my recent trip to Amarillo, there seems to be an error in the pedigree of Pep-Up, P-2100. It was always my understanding that this horse was sired by Peppy P-212.” The pedigree Phillips got showed Pep Up to be sired by Macanudo and out of Petra R2.
Here is some of Morrison’s reply to Phillips, “I am returning to you the pedigree form on Pep Up, AQHA P-2100 and also a pedigree form on Old Mac, AQHA 2162.” The Morrison letter continued, “This is the story as told to me by Bob Anderson, and the facts as confirmed by Doctor Northway of the King Ranch, concerning these two stallions which the Waggoners bought from the King Ranch.”
“At the time the colts were unloaded in the corrals at the Waggoner Ranch, the weather was very bad and the corrals very muddy. The cowboys, from the first day, got the two individuals mixed up, and their true identification became an error. Actually, the horse they called Old Mac was by Peppy. Old Mac was born in March 1941, and we have the usual King Ranch pedigree on one of their large yellow sheets of paper. Old Mac shows to have been a sorrel stallion, branded with a “W” on the left tail set and branded with another “W” on the right rear leg, ‘possibly on the inside from the hock area up.’ This was a special brand by an outstanding Mexican cowboy brander who took great pride in branding the horses for Doctor Northway. Therefore, Old Mac should be carried as sired by Peppy, by Little Richard, by Old Sorrel, and dammed by Canalita (roan mare ridden by Lauro), by Solis, by Old Sorrel. The second dam is a roan Quarter mare by Hickory Bill. This information, of course, will show on the pedigree form which I am sending to you. Old Mac died in the latter part of 1948 or 1949.”
“On the stallion, Pep Up, the King Ranch pedigree shows the colt was sired by Macanudo, by Old Sorrel, by Hickory Bill, and dammed by a mare called Petra, by Little Richard, by Old Sorrel, and the second dam was a mare by Lucky Mose. From the two pedigrees, you can readily see that these two stallions were very closely related from a genetic standpoint, and Mr. Anderson suggested that since Old Mac had died at such an early
PEP UP
ch 1941 QUARTER HORSE #0002100
HICKORY BILL PETER MCCUE
b 1907 b 16.0 1895 OLD SORREL QUARTER HORSE LUCRETIA M ch 1915 U0072141 ch QUARTER HORSE DR ROSE MARE MACANUDO #0000209 QUARTER HORSE ch 1934 U0070544 QUARTER HORSE ROAN CLEGG 1 HICKORY BILL #0000211 b 1907 QUARTER HORSE CLEGG ROAN MARE CANALES BELL U0078835 ro ch 1923 QUARTER HORSE PELICANA TEXAS CHIEF #0000141 ch 1917 sor ~1905 QUARTER HORSE U0075741
OLD SORREL HICKORY BILL
ch 1915 b 1907 LITTLE RICHARD QUARTER HORSE DR ROSE MARE ch 1922 #0000209 QUARTER HORSE LUCKY MOSE MARE LUCKY MOSE PETRA R #0000017 QUARTER HORSE 1904 ch 1933 U0074259 QUARTER HORSE LUCKY MOSE GUIDO #0000144 1904 ch 1887 THOROUGHBRED BOETICIA LUCKY MOSE MARE (USA) b 1890 QUARTER HORSE U0074259
age and that the colt, Pep Up, was sold as a non-breeder several years ago to Otis Gafford that did not change the names of these two stallions lest we cause a lot of confusion.” It is apparent from the correspondence in the AQHA file on Pep Up that by leaving Old Mac as Pep Up and Pep Up as Old Mac as the easiest thing to do to prevent any further confusion.”
Old Mac was foaled in March 1941 on the King Ranch of Kingsville, Texas. His sire was Peppy P-212, who was sired by Little Richard by Old Sorrel. The dam of Peppy P-212 was the mare originally called a “daughter of Cardenal.” She was later listed as China. China was sired by Cardenal by Old Sorrel. The dam of Cardenal was a Lazarus Mare we know today as Piocha. The dam of China was a daughter of Brillante, a thoroughbred stallion. The dam of Old Mac was Canalita by Solis. Solis was sired by Old Sorrel and out of a Lazarus Mare by Right Royal. Canalita is listed on the AQHA registration papers for Old Mac as the Roan Solis Mare. This mare was ridden by Lauro, a famous King Ranch “Kineno” and Ranch Manager. The Roan Solis Mare was later registered as Canalita AQHA #122. The dam of Canalita was a Roan Quarter Mare. This mare was sired by Hickory Bill. The dam of the Roan Quarter Mare is listed as a “descendant of Mamie Crowder that went back to Texas Chief and Traveler breeding.”
Old Mac died on the Waggoner Ranch after siring just three foal crops with only nine registered foals. He sired four performers with one point earner that earned two halter points. His daughters faired a little better. They produced foals that earned 177 halter points and 51 performance points with three ROMs and two AQHA Champions. The AQHA Champions were Joe’s Halo and Flyaway Mac. This isn’t a bad record considering that Old Mac sired seven registered daughters that produced only 29 foals.
Pep Up started life on the King Ranch in the Spring of 1942. His sire Macanudo was born on the King Ranch in 1934. Macanudo would prove to be one of the great sons of Old Sorrel. Bob Denhardt tells us in the book, THE KING RANCH QUARTER HORSES, that Macanudo “looked the most like the Old Sorrel, long back and all. He was also the best cow horse in the first generation.”
Old Sorrel was the foundation sire of the famed King Ranch Quarter Horses. He was purchased from George Clegg and used on the ranch proving to be the best cow horse they had ever had. This led to the development of a breeding program that would perpetuate the blood of Old Sorrel. The early success of this program lead to such noted horses as Wimpy P-1 and Peppy P-212. Both of these stallions have been major factors in the quarter horse as show horses and sires. Wimpy P-1 was the Grand Champion Stallion at the 1941 Fort Worth Stock Show. Peppy P-212 was the Grand Champion at the 1940 Fort Worth Stock Show.
PETER MCCUE DAN TUCKER
b 16.0 1895
NORA M LUCRETIA M THE HERO
ch
BIRD
br 1887 b 1880 ch 1889 ch 1882
HICKORY BILL
b 1907 PETER MCCUE b 16.0 1895 CLEGG ROAN MARE LUCRETIA M ch ro
TEXAS CHIEF TRAVELER
sor ~1905
HALLETTSVILLE MARE
sor 15.1 ~1885
HICKORY BILL PETER MCCUE b 16.0 1895 b 1907 LUCRETIA M ch
DR ROSE MARE
LUCKY MOSE GUIDO
1904
BOETICIA
ch 1887 b 1890
GUIDO
ch 1887
BOETICIA
b 1890 DOUBLE CROSS ch 1872
AURORA
br 1880
MCHENRY LOETITIA
1875 b 1886
Registration Photo for Pep Up shows the muddy conditions. Photo Courtesy The AQHA Hall of Fame and Museum
Tiana Bar the daughter of Miss Peppy D Photo from the Author’s Files
Registration photo of Macanudo. Photo Courtesy The AQHA Hall of Fame and Museum
Tiara Bar the other Miss Peppy D daughter by Steel Bars. Photo from the Author’s Files.
Old Sorrel was sired by Hickory Bill. Hickory Bill was a son of Peter McCue that was bred on the Little Grove Stock Farm of Petersburg, Illinois. Peter McCue was sired by Dan Tucker and out of Nora M, a thoroughbred mare by Voltigeur. Dan Tucker was sired by Barney Owens by Martin’s Cold Deck, who was sired by Old Billy. Old Billy was sired by Shiloh and out of Ram Cat by Steel Dust.
Lucretia M was the dam of Hickory Bill. She was sired by The Hero (TB) and out of Bird by Jack Traveler by Steel Dust. Kitty Clyde was the dam of Bird. Kitty Clyde was the dam of Nora M, the dam of Peter McCue. This made Hickory Bill double bred to Kitty Clyde. Bird and Butt Cut, who was the dam of Dan Tucker, were both sired by Jack Traveler. This makes Hickory Bill double bred to Jack Traveler. The dam of Old Sorrel is the mare we know today as the Dr Rose Mare. The pedigree of this mare is unknown to us, but she was reportedly a thoroughbred mare.
The dam of Macanudo was Canales Belle. This mare was sired by a horse known as the Roan Clegg Horse. He is also listed on the AQHA registration form for Pep Up as a “Roan son of Hickory Bill.” His sire was Hickory Bill, and his dam was a Roan Clegg Mare. This makes Macanudo double bred to Hickory Bill with a 2 X 3 breeding pattern.
The dam of Canales Belle was a mare listed as “Pelicana or Canales Roan Mare.” The pedigree information on the AQHA registration form tells us that Pelicana went “back to Mamie Crowder. Back to Texas Chief and Traveler breeding.” This is similar to the pedigree information on Old Mac’s papers about Canalita’s pedigree. Canalita was out of a Roan Quarter Mare by Hickory Bill and out of a descendant of Mamie Crowder that went back to Texas Chief and Traveler.
Bob Denhardt in THE KING RANCH QUARTER HORSES tells us that Canales Belle came from a neighboring ranch called the Canales Ranch. He indicates that Richard Kleberg and George Clegg were partners on several horses and that included some purchased from the Canales Ranch.
Denhardt points out in his biography of Macanudo that Canales Belle was one of only three quarter horse mares to produce the first-generation stallion in the King Ranch breeding program. The sons of Old Sorrel that were considered “first-generation stallions” include Macanudo, Little Richard P-17, Cardenal, Solis, Babe Grande, and Hired Hand. Babe Grande and Hired Hand are the other two first-generation stallions that are sired by Old Sorrel and out of a quarter mare.
Canales Belle was the dam of Silver Lucy, a full sister to Macanudo. Silver Lucy was the dam of Silver Wimpy. Silver Wimpy was sired by Wimpy P-1. Silver Wimpy was a noted sire with foals like Marion’s Girl, the 1954 and 1956 NCHA World Champion Cutting Horse.
Macanudo proved to be a significant sire on the King Ranch being used in the breeding program from 1937 to 1949. The ranch used 71 of his daughters in the breeding program and two of his colts. The colts were Dos de Oros and Chamaco. Macanudo sired several good horses to leave this breeding program. They include the AQHA Champion Babe Mac C. Babe Mac C proved to be a good sire with AQHA Champions like Bay Mac Hill, Buster Cole, Doc’s Daddoo, and Snipper Cole. The AQHA Champion Buster Cole was not only sired by Babe Mac C, but he was out of a daughter of Babe Mac C, making him 2 X 3 inbred to Macanudo. Macanudo daughters were good producers as well, including Cipriana was the dam of Kip Mac, a son of Wimpy P-1. He was an AQHA Champion, Superior Cutting Horse, as well as an NCHA Bronze and Silver Award winner.
The dam of Pep Up is Petra R2, who was registered as #144 in the AQHA Stud Book. She was sired by Little Richard P-17. Little Richard was considered one of the original foundation sires that received a registration number between 2 and 19 in the AQHA Stud Book. The sire of Little Richard was Old Sorrel. This makes Pep Up double bred to Old Sorrel with a breeding pattern of 2 X 3 to this great stallion. Little Richard is probably best known as the sire of Peppy P-212. Of course, Peppy P-212 was the sire of Old Mac.
The dam of Little Richard was a mare by Lucky Mose. Petra R2 was out of a mare by Lucky Mose. This makes Petra R2 inbred to the Lucky Mose breeding. In his research for the book, THE KING RANCH QUARTER HORSES, Bob Denhardt asked Dr. Northway about the Lucky Mose mares. Northway wrote, “Bob Kleberg recently told me that the Lucky Mose Thoroughbred Family traced back to Broomstick (TB) and were of the Broomstick Family. Certainly, these Lucky Mose horses were top individuals and had wonderful conformation. You will note several of our foundation Quarter Horse sires were out of Lucky Mose mares.” Northway went on to tell Denhardt that there was no specific stallion named Lucky Mose on the King Ranch but a group of mares known as the Lucky Mose mares.
King Ranch pedigrees today show that Lucky Mose was sired by Guido and out of Boeticia. Andrea Mattson, in her book REFERENCE TO THOROUGHBRED ROOTS OF THE QUARTER HORSE, extends the pedigree of Lucky Mose. She tells us that Guido was sired by Double Cross and his dam as Aurora by Thad Stevens. Double Cross was sired by Malcolm and out of Columbia by Bonnie Scotland. Boeticia was sired by McHenry, and her dam was Loetitia by Ladislas. McHenry was sired by Enquirer and out of Ontario by Bonnie Scotland. Here is an added note: Enquirer was the sire of Faustus, who was the sire of Bonnie Joe. Bonnie Joe was the sire of Joe Blair, the sire of Joe Reed P-3, who sired Joe Reed II, who then sired Leo.
Despite the confusion about his pedigree, Pep Up became a stallion that has stood the test of time. Pep Up was the sire of 62 foals with eight performers. The performers earned 16 open halter points and 28 performance points. This includes one ROM performer. The true legacy of Pep Up comes through his daughters and their produce. He sired 43 mares that produced 374 foals. These foals earned 817 halter points and 780.5 performance points. They include 21 ROM performers and 11 AQHA Champions. They also produced three Superior Halter Horses and two Superior Performance Horses. This includes Miss Peppy D and Ruth Bixler that left their mark in both reining and cutting, and the two mares we will use to profile Pep Up as a broodmare sire.
Miss Peppy D was bred by the Waggoner Ranch, and she was born in 1944. She was out of a Waggoner Mare, whose breeding is listed as unknown. Matlock Rose and B. F. Phillips tried to buy Miss Peppy D at one of the Waggoner Sales. But they were outbid, and she went to Marion Flynt. Flynt put her in the broodmare band, but she failed to settle, and she was sold to the Phillips Ranch. She was the dam of eight foals with five performers. Her foals were Peppy Bueno, Peppy Buck, Peppy Tivio, Kitty Buck, Poco Tela, Poco Pep, Tiana Bar, and Tiara Bar.
Peppy Bueno has no show record, but he was the sire of Anadorno Peppy, the 1960 AQHA Honor Roll Barrel Racing Horse. Peppy Buck by Pretty Buck earned one AQHA halter points and 1 AQHA performance point. He was the sire of the AQHA Champion Peppy’s Cowboy. Peppy Tivio by Poco Tivio earned five AQHA halter points. He was the sire of the ROM performers Moon Tivio and Rust. Poco Tela and Poco Pep were unshown daughters of Poco Bueno, and Miss Peppy D. Poco Pep was the dam of the AQHA Champion Wee Wee Bueno. The sire of Wee Wee Bueno is Marion’s Boy by Silver Wimpy. Silver Wimpy was sired by Wimpy P-1 and out of Silver Lucy, a full sister to Macanudo. This gives the pedigree of Wee Wee Bueno a breeding pattern of 3 X 4 to Silver Lucy and Macanudo.
Kitty Buck by Pretty Buck was shown but didn’t earn any AQHA points. She is the dam of Doc’s Kitty, a daughter of Doc Bar. Doc’s Kitty was the Reserve Champion of the 1969 NCHA Futurity, and then she went on to be the 1970 NCHA Derby Champion. Doc’s Kitty is the dam of horses like Kitty’s Destiny, winner of $12,726; Meradas Kitty, winner of $12,813 and Pretty Little Kitty, winner of $82,077. Pretty Little Kitty is the dam of Smart Kit Dually and Kit Dual. Kit Dual was a Reserve Champion of the NCHA Futurity. Pretty Little Kitty is a full sister to Smart Little Kitty, an unshown mare. Smart Little Kitty is the dam of High Brow Cat, winner of $126,252; Smart Lil Highbrow, winner of $98,050 and Smart Bronze, winner of $71,879. Of course, we all know that High Brow Cat is now the all-time leading sire of cutting horse money winners that totals over $80 million.
Tiana Bar and Tiara Bar were full sisters sired by Steel Bars. Steel Bars was sired by Three Bars, and he was out of Joan by Joe Hancock. Tiana Bar was an AQHA Superior Halter Horse with 153 points. Tiara Bar was an AQHA Superior Halter Horse with 82 points. These good daughters of Miss Peppy D turned their halter careers into good careers as broodmares. Tiana Bar was the dam of 12 performers with five ROM in performance, two AQHA Champions, one Superior performance horses, and one AQHA High Point Western Pleasure Horse. Her first five foals were sired by Eternal Sun. They were Rosa Antica, with 28 open halter and 13.5 open performance points, and an arena ROM. Tana Sun was next with 28 open halter points and 2.5 open performance points. Eternal Tiana was a race winner of one race. Eternal Sunset had an arena ROM with 15 open performance points and 26 open halter points, and Mr Eternal Bar had nine open performance points and 26 open halter points.
Tiana Bar produced four foals by Mr Bar Gold. Goldfinger Bar was the first, and he was one of her AQHA Champions with 42 halter points, 16 open performance points, and a ROM in the arena. Red Inflations was next on this list with 22 open halter points. Tiana Bar Lady and Miss Tiana Gold were the third and fourth Mr Bar Gold foals, but they had no AQHA show record.
Miss Tiana Leo was the first of four Mr Spanish Lee foals out of Tiana Bar. Miss Tiana Leo had five AQHA halter points. Miss Buda Lee was the second foal from this Cross. She has no AQHA show record. Brinks Leo Bar earned 40 performance points and an arena ROM. Bandito Gold was the last Mr Spanish Lee foal out of Tiana Bar, and he was her top point earner. This good dun stallion was the 1979 AQHA High Point Western Pleasure Horse and the 1981 AQHA fourth High Point Reining Horse. He earned 29 open halter points and 383 open performance points with an AQHA Championship. Mr Spanish Lee was sired by Leo and out of Spanish Joy by Spanish Nick.
Brinks Bar Of Steel was a dun gelding by Steel Target and out of Tiana Bar. This horse earned one AQHA performance point. Brinks Tiana Star was a mare by Skipa Star. This mare earned two AQHA halter points and seven AQHA performance points. Pepiano was the last foal out of Tiana Bar. This dun stallion was sired by Peponita. He didn’t have an AQHA or NCHA show record.
Tiara Bar was the dam of 10 performers that earned 177 halter points and 191 performance points with one World Champion, one Superior Halter Horse, one Superior Performance horse, and three AQHA Champions. Tiara Bar started out on the Phillips Ranch, being bred to two ranch stallions in Top Money and Eternal Sun. Her first foal was Money Mad by Top Money. She earned 19 open halter points and 14 open performance points with an arena ROM and an AQHA Championship. Datsun by Eternal Sun was her second foal, who earned 22 open halter points. The third foal from this good mare was Funny Money Fred by Top Money. This horse earned a ROM with ten performance points and eight open and youth halter points. High Tiara was the last foal out of Tiara Bar that was sired by a Phillips Ranch stallion. Her sire was Eternal Sun, and this mare earned an AQHA Superior in halter with 73 points.
Tawny Cody was an AQHA Champion daughter of Joe Cody that was out of Tiara Bar. She was the first of seven foals sired by Joe Cody and out of Tiara Bar. This mare was the 1974 AQHA World Champion Senior Reining Horse. She also earned 40 halter points and 29 working points. Red God was a full brother to Tawny Cody. This horse was the 1973 AQHA High Point Reining Horse. He was an AQHA Champion with 17 halter points and 93 working points. He was Superior in Reining. Fawn Cody earned two AQHA working points. Candid Cody had no AQHA show record, while Titan Cody was sixth in the 1979 AQHA World Championship Junior Reining and third in the 1980 NRHA Open Reining. He earned an arena ROM with ten working points in the AQHA. Celtic Cody earned three open working points in the AQHA, while Cody’s Crown didn’t have an AQHA show record.
Two Eyed Beaver the AQHA Champion son of Two Eyed Jack and Cooksey’s Pep Up granddaughter of Ruth Bixler. Alfred Janssen IIIPhoto from the Author’s Files.
Ben Bar the AQHA Champion son of Steel Bars and Ruth Bixler by Pep Up. Photo from the Author’s Files.
Steel Bars the sire of such noted horses as Tiana Bar, Tiara Bar and Ben Bar. Photo from the Author’s Files.
