The Working Lines | H arlan
and the AQHA H all of F ame By Larry Thornton .....................................................................................................................................................
T
he stallion, Harlan, was inducted into the AQHA Hall of Fame in 2019. It has to be noted that in 1954 when a horseman named Bob Robey bought Harlan, he was looking to make him a roping gelding. So how did this would be gelding make the Hall of Fame as a stallion? Let’s find out from Mr. Robey, “Well, when I started this thing, which was a long time ago, there were two mares that I thought were the apex of the quarter horse breed, and they were Dee Gee and Squaw H. They were the kind of mares that could do something.” Dee Gee was one of the first AQHA Champions named when the association started awarding this honor. She was sired by Bartender and out of Scarlett by Little Fort. Squaw H was an AAA-rated race mare that was a stakes winner. She was sired by King P-234 and out of Queen H by Dan. Robey continued, “Hank H was a full brother to Squaw H, and I was a big fan of this great mare. So we went and bought a Hank H filly from Jack and Paul Smith of Indianola, Oklahoma. They owned and stood Hank H. We even took a mare down for a friend to be bred to Hank H. Then Hank H died, and I wrote a letter to Paul. By this time, Jack had gone with the Highway Patrol, and Paul was living on the old place. I asked Paul if he had any Hank H foals for sale, and he wrote back that he had a three-year-old stud and a Hard Twist gelding out of their ole King Mare for sale. So me, my wife, and my father-in-law went, and we bought Harlan. We bought Harlan for the Hank H with the intention of gelding him and roping calves on him.” Robey explained why the roping career was permanently put on hold, “Well, at that time, I was an amateur calf roper, and we weren’t interested in showing horses. But Harlan was quite a roping horse, and that’s what I bought him for. But the vet said I shouldn’t rope on him and then breed him. So we just bred him and raised colts. Of course, when his colts got big enough, then we started to show them.” When asked about what kind of performer Harlan was, Robey responded, “He
did everything quick. He was not an easy horse to rope on. He broke out of the box with a lot of gas. And when he stopped, he stopped. Everything was quick about him. He’d made a great roping horse if we’d went on with him.” A HALL OF FAME PEDIGREE When Harlan entered the AQHA Hall of Fame, he brought a pedigree that was steeped in quarter horse history. So today, he represents that history through his membership in the Hall of Fame. Harlan was foaled in 1951 as we said he was bred by Jack and Paul Smith of Indianola, Oklahoma. His sire Hank H was an AA-rated ROM racehorse. His race record included ten starts with two wins; one second and three thirds. He was a proven sire of ROM race and arena horses, including Little Bay Lady, an AA-rated race mare, and Hanky Doodle, a ROM arena horse that was an AQHA Champion. One of the great show horses sired by Hank H was Hank’s Sue. This great halter mare was the 1957 AQHA Honor Roll Halter Horse. Hank’s Sue is the dam of Leo San Hank by Leo San. Leo San Hank was the sire of Grulla San, dam of leading cutting horse sire High Brow Hickory the sire of the all-time leading sire of cutting horse. Hank H was sired by King P-234 was sired by Zantanon by Little Joe by Traveler. The dam of Zantanon was Jeanette by Billy. The dam of Jeanette was a Sykes Rondo mare by Sykes Rondo. The dam of King P-234 was Jabalina. Jabalina was sired by Strait Horse by Yellow Jacket. Yellow Jacket was sired by Little Rondo by Lock’s Rondo and out of Barbee Dun by Lock’s Rondo. The dam of Jabalina was a mare we know today as the Bay Quarter Mare. She is believed by many to be sired by Traveler. The dam of Hank H was Queen H by Dan by Joe Bailey. The dam of Queen H was a Nail Quarter Mare, whose breeding is unknown. Queen H was bred by J. H. Nail of Albany, Texas. She was a foundation mare for J. O. Hankins, brother to Jess Hankins, the owner of King P-234. The first foal out of Queen H and sired by King P-234 was Duchess H. Duchess H was shown but had no points. She is the dam of such noted horses as Balmy L Too by Balmy L, Black Texas by My Texas Dandy, Double Trouble
16 Working Horse Magazine Winter 2021
H by King P-234, and Bay Reba by Leo. The next foal for Queen H was Squaw H, the mare Robey thought a great deal of. She was rated AAA on the racetrack. She was a stakes winner of the Tucson Speed Stakes. Squaw H has had a major impact on the working horse through her son Squaw King, by King P-234. This would make Squaw King 1 X 2 inbred to King P-234. Squaw King was the sire of Squaw Leo. Squaw Leo was the sire of the NRHA Hall of Fame stallion Be Aech Enterprise. Be Aech Enterprise is one of the NRHA Million Dollar sires. His foals have earned in excess of $1,000,000, including Trashadeous, the famous paint stallion that is an NRHA Hall of Fame member. Squaw H is found in the 7th generation of the tail female line of Apollitical Jess, a leading racehorse sire of over $45 million and the sire of three of the last four All American Futurity winners in Apocalyptical Jess (2018), Mr Jess Jenkins (2019) and KJ Desparado (2021). The third foal out of Queen H and by King P-234 was Hank H. Then, in 1944 Flapper H was foaled. This daughter of King P-234 was the dam of the AQHA Champion Flapper’s Breeze and the ROM racehorse Hard Twist II. Booger H was Queen H’s 1945 foal. This stallion was racing ROM with an AA rating. He won eight races in 23 starts. Booger H was a successful sire with AQHA Champions like Booda Bar, Boomer Isle, Cue Stick, and Jericho Lark to his credit. One of his daughters, Redwood Ruth, is the dam of Boogerette Chex, the dam of multiple AQHA World Champion Peppy Badger Chex. ...................................................................
Top right photo. Jon Mixer son of Orren Mixer tells us that this Harlan picture has its own story. “I had been shooting some horse pictures for a few years and some friends of mine ran across this picture at a yard sale and they bought it. They were telling me about the picture of a horse that they thought was great and showed it to me. I told them that’s the picture Dad took of Harlan back in the 50s. They gave it to me. Dad later signed it.” - Photo Courtesy Jon Mixer
