Did that the first-ever PRCA Head Horse of the Year (Cannonball) was a descendant of Man o’ War—one of many biggest Thoroughbred racehorses of all time? Or that the one workforce roping horse within the ProfessionalRodeo Hall of Fame (Walt) was out of a half-Thoroughbred mare?
Three Bars (TB)
Photo Courtesy American Quarter Horse Journal
Most stunning, possibly, is Viper. The thick powerhouse that revolutionized heading with Hall-of-Famer Speed Williams on the reins had pure race breeding. His broodmare sire was an personal grandson of Depth Charge (TB) by the Appendix racehorse Double Bid. Williams described Viper as having an enormous girth, which made him robust up the wall and top-of-the-line horses ever within the buildings.
A deep girth is one thing Thoroughbreds are identified for, together with an extended neck, excessive withers, a brief again, and lengthy legs. But the breed passes alongside some super-desirable head-horse traits as well—particularly toughness, coronary heart, honesty, and velocity. Cannonball was a very good instance.
“He scores really well, runs strong, and never tires,” NFR common champ Matt Tyler as soon as stated. “He has a heart bigger than Dallas. I could never put a price on him.”
Frosty Feature
Photo Courtesy American Quarter Horse Journal
Slot machine hopes
Those traits Tyler talked about seemingly started within the Forties with Three Bars, so named as a result of his homeowners hoped he’d repay like a slot machine. It was stated that Three Bars couldn’t run a distance, however had blinding fast velocity. Racehorses then have been hot-blooded and hair-triggered, so Three Bars’ easygoing disposition was one thing of an anomaly.
Quarter Horse homeowners clamored to get a few of that. So AQHA allowed “Appendix” (Thoroughbred/Quarter Horse crosses) to be registered. Thus, Three Bars had dozens of Quarter Horse sons with all these head-horse worthy traits (Gay Bar King, Lightning Bar, Sugar Bars, The Ole Man, and so forth.)
It’s no surprise Three Bars reveals up 5 instances on Walt’s papers, six instances on the papers of Clay Tryan’s nice Thumper, six instances on the papers of Trevor Brazile’s Sic Em, and 7 instances on the papers of Chad Masters’ nice horse, Clint. Turtle Powell’s Vegas was double-bred Sugar Bars. Heck, the good TB sire additionally immediately led to slicing phenom Doc Bar and halter standout Mr. Impressive.
Clay Tryan heading on Dew.
James Phifer Photo/TRJ File Photo
In truth, the Four Sixes Ranch purchased a Three Bars son to anchor their very own program. Cee Bar was grandsire to a variety of rodeo greats, together with Touchdown, on whom Joe Beaver gained the 1993 world tie-down roping championship. The legendary Thoroughbred additionally performs prominently within the blood of Matt Sherwood’s two-time world champion head horse Nickolas, whose dam is an personal granddaughter of Rocket Bar crossed on a Leo daughter.
The magic cross of Three Bars and Leo within the Eighties and Nineteen Nineties led to Cannonball; in addition to to Bobby Hurley’s prize yellow Smug; Sherwood’s gold-buckle sorrel, Nickolas; and Charles Pogue’s immortal Scooter. The latter was identified for being by Oklahoma Fuel—a grandson of Three Bars—however he was additionally considered one of a number of nice head horses that return to Mr Bar None. Once the quickest Quarter Horse on this planet, Mr Bar None was a record-breaking Hall-of-Fame racehorse who sired two NFR tie-down roping horses: The Bar None Quest and Mr Bar None Cactus.
Another Three Bars grandson, Rocket Wrangler, was crossed with a Thoroughbred mare to provide Dash For Cash in 1973, which has led to presumably one of the best instance of race breeding paying off from the heading field.
Dashing for {dollars}
Three-time world champion Clay Tryan has dominated for 15 years on 4 closely race-bred horses—three of whom have 5 Horse of the Year awards amongst them. Besides Hall-of-Famer Walt (the three-time winner), Clay’s Thumper was a great-grandson of Dash For Cash. His different winner, 19-year-old Dew; and his late mare, Cate (who died in August at 21); have been each by sons of Dash For Cash.
“He was blessed with great speed, but his biggest asset was probably his good, level mind,” veteran racetrack coach Bubba Cascio stated of Dash For Cash. “Because of it, he made few mistakes on the track.”
Cate not solely had Dash For Cash as a grandsire, but additionally Azure Te (TB) on high, and extra operating blood on the underside by way of The Signature and an Appendix mare that went again to Spotted Bull (TB). Just for reference, Special Effort’s dam was double-bred Spotted Bull. A Spotted Bull granddaughter was bred to Easy Jet to get the sire of Streakin Six (velocity index 104). Incidentally, a Streakin Six grandson helped Zac Small win the 2016 BFI and 2017 RodeoHouston.
Clay will inform you it could actually’t be totally coincidence that every one 4 of his greats may run so onerous or that all of them lasted so a few years; plus, they have been “the best-scoring horses” he’s ever ridden. While it’s tough to tie particular bodily talents to a selected parentage, anecdotes from veteran headers will allow you to draw your individual conclusions about runnin’ blood. Just a few traits hold developing, together with longevity.
“If a horse doesn’t last for a significant number of years, was it really great?” requested Clay. “Any horse can look good for a while.”
A serious element of how lengthy a horse lasts is toughness, and the Hall-of-Famer had that in spades. Walt was so gritty that he took each Clay and Travis to their first three NFRs. Folks, that’s lots of runs. He was simply pretty much as good a decade later, at 20, when an aneurysm dropped him whereas Travis warmed him up for one more rodeo run.
Nickolas (double-bred Three Bars) was 21 the final time Sherwood confronted him on the NFR three years in the past, and he’s nonetheless fully sound. Scooter, arguably the best head horse in historical past with six Horse of the Year awards and 10 NFRs, was in Pogue’s trailer from the time he turned 6 till he died 11 years later. The gray son of Oklahoma Fuel (velocity index 108) boasted the blood of Appendix superstars Jet Deck and Mr Bar None.
“I had won the NFR average and the BFI that year,” remembered Pogue. “He was still going really strong at 17 when he got sick.”
Or take a look at two-time runner-up Horse of the Year Rudy, whose sire goes to Three Bars 5 instances and whose dam is straight Thoroughbred (a mixture of Raise A Native, Bold Ruler, and Nasrullah).
“For four years, he was the only horse I used,” Arky Rogers stated. “That’s 80 rodeos a year and I don’t know how many jackpots.”
Rogers stated the horse simply saved getting higher. Rudy was bought to Brandon Webb after Webb had approached the likes of Trevor Brazile and Kaleb Driggers and requested them who had one of the best head horse on this planet on the time. They stated Rogers.
“I think maybe they have longevity bred in them,” stated three-time world champ Tee Woolman, whose 2004 Horse of the Year, Megazord, was an personal grandson of Easy Jet out of a Dash For Cash/Azure Te granddaughter. “They try a little harder, too.”
Travis Tryan and Walt.
Kirt Steinke Photo
A chilly nature
Therein lies the rub. That willingness to present every little thing they’ve, each time, is what defines one of the best on this planet and provides these horses a particular consistency. Walt by no means, ever took away a throw, and it was the identical journey each time. Scooter supplied the identical journey each time. They scored the identical each time.
“That’s called making money,” quipped veteran head-horse coach Steve Orth.
Remember the 16-hand palomino known as Calhoon that Trevor Brazile rode a decade or so in the past? Richard Eiguren’s good one was double-bred Jet Deck with a half-Thoroughbred sire that went again to War Admiral (TB). According to Brazile, the horse had an uncharacteristically quick neck that connected low, so it made it simpler to see on him.
“He scored real flat-footed and gave you a chance to win every time,” Brazile recalled. “Some horses, if you reach, start getting smart to it and duck or quit running, but he never did. He had good speed and scored great, but his main trait was he was so honest.”
Remember Jake Barnes’ Rooster? He was an Easy Jet grandson out of a half-Thoroughbred mare going again to Mr Bar None. A later proprietor, Eddie Wilkerson, remembered that “his pattern of attacking the steer was always the same. He made the same run every time out of the gate.”
They have been simply as constant within the nook. What made Walt so phenomenal on the line was that he didn’t transfer within the field; wasn’t jumpy.
“He was just ready and then would explode,” stated Travis. “I’ve been on a lot of horses that anticipate; that need a lot of steers scored on them because they move around more in the corner. He never moved.”
Same story with Nickolas, who was identified for standing within the field completely to attain. It appears that when horses with just a little TB blood study to belief you, there’s no taking the bit. They will look to you to begin them each time, with that very same doggedness.
“I’ve seen quite a few head horses with a little Thoroughbred that just stand there in the box and won’t hardly move,” Travis added. “They’re maybe a little more stubborn.”
Woolman has a greater phrase for it. He says they’re chilly.
“They seem not to get as hot, usually,” he stated. “I had a black horse a few years ago that was Appendix-bred, and he was just kind of cold-natured. Not a whole lot bothered him.”
That additionally describes the part-Thoroughbred Rudy, on whom Rogers as soon as made it again with all three companions on the George Strait.
“That was a lot of steers, but that horse never got hot,” stated Rogers. “You could jackpot and run 10 runners in a row over a long barrier, and he didn’t get hot.”
Heart girth
Orth, a seven-time AQHA world champion, lately skilled a Chicks Beduino son off the racetrack. BTRSendingMyRegards has conformation that gained him a halter world championship and athleticism that earned him a 97 velocity index. But he additionally has lots of cow and might pin his ears and drag his rear finish.
According to the stallion’s breeder, longtime racetrack veterinarian Bob Story, Thoroughbred affect places extra bone on a horse and enhances efficiency means.
“A short Thoroughbred is really all a Quarter Horse is,” Orth stated. “We just bred them to be smaller. So they lost a little size and a little power, and Thoroughbred blood can throw a little bit back into them.”
To Orth, a jam-up head horse is one which wears a 34-inch cinch.
“They’re stout and harder to train, but by God, when they’re trained, they’re solid, and they’ll be that way forever,” he stated. “If a horse doesn’t cinch up deep, I promise he won’t give you much. He’s easier to train, but those first five steers—that’s as good as that horse will ever be. Without that size, a horse will always look for the easiest way out.”
Story, whose racing shoppers gained the All American Futurity 14 instances, noticed loads of bloodlines in his 30-year profession. His all-time favourite horse was a Nineteen Nineties granddaughter of Beduino (TB) out of a Raise Your Glass (TB) daughter.
“She had so much heart,” he recalled. “You could have put a brick wall in front of her and she’d have run right through it when you let her out of the gate. I was humbled by that filly. And she had the disposition of a puppy dog at the barn. But you loaded her in that gate and nothing could stop her.”
Sounds remarkably like Scooter or Cate … or Walt, who all through his life, refused to be idled as much as a steer.
“You literally could not ease him up behind a score steer. He would try and run off until he got there,” stated Travis. “That’s why he was so great at Cheyenne. When you let one way out there, he almost got mad and was like, ‘I’m gonna get him,’ and he’d run as hard as he needed to get to that spot.”
When Tiffany Wagner used to journey the good horse up the tunnel on the Thomas and Mack Center for Travis, Walt would run off together with her as quickly as he acquired to the grime. Every time. Scooter was no completely different, and Pogue not often practiced on him.
“He was going to give you pretty much everything he had, every time,” Pogue stated. “I never could throttle him back. Everything he did, it was go wide open.”
Clay stated Cate would “dang sure blow up and buck at the trailer if she hadn’t been saddled in a while.” These horses have huge motors, which makes them “too much horse” for some, but additionally makes them winners.
That fireplace, together with onerous heads and an inclination to sulk, may give Appendix-bred horses a troublesome status. But Orth, who nicknamed his current mission “Dragon,” stated these horses have a lot coronary heart that you just get alongside higher for those who don’t decide on them on a regular basis. Luckily, Woolman famous, they’re already making an attempt so onerous they don’t want a lot correction.
“You don’t want to pick on Dew,” Clay stated. “That horse never forgets. For instance, if he wants to be too free and I reprimand him, then when I feed him, he won’t eat with me standing there.”
Lean and imply
Clay seems like a horse that’s huge and ponderous can’t transfer as nicely, so Cate was constructed completely, in his opinion. Carrying much less weight, he figures, additionally helps them last more. Walt was not closely muscled and was gentle on his toes.
“I’ve never seen a horse run like he did,” stated Travis. “He didn’t pound the ground or look like he was really running that hard. Maybe that’s why he stayed so sound for so long. But how fast Walt gained on steers, my gosh. I’ve seen some videos from the side, and you know, he never would overrun your throw. Most horses do not have that control when they finally get there.”
Scooter, too, glided to steers with breathtaking velocity after which may shut down, regardless of how lengthy the rating was or how a lot the steer checked off.
“Scooter could melt off down to the speed of the steer, just like, instantly,” Pogue stated. “It was easy to get everything tight and get a steer’s head turned quick. Other horses can really run, but it might take them another stride to get gathered up and turned off.”
Charles Pogue and Scooter.
Hubbell Rodeo Photos
Pogue had made just a few runs on Walt and stated the Hall-of-Famer may blow as much as one and fee simply as successfully. He rode Viper, too, and recalled him operating together with his head decrease, together with that nice transfer and spectacular end.
“It’s easier for them and they love it,” he stated. “Those horses are fun to ride and fun to watch.”
Woolman, who trains his personal head horses, makes positive prospects have “some run” bred into them—he prefers that over cow breeding. He factors to what Reliance Ranches is doing, changing racehorses to go horses beneath the management of Bobby Mote.
In this system, Reliance, which owns the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Oklahoma, trains for heading and provides on the market the get of its racing traces (together with Valiant Hero, Corona Cartel, PYC Paint Your Wagon, First Down Dash, and Mr Jess Perry) after additionally they get 90 days slicing coaching.
Race-bred horses aren’t well-known for changing into rope horses. But contemplating the explosive velocity, rock-solid scoring, and honesty famous in some by one of the best headers on this planet—why not?
“Honestly, I never had one that could really run that didn’t also pull good and let you win,” Orth stated.
Erich Rogers and Dolly.
Kirt Steinke Photo
And the final word head-horse sire? That can’t be coincidence, both. The Tryans had tried in useless to trace down Walt’s Appendix dam, however by no means discovered her. And till this text was written, Clay didn’t know that the legendary Walt and Dustin Bird’s Dolly have extra in widespread than their blistering velocity, 10 years on the highway, two world titles, and 18 collective NFR {qualifications}—each even have the identical sire.
His identify is Skid Frost. His sire was triple-bred Three Bars and his dam was double-bred Driftwood. ‘Nuff said.
Bears Cash Partner ‘Cate’
Hubbell Rodeo Photos
Bears Cash Partner
1997-2018
“Dustin Bird and I had the only two mares that anybody rode for any amount of time,” pointed out three-time world champ Clay Tryan, who backed in on Cate at all the big rodeos to enter the Finals first or second in the standings for six straight years and left with two gold buckles.
Incidentally, Bird’s Dolly, who helped Erich Rogers win his personal gold buckle, had a dam boasting a mixture of Truckle Feature, Three Bars, and Jet Deck.
“There haven’t been very many good mares in all my years of rodeoing,” Clay continued. “I think Cate was the best there’s ever been. Dew got the credit because people saw him at the big ropings and the NFR, but she was my main rodeo horse. No one sees you go at, say, Kennewick. When I rode her, runs weren’t posted online like they are now. She was the only reason I entered the Finals near the top every year. I just couldn’t use her in Vegas because she scored so good she wouldn’t leave soon enough.”
Cate, lastly succumbing to a shattered foot she suffered in 2015, had been turned out with Tryan’s former PRCA/AQHA Head Horse of the Year Thumper in recent times. The nice gelding had an inclination to face over her for lengthy hours final winter within the chilly and, after her loss of life, he took to operating the fence.
“I asked Kelly to put something in with him, because it was 110 degrees in Texas and I figured he might die, too, doing that,” recalled Tryan. “She put Cate’s baby and the recip mare in with him, and he just took that baby over. He only lets it eat with its mother, and otherwise he runs her off.”
Tryan purposely bred Cate to a stallion with Dash Ta Fame, Jet Deck, and Azure Te on the underside, and Sugar Bars and Leo up high. He can’t consider a greater heading prospect than that filly, being raised by his loaded-with-personality Horse of the Year gelding. TRJ
