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Vessels Stallion Farm: A New Era
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Thoroughbred Farms In California
by RUDI GROOTHEDDE stands,” said Kash during an interview in Bonsall near Del Mar last month. “In photos, you can see nothing but strawberry fields where Katella Street is today. He borrowed some money from a longtime family friend on a handshake deal, and when people asked him what he was doing buying land out in the middle of nowhere, he said that he was going to start a cattle operation, do a little farming.” Kash continued, “The ground really wasn’t suitable for farming and it didn’t do well with cattle either so, because his passion had always been racing the horses, he started match racing Quarter Horses. That transitioned into him being instrumental in getting the pari-mutuel wagering system to have legal Quarter Horse racing.” And that’s how it all began for today’s Los Alamitos Race Course, with its first official meet, an 11-day affair, in 1951. “Grandpa (Frank Vessels Jr.) and grandma Millie later ran the track successfully for a number of years and that’s where my father grew up, at Los Alamitos,” added Kash. “The family always kept a small breeding operation, a five-acre horse farm adjacent to the track. The track was eventually sold in the 1980s, and the proceeds were invested in a lot of real estate and land here in the Bonsall area; the golf course, the San Luis Rey Downs Training Center, and this ranch. So that little breeding operation (Vessels Ranch) went from five acres to, at that time, 2,200 acres.” Frank Jr. died in 1974, only a decade after the death of Continued on next page
©Tracy Gantz
Vessels Stallion Farm is the legacy of a family which has been a major force in both the Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse industries in California since 1947. That family’s world changed dramatically upon the unexpected death of its beloved patriarch Frank “Scoop” Vessels when the plane he was piloting crashed in August of 2010. The loss of the former President of both the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association (CTBA) and American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA), an industry leader who was in many respects larger than life, left a void that is not likely to ever be filled by one person. However, the staff that Scoop assembled over many years remains largely intact, so the 1,300-acre farm is in good hands going forward. Vessels Stallion Farm is now owned by a Trust for the benefit of Scoop’s sons Frank “Kash” Vessels and Frank “Colt” Vessels, each of whom are continuing the family’s involvement with horses in his own way. Kash, a 34-year-old who is very proud of his lineage, leads the Vessels Stallion Farm team, while 21-year-old Colt recently graduated from the Culver Military Academy in Indiana and is planning to continue with his education before working directly in the family businesses. While at Culver, which Scoop also attended, Colt took a number of equine-related courses and was a member of the prestigious Black Horse Troop, riding in the nation’s capital as part of the 2009 Presidential inauguration ceremonies. “My great grandfather (Frank Vessels Sr.) purchased some land in Los Alamitos, where the racetrack now
Kash Vessels (right) & Kevin Dickson
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21 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • NOVEMBER 2013
CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • NOVEMBER 2013 21
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