WORKING LINESCUDD QUARTER HORSES AND THE GOLDSEEKER BARS CONNECTION
By Larry Thornton
The Working Lines—Cudd Quarter Horses and the Goldseeker Bars Connection by Larry Thornton We know that the versatility of the American Quarter Horse has been a key to the success of the breed. But over the years, bloodlines became more specialized in their events. Cutters produced cutters. Reining horses produced reining horses. Pleasure horses produced pleasure horses. Halter horses produced halter horses. But today, we see that breeders are reaching out to cross over to other disciplines. Thus, we are headed back to a truly versatile breed.
The roping disciplines of tie-down roping, heading, heeling, and breakaway roping have shown great success over the years with a wide variety of events across the nation. We see this with roping horses earning more money and selling for more through the various roping futurities and sales. An indication of this is the syndication of The Darkk Side through Select Solo Horses and Relentless Remuda. His syndicate shares sold out in 24 hours. Since the syndication, he has won the 2023 AQHA World Champion Heading Horse title and the 2024 AQHA World Champion Bronze Award. His earnings stand at $190.620.
As we look back at the roping events, we can find a variety of bloodlines that, over the years, have contributed
to the roping horse. Or you might say, “it’s all where you find one,” where people didn’t pay much attention to pedigree as long as he was a good roping horse. But today, that is changing as the public is more discriminant, and bloodlines are a serious consideration when selecting a roping horse. Yet we still see that roping horses come from a variety of bloodlines and bloodline combinations.
Here are a couple of examples of what we are talking about and how various bloodlines are making a contribution to the roping horse today. Relentless PYC is the leading money winning roping futurity mare of all time and the richest 4-year-old futurity horse. She is sired by First Prize Diver by leading racehorse sire PYC Paint Your Wagon. Her dam is Chars Gun by Playgun, a leading performance horse sire who was a noted cutting horse. Another example is Metallic Katrina winner of the 2024 Riata Pro Futurity Championship. This mare is sired by Metallic Gray, by the leading cutting, reined cow horse, and now roping horse sire Metallic Cat. She is out of a daughter of Herman Goldseeker, by Leo Goldseeker, by Goldseeker Bar, an AQHA Supreme Champion, an award that is based on the versatility of the quarter horse. Cudd Quarter Horses of Woodward, Oklahoma, is a common denominator between these two horses. Relentless PYC is not bred by Cudd Quarter Horses, but they own her dam, Chars Gun, who is representing them in the Solo Select program as a “Select Genes Mare.” This is a service that provides outstanding mares to those who want to customize a breeding to a stallion, and this results in an embryo from one of their Select Gene Mares through ICSI technology. Metallic Katrina is bred by Cudd Quarter Horses; she is sired by their stallion Metallic Gray and out of the home-bred mare Aristocrat Goldseeker by Herman Goldseeker.
Cudd Quarter Horses was founded by Bobby Joe and Renee Jane Cudd in the mid 1980’s to breed horses for the ranch and arena. They built their original breeding program around Goldseeker Bars, the 25th AQHA Supreme Champion. They just received their AQHA 40 Year Breeders Award, and Renee responded, “All 40 years with Goldseeker Bars.” It is through Goldseeker Bars that they have bred versatile quarter horses.
She also said this about the kind of program they have, “A lot of people will buy my horses, and they will rope on them or use them as ranch horses. I’ve had pole horses, barrel horses. A lot of our horses are used by kids, and they go to junior rodeos, and they rope, run barrels, and poles. I’ve got a picture hanging on the wall of a World Champion Amateur Pole Bending Horse that a girl rode. They have done everything, but not all of them get to the
AQHA to earn points.” She went on to explain that they have held their annual sale since about 1986, and people come to buy their horses for a variety of reasons. She also said that they sell the horses they raise.
The history of Goldseeker Bars starts when he was bred by Denver Davis. He was technically purchased by Bud Boschert when he bought his dam Spanish Joy, who was in foal to Three Bars. She produced Goldseeker Bars. He would earn his AQHA Supreme Championship while owned by Boschert. His last owner was Callaghan Ranch of Encinal, Texas. He would go to the track to win seven with ten seconds from 24 starts. He earned his AAA+ rating on the track, going 330 yards at Blue Ribbon Down in 17.22. He was a stakes finalist in the Ozark QHA Futurity. He set two track records in allowance races, but the times and distance are not known. His next move after the track was the halter arena, where he earned 35 halter points. He won seven of fourteen halter classes with four Grand Championships and six Reserve Grand Championships. He earned 11 western pleasure points, and he was the first to earn his Supreme Championship, earning 10 cutting points. He was an AQHA Champion as well.
The pedigree of Goldseeker Bars reinforces his being a Supreme Champion. His sire, Three Bars, was a son of Percentage and out of Myrtle Dee by Luke McLuke. He is probably the most important sire in the modern American Quarter Horse. He is found to be an influence on all phases of performance, halter, and racing. The Supreme Championship serves as an example, as he sired the first three winners of this title: Kid Meyers, Fairbars, Bar Money, and Goldseeker Bars, his
LEO GOLDSEEKER WITH RENEE ON THE OTHER END OF THE LEAD ROPE PHOTO COURTESY CUDD QUARTER HORSES
fourth son to win the title. He was the paternal grandsire of Desto Bar, Lightning Rey, Back Stretch, Magnolia Pay, Beatle Win, Fire Rocket, Sugar Rocket, Goldie Bars, Bar H Raider, Little Town, He Rocket, and Goldseeker Bud. Spanish Joy, the dam of Goldseeker Bars, was the dam of five AQHA Champions and two Supreme Champions. The other Supreme Champion was Mach I. Of her AQHA Champions, four were AAA rated on the track. She was bred by Hank Weiscamp and sired by Spanish Nick by Nick Shomaker and out of Joy Ann by Gold Mount.
The sire record for Goldseeker Bars shows that he sired 30 Register of Merit runners with one stake winner and one stakes-placed runner. He sired 107 halter and performance point earners that earned 53 Register of Merit, 16 AQHA Champions, 22 superior winners that won 27 awards, 2 World Championships, and two Youth Championships. He is the only Supreme Champion to sire a Supreme Champion in Goldseeker Bud. Some of his other noted foals include Heza Goldseeker with 839 AQHA points with Superiors in open halter, two in youth halter and two in youth showmanship as well as the 1976 Youth World Champion Three-Year-Old Halter Gelding, Julie Seeker with 282 AQHA points with an open and a youth superior in barrel racing, Golden Lea Miss winner of 336 AQHA points with Superiors in open halter, youth halter and three AQHA Championships one in the open and two in the youth and Seekers Reflection with 4,108 PHBA points in halter and performance with 10 PHBA World Championship in performance and halter.
Jackpot Seeker was the dam of Juno Reward, who was the dam of Lady Juno, the 1980 AQHA Racing Champion Aged Mare and winner of the prestigious 1980 Champion of Champions G1.
The daughters of Goldseeker Bars produced horses that earned 5,125 performance and halter points from 169 point earners that have earned 49 ROM, with four AQHA Champions and seventeen of his foals earning 20 Superior awards. He is the broodmare sire of two world champions, two reserve world champions, and one high point winner. Opinions was a four-time world champion as the 1994 World Champion Yearling Gelding, the 1995 World Champion Two-Year-Old Gelding, 1995 Youth World Champion TwoYear-Old Gelding, and the 1996 Youth World Champion Three-YearOld Gelding.
ORREN MIXER PAINTING OF GOLDSEEKER BARS
PHOTO COURTESY AUTHOR’S FILES
The broodmare sire record for Goldseeker Bars shows that his daughters produced 34 racing Register of Merit with one stakes winner, and they earned $207,027.50. The leading winner is Carousal winner of the 1977 Hampton Derby and the Tioga Park Derby. The dam of Carousal was Jackpot Seeker, a 1967 daughter of Goldseeker Bars.
Sonny Seeker was the 1978 Open World Champion Yearling Gelding and the 1979 Open World Champion Two-Year-Old Gelding. Lady Bird Robin was the 1980 Youth World Champion Yearling Mare.
The outstanding show mare Golden Lea Miss by Goldseeker Bars highlights the versatility of his grandget. She was the dam of 15 point earners, earning 659 points. Her son, Aztec Sun, was the 1975 AQHA World Champion Two-Year-Old Halter Stallion.
He was Superior in halter and an AQHA Champion that earned 118 halter points and 39 performance points. Suntennial, a full brother to Aztec Sun, was the 1984 AQHA Youth Reserve World Champion Heeling Horse and the 1986 AQHA Youth Reserve World Champion Breakaway Roping Horse. He was superior in open steer roping and in open heading. He was an AQHA Champion that earned 287 open and youth points. Triple Chick Miss was superior in youth showmanship, and she earned 178 points, with 167 of them youth points.
Now we will let Renee tell us how it all got started, “I was raised in Kalazamzoo, Michigan, and I went to the School of Horsemanship at Meridith Manor in Waverly, West Virginia. When I graduated in 1977, they had a job placement program, and I ended up in Woodward, Oklahoma. I went to work for a man by the name of Monte Reger, and he had the Reger Ranch.”
Monte Reger was a rancher who was involved in rodeo as one of the organizers of the Woodward Elk Rodeo in Oklahoma and as a rodeo entertainer who trained and rode Bobcat Twister, a longhorn steer that would jump a Chevrolet car during the 1930s. He would develop a quarter horse ranch, standing such stallions as Excuse, Gee’s Sir Jo, and Skip Em Bar.
Renee continued, “Monte had a stallion named Leo Goldseeker. I took care of all his horses, bred the mares, raised the babies. Then I would get all the colts started, and they would have a big sale at Ada, Oklahoma, and that’s where we took all of his 2-year-olds, and we sold them.”
Renee met Bobby Joe at the Reger Ranch. Bobby Joe had come up to the ranch and talked to Monte about keeping a couple of stallions at the ranch. Monte didn’t keep any outside horses, but he let him bring those two stallions, and one of them was a son of Easy Jet, and the other one was a son of Azure Te, out of the All American Futurity winner Goetta, named Flashy Six. So, the horses were at the ranch, and that is how I met my husband.”
Bobby Joe passed away in 2005, and Renee has carried on with their original plan, breeding Goldseeker Bars bred horses. She continued, “Then about a year and a half or maybe a couple of years later, Monte got really sick and he passed away. They sold all his horses at the Ada sale in August of 1984. By this time, Bobby Joe and I were married, and we bought Leo Goldseeker through the dispersal sale. I worked for Monte for five or six years, taking care of this horse, and I was very familiar with him. That is when we started our business. He was at that time, I think, thirteen years old, and he lived to 27, so we had many years with him, and that is how we got started with the Goldseeker Bars’ horses.”
Leo Goldseeker would form the foundation of the Cudd breeding program. He had a limited show record, winning four of five halter classes with two Grand Championships and two Reserve Grand Championships. He earned only two halter points with his biggest win the Grand Championship at Guymon, Oklahoma, after winning a class of eight aged stallions. He was shown in performance twice, winning a senior western pleasure class over six other horses and a dally team roping heading over seven other horses. He earned two performance points. He was the sire of horses that won 2,126 AQHA points in halter and performance. This includes 26 ROM, 16 superior award winners, and two AQHA Champions. His foals also
earned 154 PHBA points in halter and performance. Some of his leading point earners were Regers Diamond, who earned superiors in open western pleasure, open halter and youth western pleasure earning 419 halter and performance points and an AQHA Championship, Regers Sweetheart who was superior in open halter, youth halter and youth showmanship earning 172 points in halter and performance and Regers Tops a multiple world show finalist that earned a superior in tie-down roping that earned 92 AQHA points all bred when he was owned by Monte Reger.
The Leo Goldseeker foals that were foaled after he was purchased by Cudd Quarter Horses include Dandy Man Goldseeker, who earned 208.5 AQHA points in amateur and open, and he was the Justin Intermediate Horse of the Year Reserve Champion. Tari Goldseeker was superior in tie-down roping with 140 performance points in the open, amateur, and youth divisions. Jack L Goldseeker earned 182.5 AQHA performance points as a multiple AQHA World Show qualifier in tie-down roping, breakaway roping, and heading. Catman Goldseeker earned 103 AQHA points, earning a superior in barrel racing. Dandy Man Seeker and Jack L Goldseeker were bred by Cudd Quarter Horses. They also owned Catman Goldseeker as a weanling and sold him as a two-year-old.
The dam of Leo Goldseeker was Sandy Lou Smith by San Man Leo by Leo San by Leo. The dam of San Man Leo was V’s Little Waggoner by Oklahoma Star Jr by Oklahoma Star P-6. The dam of Sandy Lou Smith was Boots M Smith by Monsieur Joe, who was sired by Red Star Joe by Little Jodie, and Red Star Joe was out of Lady Starlette by Oklahoma Star P-6. The dam of Boots M Smith was Little Rock Star by Star Way by Oklahoma Star P-6. This gives Sandy Lou Smith a breeding pattern of 4 x 5 x 5 to Oklahoma Star P-6.
Leo Goldseeker was just the beginning. Renee continued her story, “After we got Leo Goldseeker and we had him for several years, we met a man named M. K. Rigsby, and he had Goldseeker Bars horses. He had two sons of Goldseeker Bars: one was Callaghans Foremost, and the other was Callaghans Dividend. He also had several daughters of Goldseeker Bars. He would breed the Goldseeker daughters back to the two studs. When he got older, he wanted to sell his horses, so we ended up buying those two studs and some of those mares. They were all sons and daughters of Goldseeker Bars. We took all the mares and bred them to a son of Zan Parr Bar named Zan Juan Leo out of a daughter of John Leo. We would cross those mares on him.”
Renee said that when they started, they always wanted to have Goldseeker Bars in the pedigree on one side or the other. Then she added this on how they used stallions to keep the Goldseeker Bars blood going forward, but that they kept some mare that carried the Goldseeker blood.
This took her back to 1988, “We met another guy, and he lived in Texas, and we bought two or three sons of Goldseeker Bars from him. That was pretty much among Goldseeker Bars’ last crops.” This brings us to King W Goldseeker, the next significant son of Goldseeker Bars. Renee talked about him this way, “We had King W Goldseeker since he was nine months old. We bought him from Doug Saunders. Besides Leo Goldseeker, he was the best stud we have ever had. We have always tried to have a son of Goldseeker Bars, and now, as time goes on, they are all gone, and it is hard to keep it going. I don’t even have a son of Leo Goldseeker as he died in 1997.”
The leading AQHA point earner for King W Goldseeker is McElroy Goldseeker, who earned 39.5 AQHA performance points with an Amateur and open ROM. He was a two-time AQHA World Show qualifier in the Amateur and Open. The King W Goldseeker daughters have produced eight AQHA performers earning 132 points and one World Champion in Jay Jay Goldseeker, the 2014 AQHA Select World Champion Pole Bending Horse. He earned 94 AQHA points in the open and amateur with a Superior in open pole bending.
The dam of King W Goldseeker was Skipper Silk by Sailalong by Skipper W. The dam of Skipper Silk was Skip’s Hope by Skipper’s King by Skipper W by Nick Shoemaker. Her dam was Silver Leche by Holy Smoke by Smokey Moore. Silveer Leche was the dam of Silver Son, the 1969 High Point Steer Roping Horse, and he was Superior in reining and calf roping. When we combine the pedigree of Spanish Joy, who was sired by Spanish Nick by Nick Shoemaker, we get a breeding pattern of 4 x 4 x 5 to Nick Shoemaker. Here is an added note: Hank Wiescamp saw Skipper’s King and his full sister Skipperette as the two best horses he ever bred. He considered Spanish Nick to be the best broodmare sire he bred. Skipper W would be the most significant sire for his breeding program.
Renee continued, “I had a horse here named Herman Goldseeker by Leo Goldseeker, but he is gone. He was out of a mare by Smooth Herman, and she was out of a Mr Perfection mare. It is getting harder and harder to keep the Goldseeker in there. I don’t even have a son of Leo Goldseeker as he died in 1997.”
Herman Goldseeker was the sire of only three AQHA performers, earning 215 points. This includes Allie Goldseeker, who earned a Superior in open and amateur pole bending with 209 points. She was the 2016 AQHA Open World Champion Pole Bending Horse and the 2017 AQHA Open World Champion Pole Bending Horse. Herman Goldseeker is the broodmare sire of Metallic Katrina, winner of the 2024 Riata Pro Futurity Championship. She is out of his daughter, Aristocrat Goldseeker, who was out of Aristocatrina by Smart Aristocrat, by Smart Little Lena. The dam of Herman Goldseeker is Hermans Jewel by
Smooth Herman, a son of Jet Smooth by Three Bars and out of Lena’s Bar by Three Bars. He was a full brother to Easy Jet. Jet Smooth won such races as the Kansas Futurity G1, and then he earned his halter points to become an AQHA Champion. Smooth Herman was the 1977 AQHA High Point Cutting Horse. The dam of Smooth Herman was Carol’s Ethel by King P-234. The dam of Hermans Jewel was Perfection’s Miss by Mr Perfection, an AQHA Champion and Superior halter horse who was sired by Three Chicks. He was out of Quo Vadis, an AQHA Champion and dam of foals like Madonna Dell, one of the great halter mares.
The sire influence of Goldseeker Bars continues today for Cudd Quarter Horses through Bay John Goldseeker by King W Goldseeker. His dam is Jazzabell Jazz, by John Leo, by Leo. She also has Twist Goldseeker by Herman Goldseeker standing at the ranch. He is out of One Eyes Roan, by Rhinestone Bartender, by Two Id Bartender. Rhinestone Bartender was another outcross stallion used in the breeding program. Renee reports that both of these horses are producing good colts for the program. But as the breeding program has continued despite the Goldseeker blood moving back in the pedigree, Renee is looking to the future. Metallic Gray and One Time Genuine serve as sires to cross on the ranches Goldseeker blood. Both of these stallions have been enrolled in the Riata Stallion Incentive program.
Metallic Gray is sired by Metallic Cat by High Brow Cat. The dam of High Brow Cat is Smart Little Kitty by Smart Little Lena, NCHA Triple Crown Champion. The dam of Metallic Cat is Chers Shadow by Peptoboonsmal NCHA Futurity Champion, and she was out of Shesa Smarty Lena by Smart Little Lena. The dam of Metallic Gray is Smooth Sage by Over Osage by Osage Roan. The dam of Over Osage was Osage Nell by Osage Roan. Osage Roan was sired by Little Roan Hancock by Roan Hancock by Joe Hancock. The dam of Smooth Osage was Savannah Chacha by Smooth Savannah by Jet Smooth, and he was out of Savanna Patty by Savannah Jr, All American Futurity winner. Metallic Gray is the sire of Metallic Katrina, winner of the 2024 Riata Pro Futurity Championship.
One Time Genuine is sired by One Time Pepto by Peptoboonsmal by Peppy San Badger. Peptoboonsmal is out of Royal Blue Boon by Boon Bar. The dam of One Time Pepto is One Time Soon by Smart Little Lena, and she is out of NCHA Futurity winner Uno Princess by Jose Uno. The dam of One Time Genuine is Playguns Desire by Playgun by Freckles Playboy, and he is out of Miss Silver Pistol by Doc’s Hickory. The dam of Playguns Desire is Genuine Desire by Genuine Doc by Doc Bar. She is out of Peppy’s Desire, the 1975 NCHA Open World Champion and the 1975 NCHA Non Pro Futurity. Peppy’s Desire was
SELECT GENE MARECARRERA CAT
PHOTO COURTESY SOLO
SELECT LLC
SELECT GENE MARECHARS GUN
PHOTO COURTESY SOLO
SELECT LLC
SELECT GENE MARE - ISSYS CHROMED KITTY
PHOTO COURTESY SOLO
SELECT LLC
sired by Peppy San, the 1967 NCHA Futurity, and her dam was Stardust Desire, the 1966 NCHA World Champion. One Time Genuine is the sire of One Time Hydrive, who won the Elite Breeder’s Incentive and earned $9,000 at the Gold Buckle Futurities Breakaway Roping.
A NEW ERA BEGINS
Renee bought four mares that have had an energizing impact on Cudd Quarter Horses. They are Ima Smart Catt, Chars Gun, Carrera Cat, and Lizzys Chromed Kitty. Ima Smart Cat was Renee’s first adventure into the reined cow horse event. With trainer Brad Lund showing, she was the 2017 Snaffle Bit Futurity Open Intermediate World Champion. Lund would take this mare to the roping pen, but she would be injured in a trailer accident, and she had to be put down. She was sired by WR This Cats Smart and out of Shiney Patrona by Shining Spark.
Renee explained how the other three mares became a part of their breeding program and into the Solo Select LLC program of Select Gene Mares, “About 10 years ago, I met Ty Smith, and that is where I got Carrera Cat and Ima Smart Cat. Brad Lund started showing them. We added a few mares, and then we got down to Chars Cat, Carrera Cat, and Lizzys Chromed Kitty.
They stay in Texas as a part of the Select Gene Mares.” Ty Smith is the CEO of Solo Select LLC, a man that Renee has a great deal of respect for, while appreciating how he has helped her. Carrea Cat was started in the reined cow horse and shown by Brad Lund. She would be an open finalist in the National Stock Horse Association RCH Intermediate and Open Futurities. She then entered the roping arena, and she was the 2017 ARHFA Sweepstakes Maturity Reserve Champion in Heading. Then she was fourth in the 2017 AQHA World Championship finals in the heading event. She was also a top ten finalist that year in heeling. She earned her Superior in heading and heeling with 167 AQHA points. Her first foal was Holly Cat Carrera, winner of the 2020 Reno Snaffle Bit Open Futurity and a finalist in the 2020 NRCHA Snaffle Bit Open Futurity. She is also the dam of Black Magic Woman, who set a sale record in the 2022 NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity Sale, where she sold for $180,000. Carrera Cat was sired by Metallic Cat and out of Lively Dual by Dual Rey.
Chars Gun was also purchased from Ty Smith. She was an unshown mare. She is the dam of Relentless PYC,
who is a multiple roping futurity champion, including the Royal Crown Roping 6 & Under heading. She has earned $165,921 as the all-time leading money-winning futurity mare and richest money-earning four-year-old futurity horse. A weanling by The Darkk Side out of Chars Gun was the high-selling horse at the Cudd Ranch Sale in 2025, selling for $50,000. The highest-selling Cudd Ranch yearling in 2025 was Woody Be Playin by Woody Be Tuff out of Chars Gun, selling for $36,000.
Lizzys Chromed Kitty is a multiple-aged event finalist, including finishing in the top ten in the 2020 NCHA Open Futurity. She earned $61,131. She has no performers yet, but she has a number of foals in the wings by stallions like Dual Reyish. Lizzys Chromed Kitty is a full sister to Metallic MVP, the 2022 NCHA Open World Champion Cutting Horse. They are sired by Metallic Cat and out of My Lizzy Babe by Docs Stylish Oak. All good breeding programs are built on a good foundation.
We see that in the Cudd Quarter Horses and how they built their breeding program around Goldseeker Bars, the AQHA Supreme Champion. It is the versatility that comes from a Supreme Champion and then down through his offspring that provides horsemen (young or old) with a horse that could go in the direction the new owner wants to go. This program continues, and you can see the Goldseeker Bars connection in their annual sale, which takes place each June, a part of the program that Renee says will continue.
But this sound breeding program has moved into the era of new breeding technologies, with three of their mares serving as Solo Select LLC’s Select Gene Mares. A program that Renee says, “is a top of the line” program that is having a big impact on the breed today. They have also entered the Riata Buckles’ Riata Stallion Incentive, increasing the earning potential of the colts by Metallic Gray and One Time Genuine. Each year, Renee combines her Goldseeker Bars and Solo Select foals by bringing a number of foals from this program as a part of her annual sale. A good example of this is the Cudd bred Wooodya Stevie, who sold for $73,000 in their 2024 sale. She was sired by Stevie Rey Von and out of Wooodya by Woody Be Tuff.
So, it is through their Goldseeker Bars bred horses and the Select Gene Mares and their stallions that serve as the reason why Cudd Quarter Horses will continue breeding good horses beyond those first 40 years.
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SIRES
Four Bonnie Bay – Bay
Own son of Figure Four Chex
Stunned - Sorrel
Own son of Highbrow Cat
Rustic Metal – Red Roan
Own son of Metallic Cat
The Metallic Patron – Red Roan
Own son of Metallic Cat
SF Bonnie Pep – Gray
Own son of Four Bonnie Bay
Smart Boons – Red Roan
Own son of Peptoboonsmal
SJR Diamond Buck – Buckskin
Own son of CD Diamond
Smooth Smoken Boon – Red Roan
Own son of Once In A Blu Boon
Now Lets Talk Money – Red Roan
Own son of Metallic Cat
By Maria Tibbetts [Photos by Country Roots Photography.]
For 20 years the St. Clair family has loaded up their horses every two years and hauled them to the Nebraska Quarter Horse Classic sale. Last year, for the first time, they set up the sale to come to them. They’re going to do it again this year, says Mike St. Clair, who started the family business with his wife, Kim, nearly 50 years ago.
This year the family designed and built the Flying L arena near Keosauqua, Iowa, with this sale and accompanying futurity in mind. The new indoor Flying L Arena is located on Cody and Lucas Goehring’s place (Mike and Kim’s youngest daughter). Lucas, who has taken the lead on their rope horse program designed the new arena. “We continue to finesse the rope program and reining cow program. Luke and Cody just finished putting up the indoor arena, which enables us to train horses year round,” Mike said.
That indoor arena will be a welcome addition to the fall sale. This year’s sale is set for Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, with a futurity and roping on Friday, Sept. 12. Friday’s futurity features conformation, ranch trail, reined cow horse, and reining classes, followed by a roping that last year drew 185 teams. Saturday kicks off with the horse preview in the morning and the sale itself in the afternoon.
Eighty-five head are cataloged for this year, including 60 home-raised St. Clair horses. Every consignment is carefully screened to match the program’s reputation for pretty, balanced, versatile athletes, says Mike. “We’ve been very particular about what we allow in the sale. The horses have to reflect what we’re building.”
They believe every horse has unique strengths and they do their best to identify those and market each horse so it can be successful. But Mike said their primary focus is on strengthening their bloodlines and training programs for team roping and reined cow horse.
That program is paying dividends for their customers, some of whom have taken home big paychecks from the World Series Team Roping
Challenge. Logan Allen won $30,000 in the 9.5 at the World Series Finale. He was heeling on Playboys Patron by The Metallic Patron. Zach Mabry was second in the 11.5 on SF Freckles Four by Four Bonnie Bay earning $119,500, plus another $20,000 for the Riata Buckle side pot.
FAMILY FOCUSED
Though they started small in 1978, Mike and Kim knew what they wanted to accomplish and have kept steadily working toward their goals. While they raised a family, ran a Carquest business and Mike worked as a farrier and also for a company building train wheels, they focused on building their horse program around their family.
“All the kids are involved,” Mike said. “We started partnering with them when they were old enough to ride, using horses as savings accounts for college. Family is the foundation; we couldn’t do this without them.”
The third generation is now joining the team, with Mike and Kim’s two oldest grandkids training horses for the sale. The younger grandkids are working their way up the ranks, learning all they can so they’ll be ready when it’s their turn to ride their own horses into the sale ring.
Mike and Kim have four daughters who all play a part.
• Courtney and Chris Kirchner – Courtney, a vet tech, manages breeding records for the horse program. Chris is a BNSF track supervisor. Their children, Tanner and Dakota both have trained horses in this year’s sale.
• Lacey and Mark Boatman – Lacey, a dental hygienist and Mark a major in the Iowa Correctional System balance working careers while managing the horse program. Their girls, Fynlee and Emyt are avid pony riders, and are now stepping up to the big horses.
• Cody and Lucas Goehring – Cody manages media and marketing for the horse program while Lucas, leads the roping program. Their kids, Layne and Hattie, keep their grandma and their ponies busy.
• Nicole and Daniel Zimmerman –Nicole works in healthcare in Kansas and they have three kids, Olivia, Sophia, and Parker. They help when they can, but are not involved in the day-to-day operation.
SF SMART LIKE SPUR [MARE] BY FOUR BONNIE BAY. RIDDEN BY LUCAS GOEHRING
IT STARTS WITH THE MARE
When they started the program, Mike and Kim knew the mares were as important as the stallions and focused their early efforts on building a mare band that would be a foundation. “The mare is 60 to 70 percent of that baby,” Mike said.
Their mare herd now numbers around 120. All the mares in the program are broke to ride and a third of those are money-earners. Their mare selection starts with a physical standard; they must stand 14.3 to 15.1 hands, have solid bone and feet, and beyond that they have to prove they’re good-minded.
Mike says it’s as important to know about the mare’s mind, athleticism and disposition as it is the stallions. “If they don’t have trainability, they don’t belong in our program,” he says.
The mare power traces back to Bailey, the first mare Mike and Kim bought, a palomino mare carrying the genes of Cutter Bill and Gold King Bailey. They expanded in 2000 with the purchase of Nebraska Sandhills Haythorn mares and a Haythorn stallion, Four Bonnie Bay. Those bloodlines still anchor the program today, producing colts that are versatile enough to find their place, whether in the roping pen, cow horse, 4-H, barrels, or as reliable ranch and family mounts. But increasingly that place is in the team roping and reined cow horse arenas.
A STALLION LINEUP WITH PURPOSE
The St. Clair stallions, led by Four Bonnie Bay, by Figure Four Chex and out of Bay Bonnie Raindrop, have a long line of proven success. But Mike said they keep an eye out for standout stallions from complementary programs, and also are always on the lookout for stallions that catch their eye when foals start hitting the ground.
Good bloodlines, disposition and conformation are just the beginning. The St. Clairs don’t consider a stallion as a sire until they know what he’s capable of and has proven athletic ability and trainability.
“We’ve got several young studs in training. Four Bonnie Bay is 20 this year, so we are out there actively training on some new stallions,” Mike said. That includes a son of Highbrow Cat, and a Once in a Blue Boon. “We purchased Smart Boons three years ago, he’s a son of Pepto and went over a million in earnings last
year. We’ve got six or eight young stallions of various ages that we’re trying to decide on, trying to get the next ranch sire.”
With five stallions in the Riata Buckle and Royal Crown, and now a Gold Buckle Ranch slot, the program has firmly planted itself on the national stage.
The Riata Buckle just released a list of the top 12 money-winning sires since the Riata Championships started in 2022. Four Bonnie Bay made the list at number six, with $224,970 in offspring earnings. The St. Clair stallion is keeping company on that list with sires like Bet Hesa Cat, Woody Be Tuff, Metallic Cat, Stevie Rey Von, One Time Pepto and Cowboys Cartel.
“I was very humbled when they asked us to be part of the Riata Buckle,” Mike said. “They told us, ‘We like what you’re doing we’d like to have you in the program.’ We put five of our stallions in the program.”
They have also earned the AQHA Ranching Heritage Breeder designation, which means a ranch must have bred registered American Quarter Horses for at least 10 consecutive years, maintain a remuda of horses used to operate a working cattle ranch, and produce a minimum of five registered foals each year. Applicants must also provide references from established breeders and be approved by the AQHA Ranching Committee. That mark of credibility is also a point of pride for the St. Clairs.
Through the years and generations, the St. Clair mission remains unchanged: to raise versatile, goodminded horses that are safe for families and high enough caliber for professionals.
Met allic Casanova Mia Browbeater
Dukes N Divas
2025 SIRE LINE UP
A Cat With Swagger
A Dash Ta Streak
A Guy with Proof
A Streak Of Fling
Aint Seen Nothin Yet Alone Drifter
Badboonarising
Bamacat
Bet Hesa Boon
Bet Hesa Cat
Bet Hesa Echo Cat
Bet Hesa Freckledcat
Bet Hesa Ginnin
Big Lew
Big Shine In Cowtown
Blazin Honor
Blazin Jetolena
Born Ta Be Famous
Bowmans Metallic Cat
Bringin The Luck
Bucks Hancock Dude
Call Me Mitch
Cash One Pepto
Cat Man Do
Cat Proof
Catolena Cashin In Catty Hawk
Catty Rey
CD Diamond
Clean N Shiney
Coronado Cartel
CR Get Tuff
CR Gotcha Covered
CR Woody Be A Dual
CS Poco King Quixote
CSR Dual Glo
CT Show Me Your Guns
Curtis Done Dun It
Curtis Dracula
Dark N Metallic
Dash Ta Traffic
DD Docs Irish Badger
DD Frosty Cowboy
DD I Be Tuff
Dirty Fling
DM High Roller
Doc Autumns
Metallic Cattack
Dressin Trashy
Driftin French Cash
Dual Reyish
Dukes N Divas
Epic Leader
Exagereyt
Famous
Favorable Intentions
Feel the Sting
Fiddle And Steel
Fiestas Dynasty
Fiestas Gotta Gun
Finals Bound
Four Bonnie Bay
Four Chex Bay
Frenchmans Guy
Frenchmanz Legend
Genuinely Busy
Hashtags
Hazardouz Material
Hes Ta Man
Hez Our Secret
Heza Fiery Fling
HF Mobster
Hickory Holly Time
High Brow Cat
Hired Gun
HP Dash Ta Fiesta
HR Smart Rey
Ima Special Kindaguy
Irish Pay
Isaac Starlight
Jess Fire Me
Jungle Cat
Kit Kat Sugar
KR Fantallicka
KVN Corona
Lefty Starlight
Lena Stylish Doc
Lucky Wonder Horse
Magneticat
Malleable Metal
MC Sterling Six
Meetmeatthebank
Metallic Casanova
Metallic Cat
Metallic Gray
Metallic Malice
Metallic Payday
Metallic Rebel
Metallic Wizard
Metallics MVP
Mia Browbeater
Mister Bar Night
Mister Montana Chic
Moonshinesgotmefiren
MP Jet to the Sun
MP King George
Mr Playinstylish
MR Sassy Frenchman
No Mans Whizkey
Nothing But Blu
NZ Scotch Time
Once In A Blu Boon
One Fabulous Time
One Fine Vintage
One Time Genuine
One Time Honor
One Time Pepto
Oz Ona Hot Streak
PC Redwood Manny
Pepcid
Pepto Bluelena
Peptoes
Playen Spades
Playinlightsout
Pound Sign
Pride And Joyy
Probably A Shiner
Promise of the Sun
Quahadi
Quails Dun Remedy
Ref Majestico
Repete Offender
Reydium Cat
Reynshine
Reys A Shine
Reys Of Pep
Reys Smokin Dually
RN Chic And Sixey
Rustic Metal
Saddling At Sunrise
Scooter Kat
Seven S Big Valley
Seven S Grand Slam
Sevens Star Glo
Sevs Judgement Day
Shawne Bug Leo
Sheik Jean Fly HTT
Shiners Suduko
Shining Spark
Show Me the Buckles
SJR Metallic Oak
Slick By Design
Smart Boons
Smart Chic Olena
Son of a Poptart
Spark Badger
Spooks Gotta Whiz
SR Industry Titan
Stevie Rey Von
Streakin Boon Dox
Streakin Irish Relic
Stunned
Stylin With Pepto
Taggline
Tfouroverdrivinnfame
The Animal
The Darkk Side
The Goodbye Lane
The Metallic Patron
The Notorious B I G
The Reyl Mccoy
The Silk Streaker
This Catt Shines
Thrift Shop Fabulous
Time To Glo
Tinker With Dreams
Traffic Guy
Travelin Jonez
TRR Lucky Brazos
TRR Son D Seven
TW Megga Cat
Two Eyed Brazos
VSR Smart Catalice
Watch Jack Winit
Wimpyneedsacocktail
Woody Be Tuff
Wranglered
WSR Hesa Dunofa Lena
