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Part 2
The Story of Harlan, Dixie Beach's Last Foal
by Larry Thornton
(c) Copyright 2005. All rights reserved. Reprint
permission must be in writing.
Continued
from Part 1 ~
The old adage, "Great Sires Have Great Mothers"
comes into focus when we look at a great sire like Hank H through his dam,
Queen H. But Harlan has his own tie to this saying through his dam, the
blue hen mare Dixie Beach. Dixie Beach was foaled in 1930. She was sired
by Beetch’s Yellow Jacket and out of Mayflower by Nail Driver. She was
bred by Mike Beetch and his son Harlan of Lawton, Oklahoma. It was Harlan
Beetch that related the following about how Dixie Beach came to be bred by
the Beetch’s. Harlan Beetch told his story to Franklin Reynolds in the
article "Mayflower, Grandam of Bert and Matriarch of the Breed, Parts I
and II" that appeared in the November 1957 issue of THE QUARTER HORSE
JOURNAL. It all started when the Beetch’s saw Dixie Beach’s dam Mayflower
race at Altus, Oklahoma.
"There were a dozen
or more horses in that race, and when the barrier went up
Mayflower was
left at the post. Bobby Tiner was the jockey and I’ve never seen a mare
run like she did. She soon caught the field and then came right on through
it and right into the lead. Where there wasn’t an opening she made one,
and she won easily. The race was an eighth of a mile and as they finished
my father turned to me and asked if I had seen what he saw. I nodded and
then he told me we had to have that mare."
The Beetch’s bought
Mayflower for $500.00. They continued her race career for six more years.
Her race career ended with an injury. She went on to produce five foals,
three colts and two fillies. All five foals were sired by Beetch’s Yellow
Jacket. The fillies were Dixie Beach and Lady Coolidge.
The pedigree of
Mayflower is very limited. She was sired by a horse known as Nail Driver.
The pedigree of this horse was unknown. The pedigree of Snip, her dam, was
unknown, but it was reported by Reynolds in his "Mayflower"story that she
was of "Steel Dust blood." She was owned by Billy Fowler, a rancher
between Marlow and Lindsay, Oklahoma. Nail Driver was owned by John
Millwee of Marlow, Oklahoma.
The circumstances of
how the Beetch’s obtained the stallion that became known as Beetch’s
Yellow Jacket is very similar to how they got Mayflower. They went to a
race meet at Lawton, Oklahoma and saw a colt run "green." But they liked
what they saw and bought the colt. He went on to reportedly win 24 of 25
races.
Beetch’s Yellow
Jacket was bred on the famed Waggoner Ranch of Vernon, Texas. The official
pedigree of Beetch’s Yellow Jacket shows that he was sired by Yellow Wolf.
Yellow Wolf was sired by Old Joe Bailey or Weatherford Joe Bailey. Old Joe
Bailey was sired by Eureka by Shelby. His dam was Susie McWhirter by (Old)
Ben Burton. The dam of Yellow Wolf was Old Mary by (Old) Ben Burton. This
would make Yellow Wolf 3 X 2 inbred to (Old) Ben Burton. The dam of Old
Mary was Mandy by Old Dutchman. Old Dutchman was sired by Lock’s Rondo.
The dam of Beetch’s
Yellow Jacket was a mare sired by Yellow Jacket. This is the Yellow Jacket
in the pedigree of King P-234. Yellow Jacket was the sire of Strait Horse,
sire of the dam of King P-234. This gives Harlan a 5 X 4 breeding pattern
to Yellow Jacket. It also give him seven crosses to Lock’s Rondo through
Hank H and Dixie Beach.
Dixie Beach was the
dam of 14 registered foals and many of them have had an impact on the
quarter horse as a breed. Her first foal listed on her AQHA Internet
Record for Produce of Dam was Trigg by Tom Benear. Trigg was registered in
the National Quarter Horse Breeders Association. The NQHBA Stud Book tells
us that he was a bay gelding. He was foaled in 1943 and bred by a Dan
Trigg of Amarillo, Texas. The AQHA Internet Record on this horse has no
birth date.
The first Dixie Beach
foal registered was Tom Benear. He was foaled in 1936. This makes Trigg
the product of Dixie Beach being bred back to her son Tom Benear. Tom
Benear was bred by Bert Benear and owned for many years by Guy M. Troutman
of Tucumcari, New Mexico.
Tom Benear was sired
by Tommy Clegg. Tommy Clegg would play a major role in the life of Dixie
Beach and her sister Lady Coolidge. He was bred by George A. Clegg, the
famous South Texas breeder whose name is associated with such outstanding
individuals as Little Joe, Hickory Bill and Sam Watkins. Clegg was the
breeder of Old Sorrel, foundation sire of the King Ranch line of Quarter
Horse. Sam Watkins was bred by Samuel Watkins of Petersburg, Illinois.
Watkins was the breeder of Peter McCue, the sire of Hickory Bill. George
Clegg bought Sam Watkins and eventually used him as a replacement for
Hickory Bill.
The next Dixie Beach
foal registered in the AQHA was Little Jodie. This 1938 bay stallion was
sired by Little Joe Springer, a foundation sire of the C. S. Ranch in New
Mexico. Little Joe Springer was sired by Old Joe by Harmon Baker by Peter
McCue. The dam of Old Joe was a Jim Ned Mare by Jim Ned. Jim Ned was sired
by Pancho. Pancho was sired by Old Billy and out of the famous mare
Paisiana. The dam of Little Joe Springer was the Old English Mare by Ute
Chief (TB) and she was out of a Brown Mare by Uhlan II.
If Dixie Beach would
have been the dam of only Little Jodie, her place in
Quarter Horse history
would have been set. This great stallion sired Jodie The Tuff. The sire
record of Jodie The Tuff includes the AQHA Champions Tuff’s Baldy and
Tuff’s Becky. The greatest contribution of Jodie The Tuff could very well
be the mare Sutherland’s Miss. Sutherland’s Miss was the dam of the great
sires Bueno Chex and Fritz Command, both AQHA Champions and successful
sires by King Fritz. Sutherland’s Miss was out of Tangerine W by Bert
P-227. Bert P-227 was sired by Tommy Clegg and out of Lady Coolidge, the
full sister to Dixie Beach.
Next on our list of
horses sired by Little Jodie is Muskogee Red. Muskogee Red was out of
Trixie Blake by Bert P-227. Muskogee Red was the sire of Marler’s Blue.
Marler’s Blue is the dam of the ROM performer Unikia. This good cutter was
shown four times in AQHA cutting classes winning two of them. Unikia is an
NCHA money winner in cutting as well. Unikia was sired by Roman Nose by
Bert. Marler’s Blue was out of Cricket W, who was out of Lou by Bert
P-227. This makes Unikia a cross of Dixie Beach and Lady Coolidge.
Pudden Head is the
next Little Jodie foal we’ll talk about. This stallion was the sire of
Sapp Head, who was the broodmare sire of Bob Acre Doc. Bob Acre Doc was a
two time NCHA World Champion Cutting Horse, once in the open and once in
the Non-Pro. Bob Acre Doc is a proven sire with foals like Bobs Smokin
Joe, NCHA Futurity Champion. The latest champion sired by Bob Acre Doc is
Abrakadabracre. This horse was the 2002 AQHA World Champion Junior Cutting
Horse.
Red Star Joe was
another prominent son of Little Jodie. This stallion was the sire of Ready
Money W; Tiny Brown and Monsieur Joe to name a few. Ready Money W was the
sire of Miss Carver and Ready Monika. Miss Carver was the dam of Ready
Monika. This makes Ready Monika 1 X 2 inbred to Ready Money W. Ready
Monika was the dam of Monika, one of the first great reining horses shown
by Bob Loomis. Monika was sired by Okie Leo. Ready Money W was out of
Money by Bert P-227. This gives us another cross of Dixie Beach and Lady
Coolidge.
Tiny Brown was the
dam of Sonny Champ, an AQHA Champion sired by Poco Champ. Monsieur Joe was
the second horse to be named the AQHA High Point Halter Horse. He earned
his title in 1953. We have to add at this point that the sire of the dam’s
of Tiny Brown and Monsieur Joe was Bert. P-227 giving us two more examples
of a mixture of Dixie Beach and her sister Lady Coolidge.
The last Little Jodie
foal we will talk about at this point is V’s Mocha Jo. This mare is the
dam of Dark’s Leo by Leo San. Dark’s Leo is the sire of Paul’s Fancy. The
dam of Paul’s Fancy is My Gay Fancy by Dark’s Leo. This makes Paul’s Fancy
1 X 2 inbred to Dark’s Leo. Paul’s Fancy is the second dam of Bowman’s
Fancy. This mare is the winner of the Reserve Championship of the NCHA
Open Super Stakes. She has earned $287,243. Bowman’s Fancy is the dam of
several noted cutters including the up and coming sire Dualin Jewels, an
NCHA Open Futurity Reserve Champion.
The next foal out of
Dixie Beach was San Siemon’s Dixie, a 1939 bay mare by San Siemon. This
mare is the dam of Dixie Siemon by Star Deck. Dixie Siemon is the dam of
Silver Siemon by Silver King. Silver Siemon was the dam of Cutter’s Dixie
by Cutter Bill. Cutter’s Dixie is the dam of Uno Dixie by Jose Uno. Uno
Dixie is the dam of Brinks Hickory Joe. This Doc’s Hickory stallion is the
winner of $105,859 in NCHA Cuttings. He is the sire of Spirit Of Five, an
NRHA Reining Futurity Champion and All American Quarter Horse Congress
Futurity Reining Champion. Uno Dixie is the dam of First Little Lena and
Fives Hermana. First Little Lena earned $62,431 in the arena. She was the
Reserve Champion of Tropicana 4-Year-Old Open Futurity Co-Reserve
Champion. Fives Hermana was the Sunbelt Non-Pro Futurity Co-Reserve
Champion. She is the dam of Dixie Dual, AQHA World Champion Junior Cutting
Horse and Smart April, Abilene Western 4-Year-Old Open Reserve Champion.
The 1940 foal of
Dixie Beach was Bailarina. This mare was sired by Tommy Clegg. She was the
dam of several ROM arena horses and race horses. Her top performer was
Short Spark by Shortcut. This palomino stallion was an AQHA Champion with
a Superior in Reining. He was the 1960 AQHA Honor Roll Reining Horse and
the 1959 AQHA Honor Roll Western Riding Stallion.
Dixie Ann B was a
1942 dun mare. She was sired by Tommy Clegg and out of Dixie Beach. This
mare was the dam of four performers with one ROM and one NCHA Money
winner. The ROM was Poco Glenn by Poco Jacket. The NCHA money winner was
Mora San by San Siemon.
The next foal for
Dixie Beach was Little Dixie Beach. This 1943 brown mare was the dam of a
number of performers including Paul A. This stallion, sired by Star Deck,
was one of the first AQHA Champions. He was a noted sire with AQHA
Champions like Star Spangled, Paularine and Paulalika. The dam record of
Little Dixie Beach includes the AQHA Champions Dear’s Cheta and Dear’s
Matinee. These foals came about when Little Dixie Beach was owned by the
Birdtail Ranch of Doug and Nancy Dear.
The mare Little
Mayflower was foaled in 1944. She was sired by San Siemon. This mare has
no performers to report in the AQHA. Next came M’s Tom Benear II by Tommy
Clegg. This stallion earned two halter points and one performance point.
He was an NCHA money earner. This stallion was the only official point
earner in the AQHA out of Dixie Beach.
Dixann was a bay mare
foaled in 1947. She was the dam of four ROM race horses. They include
Dixie Anna; Gandy Dancer; Miss Teen and Three Degrees. Dixie Mike was
foaled in 1948 out of Dixie Beach and sired by San Siemon. He has no show
or sire record to report. Dandy Girl was Dixie Beach’s 1949 foal. She was
sired by Little Mike. This mare has no show or produce record.
Bay Pee Wee was also
sired by Little Mike. He was foaled in 1950. This stallion sired several
performers like the AQHA Champion Sammy H McCue. Some of his ROM
performers were Boy Booger, Chock’s Pee Wee and Mr Cravit.
Harlan was the last
registered foal out of Dixie Beach. As you can see, this mare has been a
great influence on the quarter horse as a breed, especially when teamed
with her sister Lady Coolidge. She was truly a foundation mare for the
breed and we have only scratched the surface of her descendants. She is
one of the reasons we have come to know that "great sires have great
mothers" and now we know why it was important for Bob Robey to give up his
idea of gelding Harlan and then allowing his stallion to become a top
notch sire. ~ End
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Author Biography
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