2010 Versatility Ranch Horse World Champion

Mike Major of Fowler, Colorado, uses “phenomenal” to describe two things. First – his horse, Smart Whiskey Doc. As of January 14, Mike’s longtime equine compadre carried him to a back-to-back world championship in versatility ranch horse at the 2010 Fort Dodge Versatility Ranch Horse World Championship Show in Denver. “We were taking a chance because I won the world on him last year, and everybody said, man, you shouldn’t do it twice because if you lose, that’s not a good deal for this horse,” Mike said. “I thought, well, this is a great horse, and God’s been on my side. He’s just a phenomenal horse.” To capture the title, Mike and “Whiskey” won the ranch riding, ranch horse conformation, ranch cutting, finished second in ranch trail and third in working ranch horse. Kris Wilson and Chic Packin took the overall reserve title. A rancher from Fowler, Colorado, Mike and his wife, Holly, purchased the 1999 son of Paddys Irish Whiskey as a yearling from the S Ranch Ltd. In addition to the 2009 versatility ranch horse title, Whiskey’s list of accomplishments includes the 2008 reserve versatility ranch horse world championship, several high-point awards, and the 2006 Select world championship in working cow horse. The Majors have been especially pleased with Whiskey’s colts; they don’t sell many, but “sure like the ones we raise.” Mike is a 40-year breeder of American Quarter Horses. On January 12, he won the National Western Versatility Ranch Horse Classic on Black Hope Stik, a daughter of Whiskey’s and a fourth-generation home-bred mare named Hope Stik...read more