Five horses and four men will join the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2015.
“These distinguished men and horses are part of the history of the American Quarter Horse, and we’re pleased to welcome them into the
American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame,”
said Don Treadway Jr., executive vice president of the American Quarter
Horse Association. “Their achievements have made them worthy to join
the illustrious group already enshrined in the Hall of Fame.” The horses are the 1989 mare Corona Chick, the 1959 stallion
Coy’s Bonanza, the 1930 stallion Plaudit, the 1979 stallion Smart
Little Lena and the 1962 Thoroughbred stallion Azure Te. The four men are Thomas Bradbury of Byers, Colorado; AQHA
Past President Jim Helzer of Arlington, Texas; the late Stanley Johnston
of Miller, South Dakota; and the late Ted Wells Jr. of Pawhuska,
Oklahoma. The new members of the Hall of Fame will be inducted in March 2015 at the 2015 AQHA Convention in Fort Worth, Texas. While they come from different parts of the
country, the men all had the common goal of improving the breed and the
horses definitely left their legacies. We are honored to recognize their
work and lives.
The Broodmare
Corona Chick started fast and only got faster. She began her
race career May 17, 1991, placing second, one of the few times in her
life that she was not first. She set two track records in her life and
was the 1991 racing champion 2-year-old filly and 1992 racing champion
3-year-old filly. The bay mare was by Chicks Beduino and out of Sizzling Lil
by Sizzle Te. She was bred by Robert D. Etchandy of Anaheim, California,
raced under the Etchandy family name and last was owned by Julianna
Hawn Holt of Blanco, Texas. Corona Chick finished her track career with a record of 18
starts, 15 wins and two seconds, finishing off the board only once. She
had earnings of $591,326. As a broodmare, Corona Chick became an
American Quarter Horse Dam of Distinction. Of her 16 foals, 14 starters
earned $3.6 million. Her 1995 filly by First Down Dash, Corona Cash, won
the All American Futurity (G1) in 1997 and her sons Corona Cartel,
Valiant Hero and Captain Courage are all leading sires of racing
American Quarter Horses.
The Ranch Horse
Plaudit was foaled in 1930 and purchased by Coke Roberds as a
3-month-old. He passed through a few more owners before landing with
Waite Philips at Philmont Ranch at Cimarron, New Mexico. Plaudit was
used as a working ranch horse, as well as a breeding stallion, and was
occasionally raced on bush tracks for 10 years. The palomino stallion was by the Thoroughbred stallion King
Plaudit and out of Colorado Queen by Old Nick. He was bred by Tom Mill
of Meeker, Colorado, and was last owned by Leon Harms of Sandia Park,
New Mexico. The stallion sired horses that were successful in the show
pen and on the track, including Question Mark, who with a broken pastern
defeated the nearly unbeatable Shue Fly in a half-mile race. Plaudit
became known as a broodmare sire through his daughters and
granddaughters. His blood runs today through horses of the Skipper W
lines.
The Champion
In 1961, Coy’s Bonanza earned seven grand championships and
10 reserve championships at halter. He went to the racetrack in 1962 but
shinbucked and was sent home. In 1963, he was shown at halter 53 times
to 40 grand championships and 13 reserves, making him the 1963
high-point halter stallion. The sorrel stallion by Jaguar and out of Sparky Joann by
Littlejoethewrangler was bred by Charlene Coy of Lander, Wyoming, and
was owned by Bill Moomey of Vail, Arizona, who sent the stallion back to
the racetrack where he earned a AAA rating. Coy’s Bonanza became an
AQHA Champion and earned points in reining, western pleasure and western
riding. Exhibitors of the era sought out foals by Coy’s Bonanza to
show in halter and performance classes. From 16 foal crops, Coy’s
Bonanza had 26 foals become AQHA Champions like him. A total of 112
earned 4,633 halter points and 117 earned 4,248 performance points.
The Cutter
When Smart Little Lena was foaled, his name came from his
small size. The sorrel stallion never let his size stop him, though, as
he won the 1982 National Cutting Horse Association Futurity and followed
that win up with first-place finishes in the NCHA Super Stakes and NCHA
Derby to claim cutting’s triple crown. Smart Little Lena was by Doc O’Lena and out of the mare
Smart Peppy by American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame stallion Peppy San.
Smart Little Lena was bred by Hanes R. Chatham of Fort Worth, Texas.
After his triple crown win, he was syndicated before heading to the
breeding shed, where he sired money-earning foals in reining, working
cow horse and cutting. Smart Little Lena’s foals earned almost $35 million in NCHA
competition. He was inducted into the NCHA Hall of Fame in 2008.
The Thoroughbred
Azure Te was foaled in 1962 and raced on Thoroughbred tracks
until he bowed a tendon and was retired. He then was purchased by
Burnett Ranches as an outcross Thoroughbred stallion to complement
American Quarter Horse broodmares. His syndication in 1968 is thought to be the first
syndication of a stallion for American Quarter Horse racing. The bay
stallion was by Nashville and out of Blue One by Count Fleet, and was
owned by the Azure Te Syndicate of Fort Worth, Texas. From his first American Quarter Horse foal crop, Azure Te
placed three finalists in the All American Futurity. From that first
crop, only one starter wasn’t a winner. At the time of his death in
1983, he was the all-time leading Thoroughbred sire of Quarter
racehorses, a title he claimed for nearly 10 years.
The Racer
Tom Bradbury of Byers, Colorado, began his Bradbury Land and
Cattle Co. ranch in 1958, raising Hereford and Red Angus cattle. In
1987, he purchased Dash For Speed, a track record-setting mare who was
world champion in 1990 and earned $1.225 million on the track. Tom also owned syndicated shares in Wave Carver, First Down Dash and Teller Cartel. Tom has been involved in many national agriculture and
livestock groups, including AQHA, the American Red Angus Association,
the American Hereford Association and the Rocky Mountain Quarter Horse
Association, where he has been a member since 1959 and has served as
president. Bradbury is an AQHA Director Emeritus. He served in community
organizations and is on the Colorado State University alumni board. He
also is involved with the National Western Stock Show.
The Executive
James E. Helzer of Arlington, Texas, is a 20-year breeder of
American Quarter Horses who served as AQHA president in 2009-10. The
racing breeder and his wife, Marilyn, bought their first racehorse in
1962. While working in the defense industry, Helzer trained
racehorses on the side and eventually became a roofing contractor who
built a business that grew to nine states and 33 locations. In 1990, he
bought Refrigerator, who won that year’s All American Futurity, became a
two-time world champion in racing, retired as the then all-time leading
money earner with $2,126,309 and was inducted into the American Quarter
Horse Hall of Fame in 2000. In 1993, Helzer turned his business
expertise to breeding American Quarter Horses and established the first
of his stallion stations in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. After
Helzer’s term as AQHA president, he continues his service on AQHA
committees.
The Rancher
The late Stanley Johnston was a man who liked speed in his
ranch horses. When he began breeding American Quarter Horses at his
ranch in South Dakota, he introduced a band of Driftwood mares to cross
on his stallion, Poco Speedy. Johnston’s breeding program contributed to the legacy of the
American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame stallion Driftwood, who was known
for his speed and rodeo prowess. Johnston crossed Doc’s Jack Frost on
one of his Driftwood granddaughters to create Sun Frost, one of the
leading sires of barrel racing horses in the United States. In addition to breeding rodeo stars, Johnston’s influence
spread throughout South Dakota, where many ranchers in the area still
advertise that their breeding program includes Johnston-bred horses.
The Breeder
The late Ted Wells Jr. inherited a legacy and he knew what
to do with it. Wells’ father had owned Hall of Fame stallion Leo, and
Wells owned and trained Leo’s earliest offspring. Wells conditioned Lena’s Bar, the dam of Jet Smooth and Easy
Jet, and he conditioned Savannah Jr to win the 1965 All American
Futurity and be the champion 2-year-old colt in 1965 and the champion
3-year-old in 1966. At the 1971 All American Futurity, three of the top
10 horses were bred at Wells Ranch in Oklahoma, where Wells stood
Savannah Jr and Azure Te. In the 1970s, Wells became involved in AQHA governance,
serving on the racing committee and working as president of the Oklahoma
Horsemen’s Association, where he was influential in securing
pari-mutuel racing in the state.
The American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum
beautifully showcases the dozens of horses and people who have earned
the distinction of becoming part of the American Quarter Horse Hall of
Fame. To be a part of the Hall of Fame, horses and people must have been
outstanding over a period of years in a variety of categories.
Inductees are those who have brought exceptional visibility and/or
contribution to the American Quarter Horse. Hall of Fame inductees are
chosen each year by a selection committee and honored at the annual AQHA
Convention.For more information on the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum, visit www.aqha.com/museum.
Issues of concern to people who live in the west: property rights, water rights, endangered species, livestock grazing, energy production, wilderness and western agriculture. Plus a few items on western history, western literature and the sport of rodeo... Frank DuBois served as the NM Secretary of Agriculture from 1988 to 2003. DuBois is a former legislative assistant to a U.S. Senator, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior, and is the founder of the DuBois Rodeo Scholarship.
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