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Pretty Buck Portions taken from the Legends 5 Western Horseman Book Article by: Frank Holmes |
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Pretty Buck was foaled in 1942 on the Waggoner Ranch of Vernon, TX. He was sired by Pretty Boy and was out a Waggoner Mare sired by Buck Thomas. Registered by his breeder-owner E. Paul Waggoner as a 3-year-old in 1945, Pretty Buck was listed as being brown. With his broad dorsal stripe and black points, he was probably a dark dun instead. Pretty Boy, the sire of Pretty Buck, was a 1928 brown (or dun, depending on the account) stallion by Dodger and out of Little Maud. He was bred by Claude Collins of Sterling City, TX. and purchased by the Waggoner Ranch in 1931. Other than Pretty Buck, Pretty Boy's most notable male offspring were Monterrey and Talley Man. Monterrey, a 1940 palomino stallion out of a Waggoner Mare, sired by Waggoner's Rainy Day P-13, was a AAA and AQHA Champion sire. Talley Man, a 1946 dun stallion out of Lady Blackburn III, was a Register Of Merit arena performer and a multiple AQHA Champion sire. Pretty Boy's main contribution to the Waggoner Ranch was as a sire of broodmares. His daughters were a mainstay of the ranch's broodmare band throughout the 1940's and 1950's, and among the notable offspring they produced were Poco Tivio, Poco Lena, Poco Pine, Poco Stampede, Poco Champ, Pretty Pokey, Pretty Boy Pokey, and Poco Jane --- the dam of King Fritz. Pretty Buck's dam is listed simply as Buck Thomas Mare. Buck Thomas was a 1921 stallion sired by Peter McCue and out of Stockings, by Old Fred. Bred by the legendary Colorado horseman Coke Roberds, he was acquired by the Waggoner Ranch in 1927. Although he, like Pretty Boy, was noted mostly as a broodmare sire, Buck Thomas was the sire of Red Buck and F&H Bill Thomas --- two stallions that also made their mark on the breed.
As noted earlier, Pretty Buck was foaled in 1942. He was an outstanding individual from the very beginning, and the decision was made to reserve him as a potential show horse and future sire. At the time of Pretty Buck's birth, E. Paul Waggoner, the son of ranch founder W. T. Waggoner, was in charge of the horse breeding operation. In the fall of 1945, E. Paul attended the annual Hankins Brothers Horse Sale at San Angelo, TX. There he astounded the entire Quarter Horse world by giving the unheard price of $5,700.00 for a yearling colt named Poco Bueno. 
From that day forward, the die was cast. Poco Bueno was the immediate focal point of the Waggoner Ranch show string, and the acknowledged future head of the ranch's breeding program. That is not to say that Pretty Buck was ignored. On the contrary, he was shown alongside Poco Bueno for a number of years, was broke to ride by Bob Burton, (the same man who started Poco Bueno) and was heavily utilized as a breeding animal. But Poco Bueno was the ranch headliner. He was the indisputable star, and every other stallion on the ranch had to be content with a spot on the supporting cast. Still, as a show horse, Pretty Buck held his own. At the 1946 Southwestern Exposition and Fat Stock Show, held in Fort Worth, TX., Poco Bueno was the Grand Champion Stallion, and winner of the 2-year-old stallion class. Pretty Buck was the Reserve Grand Champion, and winner of the Aged Stallion class. At the 1947 National Western Stock Show in Denver, Poco Bueno was the Grand Champion Stallion, and winner of the 3-year-old stallion class, and Pretty Buck was the Reserve Grand Champion Stallion and winner of the Aged Stallion class. At the 1948 National Western Stock Show, Star Duster, owned by Quentin and Evelyn Semotan of Steamboat Springs, CO. was the Grand Champion Stallion, and Pretty Buck once again had to be content with the reserve champion honors. At the same show though Pretty Buck did emerge victorious in the Sire and Get class. Pretty Buck's last recorded ventures into halter competition occurred in Odessa, TX., in 1951 and in San Antonio in 1952. Bob Burton the Waggoner Ranch cowboy who would later start both Poco Bueno and Jessie James under saddle, broke Pretty Buck to ride as a 2-year-old. Burton also trained the young stallion as a roping horse and by all accounts he was a born natural. There are no recorded accounts of Pretty Buck being campaigned in roping --- either through the AQHA or in rodeo competition.
Poco Bueno might have been the Waggoner Ranch "king", but Pretty Buck was obviously perceived as royalty as well. One indication of how highly E. Paul Waggoner and his crew thought of Pretty Buck, was the number and quality of mares brought to him. Pretty Buck was bred to some of the best mares the Waggoner Ranch had to offer, including own daughters of Blackburn, Pretty Boy, King P-234, Joe Traveler, Clover Leaf (TB), and Chubby. During his last few years to be owned by the Waggoner Ranch he was bred to the daughters of Poco Bueno and Pep Up as well. The most consistent cross by far was when Pretty Buck was bred to the daughters of Blackburn. So successful was this cross that, of the 70 Waggoner-bred foals sired by Pretty Buck, 38 were out of daughters of Blackburn.
In 1961 Pretty Buck again changed hands, this time the horse would be purchased by the man that would own him until his death in 1970.
Although the last five years of his life Pretty Buck never settled any mares, he remained a warmly loved and valued part of the Schafer family. In 1970 Pretty Buck passed quietly away at the age of 30, leaving behind him a legacy of highly respected and sought after progeny, as well as forever leaving an indelible mark on Quarter Horse History.
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| This page last updated on 06/25/2005 | ||
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In
January of 1953 the Waggoner Ranch sold Pretty Buck to Oscar
Dodson, of Chillicothe, Texas. Dodson only kept the horse for
the 1953 and 1954 breeding seasons before selling the stallion
to John L. Taylor of California. Taylor was assembling a top
Quarter Horse breeding operation at the time and Pretty Buck
was to be at its head. For the next several years everything
went according to plan, Pretty Buck was bred to a variety of
West Coast mares, including daughters of Blackburn, Poco
Bueno, Ed Echols, Dan Waggoner, Lucky Taylor, and Topper. With
Taylor expanding his show and breeding operation to include a
number of Pretty Buck daughters and top young breeding
stallions; Dividend (AAA) and Poco Pico, a rosey future for
Pretty Buck seemed assured. The in January of 1959 tragedy
struck when Taylor was killed on a traffic accident en route
to the National Western Stock Show in Denver, CO.. The Taylor
Breeding Operation was dispersed later that same year. This
sale established an all-time high average of $5,806.00 on 51
head. Pretty Buck topped the dispersal, selling for $15,800.00
to G. W. "Glynn" Sams of Kansas. Sams would keep the aging
stallion for the next two years, and several of Mr. Sams top
show horses were foaled during that time.
Harold
Schafer owner of the "Gold Seal Corporation" manufacturers of
such products as Snowey Bleach and Mr. Bubble, had recently
formed his appropriately named "Blackburn Ranch" by acquiring
40 daughters of the famous Blackburn P-2228. Once again in the
prestigious company of the Blackburn daughters Pretty Buck
closed out his long and illustrious career as a breeding
stallion.
