Page 33 - January 2017

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and Quarter Horse Racing
Jess, Lowell and J. O. Hankins
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by Larry Thornton
The success of the American Quarter Horse is built on versatility, or the ability
to compete in a number of events or performance areas. The foundation of this versatility is speed - the kind of speed needed to win a race and then go win a roping.
When we look at the history of the breed,
we find that many of our foundation sires were racehorses. This includes horses like
Leo and Joe Hancock, who were well known racehorses before they became important sires.
The term “short horse” is the name often used to describe the early quarter running horse. The true “short horse” races were run
at 200 to 350 yards, and a hot bed for these “short horses” was in South Texas, the home of the Old Billy Quarter Horse Family and the Traveler line of horses. When we focus on this area, we see that these horsemen were ranchers and businessmen who loved a good racehorse.
The stallions from this era included Little Joe, who was raced by roper and racehorse enthusiast George Clegg from Alice, Texas. Little Joe was sired by Traveler and out
of Jenny by Sykes Rondo. The pedigree of Traveler is unknown, and Jenny was a double-bred Old Billy mare. Traveler was reportedly rescued from a Texas & Pacific Railroad work gang and became a well- known racehorse and sire of racehorses.
Clegg bought Little Joe to race and use as a stallion. It has been reported that Little Joe only lost one race to a horse named Ace Of Hearts. Little Joe was sold to Ott Adams, a racehorse breeder who didn’t race his horses but who believed in speed and bred for it. Little Joe became his foundation sire.
Zantanon, one of the sons of Little Joe, was a successful racehorse in Mexico. He
was so successful south of the border that he was known as the “Man O’ War of Mexico.” Zantanon, who was bought by M. Benevides Volpe of Laredo, Texas, is the sire of horses like King P-234.
When we see the name King P-234 in the pedigrees of today’s horses, we associate him with performance events such as cutting, roping, reining, or reined cow horse. But, King P-234 also reportedly has an unofficial race record. He was raced by Charles Alexander who bought the colt from his breeder M. Benevides Volpe. It has been reported that he raced twice, winning both races at 200 yards.
We don’t know for a fact if King P-234 was raced. In Frank Holmes’ book King P-234, The Cornerstone Of An Industry, Holmes tells that there is some controversy in that Alexander many not have bought King P-234, but that Byrne James had bought him from Volpe. James indicated that King P-234 was not even broke when he got him and, thus, couldn’t have been raced. However, the point that is made in the reported race record of King P-234 is the fact that horsemen of this time valued the speed of the American Quarter Horse.
Byrne James was a rancher and professional baseball player who later sold King P-234 to Winn Dubose. King P-234 continued his roping career with Dubose until Jess Hankins, of Rocksprings, Texas, heard about King P-234 and went to see him. Hankins wanted him and eventually bought him. When the opportunity to buy
King P-234 came up, Hankins borrowed the $800 purchase price from his brother, Lowell Hankins. This is the beginning of the King P-234/Hankins Brothers (Jess, Lowell and J. O.) contribution to the Quarter Horse.
When we look at the Hankins Brothers contribution to Quarter Horse racing, we look at the mares that each brother used. A major contribution made by Jess Hankins
to Quarter Horse racing begins with three mares that he bred and then sold to Bud Warren, who was the owner of Leo and a self- described “short horse” enthusiast.
The three mares are 89’er, Betty Warren, and Sorrel Sue, all daughters of King P-234. The mare 89’er was foaled in 1944 and was
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SPEEDHORSE, January 2017 31
SPEEDLINES
photo courtesy Larry Thornton