Page 29 - November 2017

The colt
was known to chase Strauss out of the stall, but through patience and hard work,
Go Man Go became a racehorse, and a very good one.
Ferguson sold Go Man Go in 1960 to Frank Vessels Sr. (left) and Bill & Harriett Peckham. When Frank Vessels Sr. died in 1963, his interest in Go Man Go was sold to Mel Hatley (right).
and then was owned by Mrs. Roy Gaines and Mrs. Charles Stigall. Lightfoot was plagued by sore feet and a rash and was never able to run at her full potential.
Because Lightfoot Sis was an appendix registered mare bred to a Thoroughbred, this meant that Go Man Go was ineligible receive a tentative AQHA number. All efforts to get him in the Studbook failed and he even flunked
an evaluation because he showed too much Thoroughbred in his conformation. Some colts sired by him had their conformation approved by the committee. Ferguson then addressed the board at the convention as to his success on the track, and Go Man Go was then awarded the number P-82,000 in 1959. The AQHA would go on to develop a system that would make it easier for horses like Go Man Go to advance in the registry.
THE OWNERSHIP
J.B. Ferguson bred Go Man Go, but then he committed what he came to believe was a mistake. He sold the horse not only once, but twice. The first person Ferguson sold Go Man Go to was A. B. Green for racing purposes in 1956. Ferguson told Walt Wiggins that he sold Go Man Go to Green for $42,000.
According to the story, Ferguson got
Go Man Go back on a bet. Green had told Ferguson that he had a faster horse in a colt named Double Bid, who was to run that day.
Also in that race was a full brother to Go Man Go named Mr Mackay. Ferguson bet Green that if Mr Mackay beat Double Bid, he would get Go Man Go back. Mr Mackay won over Double Bid, and Ferguson became the owner of Go Man Go again.
Ferguson sold Go Man Go in 1960
to Frank Vessels Sr. and Bill & Harriett Peckham. Go Man Go went to California
to stand at Vessels Stallion Farm, but when Frank Vessels Sr. died in 1963, his interest in Go Man Go was sold to Mel Hatley, moving the horse to Oklahoma.
The Peckhams leased their share of Go Man Go to Hatley for breeding purposes. Hatley then brought Joe F. Gary and his son Joe L. Gary into the partnership in 1968. Then Hatley sold his interest, including the lease agreement, to the Garys. The Peckhams went to court and, after a long court battle, Go Man Go in 1972 left Oklahoma for Harriett Peckham’s Buena Suerte Ranch in Roswell, New Mexico. Harriett Peckham
was a part owner in Go Man Go starting back in 1960, and in 1972 she finally took full possession of her beloved Go Man Go. Harriett owned him the rest of his life, giving him to Leonard Blach when she sold her interest in the Buena Suerte Ranch.
The story of Go Man Go is far from over, we will have another installment showing his impact as a sire and the ongoing influence he has had on the running Quarter Horse.
Still the rogue, 3-time World Champion Go Man Go
at age 26 in 1979, owned by Harriett Peckham, is shown by O.S. Carlton III at the annual Buena Suerte Ranch sale.
SPEEDHORSE, November 2017 27
SPEEDLINES