Page 37 - May_2023

Joe Reed II.
World Champion Sonny Bit O Both and Martha.
“(Sonny Bit O Both) was such a balanced horse that gave his head and could bend and be flexible. He hardly ever hit or ran past a barrel.”
Oklahoma Star.
SPEEDLINES
SPEEDHORSE May 2023 35
SONNY BIT O BOTH (SONNY)
The second gelding from the Amazin’ Eight was Sonny Bit O Both. Here is how Martha came to get this horse. “My next great horse was Sonny Bit O Both, and I actually found him at a clinic and he was really young. He was by a horse named Bit O Both and to this day in history, he is the only horse to win both the Woman’s Professional Rodeo Association World Championship and an AQHA World Championship in barrel racing in the same year.
She continued, “I got him in 1978 at the clinic in March and I made the finals on him that year. I made the finals on him in the NFR for four years from 1978 to 1981. He was so consistent. He could run but so consistent to not hit barrels.” Martha has reported that Sonny Bit O Both “was such a balanced horse that gave his head and could bend and be flexible. He hardly ever hit or ran past a barrel.”
Martha further explained the running style of Sonny Bit O Both. “He ran off leg pressure and voice commands. He was fun to ride because you could hustle him to the first barrel, say ‘whoa’ and get ready because he was going to turn! Sonny loved the road and never failed when it was time for the barrel race. The more miles you hauled him, the better his performance. I felt like he gave me his all.”
Martha and Sonny Bit O’Both earned 63 AQHA points in the youth and open with an ROM and a Superior in the open barrels. He was the 1980 AQHA World Champion in Senior Barrel Horse. As we noted, they qualified for the NFR from 1978 to 1981 with 1980 being the most rewarding year. They not only had the 1980 WPRA World Championship in barrel racing, but he was voted the “Horse with the Most Heart” and Martha was voted the Best Dressed for that year.
Sonny Bit O Both was sired by a horse named Bit O Both, and he was a running Quarter Horse with a AAA rating that
shows today as a 95 speed index. He had 12 starts with two wins, one second and one third. He was shown twice in barrel racing winning both classes earning three AQHA performance points. His sire record shows that he sired just 40 foals with 12 performers
earning 115.5 points. His other performers include My Petite Jet with 38.5 AQHA performance points and as a finalist in the 1985 Youth World Championships with an eighth place in pole bending.
The sire of Bit O Both was Lazy Johnny, an AA rated runner that was stakes placed in the 1955 Nebraska Championship. He had nine starts with three wins and three seconds. He sired just 25 foals with 12 starters with three ROM. His leading money winner was Free Air, a stakes placed runner with fifths in the 1962 Arizona Derby and the Nick Hall Cup Stakes.
The sire of Lazy Johnny was Johnny Barnes, an unraced horse that was the sire of 25 starters with 12 racing ROM and three stakes placed runners. His stakes placed runners include Jimmie Dee Garrett with a third in the 1949 Oklahoma Futurity and Miss Duchess Belle who was third in the 1952 Kansas Futurity.
Johnny Barnes has in interesting pedigree and is associated with a famous foundation Quarter Horse bloodline and Quarter Horse racing. His sire is Charley McCue by Billy McCue. Billy McCue was sired by Jack McCue, a racing and siring son of Peter McCue. Peter McCue was a widely raced son of Dan Tucker who was by Barney Owens
by Martin’s Cold Deck by Old Billy, the foundation sire of the Old Billy line in South Texas. Old Billy was sired by Shiloh and out of Ram Cat by Steel Dust.
The Billy McCue name may be familiar to some as he is found in the pedigree of
was sired by a horse named The Yellow Stud that traced to the horse Copperbottom in his sire line, and he was the foundation sire of the second oldest family of Quarter Horses in the modern era. The dam of Top Flight was Miss Waggoner by Buck Thomas and out of a mare by Midnight. The dam of Red Dan was a mare by
Joe Reed P-3. The dam of Bay Canary was Sudie B by Joe Reed II, an early Champion Stallion. He was sired by Joe Reed P-3, who was sired by Joe Blair and out of Della Moore by Old DJ. Nellene, the dam of Joe Reed II was sired by Fleeting Time by High Time the inbred Domino stallion. This gives Bay Canary a breeding pattern of 3x3 to Joe Reed P-3.
Martha added this showing her respect for this great horse, “He was half cow horse and half racehorse. He was probably one of the best barrel horses of all time.”
© Sharon Lanini © Speedhorse Archives
© Speedhorse Archives