Page 209 - December 2017

SAMMY HESTER (March 18, 1931–Oct. 26, 2017)
Sammy K. Hester Sr. filled his life with
so many stories. He proudly served in
the U.S. Army at
Fort Knox, and he
was a teacher at Park Elementary for more than 30 years. He also established The Tulsa Alternates Gymnastics team in the early 1960s.
On March 7, 1959, he married the love
of his life, Nadine Marie Brown, and they
pursued their collective passion of training horses and horse racing. Sammy and Nadine are ranked seventh on the APHA’s Leading Breeders of Lifetime Money-Earning Paint Horses, and Sammy is also listed 22nd on the same list with his longtime racing partner, Charles Trochta. Sammy and Charles have earnings of over $387,000.
Sammy loved his Paint Horses and was often quoted as saying, “There is nothing better than seeing color running down the track.”
He died October 26, 2017, at the age of 86. Sammy is survived by his wife, Nadine; children Sammy K. Hester Jr. and Michael D. Hester; granddaughters Amanda, Shannon and Rebel; and great-granddaughters Zoey and Adaline.
MARIO CHAVEZ (April 9, 1975–Sept. 24, 2017)
emergency medical staff and then airlifted to St. John Medical Center in Tulsa. Mario died the following day. He was 42 years old and is survived by his wife of 23 years; a son; and two daughters.
Amanda Clinton, a spokesperson for Will Rogers, offered her condolences to Mario’s family.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with
his family and with the entire racing community,” she said. “We can’t express how sad we are for his family and the racing community as a whole.”
She also shared a Facebook post by Mario’s son, Randy.
“So many mixed emotions right now,” Mario wrote. “Today God decided to give my dad his wings and he took his helmet, vest and stick with him. But on the bright side of that, I want all you guys to know that he had his last ride and he passed away doing what he loved. He’s up there having match races with the one and only Jacky Martin right now!”
JUDYS LINEAGE (April 28, 1989–Oct. 12, 2017)
Judys Lineage was a 1989 sorrel tobiano stallion by Special Lineage (TB) and out
of Judys Chick. He was bred by Chuck Bowlan of Tecumseh, Oklahoma, and owned through a partnership between Chuck and his father, Henry.
The stallion earned more than $45,000 on the track and won nine of 15 starts giving him a speed index of 95. He was also crowned the 1992 APHA Champion Running 3 Year Old and Champion 3-Year-Old Colt.
After retiring from racing, he sired his first foal crop in 1994, and his legacy continued to grow from there. He sired 937 foals, including 471 that have raced to date. Collectively, his foals captured 637 wins, including 108 stake wins, out of 4,592 starts to earn more than $5.6 million. Currently, Judys Lineage is ranked second on APHA’s Lifetime Leading Sires chart by money earned.
His offspring include World Champion Running Paint Horses My Name Is Joe (2002), Treasured Judy (2003) and I Do One Two Three (2010).
“Chuck would always say ‘Judy’ would be the Three Bars (QH) of the Paint Horses—he was special, and he knew he was special; horses like him only come along once in a lifetime,” Linda Bowlan said. “We’re just proud of all
he accomplished and what all his sons and daughters accomplished.”
The chart-topping racing sire was euthanized on October 12, 2017, at the age of 28.
“He was born here and died here—there aren’t too many horses like that anymore; he was totally part of our family,” Linda said. “Watching his babies grow up and race was like watching our own kids.”
IZZY LEGAL (Feb. 2, 1994–Oct. 4, 2017)
Another devastating loss to the racing community is that of Izzy Legal. The 1994 sorrel overo gelding was bred and owned by Oyana Wilson of Muskogee, Oklahoma. Sired by The Desert Jewel (QH) and out of Mightily Smashed (QH), the gelding had an outstanding racing career.
Starting off as a 2 year old in 1996, he remained active until 2001. Izzy Legal earned three APHA world championship titles with impressive stats such as:
Speed index of 99 49 starts
28 wins
7 seconds
5 thirds
$164,758 in earnings
The World Champion suffered
complications due to colic and was euthanized on October 4, 2017. Izzy Legal is now buried close to where he was born on Oyana’s farm in Muskogee, Oklahoma.
SAYING GOODBYE
While we will greatly miss all of these amazing individuals, they will certainly remain in our hearts and memories forever. Each of them had their own unique journey in the life of Paint racing, and they all made the most of their dash of life. They were and always will be members of the Paint family.
Mario Chavez bred and raced horses for 26 years and was an esteemed jockey, winning for the first time on May 30, 2009, at Remington Park. In all, he won 88 races from 854
career starts, with six of his victories coming in stakes. His mounts mustered a total of $966,456 in earnings.
Tragically, Mario sustained injuries in the Sept. 23 Pot O’ Gold Futurity for Paints & Appaloosas at Will Rogers Downs near Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was treated on-site by
SPEEDHORSE, December 2017 207
PAINT HORSE BULLETIN