Page 35 - Barrel Stallion Register 2019

SPEEDLINES
School Bull-Dogging Champion, and Treg was the 1988 South Dakota State High School All Around Champion.
When I asked Tigh if these two geld- ings were the kind of horse that you rode, “On Saturday night that you saddled on Monday?” He emphatically responded, “Absolutely.”
The success of Runnin Gunn and Quick Draw Cline led Pat Cowan to buy Sun Frost, a full brother to these two geldings also by Doc’s Jack Frost by Doc Bar by Lightning Bar. Sun Frost had an early, but short show career. He carried Tigh Cowan to the
1981 Regional High School Cutting title, qualifying for the state high school rodeo as a two year old. Sun Frost had a limited show career because he came to the Cowan Ranch to become their lead sire.
THE PEDIGREE
Sun Frost, Runnin Gun and Quick Draw Cline were sons of Doc’s Jack Frost that Stanley brought into his breeding pro- gram as an outcross on his Orphan Drift/ Poco Speedy/Driftwood mares. Their dam is Frances Johnston’s mare Prissy Cline by Driftwood Ike by Driftwood.
Stanley bought Doc’s Jack Frost as a two year old. His new stallion had four starts on the track, with one second and earnings of $125. In the arena, he earned eight AQHA cutting points with NCHA earnings of $5,078 and a Certificate of Ability. He has earnings in the 1971 NCHA Open Futurity and the 1972 NCHA Open Derby.
Doc Bar, the sire of Doc’s Jack Frost, was originally bred to be a racehorse. He failed to fulfill his potential with four
PAT COWAN
The Pat Cowan part of the story of Sun Frost is similar to the Stanley Johnston story. Cowan also started out as a rancher who became successful in the rodeo arena, winning titles that include the 1958 South Dakota Rodeo Association (SDRA) All Around Championship and 1955 and 1958 SDRA Champion Calf Roper.
The kind of horse that Pat Cowan wanted was one that had size, speed and cow sense and that could be interchangeable as a ranch and rodeo horse. He always told his sons, “You need the same horse on Saturday night that you saddled on Monday.” He found that kind of horse through Stanley Johnston and they became close friends over the years.
One of the foundation horses that came to the Cowan Ranch was a AA rated runner named Laughing Boy by Lightning Bar. Pat Cowan and his brother-in-law Tex Fulton got Laughing Boy from Johnston and his partner Bill McNeil. They claimed the horse in Arizona and brought him to South Dakota. Cowan trained and raced his new stallion
on South Dakota racetracks. Laughing Boy became a sire that contributed several of his daughters to the Cowan broodmare band.
It seems that as Stanley Johnston’s appre- ciation for Driftwood horses grew, so did Pat Cowan’s. When Orphan Drift came around, he was used as a part of the Cowan breeding program. Another Driftwood horse used by Cowan was Lone Drifter, whom he leased from the Driftwood breeder and fancier Mel Potter. Both Orphan Drift and Lone Drifter were sired by Driftwood Ike.
Pat Cowan bought horses from Stanley Johnston, including Runnin Gunn, out
of Prissy Cline, who was handpicked by Elayne Cowan, the wife of Pat Cowan,
who sadly passed away shortly after they purchased him. Cowan added a full brother to Runnin Gunn named Quick Draw Cline, and they became a well-known rodeo team in roping and bulldogging. Randy Johnston, a seasoned rodeo roper and Stanley’s son, recently recalled that he had ridden these horses and that they were among the best in the rodeo arena.
During this time, the Cowan sons
Tigh, Tork and Treg earned a number of titles in their South Dakota high school
and 4-H rodeo careers. Tigh was the
1977 South Dakota 4-H Junior Boys All Around Champion, 1979 National 4-H Saddle Bronc Champion, 1982 National High School Rodeo All Around Reserve Champion Bronc Rider and 1981-82 South Dakota 4-H Senior Bareback Champion. Tork was the 1987 South Dakota State High
Stanley Johnston had a partner in his wife Frances, who was well known in the arena with her own horses.
courtesy Randy Johnston
SPEEDHORSE 33