Page 103 - June_2023

Dalco ©
by Larry Thornton
J. E. Jumonville Jr. of Ventress, Louisiana, has achieved a great deal of success as an owner and breeder in Quarter Horse racing. The recent announcement that his stallion Jess Louisiana Blue was being inducted
into the Louisiana Quarter Horse Breeders Association Hall of Fame brings J. E. together with his other stallion Feature Mr Jess as members of this prestigious Hall of Fame. Beside this great honor, J. E. and Jumonville Farms has set a standard with these two stallions as the only breeder to breed, own, race and stand two stallions that have each sired money earners of over $25 million. To add to this, J. E. not only bred the stallions, but he is also the breeder of the dams of these two horses - and these two colts were born a few hours apart in 1998.
When J. E. Jumonville Jr. was growing up, it was in a cattleman’s world. His father and uncle were in the cattle business using horses to work their cattle. This
was his introduction to horses - or should we say the cow horse world. J. E. showed his ability to ride a cutting horse when
he won the 1982 National Cutting Horse Association Super Stakes Non-Pro on
Dry Dot. His uncle believed in working the cattle with horses and no roping of
the cattle was allowed when they were gathering them, and the neighbors would come to help. His uncle even told those who showed up to help with a rope on their saddle, they could do two things - leave the rope in the truck or take their horse and go home. He believed in his horse’s ability to get the work done and if your horse didn’t have enough ability to do that, he didn’t need their help.
One of the memories J. E. remembers took place after the cattle work was done. He recalled it this way. “Roping was never
a part of my life, but the horse and his reactivity has always been a part of my life. When the activities were over, all the young kids would see who was the fastest with
the stock saddle. There was a guy there and his son would consistently outrun us with this buckskin horse. Somebody said, ‘We needed to send that horse to a racetrack.’
At one time, there were racetracks all over Louisiana, as many as 137 of them. We had
J.E. Jumonville Jr. on Dry Dot winning the 1982 National Cutting Horse Association Super Stakes Non-Pro.
never been to a race and went to watch this buckskin horse run and he beat horses that were supposed to be racehorses.
That got me interested.”
J. E. and Jumonville Farms bred, owned, raced and stood these two stallions that were born just a few hours apart.
7-time Champion sire Feature Mr Jess.
Don Shugart
SPEEDHORSE June 2023 101