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SPEEDLINES
probably headed more cattle one spring for AB Nichols than most cow horses ever do in a lifetime. He was used in rodeo and won a lot of prize money. He was a pretty smart cookie, the pride of the outfit.”
“In between his other chores he did stud service. All manner of mares were brought
to his court, few of them better than a shade above sorry; yet from almost all of them he got horses that could run. Quite a number
of his get ran themselves into the Register of Merit, and his grandsons and granddaughters are still doing that today.”
Clabber the racehorse was open to the world as a match racehorse, and so we really don’t have an accurate race record. The AQHA computer records don’t even show him to have an official race record. He did get his racing ROM in 1941 and was an
AA rated runner, which was the top rating during this time in racing, to go along with his AQHA Racing World Champion and the AQHA Racing Champion Stallion titles.
We will let Nye tells us about the racing career of Clabber and what kind of racehorse he was. “He was officially named World’s Champion Quarter Running Horse for the 1940-1941 season, having defeated such outstanding contenders as Nobody’s Friend, Balmy L, Little Joe Jr., and the Hepler Brothers’ War Chief–just about as tough company as there was on the tracks.”
Nobody’s Friend was bred and raced by the King Ranch. Balmy L was bred
Miss Princess (Woven Web TB) was the 1946, 1947 and 1948 World Champion.
Stallion being Diamond Bob by Flying Bob. The 1950 Racing World Champion was Blob Jr, with Maddon’s Bright Eyes serving as the Champion Mare. In 1951 it was mares back as the World Champion title holders. Maddon’s Bright Eyes and Monita were the Racing Co-World Champions with Bart B S, Hard Twist and Clabbertown G being named Co- Champion Stallions. It has to be noted that there were no aged divisional racing Champions for colt, filly or gelding named during these years. It sure looks like the first few years of organized racing was a woman’s world.
When you look at the history of Clabber, you find a horse that had an interesting life to earn the World Championship but also how he became an influential sire. It is one of those stories of “how the good die young” as Clabber was born 1936 and died in 1947.
Frank Smith of Big Foot, Texas, was the breeder of Clabber. His sire was My Texas Dandy, and his dam is listed in the AQHA as Blondie S by Lone Star. The AQHA shows that Clabber was purchased as a two year old by A. A. “AB” Nichols of Gilbert, Arizona. Nichols made him a ranch horse, trained rope horse, racehorse and sire.
AB Nichols believed that you had to work to keep your place on the ranch, and that was for men and horses alike. Nelson Nye in his article “Clabber—The Great Quarter Horse” that appeared in the November 1951 Western Horseman explained it this way. “AB Nichols was a racehorse man of the old school who
42 SPEEDHORSE January 2022
scoffed at bandages and workouts, liniments and rubs. Every man on AB’s spread was expected to do a full day’s work every day– and he exacted just as much from his horses. Clabber did his full share from dawn till dark; he became an all-around cow horse in mighty short order. He was used for cutting and roping, he was used to head cattle. He
Flying Bob was given a special award in 1944 as the sire of that year’s Champions Queenie & Dee Dee.
Photo Courtesy of AQHA Hall of Fame & Museum
J. A.Dodd