Page 208 - SPEEDHORSE April 2018

PAINT HORSE BULLETIN
Six decades ago, a pair of Paint racehorses competed on the brush tracks of the Sooner
State. Recently discovered facts and photos add insight to their legend and legacy.
By Frank Holmes • This article originally appeared in the July/August 2012 issue of the Paint Horse Racing and is reprinted with permission of APHA.
In the early- to mid-1940s, American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame horseman Walter Merrick of Sayre, Oklahoma, match-raced his way into
the record books with Grey Badger II, a 1941 gray stallion by Midnight Jr and out of Grey Annie.
Two of the horses that Merrick’s gray speed- ster was matched against were the full siblings Marylin (Two Spot), a 1941 sorrel mare, and Spotted Joe Reed, a 1945 sorrel stallion. They were sired by American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame inductee Joe Reed P-3 and out of Queen Clay by Joy.
In addition to being full siblings sired by one of the Quarter Horse breed’s most renowned foundation stallions, Spotted Joe Reed and Marylin shared one additional characteristic: they were both cropout Paint Horses.
Royally Bred
Pioneer Quarter Horse breeder Guy Clay of Wellington, Texas, bred Marylin and Spotted Joe Reed. The pair’s birth dates coincided with the formation of the American Quarter Horse Association.
As it began the laborious task of identifying and registering horses, the association’s brain trust decided to reserve the first 19 numbers for stallions who were seen as being especially influential in the breed’s development.
Joe Reed P-3—the siblings’ sire—was one of these. A renowned racehorse in his own right, “Joe” would go on to sire Joe Reed II, who later sired Leo.
The bottom side of the pair’s pedigree, although not as well-known as the top, was also fashionably speed-bred. Queen Clay, the siblings’ dam, was a 1931 chestnut mare by Joy
and out of Daz by Pat. Bred by Cub Roberts of Leedey, Oklahoma, “Queen” was a double-bred descendant of Jeff—Cub Roberts’ renowned racehorse and sire.
Joy, a 1912 chestnut stallion by Jeff and out of Lou Trammel by Peter McCue, was likewise a top racehorse and sire. Bred by Roberts’ son- in-law, Clyde McLean of Leedey, Joy went on to found the maternal line that would one day produce racing legends Jet Deck and Easy Jet.
Although it is a known fact that Marylin and Spotted Joe Reed competed on the Oklahoma brush tracks for several years, most of their ac- complishments have been lost to the ravages of time and poor record keeping.
Racing at Enid, Oklahoma, in American Quarter Racing Association-sanctioned sprints, both horses achieved their official “A” Register of Merit ratings in 1948. In addition, Spotted Joe Reed is credited with setting a 250-yard track record at Enid that same year.
AQHA records reveal that both Marylin and Spotted Joe Reed contributed horses to the breed’s gene pool beginning in the 1950s.
Among Marylin’s close-up descendants were Lady K Bars, an AAA 1953 sorrel mare by Three Bars (TB) and out of Chubby Reed; and AAA- rated racehorse and AQHA Champion That’s Milady, a 1962 chestnut mare by That’s For Sure and out of Lady K Bars. Among Spotted Joe Reed’s top get was Orion, earner of 21 halter and .5 performance points—he was a 1952 sor- rel gelding out of Baby Star by Starway.
Both of the Guy Clay-bred cropouts no doubt produced more sons and daughters but, once again, any pertinent information on them has been lost. Luckily for the Paint Horse breed, Marylin did produce one Paint daughter who,
although unregistered herself, exerted a positive influence on the breed in its infancy.
Maximum Impact
Fast-forward two decades to the fall of 1962. The American Paint Stock Horse Association was less than a year old. Even so, pioneer breed- er Junior Robertson of Waurika, Oklahoma, had assembled a small but select band of overo mares and was in need of a stud.
“I had put the word out that I was looking for a top young Paint stallion,” Junior said
in the book More Than Color. “Pretty soon,
I got wind of one that was out in Western Oklahoma. So I drove out there one day to take a look.
“In those days, I’d drive hundreds of miles trying to track down Paint Horses to add to my program. Sometimes, I’d like what I found and try my best to get it bought. Other times, I’d just take a peek over the corral fence and get back in my car.
“When I got my first look at the colt, I knew I had to own him.”
The colt that grabbed Junior Robertson’s attention was Mister J. Bar, a 1961 sorrel overo sired by Jamina Pondfly 2 AQHA and out of an unregistered Paint mare named “Minnie.”
On the top side of his pedigree, the yearling was ranch- and show-horse bred. Jamina Pondfly 2, his sire was a 1956 dun stallion who traced close up to Pondie, King George, Black- burn and Yellow Boy P-18.
“Minnie, the loud-colored colt’s dam, was sired by Iron Bars AQHA and out of Marylin. Iron Bars, a 1952 chestnut stallion by Three Bars (TB) and out of War Hug, was a AAA- rated racehorse.
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