On Cloud Nine

whnywriter · Active Member Joined: 11 Jan 2005 Posts: 429

Pat,

In talking about the great horses like Deep South, Star Diver and Apache Double, I left oout one horse that was as great as any of them...On Cloud Nine.

I can't remember when the medallion system was enacted. I do know that On Cloud Nine was officially rated AAA (using QH times) and was a national and world champion at halter as a 3-year-old....37 in one class and 35 in the other.

So, all he would have had to do to be the breed's only Diamond Medallion earner would have been to earn a national, world or year-end award in ANY performance event and log 350 miles in one year in competitive trail riding.

He had the two tough ones whipped but, again, I'm not sure he earned his first bronze medallion in racing! he was one of the better Appaloosas I ever saw that wasn't Coke Roberds bred...

For Susan Larkin...check out On Cloud Nine's Pedigree. Like the other three "greats," he had a strong influx of TB on both sides of his pedigree!

Frank Holmes
Kiowa, CO

Speaking of halter classes when the breed was really a big deal, in 1978 the National Show was at Billings, MT. You had to REALLY want to show to try and get there. Cowboy Caddilac, owned by Dave and Carol Graetz of Sarcoxie, MO, took first place in a class of 98 COLORED Appaloosa yearling stallions. At the World Show the same year, he placed first in a class of 99 COLORED yearling stallions. Dave and Carol were good friends, as were Clarence and Pat Nienke of Ellsworth, KS, whose stallion Special K Bar placed 2nd both times...

Silk Pistol · Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 1:43 pm Post subject:

That Billings show was a marathon! The classes were huge, the day not ending until the wee hours of the morning then starting again almost as soon as the sun came up, it seems. That's the show where I met and fell in love with Peavy's Cajun Queen. Sadly, she was out of my price range. Does anyone know what happened to her?
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Its not what you put on his head, its what you put in it.

whnywriter · Active Member Joined: 11 Jan 2005 Posts: 429

Cajun Queen was one of the, and perhaps THE, greatest Appaloosa mares I ever saw. I saw her for the first time as a coming 2-year-old at the National Western Stock Show in Denver. As I recall, it was at this same show that I saw Quadroon (the stallion), her sire. Cajun was owned by Rex Hadden from Wyoming.

Shortly after this, O.J. and Jean Martens bought the mare. I was told that, after her showing days were over, Hadden would get her back to raise a foal. The problem was that O.J. never quit showing her. He won every show in the country 3 or 4 times and he just kept showing her until she road foundered and eventually had to be put to sleep. They tried to keep her alive long enough to raise a foal but were unsuccessful.

Peavy's Cajun Queen was out of an AQHA mare named Margie Miss; I saw her at Mavis Peavy's in the summer of 1970. She was a great one. There was a blanket-hipped filly by Spittin Image out of Margie Miss that was bred by Joe Stroube, Corsicana, Texas. She sold to Mexico I believe. Another daughter was the great mare Miss Marge, sired by Reedart. Lew Eklund bought her and she raised a slug of great ones by The Executive including My Kinda Girl.

I was living and showing in Kansas all throughout the Peavy's Cajun Queen era; she was so great that words can hardly describe her. She's pictured in my Spotted Pride book.

If you were at the Billings National, you also saw Skip Bright, Mighty Dialette, Ima Peavy and Buster Who. They were great horses that I knew as well. Bright Doll won the produce of dam and Mighty Peavy won the Get of Sire.

Frank Holmes
Kiowa, CO

Silk Pistol · Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 3:27 pm Post subject:

Cajun Queen was a beauty, and a beautiful disposition, too. I had heard she had ultimately foundered, and I'm really not all that surprised considering what a big girl she was. It does sadden me she got to the point of being euthed without passing her tremendous genes on. What she could have done for the Appaloosa!

I was definitely in Billings. So were some of, IMO, the greatest Appaloosas to draw breath! Colida Will was another one that I was completely in awe of. Bill Cass was a goldmine of information and was more than willing to share what he knew and had experienced, as were many of the other legendary breeders who were there. Then there was Richard Spencer. He was a total kick, and I still have some of the sketches he drew for me.

I rode in English Pleasure Saddle Seat, Working Cowhorse, and Western Pleasure. One of the youth riders from my area ended up using my horse in her youth events when her own horse became ill. She did far better with him than I did! The pair placed in all but one class from what I remember, and won the Horsemanship for her age group.

Thank you for the info on Cajun Queen. Now I'm off to spend the rest of the afternoon with my copy of Spotted Pride. I somehow missed CJ on the first 33,345 times through the book.
_________________
Its not what you put on his head, its what you put in it.

whnywriter · Active Member Joined: 11 Jan 2005 Posts: 429

You're right; Cajun Queen was 16 hands high (at least) and ultra-refined. She was a Mavis Peavy-bred horse and carried to legendary "VZ" brand on her left shoulder.

But...she was unlike any other Peavy mare I've seen. So tall and really much more slender boned and hooved than most of the line. It was, after all, first-and-foremost a ranch horse family. I always thought the mare really needed a touch more bone and a size larger hoof. She was so completely feminine though.

People have always thought that Hank Wiescamp invented the beautiful, feminine head. He didn't; Marshall Peavy did.

The only VZ mare I ever saw that came close to Cajun Queen in size was Cherry Sample (Peavy's Uncle Sam x Cherry Cordial). Cherry Cordial was a big, almost "gelding-looking" mare. Her dam, Overdue Peavy, was very feminine.

Frank Holmes
Kiowa, CO

Pat Mefferd · Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 4:51 pm Post subject:

ON CLOUD NINE only raced officially as a 2 Yr old 6 starts, 3 wins, 1 second, 1 third, $16,720.22; he was a Stakes Winner and Stakes Placed; no Medallion in race.

Pat
_________________
Pat Mefferd, PM MEFFERD Pedigree Research, Anderson, CA. (Retired)
Proud daughter of Fred Kennedy (1982 Stuntmans Hall of Fame)
http://members.tripod.com/~horsefame/fredkennedy.html

ftfotb · Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 4:51 pm Post subject: Re: On Cloud Nine

Pat Mefferd · Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 5:10 pm Post subject:

1973 was the first year the Medallions were awarded. The first horse recieving it was APACHE DOUBLE, then owned by Mike Hanna in Dixon, CA.

Pat
_________________
Pat Mefferd, PM MEFFERD Pedigree Research, Anderson, CA. (Retired)
Proud daughter of Fred Kennedy (1982 Stuntmans Hall of Fame)
http://members.tripod.com/~horsefame/fredkennedy.html

Pat Mefferd · Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 5:50 pm Post subject:

Susan....What a great question. I almost emailed you not long ago....about THORCHED....HA HA HA.

I kind of went round and round with Joe, about THORCHED...no such JC horse that I could ever find. Tried TORCHED, THOR, etc. At one time he deleated it....but the original researcher insisted there was a registered Thoroughbred by the name of THORCHED. I can't remember here name, but I also emailed her.

These are the horses I checked out TORCH MAN (1933); THORBERT (1931); TORCHATOR (1946); TORCHILLA; THORNGLEN (1937)...

I have tried for several years to get in touch with Joe Daniels....as have others....something must be going on, because he never answeres our emails.

The ApHC STud Book lists HAYES DAKOTA CLOUD's sire simply as THOROUGHBRED (No name listed). He was bred by Wayne L. Hayes....and I find his horses to be very interesting. HAYES' DAKOTA CLOUD produced 4 ApHC runners, two winners, two unplaced (in three starts).

I thought maybe THORCHED may have been in the HBSB's but he is not, nor is their anything similar. I went thru these HBSB's and indexed all (I mean all) the horses.

It is possible that THORCHED was registered American Remount Assn (ARA)....but since I do not have access to those Stud Books....there's no way of knowing if he is ARA....or even in another one of those Part-TB registries.

I have to find my HAYES ROMAN CLOUD work sheet..
_________________
Pat Mefferd, PM MEFFERD Pedigree Research, Anderson, CA. (Retired)
Proud daughter of Fred Kennedy (1982 Stuntmans Hall of Fame)
http://members.tripod.com/~horsefame/fredkennedy.html

Pat Mefferd · Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 5:54 pm Post subject:

Here is another part o my research on HAYES' DAKOTA CLOUD and a possible connection to....

THORSON (TB): Chestnut, 1932 (Son O’Battle – Axenbroom). He was bred by the US Remount, Front Royal, Va. His dam was obtained from her previous owner and she produced seven foals for the US Remount at Front Royal, Va. His name does not appear on any of the US Remount Lists. Being bred by the US Remount, does not automatically make a horse a US Remount stallion to be used in their breeding program.

It’s possible that THORSON (TB) could have sired a horse named THORCHED who, in turn, may have been bred by the US Remount or a civilian, who may have registered him in the American Remount Association/Half-Breed Stud Book (ARA/HBSB). It is also possible that THORCHED was not registered in any association, but was “connected by name association” to the US Remount bred THORSON.

Sometimes the US Remount bred a test mare or two, to see if the stallion could produce the type of horse that the Remount could use. This could have been the case with THORSON.

Another possibility is that THORSON was owned by a civilian, who bred both registered Thoroughbreds and mares of other breeds as well as grade mares. During this period many “half-breed’s” were produced and were very popular as polo ponies, hunters and jumpers, etc., especially in the east.

THORSON raced for five years…so this tells me the US Remount did not keep him. He sired a few registered Thoroughbreds, the first showing up in ASB Vol. XVIII (foals of 1938 thru 1941). Not having his complete Sire Record…the first foals I could find were born in 1941 and the last of his foals born in 1945…so it looks like he did not have a long “stud” career, as far as registered Thoroughbreds go. As of yet, I have not found his date of death. Please understand that not all deaths of TB’s are listed in the American Stud Books.

Pat
_________________
Pat Mefferd, PM MEFFERD Pedigree Research, Anderson, CA. (Retired)
Proud daughter of Fred Kennedy (1982 Stuntmans Hall of Fame)
http://members.tripod.com/~horsefame/fredkennedy.html

Pat Mefferd · Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 6:05 pm Post subject:

I'm thinking that possibly Wayne L. Hayes purchased DAKOTA SANDS F3219 from the Pine Ridge Indian Agency, or at the Denver Sale, where many of the PRIA horse were sent. It is possible that she was infoal with HAYES' DAKOTA CLOUD 3825, or this filly was at her side.

DAKOTA SANDS (per the ApHC Stud Book) is by an APPALOOSA , her dam is UNKNOWN. My notes indicate the Appaloosa was a "PINE RIDGE INDIAN APPALOOSA, the dam HALF-THOROUGHBRED.

Pat
_________________
Pat Mefferd, PM MEFFERD Pedigree Research, Anderson, CA. (Retired)
Proud daughter of Fred Kennedy (1982 Stuntmans Hall of Fame)
http://members.tripod.com/~horsefame/fredkennedy.html

ftfotb · Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 6:27 pm Post subject:

Well, Pat, this horse is either an unregistered horse, or he's a TB whose name has been phonetically mangled like so many that are found behind the Appaloosas, QHs and Paints. Without documentation, sometimes we never find out who they were...

Susan
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If you don't have any enemies, then you aren't doing anything worthwhile.

oak orchard · Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2010 4:48 am Post subject:

Frank,

A few more race-bred Appaloosa stallions that I remember viewing in the Appaloosa News from the 70s, that I thought had the conformation and quality to be "triple threat" horses were:

Romans Straw Man
Dial Bright Too
Scooter Bug G
Powder Smoke

Did you ever get to e any of these stallions in person?

Tim

oak orchard · Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2010 4:55 am Post subject:

Frank, Silk,

Thanks for that visual of what sounds like a gathering of some of the best Appaloosas ever. I am someone who believes that the breed has taken some steps backward since those days in the late 70s.

I wish that a wider of variety of photos of Peavys Cajun Queen had been published. It aways seemed to be the same profile shot. Another mare I used to enjoy seeing in that era was Mom's Wild Honey. Dennis Crist once told me that the greatest mare he had ever seen was Genivieve Peavy (another mare that I thought was never done justice in a photograph) followed by Miss Mavis.

Great stuff!

Tim

whnywriter · Active Member Joined: 11 Jan 2005 Posts: 429

Tim,

I saw Dial Bright Too at Denver and loved him. Also saw Mom's Wild Honey there.

Of your list of stallion's Dial Bright Too is the only one that I doubt had the speed to run AAA...at least there was never any indication that he could. I have seen photos of Roman's Straw Man in something approaching halter shape and I agree that he was a national/world caliber horse. No so sure about Scooter Bug G or Powder Smoke although I liked them both.

The photo of Genivieve Peavy that I used in Spotted Pride is one of the two best that I've seen; the other was a snapshot taken at Lane Hudson's. It's from a "sort of" three-quarter rear angle and the mare is tied to a tree. It does the best job of showcasing her extremely feminine head.

Frank Holmes
Kiowa, CO