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Jonathon Fox III, Justamere Stock Farm, Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, bred Justamere Showtime. The big, gawky colt was foaled June 8, 1956. Sold as a yearling, he was purchased by Dan Krause, Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan, in whose possession the stallion had no opportunity to breed purebred mares. Cognizant of the stallion’s potential, Allan Bexson, Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, approached Krause in December, 1960, to ascertain if the black horse could be bought. A price was negotiated. Allan Bexson took possession of Justamere Showtime.
Razor thin when he was purchased, it took Bexson a year to condition Justamere Showtime. The high-withered, long-necked stallion, stood a measured 18.1 hh in his prime. No stallion in the Percheron breed had a better hind leg. A horse with a wealth of clean, flat bone, the great bottoms that anchored this sire, were open at the hoofhead and wide at the heel. His deep, wide hocks, sharp as hound’s teeth, moved tight behind. These were the traits that won Justamere Showtime fame, and brought his final owner, William Gordon Young, Cayley, Alberta, considerable fortune.
Justamere Showtime was grand champion stallion in 1962 at the Calgary Exhibition & Stampede. However, everything was foreign to the upstanding, young sire. When he arrived at Edmonton’s Exhibition one week later, he had lost a hundred pounds. Forced to stand down, Justamere Showtime was the reserve grand champion stallion. He was defeated by Delreo Major, the Riverbend Monkoncarlaet son he placed above at Calgary.
Campaigned for a second year, Justamere Showtime was grand champion stallion at Calgary and Edmonton in 1963. That fall he was shipped to the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, a 2,000 mile trip made by rail. Placed second in class to Delreo Major, he towered over the competition. The subject of considerable conjecture, the added height, stretch and shallow rib on Justamere Showtime were questioned. However, the underpinning beneath Justamere Showtime was much admired.
While most horsemen felt Justamere Showtime was too extreme, Allan Bexson addressed the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Percheron Association, informing members Justamere Showtime was the Percheron of the future. While the comments Bexson made were dismissed, Ontario horseman Bill Hughes, stated some years later, “The greatest mistake I made with Percherons was my failure to purchase Justamere Showtime!”
Allan Bexson failed to receive a single offer for Justamere Showtime, when he exhibited the horse at Toronto. Weeks following the stallion’s return to Saskatchewan, Earl James, Balzac, Alberta, offered to stand the horse for public service. Bexson felt a greater number of registered mares could be attracted to his court, if he was placed near Calgary. Bexson was not wrong.
The foals by Justamere Showtime, bred in Alberta, offered promise as yearlings. One was South Valley Lady Grey, a filly that would rattle the breed’s rafters. Her owner, William Gordon Young, Cayley, Alberta, recognized her promise. This dour Scot travelled to Lloydminster in December, 1966, where he negotiated the purchase of Justamere Showtime. The price Young paid Bexson is remembered –a figure of $500.
Gordon Young bred few outside mares to Justamere Showtime. However, without exception these outside mares foaled progeny that served the breed with distinction. These were the stallions Lucasia Big John, Lucasia Sir William, Highview Dragano and Highview Just-In-Time, plus the mares Lorette Showtime and Alberta Rose.
Justamere Showtime lived to the age of twenty-six. This is a considerable age for a breeding stallion. He successfully served the brood mares Gordon Young owned at South Valley until the final year of his life.
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H, PERCHERON, 1956
