85% NFQHA
41 AQHA performance points
AQHA & NCHA Hall of Fame (2008)
NCHA $172,711+
#4-leading cutting horse sire of all time. Sired earners of over $28,000,000.00+
3 Times NCHA World Champion Cutting
Reserve World Champion
1980 NCHA (Open)
Bronze Silver Gold Platinum ROM Perf
1978 Open Perf Pt Earner
They called him Little Peppy. His bloodline built an empire worth over $100 million dollars.
Born in 1974 on a ranch in Lubbock, Texas, his sire was Mr San Peppy — himself a two time NCHA Open World Champion. His dam was Sugar Badger. Both traced back to the foundation lines of the historic King Ranch in South Texas. On paper alone this horse was special. In the pen he was something else entirely.
After recovering from a serious illness as a young colt he went to the King Ranch and into the hands of the greatest cutting horse trainer who ever lived — Buster Welch. In 1977 at the NCHA Futurity — the most prestigious event in cutting — Little Peppy and Buster Welch walked in and won it all. The following year they won the NCHA Derby. By 1980 he was inducted into the NCHA Hall of Fame. By 1981 he was the Open Division champion of the NCHA Finals.
Cowboys who watched him work said they had never seen a horse read a cow the way Little Peppy did. Low and electric. Anticipating every move before it happened. Pure instinct combined with pure athleticism — a combination that left audiences speechless and competitors reaching for excuses.
But his greatest contribution was as a sire. He sired 2,325 registered foals who earned over 25 million dollars in competition. His sons went on to sire offspring earning over 121 million dollars more. Dual Pep. Peptoboonsmal. Grays Starlight. Names that still dominate cutting and reining bloodlines today all trace directly back to one sorrel stallion from Lubbock, TX
He was buried at King Ranch headquarters in 2005 at age 31. Inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2008.