chubby - nfqha · daugherty, peaches daugherty and mayflower daugherty came from the curly...

ChubbyChubby’s influence on the breed was positive and far-reaching.

ByFrankHolmes

NationalFoundationQuarterHorseJournal•August/September2008•Page12

Reprinted with Permission of Western Horseman

foaledin1916,hewonseveralmatchracesasa2-,3-,and4-year-oldagainsttoughcompetition.

AmongthehorseshedefeatedwereRogerMills,thefleetdaughterofPeterMcCueandNellieTrammell;A.D.Reed,thesonofPeterMcCueandGoodEnough;andArticle,aracehorseimportedfromCuba.

AfterhewaspurchasedbytheWaggonerRanchin1923,Midnight’s racing career continued.Raced regularly for anumberofyears,heoncesetamarkof33secondsforthree-eighthsofamileatAbilene.

SinceMidnight,Badger,NellieTrammellandPeterMc-Cuewereall top sprinters in theirprime, the top sideofChubby’s pedigree was laced with speed. The same heldtrueforthebottom.

FourthOfJuly,hisdam,wasreportedtobeoneofWag-goner’sfastestracemares.OldMary,thedamofFourthOfJuly,hadachievedsuchrecognitionasarunnerthatW.T.Waggonerpaidtheunheardofpriceof$500eachforherandherweanlingcolt,YellowWolf,in1915.

So,howeveryoucaretodissecthispedigree,Chubbywasbred tobe fleetof foot.Allheneededwas thechance toproveit.

EarlyaccountsofChubby’slifearesketchyatbest.Atma-turity,hehasbeendescribedasabloodbay,standing14.2andweighing1,100.Hewasbranded5insideaDonhisleftforearmand4onhislefthindquarter.

ItisalsoknownthattheWaggonerssoldhimasayounghorse,probably inthe late1920s, toamannamedScott,

Chubby was foaled in 1924 on the famed WaggonerRanchofVernon,Texas.Midnight,hissire,wasbyBadger(byPeterMcCue)andoutofNellieTrammellbyPidHart.Inaddition toChubby,Midnight also sired suchnotablestallionsasWaggoner(usuallyreferredto as One Eyed Waggoner) and Mid-nightJr.

Fourth of July, Chubby’s dam, wasbyBobbyLowe(byEureka)andoutofOldMarybyOldJoeBailey,accordingtoAQHArecords.However,somehis-torianssayOldMarywasbyBenBur-ton.InadditiontoChubby,FourthOfJuly also produced the top sire F&HBill Thomas (by Buck Thomas). OldMary,inadditiontoproducingFourthOfJuly,wasalsothedamofthefoun-dation Waggoner sires Yellow WolfandYellowBear.

So, all things considered, Chubbywas fashionablybred,withapedigreechock-full of top turn-of-the-centuryQuarterHorses.Thecommondenom-inatorwasspeed.

Midnight, Chubby’s sire, was a topsprinter in his heyday. Bred by JessCooper of Roosevelt, Oklahoma, and

Although he came from a top line of ranch and race-horses, and was a top-notch performer in his own right, Chubby never enjoyed widespread acceptance at the stud. As a result, few top mares found their way to his court.Despite this, his impact on the breed was positive and far-reaching and serves as proof that, one way or another, genetic prepotency will have its way.

Here’s a photo of Chubby taken when he was registered with the AQHA. Although past his prime, the 16-year-old stallion still had the strong, low hocks that stood him in such good stead as a racehorse.

Opposite Page: Foaled a decade and a half before the formation of the AQHA, Chubby founded a family of west Texas Quarter Horses known for their conformation and working ability. Chubby was 100% Founda-tion.


wholivedinthe“Panhandlecountry.”ScottthensoldhimtoBillBryanofPlainview,Texas.

Itwasin1932,whileownedbyBryan,thatChubbyre-ceived what would be his first two documented tests asa runner.The events tookplacewhileBryanwas ridingthestalliononahorsedrive fromPlainviewtoDimmitt–adistanceof40miles.OnthereturntripChubbywasmatchedagainstalocalcountryboy’shorse.Thewinner’spursewas$35andChubbyclaimedit.

Later that same day, he was matched again. This timethe competition was a race mare being trained by R.E.“Shorty” Warren of Plainview. The purse was a sack ofoats,andChubbyagainemergedvictorious.

WarrenwasknownasoneofthetopracetrainersintheTexasPanhandle,anditwasn’tlongafterthehorsedrive

thatChubbywoundupinhishandstobeseriouslycondi-tionedforthetrack.

Overthecourseofthenextseveralyears,WarrenmatchedChubby21times.Thebaystallionwon20onthecontest,withhissoledefeatcominginhis lastrace.Matchedfor220 yards against a mare from Oklahoma and, by War-ren’sownaccount,outofshapeandwithastrangejockeyaboard,Chubbywasnarrowlydefeated.

During his short but highly successful racing career,ChubbymetanddefeatedsuchhorsesasBarneyOwens,Joker Joe and Driftwood – at such locations as Olton,

Odessa, Fort Stockton, Lubbock, Abilene and San An-gelo.

OnonedayinAbilene,Chubbywasenteredinandwontwo440-yard races.Entered ina third race–a330-yardevent–hebroketoan8-lengthlead,andheldontowinbyanarrowmargin.

Throughouthiscareer,hewasknownasasavvy“lapandtap”starterwhosepowerfulgetawaywasconsideredthese-crettohislongstringofvictories.

By1933Chubby’sracecareerwasover,andhewassoldtoJ.C.HooperandsonsofPlainview.In1940Hooperreg-isteredthethen16-year-oldstallionwiththenewlyformedAQHA,andhewasassignednumber656.

UnfortunatelyforChubby,theHooperfamilywasmoreoriented to raising and using good ranch horses than to

showing,rodeoingorracing.Asaresult,formuchoftherestofhislife,Chubbyheaded a band of largely nondescriptranchanddraftmares.

Thisdoesn’timplythatHooperdidn’tvalueChubbyandhisoffspring.Byallaccountshedid.Hewasjustnotinter-ested in breeding for competition. Asa result, Chubby was not heavily pro-moted,andwentunnoticedforyearsbymuchoftheQuarterHorseworld.

A Few Good MaresLuckilyforthestallion,however,there

wereanumberof localhorsemenwhodid enjoy competing, and they werequicktousethebloodofHooper’sbaystallion.ShortyWheelerwasoneofthefirst to bring a top mare to Chubby’scourt.HernamewasRuth,andshewasaproductofthefamedJ.FrankNorfleethorseprogramofHaleCenter,Texas.

The first result of the Chubby-Ruthcross was a mare named Little Ruth.Althoughtheyearshewasfoaledisun-clear, it isknownthat shewon19suc-

cessive starts as a 2-year-old before succumbing to bloodpoisoning.

In1935Manitobian,afullbrothertoRuth,wasfoaled.Eventually sold to Eldon Fancher of Paicines, California,thisbreedy-looking stallionbecamea top ropehorse andrunnerwhocouldgouptofive-eighthsofamile.

Before he left west Texas, Manitobian sired Bartender–thehorsewhowouldbemostresponsibleforseeingthatChubby’sbloodwasperpetuated.

AfterShortyWarren,thenextlocalbreedertojumponthe Chubby bandwagon was S.B. Barnes of Tulia, Texas.

Chucker Vee, a 1953 bay stallion by Chuck Wagon W. and out of Miss Wardlaw 50, was an AQHA Champion and a Su-perior Halter Horse. Emmett Dalton of Dallas, Texas, holds the Chubby grandson after he had been named the reserve champion stallion of the 1958 State Fair of Texas.


ThebreederofBartender,Barnesassuredhimselfaperma-nentspotintheannalsofQuarterHorsehistorywhen,in1936,hebredBartender’smother,TheOldVaughnMare,toChubby.

MissChubby,theresultingfoal,wassoldtoLester“Pete”Williams of Fairfax, Oklahoma, under whose ownershipshewentontobecomeoneofthebreed’spremiermatrons.Twoofhermost accomplished foalswere theRegisterofMeritrunnersMaudieWilliamsandLadyFairfax.

Maudie Williams, a 1946 brown mare by Billy Anson,producedsevenROMracehorsesandtwoAQHASupremeChampions–LeoMaudieandJoeFax.LadyFairfax,a1949sorrel mare by Leo, produced Fairfax Joe AAA; QuincyLady,AQHAChampionandSuperiorHalter;andFairbars,AQHASupremeChampion.

ASupremeChampionfamilytobesure;andtwooutoffourweredouble-bredChubbydescendants.

Curly DaughertyAfterWheelerandBarnes,Frank“Curly”Daughertyof

Olney,Texas,beganmaking judicioususeof theChubbyblood.Beginninginthe1930s,Daughertywasoneofthe

mostrespectedhorsemeninwestTexas.LikeWheeler,HisbroodmarebandwassteepedinthebloodoftheJ.FrankandBobNorfleethorses and includeddaughtersof suchfamous Norfleet horses as Jim Trammell; Spark Plug (byJackMcCue);andPanzarita(bySparkPlug).

Atonetime,DaughertyevenownedthelegendaryPanza-rita,100%Foundation,whomearlydayAQHAinspectorJimMinnickoncedescribed as themostperfectmarehehadeverlaideyeson.

SuchcornerstonematronsasPatsyDaugherty,PanzaritaDaugherty, Peaches Daugherty and Mayflower DaughertycamefromtheCurlyDaughertyprogram,anditwasmaresofthisqualitythattheintuitivehorsebreedertooktothecourtofChubby.

JimDandy,a1939baystallionoutofPanzarita,wasthefirst of theDaugherty-bredChubbys tomake aname forhimself.SoldtoElmerHeplerofCarlsbad,NewMexico,inutero,JimDandywasshownbyHepleratthe1940South-westernLivestockExpositioninFortWorth.Aftertoppingaclassof222-year-oldstallions,hesoldtoAugustBuschofSt.Louis,Missouri,for$3,000.

Patsy Daugherty, 100% Foundation and a famed per-former,was thenextDaughertymarebred toChubby.A

1932sorrelmareby Spark Plugand out of Puss(by Red Bird),“Patsy” was oneofthegreatrein-ing and ropingmares of herday. In 1948, atthe age of 16,she was the all-around champi-on at the Stam-ford CowboyReunion HorseShow and wasawardedthefirsttrophy saddleever presentedbytheAQHA.

PatsyhadthreefoalsbyChubby.Diamond Ring,a 1941 sorrelmare was thefirst. Sold tothe Diamond 2Cattle Compa-ny of Kirkland,Arizona, she be-

Leo Maudie, a 1961 bay stallion by Leo and out of Maudie Williams – aChubby granddaughter – was an AQHA Supreme Champion.


camethecornerstonemareoftheirracebreedingprogram.Bred toLittle Joe Jr.,DiamondRingproduced theROMrunnersDiamondTongs,DiamondToo,DiamondTiara,DiamondMatchandDiamondPin.

DiamondTiaraandDiamondMatch,inturnbecametopproducerswithsuchAAAspeedstersasBoy’sRanch,Come Across, Diamond 2 Bar, Burning Match, HijoBlaze,ShesAJewelandWellLittotheircredit.

Billy The Kid Edwards was the second foal from theChubby-PatsyDaughertycross.A1944baystallion“Bil-ly”siredtwodaughterswhoproducedAQHAChampi-ons.

Peaches, thethirdfoaltoresult fromthecross,wasa1946sorrelmareandthedamoftwoperformers.

Panzarita Daugherty was the final mare that CurlyDaugherty took toChubby.A1942baymarebyLittleJoetheWrangler,PanzaritaDaughertywasamodelmarewho won a number of grand championships at halter.BredtoChubbyin1947,shefoaledRioRitathefollow-ingspring.Likeherdam,RioRitahadexcellentconfor-mationandwasshownsuccessfullyathalter.

Sold to E. Paul Waggoner in January 1951, Rio Ritaproduced three Superior halter horses – Rita Buck, a1952 bay mare by Pretty Buck; Poco Sail, a 1957 bay

marebyPocoBueno;andPocoRico,a1959baymarebyPocoBueno.

More Outstanding OffspringIftherehadbeenanydoubtsuptothistimeinanyone’s

mindaboutChubby’sabilityasasirewhenbredtogoodmares,theresultsobtainedbysuchbreedersasWheeler,BarnesandDaughertyerasedthosedoubtsforever.

Bythemid-tolate1940s,interestintheHooperstal-lionhad,indeed,pickedup.Standingtoafullbookofoutsidemaresduringthoseyears,Chubbyrespondedbysiringsomeofhismostnotableshowoffspring.Amongthemwerethe100%Foundationhorses:

Chubby III, a 1940 bay stallion out of FH Chili Bean, was the grand champion stallion and winner of the get-of-sire class at the 1945 Amarillo Quarter Horse show.

Chubby W, a 1942 chestnut stallion out of Miss Wade, was a champion as well.

Dutchie Chub, a 1944 sorrel mare out of Dutch Lady, was the grand champion mare at the 1947 New Mexico State Fair in Albuquerque.

Dutch Boy, a 1946 bay full brother to Dutchie Chub, was sold to western movie star Wild Bill Elliot and won the 2-year-old stallion class at the

1948 Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Association show.

Chuck Wagon W, a 1946 bay stallion out of Miss Nubbin, became a Superior halter horse and a good sire.

Jole Blon S, a 1947 dun mare out of Dundee S, also won a Superior at halter and went on to become a top producer.

Betty Lou Q, a 1947 sorrel mare out of Pocahontas II, was Chubby’s top runner. AAA-rated, she earned a Superior in racing and went on to become a AAA producer.

Alchereta, a 1948 bay mare out of Cupie Doll, earned an ROM in racing.

Jess Shurbet, a 1950 bay stallion out of Fleeta S, also earned an ROM in racing.

AQHA records reveal thatChubbysired237registeredhors-es,ofwhich29wereperformers.Inracing,nineofhisgetearnedthree ROMs and one Superior.In halter, 11 performers earned

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Chubby Rachelle, a 1957 sorrel mare by Chubby W. II and out of Rachel Girl, was one of Howard Pitzer’s first three show horses and the forerunner of a program that would one day lead the na-tion.


two Superiors and 165 points. In performance, threehorsestalliedtwoROMsandfivepoints.

LivingashedidbeforetheAQHApointsystemreallytookhold,Chubbydidnotrackupveryimpressivenum-bersasasire.Hedid,however,faresomewhatbetterasabroodmaresire.

Forty-nineofChubby’smaternalgrandgetwenttothetrack. They earned 13 ROMs, one Superior in racingand$59,146.

Asshowhorses,71second-generationChubbysearnedeight AQHA Championships, 13 Superior halter andperformanceawards,34ROMsand2,095points.Andtheyalsoaccountedfor$12,747inNCHAearnings.

ChubbypassedawayontheJ.C.HooperRanchestatein June 1950, at the age of 26. His influence on thebreedcontinuedforyearstocome.

Below: Jole Blon S, a 1947 dun mare out of Dundee S., was Chubby’s sole Superior halter award winning daughter. She is pictured here with breeder/owner Doyle Saul after earning grand champi-on honors at the 1949 Paducah, Texas, show.


Fairbars, a 1961 sorrel stallion by Three Bars (TB) and out of Lady Fairfax (a Chubby granddaughter), earned hisAQHA Supreme Championship in 1968.

chubby - nfqha · daugherty, peaches daugherty and mayflower daugherty came from the curly...

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