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Hoofbeats
from the past....
The Joe Reed
family has, perhaps, the strongest influence
on our breeding program as any one line. In extended pedigrees, most of our horses will show multiple crosses to Joe Reed
through his various offspring & their get.
Below you'll find four generations of the Reed line beginning with
Leo's full brother, Firebrand Reed.
Firebrand Reed
Joe Reed II - Joe Reed X Little Fanny -
Joe Reed
1949; AQHA # P - 25124
Pictured above in racing shape, Firebrand Reed
was a full brother to Leo. Running AA time on the track, he later sired AAA race horses & AQHA Champions. An interesting
side note is that he sired FIRE THREE, the 1976 AQHA High Point Jumping Horse & ISABLEU RIKER, 1975 AQHA High Point Working
Hunter Stallion.
Firebrand Reed was also a maternal sire of top producing daughters.
I've always liked this
horse's descendants. Basically as good a horse as his illustrious sibling but without the benefits of the same PR &
promotion?
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Leo
Joe Reed II - Joe Reed X Little
Fanny - Joe Reed
1940 - 1967; AQHA # P - 1,335
Overcoming injuries, Leo earned a race ROM on
the track [he ran 220 yards in 12 seconds flat] but made his greatest impact in the breeding shed. He is a leading
sire of race ROM qualifiers [211] & AQHA Champions [24]. Leo was also the broodmare sire of AQHA Supreme
Champions & is thought to have carried the 'X' factor. Considered a foundation Quarter Horse stallion, Leo is
in the AQHA Hall of Fame.
I remember reading an article that included excerpts
of an interview with Leo's owner, Bud Warren. When asked if he ever 'culled' mares that were brought to Leo's court,
his reply was "No." He then went on to say that just maybe those mare owners knew more than he did & they were willing
to put their money [ie - stud fee] up to prove it. Considering Leo's extrodinary sire record, that philosophy seemed
to have worked. They say the mark of a great stallion is the ability to stamp his foals. Leo did!
Perry, Oklahoma features a park & statue dedicated to
this great horse's memory.
Joe Reed II
Joe Reed - Joe Blair [TB] X Nellene
- Fleeting Time [TB]
1936; AQHA # 985
On the track, Joe Reed II ran AA time
& earned the title of AQHA World Champion Running Horse in 1942 & 43. He was inducted into the AQHA Hall of Fame.
As a breeding horse, his get earned superiors in performance & race as well as points in halter. He was an AQHA
Champion sire. Joe Reed II is a Hall of Fame sire & was a sire of top producing daughters & on the leading maternal
grandsire list. [X factor? - Many of his sons also went on to be noted broodmare sires.] To many people, though, Joe Reed
II is best remembered as being the sire of Leo.
Personally, I could get lost looking at Joe Reed II's photograph.
[Actually, I believe I have.] To my eye, he is the definition of a "balanced" horse. There is nothing trendy or faddish about
Joe Reed II,- he excelled in the past & I'm confident he would today, too.
Joe Reed
Joe Blair [TB] - Bonnie Joe X Della
Moore - Old DJ
1921; AQHA - P-3
As I recall, the story of how
Joe Reed came to be goes something like this...
In 1920, the TB race stallion, Joe Blair, & the running mare,
Della Moore, were stabled next to each other in a backstretch barn. [Sorry, I can't remember which race track this was.] Well,
one night Della was in season & the two horses were being somewhat fractious,- hollering to each other & kicking at
the wall that separated them.
It just so happened that several grooms were having an all night poker [or crap] game
& didn't really appreciate the distraction. Libations were flowing freely when the grooms decided that they knew just
how to quiet those two horses down. Yup,- they took it on themselves to breed Della Moore to Joe Blair. [I'm sure it really
seemed like a good idea at the time!]
Unfortunately, no one was elected to tell the horses' owners or trainers about
the mating. Consequently, it was a bit of a surprise for the Della Moore camp when, a few months later, their fast little
mare started getting a belly & being a bit sluggish. Eventually, the tale of that night was revealed when the result was
a little sorrel colt,- Joe Reed!
Joe Blair (Tb)
Bonnie Joe - Faustus X Miss Blair - Bowling Green
1911;
Jockey Club registered
Joe Blair, pictured above with jockey
Lee Burke, was a noted Thoroughbred runner on the fair circuit during the early years of the 20th century.
He sired several horses that would go on to be registered in the AQHA during its formative years. [Thanks for the
photo, Roz!]
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