Although he spent the first half of his life in the shadow of Poco Bueno, Pretty Buck eventually took his rightful place as one of the breeds foundation sires. Pretty Buck was foaled in 1942 on the Waggoner Ranch of Vernon, TX. He was sired by Pretty Boy and was out a Waggoner Mare sired by Buck Thomas. Registered by his breeder-owner E. Paul Waggoner as a 3-year-old in 1945, Pretty Buck was listed as being brown. With his broad dorsal stripe and black points, he was probably a dark dun instead. Pretty Boy, the sire of Pretty Buck, was a 1928 brown (or dun, depending on the account) stallion by Dodger and out of Little Maud. He was bred by Claude Collins of Sterling City, TX. and purchased by the Waggoner Ranch in 1931. Other than Pretty Buck, Pretty Boys most notable male offspring were Monterrey and Talley Man. Monterrey, a 1940 palomino stallion out of a Waggoner Mare, sired by Waggoners Rainy Day P-13, was a AAA and AQHA Champion sire. Talley Man, a 1946 dun stallion out of Lady Blackburn III, was a Register Of Merit arena performer and a multiple AQHA Champion sire. Pretty Boys main contribution to the Waggoner Ranch was as a sire of broodmares. His daughters were a mainstay of the ranchs broodmare band throughout the 1940s and 1950s, and among the notable offspring they produced were Poco Tivio, Poco Lena, Poco Pine, Poco Stampede, Poco Champ, Pretty Pokey, Pretty Boy Pokey, and Poco Jane --- the dam of King Fritz. Pretty Bucks dam is listed simply as Buck Thomas Mare. Buck Thomas was a 1921 stallion sired by Peter McCue and out of Stockings, by Old Fred. Bred by the legendary Colorado horseman Coke Roberds, he was acquired by the Waggoner Ranch in 1927. Although he, like Pretty Boy, was noted mostly as a broodmare sire, Buck Thomas was the sire of Red Buck and F&H Bill Thomas --- two stallions that also made their mark on the breed. At the time of Pretty Bucks birth, the Waggoner Ranch horse breeding program was in full swing and producing upwards of 300 foals a year. Blackburn and Pretty Boy were the ranchs senior stallions. Aged 14 and 15 respectively, they were well established as sires of working and breeding stock. In their broodmare bands were own daughters of Waggoners Rainy Day and Midnight. There were also some aged daughters of Cotton Eyed Joe and Joe Traveler --- two sons of Little Joe, and a few even older daughters of Yellow Wolf and Yellow Bear --- full brothers by Yellow Jacket and out of (Old) Mary. Rounding out the broodmare band were some half-breeds by Royal Ford (TB) and Clover Leaf (TB). Buck Thomas, while also in place as a Waggoner Ranch herd sire, was never accorded the level of respect that Blackburn and Pretty Boy enjoyed. With his close-up Peter McCue and Old Fred breeding, Buck Thomas was taller and rangier than the other tow stallions. Then too as a sire of working cow ponies he was somewhat controversial. Some of the Waggoner Ranch hands were to known to have preferred his get as riding horses, while others were quoted as saying that they would rather remain afoot than sit astride his offspring. As noted earlier, Pretty Buck was foaled in 1942. He was an outstanding individual from the very beginning, and the decision was made to reserve him as a potential show horse and future sire. At the time of Pretty Bucks birth, E. Paul Waggoner, the son of ranch founder W. T. Waggoner, was in charge of the horse breeding operation. In the fall of 1945, E. Paul attended the annual Hankins Brothers Horse Sale at San Angelo, TX. There he astounded the entire Quarter Horse world by giving the unheard price of $5,700.00 for a yearling colt named Poco Bueno. From that day forward, the die was cast. Poco Bueno was the immediate focal point of the Waggoner Ranch show string, and the acknowledged future head of the ranchs breeding program. That is not to say that Pretty Buck was ignored. On the contrary, he was shown alongside Poco Bueno for a number of years, was broke to ride by Bob Burton, (the same man who started Poco Bueno) and was heavily utilized as a breeding animal. But Poco Bueno was the ranch headliner. He was the indisputable star, and every other stallion on the ranch had to be content with a spot on the supporting cast. Still, as a show horse, Pretty Buck held his own. At the 1946 Southwestern Exposition and Fat Stock Show, held in Fort Worth, TX., Poco Bueno was the Grand Champion Stallion, and winner of the 2-year-old stallion class. Pretty Buck was the Reserve Grand Champion, and winner of the Aged Stallion class. At the 1947 National Western Stock Show in Denver, Poco Bueno was the Grand Champion Stallion, and winner of the 3-year-old stallion class, and Pretty Buck was the Reserve Grand Champion Stallion and winner of the Aged Stallion class. At the 1948 National Western Stock Show, Star Duster, owned by Quentin and Evelyn Semotan of Steamboat Springs, CO. was the Grand Champion Stallion, and Pretty Buck once again had to be content with the reserve champion honors. At the same show though Pretty Buck did emerge victorious in the Sire and Get class. Pretty Bucks last recorded ventures into halter competition occurred in Odessa, TX., in 1951 and in San Antonio in 1952. Bob Burton the Waggoner Ranch cowboy who would later start both Poco Bueno and Jessie James under saddle, broke Pretty Buck to ride as a 2-year-old. Burton also trained the young stallion as a roping horse and by all accounts he was a born natural. There are no recorded accounts of Pretty Buck being campaigned in roping --- either through the AQHA or in rodeo competition. Poco Bueno might have been the Waggoner Ranch king, but Pretty Buck was obviously perceived as royalty as well. One indication of how highly E. Paul Waggoner and his crew thought of Pretty Buck, was the number and quality of mares brought to him. Pretty Buck was bred to some of the best mares the Waggoner Ranch had to offer, including own daughters of Blackburn, Pretty Boy, King P-234, Joe Traveler, Clover Leaf (TB), and Chubby. During his last few years to be owned by the Waggoner Ranch he was bred to the daughters of Poco Bueno and Pep Up as well. The most consistent cross by far was when Pretty Buck was bred to the daughters of Blackburn. So successful was this cross that, of the 70 Waggoner-bred foals sired by Pretty Buck, 38 were out of daughters of Blackburn. In January of 1953 the Waggoner Ranch sold Pretty Buck to Oscar Dodson, of Chillicothe, Texas. Dodson only kept the horse for the 1953 and 1954 breeding seasons before selling the stallion to John L. Taylor of California. Taylor was assembling a top Quarter Horse breeding operation at the time and Pretty Buck was to be at its head. For the next several years everything went according to plan, Pretty Buck was bred to a variety of West Coast mares, including daughters of Blackburn, Poco Bueno, Ed Echols, Dan Waggoner, Lucky Taylor, and Topper. With Taylor expanding his show and breeding operation to include a number of Pretty Buck daughters and top young breeding stallions; Dividend (AAA) and Poco Pico, a rosey future for Pretty Buck seemed assured. The in January of 1959 tragedy struck when Taylor was killed on a traffic accident en route to the National Western Stock Show in Denver, CO.. The Taylor Breeding Operation was dispersed later that same year. This sale established an all-time high average of $5,806.00 on 51 head. Pretty Buck topped the dispersal, selling for $15,800.00 to G. W. Glynn Sams of Kansas. Sams would keep the aging stallion for the next two years, and several of Mr. Sams top show horses were foaled during that time. In 1961 Pretty Buck again changed hands, this time the horse would be purchased by the man that would own him until his death in 1970. Harold Schafer owner of the Gold Seal Corporation manufacturers of such products as Snowey Bleach and Mr. Bubble, had recently formed his appropriately named Blackburn Ranch by acquiring 40 daughters of the famous Blackburn P-2228. Once again in the prestigious company of the Blackburn daughters Pretty Buck closed out his long and illustrious career as a breeding stallion. Although the last five years of his life Pretty Buck never settled any mares, he remained a warmly loved and valued part of the Schafer family. In 1970 Pretty Buck passed quietly away at the age of 30,
Posted on: Fri, 05 Dec 2014 11:06:37 +0000
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