Links
Leo's Question
Leo’s Question by Larry Thornton
Leo’s name would become synonymous with great broodmares. His daughters
would make him a legend in the Quarter Horse industry. They made him a
leading maternal grandsire of ROM runners and the leading maternal grandsire
of AQHA Champions. Because of the success of his daughters, Leo’s sons seem
to have taken a back seat to the females in the family. But some of the sons
of Leo
have left their mark on the Quarter Horse. Take Tiger Leo as an example.
This great stallion has become a prominent broodmare sire of modern pleasure
horses. But there is another son of Leo that has been an important part of
the Leo legacy. His name is Leo’s Question. Leo’s Question would contribute
a great deal to the Leo legacy of power and strength in the production of
working Quarter Horses. Leo’s Question was born in 1951. His breeder was
Dwight Timbers of Glen Elder, Kansas. He was owned for a good part of his
life by John Wilkins of the J Bar D Ranch in Geneva, Nebraska. Wilkins
reminisced in 1989 about how he came to own Leo’s Question. “There was Leo’s
Question and another horse called Leotation. They were full brothers. Dwight
Timbers owned both of them. He decided to sell Leo’s Question and he came by
here to see if I would be interested in him. I said no and Timbers went from
here over to Iowa. Don Turner at Oakland, Iowa bought him.” He continued
about why he didn’t buy the horse. “I really wanted a Leo horse, but I had
just bought a horse called Roan Leo. So right at the moment, I wasn’t in the
market for another son of Leo. If I’d have known then what I know now, I’d
have bought him.” “Turner stood Leo’s Question in Iowa for 4 or 5 years.
Then Don’s health got bad and I made a deal to bring the horse here and
stand him with an option to buy an interest in him,” added Wilkins. “We
stood him for 3 breeding seasons for Turner. Don’s health eventually
confined him to a wheelchair and he couldn’t do anything. He wanted to sell
and so we took Leo’s Question to Vernon, Texas and the E. Paul Waggoner
Sale. I went down to the sale and brought him back home. We had him for 16
years.” Leo’s Question earned his Register of Merit as an AA rated race
horse. He started 31 times with 4 wins, 5 seconds and 5 thirds. He was
stakes placed with seconds in the Kansas Futurity, Nebraska Bred Futurity
and the Kansas QHA Derby. He earned $2,040 as a runner. Leo’s Question
combines two branches of the Himyar family of Thoroughbreds and Quarter
Horses. They are the Plaudit and Domino lines, both sons of Himyar. Let’s
begin with Leo and the Domino line. Leo was a noted match race horse with 20
wins out of 22 races while running in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. Leo started his
race career in Texas, but his race record there is unknown. Joe Reed II was
the sire of Leo. Joe Reed II was the Champion Quarter Running Stallion of
1942-1943. Joe Reed P-3 was the sire of Joe Reed II. Joe Reed P-3 was sired
by Joe Blair, a Thoroughbred and out of Della Moore, a famous quarter
running mare that came to Texas from Louisiana. Joe Blair was sired by
Bonnie Joe. Della Moore was sired by the famous Cajun bred running horse Old
D.J. The dam of Joe Reed II was Nellene. The blood of Domino in Leo comes
from Nellene. Nellene was sired by Fleeting Time. Fleeting Time was sired by
High Time. High Time carried three crosses to Domino with a linebreeding
pattern of 3 x 3 x 2. The sire of High Time was Ultimus by Commando by
Domino. The dam of Ultimus was Running Stream by Domino. The dam of High
Time was Noonday by Domino. Nellene was out of Little Red Nell. Little Red
Nell was sired by Brown Billy. Her dam was Red Nell. The dam of Leo was
Little
Fanny
by Joe Reed P-3. This makes Leo 2 x 2 inbred to Joe Reed P-3. Little Fanny
was out of Fanny Ashwell. Fanny Ashwell was sired by the Thoroughbred
Ashwell by Alloway. The dam of Ashwell was Melton Mowbray. Fanny Richardson
was the dam of Fanny Ashwell. The sire of Fanny Richardson was unknown and
her dam was Sister Fanny. Leo sired Champions in all phases of the industry.
He sired horses like Miss Meyers, a World Champion Quarter Running Horse,
Holey Sox, an NCHA Top Ten cutter and Leolita, a AAA rated AQHA Champion.
His offspring earned 211 race ROM, 33 performance ROM, 24 AQHA Championships
and 29 stakes winners. His daughters produced 753 race ROM and 44 stakes
winners as well as 57 AQHA Champions. The Plaudit side of the Himyar family
comes through Question Mark. Question mark was the sire of Questionaire’s
Miss, the dam of Leo’s Question. Question Mark was a world class quarter
running horse. He earned much of his prestige as a race horse when he
defeated the great Shue Fly. Montague Rockingham wrote a biography on
Question Mark for The Quarter Horse Journal called “The Curse of Gold”
(April 1963). Rockingham wrote that the race with Shue Fly was at a half
mile. He tells us that Question Mark not only won the race, but did it after
breaking a pastern joint. It was Question Mark’s last race, a race won on
heart and courage. Rockingham goes on to tell us that Question mark was a
good halter horse. He was a Grand Champion at shows like Fort Worth, Tulsa
and Denver. Question Mark was sired by the Quarter Horse Plaudit. Plaudit
was sired by the Thoroughbred King Plaudit. King Plaudit was sired by
Plaudit, a Kentucky Derby Winner. The dam of Question Mark was Pepito by
Kenward. Kenward was a Thoroughbred. The dam of Pepito was Phyllis F.
Rockingham tells us that Pepito was a pretty good race mare that once held
the record for three-eighths of a mile at a track he called Tanforan.
Question Mark was bred by the famous Philmont Ranch that became the property
of the Boy Scouts of America. It was at the
Philmont Ranch that Hank Wiescamp bought many of his foundation mares. This
set of mares included Miss Helen and Santa Maria. Many of these mares were
daughters of Plaudit. Here is an interesting side note – Montague Rockingham
was the famous western writer Nelson Nye. Nye wrote under several names
during this time period. He is the author of such great Quarter Horse
reference books as The Complete Book of the Quarter Horse. Question Mark was
a good sire of quarter running horses. His foals include the race ROM Grey
Question, Mr Gates, My Question and Savannah Gray. His ROM performance
horses include Dawson’s Ballymark, Dynamo Power, Mr Question and Question
Miss. His ROM producing daughters include Mabel Question, Lorane Question,
Mary Question, My Question and Savannah Gray. Savannah Gray was the dam of
the All American Futurity winner Savannah Jr. Savannah Jr. was the sire of
the AQHA Champions Sir Savannah and Savannah Tiger. The dam of
Questionaire’s Miss was Gipsy Rose 1. Gipsy Rose 1 was a Thoroughbred mare
sired by Picardo and out of Argosy. Questionaire’s Miss was the dam of two
ROM performers. They were Leo’s Question and his full brother Leotation.
Questionaire’s Miss was the dam of several daughters that have been race ROM
producers. They include Questionette, dam of Miss Doolette (AAA), Monett
Mason (AA) and Nita Adelia (AA), Miss Doolette and Monett Mason are ROM race
producers as well. Question’s Doolin was the dam of Miss Campquest (AA).
Andra’s Star was the dam of Tinky Toe (AA and a stakes winner). Question’s
Doolin and Andra’s Star are daughters of Questionaire’s Miss. The
Leo/Question Mark cross is evident in another very good sire. Junior Reed
was a son of Leo and Lorane Question, a daughter of Question Mark. He was a
AAA rated runner. He sired such horses as Mach I, an AQHA Supreme Champion
and Smug Reed, the great sire of Team roping horses. Leo’s Question has left
a legacy of great performers that are noted for their power as performance
horses. One of the first horses to demonstrate this power was War Leo. War
Leo was out of War Bird. War Leo won the 1958 Nebraska Quarter Horse
Association Futurity at Burwell, Nebraska. He was only A rated on the track
but proved to be a good running horse. War Leo left the race track to earn
72 halter points with a Superior Award. He was an AQHA Champion with 192
performance points. War Leo became best known for his ability as a cutting
horse. He was Superior in cutting and the 1963 AQHA High Point Cutting
Stallion. In the NCHA, he was a Top Ten finisher and an NCHA Bronze Award
winner. The last owner of War Leo was Bess Fish’s Village Creek Ranch. The
long-time manager for Ms. Fish was the late Don Carr. Carr remembered War
Leo’s power this way. “This horse had so much ability and he was so stout…He
could run full tilt, start a turn, go halfway through it and never touch the
ground
with his front feet, and the cow would make a fake (the other way) and he’d
be straight back in the middle in front of the cow”. War Leo became a very
good sire with foals like War Bond Leo, the 1969 AQHA High Point Cutting
Horse; War Leo Jr, 1981 AQHA High Point Cutting Horse; Triangle Gold War,
NCHA Non Pro Top Ten; War Leo Missie, AQHA Superior Cutting Horse and War
Leo’s Doll, AQHA Superior Cutting Horse. War Leo wasn’t the only foal by War
Leo and out of War Bird. Next in line came Rondo Leo. Rondo Leo was an AQHA
Champion with 20 halter points, 11 reining points and 25 cutting points.
Rondo Leo was the sire of the great Mr Gun Smoke. Mr Gun Smoke followed in
the mold of powerfully built show horses. He was owned for many years by the
great trainer Dale Wilkinson. Wilkinson, now of Georgia, is the only trainer
to win both the NCHA and NRHA Futurities. He has this to say about Mr Gun
Smoke: “Mr Gun Smoke was different! Different in that his physical ability
was unreal. He had a lot of cow and understanding of a cow. He had a
tremendous amount of stop, which has been transmitted through the years to
his offspring – grandsons and granddaughters. Lots of stop, which in the
events we pursue, cutting and reining, I think the better horses have to
have. Mr Gun Smoke was an AQHA Superior Cutting Horse and an NCHA
Certificate of Ability winner. He earned over $8,000 in NCHA cutting. Mr Gun
Smoke’s legacy is as a sire. His foals include the great mare Gunsmoke’s
Dream, an NCHA Futurity Champion; Two D’s Dynamite, 1974 NCHA Reserve World
Champion and Hollywood Smoke, 1979 Congress Reining Champion. Ace of
Limestone was the next Leo’s Question/War Bird foal. This stallion was AA
rated on the track and stakes place in the Kansas Bred Derby. He was an AQHA
Champion with 17 halter points and 27 performance points. He was ROM in the
arena and on the track. War Olee was the next Leo’s Question/War Bird foal.
This horse earned 180 points in AQHA with a Superior in Cutting. He was a
top ten finisher in the AQHA World Show Senior Cutting. Limestone Bird was
the 1962 foal by Leo’s Question and out of War Bird. This mare was ROM in
the arena with 35 cutting points and 15 halter points. She was a good mother
as the dam of Stone Dry and Dry Doc’s Dottie, both by Dry Doc. Dry Doc’s
Dottie was a finalist in the NCHA futurity and a finalist in the AQHA World
Show Senior Cutting. The last two foals produced in this cross were Bird
Quest and Squier’s War Bird. Squier’s Warbird has 17 AQHA open halter
points, 14 youth halter points and 3 youth working points. With the success
of War Leo and his brothers and sisters, we find that Leo’s Question and War
Bird have proven over the years to be one of the great nicks in the Quarter
Horse breed. A look at the pedigree of War Bird will give us some insight to
this nicking pattern. War Bird was sired by War Star. War Star was by
Oklahoma Star Jr. by Oklahoma Star P-6. The dam of War Bird was Star Bird by
Oklahoma Star P-6. This makes War Bird 3 x 2 inbred to Oklahoma Star P-6.
War Bird is also linebred to the great mare Babe Dawson. Oklahoma Star Jr.
is out of Babe Dawson. The dam of War Star is Sheridina, whose dam is
Quarter Lady. Quarter Lady is out of Pretty Lady, whose dam is Babe Dawson.
Pretty Lady is by Old Red Buck. Star Bird (dam of War Bird) is out of Fleet
by Old Red Buck. Old Red Buck is out of Pet Dawson. Pet Dawson is out of
Babe Dawson. This makes War Bird 3 x 7 x 5 x 5 linebred to Babe Dawson. The
mating of Leo’s Question with War Bird reinforces the success Leo had when
crossed with Oklahoma Star mares. Leo was a very good cross on Oklahoma Star
with Miss Meyers and Holey Sox serving as prime examples. The tie between
Leo and Oklahoma Star is an interesting one when we look at the pedigrees of
these two horses. Leo was a great great grandson of Bonnie Joe, the sire of
Joe Blair. Cutthroat was the dam of Oklahoma Star. She was reported to be a
daughter of Bonnie Joe. Thus we have a tie between Leo and Oklahoma Star.
This theory becomes complicated by the fact that some feel Cutthroat was a
Missouri Mike bred mare. Babe Dawson was a Missouri Mike bred mare. Thus we
have a tie between Oklahoma Star and Babe Dawson. As you can see, Oklahoma
Star and Babe Dawson were a good nick as well. The disputed pedigree of
Cutthroat gives us some interesting food for thought on the nicking pattern
of Leo’s Question and War Bird. Mr Gun Smoke gives us another interesting
tie between Leo’s Question and Oklahoma Star. The dam of Mr Gun Smoke is
Kansas Cindy by Kansas Star. Kansas Star is 2 x 2 inbred to Oklahoma Star.
This makes Mr Gun Smoke 5 x 4 x 4 x 4 linebred to Oklahoma star. Several
foals out of Kansas Cindy show us that the pedigree of Mr Gun Smoke with its
Leo’s Question/Oklahoma Star breeding was no fluke. Price’s Smokey Leo was a
full brother to Mr Gun Smoke. This stallion earned 29 AQHA cutting points
and was an AQHA World Show Finalist. He earned his NCHA Certificate of
Ability and $8,408 in cutting. Kansas Dillon was an NCHA Certificate of
Ability winner with $5,900 in earnings and 2 AQHA performance points. He was
a full brother to Price’s Smokey Leo and Mr Gun Smoke. Leo’s Lightfoot was a
son of Leo’s Question that was out of Kansas Cindy, making him a ¾ brother
to Mr Gun Smoke. Leo’s Lightfoot earned 37 AQHA cutting points and $1,776 in
NCHA money. Another ¾ sister to Mr Gunsmoke was Price’s Cindy Leo. Price’s
Cindy Leo was sired by Leo Matador, a son of Rondo Leo. This mare was the
dam of several top cutting horses including Sonitas Cindy, with earnings of
$55,000 and Cindy Solano with earnings of $7,427. Leo’s Question sent
several runners to the track. His AAA rated runners were She’s A Leo, Van’s
Dumpy and Baldy Pete. Baldy Pete appears to be a very sound race horse. He
started 196 times with 30 wins, 29 seconds and 17 thirds. He earned $31,185
and a Superior in racing. His speed index was a 93. Nita Adella was another
ROM runner. This mare was a AA rated runner. The most interesting part of
Baldy Pete and Nita Adelia is their pedigree. Baldy Pete was out of Miss
Doolette. The mother of Miss Doolette was Questionette, a daughter of
Questionaire’s Miss (dam of Leo’s Question). This makes Baldy Pete 2 x 3
inbred to Questionaire’s Miss. Nita Adelia was out of Questionette. This
makes Nita Adelia 2 x 2 inbred to Questionaire’s Miss. Baldy Pete’s dam was
sired by Bill Doolin by Chicaro Bill. The dam of Bill Doolin was Beggar
Peaches. Beggar Peaches was out of Peaches, an Oklahoma Star/Babe Dawson
mare. Cutter Leo and Cutter Question were full brothers out of Dusty Queen.
Cutter Leo was and AQHA Champion with a Superior in Cutting. He was an NCHA
Bronze Award winner. Cutter Question was an NCHA Silver Award winner with
$135,325 in earnings. Dusty Queen was sired by Dust Storm by Billy Clegg.
The dam of Dusty Queen was Dixie Queen by Tom Benear. Tom Benear was sired
by Tommy Clegg and out of Dixie Beach. Tom Benear was a full brother in
blood to Bert P-227. Dixie Beach was a full sister to Lady Coolidge, the dam
of Bert. Tommy Clegg was the sire of Bert P-227. The Wilkins’ daughter,
Becky, was an AJQHA World Show Finalist with Mr Bart Question. This good
gelding earned 24 AQHA cutting points and was a Quarter Horse Association of
Nebraska High Point Senior Cutting Horse. His dam was Lady JoBarton. Lady
JoBarton was a daughter of Sir Barton by Spot Cash. Spot Cash was sired by
Skipper W and out of Southern Queen. Southern Queen was sired by Brujo, a
son of Plaudit. The dam of Sir Barton was Skipadoo by Skipper W. The dam of
Skipadoo was Miss Helen by Plaudit. This makes Mr Bar Question 4 x 6 x 5
linebred to Plaudit. The dam of Lady JoBarton was Lady Jo Bob. This mare was
sired by Bobby Wiemer by Bert, the full brother in blood to Tom Benear. The
dam of Lady Jo Bob was V’s Lady Jo by Little Jodie, who was out of Dixie
Beach. This makes Lady Jo Bob linebred to the full sisters Dixie Beach and
Lady Coolidge. The mating of Star Cooper with Leo’s Question is another
cross along these lines. Star Cooper was by Star Tona by Star Deck. Star
Deck was sired by Oklahoma Star P-6. The dam of Star Tona was Blanche’s Tona
by Tommy Clegg, the sire of Tom Benear and Bert. The dam of Star Cooper was
Miss Cooper 53, who was out of Smokey Cooper by Nicky. Nicky was by Shiek
P-11. Sheik was the sire of Nick, the grandsire of Hank Wiescamp’s great
stallion, Skipper W. The sire of Miss Cooper 53 was Red Waggoner. Red
Waggoner was sired by Blackburn by Yellow Jacket. Yellow Jacket was the sire
of Cowboy P-12, the broodmare sire of Skipper W. Skipper W was the sire of
Spot Cash. Star Cooper was a great show mare. She was an AQHA Champion with
15 halter points, 48 cutting points, 23 reining points, 1.5 western riding
points and 6.5 western pleasure points. She had an NCHA Certificate of
Ability. She was the dam of Cooper’s Query by Leo’s Question. Cooper’s Query
had 34 AQHA open and youth performance points. Wilkins stood Leo’s Question
for 16 years and in that time, he put together a band of Leo’s Question
broodmares. When the Doc Bars came on the scene, Wilkins decided it was time
to cross his Leo’s Question daughters with a son of Doc Bar. So he bought
Doc’s Jack Sprat. His goal was a Doc Bar/King/Leo cross. Doc’s Jack Sprat
became and AQHA Champion with 15 halter
points, 14 western pleasure points and 29 cutting points. His NCHA record
included $3,069 in earnings. He was an NCHA Derby semi-finalist. Doc’s Jack
Sprat was out of a linebred King P-234 mare. The name of his dam was Pura
Fina by Puro Tivio. Puro Tivio was sired by Poco Tivio by Poco Bueno by
King. The dam of Puro Tivio was Red Jane C, a full sister to Poco Bueno. The
dam of Pura Fina was Handy Annie by King P-234. This made Pura Fina 4 x 3 x
2 linebred to King. Doc’s Jack Sprat proved to be a very good sire of
cutting horses. According to Equi-Stat, his foals have earned $2,661,044
through 1994. This makes Doc’s Jack Sprat fourteenth on the leading money
list with only 137 money earners. Every stallion that appears ahead of him
on this list has over 200 money earners. Leo’s Question appears ninth on the
Equi-Stat’s leading maternal grandsire of money earners list. His daughters
have produced 89 foals that have earned $2,256,442 through 1994. All of the
stallions that appear ahead of Leo’s Question on this list have over 120
money earning foals. The base or foundation of these stats is the Doc’s Jack
Sprat/Leo’s Question cross. Leading the way for the Doc’s Jack Sprat/Leo’s
Question cross is Jae Bar Fletch. Jae Bar Fletch has turned out to be one of
the great cutting horses of all time. He was the NCHA Open World Champion
Cutting Horse in 1989, the AQHA World Champion Senior Cutting Horse in 1985
and he helped carry Ernest Cannon to a Non-Pro World Championship in 1991.
This great cutter was recently inducted into the NCHA Hall of Fame with
earnings of $349,401. Jae Bar Maise helped Debbie Patterson to an NCHA
Non-Pro World Championship in 1987. This mare is a full sister to Jae Bar
Fletch. She is the second leading money earner sired by Doc’s Jack Sprat
with earnings of $173,692. Jae Bar Lena by Leo’s Question is the dam of
these two good cutters. Her dam is Royal Bonita by Royal King by King. The
dam of Royal Bonita is Jal, who is out of a daughter of King P-234. This
makes Jae Bar Fletch and Jae Bar Maise 6 x 5 x 4 x 4 x 5 linebred to King
P-234. Jae Bar Camie is sired by Leo’s Question and out of Llaheh Queen, a
daughter of Dusty Queen. This mare is the dam of Jae Bar Gaby, winner of
$138,057 and the third leading money winner sired by Doc’s Jack Sprat and
out of a Leo’s Question daughter. Jae Bar Mina was a good cutter by Doc’s
Jack Sprat that was out of Miss Lou Leo. Miss Lou Leo was a full sister to
Jae Bar Camie. Jae Bar Mina won $64,051 in cutting. Jae Bar Kori was a full
sister to Jae Bar Mina. She won in excess of $11,000 and 19 AQHA performance
points. Miss Leo Le was a full sister to Miss Lou Leo and Jae Bar Camie.
Miss Leo Le was the dam of Jae Bar Marco, winner of $43,912. The first foal
out of Jae Bar Jane was Jae Bar Christy and she reinforces the thought of
versatility in the cross. Jae Bar Christy was an NCHA money earner and an
AQHA World Show qualifier. She earned 46 AQHA points in working cow horse,
reining and heeling. Supreme Question was a ¾ sister to Jae Bar Jane. She
was sired by Leo’s Question and out of Miss Cooper 53, the dam of Star
Cooper. Supreme Question was the dam of Jae Bar Darcie, the first Futurity
winner sired by Doc’s Jack Sprat. In addition, Supreme Question was the dam
of several other good cutters like Jae Bar Megan, Jae Bar Fawn, Jae Bar
Pamela and Jae Bar Cole. One of the interesting facets of this great success
between Doc’s Jack Sprat and the Leo’s Question mares has to do with
Non-Pros showing them. Of course, the Wilkins boys – Bill, Jim and Mike –
lead the list of Non-Pros showing these great horses. Some of the top
Non-Pro event horses to come out of this cross are Jae Bar Curt, 1982 NCHA
Non-Pro Classic Finalist; Jae Bar Fame, NCHA Non-Pro Super Stakes Finalist;
Jae Bar Gaby, 1987 Kansas AM/Non-Pro Tournament $25,000 Champion and Jae Bar
Donna, CHAN Non-Pro Futurity Champion. My interview with Wilkins took us to
the physical attributes and power of the Leo’s Questions. Wilkins has found
that these physical attributes have carried on into the produce of the Leo’s
Question daughters. Here is what he had to say: “They’re the most physical
horses that I’ve ever been around. In fact, we were just talking about it
today. We see the offspring out of the Leo’s Question mares and their
tremendous athletic ability. You really get spoiled. They have tremendous
physical ability and staying power. They’ve got so much heart that you just
cannot ride them down. You just can’t wear them out. If you’ve got a chore
that requires all day, they’re with you all day. They have so much heart and
so much give to them. It’s that Leo breeding with so much staying power.
They just won’t give up.” The life of Leo’s Question parallels that life of
Leo to a certain degree. He was a good race horse that sired good race,
halter and performance horses. He sired several sons that proved to be good
sires and his daughters became great producers of cutting horses. So the
success of Leo’s Question has been a major influence on the legacy of Leo, a
legacy of stamina and power in the modern performance horse.
Note: Larry Thornton is a pedigree analyst and breeding consultant. He is
the author of the book, The Working Lines, that can be purchased through
Southern Horseman. If you have any questions about this story or other
bloodlines, give Larry a call at 501-293-3101
| Aluminum Trailers | Show Cattle | Club Lambs |
Site Design by
BlueValleyDesigns.com
Updated 05/23/2008