JULY 2000 BACK ISSUE

Part of Horse Previews Magazine website. Posted on 07/2000; 2:00:00PM.

NEWS FROM THE APPALOOSA HORSE CLUB

Congratulations 1999 Hall Of Fame Inductees!

Moscow, ID - June 14, 2000 - There were two men and two horses inducted into the Appaloosa Hall of Fame and the Appaloosa Racing Hall of Fame in 1999. O.J. Martens of Hitchinson, Kan., PERFECT ONE owned by Jerry and Donna Lawley of Tishomingo, Okla., Henry "Red" Smith of Bandera, TX, and MR SPOTTED BULL owned by Victoria Ennis of Kingston, Okla. are the recipients of this prestigious honor and will be recognized during the Year-End Awards Banquet July 2, 2000, which will take place during the 53rd National Appaloosa Horse Show in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Outstanding ApHC members inducted into the Appaloosa Hall of Fame are chosen for this honor by vote of ApHC members. The candidate must have had a great and favorable impact on the Appaloosa industry, or regional or national distinction, or have rendered outstanding service to the ApHC. While superior Appaloosa horses may be voted in, they can also join the Hall of Fame ranks by completing a specific list of requirements. If a stallion sires 40 different horses that win bronze medallions, that stallion will be issued a bronze Supreme Sire Production Plaque and will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. If a mare produces five different bronze medallion winners, then that mare will be issued a bronze Supreme Dam Production Plaque and will be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

HALL OF FAME

O.J. Martens joined the Appaloosa breed in 1962. Since then, the Hutchinson, Kan. native and his family have bred, trained and shown scores of National and World champions in both Halter and Performance classes. O.J. is a firm believer in the connection between athletic ability and a horse's conformation. His first big year in the Appaloosa business came in 1970. At that year's Nationals in Huron, S.D., O.J. won several classes including Weanling Stallion, Weanling Filly, Junior Western Pleasure, Barrels, and Aged Geldings; the Reserve Grand Champion Gelding title; and was in the ribbons in numerous other classes. Those wins put him on the Appaloosa map. At the height of his breeding business, O.J. kept a variety of stallions to offer customers a diverse selection in age, price, and area of expertise. An Appaloosa judge for 34 years, O.J. has judged many prestigious shows including the 1998 National Appaloosa Horse Show and the 1988, 1994 and 1996 World Championship Appaloosa Horse Shows. At age 73, O.J. is semi-retired. He and his wife Jean continue to haul on a limited basis and he still competes successfully in futurities.

PERFECT ONE, sired by ICHIBON (AQHA) and out of PERFECT UNION, earned a Bronze Supreme Dam Production Award after five of her offspring collected a total of six bronze medallions. Bred by Edwina Porter of New Port Richey, Fla., PERFECT ONE has been owned her entire life by Jerry and Donna Lawley of Tishomingo, Okla. The Lawleys raced Perfect One during her two-year-old season before retiring her to the broodmare pasture. As a race horse, she garnered a 5-1-2-0 record and more than $2,705.00 in purse money. Perfect One has produced 13 foals and 11 race starters. All of her starters have also been winners. Four starters have been stakes winners and seven have earned stakes places. They've claimed a combined $337,776.48 in purse money, three championships and three regional championships.

PERFECT ONE's Bronze-Medallion-earning foals, with the years they claimed their awards, include: BE BOP BABY, 1989; PERSNICKETY ONE, 1991; FAST AS YOU GO, 1997 and 1999; HERE `E COME, 1997; and EYES THE ONE, 1999.

RACING HALL OF FAME

The late Henry "Red" Smith trained Appaloosas for Hall of Famer Bill Jones for 31 years, but Red decided he wasn't ready to get out of the business when Bill took down his competitive racing shingle. Headquartered in Bandera, TX, Red also spent six months of each year in Calif. In addition to his race training expertise, Red won National Championships in Halter, Cutting, Roping and Reining with such horses as 1963 World Champion Roping Horse LOCO ACE and 1967 World Champion Cutter JOKER'S TIPSY. Horses were Red's life and he had a unique theory on cutting and racing horses. "A horse will make a trainer, a trainer doesn't make a horse," said Red. "Now, roping horses are different. A trainer does make a roping horse. You've got to actually train them to make them do everything you want [them to]."

In the racing world, Red's name is associated with the greats: WING IT, I LOVE WILLIE, UNDERCOVER WILLIE, MUNDO DINERO, BUILT TOUGH, SALTY BULL, KID BULL, DERVISH MAID and many others. Red's horses won the World Wide Futurity three times and placed three other times. Red considered UNDERCOVER WILLIE to be the most memorable horse of his career.

MR SPOTTED BULL, a 1971 stallion sired by Z-BULL (JC) and out of ZIP'S SILVER MAID, was bred by Jerry Nunneley of Saint Jo, TX. Briggs Cunningham III of Wynnewood, Okla. bought the stallion in 1978, followed by Ralph Wells of Bennington, Okla. and Charles Fowler of Ada, Okla. who both purchased Mr Spotted Bull in 1990. Victoria Ennis of Kingston, Okla. became his final owner in 1992. MR SPOTTED BULL earned a total of $6,912.67. He holds a 5-1-2-1 record with one stakes win during his racing career. Appaloosa News featured him on the cover of its December 1983 issue along with a feature story highlighting his success as a sire. As a breeding stallion, MR SPOTTED BULL produced a versatile crop of 405 registered foals. He held the leading sire of money earners title in 1977 and 1980 and is currently the number six all-time leading sire of racing money earners. His ApHC Racing Hall of Fame son BULL NUNNELEY is third on the list. MR SPOTTED BULL produced 196 race starters who have earned $870,613.51, 14 Stakes wins, 33 Stakes placings, 33 Registers Of Merit in racing and 11 Race Medallions. His offspring have also excelled as show horses, earning 290 Performance points, 144 Halter points, 16 Registers Of Merit and 13 Bronze Medallions. MR SPOTTED BULL was euthanized in May 1999 after veterinarians were unable to surgically save the stallion's broken leg.

The Appaloosa Horse Club, situated in Moscow, ID, is the international breed registry for Appaloosa horses. Established in 1938, it is dedicated to preserving, improving, promoting, and enhancing the Appaloosa breed. The ApHC is proud to offer their congratulations to the 1999 Hall of Fame inductees!