APRIL 1997 BACK ISSUE

Part of Horse Previews Magazine website. Posted on 4/1/97; 10:00:00 AM.

A Profile of The Double L Ranch Post Falls, ID

"How A Small Outfit Can Get It Done"

The Double L Ranch (named such for it's owners Lonny & Linda Bitton), was built in 1976 around the leopard stallion "Eagle's Stardust, B". To make a long story short, the Bitton's bought this stallion, his Quarter Horse dam, a full sister and the dam's current year foal from some friends who were going through a divorce. At the time "Stardust" was a three year old and had only been shown once, as a weanling, in a local fair show, where he was the Grand Champion Registered Horse, the first time in the history of the event that an Appaloosa had won this title. Lonny was a roper at heart, and promoted this young stallion in all different cattle events and gaming events, not only on the Northwest Appaloosa Circuit, but at rodeos around the Northwest.

"Stardust" being double bred `Sugar Bars, Three Bars with some Leo bred in to top it off, excelled in these events, in fact, he excelled at everything the Bitton's tried him on. He won the Northwest Champion and Greater Western calf roping and team roping awards twice. In 1979 he was 6th in the nation in Steer Daubing. This one "great" horse put the Double L Ranch on the map and started the Bitton's on a family adventure that has lasted over 20 years now.

Everything around The Double L Ranch has been a family affair. Lonny and Linda had two young children when they started out, Shawn, who was 6 at the time, and now is serving in the Air Force, married and has a beautiful baby girl. And Tina who was 4 at the time, is now married and has a 4 year old daughter, and her family is very involved with the horses. Both Shawn and Tina showed on the Northwest Circuit in Western Performance, English Performance, Jumping, Gaming, Reining and anything else they could get their horses to do.

Over the years, as a result of their breeding program their horses have excelled in Western and English Performance, Halter, Games, Cattle Events and on the race track. The awards and ribbons they have all won over the years, adorn the shelves of all their homes.

In 1996, one of the colts they raised, after a fairly successful race career, went to the 1996 World Appaloosa Show and won the Open Figure 8 Stakes Race, placed third in Non-Pro Barrels and was in the top ten in all his other games events, except one. This horse, "Scooten Dust'em", now owned, trained and ridden by Ivan Tucker, the Bitton's son-in-law.

Over the past 20 years the Bitton's have been very active members of several Appaloosa Regional Clubs, including the North Idaho ApHC, Inland Empire ApHC and the Palouse Empire ApHC, and have held almost every office and served as directors in all these clubs over the years. At this time Linda is the Show Manager for the Spots of Fun Appaloosa Association, which is the North Idaho ApHC & Inland Empire ApHC combined to work together in putting on regional shows, open shows and other functions during the year. In 1997 that will include a 4 point breed show in Coeur d'Alene, ID. On June 14 & 15. Also two open shows in Sandpoint, ID. on July 12 & 13. Linda also is a Show Manager of the North Idaho Fair Horse Show which is held in Coeur d'Alene in August, a job she has held for the past 8 or 9 years.

The Bitton's have owned many good mares over the years. One of these mares being "Cat's Honor", who has produced two World Champion Race Horses and one World Champion Games Horse. Another mare, "Bye Bye Bandit" has produced three National Point Earners in Halter, Western and English Performance events and her two year old filly, "Ima Perfect Ten-B", has her ROM in Most Colorful and won the SOFAA Yearling Filly Futurity last year, and will be shown by Linda this year in some Non-Pro classes.

The Bitton's have lost some good horses along the way also. One of these being the horse that started it all, "Eagle's Stardust-B" in 1983, 1987 brought the loss of the Stakes Winning mare "Ima Mae", in 1988, they lost their Stakes Winning and Champion Running Stallion "Ima Drumming Fool" who broke his leg while running in California and just last year they lost the good mare "Buggins" during the summer and about a month and a half later her son, and the Bitton's young race stallion, "Mr. Street Bug". His first foal crop had just hit the ground, all colored and very nice race prospects. Lonny and Linda are anxiously awaiting his last crop of foals now.

The Bitton's believe that they are very fortunate though, as they were given the chance to purchase a young race colt last fall that was a Stakes Winner and carries some of the same bloodlines as "Mr. Street Bug". This colt, "O.A. Taylor" (Oats) had to be retired from racing because of an injury, but was leading the nation in wins and second in money earned when he was injured. His sire is "Some Kinda Easy". In December of 1996 after many months of deliberating about it, Lonny and Linda purchased the yearling colt (now a two year old), "Mr. Re Skip" by "Mister Re". Linda had seen him earlier in the year at the Tall Timber Show in Spanaway and had fallen in love with him. He was taking the west coast by storm, winning over $10,000 in futurities and had already placed third the year before as a weanling at the World Championship Show. Since, he has also placed third in Yearling Non-Pro Stallions at the 1996 Appaloosa Nationals.

Lonny and Linda boast that they now have a nice young herd of mares and two great stallions to go on with. We have had our share of ups and downs, they say, and have even considered quitting at times, but we love the Appaloosa breed and don't know what we'd do without the horses. We have also made some very good friends in the horse business and would miss them if we were to quit.

In 1992, Lonny's health forced him to quit competing and riding colts, so now he watches his colts compete from the rail. In 1995 he ran and was elected to the Board of Directors of the Appaloosa Horse Club, which is headquartered in Moscow, Idaho. Lonny says that he saw a lot of personal agenda's being promoted on the National level, publicity was negative and the club was losing money. Lonny felt that since he had been involved in all aspects of the breed, that maybe he could help turn the ApHC around. Some of the things that he has helped get accomplished as a National Director are getting DNA passed, Semen Transport passed, Cutter & Chariot Racing moved from the Show Department to the Racing Department and he is currently working on trightening the color requirements for regular papered horses and clarifying this in the rule book. He is in the process of trying to get the Most Colorful Class highlighted at the World Championship Show held in Fort Worth, TX, each year and also having the Appaloosa Journal Highlight this class in it's World Show Issue. He would like to see color incentive programs in place and find a way to fund them.

As a National Director, Lonny serves on the Executive Race Committee, Rules Committee, Planning & Review, Youth & Trail Committee's. Lonny states that being a National Director does not always make you popular with Moscow or with various members and Directors, but it comes with the job. It is a large responsibility, but I owe it to the Appaloosa Horse, that has been so good to me.

With any luck we will continue to improve and enjoy watching our horses perfrom. If your in our area, please feel free to drop by and visit our small 4.6 acres, and see our horses for yourselves. We love showing them off. Good luck to everybody in the 1997 season.

Double L Ranch
Lonny & Linda Bitton
Ivan, Tina and Kayla Tucker
Shawn, Lisa and Bailey Bitton