The Land Report

Texas 2016

The Magazine of the American Landowner is an essential guide for investors, landowners, and those interested in buying or selling land. The award-winning quarterly is known for its annual survey of America's largest landowners, The Land Report 100.

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90 The LandReport | T E X A S 2 0 1 6 LANDREPORT.COM a greement that Buster would come help us for a year to get the horse program put together." By this time, the stallion was a two-time NCHA World Championship a nd an AQHA World Cutting Champion. During that initial year, Tio, Joe, and Buster picked the very best brood mares from each division — about 200 total. "We were really tough on them, their feet, legs, and disposi- tion," Tio says. From this evaluation, the best 50 were selected and bred to Mr. San Peppy. Buyers were thrilled with the get. In 1977, Buster received a call about a son of Mr. San Peppy owned by Joe Kirk Fulton named Peppy San Badger. The trainer asked Buster to help him campaign the young stallion. Buster rode him and loved him. Tio had to have him. Another horse trade was in the works. In the upcoming NCHA Futurity, Fulton could take the glory as Little Peppy's breeder, but he was to be King Ranch's horse. "So Buster showed him, and we won the Futurity. The rest is history," Tio says. Peppy San Badger — "Little Peppy" — won the NCHA Futurity in 1977, the NCHA Derby in 1978, and was the NCHA Reserve World Championship in 1980. He was inducted into the AQHA Hall of Fame in 2008. Together, Mr. San Peppy and Peppy San Badger exerted an incalculable influence on the Quarter Horse breed and tens of thousands of top-notch cow horses. Mr. San Peppy remains Tio's favorite. "The tougher it was, the better he liked it. He was Dick Butkus, and Little Peppy was Cassius Clay — a great athlete with great finesse." Steve Knudsen signed on with King Ranch during these heady times. He spent the next four decades working in numerous roles before becoming manager of the Quarter Horse operation. Last year, he passed the baton to James Clement III. The two spent a full year in the harness together before Steve stepped down. "I learned a ton from Steve that year," James s ays. "I thought I'd be working for him for years. I had no idea I'd be stepping in a year to the day after I came to work for him." Prior to retiring, Knudsen set in motion t he purchase of a stallion with the potential t o enhance the genetics at King Ranch Quarter Horses much like Mr. San Peppy and Peppy San Badger did in the 1980s. Steve and James were browsing through the Western Bloodstock catalog for Alice Walton's dispersal sale when Steve said, "That would be a heck of a thing for King Ranch to buy that horse." By "that horse," he meant The Boon, a son of Peptoboonsmal, whose lineage includes Old Sorrel, Mr. San Peppy, Peppy San Badger, and High Brow Cat. "Sometimes, your program needs a genetic shock from outside to get you to the next level," James says. "The Boon brings that, and at the same time, preserves our lineage back to Old Sorrel." Foaled in 2008, The Boon suffered a severe leg injury as a three-year-old and missed the Futurity. But Pattie Haney, Rocking W's stallion manager, patiently nursed him back to health, and the Rocking W's in-house trainer, Jesse Lennox, readied The Boon for competition. "I'd never ridden a horse that could stop like him," Jesse says. "He's so powerful and reachy. That extension comes down from Boon San Sally and a lot of others in Ms. Walton's Rocking W program. The Boon is the pinnacle." "The Boon is tremendously athletic and unbelievably cowy," says elite trainer Phil Rapp. The Boon had to prove himself after two y ears in a cast. He started campaigning as a five-year-old and racked up winnings of $76,000 over the next two years. When it came time for the dispersal sale, King Ranch faced a challenge: The Boon would be its first purchased stallion since Futurity winner Dry Doc in 1983. (Buster Welch rode Dry Doc to victory in the 1971 NCHA Futurity, defeating his son Greg on Mr. San Peppy.) Overt interest by such a prominent bidder would have undoubtedly driven the price of The Boon higher. Instead of showing his hand, James relied on the expertise of Joe Stiles's daughter, Heather, who performed extensive research and supported King Ranch throughout the acquisition process. "The Boon is my favorite horse I have ever raised. The Boon has a heart as big as Texas. There is no place I would rather see him than the world-famous King Ranch," said Alice Walton in a press release. "This horse wants to work," James says. "He's stout. He wants to cut a cow. He'll step up to a cow and challenge it. You can see the excitement in his face. A lot of people are comparing him to Little Peppy." James pauses. Then he shifts perspectives. "When the Kineños see us buy a big-time stud like The Boon, they see our commit- ment to mounting them with the very best. There's pride, a morale boost, and curiosity. The opportunity to throw a leg over a cow horse of this caliber helps us retain our best employees as well as recruit outside talent." Ben Espy shadowed his Uncle Tio as well as Dr. John Tolkes, King Ranch's longtime equine veterinarian. After studying biology at Duke, he decided to become a veterinarian himself and got his DVM at Texas A&M.; He applauds the acquisition of The Boon. "Sometimes, your program needs a genetic shock from out- side to get you to the next level. The Boon brings that, and, at the same time, preserves our lineage back to Old Sorrel. " — James Clement III

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