Homozygous Perfection in Texas
Early
morning Texas and the sun is rising. Ann
Stockstill is awake and searching for her coffee cup before checking her stock. The sun slowly peers through her kitchen
window overlooking 165 prime Texas acres. She’s reminded of all the things she
needs to accomplish today. First on her list
is a trip to the stables to say good morning to her award-winning,
world-famous, homozygous paint horses.
A horse lover
from an early age, Ann describes her introduction to homozygous horses. “I
lived in the city all my life, teaching middle school and junior high school. I
had no aspirations to be a rancher, but it fell in my lap when I married my
second husband in 1993. He owned cattle
and liked living in the country, so we packed up and moved to Coyote Creek Ranch,
Winona, Texas, USA.”
Ann
purchased her first horse, Skipper, a Palomino gelding, shortly after moving to
the ranch. Ann says, “Skipper was a
gentle, loving soul. I enjoyed riding him around the ranch. He was a great companion. It was fun to ride on our ranch and watch the
wildlife that was abundant at the time. Whitetail deer grazed, raccoons played
in the trees, and there were occasional sightings of red fox and coyotes.” A
few months later on a trip to Idabel, Oklahoma, Ann had the opportunity to
purchase Peps Last Lady, a stunning sorrel Quarter Horse mare.
Ann was
satisfied with her gelding and mare, but loved the look of the local black/white
paints. Ann recalls, “I had never heard of a homozygous horse, but found out
that it meant they only throw paint offspring regardless of what they are bred
to. I decided to breed Lady to Sparky, a local homozygous black/white paint
stallion. The resulting foal was a black/white filly that I named Stormy. Not
very original, but she was born in February on a freezing night in the
rain. Lady was quite confused to have a
paint baby since all of her previous foals were sorrel. It was really odd to see a sorrel Quarter
Horse with a black/white paint filly. I
still have them both. Lady is close to
20 years old and Stormy is approaching 14 years.”
Over the
years, Ann has purchased many horses.
The most famous offspring was the result of her purchase of ‘Color by
Chick’, a double homozygous mare. ‘Color
by Chick’ was paired with ‘Summers Half Moon’, owned by Dana James of
Gladewater, Texas. Ann says, “The resulting
foal was my multiple APHA/PtHA World and Reserve World stallion, ‘Summers Chico
Bandito’. Chico was the horse of my dreams.
Not only was he black/white, but also homozygous for tobiano and the
black gene. He was splashy colored with
one blue eye and one brown. He was sweet
natured and athletic. Chico has won
World recognition in steer stopping, heading and healing. He has produced
numerous offspring that have also won APHA World and PtHA World championships
in cattle events.”
With offspring shipped internationally, Chico
continues to capture the hearts of equine lovers around the world. His
offspring compete in and are winning events worldwide. Ann has chosen
broodmares with superior pedigrees for Chico. Ann says, “Chico produces quality
offspring. His foals have been sold
internationally to Brazil, Columbia, Venezuela, Ireland, Sweden, Belgium,
Canada and Mexico. I ship cooled and
frozen semen around the world. Chico’s
offspring excel in reining, working cow horse, barrels, trail, and many other
events. The horses are good looking,
athletic, good natured and have a keen willingness to perform. Their
disposition and confirmation are desired by horse breeders and equestrians
everywhere. Everyone is surprised to
find that even with 100 horses at my ranch that each one is congenial; wanting
to be petted, groomed and loved.”
Ann is
top-drawer in the homozygous paint horse world arena. As a child she remembers wanting a
horse. She relates, “I always wanted a
horse as a child, but never had the opportunity to have one. At the age of
three, I wore cowboy boots and carried a toy gun. My mother had my picture taken atop a stuffed
horse. Roy Rogers and Zorro were my heroes. I had to be content with watching
movies about horses and reading any book about horses that I could find; Black
Beauty, The Black Stallion, Misty, etc.”
Her hard work, determination and love for horses has come to fruition; all she has to do is look out her kitchen window to see that dreams do come
true.
Follow
Ann:
Gina
McKnight is an author and freelance writer from USA. http://www.gmcknight.com
Archived Article
Orginal Publication: Going Gaited Ezine copyright (c) 2012 gmcknight. All rights reserved.
Orginal Publication: Going Gaited Ezine copyright (c) 2012 gmcknight. All rights reserved.
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