Roping to Cutting to Retirement

I grew up riding working draft horses, then, after getting married, we purchased a 1/2 Appy / 1/2 Quarter Horse which was a top Rodeo Pick Up horse. We, also, purchased a Wimpy D Ace stallion using him as a Rodeo Pick Up horse, rope horse, and bred some mares to him. After quitting the Rodeo circuit, we purchased some rope horse prospects & some broodmares to breed to the Wimpy stallion. He sired some nice offspring which were very competitive in showing at halter against the halter bred offspring. 

We sold the Wimpy stallion and went looking for a new stallion wherein we purchased a gray stallion, Bard Cactus. We trained him, worked cattle on him, bred quite a few mares to him, but decided to look for a more halter bred stallion as that was where the market was at that time. 

We found a beautiful sorrel stallion, Ima Cruiser, that was a son of Sonny Dee Bar that was out of a daughter of Impressive. He sired some very pretty foals, but we had a chance to sell him for good money, so we did so. That lead us to try to purchase some cutting bred stallions. 

We went South and purchased a black stallion, Paula O Lena. We broke him to ride, worked cattle on him, but he had a broncy attitude, so after giving him a chance in cutting training, we decided to sell him. We traded him for some well bred cutting mares. At that same time, we went to the Wilkins Ranch in Nebraska and purchased Jae Bar Flinn, a son of Doc's Jack Sprat who was a leading cutting sire at that time.  We had him in cutting training, our son showed him as a 3 yr. old, then he and I showed him in the Open and Non-Pro until we sold him in 1993. We also mounted a High School Rodeo youth in the National Boys Cutting on him. 

After selling him, we leased the stallion, Docs Voyager, an own son of Doc Bar.  However, his fertility was not the best, so the owner sold him. We then leased the stallion, SPD Moon, and bred several mares to him. 

In 1992, we purchased the stallion, Gunnin Lena, he was cutting trained, but didn't want to be competitive in the show pen. Then, also in 1992, we went to Texas and purchased, Little Lido, a palomino son of Smart Little Lena. He had been just started, our son trained and finished him, and he showed him in the Open, myself in the Non-Pro, and our granddaughter showed him in the Youth and 3 years in the National High School Rodeo Girls Cutting, being in the top 5 her Junior year. Our son showed him extensively in the Midwest and in the South to NCHA earnings of over $50,000. He is 28 years old now, he has been sterile for several years, but is living a happy life and is still sound. 

In 2014, we leased an own son of Doc Olena, Dualin Olena, to breed our mares too.

In 2015, we purchased our current stallion, Little Mahogany Boon, who is, also, an own son of Smart Little Lena. whom he very much resembles. We have had 4 colt crops sired by him and we believe that they are maybe the best foals that we have ever raised. They are good-minded, really pretty movers with natural lead changes and stops. We’re anxious to get some of them in the show pen.

Jerry Williams, Williams Cutting Horses, Corydon, Iowa