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I
was born on a dairy and horse ranch in
Sandy, Oregon and learned to work the farm
at an early age along side my father, who
made his living farming and logging.
Because of my love for animals, my dad
bought me two Indian ponies when I was 10
years old.
Soon after, tragedy struck when the
charter boat my dad and several members of
his family hired for the day overturned in
the Pacific Ocean; my dad's body was
never recovered. My mother remarried two
years later to a man who was also in the
dairy and cattle business.
My
step dad went on the cattle show circuit
in the Pacific Northwest and that's
where I got my love of showing animals.
I went on to break and resell those
two Indian ponies my dad had bought me and
got two more to break. When I sold those
two ponies I bought a Palomino horse and
stated gaming and rodeo.
In
1957 I went into the army and when I
returned continued my interest in horses.
I wanted to get into Appaloosas.
I searched all over the Pacific
Northwest and couldn't find anything I
liked until 1960 when I had the
opportunity to buy a Nugget McCue son,
Be Peppy Nugget, born in 1959, out
of a double bred plaudit mare; at that
time I didn't know what I owned.
I brok, trained and started
showing him.
With
the help of J. L. Barlett, I started
cutting training on Be Peppy Nugget. There
was a gentleman from New Mexico that
started coming to our weekly training
sessions and wanted to know the breeding
of my horse.
When I told him, he had already
guessed that he had the Shoemaker
bloodline. He started after me week after week to buy the horse but I
didn't want to sell him.
He finally made me an offer that I
couldn't turn down in the winter of 1964; with three little one's at home
and one on the way, it seemed like the
right thing to do.
It turned out to be the worst
decision I could have made and one I still
regret.
It took me along time to find
another horse like him.
In
1965 I tried to buy some Shoemaker mares,
but couldn't afford them. So I bought
what I could afford, mares with a little
Shoemaker in them and two Be Peppy Nugget
daughters and bred them to Quarter horses
and Appaloosas.
I started serious breeding and
showing in the late 1960's.
In 1975 I bought Skippers Carbon, a
son of Skippers King and bred him to my
mares, keeping some of those good
daughters to build my brood mare band.
In
1979 I sold Skippers Carbon and bought
Skip Snark from Ron Berndt, along with
some Skipper mares. Skip Snark sired a lot
of show and futurity winners, two of the
best known in the Pacific Northwest Skips
Beau Jest (AQHA/ABRA) and Skips Magnum
(Appaloosa). Skip Snark and a mare I acquired in 1966, Yella Ell,,
produced a filly I named Skip N Ella, who
at 6 months was reserve AQHA champion at
Grant Pass, Oregon. Skip N Ella produced
the two-time world champion; Skip The
Print.
In
1989, a year after Skip Snark died, I
visited Hank Weiscamp and his Stallion Row
and Hank offered me the opportunity to
purchase Silent Demand.
Silent Demand was a palomino
stallion also known as the Hereford Faced
Horse that Joe Taylor refers to on his
tape. At the time I bought Silent Demand,
Hank agreed to sell me some mares.
I bought two in the fall of 1989
and returned in the spring of 1990 to buy
more. When I got to Colorado, I went to Larry Wilcox's and found
three mares I liked better and bought
them.
One was an own daughter of Skippers
King, her daughter by Skip N Company and
an own daughter of Something Special.
In
1997 when Hank was ill, I visited again
and bought four fillies and two colts.
One palomino colt by the name of
Skippers Look has turned out to be an
outstanding individual.
In 1999 I bought Skippers Rave from
Larry Wilcox's sale.
I still own both of these stallions
because they have consistently proven to
be great producers of halter and
performance horses, having both sired
Futurity winners.
Due
to a car accident in 2003 that resulted in
back surgery and my age, 66, I've been
forced to make the tough decision that its
time for me to retire after 40 years in
the breeding business and offer others the
opportunity to add some exceptional
individuals to their own breeding
programs. I've loved every minute of it
and will really miss all aspects of
breeding and showing. It's hard to get
these wonderful Skipper horses out of your
blood.
While
I will no longer be breeding and showing,
I'll remain on my farm, enjoying
retirement with my wife, Barbara and two
of my now geriatric Champions - Skip N
Ella and Skips Beau Jest - both now in
their mid 20's.
Jack
and Barbara Fitzgerald
Bar F Bar Ranch
Mt. Angel, Oregon |
