Spotlight on Our Member!

Jerry Burkey Lincoln, Nebraska

Burkey Quarter Horses began in 1973 with the goal of breeding a horse that had athletic ability, disposition, conformation and eye appeal. As a young boy I occasionally purchased copies of the "Western Horseman" magazine at the tack shop in a Sears and Roebuck store. That became my introduction to the Old Fred family of horses being bred and promoted by Warren Shoemaker and H. J. Wiescamp. The "look" that these horses exhibited appealed to me then, and has been a goal to breed for ever since. Three generations of my family have been involved with the horses, with the fourth generation just now beginning to be interested in the horses.

This article is primarily about one of the first "family" mares that we were able to purchase, and who over the years has been proven to be one of the keys to any success that we have been able to achieve. Skip's Desire was a 1964 chestnut mare by Bar Mount out of Skip's Choice by Skipper W. Her maternal grandmother was Show Lady, making Skip's Choice a full sister to Skip's Reward.

Skip's Desire
with Skip N Choose at side. 1980

We obtained Skip's Desire in June 1977 and spent the next two years trying to get her with foal. In 1980 she produced a sorrel filly named Skip N Choose, and in 1981 she had another sorrel filly we named Skip N Hope. These two mares were both sired by a grandson of Pawnee Eagle that was out of Show Flag by Skip's Showboat. She was open in 1982 but foaled a sorrel filly by Skip Powder in 1983 that we registered as Skip Sara. This turned out to be the last foal that Skip's Desire produced.

One of my regrets is that I did not breed her to better stallions. With the exception of Skip Powder, an AQHA Champion, I probably limited her producing ability by breeding her to just average stallions, but in spite of that limitation, we can still see today what an impact she has had on our breeding program. The three daughters are still alive and producing, and we have eighteen mares and fillies that are descendants of Skip's Desire in our band of horses.

Skip N Hope has probably been the best producer of show horses of the three daughters of Skip's Desire. To date she has produced twelve foals with seven performers. One of her best daughters was a 1986 mare named Surenuff Charm that Carrie and Tyler showed during the 1990 show season. She was Grand Champion mare in youth, amateur and open at the Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska State Fairs, earning forty-six halter points, as well as being the state champion 4-H mare at the Nebraska State 4-H show.

We all keep searching for the ideal stallion to cross on our mares, as well we should; but you cannot minimize the impact that a consistently good producing broodmare has on a breeding program….