Working Horse Magazine
March/April 2014
By Larry Thornton
One of the continuing aspects of a good ranch-breeding program is the introduction of new blood into the breeding herd. The Burnett Ranches or the Four Sixes, Guthrie, TX, is a prime example. This famous ranch has been noted for integrating the best blood to boost its breeding program, starting with Tom L. Burnett bringing Tom (Scooter) to the ranch, and then using the remount stallions Buggins, King O’Neill 2nd and Besom on the ranch mares. The history of this breeding program shows that the success of outcross stallions on the ranch mares helped bring the Burnett Ranch to the height of its contribution to the modern quarter horse.
During the 1950’s when the blood of Three Bars was just getting its hold into the quarter horse, the Burnett Ranch bought a son of this stallion named Cee Bars. The outcross contribution of Cee Bars goes beyond the ranch breeding program into the industry, helping cement the Burnett Ranches as a source of good horses in all disciplines.
Cee Bars was born in Arizona in 1950, bred by Franklin B. Cox who was also the owner of the famous stallion Senor Bill by Chicaro Bill. The dam of Senor Bill was Do Good. Do Good is a foundation mare for the Vessels Stallion Farm of Bonsal, CA. Do Good was the dam of a full sister to Senor Bill named Chicado V. Chicado V was the dam of the great stallions Triple Chick, Three Chicks and The Ole Man.
Cee Bars was sired by Three Bars. Three Bars was a son of Percentage and out of Myrtle Dee by Luke McLuke. The Chicado V sons, Triple Chick, Three Chicks and The Ole Man, were sired by Three Bars. The dam of Cee Bars was Chicaro Annie C by Chicaro Bill. This makes Cee Bars a ¾ brother to Triple Chick and his full brothers. Chicaro Annie C was bred by Franklin B. Cox. She was unraced and unshown in the AQHA.
Chicaro Bill was bred by John Dial. a south Texas horseman and racehorse enthusiast. Dial, a key person in this history, was the man who brought the thoroughbred Chicaro from Louisiana to Texas. He eventually sold Chicaro to the King Ranch and this stallion was the first thoroughbred in what became the King Ranch Thoroughbreds. Chicaro is the broodmare sire of King Ranch bred horses like Middleground, a Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, and Top Deck, the progenitor of such noted quarter horses as Go Man Go, Moon Deck and his grandsons, Top Moon and Jet Deck.
“He (Cee Bars) handled perfectly. He reined well and he had a perfect movement stop. He isn’t too heavily muscled.”
— George Humphreys, Ranch Manager
Chicaro was bred by Harry Payne Whitney in Kentucky. He was sired by *Chicle and out of Wendy by Peter Pan. Peter Pan is a grandson of Domino. Chicaro was a racehorse with his best finish a third in the Pimlico Fall Serial Weight For Age No. 3. He won one of 17 starts with two seconds and three thirds. He was a racehorse in New Orleans when he Flying Bob from Noah Zerringue’s great mare Belle. Flying Bob would go on to be a leading quarter running horse sire of champions including Queenie and Dee Dee.
Chicaro comes to the fore again Dial owns him and he is breeding mares with him. Dial bought a number of mares sired by Little Joe, who was owned by Ott Adams. This is the Little Joe that is the grandsire of King P-234. One of the mares that Dial got from Adams was Verna Grace. She is registered Verna Grace but was also known as Fair Chance.
Verna Grace was the dam of Chicaro Bill. She was sired by Little Joe and out of a mare known as Johnny Wilkens by Horace H, a thoroughbred. The AQHA registration papers for Verna Grace say that the dam of Johnny Wilkens was a mare of Ott Adams breeding.
Photo Courtesy The AQHA Hall of Fame and Museum.
Chicaro Bill would be a pretty well traveled stallion, with foals showing up in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, California and Oklahoma. He was registered while in Arizona when owned by Glen Chipperfield and Sons of Phoenix, Arizona.
Franklin B. Cox bred Boots C to Chicaro Bill to get Chicaro Annie C. Boots C was sired by Redwood by Madway Tenacity. Redwood was out of Miss Anson, a Harmon Baker mare that was out of a Jim Ned mare. The dam of Boots C is listed in the AQHA Stud Book as Cherry Flip a thoroughbred mare.
The mating of Three Bars and Chicaro Annie C was a good one, producing six foals with three ROM– Bar Annie, Chicabar and Cee Bars. Bar Caro was a full brother to these three that didn’t earn an ROM but was stakes placed in the Phoenix QH Futurity in 1958. The fourth ROM runner out of Chicaro Annie C was Annie June by Mr Bar None. This makes Annie June a ¾ sister to Cee Bars as she was sired by Mr Bar None by Three Bars. Annie June was stakes placed in the Timberline Handicap at Centennial Racecourse.
Cee Bars was bred to be a racehorse and he was ROM on the track with an AAA rating. He had 31 starts in 1952 and 1953. He won four, was second in four and third in three of his races. He set track records at Los Alamitos going 350 in 18.5 seconds and at the Fairplex Park at Pomona going 330 yards in 17.3 second. He earned $2,272.
Cee Bars was purchased by the Burnett Ranch in 1956 from his breeder Franklin B. Cox. George Humphreys was the ranch manager and he described what he found in Cee Bars in the article “The Burnett Horses” in the February 1957 issue of The Quarter Horse Journal.
“He handled perfectly. He reined well and he had a perfect movement and stop. He isn’t too heavily muscled,” Humphreys said of Cee Bars.
Humphreys also related in the biography of the Burnett Ranches that appeared in the book “The Quarter Horse Breeder” (Compiled by Lindeman) that he’s, “one of the best balanced horses I ever rode.”
Three Bars photo courtesy The American Quarter Horse Journal, Chicaro Photo Courtesy The QHA Hall of Fame and Museum.
As Humphreys noted, “As soon as I got him back here to the Sixes, I turned him into a pasture with some mares. He was never pasture bred before, but he did all right with them and we’re expecting some great colts from him next spring. I liked him mighty well. I think he is a great horse.”
That band of mares had come through the rejuvenated Burnet Ranch broodmare band through a project started in the mid 1930’s, called the “L” band of mares. A group of 28 mares from the ranch were singled out to be a base set of mares to work with. The next group to join the new broodmare band was purchased through J. L Sypert of Lamesa, TX, 10 mares from the Graham Brothers of Lovington, NM.
The Burnett Ranch used numbers to keep track of these mares and their fillys: The first 64 were wet mares and their foals.
The ranch went back and bought 10 more mares directly from the Graham Brothers. The Burnett Ranch records identify the Graham Brothers mares with the letters (Mex) by the mare’s name or color. The pedigrees of these New Mexico mares is unknown as was the pedigrees of the “L” mares. These mares formed the foundation of the breeding program. They were crossed on stallions like Tom (Scooter) and then many of the daughters of these mares were bred to the remount stallions Buggins, King O’Neill 2nd and Besom to form this base.
The Burnett Ranch used numbers to keep track of these mares and their fillys: The first 64 were wet mares and their foals. The next group, dry mares, were numbered 65 to 87. The last set, yearlings, were numbered 89 to 100.
The first crop of foals sired by Cee Bars for the Burnett Ranch came in 1957. He sired 19 registered foals from that first Burnett Ranch crop, with six of the 19 winning points point and/or money. Three of the performers from this cross were money earners in the NCHA; four were point earners, and two earned ROM’s in the AQHA.
Peg’s Bar was a ROM performer by Cee Bars and out of the Joe Tom mare Peg O’Neill from that crop. This mare earned two halter and seven performance points. Joe Tom was bred on the Triangle Ranch, sired by Joe Hancock and out of a thoroughbred mare. The dam of Peg O’Neill was Mary O’Neill by King O’Neill 2nd, one of the remount stallions used on the Four Sixes. The dam of Mary O’Neill was Miss Tommy 96 by Tom (Scooter). She was sired by Tom (Scooter) but her dam is unknown.
The other Cee Bars’ ROM from this crop was Holly Bars 39. She was the leading money winner and point earner from this group. Holly Bars 39 earned 16 AQHA performance points and $2,509.62 in the NCHA. The dam of this mare was Miss Holly 39 by Hollywood Gold. The dam of Miss Holly 39 is listed as a mare named Jack Pot by Buggins. The number 39 indicates that Jack Pot came from the #39 family. The original #39 mare is described in Burnett Ranch records as “a black mare with a star.” She is also listed in Burnett Ranch records as “Red Eye.”
The 1958 foal crop of Cee Bars had only five foals make it to the show pen and four of them were money and/or point earners. This includes the ROM performers Cee Bar Lady 71 and Cee Bars Miss 73. Cee Bars Lady 71 became an AQHA Champion and an AQHA Superior Halter Horse. She earned 71 halter points and 30 performance points. She was the 1966 AQHA third place high point tie-down roping horse and an NCHA money winner.
Cee Bar Lady 71 was out of the Grey Badger II mare Badger Gal 71. Her sire was Grey Badger II. Badger Gal 71 was out of Triangle Lady 71 from the Triangle Ranch. The Triangle Ranch was started and owned by Tom L. Burnett, son of Burk Burnett. Triangle Lady 71 was sired by Buck Hancock by Joe Hancock. Her dam was the Patton mare, whose pedigree is unknown. The Triangle Ranch also had a numbering system separate from the Burnett numbering program.
A full brother to Cee Bar Lady 71 was Cee Bar Badger 71, a stallion. Cee Bar Badger 71 counts among his foals Cee Booger Red, bred on the Mullendore Ranch. He is the sire of a number of PRCA performers. His top horses include Boogers Bad Boy (Touchdown) who was ridden to the 1993 PRCA World Champion Tie-Down Calf Roping title and the 1993 PRCA Reserve All Around title with Joe Beavers. Touchdown was later ridden by Trevor Brazile.
The offspring of Cee Booger Red were crossover AQHA/PRCA. Some of his AQHA performers include Boogers Sergeant with 236 AQHA points and Superiors in Amateur and Open Tie-Down Roping. This horse was the 1989 AQHA Amateur High Point Tie Down Roping. Some others include Boogers Frosty, 2001 and 2002 AQHA Youth Reserve World Champion in Tie-Down Roping; Badgers Rodeo Red, AQHA Open Reserve World Champion in 2002; Boogers Wendy, Superior in Tie Down Roping with 75.5 AQHA points, and Boogers Good Girl, the 1983 AQHA Amateur Reserve World Champion in tie-down roping.
Cee Bars Miss 73 went to the show pen and earned her ROM with 10 AQHA points. She was also an NCHA money winner. Cee Bars Miss 73 went on to be the dam of Toebars by Otoe. Toebars was an AQHA Champion and the 1972 AQHA High Point Tie-Down Roping Horse.
Cee Bars Miss 73 was out of Miss Holly 73 by Hollywood Gold. The dam of Miss Holly 73 was a daughter of Buggins, and was known as the Buggins 73 mare. The mare that received the #73 in 1935 when they numbered these mares was a dry mare. She was a bay mare with (Mex) written beside her color.
The mating of Cee Bars with the daughters of Hollywood Gold would produce 21 performers for the Cee Bars sire record. This cross would produce 10 ROM in the AQHA; 17 of the 21 would become NCHA money earners and one would be ROM on the racetrack with an 83-speed index.
One of the Hollywood Gold mares bred to Cee Bars was Holly Jeanie. This mare was out of Joanie James by Poker Player. Poker Player was a Burnett bred horse sired by Ben Hur II, an outcross stallion leased by the Burnett Ranch. Poker Player was out of Miss Ollie by Tom (Scooter) and out of the Joe Graham Mare, one of the New Mexico mares from the Graham Brothers. The Joe Graham Mare is family number 59.
The dam of Joanie James was a mare called the King O’Neill 97 Mare by King O’Neill 2nd, and her dam was Miss Tommy 97. The King O’Neill 97 mare was never registered. Her dam Miss Tommy 97 was registered. Miss Tommy 97 is one of those mares that got her number as a yearling in 1935.
Joanie James was bred to Hollywood Gold, producing Holly Joanie who was bred to Cee Bars. The first foal was Cee Holly Joanie, an AQHA Champion and an AQHA Superior cutting horse. She earned 11 halter points and 99 performance points. She was the 1965 AQHA High Point Junior Cutting Horse as well as an NCHA money earner.
Cee Holly Joanie became a broodmare for the Four Sixes. She was the dam of Cee Double by Double Devil, another outcross stallion used by the Four Sixes. Cee Double was unshown and unraced in the AQHA. She was the dam of Cee Double Chick. Cee Double Chick earned four Superior performance awards with three in youth (one in western horsemanship and two in western pleasure) and one in the open in western pleasure. She was the 1981 Youth AQHA World Champion in Western Horsemanship. This mare is ROM in the open, amateur and youth divisions with 545 AQHA points.
The sire of Cee Double Chick gives us an interesting breeding pattern in this horse. The sire of Cee Double Chick is Six Chick, a Burnett bred horse. The dam of Six Chick was Peg O’Neill the dam of Peg’s Bar by Cee Bars. The sire of Six Chick was Triple Chick, a ¾ brother to Cee Bars. They were sired by Three Bars and out of a daughter of Chicaro Bill. This gives Cee Double Chick a line breeding pattern to these ¾ brothers.
Cee Holly Joanie also produced Way Our West. This son of Double L Straw was an ROM show horse with seven halter and 24 performance points and an NCHA money earner. Her next foal was Soft Shoes by Azure Te. This horse was a stakes winner in the Tomahawk Futurity and earned a 93-speed index.
Cee Bar Joan was a full sister to Cee Holly Joanie. Cee Bar Joan was the 1969 NCHA Open Futurity Champion and went on to be an ROM cutter in the AQHA. Cee Bar Joan is the dam of two AQHA ROM in Prince Burk and Black Cream. She is the dam of two NCHA money earners in Cee Bar Quixote and Ginnin Joan. Ginnin Joan is the dam of Ginnin Jackie by Whizard Jac. This horse was the 2008 AQHA International High Point Open Halter Mare; 2008 AQHA High Point International Youth Trail Horse, and the 2008 AQHA International High Point Western Horsemanship Horse.
Miss Gold 59 is a daughter of Hollywood Gold that is out of Miss Ollie. Miss Ollie was in the last crop of foals sired by Tom (Scooter). Miss Ollie is the dam of Poker Player, Joanie James, Holly Joanie and Cee Holly Joanie. Miss Ollie was out of the Joe Graham mare from the #59 family.
When bred to Cee Bars, Miss Gold 59 was the dam of several performers including Cee Miss Snapper, a third place finisher in the 1966 NCHA Open Futurity. Cee Miss Snapper is the dam of Snapper Cal Bar, 1984 NCHA Non- Pro Futurity Champion and the 1985 NCHA Open Derby Co-Champion. Snapper Cal Bar is the sire of Master Snapper, the 2006 NRHA Derby Champion. Cee Miss Snapper was the dam of Money From Home. Money From Home was the dam of Paloma Quixote. Paloma Quixote is the dam of Dox Miss N Reno, the 1992 NCHA Open Futurity Champion. An added note: Money From Home was sired by Six Chick by Triple Chick. This gives us inbreeding again to the ¾ brothers Cee Bars and Triple Chick.
Cee Miss Holly was another ROM performer sired by Cee Bars and out of a Hollywood Gold daughter. She was also an NCHA money earner. The dam of Cee Miss Holly was Miss Poker Gold. Miss Poker Gold was out of Poker Miss by Poker Player. The dam of Poker Miss was Salty Miss 105 by Salty Chief. Salty Chief was another one of those outcross stallions being sired by Chief P-5 by Peter McCue.
The dam of Salty Miss 106 was the Buggins 82 mare indicating she was of the 82 family of Four Sixes mares. The Buggins 82 mare was sired by Buggins and out of a Burnett Ranch mare. The 82 mare is described in Burnett Ranch records as a “dappled dun mare with black mane and tail.” She was called the “Young Mare.” Breeding records show that the #82 mare was bred to Buggins in 1938 and some reports show that the Buggins 82 mare was foaled in 1939.
Sixes Pick is the 2008 AQHA Versatility Ranch Horse Champion. He has earned money in the NCHA, NRCHA, and the Ranch Horse Association.
Cee Miss Holly was the dam of Sanacee, an AQHA World Champion cutting horse by Peppy San. Sanacee is a full brother to Pep’s Holly an NCHA Open Futurity finalist. This mare is the dam of a number of performers including the APHA outcrop stallion Smokes Peppy San, the 1980 APHA National Champion Junior Cutting Horse and the 1981 APHA National Champion Senior Cutting Horse. Pep’s Holly is also the dam of Genuine Peppy, a leading sire who is in the Canadian Supreme Champion’s Hall of Fame.
Cee Lena is a daughter of Doc O’Lena that is out of Cee Miss Holly. Cee Lena is the dam of Peppy Lena San, 1986 NCHA Open Derby Champion. Some of her other performers would include Peppys Deliverance, PCCHA Year-End Open Champion; Cee Lena San, 1984 Tropicana Four-Year-Old Classic Champion; Little Cee Lena, 1995 Memphis Four-Year-Old Open Champion and Mr Pep O Lena, 1985 Texas Classic Four-Year-Old Classic Reserve Champion.
Another Burnett Ranch mare family worthy of attention is #99, founded by Miss Tommy 99 by Tom (Scooter). Miss Tommy 99 got her number as a yearling. King O’Neill 2nd was bred to 31 mares in 1938, including #99, a black mare named Blacky.
Miss Tommy 99 was bred to Buggins and produced Miss Buggins 99 in 1941. Miss Buggins 99 was bred to Hollywood Gold producing Holly Bugg 99 in 1958. Miss Cee Bars 99 was the next mare in this line. She was foaled in 1965 and sired by Cee Bars and out of Holly Bugg 99.
Miss Cee Bars 99 was an ROM show horse that was a semi-finalist in the 1968 NCHA Futurity. She is the dam of several performers including Cee Bar Sug, the Oregon Non-Pro Cutting Futurity Champion and the Northwest Non-Pro Classic Champion. Miss Cee Gin out of Miss Cee Bar 99 is the dam Dealin Dirty, an NRCHA Limited Open Champion.
Miss Cee Bars 99 produced Natural in 1972. Natural was sired by Coe Badger Two by Grey Badger II and out of Buck’s Lass by Buck Hancock. The dam of Buck’s Lass was Jigg’s Mother by King O’Neill 2nd and out of Miss Tommy Miss Tommy 89 was sired by Tom (Scooter) and out of the Key mare. Thus we have line breeding back to the Miss Tommy mares.
Natural produced 18 foals with only two performers. They are Natural Enterprise by Surprise Enterprise, the Southwest Open Futurity Champion, and Natural Sense by Tanquery Gin, the 2003 Fort Worth AQHA Versatility Champion.
Naturally Good is a daughter of Tanquery Gin and out of Natural. This mare is unshown. She is the dam of Country’s Sis who has earned 63.5 AQHA performance points and the 2001 Arizona QHA Junior Heading Champion. She is also the dam of Natural Country, winner of 43 AQHA points and 39 APHA points. She is ROM in heading, heeling and steer stopping.
Natural Pick by Tenino Badger is another unshown daughter of Natural. This mare is the dam of Sixes Pick by Tanquery Gin. Sixes Pick is the 2008 AQHA Versatility Ranch Horse Champion. He has earned money in the NCHA, NRCHA and the Ranch Horse Association. He is ROM with 98.5 AQHA points in four events and a Certificate of Ability winner in NCHA cutting.
Sixes Pick is standing at his breeder’s Four Sixes Ranch. He is proving to be a sire of versatile performers including Sixes Sixagun, an AQHA Ranch Versatility Reserve World Champion and Sixes Baron Red Gin, who was the 2013 FQHR Roundup & Review Cow Horse All-Age Limited Open Champion and the 3/5 Year-Old Working Ranch Horse Limited Horse Open Champion.
Cee Bars left the Four Sixes in 1964 when he was purchased by the Hubbard Ranch of Dallas, TX, where he stood for several years, with one stipulation– the Burnett Ranch retained the right to breed some mares. The Burnett Ranch got several performers after the move to the Hubbard Ranch, including Cee Bars Joan, their NCHA Open Futurity Champion. The 1967 foal crop of Cee Bars included an unshown stallion named Cee Red. Cee Red was bred by the Burnett Ranch. The dam of Cee Red was Miss Jo Holly by Hollywood Gold. The dam of Miss Jo Holly was Miss Jo Kenny by Joe Barrett. Miss Jo Kenny can be considered an outcross mare in the Burnett Ranch breeding program.
Cee Red is the sire of Jeanie Whiz Bar. This mare earned Superiors in reining in the youth and open divisions. She earned 204 AQHA points and was an AQHA Youth High Point winner. Jeanie Whiz Bar is the dam of Topsail Whiz. Topsail Whiz was a proven reiner with titles like the All American Quarter Horse Congress Junior Reining Championship. Topsail Whiz in now the all time leading sire of NRHA money winners with his foals earning $10 million.
Then in 1970, Cee Bars was transferred to the ownership of the Phillips Ranch. B. F. Phillips Jr. is listed as the breeder of two point earners by Cee Bars– Cee Bar Lou and Chivas. Chivas earned 37 AQHA points with an ROM. Cee Bar Lou earned 41 AQHA points with an ROM and the 1975 AQHA High Point Junior Cutting Horses award. He also earned $18,987.13 in the NCHA. A mare named Guthrie Lou was the dam of Cee Bars Lou and Chivas. Guthrie Lou was a daughter of Hollywood Gold. Her dam was Miss Rock III. The sire of Miss Rock III was Blue Rock, an outcross stallion used on the Burnett Ranches. The dam of Miss Rock III was Salty Graham by Salty Chief. Salty Graham was out of the Joe Graham mare of the New Mexico mares.
George Humphreys appreciation for Cee Bars came full circle as he was the final owner when the horse was transferred to him in 1971. One of the breeders to use Cee Bars after Humphreys became the owner was Rex Cauble, the owner of the NCHA World Champion Cutter Bill. The mating of Cee Bars with Cutter Bill mares resulted in two performers: Cee Bar Sage, an NCHA money winner, and Cee Bar Vicky, an AQHA point earner. Then Cauble bred a Cee Bars daughter to Cutter Bill and got Cutter’s Cee Bar the 1971 NCHA Open Futurity Reserve Champion.
The dam of Cutter’s Cee Bar was the Cee Bar’s mare Sabine Sal. The dam of Sabine Sal was Georgia Gray by Guthrie Chief. Guthrie Chief was a son of Chief P-5 by Peter McCue. Chief P-5 was used as an outcross stallion for the Burnett Ranch. They took several mares to be bred to this stallion, including Miss Tommy 99, the dam of Guthrie Chief, who became a Burnett Ranch stallion.
The dam of Georgia Gray was Buggins Gray 56, a daughter of Buggins. The dam of Buggins Gray 56 was Miss Tommy 56 by Tom (Scooter). The Burnett Ranch records show that the dam of Miss Tommy 56 was Burnett Ranch mare #55. This bay mare was known in Burnett Ranch records as Stinger.
Cee Bars came to the Four Sixes to be an outcross stallion on the ranch mares. His move was rewarded with a good number of performers especially with Hollywood Gold mares with ties to the Miss Tommy mares. Cee Bars truly shows how important good outcross blood is in our industry today. That said, Cee Bars is a tribute to the good genetics the Burnett Ranch has given us over the years.
