February 23, 2022
I can’t answer that for you, but I can tell you why we bought him.
Our first colt was born in 1989. We bought our first stud that same year. He was Snippys Cowboy and Poco Pine bred. We owned a Mister Go Lucky stud for a short time and then bought Sak Em Wily Wood (Sak Em Doc by Sak Em San out of a daughter of Wilywood). Woody was a 1998 model and remained my primary stallion and rope horse until his death in 2021.
We owned a couple of junior stallions during his reign including Badger, a gray grandson of Peppy San Badger and Doc Clabber, and Gunner, a buckskin son of AQHA superhorse Real Gun by a daughter of Smart Chic Olena. We sold Badger when we bought Gunner. We sold Gunner at the Black Hills Stock Show Horse Sale in 2013 as we no longer had room for 2 stallions. At the time of his sale, he held the record for the highest price ever sold at the BHSS sale.
We started seriously looking for a replacement stud prospect in 2015. Woody was 17. While I was still roping on him multiple times a week and he was having no problems settling our small band of mares, he was getting older. I also knew that I was probably going to have to look at a weanling to be able to afford the caliber of horse I was wanting. We started our search but what should we be looking for?
My dad and the horsemen I had known growing up had always stated “You don’t ride color.” They are right. If all else is equal, a colored colt doesn’t ride better than a plain bay or sorrel but they sure sell better. I can’t tell you how many times we sold plain colored colts that were better bred with better conformation and disposition for considerably less money than our fancy-colored foals. Woody was dun. Our mares were mostly buckskin and dun. I’ve always been partial to buckskins. While we would consider other colors, we were hoping to find a buckskin.
The quarter horse industry had changed dramatically since we purchased Woody in 1998. When we initially started raising colts, we were trying to raise ranch horses with great minds that excelled in the arena as well. In today’s world, there are 100 horse trailers going to a team roping in one direction and another 100 trailers going in the opposite direction each weekend heading for a barrel racing. The numbering systems in both have allowed any level of competitor to compete but the competition within each level is fierce. The sheer volume of participants and the money that is available to be won has changed the game. We set out to find a stud prospect that showed promise in both disciplines.
Bloodlines matter, especially when breeding. If the known ancestor isn’t a grandparent or closer, it will not be on the registration papers of the offspring. If your plan is to sell colts, you either need to have readily recognized grandparents or plan to prove the parents themselves. I was looking for a prospect from a proven sire out of a dam who was an own daughter of a known sire.
I did find one colt that I liked that was well out of my price range. We never bid on a colt in 2015 through the first half of 2017. Fiery French Whiskey was lot 54 on the Open Box Rafter Ranch Horse Sale on September 9, 2017. He was a weanling buckskin stallion by Firewater Frenchman. Firewater Frenchman was the sire of Fiery Miss West who Jessica Routier was winning the Badlands Circuit on in barrel racing at the time. We didn’t know where they were headed then but they qualified for the NFR in 2018 and ended up as Reserve World Champions that year. They have qualified for the NFR every year since. Firewater Frenchman is by Fire Water Flit and PCFrenchmanslisbet. Fire Water Flit is one of the leading barrel horse sires in the industry with progeny earnings in excess of $5 million. PCFrenchmanslisbet is a ¾ sister to Frenchmans Guy and the only full sister to PC Frenchmans Hayday (AKA Dinero) and French Flash Hawk (AKA Bozo). Bozo won four consecutive barrel racing titles with Kristie Peterson and was inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2018. Dinero was a PRCA barrel and heel horse who assisted Sheri Cervi in obtaining third in the average in barrels at the NFR in 2005. Dinero is also the sire of Hailey Kinsel’s mare, DM Sissy Hayday, who had just won the barrels at the American in 2017. We now know she went on to win the American again in 2019 and 2021 plus the 2018, 2019 and 2020 Women’s Pro Rodeo Association World Barrel Racing Association Championships. DM Sissy Hayday’s lifetime earnings to date are $2,213,578.
Fiery French Whiskey’s dam was Oats and Whiskey who was sired by Paddys Irish Whiskey. He is a full brother to Grays Starlight who has progeny earnings in excess of $10 million in reining and cutting. Paddys Irish Whiskey himself stands at the Four Sixes Ranch and has progeny earnings in excess of $1.6 million, 5,302 AQHA points plus 36 AQHA World and Reserve World Championships. Foals from broodmares he has sired have earnings in excess of $2.2 million. He is currently the Q-data #7 All Time Leading Ranch Riding Sire. Fiery French Whiskey’s granddam on his maternal side is Oats and Cream. Her sire is Mr Sun O Lena who is the only AQHA Champion by Doc Olena. He has 52 AQHA points, $37,686 in lifetime earnings and progeny earnings of 807 points and $120,918. Every sire on this colt’s papers had exceptional progeny results. Bloodlines matter.
Fiery French Whiskey was raised by John and Lis Hollman of Frenchman Quarter Horses. They had posted a video of him being worked with prior to the sale. His conformation was exceptional. I loved the way he moved. He accelerated quickly, appeared to have good speed and was an extremely smooth traveler. He also appeared to be smart and gentle. My visit with Lis only heightened my interest.
We couldn’t make the sale as we were attending a wedding in Nebraska. We did stop and see him the night before the sale. He had just been weaned that afternoon and was not happy. We didn’t get to mess with him but he did pass visual inspection. We bought him over the phone the next day.
And so our story began...
