Article Courtesy of The Team Roping Journal:
Jim Brinkman of Pitzer Ranch calls this “the experiment of all time.” And yes, his partnership with Reliance Ranches to recreate the glory years of the world’s first hot rope-horse bloodline could be that.
When the McKinney family bought the Lazy E Ranch in late 2013, it came with a 34-year-old Hall-of-Fame rope-horse sire named Zan Parr Jack that would pass away a year later. “Jack” had stood at the Lazy E all 30 years of its existence, and he and his offspring had dominated heading and heeling scores in this country for decades.
But three years ago, Reliance Ranches rediscovered that it still owns frozen semen on the 1980s-era legend. They knew Jack had sired 10 world champions, 11 reserve world champs and produced offspring that earned more than $580,000. Plus, Jack’s full brother Zan Gold Jack, also a Hall-of-Famer, won the 1985 World Show in Jr Heeling as a 4-year-old and was the 1985 AQHA High Point Heeling Stallion.
Considering the availability of today’s ICSI technology for frozen semen, Gary McKinney called Brinkman to see if he could lease a few good rope-horse mares to match with the semen. But the breeder in Brinkman was too intrigued, and asked if he could partner on the babies instead.
By Zan Parr Bar out of a Two Eyed Jack daughter, Jack was bred by Jerry Reimann of Dighton, Kansas, and purchased as a 2-year-old by Carol Rose, who owned his sire. The late Hall-of-Famer Billy Allen, who had trained and shown Zan Parr Bar to multiple Top-10 finishes in heading and heeling, also trained the sorrel son to head and heel.
Allen rode Jack to the 1983 AQHA Junior Working Cow Horse World Championship and high-point awards at both ends team roping. It was the following year that Ed Gaylord purchased Jack and brought him home to the Lazy E Ranch for perennial NFR ropers John Miller and J.D. Yates to fine-tune.
Jack was powerfully made, extremely correct and had tremendous feet and short cannon bones. Under Yates, he claimed back-to-back AQHA Sr Heeling World Championships in 1984-85. In 1987, Gaylord himself rode Jack to the AQHA Amateur Heeling World Championship.
Yates described the stud as “phenomenally talented, gentle and athletic.” But as a sire, he also fathered rope horses known for their athletic ability, willingness and try. Two of Jack’s most famous offspring are Bar J Jackie and Jack E Eleven, both of whom produced AQHA Superhorses.
Miller raves about Bar J Jackie—once the AQHA’s second-leading point-earning mare of all-time and the dam of Popular Resortfigure. She won world championships in 1994 in Sr. Heeling and All-Around High-Point Open Senior Horse, then won the1995 world championship in Sr. Heading. Meanwhile, veteran trainer Justin Johnson raves about Jack E Eleven—the 1995 Reserve World Champion in Jr Heading and 1997 World Champion in Sr Heeling that was the dam of With All Probability.
Former Lazy E Ranch Manager Butch Wise called Jack “truly one in a million, the likes of which rarely come along” and went so far as to say the sorrel stud’s accomplishments and Gaylord’s desire to share his genetics are why the Lazy E Ranch exists today. As for Brinkman, he’s glad to see Reliance Ranches’ interest in rope-horse genetics.
“That semen is unusual and they have a limited supply,” said Brinkman. “So, I wanted to partner. I’d actually seen Zan Parr Jack at the Lazy E when he was 32. They led him out and he was still so good. No splints on legs, no bad knees. Considering that horse’s record and how hard they rode him and how many years he was hauled and did everything at a high level, I couldn’t believe at 32 there was not a hickey on him. He was sound.”
Brinkman took his best mares to Guthrie, and seven foals resulted from the old stud’s semen. McKinney and Brinkman split the yearlings, each taking half. They’re coming 3 years old this spring. Brinkman’s filly choices went straight into his broodmare pen. And he has two stud colts he says are really, really good.
One is out of Brinkman’s best Dual Pep mare, as he had an eye on recreating Popular Resortfigure (the 2002 Jr Heeling World Champion) the other way around. And the other is out of his nicest heel horse by Show Me A Song Joes—the 2011 Sr Heading World Champion whose sire is also the grandsire of Clint Summers’ defending AQHA/PRCA Head Horse of the Year Mr. Joes Shadow Bar.
Meanwhile, Bobby Mote is raving about Reliance Ranches’ own 3-year-olds currently being starting in team roping.
“I’m still trying to finish my trade with Gary [McKinney],” said Brinkman. “There’s one more stud colt out of a proven producer. We’re going to have some fun trading.”
Brinkman said he wouldn’t be surprised if someone buys one of the colts and taps Yates to recreate what Allen started—and what the acclaimed trainers of the Lazy E turned into team roping’s first trendy bloodline. Seriously. What if a guy won the world on a rope horse 40 years after he also won back-to-back world championships on the sire?