Skipper W
Encyclopedia
Skipper W was an American Quarter Horse
and a famous breeding
stallion
. Despite not being shown in many horse show
s, he went on to become the senior stallion of his breeder's reproductive program. Although he sired only 132 offspring, the products of his breeder's program are still often known as "Skipper W" horses. He will be inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame
in 2011.
stallion bred by H. J. Wiescamp of Alamosa, Colorado. Sired by Nick Shoemaker, who's father was Nick sired by Shiek P-11, Skipper W was out of Hired Girl, a daughter of Cowboy P-12. His second dam, or maternal grandmother, was Leche, who was also fathered by Nick by Shiek P-11. The colt was named Skipper W because, as Wiescamp related:
Before Skipper W was born, Wiescamp had attempted to sell Hired Girl while she was pregnant with the colt, but at $150 (approximately $ in ), did not get any buyers. While the colt was a weanling
, Wiescamp priced him at $500 (approximately $ in ), and the one potential purchaser decided it was too high a price for a colt the buyer planned to make into a gelding
. When Skipper W was a yearling
, another possible buyer, who was wanting a potential breeding stallion, looked at the colt, but when they found out that Wiescamp wanted $1500 (approximately $ in ) for the horse decided against purchasing. Instead, Skipper W never sold and spent his entire life with Wiescamp.
Wiescamp had Skipper W trained as a riding horse when he was a two-year-old, and the ranch hand who did the training said after a couple of days of working him in a small corral, he "just got on him. And the first time I got on him, I just turned this colt around, clucked to him, and just kind of spanked him with the rein a little bit. And the colt took to it and just walked off. That's the way he was. The colt never hopped up, he never done nothing." The same ranch hand later used Skipper W as a roping horse, and said that the horse really liked to do ranch work. At three years old, Skipper W was about 15 hands
high (60 inches (152.4 cm) and weighed about 1250 pounds (567 kg).
Wiescamp showed Skipper W as a halter horse three times when the stallion was four years old. Skipper W was named grand champion stallion at the three shows he attended, the 1948 National Western Stock Show
in Denver, the 1948 Colorado State Fair
, and the 1948 New Mexico State Fair
. Wiescamp later remarked that "I'm glad now that we didn't show him more, because he would have been before the public so much that he probably would have been sold." However, Skipper W's American Quarter Horse Association
, or AQHA, show record does not show any record of these wins, which is not unusual for horses shown in the 1940s, as the record keeping was not always the best during the early years of the AQHA.
During his breeding career he sired 18 foal crop
s, with a total of 132 horses registered with the AQHA. Among his offspring were Skip's Dilly, the 1964 AQHA High Point Western Pleasure Mare, Skipette, the 1964 AQHA High Point Calf Roping Mare, and Skip Sir Bar, the 1968 AQHA High Point Steer Roping Horse. As well, he sired 13 AQHA Champions, 7 Superior Halter Horses, and 18 Performance Register of Merit earners. He sired 4 horses that earned a Race Register of Merit with the AQHA.
Skipper W died in 1963, probably of a heart attack. Wiescamp kept 7 of his sons as breeding stallions and 57 of his daughters as broodmares in Wiescamp's linebreeding program.
Although he did not sire a great number of horses, the linebreeding program that Wiescamp followed led to the products of that program often being called "Skipper W horses". The horse will be inducted into the AQHA Hall of Fame in 2011.
American Quarter Horse
The American Quarter Horse is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name came from its ability to outdistance other breeds of horses in races of a quarter mile or less; some individuals have been clocked at speeds up to 55 mph...
and a famous breeding
Horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
stallion
Stallion
A Stallion is a male horse.Stallion may also refer to:* Stallion , an American pop rock group* Stallion , a figure in the Gobot toyline* Stallion , a character in the console role-playing game series...
. Despite not being shown in many horse show
Horse show
A Horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days, sometimes longer for major, all-breed events or national and...
s, he went on to become the senior stallion of his breeder's reproductive program. Although he sired only 132 offspring, the products of his breeder's program are still often known as "Skipper W" horses. He will be inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame
American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame
The American Quarter Horse Association has created a Hall of Fame in Amarillo, Texas to honor both people and horses who contributed to the growth of the American Quarter Horse. Any one may nominate either people or horses to be considered. Nominations from the membership are due by October 1. They...
in 2011.
Early life
Skipper W was a 1945 sorrelSorrel (horse)
Sorrel is an alternative word for one of the most common equine coat colors in horses. While the term is usually used to refer to a copper-red shade of chestnut, in some places it is used generically in place of "chestnut" to refer to any reddish horse with a same-color or lighter mane and tail,...
stallion bred by H. J. Wiescamp of Alamosa, Colorado. Sired by Nick Shoemaker, who's father was Nick sired by Shiek P-11, Skipper W was out of Hired Girl, a daughter of Cowboy P-12. His second dam, or maternal grandmother, was Leche, who was also fathered by Nick by Shiek P-11. The colt was named Skipper W because, as Wiescamp related:
I had another good stud colt born around the same time as Skipper. He was a palomino sired by Gold Mount and out of Slipalong Wiescamp. That was also the year that the good movie, Showboat, came out and I named the little yellow colt after that picture. Anyway, I had Hired Girl up in a corral and, after she foaled, I told a fellow who was working for me to disinfect the naval on the colt [Skipper W]. After the man did that, the colt got up and turned around and kicked him 'cause it smarted. I said to that fellow, "Look at that, he already knows he's the boss! I've got a showboat, and every boat needs a skipper, so that's what I'm going to name him – Skipper." I added the W for Wiescamp.
Before Skipper W was born, Wiescamp had attempted to sell Hired Girl while she was pregnant with the colt, but at $150 (approximately $ in ), did not get any buyers. While the colt was a weanling
Weanling
A weanling is an animal that has just been weaned. The term is usually used to refer to a type of young horse, a foal that has been weaned, usually between the ages of 6 months and a year. Once a year old, the horse is referred to as a yearling.-References:...
, Wiescamp priced him at $500 (approximately $ in ), and the one potential purchaser decided it was too high a price for a colt the buyer planned to make into a gelding
Gelding
A gelding is a castrated horse or other equine such as a donkey or a mule. Castration, and the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male horse to be calmer and better-behaved, making the animal quieter, gentler and potentially more suitable as an everyday...
. When Skipper W was a yearling
Yearling (horse)
A yearling is a young horse of either sex that is between one and two years old. Yearlings are comparable in development to a very early adolescent, they are not fully mature physically, and while they may be in the earliest stages of sexual maturity, they are considered too young to be breeding...
, another possible buyer, who was wanting a potential breeding stallion, looked at the colt, but when they found out that Wiescamp wanted $1500 (approximately $ in ) for the horse decided against purchasing. Instead, Skipper W never sold and spent his entire life with Wiescamp.
Wiescamp had Skipper W trained as a riding horse when he was a two-year-old, and the ranch hand who did the training said after a couple of days of working him in a small corral, he "just got on him. And the first time I got on him, I just turned this colt around, clucked to him, and just kind of spanked him with the rein a little bit. And the colt took to it and just walked off. That's the way he was. The colt never hopped up, he never done nothing." The same ranch hand later used Skipper W as a roping horse, and said that the horse really liked to do ranch work. At three years old, Skipper W was about 15 hands
Hand (unit)
The hand is a non-SI unit of measurement of length, now used only for the measurement of the height of horses in some English-speaking countries, including Australia, Canada, the UK and the USA. With origins in ancient Egypt, it was originally based on the breadth of a human hand...
high (60 inches (152.4 cm) and weighed about 1250 pounds (567 kg).
Wiescamp showed Skipper W as a halter horse three times when the stallion was four years old. Skipper W was named grand champion stallion at the three shows he attended, the 1948 National Western Stock Show
National Western Stock Show
The National Western Stock Show is held every January at the National Western Complex in Denver, Colorado. First held in 1906, it is the world's largest stock show by number of animals and offers the world’s only carload and pen cattle show in the historic Denver Union Stockyards.The stock show is...
in Denver, the 1948 Colorado State Fair
Colorado State Fair
Colorado State Fair is a event held annually in Pueblo, Colorado. The Fair has been a traditional since October 9, 1872. The fair was originally held by the Southern Colorado Agricultural and Industrial Association and received no cash assistance from the community or the State. It was incorporated...
, and the 1948 New Mexico State Fair
New Mexico State Fair
The New Mexico State Fair is an annual state fair held for 17 days in September at Expo New Mexico in the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.A...
. Wiescamp later remarked that "I'm glad now that we didn't show him more, because he would have been before the public so much that he probably would have been sold." However, Skipper W's American Quarter Horse Association
American Quarter Horse Association
The American Quarter Horse Association , based in Amarillo, Texas, is an international organization dedicated to the preservation, improvement and record-keeping of the American Quarter Horse. The association sanctions many competitive events and maintains the official registry...
, or AQHA, show record does not show any record of these wins, which is not unusual for horses shown in the 1940s, as the record keeping was not always the best during the early years of the AQHA.
Breeding career
In early 1948, Nick Shoemaker, Wiescamp's senior stallion and Skipper W's sire, died in a freak accident while in his paddock, by slipping on some ice and breaking his neck against a fence. This meant that Skipper W's show career was cut short so that he could replace his sire as the main breeding stallion. During his entire career, Skipper W never was bred to any mare that was not owned by Wiescamp. Wiescamp wanted to make sure that the mares that he bred his stallions to were the best possible matches for the particular stallion. From the time of Nick Shoemaker's death until Skipper W's own death, the horse remained Wiescamp's senior stallion.During his breeding career he sired 18 foal crop
Foal
A foal is an equine, particularly a horse, that is one year old or younger. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, but these terms are used until the horse is age three or four. When the foal is nursing from its dam , it may also be called a suckling...
s, with a total of 132 horses registered with the AQHA. Among his offspring were Skip's Dilly, the 1964 AQHA High Point Western Pleasure Mare, Skipette, the 1964 AQHA High Point Calf Roping Mare, and Skip Sir Bar, the 1968 AQHA High Point Steer Roping Horse. As well, he sired 13 AQHA Champions, 7 Superior Halter Horses, and 18 Performance Register of Merit earners. He sired 4 horses that earned a Race Register of Merit with the AQHA.
Skipper W died in 1963, probably of a heart attack. Wiescamp kept 7 of his sons as breeding stallions and 57 of his daughters as broodmares in Wiescamp's linebreeding program.
Although he did not sire a great number of horses, the linebreeding program that Wiescamp followed led to the products of that program often being called "Skipper W horses". The horse will be inducted into the AQHA Hall of Fame in 2011.