This is an interesting topic to me; However, I have to speak up
here. There have been some darned good endurance sires in "the old days"
that were barely used to breed for good endurance horses.
The endurance community(as a general rule) is
A* Impatient. Most would rather buy a horse than
select a good mare, or breed a mare that has done endurance successfully.
It certainly is easier and cheaper and quicker.They want
a horse already trained, conditioned, ready to go.
Most endurance riders are looking for a
"bargain".
Who were these proven stallions that were hardly ever
used? Well, Wendell Robie's
Bandos, for one. How many of his get is out there
competing on the endurance trails? And I mean Bandos, not
his ancestors or relatives. Another good one was Rowel,
the little 14'1" black stallion that carried a whopping 220 Lbs. of Jim Jones
(yeah, the guy the AERC award is named for Most Miles Stallion). These
stallions competed when endurance was in it's infancy; no electrolytes,
western saddles, jeans--ask Merryben or Barbarba McCrary or Julie Shur.
When Jim Jones passed away, his widow Lucy advertised Rowel
extensively; NOT ONE endurance rider bred a mare to him. I believe
he only left one purebred foal. They also stood Attock, a
son of *Wisok, by *WitezII, and out of a mare sired by *Czubuthan. I owned
a son of Attock, out of an American Saddlebred mare. I just had him put
down at 31, but he had 1000 miles with no electrolytes, no beetpulp, no
heart monitors etc. "The good ol' days". We had high score for Best
Conditions a couple of times, losing on time and weight, but always getting
aknowledged by the vets. In his "retirement, he taught several young girls, my
husband, and a few "mature" ladies how to ride. He jumped, did gymkhana,
raised and mannered my weanlings, and was a great
friend. renie
