The following is an excerpt from the AQHA interview with John Wilkins in 2007 when they celebrated 50 consecutive years of breeding Quarter horses
“We’ve had some great stallions standing here over the years. We had Triple Chick for a while. We stood Bars Warren by Sugar Bars, Clabber Bob by Clabber Bar and Wise Pine by Poco Pine in the early years. Then we stood Buckspot, a grandson of Hollywood Gold. They all made a contribution to our program. I’ve had four sons of Leo. They were Roan Leo, Leo Sugar Jr, Leo’s Question and Leo Flyo. Of these four stallions, Leo’s Question was the most prominent and the most important to our program. He was AA rated on the race track and he was stakes placed in the Kansas Futurity, Nebraska Bred Futurity and the Kansas Quarter Horse Association Derby. He was second in all three of these races. He sired AAA rated racehorses, Superior performers, AQHA Champions, ROM show horses and NCHA Platinum, Bronze, Silver and Certificate of Ability cutting horses. He sired War Leo and Rondo Leo – both AQHA Champions and prominent sires. His daughters have made him a leading maternal grandsire. The Leo’s Question daughters have produced earners of $3,226,547.77 in cutting. I turned down an opportunity to buy Leo’s Question once. His breeder, Dwight Timbers, wanted to sell him but I had just bought Roan Leo so I wasn’t in the market for another son of Leo. Don Turner bought him and stood him in Iowa. When Don’s health got bad, we made a deal to stand the horse here. When Don decided to sell the horse outright, we hauled him to the E. Paul Waggoner sale at Vernon, Texas and I bought him. We had Leo’s Question for sixteen years.
We started out with the Leo bred horses but they were difficult to get ready for the 3 yr old futurities. The Leo’s had longevity, but they came on slow, then got better. But they lasted a long time and they had a lot of durability and heart! So I began to search for a stallion to breed to our Leo mares. I had decided on an own son of Doc Bar because, although our Leo mares were producing offspring that were successful in open shows, I knew that the Doc Bar colts were sweeping futurities across the country. I wanted a son of Doc Bar with King breeding, because I appreciated the foundation bloodlines that had been so successful for us. I gave Jensen’s a call, and they had a yearling named Doc’s Jack Sprat, with the breeding I liked. So, in December, I flew out to Paicines, California to see the colt. When I arrived, and saw him, I felt like he was exactly what I had been looking for! Not only did he go back to King, but he went back to King three times. Of course, the “right choice” would be a horse that would become a great athlete and was successful in the arena, but the “best choice” would be one that went on to be a great sire. When you are looking at a weanling, that is a long way down the road. I get such a kick out of people who make a remark like, “I can’t wait until next year”, when referring to their young horses. It just doesn’t happen that fast. When you purchase a weanling, it takes a long time before you know if you made the right choice. As a 2 yr old, we bred Doc’s Jack Sprat to two mares, but then we had to wait another four or more years to see what his colts would do. It just takes a long time. Doc’s Jack Sprat began his show career as a 2 yr old, when he was shown at halter by Bob Loomis. In his very first showing a the National Western Livestock Show in Denver, Colorado Doc’s Jack Sprat won his class and earned five halter points. From then on, the young stallion stood first or second every time out. He was named Grand Champion twice and Reserve Champion five times. In a short seven months, he had earned 15 halter points in 11 shows. Then “Sprat” was sent to Tommy Lyons for cutting training in Arizona. After earning his performance points, I called Tommy and told him I needed some points in pleasure to make Sprat an AQHA Champion. So, he showed him in a pleasure class with 32 in it, and won 5 points and his AQHA Championship. Doc’s Jack Sprat then went on to become an outstanding sire. His foals have won close to four million dollars in cutting. He sired such $100,000 winners as: Jae Bar Fletch, Jae Bar Maise, Jae Bar Fame, Jae Bar Curt, Jae Bar Cal, Jae Bar Gaby and Jae Bar Peppy. We lost Sprat to colic in 1990 at the age of 18.
Miss Cooper 53 was the first mare, and she was one of the cornerstones of our operation. Her second foal was Star Cooper. This mare was our first AQHA Champion and she earned points in halter, cutting, reining, western pleasure and western riding. Star Cooper won 19 straight cuttings during one period in her show career. That was around 1961 and 1962. When she was 19 years old, our trainer, Perry Franks pulled her out of the pasture, and she went to three cuttings and she won all three. This mare was so versatile. She won three of the five western pleasure classes she entered. Miss Cooper 53, during one period, had 7 fillies in a row. Her daughters have contributed greatly to our operation. Miss Cooper 53’s daughter Bay Leo Quest, is the dam of NCHA Bronze and Silver Award winner – Jae Bar Cal. Her daughter, Supreme Question, is the dam of eleven NCHA money earners from sixteen foals.
In general, the Leo’s Question mares have made a great contribution to our program. At one time we had probably 25 or 30 daughters of Leo’s Question. Leo’s Redonda, Supreme Question, Jae Bar Lena and Miss Bar Quest are some of the top Leo’s Question mares that we had her. Leo’s Redonda is the dam of Jae Bar Fame, NCHA Bronze Award winner and Jae Bar Cass that earned 37 AQHA halter points. Supreme Question is the dam of Jae Bar Pamela, who si the dam of Zee Dualy NCHA money earner of $228,409. Jae Bar Lena is the dam of the 3 time World Champion Cutting Horse, Jae Bar Fletch and his full sister, Jae Bar Maise is an NCHA Non-Pro World Champion. Miss Bar Quest is the dam of Jae Bar Curt, NCHA Bronze and Silver Award winner.
The following is from jbardhorses.com
The magic cross for Doc’s Jack Sprat was with the daughters of Leo’s Question. Leo’s Question was a senior sire in the J Bar D Ranch breeding program for many years. He was an AA rated stakes runner on the track. He became a proven sire of halter, race, and performance horses. Leo’s Question was a son of Leo. Leo’s Question’s grandsire on the bottom side was Question Mark.
Here are a few of the horses that were by Doc’s Jack Sprat, and out of daughters of Leo’s Question (with their NCHA money earnings):
Jae Bar Fletch $422,935 (also is in the NCHA Hall of Fame, and sired Royal Fletch, the 2000 NCHA Futurity Champion), Jae Bar Maisie $160,290, Jae Bar Gaby $148,467, Jae Bar Faber $147,059, Jae Bar Peppy $144,576, Jae Bar Fame $142,586, Jae Bar Curt $107,277, Jae Bar Cal $123,230, Jae Bar Mina $87,095, Jae Bar Trick $78,293, Jae Bar Tomahawk $87,691, Jae Bar Alex $72,005, Jae Bar Gali $56,678, Jae Bar Marco $37,345, Jae Bar Muir $37,933, Jae Bar Wendy $37,955, and many more!!!!