In the Blood: Sweet Sister Cat

Sweet Sister Cat & Ty Moore, pictured at the Brazos Bash • Photo by S. Sylvester PhotographySweet Sister Cat has shown the kind of consistency all cutters look for in the arena. She is the 2017 West Texas Futurity Non-Pro Champion, the Cotton Stakes Futurity Non-Pro Champion, the Brazos Bash Futurity Non-Pro Co-Champion and the Pacific Coast Cutting Horse Association Futurity Non-Pro Champion. These four Non-Pro wins have brought her Equi-Stat earnings to around $30,000 for her non-pro rider, owner and breeder – Ty Moore, of Madill, Oklahoma.

The pedigree of Sweet Sister Cat (Metallic Cat x Heavens Little Angel x Smart Little Lena) also shows us consistency in how the pedigree comes together. It brings together a balanced pedigree through the success of Doc Bar and Leo San as a nick in Western performance horses.

SIRE LINE

Metallic Cat • Photo by John Brasseaux

Metallic Cat (High Brow Cat x Chers Shadow x Peptoboonsmal) made recent news when he was purchased by Bobby Patton’s Rockin P Ranch. But Metallic Cat is no stranger to making the news, as he was the 2008 National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Futurity Open Champion and the 2009 NCHA Horse of the Year, earning $637,711.

Metallic Cat’s 2009 show record demonstrates the consistency it takes to be the Horse of the Year. According to Equi-Stat records, he was shown in 12 events, making the top 10 in all of them, the top three in eight of them and the top five in 10 of these events. He was first or second in six of them, including the Bonanza Cutting and the NCHA Super Stakes.

Metallic Cat has consistently risen as a sire, with more than $15 million in offspring earnings. He was the Equi-Stat No. 1 Junior Sire in 2015 and 2016. He was 16th on that list in 2013, showing how he has consistently moved up the ranks. He was the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) Leading Freshman Sire in 2013. His leading money winners include Meteles Cat ($437,016), Purple Reyn ($361,880) and Stevie Rey Von ($344,763).

High Brow Cat (High Brow Hickory x Smart Little Kitty x Smart Little Lena) gave us our first look at the Doc Bar/Leo San cross. High Brow Hickory (Doc’s Hickory x Grulla San x Leo San Hank) through Doc’s Hickory is a grandson of Doc Bar, and Leo San Hank is sired by Leo San.

Chers Shadow was a finalist in the 2002 Abilene Spectacular 4-Year-Old Open. She is the dam of four foals, with Metallic Cat being her big money-winner. She was sired by Peptoboonsmal (Peppy San Badger x Royal Blue Boon x Boon Bar) and is out of Shesa Smarty Lena (Smart Little Lena x Shesa Playmate x Freckles Playboy). This gives us the Doc Bar/Leo San cross through Peppy San Badger, a grandson of Leo San, and Smart Little Lena, a grandson of Doc Bar.

Shesa Smarty Lena, pictured with Lindy Burch at the 1992 NCHA Futurity, produced Chers Shadow, the dam of the great stallion Metallic Cat. • Photo by Teresa Jett

Smart Little Lena has his own ties to Doc Bar and Leo San. He is sired by Doc O’Lena, by Doc Bar. His dam is Smart Peppy, by Peppy San, by Leo San.

Shesa Smarty Lena ($224,005) shows her consistency as a six-time limited-age event reserve or co-reserve champion. This includes the 4-Year-Old Open Reserve Championship at the 1992 Abilene Spectacular. Her leading money-winner is Pantera Cat ($87,440). The dam of Shesa Smarty Lena is Shesa Playmate, the 1982 NCHA Derby Open Champion.

DAM LINE

Heavens Little Angel ($46,217) was a multiple aged-event finalist for Ty Moore. She was the 2011 Abilene Spectacular 5/6-Year-Old Limited Non-Pro Reserve Champion and a Non-Pro finalist at this same event. She is the dam of two Equi-Stat record-holders, with total offspring earnings of $66,094. Her leading money-winner is Midnite Cat ($35,792).

Heavens Little Angel is sired by Smart Little Lena. This third cross to Smart Little Lena gives Sweet Sister Cat a breeding pattern of 4 X 4 X 2 to this great stallion. This accounts for a big chunk of the Doc Bar/Leo San cross in this pedigree.

Heavens Little Angel is out of Heavens Olena (CD Olena x Peppys From Heaven x Peppy San Badger). Heavens Olena ($35,466) is the dam of two Equi-Stat money-earners, with Heavens Little Angel as her leading money-winner.

1995 NCHA Horse of the Year CD Olena is a key to Sweet Sister Cat’s link to the Doc Bar/Leo San cross. • Photo by John Brasseaux

CD Olena was the 1995 NCHA Horse of the Year, winning the 1995 NCHA Derby Open, and he was also the winner of the 1994 NCHA Futurity Open. CD Olena is an Equi-Stat top 10 sire of money-earners, with his foals earning more than $16 million. His leading winners include Sister CD ($852,612) and Tap O Lena ($502,145).

CD Olena is the broodmare sire of foals that have won in excess of $9.6 million. His leading money-winners in that division include Quintan Blue ($609,140) and High Brow CD ($543,161).

CD Olena is another Doc Bar/Leo San cross. His sire is Doc O’Lena (Doc Bar x Poco Lena x Poco Bueno) and his dam is CD Chica San Badger (Peppy San Badger x Zorra Chica x Otoe).

The dam of Heavens Olena was Peppys From Heaven ($142,956), the 1991 NCHA Summer Spectacular Derby Non-Pro Champion. She is the dam of horses that have earned $339,670. Her money-winners include Seven From Heaven ($72,667) and Heavens Hickory ($56,522).

Peppys From Heaven is a full sister to Peptoboonsmal. This gives the pedigree of Sweet Sister Cat a collateral linebreeding to this full brother and sister. Collateral relatives are full brothers and sisters or three-quarter brothers and sisters that appear in the same pedigree at least once on the sire side and once on the dam side.

Peppy San Badger was the 1977 NCHA Futurity Open Champion, and he is an AQHA Hall of Fame member. He is a sire of horses that have lifetime earnings of $24.5 million. His money-winners include Little Badger Dulce ($668,461) and Haidas Little Pep ($425,174).

Royal Blue Boon, cutting’s all-time No. 1 producing dam, shows up twice in the pedigree of Sweet Sister Cat. • QHN File Photo

Royal Blue Boon ($381,764) was the 1984 NCHA Super Stakes Co-Reserve Champion. She is now the No. 1 dam of cutting horse money-winners. Her foals have earned more than $2.6 million. Her leading money-winners include Red White And Boon ($922,063) and Bet Yer Blue Boons ($350,615).

The collateral linebreeding of Peppys From Heaven and Peptoboonsmal is another Doc Bar/Leo San cross. Peppy San Badger is a grandson of Leo San. Royal Blue Boon is sired by Boon Bar, by Doc Bar, giving the pedigree another Doc Bar/Leo San cross.

The pedigree is balanced when we see that the common ancestors, or in this case, the common cross or nick, appears to balance on both sides of the pedigree, meaning on both the sire and dam sides of the pedigree. We pattern the pedigree to be balanced so the genes from the common ancestors can be recycled into the foal produced, coming down through several lines that trace from the common ancestors. This enhances the opportunity for the foal to inherit a wider variety of genes from the common ancestors or the cross to which we are linebreeding.

When we look at the grandsires and granddams of Sweet Sister Cat, we see that they all share the Doc Bar/Leo San nick in their pedigree through their sires and dams, thus creating a balanced pedigree that consistently flows through her pedigree in the form of the Doc Bar/Leo San nick.