2012 National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Open Horse of the Year Kit Kat Sugar has surpassed the $1 million mark as a sire. While “Skeet” has sired quite a few offspring for the cutting pen, the success of his No. 1 earner — a reined cow horse — helped elevate the stallion to his newest milestone.
After becoming an Open finalist at the 2011 NCHA Futurity, Skeet made a name for himself in 2012, carrying trainer Pete Branch to more than $200,000 in earnings. The duo won Open titles at the Bonanza Cutting, The Cattlemen’s Derby, the El Rancho Futurity, the Brazos Bash, the Calgary Stampede and the Southern Cutting Futurity. They also received Reserve championships at the NCHA Super Stakes and Idaho Cutting Derby.
Owned and bred by the late Lonnie Allsup and his wife, Barbara, Skeet (High Brow Cat x Sugar N Dulce x Smart Lil Ricochet) amassed lifetime earnings of $240,166 before he was retired to the breeding shed. Branch wanted to switch the stallion’s focus to producing the next generation rather than trying to breed him while still showing.
“When he won Horse of the Year, I retired him for several reasons,” Branch said. “One reason is I wanted him to retire sound, which he is very, very sound. I really didn’t want to breed him and try to show him at the same time. It’s just awful hard on them.”
Skeet’s first foal crop arrived in 2014, with 100 foals registered through the American Quarter Horse Association. Of those foals, 58 went on to become money-earners.
It is the foals from his second foal crop that have done the most to elevate their sire up in the ranks. His top five offspring, all born in 2015, have each collected more than $50,000.
Skeet’s No. 1 performer, Scooter Kat (out of Scooters Daisy Dukes x Dual Smart Rey), has won $114,054 in the reined cow horse pen. The stallion’s accomplishments include the 2018 National Stock Horse Association Snaffle Bit Futurity Open Championship and the 2018 National Reined Cow Horse Association Snaffle Bit Futurity Open Reserve Championship.
Skeet’s second-highest earner, Sugrspiznevrthingniz, and Matt Gaines have earned more than $60,000. Out of the Lizzys Gotta Player mare Jewels Gotta Lizzy, the mare was first in the Derby Novice Horse Open at the Bonanza Cutting and Arbuckle Mountain Futurity, also taking Reserve in the Open at both shows.
Just like his highest-earning offspring, Skeet’s third- through fifth-highest-earners, Ringo, Sweet Toothe and Justa Lil Brownsugar, are each out of mares by different studs. Ringo is out of the CD Royal daughter Lil Bit Reckless; Sweet Toothe’s dam is the One Time Pepto mare One Sweet Sis; and Justa Lil Brownsugar is out of Travs Scooter (by Smart Lil Scoot).
“That first and second year, I tried to breed him to every kind of mare,” Branch said of his strategy with Skeet. “There’s been winners out of every kind of mare in the world.”
With three crops of performance-age foals, Skeet is just getting warmed up. His influence — and sweet personality — have the potential to impact the cutting and cow horse industries for a long time.
