Horseback History….The Great Horse Leo

As we sit at breakfast tables, barns, etc. we talk about great Quarter Horses. One that always crosses my mind is Leo. A majority of our greatest Quarter Horse stallions have been moderately appreciated when they were available for stud service. This was true with Sykes Rondo, Traveler, Yellow Jacket, Question Mark and Joe Reed II, among many others. For quite some time this was also true with Leo; only in the later years of his life have breeders come to admit his worth. A chestnut sorrel, Leo was foaled in Cameron, Texas, in 1940, bred by J. W. House and sold for a handful of dollars at a very young age. Following a trials at back country sprints he showed up at Pawhuska, Oklahoma, the property of John W. Tillman. Mr Tillman ran him mostly at Pawhuska, where he established a track record (300 yards in 16.0) which stood for several years. Mr Tillman stated: “I bought him as a two year old from Lester Manning at Gatesville, Texas. He was an extremely fast colt that spring, racing with and defeating such good sprinters as Red Sails, Johnny Barns, Good Eye, and Cyclone. These were all in their prime when he met and defeated them. I never knew of a poor foal sired by him, he was probably the best sire brought to Oklahoma at that time. He always had a fine disposition, was easy to handle, was a perfect gate horse and had the heart and ability to come from behind and outrun good horses.

Leo defeated Cyclone, a very regarded horse, at Pawhuska, going 220 yards in 12:0 for a purse of $3,600 when he was three years old. Blondy Meyers, trainer of Cyclone, said he didn’t believe any horse living could outrun Leo that day. The current record at that time at 220 yards was 13:0 set by Clabber in 1937. Three years after defeating Cyclone, Leo nearly had both of his front legs cut off in a trailer accident. Then taken out of stud service, and with his handicap, he ran his last race at Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1947, where he was defeated by a head by Little Joe at 375 yards. Leo was said to have won 20 out of 22 match races.

For some time Leo was owned by Gene Moore of Fairfax, Oklahoma, who said Leo was a great sire because he was able to mark his colts with the same conformation and style as himself. Later Leo was bought by Bud Warren. Before Mr Warren bought him he was bred mostly to cow horse mares. After two of Leo’s daughters later started kicking up the dust (Leota W and Flit) on recognized straight-aways a number of top breeders began to assess his abilities, with the result that in 1950 Bud Warren had to turn away 33 mares. From those days forward Leo’s get became a great success to the Quarter Horse racing industry. One of Leo’s finest sons, and very possibly his greatest was Palleo Pete, Champion Quarter Running Stallion of 1954. This fine young stallion appeared to have inherited all his sires best qualities, plus the ability to pass them along to his get.

Leo was known as one of the best broodmare sires of the breed. The celebrated get of many other leading sires came with the help of having been bred to Leo daughters and granddaughters. In later years his name still has honor among cutting and performance horses such as Peppy San, Mr San Peppy, Peppy San Badger and even as modern as Smart Chic Olena. His Legend Lives On!