by Terry Lidral
When you look at the list of production sires compiled on competition stats of their sons, there’s one that stands alone at the top. When you compare Houdini’s stats to all the others, not even Mossy Oak Mudslinger comes close.
Although an amazing stat, we might ask ourselves, “Would that number be anywhere near that high if Houdini hadn’t been a highly promoted celebrity in the bucking stock industry?” There was a time when that was the name synonymous with building a breeding program destined to produce quality buckers. Houdini’s straws were, for a great many, considered to be the Cadillac semen of the bucking bull world.
If you stop to think about it, there were many other bucking bulls out there around that time whose genetics were arguably just as strong and capable of producing bucking sons as the great Houdini. Bodacious, Skat Kat, Diamonds Ghost, Oscar, Sky King… That’s only the tip of the list of sires who have produced great buckers over the course of history of the bucking bull industry.
Jackie Ratjen, one of the greats in the bucking bull business, called his breeding program “an experiment,” the mixing of genetics to see what came about. Some worked out great, liked Diamonds Ghost, whose bloodlines run through the veins of the likes of Bushwacker. And some produced nothing past the ordinary.
But there’s ordinary in any program, no matter how closely the bloodline runs to the greatest producing sires. There are a good many sons out there who never came close to the expectations of Houdini’s genes. That’s just how it goes in the bucking bull industry.
The truth of the matter is that breeding bulls is always a gamble. So, experimenting isn’t that much more of a risk than breeding a tried and true genetic combination. There’s no guarantee and no magic formula to creating a first class athlete.
Starting out with good solid genetics puts the odds of success in your favor. And there’s a wealth of really good genetics out there, some just waiting to prove themselves. Page genetics are currently one of the major choices. And of course Kish breeding is always popular. We’re seeing bulls on the pro circuit out of I’m a Gangster and the McCoy program is producing some top of the line buckers. Some folks like the Hawaiian Ivory and Reindeer Dippin’ lines. Then there are the smaller programs who aren’t getting the publicity but the genetics are proving to be strong.
If you’re building a breeding program or wanting to add some new genetics to a program already established, you might look around at the sires the foundation breeders built upon. It’s really exciting when you think of all the possibilities there for the taking. You can research the son’s stats. And with modern day technology, you can check out how a good share of these bulls bucked.
Choosing a sire to use in your breeding program is a very important decision. The choices are amazing. The list goes on and on near to infinity. Whether you choose to go with the standard bloodlines, bring some of the up and coming genetics into your program or decide to so some experimenting, choose wisely. And good luck!
Author: Terry Lidral
Terry Lidral is a western writer/journalist who lives in Idaho. She is the publisher and editor of the online magazine Bucking Stock Talk and the online magazine Western Living Journal. Her publishing credits include Storyteller for Real American Cowboy Magazine, writing feature articles for Humps N Horns Magazine as well as a wide variety of national and international web sites, historical magazines and news publications. She is known for her "up close and personal" profiles of celebrities and industry moguls such as NPR's Tom Bodett; PBR's Wiley Petersen and D.H. Page, PRCA's Sammy Andrews, Cindy Rosser and Julio Moreno to name a few. She has been applauded for her way of making a personal connection between her readers and her subjects. She indulges in her love of rodeo by serving as an associate board member for the Caldwell Night Rodeo. She is also an accomplished trainer and handler in dog agility. Her shelties Amelie and Milo are titled in NADAC, USDAA and AKC.
