Desert Spirit was foaled on February 15th, 1976 at the Vessels Stallion Farm in Bonsall, California. He was by Beduino, one of the few Thoroughbreds to be inducted into the American Quarter Horse Association Hall of Fame. Beduino was bred in Mexico by Justo F. Fernandez. He was by Romany Royal and out of Jo-Ann-Cat, by Rejected. His official race record was thirteen starts, six wins, and $11,630 in earnings, but his unofficial starts made him famous. In 1974, Beduino won a $100,000 winner-take-all match race against AQHA Champion Come Six. He later retired to stud at the Vessels Stallion Farm where he sired six AQHA Champions – Brigand Silk, Chingaderos, Indigo Illusion, Tolltac, Strawberry Silk and Chicks Beduino. In total, offspring of Beduino earned over $13 million on the track. He is still the #1 Thoroughbred sire of Quarter Horses.
Steamed Up, the dam of Desert Spirit, was honored by the AQHA as a Dam of Distinction. She was bred in Arizona by R. S. Snedigar. Steamed Up was by Be Sure Now, a sire of stakes winning Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses. His Thoroughbred sons Father John, Past Due and Wandering Boy sired numerous Quarter Horse racing and performance horses. Be Sure Now also sired AQHA stallions Real Gone, Real Sure and That’s For Sure. Miss Steamship, the dam of Steamed Up, won four of five starts against Quarter Horse company and earned a Speed Index of 95. She produced Quarter Horse race winner Hi Tie. Steamed Up also won starts against Quarter Horses including the 1959 Phoenix Derby at Turf Paradise. She went on to produce thirteen foals and eleven starters that earned $339,957 on the track. Her daughters Steam To Go and Whataway To Go both earned the title of AQHA Racing Champion Two-Year-Old Filly in 1964 and 1969 respectively. Her sons Music Note and Off Limits were stakes winners. Desert Spirit was her last and only Thoroughbred foal.
On April 22nd, 1978, Desert Spirit made his debut in a Maiden Special Weight at Sunland Park in New Mexico. He finished fourth. It was almost a year before he ran again at Santa Anita. In 1980, Desert Spirit finished tenth against Quarter Horse company at Ruidoso Downs. Although he battled soundness issues his entire racing career, he was fast. Desert Spirit was said to have run the quarter in 21.2 seconds and the half in 44.4 seconds. His final race record was five starts, one second, one third with $1,806 in earnings.
Desert Spirit started his stud career in Montana. His first foals arrived in 1982. His first foal crop included racing ROM earners Hes Steamed Up, Tucka Spirit, Jules Spirit and Steptoe Edwall. Dixon Fox, a gray Quarter Horse stallion in Desert Spirit’s second foal crop, set a new track record at the Trout Springs Training Center for 400 yards in 20.320 seconds. Before Desert Spirit moved to Brenham, Texas to stand at Wichita Equine, he sired Brown Desert and Smokem JL. Brown Desert was a gelding out of an Alamitos Bar mare. He won the 1987 Enoch Futurity and the Alberta Bred Futurity. Smokem JL was a gray Quarter Horse gelding out of Cats Expert, a stakes winning daughter of Experteeser. He won the 1989 Louisiana Breeders’ Laddie Futurity. He also set a new track record at Klamath County Fair for 770 yards in 40.500 seconds and was named the Northwest Hi-Point Distance Horse. Smokem JL made 71 starts during his seven-year racing career. He won thirteen races and earned $16,963 on the track.
His best Quarter Horse starter, Shawne Music Man, was bred by J. V. Fletcher at Wichita Equine. Shawne Music Man was a gray gelding out of a stakes placed Shawne Bug mare. He won the 1988 Southern California Derby and the Santa Barbara Handicap. Shawne Music Man placed second in the Gr. 2 QHBC Sophomore Classic and the Gr. 3 Sunland Park Fall Derby. He also ran third in the Gr. 2 Ed Burke Memorial Futurity. Furthermore, he was a finalist in the Gr. 1 Golden State Futurity, Gr. 1 Rainbow Futurity, Gr. 1 Denim N Diamonds Futurity, Gr. 1 El Primero Del Ano Derby and Gr. 1 Kansas Derby. In total, Shawne Music Man made 47 starts, won five races, and earned $239,667 on the track, which is the equivalent of about $540,000 today. He passed away in 2010 at the age of 25.
Although Desert Spirit had a short racing career, longevity was a theme among his sons. Fridays Spirit, a bay Quarter Horse gelding by Desert Spirit and out of Mitos Good Friday, by Mito Paint, had an especially long racing career. Fridays Spirit made 87 starts between 1994 and 2004. In 2001, at the age of nine, he won four races at Delta Downs and Evangeline and was named the East Hi-Point Distance Horse and Hi-Point Claiming Horse. In total, Fridays Spirit won fifteen races and hit the board 57 times. He earned $80,728 on the track.
Other notable Quarter Horse starters by Desert Spirit included Blink an Hezgone, Desert Print, Sapphire Ann, Egos Bold Spirit, Miss Desert Joy, The Desert Jet, Be Quicker, Spirit Flying, Spirit of Shawnee and Tobruk. Desert Spirit also sired Thoroughbred stakes winners Tyra Ann and Desert Ruler. Desert Ruler equaled the track record in the Souther HBPA Stakes at Desert Park for 5 ½ furlongs in 1:06.00. He also set a new track record for 6 ½ furlongs in 1:19.40. Other Thoroughbred race winners by Desert Spirit included I’m Lucky Now and Charming Spirit.
Perfectly Suited, a gray gelding by Desert Spirit and out of Delightful Solution, by Advance Solution, was his best performer in the arena. Perfectly Suited was a finalist for Hunter Hack and Working Hunter at the AQHA World Show. He earned a Performance ROM in the Open and Amateur divisions. Other performance point earners by Desert Spirit included Spirit of Magnolia, Desert Sultan, Smokin Spirit and Darth Gator.
In total, Desert Spirit sired 151 registered Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse foals in thirteen foal crops. They included 56 race winners, 46 ROM earners, thirteen stakes finalists, three stakes winners and two regional champions. They earned $685,663 on the track and 201.5 points in the arena.
His sons Beduino Spirit, Foreign Legion, Friday Spirit, Ghost Coast, Old Moon Dancer, Silver Sheet and Top Spirit Six sired Quarter Horses, Paints and Appaloosas. His daughters produced 123 registered Quarter Horse foals that earned $448,492 on the track. Miss Desert Spirit, a sorrel mare by Desert Spirit and out of and out of Thelma Moon, by Top Moon, was his best producing daughter. She produced Streakin Juanita, winner of the Carolyn Hebert Memorial Stakes and LQHBA Filly and Mare Stakes. Streakin Juanita was the 2001 and 2002 East Hi-Point Aged Mare. In total, Streakin Juanita won six races and earned $95,526 on the track. She went on to produce stakes winner LD Streakin N Leavin and track record setter LD Streakin Bye. Miss Desert Spirit also produced track record setter First Down Spirit as well as Racing ROM earners Miss Hot Sand, Wall of Smoke, Packin Spirit, Miss Desert Streak and Miss Desert Sky. Descendants of Miss Desert Spirit are still competing in racing and barrel racing today.
Desert Spirit has barrel racing descendants through his other daughters as well. Saras Night, a brown Quarter Horse mare by Desert Spirit and out of Joyphyl Night, by Gusty Hempen, produced Barrel Racing World Show qualifier Rowdys Charizma. Miss Desert Sky, a race winning mare by Pie in the Sky and out of Desert Bird, by Desert Spirit, produced barrel horses French Destiny, Frenchmans Spirit and Guys Its My Pie. Roan for Cash, a red roan stallion out of a Hancock bred mare sired several barrel racing and performance horses for the Durbin Creek Ranch in Wyoming. Roan for Cash was by Flashy Nobleman, whose dam, Gray Venture, was a Thoroughbred daughter of Desert Spirit. Famous French Illusion, a son of Duplicate Copy, the clone of Frenchmans Guy, is a distant but noteworthy descendant of Desert Spirit. His dam, Easz Six is by Fameonu, a descendant of Desert Spirit through his second dam, Valley Spirit. Famous French Illusion has been competing in professional rodeos with Sabrina Murphy Ketchum.
Desert Spirit died in 1993 at the age of seventeen under the ownership of Claude Jeane in Evans, Louisiana. His impact on the Quarter Horse industry was not as significant as that of his sire or dam, but the uniqueness of his pedigree makes Desert Spirit a western Thoroughbred worth recognizing.
Sources: Equineline, Equibase, AQHA, All Breed Database
The Western Thoroughbred 