Hysition was foaled in 1942. He was by Hygro, a four-time stakes winner by the French stallion Epinard. Hygro sired numerous Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse sprinters. His most notable Quarter Horse starters were Hy Dale, Hi Maria, Hyglo, Hy Dunn, Hylo and Hy Diamond. Notably, Hygro was the damsire of AQHA Champions King Glo, The Haymaker, Vanna Bar and Hygro Leo. Campion, the dam of Hysition, was a race winner by Campfire and out of Inquisition, by Wrack. After she retired from racing, Campion joined John L. Sullivan’s broodmare band. She produced fifteen Thoroughbred foals including race winners Hy Camp, Camp Sortie, Camp Liberty, and Camp George. Camp Verde, a full brother to Hysition, won the Remsen Handicap, Dover Stakes and San Mateo Handicap. Hysition was her most successful son at stud.
As a two-year-old, Hysition made thirteen starts and won one race. At three and four, he made 27 starts and won only three races. His five-year-old season was his most successful on the track. He made 25 starts, won eight races, and ran second or third in nine starts. A durable runner, he continued racing until he was seven years old. In total, Hysition made 77 starts, won 13 races, and earned $9,402, the equivalent of about $125,000 today.
Hysition bred his first mares while he was still racing. His second foal on record, Black Easter Bunny, was his best Quarter Horse starter. Black Easter Bunny was out of Flicka, a AAA racehorse by Chicaro Bill and out of Kitty Wells, by Joe Moore. Black Easter Bunny was bred by Walter J. Culbetson of Albuquerque, New Mexico. As a two-year-old, she won the New Mexico State Fair Futurity. At three, Black Easter Bunny won seven races including the California Championship. She also set a new track record at Bay Meadows for 440 yards in 22.400 seconds. That year, she was named the AQHA Racing Champion Three-Year-Old Filly. As an older horse, she added wins in the Buttons and Bows Stakes, Oakland Showboat Handicap and Shue Fly Stakes to her resume. In total, Black Easter Bunny made 111 starts, won 21 races, and earned $40,232 on the track.
As a broodmare, Black Easter Bunny produced seven foals. The first two – Bunny’s Bar Boy and Bunny’s Bar Maid – were by Three Bars. Bunny’s Bar Maid was the 1961 Racing Co-Champion Tow-Year-Old Filly. She won six races, including the Juvenile Championship and Kansas Futurity, and earned $72,289 on the track. Bunny’s Bar Maid went on to produce stakes winners Four Forty King and Nuther Brother. Forty Four King sired numerous Racing ROM-earners as well as Performance ROM-earner, Custom Bar Maid. Bunny’s Bar Maid also produced performance and race sires Great Victory, Born to Rule, Derisive, Race You Home and Ya Got Trouble. Four Forty Queen, a daughter of Bunny’s Bar Maid, produced stakes winners Lady Winsmore and Sir Rambler. Forty Four Queen also produced Rare View, the sire of Rare Jet.
Bay Easter Bunny, Black Easter Bunny’s third foal, was unraced. Her fourth foal, Harlequin, was a brown stallion by Moon Deck. Harlequin was stakes placed. He went on to sire several racing ROM-earners. Black Easter Bunny’s fifth foal, Hero Type, did not make a start at the track, but he did sire Quarter Horses and Paints. Her sixth and seventh foals, Drill and Pink Mink, were moderately successful on the track. Although her life was cut short due to a pasture accident, Black Easter Bunny had many successful descendants, including the two-time World Champion, Refrigerator. She was inducted into the AQHA Hall of Fame in 2002.
After Black Easter Bunny, Hysition continued to sire fast Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racehorses. Flicka Hyloah, a full sister to Black Easter Bunny, won the 1956 Miss Panama Handicap. Hy Alwin, a brown stallion by Hysition and out of Merry Legs E, by Bert, won eleven races and earned $14,146 on the track. His biggest wins included the Ruidoso Futurity, Juvenile Championship, Kansas QHA Futurity and Raton Handicap. Hy Alwin was the 1956 AQHA Racing Champion Two-Year-Old Colt. Track record setters by Hysition included Little Leota and Hycard.
In 1956, when Hysition was fourteen years old, he was purchased by Wilbur Bolin and Bill Tackett to stand near Fayetteville, Arkansas. At the time, Hysition only had thirteen active runners, but he was ranked eighth on the list of leading sires of money earners. Three Bars topped the list with 49 starters running at 440 yards and under. Bolin and Tackett were hoping to promote Hysition. They stood him for $100 to approved mares only.
Sadly, Hysition passed away shortly after he moved to Bill Tackett’s farm. His last foals were born in 1957. In total, he sired just 39 Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse foals in ten foal crops. They included 23 race winners, thirteen ROM-earners, three stakes winners, three Superior Race Award earners, two champions and one AQHA Hall of Fame inductee. His get earned $186,515 in a time of very small purses.
His sons Hy Alwin and Hy Pressure sired a handful of Quarter Horse racing and performance horses. He had 21 daughters with Quarter Horse foals on record. His best producing daughter was Black Easter Bunny. Hy Flicka, Hibiscus, Hy Sabina, Little Leota and Gypsy Beggar were his other daughters to produce stakes winners. In order, the stakes winners out of those Hysition mares were Barbara Nell, Hy Bar Lady, Hubba Bar, Goer, Flick It Babe and Tippy Canoe. Notably, Tippy Canoe also earned 21.0 halter points. He went on to sire AQHA Champions Chance A Tip, Chocolate Convoy and Patriotic Cowbow. In total, daughters of Hysition produced 47 race winners that earned $229,758 on the track.
His grandget also performed well in the arena. Real Charger, a brown gelding by Tiny Charger and out of Little Leota, won fourteen races and later earned a Performance Register of Merit. Other performance point earners out of Hysition mares included Our Speed King, Mr Vandy II, Chance Hy, Flicka’s Man and First C Meyers. Pamper Me, a bay mare by Dividend and out of Gypsy Beggar, by Hysition, was an AQHA Champion with 12.0 halter points. Other halter point earners out of Hysition mares included Maid of Straw and Charging Hy.
Hysition may have only sired 39 registered foals, but his descendants are still competing in racing, barrel racing, western pleasure, and halter classes today.
Sources: Equineline, Equibase, American Quarter Horse Association, The Quarter Horse Journal, Speed and the Quarter Horse, Western Horseman
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