Pondariel was foaled in 1936. He was by Ariel, winner of the Youthful Stakes and Saratoga Special. Ariel sired earners of over $3 million on the track, including Piggin String, a Thoroughbred that became a two-time AQRA Champion Quarter Running Stallion. Pond Lily, the dam of Pondariel, was a stakes placed mare by Ultimus, a son of the great Commando. Although Ultimus did not sire any registered Quarter Horses, he had a strong influence on the breed through his sons Stimulus, Supremus, Ultmidge, High Cloud, High Time, Infinite and Luke McLuke, the damsire of Three Bars. Pond Lily produced eight Jockey Club registered foals including race winners Trentonian, Brookside, Clear, Miss Lily, Night Mist and Ath. Pondariel was her most prolific son.
According to Equineline and Equibase, Pondariel was unraced. The earliest records of the brown stallion place him at the W. T. Waggoner Ranch in Vernon, Texas in 1940. The legendary Quarter Horse ranch crossed Pondariel on daughters of Pretty Boy and Rainy Day. The most successful of those crosses produced Pondie, a bay stallion that went on to sire 83 AQHA registered foals. Offspring of Pondie only earned $9,606 on the track, but they were highly sought after in the show pen. Notably, when the American Quarter Horse Association first awarded AQHA Champion titles in 1952, Pondora, a dun mare by Pondie and out of Ellen H, by Little Black Joe, was one of eight horses to receive the prestigious title. Pondora had 33.0 halter points and 20.0 performance points in roping and reining. She later produced seven foals including Showpond, an AQHA Champion and sire.
Pondie also sired Ponzell, a sorrel mare that earned an AQHA Champion title in 1957. Ponzell produced twelve foals including ROM-earner Glo’s Pondie and point-earners Pondie’s Cricket and Senzell. Other noteworthy performers by Pondie included Pondie Joe, King’s Doak, Handful, Ponjig, Andy Conger, Boom Town and Jo Rick. His sons Pondfly, Ponjet, Hellers Handy, Pon Dude, Pondie Beauty, Ponte Mac, Ponzan and Thunder R sired Quarter Horses, Paints and Appaloosas. His daughters produced earners of 1,074.0 points in the arena. Among his most talented grandget were AQHA Champions Char Lin Jim, Cutter’s Pill, Sherrie’s Sugar and Kips Scooter.
After he sired Pondie, Pondariel appears in the records of the National Quarter Horse Breeders Association when Ottis Bell of Odell, Texas bred him to a daughter of Midnight. The resulting foal, a mare named Bug’s Bell, went on to produce point-earners King Pond and Poco Bird. Pondariel was later sold to J. O. Hart of the Hart Stock Farm in Hurst, Texas. Eventually, he was purchased by Peter Licavoli of the Grace Ranch in Tucson, Arizona where he became a leading sire of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racehorses.
Pondariel’s best Thoroughbred starter, Paul W., was foaled in 1946. The bay gelding made 172 starts, won 30 races, and earned $24,527 on the track, which is the equivalent of about $270,000 today. Paul W. was stakes placed in Mexico. Other top Thoroughbred starters by Pondariel included Fickle Man, Weatherford, Feasance, Pondshen, Angling, Rail Bird, Lo-Pond, Ladariel, Banhambra, Janeariel, Buck R., Ariel Victory, Hurst Station, Cloud Rift, Eddie R., Paraponda, Hazel H. and Third Stitch.
Miss Berenda, a sorrel mare out of Sissy, by Kip, was Pondariel’s best Quarter Horse starter. She made 60 starts, won ten races, and earned $8,759 on the track. In 1955, Miss Berenda set a new track record at Solano in Vallejo, California for 350 yards in 18.500 seconds. She went on to produce racing ROM-earners Dorend, Cutting Gate, Flight Plan and Berenda’s Charge. She also produced Bar End, a track record setter who went on to sire racing ROM-earners Ayunita Barend, Bar Smoke Lassie, Bar Tot Bobs Bar End, Bonnie Bar, End, Burning Bottom, Handle Bar End, Lets Go Sam, Little Handy Bar, Mr Bar End, Partys End, Sally Bar End and Shantys Bar. Other Quarter Horse starters by Pondariel included My Candy Kid, Tombola and Sister Jerry. In total, his progeny won 157 races and earned $147,836 on the track.
His grandget were moderately successful on the track. His only son to sire runners was the aforementioned Pondie. Quarter Horse foals out of Pondariel mares won 47 races and earned $62,216 on the track. His best producing daughter, Chinchilla, was bred exclusively to Lightning Bar, a stakes placed son of Three Bars. The cross produced stakes winners Li Chilla and Manor Born as well as racing ROM-earners Miss Drue, Bold Lightning and Magic Manner. Both Bold Lightning and Magic Manner went on to become successful sires. Notably, Magic Manner sired Hot Magic, winner of the 1968 Lubbock Downs Futurity.
Ariel Deck, a brown Thoroughbred stallion by Top Deck and out of Cede Su, by Pondariel, was bred by was bred by J. B. Ferguson in Texas. Ariel Deck made seven official starts against Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse company. He won one race and earned $1,319 on the track. Ariel Deck went on to sire racing ROM-earners Ariel Decks Gal, Ariel Flight, Bartee Deck, Little Red Arrow, Miss Deck Cat, Taterhill Bob and Top Tag Deck. He was also the dam sire of Sports Castor, an Appaloosa stakes winner and sire of ApHC Hall of Fame inductee, Sheza Good Sport.
Dusty Bound, a dark brown Thoroughbred mare by Through Bound and out of Her-Lily, by Pondariel, made eight starts against Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse company. As a two-year-old, she equaled the track record for four furlongs at Raton in New Mexico. Dusty Bound produced twelve Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse foals. Her most successful Thoroughbred starter was Wingo Bound, winner of the 1968 Land of Enchantment Stakes at La Mesa Park. Wingo Bound, along with Dusty Bound’s other Thoroughbred sons Bounding Tide and Dusty Pass, sired Thoroughbreds, Quarter Horses and Paints. Dusty Bound’s most successful Quarter Horse starter, Flaming Jet, earned $168,671 on the track. Flaming Jet won nine races including the 1973 Jet Deck Stakes, a race named in honor of his sire at Albuquerque Downs. Flaming Jet went on to sire 53 barrel racing money earners including Chicado Flame, Scooter Moons Flame and Free Ettas Fortune.
Pondariel’s last foals were born in 1955. Although he only sired 57 registered foals in thirteen foal crops, he still made an impact on the racing and performance industries through his son Pondie and his many daughters. Today, his descendants are competing in nearly every western discipline.
Sources: Equineline, Equibase, American Quarter Horse Association, National Quarter Horse Breeders Association, All Breed Database
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