Bird Man was foaled on April 18th, 1963. He was bred by W. E. Steele in Oklahoma. Bird Man was sired by Good Bird, a handsome son of Papa Redbird. Good Bird won five races, including the 1958 Colorado Silver Stakes. After he retired from racing, Good Bird was purchased by Johnny T. L. Jones Jr., the eventual founder of Walmac Farm in Lexington, Kentucky. Good Bird stood in Texas until Walter Merrick purchased a share in the stallion from Jones and moved him to Oklahoma. Good Bird sired 297 Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse foals that earned over $1.5 million on the track. He sired fourteen stakes winners. AQHA champions Lacio Bird and Byou Bird were his best offspring.
Ruby Waters, the dam of Bird Man, was by multiple stakes winner Excite. She was unraced. Ruby Waters produced five Thoroughbred foals and four Quarter Horse foals. Her Thoroughbred foals Exciting Eyes and Eye Ruby were race winners. Exciting Eyes was the dam of Good Excitement, a three-quarter sister to Bird Man. Good Excitement produced Dox Excitement, a Quarter Horse mare that earned money in the NCHA. Dox Excitement went on to produce Colonel Excitement, an NCHA money-earner and sire of 83 Quarter Horse foals. Exciting Eyes also produced Quarter Horse race winner Smooth Excitement, sire of several Quarter Horses and Paints. Paulowat, Reba Reed and Bixby Ruby, the Quarter Horse daughters of Ruby Waters had limited performance and produce records. Bird Man was her only son to stand stud.
On January 30th, 1965, when Bird Man was just 21 months old, he won his debut in a Quarter Horse race at Midway Downs in Stroud, Oklahoma. One week later, he set a new track record for 220 yards in 12.290 seconds in the Magic Empire Winter Futurity. Bird Man then won an Allowance race at Blue Ribbon Downs in Sallisaw, Oklahoma. A month later, he set a new track record for 300 yards in 16.210 seconds in the Clear Fork Futurity at Trinity Meadows in Willow Park, Texas. He won two more races at Midway Downs, including the Magic Empire Spring Futurity, all before his second birthday.
Pacific Bailey was the first horse to defeat Bird Man. The Quarter Horse son of Gold Pacific outran Bird Man in a futurity prep at Marble Downs in Carthage, Missouri. A few days later, the two chestnuts ran one and two again in the Ozark QHA Futurity. In May, Bird Man went back to Blue Ribbon Downs, where away from his rival, he won a futurity prep and placed second in the prestigious Blue Ribbon Futurity. Over the summer, he won races at Midway Downs and La Mesa Park. He finished fourth in the Magic Empire Summer and Fall Futurities. His final win was in an Allowance race at Sunland Park on New Year’s Eve. He made three more starts as a three-year-old but could not find the winner’s circle. His final race record was 24 starts, twelve wins and four seconds, with over $20,000 in earnings.
Bird Man stood at W. R. Brannon’s Circle B Ranch in Harrah, Oklahoma. His first foals arrived in 1967. Watch Bird, a sorrel filly, was among his first foal crop. She won the 1970 SEOQHBA Derby. His first crop also included Steele Bird, a sorrel gelding that earned a Superior Halter award and a Performance Register of Merit. Steele Bird earned a total of 110.0 halter points and 23.0 performance points.
Cloud Master, the best Quarter Horse starter by Bird Man, was foaled in 1968. Cloud Master won the 1970 R. M. Benavides Memorial Futurity and the Columbus Triple Crown Futurity. He also set a new track record at L.I.F.E. Downs in Laredo, Texas for 300 yards in 15.530 seconds. Cloud Master went on earn 6.0 halter points and sire 282 AQHA foals. Some of his best runners included stakes winner My Rainy Day Gal and track record setter Bird Cloud. His sons Crafty Cloud, Cloudy Amen and Cloud Power earned Performance ROMs. His daughter Cloudy View also earned a Performance ROM, Blue Eyes Cryin earned money in the National Cutting Horse Association, and Miss Cloudmaster earned halter and performance points in the Palomino Horse Breeders Association. In total, his offspring earned $327,184 on the track and 185.5 points in the arena.
Other Quarter Horse stakes winners by Bird Man included Gayla Bird, Miss Wonder Bird, Homra, No Reply and Folly Bird. Big Jim Ragland, a sorrel stallion bred by the Circle B Ranch, equaled the track record at Pompano Park for 330 yards in 17.030 seconds. Big Man Ragland, another Oklahoma-bred by Bird Man, placed tenth in Junior Barrel Racing at the 1980 World Show and earned a Performance Register of Merit. Tuff Bird, Stormin Bird and Bird Rebel earned performance points.
In total, Bird Man sired 223 Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse foals in seventeen foal crops. They included 53 race winners, 42 ROM earners, fifteen stakes finalists, seven stakes winners, two Superior Race Award earners and one Superior Halter Award earner. They earned $229,319 on the track and 187.0 points in the arena.
His Thoroughbred sons Fleet Tweet and Avitaurus sired a handful of Quarter Horse foals. After Cloud Master, his most successful Quarter Horse son at stud was Folly Bird. His sons Big Jim Ragland, Pass the Snuff, Homra, Bird Mans Best, Coachman, Mr Bird Dial, and Fly Cool sired a limited number of Quarter Horses, Paints and Appaloosas. Mr Chic Bird, an Appaloosa son of Bird Man, also sired a few foals.
Daughters of Bird Man produced 282 foals that earned $382,066 on the track and 198.5 points in the arena. Miss Negra, a bay mare by Bird Man, produced Negras Lil Magic, the highest earner out of a Bird Man mare. His daughters Miss Birdman and Gee Tee Oh produced stakes winners Our Special Desire and Miss Bird Jet.
His daughter Sue Bird produced Impressive Firebird, a four-time Grand Champion Stallion and Superior Halter Award winner. Impressive Firebird earned 107.0 halter points in the Amateur and Open divisions. Sue Bird also produced Power to Impress, a sorrel stallion that placed fifth in the Three-Year-Old Stallion class at the 1984 World Show and earned 44.0 halter points. Senor Goldbird, a sorrel gelding out of Miss Gold Bird, placed sixth in the Junior Barrel Racing at the 1982 World Show and earned a Performance ROM. Other Performance ROM earners out of Good Bird mares included Sooner R Later. The Flying Man, Im a Marauder and Fly Away Bugs earned performance points.
Bird Man’s last foals were born in 1983 when he would have been twenty years old. He died under the care of Lyle Hedman in Pierre, South Dakota. Although Bird Man was an average sire, his accomplishments in Quarter Horse racing make him a Western Thoroughbred worth remembering!
Sources: Equineline, Equibase, American Quarter Horse Association, All Breed Database
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