Native Native had impeccable conformation. An expert Quarter Horse man once said “if I had made him out of mud and had a handful left over, I wouldn’t know where to put it.” Unfortunately, the bay son of Native Dancer was plagued by injury. He still managed to sire a handful of stakes winners and a few families of noteworthy barrel horses.
Native Native was foaled on January 24th, 1966. He was bred by Martin Anderson in Kentucky. His sire, Native Dancer, was one of the most accomplished Thoroughbred racehorses in American history. Native Dancer won 21 of 22 starts. His only loss was in the 1953 Kentucky Derby, in which he placed second behind Dark Star. Native Dancer went on to win the Preakness and Belmont Stakes, as well as Withers, Dwyer, and Travers Stakes. He was a three-time champion and two-time Horse of the Year. Native Dancer never topped the American sire list, but he was inarguably one of the most influential sires of the 20th century. He sired 43 stakes winners, including Kauai King, winner of the 1966 Kentucky Derby. His sons Raise a Native, Mito, Dancing Dervish and Texas Dancer were highly influential sires of Quarter Horses.
Mill House, the dam of Native Native, was by Basis, a stakes winning son of the British stallion Bahram. Her dam, Mary Gordan, was a full-sister to Review, the dam of the 1966 English Champion Two-Year-Old Filly, Fleet. Mill House won fifteen races and placed third in the 1962 Beverly Handicap. She produced four Thoroughbred foals for Martin Anderson, including race winners Flashy Dance, Tranquilly and Miss Speak Easy. Mill House later joined Clayton O’Quinn’s broodmare band in Florida where she produced four more foals. Gay Chateau and Mansion were her last race winners.
Jimmy Picon, the trainer of Native Native, said that he was one of the fastest horses he ever trained. The bay colt made four starts as a three-year-old. He showed tremendous early speed but never finished better than second. He was forced to retire when he chipped a bone in his knee. His final race record was four starts and two seconds with $1,900 in earnings.
Native Native stood at Jack Kingsbery’s Kingsbery Stud Farm in Crystal City, Texas. Although his racing career was hampered by injury, mare owners were still attracted by his exceptional conformation. His first Thoroughbred foals were born in 1971 and his first Quarter Horse foals were born in 1972. Lova Native, a brown Quarter Horse filly out of a daughter of Top Expense, became his first stakes winner when she won the 1976 Raton Derby at La Mesa Park in New Mexico. Lova Native went on to produce Lova Angel, winner of the Gr. 3 Oklahoma Derby, as well as Superior Race Horse Lova Pie.
In 1977, Native Bandido and Tandancer, Quarter Horse daughters of Native Native, were dominant at Delta Downs in Vinton, Louisiana. Native Bandido set a new track record for 770 yards in 40.570 seconds in the 1977 Distance Series #2 and Tandancer set a new track record for 660 yards in 34.830 seconds. A year later, Tanadancer lowered her record to 34.750 seconds. Native Bandido produced two Quarter Horse foals. She was the third dam of Found a Jet Dash, a 1D barrel horse ridden by Dodie Rogers. Tanadancer was the dam of stakes winner Hometown Brand and Racing ROM earners Tan Te, Dancing Fire, Short Tandancer, Fire Dancer Bar and CM Gold Dancer.
While his Quarter Horse daughters set records at Delta Downs, his Thoroughbred daughters set records at Nuevo Laredo in Mexico. Chiadora’s Native, a dark bay daughter of Native Native, equaled the track record for 5 ½ furlongs in 1:04.00 in the 1983 Cuitlahuac Handicap. She also won the 1983 El 20 De Noviembre Stakes in Mexico. The following year, Market Motion, another dark bay daughter of Native Native, set the track record for 6 furlongs in 1:10.60.
Speedy Native, another record setting Quarter Horse by Native Native, set a new track record at Trinity Meadows for 400 yards in 19.950 seconds. His final stakes winner, Pancho Native, was a brown Quarter Horse colt out of a daughter of Three Oh’s. Pancho Native won six races, including the 1986 Gr. 3 Alamo QHBA Derby at Bandera Downs in Texas. He was Native Native’s chief earner on the track.
Altogether, Native Native sired 210 foals in seventeen foal crops. They included 75 race winners, 48 ROM earners, eight stakes finalists, three stakes winners and three Superior Race Award earners. Collectively they earned $716,919 on the track. Hip Dancer, the only Performance ROM earner by Native Native, earned 50.5 performance points in the Open and Amateur divisions.
His sons sired 100 AQHA recognized foals. Natop, a Thoroughbred son of Native Native, was one of the biggest contributors to that number. Among Natop’s 24 AQHA recognized foals was Justa Lil Cricket, the dam of Lil Boy Cricket, winner of the 1998 Gr. 1 Sam Houston Futurity. Justa Lil Cricket was also the second dam of The Field Cricket, the 2014 Texas High Point Aged Racing Gelding. Additionally, Justa Lil Cricket is the third dam of barrel horse stallions Fast By Design and Bug N the Girlz. Native Native’s sons Richland Native, Crimson Native, Top Leader, Checks in the Mail and Siagon also sired a few Quarter Horse foals.
Daughters of Native Native produced 203 Quarter Horse foals that earned $461,867 on the track. They included 53 race winners, 53 ROM earners, five stakes winners, three Superior Race Award earners and one Regional Champion. Energy Rail, a sorrel gelding by Angel’s Jet Rail and out of Native Miss Bar, by Native Native, was the 1989 Texas Hi Point Aged Gelding. Other stakes winners out of Native Native mares included Native Buz and Mail Calls Sinn. Notably, Native Buz was the sire of the fourth dam of Lotta Bunny Shades, aka “Boss.” Boss was owned by Kaily Richardson and her sister, Carley Richardson, ran him at the 2014 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Mail Calls Sinn is also found in the pedigrees of some successful barrel horses. He sired 112 Quarter Horse foals and was also the damsire of SS Me Fly Too, the 2010 APHA Reserve World Champion Solid Paint Bred in Barrel Racing.
Native Native’s last foals were born in 1986 when he would have been twenty years old. He presumably died in Texas, possibly still under the ownership of Jack Kingsbery.
Sources: Equineline, Equibase, American Quarter Horse Association, The Quarter Horse Journal, All Breed Database
The Western Thoroughbred 