Insubordination was a grandson of Khaled and Depth Charge, which meant that he had close ties to the Quarter Horse industry on both sides of his pedigree. He was a remarkable runner that won nineteen of his 66 starts and retired sound. He sired a Thoroughbred champion and has a handful of Quarter Horse descendants competing in racing and barrel racing today.
Insubordination was foaled on February 4th, 1967. He bred by Charles W. Black at Silver Lake Farm near Frankfort, Kentucky. His sire, Semi-pro, was by Khaled, an impressive sire of 61 stakes winners, including Swaps, Big Noise, Correspondent, Terrang, A Glitter, Linmold, Physician, Going Abroad and New Policy, the sire of Reb’s Policy. Semi-pro was unplaced in three starts, but he sired stakes winners Trusty Pro, Quarraling Pro, Pro Bidder, Nashpro, Vivacious Meg and Brustigert. He also sired 57 AQHA recognized foals, including multiple stakes placed Quick Kick Miss who was the third dam of barrel horse sire Jack My Memories.
Deeptrust, the dam of Insubordination, was a Charles W. Black homebred. She was by Depth Charge, a Thoroughbred stallion that was inducted into the AQHA Hall of Fame for his contribution to the breed. He sired Quarter Horse stakes winners Johnny Dial, Super Charge, Tiny Charger, Dividend and Miss Queenie. Like Semi-pro, Deeptrust was also unplaced in three starts. Of the five foals that they produced together, four were winners and two were black-type stakes winners. Trusty Pro, a full sibling to Insubordination, won six stakes races. Infiltration, another full sibling, was the damsire of ApHC Superior Award earner Zippos Dandylyon. Wise Charge, a half-sibling to Insubordination, won the 1963 Oh Susanna Stakes. Wise Charge later produced Speedy Pro, a stakes winning sire of Quarter Horses. Altogether, Deeptrust produced fifteen foals for Charles W. Black, his estate, and his son Stephen H. Black. Collectively, her foals won 75 races and earned $647,425 on the track.
Insubordination ran for owner Gerald Robins under co-owner and trainer William J. Resseguet, Jr. He matured early and showed tremendous speed. As a two-year-old, Insubordination won six stakes races. On March 25th, 1969, he was first to cross the wire in the five-furlong Gulfstream Park Dinner Stakes. Two months later, he won the Youthful Stakes at Aqueduct. He spent the rest of the year chalking up wire-to-wire wins at tracks across the country. He won the Portola Stakes and Hollywood Juvenile Championship Stakes at Hollywood Park, the Futurity Stakes at Arlington and the To Market Stakes at Hawthorne. He also placed second in the Rancocas Stakes at Garden State and the Arlington-Washington Futurity and third in the Cowdin Stakes at Belmont Park.
As an older horse, Insubordination won the Hurricane Handicap at Tropical Park and the Better Bee Handicap at Sportsman’s Park. He retired sound at the end of his five-year-old season with 66 starts, nineteen wins, eighteen seconds and six thirds, with $382,515 in earnings, which is the equivalent of about $2.9 million today.
William J. Resseguet, Jr., Insubordination’s trainer, bred the chestnut stallion to several mares while he was still racing. Insubordinate Lad, one of his first Thoroughbred foals, was bred by Resseguet in Texas. Insubordinate Lad won sixteen races and earned $111,710 on the track. In 1974, Insubordination’s first stakes winner, Hegor the Horrible, was foaled. Hegor the Horrible was a chestnut Thoroughbred colt bred by Albert and Ralph Porco in Florida. He was exported to Belgium in 1975. There, he won the 1977 Prix Espoir, 1978 Prix Prosper Decloedt and 1978 Grand Handicap International d’Ostende. Hegor the Horrible sired a handful of foals in Belgium after he retired from racing.
Really Rosie, the best Thoroughbred starter by Insubordination, was bred by Walter Burke in Florida. Really Rosie was exported to Norway where she won the 1977 Vandrepokal for 2-Aringer and the Norwegian Kriterium. She was named the 1977 Norwegian Champion Two-Year-Old Filly. The following year, Really Rosie earned the title of 1978 Norwegian Champion Three-Year-Old Filly after she won the Norwegian One Thousand Guineas and the Norwegian Two Thousand Guineas. Really Rosie later returned to the United States where she ran in a few Allowance races before joining Haakon Fretheim’s broodmare band in Kentucky. She produced just two foals – Noble Charlie and Norse Rose – before her death in 1983.
Insubordination’s first Quarter Horse foals were born in 1979. That first Quarter Horse crop included Racing Register of Merit earners Insubordinatestyle, Insubordinate Honey, Deep Art and Lil Resolution. Other Racing ROM earners by Insubordination included Insubordinate Pass, Hold My Hand, Bug Truckle Too, Provocative Lady, Pick of the Patch, My Insubordination, Rather Frisky Fellow and Insubordinate Class.
By 1980, Insubordination was owned by Dr. Glenn Orr and Mrs. Shari Orr and standing at their Celestial Acres Stud near Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. His stud fee was $5,000. It was around that time that he sired his highest earner, Running Bucket. Running Bucket was a bay Thoroughbred colt bred by Wayne and Jim Johnson in Texas. Running Bucket won sixteen races and earned $417,540 on the track. His stakes wins included the Land of Enchantment Futurity, Riley Allison Derby, Aspen Handicap, Norgor Derby, Ruidoso Derby, Golden Harvest Handicap, Pelican State Handicap, Azalea Handicap and Delta Downs Gold Cup Handicap. Unfortunately, Running Bucket died after he broke down in the Blue Skies Stakes at Louisiana Downs on June 24th, 1984.
Other Thoroughbred stakes winners by Insubordination included Ocean Emperor, Bord of Hope and Koffdrop. Subordinate, a dark bay Thoroughbred colt by Insubordination, was his only track record setter. He set a new track record at Aqueduct for 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.60. Sub Winner was his only stakes placed Quarter Horse. He placed second in the 1988 Kansas Jackpot Derby and was a finalist in the Gr. 3 Northest Kansas QHA Derby.
In total, Insubordination sired 404 Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse foals in fifteen foal crops. They included 184 race winners, fourteen ROM earners, six stakes winners and one champion. They earned $4,849,673 on the track.
Sons of Insubordination sired 60 AQHA recognized foals. Fighting Armor, Prayer Call and Shenation were the largest contributors to that number.
Daughters of Insubordination produced 153 AQHA recognized foals that earned $164,357 on the track and 12.5 points in the arena. Sir Chance a Lot, a sorrel gelding by Special Leader and out of Cherry Brandy, by Insubordination, won the 1996 Willow Park Futurity at Sam Houston. Sir Chance a Lot was the highest earning Quarter Horse out of an Insubordination mare. The most accomplished show horse out of a daughter of Insubordination was Monglows Silowet, the 1995 ApHC National Champion in Junior Western Riding. Panhandler Slim, a chestnut Quarter Horse gelding by Tamanation, was the only AQHA point earner out of an Insubordination mare.
Insubordination died in 1985 under the ownership of Celestial Acres Stud. His last foals were born the following year. Although he was not particularly influential, he can still be found on the bottomside of many Quarter Horse pedigrees. He was the second damsire of Leaders Luck, a Quarter Horse sire of racehorses and barrel horses. Insubordination was also the second damsire of prominent APHA sire, Candy Wrangler. His great-granddaughter Wagon of Tears LVC has produced several nice barrel horses. And the Colorado Classic enrolled stallion His Will can trace his damline directly to Insubordination.
Sources: Equineline, Equibase, American Quarter Horse Association, Speedhorse Magazine, All Breed Database
The Western Thoroughbred 