Maroon was foaled at the Alcorn Ranch in 1949. She was by Echuca Ladd, a chestnut Thoroughbred stallion bred by Cliff Armstrong in Seagraves, Texas. He was by Goalduring and out of Echuca, by Gay World. Echuca Ladd stood at the A. D. Jones Estate near Roswell. A stable sergeant at New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI) said that “Ladd went to the tracks at two and spent the best part of three years campaigning at Hot Springs, Arkansas, Phoenix, Tucson, Raton, Silver City and Ruidoso. Best time for his longest distance was chalked up at Ruidoso when Adelita defeated him by a photo at seven furlongs in 1:29.2, a new track record.”
Officially, Echuca Ladd made 16 starts, won one race, and earned $393 on the track. He was a stout horse – standing 15.3hh and weighing 1,100 pounds. He was described as smart with a beautiful head. After Echuca Ladd retired from racing, he competed in reining and cutting. He showed an astonishing aptitude for western sports. Despite his many talents, he only sired seven AQHA recognized foals in twenty years at stud. Maroon was his only get in 1949.
Maroon’s dam, Mattie Fern, was a graduation present from Colonel Daniel Cecil Pearson, the head of the NMMI, to his daughter Mary. Mattie Fern was a chestnut Thoroughbred mare by multiple stakes winner Sunfire and out of Romona Fern, by Jesse Thompson. Mattie Fern was unraced in official races. She stood 15.3hh and weighed about 1,050 pounds.
“She was a kid’s dream in Technicolor come true,” Mary, whose married name was Mrs. Mary Pearson Smith, is recorded as saying in Great Moments in Quarter Racing History by Nelson C. Nye. “She and I got on pretty well, considering that both of us were inclined to be stubborn. She learned to jump really well and walked like Mae West. I’ll never forget the first time I queried Colonel Holman about her. The best he could think of to say was that she was gentle. While I was off at college, they’d tried to use her in ranks. The performances she put on were purely outstanding. She could beat up a mounted drill in nothing flat and loved to do it. They finally made her an officer’s mount, a promotion Miss Mattie always felt she had earned.”
Mattie Fern produced three Thoroughbred foals under the ownership of Mrs. Mary Pearson Smith – Sun Clipper, Capinpin and Maroon. Sun Clipper was by Khedive II and Capinpin by Bunting Jr. Capinpin later sired a handful of horses in New Mexico. His only Quarter Horse daughter, Dexter Nan, produced race winners Little Paul Bar, Peerless Paul and Nother Kinda Man.
“First time I laid eyes on her, I knew she was something special,” said Mrs. Mary Pearson Smith of Maroon. “She was four months old, with the behind of a full-grown quarter horse and a neck like a thoroughbred stallion. She had a Romanish nose and an eye as wild as a hoot owl. I guess it was the wildness that struck me most. During her track career she stood 15 hands and weighed 1,100 pounds of solid do-or-die thoroughbred.”
Late in 1949, Mrs. Mary Pearson Smith gave Mattie Fern and her offspring, including baby Maroon, to Colonel A. H. Norton and his daughter, accomplished equestrian, Suzanne Norton. Ralls C. “Punch” Jones of Tatum, New Mexico kept tabs on Mattie Fern and Maroon because his father, A. D. Jones, owned Echuca Ladd. Punch Jones wanted to buy the mares, but Suzanne felt that she could not sell the horses because they were gifts. The matter was settled when Punch and Suzanne were married. Under the joint ownership of Mr. and Mrs. Ralls C. “Punch” Jones, Mattie Fern produced two more Thoroughbred foals – Horned J. and Mi Cabrita – and two Quarter Horse foals – Jaimy Tack and I’m Gone. Notably, Jaimy Tack produced stakes contender Running J Bar and high point barrel horse Bright Horns. I’m Gone sired 27 AQHA registered foals. Mattie Fern’s last foal was born in 1956 when she was 21 years old.
Punch started Maroon as a two-year-old but she did not race until she was three. It was difficult to find jockeys that were not afraid of her unpredictable nature. Because Maroon lacked consistent guidance, it took a while for her to figure out racing. She only made one start against Thoroughbred company and did not hit the board. She finally scored her first major win on October 4th, 1953, in a 400-yard Quarter Horse race at Albuquerque. She beat Johnny Dial, the 1952 AQHA Racing World Champion, by a neck and equaled the track record.
A few months after that breakthrough victory, Maroon was injured at Phoenix and vanned off the racetrack. She returned to the races in January of 1954, but did not find the winner’s circle again until June. She finally got her first stakes win in the 1954 Buttons and Bows Stakes. Four days later, she won the New Mexico State Fair Championship. Maroon won the Buttons and Bows again the following year and set or equaled three track records at Ruidoso Downs. Her final race record was 53 starts, 12 wins, 8 seconds and 10 thirds with $14,016 in earnings.
Maroon went on to produce three Jockey Club and eleven AQHA registered foals. Her first foal, Marooneo, earned a Racing Register of Merit. Marooneo later produced stakes winner Mar Deck, who in turn produced stakes winner Rule the Deck. Rule the Deck was the dam of Kuhi Kuhi the 1996, 1997 and 1998 New Mexico Hi-Point Aged Mare. Rule the Deck was also the dam of AQHA sires Paa Lei and Ahilani. Rule the Deck’s full-sister, Rule the Surf, produced Feature the Surf, sire of 114 Quarter Horses. Jet One Eleven and Bright Jet were also successful sires out of Bright Mileo, another daughter of Marooneo.
Maroon later produced stakes winners Marooned, Je Roon, De Roon and Dirk One Eleven. Je Roon, a chestnut mare by Jet Deck, was one of her best producing daughters. She produced multiple stakes winners A Roon and Madam President. Je Roon was also the second dam of stakes winner Magic Majesty and the third dam of By Gone Pi, Duncan Pi, Truthfully Yours, Catlow Gulch and Go Go Better. De Roon, a full-sister to Je Roon, was also a good producer. She was the second dam of stakes winner DG Miss Daisy and the third dam of Rarest Daisy and Myra Me. Dirk One Eleven sired 130 AQHA registered foals.
Maroon’s daughter Horned Replica produced multiple stakes winner Good Catch, who in turn produced stakes winner The Long Rope. Horned Replica also produced sires Deck One Eleven and Easy Rep. She was the granddam of racing and performance sire Denver Express.
Maroon produced her fourteenth and final foal, Ze Roon, in 1977 at the age of 28. She sadly died a few hours later and was buried on the Jones Ranch. Altogether, eight of her foals that went to the track won nearly 40 official races and earned over $130,000 on the track. Her contributions to the Quarter Horse industry were recognized in 2018 when she was inducted into the AQHA Hall of Fame.
Sources: Equineline, Equibase, American Quarter Horse Association, Great Moments in Quarter Racing History, All Breed Database
The Western Thoroughbred 