Pitzer Ranch - Bijou Creek Farm

Pitzer Ranch
& The Continuing Legacy of
Two Eyed Jack
by Debby Preso
Ericson, Nebraska is a small town with a population of 104; it is located in Wheeler
county which has a population of 886. For three days in September the county more than doubles
its population – what causes this phenomenon? For those three days (Sept 8, 9, 10 this year) Pitzer
Ranch holds its Annual Fall Production Sale. “Usually we have around a thousand people for the sale.” says Jim Brinkman who operates the family ranch with his wife Tana and their two kids.. “There aren’t
a lot of motels around so we cut the field across from the barn and a lot of the people camp. We get
everything from fancy RV’s to people who sleep in their pick ups!” So just what kind of horses bring all
these people to the Sandhills of Nebraska? Pitzer Ranch raises some of the best and most versatile
using horses in the country, most of them carrying the bloodline of a true Quarter Horse legend – the
great Two Eyed Jack.
National Foundation Quarter Horse Journal •August 2006 • Page 18
Left: Pitzer Ranch bred roping entries at the 2002 World
Show. 9 of the 12 horses pictured were purchased at the
Pitzer Ranch and sent back to Jim Brinkman to gather their
show records
The Beginning
While Howard Pitzer liked a pretty horse he wouldn’t compromise on their performance. If he bought a horse for its looks and
then found that it couldn’t work on the ranch, if it didn’t have
any cow, or wasn’t sure-footed enough, he would sell it on right
away even if it was a winning halter horse.
Howard was having a lot of success showing his Pat Star Jr
line of horses when he saw the horse that would make the Pitzer
Ranch synonymous with Quarter Horse excellence.
Howard Pitzer was a man who knew what he liked in a horse and Two Eyed Jack
knew a good horse when he saw one. “He was a farm boy from
eastern Nebraska who came over here for the duck hunting as a
Herman Mass was a Quarter Horse breeder from Illinois who
kid.” Jim Brinkman is Howard Pitzer’s grandson. Jim recounts. traveled far and wide in his search to improve his breeding stock.
“His dad was an old time horse trader back in the ‘20s and ‘30s. On one trip to California he saw a five day old colt who he said
Mostly all draft hoses. Those were the days of the teams, so he was ‘ a perfectly conformed adult Quarter Horse in miniature.’ It
grew up with all that.”
seemed most judges agreed with him and by the time Two Eyed
Howard bought his first good stallion at a jack pot roping in Jack was a two year old he had won numerous championships at
Oklahoma. That stallion was Pat
Star Jr, an own son of Oklahoma
Star. The stallion went on to sire
more than 20 AQHA champions;
a feat made even more remarkable
when you consider that he died at
just 14. Howard also used Pat Star
Jr on the ranch in the days when,
as Brinkman says, “There were no
portable panels and chutes and all
that stuff. You just went out and
roped ‘em and did whatever you
had to do.”
Those were the days when the men
working on the ranches were highly
skilled horsemen and Jim says, “In
the old days guys like Matlock Rose
trained horses while doing work for
the ranchers they rode for. Howard
had guys like Johnny Mullins, Tom
Eliason and Bill Keyser showing for
the ranch. When I was a little kid
those guys were out there and they
were hands.” He continues, “The
horses weren’t so much ‘arena
broke’ as they were good functional
using horses.”
Back in that day everyone showed
their stallion at halter and Howard
Pitzer did a lot of showing. Says
Jim, “In those days all the prestige
was in the halter class. You might
own a nice working horse but you
went to the show for the halter
class.” Howard told Jim that he
showed for thirteen years before he
Two Eyed Jack and Howard Pitzer. The All-time Leading Sire of AQHA Champions,
won his first grand championship;
and the All-time Leading Breeder of AQHA Champions. This famous photo clearly
Jim says he doesn’t know if that is
shows the exceptional bond between Howard and Two Eyed Jack.
true or not but that Howard did
like to show.
National Foundation Quarter Horse Journal •August 2006 • Page 19
Brinkman says one of the things his grandfather liked best
about Two Eyed Jack was his size. “In those days you either had
the smaller ‘cow pony’ type horses or the race horses. Howard
was a big man and I think he liked Jack because he was a bigger,
stronger type of horse with more hind leg. Howard also thought
Jack would cross well with either of those other types.”
Jack inherited his substantial frame from his dam Triangle
Tookie who was a 6666 mare and his athletic ability from his sire
Two D Two who, according to Brinkman, was from a reining
family. “Jack’s full sister was an Honor Roll champion reining
horse.”
Although, like the majority of stallions at that time, most of
Two Eyed Jack‘s points came at halter he was also successful in
performance classes. He had Western Pleasure points as well as
points in Hunter Under Saddle, Reining, Western Riding and
Working Cow Horse. Jack even tried Barrel Racing at the Congress and ran a record time with only two weeks training. He retired from the show ring at nine years old with 217 halter points;
Many years of conscientious breeding and integrity back up
he was awarded a Superior in halter and his AQHA Championeach horse that carries the Lazy HP brand of the Pitzer Ranch.
ship in 1964.
Many stallions are successful themselves but
are unable to pass their looks and talent on.
Such was not the case with Two Eyed Jack; out
of 17 foal crops he had 119 AQHA champions,
3 Supreme champions, and 21 World champions. His get earned 15,698 Halter points and
21,336 Performance points and he was the sire
of Vickie Lee Pine who was the first AQHA
Superhorse in 1978. When asked when it was
that Howard knew how good Two Eyed Jack’s
offspring were, Brinkman chuckles, “I think
he knew about 60 days into his first colt crop.
Howard had a pretty good eye and he knew by
looking at those colts that he had a sire.”
When Howard wanted to show Jack off to
visitors he would have the then 9 year old Jim
lope figure eights on him with only a halter. Jim
remembers how athletic and easy the stallion
was, “He was just a natural lead changer, you
couldn’t really make him miss. He had great
natural balance.” His offspring inherited these
qualities and Jim has this to say about their
Two Eyed Jack bred horses, “You can sell these
horses to about anybody and they’ll perform.
Jim Brinkman heading for son Sam on horses sired by descendents
They will do as good as the rider that’s on them.
of Two Eyed Jack at a horse show held at Pitzer Ranch.
They’ll take a lot of pressure and they don’t worry about rider mistakes. They’re real forgiving.
halter. He was sold a couple of times, ending up with Joe Lind- And,” he says, “ they have a lot of substance.”
holn of Auburn, IA.
Jim’s wife Tana says her favorite memories of Jack were when
Howard had been an admirer of Two Eyed Jack for quite some visitors came to the ranch to see the great horse. “They would
time and was determined to have a part in the stallion’s future. come to take his picture and he would stand up perfectly with his
He and Lindholm were both at a show in Nebraska and after ears pricked. He had so much presence He was like somebody on
some talking and horse-trading Pitzer wound up with half interest the red carpet. Then, after the oooohing and aaaahing was over,
in the three year old. Howard also talked Lindholm into letting whoever was holding the lead shank would say ‘OK Jack’ and he
him show Two Eyed Jack. After a year and a half of showing with would lie down right there and roll. That was his treat. He just
Howard, Jack had nearly 50 grand championships. Howard did loved that!”
a little more dealing and became the sole owner of the horse ‘I
Two Eyed Jack died in March of 1991 just 20 days short of his
wanted him since I first laid eyes on him.’
30th birthday. He had lived up to the promise he showed as a five
National Foundation Quarter Horse Journal •August 2006 • Page 20
day old colt - ‘a perfectly
conformed Quarter Horse
in miniature’ – and become
the prototypical Quarter
Horse stallion of his day.
His success in the show ring
was only surpassed by his
success at stud. It is doubtful that any other stallion
will ever come close to siring 119 AQHA champions.
Perhaps his greatest legacy
though are the Pitzer Ranch
Quarter Horses today; they
didn’t dwindle into obscurity with his passing as happens to so many ranches
after a great stallion dies.
Jim and Tana Brinkman
are producing top quality
performers with Two Eyed
Jack bloodlines as their ace
in the hole.
Left: The Brinkman
family, Sarah, Sam, Jim
and Tana Brinkman.
Second: Everyone
pitches in when fences
need attention.
Third: Pitzer Ranch
horses are required
to help on the ranch
and even the show
horses earn their pay
herding cattle and
dragging calves to the
fire at branding time.
The Pitzer Ranch Today
The Pitzer Ranch is a family operation. Jim & Tana and their
two children, Sarah and Sam, along with Jim’s sister Jane and
her family have continued to produce the good-looking, good
minded, versatile horses that made Howard and the ranch famous. Howard passed away in 1998 but the family work hard to
maintain his high standards.
Jim never really wanted to do anything else and if he had big
shoes to fill they seem to fit him just fine. He is an accomplished
trainer and a natural-born horseman. The boy who used to lope
Two Eyed Jack around in a halter now hits “between 60 and 80
AQHA shows” a year with up to six horses and is a fixture at
the AQHA World show. AQHA records show that Jim has accumulated over 2000 points Heading and Heeling but Jim has
been showing since he was thirteen years old – before AQHA was
keeping point totals – so the total points earned is significantly
more than that.
He also shows the stallions at halter. “You kind of have to pick
your spots. All of our stallions work on the ranch and it’s hard to
compete a performance horse against the straight halter horses.”
He is looking forward to 2007 when AQHA is introducing their
Performance Halter class. Horses competing in this class would
be required to have an ROM. “Right now what happens is that if
you get to a show and the halter guys aren’t there then you might
have 10 to 15 studs in the halter class but if you get to the show
and there are a few halter guys there then that’s just the class.
You know you won’t do any good so nobody else enters and the
classes are little. I think the new class is a good move – it’s moving forward.”
Tana was a local girl, a former Miss Rodeo Nebraska and is
from an old PRCA family. She was a successful competitor (she
qualified for the World Show in Heading) but these days the business side of the ranch keeps her busy, “It’s good job security!” she
National Foundation Quarter Horse Journal •August 2006 • Page 21
Bottom: 7 down - 296
to go! All the families
and ranch hands help
with the huge mid
summer job of branding
and halter breaking
all the ranch foals. laughs. She was also “the horse show mom” when Sam and Sarah were busy showing. She would like to get back into showing
but one of her top priorities is making sure the ranch maintains
its high standards.
She gets all the info around for the sales and also is the ranch
photographer. “My parents were professional photographers
– my dad was a
PRCA competitor
and he took a lot
of rodeo pictures.”
Tana takes all the
pictures for the
sales catalogs, the
Pitzer Ranch ads,
and the halter pictures of the studs.
Both Sam, 22
and Sarah, 24 are
immersed in the
ranch. Says Tana,
“Sam followed in
his father’s footsteps; he always
It is not all work on the ranch!
knew that he
Jessica Sogge plays in the water, and Sam
wanted to work on
and Jim enjoy a hunting outing with one of the
the ranch.” Sarah
Labrador Retrievers they raise.
went to school
at the University
of Nebraska-Lincoln, paying her
own way.
“We
felt that if the kids
paid their own way
that meant they
were really serious
about it.”
Both of the kids
started showing
in the AQHYA
shows, they both
qualified and were
finalists at the
Youth
Worlds.
Sarah caused quite
a stir at the AQHA World show when she showed Mr Joes Song in
the aged stallion Open division. Jim was busy showing Two Eyed
Red Buck and obviously couldn’t show both stallions. Sarah
stepped up to the plate against all the seasoned pros with the full
support of her father who said, “Shoot, she’s the one who qualified him she should show him.” Tana & Jim are not advocates of
any thirteen year old showing a stallion but says Tana, “He was
such a phenomenal horse – probably Jim’s favorite. We breed our
horses for their dispositions and the fact that she did show him
just demonstrated how good minded these horses are.”
These days Sam takes the Pitzer Ranch horses to the US Team
Ropings, “He goes through them pretty fast!” says Jim. He heads
and heels but Jim says probably heels better while Sarah “heads
pretty good.”
Jim’s sister Jane has five girls and with the two young Brinkmans it seems safe to say that the Pitzer Ranch should continue to
reflect Howard Pitzer’s ideals about raising good horses for years
to come.
The Horses
Howard Pitzer was adamant about the high quality of the horses raised on the ranch and that is still true of the horses raised by
his grandchildren. Conformation is at the top of the list when
they are looking to see which stallions will be matched with which
mares, “We match them to build the best individual they can
when they produce that colt.” Disposition is a close second to
conformation however and one for which the Pitzer Ranch horses
are famous, “80 to 90% of the horses we raise and sell go to everyday people; people who just want to trail ride or use the horse on
the ranch. We know the family characteristics of our stallions and
mares and we cross them to maximize the best qualities.”
The disposition of the stallions is uniformly gentle, easy going
Disposition is paramount in the Pitzer Ranch breeding
program. Stallions are tied side by side during training,
and while waiting their turn to compete at shows.
and good natured. “All our stallions have to be able to stand tied
next to each other and to other horses because they work on the
ranch. We do have a stud chain but it’s back in a dusty corner
somewhere.”
Out of a foal crop of over two hundred and fifty, Tana says,
there are usually five or six stud colts that will catch their attention. “But if it’s a stud colt that we keep back it also has to be out
of a mare that has produced several good ones no matter which
stud she is bred to.” A look at the bottom side of the pedigree of
most of the Pitzer Ranch stallions will usually show that the dam
has had several successful offspring.
To keep the quality of the broodmare band high they will save
back about 10% of their fillies a year; these filllies are not chosen so much for their looks as the strong maternal characteristics
of their families. The ranch will buy replacement mares “But,”
Tana states emphatically, “if we buy a mare she has to be better
than something we raise. And she is usually a ‘name brand’, a
National Foundation Quarter Horse Journal •August 2006 • Page 22
The healthy, hearty Pitzer Ranch broodmares are expected to foal
raise a colt, get pregnant, and survivie without a lot of extra care.
His daughter Jessica goes down to work at the ranch in the summers and he says of Jim & Tana, “They have experience and integrity and I value their partnership and friendship very highly.”
This is a recurring theme in talking to people who do business with the Pitzer Ranch. Jim & Tana are not just interested in
selling people a horse, they want them to succeed with the horse
they buy whether it’s in the show ring or on the ranch.
Rich Hutchings, of Fallon, NV, runs about 2500 head of
mother cows over a huge ranch, and also shows AQHA as a team
roper; he finds that the Pitzer Ranch horses do both quite nicely.
“They’re cowy, pretty, and they have color. Plus they have size
and substance that a lot of today’s horses don’t have. I might
have to catch an 1800 pound wild bull and I don’t want to be on
some little 800 pound horse!” Rich bought his first stud prospect
producer of successful offspring, or an own daughter of a ‘name
brand’ out of an own daughter of a ‘name brand’. Over the last
ten years we’ve been developing the herd so that we have mares
we really like.”
Although they can figure how much percent Two Eyed Jack is
in each horse, it isn’t a top priority, “We try to look at each horse
individually. We don’t breed for percentage because we know the
family characteristics so well. We know what they will produce.
We want to keep the Two Eyed Jack alive but we also want to keep
the strong families alive.”
The Production Sales
The ranch has been holding it’s annual fall sale since 1977 but
these days it’s a bit more of an undertaking. Pitzer Ranch members put on the production of selling 750 head of horses over the
three days of the fall sale. Saturday is the Ranch day, offering
325 ranch-bred horses. Sunday is for consignments from all of
the Pitzer Ranch satellite breeders. Friday afternoon they will sell
about 150 head of broke horses. The geldings and riding horses
take longer to sell Jim says. “You have to ride them in and tell
two or three stories. The colts you can run through a lot quicker.”
There is a sale preview Thursday afternoon and then a little bit
each morning just before the sale. The sale horses will be shown
on cattle. “We’re all set up for that kind of stuff.”
Everyone who works on the ranch along with all family members is involved in the preparations for the sale and the Brinkmans also know they can count on the locals for help. “It’s a
small community and lots of our neighbors pitch in. Guys who
come over and rope our steers help us out.”
The Brinkman’s not only sell their horses but they establish life
long relationships with the people who buy them. Dave Sogge is a
Sr VP Financial Consultant at RBC Dain Rauscher in Colorado
who only got into horses ten years ago. “We bought a couple Two
Eyed Jack horses for my daughter who showed in 4-H and AQHA.
The thing we noticed about these horses is that they were athletic
and so calm. They were just wonderful and great with the kids.”
Sogge paid his first visit to the ranch in 1996 and liked the
horses so well he bought two. He bought a Baron Red son who
he says, “knew a lot more than I did. I’d send him to Jim for a
tune up and I’d go down and ride with Jim so I could get to be as
good as the horse.”
Above: Only horses bred by Pitzer Ranch are entitled
to carry the Lazy HP brand. The number brands on
each buttock indicate the sire and the dam.
Below: 2005 foals kept back for future show prospects and
broodmare replacements. They are run in large pastures,
separated by sex until they are three years old. Brinkmans
believe that isolating young horses in non-social stalls
leads to behavorial problems that are hard to fix later.
National Foundation Quarter Horse Journal •August 2006 • Page 23
and some broodmares from the Brinkman’s and is
now a guest consignor at the sale. “Jim and Tana
are quality people.” he says.
The spring sale showcases the ranch geldings,
but they still sell around three hundred head.
“When we freeze up here in the winter and get
locked in the barn we usually just kind of make
geldings and get the colts broke. And we’ll sell
some broodmares.”
It’s Not Just The Horses
The ranch is not just about the horses, they run
around 1000 head of Black Angus cattle and are
building a herd of around 200 head of registered
Angus. Tana says they use the same high standards in the cattle as the horses. “We really stress
the importance of the maternal side, are they an
easy breeder, good milker, good producer?” The
last few years have been good ones for the cattle
business and being located in Ericson is a big plus;
the Ericson Sale Barn sells around 200,000 head
of cattle making it one the top two cattle barns in the nation.
Above: While Pitzer Ranch is widely known for its outstanding
Quarter Horses, it is also a working ranch raising Angus cattle.
Below: Most of the Pitzer stallions are pasture bred. The photo
shows the great Mr Baron Red at age 23 in pasture with his mares.
Performance Horse Preview at a Pitzer Ranch Sale. Buyers
can see the horses worked and ask any questions.
Ericson and the surrounding area is also a good location for
livestock as they never really have to worry about drought the way
some areas do. The Ogallala Aquifer runs underneath the Sandhills and the Ericson region is “the re-charge area” for the Ogallala
Aquifer. This allows them to have a ready water source for stock.
“Most of our windmills are 40 to 60 feet,” Jim says, “you can pull
‘em by hand.”
Having all the streams and water around is what makes it such
great duck hunting. Jim and Sam also follow in Howard Pitzer’s
footsteps by being enthusiastic bird hunters. True to form they
breed their own Labrador Retrievers. “It’s just like the horses
– when you’re around good ones you don’t want to have anything
else. So we started breeding our own.”
So this is what brings nearly one thousand people to the little
town of Ericson, NE for three days every fall. The wonderful
horses produced by the ranch and the people who produce those
horses. The fact that the ranch is in such a remote location, far
from any major airports seems to have no affect on the attendance
for either the spring or fall sales. There is no doubt that if Howard
Pitzer - ‘Gramps’ – was around today he would be very proud of
the Pitzer Ranch and what it continues to stand for.
National Foundation Quarter Horse Journal •August 2006 • Page 24