Jody Fairfax

 The Hard Luck Horse

excerpts taken from The Working Lines by Larry Thornton

As we study the lives of the great stallions and mares we find that many of them had to overcome obstacles in their life to achieve their success.  This is often the human interest side of the story that makes the life of these great individuals interesting to us as we study their history. 

Jody Fairfax, a descendant of Leo, Joe Reed II and Joe Reed P-3 has certainly encountered his share of obstacles to prove his metal as a great performance stallion.  Jody Fairfax is listed as bred by Marianne Morris, but the name most closely associated with this stallion was the late L. M. "Pat" Patterson.  "Mr. Pat" as he was known throughout the industry is considered by many in modern cutting as a legend as a horseman and trainer.  He would ride such great cutting horses as Sugs Gay Lady, an NCHA Futurity Reserve Champion and Good Judgement, the 1972 NCHA World Champion Cutting Horses.

Patterson would ride Jody Fairfax as an NCHA Futurity Finalist and an NCHA Top Ten Finalist with a lot of wins in between.  He would report in his biography, Mr. PAT by Gala Nettles, that Jody Fairfax was "one of the best he had ever ridden."   Jody Fairfax would earn $87,998.55 in the NCHA earning, the NCHA Certificate of Ability, Bronze Award, Silver Award and the Platinum Award. In the AQHA, he earned an ROM with 18 cutting points with 5 wins in 8 AQHA shows. 

The official show record of Jody Fairfax would begin at the 1974 NCHA Futurity.  Patterson would ride Jody Fairfax to a third place finish behind 2 mares, Doc's Yuba Lea and Miss Safari, making Jody Fairfax the champion stallion at this event.  Patterson would sell Jody Fairfax to George Killion during the 1974 NCHA Futurity who would later sell Jody Fairfax to Jon Brittenum of Little Rock, Arkansas.  The hard luck phase of Jody Fairfax's life beings with a call by Brittenum to Patterson.  Brittenum asked the trainer to ride Jody Fairfax to campaign for the NCHA Open World Championship.  Patterson would accept the job riding toward the World Championship.  The hard luck phase would begin with a practice session at Chubby Turner's place.  It was a cold wintry day when the reconditioning of Jody Fairfax was started.  we'll let Chubby Turner tell us the beginning of this story as he was quoted in the book MR. PAT.  "Since Jody's pasture life had let him get fat and out of shape, Pat cut a pup of a cow and enjoyed just playing with Jody pulling him around and laughing about how the stallion grunted and groaned when he turned with the cow."  Turner would ride to the fence to change horses when he heard a "gunshot-like sound."  That sound was the shattering of bone in the left hind leg of Jody Fairfax.  Patterson not realizing what had happened urged his horse to move.  When the horse refused he asked, "What's wrong with you?  What's the matter?"

When Turner reached the horses, he knew in an instance that Jody Fairfax had broken his leg.  The stunned Patterson just stood by watching as Chubby Turner took over the situation.  They backed a trailer into the arena and carefully loaded the stallion to be taken to the vet.  The vet eased the pain and recommended that the stallion be taken to the Veterinary College at Oklahoma State University.  The OSU Veterinary staff performed surgery and pins were used to stabilize the leg.  When the surgeon's knew that Jody Fairfax would survive surgery the felt "that the pins in the leg would make it stronger than ever."

Jody Fairfax was eventually put under stall rest at the Brittenum facilities in Little Rock, Arkansas.  The leg would be given a year to heal and then Brittenum put the great stallion back in training with Patterson,  They were on the road to the NCHA World Championship for a second time.  However, the road to success would again be plagued by injury to not only the stallion but his famous rider as well.  The first problem occurred when Jody Fairfax injured his hock and was out of competition for five weeks.  The next mishap occurred when the turn back horse Dee Jay thought it was time to be loaded into the open trailer.  The bad part about his wanting to be loaded was the fact that his rider, Pat Patterson was mounting.  The collision with the trailer gave Patterson several broken ribs.  The broken ribs were on the right side.  The ribs were re-injured when Jody Fairfax was making a "split-second maneuver" to reverse directions.  The ribs were not broken but just pulled on the left side.  Patterson continued to show his horse despite the rib problems.

The next problem to confront the rider and his horse would come when the NCHA committee studying the possibility of moving the NCHA Finals to the Houston Livestock Show recommended the move.  The Association made the change and they recommended that the NCHA point earning year for the open division run from November 1, 1981 to December 31, 1982.  This made the run for the World title 14 months instead of 12 months.  By October it looked like Jody Fairfax had a better than average shot at being the NCHA World Champion.  He had a $14,000 lead over him main rival Tennino San.

The month of October brought the injury prone pair to the All American Quarter Horse Congress at Columbus, Ohio.  This is how Gala Nettles in the book "MR. PAT" described this fateful day in  the life of this great team.  "As usual Jody Fairfax cut with action-packed speed, pounding across the arena and turning on a dime to stop the darting cow from returning to the herd...."the legs under Jody Fairfax could no longer with-stand his powerful turns.  As the stallion determinedly worked, he ripped the tendon of his hind leg in two.  The flaming desire of his heart kept him cutting in spite of the searing pain."  This one final injury would end the cutting career of Jody Fairfax, the stallion with the hard luck.  They would rest Jody Fairfax until the finals in Houston, but he would not be able to perform.  The competitors were able to overtake this great horse's commanding lead and he would finish third in the NCHA Open Top Ten and earn the title of the NCHA Reserve World Champion Cutting Horse Stallion.

Life would go on for both Pat Patterson and his hard luck horse.  Patterson would bounce back to show Sugs Gay Lady to the NCHA Futurity Reserve Championship at the end of 1982 at the age of 65 years.  Pat would continue to train cutting horses until his death in August of 1993.

Jody Fairfax would begin a quiet uneventful career as a breeding stallion that eventually ended at the Five Star Quarter Horses of Burley, Idaho.

The sire of Jody Fairfax was the AQHA Supreme Champion Goodbye Sam, who was owned most of his life by Pat Patterson.  It was Patterson that bought this great stallion as a there-year-old to campaign for the Supreme Championship title.  This dun show stallion earned his Supreme Championship with AAA rating on the race track, 53 halter points, 52 cutting points an 36.5 western pleasure points.  He had 17 Grands and 13 Reserve Grand Championships at halter.  He was ninth in the AQHA High Point Cutting Horse top ten for 1970.  He earned his show ROM and AQHA Championship in 1969.  He was a Superior Halter Horse and a Superior Cutting Horse earning a Certificate of Ability with LTE's of $4,682 in the NCHA.

The breeder of Goodbye Sam was Lester "Pete" Williams of Fairfax, Oklahoma.  This is the breeding program that during the 1970's produced 3 AQHA Supreme Champions and they also bred the dam of a fourth AQHA Supreme Champion.  These Champions were Goodbye Sam, Leo Maudie, Joe Fax and  Fairbars.

Goodbye Sam was sired by Fairfax Joe a stakes place race horse that was as AAA rated runner.  Fairfax Joe was bred by Pete Williams, his sire was Joak by Joe Reed II.  This is the Joe Reed II that won the three races on three legs to earn the World's Champion Quarter Running Stallion title for 1942-43.  The sire of Joe Reed II was the same unwanted stallion Joe Reed P-3, the dam of Joe Reed II was Nellene by Fleeting Time, a thoroughbred.  The dam of Nellene was Little Red Nell by Brown Billy an out of Red Nell.

The dam of Joak was Navie Girl by Cowboy P-12.  Cowboy P-12 was another stallion selected as a foundation sire for the AQHA Stud Book when he was awarded "P-12."   "He was sired by Yellow Jacket.  Yellow Jacket was sired by Little Rondo by Lock's Rondo and out of Barbee Dun by Lock's Rondo.  This makes Yellow Jacket 2x2 inbred to John Wilkens.  Thus Cowboy p-12 was the mating of a stallion and mare that were both inbred 2 x 2 to a common ancestor.  The common ancestor for Yellow Jacket was Lock's Rondo and the common ancestor for Roan Lady was John Wilkens.  John Wilkens was the sire of Joe Hancock.  The dam of Navie Girl was Pet by Squirrel by Erskin Dale, a thoroughbred.

The dam of Fairfax Joe was Lady Fairfax, Lady Fairfax was the dam of Fairfars, the third horse to be named AQHA Supreme Champion.  She was AAA rated race mare that was bred by Mary Williams, the wife of Pete Williams.

Lady Fairfax was out of Miss Chubby who was sired by Chubby P-656.  The dam of Miss Chubby was a mare called the Old Vaughn Mare.  The dam of Maudie Leo was Maudie Williams.  Maudie Williams was sired by Billy Anson - who was a A-rated race horse that was sired by Del Rio Joe by Big Nigger by Harmon Baker.  Miss Chubby was the dam of Maudie William, thus Maudie Leo and Lady Fairfax were 3/4 sisters.  Maudie Leo was a full sister to the AQHA Supreme Champion Leo Maudie.  The third AQHA Supreme Champion bred by Williams was Joe Fax.  Joe Fax was sired by Fairfax Joe and out of Maudie Williams.   This makes Joe Fax and Goodbye Sam 3/4 brothers.

The dam of Goodbye Sam was Maudie Leo.  The sire of Maudie Leo was Leo.  This gives Jody Fairfax five crosses to Joe Reed P-3 and three crosses to Joe Reed II through Leo and Joak.

An interview with Pete Williams' son John several years ago included an observation about his father retaining Fairfax Joe, a son of Lady Fairfax and the daughters of Maudie William.  This is what he had to say, "Pete sold her (Lady Fairfax right after he got Fairfax Joe.  In fact in my mind I thought Lady Fairfax was a better horses than Maudie Williams."  I never knew why Pete sold her but it had to be a heckva price.  The fact that he kept Joe may have been a part of his thinking.  He had Fairfax Joe out of Lady Fairfax and Joak.. And his broodmares with that stallion would have to be Maudie.  That could have been whey he kept the Maudie line of Mares." 

This observation follow other breeding patterns where specific male lines and specific female lines are retained for an inbreeding or line breeding program.  This type of breeding pattern has become known as one form of a "balanced pedigree."  The pedigree is balanced through the male and female lines of a family of horses.  This allow the breeder the opportunity to take advantage of the sex linked genes that may come through the male and female branches of the family. 

The mating of Goodbye Sam with the mare Double Velvet gives us a prime example of a nick that has produced some very good foals.

A nick is defined as the phenomenon that takes place when a stallion and mare are mated producing superior foals.  The mating of Goodbye Sam and Double Velvet has produced 3 NCHA Futurity Finalist, 1 NCHA Futurity Semi-finalist and an NCHA Futurity Reserve Champion.

The first foal from this cross was Charity Fairfax.  This dun mare was an NCHA Futurity Finalist in 1972.  Her AQHA show record gives her 7 halter points and 13 performance points in the open for a performance ROM.  She has 3 youth halter points and 3 youth Performance points.

Double Velvet skipped producing a foal in 1970 and in 1971 she gave the world Jody Fairfax.  She followed Jody Fairfax with Sam Superstar in 1972.  This sorrel gelding would become the NCHA Futurity Reserve Champion in 1975 - earning $24,216.95 in his cutting career.  He had 5 AQHA performance points also.

The sire record for Jody Fairfax is limited as he sired only 180 foals.  He sired only 19 AQHA performers that earned 40 points in all divisions.  They earned 2 open ROM awards.  His NCHA performers include Jody's April, an NCHA Futurity Finalist with earnings of $14,437.  The daughters of Jody Fairfax have proven to be some good producers.  The have produced foals like Taris Special Girl, an NCHA Futurity Finalist with earnings of $77,388. RC Sprat, NCHA earnings of $45,629, Spare Tire, NCHA earnings of $20,000 and Fax Me Starlight, NCHA earnings of over $17,094.

Jody Fairfax was transferred into ownership of Shannon Pearce of New Plymouth, Idaho in 1988.  Darwin Jensen became the owner of Jody Fairfax in July 1991.  Jensen, who owns Five Star Quarter Horses set out to build a program around this great stallion.  He has retained sons and daughters of Jody Fairfax with plans to perpetuate this line. 

One of the foals produced from this program has earned laurels for his sire from the chariot racing segment of our industry.  His name is Five Star Sam.  He has won a Chariot Futurity in Preston, Idaho in 1999.  This son of Jody Fairfax shows the versatility of this line of horses.  The dam of Five Star Sam is Lonsum Five Star, who is out of Sweet Goodbye.  Sweet Goodbye is sired by Goodbye Sam.  This makes Five Star Sam double bred to Goodbye Sam with a breeding patters of      2 x 3.

We know that Jody Fairfax has gone off to the great pasture in the sky and that his hard luck times are behind him.  He has left a small number of foals behind to carry on in his place.  We can only hope that as time goes on, we won't find out that we have overlooked a great sire that went through a great deal of pain and agony to do his job as a great cutting horse.

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