Part 1: Driftwood’s Lasting Influence

There is an old question “What’s in a Name?” Most horse people know such one word names as King, Leo, Elvis, Rihanna, Willie, Waylon, Trigger, Champion, etc.

When it comes to performance horses, the name Driftwood is one of the most well known single word names of the industry.

A brief timeline of Driftwood shows he was foaled in 1932 at the ranch of Bailey Childress in Silverton, Texas. His next owners were Sam and Amos Turner two years later, also of Silverton. In 1939 he was purchased by Buck Nichols and Ross Brinson in Higley, Arizona. The following year he was acquired by the George Cline family in Tonto Basin, Arizona. One year later he was moved again to the ranch of Asbury Schell in Tempe, Arizona. Channing and Katy Peake of Lompoc, California were the next stop, they registered him with the American Quarter Horse Association (AHQA) in 1946, 14 years after he was foaled. The Peakes stood and showed him until his death in 1960 at the ripe old age of 28.

Driftwood The Racehorse

Driftwood was both a racehorse and a breeding horse as a two-year-old for Sam and Amos Turner. Driftwood was so successful on the track because he was so calm but could break fast and attain full speed so quickly. Ross Brinson saw the horse and knew he had to own him. So he arranged a partnership with Buck Nichols. Upon his arrival in Arizona, Nichols began Driftwood’s illustrious career as a rope horse. His talents on the track carried over to the roping arena with his disposition and early speed. Photos of him show his powerful stop, occasionally jerking the calves over backward before the jerk-down rule came into effect.

The Cline family continued his career as a rope horse and because he was so fast, his rodeo name was Speedie. It was Asbury that gave him national exposure as a top rodeo horse.

However, it was Katy Peake who is recognized as the one that gave Driftwood the historic name recognition he deserved. She hand-picked mares that made him a great sire.

The sign of any good breeding horse is if they pass on their athletic talents. It is in his offspring that he gained recognition, and maintains it to this day.

Pedigree of Driftwood

The pedigree of Driftwood, like so many early Quarter Horses, lies in the memories of the men and women who knew them. Driftwood was no different.

After great research it was accepted that when the AQHA accepted his registration, he was sired by Miller Boy (Horbar x Wylie x Texas Chief). On the bottom side he was out of The Comer Mare (Barlow x a Kentucky Thoroughbred Mare).

Driftwood’s breeding ad * Courtesy of Cherie Peake

Little is known about Miller Boy. It is generally accepted that he was by the Hobart Horse. The only thig that is known about him is that he was purchased by the famous Texas Panhandle JA (James Adair) Ranch. That was in 1920 when JA Ranch manager T.D. Hobart owned him, and as was the custom then, the owner’s name was how people identified many of the horses. Miller Boy’s dam, the Wylie Mare, was by Texas Chief (Lock’s Rondo x daughter of John Wilkins by Peter McCue).

Regardless of the pedigree, he was in demand as a sire because of his record as a racehorse, rodeo horse, and sire with desirable conformation. The Peakes researched and verified the breeding to their satisfaction as well as that of the AQHA. He could have been by Old Shep, but that would not discredit his ability as a performer or potency as a breeding horse.

Peake described him as slender barreled, deep-rich bay, standing about 15 hands and weighing in at about 1075 lbs in working condition. He had all the desirable Quarter Horse qualities you could pack into one horse.

An Amos Turner Experience

One weekend Amos Turner loaded Driftwood into the back of his pickup rigged with side boards and headed to Denton, Texas for a day of racing and roping. When he got to the track, which was near the railroad, the whistle of a freight train frightened Driftwood and caused him to proceed to climb out of the pickup in an unusual manner, over the cab of the truck.

Frank Vessels

Frank Vessels was very instrumental in making Los Alamitos Race Track a household name among race enthusiasts. He was a visionary pioneer in his successful venture. He owned the famous runner and sire Clabber (My Texas Dandy x Blondie S x Lone Star). He was purchased from Ab Nichols, and later Vessels said if he had bought Driftwood he would have made as great a broodmare sire as Clabber.

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