“We need a good Paint stud, and
he’s fast,” she said. “I hope I have the next wonderful sire. That’s my goal. We need one that will throw the color, too.”
A Special Future Merle is currently breeding three
Paint mares—Flaming Heroine, Judy Janise and Prayers & Promises. The latter is also by Judys Lineage, and she is out of the Walters Chick mare Fast Chick. In 2010, Merle bred all three
mares to the Quarter Horse Eyesa- special Fashion, a stallion that Joe Kirk bred and raced. What makes Eyesaspecial Fashion unique is that his sire, Eyesa Special (QH), won the 2000 All American Futurity, and his dam, Fashionisanattitude (QH), finished second in that race. Joe Kirk also bred and raced Fashionisanattitude. From those breedings, Merle got two fillies and a colt. She has high hopes for the colt, who is named Eyesaspecial Hero and out of Judy Janise. “I have had people calling want- ing to know what I’d price him for,” said Merle, who has no immediate plans for selling him. “The thing that’s exciting about this colt is that everything is homebred. Every- thing about this baby came off this ranch.” Robbins told Merle that Eyesaspe-
cial Hero is the “fastest thing we’ve got”—high praise considering the quality of Quarter Horses among the Fultons’ 25 in training. Not every Paint makes it as a racehorse, and in those cases Merle finds that their natural abilities enable them to segue easily into second careers. For example, Hero Of Sorts, a sorrel tobiano son of Flaming Heroine by Judys Lineage, started only three times, winning one race. “He slab-fractured, so we gelded him and now he’s a riding horse,” Merle said. “When you get him out and start riding him, he’s so stun- ning that people ask, ‘Who is that?’
PAINT HORSE RACING MAY 2013 19
He has a great mind. I might show him. He’d be easy to show.” Like many Paint breeders, Merle delights in watching her mares foal. “You never know what you’re going to get,” she said. “When the mares are ready to deliver, I make sure that I am down there watching. I want to see what I’m getting as soon as I can. That’s the best part.” Merle laughs when she recalls how her husband initially wanted her to keep her Paints in the back of their ranch so no one could see them. He soon realized their quality, however, and now they have pride of place in the front pasture. It is a high compliment coming from a man who has bred and raised so many champion Quarter Horses. “Have I changed my husband’s mind and opinion about Paints verses Quarter Horses?” Merle asked. “No. But what I have done is I’ve expanded his vision. For Joe Kirk Fulton to say we have some of the best Paints in the country— that’s a statement.”
Tracy Gantz is a special contributor for Paint Horse Racing. To comment on this article, email
feedback@apha.com.
Above: Merle has always loved colorful horses, dating back to her childhood. She bred her first Paint in 1999, thanks to a kind offer from Herb Graham.
Below: By Country Quick Dash and out of Judy Janise, Brief Encounter rep- resents the combination of top blood- lines in Merle’s breeding program. The 2009 sorrel tobiano mare has lifetime earnings of more than $20,000 and was named APHA’s Champion 2-Year- Old Filly of 2011.
JESSICA HEIN
ABIGAIL BOATWRIGHT
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