A Good Machine

It’s a family tradition. A Good Machine is joining a long list of forebears in the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame.

A Good Machine had a stellar career in western pleasure and sired earners of more than 44,800 AQHA points with earnings exceeding $2.2 million.

“He was such a nice horse,” says Richard “Rick” McDonald, who for many years stood the stallion at his MC Equine Enterprise LLC at Whitesboro, Texas. “What ‘Mac’ has done and what he has accomplished is awesome.”

A Good Machine was bred by Dawn Schroeter of Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, who crossed Hall of Fame stallion, Zippos Mr Good Bar, to War Machine’s mare, War Kelpie. The bay colt was foaled in Illinois on March 4, 1993.

At the 1995 World Show, A Good Machine finished top 10 in the 2-Year-Old Snaffle Bit Futurity and won reserve champion in the 2-Year-Old Limited Snaffle Bit Futurity at the All American Quarter Horse Congress. Shown by John Dean, the stallion earned a ROM and Superior in western pleasure, placed third in the Congress junior western pleasure in 1996, and finished in the top 10 in junior western pleasure at the 1996 and 1997 World Shows.

At various times, A Good Machine was owned by John and his former wife, Kim; Wayne Davis of Reddick, Florida; Carl Yamber of Roberta, Georgia; and Chris and Liane Drake Warwick of the United Kingdom.

“I got Mac when he was 3 years old and trained him to collect on the phantom,” Rick says. “He was still being shown, and his 3- and 4-year-old years was when he had the most success. Mac was very capable.”

A Good Machine’s foals carry his capabilities and athleticism.

“They have his conformation and disposition – absolutely,” Rick says. “They all look so similar, as far as having a lot of size and a mature look to them.”

A Good Machine gave his humans a lot of success, too.

“…Mac is by far the greatest horse I ever came in contact with,” declares Rick. "I’ve looked and searched for another horse of his caliber, and the closest things to him have been his sons.”

John concurs with Rick. He says, “What he produced is the biggest deal. And they’re durable – his foals are able to do a lot of things, they last a long time, and they have long show careers.” Durability goes a long way.

“Mac had another world champion at the 2019 World Show (Solo Invested in amateur showmanship), so the horse has longevity,” Rick agrees. “He has been gone eight years and he still has an impact on the industry. He’s one of the few horses not only on the leading sires list, but also on the leading paternal and maternal grandsires lists.”

A Good Machine was euthanized May 28, 2011, due to spinal myelopathy and was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2020.

Biography updated as of August 2021.