Dan Casement

Known as "Mr.Dan," Dan Casement was a respected cattleman and horseman.  He was also part of the nucleus that founded AQHA.

In 1911, Casement purchased his first “Steeldust” horse, buying Concho Colonel sight unseen from William Anson of Christoval, Texas.  Casement liked the stallion so much he bought Concho Colonel’s best son, Balleymooney.  This started a passion in Casement for the breed, and he began researching the origins of Steel Dust.

Casement wrote an article about the Steeldust horses in 1927 and it caught the eye of Robert Denhardt.  Denhardt traveled to Casement’s ranch in Manhattan, Kansas, to meet and visit with the breeder.  When the idea of establishing a registry was proposed, Casement supported it.

Casement was a part of the organizational meeting held during the 1940 Southwestern Exposition and Fat Stock Show in Fort Worth, Texas, and was elected as a director for AQHA.

During the first meeting in 1941, Casement proposed a resolution concerning conformation, and the AQHA Executive Committee adopted it.  The resolution stated that a stallion needed bulldog-type conformation to be registered in the studbook.

Through the early years of the Association, Casement continued to support the bulldog-type Quarter Horses.  He thought speed and cow sense were essential qualities to the breed.  He also believed if people concentrated solely on speed for racing, then bloodlines and conformation would be sacrificed.  Casement’s personal herd of Quarter Horses produced Red Dog and The Deuce.  Ranchers from all over the Southwest traveled to Casement’s ranch to buy horses.

Born in 1868 in Ohio, Casement moved with his family to Kansas when he was 15.  His father bought land and raised cattle, and Casement continued the legacy, raising champion Hereford cattle.

Casement died in 1953, and was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 1986.

Biography updated as of March 1986.