Easter King

Before he was even foaled in March 1951, Easter King was part of a much sought-after bloodline. A sorrel son by King P-234 and out of the 4-year-old mare Gocha H, Easter King’s future as a cutting horse was already planned by breeder, owner and future AQHA President Jess Hankins of Rocksprings, Texas. Easter King was a paternal grandson of Zantanon, the “Man O’War of Mexico,” who also was the maternal great-grandsire of Easter King’s dam. Gocha H was a daughter of the Zantanon stallion Cuate (a Spanish colloquialism loosely translated as amigo, pal or buddy) and was out of Jane, a mare by the U.S. Remount Service Thoroughbred Darity.

Easter King was purchased by LaRue Gooch, who turned Easter King over to Elmo Favor, who had ridden such hallmark cutting horses as Poco Bueno and Jessie James. In a time when starting horses young was a common practice, Easter King was started under saddle when he was just a year old. At 18 months of age, he reportedly won the junior cutting at both the Fort Worth and Houston livestock shows. According to AQHA records, he was shown four other times, both in halter and cutting. Though it is not listed on Association records, Easter King also reportedly won the 3-year-old stallion class at the Colorado State Fair.

Easter King served as the herd sire for the Gooch Ranch until 1959, when he was acquired by John and Mary Bowling, who operated a breeding operation in Iowa and Colorado. The Bowlings believed in King blood and strong mare power.

“That’s how you get the good horses–they’ve got to have good mamas,” said John, who died in 1994. “When you’ve got good blood, you had better keep it.”

Easter King’s blood flowed to 277 registered Quarter Horse offspring. Of his 53 AQHA performers, 27 earned Registers of Merit, including AQHA Champion Ezee Money 37, a 1967 palomino mare out of a daughter of Hollywood Gold. According to Equi-Stat, Easter King sired 123 performers that made their names in other arenas. The stallion’s daughters have also proven to be great producers. Easter King’s descendants have earned more than $20 million in National Reining Horse, National Reined Cow Horse and National Cutting Horse association competition.

Easter King crossed especially well on Hollywood Gold mares, one of which produced Hollywood Jac 86, NRHA’s first $1 million sire and a NRHA Hall of Famer. Hollywood Jac 86 is the sire of Hollywood Dun It, who was himself inducted into the NRHA Hall of Fame in 2000 and the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2012. A daughter of Gray Badger II became the dam of Easter King’s other best-known son, Easter Gentleman, who made quite a splash at the 1990 NRHA Futurity when his daughter Two T Whisky Royal won the open and his gelded son Two T Easter King took the non-pro trophy.

“Dad never felt the need to baby Easter King,” recalls Pat Bowling Cuddy, who was an active participant in her parents’ Quarter Horse operation, as quoted in Frank Holmes’ book “King P-234.” “He used him as a pasture breeding horse, and that worked out just fine.

“As the 1971 breeding season got under way, though, it seemed as if Easter King was just tired,” Pat said. “He wouldn’t eat or drink, so Dad made the decision to put him down.”

He was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2022.

Biography updated as of August 2022.