From his humble upbringing, Jack F. Hutchins became one of the most respected horsemen of his time.
When Robert Denhardt met Hutchins in 1937, Hutchins was living in South Texas managing the Shanghai Pierce estate. He also owned five outstanding Quarter Horse Stallions and several quality mares.
In 1939, Hutchins attended the first meeting held to organize a Quarter Horse registry. He traveled to Austin, Texas with Denhardt and Bill Warren to acquire the first charter for the incorporation of AQHA.
During the 1940 meeting, Hutchins was elected Vice president and kept the position until 1942. He then served as president from 1942 through 1943.
Stock was sold at the 1940 meeting to finance the Association. Everybody in attendance had the chance to buy stock and Hutchins bought what remained. After it was all said and done, Hutchins owned roughly 50 percent of AQHA. But, he did not use the stock as a big voting block. Instead, he sold it to any new breeder wanting to own stock.
The battle between the “bulldog” men and the Thoroughbred-Quarter-cross supporters was beginning to brew. Hutchins’ quiet personality and sense of justice kept the Association on an even keel.
Besides owning Quarter Horses, Hutchins owned short-running horses Babe Ruth and Danger Boy, sons of Flying Bob. The two groups of horses were kept separate and never crossbred.
On Hutchins’ character, Denhardt remarked, “Without any reservations, Hutchins was the grandest man it has been my privilege to know; without him, there would not have been an AQHA, started as it was, when it was.”
Hutchins died of cancer in 1945. He was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 1985.
Biography updated as of March 1985.