The Barpasser Story as told by David James

Below is the "Barpasser Story" as told by David James.  It just interested us to find out about this "LEDENDARY SIRE" and how he got to where he was at.   The above photo is one that actually appeared in one of the journal ads and I took a digital picture of it and added it here.   I have added a few photos to go along with the story.  I hope you enjoy it.

    

The story of Barpasser, the sire of one of the dominant families of the pleasure industry, has more twists and turns than an old mountain trail.  It includes a dismal career as a race horse, a close call with a veterinarian's scalpel, and a legacy as a breeding horse that started when he was ten years old.

Barpasser was foaled in Norman, Oklahoma on January 1, 1970, sired by Senor Bardeck, a three quarter brother to World Champion race horse Jet Deck.  His dam was Ranch Bars Vandy, a granddaughter of Sugar Bars, the dam of 13 foals/3 performers.  They were Barpasser (160 points), Fruitless Effort (ROM Race), and Bray's Vandy (3 points - reining).

SENOR BARDECK

At the track, Barpasser started 8 times at two and three, finishing fifth twice, sixth twice, seventh three times and eighth once.  Not an impressive record to say the least.

Probably the biggest positive to come out of his race horse days was a van ride from Blue Ribbon Downs in Oklahoma to Bay Meadows in California, the state where he would ultimately start his career as a pleasure horse.  Barpasser made his final start at Los Alamitos on February 8, 1973, running sixth and earning a 56 speed index.  It should have been obvious to someone, Barpasser didn't want to go fast.

Barpasser started the next chapter of his life when he was sent to Dennis Henderson, a successful hunter/jumper trainer in Duarte, California to begin training as a show horse.  Henderson was the first one to recognize that Barpasser probably should be a western pleasure horse.  Although he showed primarily hunters, Dennis developed Barpasser into a very competitive horse on the open circuit.  He did venture to one AQHA show in 1975, winning the senior western pleasure and placing third in the hunter under saddle.

In 1976 and 1977, Barpasser was Champion Pleasure Horse at the Forum International Horse Show, shown by Robin Hoffman, who was fourteen at the time (Robin is now Robin Haack, a very well known and successful non pro cutter).  Robin had won every class she showed him in.

One of the more "infamous" stories of Barpasser was at that Forum horse show.  After the pleasure horse stake, Barpasser and Robin were asked to stay in the arena to accept the awards for Show Champion.  Throughout his career, Barpasser did not "love" indoor arenas or coliseums and really didn't like being in one alone.  The result, he bucked Robin off during the awards presentation.

In 1980 Barpasser's owner decided to sell him.  The first person interested was Paula Diuri, who had a very successful stable of pleasure horses at the time.  Her plan was to geld him and use him for one of her youth riders.  Paula told me if her customers didn't buy the horse, I could have him.  I had never seen the horse, but had heard he was a good one.  Glen Schaffer, one of my customers, had been planning to build a breeding operation that he would eventually call Indian Creek Ranch.  Glen told me to go look at him, the only problem was we were second in line.  Paula finally called to say her people had decided to pass.  I was on my way to southern California.

I wasn't disappointed.  Actually he was more than I expected.  I thought he was the best pleasure horse I had ever seen.  Barpasser was a beautiful profile horse, carried his neck and topline very level.  He had no bend to his hock and swung his hind leg from the top of his hip.

The only negative to him physically was that he was fairly crooked in front and walked kind of wide behind (I mean real wide).  But he was like nothing I had ever seen.  We bought him.

We showed him the next weekend at Santa Barbara, won all three senior pleasures on him.  Barpasser showed 25 times in 1980, won 17, was second three times, had three thirds and two fifths, earning 85 points.

That spring we bred Glen's mares to him and one outside mare, resulting in six registered foals.  Out of the six, five were performers.

Barpasser was getting more fans.  One of the most important would be Dale Livingston, who tried to buy him on multiple occasions.  Ken Eppers, back in his pleasure horse days, also tried to buy him, but he wasn't for sale.

We took him to Oklahoma City that fall for the World Show.  As a result of my inexperience (he was the first horse I showed at the World) and his dislike of coliseums, Barpasser wasn't very good.  To be honest, we were bad.

Back in California in 1981, Barpasser showed 18 times, won 11, had three seconds, two thirds, two fourths and another 65 points.  Dave Page judged Bakersfield that year and let Barpasser win the senior pleasure.  There was a message to call him when I got home.  Dave wanted to send out his daughter's (now Karen Skelly) mare to breed.  The mare was Johannis and the colt she had the next spring was Im A Big Leaguer.  Dale Livingston bought Im A Big Leaguer from Dave and went on to make him into a great show horse and sire.

I left Indian Creek later in 1981 and Barney Hinds took over as manager/trainer and showed Barpasser at the World, placing fifth.  Barney did a great job with Barpasser's early foals, winning the majority of the futurities on the pacific coast.

Dale Livingston and Im A Big Leaguer had created some good press nationally for Barpasser, but Dale and Barpassers Image really heated things up in 1986, winning the Tom Powers, Texas Classic, Arizona Classic and Georgia Breeders Futurity.  Barpasser was coming up on his 17th birthday.

Finally attracting larger numbers of mares, Barpasser would ultimately sire 280 foals, of which 168 were performers, earning 10,382.5 points.

Probably his most lasting legacy were his two sons, Im A Big Leaguer and Barpassers Image, and their two sons Kay Cee Leaguer and Invitation Only.  All became leading sires of the breed.

Another part of that legacy is Karen Mundy's great gelding, Play My Song, sired by Barpassers son Play The Bar.  He was the high point amateur horse of the nation in 1999 and 2000, amassing 2,080 points.

Sire of Invitation Only

From his last crop in 1992, Barpasser would sire A Passing Breeze, the 1994 Hi Point Two Year Old in NSBA.  A PASSING BREEZE IS A FULL BROTHER TO MISTER PASSER

A Passing Breeze (Superior Western Pleasure)

Isle Double It is another full sibling to Mister Passer and A Passing Breeze.  Superior Western Pleasure

 

Barpasser was purchased by Jim Babcock of Gainesville, Texas in late 1990 and stood the 1991 season at Jim's facility.  He died that fall and is buried at Babcock Ranch.