Charlie Dobbs knew he was on to something when he bred his halter-bred mare, RH Squeezin N Tesin, to a Thoroughbred called Is It True.
“Is It True was in Ocala,” Charlie said. “He’s a Thoroughbred, and I thought we needed an outcross on these show horses, these halter horses. He’s a great-looking horse. He was a great racehorse. He puts size, conformation and disposition on all his babies.”
Trained by AQHA Hall of Fame member D. Wayne Lukas, Is It True won the 1988 Breeders Cup Juvenile, the 1989 Jim Dandy Stakes and more than $800,000 in his 15 starts before retiring to stud. He went on to sire winners of $17,000,000 at the track.
And now, one AQHA world champion in yearling stallions: DeRenzo.
“He was good from Day One,” Charlie said. But did he think he was world champion good?
“Yep, I did. Sure did,” Charlie said. “He’s a great one. Best one I ever had.”
Terry and Anastasia Kull of Pekin, Illinois, bought DeRenzo from Charlie and his wife, Linda, in May and put the horse in the hands of J.T. Mitchell to fit and show.
“He’s a wonderful yearling stallion,” J.T. said. “I saw him when he was a baby, and we fell in love with him. We took a big chance because he’s by a Thoroughbred stallion, but it worked out for us very well.”
DeRenzo's connections are excited about the effect the successful outcross might have on the halter industry.
“I think it will have great implications for the industry, because we are looking for a really good outcross that has his structure, his strong feet, his good bones,” Katie Mitchell, J.T.’s wife, said. “We need change in the halter industry. We all know we need it, and this is a step in the right direction.”
Katie and J.T. said “Big D” is a joy to have around the barn.
“He’s very playful,” J.T. said.
“He’s like a puppy dog,” Katie added. “He just wants you to rub on him all the time, and he’s happy.”
Though J.T. has earned multiple world championships in other breed associations, Big D’s big win was his first AQHA world championship.
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” he said. “But it’s a wonderful feeling, something we’ve worked on for years. My wife won the Congress this year, her first time there. We’ve just had a great year. We’re very blessed.”
