George Clegg

The majority of moves do not affect the world at large.  However, George Clegg’s move from Cuero, Texas, to Alice, Texas, proved to have substantial influence on the Quarter Horse industry.

The move took place in 1904, and Clegg began acquiring good quarter-type horse stock.  His love for the quarter-type horse stayed with him throughout the years and earned him an invitation to a party in Fort Worth, Texas, at which the idea of starting a registry for the Quarter Horse was discussed.  The following day, Clegg attended the organizational meeting and bought AQHA stock.

However, within a few years, he had some disagreements with the Association.  He was not alone, and with the help of Ott Adams and others, the National Quarter Horse Breeders Association was founded.  When the NQHBA and AQHA merged in 1950, Clegg once again supported AQHA.

During the decades prior to AQHA, Clegg raised and raced quarter-type horses throughout South Texas.  One such horse was Little Joe, whom Clegg bought from Adams in 1904.  Clegg raced and stood the stallion for many years and beat the fastest horses in Texas.  Clegg sold him back to Adams in 1913.

Clegg’s other prominent herd sire was Hickory Bill, a son of Peter McCue who had been raised on the Little Grove Stock Farm in Illinois.

When the Depression hit, Clegg sold 55 of his horses to the King Ranch for $2,500.  He started a dairy to pay the bills and slowly rebuilt his quarter-type horse program.

Over the years, Clegg established himself as a breeder of quality horses.  He is now considered one of the greatest breeders of Quarter Horses.

Clegg died in 1959 at 86, and was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 1986.

Biography updated as of March 1986.