23/01/2025
DOC BAR revolutionized the cutting industry in a way never seen before or since.
The 1956 chestnut stallion was foaled on Tom Finley’s Arizona ranch. He was by Lightning Bar by Three Bars (TB) and out of Dandy Doll by Texas Dandy. He was bred to run, but failed miserably, earning a total of $95 in four starts.
He was given to Charley Araujo of California to show at halter. This endeavor seemed doomed to fail because Doc Bar did not fit what the judge’s eye had been groomed to see. He stood a scant 15 hands and did not have the punched-together look of his contemporaries.
The halter industry was ripe for change. With Araujo at the lead and the stallion’s unique conformation, the guidelines for halter horse champions were altered almost overnight. Out of 15 shows, he won nine grand champions, and one reserve champion.
Doc Bar attracted the attention of Dr. and Mrs. Stephen Jensen of Double J Ranch in Paicines, California. The couple had pieced together a broodmare band of Poco Tivio, Hollywood Gold, King and Leo mares, and was in the market for a stallion. Doc Bar fit their needs and the couple bought him in 1963 for $30,000.
Over the following years, Doc Bar sired National Cutting Horse Association Futurity winners, world champions and top-10 horses. A few progenies include Doc O’Lena, Dry Doc, Fizzabar and Doc’s Kitty. He was the grandsire of Smart Little Lena, Tenino San, Docs Sangria and Don N W***y.
In AQHA competitions, Doc Bar’s get amassed nearly 9,000 points and won multiple world championships.
The key to Doc Bar’s success was summed up by Charlie Ward, manager of the Jensens’ ranch, “is that he’s so consistent in his type. His colts are all uniform and possess a lot of sense. They’re easy to train, they have a lot of natural ability – every one of them is cowy.”
Doc Bar was euthanized in 1992 at 36. He was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 1993.
Biography updated as of march 1993, credit to AQHA.
