American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) stallion Blue Valentine will be inducted into the AQHA Hall of Fame in Amarillo, Texas.
The Blue Valentine bloodline has a huge following amongst AQHA members and has for decades, said Chip Merritt.
Blue Valentine, also known as “Blue” by the Merritt Family, was a 1956 blue roan stallion by the famous match racing stallion Red Man (1935) and out of Beauty’s Dream (1938), rodeo horse and money earner.
Known not only for his stout, sturdy, functional confirmation, but also his calm, easy going, demeanor, Blue Valentine created a name for himself that has lasted into the 21st century.
Blue Valentine was bred by Kenny Gunter in Benson, Arizona. Ken’s longtime friend, Dell Haverty, loved his bloodlines and purchased Blue as a yearling.
“The story’s a little fuzzy, but Dell acquired Blue Valentine from Ken Gunther when he was a year-old. Then he started riding him, started roping on him, and campaigned on him. I have come across some information where they even match raced Blue Valentine down there.,” explained Chip.
“I can’t see where he was beaten. It could have happened, but I cannot find information where he was beaten in any of those match races.”
Dell went on to win the all-around and calf roping in Scottsdale, Arizona, off Blue as a three-year old and campaigned him across the country. After heading north, Dell married Connie Hayes, daughter of Buster Hayes of Wyoming.
Dell sold half interest in Blue to Buster and Lourie Hayes, and they continued to promote and campaign Blue at rodeos including Calgary, San Francisco, Pendleton, and Cheyenne Frontier Days.
As fate would have it, King Merritt, Chip’s grandfather, produced a steer roping in Encampment, Wyoming, in the late 40’s with a whopping $1,000 entry fee.
Hyde Merritt, who had married Buster’s other daughter, Dede, located a son of Joe Hancock named Texas Blue Bonnet, and convinced the Hayes Brothers to buy him.
They began breeding Texas Blue Bonnet, built up their broodmare herd, and then bred Blue Valentine back to those mares.
Today, the Merritt’s (Chip, Kathy, Corey, Brady, and Madison) still breed and sell horses that are descendants of this cross, just as they did in the beginning.
King Merritt not only owned the first AQHA registered stud in Wyoming, but he also was the first AQHA director from the cowboy state.
“I’ve always felt like the mare has more than 50 percent to do with offspring from a mating,” Chip said “I really think that is a reason or part of the reason why Blue Valentine’s legacy has lasted so long. Because they had such a tremendous start at the beginning with the mares that were bred to Blue Valentine.”
“I would trail the mares out to the pasture with Blue, unsaddle him, and turn him loose with the mares,” Chip said. “Then when we had to gather that bunch, we’d go catch him out in the pasture. I’d saddle him, ride him, and run the mares in with him.”
Originally located between Laramie and Cheyenne, the Merritt’s ranched and were the cattle contractors for Cheyenne Frontier Days for years. Blue could often be found at Frontier Park and continued to impress everyone with his calm demeanor.
“One year I was in junior high, my dad and mom were gone somewhere, and I was left to take care of about 500 yearlings in the middle of winter. I just jumped on Blue and rode him about five miles up to the pasture,” Chip said.
“There was a little sled up there and I hooked on the sled, dragged 10 bales out, fed the cattle, came out, got 10 more, and then rode Blue home. I remember him just busting through the snowdrift.”
Dell Haverty won the all-around and tie down roping on Blue in Scottsdale. Not only could they team rope, match race, and tie down on Blue, but he also was a phenomenal tripping horse.
“My father Hyde always told me that he felt like Blue started out of the box flat and ran as hard as any horse he’d ever ridden,” Chip said.
“I got to trip steers on him when I was a senior in high school. It was just an amazing experience to do that and to ride him and rope on him. He was an amazing horse. It was a blessing to be able to be around him and to ride and rope off Blue.”
“Twenty-six years ago, there weren’t many people with Blue Valentine programs. There were several that had started programs with horses they had bought from my granddad, and then a few others from my dad. But it just blossomed after we started having a sale. People have fallen in love with Blue Valentine horses.” explained Chip.
In 1983, Hyde Merritt, Chip’s father, passed away suddenly in an accident.
“What’s kept the Blue Valentine name alive is all of our customers loving those horses, keeping them and just talking about them,” Chip said.
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