As horse people, we all like to think we recognize that “something special” in a horse right off the bat. In reality, we often miss it until it rocks us back on our heels, making us sit up and pay attention. A mare named BB was that ‘something special’ to Jason and C.J. of Perry Quarter Horses. BB is a testament to mare power.
Buying On Instinct
Kikiquejana (x Quejanaisalena; NCHA LTE 338k) entered the Perry’s lives, early fall 2016, at the age of 10. The mare was an unplanned purchase made during a dinner with friends in Erikson, Nebraska. C.J. had her reservations about the horse, but her husband Jason was beyond thrilled to pick her up.
Jason’s horse instincts were spot on, while C.J took time to come around to the idea. Little did the pair know, BB (Bar Buy) would weave herself into the fabric of their breeding program and lives like no other horse could.
Jason and C.J. own Perry Quarter Horses—a 40-year AQHA cow horse breeding and training business. Jason (with his son Tristen) also owns Perry Land & Cattle—a fourth-generation cattle ranch in Leoti, Kansas.
It’s About Heart
BB has no documented earnings—she was started late and only competed in sorting and penning. She did win an awful lot of money there, but those earning aren’t tracked.
In this day and age of “mare power”, most prospective buyers want dam earning on paper, hoping this will give them a better likelihood of future success. BB is a reminder that not all high-quality dams have earnings, but it makes them no less worthy. Mare power is about heart.
Within months of the purchase, she was helping Jason put his family back together. Tristen decided at a young age that horses were not his thing. Although he is plenty handy, with a great seat, he just didn’t like them all that much—having a horse trainer for a father does that to some kids.
There was just something about that plain sorrel mare that made Tristen smile, he thoroughly enjoyed riding her, giving father and son much needed quality time and something to bond over. Now, eight years later, as C.J. watches father and son, she knows that mare helped put them on the path to the solid relationship they have now.
Proving Her Worth
The following spring was when C.J. saw in BB what the boys saw all along; her heart, loyalty, and an almost unnatural ability to read a situation.
In the end of April 2017, the family experienced a massive blizzard— more than 30 inches of snow, gale force winds, drifts as tall as buildings, power outages, livestock in trouble—a complete disaster. To save the herd, Jason cut the fence into their neighbor’s pasture to keep the cattle from piling up at the fence line. When it was all over, Jason and C.J. saddled up and went to go sort them out.
This was C.J.’s first trip out on the ranch with BB. The mare is tall, good for the deep snow, and Jason wanted her mounted on a trustworthy horse. BB was her normal self—all business, getting the job done, pushing cows where they needed to go all morning long.
New to the neighbor’s pasture, and due to the wind blowing the snow, C.J. saw a landscape that looked completely flat. She didn’t know there was a deep and sharp rock filled ravine running through the pasture. A few hours in, C.J. was walking toward a group of cows when the mare slammed on the brakes, sniffed the ground, and backed up. C.J. asked her to walk on and she flat refused and backed up a little further. It was so unlike BB to refuse work. At that moment, Jason walked around a bend, saw the pair and knowing that there was a drop-off before them, yelled at C.J. to back up.
The next day—after the snow had melted and the sorting was finished, C.J. saw the ravine where BB stopped. Without the cover of snow, it was apparent that the mare had saved C.J. that day, without doubt.
Gritty and Tough
This special mare has proven her grit on many occasions. Jason and BB have always made a special pair, and BB has put herself in harm’s way on more than one occasion to protect her people.
Early on, the Perry’s had a set of pretty mean horned cows. Some ranchers used to think they would protect calves from coyotes—all they really did was make life difficult.
Late summer of 2017, a particularly nasty horned cow had a sick calf. The only way to get it doctored was to pasture rope it horseback—a common practice out on the ranch.
Jason rode BB out, roped the calf, and got off to doctor. He said he could hear that cow behind him pawing and snorting. She charged him several times while he was on the ground. Each time, BB put herself between Jason and the cow, kicking the cow when she got too close, and protecting Jason. Even while she fended off the mad mama cow, Jason said she never let the rope go slack so he could finish with the calf. (The Perrys now cull on attitude, which makes things a little easier on horses and humans alike.)
When Jason got home that evening and told C.J. this story, she knew BB had a home for life, and they decided to start breeding the mare. The world could use more BB in it. The world could use more mare power.
A Good Crop of First Foals
Lucky for the Perrys, they didn’t have to look very hard for great stallion choices. In 2018 they bred BB to Bob Hes Quick, and then Cats Royal Boon in 2020. Both stallions they own.
Bet Hes Cajun & Oh Que Cats Royal—the foals produced from these breedings—look just like their dam. They’re stellar performance horses with multiple event earnings, and have an uncanny ability to read a person, a cow or a situation. They are truly the very best of both parents. ‘Cajun’ stayed with the Perrys, and ‘Jager’ is off living his best life with his wonderful owner in Florida.
An Extra Surprise
On top of all the joy BB had brought into their lives, she had one more surprise for Jason and C.J.
On March 29, 2023, an early morning phone call from Jason roused C.J. All he had to say was “It’s BB”, and C.J. was running for the door, toddler in tow. Walking into the barn, she saw what looked like a massive placenta torn in half outside her stall door. It was actually two placentas.
Missed on an ultrasound, BB had carried and given birth on her own to a healthy set of twins. Grit—the filly—was significantly smaller than Gator—the colt, and needed the Madigan squeeze to get her going, but that was all the outside help needed. In true BB fashion, she cared for and nursed them both. The Perrys couldn’t get either to take a bottle. They just watched and documented with fingers crossed.
Thanks to good feed, and some extra alfalfa, she stayed in good weight through it all. Now the twins are very much like their brothers and healthy, happy, and very close in size to the other yearlings. Most times, a situation like this would have a very different outcome. But not with a mare like BB.
Feeling like the twins were enough to contend with, the Perrys didn’t breed BB for a 2024 foal. This allows their story to end much the way it started, with Tristen riding a horse he loves, smiling.
About Perry Quarter Horses
Since 1983, Perry Quarter Horses has been breeding, raising and training high quality AQHA ranch and performance horses on their family cattle ranch in western Kansas. 35-year trainer, Jason Perry, specializes in Reined Cow Horse and Stock Horse events, offering lessons, clinics, & horses for sale. Jason and C.J. also host annual events like the Extreme Cowgirl Challenge, Chris Dickinson Photography Workshops, and several pheasant hunting weekends as well as standing three AQHA cow horse stallions to the public. Learn more about them on their website or social media outlets.
