His owners call him, “The Ultimate Outcross,” and he’s certainly living up to that title. Woody Be Tuff, owned by Solo Select Horses and Kaleb Terlip, has National Cutting Horse Association earnings of more than $351,000, but he’s really made his mark in the breeding barn as the sire of earners of more than $9,300,000. Those millions cross the entire Western performance industry, from cutting to roping, reined cow horse to ranch events.
Easy to Handle
Melanie Smith, owner of Select Solo Horses, has known “Woody” nearly all his life. After his notable career in the cutting pen, Smith says Woody was retired sound, sane, and happy to his second career, which continues today.
“He’s everyone’s favorite stud to handle,” she notes. Woody stands at Lazy E Ranches in Guthrie, Oklahoma. He is stalled near some of the most prestigious stallions in the country, including racehorses. “He’s just made different. He’s very structurally correct. He never took a lot of work to go show—he didn’t require lots of loping or schooling. When it’s easy for a horse to do his competitive job, both mentally and physically, it’s good for his long-term well-being.”
Crosses Well
Historically, Woody has crossed well with some of the top sires in cutting. But Smith says they’re committed to trying Woody on a variety of mares to find the best connections.
“I’m confident trying him on different mares,” she says. “Metallic Cat mares have worked really well so far. Woody is also the No. 4 sire on daughters of High Brow Cat. Right now, we’re focused on those mares, because the rope horse market is at a pivotal time in its development. We haven’t seen the results from this yet; it’s part of the experiment. With his attributes, we have a lot of confidence in the product we’re creating. But, we won’t see the results until 2026–2027 when these babies start hitting the shown pen.”
Woody consistently passes on his size and bone. When a mare is smaller, Woody can add overall stature to the offspring. If a mare has a shorter neck or a coarser throatlatch, Woody’s genes can lengthen and clean up a neck. He’s also known for his kind eye, seen on many of his progeny.
Desirable Offspring
Once put to work, Woody’s offspring prove to be highly trainable, competitive, and hold up well through the training and competitive process. Woody sired the 2021 National Reined Cow Horse Association open champ, Zak 34, who continues to dominate in the cow horse events. In the cutting pen, Woody sired NCHA Futurity co-champ CR Tuff Hearted Cat as well as NCHA Derby open reserve champ CR Tuff Lucy, both mares that trace back to High Brow Cat, Metallic Cat’s sire, showing Woody’s exceptional genealogical cross with that line.
The most exciting part of Woody’s time as a breeding stallion lies in the next three to four years. This is where he’ll really prove his value as a sire on a variety of proven mares with a variety of fantastic traits. Even at 22, Woody Be Tuff is still one to watch.
