PUEBLO, Colo. ― To quote the Great Bard, "What's in a name?"
Well, in the bucking bull world, a lot can be in a name. It isoften used to identify a particular sire or bloodline an animal hascome out of. At PBR and ABBI events, you may have noticed the largenumber of "Hou" names. Hou Da Man,Catahoula, Hou Dat, HouDa King, Hou Tricked Hou, HouYa, Copp Hou, SkatmanHou, Lucky Hou, Dr. Hou,Hou's My Daddy and, yes, there's even aHou Farted.
The ABBI has the largest bucking cattle DNA registry in theworld, with records on over 155,000 animals. Of these 155,000,close to 2,400 were sired by the great Houdini.Taking into account all the animals that can also claim Houdini asa grand sire or great grandsire, it's no surprise how frequentlyyou hear a "Hou" name attached to a bucking bull or cow, or see thedistinct white hides with black spots. Houdini is one of the mostprolific sires in the ABBI Registry and bucking bull history.
Owned by Gene Baker at the time of his death in 2010, Houdinicame out of the late Ronnie Roach's Rafter 7r breeding program.Born in 1991, the bull would prove to be good in the arena, but hewould become a legend based on what he did as a sire. He was ownedby and influenced Mitch Terrell's breeding program and eventuallywould belong to Monty Samford. Samford sold him for $100,000 in2002 ― an astronomical sum at the time for a retired bull ― toBaker and Lyndal Hurst.
Non-Hou named sons include greats like VoodooChild, Best Shot, Grizz'sGhost, Bring It, Life of theParty, Come n Git It, BlackPearl, Super Duty, NightLife, Wild Life, HandsomeJack, Straight Jacket, StateTrooper, Last Call and Chrome Molly.
Many breeding programs today are also influence by Houdini'sfather, White Sports Coat, who was a prolific siretoo. White Sports Coat sired the great PanhandleSlim, Rooster and PrimeTime. Houdini's mother was the double bred PlummerCP6.
It'd be rare to attend an ABBI event that didn't have at leastone bull with Houdini bloodlines. Regardless of the moniker theycarry, Houdini offspring will continue to influence the AmericanBucking Bull breed indefinitely. Nearly every great breedingprogram in North America now has some of his genetics. For buckingbull fans and bucking bull breeders, Houdini has become a householdname.
To learn more about bucking bull bloodlines, visit AmericanBuckingBull.com.