Cavenaugh Quarter Horses

Where the horse comes first... 

Welcome to Cavenaugh Quarter Horses!

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We have always loved horses, however it wasn’t until 2017 that we became involved in the quarter horse racing industry. One day Don made an impromptu visit to Heritage Place and came home to announce he had purchased three yearlings, ready for training. That fall, we attended additional sales and began to purchase some broodmares. 

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In 2018 we fell in love with a brown colt by Corona Cartel at the Heritage Place Yearling Sale. Purchasing him, propelled us on the ride of a lifetime. Uncle D showed early he was a natural athlete and loved to run. He was led to the winner’s circle four times in just six of starts as a two-year-old. His career was spectacular and also landed us and our trainer, Clint Crawford, on stage when Uncle D was named AQHA Racing Champion Two-year-old and AQHA Racing Champion Two-year-old Colt in January 2020. 

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Uncle D retired from racing with $689,165 and the resume to be a great sire. He now stands at the Lazy E Ranch in Guthrie, Oklahoma. His first crop of foals arrived in 2022 and look outstanding. 

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Although we entered the racing industry as owners, our true passion is a focus on breeding horses that have longevity. We knew we would need some great mares and early on purchased Weetonas Lafawn and Why as a future foundation for our breeding program. When Uncle D won the Rainbow Futurity, Why won the Rainbow Juvenile the same day! Weetonas Lafawn enjoyed seven trips to the winner’s circle, with multiple stakes wins and $179,500 in lifetime earnings. 

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In 2021, we purchased the James Ranch in Wayne, Oklahoma. The ranch allow us to manage and give individualized care to our mares and also stand our other promising young stallion, Good Candy P. Our broodmare herd now includes daughters of Apollitical Jess, Corona Cartel, FDD Dynasty, First Down Dash, First Moonflash, Gold Case, Hez Our Secret, Jess Good Candy, Mr Jess Perry, PYC Paint Your Wagon, Shazoom, Tres Seis, Valiant Hero, Volcom and Walk Thru Fire. In 2022 we added another Rainbow winner to our herd, the outstanding multiple G1 winning, Miss  Beth Dutton. It's all about mare power and we have worked hard to build that into our program.

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Mike Turner is our Farm Manager and runs the day-to-day operation of the ranch. Dr. Leslie Turner is the Ranch Veterinarian and oversees breeding and overall health of the herd. We are blessed to not only have brought outstanding horses into our program, but also an excellent team of people to support and care for them. Our team shares our passion for horses and together we are confident every horse at the ranch receives the individualized care they deserve.

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We believe the horse has to come first in all we do. In breeding, we want the natural ability and genetics of each horse to be passed to their foals. This is why we are strong proponents of a zero tolerance for performance enhancing drugs in horses.   

 

We want our horses to have longevity and the ability to move on to a second career after racing, therefore we strive to give them the training, foundation and vet care throughout their race career to have both the mind and body to move to the arena following the track.  

 

Our long-term goal is to bring more soundness back to the American Quarter Horse.  For years, the industry has bred for speed and has forgotten the soundness of the horse. We know and believe you can have both.   The better structure a horse has, the longer the horse can race, and they will be less susceptible to injury. 

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We have enjoyed the transition and growth of Cavenaugh Quarter Horses over the years and look forward to all the future holds. Our gate is always open, please come by and meet our stallions, broodmares and foals. We’d love to show you around. 

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Sincerely, 

Don & Fran Cavenaugh

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