Bright Eyes Brother  Bright Eyes Brother Foaled on the Maddon Ranch in New Mexico in 1950, Bright Eyes Brother was indisputably an Appaloosa. The colt’s sire was the AQHA registered Billy Maddon, so it was deduced that the colt’s color had come from none other than his dam, the unregistered Plaudette. Plaudette was by the Thoroughbred stallion King Plaudit, and was a sprint and match race mare. As a broodmare, it was clear that she passed on her running abilities to her offspring when she produced the three time AQHA champion running mare Maddon’s Bright Eyes. But despite having foaled AQHA registered horses in the past, Plaudette obviously carried some Appaloosa in her blood, and this was evidenced when foaled the attractive buckskin blanketed colt that would come to be known as Bright Eyes Brother. As a two year old, Bright Eyes Brother – then called Frosty – was sold to Wiley Donaldson, who used the colt as a rodeo horse; he found that Frosty was very adept around cattle, especially in roping events. Because Donaldson and his family treated the horse more as a pet than anything else, during Frosty’s five years with Donaldson he was rarely used as a sire – and while he did sire five foals during that time, three were from stock mares he covered when he got loose at a rodeo. While the buckskin stallion was busy with rodeos, a Colorado-based auctioneer had been listening to stories about the horse for years. That auctioneer, whose name would become forever intertwined with that of Bright Eyes Brother, was Cecil Dobbin. Dobbin had seen prices for Appaloosas in auctions soar and decided that the well-bred stallion would make a good herd sire to begin his own breeding program. Dobbin kept his ear to the ground for two years before he finally found Frosty on Wiley Donaldson’s ranch. Dobbin first offered Donaldson any rodeo horse on the circuit that was for sale in exchange for Frosty, but Donaldson refused. Not to be discouraged, Dobbin returned to Donaldson's ranch with $10,000 from his savings account, as well another $10,000 loaned from a friend, and eventually enticed Donaldson to sell the stallion without having to dip into the second $10,000. A wave of guilt swept Dobbin as he watched Donaldson's young daughter say a teary goodbye to Frosty as she fed him gumdrops out of her hand; but the deal had been made, and Dobbin left with the stallion. Returning to Colorado with Frosty, Dobbin made a stop at a phone to call his friend Dick Spencer and boast about his newest acquisition. When Spencer found out that the horse was a half brother to the famous Maddon’s Bright Eyes, he jokingly told Dobbin to call the horse Bright Eye’s Brother, since “that’s what you're going to be telling everyone” – and the name stuck. In Colorado, Dobbin registered the horse with the Appaloosa Horse Club and promptly began Bright Eyes Brothers’ show career. Most notably, the stallion competed regularly at the Denver National Western Stock Show. After winning grand champion Appaloosa stallion at the show, he was invited to show at the San Antonio Livestock Show in 1958. After his arrival, Dobbin put Bright Eyes Brothers’ pedigree on the horses’ stall for everyone to see, creating a stir among AQHA breeders, some who were amazed – others angry – that an Appaloosa could be related to their illustrious mare Maddon’s Bright Eyes. Despite the controversy, Bright Eyes Brother easily took home the 1958 grand champion Appaloosa stallion title, only to create another stir when he and Dobbin walked in the Parade of Champions - an honor usually reserved for the Quarter Horses. Throughout Bright Eyes Brother's career as a stud, Dobbin continually received offers to buy the stallion. Dobbin even received a $50,000 offer for half interest in the stallion before any of his foals had been born, but Dobbin always refused, even turning down an offer from legendary breeder Hank Weiscamp. Dobbin also rarely sold the foals Bright Eyes Brother sired until they were yearlings, giving him a chance to appraise the product of his breeding program. As a sire, Bright Eyes Brother produced 138 registered offspring. Cecil Dobbin was a believer in quality not quantity, and usually bred the horse to fewer than 20 mares each breeding season. Dobbin handpicked the mares that he bred Bright Eyes Brother to, mostly choosing mares who were from Coke Roberds and Mavis Peavy bloodlines. Dobbin rarely bred the stallion to outside mares, preferring to instead to sell the Bright Eyes Brother offspring his ranch produced. One notable exception to this rule was Bright Eyes Brother's breedings to Lane Hudson's mare Peggy's Delight, producing the famed Mighty Bright and his subsequent full siblings Bright Delight, Bright Cecil, Gypsy Delight, and Barely Bright. Bright Eyes Brother sired several well known Appaloosas, including Hall of Fame stallions Mighty Bright and Bright Chip, Hall of Fame mare Bright Starlette, 1963 Appaloosa National Show grand champion mare Bright Delight, National and World champion Bright Reflection, and two time National champion Bright Tribute. Bright Eyes Brother is in turn the grandsire of the stallions Mighty Marshall, Mighty Paul, and Mighty Peavy. Bright Eyes Brother also has the distinction of being the sire with the most offspring in the Appaloosa Horse Club Hall of Fame. Bright Eyes Brother died in 1979 at the age of 29. He was inducted into the Appaloosa Horse Club Hall of Fame in 1988. Hidden Oak Ranch Home Page
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