WEATHERFORD, Texas – Dual R Smokin, champion cutting horse, and high-performance stallion, changed hands Thursday, September 15, from J 5 Ranch to Skillet Fork Performance Horses and owners Dave and Becky Kuhl.
Sired by the legendary $44-million stallion Dual Rey x Smokin Pepto, an earner of $143,029 and producer of $350,000, Dual R Smokin has himself earned $220,727 and produced close to $1 million in earners.
“I want to thank the Jaeggi family and J Five Ranch for putting their trust in us to carry on and promote both the legacy and potential of Dual R Smokin,” Kuhl says. “They’ve really done a good job by the horse. His earnings and the earnings of his offspring demonstrate that.”
After a long search, Kuhl is excited to take on ownership of Dual R Smokin. He sees still untapped potential, particularly in the realm of reined cow horse.
“The trainability of his colts, the confirmation, the pedigree,” Kuhl said “He’s just a great producer.”
In fact, his daughter Smoketta Cat (Dual R Smokin x Fletchetta Cat x High Brow Cat), recently won the 2020 National Reined Cow Horse Stallion Stakes Non-Pro Championship in Las Vegas. The mare scored a 216 in the herd work, a 220.5 in the rein, and a 220 in the fence work to win the Stakes Non-Pro Championship with a 656.5 composite score.
Editor’s note: Dual R Smokin is the sire of Dual Axle, aboard whom Joseph Harrison won the 2019 American Rope Horse Futurity Association World Title.
The horse will continue to stand at Oswood Stallion Station under the care of Jeff Oswood.
“We’ve had Dual R Smokin here for a while now,” Oswood said. “He’s just a great horse to be around. With so many excellent High Brow Cat mares, we see a lot of outcross potential, and that’s something important for the health of our industry and our horses.”
Going forward, Dual R Smokin will be managed by Cale Green and his company Green Zone Equine Management.
“When Dave and I started out on the search for a stallion,” Cale said, “I told him the most important trait the horse needs for me is correct conformation. Dual R Smokin overwhelmingly met expectations. The way his neck ties into his shoulder, the balance of his neck, back, hind end, the correctness of his legs, it’s just all there. Crossing him on the right mare has and will continue to create an exceptional equine athlete, fit to compete in any discipline.”
Before falling in love with breeding high-performance cutting and reined cow horses, Dave Kuhl cut his teeth in the world of advertising, managing some of the country’s greatest brands, like Bass Pro Shops, Budweiser, Jack Daniels, and more. Now he owns and manages his own branding and advertising agency, Kuhl/Swaine.
“My interest is really to support this excellent horse and bring my own experience to help make sure he gets the respect he deserves,” he says. “I can say I will definitely be an active owner. I’m constantly thinking ‘what can we do for this horse? What can we do for the sport of Reined Cow Horse?’” TRJ
