In a press release from the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Association, the association announces those being inducted into the hall of fame. In addition to Hedge the inductees include Rodger Coday of Owasso and Dee Raper of Norman. Horses being inducted include Go Man Go, Impressive, Baby Doll Combs and Bugs Alive in 75.
Bugs Alive in 75 was owned by the late Ralph Shebester, who also owned Blue Ribbon Downs at one time, during that time period when the racetrack became the state’s first pari-mutuel track.
The press release notes that, “Hedge relished horses with speed, and with a dream of owning land for match races, in 1958 he bought 102 acres in Sallisaw and created Blue Ribbon Downs with a 300-yard track and a two-horse starting gate.”
Hedge is identified as “the father of organized track racing in Oklahoma.”
Hedge was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) Hall of Fame in 2003, and the racetrack itself has an AQHA historic site plaque embedded in the walkway at its entrance.
Bugs Alive in 75 was owned by Mr. Shebester of Wynnewood and Tommy Wells of Harrah. The stallion won the All American Futurity as a 2 year old in 1975, won six world champion racing titles, and is the number one leading maternal grandsire of barrel horses over the last 10 years.
Coday is OQHA past president, AQHA honorary vice president and is an AQHA director since 1983. He was born with horses in his blood. His first job at age 13 was warming up and cooling race horses. His varied career includes being a Marine journalist, a martial arts 2nd degree black belt, he taught self defense classes at Rogers State College, was in banking, owned a credit bureau, and now owns an asphalt paving business in Tulsa.
Coday has won state and national titles in both open and amateur halter and roping classes. His latest wins were world championships in tie down roping and dally team roping at the 2008 AQHA Select World Show. He has been a strong advocate of OQHA, developing new members and volunteering at nearly all of the American Quarter Horse Youth Association and OQHA horse shows.
Raper, who is no stranger to Blue Ribbon Downs himself, is being inducted because of his exemplary leadership in the advancement of the Quarter Horse racing industry. As a breeder he has stood some of the nation’s most noteworthy sires, both Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds.
He was one of the original members of the Oklahoma Horsemen’s Association which campaigned to allow pari-mutuel racing at Oklahoma racetracks. As president of the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Racing Association, Raper spent countless hours promoting better racing in Oklahoma, and in 2004, he was instrumental in getting State Question 712 passed, which allowed casinos in state racetracks and kept horse racing alive in Oklahoma.
Go Man Go, at the time of his racing career, was owned by A.B. Green of Purcell. Go Man Go was a world champion quarter running horse three times in a row and sired two All American Futurity winners and seven champion quarter running horses.
Impressive, whose first owner was Nick McNair of Big Cabin, was a world champion stallion and a superior halter and performance sire. He lived up to his name, producing champion after champion, all with his dramatic physical stature. But, tragedy struck. Although never affected by it, Impressive carried a genetic disorder, hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (HYPP), a sometimes fatal disease which affected his progeny. His is the only line to have this disorder.
Baby Doll Combs, owned by Willard Combs of Checotah, was perhaps the most famous streer-wrestling horse of all time. This horse is a member of the AQHA Hall of Fame and is immortalized at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.
Clayton I. Bennett, Oklahoma State Fair chairman and chairman of Oklahoma City Thunder, will receive the Bud Breeding Oklahoma Spirit Away, which honors those who exemplify the spirit of Oklahoma’s western heritage and who have an acknowledged love of horses which has manifested itself by involvement in equine activities.
The induction ceremony will begin with a reception and dinner at 6 p.m. The gala induction will be held at the Sheraton Hotel and Reed Convention Center in Midwest City.
Tickets are $40 and can be reserved by calling Sharon Breeding at (405) 361-3163 or by e-mailing her at sbreeding@cox.net.
