which became the initial pedigree record for the breed association. Ruby was invited to bring two stallions to the Denver Stock Show in 1934, and chose to take Leopard #3 and Fox #10. The names Colorado Rangers and Colorado Rangerbreds were coined during this show by members of the now-Colorado State University faculty, in reference to the horses having been bred on the ranges of Colorado. Although "Colorado Ranger" is the official name of the breed, the nickname of "Rangerbreds" is still commonly used. Ruby was influential in saving some of the highest-quality Ranger stock during the severe drought of the 1930s, by driving them over to better pasture in a history-making journey. When the rains returned to eastern Colorado, he again made the drive to return the horses to their original pasture. After re-establishing his herd, Ruby developed a practice of leasing groups of his Rangerbred horses to other ranchers throughout the western United States for use as breeding stock. Through this practice, Colorado Ranger horses influenced, and were in return influenced by, the Quarter Horse, Appaloosa and other western stock horse breeds. In 1935, Ruby founded the Colorado Ranger Horse Association (CRHA), and was granted a corporate charter for the association in 1938. Ruby remained president of the organization from 1935 until his death in 1942. The registry initially imposed a 50-member limit, and many Ranger horses, whose breeders were not allowed to become members, were instead registered with the Appaloosa Horse Club. The member limit was lifted in 1964, and since then pedigree research has continued to find and register horses with Ranger breeding that are un-registered or registered as Appaloosas. During the 1980s, some Lusitano blood was allowed into the breed, but this practice has been discontinued. The CRHA states that up to 1 in 8 registered Appaloosas may have Colorado Ranger blood, and as such be eligible for registry with the CRHA. As of 2005, there were more than 6,000 horses registered with the CRHA, with between 100 and 125 new horses registered annually. While originally bred in the western US, today many Colorado Rangers are found in the midwest and eastern parts of the country, including the states of Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. They are also found in Canada, where there is at least one large breeding farm. References External links Colorado Ranger Horse Association Horse breeds originating in the United States Horse breed