Jud Little & his family welcome you to the Jud Little Ranch!
From the board room of The Quintin Little Company to the barn at the Bar Nothin Ranch, Jud Little is an industry leader.
Little learned his leadership skills from his parents Quintin and Carrie Lou and further fostered their development while attending Culver Military Academy in Indiana. Much to his mother’s delight, Culver broadened Little’s horizons and furthered his passion for horses. At Culver, Little was a member of the famed Black Horse Troop and rode in President Lyndon B. Johnson’s inauguration parade. He also learned to play polo, a game that would take him around the world and give him an appreciation for the agility of the equine athlete.
Armed with a degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Finance and Commerce, Little returned to Oklahoma and assumed control of The Quintin Little Company in 1974.
With his professional life squared away, Little turned to his passion for horses. His sprawling 2,000-acre ranch nestled in the foothills of the Arbuckle Mountains was home to a polo field, fine stable of ponies and registered cattle.
As Little’s equine interest diversified, a roping arena joined the polo field. As his children’s interests in youth rodeo grew, so did his passion for timed event horses, especially those used for barrel racing. In those horses, he saw the same characteristics that had him so fascinated with the superiority of the Argentinian ponies from his years of competitive polo.
With those Argentinian polo ponies in mind, Little turned his laser-like focus to the breeding of champion barrel horses in the late 1990s. They would have trainability, turnablity and speed—lots of speed.
He built his program with the dynamic mares Dynas Plain Special and Nonstopwithcredit and proven barrel sire Cash Not Credit, who became legends in the barrel racing industry. Although all three have passed—Dynas Plain Special in 2005; Nonstopwithcredit and her sire Cash Not Credit within months of each other in late 2014—their genetics continue to sustain the ranch today.
Dynas Plain Special (Special Feelins x Dyna Snow, by Dothan TB) won the 2003 WPRA World Championship for Janae Ward-Massey in dramatic fashion—from last minute qualifier to National Finals Rodeo Average Champion. “Dee Dee” left a compelling legacy in her daughter Frosty Feelins (by WPRA World Champion Sire Sun Frost), an NFR qualifier, multiple NFR round winner and producer of promising barrel horses Ms Carrie Lou (by First Down Dash) and One Frosty Corona (by Corona Cartel), a promising young addition to Little’s stallion lineup. Dynas Plain Special’s great genetics will be spread far and wide thanks to her son JL Dash Ta Heaven, a son of all-time leading barrel horse sire, who was born the morning of her death.
The current crown jewel of Little’s program JL Dash Ta Heaven is a multiple pro rodeo winner, AQHA World Champion, multiple arena record holder and NFR qualifier. His first crop of performers will enter the arena in 2016.
Nonstopwithcredit (Cash Not Credit x Nonstop Betty, by Nonstop Jet) garnered national attention as a 5-year-old when she won the Speedhorse Derby with 10-year-old Marsee Ferguson, the daughter of barrel horse trainer Kim Thomas, who came to the ranch with both Dee Dee and “Bad Betty.” Like Dee Dee, Bad Betty carried numerous riders to victory before leaving a genetic legacy of daughters and her son Bestcreditmesunfrost (by WPRA World Champion Sire Sun Frost).
At the time of his death, Cash Not Credit (Dash For Cash x Cute And Sassy, by Azure Te TB) was one of the all-time leading sires of barrel horses. He sired BFA World Champions Sooner Superstar and Thinkin Of Cash and an impressive NFR qualifiers: Smooth My Credit and Chicados Cash, who qualified with Little’s wife Benette; Sooner Superstar, who ran with Tiffany Fox; Flitin Firin Cash and Shebe Firin For Cash, who carried former ranch trainer Kassie Mowry to the NFR in 2005, and Little Extra Credit, a steer wrestling horse ridden by K.C. Jones. Today, his siring legacy belongs to his sons Bugemforcash (out of Flyin Hi Babe, by Bugs Alive In 75) and Chicados Cash (out of multiple futurity champion Chicado Flame, by Flaming Jet).
Today, Little’s powerful stallion battery includes Dee Dee’s full brother Hes Downrite Special, champion sire Bug In My Frosty (Sun Frost x Flyin Hi Babe, by Bugs Alive In 75) and rising sire No Mas Corona (Fishers Dash x Sizzling Lil, by Sizzle Te).
Little’s stellar broodmare band is anchored by proven performers and producers such as NFR qualifier Frosty Feelins, NFR qualifier Smooth My Credit, Return Of The Bully, Des Delight, Nicki Nick Bar, Ittys Sis, Less Return, NFR qualifier Sign Of Passion, Scratchy Nick Bar, CD Nick Bar, Shake Em Easy, Marthas Moon View, Streakin For Fame, Tiny Red Woman, pro rodeo champion Buggin To Kill, AQHA World Champion Lindas Sunset, Northlands Coliseum Arena Record Holder and NFR qualifier Nicky Brick House and many, many more.
Many of Little’s great horses continue to compete today with his wife Benette, a two-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier, and his daughter Mattie Little-Jackson, a pro rodeo champion.
Championships are not just limited to the equine side of the ranch. Little has raised registered Hereford cattle for more than 40 years and has a decorated commercial cattle operation with popular Brafords (F1 Crosses) from the pairing of his Hereford females with pedigreed Brahman bulls. Little’s cattle are always top contenders at the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show, held in Fort Worth, Texas, and have won numerous championship honors for the best pen of commercial heifers. Their most recent win came in 2015.
Today, Little continues at the helm of The Quintin Little Company, an independent oil and gas exploration and production operation founded by his father more than 70 years ago during the heart of the Great Depression. He honors both of his parents through his sponsorship and support of numerous projects to foster leadership skills in today’s youth.
Along with his support of future generations of barrel racers, his support of Culver Academy and Culver Girls Academy is very dear to his heart. Each year, Little offers four full scholarships to the premier college preparatory school that honored him as a Graduate of the Year in 2015.