William on our stallion, Docs Drifter, and Marcy on one of
our APHA geldings by Frontier Fiddler

The APHA breeding program on the Epperson Ranch began in the early 1970's, when William's father, Walker, purchased a Paint stallion by the name of Hobo Del Rio, and later an own son of APHA World Champion sire Mardelle Dixon named Frontier Fiddler. For many years these stallions produced, through the ranches' top quality AQHA mares, Paints that were used extensively on this large operation. Several of the mares in our program are descendants of Fiddler.

In 1996, William purchased Snowman's Echo, a red dun overo stallion by Doc's Calico Lynx (by Doc's Lynx, AQHA). Snowman's 'cow' and athletic ability along with his proven stamina in working ranch conditions made him an ideal cross on our mares. We're currently riding his oldest daughters, which are proving themselves to be great cow horses and athletes.

Sadly, Snowman had to be put down in July 2000 due to an accident. However, things turned out just as the old saying goes, "when one door closes, another usually opens". The situation brightened when we purchased Doc's Drifter, a dun tobiano stallion, in October 2000.

Doc's Drifter is by King Bar Siemon, producer of many APHA performance point earners and Paint NCHA money earners. Doc's Drifter's pedigree includes many crosses to King P234 through some of King's greatest sons, particularly Royal King. He also carries the blood of Son ofa Doc (he's a great-grandson), Driftwood, Leo, Hank H and Midnight and other great foundation horses.

Our mares, both AQHA and APHA, are foundation bred types. All possess top foundation and performance bloodlines. The primary focus of our program is to produce ranch-raised Paints that possess excellent bone, dispositions, conformation, 'cow' and especially athletic ability. Living in a natural environment, they are well taken care of, but not pampered. To be used in our program, they must be able to withstand heat, drought, cold and negotiate rough terrain while being willing and hard workers. They naturally learn to carry their heads in a lower headset.

In our program, after the foal is born and the mare's foal heat is completed, mare and foal are brought to the ranch headquarters where the foal is halter trained and taught to pick up his feet, etc. After this, they are returned to pasture until the foal is weaned. At weaning, foals are again brought to headquarters, where they are reintroduced to the halter and kept in stalls for about a week. They are haltered, handled and taken to water twice daily-a routine which has proven itself over the years. With this way of doing things, they are very eager to see their handler.

Our horses must be well-rounded individuals. They are used for riding many miles of fence on a regular basis and rounding up livestock, which, especially with the goats, often means carrying one to three goats horseback while finishing the job.

Visit the Web Site of the American Paint Horse Association APHA