A Horse to Remember – Slush Creeks Jubal S

SLUSH CREEKS JUBAL S 1991-2013 CRTWH 3582 / TWHBEA 917961

by Shellie Pacovsky

In 1992 Mark and I had been looking for a stallion to breed my mare, Lehman’s Black Dixie. We had been in contact with Wade Miller, the son, and Maxine, widow of the late Calvin Miller of the Double Diamond Ranch in Rhame, North Dakota. They had not taken in mares for breeding in years but had finally agreed to take “Dixie” to Miller’s Super Man’s court. We took Dixie down to the Double Diamond and while we were there we, of course, met Miller’s Super Man and two of his yearling colts. These two colts were pretty wild, having been just recently weaned and with very little done with them. One was sorrel and one was black. I really liked the black colt. He had a spot of blue in each eye that caught my attention, and black is my favorite color of horse. He was just a gangly colt but you could tell he was curious.

We left Dixie at the Double Diamond and during the ride home I talked to Mark about that black colt. A month later when it was time to go pick Dixie up, as luck would have it I got sick and had to miss the trip back to the Double Diamond. I was disappointed I wasn’t going to see that black colt again. By the time Mark got home I was feeling better so I walked down to the corral. Mark opened up the door of the trailer and there was that black colt! I had recently quit smoking and since I wasn’t spending money on cigarettes Mark bought me the colt as a gift.

The colt was scared. He was not halter trained. They’d run him through the chute to load him and we unloaded him the same way. It had been quite an experience for him. He still didn’t have a name, he wasn’t registered yet and Maxine had told Mark that I could name him. So we left him to settle down. By the next day all six kids were pulling grass for him and hand feeding it to him. He loved those kids and that grass, but Mark and I? He wasn’t sure about us. After a couple of days Mark got him cornered and just went slow and was able to get a halter on him. Within half an hour he was leading. He was smart! The kids loved the colt and the feeling was mutual. In just a few days the colt was meeting the kids at the fence for pats and scratches and the handfuls of grass they would pull for him. Once we had him leading good, Mark and I would lead him out of his pen to happily munch on grass. It was during those times that I let myself dream. I didn’t know much about Tennessee Walkers or stallions so I asked Wade and Maxine if they thought the colt was stallion material. They assured me that he was. I also gave him a name. I was a big fan of Louis L’Amour’s Sackett books and there was a creek that ran on our place in the spring of the year so I named him Slush Creek’s Jubal S. Calvin Miller had bred, trained, ridden and used Tennessee Walking Horses for ranch work for 40+ years. “Jubal” was the last stallion to come off his famed Double Diamond Ranch.

Slush Creeks Jubal S was by Miller’s Super Man out of Ebony’s Gingerale, which made him a grandson of Sun’s Merry Man. Sun’s Merry Man was one of only four foals sired by the incomparable 14 time World Champion Hill’s Perfection. Hill’s Perfection was only campaigned under the name of Hill’s Perfection; his registered name was Reyclif Mid-Merry 561395. His offspring were Sun’s Merry Iris 590511, Sun’s Merry Robin 590512, Sun’s Merry Mister 601518, and Sun’s Merry Man 620157. Of the four, only Sun’s Merry Man went on to reproduce. He stood at stud for Calvin for many years. Slush Creeks Jubal S was the only producing stallion to have an unbroken top line to Hill’s Perfection. Now, there are his sons.

Slush Creek’s Jubal S. grew into a 16.1 hh stallion. He had an exceptionally quiet and gentle nature, a nice natural running walk and a gorgeous head. Jubal was minimal sabino with the thicker, heavier, using/pleasure horse body style. He had been given the nickname “The Gentle Giant” by those who had the privilege to have met him in person. Jubal LOVED people and attention. He would leave his broodmare band to get the attention he desired. He could be ridden bareback away from his mares with only a halter and lead rope on. Jubal passed on these outstanding qualities to his foals, which makes them a pleasure to train. Most of his offspring have been trained by their amateur owners. In 1998 we took three Jubal foals to the TWH show at the Northern International Livestock Exposition (NILE). We had never shown before but we walked out of the ring with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place ribbons. We never did get into showing very much but that show made it clear we would have done well there too. Jubal NEVER wore shoes his entire life. He did many meet-and-greets, and was always so patient with the people who wanted to meet him and maybe go for a short ride. Jubal sired 92 TWHBEA registered foals. There were others so I know that he sired well over 100 offspring.

In the beginning I never knew what an exceptional stallion he was. It was only as the years passed that I came to realize how very fortunate I was to have loved this horse and known that he loved me back.

Jubal was such a potent sire that his size, exceptional conformation, beautiful gaits and wonderful disposition are still passing down to his progeny and to several generations down the line. We can only hope that his incredible dynasty of offspring will continue to improve the Tennessee Walking Horse breed for years to come. There are three of his sons standing at stud now, SCW Counting Cadence here at Slush Creek Walkers in Montana, and SCW Silk Satin & Pride, and SCW What Are The Chances at TW Ranch in Russell, Manitoba. Jubal also sired horses that are being used as Therapy Horses, a Mounted Police Horse in California, Working Ranch Horses, and in 2008 a daughter of his was recognized as TWHBEA Endurance Horse of the year, and the list goes on.

As a post script to this story, a couple of years after Mark gave me Jubal, I started smoking again so Mark took him away from me. Even after I quit smoking for good he would never give him back – which was only fitting for he was really Mark’s horse. At least, both Mark and Jubal thought so.