A piece of golden pie: Baker Quarter Horses boasts quality, high-performing palomino stud

Lusk – Exquisite mind, performance and a golden palomino stallion is what can be found at Baker Quarter Horses in Lusk. Standing at Dick and Connie Baker’s place is the stallion Guys Piece Ofthe Pie – the Baker family’s saving grace in the horse industry.

Just when the Bakers were about to hang the towel up in the industry because of the slow market, Guys Piece Ofthe Pie caught their eye. At the Myers Performance Horse Sale, their addiction to top-performing horses could not be shaken when being around the stallion.

Performance ability with sensibility

One of the main reasons the Baker family started raising their own horses stemmed from finding horses for their children. They were always on the lookout for horses with good minds and athletic ability that anyone could swing a leg over.

“When our kids were little, we tried to find horses to get them mounted on,” Dick explains. “We were having a hard time finding horses we liked that had some cow in them as well as athletic ability, but were still gentle enough to stick kids on.”

The Bakers were close to calling it quits in the horse industry, as their old stud had broken his hind leg and the horse market was slowing down. They needed to find bloodlines which offered their program more to stay in the business.

The Bakers purchased Guys Piece Ofthe Pie right off his dam in 2008, making him a 2007 model. The stud is by Frenchmans Guy and out of Fleeting Pie by Pie In The Sky – superb bloodlines to bring into the Baker’s program.

The stud was fantastic, even at a young age, according to the Bakers. All of his positive traits have led the horse to be even more successful throughout his performance years.

“Rodney Grote started him on the barrels and ran him at the futurities and derbies,” Dick says. “Then, Jaimie Merrill rode him and won about $35,000 on him.”

His earnings come from futurities, derbies, slot races and professional rodeo money earnings. Dick shares the horse was also a Semi-American qualifier.

Guys Piece Ofthe Pie is a sire of multiple rodeo and futurity money earners as well.

The right mind for offspring

“Besides his color setting him apart, his babies are extremely easy to start training,” shares Dick, noting they rarely have any buck and non-sense is at a minimum – they act like they’ve been ridden their whole lives. “His colts are really easy to start and they’re so smart.”

Dick’s granddaughter also practices showing him, as he is quiet and nice to be around.

Along with a good mind, Guys Piece Ofthe Pie offers solid conformation.

“When he was a yearling, we hauled him to some shows in Montana, showing him in halter and on the lunge line and he always did well,” Dick says. “We see most of his offspring in the barrel world and in team roping.”

Guys Piece Ofthe Pie has colts from California to Florida, all excelling in their respective fields.

“He has a gray mare that won the Indian National Finals this year, he has a stud colt they’re standing in Nevada, which just won a big team roping, and we see a lot of his colts being ridden by college barrel racers,” says Dick.

“We hand breed him here at our place, and we also work with Colorado State University to ship semen,” explains Dick.

“His stud fee is $1,300 with a $200 booking fee. He is eligible for Future Fortunes, Cowboy State Incentive, 5-State Breeders Barrel Futurity and Valley Girls Stallion Incentive.

For breeding information, contact Dick or Connie at 307-340-0146, 307-334-3344 or by e-mail at baker.horse@ yahoo.com

Delcy Bayles is a corresponding writer for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.