Black Easter Bunny (born 1949) was a

Quarter Horse The American Quarter Horse, or Quarter Horse, is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name is derived from its ability to outrun other horse breeds in races of a quarter mile or less; some have been clocked at s ...

racehorse who raced during the early 1950s, winning many races against some of the giants of the breed.Nye ''Great Moments in Quarter Horse Racing History'' p. 104-106

Life

Black Easter Bunny was

foal A foal is an equine up to one year old; this term is used mainly for horses, but can be used for donkeys. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, and are used until the horse is three or four. When the foal i ...

ed in 1949 and was a black Quarter Horse

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

. She was sired by Hysition, a

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

stallion, and her dam was a Quarter Horse mare named Flicka.Wagoner ''Quarter Racing Digest'' p. 115 Her dam traced back to Chicaro, a Thoroughbred, as well as tracing three times to Little Joe, a son of Traveler.Pedigree of Black Easter Bunny
''All Breed Pedigree Database''

Racing career

On the track, Black Easter Bunny started 111 times, placing first in twenty-one of those races. She placed second twenty-two times and came in third thirteen times. She earned an AAA

speed rating In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quanti ...

, and a total of $40,228.00 in purses and 136 AQHA racing points. In 1952 she was named Champion Quarter Running Three Year Old Mare.

Breeding record

In 1956, Black Easter Bunny's then owner Walt Culbertson decided to retire from racing, and sold Black Easter Bunny to Mr. and Mrs. Spencer Childers of

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

. Spencer Childers told Nelson C. Nye that when Black Easter Bunny came up for sale, Childers "offered his wife the choice of a new mink coat or Black Easter Bunny for Christmas. She did not hesitate a moment."Nye ''The Complete Book of the Quarter Horse'' p. 346-347 After retiring from racing, she produced five

s. All five started races, were winners, and earned their Race Register of Merits. Four were rated AAA, and the fifth was rated AAAT. In total, her five offspring earned $122,969.00 on the racetrack. Her daughter Bunny's Bar Maid was second in the 1961

All American Futurity The All American Futurity is a race for two-year-old American Quarter Horse racehorses run at Ruidoso Downs Race Track in Ruidoso Downs, New Mexico on Labor Day. It is the last leg of the AQHA Triple Crown that has only been won once, by Special Ef ...

as well as winning the Kansas Futurity.Nye ''The Complete Book of the Quarter Horse'' p. 347-348

Death and honors

Black Easter Bunny did not live long with her new owners. “She raised some very fine horses for us,” Childers said. “But Black Easter Bunny had a relatively short breeding career. She suffered an injury while she was being bred, and that ended her career and her life. She was a wonderful mare.” Black Easter Bunny was inducted into the

American Quarter Horse Association The American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA), based in Amarillo, Texas, is an international organization dedicated to the preservation, improvement and record-keeping of the American Quarter Horse. The association sanctions many competitive even ...

's (or AQHA)

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

in 2002.

Pedigree

Notes

References

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External links

Black Easter Bunny at Quarter Horse Directory

Black Easter Bunny at Quarter Horse Legends
{{authority control American Quarter Horse racehorses Racehorses bred in the United States Racehorses trained in the United States 1949 racehorse births AQHA Hall of Fame (horses)