Late Jud Little Remains Number One on Barrel Racing Lifetime Top Breeder List

Within an industry, it can be easy to forget how many individuals work behind the scenes towards an end result of breaking records, making history, and evolution. In the equine industry, we often see the horses, trainers, and jockeys winning at the forefront. We would be remiss to forget where the horses standing in the winner's circle came from: the breeders. 

Every breeding program is different. Some breeders primarily sell the horses they raise at a young age, sending them on to find success for new owners. Others send them into training and campaign what they raise, selling them after they have proved themselves. Breeders retain some stock as broodmares and stallions, but still sell many of their highest-quality horses.

One particular breeder who mastered genetics, the “magic crosses” of barrel racing, and placing horses in the right hands left a legacy that will continue for years to come. Currently topping the EquiStat and QData Lifetime Top Breeder list, we see his very familiar name.

The late Jud Little of Ardmore, Okla., may have passed away in 2020, but the breeding program he built changed the game forever. Currently, he is listed as the breeder of 622 money-earning horses who have won over $11.8 million, per QData. 

Red Man Jones (owned and ridden by Randee Prindle) tops that list at $729,807. London Gorham’s standout Runnin With Wings is No. 2 at $292,699, followed by JL Josie Bar, Heavenly Red, and JL Jamaican Me Rich. Little bred multiple National Finals Rodeo qualifiers and horses that have won at every level in barrel racing, dominating the aged events for decades. 

Little still stands No. 9 on the list of lifetime top owners. With JL Dash Ta Heaven topping that list, followed by Dynas Plain Special, Return Of The Bully, Chicados Cash, and Sooner Superstar, nearly all of these horses qualified for the NFR. 

Stallions JL Dash Ta Heaven and Chicados Cash both ran down the alley of the Thomas and Mack with Little’s wife, Bennette Barrington-Little. Dynas Plain Special competed there with Janae Massey and Sooner Superstar made her runs in the famed yellow arena with Tiffany Fox.

JL Dash Ta Heaven (now owned by Whitmire Ranch), is No. 6 on the all-time leading sire list at $10.98 million in offspring earnings. He has become one of the most influential barrel racing sires in history.

Along with this incredible accolade comes an emotional realization. 2025 and 2026 will be the final years Jud Little’s name is announced as the breeder of horses running down the alley for their futurity year. While it may mark the end of an era, Little left a lasting legacy and forever changed the barrel racing industry.