Lightning Bar

Lightning Bar (1951–1960) was an American Quarter Horse who raced and subsequently became a breeding stallion. He was bred by his lifelong owner Art Pollard of Sonoita, Arizona, and was the offspring of Three Bars, a Thoroughbred, and Della P, a Quarter Horse mare from Louisiana, then noted for the breeding of sprint horses. Lightning Bar raced ten times, achieving four victories and four other top-three finishes. His racing career was cut short by illness after only one year, following which he spent two years as a show horse. As a breeding stallion he sired seven crops, or years, of foals, among whom Doc Bar was the best known. In 1960 Lightning Bar died of an intestinal infection at the age of nine. He was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Association's (AQHA) Hall of Fame in 2008. Early life Foaled, or born, in 1951, Lightning Bar was bred to be a race horse, but injuries and bouts of illnesses kept him from racing past the age of two. His breeder, Art Pollard, owned him for the horse's entire life. Lightning Bar was sired by Three Bars, a Thoroughbred stallion later inducted into the AQHA Hall of Fame. His dam was Della P, a daughter of the Thoroughbred stallion Doc Horn. His second dam, or maternal grandmother, was a mare who was never given a name, sired by Old D. J. Art Pollard purchased Della P from "Dink" Parker for $1,750 in the late 1940s. Della P was bred in Louisiana, a leader in breeding short distance racehorses between 1900 and 1940, and was taken to Arizona by Parker. When Lightning Bar was about five days old Pollard was afraid that he had leg problems and was buck-kneed, and considered putting the colt to sleep. He sought Parker's advice, and as Pollard later related the story, "Dink just looked at me and shook his head. 'Ain't you ever gonna learn nothing? That colt's just what you're looking for.' " When mature, the sorrel-colored Lightning Bar stood tall and weighed about .