Appaloosa legend states that Apache could chase cattle, lead a race and win a pleasure class, all in one day. Orvil Sears Sr. of Elba, Idaho, bred Apache (Better Still, JC x Queen, ApHC) and used the 1942 stallion on the ranch and in competition. Apache worked hard in harsh conditions and harsher country, earning his keep on the ranch. Any job the ranch presented, from chasing cattle to chasing horses, Apache completed. The stallion built his reputation competing in rodeos and races throughout Idaho, Nevada and Utah during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Apache excelled in calf roping, team roping, reining and cutting.
He match raced against Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses, usually winning with 180 pounds on his back. Orvil said in a September 1964 Appaloosa News article about Apache: “You can feel whether a horse is putting everything into it. Apache always gave you everything; he always ran an honest race.”
Apache showed heavily during the mid-1950s, gathering admirers throughout the Appaloosa world. He competed in five National Shows and, at all five, earned the champion performance horse or reserve champion performance horse title. He also won the champion halter stallion title at the 1954 National Show.
Orvil let the stallion promote himself. With limited advertising, Apache sired 121 foals who shared their sire’s versatility. On the track, his offspring included 13 starters, four winners, one stakes winner and one champion. His most famous son, Apache King S., is an Appaloosa Racing Hall of Fame member and leading race sire for 1967 and 1968. Apache’s get were shown before the national points system was established.
Apache was euthanized due to colic and a ruptured colon on July 10, 1964, just three days after his 22nd birthday.
