The Appaloosa world may never know the real story about Colida’s breeding and birth, and the horsepeople who knew the stallion say it doesn’t matter. The bay Hall of Fame stallion, whose paternal heritage remains a mystery, didn’t need a famous sire to make him important; Colida made himself important.
The sorrel AQHA mare Lady Chesty produced Colida — and Colida’s longtime owner, Bill Cass, says there are pictures of the blanketed suckling at her side in 1957 to prove it. But Colida’s unknown breeders are the only ones who know what stallion sired him. Although no official documentation supports this claim, Bill and many others believe Colida’s history has been hidden because he’s a crop out from crossing Chesty Lady with a prestigious Quarter Horse stallion.
Russell Marcussen of Springfield, Illinois, named and registered Colida in 1961. “Col” stands for Colorado, which Russell says is great horse country; “ida” is for Idaho, where the ApHC is headquartered. Colida passed hands from Russell to Stanley B. Lewis of Sarcoxie, Missouri, then to Dink Hull of Welch, Oklahoma, and finally to Bill Cass, also of Welch.
Colida, rising above the curiosity and suspicion of his past, became champion stallion at the 1963 National Show in Boise, Idaho. He later won the get-of-sire class at the 1967 National Show in Walla Walla, Washington. Bill retired Colida from showing without trying him in performance classes and instead focused on breeding the stallion and promoting his offspring. Colida sired 570 registered foals, of which 43 earned performance points and 23 won halter points. His get collected 22 registers of merit and six bronze medallions.
Colida died of natural causes on July 8, 1982, at the Casses’ Circle Lazy C Ranch. Bill and his wife, Ethelyn, were attending the National Show at the time of his death. When National Show attendees honored the great stallion on July 9, horses of Colida breeding entered the arena as a living tribute to the future of a stallion who didn’t have a past.
