The name “LA Waters Quarter Horses” brings to mind well-built, dependable horses with an aptitude for performance under the bright lights of rodeo, or a honest days work on the ranch.
But even if a rodeo fan hasn’t heard the name, they’ve seen their horses. From Louis Garcilazo’s specialty act with Latigo Dun It to Madison Outhier’s dependable breakaway horse “Rooster,” LA Waters’ horses have made both the rodeo and show pen their home.
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In a breeding venture that started with purchasing Colonel Freckles (yes, that Colonel Freckles) in 1983, and continues in 2024 with four ranch-raised stallions and about 40 broodmares, the Utopia, Texas, operation is steeped in tradition.
“We don’t really do outside mares, and we pasture breed and raise everything,” the matriarch of the operation Wanda Waters said. “The best endorsement of our breeding program is repeat customers that come back over and over again. Our highest number of sales are to repeat customers.”
Now in her mid-80s, the well-spoken Waters is the program’s secret weapon.
“I go out every morning and check on everything,” Waters said. “Check for foals if a mare was bagging up, keep all the records, name them. My husband Louis has a good eye and high standards, and we make a good team. I give him a lot of credit for wanting to start [a breeding business] at the top, and Colonel Freckles was about as top as you can get.”
Colonel Freckles in Utopia
The Waters first laid eyes on Colonel Freckles at the 1976 National Cutting Horse Association Futurity. Under the guidance of Olan Hightower, the sorrel stallion took home the coveted Open Futurity Championship. The Waters were enamored, and according to AQHA records, bred 23 mares to him before he became available for purchase.
In 1983, Colonel Freckles came home to Utopia. At this point he’d already proven himself as a producer, with his first foal crop entering the 1981 NCHA Futurity and dominating the competition.
“And so he became the cornerstone of our program,” Waters said. “He had everything that we valued in a horse. He was beautiful. He would shine like a new copper penny with no care, just out in the pasture. And he had huge, big brown eyes, very muscled, and he was very kind, very gentle.”
Colonel Freckles’ time in South Texas was short, but significant. He tragically passed in 1986 from blister beetles in his hay. He passed on genes that are still seen in the Waters’ horses today, including the sire that carried the program into the 21st century, Wild Card Dunit.
Bet on the Wild Card
“In a breeding operation, you have to have some outside blood,” Waters said. “You can’t totally inbreed. So we picked Hollywood Dun It, because we loved the cross of our Colonel Freckles mares on him. And in one of those crosses, we got this fabulous horse named Wild Card Dunit.”
Foaled in 2001, Wild Card Dunit was set to go through the same process of raising, breaking and selling that all the other foals did. But Mike Outhier was insistent that this colt was different.
“Our son-in-law Mike, who usually breaks and starts our colts said, ‘Gosh, this horse is great. Please, let’s keep him and show him,'” Waters recalled. “So we sent him to Teddy Robinson out in California for the reined cowhorse, and he was a futurity finalist. And then we brought him back and started breeding him. We would breed him during the week and then Mike would go rope on him on the weekends, and he was just like a gelding.”
At Outhier’s request, they sent Wild Card to JD Yates for training. There, he became the High Point All Around Junior American Quarter Horse in 2006. Nearly two decades later in 2024, Wild Card still pasture breeds mares and will live out his days carrying on the LA Waters legacy.
LA Waters rodeo stars
The list of LA Waters rodeo stars is long, but here are a few highlights:
Madison Outhier’s “Rooster” – Allo Gallo Colonel
Trained by Mike Outhier, Rooster became Madison’s breakaway horse when she was 9 years old. They started at the local Utopia youth rodeo, worked their way through Junior High and High School, and in 2019, they won the $100,000 American Rodeo Championship.
Madison Outhier’s “Eight Ball” – Eight Ball Wild Card
Eight Ball is currently being ridden by Madison’s boyfriend Conner Atkinson in the tie-down roping.
Amy Ohrt’s “Frothy” – Frothy Wild Card
Amy Ohrt and Frothy won the 2024 WRWC Breakaway World Championship and $60,000 inside AT&T Stadium.
Aspen Miller’s “Jigsaw” – Jigsaw Wild Card
Jigsaw has been making the rounds on the ProRodeo road in 2024, splitting the win with a 1.9-second run at the Old Fort Days Rodeo in Fort Smith, AR, and bringing home the first-ever St. Paul Rodeo breakaway championship with a 2.2-second run.
Bradi Good’s “Nacho” – Nacho Man Wild Card
Bradi Good’s Nacho is coming through the breakaway ranks, competing in his first futurity in 2023, where he brought home more than $6K.
Other LA Waters horses include Rylie Smith’s Hail Mary Wild Card, who she won the 2022 WRWC World Champion Challenger Header and Reserve Champion All-Around Cowgirl on. At the same event, Hope Thompson rode Smith’s other mare Hallelujah Wild Card to the All-Around Cowgirl title.
Today, the Waters continue to raise Quarter Horses they’re proud of in the South Texas. Their foals grow big and strong in the rolling hills, and the protein-rich grass fuels them for future competition. Through their horses, the LA Waters legacy will be felt in rodeo for decades to come.
