A Tuesday morning trailer ride from Whitesboro, Texas, to Aaron Ranch in Commerce, Texas, followed the recently completed sale of 22-year-old stallion Peptoboonsmal, the 1995 National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Futurity Open Champion who ranks among the all-time best cutting and reined cow horse sires.

Jackson Land & Cattle, based in Jackson Hole, Wyo., officially sold Peptoboonsmal (Peppy San Badger x Royal Blue Boon x Boon Bar) to Aaron Ranch on May 1 for an undisclosed price. The sale followed negotiations that started last fall. The colorful red roan had been standing at Hartman Equine Reproduction Center in Whitesboro, Texas, until Aaron Ranch manager and lead trainer Jay McLaughin made the 90-minute drive to bring him home on May 6.

“We are quite excited,” Lori Aaron said upon the horse’s much-anticipated arrival, adding she told her husband, Phillip, early one morning last fall that she’d like to buy Peptoboonsmal. “He didn’t say anything. He just pushed his hat up, leaned back in his chair, and looked at me,” she said.

Phillip recalled he was initially not sure Peptoboonsmal’s former owner would even consider selling him, but he didn’t mind his wife asking about the possibility. The Aarons had bred several of their mares to him, and were quite pleased with the results. “If you look at his offspring, I think he’s the best stud there’s ever been,” Phillip said. “His offspring are not just cutters. They are everything. It takes a good-blooded horse to do everything.”

Peptoboonsmal ranked seventh among all-time reined cow horse sires and eighth among all-time cutting sires through 2013, according to Equi-Stat . Statistics updated through April show he had sired cutting horses who have earned $21,014,619, plus reined cow horses who had earned $1,371,605 and reining horses who had earned $263,728. Equi-Stat’s 10-year all-industry statistics rank Peptoboonsmal third on the sire chart. That’s based on his overall earnings of $17,859,530 as cutters, cow horses and reiners during the past 10 years. High Brow Cat and Dual Rey rank first and second on that list.

Peptoboonsmal has sired performance horses with combined earnings of more than $1 million during each year from 2001-2013. His individual standouts include the 2002 and 2007 NCHA Horse of the Year honorees Little Pepto Gal and Copaspepto, plus 2001 National Reined Cow Horse Association (NRCHA) Snaffle Bit Futurity Open Champion Boonlight Dancer and 2009 NRCHA Derby Open Champion Smart Boons. Copaspepto earned $279,950 in 2007 during his NCHA Horse of the Year season. One Time Pepto is Peptoboonsmal’s second-leading single-season money-earner, with $264,145 banked in 2005. One Time Pepto, Little Pepto Gal and many other “Pepto” offspring have emerged as top-notch sires and dams.

Jackson Land & Cattle purchased Peptoboonsmal in 2007 from Larry Hall Cutting Horses, of Weatherford, Texas, his original breeder and owner. He has enjoyed consistently strong seasons as a sire before and since then. Phillip and Lori Aaron said they believe Peptoboonsmal has many strong seasons as a sire remaining.

“We’ll be breeding Peptos for a long time,” Phillip said. “This is going to be his final home.”