Over the course of his stud career, One Time has been a leading sire in NCHA, NRCHA, and the American Quarter Horse Association. The stallion’s own show record demonstrates that his offspring are following in the hoofprints of their remarkable sire. Before being retired to stud at the age of 5, One Time accumulated $331,097 in winnings and won the 2005 NCHA Super Stakes Open Championship, the 2006 Augusta 5/6-Year-Old Open Classic Championship, and the 2006 Abilene Spectacular Open Classic Championship, among others.
For his owners, Jeffrey and Sheri Matthews of Weatherford, Texas, One Time is the horse of a lifetime—one they feel blessed to have discovered when the 2001 red roan stallion was just a yearling.
FIRST CONTACT
Matthews still remembers meeting One Time Pepto for the first time.
“I was going around Fort Worth about a month before the 2002 NCHA Futurity Select Yearling Sale, looking for fillies. I went by Tom Ryan’s place,” Matthews recalled. “He had a colt he was selling for Dave and Claire Capps. Tom led him out. I was in awe of how the horse was made.”
The following day, Matthews returned to the farm to see One Time in motion. He stood in the middle of a round pen and watched the red roan yearling run.
“The way his hocks moved up underneath him and the way he pulled the ground up to him, he floated just like the great Thoroughbreds I’d seen run,” Matthews said. “Then I stepped in front of him. He dropped his head and got as low in front as he did behind and went the other way, as quick as any quarter horse I’d ever seen. I was just beside myself.”
In addition to his stellar conformation and lightning-quick movement, One Time had the bloodlines to back up his potential for greatness. By Peptoboonsmal and out of One Time Soon by Smart Little Lena, One Time had the blood of some of the finest cutting horses in history running through his veins. On the day of the sale, Matthews purchased One Time for $380,000. That was just the start of a long and fruitful relationship.
LEGEND IN THE MAKING
Piloted by Matt Gaines of Weatherford, Texas, One Time racked up some impressive wins in cutting horse competitions. By the time One Time turned five years old, Matthews felt like the stallion was exceeding his expectations.
“I’d met Jeff Oswood, owner of Oswood Stallion Station, by then, and he suggested that the horse could have a career as a sire. He recommended we retire him sound from showing,” Matthews said. “At first, I thought, there’s no way. But then I thought back to my roots with the Thoroughbreds. Those trainers had a saying that never left me: you either breed a horse, or you race him. You don’t do both. So, I decided to retire One Time early in his five-year-old year and breed him to a few select mares, and he’s been at Oswood Stallion Station ever since.”
Matthews also decided to limit the stallion’s book and form a committee to approve all breedings.
“We lost a lot of business declining mares, but we had a specific plan,” Matthews said. “The first year his offspring showed at the NCHA Futurity, they won the Open and Non-Pro divisions and topped the yearling sales. The second year, his offspring won the Amateur Futurity and topped the two-year-old sale.”
The red roan stallion stamps his offspring with talent, color, conformation, and versatility. In addition to bringing Matthews great professional success, owning and managing One Time has brought Matthews success of a different kind.
“I met my wife, Sheri, through One Time. She was assigned to write a story on him. When we met, I’d never been married before, but she changed all that. She’s the love of my life and I wouldn’t be here today without her, so I’m truly blessed,” Matthews said. “And you know what else? It’s just amazing to think of all the people who have come into our lives because of this horse. We couldn’t have wished for anything more.”