Blazin Jetolena's Legacy: The Best is Yet to Come
Barrel racing legend Blazin Jetolena passed peacefully on January 17, 2023.
Jeff and Andrea Busby of Busby Quarter Horses in Brock, Texas has owned Blazin Jetolena ("Jet") since 2013. He was the whole package;
intelligent, had great conformation, speed, and athleticism. Equistat lists Blazin Jetolena as a 6.4-million-dollar sire, the #5 Leading
Sire of the decade, the #5 Leading Sire in 2022, and the #1 Barrel Racing Futurity Horse in 2003. In 2005, Jet was an NFR Finalist ridden
by Melainie Southard. Jet sired 3 Cheyenne Rodeo winners, as well as a 3x Pendleton Rodeo winner, all in barrel racing. He has sired
multiple futurity and derby champions, NFR qualifiers, rodeo winners, and 1D champions. He's the maternal grandsire of 2021 NFR World
Champion / Barrel Horse of the year Famous Lil Jet. His progeny has won close to $6.4 million in the arena.
The first year that Busby's bred Blazin Jetolena to their own mares they made the business decision to hold onto all the colts from their very first big foal crop.
"We put all our marketing money up front, by putting it into our product," Andrea says. "We controlled everything about those colts.
It was a long, 7-year process. It began with thoughts, then breeding, getting them to their two-year-old year, getting them broke,
keeping them sound and finally with the best futurity horse trainers that we could get."
While the Busby's were managing their first big foal crop by Blazin Jetolena, Jet's offspring that were old enough to compete were out proving
the Busby's intuitions right. Jet O Red set the arena record at Fort Smith; Sheza Blazin Move had three appearances at the NFR with Christy Loflin
at the reins; and Vicky Carter qualified for the NFR on Blazin Ta Fame.
The futurity year of the first big colt crop the Busby's held onto broke through the glass ceiling. All of the horses hit, they did great, all with
different trainers. Blazin Jetolena's progeny won a huge percentage of pot at The Pink Buckle that same year.
What Jet taught Andrea was about Mare Power. Blazin Jetolena's previous owner, Sue Rist ran barrels on Jet's dam, Blazin Jennie Jet, who was sired
by Jet of Honor. Blazin Jennie Jet was a very successful barrel and gymkhana horse. She set many local arena records and earned over $20,000 at
open jackpots and amateur rodeos.
"It's startling how much the mother to Blazin Jetolena I still see coming out in those colts. How they look and turn a barrel. A stallion's dam is a big deal to me."
Impact on Future of Busby Quarter Horses
Immediately following the passing of Blazin Jetolena, the Busby's put a screeching halt to everything to figure out how the Busby Quarter Horse
program will manage moving forward. They had scheduled to castrate some of Jet's colts the next day and cancelled the appointment.
"As amazing as Jet's colts are, I feel like we haven't even seen the real tip of it. The last four years we believe he bred some of the best mares.
Many of his colts haven't even hit the arena yet. The best is yet to come, even though he's gone.
The next 7 or 8 years will probably be his best foal crops, which is saying something."
The Horse Program
Riata Stallion, Blazin Honor is a son of Blazin Jetolena. He's a proven head horse, having won close to $90k, he's also a WPRA barrel race money earner.
Last year was his biggest breeding year for him.
Blazin Jetolena will remain in Riata Buckle. Blazin Honor is standing at Brazos Stallion Station.
Busby's recently added the stallion A Blazin Dude, who is full brother to Blazing With My Dude, to their program. Andrea won Cheyenne on Blazing With My Dude
just this past year which promotes a lot of excitement about A Blazin Dude's first foal crop that will hit the ground this spring, and he will be added to
every major incentive by 2027. Though he's already booked full for this year, ICSI contracts are available.
