Breeding and training barrel horses wasn’t something Bill and Cheryl Kennedy, of Bennett, Colorado had dreamed of doing. Actually, Bill was a successful German Wirehaired Pointer dog breeder. His love for genetics would later flow into the barrel horse industry through Smoke Creek Quarter Horses.
With success in the sporting dog world, Bill Kennedy decided to change his focus from raising dogs to trying to breed horses. Bill started with the goal of breeding solid trail horses with Appaloosas. His wife, Cheryl, didn’t grow up with horses, and not knowing anything about raising foals, she headed to the library and learned how to imprint foals.
Imprinting is a foal training technique that involves specific interaction and bonding with the foal immediately after birth that shapes the foal’s behavior for a lifetime.
“Our first foal to imprint was a spotted Appaloosa named Cocodot,” Cheryl said. “Fast forward two years, we took him to the trainer to get saddle broke for trail riding. The trainer called back and said this one needs to be a performance horse—like a barrel horse.”
Cheryl told Bill they can’t sell him because they imprinted him and that they better figure out how to run barrels. So, they pursued barrel racing and after a few years of running Cocodot, they realized if they were to keep going, they needed another horse.
“We traveled all over the country looking for a good fit,” Cheryl explained. “We ran into a lot of situations where owners were trying to offload horses onto an inexperienced rider. Bill decided we could do better if we started breeding our own. Bill studied the bloodlines and started Smoke Creek Quarter Horses.”
While Cocodot started the barrel racing venture, the Kennedys found Alabama Clay in their search for a backup horse. “Clay” was the gelding that taught Cheryl to ride at the next level.
“Then we thought futurities would be fun to get into and Bill needed a good mare to build the program,” Cheryl said. “We found SF Tiny Bit of Fame. With all three horses in tow, we headed to Lazy E and placed on all three. We haven’t looked back since.”
What began with limited experience and a few horses grew to become a well-recognized name in the futurity industry. Bill and Cheryl’s good friend Ralph helped the business get running, but Bill was the only one that knew anything about horses. Ralph and Cheryl had never grown up around them. Now the Kennedy’s have bred nearly 200 horses and Smoke Creek has grown to a team of nine.
“Once we started breeding, we continued to keep our eyes on always wanting to improve the breeding with confirmation, mind and athletic ability,” Cheryl explained. “Just as he did with the dogs, Bill spent countless hours studying bloodlines to breed great horses. And we’re always trying to improve. Bill not only studies genetics, but also talks to people who have been successful before us. Bill is working to find the cross that will work well with my riding style.”
Proven Pedigrees
The main influences in the Smoke Creek breeding program have been Dash Ta Fame and Frenchmans Guy. As they have grown, Tres Seis was incorporated.
“We also believe they have to be bred to really strong mares. Famous Moonshine and Miss Lucky Lucky have really added to our program,” Cheryl said. “SF Tiny Bit of Fame has been our best producer.”
SF Tiny Bit of Fame (Dash Ta Fame x Toppin Haul x I Haul It) has more than $315,000 in progeny earnings. Her most successful progeny includes Tiny Bit of Pressure, Slym Shady, Tinys Stormy Weather and Famous Lady Pistol.
Winning more than $85,000 in 2023 between the MVP Barrel Futurity, Select Stallion Stakes Futurity Barrel Bash and Royal Crown OKC among others, Tiny Bit of Pressure (No Pressure On Me x SF Tiny Bit of Fame x Dash Ta Fame) jockeyed by Andre Coelho, has more than $108,000 in lifetime earnings.
Slym Shady (Frenchmans Fabulous x SF Tiny Bit of Fame x Dash Ta Fame) won big checks in 2021 at the Copper Spring Futurity and Sand Cup Futurity with Andre Coelho, and in 2022 at the Fizz Bomb Futurity, Breeders Challenge Finals and Elite and WPRA Finals with Carley Cervi, among other wins like the Big League 3D race in Glen Rose, Texas to have just under $100,000 in lifetime earnings.
Tinys Stormy Weather (Frenchmans Guy x SF Tiny Bit of Fame x Dash Ta Fame) was the 2018 Barrel Futurities of America Juvenile Champion with Adrian Bolin, 5-States Breeders Futurity Champion with Andre Coelho and now has $87,000 in lifetime earnings.
Famous Lady Pistol (Frenchmans Guy x SF Tiny Bit of Fame x Dash Ta Fame) was the 2018 Colorado Classic Futurity Champion with Adrian Bolin and has $46,000 in lifetime earnings.
Other special mares that Cheryl has competed on like J Quick Fame, MFR Track Angel, French Fly, Shezadis Daisy and Jesse Famous Moon later became broodmares for their program.
“What is really neat is to see all of these mares’ babies running down the alleyway,” Cheryl added. “It is fun to sit and watch them in the pen, and think, ‘I rode their momma.’”
The goal in the beginning, beyond breeding barrel horses was to ride against barrel racers that were better than Cheryl so she could keep getting better and keep learning more.
“We learned something everywhere we went and from everyone we could talk to,” Cheryl said. “As we grew, we were always struck by the $1 Million riders, breeders and owners, so we wanted to reach those goals someday.”
Bill and Cheryl have reached $1 Million in breeder earnings and aren’t far behind in owner earnings. Cheryl has a little way to go for the rider earnings, she said with a smile.
“On average, we breed 15 a year,” Bill said. “We like to raise them and get them trained for their futurity year. After that, we always have really tough decisions on which ones we keep for Cheryl to run and which ones we sell. We care for the horses very much so making sure we have a good match with horse and rider is super important for us. We know we have to put our emotions aside at times to continue to build our program and we will put 2-5 horses a year in a yearling or two-year-old sale.”
Born To Win
Papagaio (Tres Seis x Miss Lucky Lucky x Dash Ta Fame) has been one of their most successful horses. Trained and futuritied by Cody Bauserman, he placed in both the SuperStakes Slot Race and Juvenile as a 3-year-old at the 2018 BFA World Championships in Oklahoma City. The duo also won both slot races as well as both average championships at the two BRN4D Arizona futurities, the MVP and Greg Olson Futurity, in January 2019. He went on with Andre Coelho to place at futurities such as the Glen Wood Memorial and Colorado Classic as well as finish the year placing in the 2019 BFA World Championship Futurity average.
Winning more than $140,000 at futurities, he has continued his career with Cheryl, winning the Open 4D race at the BFA World Championships in 2023 and dominating the 2024 National Western Stock Show Rodeo qualifier, winning both rounds and the average for more than $6,000.
Cheryl and Bill have always loved rodeo but because of the demands of work, Bill having built and ran a successful landscaping company and Cheryl just recently retiring from the Department of Agriculture, they could only attack it as weekend warriors. They had the goal when Cheryl retired and had more time that they would hit the road a little more seriously. 2024 allowed them to do that.
Filling the role of Cheryl’s rodeo horse, “Poppy” has carried her to a Mountain State Circuit Finals qualification for 2024 and now has more than $168,000 EquiStat reported lifetime earnings.
“Poppy has been a special horse since he hit the ground,” Bill said. “The day he was born Cheryl went out to him and said, ‘welcome to the world my new champion.’ It is always a great feeling to raise the babies, watch them grow and learn and then get to run them in the pen and really become a bonded team from the beginning.”
Their goals now include continuing to grow their program in the futurity and the rodeo pens.
“We used this year to get our feet wet in the rodeo pen and now we would like to expand our learning there,” Bill said. “The rodeos are tough, and we are up for the challenge. It will take us to the next level, so we are learning how to expand our opportunities and success there. We are looking forward to Cheryl being able to ride more and have more time to enjoy each other, continue our adventures together discovering new places and people–appreciating each moment and not taking any of them for granted.”
Dream Team
Smoke Creek has been what Bill and Cheryl call their “hobby job.” Both with very demanding careers, they attribute their success to the love for the horses and a good team.
“We most recently brought Evelino Rocha from Brazil on to the team. He is two-time world record holder on a standard pattern. He has been a great asset, getting ready for the 2025 futurity year as well as being a great coach for Cheryl to a successful rodeo season,” Bill said. “Our team also includes Artur Farias from Brazil, who came with Evelino, and our long-standing Samanatha Collins and Enrique Trillo as well as our maintenance team, vets, and farriers. We are really looking forward to 2025.”
They said they don’t take one day for granted and thank the good Lord everyday because it did not come easy and did not come fast. Having their share of challenges, heartbreaks and injuries, they said their love for the horses and the sport keeps them going. Bill and Cheryl do not believe it is one person making them successful.
“We have both always been very active and have a had love for outdoor adventure,” Bill said. “The horses have become a big part of our lives, but they are not our complete lives. We try to stay active and adventuresome both with and without the horses. The great team we have at Smoke Creek affords us the ability to do that.”
At Smoke Creek, everyone is part of the success, from feeding to cleaning pens, farriers, vets, trainers and riders.
“When one person wins a buckle, the whole team wins the buckle,” Cheryl said.
