Cowpuncher Cadillac

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314 – July/August, 2025

By Megan Sacia Ulrich

During the height of Covid, many Americans acquired a four-legged family member with their new-found time at home; in fact, the Washington Post reported that nearly one in five households did exactly that.

For many, the new addition was likely a dog or a cat, but for Jimmy Daurio and David Renier, it was a four-year-old Quarter Horse stallion called Cowpuncher Cadillac who has, in the four years since, set the standard for the modern ranch horse.

Part of Jimmy and David’s morning routine during that time involved scrolling Facebook and jokingly showing each other sale ads for horses that were either way out of their price range or–to be frank–downright ugly. But one morning, Jimmy happened upon an ad that had been posted just minutes prior, and when he showed David, all jokes were aside.

“I could tell he actually was interested in this one. He showed me the pictures and the video, and I agreed it was a very nice horse,” David recalls. “Before I knew it, Jimmy had spoken to the owners and set up a vet check and made a deal that we would buy him sight unseen if he passed the exam.” Jimmy got a pre-purchase scheduled for that same morning, and by 1 PM, he and David were the proud new owners of “Blue.”

A few days later, Jimmy made the 12-hour drive to JW and Edye Wright’s Kansas facility to pick up the two-year-old stud. JW’s philosophy was to not rush a horse, so in those two years Blue had gained a solid riding foundation, and Jimmy thought he would easily fit into his training program–even though he had never left Wright’s ranch before that day.

Click here to read the complete article
314 – July/August, 2025