Steel Dust

Duane's take

The way the marker tells it, here's the story of Steel Dust — and it's one worth hearing slow. Somewhere back in the 19th century, on the Texas frontier, a horse came along that would cast a shadow longer than any race he ever ran. They called him Steel Dust.

A Virginia type horse, foaled by a Kentucky thoroughbred mare, he arrived on Texas soil in 1844 — still a colt — brought here by two settlers named Middleton Perry and Jones Greene, who were making their way into the young Texas Republic. Now, Perry and Greene had a connection to a man named Thomas McKee Ellis, who kept a farm track out on Ten Mile Creek, near Lancaster, southeast of Dallas. Ellis was their father-in-law, and that little stretch of ground was about to become famous.

Because on that track, Steel Dust outran all challengers. Every last one of them. He stood about sixteen hands high — not a giant, but big enough.

And he was so quick, so explosive out of the gate, that his jockey had a particular problem. Staying on. The solution they landed on?

Molasses. Coat the horse's back with molasses, give the rider something to stick to. You can't make that up.

Well — you could, but in this case, you don't have to. By 1855, Steel Dust's reputation had grown big enough that they brought him to McKinney for a race against the local favorite, a horse called Monmouth. Steel Dust won.

A spectacular race, the marker says, and that word — spectacular — doesn't get used lightly on a historical marker. Then, not long after, he went up against Brown Dick, out of Hopkins County. Defeated him too.

But 1855 still had one more chapter to write, and it wasn't a good one. Later that same year, Steel Dust lined up against a horse from Tennessee — a horse named Shiloh. And at the starting gate, Steel Dust was hurt.

The details of how, the marker doesn't say. What it says is what happened next: he soon went blind. He never raced again.

For a horse who'd outrun everything Texas put in front of him, that ending lands hard. But here's where the story turns. Steel Dust survived at stud for years.

And those bloodlines didn't disappear — they multiplied. Decades later, in 1916, the famed King Ranch in south Texas began using breeding lines from Steel Dust and Shiloh both. From that ranch came stock for circuses, for rodeos, for polo teams.

Honors at the State Fair of Texas. And in 1940, the American Quarter Horse Association was formed — built around a breed that traces part of its foundation straight back to a blind stallion on Ten Mile Creek. Quarter horses are now in demand for racing and for farm and ranch work alike.

A whole working world of horses, and somewhere behind it — a colt who crossed into the Texas Republic in 1844, ran like he had something to prove, and left a legacy that outlasted his sight, his racing days, and his time. Steel Dust. The foundation sire.

Some horses earn their place in history by winning. This one earned it by what he passed on.

What the marker says

19th century Texas frontier champion who became foundation sire for the most popular quarter horse strain of the 20th century. A Virginia type horse foaled by a Kentucky thoroughbred mare, Steel Dust was brought in 1844 as a colt to the Texas Republic by settlers Middleton Perry and Jones Greene. On Ten Mile Creek (near Lancaster, SE of Dallas) at the farm track of Thomas McKee Ellis, father-in-law of his owners, Steel Dust outran all challengers. He was about 16 hands high and so quick that his jockey coated his back with molasses in order to stay on. Steel Dust won a spectacular race in McKinney against local favorite Monmouth in 1855; soon afterward defeated Brown Dick, from Hopkins County. Later in 1855, going against Shiloh, a horse from Tennessee, Steel Dust was hurt at the starting gate. He soon went blind, never raced again, but survived at stud for years. The famed King Ranch in south Texas began to use breeding lines from Steel Dust and Shiloh in 1916, winning many honors at the State Fair of Texas. From this ranch has come stock for circuses, rodeos, and polo teams. The American Quarter Horse Association was formed in 1940. Quarter horses are now as much in demand for racing as for farm and ranch work.