PAR EXCELLENCE: FRENCHMANS QUARTER HORSES

Story by: Kaycee Monnens Cortner

“The horses are good; they might even be great. But it takes good horsemen and horsewomen to make a program great, and we’ve been surrounded by many of them,” said Lis Hollmann.

Frenchmans Quarter Horses, owned by John and Lis (Loiseau) Hollmann of Hot Springs, South Dakota, is the pilot program for timeless legends, including Frenchmans Guy, French Flash Hawk “Bozo”, and more. Their bloodlines have influenced the South Dakota and national Quarter Horse industry on an incomprehensible level. At the 2023 National Finals Rodeo, a staggering nine barrel horses can be traced back to their program.

And it all started with a mare.

History

Caseys Ladylove was purchased on a whim when Lis Hollmann’s parents, James and Frances Loiseau, went to a horse sale in Luverne, Minnesota in 1963. Frances, who didn’t even write her own checks at the time, raised her finger on a two-year-old palomino filly while her husband was out back looking at horses. The gavel fell at $750, and when James found out what his wife had done, he couldn’t have been happier. “[Caseys Ladylove] was the cornerstone of their program,” said Hollmann.

The couple began raising foals and befriended the Cowan family along the way. Pat Cowan was a racehorse trainer for Loiseaus, and Caseys Ladylove’s cross on their stallion, Laughing Boy, was particularly successful. The first two-year-old to run Triple A in the state of South Dakota was a filly of that cross called Frenchmans Fox.

“Mom always named them ‘Frenchmans something,’” said Hollmann. Loiseau was a French surname and it was a simple way to brand their progeny by name.

When asked how her mother and father chose horses, Hollmann’s answer was simple: instinct. “My mom used to say, ‘I just look at them and I like them or I don’t like them. If a man walked into the room right now, you’d either think he was good looking or you wouldn’t. That’s the only way I can explain it.’” Frances knew when a horse had a certain je ne sais quoi.

Hollmann’s father passed away in 1977, leaving Frances with their band of broodmares – numerous daughters of Caseys Ladylove. “It was difficult for her to hang onto them, but she wouldn’t entertain any concept of selling those mares.”

It was only when Hollmann became an adult did she realize just how special her parents' herd of horses was. “Those mares were the topic of conversations almost anywhere we went in the horse world. There’s an awful lot of good horses now, but there weren’t back then. And they really stood out,” she said.

“My mom didn’t have it easy. Of course, nobody did back then. When my mom was in her early teens, her father died. Her mother ended up losing the farm. My dad bought that farm. Then they got married. They had eight children. The youngest child – my brother Val – has developmental disabilities. After dad died, she had the farm, the horses, and Val to take care of. None of that was easy, but she did it.”

In 1993, John, Lis, and Val, who had been living in Colorado, moved to Hot Springs, South Dakota. At that time, Frances’s remaining broodmares came to live with Hollmanns. They had a couple of broodmares of their own at the time, including Frenchmans Topaz and Caseys Charm. The partnership was then founded for Frenchmans Quarter Horses.

Hollmann credits her husband for the continuation of the program. “My husband, John, is a very generous individual. Horses were never on his radar growing up, but he knew how much I loved them, and he’s come to love them, too. He deserves a tremendous amount of credit.”

Hollmann’s brother, Val, is an important part of the program. “He loves those horses,” she said, and has laid claim to all the gray horses on the place.

Frances never needed to market. Her customers came by word of mouth. At the very end of her life, she began putting weanlings in Jim and Joni Hunt’s Open Box Rafter Ranch annual production sale, a relationship that continues today. “Jim is one of the biggest supporters of our mares and my mother’s program,” Hollmann said.

Maternal Strength

It seems that maternal strength, both human and equine, is the reason for the longevity and depth of the program. Caseys Ladylove’s influence is still felt today, as is Frances Loiseau’s.

James and Frances never kept a stallion back. They retained all the fillies, ran them on the track, then bred them. After James’s passing, Frances knew she could sell their mares for a lot of money. Yet, Frances said, “If I did sell them, I’d spend the money, and then what would I have?”

Caseys Ladylove was inducted to the AQHA Hall of Fame in 2017.

The cross mentioned earlier, Laughing Boy x Caseys Ladylove, produced a mare called Frenchmans Lady. Her son, Frenchmans Guy, is one of the greatest producing stallions of all time, with progeny earnings of well over $15 million. In 2022, he was still Equistat’s second top producing maternal and paternal grandsire, even two years after his death.

Caseys Ladylove was crossed on Tiny Circus produced Caseys Charm, the dam of French Flash Hawk “Bozo”. Bozo and Kristie Peterson won four consecutive world championships, and he was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2018.

At the 2023 NFR, over half of the barrel horses that ran in the Thomas and Mack had Caseys Ladylove on their papers.

Promise Me Fame Guys “Levee” ridden by Lisa Lockhart is by Aint Seen Nothin Yet by Frenchmans Guy. Firewaterfrenchfame “Apollo” ridden by Summer Kosel, has the same sire.

Sissy Winn’s This Guy Will Moonya and Wenda Johnson’s Smoken French Winner are both out of daughters of Frenchmans Guy.

Sand In My Socks “Sandi” ridden by Stevi Hillman, is sired by BHR Frenchies Socks by Frenchmans Guy. Sue Smith’s Diamond Center “Heff” is by A Smooth Guy, by Frenchmans Guy, as well.

The $2 million earning (and counting) standout mare, DM Sissy Hayday “Sister” ridden by Hailey Kinsel, is by PC Frenchmans Hayday, by Sun Frost and out of Caseys Charm. Paige Jones’s Famous Hayday is by the same stallion.

Finally, the strength of maternal lines shines through in Fiery Miss West “Missy”. Jessica Routier’s singular mount for six years, the pair have qualified for as many consecutive National Finals Rodeos and surpassed earnings of $1 million. Missy’s paternal granddam, PCFrenchmanslisbet, is the only full sibling to Bozo. Her dam, Frenchmans Bo Dashus, can be traced along the bottom of her papers back to the matriarch herself.

A few of the most notable programs who have built upon their Frenchmans progeny include Myers Performance Horses (St. Onge, SD), Nichols Quarter Horses (Waco, TX), and Westergren Quarter Horses (Lincoln, NE). The late Dr. Glen Blodgett from the Four Sixes Ranch (6666 Ranch, Guthrie, TX) also incorporated several Frenchmans mares into the ranch’s program.

“I hope my mother had the same type of satisfaction when she saw what John and I were doing as I do when I look at my clients and see what they’re doing with their horses.”

Hollmann said her mother’s greatest advice was lived. “If the going got tough, she never gave up. She loved her mares and was proud of her children.”

Present Day and Looking Forward

Hollmans recently bought back a stallion they had sold several years ago. One Swift Eagle, by One Dashing Eagle and out of a daughter of Strawberry Silk and Corona Cartel, will stand to the public this coming spring. “We’re excited about that,” Hollmann said.

“Our goal is to raise stallion quality colts and broodmare quality fillies. When we’re looking at a stallion, it’s really important that he’s conformationally correct, that he’s pretty, has athletic ability, and throws good minded colts,” Hollmann said. “We never breed for incentives; we always breed for the horse. It’s like breeding for color. If you’re not breeding for the horse, it’s easy to make a mistake. As a horseman, you always breed to make the best horse you can.”

“We have the unbelievable advantage of having the foundation laid by my parents. The biggest advantage we have – and probably why we’ve been nominated for this honor – is we have incredible clients who have purchased horses, come back, and been repeat buyers. They’re building their programs around these genetics. What an honor that is for us.”

Hollmanns would also like to acknowledge the support and friendship of photographer Larry Larson (SDQHA’s 2023 Show Legacy), auctioneers Lynn and Seth Weishaar, and pedigree man John E. Johnson (SDQHA’s 2023 Equine Promoter of the Year).

“It’s humbling to receive this honor, because our friends and clients see what my parents started and we’re carrying on.”