The Tuff Lil Spoon story grew out of a need to manage cattle on an undulating property and a passion for quality in breeding.
Rod & Sharon Tattersall started Valley End Quarter Horses in early 2016. They focused on sourcing a herd of quality cutting bred mares for breeding purposes and then set about researching exceptional stallions.
The Tattersalls believe in the credo “go hard or go home” and if anything is worth doing it is worth doing well so it was time to go hard!
Rod researched quality cutting stallions throughout Australia and America and came into contact with Adam Conrad of Conrad Quarter Horses in Texas. Adam was the owner of Lil Spoon. Lil Spoon had the breeding, conformation, cutting bloodlines and temperament that the Tattersalls’ were looking for and it didn’t hurt that he had plenty of eye appeal as well!
Adam had a blue roan colt foal available by Lil Spoon out of a Tuff Lena mare, LZL Tuff Red Rasberi. Lil Spoon’s impeccable cutting bloodlines combined with Tuff Red Rasberi’s proven reining credentials including many of her progeny who had competed successfully in the American and European reining futurities proved an irresistible combination.
Purchasing a colt with such genetic potential along with the opportunity to bring new bloodlines to Australia made the decision easy. They would buy Tuff Lil Spoon!
Buying a colt at such a young age was certainly a huge speculator but again “go hard or go home”. The decision was clear.
Tuff Lil Spoon (IMP) arrived in Australia at 10 months of age in April 2017 and certainly wasn’t looking his best. He was such a funny looking thing at that stage, all gangly, hairy and bum high. What had they done they wondered?
Tuff blossomed from the moment he arrived in Australia and put their fears to rest. He impressed with his quiet temperament, athleticism, muscularity and tractable nature.
He commenced cutting training with Regan Lyons of Top Gun Horse Training in January 2018 with the plan for him to compete at the Tamworth Futurity in June 2019. This was certainly a bold move as Tuff is at least six months younger than the Australian bred horses. Ballsy? Definitely yes. He was the only imported horse to compete in the Open Futurity.
The 2019 NCHA Futurity is now done and Tuff is a credit to his owners and trainers Top Gun Horse Training. Tuff really impressed with his cowiness, focus and readiness to cut at such a young age. Valley End Quarter Horses are proud that he recorded two good runs in the go rounds and did not lose any cows at all. The cattle were extremely tough in Tamworth for young horses and he performed exceptionally well.
Tuff will compete in cutting competitions for the remainder of the year before settling in at KMC Contracting Performance Horse Breeding and Rehab Centre at Alton Downs (near Rockhampton Qld) for the breeding season. Then, Tuff will go back into training in preparation for the NCHA Derby next year.
He is also extremely proud to sponsor the Open Working Cowhorse event at the Reining Australia National Championships being held in Tamworth in September 2019.
Tuff has it all!! Exceptional bloodlines, awesome conformation and presence, amazing colour, sweet temperament, athleticism and plenty of “cowiness”. He is a young stallion who is destined to make his mark on the Australian cutting and reining industries. Don’t miss out on breeding to this amazing new stallion.
