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THE WILLS RANCH
Historic Image GalleryImages are copyrighted & Digimarc protected. Reproduction is prohibited.
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| McLelland's Product Catalogue (click picture to make larger)  Connie Wills and the Charlie Polite Show Halter.
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 POCO LENA, POCO TIVIO & POCO CHAMP 1951 SAN ANTONIO STOCK SHOW POCO BUENO WON GET OF SIRE |
 POCO RITA, POCO LENA & POCO CHAMP 1951 FT. WORTH LIVESTOCK SHOW POCO BUENO WON GET OF SIRE |
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 POCO CHAMP & CONNIE WILLS 1951 FT WORTH LIVESTOCK SHOW POCO CHAMP WON AT HALTER |
 POCO LENA & POCO TIVIO 1951 SAN ANTONIO STOCK SHOW SHEILWIN WON PRODUCE OF DAM |
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 PINE JOHNSON & POCO LENA 1951 SAN ANTONIO STOCK SHOW POCO LENA STOOD GRAND CHAMPION MARE |
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Connie
Wills was a long time breeder of top quality
Quarter Horses. He and his wife, Betty, built and operated the
Circle W Ranch in Ft. Worth, TX, which later became the Wills
Ranch. Connie stood
a battery of outstanding Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred stallions,
including the popular pleasure horse sire, "CHARLIE POLITE", a son of Don Bar by
Three Bars, and out of Pueblo Miss by Old Pueblo.
In
1979, Charlie Polite was displayed on Million Dollar Stallion Avenue at
the All-American Quarter Horse Congress in Columbus, Ohio, and received
a standing ovation from spectators as he was led through the Congress
arena during the stallion parade.
Charlie
Polite stood above the rest
in temperament and personality, and had proven himself as a sire of top
performance horses. He consistently stamped his prodigy with good
temperaments, lots of personality, and outstanding athletic ability -
from
the race track, to the halter and performance arena, to the cutting
pen. Charlie Polite sired Otis Polite, the cutting
horse gelding Betty showed to
win the title of 1985 NCHA National Non-Pro Champion.
Connie's years in the cutting pen and Quarter Horse industry date back to the days of E. Paul Waggoner,  and
the legendary, Poco Bueno. Paul, Guy, and Electra were the
children of Tom Waggoner, and heirs to the W.T. Waggoner Estate.
The ranch in Vernon, Texas is the nation’s largest ranch under one
fence, and comprises 520,000 acres in six counties. Connie
Wills got his start in the horse business as a young teenager working
for E. Paul Waggoner. Paul built Three D Stock Farm in Arlington,
TX, which headquartered the estate’s horse showing operation.
Three D Stock Farm was home to some of the greatest Quarter Horses of
all time, including Poco Bueno, Jesse James, Snipper W, and Pretty
Buck.
During Connie‘s tenure at Three D Stock Farm, Pine Johnson was hauling
and showing
Poco Bueno in cutting horse competition. Cutting industry
veterans will remember
the late Pine Johnson and Poco Bueno as the famous cutting horse team
replicated on all the cutting horse trophies and championship buckles
for many years. Poco Bueno was an AQHA leading sire, and is best remembered as the sire of
champion cutting mare, Poco Lena, dam of two legendary NCHA Futurity
Champions, Doc
Olena, and Dry Doc, both by Doc Bar.
Dry Doc was owned by the late M.L. Chartier, another legend in the Cutting Horse industry who passed away in June, 2006. Mel was married to Betty’s oldest sister, Christine. We mourn his passing. FACTOIDS  The Circle W Ranch hosted Hanes Chatham's Champion of Champions Sales during the early 80s. In March
1982, the sale produced the highest selling
cutting horse broodmare to ever sell at public auction at that
time. The mare was Uno Dixie by Jose Uno, consigned by Connie Wills of the Circle W Ranch, and purchased by Stewart
Sewell of Jacksboro, TX., for the record price of $120,000.00. She sold with a colt at her
side, (Dry Jose), and was back in foal to Dry Doc.The
Circle W Ranch hosted the first NCHA Gelding Futurity in the early 80s,
a new concept introduced to the cutting arena by
Betty Wills, endorsed by the NCHA, and sponsored by the Circle W
Ranch. Connie & Betty were avid supporters of efforts and
events which encouraged gelding competition, and also introduced and
supported some of the early rule changes in NCHA competition which
opened the door for allowing a rider to show a second horse.
Betty Wills introduced Celebrity Cutting at the NCHA Futurity, and initiated the original broadcast of the NCHA Futurity on national television. Over the years, the Circle W Ranch has hosted numerous AQHA sanctioned Class A Quarter Horse shows, NCHA sanctioned cutting horse competitions, open horse shows, 4-H shows and clinics, Richard Shrake clinics, and Pat Parelli clinics. The Circle W Ranch was one of the top ten Quarter Horse breeding facilities in the country, and home to one of the most impressive stallion batteries in the industry, including Charlie Polite, Docs King Chex, Doc Hollywood, Bold Digger (TB), and Hold The Road (TB). There were several articles written about the Circle W Ranch, and the impact Connie was making in the Quarter Horse Industry. CLICK HERE for the article in Quarter Horse World. CLICK HERE for the article in the Eastern Western Quarter Horse Journal. CLICK HERE for the article in the Lone Star Horse Report.  The Circle W Ranch was well represented on the Quarter Horse show
circuit by several winning offspring of Charlie Polite, including Windy
Hill Charlie, Politely Ruffled, and Otis Polite among many
others. Betty Wills won the 1985 NCHA Non-Pro National
Championship riding Otis Polite. When
the ranch was a private breeding operation, the foaling stalls included
closed circuit television cameras, and water cooled air
conditioners. Connie hauled his show horses, and broodmares and
foals in a custom 9-horse van with air ride.
In 1993, the Circle W Ranch was converted into a top quality boarding facility, and is called the Wills Ranch.
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All images are copyrighted & Digimarc protected, ©2006 Betty Wills
