Each year, staff from Quarter Horse News and Morris Equine Group select one influential stallion to grace the cover of the Quarter Horse News Stallion Register. For 2025, the cover stallion is Once In A Blu Boon (Peptoboonsmal x Autumn Boon x Dual Pep).
His royal bloodlines are the product of the late Bill Freeman’s breeding plans. Although Bill was never able to see “Blu” show — Bill passed just months after the horse’s birth — the stallion went on to leave a major mark in the cutting pen under the ownership of Bill’s wife Jill.
“He was blessed with a great breeder, which was my husband, Bill Freeman. He was blessed with a royal pedigree and he was blessed with a great trainer, James Payne. But when it came to the rest of it [his breeding career], he had me,” Jill Freeman explained. “I can’t personally take a lot of credit but I did the best I could every day.”
Autumn Boon, Blu’s dam, produced the earners of over $2 million. Her top offspring are Im Countin Checks ($514,757), Once In A Blu Boon ($316,564) and A Tale Of The Cat ($123,818). Autumn Boon herself is a daughter of Royal Blue Boon, the all-time leading dam in cutting as well as the leading EquiStat Western performance horse dam.
Blu’s sire, Peptoboonsmal, sired the earners of over $28 million. His top earners are Little Pepto Gal ($526,229), Copaspepto ($480,290), One Time Pepto ($331,097) and Once In A Blu Boon ($316,564).
“When you have one that has the pedigree that he has, he’s deserving [of the Stallion Register cover] plus he had the show record and the produce record, so he was deserving of more than I could give him,” Jill said.
Once In A Blu Boon showing off at his 2025 Stallion Register cover photo shoot. * Video by QHN StaffHe currently does not stand at a large stallion station. Jill cares for him daily and hauls him to a veterinarian to be collected during breeding season. She manages his marketing, breeding and turnout schedule.
“We’re so proud to highlight Once in a Blu Boon on the cover of this season’s Stallion Register – his accomplishments and earnings underscore his energy and spirit of cutting and our love of performance horse disciplines,” Morris Enthusiast Group Vice President John Lunn said.
Fun Fact: Once In A Blu Boon is the first brown roan recognized by the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA).
Successful Cutting StallionOnce In A Blu Boon earned $316,564 and collected accolades such as the 2012 Arbuckle Mountain 4-Year-Old Open Championship, 2013 Cattlemens Derby 5/6-Year-Old Open Championship, 2014 National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Summer Spectacular Classic Championship and many more.
Once In A Blu Boon Offspring Excel in Show PenHe has sired the earners of more than $12 million according to EquiStat, including 2021 NCHA Open Horse Of The Year, All Spice ($556,049); 2018 NCHA Futurity Open Reserve Champion, Badboonarising ($367,101); NCHA Futurity Open Finalist, Baylenciaga ($307,683); 2020 NCHA Open Horse Of The Year, Twice In Santiago ($276,587) and 2019 NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity Open and Intermediate Open Champion, Here Comes The Boon ($250,069).
The 2025 QHN Stallion Register came out earlier in the year to serve mare owners seeking futurity and early booking specials. The Quarter Horse News Stallion Register is the ultimate guide for elite stallions in the Western performance horse industry featuring the most comprehensive sire data for cutting, reining, and reined cow horse — all in one handy location. See complete profiles of over 100 stallions, read about their accomplishments and learn about the success of their offspring. The earnings and achievements listed are researched and tabulated by EquiStat. Click here to purchase your copy of the 2025 QHN Stallion Register.
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