Courtesy TRACK Magazine Monday Report

WHEELOCK, TX—MAY 11, 2015—Prominent Texas horsemen, cattlemen and businessmen Pete Scarmardo and Johnny Trotter have purchased Granada Farms in Wheelock, Texas. The 300-acre farm established in 1984 by the father-son team of Jim and Jimmy Eller has been home to some of the breed’s most successful stallions. It was once home to Runaway Winner (sire of earners of more than $13.7 million) and Ronas Ryon (sire of earners of more than $8.9million).

 

The racing-bred stallions standing at Granada this year include Tempting Dash, Azoom, Dealagame, Down N Dash, Jess Zoomin, Red Oak Special and View Me Flying.

 

Trotter, who completed a term as president of the American Quarter Horse Association in March of this year, is based in Hereford, Texas, where his main business is the Bar G Feedyard. He bred Champion One Famous Eagle and raced him in partnership with the Burnett Estates LLC. Now syndicated, One Famous Eagle stands at the 6666 Ranch with Trotter’s Champion Hez Our Secret and Grade I winner Bodacious Dash.

 

Scarmardo, who serves on the board of directors of both the American Quarter Horse Association and the Texas Quarter Horse Association, owns Scarmardo Cattle Co. in Caldwell, Texas, with his wife and three sons. The Scarmardo family has been a bonded livestock dealer for more than 30 years and its network of buyers covers more than 80 livestock sales a week. A long-time horseman, Scarmardo stands his stallions Dealagame and Down N Dash at Granada.

 

Trotter and Scarmardo have been partners in the cattle business for more than 30 years. Their T--S partnership for more than a decade has owned El Camino, a cattle facility of some 4,000 acres that is located near Granada. For several years, both Scarmardo and Trotter have been among racing’s leading owners and breeders on the national level.

 

Jimmy Eller, an AQHA director and a former president of the Texas Quarter Horse Association, was the managing partner of Granada. While Eller, Trey Malechek and Robert Nunnally have sold all their interests in Granada, Eller has been retained as the general manager.

 

“I am excited about being a partner with Pete on this prominent horse facility and about the opportunity for us to work with Jimmy Eller,” said Trotter. “Jimmy has been a key figure in the horse business on a state and national level for more than 30 years and is a very respected individual.”

 

Scarmardo, who has been a Granada client for many years and who has operated his horse and cattle business in this part of Texas his entire adult life, said, “Johnny and I are very pleased that we were able to purchase Granada. Jimmy has done an excellent job of keeping Granada positioned among the nation’s leading breeding farms. Jimmy, Johnny and I are committed to making Granada better than ever.”

 

Eller said, “I have been involved with both Pete and Johnny for several years at the state and national level in the horse business, and I have the utmost respect for both of these men. It is truly an honor to work with them at Granada. They are both good businessmen with a major investment in the horse business. It is an exciting time for us to be at Granada.”