On June 25, 1961 in Missouri, Bright Chip was foaled to breeder, Jim Wild. This chestnut and white stallion was a son of Bright Eyes Brother and out of a mare named Chipeta A, a daughter of Ding Bob II - NQHBA 9760 and out of a daughter of the Thoroughbred, Zev. Chipeta A is not to be confused with Chipeta P, sired by Ding Bob - AQHA P-269 and who produced some of the cornerstone breeding for Marshall and Mavis Peavy's operation.

The young Bright Chip was purchased by Gail Faust who operated Capay Rancho in Orland, California. She selected him for his all-around appearance and breeding which was a combination of speed, halter and performance bloodlines. Faust certainly selected a winner due to the fact that once in her hands, he became a successful sire of top horses. The accolades included 1 National Halter Champion, 1 National Champion Hackamore Horse, 5 State Champions at Halter, 3 Reserve State Champions, 3 High Point Performance Horses, 2 Reserve High Point Performance Horses, 26 High Point Regional Club Awards and 3 Race Winners (out of 3 starters). Helping him earn these titles were a string of "Capay" horses, named after Faust's ranch - Capay Smoke Chip, Capay Electra, Capay Oak Chip, Capay Classic, Capay Chipeta, Capay Cinderella, Capay Skipper, Wiki-Up Britches, Bright Rose Z and many others. All this success and Bright Chip himself was barely past 10 years of age! Unfortunately, due to ailing health, Gail Faust decided it would be in her horses best interests to sell them in a widely advertised dispersal sale held in August of 1972.

Enter Eugene and Doris Sharp, owners of Halcyon Farm in Morgan Hill, California. They had always been fans of Bright Chip and had a top daughter of his named Capay Miss Chips. They had campaigned her with tremendous success earning the title of Reserve State Champion Aged mare of California in 1972. With success like this, it was no wonder that they sought to purchase Bright Chip at the dispersal sale. When the bidding surpassed the $20,000. mark, Eugene Sharp decided to pass on the opportunity only to find out a few days later that the sale of Bright Chip had fallen through. Not to miss on this opportunity again, the stallion was purchased and safely shipped home to Halcyon Farm within a weeks time! His advertising campaign began shortly thereafter and he had a stud fee listed at $750. with a live foal guarantee. Compared to fees of other stallions standing at the time this was as much as 3x the going rate with the exception of Prince Plaudit who in 1974, stood for a mere $3000.

Bright Chip was not only a sire of performance arena athletes and race track winners, but also deemed a top broodmare sire by his owners. He was also known to sire extremely tall individuals with a prime example being Chip's Tempest who topped over 17 hands although his dam was a 14.3 hand Quarter Horse mare. Most of Bright Chip's offspring attained heights over 15.1 hands with an average height at 15.3 to 16 hands high. Regardless of what mare he was bred to, he continually passed on his easy-going disposition which likely earned him the notariety of being a premier sire of National Youth Champion Horses. It has been said that his foals were so intelligent that they could almost train themselves!

At the height of their operation at Halcyon Farm, the Sharp's broodmare band numbered approximately 24 head combining some of the best AQHA and Thoroughbred mares available. Many outside mares also came to the court of Bright Chip bringing his average yearly foal crop to 19 head. A severe, life threatening bout of colic in 1978 landed the stallion in surgery where veterinarians had to remove 17 feet of intestine. The fact that Bright Chip lived through the ordeal was enough to convince the Sharps that the stallions breeding schedule would be dramatically decreased. They cut back his broodmare band to a select lot of 6. Unfortunately, five years later, on August 6, 1983, Bright Chip was again admitted to the same veterinary clinic his past colic surgery was performed at and after discovering that an additional 25 feet of intestines were involved, the decision was made by the Sharps to euthanize him. He was 22 years of age.

Bright Chip earned top titles of California State Champion Leading Sire from 1970 to 1982 with the exception of 1972 when he was reserve Champion. During the years 1976 and 1977 he was also Arizona State Get of Sire Champion. Some of his most popular offspring include many World and National Champions like Wildwind Chip Ahoy who was also a Silver Medallion earner, Chiped Ice, a multiple Bronze Medallion and Superior Achievement Award earner. ROM earners include Chips Sonata, Chips Full House, Chips Nugget, Tivio Chips, Deep Devotion and Bright Night. This is just a small sampling of Bright Chip offspring who have excelled in their fields. With a total of 307 offspring registered with the Appaloosa Horse Club, his get have earned just over 25 National Titles and 3000 points.

The 1991 Appaloosa Horse Club Hall of Fame ceremony was held in August and a small, select grouping of individuals were given the honor of being inducted into such a prestigeous spot in history. Amongst this group was Bright Chip.

BRIGHT CHIP	BRIGHT EYES BROTHER	BILLY MADDON
		PLAUDETTE
	CHIPETA A	DING BOB II
		MILLER MARE

story reproduced with permission by author, Lori Munro - Bright Eyes Brother fan club - 1995

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