Former state director & longtime breeder Dale Svoboda passes
Dale Svoboda of Ord, Nebraska, died October 26, 2024. He was 88.
A lifetime APHA member, Dale was a former state director, committee member and bred Paint Horses for more than 50 years.
“My first Paint was given to me by my dad for my high school graduation in 1953. I’ve had Paint Horses ever since,” Dale Svoboda recalled in an August 2013 Paint Horse Journal article. “I’ve had every bad habit known to man, and horses is the one I’ve still got.”
Dale was a cowboy for most of his life, and also earned a living as a horse trader, ranching and farming. Too busy rodeoing to show much, Dale served as an APHA state director in 1976 and was on the Rules Advisory Committee for three years in the late 1970s. Dale also served on the board of the Nebraska Paint Horse Club and Nebraska’s Big Rodeo. He also organized a local open show into the 2010s.
As a Paint breeder, Dale bred 117 registered foals between 1963 and 2012, including 36 consecutive foal crops. He stood Boots N Saddles, Dixons Bandit, Drifter, Hard Times, Cherokee Strip and Colored Boy.
“I always liked speed-bred horses that looked like halter horses,” Dale said.
Among Dale’s favorite horses were Dixons Bandit, a 1984 sorrel overo stallion, and Red Pepper, a 1964 sorrel solid mare.
“I used her as a practice bucking horse,” he recalled about the latter in the Paint Horse Journal article. “I rode her penning cattle at the sale barn. She produced the only APHA Champion I ever raised, Miss Colored Bar.”
He was married to his wife, Elaine, for 48 years and had three daughters. Survivors include his daughters, Sandy, Wanda and Rhonda; five grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; a brother and three sisters. APHA extends our condolences to Dale’s friends and family. Read his full obituary online.
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About APHA
The American Paint Horse Association is the world’s second-largest international equine breed association. Since it was founded in 1962, APHA has registered more than a million horses in 59 nations and territories. APHA promotes, preserves and provides meaningful experiences with Paint Horses. Learn more at apha.com.