Color Me Smart

The Paint Horse and cutting communities are mourning the loss of a true icon. Color Me Smart—a 1991 bay tobiano stallion whose name became synonymous with elite Paint cutting success—passed away peacefully on January 16, 2026, in Weatherford, Texas, at 35 years old. 

Bred by Sue Dunn of Azle, Texas, Color was born with a pedigree that promised greatness: Smart Little Lena (QH) on top and Doxs Painted Lady, an APHA national champion, on the bottom. Even before he ever walked into the cutting pen, people believed in what he could become—so much so that he was syndicated as a yearling, with shares expanded as a 2-year-old. The Color Me Smart Syndicate, along with George Jensen, played a key role in showing and promoting him during those early years. 

A competitor who earned his place

Color proved he belonged. In National Cutting Horse Association competition, he earned $9,717, and he captured a 1997 APHA World Championship in Senior Cutting—the kind of title that doesn’t just mark a moment, but stamps a legacy. 

A stallion who changed the Paint cutting landscape

Where Color Me Smart truly became legendary was in the breeding barn. He matured into a sire that offered the full package—real performance talent paired with the kind of flashy tobiano chrome that makes Paint lovers stop and stare. 

Over the course of his life, he sired 859 registered foals. His offspring have earned 39 APHA World Championships and 37 Reserve World Championships, alongside countless other major wins and accolades across the Western performance world. 

APHA notes that Color became the leading Paint sire of cutting horses, with offspring earnings exceeding $3.7 million (Equi-Stat). Among his standout performers:

• J R Playboy By Color (LTE $271,515)

• JR Colord Rambo (LTE $232,787)

• JR Red Diablo (LTE $175,440)

• Special Order Paint (LTE $175,314) 

In 2020, the association honoured his extraordinary influence with induction into the APHA Hall of Fame—APHA’s highest recognition for those who have made lasting contributions to the breed and industry. 

A forever home, and a life lived with dignity

Color’s journey included notable ownership transitions, including a $2.75 million sale to Esperanza Ranch in 2000.  In 2014, he was purchased at the NCHA Summer Spectacular Western Bloodstock Sale by Iconic Color LLC—a group of lifelong Paint fans Linda Werner, Michelle Sly, and Ann Jones—who made it their mission to let him live out his years with the honour he had earned. 

Linda’s words capture what so many have felt watching Color’s story: she promised he would have a forever home where he’d be loved and respected—and that’s exactly what he received. 

Rest easy, Color

To the team at Iconic Color LLC, to those who showed his offspring, to the breeders who built programs around his name, and to every Paint fan who ever admired that unmistakable tobiano silhouette—we share in your grief.

Color Me Smart was more than a Hall of Famer. He was a cornerstone sire. A breed-shaping talent. And, to those who knew him best, a horse worthy of reverence simply for being who he was.

Run free, Color.

One in a million—always.