AQHA and UC Davis Announce New Development in Equine Cloning Assessment

During the 2026 American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) Convention in Las Vegas, Nev., an interesting and potentially industry-altering piece of news was shared.

Dr. Rebecca Bellone, director of the University of California-Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory (VGL), shared this update with the AQHA Stud Book and Registration Committee. Dr. Bellone advised that research funded by AQHA has led to a scientific approach that, per AQHA, "can qualify or exclude parentage," particularly when one of the reported parents may be a clone.

Per current AQHA rules, clones, as well as their offspring or descendants, are not eligible for registration. Since the first successful cloning of an American Quarter Horse in the early 2000s, this topic has been controversial.

Breeders have since brought forth litigation against AQHA regarding the registration of cloned horses. AQHA prevailed legally, but the topic has remained contentious.

According to information from AQHA, it was previously thought that mitochondrial DNA testing was the only solution. Mitochondrial DNA traces through the maternal line, so testing was limited and unable to "definitively distinguish" between the original horse and a clone.

Until now, there was no known way for AQHA to differentiate whether or not a horse had been produced by the semen or eggs of cloned horses. AQHA has further reported that they will continue to fund additional research and development to bring the testing into “practical application."

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Clones in Rodeo

Gloved hands hold a petri dis — A sample of cells | Jeff Faughender/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In 2003, in Italy, the first horse in history was successfully cloned. Just three years later, a World Champion Barrel Racing horse was cloned in Texas.

"Scamper" (Gills Bay Boy) was cloned and the result was "Clayton." James' decision was influenced by the fact that Scamper was a gelding and his dam was deceased, so the bloodline would be lost.

Scamper demonstrated arguably the greatest longevity of any barrel horse in history, at the elite level of the sport. James shared in-depth about Clayton, whom she kept a stallion, here.

Perculatin, Mary Walker's 2012 WPRA World Champion, lovingly known as "Latte," was cloned a decade later. His first clone, a gelding named "Ditto," has been very successful in the arena.

Walker gave Ditto his start on the barrel pattern, and he went on to claim wins and arena records with Carley Cervi, Tessa Arnold, and Tabitha Dyal. As of 2024, several Latte clones were due to hit the ground.

In 2011, leading barrel horse sire Frenchmans Guy was cloned. Three resulting foals, all palomino like their sire, were born.

Of course, cloning is not limited to the barrel racing industry. Five clones of the legendary Smart Little Lena were born in 2006. Undoubtedly, the sport most heavily influenced, polo, is currently dominated by clones.

Top performers and producers in many Western disciplines have been cloned in the two decades since the technology became available, causing rumors to circulate. Some individuals have theorized that popular stallions could have been cloned, then the owner could sell the semen of the cloned stallion rather than the original horse.

As for the issue of registering the resulting foals, it has proven difficult to solve in a courtroom or a laboratory. Now, it appears that AQHA and UC Davis VGL have come up with the solution to a twenty-year dilemma.