The Story of the Ames Percherons
Proud, intelligent, hard-working, adaptable: Percheron draft horses enjoy a distinct reputation—and they hold a distinct place in the Ames family history.
Immigrating to America from England in 1874, John and Eliza Ames used draft horses on the family farm. Hard work and integrity were the sustaining forces for John and Eliza’s success in this country, and for the generations that followed.
Percherons became an Ames family tradition. John and Eliza’s sons, George and Charles, at one time owned more than 60 purebred Percherons. Charles Ames bred, registered, and showed Percherons from 1915 to 1939.
A “stallion before his time”
The most notable of the horses shown was the stallion Irida Boy, purchased from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. Irida Boy was sired by Althazar, winner of the 1914 Eastern States Percheron Futurity Show, and out of the French-bred mare, Irida. As the senior breeding stallion for Chas. G. Ames and Son from 1919 to 1929, Irida Boy was considered “a stallion before his time.”
After retirement from breeding, Irida Boy continued to lead the Ames show ring, campaigning at the 1929 Chicago International Livestock Exposition at the age of 13. Many offspring followed suit. When the Percheron Society of America initiated its Premier Sire Award in 1929, Irida Boy ranked eighth in the top 10 sires in the United States.
Passing down a family tradition
George Ames moved the family to Minnesota when his son, Chester, was 17. Four years later, Chester met and married Ruby Belle Reisinger and started his own farm in Farmington, Minnesota. He also carried on his family’s affection for this marvelous breed.
Chester and Ruby Ames raised 8 children on the farm, passing their heritage and values onto their children. Their oldest son, Dick, a lifelong horseman, developed a profound respect for Percherons.
In 1962, Dick founded a small, family-run earthmoving company. Ames Construction has grown into a premier heavy civil and industrial general contractor.
As Ames Construction’s national reputation grew, Dick desired a way to showcase the pride and workmanship that had earned the company its stellar reputation. With the purchase of a team of grey Percheron horses, Dick had found his ambassadors.
An award-winning hitch
In 1993, Ames Percheron Farm was established and began exhibiting a six and eight-horse hitch of grey Percherons, representing Ames Construction. They competed at many state fairs and draft horse shows across the United States and Canada, winning many accolades as they went. The Ames Percherons became a symbol of professionalism and excellence known throughout the draft horse industry. The grey hitch won multiple Six-Horse Hitch Classic Series championships, World Percheron Congress titles and numerous National Percheron Show championships. In 2020, due to changing breed genetics with the greys becoming rarer, Ames Percheron Farm made the decision to switch to exhibiting a hitch of blacks.