The biography below was written by and courtesy of
Kendra Carlson and the Appaloosa Museum and Heritage Center.

Absarokee Sunset
 
Absarokee Sunset was foaled in 1958, a sorrel colt with a large white blanket by Flamingo of AA and out of Powdered Sugar. Flamingo of AA was a champion cutting horse and was in turn the sire of many gifted cow horses. Absarokee Sunset's dam, Powdered Sugar, was sired by AQHA-registered Wildfire, but her dam, Flicka, came from more obscure (albeit sometimes Appaloosa-spotted) bloodlines. Both of Absarokee Sunset’s parents were owned by Gwen McKittrick, Absarokee Sunset's breeder. McKittrick was a forest ranger in Montana who named the colt "Absarokee", meaning "Crow", after the area in Montana where he was foaled.

As a two year old, Absarokee Sunset was sold to Don Mecklenburg who planned to use him as a mountain trail horse, but later decided the horses’ fate lay elsewhere. Mecklenburg turned the training and promotion of Absarokee Sunset over to trainer Bob Hankla, who would eventually buy the horse in 1965. In a few short years, Absarokee Sunset was raking in championships in both halter and performance classes.

During the early 1960’s the stallion won halter and performance classes consistently at the Denver Stock Show and the Colorado State Fair. At the National Appaloosa Show Absarokee Sunset took world champion rope race horse in 1961, world champion pleasure horse in 1962, and reserve rope race champion in 1965. Despite his stellar show ring performance, it was as a sire that Absarokee Sunset made his biggest mark on the breed.

When Bob Hankla died in an automobile accident in 1965 a friend arranged to purchase Absarokee Sunset. Despite the loss of his dynamic trainer the stallion continued to show successfully, but was used more and more as a sire. This proved to be a good decision, and Absarokee Sunset’s get went on to be halter, performance, and race champions. Absarokee Sunset's get include 1964 Reserve National Champion Halter stallion Absarokee Sun, who was Absarokee Sunset's greatest show ring threat until Sun's untimely death. Halter winners Absarokee Sunup, Absarokee Nikita, and Absarokee Blue Light, as well as racehorse Bull Pup, (who in 1964 was one of the leading three year old Appaloosa racehorses), were also sired by Absarokee Sunset.

Absarokee Sunset died in 1976 at the age of 18.
He was inducted into the Appaloosa Horse Club Hall of Fame in 1988.