Roll Call Tribute

Tommy Loran Bullard 

October 27, 1940 - January 22, 2024 

Dr. Tommy Loran Bullard died peacefully at his home on the farm after a three year struggle with multiple myeloma. He was surrounded by family and horses.

Visitation: 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, January 31, 2024 in White’s Chapel of Memories, 130 Houston Ave., Weatherford. Funeral Service: 11 a.m. Thursday, February 1, 2024 in White’s Chapel of Memories. Interment: Bethesda Cemetery in Garner.

Born October 27, 1940 to George Clyde and Millie Lucille Bullard in Moran, Texas, Tommy was raised in Borger and Phillips in the panhandle of Texas. As a young boy he loved going with his Uncle Earl to the match races around Sayre, Oklahoma and visiting other ranchers in the area. Tommy liked listening to horse stories at the coffee shop and became a student of racehorse pedigrees at a young age.

He grew up working alongside his Dad and two brothers on whatever construction job George would take on to supplement his primary job working as a foreman inside the original Phillips 66 refinery, around which the town was built. But Tommy’s favorite high school job was working horseback for a cattle rancher along the Canadian River in the panhandle.

Tommy graduated from Phillips High School in 1959 and attended Frank Phillips Jr. College for two years before being accepted into veterinary school at Texas A & M College. Upon application the review board wanted to know where the heck Frank Phillips Jr. College was and Tommy always said they took him on as an experiment.

Working his way through college, he ended up graduating near the top of his class and at the age of 24 was immediately offered a position in the Large Animal Clinic at A & M by his beloved mentor, Dr. Bill Romane. Young Dr. Bullard soon became a sought-after orthopedic joint surgeon among owners of good race horses as well as an outstanding diagnostician and clinician in reproductive medicine. He was known for quick, clean surgeries with minimal trauma to the joint, speeding recovery to the track for the horses under his care. Along the way he attained his Master’s in Veterinary Medicine and Surgery. Tommy’s natural skill and ease with horses served him well throughout his life.

Tommy married Johanna Howell, also a graduate of Texas A & M School of Veterinary Medicine, in 1975. They built Tee Jay Farm in Wellborn, Texas and in December 1976 bought land in Dennis, Texas. For several years Tommy worked the racetracks in New Mexico and Johanna worked in equine reproduction at Buena Suerte Ranch in Roswell, New Mexico. Under Tommy’s care was the great Dash For Cash and Triple Crown winner Special Effort, along with many other multiple stakes winners.

In 1980, Stan Marek joined the two in establishing Bullard Farms. Stan became a trusted friend and partner and remained close to Tommy until the end. Bullard Farms stood many stallions, both racing and cutting, over the years and developed lasting relationships with owners, breeders and trainers. Peppy San Badger (Little Peppy) stood his last few years at stud at Bullard Farms before retiring to his home on King Ranch.

In parallel to their breeding operation, Tommy and Johanna built a surgery facility on their land at Dennis (then in the middle of nowhere) and performed countless joint surgeries on a hydraulic steel table built by Tommy’s cousin, Bill Threatt, who made parts for Bell Helicopter.

After retirement from private practice and from breeding outside studs and mares, Tommy obtained his racing trainer’s license and ran their farm raised horses at tracks in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Louisiana. His favorite was his 870 gelding, Fire on the Fly. He still resides on the farm. Tommy, along with his wife Johanna will be inducted into the Texas Horseracing Hall of Fame in March of this year.

Tommy and Johanna were married for 49 years. They raised two sons, Ty and Sam and had the joy of Tommy’s daughter, Barbara, from his previous marriage. What followed was a life filled with family, good friends, ballgames, tennis, hard work and horses. And then the prize: grandchildren. Tommy loved being in the round pen with a young horse. If he had a hobby, that was it.

Tommy had a special relationship with his brother-in-law, Bill Howell and his wife, Cindy. Bill and he spent many hours talking about cows, farming, chemistry, physics, and the general state of the world.

Tommy was a lifelong member of the American Association of Equine Practitioners, The American Veterinary Medical Association and the Texas Quarter Horse Association, and was recently awarded 50-year Breeder status from the American Quarter Horse Association. He was a member of the Texas Equine Veterinary Association, and held a past seat as a board member for the Texas Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association.

Tommy was preceded in death by his parents, George Clyde and Millie Lucille Bullard; two brothers, Buford and Gary Bullard; and his sister, Wanda Anderson.

Survivors include his wife, Johanna; daughter, Barbara Argueso (husband, Mike) of Reserve, New Mexico, son, Leslie; son, Ty Bullard (wife, Rachel Reilly) of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, son, Sam Bullard (wife, Veronica) of Dallas, Texas, and 10 grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers the family requests memorial gifts be sent to one of the following:

Dr. Tommy L. Bullard, ’64 DVM Endowed Scholarship  (400/37667) 

Texas A & M Foundation, 401 George Bush Drive, College Station, TX 77840 

Lope TX (Lonestar outreach to place ex-racehorses), 901 Darden Hill Road, Driftwood, TX 78619. https://www.lopetx.org/ 

Multiple Myeloma Foundation, P. O. Box 414238, Boston, MA 02241-4238.  https://themmrf.org/