2025 Animal Athlete

Coffee Jeff

Owned by Paul Tierney

2025 Casey Tibbs Foundation Tribute Dinner Animal Athlete: Coffee Jeff, a 1967 sorrel gelding standing 14.3 hands and weighing about 1,100 pounds, was an unassuming ranch horse with a big heart. Bred in western South Dakota by Albert Lopez, he descended from strong working lines, sired by Ash Creek, a son of Bar Nothing Spring, and out of Coffee Queen, by Coffee Wagon. His pedigree traced to Bartender, Wimpy, and Raffles (TB), among others. Known more for endurance than looks, Coffee Jeff spent his early years on the Hunt ranch as Albert’s daughter, Effie’s horse. In 1976, he was sold at the Winter Stock Show, where a young Paul Tierney bought him for $450 after the gelding bucked in the ring. What began as a “practice horse” turned into a legend, carrying Tierney to the 1979 World Champion Calf Roper title and the 1980 All-Around Cowboy title. Today, their legacy endures. A bronze statue, a product of Albert Lopez’s grandson, John, depicts Paul and Coffee Jeff in timeless motion and stands proudly at PRCA headquarters in Colorado Springs.