The American Saddlebred: January 2015

Saturday, January 31, 2015

2/1/15 February 1955 stallion report

2/1/15 February 1955. Of course, February is sire rating time, so it was just a matter of deciding what year or decade to profile. In flipping through my stash of old magazines, I found two specimens for 1955. On the cover of the February 1955 Saddle & Bridle was Ridgefield's Denmark. Horse World featured Colonel Sport. Since Ridgefield's Denmark was a full brother to Golden Thunderbolt, grandsire to my Best Ever Saddlebred Buddy, and Colonel Sport was a full brother to Easter Promenade, Buddy's 2nd dam, I took it as an omen that here was my topic of the week. Besides, February of 1955 was a great time for many reasons.

Sixty years later, both magazines are a bit dog-eared. Horse World was a mere 32 pages. It contained seven ads for horse show organists, which nearly matched the rather anemic quantity of stallions ads. Big news was that Colonel Sport, sire of defending WC 5 gaited gelding CH Garrymore, was now standing at Welch Greenwells' Broadacres Farm in Shelbina, MO. While owned by George Huss of Pennsylvania, he had cut back on his broodmare band and decided to send Colonel Sport to the Midwest. Horse World had also relocated its headquarters from one building to another in Des Moines, Iowa. Stan Morrison, age 38, was named as the new trainer for Mrs. Wm P. Roth of Why Worry Farm in Woodside California. I'm not positive, but it seems like he stayed at this location for at least three decades. There were results listed for the Denver Horse Show held in January, and that was about it for the magazine.

In contrast, Saddle & Bridle contained 120 pages, chock full of stallion ads, sire rating results, farm ads, American Horse Shows Association convention results, as well as Morgan, Tennessee Walking Horse and Hackney pony news. It was announced that 6 time WGC CH Wing Commander would be standing to the public for the first time in 1955. AHSA high scoring 3 gaited horse was Meadow Princess, with second to Ottawa's Realization. High scoring 5 gaited horse was Socko, who beat out his stablemates Wing Commander and Lover's Lane. Regal Aire was the fine harness high point champion, with firth place going to Ottawa's Empress. I always have to give a plug to those Ottawa Creek Farm horses. Ridgefield's Denmark lead the futurity sire rating division.

The top 10 rated sires were:

1. Anacacho Shamrock

2. Anacacho Denmark

3. Sparkling Waters

4. Stonewall's Golden Dream

5. Society Rex

6. Veiled Prophet

7. Beau Fortune

8. Red Kalarama

9. Captain Courageous

10. King Coe

Both magazines fetured an ad for Starlet Acres in Lee's Summit, Missouri.

Owned by the young veterinarian, Dr. E. L. Robinson, Jr., a decade later he would

save the life and breeding career of Wing's Fleet Admiral.

This ad for Crebilly Farm referred to the record sale price of Beau Fortune.

Jack Thompson, the owner of Royal Kalarama would die later

in 1955 at the age of 43.

King's Prophet by Veiled Prophet shown by Tom Moore

Mister Ike by Genius Bourbon King was shown by 21 year old Tom Moore

Gay Kalarama was advertised at stud. It featured his daughter Parading Rose.

Here is Parading Rose ridden by her owner Dr. Charles Brown.

Here is Parading Rose in a picture off the ASHA website ridden by Art Simmons.

Which rider was photo shopped?

And here are a sampling of the many stallions advertised in the

February 1955 Saddle and Bridle. Either the stallions haven't been

listed in the blog before, or their picture is a different version.

Alexander the Great

f. 1947 sired by Montgomery Mc

Chief Beauchamp

f. 1935 sired by To-to-kon-oo-lah

Genius' Firefly

f. 1943 sired by King's Genius out of Sensation Firefly

Justabout's Yankey Jubilee

f. 1945 by The Yankey Genius

Kalarama Colonel

f. 1938 sired by Kalarma Rex out of Edith Gatley (BHF)

Straight Bourbon

f. 1945 sired by Leatherwood King out of Bourbon Glow by Bourbon Snifter

Truly Genius

f. 1948 sired by Ridgefield's Genius by King's Genius out of Wild Princess by King's Genius

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Sunday, January 25, 2015

1/25/15 A quick trip to Lexington and the ASB Museum

1/25/15 Lexington is one of my favorite spots, so when the opportunity arose to make a quick trip down to the American Saddlebred Museum, I jumped on it. Luckily, the roads were great, which isn't always the case in Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky in January.

The current exhibit on display at the ASB Museum is Jean McLean Davis and Oak Hill Farm. The exhibit is filled with memorabilia from Jean McLean Davis' life with her horses. There is a video which shows still photos and movie clips from the time she had her first pony through her World's Grand Championship ride on Gimcrack in 1989. There are pictures and video clips of Oak Hill Chief, Yorktown and many more. Her breeding program based on Yorktown and many of her great show mares has blessed the Saddlebred world with scores of fabulous horses. If you get the chance in the next few weeks, try to make it to Lexington to see this very interesting exhibit. The current display will be up until the end of February, 2015. If not, try to get to Lexington and visit the Museum when you can. Certain displays remain the same from year to year, including the gallery of George Ford Morris paintings. The exhibits are always entertaining and informative.

The American Saddlebred Museum, Lexington Kentucky

A Showplace for Saddlebreds!

Roxie Highland in the snow

Supreme Sultan statue

Supreme Sultan in the snow

Jean McLean with CH Oak Hill Chief

This colorful gelding was by Stonewall King out of

an unregistered mare. He was WGC 5 Gaited horse three times.

CH Oak Hill's Dear One (BHF)

Great picture of this great mare as a 23 year old broodmare.

She was a two time World's Grand Champion 3 Gaited Horse.

Then she was great producer and entered the Broodmare Hall of Fame.

A Double Duty mare, owned most of her life by Jean McLean Davis

and then bred to Jean's stallions Yorktown and his son Jamestown.

CH Man on the Town

Simply stunning, here is another product of the Oak Hill Farm breeding program.

Sired by CH Yorktown and out of CH Chantilly Rose (also bred by Jean McLean Davis)

this stallion was WGC 5 Gaited champion in 1989 & 1990.

His sire CH Yorktown and grandsire CH Wing Commander were also 5G WGC's

as was his son CH He's the Man.

CH Man on the Town has numerous photos and info on display at the current exhibit at the ASB Museum and he's also on the continually running video. He was just gorgeous.

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Sunday, January 18, 2015

1/18/15 Vanity's of 1958

1/18/15 A few weeks ago, the blog featured the marvelous breeding stallion Vanity's Sensation of Crebilly. During part of his breeding career, he was owned by Mr. & Mrs. Elliot Bonnie of Glen Grove Farm in Urbana Ohio. The Bonnie's purchased him late in 1956, so the crop of colts in 1958 would have been their first. They had a small group of broodmares and also stood him to outside mares. This week looks at their colts born in 1958 as a snapshot of a typical small breeding farm. Not every colt makes the big time, and certainly not every colt is used for breeding purposes. It's anyone's guess what happened to some of the colt crop. Gelded, died young, no show record at the Kentucky State Fair, injured, ended up as a beloved backyard pleasure horse? Here are the five horses bred by the Bonnie's and foaled in 1958. All the names were double V's for some interesting alliteration.

Registration # 40008 Vanity's Vanguard, chestnut stallion, star, snip, right hind pastern, left hind stocking, white, foaled 4/9/58. Dam: Precious Miss by Bourbon Genius, 2nd dam Flash of Genius by King's Genius, 3rd dam Flashing Peavine by Rex Peavine, 4th dam Golden Firefly.

Registration # 40009 Vanity's Vigilante, chestnut stallion, right hind pastern, white, foaled 5/7/58. Dam: Glen Grove Gilda by Leatherwood Genius, 2nd dam Princess Lenore by Edna May's King, 3rd dam Summer Cloud by Don Castano, 4th dam Rain Cloud.

Registration # 59146 Vanity's Victoria, bay mare, very small star, right hind coronet, white, foaled 4/24/58. Dam: Kalarama Lorelei by Kalarama Rex, 2nd dam Evelyn Brent by Comet Dare, 3rd dam Magnetism by Squirrel McDonald,4th dam Belvadear.

Registration # 59147 Vanity's Virginia, bay mare, small star, white, foaled 6/8/58. Dam: Easter Promenade by Kalaram Colonel, 2nd dam Easter Sport by King's Sport, 3rd dam Easter Gift by Rex Peavine, 4th dam Nancy Thurman.

Registration # 59177 Vanity's Venus, Chestnut mare, large star, inside right hind pastern, left hind ankle, white, foaled 6/20/58. Dam: Bonnie Boo by Leatherwood King, 2nd dam Jessamine Artist by Artist Masterpiece, 3rd dam Bell Peavine by McDonald Peavine, 4th dam not registered by Dare Chestnut.

Two of the dams, Precious Miss and Kalarama Lorelei were eventually in the Broodmare Hall of Fame, so it would be expected that one or both of those colts were notable. Vanity's Victoria was the 10th and final foal of Kalarama Lorelei (BHF). She had two full siblings, including My Sheer Sensation which was a 3-time Reserve World's Champion. There was no show record that I could find for Vanity's Victoria, although she didn't produce her first foal until she was 10 years old. None of her colts reproduced, so that was the end of her saga.

Vanity's Vigilante was the 3rd of 10 colts produced by his dam, who appears to have been a home bred product of Glen Grove Farm. He was shown as a 2 year old in Fine Harness at the Ohio State Futurity by Frank Bradshaw. He was probably gelded, dead end on this one. *3/5/17 found his picture, see below*

Vanity's Venus was the 2nd of only two colts produced by her dam. Vanity's Venus, despite her beautiful name, had no show or production record, so another dead end. That leaves two of the five colts from 1958 to peruse.

Vanity's Virginia. Of course, she was dam of my beloved Buddy, but she did produce eight other colts in her lifetime. She was purchased in November of 1964 at the Kansas City Sale for a whopping $393.97. At that time she was in foal to a pony stud and produced her first colt in 1965. While at Ottawa Creek Farm, Dr. Elrod bred her to his two stallions, Bellaire's Anacacho King and Grand View's Matinee Idol. Most of her babies were colts, but her filly, Ottawa's Miss Vanity was a winner for Ottawa Creek Farm for many years. She was ridden by three generations of Elrod's. Vanity's Virginia was a regular producer until she was sold in 1972 for $2500. In 1973 she produced the mare Virginia's Cameo who became the dam of breeding stallion Santana's Cameo. Vanity's Virginia's final foal came in 1975 when she was 17 years old.

The last of the 1958 Five was Vanity's Vanguard. Of course the best known, he was sold by the Bonnie's as a yearling. After changing hands a few times, he became the property of Hartmeyer Stables in Muncie, Indiana who owned him for most of his breeding career. He stood at Whitney Stables in Kentucky. Vanity's Vanguard sired a number of champions and was one of the best known sons of Vanity's Sensation.

All of these horses have Vanity's Virginia on their registration papers.

Buddy Best Ever Saddlebred was Vanity's Virginia's son

Vanity's Idol AKA Ottawa's Diamond Jim was Buddy's full brother.

Ottawa's Miss Vanity showing as a 4yr old with Dr. Robert Elrod Sr.

Santana's Cameo, sired by Sultan's Santana, his 2nd dam was Vanity's Virginia.
He stood at Cameo Farms in Texas for many years.

CH Willie Angel was sired by Knit to Fit, a son of Santana's Cameo

Absolute Evolution's dam was sired by Santana's Cameo.
Yet another breeding stallion related to Vanity's Virginia.

CH Summit Up's dam was sired by Santana's Cameo.

Vanity's Vigilante did go on to become a fine harness horse and was owned & shown by Carol Smith Shannon in California.