The American Saddlebred: 7/19/15 The Dodge Stables Dispersal 40 years later

Dodge Stables held its dispersal sale in 1975 after more than 40 years as a breeding and showing stables of the highest caliber. What became of the horses sold on July 8, 1975? At the time, it was hard to predict which animals would go on to become famous, but today we have 40 years of history to call on in order to see which were the best buys of the sale. While I would never say that any were a bad buy, there were a surprising number of the horses that went on to do absolutely nothing of note. They had no show record, which is no guarantee that they didn't show, since records at that time aren't as good as they are today. Many did not go on to produce any colts, but again, that is not an indication that they didn't have a useful life after Dodge Stables. One can only hope. However, this post is going to look at the horses that did go on to make their mark in the Saddle Horse world.

The last post listed all the horse that went through the sale and included their age, sire, sale price and whether they were a broodmare, prospect, stallion or show horse. Not every horse that was listed as a prospect made its mark in the show ring, but many were later bred and had good production records. First, we'll look at the prospects. Of 32 prospects, 12 had nothing further on their records, but here's hoping they were all successful in their own way. Nine of the filly prospects went on to produce colts, and who wouldn't want to be able to say their mare came from Dodge stock? Five of the colt prospects eventually became breeding stallions, including Last Sensation (Vanity's Sensation X Fredmar's Sweet Sue) and Lexington Prince (Baron de Bastrop X Clover Princess (BHF). Three prospects had show records as pleasure horses. Baron's Flight was a gelding with a show record. Commanding Baron (Baron de Bastrop X Commander's Love), another gelding, ended up with the CH designation and was a good 3-gaited show horse. Interestingly, he was purchased at the sale by Theora Crommer, who lived here in Michigan and ran a training and breeding farm. Probably the best prospect was a yearling filly named Wing Solo (Baron de Bastrop X Wing's Desdemona by Wing Commander). She went on to be a 3-gaited show horses, even placing 5th in the 3-gaited World's Grand Championship class in 1981. From there she produced 8 colts, all with show records and one was a CHampion. At $5600 for her sale price, she was not the most expensive, but certainly gave the most in return.

Baron's Command

f. 1973 Baron de Bastrop X Clover Princess (BHF) by Anacacho Shamrock

Wing Solo

Baron dr Bastrop X Wing's Desdemona by Wing Commander

editor's note: Just found a picture of her and added 5/5/16

Of the horses listed as show horses, again, some fared better than others. Success Story apparently didn't live up to his name. Several others also had no show record, and many of the mares went on to the broodmare ranks rather than have show careers. Popular Time had one of the bigger price tags in the sale at $33,500, but he went on to earn his Champion designation and was a World's Champion Ladies 5-gaited horse. Brilliant Showman changed his name to Oak Hill's One More Time and was a World's Champion in the 3-gaited division. Primrose Trail made his mark as a breeding stallion, which is fitting given his pedigree (Vanity's Sensation X Primrose Path). Another 5-gaited show horse that went on to a breeding career was the stallion High Rank (Wing Commander X High Fashioned Sue). He sired about 90 colts including WGC 3 gaited horse CH Spring High.

WGC CH Spring High

(sired by High Rank)

The two breeding stallions, Flight Time and Baron de Bastrop, both went on to successful careers in the stud. Baron de Bastrop sired about 160 colts and 2 earned their CHampion honors. Flight Time, of course, was purchased by the Teaters from the dispersal sale. He sired over 600 colts, including two World's Grand Champion 5-gaited horses, CH Sky Watch and CH Cora's Time.

WGC CH Cora's Time

sired by Flight Time

WGC CH Sky Watch

sired by Flight Time

The most interesting group was the broodmares. Of 29 mares, 27 sold through the sale. Of the two no sales, one was injured and one was sick, and neither produced anything after the sale. Four mares never produced another foal after the sale. At 20 years old, Revelry's Princess and Meadow Blossom each sold with their 1975 colts. Commander's Love had one more colt after the sale. The older mares were a gamble, but probably a gamble worth taking. Most of the mares were younger and produced anywhere from 1 to 9 colts after the dispersal sale. Some of note were Chocolate Kiss, the dam of stallion Our Grey Dawn. High Fashioned Sue was the broodmare sale topper at $29,000. She was the dam of High Rank, CH Popular Time and CH Step Right. Delightful Time sold with a colt at her side and produced 6 more in years to come, including Northern Empress (BHF) and CH Harvard Square. Spirit Divine was the dam of the breeding stallion Good Spirits. Clover Princess went on to enter the Broodmare Hall of Fame. She sold with her 1975 foal and produced 7 more after the sale. A daughter of Anacacho Shamrock, she produced 20 colts in her lifetime and was certainly worth her price tag of $7100. Priceless Gem (Vanity's Sensation x Priceless Jewel) produced two colts after the sale, including the wonderful sire, Family Jewels. She had already produced CH Jewel Sensation. Contralou (Private Contract x Linda's Lassie) had several foals after the sale. One was Be Regal, the dam of Sultan's Regal Flight. I watched Sultan's Regal Flight sell though Tattersall's as a 22 year old broodmare many years later. Wing's Sweet Sue was a Wing Commander daughter and out of Fredmar's Sweet Sue. She produced several colts after the sale, including SNM She's So Beautiful, who in turn produced CHampions She's a Red Hot Chili Pepper and CH He's A Royal Pepper. Finally, Fredmar's Sweet Sue sold at age 19, but what a deal she was. Her daughter born in 1979 was Sensational Sue (BHF), and she became dam of 18 foals.