4/20'/14 Japanette and her string of BHF descendants

4/20/14  It's springtime, which means it's also foaling time.  This post celebrates some of those special mares who were in the American Saddlebred Broodmare Hall of Fame.  This particular group of mares all stem from Japanette, who was foaled in 1902.  She was the beginning of a string of five generations of mares that all entered the BHF, plus she had several other granddaughters and great granddaughters who were BHF, but not from that unbroken string.  There is only one string of six continuous BHF broodmares that I can think of, so five in a row is pretty amazing.  Here are these mares, with some of their famous sons and daughters listed.

Each generation is indented and at the bottom are some links for other posts which contain more pictures and info on these particular horses.  The generations are also labeled one thru five with Japanette being "1" and Sparkling Delights being generation "5".  The unbroken chain of BHF are marked with an **.

1.    Japanette  (BHF)  **

Highland Denmark X Forest Rose by Forrest Denmark

She was  owned by I. H. Thurman of Kalarama Farm and produced many colts by their stallion Rex Monroe.  She had one daughter in the BHF.  

                  

                      2.    Kathryn Haines (BHF)  **

                      Rex Monroe X Japanette (BHF)

                      She had 3 daughters in the BHF and two well known breeding stallion sons.  Her 

                       daughter Abie's Irish Rose continued the unbroken string of BHF's.

                               

                                  3.  Abie's Irish Rose (BHF) with Rose Genius   **

                                   American Born X Kathryn Haines (BHF) by Rex Monroe

                                   She had two daughters in the BHF, and two well known breeding sons.

                                                       4.  Abie's Baby (BHF)

                                                        Beau Peavine X Abie's Irish Rose  (BHF)       

                                                        No pictures of Abie's Baby, but she'll be represented here 

                                                        by her two sons who were also full brothers.

                                    

                                                            

                                                                   

                                                                  5. Broadlands' Kilarney

                                                                

                                                                    5. CH Colonel Boyle

                                                                    Both were sired by Kalarama Colonel

                                                                     and out of Abie's Baby

                                                                     

                                                    

                                                       4.  CH Ridgefields' Genius

                                                            King's Genius X Abie's Irish Rose

                                                             An excellent sire and show horse.  

                                                   

                                                       4.  Rose Genius (BHF) **

                                                           King's Genius X Abie's Irish  Rose 

                                                            She is #4 in the unbroken string of BHF broodmares.
                                                            She is one of ten BHF that King's Genius sired.   

                                                                   

                                                                              5.  Sparkling Delight  (BHF)  **

                                                                                  Sparkling Waters X Rose Genius (BHF)

                                                                                  She is #5 in our continuous (BHF) chain.
                                                                                  **found a photo!

                                                       

                                                            4.  Abie's Genius 

                                                                 The Genius X Abie's Irish Rose (BHF)

                                                                  He was a breeding stallion.

                                                                    

                                    

                                       3.  Kingston's Choice

                                        Ben Sory X Kathryn Haines

                                       3.  Kate Peavine (BHF)

                                       Rex Peavine X Kathryn Haines (BHF)

                                       no picture of her, but there are three pictures of her offspring 

                                                                          

                               

                                                          

                                                              4.  American Maytime by American Born

                                                                She was the dam of RWGC Garrymore

                                                                  

                                                                                

                                                                                   5.  Garrymore by Colonel Sport

                                                                                   He was a Reserve World's Grand 

                                                                                   Champion five gaited horse in 1957.

                                                         

                                                              4.  American Dictator

                                                                American Born X Kate Peavine (BHF)

                                                            

                                                              4. CH Sweet Lavender

                                                               American Born X Kate Peavine (BHF)

                                                               She was a full sister to American Dictator

                                            

                                               3.  American Ace

                                                  American Born X Kathryn Haines (BHF)

                                                  He was a wonderful stallion and sired 4 members of the BHF

                                                   They were:

                                                                4.  Pennypack's Pride (BHF) out of  Jean Acker

                                                                 4. Ace's Beauty Box (BHF) out of  Fairy Slippers

                                                                 4.  Ace's Refreshing Moment (BHF) out of 

                                                                                            Refreshment Time

                                                                 4.  Ace's Dark Jewel (BHF) out of  Maryland's Bird

                                                                 4. Lucy Kilmer (BHF) out of Joyce Kilmer.  

                                                                She was the one eyed mare that produced 21 colts.                                            

  

                                               

                                                   3,  Kate Haines (BHF)

                                                    Sun Flower X Kathryn Haines

                                                    She had five sons who carried on her legacy.

For more info on the American Born line, see http://theamericansaddlebred.blogspot.com/2014/03/3814-american-born.html

To read to post on Kate Haines, check out  

http://theamericansaddlebred.blogspot.com/2013/07/kate-haine-bhf.html

Another picture of Ridgefields' Genius and his daughter appears in

http://theamericansaddlebred.blogspot.com/2013/12/122213-r-you-ready.html

For more about the grand King's Genius please see two posts

http://theamericansaddlebred.blogspot.com/2013/09/kings-genius.html

http://theamericansaddlebred.blogspot.com/2013/10/kings-genius-part-2.html

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4/12/14 S. J. "Jack" Thompson Jr and Knob Creek Stock Farm

This will be the first time a person has been featured in a post, but Jack Thompson and his family are deserving of special attention.  As usual, the topic of this week's post just presented itself.  Looking through some of the old Saddle & Bridle magazines from the 1950's, I noticed the picture of Noble Kalarama on the cover of the February 1952 issue.  The John R Horst photo was dated 1951, which meant the stallion was 20 years old when the photo was taken.  I started digging..................

Stephen J Thompson Sr. owned a working farm in Hodgenville Kentucky and raised a few saddle horses on the side.  He married late in life and his children were born when he was in his fifties.  His nephew, John Thompson lived with the family and helped train the horses.  His youngest son, Jack, born in 1912, also had an affinity for horses and began working with them at a young age.  S. J Sr owned Red Light 2nd, a nice quality stallion that was used as a sire by many neighboring mare owners.  The other breeding stallion owned by SJ Sr was King Vine, by Rex Peavine.  He was a 5 gaited stallion shown by John Thompson at the Kentucky State Fair and was in the ribbons in the stallion stake several times in the early 1920's.  King Vine sired Spelling Bee in 1923, and she was out of a mare by Red Light 2nd.  Although she was a good 5 gaited show mare, her lasting value came as a broodmare.  She produced stallion sons Meadow Majesty (sire of WGC CH Vanity) and  Kalarama King. She also was the dam of Rosemary Lane (dam of Fire Lane), but her most famous offspring was Flirtation Walk (BHF), dam of Wing Commander.

In the early 1930's S J Sr passed away, but Knob Creek Stock Farm continued under the management of his nephew John and son Jack.  In 1932, they purchased a bay yearling colt by Kalarama Rex named Noble Kalarama.  The colt was brought along slowly, then John Thompson also passed away in 1935.  Jack Thompson was forced to sell the family farm, but continued training horses at the LaRue County Kentucky Fairgrounds.  Noble Kalarama became a good fine harness horse and was twice reserve and once World's Grand Champion Fine Harness horse.  He was also the only horse to defeat Vanity twice, and she was only beaten three times in her entire career.  Noble Kalarama was also gaining a reputation as a good sire, but shortly after his wins at the Kentucky State Fair,World War II broke out.  Jack Thompson was drafted into the Army and he had to leave Noble Kalarama and his band of broodmares in the hands of friends.  Jack was in Italy, and in January of 1944, he stepped on a land mine and lost both legs above the knees. His right elbow was also severely injured.  (Personal note: my mother-in-law was an Army nurse stationed in Italy from 1943 to 1945 in field hospitals. It's possible she cared for Jack Thompson, as she did many others)

Jack Thompson  was rehabilitated, but remained in hospitals in Italy and then the US until a year after his accident.  He was fitted with prosthetics and learned to walk again. And most amazingly, he continued to work as a trainer of saddle horses.  The farm he had purchased before going in the service didn't have indoor training facilities, so he had to drive the colts outdoors.  His help would long line them, but Jack always broke the colts to the jog cart.  Jack also managed several other stallions in addition to Noble Kalarama, including Leatherwood King, Genius Bourbon King and King of Rose-A-Lee.  Jack also managed the broodmare band for the  owner of King of Rose-A-Lee, including Lucy Kilmer, who would later be inducted into the Broodmare Hall of Fame.  Another mare that belonged to Jack, Peavine's Lady Dare, had been neglected by some neighbors while he was in the army.  Upon his return, he brought her back to good health and bred her to Bourbon Genius and the resulting foal was Genius' Flying Saucer, the sire of Carey Stonewall.

Noble Kalarama became a leading breeding stallion in the early 1950's, and Jack Thompson gave a special exhibition  at the Kentucky State Fair in 1951.  This was undoubtedly when they were photographed by John R. Horst.  Noble Kalarama passed away in 1953, and Jack Thompson became ill with kidney disease and died in 1955 at the age of 43.  That he was able to continue his work with saddle horses with the disabilities that he endured is simply amazing.  Looking at the horses that were bred, owned or shown by his family indicates what a lasting impression this family had on the saddle horse industry.

Red Light 2nd 

sired by Lightfoot Brummel, he traced back to Washington Denmark

He was put down at age 31 when Jack Thompson had to sell Knob Creek Farm.
HIs father had told Jack never to take Red Light 2nd off the property. 

King Vine

sired by Rex Peavine out of Bourbon Belle by Bourbon King

He is shown here by John Thompson. 

He sired Spelling Bee (BHF)

Spelling Bee (BHF)

King Vine X daughter of Red Light 2nd
Ridden by Jack's sister Ann Thompson.

Meadow Majesty

Kalarama Rex X Spelling Bee

He sired WGC CH Vanity (BHF)


CH Meadow Vanity (BHF)
Meadow Majesty by Kalarama Rex out of Spelling Bee X Live Wire Beauty
The mare that Noble Kalarama defeated years later
was a granddaughter of Spelling Bee

Kalarama King
Kalarama Rex x Spelling Bee


Flirtation Walk BHF
King's Genius X Spelling Bee
dam of Wing Commander and all his full siblings by Anacacho Shamrock

Noble Kalarama
Kalarama Rex X Daisy Reed by Noble Denmark
Shown here by Jack Thompson in 1951.


CH Noble's Color Added
Noble Kalarama X Kentucky's Lady Dare
This horse was also shown by Jack Thompson on several
occasions at the Kentucky State Fair.

CH Lady Lola

Noble Kalarama X King Vine's Fancy by King Vine, 2nd dam by Red Light 2nd

She was truly a product of the Thompson Family's breeding program.

This top mare was a World's Champion and owned & shown by Josephine Abercrombie. 

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4/5/14 Say yes to the "S"

4/5/14  Finally finishing up all the horses starting with "S" in my picture file that weren't previously mentioned  with the Stonewalls, Societies, Santanas, Superiors, etc.  I noticed that a lot of these horses haled from Ohio, but that makes sense since most of these are ancestors of my horses (that's why I started collecting the photos) and mine were bred in and around Ohio.

Signal Hill Indian

Truly Genius X Star of Denmark Lea by Ridgefield's Denmark

This handsome guy was often advertised as America's Most Beautiful Stallion.

Yeah, I know, they all say that.  However, he was very well bred to back up his good looks.

His sire was a double grandson of King's Genius and both of Truly Genius' granddams were

Hall of Fame broodmares.  Signal Hill Indian's dam was a half sister to 2-time Fine Harness WGC CH Duke of Daylight, and his 4th dam was also a Fine Harness WGC. 

Star Gemini
Genius Bourbon King X Perique by Anacacho Denmark
I really like the unretouched photo of his head, so I put two pictures in.  Star Gemini is a half brother to Supreme Revelation. 

CH Star Waltz

Star Gemini X Dream Awhile by Supreme Sultan, 2nd dam CH Dream Waltz (BHF)

He was born in Ohio, and died there too, with several other owners in between. CH Star Waltz was a WC in Fine Harness at the Kentucky State Fair and won some of his CHampion points

 as an amateur horse.  He is the sire of my mare Chloe.

Stonetwigg Doubletrees

Victor Stonewall by Sun Beau X Silverette Twigg by Mark Twigg

Here is a West Coast horse.  He sired exactly one colt and then

became a country pleasure horse. 

CH Sky Watch

Flight Time X Aries Golden Gift (BHF) by Genius Bourbon King

Multiple time 5-gaited WGC.  This picture was of him taken at the Kentucky Horse Park

where he lived out his days.  His caretakers told me that he was relatively easy to work around

even as a breeding stallion as long as you didn't touch his side. Then look out.

 
                               Star's Go Sea  

Star's Flying Sea

These full brothers were by Stonewall's Lil Star out of Go Red Flower by On the Go. They had a full sister named Star's Sea Flower who was also a Golden.  She was the dam of CH Lex Town TM and Town Flower (BHF).



Spirit of Kentucky (BHF)  left & Highland Perle   right

Spirit of Kentucky was by Rex Peavine out of Edith Gatley (BHF) by Kentucky Choice

She was the dam of Reverie's Desdemona (BHF), see her post from 5/4/13.

This photo was from an ad for Reverie Knoll Farm in the mid 1940's.

Highland Perle was by Bourbon King out of a mare by Guided by Love.

She was the dam of Gallant Knight.  These are two lovely broodmares.

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