Where Can I Get A Horse Like That?

Pecos [from a collection of photos of Fred & Jeanne Herrick]

People often ask me this about the Cheval Morgans. Truth is: you breed them. They don't just happen. I've written here about Fleetwing, now it's time for Pecos. The New York Morgan Horse Society posted a trivia question on facebook this week featuring Don Pecos's great grand sire, so I thought it was serendipity.

Pecos [AMHA 8969] was born in 1944 and sired 104 foals. I first fell for him when I was 14 years old and saw the photo below in "The Morgan Horse In Pictures" by Margaret Cabell Self. He was 26 when this photo was taken. The caption was something like: Pecos shedding his years and clowning like a colt.

Fred Herrick trained, showed and stood Pecos at stud for many of the horse's years and has a fond place in his heart for the great stud. "He had to show off all the time," Fred recalled. Jeanne [Mellin Herrick] told me that Pecos had a lot of heart, but he could be a little ornery, at times. She said, somewhat under her breath, that was why he and Fred got along so well.

I sent Fred and Jeanne a photo of Don Pecos [who has two crosses to Pecos in his bloodlines] as a two year old and Jeanne sent me a photo of a painting she made of Pecos noting how much they resembled each other. I am honored to have such a direct link to a horse I only knew in photos, paintings and stories, but whose blood lives on in my daily life through Don Pecos.

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Feeling Sentimental Accidental Sagacity

The seemingly random youtube posts are in fact an allegory. I have been in the Morgan horse world for over 30 years and all three videos are a sentimental sigh for me this morning.

When I was a teenager, I poured through copies of The Morgan Horse Magazine with the kind of vigor my classmates were giving Teen Beat. My pin ups were Fred and Jeanne Herrick, Elm Hill Charter Oak, Saddleback Supreme, Applevale Donalect, Lord Appleton. The Herricks ushered in a new phase of the Morgan horse, a push toward the refinement that was just in its infancy in the late fifties and sixties when the 1959 Morgan National footage was shot.

Fleetwing is now legendary for producing the kind of Morgans who stretched the breed into the show horses of today. His progeny had longer necks, higher action and exotic movement. Black River Major burst on the scene and stole top honors at every show on the east coast, as a two year old. You can see his attitude on the Fleetwing and Progeny video. Fred Herrick told me the Morgan horse adjective 'stretchy' was coined to describe Black River Major.

John Bulmer and his wife Angela Connor established the foundation Morgan Horse farm in England, on the banks of the River Wye in Herefordshire, where I have spent many an unforgettable sojourn. The natural, breathtaking beauty of this place is indescribable- no one ever believes me when I describe it, so I will just say, I am drifting off in my memories. It was here I first met Jeanne Herrick. It was John who took me for my first carriage drive, careening around the Anglo-Welsh countryside. I could sit and listen to John for endless hours.

I hope you enjoy these reflections and justify my sentimentality.

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Equines of Serendipity- Kitten

Chevals JS Dream Doll

She came to me in a dream. I told my Mother the next morning that Dolly's foal's name was Kitten. "Yes, and what if it is a stud colt?" she asked. "No," I said. "She's Kitten." "Well, we shall see about that," she said. In the predawn hours of May 14, 1998, my Mother woke me and said, "Get yourself to the barn. Kitten has arrived."

If you look at Jeanne Mellin Herrick's portrait of the standard of perfection for the Morgan mare, you would swear Kitten posed for it: dark chocolate chestnut, two hind stockings, big, doe eyes, powerful, yet delicate. Ok, so Kitten is a Saddleback Supreme granddaughter, has 4 crosses to Pecos, 3 to Ben Donn and has unmistakeably the best of Applevale, Saddleback and Aquarian breeding in her papers. [Both my Mother and I have worshipped Fred and Jeanne Herrick for 40 years. They knew what they were doing, and we have proof.]

Kitten's registered name is in memory of the late Jennifer Steensen. When Kitten and Ace were born, Jennifer came to visit them. She was so excited, her laughter could be heard from inside the van, before she even got in the barn. Getting her wheelchair situated in the alleyway was a drama, so I just let Kitten out of her stall. She had to be restrained [by two people] from climbing into Jenn' lap, she was so determined. Jenn was shrieking with delight. I took photos.

Later that week, Jenn was scheduled for surgery to fuse her spine. Scoliosis was diminishing her lung function and the surgery was necessary. She asked her mother to frame one of the photos of her and Kitten to take to the hospital. On May 22, 1998, eight days after Kitten arrived in my world, Jennifer left it. My last memory of Jenn is her laughter, and the day old filly trying to board the wheelchair.

Kitten's story is not complete without Jennifer, just as Don Pecos needs Morgan. Their paths crossed only fleetingly, but the poignancy lingers on, eleven years later. Never underestimate the power of a seemingly chance encounter. Whether you believe in God, karma or destiny, Kitten and Jennifer fit the profile. Jenn's time with me was finishing, Kitten's was just beginning. That they met was the treasure.

So, whenever the world collapses on top of me, I go and sit at Kitten's feet. Right in front of them. She has no regard for personal space, mine or hers, as evidenced from day one. She wraps her lovely head and neck around me and holds me until I can crawl out from under whatever is overwhelming me. She is my sentinel.

She is also the dam of Cheval's Joie de Vivre, the mare in the photo at the top of this blogspot. I have not been able to breed her as much as I wanted, but one day, there will be another pre-dawn birth. I am waiting for Felix, Kitten's colt, who came to me in a dream.