Sire – Vining Lamar
Vining Lamar is by El Spartez, by El Cortez. Although Vining Lamar’s breeder and owner is listed as Lawrence Durland, it was really Rosie O’Neil who bred him and loved him. She managed the ranch for which the Durlands were owners but only summer visitors. Her dedication to the true working Morgan was implacable and firm. She used the horses she bred and knew what a tough working horse should be. Foaled in 1956, El Spartez brought the old blood up close. His sire was originally registered as Heibert’s Challenge, registered by the Heibert Bros. of Kansas. His sire was the big stout Romanesque and he was out of the Elmer Brown mare Viola Linsley, by Linsley and out of that great mare Donbelle. El Cortez came at a young age to California and had all his 42 get in that state. The dam of El Spartez was Princess Spar by Sparbeau by Linsley and out of Sparbelle who was out of Donbelle and by Sparhawk, who was Old Midwest. Princess Spar was one of Hearst’s Morabs being by the Arab stallion Sabab and out of Princess Allan by Querido and out of Tab, making Princess Allan a full sister to Tehachapi Allan. El Spartez is strong in the blood of Elmer Brown. I have always liked the fact that Linsley, although bred at the Government Farm of Vermont, had a dam born in Kansas, the state to which he moved and had his fame.

Vining Lamar was out of Flick’s Emily, a Washington state bred mare of Shawalla breeding. She was by Shawalla Buck, whom photos show to have been somewhat QH looking with a low neck set. Many of his get had the same look. They were solid horses, but not typey. He was by Memphis Beau Brummel by Sparbeau, also seen behind El Spartez thus giving Vining Lamar two shots of this stallion. Memphis Beau Brummel was out of Memphis Belle, who had only this one son by a WWF stallion before being sold east to Ted Davis of Upwey Farm. She is by Blackman, that famous stallion by the excellent Redman (Mountcrest Sellman x Red Dot). Blackman was out of the Brunk mare Gojea by Go Hawk. Memphis Belle was out of the Elmer Brown Belle McClure by Linsley Romanesque by Romanesque and out of a Linsley daughter. Belle McClure was out of Linsley Belle, Linsley x Donbelle. So here is another strong dose of Elmer Brown’s work.

Shawalla Buck was out of Bettina Allen by Tehachapi Allan and out of Delight L, by Linsley and out of a Donbelle daughter. Again, the same breeding is repeated once again. Flick’s Emily was out of Shawalla Kitty by Silver Rockwood and out of Nespelem Betty. Nespelem was one of the Indian Schools that bred Morgans for a while. She was by Chilocco Star, from the Chilocco Indian School of Oklahoma. He was by Silver Ranger and out of a Silver Ranger daughter. Silver Ranger was a California product, moved to Texas, being by Querido and out of Angelina, who was a Sellman mare by Texas Allen. The Silver Ranger daughter was out of a mare with 2 crosses to Headlight Morgan. Betty was out of Bonny Jean (Rosin x Montana Maid).

Dam – Miss Chatelaine
Miss Chatelaine by Looking Good and out of Katie Bender. Looking Good, bay stallion foaled 1981, had only 14 registered get from 1986 through 2001. His sire Sparfield, a 1960 black, had 60 registered get, with most of the first two-thirds or so being out of solid old western mares. Sadly, almost all of those did not breed on, and of the few who did have produce or get, even fewer of the next generation bred on. Sparfield’s later years were with Desiderata Morgans and most of the mares he got at that time were of eastern blood. The sire of Sparfield, Lee Spar (1955 ch.) had 28 get. Being bred by and living his entire life on the Hunewill Ranch of western Nevada and the eastern Sierras of California, his get pretty much stayed at the ranch, although the Hunewill family thought highly enough of his daughters to breed many of them again and again. A few of his descendants did leave the area to join the broader Morgan world. The story is the same for Dude Spar (1939 ch.), sire of Lee Spar except that he was bred by Roland Hill and then traveled to the Hunewill Ranch. The sire of Dude Spar was the upheaded, baroque and stout Sparbeau, whom Roland Hill never really appreciated. Bred in Kansas by Elmer Brown he is by Linsley and out of Sparbelle, one of Brown’s premier mares. Sparbelle was by the Old Midwest stallion Sparhawk and out of the Vermont bred, high percent mare Donbelle who became so very important for Brown. Foaled in 1930, Sparbeau had only 34 registered get but leaves a strong group of descendants today.

The dam of Dude Spar was Sallie Ann, one of the Roland Hill mares by Querido and out of a Richard Sellman mare, Sonna, who had 15 produce. Sonna was by a Headlight Morgan son and out of a daughter of The Admiral. The dam of Lee Spar was Iva Lee Field a Sonfield daughter out of a Querido mare—Hill’s favorite cross. She was foaled in 1944. Her dam Iva, was foaled in 1931 and Iva’s dam Luala, was a 1925 Roland Hill mare by the Brunk bred Pat Allen (Allen King x Patrona) and out of Hemala, another Sellman mare, by Headlight Morgan and out of a daughter of The Admiral. Two others of Iva’s daughters left their mark in the Morgan world, one going to Utah to leave a strong line there and the other going to W.T. Carter of Fresno to leave some good descendants. The dam of Sparfield was Kitty Spar Field, sired by Dude Spar, who also was the sire of Lee Spar, thus Sparfield’s grandsire both times was Dude Spar. Her dam was Kitty Sonfield, a 1951 black sired by Sonfield and out of Kitty Joaquin who was by Joaquin Morgan, another bred by Elmer Brown. He also was upheaded, baroque and stout and not appreciated by Roland Hill. His sire was the Sellman bred Romanesque by Red Oak and out of the Headlight Morgan mare Mariah K, out of one of Sellman’s favorite mares, Sweet Marie. Joaquin Morgan was out of Margaret L, another Brown bred mare by Linsley and out of Donbelle. Kitty Joaquin was out of Kitty C, a 1915 mare with a little different pedigree for Sellman. Both her parents were by The Admiral. The paternal granddam was by Ethan Allan 3rd and the maternal granddam was by Major Antoine. Kitty C’s dam was Kitty B and her dam was Kitty A—Sellman was taking the easy route to naming here!

So Sparfield was solidly California breeding with his roots going to Sellman and Brown, those two cornerstones of the WWF. Certainly there are plenty of Government stallions in his pedigree, but they were horses chosen by actual ranchers for ranch use. The dam of Looking Good has some very similar breeding.

Shawalla Tocinka was the dam of Looking Good. Foaled in 1960, this chestnut mare is mostly of California breeding but with ¼ of her pedigree coming from Clark Ringling of Nevada. This line was the sire line of her dam, Barby Allen, foaled in 1954. Her sire was Ringling’s Revere, by the Government bred Revere (Mansfield x Folly). The one photo of Revere shows an upstanding, handsome, stout horse and we know that Ringling liked a good sized, solid horse with excellent conformation that could do the job. Ringling’s Revere’s dam was Anneka Revere, by Revere—inbreeding a daughter back to her sire. The dam of Anneka Revere is Anneka Van Horn, another bred by Ringling, and out of Dewey, another Government bred stud. This is another case of breeding daughter to sire as the dam of Anneka Van Horn is The Lovely One by Dewey. She is out of yet another Ringling bred mare (1917) sired by Nevada Chief, a Saddlebred, and out of Red Bessie, foaled about 1905 of Old Spanish California stock. On the mare line, Ringling’s Revere comes from a long line of horses selected for ranch work and to survive in harsh conditions.

The dam of Barby Allen was Lulu Mae, a 1940 mare from ranch stock. Her sire was Millbrae by Don Juan, a 1928 Roland Hill bred stud by Querido and out of Addy, a Sellman mare. Millbrae was out of Daisy Ann, a 1926 black, bred by Hill, sired by Pat Allen (source of the color black) and out of the Sellman mare Redoasy, by Red Oak.
Lulu Bell was the dam of Lulu Mae. She was by Mountcrest Sellman, who came to California in utero when Sellman shipped some mares to Reginald Parsons of Hilt CA. He was by Joe Bailey (by Headlight Morgan) and out of Kitty E (by the Admiral). Mountcrest Sellman was a very important sire of early California Morgans and his descendents are numerous today. The dam of Lulu Bell was Luetta, a Hill mare by Pongee Morgan (Brunk) and out of Red Oak Lu by Red Oak and out of Headlight Morgan daughter.

The sire of Shawalla Tocinka was Rockfield. Photos show him to have been a substantial horse, and standing next to Clarence Shaw, he had to be substantial! He had 124 registered get, many of whom bred on and whose descendants also bred on. His sire was the flaxen Silver Rockwood by Agazizz (Juzan x Gizea), Brunk bred. Agazizz had 71 registered get all over the western US. His photos show a handsome, upheaded horse, somewhat leggier then the Old Vermont style Morgan. The dam of Silver Rockwood was the Elmer Brown mare May Rockwood by Rockwood. Gov’t Farm bred by Bennington and out of the Old Vermont mare Carolyn. May Rockwood was out of May Hudson, by Dude Hudson, Old Midwest, and out of a Headlight Morgan daughter. The dam of Rockfield was Katrina Field, a Roland Hill mare, by Sonfield and out of Blazie Q. another Hill mare, by Querido and out of Katrina. She was a 1923 mare with 11 registered produce and was linebred to Headlight Morgan as her sire Joe Bailey was by him and her dam was by a Headlight Morgan grandson.

Looking Good definitely has a heritage of strong Roland Hill influence. In the first five generations, Sonfield appears three times, Querido appears four times, and there are also the stallions Hill brought to California—Sparbeau, Joaquin Morgan, and Pongee Morgan. All this in one package. Of course, behind Hill are the Sellman mares and the Sellman horses are scattered through out this pedigree. Every line is from ranch breeding. The Shawalla horses were not bred by a rancher for the ranch, but Shaw was looking for using horses for mountain riding and packing, and he wanted horses that could carry him and last. This sort of intense ranch pedigree is hard to find now.

Miss Chatelaine’s dam, Katie Bender, is by Lin-Kim Leprechaun, an Oregon horse with a California pedigree. His sire was King-Salaman who was pictured in many of the old PNW directories doing everything from driving to riding to packing a full grown bear on a hunt. His sire was King of Allen C, a 1962 chestnut who was double Blackman, being by a son of that horse and out of a granddaughter of that horse (the classic inbreeding formula). The sire Blackman Allen was by Tehachapi Allen and out of Delight L, another Elmer Brown mare by Linsley and out of a Donbelle daughter. The dam of King of Allen C was Toni Allen by Lippitt Morman (a half Lippitt, being by Mansfield) and out of Bettina Allen (dam of Shawalla Buck) by Tehachapi Allen and out of Delight L. King of Allen C had quite a bit of inbreeding. The dam of King-Salaman was My Gal Sal, a 1949 mare by Blackman. She was out of a Roland Hill mare by Winchester, a Government bred stallion (Mansfield x Narissa) that Hill brought to California but used very very little. The mare was then out of a Hill mare that was Querido x Sellman.

The dam of Lin-Kim Leprechaun was Gay-Leaf Danleva by Dancin, a 1957 stallion with 25 registered get. He was by Dannie Lu by Dapper Dan, that popular California stallion who was by Trilson (who had behind him the Gov’t Uhlan, Hill/Sellman mares, Joaquin Morgan, Princess Allan, and Sonfield) and out of Bess Gates (Gay Mac x Bessie Ro). Dancin’s sire was out of Lulin by Linden Sonfield (Sonfield x Querido/Sellman mare). Lulin was out of Brown Knox Lu, who was out of the Sellman mare Red Oak Lu. Brown Knox Lu was by Brown Knox by Senator Knox and out of Myrabelle RM (Romanesque x Linsley daughter), another Elmer Brown mare.

Dancin’s dam was El Cindy (someone was a bit gender confused about the Spanish language!) who was by El Don, a 1945 stallion with 25 registered get. El Don was by Donald Allen by Tehachapi Allen and out of Dorothy DH (Dude Hudson x Linsley daughter), yet another Elmer Brown mare. El Don’s dam was El Lu by El Cortez (Heibert’s Challenge) who was Romanesque x Linsley daughter. El Lu’s dam was Sellman bred Red Oak daughter. El Cindy’s dam Cindy was a Hill mare by Sonfield. It is interesting how much of Elmer Brown’s breeding ended up in California in those days. Remember that the horses shipped by train then. The dam of Gay-Leaf Danleva was My Stars, a 1955 mare, by Dapper Dan and out of Sondawn by Linden Sonfield and out of Robessie by Querido.

Lim-Kim Leprechaun had quite a few ancestors that repeated over and over. These were California based horses that ended up in Oregon to form a solid pool for breeders there.
Linn’s Black Dan, sire of Allenwood Cindy who was dam of Katie Bender, is more of this blood. He was a 1963 black stallion with 16 registered get. His sire was Linn’s Knox (Dapper Dan x Brown Knox Lu) and his dam was Sondawn (Linden Sonfield x Robessie). While these later horses were not bred by ranchers for ranch work, their pedigrees were solidly from that sort of endeavor and the show ring had not yet changed the goals of breeders to a large extent in the west. That was shortly to come however and many eastern stallions were sent west to be bred to the good ranch based mares so that the pure lines were to be forever lost. Also, many of the good ranch based stallions had only limited chance at stud and left few get to carry on.

The dam of Allenwood Cindy was Rebel’s Misty. Her sire was Char-El Dodi, a 1962 stallion with 26 registered get. I remember photos in the old PNW Directories of the many Char-El Morgans of this time period—typey and solid. Dodi was by Shawalla Divide, by Silver Rockwood and out of the Roland Hill mare Tabie Field (Sonfield x Tab). Dodi’s dam was Baby Doll by Norsisk. He had only 8 get and very little coming to today. His sire was Siskiyou Thor who had only 4 get. The Siskiyou Morgans were in extreme North California where they were nearly the only Morgans. It is good to see any of this prefix today. Thor was by Ryder (Sonfield x Querido dau.) and out of Shasta Girl who was by North Fork and out of Georgette. North Fork was by Don Juan (Querido x Addy) and out of Roverta (Pat Allen x Roboss). This is all solid ranch breeding. I have a remembrance of an old picture of North Fork on the northern California range, ridden by his owner. I was pleased by his looks in that photo. Georgette was by the good Mountcrest Sellman and out of a Sellman mare. Norsisk’s dam was a daughter of North Fork, more inbreeding. The second dam was by Silver Ranger (Querido x Angelina), that upstanding flaxen working ranch sire. The 3rd dam was another Querido/Sellman mare.
Finally, the dam of Rebel’s Misty was Friday’s Rebel. She brings more of the same blood and some more inbreeding as she was out of a daughter of Trilson and by a grandson of Trilson. Her sire was by Muscle Man, the other famous and popular California sire by Trilson. Muscle Man had 103 get and was out of Flika (Gay Mac x Bessie Ro). The Muscleman son Lode Ranger was out of Roseta May (Sonfield x Roseta Mala).
The bottom portion of Halfmoon’s pedigree is just nice old California breeding, with many similarities within itself.

Definitely a person can get dizzy finding all the inbreeding and linebreeding in this pedigree. I won’t even attempt it! Just read it over & over and see how often the same horses repeat. Even lines that look dissimilar at first, go back to the same source. Truly, you have a treasure trove of the old WWF blood here.

Pedigree analysis and/or history for web sites, brochures, and private use
by Laura Algranti.
For further information and rates contact Laura at S14horse@cs.com