TWO GOOD SPORTHORSE SIRES
The naming system commonly used by Saddlebred breeders leads me to expect that Stonewall King and Easter Cloud both appear in the pedigree of Stonewall’s Easter Sunrise. Stonewall King, foaled in 1920, is sired by My King, a sireline descendant of Black Squirrel. His dam Gloriann is sired by Rex Peavine and out of a mare whose mother, Daisy 2nd, is also Rex Peavine’s mother. In Stonewall King we find the tubular body of Rex Peavine corrected, probably by the infusion of Chief blood. His back is short and the loin coupling is broad and strong, while in front the chest is deep and the underline holds its depth all the way back through the groin to the pelvis.
The distance between the last rib and the point of hip is short. The neck is just the right length and beautifully shaped, attached over a shoulder that is long and well laid back. This is a sire that anyone seeking to breed Saddlebred sporthorses should be glad to find in the pedigree.
Easter Cloud, foaled in 1909, is another horse correctly conformed for sporthorse use. He and Stonewall King are relatively unrelated, their only common ancestor being Rex McDonald, the sire of Rex Peavine. Easter Cloud’s sire is McDonald Chief whose dam goes back through Bourbon Chief to Clark Chief (see “A Vintage Blend,” EQUUS 513). Easter Cloud’s dam Lucy Congleton is harness-bred; her sire Wyatt’s Red Cloud is a sireline descendant of the famous Morgan roadster Black Hawk 1833, while Lucy Congleton’s dam traces to Clark Chief and Thoroughbred.
I could not find a conformation photo of Easter Cloud, but there’s a story behind the image I have chosen to present. The rider is John Hook, an excellent man who grew up in Tom Bass’ barn in
Mexico, Missouri. This image captures him aboard Easter Cloud outside the Cow Palace in San Francisco. They are warming up for a five-gaited qualifying class, held in the afternoon—hence Hook’s light-colored daytime attire.
There are other images of this bottomlessly energetic stallion going perfectly round, but here he has raised his head and tightened his back. I think Hook was trying to help him make the transition from trot to rack; this is often a difficult moment. Easter Cloud is pulling against the reins with enough force to yank Hook up out of the saddle. I think this was momentary; I doubt that Hook was using the bump-bump-bump technique atop the cantle intended to pound the horse’s back down which is now usual in the five-gaited showring. This was neither Bass’s way nor Hook’s; they sat to horse in the classical manner and they wanted their ride to go round, even at a rack (see “The Gaits They Go At,” EQUUS 514). During his “discussion” with Hook, Easter Cloud may have raised a little dust; the gentleman in the background leans forward and gasps as if concerned. In short, the horse is expressing discomfort—it is hard on strong-backed horses to go upside down, even for a few strides.