SOME OF OLIVER’S MOUNTAIN HORSE ANCESTORS

In 40 years of working with horses of all breeds, I have rarely come across one more personable or easier to train than my gelding Oliver. He’s also very easy on the eye with correct conformation, plenty of substance, and a great aptitude for collection and High School riding. How did such a horse come about? This sidebar shows the conformation of some of Oliver’s ancestors.

Sam Tuttle with Lucy, a Mountain mare foaled about 1940. Lucy is Oliver’s great-great-great granddam. She is very similar to the feral Kentucky horses and to Mountain Pleasure Horses shown in the previous sidebar (courtesy Rocky Mountain Horse Association).

Chester Dare Peavine (also known as Old Bob), a 15-hand American Saddlebred appears five times in Oliver’s extended pedigree. Old Bob was by War Cloud (1916) by Rex Peavine by Rex McDonald, tracing back to Gaines’ Denmark and ultimately to Herod. He was out of Grey Princess (1911), also of the Rex McDonald line, with tail-female including Black Hawk, Sherman Morgan and Grey Eagle.

Sam Tuttle’s daughter Laura Louise Tuttle riding Honey, by Old Bob out of Lucy. Note Honey’s resemblance to her sire. Honey appears four times in Oliver’s extended pedigree.

Kilburn’s Chocolate Sundown (“KCS”), Oliver’s great-great grandfather in three lines, by Tobe 1942 out of Old Tobe 1927 by the Hines Stud by the Rocky Mountain Stud Colt (1890); out of Nance II (1966) by Major by Mack by Old Bob. Nance II traces in tail-female to Tuttle stock. KCS was a genetic black registered as a “chocolate.” Some Appalachian breeders refer to “chocolate” as “blue”; according to color geneticist Phillip Sponenberg, PhD, DVM, all are modifications of the black and silver-dapple gene complexes.

Oliver (registered name Rocky Knight), by Amigo Blue out of Hawk Hill’s Madra (1980), by Big Jake of unspecified Mountain Horse ancestry. Madra is out of Dutchess who traces to KCS in sire line; her tail-female goes to a Saddlebred mare of Black Squirrel breeding. At age 14, Oliver's conformation lies midway between Quarter Horse and Saddlebred, promising the strength and speed of the former and the elegant carriage and smooth gaits of the latter.

Oliver’s sire Amigo Blue (1988) a silver-dapple, was by Sam’s Pride by Robinson’s Sundown Rocky by KCS; out of Hope Springs Whisper 1984 by Woolsey’s Rocky of the same sire-line. Whisper’s tail-female goes to Tuttle stock. This stallion harks back to the Hobby-like conformation of Lucy and feral Mountain Horses.