Midnight Sun (horse)
 Midnight Sun | |
| Breed | Tennessee Walking Horse |
|---|---|
| Discipline | Show horse |
| Sire | Wilson's Allen |
| Grandsire | Roan Allen |
| Dam | Ramsey's Rena |
| Maternal grandsire | Dement's Allen |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 1940 |
| Country | United States of America |
| Color | Black, no markings |
| Breeder | Samuel M. Ramsey |
| Trainer | Fred Walker |
| Major wins | |
| World Grand Championships, 1945, 1946 | |
Midnight Sun (1940–65) was one of the leading sires of the Tennessee Walking Horse breed, and a two-time World Grand Champion in 1945 and 1946. He was trained by Fred Walker and lived almost all his life at Harlinsdale Farm in Franklin, Tennessee.
Midnight Sun sired approximately 2,600 foals in his life, one of which became the three-time World Grand Champion The Talk of the Town. Of the horses that have won the annual Tennessee Walking Horse World Grand Championship since 1949, only four were not of Midnight Sun's bloodline.
Life and winnings
Midnight Sun was foaled on June 8, 1940, out of a mostly Standardbred mare named Ramsey's Rena and by the stallion Wilson's Allen. He was a solid black stallion who matured to just under 16 hands (64 inches, 163 cm) and weighed 1,350 pounds (610 kg), unusually stout for his breed.[1] His original name was Joe Lewis Wilson.[2]
Through his sire Midnight Sun was a great-grandson of Black Allan, also known as Allan F-1, who was the foundation sire of the Tennessee Walking Horse breed. Midnight Sun's half-brother on his sire's side, Strolling Jim, became the first ever National Champion in 1939, and three of his other siblings were early champions as well. In 1944 Midnight Sun was bought by Wirt and Alex Harlin for $4,400 and taken to their Harlinsdale Farm.[2][3]
Midnight Sun became the first Tennessee Walking Horse to win the World Grand Championship title when it was first awarded in 1945, and he followed up that win with another World Grand Championship next year, in 1946, making him the second repeat winner after Haynes Peacock, his half-brother.[4][5] At the time, the stake carried a purse of $1,000.[6] Exhibiting horses then wore ordinary keg shoes. Midnight Sun was trained by Fred Walker.[1]
Midnight Sun was known for his calm disposition; it wasn't uncommon for stablehands at his home, Harlinsdale Farm near Franklin, Tennessee, to let visiting children ride him bareback, so they could say they rode a two-time world grand champion. In 1956 he was bought by Eleanor and Geraldine Livingston at the Harlinsdale Farm dispersal sale, for $50,000.[1] He continued to stand at stud on the farm until his death,[2] and was handled and groomed nearly all his life by Red Laws, who died within a year of Midnight Sun. Midnight Sun was never turned out, and Laws once said, "Somebody had hold of him all his life."[3] In all, he lived at Harlinsdale Farm for 21 years.[4] Midnight Sun died of colic on November 7, 1965, and was buried at Harlinsdale Farm, where his grave is still visible today.[1]
Legacy
Midnight Sun has been described as the single most influential Tennessee Walking Horse sire and a sire of sires. Since 1949, only four horses not of Midnight Sun's line have won the Tennessee Walking Horse World Grand Championship, the breed's highest honor.[1] Midnight Sun sired The Talk of the Town, the first three-time World Grand Champion. He was great-grandsire of I Am Jose, the second three-time winner.[7] Most of the leading Tennessee Walker sires in recent years have themselves been descendants of Midnight Sun. Midnight Sun sired approximately 2,600 foals in his lifetime,[8] and during his stud career earned his owners close to $100,000 a year, mostly through the then-new use of artificial insemination (AI).[3] Through his offspring, he has also influenced the Racking Horse and Spotted Saddle Horse breeds. For many years, a life-size statue of Midnight Sun, commissioned after his death by his former owner Geraldine Livingston, stood at the TWHBEA headquarters in Lewisburg, Tennessee.[9]
Pedigree
| Sire Wilson's Allen |
Roan Allen | Black Allan † | Allendorf |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maggie Marshall | |||
| Gertrude | Royal Denmark | ||
| Ball II | |||
| Birdie Messick | Black Allan† | Allendorf | |
| Maggie Marshall | |||
| Nellie | Walking Dan Allen | ||
| Minnie Ready | |||
| Dam Ramsey's Rena |
Dements Allen | Hunters Allen | Black Allan† |
| Allis | |||
| Kate McCrady | Brown Hal Jr. | ||
| By Crames | |||
| Dena | Bell Buckle | Bow Bells | |
| Leta Wedgewood | |||
| Daisy Mc | John Covington's Hal | ||
| By Galson |
†Denotes inbreeding
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Tennessee Walking Horse - Midnight Sun #410751, home page by Walkers West". Retrieved 31 January 2016.
- 1 2 3 "Midnight Sun Statue Departed From T.W.H.B.E.A.". Walking Horse Club Ky.
- 1 2 3 "Book Review: The Echo of Hoofbeats". Retrieved 31 January 2016.
- 1 2 Johnston, Joe (2014). Franklin: Images of America. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781439647714.
- ↑ "The Tuscaloosa News - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved 31 January 2016.
- ↑ "The Horse and Its Heritage in Tennessee".
- ↑ "Tennessee Walking horse - I Am Jose #20806071 home page by Walkers West". Retrieved 31 January 2016.
- ↑ "Middle Tennessee Horse Breeding".
- ↑ "The Tennessee Walking Horse".
- ↑ "All Breed Pedigree: Midnight Sun". Retrieved December 18, 2015.
- Warren, Margaret Lindsay, "Midnight Sun", Western Horseman, April 1966