by Judy Mosman
While the breeding program of Royalton and Meredith were establishing themselves during the 1950s, two other important programs were coming into their own. One was the Moro Hills program in Wisconsin, and the other one was in the neighboring New York State on a farm owned by Gerald and Anne Ashby.A seal brown stallion colt was foaled in 1943, sired by Cornwallis and out of a mare known as Nubbin. This mare was owned by Mrs. Rice of New Hampshire and was leased to the Ashbys.This colt remained with the Ashby family for his entire life. He matured at 14.3 hands, and seemed to pass on his height to many of his get.
In the August 1968 issue of The Morgan Horse Magazine, is a small feature on Allen’s Major, who was their equine member of the family out in Auburn, NY.
Major was registered as a dark chestnut. He was purchased as a young horse by the Ashbys as a family pleasure horse. As time went on, it became apparent that Major had something special about him and the Ashbys decided to show him at the age of 10 due to his style, presence, and way of going. He had very few young foals as a young stallion, but started in the last five years of his life to sire horses of the same or similar style and presence. Many of his get went on to become winners in big shows around the East coast area.
Major’s first two foals carried the Moro Hill’s prefix. In 1962, the Treftcs of Wisconsin, brought two mares to breed to Major. They were Moro Hill’s Alrita who foaled a brown colt named Moro Hill’s Major, and Lippitt Rita Roy had a chestnut filly named Moro Hill’s Majoret.
The following year, 1963, a dark chestnut filly out of Westfall Blythe was foaled. She was named Ransomvale Barbyalan for the Bachmans of NY. Seeing the quality of these foals, the Ashbys decided to breed one of their mares to him also. They chose Lippitt Georgiana, who was on lease to them from the Meredith farm. In 1964, a bay colt was born to Major and Georgiana, named Ashwood Majestic. He was one of five foals sired by Major that year. The other four foals were from mares from Ransomvale Morgans. They were: Ransomvale Donald, chestnut colt out of Moro Hill’s Morita; Ransomvale Jamie, chestnut filly out of Bonnie Twilight; Ransomvale Bounce, chestnut colt from Westfall Blythe, and a chestnut filly from Sallie Twilight named Ransomvale Sue Allen.
In 1965, a dark bay filly was foaled in New Hampshire at the Meredith Farm owned by Margaret Rice. This filly was the result of Lippitt Georgiana being bred back to Allen’s Major and returned to Mrs. Rice, as per lease agreement.
This filly was Major’s Nubbin. She was one of three foals for that year sired by Major. The Bachmans of Ransomvale had a chestnut colt from Moro Hill’s Morita named Bucky Hogan, and the other foal on the farm that year was the chestnut filly out of Bonnie Twilight, Ransomvale Becky.
These first foals were beginning to show promise and the Ransomvale farm could not get enough of this combination. In 1966, the Bachmans were breeders of five of the seven foals sired that year by Allen’s Major. The two who were not bred by Bachman were: Matthew Allen out of Nabob Linda, bred by a Mrs. Greene of NY and one bred by the Ashbys – Ashwood Gidget out of Ransomvale Bridget. The Bachmans were the proud breeders of Ransomvale Sara, a bay filly from Sallie Twilight; Ransomvale Georgia, bay filly from Georgina Twilight; and Ransomvale Alrita, bay fill from Moro Hill’s Morita. Also foaled that year was a bay colt, out of Westfall Blythe, named Hiker Joy. The other colt born to the Bachmans in 1966 was the bay, Bill Pritchard, out of Bonnie Twilight. Sports fans will recognize the names of well-known football players!
In four short years, Major had 18 foals, repeat mares from one farm. Not wanting to lose any precious time with aged mares, the Bachmans continued to breed their Lippitt Sam Twilight daughters to Allen’s Major. In 1967, three more foals arrived, this time from three different farms: one from Dr. Parks of Dyberry Farm, (out of) Dyberry Nekomis who foaled a black filly named Dyberry Majorette. The Ashbys had a foal for themselves out of Ransomvale Bridget, a chestnut colt named Ashwood Kastan. The Bachmans had a black filly out of Moro Hill’s Morita named Ransomvale Mariah.
Ransomvale Farm again took Moro Hill’s Morita back to Allen’s Major for her fourth foal, obviously being pleased with the previous three by him. Morita gave them a dark bay filly named Ransomvale Chloe in 1968.
Also foaled in 1968 was a bay colt named Hillwinds Dennis out of a four year old daughter of Lippitt Moro Alert. I would hazard a guess the mare, Hillwinds Alinda, was on lease by J.D. Mahoney of NY. Owner of Alinda was a Mrs. Greene also of NY state, probably the same Mrs. Greene who had sent Nabob Linda to Major back in 1966.
Ransomvale must have considered Morita to be the best cross of their mares to Major as, once again, Morita was bred to Major for a 1969 foal. Another bay filly named Ransomvale Morita, after her dam, arrived. Soon after foaling, Morita was sold and went on to foal many good Morgans. In the early 1990s, when Anne Hablitzel of Hartland, VT, discovered Old Morita and purchased her at age 25, Morita had only one full Lippitt, a gelding, Spring House Major by Shamrock Seville in 1985 to her credit. Anne bred her to Madrona Ethan Ash for her final full Lippitt foal, Lady Ash Morita. “Maggie,” as she is known on the farm, has had two foals of her own so far.
There was yet another foal that arrived in 1969, sired by Allen’s Major. She was a bay filly out of Ransomvale Blythe, who was owned by Ardath and Richard Knight of Pennsylvania. They named their filly Knights Moon Maid.
Encouraged no doubt by the birth of this foal, the Ashbys decided to try one more time and bred their foundation mare, Ransomvale Bridget to the now 26 year old Major. This last known foal, Ashwood Traveler, was chestnut in color.
Allen’s Major is credited with 27 foals, many continued on in breeding programs, and many of the Ransomvale mares enjoyed years in the show ring before becoming broodmares.
As the Ransomvale breeding program neared its end, farms such as Edgewood Morgans, then of Wisconsin, purchased mares for their own programs, mares such as Sue Moro who had 13 foals with the Edgewood prefix and Kate with 11 foals for Edgewood.
Another farm, Shamrock Morgans of Kentucky, purchased Hiker Joy, and Jamie who had five foals for them, and Hiker sired numerous foals during his lifetime. Shamrock Farm also purchased Sallie Twilight as well as Bonnie Twilight, whom they bred to Hiker Joy – doubling up on the Allen’s Major blood.
Today, Allen’s Major blood can be located in the following breeding programs, names such as Shamrock, Winloc, Rohan, Edgewood, and Quail Mountain. There are others with a scattering of this blood but these would be the largest pools to draw from.
Allen’s Major, family friend, as well as a strong breeding influence in his later life, was known for putting big engines on horses for the show ring. For an in depth story, see Lippitt Club Newsletter, November 1982.
In the 1968 article, Mr. Ashby pointed out that Major had lots of patience with the nine Ashby children who always wanted to ride him. When the children were aboard Major, he ho-hummed his way around the farm, keeping everyone safe. Major’s reward for his kindness and patience would be to go out on a nice trail ride with a more experienced rider and always being in the lead. A great tribute to a stallion as well as his get who had his good disposition and could get fired up in the ring when needed to bring home the blue ribbons.
Allen’s Major was New York’s best kept secret for a long time!!!
