This chestnut mare spent her first nine years of life unregistered and unnamed. Her breeder and owner, D.F. Sallies, of Montpelier, Vermont, owned her dam, Mary Allen, and had bred her to Billy Hoffman. The resulting foal in 1918 was to become the basis of an entire equine family, simply known as “the Sallie family.”
In 1927, Robert Lippitt Knight purchased Mary Allen, then 16 years old, and her 9 year old daughter, whom he named Lippitt Sallie. This was the first mare to carry the Lippitt prefix of Mr. Knight’s farm in Randolph, Vermont. Mr. Knight named this mare obviously in honor of her breeder and former owner, Mr. Sallies. Mr. Knight bred Mary Allen four more times but it appears the only horse to carry on the bloodlines was the one horse he did not breed, Lippitt Sallie.
Lippitt Sallie remained at the farm to produce her own special family for the horse which was to be known as the Lippitt Morgan. Knight bred Sallie to Ashbrook for all seven of her foals. The first of these full siblings was a chestnut filly whose name combined her sire and dam’s names, Lippitt Sally Ash. This filly arrived in August of 1928 and was kept at the farm and had eight foals of her own.
Sallie’s second foal arrived in June of 1930. This time a chestnut colt who was named Lippitt Billy Ash. Billy stayed at the farm for his first thirteen years before siring foals. His nervous disposition required he stay on the farm where he seemed the happiest. When he did leave to go to Dyberry Farm in Pennsylvania, he was so homesick he was returned to spend his remaining life at the Stock Farm. While at Dyberry Farm, Billy was bred three times to Lippitt Miss Nekomia and the result was three full brothers: Dyberry Billy (1947), Dyberry Buddy (1949), and Dyberry Bob (1950). Lippitt Billy Ash has sired two foals, his first, from Westfall mares but no known get from either of these foals as they matured. In 1948, Billy returned to Vermont and here he stayed until his death at age twenty-two. He was out in the 1952 Dispersal and Warren Patriquin knew of Billy’s homesickness, so he purchased him with the understanding Billy would remain at the farm until he died.
In 1932, Lippitt Sallie again foaled another chestnut colt by Ashbrook, named Lippitt Dan Ash who apparently did not breed on.
The following year, yet another chestnut colt, this time dark chestnut with a blaze and two hind socks, arrived to join his full siblings. He was named simply Lippitt Sam. As Sam matured, it was decided to keep him as a sire on the farm. He stayed there siring twenty-nine foals before being put in the 1952 Dispersal and being purchased by Mr. Keating of Massachusetts. The Keatings bred Sam to Lippitt Rosalie whom they had also purchased that day to produce the well known Glenmere mares, Glenmere Lady Astor (1955) and Glenmere Rose (1954) and June of Glenmere (1953). Lippitt Sam sired his last two foals under the Lippitt prefix in 1955 at the age of twenty-three. He died in a barn fire in South Royalton, Vermont.
Lippitt Sallie again foaled in 1934, a chestnut filly, Lippitt Sarah Ash. This filly was purchased by Mrs. Rice of Meredith Morgans in New Hampshire. Before Sarah could foal, she died, leaving no descendants.
In 1936, Lippitt Sallie again had a chestnut filly, Lippitt Sadie Ash. Once again, Sadie was purchased by Mrs. Rice as a replacement for her Sarah that she had lost, but not before Sadie had produced four foals for Mr. Knight, three colts and one filly. The one filly was Lippitt Flash who had three colts of her own. After Mrs. Rice purchased Sadie, she only had the chance to produce one filly. In 1955, at the age of nineteen, Lippitt Sadie Ash had a chestnut filly named Sadie Ashbrook by Sam Twilight.
Lippitt Sallie’s next foal, a chestnut filly named Lippitt Samantha arrived at the Stock Farm. Her dam was now twenty-one years old. Lippitt Samantha was very prolific as a broodmare for Mr. Knight, having six foals which left us a strong link in bloodlines, the most well known was Lippitt Spearmint who was the dam of Lippitt Minty, the matriarch of the Mint horses bred by the late Marshall Winkler.
Lippitt Sallie’s last foal at age twenty-one was a chestnut colt named Lippitt Rookie. He was apparently sold, gelded and enjoyed life bringing pleasure to his new owners.
Lippitt Sallie did not foal again, and as was the custom at the Stock Farm, if mares did not seem to settle or went open for too long, they were put down. Twenty year plus mares in those days were considered past production as the care was very different from today where we work ever so diligently to keep senior mares and stallions producing as long as possible.
Many of Lippitt Sallie’s get produced large numbers of their own progeny, which we today as breeders seek out for our own programs.
Lippitt Sallie, a mare who might well have slipped through the cracks forever, as so many did, had not Mr. Knight found her in his search for additional mares to add to the small group he had gotten from A. Fullerton Phillips’ estate in Windsor, Vermont.
