Happy Friday! Here is your Friday Flashback, written by Laura Stillwell, and re-typed for our page by Gail Robertson:
Moro Hill Gay Ethan in California
By Laura Stillwell
(reprinted from LCN Volume XXXIX #6, pages 18-19)
Moro Hill Gay Ethan (Dyberry Ethan X Lippitt Gay Lockett) came to California on a fluke. Foaled in 1956, he was sold at an early age to northern Minnesota where he had a good career showing in open shows in many divisions and siring a few registered Morgan foals. He had 47 life-time registered Morgan get with only eight coming from his years in California.
In 1963, a sales ad appeared in The Morgan Horse magazine and Velma Wagoner of Modesto, California, saw it and fell in love with Gay Ethan. Her husband Jim, a dairy farmer who was switching his farm over to almond trees, wanted to get for her what she desired. Velma had grown up in a religious sect akin to the Mennonites or Amish but had left it, believing that God would love a person no matter what clothes they wore or if they stopped following strict rules of life. It was an incredibly brave move but caused her family to shun her thereafter. The stress of this did cause health problems for her for the remainder of her life. Jim, who deeply loved her, did his best for her, and in this case, that involved hooking up the horse trailing and making the long drive to Minnesota and back.
Gay Ethan was not shown much in California but did place in-hand, in driving, and in trail classes as well as being ridden in parades. He also helped Jim move irrigation pipe on the farm. His most notable show moment was in the 1967 Golden West National Morgan Show where he went Grand Champion stallion.
The California Morgan world of that time was still mostly dominated by the Western Working Family Morgans descended from Roland Hill’s program. Some eastern show stock was making its way west and starting to prove popular. That Gay Ethan got any outside mares was not because of his full Lippitt status, but, rather, was in spite of it. It was even said that there was some bad feeling that the Wagoners dared to bring out a stallion instead of using a very popular WWF stallion of their area.
Gay Ethan had only four full Lippitts in California: Ember Ethan, Ember Ethan Dandy, Ember Gay Ethanette, the three out of Caven-Glo Lisa (Lippitt Moro Alert X Glenmere Rose); Rosemont Royal Ethan, was out of Lippitt Royal Margarita (Lippitt Rob Roy X Alrita). Dandy, who was foaled in 1973, had only one full Lippitt foal in 1985 who was gelded, TOV Ethan K Taylor, out of Covenant Lydia K (Meredith Knight X Tradition Lorelei). Ember Ethan who was foaled in 1970 had only one, TOV Mary T Velvet, out of Covenant Lydia K, who had three foals, all by Sweet Maple Royalson (Royalton Ashline X Royalton Beatrice). TOV Madison died, TOV Ember Ethan was gelded, and Summertime Punch, a filly, is lost to the breed along with her dam. Ember Gay Ethanette who was foaled in 1974 had two fillies, both by Moro Hill Micah (Moro Hill’s Jeremy X Moro Hill’s Muffet): Ember Emily, who had one daughter, Z Halcyon Starbright by Ute Mt Papadia and Ember Megan who was not bred. Rosemont Royal Ethan had two Lippitt get both out of Woodstock Emily (Donald Twilight X Meredith Samantha); they were Blk Mtn Ana-Twilight and Black Mtn Royal Rose.
Gay Ethan’s best known get were out of the Brunk mare Verdonna Vermont. Rosemont Montego (1/2) won in-hand, pleasure driving and ridden pleasure at all the major California shows and at the Grand Nationals. Rosemont Gay Melisa (1/2) retired the Hi-Point Mare In-Hand trophy from Southern California Morgan Club showing at open shows. Rosemont Gay Eric (1/2) won at the major California shows and was a moderately popular sire. Rosemont Gay Tammy (1/2) and Rosemont Veronica (1/2) were each shown in-hand only once, but won their classes and then went on to be producers.
Gay Ethan’s most prolific breeding son was Gays Cinco de Mayo (1/2), out of a WWF mare. He went to Canada and had many get who bred on. His name can often be found even today back on the 3rd, 4th and 5th line of pedigrees. Some of Gay Ethan’s other get were bred lightly, but mostly those lines have died out.
Gay Ethan did not spend his life with the Wagoners. Velma’s treacherous health forced a sale. Bill George, ember Morgans, of southern California, had long watched Gay Ethan and quickly bought him. He trail rode him some and liked to tell a story of how one day he took two lunge lines and tied them together and then took Gay Ethan out by a major road to lunge him on the now longer line. He said that Gay Ethan was so handsome and such a fancy mover that traffic stopped to watch him until a sheriff stopped and told Bill he had to go do that elsewhere. It might even have been a true story, or at least grounded in some back. It was a fact that Bill dearly loved that horse and many years later he would get choked up telling of Gay Ethan’s final day fighting the colic that killed him.
It is difficult to find any descendants of Gay Ethan’s half Lippitt today. Other than Gays Cinco de Mayo (1/2), most of those lines have vanished. His Lippitt son, Rosemont Royal Ethan, did have three daughters who were not only ¾ Lippitts, but whose dam Ember Gay Velvet (1/2) was also by Gay Ethan. One of these went to Baymount Morgans and has had many produce to her credit.
Gay Ethan can be found today behind full Lippitts from Moro Hill’s Michele out of Moro Hill’s Alrita (Dyberry Ethan X Alrita) the only get from his eastern days. His legacy in California is not so much as an ancestor but from his presence and beauty. Although, not promoted as being a full Lippitt, he did make the Lippitt presence known out here.
(ps – Laura posted an ad for Moro Hills Gay Ethan on our page yesterday – not even knowing that we were planning on this Friday Flashback today! Good timing!)
