Happy Friday! Here is your Friday Flashback, from a 1985 issue of the Lippitt Club News:
Farm Spotlight – Jeanne and Ivan Zimmerman
From LCN XII, No 3, May/June 1985
At Sanctuary Woods Morgans, my wife, Jeanne, and I embarked on a new venture. We are not new to horses, but new to purebred Morgans and Lippitts, in particular.
Our first exposure to Morgans was a 1/2 Morgan gelding, whom we sadly lost and replaced with a government-bred stallion who soon became a gelding. After further reading and study, we learned of the Lippitts; their high percentage, original Morgan type, and temperament, we were soon looking for a replacement. Our search led us to the New England states, with the road ending at Dave and Chris Widerstroms and BSF Margaret Rice (Meredith Smoky x Cleaves Bonnie Bay).
But then with our government gelding gone, and Meg only six months old, we needed something to ride. This time, we ended up in Virginia and thanks to the kindness and help of Mrs. Jean Mills, we were able to acquire, through a lease-purchase agreement, Meredith Doll Baby (Sam Twilight x Meredith Doll) and Meredith Georgiana (Lippitt Moro Ashmore x Lippitt Georgiana). Georgianna represented what I had grown to desire with a passion through my research: a Lippitt Moro Ashmore daughter and a Lippitt Georgiana daughter. George was both, all in one horse. Doll Baby was an Oscar granddaughter.
I should mention, at this point, that our Morgan endeavors are a family project. Our eldest daughter, Karlen, age 8, is in 4-H with Meredith Doll Baby. Katrina, age 6, is on the fence, able to go either way. Brian, age 4, just likes to ride. Thank goodness for the Lippitt temperament: Brian’s riding skills are something else and the mares take it all in stride.
Well, we were all set, we had our mares and were ready to start our breeding operation we had always wanted. But, one more problem was encountered, no Lippitt stallions in south central Pennsylvania. Back to Vermont, and with the help of Lester Welch, Clara Hendin came to our rescue with Rohan Ethan Moro. Ethan came south and to our good fortune, settled with both Doll Baby and Georgiana with foal. Both will have foaled by the time this is printed. (Note from Facebook editor: Doll Baby had Otterbein May Mary, and Georgiana had Otterbein Lucas Moro.)
We have a lot of “thank yous”: Lester Welch for taking us under his wing, Joan Mills who made it possible for us to obtain our broodmares, Chris and Dave Widerstrom of New Hampshire, and Clara Hendin for allowing us to acquire Rohan Ethan Moro.
We have learned a lot, with more still to learn. As with a lot of other breeding operations, we would have to say ours is based on Lippitt Ethan Ash, with Lippitt Miss Nekomia and John A. Darling also represented. Our objectives are not vastly different than other breeding programs: correct conformation, type, athletic ability, topped off with intelligence, and above all, temperament, to make them a joy to work with and own. With the breeding background of our mares and that of Rohan Ethan Moro, we feel we have a close touch with the Morgans of yesteryear, those which showed us what a Morgan should be and what a Morgan is capable of being. We only hope our accomplishment with our forthcoming foals and those in years to come will prove this out. Compared to Morgans, all others are just horses.
(Photo of Otterbein Lucas Moro, mentioned in the article above. From Stephanie Williams’ collection.)
