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The TWH in Europe

Tennessee Walkers in Europe are either imported from the United States or Canada, or offspring of imported animals. We talk about horses registered with the mother-studbook, the TWHBEA: Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders’ and Exhibitors’ Association.

Although in Europe in 2006 we can boast some fifty available TWHBEA registered stallions, the breeding of Tennessee Walkers is still in it’s infancy here. Nevertheless, there is a choice and even the possibility to go for certain bloodlines and strengthen the influence of certain famous studs in TWH foals to be born on European soil! It’s also possible to import semen from the U.S. but until now, this feasibility has hardly been used. We know of one successful case: import of semen of  Midnight Tango resulting in a TWH colt in Europe (now gelded).

Considering only the stallions and stallion-lines, we want to bring to your attention the existence in Europe of sons and grandsons of famous and proven studs of the Tennessee Walking Horse breed. First, sons and grandsons of that most prolific and influential sire: Pride of Midnight H.F., then several grandsons of his half brother Sun’s Delight D., both studs sons of the unforgettable Midnight Sun, the World Grand Champion of 1945 and 1946. Sun’s Delight D. was WGC in 1963. European stallions with these famous horses as sire or grandsire are mostly not that young anymore (or deceased). They’re already recommended for your consideration because of their mentioned sire or grandsire.

We mention them first now (in sequence of age, oldest first):

Sons of  Pride of Midnight H.F.:
Judith’s Pride #805812
Pride of ’76 # 760281

Judith’s Pride, located in Germany, is the oldest and also the most prolific European TWH sire. Happily so, as his pedigree is hard to beat. His dam’s sire is Sun’s Delight D., so we’ve got these two lines together in this stud. Judith’s Pride has three sons active as breeding horses, two in Germany: Pride’s Spotted Rusty and Pride of German, one in Austria: Chisco Austria.

Pride of ’76 lived in England and died 1996. He has only one European offspring. His line is available through his grandson in the Netherlands: Buster’s Fair Leroy.

Grandsons of Pride of Midnight H.F.:  of course the sons of Judith’s Pride
Pride’s Regal Boy # 824978
Favorite’s Reward # 878585
Pleasure’s Pot o’ Gold # 20000342

Pride’s Regal Boy, located in Germany, is one of the older and well known European studs. He holds the title of European Champion. He’s got two sons on the stallion list: Prides Storm Cloud and Pride’s Gold Gypsy Boy.

Favorite’s Reward, located in Germany, by Pride’s Favorite, well-known stud in the U.S.

Pleasure’s Pot o’ Gold, located in Belgium, is a recent addition to the stallion list. A young horse but a grandson of Pride of Midnight H.F.!  By The Pride Piper, his well respected son.

Grandsons of Sun’s Delight D.: 
Judith’s Pride # 805812
Postmark Delight # 846228
Double Delight of Pride # 897314
Mable’s Capriano # 956646
Judith’s Pride is already mentioned as son of Pride of Midnight.

Postmark Delight, located in the Netherlands, is the only TWH in Europe holding the title “World Champion Model Horse” (1990 Celebration). Also 2005 European Champion 3-gait.

Double Delight of Pride, located in Germany. Among his offspring we find the stallion Rain Walker, offered at stud.

Mable’s Capriano, located in Germany, was 1999 European Champion 3-gait. He’s got an adult son, Candy’s Beautiful Iliano, which can be offered at stud.

For a Tennessee Walking Horse, being a World Grand Champion (WGC), doesn’t always mean making a great impact as a sire. On the other hand, not holding this coveted title, does not prevent a sire from making history. Prime example of the latter is Pride of Midnight H.F.

Here we just mention a few WGC’s, due to their having sons or grandsons as studs in Europe. We have other important lines of WGC’s available in Europe, like the influential line of Ebony Masterpiece (WGC 1962), to be found in the pedigree of quite a few European TWH’s.

As for sons of WGC’s, we have two more studs in Europe, both representatives of more recent or “modern” lines. They are:

Whooz Pushin # 894732 by The Pusher C.G. (WGC 1981)
Arm and Hammer # 976578 by Gen’s Armed & Dangerous (WGC 1994, by Prides Generator)

Now we mentioned Prides Generator, son of Pride of Midnight, as well as The Pusher C.G.:

The lines developed by the offspring of these two studs are most influential among the more recent Tennessee Walkers. There are some grandsons of these horses in Europe:

Arm and Hammer (already mentioned)
Clutchin the Dollar # 9811764 (grandson of Pride’s Generator),
Headed Jack’s Way # 20300050 (grandson of Prides Generator)
and  Pusher’s Silver Symbol GT # 9813810 (grandson of The Pusher C.G.)

The line of Pride of Midnight is a predominant one in the U.S. as well as in Europe; apart from WGC offspring, Pride of Midnight brought us many well respected stallion lines. Of these renowned lines (apart from Prides Generator) we found the following grandsons, so great-grandsons of Pride of Midnight, in Europe:

The Legend Goes On # 941777 (grandson of Pride’s Genius)
Bullet’s Early Frost # 944279 (grandson of Pride’s Favorite)
Glory’s Golden Dusk # 973319 (grandson of Pride’s Hallelujah)
Yahoo.coin # 987824 (grandson of Prides Gold Coin)
(in sequence of age or TWHBEA registration number)

Now a TWH is not all pedigree or built up out of famous ancestors. Mostly, it’s a creature of flesh and blood, adored by human beings. But the better it’s qualities, for gait, conformation and also character, the more we’re apt to like it. If your horse suits you well, it’s surely the best horse you can get. But for breeding purposes, do look around for the best combination. Pedigrees and knowledge of what the various bloodlines tend to bring are a tools of utmost importance in breeding top quality stock.

Apart from these better known bloodlines, we’re happy in Europe to have some horses with rarer lines, with several going back to the best of the foundation stock of the TWH breed. Finding out about this has been much facilitated by the TWHBEA through the installment of the iPEDs programme. Here, one can trace any TWHBEA registered horse to the very beginning of the breed. You can find a complete list of the foundation horses, numbered F-1 onwards, on the site of Walkers West .

If you’re looking for a comfortable riding horse with a striking color,  you can see your fill in Europe. As for color of stallions, you can find palomino, buckskin and champagne. There are many spotted studs, mostly tobianos. Also, foals may inherit the (high degree) sabino pattern from several European TWH stallions.  

To further explore the history of the spread of the Tennessee Walking Horse throughout Europe, we  are pleased to introduce our newest project, The Complete List of Tennessee Walking Horses in Europe.