Allan F-1 is the foundation of the Tennessee Walking Horse breed. The following history of Allan was given by Dr. Bob Womack in his book, The Echo of Hoofbeats. This is just a small sampling of the information on Allan available from the book. If you get a chance, do check it out!

The bloodlines of the HALS, WHIPS, BULLETS, SLASHERS, COPPERBOTTOMS, and BROOKS had blended into an animal of which Middle Tennessee could be justly proud, but as yet the product had not become distinctive enough to justify the establishment of a breed. In February of 1891 the spark needed to ignite the Pacer into something really unique was on its way to Middle Tennessee from Kentucky in the form of an unpretentious, little, black stallion by the name of ALLAN.

On a Tuesday morning in February of 1891, a five-year-old black stallion was sold at auction in Lexington. Although bred to be a trotter, the little horse refused to trot in harness, and its owner, disappointed in this turn of events, decided to get rid of him. Pacing horses were cheap at the time, and John P. Mankin of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, bought the colt for $335. ALLAN, as the young stallion was called, was loaded on a boxcar with another purchase of Mankin’s, and after several hours of bumping along the cold tracks from Lexington he was unloaded from the train a short distance south of Murfreesboro. There were no crowds waiting to see Mankin’s new property, and those who happened to see the black stallion probably felt more in the mood to extend sympathy than congratulations.

Makin was not ready to give up on ALLAN and immediately put him in training with J.E. McDonald, who worked with the horse throughout the following summer. As had been the case previously, ALLAN suffered by comparison with other horses in the area. He was not big, and his speed was not exceptional. To top it all off, he still refused to trot and insisted on following his natural tendency to pace. After other trainers had failed to develop ALLAN he was sent back to Mankin who was advised to put him at stud and forget the race track.

ALLAN’s future looked anything but promising. He was in a county where many outstanding racers were stabled, and certainly he did not distinguish himself in competition with them. It was generally agreed that ALLAN was a fast horse but that he tended never to finish well in a hard drive. This reputation would not promote him as a possible sire of racehorses. Many observers said he was too small for a breeding horse, and the few mares brought to his court were not the quality to produce acceptable colts. Evidently believing he had made a bad buy, Makin, in 1898, traded ALLAN to a neighbor named Goodlow, who resold the black pacer to West Orrin in 1900. The 1900 sale price was $97.50. ALLAN’s fortunes did not improve as time went by, and after a year at Orrin’s farm he was traded to R.L. Ashley of Manchester, Tennessee. Ashley gave Orrin a black yearling filly, a yearling Jersey heifer, and $20 for the horse. Later, Orrin told Ashley he traded ALLAN because neighbors refused to breed their mares to him.

Standing at a stud fee of $5, ALLAN failed again and was traded to Dr. J.M. Price for a black jack. In 1902, Dr. Price traded ALLAN to a Ben Dunn at Hillsboro, who traded him before the year was out to J.H. Winton for a small black mare. Winton kept the horse only a few months and sold him to J.A. McCulloch for $110 to use as a teaser for his jacks. The latter trade took place in 1903.

Only a few days later ALLAN was involved in yet another trade. McCulloch priced on of his fine jacks to Mr. James R. Brantley of Coffee County, and in the deal ALLAN was included at the $110 price tag that had been paid for him. Mr. Brantley was convinced he wanted the jack, but wasn’t sure about the little black stallion. Having heard of ALLAN’s pedigree and believing him to be outstanding, Brantley spent several days and rode many miles, checking it out. Finding that ALLAN truly represented outstanding bloodlines, Brantley decided to close the deal. Hitching his mare GERTRUDE to the buggy, Mr. “Jim” drove to McCulloch’s place and made the purchase.

The official biographer of ALLAN was W.J. McGill of Shelbyville, Tennessee. After the old horse had died and his influence on the Walking Horse breed had become apparent, many controversies arose concerning his early history. McGill spent many months and uncounted hours tracking down the official history of the horse, and it is through his efforts that the early history of ALLAN is known.

McGill gives us the best written description of ALLAN that exists. He is described as black, foaled 1886, near hind sock, off hind foot white to ankle, and blaze. According to McGill, “…he had smart ears, perfect head, wonderful eyes, full and well set, a long rangy neck, beautiful mane and foretop, a decided sloping shoulder, and a breast that belongs to an outstanding Tennessee Walking Horse. His fine body lines, short back, long belly, well coupled, smooth hips and rump, natural set long heavy tail, with the abundant style he shows in head and neck, smooth limbs, cordy muscles, good foot and bone, his superb gaits, his easy, graceful way of going into the fast running walk, justifies our statement that he was as fine as they make them, even now.” The above was written in 1945.

ALLAN was a gentle, dependable horse. As a young boy, French Brantley, son of ALLAN’s owner, rode the stallion to school at Beech Grove where the horse was left tied to a tree during school hours. Women felt perfectly safe on his back. ALLAN’s chief gait under saddle was a running walk which he performed comfortably and smoothly. The boys of the community often ran ALLAN in impromptu races, and tradition has it that the little stallion could pace faster than most horses could gallop.

ALLAN’s greatest reputation came as a sire of good saddle horses. Regardless of the type of mare crossed with him, the colt performed the easy gliding gait which carried its rider effortlessly along the country roads of Coffee County. ALLAN’s stud fee for the first five years at Brantley’s was six dollars to ensure a foal, but this fee was later raised to seven dollars. The little pacer rarely got over thirty foals per year. According to one story, Albert Dement approached Brantley with a proposal that the latter breed a mare to Dement’s stallion. Brantley refused, saying that his own horse, ALLAN, sired the type of colt he wanted. Dement investigated the situation and evidently agreed with Brantley. Shortly thereafter, sometime in 1909, Dement bought ALLAN for $140 with the guarantee that the horse would live through the next breeding season. ALLAN fulfilled his end of the bargain by living until September 16, 1910.

Since time has proven ALLAN to be the greatest single force in the establishment of the Tennessee Walking Horse, his pedigree merits detailed study. In his sire’s line ALLAN traces to the Darley Arabian, one of the Foundation sires of the Thoroughbred. From the Darley Arabian he traces forward to MESSENGER, the Thoroughbred which founded the Standardbreds. Skipping one generation we come to HAMBLETONIAN, the greatest Standardbred sire of his day and the stallion to which 99% of Standardbreds now trace. From this point forward, we can examine some of the outstanding animals that are the separate fiber from which the ALLAN cloth is woven.

OFFSPRING

TWHBEA #	Name	Color	Sx	Foal		Name
4	MERRY LEGS	BAY SABINO	M	1/01/1911	NELL DEMENT
10	HUNTER'S ALLEN	CHESTNUT	S	1/01/1906	ALLIS
33	RED ALLEN	CHESTNUT	S	1/01/1911	*DAISY FOSTER
34	*KING ALLEN	CHESTNT	S	1/01/1911	**DAISY
38	ROAN ALLEN	CHESTNUT SABINO	S	5/01/1904	GERTRUDE
86	BIRDIE MESSICK	GR	M	1/01/1902	*NELLIE
88	HILES MINNIE	RN	M
11379	BY ALLAN F-1		M
400597	WISER'S MINNIE	CH	M	1/01/1911	WISER'S MOLLY
990114	ASHLEY'S MABLE		M
990217	CROCKERS NOLA		M
990567	BLUE DOLL		M
990568	BLUE GRASS MARE		M
990644	BROYLES LOU		M
990975	OLD DUTCH		M
991110	ED WEST MARE		M
991233	FLETCHER'S MAE		M
991271	FREEMAN'S OLD TOPSY		M
991460	GRAY GIRL		M
991622	JACOBS' ALLEN		M
991736	JOYCE LIGHTBURN		M
992383	MARY FAY		M
992426	MARY LOU BARTON		M
992434	MARY M.		M
992488	MATT DEMENT		M
992729	MAUDE M		M		MINNIE
992859	*MINNIE		M		*MOLLIE
993189	NELL DARNELL		M		BY EARNHEART'S BROOKS F-7
993405	*OLD CORA		M
993495	PATSY H		M
993583	PEARL NANCE		M
993605	PEARL WILKINSON		M
993903	ROBERT'S MAUDE		M		DAU. OF STAR DILLARD
994196	SORREL MARE		M
994240	STEPP'S MAUDE		M
994275	SUE HICKERSON		M		BY SMITH'S STONEWALL F-30
994367	TINPENY MAUD		M
994402	TRICKSIE		M
994433	TRIXIE POINTER		M
994560	BLACK SALLY		M

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