"Rosie" was bred and raised by Elsie
Darrah of Last Chance Farm. Her dam was the cornerstone of Elsie's
program, Fireball's
Mountain Maid. Elsie's elite group of mares represented many years of
breeding and selection to get the type of mares that would produce
exceptional foals that display the characteristics of original walking
horse breed standards. These mares produced foals with a natural head
nodding running walk. They were versatile enough to meet the challenges
for the many riding disciplines in show, pleasure, working and sporting
events.
Rosie's sire was
Royal Ivory, perhaps
the most well known cremello walking horse stallion of all time. Elsie
wrote of Royal Ivory in her colored stallion review: "Royal Ivory is my
all time favorite cremello stallion and he is a key player in my breeding
program. He has it all: pedigree, color, gentle disposition, natural
walking ability and good conformation. He will do anything you ask of him.
He is an excellent trail riding horse and is used to pull a horse-drawn
hearse in parades. He is the perfect gentleman as a breeding stallion. His
foals have the same gentle disposition as their sire. If you are looking
to add color, conformation, natural walking ability and personality to
your foals, Royal Ivory is for you."
I fell in love with Rosie on my first
visit to Rise and Shine Walkers in 2003. She was just a gangly youngster
then, but I could tell that she'd have the tremendous size, bone and walk
of Elsie Darrah's favorite cross. I offered Micki $6500 for her and she
reluctently accepted, but ended up changing her mind and keeping Rosie. As
she grew and matured, Rosie surpassed my expectations. Her towering size
and stature might have been intimidating on another horse. Not on Rosie
though. Her sweet, gentle disposition made her easy to handle. I was
THRILLED when I was given the opportunity to purchase her in 2018. I bred
her to The Tennessee
Stud, a talented young stallion that we had carefully bred
and raised. I couldn't wait to see the results of such a phenominal cross,
but sadly we lost both Rosie and her filly. Rest in peace,
beautiful mare.
