Midnight Sun (194065) was one of the leading sires of the

Tennessee Walking Horse The Tennessee Walking Horse or Tennessee Walker is a horse breed, breed of gaited horse known for its unique four-beat running-walk and flashy movement. It was originally Horse breeding, developed as a riding horse on farms and plantations in t ...

breed, and a two-time World Grand Champion in 1945 and 1946. He was trained by Fred Walker and lived almost all his life at

Harlinsdale Farm Harlinsdale Farm is a historic district in Franklin, Tennessee that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. It dates from c.1900 and had other significant dates in 1935 and 1945. Its main horse stable, the centerpiece of ...

Franklin, Tennessee Franklin is a city in and the county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. About south of Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, it is one of the principal cities of the Nashville metropolitan area and Middle Tennessee. As of 2020 Uni ...

. Midnight Sun sired approximately 2,600 foals in his life, one of which became the three-time World Grand Champion The Talk of the Town. Of the horses that have won the annual Tennessee Walking Horse World Grand Championship since 1949, only four were not of Midnight Sun's bloodline.

Life and winnings

Midnight Sun was

foal A foal is an equine up to one year old; this term is used mainly for horses, but can be used for donkeys. More specific terms are colt (horse), colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, and are used until the horse is three or four. Whe ...

ed on June 8, 1940, out of a mostly

Standardbred The Standardbred is an American horse breed best known for its ability in harness racing where they compete at either a trot or pace. Developed in North America, the Standardbred is recognized worldwide, and the breed can trace its bloodline ...

mare named Ramsey's Rena, and sired by the stallion Wilson's Allen. He was a solid black stallion who matured to just under and weighed , unusually stout for his breed. His original name was Joe Lewis Wilson. Through his sire, Midnight Sun was a great-grandson of Black Allan, also known as Allan F-1, who was the foundation sire of the Tennessee Walking Horse breed. Midnight Sun's half-brother on his sire's side,

Strolling Jim Strolling Jim (1936–1954) was the first Tennessee Walking Horse to become World Grand Champion of his breed. Since Strolling Jim's death, a restaurant, street, and an annual ultramarathon in his hometown of Wartrace, Tennessee have been named af ...

, became the first ever National Champion in 1939, and three of his other siblings were early champions as well. In 1944 Midnight Sun was bought by Wirt and Alex Harlin for $4,400 and taken to their Harlinsdale Farm. Midnight Sun was trained by Fred Walker. He became the first

to win the World Grand Championship title when it was first awarded in 1945, and he followed up that win with another World Grand Championship the next year, in 1946, making him the second repeat winner after Haynes Peacock, his half-brother. At the time, the stake carried a purse of $1,000. Midnight Sun was known for his calm disposition; it wasn't uncommon for stablehands at his home,

near

, to let visiting children ride him

bareback Bareback riding is a form of horseback riding without a saddle. It requires skill, balance, and coordination, as the rider does not have any equipment to compensate for errors of balance or skill. Proponents of bareback riding argue that riding ...

, so they could say they rode a two-time world grand champion. In 1956 he was bought by Eleanor and Geraldine Livingston at the Harlinsdale Farm dispersal sale, for $50,000. The Livingstons stipulated that Midnight Sun be kept at Harlinsdale under the same routine he had had for most of his life. He continued to stand at stud on the farm until his death, and was handled and groomed nearly all his life by Red Laws, who died within a year of the horse's death. Midnight Sun was never turned out, and Laws once said, "Somebody had hold of him all his life." In all, he lived at Harlinsdale Farm for 21 years. Midnight Sun died of

colic Colic or cholic () is a form of pain that starts and stops abruptly. It occurs due to muscular contractions of a hollow tube (small and large intestine, gall bladder, ureter, etc.) in an attempt to relieve an obstruction by forcing content ou ...

on November 7, 1965, and was buried at Harlinsdale Farm, where his grave is still visible today.

Legacy

Midnight Sun has been described as the single most influential Tennessee Walking Horse sire and a sire of sires. Since 1949, only four horses not of Midnight Sun's line have won the Tennessee Walking Horse World Grand Championship, the breed's highest honor. Midnight Sun sired five horses who won the World Grand Championship: Midnight Merry in 1949; The Talk of the Town in 1951, 1952, and 1953; Sun's Jet Parade in 1957; Setting Sun in 1958; and Sun's Delight D. in 1963. One of these, The Talk of the Town, was the first three-time World Grand Champion. Midnight Sun was also great-grandsire of

I Am Jose I Am Jose (foaled October 8, 2008) is a Tennessee Walking Horse stallion and three-time World Grand Champion. He is the first stallion and second horse to win the World Grand Championship three times. I Am Jose is black with a star on his forehead ...

, the second three-time winner. Most of the leading Tennessee Walker sires in recent years have themselves been descendants of Midnight Sun, most notably his son

Pride of Midnight Pride of Midnight (1966-1979) was a Tennessee Walking Horse who had a short career as a show horse but became very notable as a sire in his breed. Life Pride of Midnight was foaled in 1966. He was a black stallion with a snip of white on his nose ...

, who took his father's place as Harlinsdale's lead sire after the older horse's death. Midnight Sun sired approximately 2,600

s in his lifetime, and during his stud career earned his owners close to $100,000 a year, mostly through the then-new use of

artificial insemination Artificial insemination is the deliberate introduction of sperm into a female's cervix or uterine cavity for the purpose of achieving a pregnancy through in vivo fertilization by means other than sexual intercourse. It is a fertility treatment ...

(AI). Through his offspring, he has also influenced the

Racking Horse The Racking Horse is a horse breed derived from the Tennessee Walking Horse, recognized by the USDA in 1971. It is known for a distinctive singlefoot gait. In 1971, the Racking Horse Breeders' Association of America, headquartered in Decatur, ...

and

Spotted Saddle Horse The Spotted Saddle Horse is a horse breed from the United States that was developed by crossing Spanish-American type gaited pinto ponies with gaited horse breeds, such as the Tennessee Walking Horse. The result was a colorful, smooth-gaite ...

breeds. For many years, a life-size statue of Midnight Sun, commissioned after his death by his former owner Geraldine Livingston, stood at the

TWHBEA The Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders' and Exhibitors' Association (abbreviated TWHBEA) is the oldest breed association for the Tennessee Walking Horse. It was founded in 1935 and is headquartered in Lewisburg, Tennessee. The association also runs ...

headquarters in

Lewisburg, Tennessee Lewisburg is a city in and the county seat of Marshall County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 12,288 in 2020. Lewisburg is located in Middle Tennessee, fifty miles south of Nashville and fifty-two miles north of Huntsville, Alabam ...

. *Midnight Sun **Skipper Son Midnight ***

Ebony Masterpiece Ebony Masterpiece was a Tennessee Walking Horse stallion who won a World Grand Championship in 1962. After his show career he retired to stud, where he sired over 3,500 foals, six of which also became World Grand Champions. Life Ebony Masterpiec ...

****Ebony's Senator ****Ebony Mountain Man ****Ebony's True Grit ****Another Masterpiece ****Ebony's Bold Courier ****Dr Elmer *****Doc's High Tribute ****Black Charger *****Masquerading ** Talk of the Town **Midnight's Major ***B Major Wilson **Midnight Mack ***Rodgers Perfection ****Perfectionist's Carbon Copy *****Mark of Carbon ****Shades of Carbon ***Mack K's Handshaker ****

Shaker's Shocker Shaker's Shocker was a Tennessee Walking Horse stallion who won his breed's World Grand Championship in 1966. Life Shaker's Shocker was foaled in 1962, by World Grand Champion Mack K's Handshaker and out of My Darling. He was bred by Tom Barham ...

*****Shocker's Shocker ****Handshaker's Delight **Sun's Quarterback ***Triple Threat ****Threat's Supreme **Sun's Jet Parade ** Setting Sun **Sun's Gunsmoke ***Drug Dealer ****The Pusher *****The Pushover ******Poison *******

The Black Night Shade The Black Night Shade was a Tennessee Walking Horse who won the World Grand Championship in the 2004 Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration. Life and career The Black Night Shade was a black stallion sired by Poison and out of Final's Ca ...

*****Pusher's Doing Time ******

Out On Parole Out On Parole (1997–2018) was a Tennessee Walking Horse who won the World Grand Championship in the 2002 Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration. Life and career Out On Parole was a black roan stallion with a white blaze on his face and ...

**Sun's Delight ***Delight Bummin Around **Black Go Boy Sun ***Go Boys Black Fury ****Motown Magic **

***Pride's Design ****Flashy Pride ***Pride's Gold Coin ****Coin's Hard Cash *****

Cash for Keeps Cash for Keeps is a Tennessee Walking Horse who won the World Grand Championship in the 2000 Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration. He returned to competition 6 years later and won Plantation Lite-Shod World Championships with both Ray Gil ...

*****Gold Power *****Lined With Cash ***Pride's Royal Master ****Mind Games ***** Gameworld ***

Pride's Generator Pride's Generator (1975–2001) was a Tennessee Walking Horse who won three World Championships before being retired to breeding. Standing at stud first at S. W. Beech Stables and later at Waterfall Farms, he sired over 2,000 foals, of which two ...

****Gen's Major General *****Jose Jose **** Gen's Armed and Dangerous ***** The Whole Nine Yards ****Gen's Fable *****Gen's Black Gin ****A Jazz Man *****

Master of Jazz Master of Jazz is a Tennessee Walking Horse who won the World Grand Championship in 2007. Originally ridden in amateur horse show classes, he made the transition to professional competition in 2005 and won his breed's largest show, the Tennessee W ...

****Generator's Santana ***** Santana's El Nino ****Generator's Silver Dollar *****A Strong Dollar ****The Skywatch *****Skywalk ***** Watch It Now ***** The Coach ***Pride's Jubilee Star ****Pride's Sundance Star **** Pride's Jubilee Encore ***Pride's Secret Threat ***A Command Performance **** He's Puttin' on the Ritz *****The Titleist ***Pride's Genius ****The Revelation ***** Rowdy Rev ***Pride's Dark Spirit ****

Dark Spirit's Rebel Dark Spirit's Rebel was a Tennessee Walking Horse who won a World Grand Championship in 1992. Nicknamed Rebel, the horse was trained by Alabama resident Bud Dunn. After his show career was over, Rebel sired the 1999 World Grand Champion Tennessee ...

*****

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

***Pride's John Grey ****Another Grey John *****The TouchThe Touch draws crowd of horse fans to Bishopville event
/ref> ***Delight of Pride ***Pride's Final Edition

Pedigree

Midnight Sun is

inbred Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genetic disorders an ...

3S × 3S x 4D to the stallion Black Allan, meaning that he appears third generation twice on the sire side of his pedigree and fourth generation once on the dam side of his pedigree.

References

* Warren, Margaret Lindsay, "Midnight Sun", Western Horseman, April 1966

External links

Biography of Midnight SunVideo of Midnight Sun
{{Good article Individual Tennessee Walking Horses Individual male horses 1940 animal births World Grand Champion Tennessee Walking Horses

Life and winnings

Legacy

Pedigree

See also

References

External links