Rex McDonald was an

American Saddlebred The American Saddlebred is a horse breed from the United States. Descended from riding-type horses bred at the time of the American Revolution, the American Saddlebred includes the Narragansett Pacer, Canadian Pacer, Morgan horse, Morgan and ...

stallion. He was only beaten three times in his show career and had an influential career as a sire.

Life

Rex McDonald 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 May 30, 1890, in

Callaway County, Missouri Callaway County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 United States census, the county's population was 44,283. Its county seat is Fulton. With a border formed by the Missouri River, the county was organized Nove ...

. He was sired by Rex Denmark and out of Lucy Mack. He was a

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

stallion standing high and was bred by Joe McDonald. After breeding Rex McDonald, Joe McDonald became ill and began selling his horses. Rex McDonald was sold to R. T. Freeman as a

yearling Yearling may refer to: *Yearling (horse), a horse between one and two years old *''The Yearling ''The Yearling'' is a novel by American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in March 1938. It was the main selection of the Book of the ...

for $105, alongside his dam. In 1894 he was sold to John Hughes of Kentucky for $3,050. He was sold several more times and at one point during his breeding career was owned by a group of businessmen. Rex McDonald died November 13, 1913, and was buried in the fairgrounds at

Mexico, Missouri Mexico, formerly known as New Mexico, is a city in and the county seat of Audrain County, Missouri, United States. It is home to the Missouri Military Academy and annually hosts the Miss Missouri Pageant. The city's population was 11,469 at the ...

, although the body was later moved to Tom Bass's property and still later reburied at the American Saddlebred Museum in Mexico, where it remains.

Career

Rex McDonald was a

five-gaited Five-gaited horses are notable for their ability to perform five distinct horse gaits instead of simply the three gaits, walk, trot and canter, canter or gallop common to most horses. Individual animals with this ability are often seen in the Ame ...

horse who was initially trained by Billy Davis. Later on he was trained and shown by Tom Bass, a notable horse trainer born a slave, who trained horses for

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

and

Bill Cody William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), better known as Buffalo Bill, was an American soldier, Bison hunting, bison hunter, and showman. One of the most famous figures of the American Old West, Cody started his legend at t ...

. In 1893 Rex McDonald was shown for the first time at the St. Louis National Horse Show and won a championship. At the time, there was a strong rivalry between Kentucky and Missouri about which state produced the best Saddlebreds, and Rex McDonald was a star for the Missourians. Ironically, he was later sold to a Kentucky owner. He was only beaten three times in his career. At one show, he beat his own sire, Rex Denmark. He was finally retired to stud because few people were willing to show against him.

Offspring

Rex McDonald sired over 200 colts that were registered with the

American Saddlebred Horse Association The American Saddlebred Horse and Breeders Association (abbreviated ASHBA) is a breed registry for the American Saddlebred horse. Founded in 1891, it is headquartered at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. History The ''American Sa ...

. One of his colts was a pacer and was harness raced.

Sire line tree

*Rex McDonaldGaines' Denmark sons and grandsons #2
/ref>WORLD’S GRAND CHAMPIONSHIP FIVE-GAITED STAKE
/ref> **McDonald Chief ***Red McDonald ***Independence Chief ****Chief Of Longview ****Reveler ***Easter Cloud ****Arletha's Easter Cloud *****Masked Marvel ***Jack Barrymore ***My McDonald ***Lee Rose McDonald **Rex Blees **Rex Peavine ***Rexall Price ***Jack Twigg ***Chester Peavine ***Jean Val Jean ***Bugger Boo ***Anglo Rex ****Anglo Peavine *****Doras Peavine ***Mass of Gold ***Dark Rex ***Mercer Rex ****Gallant Knight ***Kalarama Rex ****Society Rex *****Society Yankee *****Secret Society ****Kalarama ColonelKalarama Colonel Offspring
/ref> *****Delmars Colonel Valiant ***Oakland Peavine ***Oklahoma Peavine ***Moreland Peavine **Star McDonald **Rex Monroe

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist Individual American Saddlebreds 1890 animal births