Wing Commander (1943–1969) 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 ...

show horse out of the mare Flirtation Walk and by the stallion Anacacho Shamrock. Wing Commander was a

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Description ...

with four white socks and a thin white stripe that ran from his forehead all the way to his upper lip. He was trained to be 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, meaning he performed the walk, trot, canter, slow gait and rack. Through both sides of his pedigree, Wing Commander traced back to the highly influential Saddlebred stallions Rex McDonald and Bourbon King, who were themselves successful show horses. In 1948, the

stallion A stallion is an adult male horse that has not been gelded ( castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cre ...

won his first Five-Gaited World Grand Championship, a title he kept for a total of six years. In total he won 6 Five-Gaited World Grand Championships, and was the first of only two horses to accomplish this. In 1950 ''Life'' magazine featured Wing Commander as an example of a fine athlete and an American Idol. He was owned by Dodge Stables, and trained by Marvin Lane and ridden by Earl Teater. Wing Commander stood at stud at Castleton Farm in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

, and died at the age of 26.

Life and career

Wing Commander 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 in 1943. He was a chestnut

with four white socks and a white star on his forehead. He was out of the

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equidae, equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more th ...

Flirtation Walk and sired by the stallion Anacacho Shamrock. He was bred and owned by Dodge Stables, a part of Castleton Farm near

which at the time was owned by Frances Dodge.Error Page , International Museum of the Horse
/ref> His bloodlines traced back to Rex McDonald and Bourbon King, who appeared on both his sire and dam's side. Wing Commander was a

Saddlebred, meaning that in addition to the default walk, trot, and canter, he also performed a slow gait and rack. He was trained by the notable Saddlebred trainer Earl Teater and groomed by Gregory Pena. Wing Commander began his show career in 1946, as a three-year-old. He won every show he entered that year, but lost twice the next year, 1947, when he was shown against older horses. Both losses ended with him placing second. In 1948 Wing Commander and Teater won the first of six World's Grand Championships at the World's Championship Horse Show, part of the Kentucky State Fair. In addition to being shown under saddle, Wing Commander was trained to pull a

fine harness Fine harness is a type of driving (horse), driving competition seen at horse shows, that feature light, refined horses with high action. Popular horse breed, breeds in this event include the American Saddlebred, Morgan horse, Morgan, Arabian h ...

cart, although he was not shown in harness. Wing Commander died January 19, 1969.

Descendants

Following his show career, Wing Commander was retired to stud and was the leading Saddlebred sire from 1963 to 1968. Wing Commander was grandsire to Sky Watch, who won five World's Grand Championships, and maternal grandsire to

Imperator The title of ''imperator'' ( ) originally meant the rough equivalent of ''commander'' under the Roman Republic. Later, it became a part of the titulature of the Roman Emperors as their praenomen. The Roman emperors generally based their autho ...

, who won four World's Grand Championships. The two horses were also known for their "duels" or shows where they competed against each other. *Wing Commander **Rhythm Command **Buck and Wing ***Longstreet **Sunset Commander **Wing Again **Wing Rhythm **Wingmaster ***Jubilee Commander ***My Own Master **Danish Commander **Callaways Johnny Gillen ***Will Shriver ****Callaways New Look ****Caramac *****Callaways Arbitrator *****Callaways Newscaster *****Designed *****Callaways Lil Abner *****Callaways Lloyd Stark *****Callaways Ricky Ricardo *****Undulatas Nutcracker ****Callaways Mr Republican ****Callaways Blue Norther *****Callaways Forecaster *****Callaways Banner Headline ****The Showboat ****Callaways Gold Rush **Wings Fleet Admiral ***Courageous Admiral ****Periaptor ****Top Spool *****

Top of the Mark The Top of the Mark is a penthouse level bar located on the nineteenth floor of the Mark Hopkins Hotel on Nob Hill at California and Mason Streets in San Francisco, California. Located at the highest point of downtown San Francisco, on fog- ...

***Superior Odds **Nobles Command **Rebel Command **The New Look **Wing Society **Chief Of Greystone **Flight Time *** Sky Watch ****Castle Bravo **Super Command **Wings Over Jordan **Hi-Wing **Mr Magic Man **Center Ring **Yorktown ***New YorkerCF First Night Out Repeats As #1 World’s Champion Sire
/ref> ****Manhattan Supreme *****Catalyst ****

Harlem Globetrotter The Harlem Globetrotters is an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 countries and ter ...

*****Harlem TownAMERICAN SADDLEBRED WORLD LOSES CH HARLEM TOWN
/ref> ****Im A New Yorker ***Quaker Town ***The Talk of the Town ****

Breaking News Breaking news, also called late-breaking news, a special report, special coverage, or a news flash, is a current issue that warrants the interruption of a scheduled broadcast in order to report its details. News broadcasters also use the term ...

***Man On The Town **King Dell **Wing Commanders King **Lucky Commander **Wing Shot

Pedigree

* Wing Commander 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 x 3D to the stallion Bourbon King, meaning that he appears third generation on the sire side of his pedigree and third generation on the dam side of his pedigree.

References

{{Reflist Individual American Saddlebreds