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. * Virginia By NANCY LEE Taylor Tries Successful Nick Again Sends Good Selka to Happy Buckie Heaven Hill Bred to Knockdown MIDDLEBURG, Va., June 9. — The same nick which produced the grand champion of the Virginia Horsemens Breeders Asso ciation yearling snow this year is being tried again by breeder Thomas Taylor whose Sycamore Bend Farm is near Loudoun Orchard, Lincoln, Va. Good Selka Way good — Selka has been sent to Happy Buckie and in the meantime, her yearling chestnut colt has continued his win-nine- wavs ndriiner to his collection the blue among the thoroughbred yearlings shown at the recent Blue Ridge Hunt Show. Taylor has been a horseman for years but the arrival of Good Selka put him into the breeding business. The Happy Buckie yearling is the second" foal he has had from this mare but Good Selka has produced a number of foals and is listed among the producers of winners. The Sycamore Bend mare group "has been increased with the addition of three maiden mares who were all bred this year to Cataclysm Johnstown — Catalysis , the stallion who formerly stood at Mrs. Charles Williams Stadacona Farm in Maryland. The mares are Eternal Glow Eternal Bull — Red Haze, My Refuge Rufigi— Hunt Me and Pass Her Pass Out — Red Starlet. The Time Passes — Silver Gino mare, Silver Passes, was nop bred this season. With part of his stable turned over to hunters, Taylor purchased the now seven-year-old Old-Fashioned as a four-year-old. He hunted the greldingr and then advanced him to the point-to-point ranks with success. Joining the sanctioned meetings last year, Old-Fashioned finished second in the John Bush Streett Memorial at My Ladys Manor, Monkton, Md. He is now owned by Mrs. B. H. Gris-wold III. Now in the stable in as eight-year-old black gelding, Tipstaff Fighting Fox — Bar More who is turning out well in the hunting field. Chips, a gelding by Psychic and two buckskins are also among this lot. One of the buckskins, Small Change, was ridden by young Henry Taylor to win a handy jumping class oyer the veteran show rider, Morton W. "Cappy" Smith at the Loudoun Hunt Show. Henry and his sister, Mary Jane, started riding on Samuel O. Grahams Kalico Kat, an oddly marked pony mare whom the Graham youngsters had shown successfully for years. The mare is at the Taylor farm and has plenty of running mates as another item handled on the place is the breeding of Welsh ponies. Mrs. C. M. Greer, Jr.s Heaven Hill, the dam of the Alquest bay yearling filly who was reserve grand champion 6f the VHA Yearling Show, has been bred to Knockdown. Her first foal is now a two-year-old, Heavens Above, by Grand Admiral and she is in training. At the present time the Greers have only two broodmares, the abovementioned Heaven Hill and Greers Highf ormation Higher— Transformation , who has been bred to Boss. This mare has been quite a producer for the farm and her first foal was the filly High NMighty who was the first winner for the former Brook-meade sire, Star Beacon. The next foal was by Wait A Bit and is the well known show ring conformation hunter Pikes Peak who lists among his accomplishments a tricolor at The National Horse Show held at Madison Square Garden. Hifalutin Miss by Vincentive came along next and she was tried on the flat, finishing 2d and was then brought back to the farm and made _ _ • j_ i l rr»t C «.U TTrV» « t- Care I by Jeep was trained by Morris H. Dixon and won on the flat for Mrs. Greer. The 4-year-old High Authority by Wait A Bit was sold to Charles D. Pierce and has been a winner for his Fox Covert Farm. Now at the- farm is the three-year-old chestnut colt, Lofty Peak by Alquest. A really model mare, breeder Greer reports that Highformation is the only mare to win the thoroughbred broodmare class for two successive years at the Upperville Colt and Horse Show and have her yearling and foal win their classes. At this show the Kenneth N.Gilpin trophy is presented-annually to the winner of the Thoroughbred yearling colt class but to retire it, the same breeder must win it three years in a row. Having won it in 1951 with What Care I and in 1952 with High Authority, l Mr. Greer was ready to set sail in 1953 with L Lofty Peak who had won the foal class the previous year . However, while playing in the field, Lofty Peak hurt his hock. Luckily the VHA yearling" show was coming up so Mr* Greer attended with a buyers eye. He selected a good looking roan colt by Thel-lusson — Ethels Lassie who was bred and raised by Mrs. Manley W. Carter Named Grey Swan, the roan went to the Upperville Show and during the thoroughbred yearling class he was moved closer and closer to the spot which would retire the Gilpin trophy for his owner. However, he was stopped in the second spot — the winner being- Brookmeades chestnut: colt by Case Ana Tnf/»V» fnf- cnl r? lofor o +- Qovofnfrn on/1 registered under the name Lord Willin. . . Timber horses and hunters have always played an important part in the Greer stable. Houseman, Goldun and Rayquick retired the Virginia Gold Cup, and Rayquick is at the farm now and plans are for him to go postward again next year. Among the hunters is Fiddlers Fancy First Fiddle — Transcending, who was champion of the VHA yearling show in 1950. A. well-grown, good, big yearling is the brown gelding by Robespierre — Herodine, who is a half-brother to the good point-to-point winner and timber mare Star Salome. Herodine is the only registered foal out of the great jumping mare Petite Poule. The best known horse at the. farm is Shorty registered as Social Sea. Bought from the late Louis Leith as a three-year-old, Shorty was given to Mrs. Freer and carried her for 16 sea-i sons in the hunting field.
