Midnite Sun, triple-registered Palomino Morgan

Midnite Sun

Among the materials from the estate of Monrovia/Duarte rancher Merle Little were documents and photos related to one of his best-known stallions, the Palomino Morgan, Midnite Sun. 

Bred by Merle, Midnite Sun was by Sun Down Morgan:

And out of Dawnglo:

Foaled in 1943, Midnite Sun was something of a rarity in his day: a triple-registered Palomino Morgan. 

There were two active Palomino horse registries in the 1940s: the Palomino Horse Association (PHA) and the Palomino Horse Breeders Association (PHBA). Merle registered Midnight Sun in both, in addition to his Morgan Horse Association registration. 

Merle saved his PHA registration form.

Merle corresponded with the Morgan Horse Club about Midnite Sun and Dawnglo in 1944:

This photo was taken by John Williamson, who captured many of Merle's horses on film during the 1940s-early 1950s. 

Merle took out ads for Midnite Sun in the Western Livestock Journal, and there are other photos of him in the estate collection.

This photo is by Lucille Stewart. 

Photos of some of Midnite Sun's offspring were also in Merle's estate. Here's El Tesoro (Palomino, 1952, x Ojo del Fantina):

Ezra Morgan (chestnut, 1952, x Betty Joaquin, pictured with her colt):

And Rocky Morgan (Palomino, 1949, x Anita Belle Gift):

We'll never know for sure, but I wonder if Rocky Morgan was named after Merle's friend Allan "Rocky" Lane, the cowboy actor who played "Red Ryder" in Western films?  The first mentions we see of Merle Little and Rocky Lane in local newspapers are from 1949, when Merle recruited the actor and his movie horse, the black Morgan stallion Anndy Pershing (whose stage names were "Thunder" -- Red Ryder's horse -- and "Black Jack") to take part in the annual Fiesta de Duarte. Merle served as the Fiesta chairman of the Duarte Chamber of Commerce. (Duarte and Monrovia are neighboring communities; Merle's El Rancho Poco straddled both.)

This article and the accompanying photo appeared in the Monrovia News-Post, June 7, 1949.