It is not uncommon for people to share photographs of their animals when sending holiday greetings. American cereal magnate and Arabian horse breeder W. K. Kellogg and his wife, Dr. Carrie Staines Kellogg, once sent out a Christmas card featuring a painting whose creator we don't usually associate with equine portraits, artist and banker George McKay.
The card features a 1935 portrait of the Kellogg Arabian mare Shemseh 656 (chestnut 1928, *Nasik x *Rifla) and WKK's German Shepherd dog, Rinson, who was a son of the famous movie dog Rin-Tin-Tin (1918-1932). Rinson was one of a series of German Shepherds owned by Mr. Kellogg.
A copy of the card is in the collection of the W. K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Library at Cal Poly Pomona.
The verse reads:
Two friends of man that never fail,
It matters not how hard the trail;
They'll stick with you the last long mile,
Contented be with just a smile.
Shemseh and Rinson were indeed part of the Kellogg "family" of horses and other animals at the Kellogg Ranch in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
When Shemseh was still a filly, she had already attracted the attention of celebrities and photographers. Here, she poses with champion cowgirl Mabel Strickland in the December 7, 1928 edition of the Los Angeles Times.
Shemseh was shown fairly often throughout Southern California, and became the champion Arabian at the Ninth Annual Los Angeles National Horse Show in 1930. In 1931, she was part of a Kellogg exhibit at a Whittier, California horse show.
Of Shemseh, Arabian horse historian Carol Woodbridge Mulder wrote:
"The very beautiful mare Shemseh was kept at the Kellogg Ranch until she was 8 years old. A chestnut, she was marked with a blaze, stockings on both hind, and a rather small, but noticeable, belly patch. Shemseh was proudly taken to several exhibitions where she did well and was a crowd pleaser. I do not know why this favorite was eventually sold. Her buyer was R. E. Ewell, Walnut Creek, California, but he apparently resold her to Mrs. I. H. Hale of the same town. Shemseh became the dam of five foals and traces into modern lines." (The Crabbet Influence, July-August 1989)
You can see the white belly patch Carol mentions, in the painting.
In her book The Romance of the Kellogg Ranch, Mary Jane Parkinson details the story of how, in 1927, Mr. Kellogg traded one of his Arabian horses, Ben Hur, for Rinson, from Rin-Tin-Tin's owner Lee Duncan (1892-1960). Ben Hur 513 (*El Bulad x Rhua) was a gray 1923 colt bred by Albert W. Harris.
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Ben Hur, Lee Duncan, Rinson, and W. K. Kellogg in the courtyard
of the Kellogg stables, 1927 |
In 1930, an Associated Press article on Rinson ran in newspapers around the country:
As a child Carol Mulder, whose father worked part-time at the Kellogg Ranch, also had a special connection to Rinson:
"Mr. Kellogg liked to take his current dog with him on his cross-country drives between California and Michigan but he disliked the dog hair which shed off on the way. My mother was a gifted clothing designer and seamstress. One year she was asked to make what she later called a 'suit' for Mr. Kellogg's dog so it could travel with him without shedding hair all over the car. Accordingly, the dog was brought to the home of my parents for the designing and fitting of the suit. My mother, who was frightened of large dogs, had the big German Shepherd stand on top of our dining room table for measurements and fittings. The dog left for Michigan almost encased in a fine, specially-designed suit." (The Crabbet Influence, March-April 1987)
We've seen examples of some of W. K. Kellogg's Arabian horses being used in advertisements. In 1932, Rinson got into the act as well, promoting Dr. Ross' Dog Food in newspaper ads:
The "telegram" in the ad purports to be from W.K. Kellogg in Battle Creek, Michigan, writing to the Dr. Ross' Dog Food company in Southern California:
PLEASE ADVISE NEAREST AGENCY FOR DR. ROSS DOG FOOD STOP RINSON MY VALUABLE POLICE DOG WHO HAS BEEN EATING YOUR DOG FOOD IN CALIFORNIA ALL WINTER AND THRIVING IS NOT DOING SO WELL HERE WITHOUT IT STOP MISSES HIS RATIONS VERY MUCH AND I MUST SECURE ANOTHER SUPPLY AT ONCE
Rinson took part in at least one dog show. The Battle Creek, Michigan Moon-Journal reported that he would be shown at the Southern Michigan Kennel Club dog show in September 1933.
But who was the artist whose work was reproduced on the greeting card, George C. McKay?
Newspaper articles describe him as Kellogg's "right-hand man" who later became chairman of the board of Security National Bank in Michigan. He worked his way up in the Kellogg cereal company and, by 1910, was vice president. By 1924, he was Senior VP, Secretary, and Treasurer.
After leaving Kellogg's in 1936, McKay became chairman of the board of Security National Bank. He was well-known as a patron of the arts, and as an artist. In October 1969, the Battle Creek, Michigan Enquirer newspaper published a feature story on an exhibit of his work, which mentioned the painting of Shemseh and Rinson.
McKay may have used a 1931 photograph of Shemseh with actress Laura LaPlante as the inspiration for his painting, substituting Mr. Kellogg's dog Rinson for the actress.
Ultimately, Mr. Kellogg owned two dogs called Rinson. In 1942, the Battle Creek Enquirer noted this fact:
Businessman and artist George McKay died in 1977 at the age of 96.
And what of Ben Hur, the Kellogg Arabian that Mr. Kellogg traded for Rinson? Newspaper articles like the one above say that he was trained as a movie horse for actress Lina (sometimes spelled Lena) Basquette (1907-1994). I think she may be riding Ben Hur in this Hoot Gibson Western film, Hard Hombre (1931). We see Lina riding a handsome gray horse starting at about 34:58:
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Many thanks to the leadership and staff at the W.K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Library, Special Collections, University Library, Cal Poly Pomona, for their assistance during my equine history research.
And special thanks to Carol Woodbridge Mulder, whose careful research, meticulous attention to detail, and delight in telling the stories of the Kellogg Ranch in her writings, continue to educate and edify us all.
Sources:
Mulder, Carol Woodbridge. "The W. K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Ranch" in The Crabbet Influence in Arabians Today, 20th Anniversary Issue 1983-2003 & Collectors Volume I (Special 3rd Edition Reprint). Battle Ground, WA: Silver Monarch Publishing, 2004.
Parkinson, Mary Jane. The Romance of the Kellogg Ranch: A Celebration of the Kellogg/Cal Poly Pomona Arabian Horses, 1925-2000. Pomona, California: W. K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Center, 2001.
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It would be hard to overstate just how important Rin-Tin-Tin was in the entertainment world back in his day. Here's his Wikipedia entry:
Here is a link to one of his early silent films, Where the North Begins (1923):
Rin-Tin-Tin's owner/trainer, Lee Duncan:
YouTube has a copy of Hard Hombre. in which we may see the Kellogg Arabian Ben Hur, here:
Lina (or Lena) Basquette's biography is here:
Lina Basquette was the half-sister of dance legend Marge Champion, and the widow of Sam Warner, one of the Warner Brothers of Hollywood fame. A long version of her obituary recounts the story that Lina once fought back against an overly aggressive German superfan by kicking him in the groin and getting away from him as fast as she could. His name was Adolf Hitler.
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