Associates Page

Welcome to the Associate's Page. It is my great pleasure to present some of the hard work of my colleagues in pedigree research, equine history, Tesio methods, DNA studies and other subjects related to sport horse breeding.

                        [Public domain image by C. W. Anderson]

It has been a dream of mine to give a forum to other talented researchers, breeders, breed promoters who you may not be aware of yet, but truly will be the voice of the future when I am long gone. Many of them have been quietly working for decades on their areas of expertise, and after I shamelessly begged them they have graciously agreed to post selected pieces of work for your interest and benefit. It takes a great deal of struggle to gather one's research and knowledge and present it in a form that others may understand and find useful--most of us are not professional writers, and so I have tremendous respect for these contributors who agreed to let us profit from their efforts.

All the articles attached to this page by pdf are the sole property of the individual author. If you find you want to quote their work or republish it in full or part you must contact them for permission. All articles when first posted will be introduced on Facebook and we look forward to lively discussions on these subjects. 

If any of you out there think you might like to take part in this distribution of knowledge please contact me at kathleenkirsan@hotmail.com to discuss the posting of your article. You do not have to agree to the opinions or presentations of this website or its associates to have your subject introduced, as long it will benefit the breeders of sport horses I am more than willing to consider posting it.

Associate Posts: (click on each link for the individual contributor's page)

Elles (Study on a steeplechase bloodline that holds great value for those of us who aspire to breeding great hunters, jumpers and eventing horses.)

Amy (building a stallion and mare project in 2 generarions)

Paula Hondsmerk, a life long breeder and promoter of the native Dutch Groninger Horse, has shared with us a bit about it is history and a modern foundation mare Aloucha, article found in Top Sires series. Paula is also a talented artist known for her landscapes and equine portraits

Jane Bielski- a Thoroughbred pedigree expert from New Zealand has launched a information website: The Thoroughbred Link, and has also allowed me to add her in depth article on the Martha Lynn bloodline and its successful descendants to the Top Sires page.

Jane has just past on (May 2024) to me her article about the Harkaway line, and I got excited because this line is one Alex Fell in the Irish Draught Horse, reported that there was a whole tribe of "Harkaways" in Ireland, and in the day they were famous not just for the flat, but steeplechase and hunt horses. Jane has brought this strain into modern times by tracing its influence in many champions of today via its root family #2 and the L4 hapotype. Visit her site for to read the article "The thoroughbred and the Ultimate L4". excellent work Jane!

Sean Kilroy is a pedigree researcher from Ireland. He has a special ability to assess large amounts of data and has even developed his own computer programs to help in his evaluation of pedigree designs. An accountant by trade, Sean knows when a preponderance of ancestors has reached a point of influence to the future generations. The amount of pedigree information he has entered and evaluated is astounding. He has shared with us a study he has completed on 618, 275 Thoroughbreds born between 1900 and 2019, where he analyzed each to ten generations. Inbreeding in Thoroughbreds by Sean Kilroy

Sean has discovered the key genetic power of Northern Dancer, a fascinating new study Northern Dancer Decode

John Ryan is a pedigree analyst from Australia, and frequently shares with us on Facebook, his latest studies. Once I posted Sean's work (above) John realized that he had come to a similar conclusion in some of his studies and contacted me to share this with all of you. Both of these men, like many of us, are students of Harold Hampton's and Clive Harper's works on pedigree evaluation and positive pedigree patterns but approach it from different directions. John is especially gifted in recognizing pedigree patterns through the generations that have upgraded the breed. And it is interesting to me that both set out to test the Hampton's and Harper's findings, and after sifting huge amounts of data arrived at similar conclusions that support the original ground breakers. This is fascinating stuff for the horse breeders out there. I have combined John's three articles on the page: Benefits of Sex Balance in Siblings

John has recently completed a in depth study of Tapit's pedigree which has been added to the Benefits of Sex Balance in Siblings page and my own Tapit page.

John has recently done a study on the pedigree of Furioso, a TB with a massive impact on the modern warmblood.

A new part 2 on Furioso

John has done another dive into the power lines, this time Deputy Minister

Gary O'Dell, a recently retired professor of geography at Morehead University, has graciously allowed me to post some of his excellent historical studies on the horse for my readers. Gary is copy-editing my just published book on the American Running Horse, and that revised edition will be out soon. 

Below are links to those 3 articles and an abstract of an upcoming book that is soon to be published by Louisiana State University Press and should be out early next year. I will announce it here on my book page and provide a link for those who might want to purchase it. 

Gary also has another book out, Bluegrass Paradise, that is a study of the settlement and development of the Thoroughbred breeding area of Georgetown, KY and the spring it was built around. This is more of a historical and geographical study of this area than a focus on the Thoroughbred, but fascinating nonetheless. You can find it on Amazon.

If you have questions for Gary and/or you want to quote a portion of his work you may reach him at godell@roadrunner.com.

At the Starting Post: Racing Venues and Origins of Thoroughbred Racing in Kentucky 1783-1865

This article focuses upon the evolutionary chronology and geographical distribution of Thoroughbred racing venues in Kentucky from the pioneer era to the close of the Civil War.

Denton Offutt of Kentucky: America's First Horse Whisperer?

Denton Offutt may be America's first Horse Whisperer, a friend of Abe Lincoln, he had an uncanny way with horses.

Kentucky in the Transformation of American Thoroughbred Racing 1865-1936

This article examines the factors behind the cycles of increase and decline in the popularity of Thoroughbred racing and breeding industries and the near total suppression of horse racing at the beginning of the twentieth century as a consequence of the efforts of progressive reforms. 

Reinventing the Thoroughbred: The Arabian Adventures of Alexander Keene Richards

This abstract is of a book that will be published this winter by Louisiana State University Press. Fascinating look at the life of Alexander Keene Richards who went to Arabia to get their best stock hoping to improve the stamina of his racing stud.