Gaines' Denmark (foaled 1851) was one of the most influential

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 ...

s in the development of the

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 ...

Life

Gaines' Denmark 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 1851 in

Bardstown Bardstown is a home rule-class city in Nelson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 13,567 in the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Nelson County. Bardstown is named for the pioneering Bard brothers. David Bard obtained a ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. He was a black stallion with two white hind socks, sired by the

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

stallion

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

out of a part-bred

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 ...

known as the "Stevenson mare". Gaines' Denmark sired four influential sons: Washington Denmark, Diamond Denmark, Star Denmark, and Sumpter Denmark. Upon the start of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

in 1861, offspring of Gaines' Denmark were put into a

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

troop led by

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

General

John Hunt Morgan John Hunt Morgan (June 1, 1825September 4, 1864) was a Confederate general in the American Civil War. In April 1862, he raised the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry Regiment, fought at Shiloh, and then launched a costly raid in Kentucky, which encouraged Br ...

. Although Gaines' Denmark survived the war, he did not accomplish much as a sire after it. Prior to the war, he was used as a

show horse A horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days, sometimes longer ...

. Today, he is considered one of the

progenitor In genealogy, a progenitor (rarer: primogenitor; or ''Ahnherr'') is the founder (sometimes one that is legendary) of a family, line of descent, gens, clan, tribe, noble house, or ethnic group.. Ebenda''Ahnherr:''"Stammvater eines Geschlec ...

s of the

horse breed A horse breed is a selectively bred population of domesticated horses, often with pedigrees recorded in a breed registry. However, the term is sometimes used in a broader sense to define landrace animals of a common phenotype located within a ...

. As a stud, Gaines' Denmark first caught the attention of

American Saddlebred Horse Association The American Saddlebred Horse and Breeders Association (abbreviated ASHBA) is a breed registry for the American Saddlebred horse. Founded in 1891, it is headquartered at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. History The ''American Sa ...

founder and president John B. Castleman in 1857. Castleman, then a 16-year-old teenager, purchased a 3-year-old, "three-fourths Thoroughbred" gelding named Lightfoot that was sired by Gaines' Denmark out of "a mare by

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

". With the assistance of Isaac Byrd, an enslaved

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

who was owned by Castleman's family, Castleman trained Lightfoot to be a "saddle" show horse, and entered him into a local

horse show A horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and pony, ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrianism, equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days ...

. The horse fetched an "unprecedented price", and Castleman became further interested in Gaines' Denmark as a foundational sire for the Saddlebred. Gaines' Denmark was owned and bred by Edward P. Gaines, a breeder of "saddle horses" who lived near

Georgetown, Kentucky Georgetown is a home rule-class city in Scott County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 37,086 at the 2020 census. It is the sixth-most populous city in Kentucky. It is the seat of its county. It was originally called Lebanon whe ...

and

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 ...

Sire line tree

*Gaines' DenmarkGaines' Denmark sons and grandsons #1
/ref> **Washington Denmark ***King William ****Black Eagle *****Black Squirrel ******Chester Dare *******Happy Dare ******** Beechwold Chester ***Cromwell ****Washington *****Preston ***Jewel Denmark ****Beau Brummel of Kenmore **Star Denmark **Diamond Denmark ***Montrose ****Moss Rose ****King Lee RoseWORLD’S GRAND CHAMPIONSHIP FIVE-GAITED STAKE
/ref>King Lee Rose Offspring
/ref> *****Nickel Plate *****Guided By Love *****Cascade **Lail's Denmark Chief ***Crigler's Denmark ****Rex DenmarkGaines' Denmark sons and grandsons #2
/ref> ***** Rex McDonald *****Rex Donnell **Sumpter Denmark

Pedigree

Notes

References

{{US Warhorses navbox Individual American Saddlebreds