THE WILD & 'WOOLY' FAR WEST ADVENTURES OF JASON BLAKNEY Y
& SNOWY RIVER BAY KNIGHT, A STALLION SON OF QUIETUDE MERIT

Several years ago you bred a mare for my parents Tom and Diane Blakeney. She was a Morgan mare they had found with sound bloodlines and a price they couldn't say no to.  They bred her to your Quietude Merit. Snowy Creeks Bay Knight was the result. I pulled him from his mother the day he was born in our back yard in Preston County VA. 

Over the next few years we moved to Maine and my parents decided it was time to sell the horses.  Finances were tight, me and my sister Heather were in college and Erin and Evan weren't riding much any more.  When they told me they were going to sell Bay Knight I had to think hard.  I called them back and told them to sell Geronimo my Mustang gelding that I had grown up with most of my life. They could keep the money from him in exchange for Bay Knight. They didn't care much about getting the money they just couldn't afford to feed their horses.  Me and Heather sent money home for our horses feed. 

I was a little unsure of the exchange as Geronimo had been my horse for years and was the horse I thought my kids might learn how to ride on some day.  But Bay Knight has proven himself worthy.  We have spent two summers herding sheep in the mountains of Wyoming together.  He produces very Morgan type foals even when bred to our Arabs, Mustangs, or Curlys. A couple of years ago me and my wife Stephanie were volunteering at a mission on the Navajo reservation in New Mexico.  We left for a couple of days to drive a student to his family in Colorado.  When we returned we found Bay Knight missing!!  We jumped in the truck and drove down dirt road after dirt road searching hundreds of square miles of desert.  A few hours later we saw a small band of horses about 8 miles off.  As we drove closer we noticed a lone horse staying 1/2 mile to a mile away from the rest of the band. Then a horse from the band broke away running for the loner.  I knew by the way it ran it was Bay Knight, and why he had left the mission. He had himself a nice little band of wild mares he won after chasing off the band stallion (the lone horse keeping his distance from the band). 

The wild horses were used to trucks being out on the dirt roads so we drove up nice and easy and I whistled out the window. Bay Knight came trotting up and stuck his head inside the truck were Steph gave him a Granola bar she had and put his halter on. Except for a few cuts and scratches from fighting the wild stud he was fine. Just had him a few nights out on the town!

QUIETUDE TAROT (Crispin of Quietude x Quietude Inca)

Hi Susan & Shannon,
I just wanted  to give you an update on how Quietude Tarot is doing at his new home. First of all, he is definitely serving his purpose. He covered our Morgan mare Sadie (Quietude Jupiter daughter) during his first month here. She is due to foal around the middle of  May.
Tarot is such a well behaved young stallion for being only three-years-old with very little training. Anyone tall enough to reach his  head can put a halter on him in the open pasture and lead him to the hitching  post for grooming. I bought Tarot for breeding, but I do plan to train him to ride and to drive. I have had him in the round pen only four times and each  time he has exhibited a more than willing attitude.
Tarot has  single-handedly changed my neighbors' opinions about stallions. We live in a  small subdivision (35 homes) with 2-10 acre lots. My neighbors on both sides  of me have horses and they seemed less than pleased when I informed them that 
I was bringing a stallion into the neighborhood. Tarot has shown them what the Lambert's golden temperament is all about. He is very content with my mare and  has made no attempt to get at their mares even though they are close enough to  touch noses.
I was never been in the position to keep my own horses until now and the timing couldn't have been better. Tarot is the horse that I've always wanted. Fate seems to work in very mysterious ways.
Like many other Lambert Morgan owners, I appreciate all of the effort that you both, have put forth to save this wonderful family of horses from extinction. 
I will never forget the first time that I saw the video of Criterion. From that point on, I knew that I had to have a horse like him. Tarot is just that horse. He is so gentle that even I am amazed.
Thank you Shannon and Susan for giving me the pleasure of owning such a wonderful horse. ~ Rodney  Workman, NC

Susan, Hunter just stood like an old pro for the Farrier. Fifth trim in his life and he stood like a champ, better than the older boys
!
He is such a LOVE! I think he really 'likes' ME. He watches me and comes to me for pets and just tries to anticipate what I want. He truly amazes me! With all my worries of having a stud colt, I really expected the worst. Even though Kingdom had dissuaded my fear of stallions I just wasn't sure about it. Hunter is a DOLL! We've talked before about my 'dream come true'. He is IT! More and more everyday I feel like the luckiest person on the planet! I have Dusty, my equine soul-mate, Solo (Quietude Barcelona x Araby Ashmore), my husband's pride and joy, and Hunter (Quietude Jubilee Kingdom x Quietude Coral Sea, the love of my life who I admire more and more with every interaction we have. I'm truly living a dream!

~Patti, IL

REMEMBERING CRITERION
Criterion (or Terry as we called him) was the most unique ride I have ever experienced on a horse. He had this amazing extended trot that you felt like you were floating.  However, on a more regular basis, the thing I remember most of all was this feeling of controlled power and strength.  He had so much fire, but I never felt he was out of control.  You could feel his energy just sitting on him, but he was always very 'professional' when I rode him. Sure, he had to announce himself to everyone once in awhile...he was the King, you know.  But, I always felt safe on Terry.  I knew when it came right down to business and paying attention he would respond.  I could ride him bareback or with a saddle (had to have a Tom Thumb bit though) and I felt just as comfortable. It really is difficult for me to describe riding Terry, he truly was a once in a lifetime kind of ride.  I was able to ride him well into his 30's and he still had energy to expend!  Some personality on that boy. He was a kind stallion, but definitely not one to be taken lightly. He was so very, very full of life and presence. ~Marcie Spreen, FL

Sandy Timblin 'cuddling'

with the two-year stallion
QUIETUDE AUTUMN TWILIGHT

(Courage of Quietude

x Critique of Quietude)

I thought you would enjoy

this picture.

I just love it because it shows

how gentle your horses are.

A TRIBUTE TO QUIETUDE MOUNT RAINIER

(Quietude Forest x Coretta of Quietude) LINE BRED & GRANDSON OF CRITERION

My husband and I were gone a couple of weekends ago from Friday thru Sunday afternoon. I have a horse sitter that I hire for when I am gone and she is an experienced horse person so I don't worry as much about my boys as I used to when leaving them.

Well, apparently Rainier spent the whole time I was gone pouting/sulking in his pasture. He ate and drank just fine, but would not come up to the barn. Usually he comes running as soon as he hears me coming.

When we got home, my sitter and I were talking as we were walking down the driveway to the barn and all of a sudden Rainier let out a loud whinny and came running full tilt to the barn. My sitter couldn't believe it. He must have heard my voice.

I spend time with him every day and even if I don't ride I still groom him and fuss over him so he must have missed me, but I didn't think he would make such a fuss. I love him more than any horse I have ever had and I think he knows it :-)  ~ Lynne Stallcop, OR

QUIETUDE MOONBEAM & DRESSAGE

Vickirose went with me to my riding lesson on Sunday. When we arrived, Cira had her young student showing Beamer off for two of her new students--a mother and a daughter who want to ride smaller horses. They loved him--especially when he did two flying lead changes in a row. Pecos was also a big hit, and the mother told her daughter, "Now this is how Morgans are supposed to look." One problem though...now the girl and her mom want to ride Beamer. When it was my turn to ride him, Vickirose announced SHE was going to take the lesson, after months of being out of the saddle. So we put on her little saddle and riding togs and on she jumped, with a lunge line in the round pen. I guess Moonbeam knew she was riding him, because he went from fancy little dressage horse to plodding school horse in the blink of an eye. He was so careful and wonderful with her, and he really gave her confidence a big boost. She loves the way she can talk to him and he will respond to her voice commands, something her old school pony would never do. And she likes the way he walks really fast, but is smooth. That's the kind of Morgan I wanted--game enough for an adult, but safe enough for a child. The green thing in Vickirose's hand and under the pommel is a toy dinosaur that went for a ride, too.

~ Clare, VA

I took Quietude Moonbeam to be evaluated at one of the top equine sports medicine clinics in the country: they do this type of exam routinely, often as a pre-condition to a sale. My gelding was evaluated by a team of veterinarians: the head of the team was a surgeon and a former professor of equine surgery at the Virginia-Maryland Regional School of Veterinary Medicine. I think I can safely say this surgeon is an expert in equine anatomy. The team also consisted of a vet with dual degrees in equine nutrition, a vet that was a former three-day eventer, a vet with a background in Thoroughbred racing, etc. They were diverse and each had a specialty that could affect the long-term potential of the horse. None were Morgan breeders or owners so they had no bias towards any bloodline. (As an aside, the vet who was also a nutritionist was wonderful and was able to answer most of my questions about feeding and supplements.)
For about four hours they watched my gelding move at every gait and every tempo and in every possible direction and view you can imagine. They poked, prodded, felt, and studied him, and that included looking at his disposition and demeanor. They took him into the imaging theatre and looked inside, with x-rays and sonogram machines. They said he was one of only a handful of horses they had ever had in the imaging theatre that did not have to be tranquilized--he just stood there and looked to us for reassurance when he needed it. They absolutely loved his sweet and calm temperament---and I know this, because they all commented on it several times during the examination, and I was the one holding his lead. And a couple of them came up to me afterwards and told me they hoped they would see more Morgans like him in the future.
At one point well into the exam, the senior vet---the equine surgeon and head of the team---looked at me, smiled, and winked. He said, "Did you ask God to send you the perfect little horse? Because if you did, he heard your prayer."
That little five-year old horse has three close crosses to the stallion Criterion. I can count the number of times we have shown him on both hands, yet he has competed successfully in USDF dressage and has even won a championship in an open hunter show in green pleasure, against Thoroughbreds. He is my hack/dressage pony and gives lessons to my timid ten year old daughter. My daughter adores him (as do the children of the other owners in the barn.) My daughter likes to swing on his neck and feed him peppermints. She has taught him to smile: my riding buddy laughingly says he will now probably smile at the judge when we salute on the center line.
The barn where we are boarding is predominately Warmblood/dressage. There have been four individuals at the barn where we keep my gelding who have asked for contact information for my gelding's breeder, because they are seriously considering getting one just like him. They had never seen a Morgan in the flesh before, and never would have considered a Morgan before being around this one. I make it a point to tell people he is a foundation Morgan when they ask about him, and what that means: breed-type preservation and functionality, and why there is a big difference between the "classic" and the "modern show" Morgans.  ~ Clare Britcher, VA

Quietude Tradewind

& Lauren Grimditch

Quietude Tradewind

Susan & Shannon,
It has been a pleasure to work with the results of our devoted efforts alongside Heidi Grimditch. Our young horses are not only beautiful and robust, but they have great temperaments and inquisitive minds. Congratulations on a successful breeding program! Here's to continued learning. And good health to all the horses in your herd.

~ Nancy Loving DMV, CO

Nancy Loving is the author of ALL HORSE SYSTEMS GO The Horse Owner's Full-Color Veterinary Care & Conditioning Resource for Modern Performance, Sport & Pleasure Horses
To Order: 800-423-4525

QUIETUDE TAMBOURINE
Owned by Norma Garbrick, CO

QUIETUDE TAMBOURINE

We are writing to you to tell you how wonderful it is to work with yearling filly 'Tam' (Quietude Tambourine) Owned by Norma Garbrick of Colorado. Tam has excellent manners, a great mind, wonderful movement and adores people. She is a joy to work with. Bill and I have introduced Tam to splint boots, a surcingle and long reins. We work with her every other week to keep her curious and happy. She loves it all! It's wonderful to watch her with Norma. Tam just loves Norma with all of her heart and you can see that! We wanted to Thank you for bringing such a good-minded and well behaved filly into the horse world. She has obviously been treated with great love and kindness from the day she was born. We hope to have the opportunity to work with more horses from your Quietude Stud in the future. I will always highly recommend that anyone looking for a wonderful Morgan should visit you!
Best Regards, ~ Bill and Sheri Landers, CO

QUIETUDE ANGUS

Trained in Dressage by Jerry Stone Plattsburgh, NY &  Katrina Benington Crie S. Thomaston, Maine

Hi Susan,
Jerry, our instructor, will ride him next week, as Katrina had Angus doing shoulder-in, turn on the forehand, turn on the haunches, and she was just about to start Half Pass with him. Jerry will be able to get this out of him, Jerry REALLY likes Angus, Our dressage instructor, Jerry rode Angus for the first time Monday night, and now he wants to come here three times a week to further his training!
He is willing to trade his services. You would have to know Jerry to know how BIG this proposition is! He is a 'Warm blood', trained in Germany person, and for him to be that impressed with my 'little' Angus is beyond comprehension. I am still in disbelief.....he thinks Angus has real potential and is outlining a training program for him. I have never known Jerry to do this for anyone else!
I am so excited for Angus. He loves to work (Katrina said he always INSISTED on being the first one worked every morning) and he deserves a chance to be all that he can be. It looks like now he will!  ~ Linda & Neal Keach, NY

Hi Linda,
If I told you that I felt like I was sitting on a really nice, big horse, one I trust and who responds to me well, even in that very challenging environment, it is the truth, and says tons... I worked a three yr old just before him today, and it was nowhere near as joyful.... simply because he wasn't 'with me' like Angus is... Angus rides way bigger than his 15 hands, that's all I know. And for some reason, in this new space, he was quite happy to just get going and be forward and receive my leg requests.
And, I do believe you are right, he is very at home in the outdoors, and riding in the woods is something he enjoys a lot... probably would prefer a partner, but given our circumstances, he has been very good with the many changes in venue I've presented him recently. Only once did I have to get off to lead him over a wet earthen bridge, where the footing sunk in a few inches on the trail behind our paddocks. Otherwise, he was a star. We do these early rides alone, at walk, to instill some confidence and patience, but I expect that his canter work will come along well in this environment, as he is alert to the world, yet not hyper-focused on my expectations as he can be when there are four walls.
He feels wonderful to sit on. Big stride. Nice response. Not utterly light/supple, (he likes a firm and clear request to override his patterns of holding... which are usually 'can't I just be dead straight, both sides braced?' both from seat and hand, but these requests can be done gracefully, and he does respond well.) He has accepted, and found comfort from, contact!!! HUGE Willing Learning skill!!!
He has a big job here. And he's rising to it.  ~ Katrina

QUIETUDE GOLDEN EAGLE
(Quietude Jubilee Kingdom x Quietude Coral Sea)
Owned by the Giberti family. MA
Dear Susan,
I am writing to you because I am new to the Lambert Morgans and I would like to congratulate you on your success in breeding such wonderful animals.
I am a trainer and was contacted by Julie and Steve Giberti to train Quietude Golden Eagle. He is a magnificent horse with so much potential in all disciplines. His gaits are smooth and his body so beautifully proportioned with a reaching stride.
Training with Eagle is progressing faster and faster with each session and I am glad to say I have the privilege of working with him. He is being consistently ridden by me and occasionally by Julie (if she could only quit her job). He is quiet and becoming quite trusting.
I am excited to know they have purchased another of your horses. I have seen the pictures of Quietude Rainelle and cannot wait to see her in person. I am sure she will make an excellent companion for Eagle and another wonderful mount for anyone in the Giberti family.
From one equine professional to another I thank you for taking such pride in your work and praising the people that have been successful in their worlds no matter how large or small.
~ Pamela Ring
Dreamer Stables
Plympton Ma
DreamerStables.com

QUIETUDE RAINELLE Owned by the Giberti family. MA
Hi Susan and Shannon, I want to tell you about Rainelle’s first encounter with our wooden bridge that crosses the stream to the trails on the back of our property. We took Eagle, with Rainelle following, down the path to the bridge just to give her some exposure to the trail and have her get a look at the stream and the bridge. Well Eagle really likes to show off in front of Rainelle so naturally he walked right across the bridge like a seasoned pro. Rainelle hates to be separated from her big brother so now she had a dilemma, she could stay on her side of the bridge and fret or she could try and cross over to join up with Julie and Eagle.

I could see her mind working over the problem as she sniffed the bridge and then backed away. She came right back and put one foot on the bridge and heard the hollow sound, not too sure of that she backed away again but came right back. Now she put both of her front feet on the bridge and she was about as stretched out as she could get with her back legs stuck where they were and her front legs shaking. She had the option to back off and go back to the barn but she decided that she would just walk across right then and there. The problem with getting over the bridge for the first time is that now you must go over again to get back to the safety and comfort of the barn. She was happy to be with Eagle again but she wanted to explore the trails and see the trees, fallen logs and other sites. Julie and Eagle went back over the bridge and when Rainelle saw this she walked right back over without a pause or a worry. This was a MAJOR milestone for Rainelle as it unlocks the trails for her to roam.

The intelligence and courage she demonstrated in those short moments proved to us, once again, how special these Lamberts are.
Thanks for breeding such intelligent (and beautiful) horses!
Steve & Jule MA

QUIETUDE WINTERSET

Hi Susan, Winterset exceeded my expectations in so many ways this past weekend. We brought him to Jeff Morse's clinic at Miner Institute Saturday. He unloaded well and walked right up the ramp and into his stall. This particular stall is the one they use as a "quarantine" stall, and it is FAR away form any other horse, and even though it has windows to the outside all around, Winter could not see another horse. I have to say he settled in IMMEDIATELY, and if anything was MORE relaxed in that stall all weekend than he is at home! Imagine that?
When Jeff arrived we got Winter harnessed up, he was totally relaxed for this, and then we brought him out to the driving arena, still a perfect gentleman, stood like a ROCK to be hitched (thank you for that Jeff!), and in I got and off we went. All this after being on site for about an hour and a half, no overnight to "settle in." I was impressed.
It took about 10 minutes for him to completely relax and go to work, but he never did anything even remotely stupid or scary, DESPITE the fact that a HUGE truck and flatbed were right outside the ring, airbrakes and all, hissing up a storm, banging, clanging, beeping, as they went to pick up another piece of equipment, and then CAME back past the ring making even more noise! Winter did not bat an eye.
Watching the video and hearing all the noise that thing was making and watching Winter WORK is not to be believed! Jeff said he has several seasoned driving horses at home who would have freaked out!
The second day he was even better, extremely responsive to me and bending nicely ( at least to the left) and keeping his tempo and rhythm. Jeff says he REALLY responds to my verbal "good boys" and is convinced that Winter and I are a team! I had several people watching my lesson the second day and all were impressed with his "springy" trot and beauty. Winter could not have been more proud of himself!   He didn't take a wrong step all weekend, in so many ways. As we were loading him to come home, there were 40 mile an hour winds howling, and did he care? NO! He went right on. Traveled beautifully.
I could not have asked for a better horse, just a joy to be around. Jeff did a tremendous job training him, I can never thank him enough! We still have a ways to go to reach the "big time", but we are SO on the right track thanks to Jeff. Winter trusts me so much and our relationship grows every day.
~Linda, NY

QUIETUDE MACKENZIE

Poker Ride, Hampshire Riding Club, Goshen, MA, Hawley State Forest in Hawley, MA. Total riders- 50.
MACKENZIE'S first "public" outing where she had to deal with groups of horses moving around her, and trailers and trucks and people all over the place. She had never been ridden in a group before.

Oh where to begin! She was so terrific. She started out by almost shoving Jim out of her way to get into the trailer. She had this attitude that said "Get out of my way, ain't NOBODY leaving me home this time!" vbg Then she unloaded as cool as a cucumber, at my friend Cathy's place. Her horses were carrying on, Mackie just looked around like she was thinking, "Hmmm. Where am I now? " Very calm. She stayed over night in Cathy's big sand ring, and ate and drank just as if this was no new thing.
The next morning it was 26 degrees, and there was ice everywhere! Mackie was wound up, sniffing and snorting, but did nothing bad. She loaded in a snap and unloaded as quietly as could be at the site. There were cars, trucks, trailers, horses, people, kids, you name it. Activity everywhere. It is almost like all the chaos makes her calm. She liked it and just looked around with interest and then dozed in the warm sun. Some little girl was crazy about her , and wouldn't leave her alone .She was dodging in and out around her, and then squealing when Mackie tried to touch her. It got so bad that I finally asked the man to take her away because I was afraid if she got in-between Pokey and Mackie one more time, and something startled one of them, the kid would be squished . I spent some time loving her up and telling her how wonderful she was ! She likes to be snuggled up. At one point, while she was tied to the trailer, someone came flying into the field and drove their truck and trailer really fast right behind her. She threw her head up, but did not pull back at all. She was pretty good when I first got on, but there were some other people who were taking forever to get ready. Mackie started getting nudgy and very wound up, because once you are on, she wants to go. So we finally went out, and of course the other people came up behind, and the clop clop on the pavement and the leaves rustling did set her off. Nothing terrible, but we both got a little startled. She settled right down when I talked to her, and told her it was ok. Once we got on the trail, she managed to get herself in front, and spent the rest of the day trying to stay there.

We got to a spot with cider, donuts, a table, garbage can, tons of horses, and folks giving out poker cards. She was as calm as dirt. I can't even begin to explain how incredible she was. Like she had done this every day of her life. My eyes are filling up just typing this. I got off, had some cider, she let everyone pet her, she ate an apple someone gave her, and then I grabbed a folding chair, plopped it down next to her and got back on. She went over culverts, bridges, you name it. Calm, and forward. One time when some people on gaited horses came flying up behind her she got scared, but she let me pull her off to the side, and let them go right by with no issue on her part. Afterwards, she and Pokey stood tied to the trailer for a good hour + while we ate and visited with people. . la de da. Ate her hay, drank her water and looked around.
Loaded up and came home as easy as pie. She was wonderful. She behaved like an old campaigner, who does this every week. No one could believe she was a totally green horse, out in a group situation for the first time. ~Esther, CT

QUIETUDE RESOLUTE

Hi Susan
The first time I rode Resolute since I have had him was in the indoor arena and then all around the farm.  There were a lot of kids and dogs running around and a lot of commotion but he was not spooky at all.  The rider who has been schooling him this past week says that he has been very good.  Resolute seems to have the same "spook" response as my mare, Dawn, does -- if he sees anything that startles him, he just stops and looks it over.  I think he is going to make a perfect trail horse.  I can't wait to take him off the property and onto the mountain trails! 
I've also received quite a few compliments on him.  My Farrier likes him and remarked that he was "put together real nice."  He also said that he has "excellent feet."  :D  One of the other boarders guessed that Resolute was a Morgan the first time she saw him and said very approvingly, "Now that's what a real Morgan should look like."  :D  And it seems everyone who sees him comments on his "sweet face."  Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that Resolute is very loved and doing just fine.  I will give you another update when I take him out on his first trail ride here in Maryland.  I will try to get a picture, too!
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to own such a wonderful little horse! ~Duranne Lloyd, MD

Owned by Linda & Neal Keach NY
Hi all, I just want to tell you, my friends, that a STAR has been born and his name is Quietude Angus.  Susan, all you hoped for Angus has come true, he is Amazing.  I could KICK myself for not bringing a video camera this weekend when we went to pick Angus up in Maine after 6 months training with Katrina Bennington Crie ( a WONDER woman).  Katrina rode him for me to see what he has learned in the last 6 months and I couldn't be more surprised.  I mean, I knew he could trot, and I knew he had good conformation, a GREAT neck, and killer hocks, but what I saw him perform was WAY beyond anything I expected.  He DANCED the trot, and his extensions were as good if not better than any I have seen from top level dressage Warmbloods.   And Katrina said she hasn't even really even asked him to extend yet!  Oh my. Susan, Angus is all you hoped he would be and more.  I was absolutely speechless as I watched him perform. People who have seen him say he " floats" at the trot, and I swear, he doesn't ever touch ground!  He was so relaxed and happy and on the bit and FORWARD. 
  I told Katrina that Karen had said Angus reminded her of Kennebec Count and Katrina came back with "Oh, he is so much better than Count."  Little did I know that Katrina used to ride Count and knew him quite well!  She said Count had short straight pasterns and a straight shoulder, not a great neck, Angus has much better conformation (grin, grin)  and better gaits overall.  And Count has always been my "Wonder Horse".  I am so blessed to have my very own wonder horse in Angus. 
Sorry to go on and on, but I am as surprised as I can be. I knew Angus had potential, Katrina has brought out all he has and more. ~ Linda Keach, NY

QUIETUDE LYRIC

(Quietude Merit x Quietude Marietta)