At 92 years old, Reginald (Reg) Black can look back on his life with pride and a sense of accomplishment for creating an award-winning legacy for the Percheron breed, a tradition that is sure to carry on through generations of his family.
“Reg M. Black, without a shadow of a doubt, is one of the best known figures in the Percheron world,” said Bruce A. Roy, a feature writer for the Draft Horse Journal, in a feature story titled, Reg Black: A Percheron Icon.
“His pursuit of the ideal horse never faltered.”
In an interview with the Advertiser, Roy adds, “He has been a very major player of the breed and one of the principle architects of the breed as we know it today.”
Raised on a farm on the current site of the Toronto Pearson International Airport, Reg’s early experience with draft horses was working the land.
Though his family would eventually leave the farm, Reg’s participation in horse shows and junior farmer groups imprinted on him a dream that he never lost sight of: to return to the land and the show ring with top-quality draft horses. Percherons became his horse of choice.
“He was raised on a farm and it’s what he always wanted to do,” said Robert Black, the second of Reg and his late wife Helen’s three children.
Reg’s real initiation into Percheron breeding began in 1946, with the $220 purchase of Leanna Laet at the Indiana Sale for a friend who would later change his mind.
Leanna Laet would go on to place second in the broodmare class at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) and her filly won the Royal Winter Fair (RWF).
“Back in the ‘50s, it was a goal to have your horses peak at the RWF,” Robert said.
That was the beginning of Reg’s dream. The Blackhome Percherons breed had begun.
Reg and Helen operated a dairy farm on 186 acres in Moorefield. The couple put whatever extra money they could into becoming master Percheron breeders.
“Even then, horses didn’t make a lot of money,” said Robert.
When it came time to invest in what Roy describes as “foundation mares,” the pedigree of two horses from Indiana caught Reg’s attention.
Green Lea Easter, a yearling mare, and two-year-old mare Green Lea Lynda were purchased from the Indiana Draft Horse Auction in 1956, a pair of full-sisters, sired by Lynnwood Koncarhope, who had a style and quality that Reg admired and a genetic history that included champion show horses with a winning reputation at the RWF.
Over the years, Reg worked to establish his Blackhome Percheron breed line, which Robert notes took time in the days before horse semen could be ordered and shipped for breeding purposes.
“Dad liked the Percheron’s breed character and their temperament,” said Robert. “They’re responsive. They try to please and they are generally good tempered.”
Roy admired Reg’s ability to see beyond what was in fashion in the breeding circles, and seek out stallions for his mares that were not often sought after.
“He was one that often coloured outside the lines,” Roy said.
“Reg wasn’t swayed by the crowd. He used his own instincts about what genetics he wanted to use, and often what genetics he used were little known and little appreciated.”
Robert agrees. “He was looking for different stallions.”
Roy notes Reg’s breeding stock was selected to raise “balanced horses with quality; flat-boned Percherons, whose clean joints were correctly structured.”
He adds, “Reg had little use for Percheron horses that threw their feet in all directions. His goal was to breed Percherons with character; handsome draft horses that could travel correct, whose intelligent heads were carried high on well-turned necks of a pleasing length.”
To achieve that, Reg took calculated risks.
“In some ways it was more of an experiment,” explained Robert. “His philosophy was you would never pick a mare who would let your stallion down.”
Taking into account the strong mare line in the stallion’s pedigree was key.
“When you have a stallion from a strong mare line, you don’t want to lose the characteristics the stallion has from that mare line,” Robert explained.
Using the example of a good foot, Robert notes it could take generations to breed a horse with a good foot, and only one or two generations to lose that quality entirely.
“It’s so important,” he confirmed. “My dad bred some mares outside and it paid off. Because he had success with them, it became a life-long endeavour to win the Royal.”
With a list of wins for Reserve and Grand Champions, the Blackhome name has left its mark at fairs and competitions internationally.
Calling Reg a “man of conviction,” Roy said, “He marched to his own drum, but he was quite willing to discuss what he was doing with the breed … although there was little chance you were going to change his mind.”
Roy continued, “He saw things in horses across Canada and the U.S. that had traits, that were very strong traits that he wanted to strengthen in the bloodlines. Reg didn’t just follow the popular blood lines.”
The risks paid off.
Another important purchase came via the University of Guelph.
“The purchase of College Lynda was significant,” said Robert, who helped broker the deal in 1970 through Professor Orville Kennedy and Ivan Taylor, of the Ontario College of Agriculture.
“She had a long tail, which Percheron horses didn’t usually have. She was different … she had a nice Percheron quality. She had a nice foot, long neck and a nice flat hock.”
College Lynda went on to become the Grand Champion at the RWF and in many show rings, and was also a cornerstone broodmare for the Blackhome Percherons, ensuring her a place in the history of her breed.
Other horses would share a place in the Blackhome legacy, like stallions Highview Dragano and Blackhome Duke, both champions and premier sires, to name a few.
“My father’s biggest feat was attending the 1983 World Percheron Congress in Calgary,” said Robert. “My father’s winnings there really put the name Blackhome out there.”
As their reputation for quality Percherons grew, the Blacks exported stallions to England and Cuba, and sold a filly foal to France.
But the shows were where Reg and his Percherons shone, and that was an important part of his passion for the breed.
“The horse shows were his vacation,” said Robert, of his father’s opportunities to travel around North America.
“But it wasn’t about the prizes he won. It was about the people he met.”
The opportunity to represent Master Feeds with a six-horse hitch allowed Reg and his family to take part in parades, numerous shows and special events, which brought immense pride.
“We were like ambassadors,” Robert said.
Events like the Rockton World’s Fair allowed the Blackhome six-horse hitch to earn champion status. But it was the fellowship among horsemen that Reg enjoyed.
“He enjoyed taking the horses to the shows and meeting everyone. He would always lend a hand,” said Ryan Black, Reg’s grandson, who carries on the Percheron business with his parents, Robert and Jennifer, and who hopes his own four children will follow suit.
“My grandfather spent most of his life perfecting the bloodlines. He found a good cross and from them came world champions and many other champions in both mares and stallions,” said Ryan, who has fond memories of shows working alongside Reg and his father.
“He taught us all the little things, he taught us about the show ring and horses and how to be around them, and these are all things we can pass down. It’s a family affair still and we’re trying to carry it on.”
Though Reg now makes his home off the farm, Robert is carrying on his father’s tradition as owner of Ryanday Farms (named for his children Ryan and Dayna), a Percheron farm in Hillsburgh run with his wife Jennifer.
When Robert reflects on the legacy his father will leave behind, it is the future of a breed of horses his father respects and admires.
“He changed the industry to a more modern-sized horse, more up-headed, a somewhat finer bone, with more action, more presence and style.
“He managed to do that without losing the characteristics and fair qualities of what you look for in a draft horse. I think that will be my father’s legacy in the breed.”
This will be Robert’s 65th year competing at the RWF, and he’s happy to do it.
“It’s just something I enjoy doing because my family are involved in it. It’s a family thing.”
For more information visit www.ryandayfarm.com.
