Walter M. was foaled on April 26th, 1971. He was bred by the Thoroughbred Breeding Corporation in Kentucky. Walter M. was by Dumpty Humpty, a son of Stalino, winner of the 1945 Irish 2,000 Guineas. Dumpty Humpty was foaled in Great Britian. As a two-year-old, he won the Anglesey Plate at Curragh and placed third in the Produce Stakes at Leopardstown. In 1957, Dumpty Humpty was imported to the United States. He set a new World Record for six furlongs in the Richmond Handicap at Golden Gate.
When Dumpty Humpty retired at age 8, his official race record showed 37 starts and 10 wins. He stood at Orangeville Farm in Fresno, California. He became a leading sire in the state. His daughter Mira Femme was the 1966 Champion Two-Year-Old Filly. Dumpty Humpty also sired Thoroughbred stakes winners Choice Humpty, Dumpty Ann, Dumpty’s Lady, Gunhilda, Hum Dum, Karaling, Rocket Review, Royal Isle, Wil Rad and Vietmine. His Thoroughbred son Windum was the damsire of three-time AQHA Superhorse Acadamosby Award.
Emmet’s Choice, the dam of Walter M., was bred by Dr. and Mrs. R. Smiser West in Kentucky. She was by Decathlon, the 1956 and 1957 Champion Sprinter. Her dam, Veni Vici, was by Fighting Fox, a full-brother to Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox. Veni Vici was a half-sister to Cirus Ring, the dam of multiple stakes winner Three Rings. Circus Ring was also the second dam of Caranauba, the 1974 Italian Champion Two-Year-Old Filly and 1975 Italian Champion Three-Year-Old Filly. Emmet’s Choice was from an extremely productive female family. She herself was a half-sister to multiple stakes winner Clever Foot.
Emmet’s Choice made eight starts but did not win a race. She produced four Thoroughbred foals. All three of her Thoroughbred starters were winners. Speed Event, a full-brother to Walter M., was her leading earner on the track. Her last Thoroughbred foal, Sweet Selection, won two races and later produced eight Quarter Horse foals. Sweet Selection was bred to Easily Smashed to produce Muscatel, a stakes-placed finalist in the 1985 All American Futurity. Her foals Pickem Smooth and Selective Smash were also race winners. Notably, Sweet Selection was the second dam of multiple graded stakes winner A Fast Jet Holme.
Roy Browning purchased Emmett’s Choice and bred her to his Hall of Fame stallion The Ole Man. The first foal from that cross, Ole Favorite, was the dam of Smooth Decathalon, a Racing Register of Merit earner and sire. Ole Favorite was also the second dam of stakes-placed runners Miss Kita Luck, Kita Kirk and Ole Kita Count. Ole Ramblin Man, a full-brother to Ole Favorite, was unraced. Emmet’s Choice was later bred to Walter Merrick’s stallion Jet Smooth. She produced her eighth and final foal, Smooth Favorite, at the age of fifteen. Smooth Favorite won one race and later produced Racing ROM earner Speedy Vike.
In 1974, at the age of three, Walter M. made four starts and won one race. As a four-year-old, he won two races. His final race record was 16 starts, 2 wins, 1 second and 2 thirds, with $4,635 in earnings, which is the equivalent of about $30,000 today.
Although his record on the racetrack was unremarkable, Walter M. was bred and built for speed. His conformation alone made him a desirable stallion prospect, especially to Quarter Horse breeders. Walter M. covered his first mares in 1976 and his first foals hit the ground 1977. Oren Berry of Byers, Kansas used Walter M. in his breeding program. Berry bred Walters Leo, a chestnut Quarter Horse stallion out of April Dialing, a race-winning daughter of Jet Dial. Walters Leo was the first Racing ROM earner by Walter M. Walters Leo won two races and earned 7.0 halter points. He sired five AQHA registered foals before he was gelded. Jets Sun Dial, Dial Stardust, Dialing For Walter and Pale Rider, full-siblings to Walters Leo, also earned Racing ROMs. Other Kansas-bred Racing ROM earners by Walter M. included Walter M Pac, Miss Stalina and Hawkstone.
In 1978, Gold Phase, a sorrel mare by Walter M. and out of a daughter of King Twist, was foaled on Berry’s Kansas farm. Gold Phase earned 16.0 halter points, 13.0 performance points and a Performance ROM. Gold Phase went on to produce four AQHA registered foals. Her son Impresser Phase placed 10th in the Yearling Gelding class at the 1991 AQHA Youth World Show with David Odle at the halter. Impresser Phase earned a Halter ROM. Manhattan Gold, another gelding out of Gold Phase, earned money in the National Snaffle Bit Association.
Berry also bred Promise to Go, Walter M.’s highest earning Thoroughbred runner. Promise to Go won ten races and placed third in the 1982 Jet Diamond Stakes at Fairmount Park. He earned $36,091 on the track. Other Thoroughbred race winners by Walter M. included Big Muddy and Sizzle Humpty.
In 1981, Walter M. was purchased by Jerry Windham and moved to the Windham Ranch in Bryan, Texas. There he sired Bonaire, his chief Quarter Horse earner. Bonaire won eight races and earned $30,662 on the track. He was a finalist for the 1986 Raton Futurity (Gr. 3) at La Mesa Park. Walter M.’s only stakes-placed Quarter Horse, Mr Tradewinds, was also foaled in Texas, as were his Racing ROM earners Walters Jet Rail, Passing Choice, Bar M Walter, Saber Liner, Notimetotalk, Light Dreamer, Avance, Running Pass, Captain Fast and Shube M Anna.
In ten years at stud, Walter M. sired 154 Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse foals. They included 29 race winners and 27 ROM earners. They earned $141,273 on the track and 39.5 points in the arena. Very few sons of his sired any foals. His daughters produced 78 AQHA registered foals that earned $29,991 on the track and 38.0 points in the arena. His daughters produced Racing ROM earners Terry Pass, A Dozen Dreams, Insure and Bonded, Dozen Dreamer and Dashes Starlite.
Walter M.’s last foals were born in 1986. He passed away in 1988 at the age of 17. His light stallion record, possibly due to infertility, means that he does not have many descendants alive today. His daughter Light Dreamer produced Light Winner, the dam of barrel racing money earner Fast Jet Winner. LF Easy Jet Winner, a full-sister to Fast Jet Winner, produced barrel racing money earners Famous Final Bid, Frosted Jet Winner, Heavenly Fame and Tough to Be Famous. Bigalenas Flame and Ima Quick Ritz, granddaughters of Walter M., produced a few APHA registered foals. Outside of those small families of horses, we could not find descendants of this beautiful stallion.
Sources: Equineline, Equibase, American Quarter Horse Association, Quarter Racing Record, All Breed Database
The Western Thoroughbred 