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SIRE of Champions

Interestingly enough, three of HUNTER'S ALLEN'S most prominent offspring are not in the list  of winners of Walking Horse classes in the years from 1912 to 1938.  These are BROWN ALLEN, LAST CHANCE and WALKER'S ALLEN.    LAST CHANCE was an exceptionally good two year-old but did not do well thereafter. MERRY LEGS was bred to HUNTER'S ALLEN on at least three occasions. Two of the foals died as yearlings. The one that lived was LAST CHANCE. 

For several years it appeared as if LAST CHANCE would carry the family of HUNTER'S ALLEN forward in the male line. 'TROUBLE, son of LAST CHANCE, won the Stallion Class at the 1940 Celebration, while LAST CHANCE'S daughter, NANCY ANN HENDRIXSON, won the two year-old filly class at the 1947 Celebration. TROUBLE sired the dam of World Grand Champion MACK K'S HANDSHAKER, but, in the final analysis, the sons of HUNTER'S ALLEN were forced to surrender the male line of Walking Horse pedigrees to the sons of ROAN ALLEN.  Nevertheless, the sons of HUNTER'S ALLEN provided the breed with valuable broodmares. 

LAST CHANCE sired LADY CHANCE, the dam of MERRY WILSON, five times the World Champion Mare. He also sired GYPSY TUCK, dam of ATOMIC LADY, ATOMIC GENTLEMAN, SURPRISE ALLEN, and MARTHA WILSON. BROWN ALLEN mares were considered among the finest in the breed. 


(Submitted by Grace Larson)

Last Chance #350034 was sired by Hunter's Allen F-10 ; his dam was Merry Legs F-4.   Last Chance was foaled in 1931 and died in 1956.   When Mr. Dement died, in 1940, a tribute to his achievements was presented at the Columbia horse show.  Last Chance was lead around the arena, saddle empty, as friends and associates circled the ring behind the classic stallion, moving slowly while the announcer listed Dement's many contributions to the breed he helped create.  

Last Chance sired John A's Chance, the palomino stallion that  Vance Paschal said was " the greatest yellow breeding stallion of all time. "
 
This was taken from an article written by Harold Dean Givens on The Palomino Tennessee Walking Horses; he had interviewed  Vance Paschal when Paschal was 84 years of age; Mr. Paschal was a life long breeder  and dealer of yellow walking horses, and the breeder of two Celebration ribbon winners.  Givens states that John A's Chance sired more yellow show horses than any other sire.  His ancestors, close relatives, and descendants exhibit outstanding show records; these records give weight to Vance Paschal's statement.  

If you wish to print off this pedigree, click HERE to load a black and white copy.
 

If you have a story or photos of Last Chance that you would like added to this page, please forward them to Walkers West.

----- Original Message -----
From: Ulmer
To:
walkerswest@walkerswest.com
Sent: Sunday, June 25, 2006 5:37 AM
Subject: Note from Betty Dement

I came across your Web site and decided to get in touch. My name is Betty Dement, granddaughter of Albert M. Dement, the last owner of Allan F.1 and breeder of Merry Legs and Last Chance. When grandfather died my father, Arthur J. Dement, kept up the Last Chance line as best he could, for like my grandfather, we have never been rich. Growing up with sometimes 30 or 40 walking horses is something of a wonderful treasure however. At my father's death I decided not to sell all the remaining horses and to try to keep the line of direct descendants of Last Chance. I have seven left, two stallions and four mares which I keep on pasture and take care of as best I can. I still work full-time as a newspaper editor and don't have much time to devote to the horses. I hire someone to come to the farm twice a week to tend to them and see that they are all right and I or my son and grandchildren feed them in the evenings. They all have the dark copper to red coloring of Last Chance. Last Chance and Allan F-1 are both buried on our farm, which is not a show place but has been in the family well over 125 years. I just thought you might find this piece of history interesting, as I found your Web site interesting.

Sincerely, Betty Dement

Betty

What a pleasure it is to hear from you. Thank you for taking the time to write. May I ask you how old you are. I am 65 and still running a 70 horse operation - soon to be a 100 horse Tennessee Walking Horse operation. Yes, I have discovered over the years that God gives you horse sense or he gives you Money, but he never gives you both!!! I think the TWH breed has been sustained for the most part - at least in the early years - by people who have a deep love and understanding of the breed. I am glad to know that Last Chance and Alan F1 are buried on your property. Where are you located? Of course, both horses made major contributions to the breed. In fact, it would not be a recognized breed without them. How many acres do you have? I cannot tell you what an honor it is to hear from you. Thank you so very much for writing.

Mary Ellen Areaux Walkers West

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