CHERRY CREEK CANADIANS

5. Henryville Prince Bloodline

This line is also often referred to as the "Henryville" line.

This chestnut stallion was foaled June 17, 1963. Henryville Prince (#3813) reflects the work done to improve the breed by private breeders, having been bred and owned by Bernard Lamoureux of Henryville QC.

Mr. Lamoureux was very proud of his small (15 hh, 1000 lb) stallion and showed him yearly at the Bedford Exhibition.

 

Henryville Prince was sired by the black stallion Prince Black (#3554), and he was out of the black mare Henryville Josette (#3510). Both parents were owned by Mr. Lamoureux as well.

Henryville Prince sired 7 sons: Henryville Major (#3903), LG Prince Aubin (#3975), Henryville Elite (#3989), Henryville Prince Grand-Maitre (#4062), Henryville Prince Baron (#4063), Henryville Prince Furi (#4064), and Henryville Prince Loupin (#4109). As can be seen by the herd name prefixes, the majority of these Henryville stallions were bred by Mr. Lamoureux.

Henryville Prince (or "Little Prince" as he was called by Mr. Lamoureux) was loaned to the Deschambault Experimental farm for a short period, and LG Prince Aubin was the result. The last remaining Henryville stallion bred by Mr. Lamoureux, Henryville Prince Grand-Maitre, expired in August of 2000.

Of the offspring of Henryville Prince, only Henryville Elite, Henryville Prince Grand-Maitre and Henryville Prince Loupin have any male offspring now standing at stud. This line is rapidly disappearing with only about 10 Henryville sire line related stallions now in existence.

The Henryville line is very well known for its docility. This good nature is due to the fact that the Henryville line is extensively inbred, more so than any of the other lines. This was purposefully done by Mr. Lamoureux who owned a PMU farm. Needing quiet horses content to stand in the barn, he linebred specifically for temperament. Anything that was not outstanding for this characteristic, was culled from his program.

Despite the extensive line breeding, the Henryville line has not been affected by any congenital problems, except (some say) for a rather loose, drooping lower lip seen in some Henryville horses, when they are relaxed. This line is well known for producing horses with very gentle natures and consistently good temperaments. Their nice dispositions make these horses a favourite of those who truly want a versatile, "family" type horse. They are well suited to pull the family sleigh or buggy, as well as function as the children's mount for their riding lessons.

Of any of the lines of Canadian Horses, the Henryville horses are those which most closely resemble those Canadian horses prominently featured in the paintings of artist, Cornelius Kreighoff:

Unfortunately this line seems to be falling into disuse by the newer breeders who are breeding for black color or to suit the trend of "taller and more refined" horses. Henryville horses tend to be very good and solid, not overly tall, and perhaps slightly heavy horses. This line has more chestnut ancestors, and so tends to produce fewer blacks and more chestnuts than the other lines. Although sometimes not real "beauty contest" winners in the traditional sense, they are very consistently solid with respect to temperament. It seems a shame that their wonderful temperaments, so characteristic of the breed, are going to be lost due to the ever increasing emphasis on a "pretty" and refined look that is now happening.

More information

For more information on the Henryville line, see the article on the Association Québécoise du Cheval Canadien website which was originally written in french by Réal Sorel, and which has been translated into English:
http://www.chevalcanadien.org/anecda/princa.htm

For photos of some of the horses from the Henryville bloodline, see the Canadian Horse Stallion website set up by Anne Belanger of Ferme Franchere:  http://groups.msn.com/2p0/lignprinceroyal.msnw