Lamberts are lovely, well-proportioned animals, solid of bone, neither coarse nor too fine, and an inch either side of fifteen hands tall. They are up headed, long-hipped with high-set tails, and so smooth of body. They display an astonishing trot, long-stride and with such a pronounced period of suspension that the horse in motion seems nearly weightless. All are barefoot and a lot of them trot above level. They are often an intense dark-red chestnut, often with a blaze of uniform width and with white on the hind legs that generally cuts off neatly partway up the cannon. Sherman was marked that way too, with one high sock, and some of his close descendants were flaxen like Thayer's Morgan and Young Morgan General as well as the silver maned and tailed Woodward's Silvertail, Iowa Morgan and the Sherman son appropriately named Cock of the Rock.

Two centuries after Sherman Morgan, flaxen manes and tails are common again among the Lamberts, which makes them look flashy to Morgan people used to horses in various shades of brown. Their heads lack the pop-eyed, dish-faced cuteness that is so often seen on modern Morgans, but they have instead the clean-boned, noble heads immortalized in old Morgan woodcuts. Their temperaments are so uniformly fine that Lambert breeders talk about the "golden Lambert temperament," that combination of kindliness and good sense that makes these animals a breeze to train. And many Quietude Lamberts, especially the stallions, have a high-headed, prick-eared dignity, a certain eager brilliance that makes you itch to see what they might be able to do."...

He was among the finest horses ever to stand on grass, the handsomest Morgan his century had seen and the king of roadsters when a stylish horse was the sine qua non of a successful man. He sired well over a thousand foals, each a prized near-replica of himself, and he was thought to have been the best brood mare sire in New England history, perhaps in world history.

His name was Daniel Lambert, and he came by his quality as good horses generally do--from the blood of both sire and dam. His dam, Fanny Cook, was a mare of ancient royal pedigree, tracing back to the Darley Arabian, the Godolphin Arabian and the Byerley Turk--her pedigree remarkably similar to the supposed pedigree of Justin himself.

Daniel Lambert's sire, Ethan Allen, was considered the best son of Black Hawk; Black Hawk was the best son of Sherman; and Sherman the best son of Justin. If motorized wheels had never been invented, his name would still be on every lip as the founder of the most useful and prolific family of Morgan horses; but as it is, his line nearly died. That it has not died, and that a hundred and thirty-seven years after his birth, Daniel Lambert is again enjoying fame is a tale of patient human devotion and the ultimate survival of quality bloodstock.

The Lamberts are high percentage Morgans as are the Lippitts; they share the same characteristics that were possessed by the original Morgan horses. The Lamberts tend to be chestnuts and are known for their golden temperaments, floating trots, and "the look of eagles". S. W. Parlin wrote in the American Horse Breeder in 1905: "The Morgans were the handsomest horses in the world, and Daniel Lambert in his prime was the handsomest of Morgans. Few horses have ever lived that possessed greater power of stamping their offspring and imparting to them the ability to perpetuate their good qualities through succeeding generations, than did this renowned son of Ethan Allen. . . . No other horse of his day did as much to improve the beauty, style and road qualities of the horse stock of New England as Daniel Lambert. . . . As a broodmare sire he was far superior to any other stallion that stood in New England, and, opportunities considered, will rank high in this respect among the best that ever lived."

Sire Crawford

Foaled in 1970 and bred by Frances Bryant, Crawford helps to bring some old blood forward to this century. His sire was the wonderful Criterion, also bred by Mrs. Bryant. Crawford was a solid, correct, handsome, kind-tempered horse with excellent gaits who was not truly appreciated until late in his life. His get went on to become loved companions and breeding stock.

His sire Criterion, foaled 1961, had over 70 registered get. Criterion was well named as he did indeed set the standards for excellence. Watching him trot was like watching the spokes of a wheel go around—each stride being like the one before, never faltering or off. He had that true Jubilee King action of reach and roundness with the power coming from the rear. His kingly but kind nature was passed on to his get as was his willingness and intelligence. Crawford got all this and had the good Jubilee King traits also reinforced through his dam’s dam.

Criterion’s sire was also bred by Mrs. Bryant. Jubilee’s Courage was a son of the great Jubilee King. Courage sired many good horses who went to become important in other’s breeding programs. Bred by the master breeder, J. C. Brunk, Jubilee King was a Morgan of vast importance to the breed. He founded a family which lives on and is still sought after by breeders of today. Jubilee King was the result of decades of careful breeding by Brunk, who was breeding for a stylish, correct, good-minded using Morgan.

The dam of Jubilee’s Courage was the Old Vermont mare Townshend Lass, who had, along with her sire, the highest percent of Justin Morgan blood of any horse of her time. She was by the beautiful John A. Darling and out of Gladwin by Ethan Allen 3rd, a horse foaled in the late 1800’s. The dam of Criterion was Lippitt Robrita, a lovely mare by the grand Lippitt Rob Roy who was known as a good sire and good using horse. Lippitt Robrita was out of that Blue Hen mare Alrita who had two close crosses to old Ethan Allen 3rd. Alrita was the dam of many excellent producing mares and sires, as well as some excellent performance horses.

Crawford’s dam was Precious Ashmore, also bred by Mrs. Bryant. Precious, a lovely correct mare who was also an excellent producer, was by the gentleman Lippitt Ashmore who was known for excellent temperament, usability and as a good sire. Precious was out of another wonderful producing mare, Paragraph, who was herself out of another excellent producing broodmare, Nella, who in turn was out of yet another great mare, Liza Jane, and yes, she too was out of yet another of those great mares, Double Daisy. Paragraph was bred by J. C. Brunk and was yet another triumph of his decades of breeding. The sire of Paragraph was Jubilee King, whose pedigree so closely matched that of Nella’s, making an intricate dance of close breeding of which Brunk was such a master, setting the good traits so firmly for all who had the wisdom to follow the lead Brunk set.

Crawford brings to today that grand heritage started by Brunk—using Old Vermont line mares on the Daniel Lambert based stallions. Brunk also added in the excellent qualities of old Knox Morgan to the mix. Mrs. Bryant took the Brunk bred Jubilee King and Paragraph and then used the Old Vermont stallions and mares of her era. Crawford is the result of nearly a century of careful breeding by breeders who really knew what they were doing. Probably, it can be said that he is the result of such breeding all the way back to Justin Morgan himself, and is so on every line of his pedigree. There are no holes anywhere in his pedigree. His heritage is one of true Morgan strength and quality.