By Tobi Lopez Taylor
A Story in Three Parts
Part
One: Daniel C. Gainey
In 1940, Daniel C.
Gainey—chairman, CEO, and guiding force behind Jostens, Inc., the nation’s
leading maker of class rings, received an unusual gift from his employees: an Arabian
colt named Kaniht (Katar x Niht).
Kaniht, bred by Albert Harris, scion of the family that established Chicago’s Harris Bank, descended primarily from horses bred by Wilfrid and Lady Anne Blunt of England’s Crabbet Stud. (You can read more about the Blunts here, here, and here.) Kaniht was also something of a rarity in the U.S., as only about 1,700 Arabians had been registered in this country since the founding in 1908 of the Arabian Horse Registry of America (AHRA; now known as the Arabian Horse Association). When Gainey acquired Kaniht, Harris was the AHRA’s president; many years later, Gainey would hold the same position.
Kaniht, bred by Albert Harris, scion of the family that established Chicago’s Harris Bank, descended primarily from horses bred by Wilfrid and Lady Anne Blunt of England’s Crabbet Stud. (You can read more about the Blunts here, here, and here.) Kaniht was also something of a rarity in the U.S., as only about 1,700 Arabians had been registered in this country since the founding in 1908 of the Arabian Horse Registry of America (AHRA; now known as the Arabian Horse Association). When Gainey acquired Kaniht, Harris was the AHRA’s president; many years later, Gainey would hold the same position.
Ferzon and his son Gai Parada. Photo by Sparagowski.
Now smitten with the breed, Gainey soon began acquiring Arabians with the goal of establishing his own breeding program in Owatonna, Minnesota. Unlike Harris, who prized Arabians for their toughness and athleticism, Gainey valued beauty, elegance, and refinement. Over the decades, as he bred hundreds of Arabians, he created the “Gainey look”—horses with large eyes, “teacup” muzzles, and well-sculpted ears—based on the bloodlines of his herd sire, Ferzon (Ferneyn x Fersara). His program was quite successful in the show ring: three products of his program, Galizon (Azraff x Gay Rose by Ferzon), Gai Parada (Ferzon x Azleta by Azraff), and Gai-Adventure (*Naborr x Gavrelle by Ferzon), were all U.S. National Champion Stallions. Gainey first kept his Arabians exclusively in his home state of Minnesota, but later branched out, with ranches in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Santa Ynez, California.
Gainey Ranch, Santa Ynez.
Part Two: Pat Tanner / Patrick Dennis / Edward(s) Tanner
If you’ve seen the 1958 movie Auntie Mame—which recounts
the adventures of Mame Dennis and her nephew Patrick—you may have noticed that
it’s based on a book by Patrick Dennis. However, “Patrick Dennis” was actually
a pseudonym used by the flamboyant writer and bon vivant Edward Everett Tanner
(known to friends and family as Pat). A 2000
biography of Tanner/Dennis, Uncle Mame, by Eric Myers, makes for
fascinating reading about this formerly celebrated, but now nearly forgotten,
author who once had three books on the bestseller list simultaneously.
As Myers noted, “People assume that [Auntie Mame] is based on fact—that young Patrick really was raised
by a madcap New York aunt—when in reality, he grew up rather conventionally as
part of an upper-middle-class family....Once he left those confines, however,
he led a life as unusual—and as poignant—as that of any fictional character he
could have created. Auntie Mame was
only one of Tanner’s sixteen novels. The book made him a millionaire and has
earned its place as a perennial pop classic of American fiction.” Unfortunately,
“[a]lthough both Tanner and his books were uproariously funny, and he was
beloved by those close to him, his life was marked by an underpinning of
frustration and melancholy.”
In 1963, at his professional and personal wit’s end,
Tanner separated amicably from his wife and acknowledged that he was bisexual. Literary
tastes were changing, and his light-comic prose, which had delighted so many readers
in the 1950s, was now out of step with the turbulent 1960s. Tanner knew he had to
do something else to make money. “He had sworn off writing,” remarked Myers, “but
he was about to embark on the sort of escapade that could easily have provided
material for five more novels.”
After living in Mexico, and then a stint as a gallery
owner, Tanner decided to become a butler. As Myers noted, “He was already
intimate with every detail that went into running a fine home; he loved to
arrange lavish dinners and parties; he certainly had the grace, elegance, and
tact—when he wasn’t sloshed—that were required for the job. Add to this his
precise knowledge of cuisine, clothing, and decor, and you have a majordomo
worthy of the White House....And best of all, it would be fun. Pat would be
living inside one of his own novels, simultaneously observing and interacting
with the class of people he had satirized.”
For his new profession, Tanner renamed himself “Edwards
Tanner,” which made him sound like a character from one of his books. None of
his employers knew that their butler was the creator of Auntie Mame. In early 1976, Tanner, by now an experienced butler,
went to work for McDonald’s president Ray Kroc and his wife Joan at their
apartment on Chicago’s Lakeshore Drive. In a letter to his son, Tanner drew a
portrait of the couple:
“Mr. and Mrs. Ray Kroc … are the dearest people on
earth—nouveau riche (20 years of super affluence) and frank to admit it. If
anyone has to be burdened with several hundred million dollars, it ought to be
the Krocs. Far from being ashamed of their money, they revel in it. They have a
place in Florida, a ranch in California, and this posh apartment in Chicago
where they occupy the whole twenty-fifth floor and I simply pig it on half of
the twenty-sixth, all exquisitely overdecorated and quite good in a terrible
way. They revel in their yacht, their jet, their helicopter, their private
railway car, their baseball team (the San Diego Padres, who have never been
known to win a game), their Cork Foundation (guess what that is spelled
backward) to combat alcoholism, their 15 cars (only three of which are
Rolls-Royces) and their Arabian horses (neither rides)….Well, I just couldn’t
have fallen into a better place or with nicer people.”
Part
Three: Ray Kroc
The son of Czech immigrants, Ray Kroc grew up near Chicago. He served as a Red Cross ambulance driver during World War I and then worked at a variety of low-wage jobs. (Although Kroc never knew this, Tanner also had been an ambulance driver—for the American Field Service, during World War II.) Kroc’s New York Times obituary called him a “former piano player and salesman of paper cups and milkshake machines.” He was in his mid-fifties when he opened his first McDonald’s franchise, and in 1961, he bought out the original owners, Maurice and Richard McDonald. By 1965, when McDonald’s stock was initially publicly traded, Kroc’s shares were worth $33 million. Not long after that, Kroc and his then wife Jane (who had been John Wayne’s secretary) purchased more than 200 acres in the Santa Ynez Valley, about 35 miles northwest of Santa Barbara, California, for $600,000 and named it the “J & R Double Arch Ranch.” The three flagpoles at the property featured the American flag, the California state flag, and a flag with golden arches.
The ranch was the focus of a 1968 article in Architectural Digest. Its 17,000-square-foot main lodge served as living quarters for the Krocs, a meeting room for McDonald’s executives, and the headquarters of the Ray A. Kroc Foundation. (Later, a round house, which reminded some observers of a hamburger, was built on the property for the Krocs’exclusive use.) The article noted that the property “has more comforts and conveniences than most city dwellings and at the same time offers the invigorating atmosphere of the outdoors and sporting life.” In addition, “for the recreation of guests, there is horseback riding” and “parts of the ranch are productive work areas, involved with horse breeding and training and the raising of cattle.”
Sculpture by King Zimmerman at the Krocs’ ranch. Photo by Danforth-Tidmarsh.
The ranch was the focus of a 1968 article in Architectural Digest. Its 17,000-square-foot main lodge served as living quarters for the Krocs, a meeting room for McDonald’s executives, and the headquarters of the Ray A. Kroc Foundation. (Later, a round house, which reminded some observers of a hamburger, was built on the property for the Krocs’exclusive use.) The article noted that the property “has more comforts and conveniences than most city dwellings and at the same time offers the invigorating atmosphere of the outdoors and sporting life.” In addition, “for the recreation of guests, there is horseback riding” and “parts of the ranch are productive work areas, involved with horse breeding and training and the raising of cattle.”
No mention was made of a horse barn, but the cattle barn was innovative for its time: it was air-conditioned and featured “automatic sanitation facilities” and music for the cattle; Architectural Digest called it “one of the most elaborate [cattle operations] in the country.” Noted Arabian horse judge Judy Delongpré Kibler, who lived in the area, remembered that the barn “was a bit over the top from the standpoint that [the cows] stayed in this building, which had a flushing system and feeding system. Way too expensive to raise cattle that way—I believe it was used for maybe a year or two.”
It was also around this time that Ray Kroc began buying horses from Daniel Gainey, now president of the AHRA. It’s unclear exactly how Kroc and Gainey met, but they had a number of things in common, aside from owning ranches in Santa Ynez. Both of them were Midwesterners who had joined already-existing companies, (McDonald’s and Jostens), reconfigured them, and guided the organizations to unprecedented success. Both of them were also staunch Republicans who hated FDR’s New Deal.
Gainey was campaign manager for Harold Stassen’s 1948 and 1952 presidential bids, served as Barry Goldwater’s finance chair for his 1964 presidential run, and was a longtime friend and advisor of President Richard Nixon. Kroc made his only known foray into politics when he donated $255,000 to Nixon’s re-election campaign (this would be $1.6 million today). The donation was made during the time that Kroc was doing horse business with Gainey, so perhaps the latter suggested or facilitated it. (Nixon, too, had a connection to Arabian horses via Gainey; his daughters Tricia and Julie learned to ride on the mare Gali-Ferra (Ferzon x Gali-Rose), who had been a gift from Gainey to President Dwight Eisenhower.)
Goldwater and Gainey, 1964.
Gi-Frisco’s sire El Kumait had been foaled in 1935 at cereal magnate W. K. Kellogg’s ranch in Pomona, California. Arabian breed historian Gladys Brown Edwards wrote that El Kumait “was injured on one leg as a yearling, causing permanent damage to the leg. Since it was not certain whether he would outgrow this deformity he was sold as a two-year-old, but otherwise it is doubtful if this splendid stallion would have left the ranch.” His descendants include race winners, like Speed King and Fercheyn, and numerous National winners, such as RSR Kumait, U.S. Top Ten English Pleasure and Pleasure Driving, and Speed Princess, with five National titles to her credit, including U.S. National Champion Futurity Cutting Horse.
Gi-Frisco’s dam Galata was by Ferneyn (sire of Ferzon) and out of Gainey’s best-producing mare, Gajala (*Raffles x Rageyma). Galata’s descendants include Gurisha Ferzona++ (dam of Kaborray, U.S. Top Ten Gelding), Gai Rainbow++ (sire of Gai Beauseyn, U.S. Top Ten Jumper), and Galatia (dam of GA Amir Amage++, U.S. Reserve Champion Western Pleasure, as well as granddam of Grand Jazz, twice U.S. Top Ten English Pleasure Amateur Owner to Ride, 18 & over).
Kroc made more purchases from Gainey in 1968. These were the 1960 mare Gubla (*Royal Diamond x Ghuli), her 1968 filly Ferbla (by Ferzon), and the foal that Gubla was carrying, the colt Galizon Prince (by Galizon), born in 1969. Judy Delongpré Kibler and her then husband Don DeLongpré managed the Gainey Ranch in Santa Ynez back then and delivered the horses to Kroc’s place. Ray’s new mare Gubla was by *Royal Diamond (Oran x Grey Royal), who had been bred in England by Judith Blunt-Lytton, Lady Wentworth (daughter of the previously mentioned Wilfrid and Lady Anne Blunt), and imported to the U.S. in 1957 by Bazy Tankersley of Al-Marah Arabians, then in Maryland. Tankersley recalled that *Royal Diamond “was a spectacular creature, but I wasn’t very happy with his disposition, nor did he have the exceptional hindquarters mandatory for Al-Marah breeding stock.” Other breeders, including Gainey, bred to him multiple times with good results. Among *Royal Diamond’s well-known descendants were stakes winner Charlie Valentine, 1988 Darley Horse of the Year; Ibn Raffon++, U.S. and Canadian Top Ten Stallion; and Royal Mace, U.S. National Champion Western Pleasure Amateur Owner to Ride.
Ghuli, Gubla’s dam, bred by James and Edna Draper, was of mostly Crabbet breeding. She was a full sister to Sur-Ghari, U.S. Top Ten Stallion. Ghuli’s sire, Sureyn (*Raseyn x *Crabbet Sura), was linebred to Lady Wentworth’s influential Polish stallion Skowronek, and Ghuli’s dam, Gharisa (Gharis x Mona Lisa), had bloodlines from Spain, the Davenport importations, and Crabbet Stud. Sureyn was a notable sire of champions, including the first U.S. National Champion Stallion and Mare, Mujahid and Surita. A half-sister to Gubla, named Gata (by Ferzon), foaled Nigatt, U.S. Top Ten Native Costume and sire of four National winners.
Prior to her purchase by Kroc, Gubla produced Gublazon (by Ferzon), who is best known as the paternal grandsire of U.S. National Champion Stallion Arn-ett Perlane. Gublazona, her second foal, was a good broodmare for Arcadian Arabians of Pennsylvania; Gublazona’s daughter Arkdn Gublaziona (by *Cebion) was an early winner of the Legion of Supreme Merit.
In 1969, Ray Kroc divorced his wife Jane. Within days, he and Joan (née Mansfield) Smith—the recently divorced wife of McDonald’s franchisee Rollie Smith—married in front of the 28-foot-tall fireplace at the J&R Double Arch Ranch.
In 1972, Gubla was taken back to Gainey Ranch to be bred to Gai Warsaw (Ferzon x *Paleta), producing the 1973 filly Gai Easter. Gai Warsaw, a sire of champions in the U.S. and U.K., was the grandsire of Gai Radiant, U.S. and Canadian Top Ten Western Pleasure Junior Horse, who was purchased in 1997 by Shirley and Charlie Watts (of Rolling Stones fame) for their Halsdon Stud in England. Gai Easter was Gubla’s last foal.
Kroc bred Ferbla (a full sister to Gublazon and Gublazona) twice. The first time, she was bred to Khari (Khemosabi x Carinosa), Canadian National Champion Stallion, who was trained and shown by Don Delongpré. The resulting colt, born in 1974, was named Padre Khari, presumably in honor of Kroc’s having purchased the San Diego Padres baseball team in January of that year.
Three years elapsed before Ferbla produced another foal, this time by the Polish stallion *Eter (Comet x Estokada), Don DeLongpre’s well-known sire of National winners, who was standing at nearby Caravan Arabians. Ferbla’s 1977 colt—named Corky—was the last of Kroc’s breeding experiments. Corky’s name was likely a nod to Operation Cork, a foundation established by Joan Kroc to combat the effects of alcoholism on families. The foundation produced public service announcements, including animated spots featuring Corky, the talking cork. (After her husband’s death, Joan Kroc admitted that Ray’s drinking was the impetus for establishing the Cork Foundation.) Author Lisa Napoli has written an engrossing biography of the couple in Ray & Joan: The Man Who Made the McDonald’s Fortune and the Woman Who Gave It All Away. )
Kroc’s seven Arabians were all of excellent Gainey Ranch bloodlines. None of the horses appear to have been shown, only two (Gubla and Ferbla) produced offspring, and only one (Galizon Prince) is known to have been sold by him, according to the Arabian Horse Association. As Judy DeLongpré Kibler noted, Kroc “really never intended—in my recollection—to be a breeder, [and] the horses probably lived out their lives on his ranch.”
Daniel Gainey passed away in 1979, and his Santa Ynez ranch now features a winery run by his grandson. Ray Kroc died in 1984. His widow sold the J&R Double Arch Ranch—the birthplace of the Egg McMuffin and McNuggets—to, of all people, a health-supplement magnate, Gerald Kessler, who converted the ranch’s test kitchen into a fitness center. If only Pat Tanner—who died in 1976—had been around to witness this. What a novel he could have written!
Gi-Frisco’s dam Galata was by Ferneyn (sire of Ferzon) and out of Gainey’s best-producing mare, Gajala (*Raffles x Rageyma). Galata’s descendants include Gurisha Ferzona++ (dam of Kaborray, U.S. Top Ten Gelding), Gai Rainbow++ (sire of Gai Beauseyn, U.S. Top Ten Jumper), and Galatia (dam of GA Amir Amage++, U.S. Reserve Champion Western Pleasure, as well as granddam of Grand Jazz, twice U.S. Top Ten English Pleasure Amateur Owner to Ride, 18 & over).
Gubla, dam of three foals for Ray Kroc.
Kroc made more purchases from Gainey in 1968. These were the 1960 mare Gubla (*Royal Diamond x Ghuli), her 1968 filly Ferbla (by Ferzon), and the foal that Gubla was carrying, the colt Galizon Prince (by Galizon), born in 1969. Judy Delongpré Kibler and her then husband Don DeLongpré managed the Gainey Ranch in Santa Ynez back then and delivered the horses to Kroc’s place. Ray’s new mare Gubla was by *Royal Diamond (Oran x Grey Royal), who had been bred in England by Judith Blunt-Lytton, Lady Wentworth (daughter of the previously mentioned Wilfrid and Lady Anne Blunt), and imported to the U.S. in 1957 by Bazy Tankersley of Al-Marah Arabians, then in Maryland. Tankersley recalled that *Royal Diamond “was a spectacular creature, but I wasn’t very happy with his disposition, nor did he have the exceptional hindquarters mandatory for Al-Marah breeding stock.” Other breeders, including Gainey, bred to him multiple times with good results. Among *Royal Diamond’s well-known descendants were stakes winner Charlie Valentine, 1988 Darley Horse of the Year; Ibn Raffon++, U.S. and Canadian Top Ten Stallion; and Royal Mace, U.S. National Champion Western Pleasure Amateur Owner to Ride.
Galizon, sire of Kroc’s colt Galizon Prince. Photo by Johnston.
Prior to her purchase by Kroc, Gubla produced Gublazon (by Ferzon), who is best known as the paternal grandsire of U.S. National Champion Stallion Arn-ett Perlane. Gublazona, her second foal, was a good broodmare for Arcadian Arabians of Pennsylvania; Gublazona’s daughter Arkdn Gublaziona (by *Cebion) was an early winner of the Legion of Supreme Merit.
In 1969, Ray Kroc divorced his wife Jane. Within days, he and Joan (née Mansfield) Smith—the recently divorced wife of McDonald’s franchisee Rollie Smith—married in front of the 28-foot-tall fireplace at the J&R Double Arch Ranch.
In 1972, Gubla was taken back to Gainey Ranch to be bred to Gai Warsaw (Ferzon x *Paleta), producing the 1973 filly Gai Easter. Gai Warsaw, a sire of champions in the U.S. and U.K., was the grandsire of Gai Radiant, U.S. and Canadian Top Ten Western Pleasure Junior Horse, who was purchased in 1997 by Shirley and Charlie Watts (of Rolling Stones fame) for their Halsdon Stud in England. Gai Easter was Gubla’s last foal.
Gai Warsaw, sire of Gai Easter, bred by Kroc. Photo by Sparagowski.
Kroc bred Ferbla (a full sister to Gublazon and Gublazona) twice. The first time, she was bred to Khari (Khemosabi x Carinosa), Canadian National Champion Stallion, who was trained and shown by Don Delongpré. The resulting colt, born in 1974, was named Padre Khari, presumably in honor of Kroc’s having purchased the San Diego Padres baseball team in January of that year.
Above: Khari, sire of Padre Khari; Below: *Eter, sire of Corky.
Photos by Sparagowski.
Three years elapsed before Ferbla produced another foal, this time by the Polish stallion *Eter (Comet x Estokada), Don DeLongpre’s well-known sire of National winners, who was standing at nearby Caravan Arabians. Ferbla’s 1977 colt—named Corky—was the last of Kroc’s breeding experiments. Corky’s name was likely a nod to Operation Cork, a foundation established by Joan Kroc to combat the effects of alcoholism on families. The foundation produced public service announcements, including animated spots featuring Corky, the talking cork. (After her husband’s death, Joan Kroc admitted that Ray’s drinking was the impetus for establishing the Cork Foundation.) Author Lisa Napoli has written an engrossing biography of the couple in Ray & Joan: The Man Who Made the McDonald’s Fortune and the Woman Who Gave It All Away. )
Corky the talking cork.
Daniel Gainey passed away in 1979, and his Santa Ynez ranch now features a winery run by his grandson. Ray Kroc died in 1984. His widow sold the J&R Double Arch Ranch—the birthplace of the Egg McMuffin and McNuggets—to, of all people, a health-supplement magnate, Gerald Kessler, who converted the ranch’s test kitchen into a fitness center. If only Pat Tanner—who died in 1976—had been around to witness this. What a novel he could have written!
Sign outside the former J&R Double Arch Ranch.
Photo by Lisa Napoli (cropped from original).
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