The Seth Thomas Collection was formed by a group of people dedicated to preserving the bloodlines of The Incomparable Seth Thomas, both in the Shetland and Miniature divisions. All members of the Seth Thomas Collection own decendents of the herd purchased by Dale & Shirely Lutke in the late 1990's. Seth Thomas was one of the most famous Modern Shetland Stallions in the Shetland Pony world. Seth Thomas did not enter the show ring, but his offspring did and set the Shetland world on fire! It was the new look, the conformation and the action that would change the Shetland look forever. If you look in any of the Shetland Pony Journals in the 60s era, you will find many articles and pictures of his prodigy, including many National Champions. If you listen to the stories of the past, the Seth Thomas line will almost always be told with a gleam of admiration. The head, eye and ears were a trademark of the Seth Thomas line, along with the long neck and action, this is what made Seth Thomas the top or near the top Sire of the Year Awards for several years. One of the Seth Thomas sons would contribute a major part to the Seth Thomas Collection. He was Patton’s Time Piece 45980. Patton’s Time Piece is the sire or grand sire of the foundation stock of the Seth Thomas Collection. According to Roger and Ruth Evers, Double R Estate, Grandville, Michigan, who were one of the premiere exhibitors of Seth Thomas ponies, recall going down to look at two Seth Thomas stallions and pick one to show. The two stallions were Flambeau Thomas and Patton’s Time Piece. The Evers, after much discussion and pondering, picked Flambeau Thomas. The two stallions went head to head in the show ring, one winning one show and the other would win the next. In 1996, I (Dale Lutke) purchased my first stallion that would be one of the two stallions that would mark the beginning of the Seth Thomas Collection. He is BHR Topnotch. He is a grandson of Patton’s Time Piece. Roger and Ruth Evers came over to look at what we had. Their first reaction was, he’s a spittin' image of Patton’s Time Piece. Patton’s Time Piece was owned and exhibited by Donald Oberlander. Donald was a historian on the originality of the shetland pony. He wrote several articles on this subject in the Shetland Pony Journal of the Sixties. He also made several trips to the Shetland Islands and England to do his research on this subject. He is the one who made the Seth Thomas Collection possible. It was his passion to keep the Seth Thomas line going. He started a breeding program, concentrating on the Seth Thomas line by intensive line breeding. He retained the desirable qualities of Seth Thomas, but with line breeding, reduced the over all size. At this time the shetland market was less than good and the miniature market was in its prime. Most of the miniature breeders of that time didn’t want any evidence that their miniature horses had shetland blood, so they chose to register their horses (unknown, unknown). Don had too much going with his many years of keeping this line pure, so he double registered them, AMHR and ASPC. After Don's passing, his wife, Elke, was left to tend to horses, ponies and farm. After a few years, she decided to sell some of the livestock. After a couple of years of negotiations, I bought the herd of twenty eight Seth Thomas double registered horses/ponies. This purchase consisted of another major stallion, BHR Lerwick, a 33” 10 year old dark brown stallion. Most of the Seth Thomas Collection offspring is sired by him. We also purchased several foundation mares sired by Patton’s Time Piece. My promise to the Oberlander family was to continue the preservation of the Seth Thomas line. I will take on this responsibility with pride and enthusiasm, for I once owned a direct son of the Seth Thomas (when I was young). The Seth Thomas Collection will prove themselves in the ring, as outcross breeding and line bred stock. The beautiful qualities are imprinted from generation to generation. They are alert, gutsy and beautiful. They are not for everyone, but they might be for you. Do you want a miniature that can trace it's lineage back to the sixties or do you want unknown, unknown?? Respectfully submitted by Dale Lutke Seth Thomas Collection Membership Information