American Lamancha
Although it is interesting folk lore and short eared goats do run throughout history, there is not, nor has there ever been, a breed known as the Spanish LaMancha.
[4] Mason's World Dictionary of Livestock Breeds speculates that the Spanish short-eared goats in their lineage may have been the Spanish-American Criollo goats; bred for both meat and milk and found principally in Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, and Venezuela, which were imported to South America from Spain during the 16th century.
"[10] By 1936 the Murcianas may have become scarce, as the January issue of the Dairy Goat Journal called for help to reestablish the breed, noting that there did not seem to be a pure-bred buck in America and that a Mrs. Katherine Kadel had the only purebred does at that time.
[10] The same article noted also that a reliable supply of Murcianas could be found in Mexico, in a herd imported from Spain that also contained Granada goats.
After 1930, Mrs. Wilhelm bred her short-eared does using purebred Alpine and Nubian bucks from the Blue Ribbon herd of Mrs. C.R.
[13] After 30–40 years of breeding short-eared does with long-eared bucks, the distinctive Lamancha-type ear had proven to be a strongly inherited trait.
[9] Her husband, Jene, had developed stomach ulcers and she was determined to cure him, which she did, on a strict diet of goat milk and tomato juice, although he died just a few years later in an automobile accident.
[2][9] Mrs. Frey was more interested at that time in two first-fresheners in the herd; both Nubian-French Alpine does: tri-colored 'Rose' and smaller black-and-tan 'Toy'.
[9] Rose's kids by that breeding to Tommy were a Nubian-French Alpine looking buck, like his mother, and a beautiful short-eared doeling with curly golden-brown hair and very large eyes.
[9] Peggy was the first kid born into the Frey's herd with such ears and she turned out to be an outstanding milker,[2][9] though a small doe.
[9] Paulette, the Nubian-French Alpine-looking doe, was bred to 'Christopher', a bright red Nubian-Murciana cross buck.
[9] That pairing yielded 'Redette', a doeling that looked like her father and later, with a buck named 'Scamp' gave birth to 'Gilda', a beautiful short-eared LaMancha that died young from over-production of kids and milk.
[9] Rascal was paired with a purebred Toggenburg doe, producing Scamp, Peggy's grandson, who was bred to his older half-sister Redette and fathered Gilda.
[9] Peggy's third freshening, with her daughter Paulette's previous partner, Christopher, yielded three red short-eared Lamancha bucks, of which none were kept; a mistake, Mrs. Frey wrote later, that she regretted.
"[15] Wafer was bred to Scamp, yielding daughters Polly & Jolly, who also contributed many goats to Mrs. Frey's 1960 herd.
[9] Polly was bred to 'Max', an unregistered Saanen, son of 'Hercules of Wasatch' and 'Della Cream Puff', which brought Fay's Pollyette L-63 and three brothers.
[9] Crocus and all of her descendants carry the Murciana bloodline prominently, which makes them excellent producers of milk that is especially rich in butterfat.
[9] One of Rascal's daughters, and granddaughter to Christopher, was paired with a purebred Swiss Alpine, to produce a fine line of American Lamanchas, one of which was 'Mickey'.
[9] Christopher, the Nubian-Murciana cross, figured prominently in these pairings, distributing the Murciana heritage across the emergent herd.
Some of these were the Chikaming, Decor'OChevonshire, Del-Norte, Delta, Hurricane Acres, MacAlpine, Oakwood, Rio Linda, Silver Pine, and Silvergate herds; to the breeders of which Mrs Frey expressed deep gratitude.
[2] AMGRA, in Springfield, Illinois, bestowed upon Mrs Frey its Mary L. Farley Award on October 15, 1960, recognizing her years of work in developing the American Lamancha breed.
These were five does from the Bomar herd, belonging to Mr. & Mrs. Soen:[16] 1960 also saw the first Spotlight (national) Sale of a Lamancha goat, consigned by Mr and Mrs. R. W. Soens and purchased by Mrs. C. W. Channel of Arcadia, Florida, for $95 The 1961 AMGRA Handbook listed the first LaMancha doe to break 3000 pounds of milk on an official test.
From this show emerged the first Lamancha National Champion; a five-year-old doe bred by Mrs. Dunlap and owned by the K-Lou Ranch:[16] That same goat was the first of any breed to repeat a National Show win, also in 1962, gaining the second leg toward her championship that year and also attaining *M (star milker) status; though she never became a permanent champion.
She was consigned to the 1970 Spotlight Sale at Pomona, California by Amos D. Nixon and was purchased via telephone by Dr. Richard H. Stoneback.
As the ADGA National Sales Committee was considering catchy new names for its new national sale in 1977, to be held in conjunction with the ADGA National Show in Columbus Ohio, several names were considered before they settled, with permission from her owner, Mr. Nixon, on the "colorful" name of the doe that had been consigned to that 1970 Spotlight Sale:[16] The foundation herd still lived with Mrs. Frey in Glide, near Roseburg, Oregon, in 1978.
