2026 Buybacks

It's time for my annual post going through the colors of the 2026 buyback foals. Look underneath each photo to read about that pony's color genetics. My analysis is based on their parents, siblings, other family, and their physical appearance.

Sue's Songbird from Up The Bay
Ace's Black Tie Affair x Tuney
Black filly
Probable color genetics: possible E/E, a/a, nd1

Sue's Songbird from Up The Bay is a solid black. It's possible she has two copies of black. Both of her parents carry recessive chestnut so it's equally likely she has a copy of recessive chestnut.

Both of her parents are tobiano pinto but she didn't inherit it from either of them since she doesn't have any white at all.

Gold hair in a black foal's ears is a sign that she likely has non-dun1 which is what causes primitive markings such as dorsal stripes.

Loori's Freedom
Surfer's Riptide x WH Summer Breeze
Chestnut tobiano splashed white filly
Probable color genetics: e/e, TO/n, SW1/n

Loori's Freedom is a chestnut like her sire. She may carry an unseen copy of the bay causing agouti since her dam is a bay. Surfer's Riptide has never sired a bay foal out of a black mare with several opportunities so I'm pretty sure he doesn't have agouti.

She definitely has tobiano from her dam and I'm pretty positive she has splashed white 1 from her sire. The amount of white she has and the shape and placement of the white says splashed white to me. Since only Loori's Freedom's dam is tobiano she only has one copy and will pass it on to approximately 50% of her foals.

Rey of Sunshine
Chief Golden Eagle x Judy's Sunshine
Palomino tobiano filly
Probable color genetics: e/e, A/?, CR/n, TO/n

Rey of Sunshine is a palomino and palomino is chestnut with the cream dilution. Both of her parents are palominos but she only inherited the cream dilution from one of them. Approximately 50% of her foals will have the cream dilution. If she'd inherited it from both of them she'd be a cremello instead. She'll pass a copy of chestnut on to all of her foals.

Only her dam is a tobiano so Rey of Sunshine has one copy of tobiano pinto. Approximately 50% of her foals will be tobiano.

She's on the minimal end of tobiano and that runs in her family, her dam, her dam, and her dam were all minimal tobianos. As you can see there's a genetic component to white suppression like this but we don't know how it all works yet.

Rey of Sunshine has at least one copy of the bay causing agouti but you can't see it since she's a palomino. Thanks to observation and testing of her sire's foals I'm pretty positive he has two copies of agouti. Her dam has produced a black so only has one copy of agouti or none.

Liberty
Archer's Gambit x Seaside Miracle
Bay tobiano filly
Probable color genetics: E/e, A/?, possible TO/TO

Liberty is a bay carrying recessive chestnut. She inherited chestnut from her chestnut sire. She inherited black and agouti from her bay dam. Her dam appears to have two copies of both considering all 9 of Seaside Miracle's foals have been bay. Liberty's sire appears to have one copy of agouti so it's possible she has two copies since she definitely inherited one from her dam.

Both of Liberty's parents are tobiano pinto so it's possible she inherited a copy of both of them. But both of them also only have one copy so it's equally likely that she only has one copy.

It's possible she also has another pinto pattern like an Eden White that has been tested to be found in a family member, but there's no way to know for sure.

CLG Midnight Rebel
Ace's Black Tie Affair x CLG Rumor Has It
Black tobiano colt
Probable color genetics: E/e, a/a, possible TO/TO, possible SW1/n

The only colt kept this year is a black tobiano, even though he looks a bit weird right now! He inherited black from his sire. He carries chestnut recessively from his dam.

Both of Midnight Rebel's parents are tobiano pinto so he could have inherited it from both of them or he may have only inherited it from one of them. If he has two copies then all of his foals will be tobiano pinto.

His dam clearly has splashed white 1 inherited from her sire Ken. It's possible he has it too even though he doesn't really look like it. SW1 can be very sneaky sometimes!

He's on the minimal side of tobiano and that's one reason why I list his sire as Ace's Black Tie Affair rather than Maverick. Ace's family, looks, and offspring show that he has an inherited type of white suppression that's pretty determined at reducing the amount of white. You can see it at work on Ace and on Midnight Rebel. This and some physical attributes are why I list his sire as Ace. I actually polled my pony friends on his sire during Pony Penning!

SCC Red Sky At Night
Ajax x Thunderstorm Skies
Chestnut tobiano filly
Probable color genetics: e/e, possible TO/TO

Red Sky At Night is a chestnut. She inherited one copy from each of her parents and she'll pass one copy on to all of her foals. It's possible she has an unseen copy of the bay causing agouti. Her bay sire has one copy and her dam has one or none. It's just as likely she has none.

She's a tobiano like both of her parents so it's possible she has two copies of tobiano which would mean all of her foals would be tobiano pinto. But she might have only inherited one copy which would mean 50% of her foals would be tobiano. She has some cat tracks that sometimes indicates a homozygous tobiano, but not always.

Considering how much white she and her dam have I think it's very likely they have another unknown pinto pattern. Her sire's family also seem to have something else too given their looks and one of his daughters tested to have 4 white patterns.

Halsey's Pearl Harbor
Chief Golden Eagle x Summer Breeze
Buckskin tobiano filly
Probable color genetics: E/e, possible A/A, TO/n, CR/n

Halsey's Pearl Harbor is a buckskin, which is a bay with one copy of the cream dilution. She inherited the cream dilution from her sire and black from her dam. She'll pass cream on to approximately 50% of her offspring. She inherited the bay causing agouti from either or both of her parents. Her sire carries agouti unseen and her dam is a bay.

Since her sire is a chestnut with the cream dilution she carries chestnut recessively. She'll pass chesnut on to all of her offspring.

Only Halsey's Pearl Harbor's dam is a tobiano so she has one copy of tobiano pinto. She'll pass tobiano on to approximately 50% of her foals.