In Memory: John Paluga

When John Paluga passed away on November 30, 2024, in Middleburg, Florida, where he had lived in retirement, he did not take his unique knowledge of Morgan breeding with him. He had spent a career sharing it with others in his various roles in the Morgan community. And it lives on in some of the most prolific breeding stock in the Morgan world—the Tedwin-prefixed Morgans.

Retired Morgan trainer John McDonald, states, succinctly, “John was the breeding brains behind Tedwin,” the prefix John shared with his partner Ted Young decades ago. Ted purchased Fiddler’s Contender (Red Pepper x Donna Mae Pepper) as a show prospect from Claire Murphy. Their selection of Waseeka Cajun Queen (Waseeka’s Nocturne x Corrine) as the farm’s foundation broodmare quickly proved John’s breeding savvy. The resultant foal was Tedwin Topic, notable sire of Morgan show horses like Tedwin Tango and Tedwin In Tempo. Topic was also an enormously important sire of Morgan broodmares with four daughters inducted into the Broodmare Hall of Fame. Topic’s half-sister, Tedwin Tremendous (by UVM Flash) is also a Hall of Fame broodmare.

After the closing of Tedwin Farm, John was employed as breeding manager at Fantasia Farm in Guilford, Connecticut, where Serenity Grandmaster, Trijas Mr Pepperlect, and other important stallions stood. He performed the same role when Brad and Kari Beaton started a stallion station at Hillock Farm in Sutton, Massachusetts, where he was reunited with Tedwin Topic, who joined the roster for the final chapters of his breeding career.

John McDonald says that John Paluga, “….paid attention to what worked for other people. And what didn’t work. He became the backbone of each of the breeding programs he influenced. He was always enthusiastic about what he was doing, added a lot to the breed, and always made everyone feel comfortable. John was a real gentleman.”

There are fewer than 60 Morgans with the Tedwin name, but the prefix’s influence enormously exceeds that small number.