AHCA Registration
48224
LEA Faye
Color
Silver
LEA Faye (D): The Cow Whose Story Is Still in Our Pasture
Some cattle become part of Highland history. Some become part of your family. LEA Faye did both.
Faye was a silver, horned, fullblood Highland cow, AHCA #48224, born April 5, 2009, at LEA-White Farms in Charlotte, Michigan. She was bred by Larry Alber and Pat White. She later came to AAA Quality Highlands, where Beauford Wilson cared for her during the early years of our breeding program, before that story became Highland Dale.
Many breeders know Faye as the dam of Finley Falls Duncan, the 2017 and 2018 NWSS Grand Champion Bull, owned by Stagecoach Farms. Around here, she means something more personal. Faye was the mother of our beloved Finley Falls Phyllis.
Her family is still on our Missouri fields
Faye's influence didn't stay on paper. It walks our pasture today:
One daughter: Finley Falls Phyllis
Four granddaughters: Buttercup, Dusty, Snowflake and Flossie
Three great-grandcattle: Reason, Sam and Bandit
A pedigree can list the generations. Seeing those cattle standing together in the grass makes the story real.
A sire line that reaches back to Oban
Faye's paternal line can be documented for seventeen generations, back to An-Ceatharnach of Achnacloich, a foundation sire bred in the 1930s by Thomas Nelson of the historic Achnacloich fold in Oban, Scotland.
Two champions stand out along that line:
Exhibit of Strathallan was Champion Bull at the 1966 Oban Spring Bull Sale. He sold for 900 guineas, a breed record at the time, and went to the Douneside fold of the Lady MacRobert Special Trust.
Leodhas of Douneside, his son, was Champion Bull at the 1973 Oban Bull Sale and was then imported as a foundation sire for Glen Osprey Farm in Canada.
These aren't just old names on a registration paper. They are documented moments in the history of the Highland breed, and Faye carried them forward.
Her sire, Flatheads Glen Moray (D), AHCA #45515, was bred by Michael Mower and raised on grass in Montana. He was featured in the 2011 AHCA National Sale catalog at the National Western Stock Show.
GOF Ralph, on both sides
In 1986, Larry and Pat Alber bought GOF Ralph 21R -4094- as the original foundation herd sire for LEA-White Farms. By their own account, he produced "some exceptional daughters" before retiring at age 13.
Faye carries Ralph twice. On her dam's side, he sired LEA Kittery, Faye's granddam. On her sire's side, he sired LEA Guthrie. The same foundation bull appears from both directions, a clear sign of a breeder deliberately keeping and concentrating genetics they trusted.
Thirteen generations of cows
Faye's direct maternal line runs thirteen unbroken generations, starting with Ramona, registered in 1941. Along the way are UP Ruby, Wapsie Cora, Lady Anne of Hidden Valley, Lady May of Hidden Valley, TY Lady Ginger, LEA Independence, LEA Kittery and her dam, LEA Corrie #44221.
Corrie, Kittery and Independence were all LEA-White cattle. Faye is the product of a program that spent decades building on its own foundation (LEA-White was established as a registered Highland program in 1983) while holding on to its Scottish roots.
Why we keep telling Faye's story
At Highland Dale, we're doing more than keeping a list of cattle. We're recording the cows, bulls, breeders, folds and bloodlines that shaped the Highlands we raise today.
Faye lets us see that whole history in a single cow: the folds of Achnacloich and Douneside, two Oban champions, the foundation work of LEA-White Farms, and a family still grazing in Missouri.
LEA Faye passed in 2022 after a beautiful life. Pictured is her final pasture at Heather Valley Cattle Co. in Laramie, Wyoming.
Quick Facts
Name: LEA Faye (D)
AHCA Registration: #48224
Born: April 5, 2009
Color: Silver
Type: Fullblood, horned Highland cow
Breeder: Larry Alber & Pat White, LEA-White Farms, Charlotte, Michigan
Sire: Flatheads Glen Moray (D) #45515
Dam: LEA Corrie #44221
Pedigree highlights:
13-generation documented direct maternal line reaching to 1941
17-generation documented paternal line reaching back to a 1930s Scottish foundation sire
Exhibit of Strathallan — Champion Bull, Oban Spring Bull Sale, 1966
Leodhas of Douneside — Champion Bull, Oban Bull Sale, 1973
GOF Ralph 21R -4094- — LEA-White Farms' original foundation herd sire, appearing twice in Faye's pedigree
Fifth consecutive generation represented in her combined pedigree bred by LEA-White Farms
LEA Faye is the mother of Finley Falls Duncan, the 2017 & 2018 NWSS Grand Champion Bull
Common Questions About LEA Faye
Who was LEA Faye?
A silver fullblood Highland cow (AHCA #48224) bred by LEA-White Farms in Michigan and a foundation cow of the Highland Dale herd in Missouri.
What is LEA Faye known for?
She was the dam of Finley Falls Duncan, 2017 and 2018 NWSS Grand Champion Bull, and of Finley Falls Phyllis, whose descendants remain at Highland Dale.
What Scottish bloodlines are in her pedigree?
Her sire line traces to the Achnacloich fold in Oban and includes Oban Champion Bulls Exhibit of Strathallan and Leodhas of Douneside.
Photo alt text: LEA Faye, silver Highland cow, in her final pasture at Heather Valley Cattle Co., Laramie, Wyoming
