Hallie DeMass Sweeting lives on 70 acres in Sterling, New York (near Lake Ontario, about one hour North East of Syracuse.) Her Mother’s family – the Harris brood - came from England where they were “whitesmiths” - A whitesmith is a person who works with "white" or light-colored metals such as tin and pewter.. Another ancestor – Pierre Dumas (whose name was later altered to DeMass) came over on the French Fleet during the Revolutionary War.

Hallie says that as a young girl she “thought she was a horse” and loved to come over to her Grandfather’s farm where he had the work horses Kit and Molly and would let her drive…”or at least I thought I was doing the driving” she remarked. It was around the time of World War II that Hallie and her Mother came to live permanently with her Grandfather on the family farm – beginning a lifelong connection with all kinds of animals. At the age of 15 her mother bought her first horse for her – “Nippy.” Her Grandfather purchased an old saddle from Texas with an oversized horn, and Hallie remembers “the first thing Nippy did was throw me off.” Undeterred, Hallie kept on and later Nippy was known for his special tricks - he could perform over 30 - which Hallie said she taught him using “time and treats.” Hallie says he was a “good horse” and he very well may have been part Morgan.