Stable Sheet - June 2023

From start to finish, the show is created with you in mind. OMC is our showcase event. We will have a Youth of the Year competition sponsored by a donation from the Nancy Falk Trust, the announcement of the 2023 MHAO Alex Mooney Memorial Scholarship, Futurity classes, a stallion presentation, a progressive dinner party, high point awards, an incentive drawing, and more. Please join in to enjoy all our events.

Your Board wishes all a safe journey, and a wonderful show!

Our futurity was created in recognition of the importance of stallion owners, breeders and trainers to the preservation and continuation of the Morgan breed in our area. The mission of the futurity program is to aid in the promotion and development of horses owned by MHAO members. It is designed as a 5-year plan that follows a new born foal through its 4-year-old show season. Futurity classes are held at the Oregon Morgan Classic horse show in Eugene OR. More information can be found on the Auction/Futurity website or by reviewing the Futurity rules via the links below:

Click here to access the latest version of the MHAO Futurity Rules

Here is a link to the auction & futurity website:

www.mhaostallionserviceauction.com

Recent change:

We have expanded the Futurity halter classes into two equal Divisions. One is traditional, just like the halter classes we have always offered. The other is for Sport/Western horses. Both divisions now offer 2 classes for weanlings (colt and filly), and3 classes (stallion, mare, & gelding) for yearlings and for 2-yr-olds. Both divisions offer a Sweepstakes class for all futurity horses placing 1st or 2nd in their qualifying futurity halter class. Horses shown in the Sport/Western division are to be judged standing square. No cross entry is allowed between the 2 futurity divisions in any one year. Judging follows USEF rules. No change was made to any of the performance classes offered. All futurity horses are encouraged to enter any of the futurity performance classes. The 3-yr-old Futurity saddle classes remain as walk-trot.

At the Oregon Morgan Classic, futurity halter classes will take place on Wednesday night. The halter Sweepstakes classes take place on Saturday night. Performance futurity classes are woven into the schedule throughout the show.

For questions or assistance, contact Gay Adams, (503) 936-4276

Benefits For Entering The Futurity:

• Prize money is earned for showing your horse in Futurity classes at the Oregon Morgan Classic. Those who have shown have earned back more than they have paid in for futurity fees.
• Prize money is offered for Futurity classes thru your horse's 4-yr-old year. Classes offered are age appropriate. Halter classes are available thru the horse's 2-yr-old year. Performance classes are offered from 2-yr-olds thru 4-yr-olds. 2-yr-old is driving only. 3-yr-old under saddle performance classes are walk-trot classes.. Halter, driving, and 4-yr-old classes do qualify horses to show at Nationals in like titled (not World Futurity) classes..
• A High Point award and prize money is offered to the 4-yr-old Futurity horse who has earned the most points thru the 5 yr program. You will receive an individual award, be listed on a perpetual award, and earn additional money.
• Bonus money goes to the stallion donor and the mare owner at breeding of Futurity horses who are the result of a breeding purchased thru the MHAO Stallion Service Auction if the foal wins Futurity Sweepstakes Champion or Reserve Champion.
• Futurity Sweepstakes classes are offered for horses entered in Traditional Futurity Halter classes and for Sport/Western Futurity Halter classes.
• Promotion of your futurity horse thru the MHAO Breeders' Cup Futurity Booklet. for each year they are nominated to the Futurity.. Show others about your breeding program or about that young horse you are raising..
• All participants in the Futurity need to be members of MHAO. As a member, you will receive the member reduced rate for any ad you place in the MHAO Breeders' Cup Futurity booklet.
• The Futurity booklet is available at the 3 largest Morgan shows in the Western Region (Oregon Morgan Classic, Morgan Medallion, & C-Fair) as well as at Nationals.

Fees are very reasonable:

Initial nomination fee - $45 in the year of birth

Annual renewal fee - $25 due by March 31st

Late payment of fees, the fee changes to $100

Class entry fee - $25 if paid by June 1st

Post entry fee - $50

Post Entries Being Accepted

Our activity schedule - Don't miss a thing!

Wednesday

All Day – Emerald Arena – Classical Dressage, Western Dressage and Driven Dressage

10 AM – Silent Auction Opens in the “Feed Room Restaurant”

1 PM Session – Silverado Arena – Performance classes kick off

4 PM to 6 PM – Pizza Feed out in the RV Parking Area

6 PM Session – Silverado Arena – Futurity and Regular Halter Classes, along with Produce of Dam & Get of Sire

6 PM - Dressage High Point Winners Announced

Youth of the Year Activities during the Evening Session:

Judging Activity – Youth to be in the stands to watch Class 28 – Morgan Sport Horse in In-Hand, Stallions & Geldings

Written Test follows the judging activity.

Facilitator for both: Julie Nygaard

Thursday

After 1 PM Session – Youth of the Year Horsemanship Test in the Emerald Arena – See Sierra Breckenridge. Patterns in the office

Between Afternoon & Evening Session – Progressive Dinner in RV Parking area

All exhibitors, participants and barns are invited to be a part of the Camper Culinary Tour

Friday

8:00 AM -Noon – Trail and Ranch Trail classes in Emerald Arena

1 PM – Silverado Arena – at start of session: 2 Ranch Rail classes then regular performance classes 

1 PM – Emerald Arena – After Ranch Rail classes are run – Ranch Riding and Reining Classes will be held

End of 1 PM Session in Silverado Arena – Announcement of the

2023 MHAO Scholarship Recipient

Youth of the Year Activities:

Speech Contest (Signup sheet will be in the show office) – during the Friday 1 PM Session at the Breckenridge Stall Area – Facilitated by Karen Breckenridge

Senior/Junior Speech Topic: “Pick an Equine Emergency and Describe How You Would Handle It”

6 PM – Stallion Presentation – Triple Pines Brooks

6 PM – Working Western Overall High Point announced

Saturday

9 AM – Silverado Arena – Academy Classes at the end of the session

End of 9 AM Session in Silverado Arena – Parade of Champions and Reserve Champions for Dressage and Working Western

Silent Auction Closes at Noon – pay at the office or during checkout

After 1 PM Session – Emerald Arena – Carrot Obstacle Course and Dog Treat Obstacle Course – Horse & Dog Treat provided

6 PM – Silverado Arena - beginning of session:

Morgan Incentive Bonus Winners – ($250 Owner & $250 Trainer)

Youth of the Year Awards Announced

Futurity Sweepstakes Classes are during Saturday evening session

and Futurity High Point Winners announced

End of Session – Colorful Morgan Award announced and High Point Jr. Exhibitor Winners announced

Patterns for the Ranch Riding and Reining classes

344 Morgan Ranch Riding Youth - AQHA Pattern 12

345 Morgan Ranch Riding Open – AQHA Pattern 12

346 Morgan Ranch Riding Non-Pro - AQHA Pattern 12

347 Morgan Ranch Riding Championship - AQHA Pattern 5

348 All-Breed Exhibition Reining 17 & Under - USEF Pattern 4

349 AMHA Reining Seat Medal - USEF Pattern 4

350 Morgan Reining 1st/2nd Year Green Horse - USEF Pattern 4

351 Morgan Reining Non- Pro - USEF Pattern 3

352 Morgan Reining Open - USEF Pattern 3

353 Morgan Reining Championship - USEF Pattern 6

New Class Added:

Class 18-Morgan Pleasure Driving Novice Horse

It will be at the end of the Wednesday afternoon schedule.

Watch the Oregon Morgan Classic and Morgan Horse Association of Oregon Facebook pages for any last minute announcements.

We need you! Have you renewed your membership for this year?

Check the link below to see. We need your support as a member to continue our programs. We need your voice as a member to help us do all we can to promote our wonderful breed. Please renew today!

Click here to see the latest membership list

If you know someone who owns a Morgan horse but is not a member of MHAO, we hope you will encourage them to join. Members from any address are welcome.

Did you just purchase your first Morgan horse from a member of MHAO? If so, you are eligible for a free one year membership in MHAO. We hope we will earn your continued support, and after this year you will renew with us. To get started, just complete a membership form, and where it asks for payment, say you just purchased your first Morgan horse and who you purchased the horse from.

Welcome to MHAO!

Click here to download a membership form

Once the form is completed, please email to:

wylieriley@aol.com

or mail to:

Karen Breckenridge

MHAO Treasurer

4715 Eola Drive NW

​Salem, OR 97304

For all others,

2023 Membership Fees:

$35 for Family (includes two votes)

$30 for Individual (includes one votes)

If you haven't already, please complete our membership survey form

and send it in with your membership form.

Do You Give Lessons? Are you a trainer?

Are you willing to have people come see your Morgan horses?

Let us help you get the word out!

We would like to have a resource available to refer people to for lessons or to see Morgan horses. Please let Gay know if we can give out your name for these purposes. We can share this information along with any of our promotional material, at promotional events, or MHAO events. We would also like to post it to our website.

Please notify Gay Adams how you would like to be listed.

Gay Adams, (503) 936-4276, sunstonemorgans@comcast.net

This is a tale that has its roots in the early history of farming in the United States.  In the early days of colonial America, farmers built their barns out of wood, and over time they discovered that they needed a way to protect their structures from the elements. Rain, wind, and sunlight can all take a toll on wooden structures, causing them to rot, warp, or crack. To help prevent this, farmers would use a sealant made from a mixture of linseed oil and milk, which they found would protect the wood from the elements. 

However, this protective coating had an unintended consequence it turned the wood a reddish-orange color. This was because the linseed oil reacted with the tannins in the wood, creating a reddish pigment that would eventually fade to a more brownish hue over time.

Click here to read more.

Amanda Hill Young Breeders Incentive Grant

Deadline to apply: June 19, 2023 (5:00 PM Eastern)

Members under age 40 wishing to establish/enhance a Morgan horse breeding program.

Total of $2,500 available for 2023.

Alex Mooney Memorial Scholarship

Deadline to apply: June 30, 2023 (5:00 PM Eastern)

For Undergraduate Academic Scholarships OR Professional Development - All ages.

Minimum of $5,000 available for 2023.

Learn more about these, and other, AMHECT scholarships HERE

I'm super excited to announce that my book, Rocket: The Miniature Morgan Horse, has been selected as a 2023 Children's Book Council Librarian Favorites Winner! This is a huge honor given by the CBC. My book was up against books from "mainstream" publishers like Scholastic and PenguinRandom House. This book is the first in my new series, with book #2 in the series, Rocket: The Blue-Ribbon Pony, coming out in a few months. FYI - yes, Rocket is real and he's half Morgan. His grandsire is GLB Bell Pepper.

Ellen Feld

Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian is pleased to announce that the application period is now open for the 2024 U.S. Saddle Seat World Cup Team Selection Trials. The application is open to active junior and amateur competing members of US Equestrian age 14 or older as of Jan. 1, 2024, and completing the application is the first step in the qualifying process for the team.

How to Apply

The application is available through the athlete dashboard at athletes.usef.org. Select “Online Application” and search in the Saddle Seat category for 2024. The deadline for applications is September 1, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Selection Trials

The U.S. Saddle Seat World Cup team selection trials will take place at William Woods University in Fulton, Missouri on December 1-2, 2023. 

For more information, including selection procedures and application details, visit the Saddle Seat World Cup page on USEF.org, contact Emily McSweeney at emcsweeney@usef.org.

For the entire USEF Press Release and to learn about the most recent World Cup, held in 2022 in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, where the U.S. teams won three-gaited gold and five-gaited bronze.

Click here for more information.

Sally Jackson and Stephens College are proud to bring back the $20,000 scholarship to the 2023 USEF Saddle Seat Medal Final. The scholarship was created to support students who are committed to continuing their involvement with show horses and/or equine studies. The scholarship awards $20,000 to be used towards educational expenses at Stephens College. Two scholarships are open to high school juniors and seniors and will be awarded to two students who wish to participate in equestrian activities while advancing their education at Stephens College, in Columbia, MO.

$10,000 USEF Medal Scholarship

The $10,000 USEF Medal Scholarship will be awarded to the winner of the equitation rider video/application. Open to riders who will compete in the USEF Saddle Seat Medal Finals, or for those who have competed in Medal qualifying classes during the show season (who have placed 1st through 4th). All interested applicants must apply and declare their interest in attending Stephens College no later than October 1 prior to the Finals.

$10,000 USEF/ASHBA Performance Rider/Driver Scholarship

Open to all riding and driving disciplines, and levels of competitors who compete in saddle seat, Western, hunt seat, driving, and Academy. Applications open May 1 and are due midnight ET July 1, 2023. Open to all high school juniors and seniors who are in good standing with USEF as a Subscribing or Competing Member and with ASHBA as a Competing Member (Junior, Senior, Charter Club, or Contributing).

Click here for more information.

U S Menmar in 1953 posing in front of the statue of Justin Morgan at the then US Morgan Horse Farm

U S Menmar winning Grand Champion Stallion at the 1956 National

Articles:

• Do Horses Have a Poker Face? Reading stress in horses.

My horses are my personal dream.

One day, when I am very old and I can not walk anymore, it will be in my heart as a trophy of my memories.

I have met people who taught me something and have the same spirit, and I have met others that I'm glad I forgot.

I got wet,

I felt cold,

I felt warm,

I was afraid,

I fell,

And I stood up,

I hurt myself,

I laughed out loud.

I spoke a thousand times with myself.

I sang and shouted with joy like a madman,

And yes ... sometimes I cried.

I have seen wonderful places and lived unforgettable experiences.

I have made unplanned jumps full of terror.

I stopped a thousand times to see a landscape.

I spoke with perfect strangers, and I forgot people I see every day.

I rode out with my demons inside and returned home with a feeling of absolute peace in my heart.

I have thought how dangerous it is, knowing that the meaning of courage is to advance even through fear.

Every time I go up to my horses, I think about how wonderful they are.

I stopped talking about it to those who do not understand, and I learned to communicate with other riders.

I met some amazing people that I now call friends because of my horses.

I spent money I did not have, giving up many things, but all these things are not worth even one special moment with my horses.

They are not a means of transport or a piece of iron with wheels, they are the lost part of my soul and my spirit.

And when someone says to me: "You should sell the horses, get out of debt and be more sensible"... I do not answer. I just swing my head and smile.

Only a person who loves them understands it. May God bless my friends and all their horses.

Thank you for sharing this Lenore Smith

We laid to rest our beautiful 30 year old Immortal Command daughter. She should have been shown, but ended up being my husband's very hot, and so very sweet (disposition) trail horse. Though being as hot as she was I will never forgot an incident in particular that showed she was totally bonded to my husband, Henry. We were on the Pacific Crest (part of the Oregon trail used by the pioneers) and we ran into yellow jackets. They were nesting in the ground when Victoria (Vicky) stepped on the nest. I was behind them on my mare as they were trying to sting Vicky on her face; she keep shaking her head as they were stinging her. Henry jumped off of her and started swinging his baseball cap at them. He quickly turned her around and jumped back on, which was hard for she was 15.2+ and we both then took off.

She never, ever panicked once while he was doing all of this, she truly trusted and depended on him in helping her. I say this for again she was a very hot mare. She would spook at culverts going one way and then again coming back the same way; sometimes even tree stumps, or God forbid those big black ominous boulders. The oceans and waves coming in and if there was white foam on the waves you had better be deep-seated. She could jump so high when those oceans waves approached, and touched her (she eventually, well sorta got use to them). Those large saddle bags she had on her behind the saddle, well, it took awhile for they made this terrible man-eating nylon noise she thought.

She was so naturally gifted with having so much hock action especially in the back you would only need plates on her. We will miss you so much sweet girl, fly high...we will see you again some day . Love you, Vicky: WPM Victoria's Secret (Immortal Command × Pretty Wild Keepsake).

Barbara Thomson

Included in the next Sections:

Section 1A:

Show Pictorial

Section 2:

Member News

Section 3:

Classified Ads

Advertising Thru MHAO

How to become an MHAO Member

Oregon Horse Council News

USEF News

AMHA News