Morgan Club News: Midwest Horse Fair Wrap-Up
RELEASE: May 27, 2010
AUTHOR/ADMINISTRATOR: By Eleanore Chiquoine, Marie Stewart, and Amy Zieg
Rising to this year's "Let the Games Begin!" theme, the Wisconsin Morgan Horse Club (WMHC) had a winning presence at the 2010 Midwest Horse Fair. Preliminary numbers show that Friday's attendance set a record (18,500) and the total attendance for this year's three-day event exceeded last year's by 4,000 for a total attendance this year of 54,000. This is a great venue for promoting the Morgan breed.
The WMHC booth was located near the front of Barn #1, so a maximum number of visitors had the opportunity to meet and greet Morgans in the attractive booth area. In keeping with the "Games" theme, classical Greek cornices and columns topped royal blue backdrops and drapes. Raffle items such as a wooden saddle rack and two free Breyer horse drawings drew visitors into the booth, where they could then choose from a wide assortment of Morgan literature for all ages. Morgan horse buttons and tattoos were a big hit.
Twelve Morgans participated this year, including six stallions. The stallions were THI Cherokee, owned by Paula and David Neice; Bethesda Horus, owned by Katz and Gary Jackson; Red Rose Moonshine, owned by Suzanne Johnson and Dale Hammonds; Treble's Mucho Uno, owned by Rocky and Diana Schliefer; JCW Revs Cajun Sundancer, owned by Carolyn Harris; and HyLee Galaxy's Wild Irish, owned by HyLee Farm.
The mares and geldings participating were Baroncrest Oberon, owned by Adrienne and Larry Gage; Gable's Grindelwald, owned by Sam Bartnik and Mary Ellen Gray; Rustic V Total Revelation, owned by Rustic View Farm; Dragonsmeade Hot Ticket, owned by Eastwich Morgans; W's Ready To Rumble, owned and shown by Joann Ace; and TVT Invictus, owned by Sara Clark.
Though experienced show horses, three of the four horses in the booth had never been to something like the Midwest Horse Fair. However, nothing phased these horses, not the crush of the crowd, the hands reaching toward a soft nose, or the flash of cameras and ringing of cell phones. In typical Morgan fashion, the horses impressed everyone with their steadiness and affability. The club used an empty stall for demonstrations on body clipping and show presentation.
The crowds watched Morgans in the breed demonstrations being ridden in Western, hunter seat, and English pleasure, driven, executing reining patterns, and even doing a mounted shooting demonstration. In other demonstrations, THI Cherokee participated in the Liberty demonstrations and HyLee's Galaxy's Wild Irish participated in the Stallion Avenue Revue. Joann Ace and W's Ready To Rumble won a reserve title in the Wind Rider Challenge. In this popular event, horse-and-rider compete on a course that includes challenges drawn from gymkhana, dressage, reining patterns, jousting, trail obstacles, hunter/jumper courses, and more.
The 2010 Midwest Horse Fair was a real winner. The Morgans looked sleek and fit, behaved well, and brought home the gold for WMHC.