When I was a teenager, I poured through copies of The Morgan Horse Magazine with the kind of vigor my classmates were giving Teen Beat. My pin ups were Fred and Jeanne Herrick, Elm Hill Charter Oak, Saddleback Supreme, Applevale Donalect, Lord Appleton. The Herricks ushered in a new phase of the Morgan horse, a push toward the refinement that was just in its infancy in the late fifties and sixties when the 1959 Morgan National footage was shot.
Fleetwing is now legendary for producing the kind of Morgans who stretched the breed into the show horses of today. His progeny had longer necks, higher action and exotic movement. Black River Major burst on the scene and stole top honors at every show on the east coast, as a two year old. You can see his attitude on the Fleetwing and Progeny video. Fred Herrick told me the Morgan horse adjective 'stretchy' was coined to describe Black River Major.
John Bulmer and his wife Angela Connor established the foundation Morgan Horse farm in England, on the banks of the River Wye in Herefordshire, where I have spent many an unforgettable sojourn. The natural, breathtaking beauty of this place is indescribable- no one ever believes me when I describe it, so I will just say, I am drifting off in my memories. It was here I first met Jeanne Herrick. It was John who took me for my first carriage drive, careening around the Anglo-Welsh countryside. I could sit and listen to John for endless hours.
I hope you enjoy these reflections and justify my sentimentality.
Kind Regards,
Michelle Blackler
Serendipity
www.hossbiz.com
Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.
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