(This event was formerly called the Morgan Horse Open House but because we had other breeds involved the name was changed in 2007.) 

2^nd Annual Morgan Horse Open House a Hit for Breed Promotions

By Margo Mossburg, Event Manager and Kathy Nyborg, Assistant Manager

The reporter could not have hoped for better weather shots, clear skies, sunshine and Morgans.  In the hours before our 2nd Annual Morgan Horse Open House, local ABC affiliate KXLY treated viewers all over the Inland Empire to views of Morgans trotting around the Kootenai County Fairgrounds in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.  This was the opening of an event, which featured a stallion showcase, breed demo horses and private treaty sale horses.

The TV crew really appreciated Lisa Spors-Murphy and her gorgeous black stallion, Black Hat Knight Raven (Cin-O-Rama Knight Rider x Black Hat Shy Shadow) from Montana, doing a reining demo for the TV audience.  There was several hours of open arena usage and the exhibitors made use of that time to show potential buyers without the horses being stuck in stalls for the day.

The open house gathered 16 barns with 35 head from throughout Washington, Idaho and Montana.  The exhibitors were very happy to answer questions and show off their stock for the 350+ folks who attended the event.  The event was primarily a Morgan open house, friends with appaloosas and Friesians were invited to attend.

The most popular class of the day, the $100 Minimum Jackpot Liberty Class, had 20 entries and lasted almost two hours.  Judging the Liberty Class was the hard part because so many horses presented themselves very well to much applause.  The proud winner was another black stallion from Eureka, Montana, JAO Montana Black Savage (Brady’s Black Label x MT Hope Black Velvet) owned by Owen Acres and Lonny and Tammy Owen, narrowly beating out the Friesian, but Savage put on quite a show.

The whole point of the day’s gathering was to sell horses and stallion breedings and promote the breed.  One mare was purchased right at the event.  Jackie Hare of Libby, Montana, sold her Beamington granddaughter, Maynard’s Windy Tiara (Northwind Beamington x Cheeri’s MS Elegance), to Lisa Duncan of Spokane, Washington for $2,200.  Several folks sold some breedings to their stallions too.  At press time complete tallies were not available.  All the exhibitors agreed it was a good way to meet new people and introduce them to the breed and to make valuable contacts too.

The event almost did not happen this year because in March several barns at the fairgrounds in Spokane that housed the 1^st Annual Morgan Horse Open House had burned down.  We wanted an outdoor arena for better event photos, as this weekend is typically sunny in our area.  The Kootenai County Fairgrounds (about 35 minutes east of our original location) still available and fit our needs nicely.  With that crisis averted we started advertising the move and all our exhibitors went with us.

Some of the vendors for the day included Homestead Tack, Fletcher’s Mobile BBQ, Dachshund Rescue NW and Dachshund Club of Spokane with their rescued wiener dogs and dog club members on hand, the Working Western Morgan Horse Association, the Inland Empire Morgan Horse Club, the Rainbow Morgan Horse Association and the Big Sky Morgan Horse Association along with our photographers, Dragoon Studios, and Naked M Photography.  Numerous members from all the Morgan clubs present were on there to hand out breed promotion information and tell why the Morgans are the best breed of horses.

Overall it was a perfect day to be playing with our horses for an appreciative audience and we look forward to making the event even bigger and better in 2007.

List of the Liberty Class participants in order of their appearance:

1. Black Hat Knight Raven

2. JAO Montana Black Savage, Jackpot  Winner

3. JAO Fancy Dude

4. Ide Fan Duerswald

5. Strike A Pose

6. Jazztime Bold Image

7. Summerwood Triumph

8. NR Goodness Gracie

9. RRFM Knight

10. Wheatland Pepe’

11. NR Captain Courageous

12. Successful Sorcerer

13. Futurity Cobra’s Promise

14. JMF Moonlight Express

15. Nina Belle

16. F1f Richwood’s Jewel

17. Shekinah

18. Rio

19. Kerry Freedom