[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/32BPxSkyRgA" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

I just read that the Jubilee Morgan Horse Regional Show has increased the prize money for this year’s show.

Mark Bodnar announced on the AMHA site that

prize money awarded to competitors will double for all championships in every division. The $500 classes will all be $1,000 classes, the $250 junior championships will now pay $500, and so on throughout all of the payback classes. The show also will be awarding money in the junior exhibitor pleasure championships and the High-Point Sport Horse will receive $250.

Also stated was that the $4000 Amateur Jackpot class this year will be the Amateur Park Saddle Championship and Walk/Trot championship classes for all three seats have been added for both pleasure and equitation.

I have gone to Jubilee the last 2 summers and really enjoyed it. The State Fairgrounds, coliseum and warm up areas are really nice. ( We did have a scary hotel stay the first year. I will be posting on that later!).

Where is everybody? Doesn’t anyone out there besides me have anything to say? I find that hard to believe! Is it because this is a site for and about Morgan show horses and this is the off-season? Do we need a new category? I propose a category called The Off-Season. Tell us what you do to keep yourself sane during the off-season, with or without your Morgan. Whether it’s trail-riding or sitting on a beach. Tell us all about it. Maybe you will inspire someone else.

Obviously BlackEyeBeth has found something to keep her sane and is trying to help the rest of us out of the winter doldrums. It will be more fun if more people participate. C’mon, you know you want to. As long as you choose an obscure username when you register, no one will know who you are when you comment or post, which could get really interesting. Then check back every day and maybe we can get a conversation started. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.

There are several ways for you to add video to your posts. Here are instructions for the easiest way – embedding video from a video website, such as Google video or YouTube:

1. Get an account on Google video or on YouTube.
2. Follow their easy instructions for uploading video.
3. You’ll need to copy the URL, or website address, for your video. It will look something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8twO19-Z84.
4. Sign in to our website.
5. On the far right sidebar, you’ll see a link to “Write Post”. Click on this.
6. You’ll be taken to the Dashboard: Write Page. Use the “visual” tab, and write your post.
7. Don’t paste from any other program into the visual editor!
8. When your ready to insert your video, click on the yellow “A” button on the toolbar.



9. Paste the URL into the popup box (the box may look slightly different in IE) and click OK.
   
10. You should now have some code in your post that starts with [kml_flashembed movie=...
11. Click on Publish Post, and your done! Enjoy your new post with video.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/E8twO19-Z84" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

We are currently working on directions for uploading and embedding your favorite photos and video into your posts.  When complete, this information will be posted in the “How To” category, as well as the FAQ.  Please email blackeyebeth@abovelevel.com with any questions you may have.

It appears to me that there are fewer and fewer private sales of Morgan horses. Why is that? Is it the Chicken or the Egg? Sure, we all hear about the World Champions that are sold for big money at the Grand National, but what about the “average” Morgan? They must be going through one of the plethora of auctions of registered Morgan horses that have cropped up in the last five years, because I see very few buyers coming through my barn or the barns of the people I know.

It used to be that the only auctions I knew about were the Cochran Auction and the Green Meads Weanling Sale. When Kohler Stables started breeding more horses than they knew what to do with, they had a dispersal sale every few years and kept right on breeding. Then we started have auctions during horse shows. Now we have the Harrisburg Auction, The Buckeye Auction, the Copper-Dragon Auction, and new this year, the Signature Sale, in addition to the Cochran Auction. And I hear that the New York State Morgan Horse Society has formed a committee to look into having a Weanling Sale during the NY Regional show.

So, what’s the reason for all of the auctions? Are buyers finding better horses for lower prices? Are auctions a better use of everyone’s time than visiting farms and seeing a prospect up close and personal? Are auctions more fun? Do time and money and fun outweigh seeing where a horse comes from and how it has been raised and handled and cared for, not to mention seeing a prospect’s relatives and stable-mates to get a better idea of what you’re buying? Are we breeding too many horses that can’t be sold any other way, or is it the buyers’ love of a bargain? Which came first, buyers with too little time to shop around or a market flooded by a few breeders with LOTS of money to spend producing horses?

Read the rest of this entry

The 2008 New England Morgan Horse Association Convention will be held on February 1-3 at the Sheraton Ferncroft Resort in Danvers, MA.  Many interesting events have been planned including a tour of Taylor River Farm and talks on several different subjects including techniques for teaching all levels of rider, shoeing/veterinary care of the show horse, and Presentation of the Sale Horses.  For more information go to the NEMHA Convention site. 

The 20th Oklahoma Centennial Horse Show will be held on April 9-12, 2008 at the Oklahoma State Fair Park in Oklahoma City, OK.  This year National Show Horses will be included along with Morgans, Saddlebreds, Roadster horses and ponies, and Hackney/harness exhibitors. 

According to Trot.org, Board Chair Karen Cunningham has stated that there are also show schedule changes:

Show management also has revised the show schedule, adding and moving some of the junior exhibitor and walk/trot classes. Based upon great input from the Morgan exhibitors and trainers, management changed their schedule to allow the classes to flow better. “We feel the Morgans will be pleased with the new exhibitor-friendly arrangement.”

For more information go to the Oklahoma Centennial Horse Show website, Trot.org, or the American Morgan Horse Association.

The Penn Ohio Morgan Horse Association 2008 Winter Holiday will be held on February 2. 2008 at the Days Inn in Meadville, PA.  The day is full of fun events including a Tack Swap, Year End High Points Awards Banquet and fun auctions.  For more information go to Penn Ohio Morgan Horse Association 2008 Winter Holiday.

Open Horse Show – C-Fair Charity Horse Show, July 31 – Aug 3, 2008.
Evergreen Equestrian Park, Monroe, Washington; Contact: Lauri Huston
lauri@npinfo.com (253) 529-7277