It’s been two years since my last time at the Grand National and World Championship Morgan Horse Show. (See my post about the 2021 Nationals). No it wasn’t because of COVID–the 2020 World Championship Show was held. I would probably have gone if I had been in Oklahoma. But after living for seven years in Norman, I moved back to my home state of California last summer. And life in October 2020 was not conducive to travel, what with COVID and its repercussions.
This year, the World Championship Morgan Horse Show provided an excellent excuse for a trip to Oklahoma. Because I was only there for a week, and had many friends to see, I was only at the show for two days, Thursday evening and Saturday afternoon and evening. But I still got a chance to see horses and people! Sadly, I left my camera at home, so I didn’t get the close-ups I have shared in the past here. I did get a few shots with my cell phone, and lots of videos, so I’ll share these here. As usual, feel free to download anything you like!
For professional pictures of the show, visit Howard Schatzberg’s site.
I’ll make some commentary on the different divisions and how they’ve changed over time. It might be controversial. Feel free to share your disagreement (or agreement) in comments. Bottom line: What I want to see in a horse, any horse doing any discipline, is lilghtness. If the horse cannot be light in the bridle, something needs to change.
Above: The dragging for the final evening performance was masterful.
The “moving down” of the English-style Morgan
Sadly, I wrote up to this last heading, and then got busy. It’s not November 5th, and my memory of the show is no longer fresh! I’m going to make a few brief comments and share the few pictures and videos I took… Before I forget completely!
Above: Just a few pictures of pleasure driving classes.
But… these classes–Park, English Pleasure, all the driving classes–are what I most enjoy at Morgan shows. Morgans ar very versatile; they can and do perform in many disciplines, from dressage (traditional, Cowboy, and western) to Working Equitation to reining to carriage driving to endurance. A few can do many different things and look good doing them all. When I was a kid, they had classes–can’t remember what they were called–in which the horses had to show English and Western. Maybe they still do.
But now they all tend to “look the same”, at least at the Nationals.
The thing is, what I’ve observed since I began attending the Nationals again in 2013 is that all the horses are starting to “look the same.” Especially in English styles. What seems to be happening in that people move horses “down” to be more competitive. That is, Park horses move down to English Pleasure, English Pleasure horses move down to Classic Pleasure, and Classic Pleasure horses move down to Hunt Seat Pleasure.
Above: English Pleasure (possibly Classic, can’t recall) on the left. Hunt Seat pleasure on the right.
Classic Pleasure didn’t even exist when I was showing as a teenager. (See the video of Classic Pleasure Saddle Ladies below)
Now, I never like to see a lot of hoof and shoe on a horse, especially if it makes its movement clunky and heavy. For me, what distinguishes a park horse from a pleasure horse is its overall carriage, not how close to its elbows its hooves come. A park horse needs to be able to sit back and move forward; it needs that moment of suspecnsion… Well I don’t even know how to express it. You can tell I am not a judge!
But, the last several shows I’ve been to (Nationals), I’ve consistently seen a few park horses in pleasure classes… and English Pleasure horses in Classic pleasure. But it isn’t really a big deal. The horses, on the whole, have if anything gotten better over the years. A lot of talent. You can see some awesome horses in the video above (that look like park horses to me!) And this year I saw a lot less winging, which is an improvement. (Although I’m still seeing far too many horses move like Western pleasure horses in back.) But!! It is sad to see park classes so small…. and hunt classes so huge.
(The same goes for driving)
Park Harnes horses move down to Pleasure Driving (leaving park classes empty), Pleasure driving horses move down to Classic Pleasure driving… but again, Morgans were born to pull buggies or carts or anything with wheels. For the most part, I’d say these division are if anything better than what I recall from a few decades (or so) ago.
For me, the hunt seat pleasure division is the problem.
It’s a hugely popular division. Classes are split into two classes (often of 20 horses each), and the top 20 show back. There are some nice horses, don’t get me wrong. But far too many have long feet and pads and go around with ears back when not pinned, looking miserable. The many difference between Hunt and English/classic pleasure for far too many “hunt” horses is that they are heavy on the forehand and pulling heavily on a mouthful of bit(s).
It’s not about how high they lift their knees. Many Morgans, even unshod, are going to have a lot of action. It’s not about how high their heads are set. That’s just the way they are built, and I love it. It’s about the way they are shod, so that their movement is clunky and heavy. I hate the way they lug into the bridle, get behind the bit, look miserable. It’s about the total absence of lightness.
Yes, a hunter should be light inthe bridle. ALL horses should be light in the bridle.
And of course, they were not all terrible. I saw many really nice horses in the hunt seat classes. The truth is, some of them looked miserable because they had to show twice in a row. Many were suffering riders with heavy hands. Riders too were tired and nervous. It’s probably the most competitive division… except perhaps Western Pleasure.
But overall, the hunt classes at the nationals have been disappointing me for years now. I haven’t seen one snaffle bit. I’ve seen very few horses that were light in the bridle, and fewer that didn’t have unneeded length and/or weight on their hooves.
What about Western Pleasure?
I love a good Western Morgan. The same upheadedness that makes them so wonderful at Park, English, and Classic pleasure and their driving counterparts make Morgans with less knee action really beautiful Western mounts. In my opinion, a good Western horse has less in common with a good hunt horse than with the other English styles.
Western pleasure classes are also huge and competitive. And there are many good horses. This year was better than past ones, when I was seeing more long feet and heavy pads. If one thing ruins the Western look, it’s a horse whose heels are flipping back because of the weight it’s carrying at the end of its legs.
My main criticism of the Western Pleasure division at the Morgan nationals is that the horses tend not to be as trained as they should be. They too tend to be heavy in the bridle. Ridden with bits that should be used with the lightest of contact, they don’t have the finish on them to be light in the bridle… or at least, their riders rarely let them alone, but rather are constantly asking for the verticle (or even behind it).
But it’s difficult to train a horse to carry a Western bridle well. I certainly have never done it! So kudos to everyone who attempts this ever-more competitive division.
More pictures and videos below!
The above video was Thursday night. Below we get Roadster to bike the second way (when they go fast).
A few more pictures…
They were called Versatility Classes and they were so much fun.
Yes they were!
Nothing beyond video on the roadster classes? They were such fun when we were kids. So much rowdy cheering in the stands.
Very small classes now 😢
Should be sound though. Cheering is still a thing