# Greetings from a Morgan Owner in Colorado!



## Opal (Feb 17, 2013)

Hello HorseForum!
I've just finished reading all the rules, and thought that writing an introduction would be a good way to meet some people and just get aquainted with the forum.

I'm Opal, as you can see, and have been riding for 11 years. 5 years ago, I got my first horse, JJ, whose a full-blooded Morgan, and my trusted partner in riding. I started out as an English huntseat equitation rider at a community barn when I was 4, riding huntseat there for 3 years before starting lessons with a private instructor, where I rode a 16.3hh Arab/QH/Percheron mix named Hotshot, who was black with four white socks and a blaze. I rode him for another 3 years before I got my first horse (who is still my horse today) when I was 10, JJ. JJ won a championship called the Citrus cup as a yearling, before he moved on to driving, and one a couple championships as a two year old in that field. When I got him, he was 5 years old and even though by that time I'd already been riding for 7 years, he was probably too much horse for me. One of the main reasons we bought him was because we got him for an amazing discount. He was originally put on the market for 10,000$, but when we first came across him, he'd already been on the market for 2 years and his owner was desperate to get rid of him so she sold him to us for 6,000$, 1,650$ of which I saved up mowing lawns and pet sitting. My trainer was confident enough in my skills that she believed I was responsible enought to handle him, and looking back now, while I believe it was probably the wrong descision at the time, I will never regret buying him. We continued to do huntseat for and a tiny bit of jumping for 2 more years before I switched to western pleasure, since he was built more for western than for english. We did that for another year/year and a half and I did some small shows, but he had (and still has, unfortunately) terrible show ettiquete like refusing to stand in the line up and throwing fits in the warm up ring, so I got discouraged from showing quickly. Since Western Pleasure wasn't working out, about two years ago we switched to the up-and-coming discipline of Western Dressage, and just last year did our first out of state A show in the discipline. There's no other horses in the ring, and no standing in the line up, so JJ has been much happier in the discipline that he was doing western pleasure. Now we're preparing to do the same A show this June, and I've continued to suppliment my riding with some english every now and then, so I feel like I'm very familiar and capable of discussing both english and western sports.

I know that was long, but thank you to anyone who read, and I hope you enjoyed my intro!


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## WesternRider88 (Oct 30, 2012)

Welcome to the forum! Both Hotshot and JJ are GORGEOUS!!


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

Welcome!!  

I used to live in CO. Lovely state! And you live near where I used to live.

Also your picture of Hotshot looks like Parker/Elizabeth countryside haha!


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Well, if riding doesn't work out for you, you can always become a writer!

Welcome to HorseForum!


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## Opal (Feb 17, 2013)

@Westernrider
Thank you! JJ's so fluffy right now he doesn't look anything like his summer self when that picture was taken XD

@Sky
Darn right you are! That's about 10 minutes off Parker road, at the turnoff where the little square that has the tack store "A Bit of Tack" is. Nice eye!

@Tiny
Coinscedentally, I already major in Creative Writing at a performing arts school, so I'm a rider and a writer!


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

Haha I wish I still lived there some days..gorgeous country despite the drive..

I hope you enjoy it! Keep us updated on your rides with JJ


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## Cacowgirl (Feb 19, 2011)

Welcome to the forum.


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## HorseLovinLady (Jul 18, 2011)

Welcome to the forum!! Do you have a full body pic of JJ to share?


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## Opal (Feb 17, 2013)

@HorseLovinLady

Here he is all parked out


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## WesternRider88 (Oct 30, 2012)

Wow! He's so pretty!


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## loveduffy (Dec 22, 2011)

welcome to the forum very nice horses, you started off right we love pictures


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## Opal (Feb 17, 2013)

@Westernrider
Thanks!


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## smarties (Feb 13, 2013)

Welcome to the forum! I am new here as well and also a Morgan owner, your horse is beautiful! Do you know what his breeding is? I have owned Morgans since I was a teenager with a brief foray into the hunter's with a thoroughbred or two.


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## Opal (Feb 17, 2013)

smarties said:


> Welcome to the forum! I am new here as well and also a Morgan owner, your horse is beautiful! Do you know what his breeding is? I have owned Morgans since I was a teenager with a brief foray into the hunter's with a thoroughbred or two.


He's out of Three Wishes  What about you? Any modern or old breeding in your gelding? I'm so happy to meet another Morgan owner! Everyone my age seems to be into Warmbloods, OTTB's and Jumping/Eventing nowadays...


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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

Gorgeous horses. I also have a purebred Morgan, Isabel. You'll find a few Morgan lovers here (go to the "breed" section and search for "Morgan lovers"- I'd post the direct link but am on my phone...which makes it hard to search.)

I love to learn Morgan pedigrees. What is yours like? I know my mare comes from Tara Farm stock, but one day I'd really love a Lippett Morgan.

ETA: posted before seeing you already covered pedigree 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Opal (Feb 17, 2013)

@Egrogan

Yeah, his sire is Three Wishes, and his Grandsire of his Dam's side is UC Ringmaster.
He has a TON of Upway in him, as well as a good but of Waseekas and a little bit of Lippitt. 

Here's his pedigree if you're interested 

Grand Cru Wish And Tell Morgan


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## smarties (Feb 13, 2013)

Hi Opal,

My horse is a Lippitt bred Morgan. I owned his mother and had a few foals out of her. I am very interested in the older bloodlines, not just Lippitt. I am out of breeding at this point. My horse descends from the Royalton bloodlines. I will try to post pictures of his mom and siblings.


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## smarties (Feb 13, 2013)

Since you seem to have friends who are in to eventing, Morgans make wonderful event horses, the Lippitts seem to enjoy jumping 
We call them Leapin' Lippitts


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## Opal (Feb 17, 2013)

@Smarties
Ooo yeah, Lippitts are nice. They tend to be built stockier than some other strains which is nice if you want to do anything outside driving/hunter.

I actually don't have any friends who ride. There aren't any other kids at my barn, nor anyone under 26 years old. As a result though, I often get the arena to myself and my trainer asks me to work all sorts of different horses for him, not to mention I broke to ride my first horse this summer:








who my trainer was originally selling unbroke for 400$ and now wants to sell for 5000$  With my constant presence at the barn, and no competition between other people my age, I've really been exposed to other opportunities I might have never gotten had I been at a more public barn.

See, my mother is an Equestrian too, and used go groom for my trainer when she was in her 20's. The long times relationship means my trainer trusts the integrity of my mom, and thus my own integrity too-- a chance I'd never had at another barn.
Just two weeks ago I did a Western Dressage demonstration with my trainer at the National Western Stock Show, and I am thankful every day for that opportunity. 

That was more answer than you were looking for, but no, I don't have any eventing friend XD Just people I've talked to over horse forums like this one


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## smarties (Feb 13, 2013)

egrogan,

There was a stallion at Tara farm I wanted to breed my Lippitt mare to, it was Apollo's Reflection. Is your horse related? "Out" breeding in the Lippitt community is frowned upon, but I never followed the rules. All foals I had were full Lippit, just breedings of my choice. I never got a chance to see what my mare would produce out of a non-Lippitt stallion.


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## smarties (Feb 13, 2013)

Opal,
That is sort of how I got my start. Purchased a horse from a small, local breeder and did some training with his horses as there was not really anyone else to do it. He was in his 70's at that time and too old to saddle train horses. He enjoyed breeding and watching the foals mature. He emphasized ground work among other things. Very intelligent and offered good advice, although as a teenager, I was not always open to it. What he did mention in passing, I did read up on, like Xenaphon and other old school things.


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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

smarties said:


> egrogan,
> 
> There was a stallion at Tara farm I wanted to breed my Lippitt mare to, it was Apollo's Reflection. Is your horse related? "Out" breeding in the Lippitt community is frowned upon, but I never followed the rules. All foals I had were full Lippit, just breedings of my choice. I never got a chance to see what my mare would produce out of a non-Lippitt stallion.


Yes, Apollo's Reflection is her sire. Her registered name is Tara's Isabel. She never had a show career, though was broke to ride/drive at the breeder's in her early years. From there, she was a family horse for a family with 6 kids for about a decade, and came to me as a 17 year old. She's about to turn 19 in March.


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## HorseLovinLady (Jul 18, 2011)

Opal said:


> @HorseLovinLady
> 
> Here he is all parked out


 Very nice!! Thanks for sharing.


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## Opal (Feb 17, 2013)

@HorseLovinLady
Thanks


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