Shelburne, VT — The Morgan horse breed was celebrated at the Park Plaza Hotel in Boston, MA, at the 2011 American Morgan Horse Association (AMHA) Annual Convention, earlier this year.

"The goal of our convention has always been to educate, honor and entertain and based on the feedback we've received, the 2011 convention certainly accomplished all this and more," said AMHA Executive Director Julie Broadway. "Members came away with fresh ideas they were eager to go home and share, honorees appreciated the spotlight AMHA shined on their accomplishments and everyone had lots of fun. Many thanks to the convention committee for their hard work and their willingness to try some innovative ideas!"

This year's event started February 23 with a tour of three local farms, sponsored by the Massachusetts Morgan Horse Club. Educational and entertaining seminars were held on Thursday and Saturday with nationally known presenters with topics ranging from horse health to Morgan history to sports psychology. A special Youth Convention was held for the younger Morgan enthusiasts with fun activities like a pizza party and a horse bowl contest. On Friday, convention goers visited two local Morgan farms, Chrislar Farm in Rowley, Massachusetts, and Taylor River Farm in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire, where they were able to ride horses, watch a stallion presentation, and listen and learn from world champion trainers.

At the Annual Meeting of Members, Harry Sebring of Richmond, Massachusetts, was elected as AMHA president as well as a Director at Large. In other election news, David Earehart of Michigan and Gayle Singer of Indiana were elected to represent Region 3; Patricia West of Florida was re-elected to represent Region 4; Kris Breyer was re-elected to represent Region 5; and David Bramley of North Carolina was elected to represent Region 10. AMHA also announced the results of voting on four proposed bylaw changes. Items 1, 2, and 4 passed and will be implemented immediately.

Item 1: Changing length of service criterion for emeriti. (Voting results were 1,959 For and 372 Against)

Item 2: Elimination of board term limits. (Voting results were 1,878 For and 459 Against)

Item 3: the proposal by plaintiffs in the Hazelwood action, was defeated. (Voting results were 439 For and 1,909 Against)

Item 4: Changing the term "General member" to read "individual member" (Voting results were 2,036 For and 296 Against)


The final verified results included 2,369 returned ballots, making the participation rate 37.63%, the highest voter response in many years.

The AMHA/World Morgan Futurity Stallion Service Auction raised more than $96,000, which will be distributed to the AMHA Marketing Program, World Morgan Futurity, AMHA regional horse shows, and the AMHA Show Grant Program. The top-selling stallion's service went to the reigning World Champion Stallion and World Champion Park Saddle Amateur, Dragonsmeade Icon, which sold for $7,500. The cover of the breed journal, The Morgan Horse sold for $10,000 and for the first time ever, an egg was auctioned off, and the winning bid was $8,000. This egg to world champion Kim's Bellegante was generously donated by Bill and Sammi Hazen.

The event also saw special recognition given to honor those who have dedicated their time and devotion to the breed. Year-end awards were presented to many deserving recipients for their dedication and accomplishments in the breed in 2010.

AMHA will hold its 2012 convention February 29 to March 3 at the Hilton Hotel at the Walt Disney World Resort. Reservations must be made by January 27, 2012 by calling 1-800-782-4414
and asking for the American Morgan Horse Association Group Rate.

Founded in 1909, the American Morgan Horse Association is a non-profit organization serving more than 50,000 Morgan horse owners, breeders, exhibitors, and enthusiasts throughout the United States. AMHA serves as a parent organization to more than 90 recognized Morgan horse clubs and national service organizations.

For more information on America’s original horse breed, contact the American Morgan Horse Association, Inc., 4066 Shelburne Road, Suite 5, Shelburne, Vermont 05482; (802) 985-4944; www.morganhorse.com.

ENDS