In the mid 1990’s Jackie Brittan and I started the Merriewold breeding program with the desire to produce a Morgan that could successfully compete in the sport of Dressage with an adult amateur or junior rider. The Warm Blood breeds dominate this sport but their large size, and strong build is not appropriate for all riders. We saw a need for a medium sized, athletic, easily trainable horse for the sport horse market. The Morgan is ideal for this niche.
Some Morgan breeders base their program on specific lines of Morgan breeding: Brunk, Working Western and Government, to name a few. Jackie Brittain and I instead looked for individual mares that exemplify the qualities that we wanted in our program. We then found the best stallion to compliment the mare’s traits, to produce a superior sport Morgan.
In the Merriewold breeding program there were three qualities we considered to be the foundation traits that we desired in our Morgans...
- The distinct Morgan personality
- The unmistakable Morgan beauty
- The renowned Morgan versatility
The most important of all Morgan traits is the Morgan personality or disposition. Highly trainable, intelligent, brave, and willing, they are known for having a great work ethic. They are also renowned for their energy and endurance. But their best trait of all is their desire to please.
There is no mistaking a Morgan! The chiseled head with large wide set eyes and small tipped ears. The elegant arched neck set high on a laid-back shoulder. The athletic yet refined build with a short back, generous girth and high flagging tail. These traits make a Morgan stand out in a crowd.
In the early years of the breed, the Morgan was prized for having the strength to do farm work on the weekdays and the elegance to pull the family carriage to town on the weekend. Today you can find Morgans in many divisions of the horse world. From eventing to endurance, driving and dressage, reining, ranch work, while also being an important family member. Morgans do it all.
Two additional traits that we considered important for a Sport Morgan are an athletic build and substantial height. Athletic build in sport horses denotes a free moving, laid-back shoulder, a powerful hind quarter and withers higher than the croup. This conformation helps to give the horse three correct gaits with balance, energy and suspension. In addition, good bone and sound feet are essential. According to the American Morgan Horse Association, the ideal Morgan ranges in size from 14.2hh to 15.2hh. In our program our goal was to produce individuals that are at the larger end of the scale with 15h-15.3h being ideal.
Merriewold Morgans Training Program
The training of a horse begins at birth and continues throughout its life. Jacqueline A. Brittain was responsible for the day-to-day care and training of our horses. She is a life long equestrian who truly puts the welfare of the horse first. Because of her many years of caring for and training Thoroughbred race horses, she also has expert knowledge in equine conformation, nutrition, injuries and medications. Her many jobs at MWM included all aspects of horse management, care, training, breeding arrangements and total farm management. Her particular specialty is in developing a young horse to it's best capabilities in performance and as a pleasurable equine partner.
The Foals
We handled our foals daily from the time of birth, starting with putting on a foal halter and teaching them to walk on a lead line. Farrier visits became part of the schedule, beginning by gently picking up their feet. Basic ground manners were established early and the foals looked forward to the daily interaction with the people who groom and care for them. After weaning, foals were groomed while being tied and learned to respect the handler’s space while being groomed and led. Because of the Morgan breed’s good nature and intelligence, these first steps are usually fun and easy. Aside from grooming, handling, and occasional visits from the Vet and Farrier, our foals were left out at pasture to run, grow and develop naturally.
Early Training
The next stage of training usually started in the spring of the young horse’s third year. Depending on the size and maturity of the individual, this date was adjusted earlier or later. The young horse was first introduced to free lungeing and basic voice commands and gradually progresses to lungeing with a bit and then with a saddle.
Starting Under Saddle
The fall of our young horse’s third year was ideally when we start their training under saddle. Our goal was to give them a basic start, enabling them to go on with more specific training later, so they could compete in any discipline that an owner might choose or to simply become a wonderful pleasure horse. This stage of training was much less stressful for the horse (and Trainer!) because of the extensive handling and ground work we had done throughout their lives.
Identifying the Horse's Talents
As four year olds, most Morgans are ready to start their individualized training. By this time many of our foals and young horses had new homes and were on their way to new careers. For the individuals that we kept, we assessed their abilities, talents and disposition to determine what they were best suited for. At this point we sometimes sent a horse to an outside trainer for a period of time or, we elected to continue the training at Merriewold. Whichever path was chosen, our goal was to identify the natural talents of our Morgans, so that they were competitive and happy in the discipline that best suits them.
Jacqueline A. Brittain- Merriewold Trainer/ Manager
A History With Horses
As a child, I demonstrated an encompassing love for horses and a desire to make them a part of my life. My parents needed to find me a suitable place to ride, after many rental stables proved to be unsafe. Lessons ensued and the need for a first horse, which turned out to be a pony named Colonel. The show ring followed with me competing by age groups, then division and with that process the need for better mounts. I continued showing through high school and won many divisions in saddle seat equitation including four AHSA Saddle Seat Equitation medals, which qualified me for the finals at Madison Square Gardens.
These goals had to be put on hold as college became a priority. I studied animal science at the University of Florida. During that time in college, I lived in Ocala, Florida. It's an area of thoroughbred horse breeding. I worked for farms breaking yearlings for the race track. It took a lot of nerve and sometimes I wonder how I survived. This experience kindled a great interest in training horses for the track, when I realized I could have a career in the horse industry.
I continued working my way up the ropes of the race track and, when I graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelors degree in animal science, I decided to pursue my trainer license. Through contacts that I had made, while working for the various farms, I was able to get a start at the New Jersey race track, Monmouth Park. I obtained my state trainers license and worked for some wonderful people that gave me my first break into racing.
However, I still wanted to return to Florida and race on the Florida circuit. Alone, it was difficult to break into the highly competitive, tight-knit world that was run by large powerful stables. It took everything in me not to give up as it seemed every step was a test of endurance and conviction to succeed.
I was fortunate, however, to have horses possessing ability and talent, which helped to open doors and promote my own talents as a trainer. Believe me, you don't learn the art of training horses from a person or people. You learn from your daily experiences. Your success depends on how you deal with the decisions you make and the consequences.
I continued at the tracks in Florida and built a public racing stable of 20 horses. During that time, I trained for Keith Wold, to whom, I will always be thankful. The horses he gave me to train were very fine. Our successes were many, as Dr. Wold's horses won many high caliber stake races -including, a Kentucky Derby prospect and a Breeder's cup prospect.
Through Keith Wold, I met his daughter, Diana Wold.
It was an interesting partnership and lifelong friendship that began with the two of us through horses. Diana's father asked us to set up a stable of pleasure horses on his ranch in Okeechobee, Florida named Triple Diamond Ranch and had once been the broodmare farm for his race horses. The same horses that I trained for him. When Diana and I got to work on the ranch, we had existing horses there, which happened to be Morgans that her father had bought. The Morgans really struck a great love in Diana and for me it was a return to a breed of horse that I once showed and loved.
I eventually moved to the Triple Diamond Ranch, because I wanted a slower paced lifestyle and one that I could pursue riding dressage with Morgan horses and wanted to take part in Diana's mission to breed sport Morgans because Diana had an innate sensitivity to special qualities that make a great horse.
And once again I decided to follow and aid in Diana's quest by moving to California and assist with the creation of Merriewold Morgans. For 17 years we developed two breeding farms in Arroyo Grande, CA. Our final ranch was built from the ground up and was a work of love from all the years of my experience combined with Diana's experience. The result was the ranch of our dreams for Merriewold Morgans at La Ranchita. I think my fondest memories are of living and working on La Ranchita in California.
And the greatest validation of our work has been the repeated inquiries through the years from people that have owned our Merriewold Morgans and wanted to own another because of their dispositions, good start and raised with love.
~Jackie
Honors & Qualifications:
Multiple Championships with many breeds of show horses and riding disciplines.
Qualified four times for Madison Square Gardens Saddle Seat Equitation Finals
Side Saddle Champion.
Bachelors Degree in Animal Science. Thoroughbred Trainer's Licenses in New Jersey, New York, Kentucky, Louisiana and Florida.
Diana Wold - Merriewold Owner & Breeder
Never Too Late
I came from a family of horse enthusiasts. My mother and her siblings grew up with ponies and rode with the hunt in England, as soon as they were old enough. My aunt went on to a lifetime career in breeding and racing thoroughbreds. Many of my cousins enjoyed competitive jumping, eventing and driving. And my parents were also involved with racing and breeding thoroughbreds for over thirty years and afterwards had trail and pleasure horses.
As a youngster I did some riding, but was never one of those horse crazy girls. Growing up in the sixties, I naturally had to be rebellious! Then came college, marriage and family. It wasn't until I was in my forties that I became involved with horses and eventually fell in love with them.
It all started with a simple twist of fate - also known as, a phone call from my father. I began overseeing the management of our ranch in Florida. During that time, I got to know Jackie Brittain and the Morgans that would change my life.
Morgans made the difference!
The little Morgan mare that changed my mind about horses was named Hot Chocolate (Laine’s Dawn). She was my epitome of what a Morgan should be. She was sweet to be around and enjoyed the company of people. She was beautiful: a chiseled head with huge eyes and tiny ears, a long arched neck, smooth back and a full, wavy mane and tail. But her most endearing trait was her willing and eager disposition. On the trail she was a steady, energetic ride. In the arena her natural ability to use her back and hind quarters made her well suited for almost any sport division. If she could talk, I believe she would have said, "OK, let's go!”
The first horse I purchased was, of course, a Morgan and his name was Equinox Jazzman. After having owned him for just a short while, I was bitten by the 'horse bug'. My love of horses began with Jazz. Hot Chocolate may have changed my mind, but Jazzman changed my heart! Jazz taught me the basics of riding and horsemanship: patience, persistence, intention, communication, and attention to detail. Jazz learned from me, as well, and together we became a confident team. We started with trail riding, tried some jumping and then discovered dressage.
Morgan Breeding
My desire to breed Morgans evolved gradually. The positive experiences I had with Hot Chocolate, her sister Smurfette (Diana’s Dawn) and then with Jazz, taught me to appreciate the attributes of Morgans. While other breeds have many good qualities, only Morgans inspired me to become involved with horses.
Jackie Brittain and I traveled to New England to see some of the established Morgan breeding farms, to learn more about this wonderful breed. We visited East of Equinox, UVM Morgan Horse Farm, and Rumbrook Farm to name a few. When I saw their commitment to the breed, the niche that each had created for themselves in the Morgan world, the quality of their horses, the care, the passion...I knew that I wanted that too.
Then I discovered Dressage
The systematic athletic development of the horse combined with the refinement of communication skills - between horse and rider, to produce a partnership which exhibits suppleness, strength, responsiveness, grace, and power.
My Passion was to put it all together...Morgans, breeding, riding and dressage.
Horses, especially Morgans, gave me so much, enriched my life and opened many doors to wonderful adventures. It was a pleasure and an honor to be associated with such beautiful, noble beings. They brought joy, stability and passion to my life. Every day I am grateful to have discovered a life with horses and through Merriewold Morgans, I hope to share some of my passion with others.
~Diana