Sandy, I am sorry you feel insulted by my statement about Star's
conformation (it is the truth however). It is not show horses in general
that I disapprove of. I often show in dressage, jumping and combined
training. What I was referring to was what Morgan breeders have been doing
to the breed in the last few years. More and more, I cannot tell a Morgan
from a Saddlebred. Star is inbred back to the same stallion 4 times, top
and bottom (in a effort to breed a palomino show horse, I believe). As a
result, Star is very poorly put together. However, we still manage to kick
butt on trail. I think this is because I started him slow and don't overdo
his miles. Otherwise, he probably would have given out years ago. I know
many many ex-park horses who "flunked" out of the show ring to become
suberb performance horses. All I was trying to say is that the Morgan show
folks seem more interested in looks than body and type. I know this
probably is not true for all horses and all people, but I refuse to even go
back to the Gold Cup because of the poor type and conformation of the
winning horses. I don't want to start a fight, this is just my opinion.
Shannon Loomis and Quail Meadow Star (ex-show horse)