Every year The New England Morgan Horse Association puts on a huge Morgan promotional effort at the Massachusetts Equine Affaire. Equine Affaire is a symposium designed to bring together horse enthusiasts of all interests. The Massachusetts event was held at The Eastern States Exposition grounds in West Springfield, MA from November 12 – 15, 2009. New England Morgan Association members worked together to expose people to the beauty and diversity of the Morgan Horse – "The Horse That Chooses You".
NEMHA had a barn aisle filled with Morgans (Morgan Row), a promotion booth, an exhibit stall, and a hospitality area.
Morgan Row featured 12 Morgans representing dressage, eventing, hunter pleasure, western pleasure, pleasure driving, carriage driving, combined driving and English pleasure. Their owners and trainers were available to talk with visitors. Morgan Row horses also took part in daily mini demonstrations as well as two breed demonstrations in the Coliseum, opening ceremonies in the nightly Fantasia Show and a presentation at The Youth Pavilion.
At the promotion and hospitality area there were Morgan items available and daily hosts/hostesses to welcome people to the world of the Morgan horse, answer questions and chat about Morgans. Right beside the Morgan Booth there was an exhibit stall where one of the horses from Morgan Row was on display to meet and greet. Exhibit Stall horses also took part in demonstrations in the nearby demonstration ring. A skit in costume developed by The Granite State Mystical Morgan Youth Club turned out to be a big success as a "gaggle of women" discussed Justin Morgan and his horse of the same name.
Nancy Caisse coordinates the NEMHA promotion production assisted by co-directors Barbara Irvine, Joan Travers and Sara Foy. Many, many NE club members contributed time to help out with set-up, teardown, and meet and greet. Participating horses this year included Terri and Sean Travers’ current World Champion Classic Pleasure Driving horse, L’Cima Exclusive, Sandy Wooding’s Acadia’s Secret Promise, a team that competes in the world of open dressage at first level and also belongs to The Old Chatham Hunt Club, the Ed Sweet Family’s two-year-old, Triplesweet Belmont, and second level dressage horse, Statesman’s Signature, soon to be off to Wellington, FL to compete on the sunshine circuit with owner Marthe Reynolds. Steve and Josie Davis brought UVM Neshobe to represent the hunter pleasure Morgan, Townshend Farm had a just-weaned colt for the popular Name The Foal Contest, trainer Gino Guaraldi came with Sunny Acres Shameless, Jeff and Karen Dudley’s carriage driving Morgan, and Angelica Consiglio and her buckskin, Sevenpalms Justa Encore, a pair that is qualified for both the regional and national level finals of the US Eventing Association. Sarah Gove and The Gove Family’s Sea-Vu Justified represented the English pleasure horse and joined Terri Travers and L’Cima Exclusive to represent the Morgan in the Fantasia show each evening. Reevedale Farm sent trainer Erika Mitchell to show off her western pleasure mare, Wait A Second and Dennis and Laura Tatro were on hand, as always, with their breeding stallion, Denlore’s Desert Storm. Jack Merritt and Karen Chandler’s Hotspur’s Red Rowl joined the group this year with trainer Cheryl Pratt Rivers as representatives of the sport of combined driving. Hotspur’s Red Rowl will spend the winter in Southern Pines working with Olympian Lisa Singer.
The New England Morgan Horse Association was proud to promote the Morgan Horse, "The Horse That Chooses You", at the 2009 Massachusetts Equine Affaire.