Tara Farm Hosts 40th Anniversary Celebration
Thursday, December 20, 2001
by Diana Davidson RALEIGH, N.C. - The year 2001 will be remembered as perhaps the greatest year in the storied history of Tara Farm. Fran Pugh had planned for a year of celebrations in honor of Tara Farm's 40th anniversary, and there certainly has been plenty to celebrate.
Tara Farm's show season featured many show ring highlights from Southern States to Mid-A to Oklahoma. The Morgan Grand National was certainly memorable for Fran Pugh as she collected her first personal world championship on the lines of Cedar Creek Rambunctious as the Classic Pleasure Driving World Champion directed by Tara Farm trainers Ken and Diana Swanson. Pugh's brilliant Man In Motion also achieved the pinnacle of success as the World Champion Stallion presented by Lynn Peeples. This was a particularly historic win as Man In Motion became the second Tara Farm owned horse to earn the honors as he did so exactly 20 years after Apollo's Reflection first won the title.
The grand finale of Tara Farm's yearlong celebration of its 40th anniversary was held at the perfectly appointed farm on Saturday, November 3. Fran Pugh welcomed a large group of friends from the Morgan world in the center of the show barn for cocktails with all of the horses eagerly peering out of their stalls at their visitors.
Many time champion Tara's War Eagle was hooked to a carriage with Ken Swanson at the whip as Eagle served to chauffeur many of the guests to the farm's lakeside party pavilion where the southern style buffet awaited. Following a sumptuous dinner, Fran Pugh thanked everyone for their friendship and for sharing in her love of Morgan horses. The AMHA Board of Directors and staff who were in Raleigh for meetings attended the party, and AMHA President George Arnold also thanked Pugh for all of her years of devotion to and promotion of the Morgan horse.
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