Arthur Perry or “Mr. Morgan” has been in love with the Morgan Horse since he was a young boy. Equine VIP visited with Arthur at Intrepid Farms – home to his World famous Morgan horses and equine museum. Mr. Perry is modest when he describes his many contributions to the American Morgan Horse Association. Those include everything from selling programs at the Grand National horse show, singing the National Anthem, to AMHA Man of the Year and a AMHA Hall of Fame member. He and his Morgan horses have been in 28 Tournament of Rose Bowl Parades and can be found throughout the United States, Canada, Sweden, Hawaii and China.
It’s hard to believe you started at the bottom of the Morgan Horse industry after visiting your beautiful Intrepid Farms!
I fell in love with the Morgan Horse when I was about 10, 12 years old and it’s been an upward spiral ever since.
What is it about the Morgan horse that is so special?
People need to understand that the Morgan horse is the 1st and only true breed of the American horse. It all started in 1879. All Morgan horses today descend from one single stallion – Justin Morgan.
I understand you visited the grave site of Justin Morgan and ever since you have maintained the grave?
The site is located on a farm in Vermont. It’s really out of the public eye and not easily accessible, so when people come to visit, they have to go through fields to get there. I took it upon myself to take care of the site; having the marble cleaned, landscaped and maintained. It’s a task I took on to make sure it’s maintained every year.
Tell us how your breeding program started?
The start for me was seeing the stallion Orcland Leader – he was the first Morgan horse I ever saw and it was love at first sight. I have a son of Orcland Leader, Bar – T Invader, and he put me on the map in 1968. I bought him as a four year old and he lived to be twenty-eight years old. A lot of off spring came from this stallion.
And your current breeding program?
Immortal Beloved is a grand-daughter of Bar-T Invader. While I owned her, she had 2 World Championships. Since then, 6 more World Championships. I bred her to “Stonecroft Byzantine” and got “Intrepid Behold” who lives on the farm.
How did your equine museum get it’s start?
I started by collecting things that had to do with horses, but as I learned the history of the Morgan horse, my collection progressed to mostly Morgan horse memorabilia.
What is your favorite item in the museum?
Weathervanes – they are the oldest items in the museum and are all Morgan horses.
You are such a wonderful ambassador of Morgans. What is next for you?
I’ve serve on the American Morgan Horse board of Directors and am still active. The archive committee is a favorite of mine because it deals with the history of the Morgan horse. I hope people will be inspired by Morgans – there is a lot to learn!
For more information on Arthur Perry & Intrepid Farms www.intrepidfarms.com
