I found an article written by well-known author, Les Sellnow, where he describes a Morab mare that he and his family owned for many years, and they used her for endurance but he does not give her name. Here is what he said:

"...a nice Arabian-Morgan mare which we owned. She won ribbons in the halter show ring as a youngster, and went on to do the same for a couple of my kids in 4-H. When she was old enough to be trained, she became my daughter's Western pleasure and equitation horse.  When she reached maturity, she hit her real stride as an endurance horse. She had hooves of iron, and strong legs that never yielded to lameness. She also had a positive attitude and enthusiasm. She relished competition. Both my daughter and I competed on her. My daughter won a junior championship in 50-mile endurance competition, and the same year the mare carried me to the heavyweight winner's circle in the 100-mile Kettle Moraine Ride in Wisconsin. In addition to winning the race in that division, she was judged the best conditioned horse in the entire competition."

He went on to say that she lived to be over 30 years old. But he never gives the mare's NAME. Does anyone know this mare that Les is talking about? Pictures of her? Can anyone help me to contact Les about this?

UPDATE! We have now talked with Les on the phone, and his Morab mare, SU-ZAHR, has been added to the MORAB PARADE CON'T. page. Picture is coming. Les was the breeder of this mare as well as her rider. Thank you, Les!!

LOOKING FOR DR. CHRIS MARKS!

From a report given by Margrit Beemster -

At the June 1996 Tom Quilty Endurance Ride at Myrtleford, a visiting American equine biologist, Dr. Chris Marks, stopped to visit with the Morgan owners. At the time, she was the Chair of Equine Studies at St. Mary of the Woods College in Indiana, and she had agreed to do an interview for the official Quilty film coordinator, Don Nicolson. She was in Australia as a guest lecturer at Marcus Oldham Agricultural College in Geelong, lecturing on exercise physiology of the horse, nurtrition, and conditioning science of the horse.

Dr. Marks used to show Morgans, Arabians and American Saddlebreds, and has worked for a Morgan trainer. She had been an avid endurance rider for the past eight years and decided, while in Australia to have a look at the country's premier endurance ride.

Dr. Marks revealed that, in addition to several other horses she owned, she also owned a Morab gelding named "Auzzie". At 12 years old, Dr. Marks was very pleased with his performance. He had only been out two seasons, and had come in fifth in the International Arabian Horse Association's part Arab division U.S. National Chamionship Competitive Trail. At that time, Auzzie had a 95% completion rate in endurance competitions, and had missed out on 100% only because the rider got lost! He'd been in the Top Ten several times, and was doing very well.

Dr. Marks stated that, while she was very fond of Arabians, she really liked the Morgan influence. She spent two years looking for her ideal horse, and found Auzzie in Wisconsin, 400 miles away from her home.

"What really sold me was his temperament, he's one of the most honest horses I've ever met."

Then she added, "Besides, both of his parents were national champions. His MORAB dam was a WORLD SPEED RECORD HOLDER FOR 100 MILES in the late 1970's. Auzzie was her last foal. His Arab sire was a U.S. National Endurance champion.

Dr. Marks said the Morgans are ideally suited because they are versatile, attractive, a horse that is all go - there is nothing they can't do with proper training. She felt that the ultimate breed for Endurance is an Arabian crossed with a little Morgan.

Dr. Marks wanted to come back to Australia the next year (1997), and ride in the Quilty - "preferably on a Morab."

Webmaster's Note: If anyone can give us more information on Dr. Marks, Auzzie, and his Morab dam, please contact me. We are trying to located Dr. Marks. Auzzie's registered name is Revel Deef, and last known state residence for Dr. Marks was Indiana.

UPDATE APRIL 2005: Thanks to the tireless help of one certain Susan, we have made contact with Dr. Marks, and she tells us, "Auzzie is retired (has been for a number of years now), and his Morgan breeding was unknown. He was out of the great mare 'Revel D' who was reputed to be half Morgan (had half Arab papers), and who held a world endurance record at the hundred mile distance for several years. Auz did not have his mother's talent, but he was a superior CTR horse (won Region 13 Half Arabian and Top 5 Nationals in 1995). He was a neat bloke, and one of the most honest horses I ever rode." She went on to say, "Revel D's sire was an Arabian. I believe her record was set at a ride in Kentucky or Tennessee. She ran it in 8 hours 11 minutes, carrying a heavyweight. Auzzie is out of her, and by an Arabian stallion named Fadjur Radeef. Thus he was only 1/4 Morgan at best; however, he was replete with Morgan characteristics." So, we may never know if Auzzie is indeed a Morab nor his wonderful dam due to not being able to know for sure if the granddam was indeed a Morgan, but it's still a marvelous story...and with their obvious talents, it's easy to believe that Revel D and her son, Revel Deef are indeed Morabs.  

A NEW MYSTERY TO SOLVE! Pictured below is an endurance Morab mare in her 20's who was still going strong at the time this picture was taken. We are trying to locate her and her owner/rider. If you recognize either of these two, please contact us.

UPDATE! Late 2006 we were contacted by a lady who turned out to be this mare's breeder and owner. The mare's name is Bridal Sweet, and she is indeed a Morab.

In addition to this mare, there is a Mike McNanny who has an endurance Morab mare who was the 2004 U.S. Morab Horse of the Year. We are trying to locate Mike, and find out the name of his mare. If you know them, please contact us.

We are also trying to locate a Kathy Bishop in California who rode an endurance Morab gelding named Mikie. We are trying to contact Kathy, and need a picture of Mikie. Please let us know if you can put us in touch with Kathy.