Our History

In 1964, a group of Morgan horse owners in Western Washington gathered to form a social group whose common purpose was to enjoy their horses. Trail riding was the primary activity enjoyed by the group into many parts of Washington State. One such trip was an overnight, never to be forgotten, ride into Spirit Lake at the foot of the once elegant Mt. St. Helens. This ride was the subject of an extensive newspaper article extolling the excitement of trail riding. From these very simple beginnings came the formation of The Morgan Horse Club of Washington State.

Club members, knowing the versatility, temperament, and smooth way of going of the Morgan horse have produced two horse shows annually. The first show, the Western Washington All Morgan Horse Show, was established in 1968 and for seventeen years operated in cooperation with the Parents Club of the Northshore Special Education C. O. Sorenson School. In those seventeen years, over $18,000.00 was raised to be used for the school wherever needed, which included playground equipment, ceramic making equipment, arts and crafts supplies, special trips and matching uniforms and equipment for the Special Olympic school athletes. This show was ended in 1984 and the following year the Club joined with the Half-Arabian Club of Washington, Inc. in establishing the C-Fair Charity Horse Show at the expanded and vastly improved equestrian facilities in Monroe, Washington. In 1986 the show chose to benefit the nationally renowned Children’s Orthopedic Hospital in Seattle, Washington, which is today known as Seattle Children’s.

On April 12, 1971 the members finally voted and applied to become incorporated in Washington State with a 100% membership affiliation to the American Morgan Horse Association (AMHA), the Pacific Northwest Morgan Horse Club (PNW), and Washington State Horsemen (WSH). From this decision the Morgan Horse Club of Washington State, Inc. (MHCWS) became the first recognized Blue Ribbon AMHA Club, the largest affiliated club in the PNW, and one of the largest clubs in Washington State Horsemen.

In 1975, the Club started its second annual show named the Key Classic All Morgan Benefit Horse Show in Spanaway, Washington. In 1983, the Show selected to benefit Equest Special Riders, Inc., a therapeutic-recreational horseback riding and instructional program originally located in Puyallup, Washington. In 1997, the show was moved to the Evergreen Equestrian Park at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe, Washington, to help accommodate the growing number of entries.The 2004 show was one of the most successful held. A check for over $7,000 was presented to Equest for continuation of their very fine program.

In 2012, American Saddlebreds joined the show and the name was changed to the Key Classic Benefit Horse Show. Through these two shows the Club dedicates a portion of their proceeds to benefit our two chosen and worthy northwest non-profit charities, and are proud to have presented back to the community over $300,000 for continuance of their programs.

In 1981, the Club was honored as the Washington State Horsemen Club of the Year.

In 1992, the Club voted to change our membership requirements to encourage members to join the affiliated organizations, but not require them to be members to join the Club. This helped to streamline the Club's membership process.

In the early years, the Club held several Washington State competitive Trail Rides on 53,000 acres of Pilchuck Tree Farm trails leased from the Pacific Denkmann Company. Literally hundreds of Northwesterners, representing all breeds of horses, can fondly remember hours of happy trail riding at the Club’s leased property and often stayed overnight in a rustic log cabin originally built by a group of boy scouts. Stabling for 12 horses was lovingly built.

In 1986, the property was host to several competitive and just-for-fun trail rides. A number of 4-H groups vied for the privilege to experience riding and stay overnight on this exclusive acreage.

In 1994, the Morgan Horse Club of Washington State, Inc. created the Tree Farm Association as a separate non-voting affiliated membership for members primarily interested only in trail and pleasure riding. To this day, the club’s leased and gated area on the Pilchuck Tree Farm provides wonderful access to many trails for members to enjoy a pleasant local weekend escape.

Youth groups affiliated with the Morgan Horse Club of Washington State, in addition to exhibiting their favorite Morgan at horse shows throughout the region, find time to sponsor aisle parties, distribute breed information, and participate in 4-H judging programs, AMHA Horsebowl, AMHAY Horsemastership Program, and the AMHA Youth of the Year program.

In 1986, Morgan youth took part in a very unique four-day celebration of Northwest history. These youth dressed in period clothing, riding and driving their Morgans, rekindled Willowmoor Farm back in those early 19th century days when the famous Morgan stallion, Troubadour and his son Troubadour of Willowmoor lived on the farm, which is now known as Marymoor Park. Television crews, camera buffs, little children, adults and newsmen followed them everywhere asking one question after another about the Morgan horse while being awed by the breed’s versatility and temperament.

The Club has organized or participated in many events over the years, such as the popular “Celebrate the Morgan” event at Bridle Trails State Park, Heritage Festival at Marymoor Park, Horse Spectacular at the Evergreen State Fair, Parade of Breeds at Longacres Race Track, Equistar ’88 at the Seattle Kingdome, Northwest Horse Magazine televised feature of the Morgan horse on channel 13, Horse’s Standing Ovation at the Tacoma Dome, rest stop fund raisers, farm tours, tack sales, and clinics covering numerous topics on equine health, breeding, shoeing, equitation, and dressage.