At her Laughing Dog Ranch in Ojai, California, Mary Anne Morrison breeds purebred Arabians and Arabian crosses (many of them half Welsh pony), with children and amateurs in mind. The fruits of her labor include her 2019 USEF Leading Breeder of Half-Arabians award, along with countless Sport Horse Championships, open Hunter/Jumper and dressage winners, as well as main ring Arabian titles.
As Mary Anne says, “Both my parents were horsey. My paternal grandfather was Chick Morrison, a famous movie horse trainer and silent film actor. The Morrison brothers were ‘imported’ to Hollywood from Morrison, Colorado, by Hal Roach, who needed real cowboys in his movies.”
Away from the show ring, Mary Anne is a passionate trail rider, believing that show horses need to have fun, too. “We’re known here in Ojai as ‘those ladies who ride the trails bareback in halters on those Arabians!’” she says.
We’ll let Mary Anne take it from here, as she conveys how she found her niche as an Arabian breeder, and how decades as a breeder of champion show dogs gave her a template for producing pretty performance horses.
– Denise Hearst
EARLY YEARS – THE ARABIAN INFLUENCE
I was fortunate to have summered on Martha’s Vineyard as a child and teen in the 1960s. Tashmoo Farm was a haven for young equestrians, and we were introduced to some lovely imported Arabians and Welsh ponies there as well. You started by riding the often-nasty Shetlands. If you survived, you were allowed to move on up to the Welsh. The
