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Beryl Herzog had a horse--just like Justin Morgan. Date published: 3/21/2006
Beryl Herzog's daughter, Gwen, brought the first Morgan horse to the family farm.
"My daughter fell in love with this teeny horse--it was a Morgan. We bought it, and it wasn't long before everyone loved her. "She would do anything, could do anything," Beryl Herzog said. It was 1966, and Gwen was 8. "I thought it would be nice if everyone in the family had a horse," said Herzog, who got her first horse when she was 13. "I wanted them to enjoy horses as much as I did." She'd had a pony when she was younger, "But it always ran away with me," she said. Herzog already had a saddlebred; her husband, Bob, bought a Tennessee Walking Horse. That "teeny horse" with its friendly disposition convinced Herzog to switch her allegiance from saddlebreds to Morgans. The Herzogs were living in Richmond at the time, where Bob was assistant headmaster at St. Christopher's School, but they were moving to Sunnyside farm in Beaverdam piece by piece. The Hanover County farm, just south of Spotsylvania County, had been in Herzog's family since 1938, when her parents bought it. "My mother wanted an old home," Herzog said. "When they bought it there were no lights, no bathroom." The farm dates back to 1790, according to the sign out front. She was hired for her first job, teaching first grade at Beaverdam Elementary School, by Bob Herzog, who was the principal there. They were married a year later, in 1954. After moving back to Sunnyside in 1968, Beryl Herzog bought a couple of Morgan mares and bred them. That was the start of Green Bay Morgans, named for the road the farm is on. The stable has, by now, produced well over 100 foals. For those who have never met one, Morgan horses are small, with big eyes, prominent jaws and small ears set far apart. "They're sturdy and determined," Herzog said. The original Morgan horse belonged to a Vermont man named Justin Morgan, hence the name. The stallion, called Figure, was foaled in 1789 and soon became famous for his strength, speed and endurance. He was little, but he could beat long-legged Thoroughbreds in a race and pull loads that draft horses couldn't budge.
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