The Horses that Lead the Way!
There are six horses on the Morgan Team including two alternates. They are all black Morgans registered with the American Morgan Horse Association. The horse's range in age from 13 to 19 and the majority are geldings with one mare. Unlike some teams they are not designated as leaders or wheelers and for various phases of the competition will be placed in one place or another. In a four-in-hand the two horses in the front are called the leaders and the two in the back, closest to the carriage, are called the wheelers.
The horse's barn names are:
Duke and Dusty, half brothers on the dam side
Sam and Rocky, full brothers and half brothers with Dusty on their sire side
Chief and Socks, team alternates
Barn Name: "Dusty"
Registered Name: Nordby Coalies Coal Dust
Sex: Gelding
Color/Markings: Black
Breeding: Ortawn Captain Royal x Coal Creek Sabra's Coalie
DOB: 4/17/1994
Barn Name: "Duke"
Registered Name: Nordby Coalies Duke
Sex: Gelding
Color/Markings: Black
Breeding: Caduceus Falcon x Coal Creek Sabra's Coalie
DOB: 5/03/1997
Barn Name: "Sam"
Registered Name: Nordby Shadow's Sam Spade
Sex: Gelding
Color: Black
Breeding: Ortawn Captain Royal x Ribbon Shadow SRD
DOB: 5/25/1996
Barn Name: "Rocky"
Registered Name: Nordby Shadow's Rocky
Sex: Gelding
Color: Black
Breeding: Ortawn Captain Royal x Ribbon Shadow SRD
DOB: 5/06/1997
Barn Name: "Chief"
Registered Name: Meddo's Chief George
Sex: Gelding
Color: Black with star on face
Breeding: Del View Ebony x Skybeck Alouette
DOB: 2/16/1991
Barn Name: "Socks"
Registered Name: In-Glens' Priz Party
Sex: Mare
Breeding: R A M Aries x In-Glen Special Tea
Color: black with star and two white hind socks
DOB: 4/18/1993
The Man Behind the Horses!
David Saunders, formerly head coachman to The Duke of Edinburgh, Royal Mews, Windsor Castle, England and was with The Duke from the inception of combined driving, so has seen the development of combined driving right from its earliest days. Apart from that, as a member of the Royal Mews he has a great background in coaching.
Saunders, who resides in Morriston, Florida is a dual citizen of the United States and United Kingdom. He is no stranger to international competitions having been a team member at many championships including:
- World Equestrian Games, Stockholm, Sweden representing U.K. four in hand
- Team member World Championships, Hungary representing Great Britain pair
- Team member Germany, representing U.S.A. four in hand
- Team member World Championships, Germany representing U.S.A. pair
- British national champion four in hand
In 2010 Saunders will once again compete at the World Equestrian Games and this time driving the all-American breed "Morgan Horses".
For more information about David E. Saunders, visit www.davidesaunders.com
For more information contact MorganDrivingTeamUSA@gmail.com