Profile – Morgan Miller
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By Megan Sacia Ulrich
Morgan Miller got her first horse at the age of six, just one year after the horse bug bit her hard when her mother enrolled her in riding lessons. She and that first horse, a black and white POA named Gold Rush Nugget, competed in three-day Eventing competitions. This discipline consists of Show Jumping, Dressage, and Cross Country.
Morgan loved that pony down to every last black spot, but that didn’t mean Nugget was an angel. She was far from it, in fact. The first time Morgan competed in cross country, her mom insisted she wear a bright red polo so the emergency crew could find her in the woods if Nugget decided to toss her, again. Morgan stayed in the saddle that day, but the anecdote is a testament to Nugget’s demeanor.
“She was a healthy balance of making me love horses and teaching me that this is a hard sport. I needed to be willing to dust the dirt off and get back on if I really wanted to do this,” Morgan says.
Nugget was Morgan’s partner until she turned 10 and began showing at open shows and eventually moved into the Appaloosa circuit at 14. Now 26 years old, she’s currently showing her 4-year-old AQHA gelding, Hows That For Ya, or “Howdy,” in Amateur Hunter Under Saddle events and her 3-year-old mare, Made It In Time, aka “Maren,” in Limited Non-Pro Western events. The shift to AQHA doesn’t mean she’s lost her love for all things spotted. She continues to show her 6-year-old ApHC mare, Grease Monkey, in Amateur Color Western Pleasure.
Since November, Morgan has been training with Brad Ost and Troy Lehn. She met the pair when she was showing Appaloosas and thinking about moving into AQHA. From the first time she met them, she knew they’d be the perfect people to help with her transition. She was right.
