MEL and RICH

Richard Schuler and Melinda Feldman are the husband/wife owners and managers of MelRich Farm. We married in 1989 and since then have worked diligently toward our goal of developing a Morgan Horse enterprise. We are both natives of Louisville, KY. Although we grew up in the city, we have both always dreamed of having our own land and residing in a rural setting. We both work at jobs in downtown Louisville and

dedicate most of the rest of our time to our horse farm life.

Melinda has had a passion for horses since early childhood. However, she did not realize her dream of having a horse until she was in her thirties. Satan, a coal black

Tennessee Walker, was her first horse and her first equine teacher. Satan was a patient and very kind horse who taught Melinda most of the basics of riding and horse care.

In 1974 Melinda graduated from the University of Kentucky with a degree in English. Since graduating, she has worked at the Louisville Free Public Library as a reference librarian. She returned to school in 1987 in order to learn more about the business side of the horse industry and earned a bachelor of science degree in Equine Administration from the University of Louisville’s Business School.

Melinda took several years of saddleseat riding lessons at Willowbank Farm. She got her first taste of showing horses competing in the local riding academies’ winter riding tournaments. Several years ago she began showing in actual horse shows. In 1998 she showed RLY Kamela (Kammy), MelRich Farm’s foundation mare, in hand at the Kentucky State Fair Morgan Horse Show, an A-rated show. She and Richard have both shown Melrich Gusty Winds (Gus), their stallion, in hand at that show. Melinda regularly shows Syndicat Executive under saddle in English Pleasure at the State Fair Morgan Horse Show and at smaller local shows as well. Melinda’s horse show motto is "take showing seriously, but have fun!" She hopes to continue her riding lessons soon and improve her skills, with the idea of eventually showing her MelRich-bred Morgans.

Melinda lives and breathes Morgan horses. She plans to retire from the Library in 2002 and devote herself full time to the Morgans of MelRich Farm. Melinda is a member of the American Morgan Horse Association, the Bluegrass Morgan Horse Association,

the American Horse Shows Association and the Kentucky Association of Fairs and Horse Shows.

Being an overall horse enthusiast, Melinda enjoys many horse activities purely as an observer. Being from Kentucky, she is naturally a Thoroughbred racing fan. Several years ago, she visited Newmarket, England, which is the heart of the English racing industry. Her favorite annual activity is the Rolex Three Day Event in Lexington.

Although mainly focused on the Morgan breed, she often attends other breed shows as well.

When not pursuing her horse interests, Melinda enjoys classic rock music, jazz,

anything related to England, novels and biographies, writing and gardening. She is politically active and has, for the past several years, served as the recording secretary for America 2000, an issues oriented Democratic club in Louisville.

Richard spent twenty years living and working in San Francisco, California, before returning to Louisville. While in California he attended college and earned both a B.A. in business and an M.B.A. from San Francisco State University. He first became seriously interested in horses when he began trail riding with Melinda at a local riding stable. He routinely rode a sweet, dependable liver chestnut mare, Brandy, and later purchased her from the riding stable.

Richard works as a senior systems solution developer for Hilliard-Lyons, a regional brokerage firm based in Louisville. He is a licensed stockbroker, but prefers his role in the company’s computer information services.

Our Morgans keep Richard very busy. In addition to occasionally trail riding, Richard

performs many of the farm’s maintenance duties, such as mowing and fence repair. He is still in the process of remodeling the barn, having already built stalls and a tack room. So far, his only show ring experience has been at the Kentucky State Fair Morgan Horse Show, where he has shown Gus in hand for the past several years. A few years ago he attended a daylong driving seminar at the Kentucky Horse Park, which helped enhance his interest in driving. He is a partner in the Land Ho Carriage service, a division of Land Ho Percherons. He would eventually like to begin driving some of our Morgans for fun and possibly show.

Richard has served as President of the Bluegrass Morgan Horse Association for the past two years. He has worked hard at recruiting new members for the club and at getting club members involved in more activities. He is also current President of America 2000 Democrat Club.

In his rare moments of free time, Richard relaxes by playing his piano and working on computer projects. He created the websites for both MelRich Farm and the Bluegrass Morgan Horse Association. His reading interests range from current events to science fiction. An excellent cook, he wishes he had more time to pursue his culinary interests.

We have enjoyed meeting you and introducing ourselves to you. We hope that you will continue on with your visit to our MelRich Farm website. Please contact us if you have any questions or comments.