Mary Chris Foxworthy is a proud Miner Morgan owner. HD Harkness, “Hark” (DPR Bandstand x Foxglenns Charity) will be 25 in May and he’s spent 23 of his years with Foxworthy in Metamora, MI. This summer, Foxworthy and Hark will spend three days in Lexington, KY at Breyerfest July 14th-16th.
Breyerfest is an annual festival that is a celebration of horses and allows attendees to meet and greet with the real-life horses who inspire Breyer’s portrait models. This year, HD Harkness was selected as one of Breyer’s special run models.
“Hark embodies all the fabulous qualities of the Morgan breed that make them so popular for driving – loyal, athletic, easy to train, and trustworthy all are apparent traits in Hark,” Breyer stated in its post announcing Hark as a 2023 model.
Foxworthy recalled that when she purchased Hark she was looking for a young horse with driving potential. “We had collected VHS videos from lots of places in Canada and the US so we decided to have a video viewing party with lots of our friends. At the end of the viewing, everyone was to vote by secret ballot on which horse we should get,” she remembered. “Hark was the unanimous choice. Good thing, because he was the one we really wanted! He had a spunk that I just loved!”
Hark shows at local Morgan shows in Michigan, has shown in Kentucky at the CAA show and the Lexington Carriage Classic, in Wisconsin at the Villa Louis Carriage Classic where he won the ladies class at age 24 in 2022, and at Walnut Hill in NY where he won many ribbons showing there since he was 4-years-old. Hark has also played the part of Justin Morgan in the Morgan parade unit in Michigan.
“Hark makes me happy every day. He lets us know that he loves us as much as we love him. He nickers when I come out of the house and he actually makes eye contact into the house,” Foxworthy noted.
“His antics in the field are hilarious to watch. He is 100% in charge – all he has to do is give the other much younger and much bigger horses his ‘look’ and they know it’s his hay, his spot to be, his everything! When we got a new horse, that horse dumped a load of manure at Hark’s gate. Hark proceeded to calmly walk out into the field and urinate on that horse’s hay – message received.”
The process for selecting horses for Breyer models is confidential so Foxworthy isn’t even sure how Hark came to be chosen. She was told months in advance of Breyer’s public announcement and had to keep it a secret, which she admitted was really hard. “I think they made a great choice so kudos to Breyer for finding Hark and choosing him,” Foxworthy said, adding that she is looking forward to spending a few days at the festival in July.
“I can’t wait for 35,000 people at Breyerfest and 26,000 more from around the world in the online event to meet Hark. I made a Facebook page for him, and he’s already got quite a following.” Foxworthy explained that Hark will do autograph sessions each day at Breyerfest. “We are teaching him to sign autographs with paint and a sponge. We do a driving demo twice a day and I’m in the process of selecting music that will get the crowd clapping and having fun,” she added.
Foxworthy hopes that Breyerfest attendees come away with a better understanding of the Morgan breed and get to meet Hark and see some of his spunk. “I hope that everyone comes away with the fact that Morgans are the best driving horses, the best family horses and have the best temperament,” she said. “We love him (Hark) and so does everyone who meets him. He’s got the spunk and attitude that attracted us to him on that video – and a huge Morgan heart,” Foxworthy concluded.
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