2M APPALOOSA STORY

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As published in the Appaloosa Journal, June 1999, written by Kitty Cummings.

Mel and Aggie Marvin are artists at heart.  Mel's a photographer; Aggie a painter.  They've spent years perfecting their crafts of preserving images to film and canvas.  Many years ago, they'd also turned their artists' eyes and passions to breeding Appaloosas.

In 1957, Mel and Aggie Marvin of Eaton Rapids, Michigan, were instrumental in fostering an appreciation for the vibrant spotted horse in their native Michigan.  Today, after a lengthy hiatus due to a family near tragedy, Mel and Aggie have returned to the studio to revive a dying art.  Their media of choice are the bloodlines of Bright Eyes Brother, Plaudit and Three Bars.  Using concentrated line breeding, they plan to produce a horse that's as successful today as it was three decades ago.

Perfecting the herd
     Western Horseman magazine had been giving the Appaloosa a lot of press in the late 1950s and the Marvins were intrigued by what they'd read.  At the time, Marvin was stationed at Fitzsimmons Army Hospital in Denver, Colorado.
     "We  heard of the Cary Ranch in Boulder, Colorado and went to visit," says Mel. "Then, after two years of seeing these horses, the pattern was set."
     When they returned to Michigan in 1957, they took an Appaloosa yearling with them and 2M Appaloosas was born.
    "We owned several stallions and a few mares over the next few years." Mel recalls. "But,  that program wasn't taking us where we wanted to go."
     After poring over pedigrees and bloodlines, the Marvins found a new direction for the 2M.  In 1968, Cecil Dobbin, whom the Marvins knew from their years in Colorado, was the auctioneer at the National sale, which Mel and Aggie attended.  They'd been studying horses and decided to talk to Cecil; the topic of conversation was Bright Eyes Brother.  This encounter eventually led to the 1972 purchase of Mr. Exclusive, a Bright Eyes Brother son out of Dash's Blossom (a Dash Of Vitrol mare) who had a concentration of Coke Roberds breeding that the Marvins wanted.
"We had to take out a loan to buy him" says Mel, a retired General Motors plant laborer.
     That fall, Mr. Exclusive was grand champion stallion at the Chicago International Livestock Show.  The following year he was also grand champion at the Future Fairs of America and reserve grand champion at the Ohio State Fair, and went on to win more titles over the next couple years.  During this time, the Marvins had been crossing Mr. Exclusive with some Bar Mount Quarter Horse mares.  
     "They did us so much good," Mel explains, "From that, we knew that type-to-type line breeding would work for us as it has for so many before us.  The Roberds horses built the Peavys, the Shoemakers, the Casements and were very strong in the Weiscamp herds."
     And, rideable halter-winning horses are exactly what came out of the 2M.  Horses such as Exclusive Gold, Lota-Bright, Mr. Blue Smoke, Exclusive Barstar, Exclusive Boldbar, 2M Sheikess, 2M Exclusive Pete, 2M Mr. Big Smoke and 2M Mr. Copyrite were all halter winners and also winners in classes such as Western pleasure, hunter under saddle, reining, trail and Western riding.  All were sired by Mr. Exclusive
     Another well known Mr. Exclusive son produced by 2M was Exclusive Dinero, who went on to numerous halter, hunter under saddle and Western pleasure wins and an impressive production record of his own including top horses such as Exclusive Dundee, 2M Gypsie Eyes, Dinero's Darling and Dinerosgypsiebold.  The Marvins stood Mr. Exclusive for 16 years, establishing a reputation for color, quality and good dispositions.
     For many years, not only were the Marvins producing and marketing top halter and performance horses, they were showing them too.  Mel and Aggie and their four daughters, Gina, Dana, Vera and Neva, were very active on the Appaloosa show circuit and Mel and Aggie were strong supporters of the Michigan Appaloosa Horse Club's youth program.  Through working with and caring for their own horses, the Marvin girls learned responsibility, among other things
     "I felt it was important for them to learn responsibility," says Mel. "I used to tell them that if I had to take care of their horse all week, then I was going to show it that weekend, not them."
     With their program in its prime, a near-fatal tragedy befell the family.  Oldest daughter Gina was struck by a car and critically injured.  Her road to recovery was long and taxing.  And, though the bulk of the herd remained and some breeding took place, the majority of the family's Appaloosa promotion and involvement was on hold for years.

Preserving images
     Three years ago, Mel and Aggie decided it was time to start building their program again.  Like fine art, they knew their work would still be appreciated.  "We're still line breeding Bright Eyes Brothers rather closely," says Mel. The 2M brood band still has eight Mr. Exclusive daughters, along with mares by Exclusive Dundee, Bright Reflection and Exclusive Blueyes, along with several full sisters to Will He Reflect and a couple Quarter Horse mares with strong lines to Maddon's Bright Eyes and Skippers Lad.
     "We're using them with Sometimes The Bug, our five-year-old stallion," Mel continues. "Bug's a four-way cross to Bright Eyes Brother.  He's also a few-spot(leopard) and is getting 100 percent color so far, as well as great heads, good bodies and hips, along with super dispositions."
     In addition to 12 Sometime's The Bug foals due this year, the Marvins are also crossing their Appaloosa mares with their two-year-old Quarter Horse stallion, Justenuff Goldseeker.
     "Justenuff Goldseeker's a strong Weiscamp and Roberds bred horse," says Mel.
     The Marvins also acquired an aged stallion this year that they feel will be a real asset to their program. "Bar R Goldseeker is a 24-year-old son of Goldseeker Bars and out of Question Belle by Question Mark," Mel explains. "Through this old horse we'll have a close cross to Three Bars and Plaudit.  He's also a grandson of Spanish Joy, a descendent of Plaudette, the dam of Bright Eyes Brother, Plaudit and Three Bars."
     Although the Marvins believe in using good Quarter Horses in their program, Mel is adamant about color.  "All these years, of all these colts, we've never CPOed anything and never will," he says. "We don't believe in showing solid horses. Breeders need to stay with the color and breed smarter.  You can still get quality and color."
    The Marvins are also finding their way back into the show ring, which Mel concedes has changed a lot over the years.  For instance, many of today's show horses are specialty horses, including halter horses.
    "It used to be a judge felt like a failure if his grand champion halter horse didn't come back in and ride in the classes after lunch," says Mel. "Today's judges should have to ride those halter champions they choose both ways around the ring." But, even after only two years back out on the show scene, the Marvins already see things beginning to turn back around and they're encouraged.
     "Specialty horses are likely a fad," says Mel. "If we took a poll, I think we'd see a lot of grass roots people out there who aren't enthused with what's going on; who feel we need to go back to basics.  Ranch gelding sales are getting very popular in other breeds because they're versatile.  I think we're going to see the desire for versatility become popular again for the Appaloosa, too."
     Along with quality halter horses that can ride, Mel would like to see the family come back to the Appaloosa shows too.  "The Family aspect needs to be just as important as it was,"  says Mel.  "With all these specialty horses and specialty trainers, what are we teaching these kids?  I think it's discouraging to a lot of middle-income families.  Some feel they're better off buying a boat or camper to spend time with their kids."
     
Quiet reflections
     Mel and Aggie are virtual encyclopedias of Bright Eyes Brother pedigrees and history. "You have to do your homework," says Mel, who has hundreds of pedigrees stored on computer.  "You have to know your bloodlines; too many people don't."
     Already into their 60s and nearing their 48th anniversary, Mel and Aggie are continually improving and evaluating their herd.  "We judge each foal when it's born and decide which way to cross that mare again.  After all these years, we have a pretty good idea of what to do with each one."
     Their past production history and success certainly seems to support this.  "There are many facets to learning." Mel explains. "Education's a hallway.  You choose a doorway to go through and you're in another hallway with another set doors and it just goes on and on.  It's a never-ending process and you can go as far as you want with it."
   Every successful artist knows how important it is to study the object of his or her work.  For over  30 years, Mel and Aggie have approached horse breeding with this in mind.  "The type of horse we want to produce is just what Coke Roberds did from the late 1800s to 1950s," Mel explains. "The Roberds horses were fantastic in their time and we were fortunate with the horses we got familiar with.  They're what people now call the "modern Appaloosa."
     Mel doesn't see any end to his involvement with the Appaloosa. "Weiscamp was almost 90, Roberds was in his 90s and Cecil (Dobbins) is in his 80s, so I guess we'll just keep going and going and going," chuckles Mel. "We've met so many great people over the years.  You name an old timer and we know them.  The Appaloosa's been our life."