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. Melinda is now retired and works primarily with the horses while Richard works in downtown Louisville and dedicate most of the rest of his 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. After graduating she worked at the Louisville Free Public Library as a reference librarian. She returned to school in 1987 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 Business School.

Melinda began showing horses in the late 1990's. Her horse show motto is “take showing seriously, but have fun!” She took several years of saddle seat riding lessons at Willowbank Farm. Her first taste of showing horses came from competing in local riding academies' winter riding tournaments. In 1998 she showed RLY Kamela (Kammy), MelRich Farm's beautiful black foundation mare, in hand at the A-Rated Kentucky State Fair Morgan Horse Show. She and Richard have both shown their handsome stallion, Melrich Gusty Winds (Gus) in hand at that show. Melinda regularly showed her chestnut gelding Syndicat Executive (Hardy) under saddle in English Pleasure at the State Fair Morgan show and at smaller local shows as well. Since losing her beloved Hardy to colic in 2002, she has been without a horse to show under saddle. She and her three year old gelding Melrich Catch The Wind (Sam) have developed a close bond and she hopes to begin showing him soon.

Melinda lives and breathes Morgan Horses. She retired from the Library in 2002 and now devotes herself full time to the Morgans of MelRich Farm. She takes charge of the routine care, breeding, basic training of the young ones, and marketing. When not with her horses, she studies literature on Morgans and horse care in general.

Melinda's enthusiasm for all things equine leads her to enjoy many horse activities purely as an observer. Being a Kentucky native, she is naturally a Thoroughbred racing fan and attends the Kentucky Derby and Oaks each year. Several years ago she visited Newmarket, England , the heart of the English horse racing industry. Her favorite annual activity is the Rolex Kentucky 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 Britain, novels and biographies, and writing. She is politically active and has served as the recording secretary as well as a board member for the America 2000 Democrat Club

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 has been a licensed stockbroker, but prefers his role in the company's computer information services.

Our Morgans keep Richard very busy. Richard performs most of the farm's maintenance duties, such as mowing and fence repair. He is still in the process of remodeling our barn, having already built stalls and a tack room. He has shown both Gus and Gus's half-sister Melrich Afternoon T (Ally) in hand as well as showing Kammy under saddle and in harness. His attendance at a day-long seminar on driving at the Kentucky Horse Park enhanced his interest in driving. He won a pleasure driving blue ribbon with Kammy at the Festival of the Horse horse show in Georgetown, Kentucky. In addition to his Morgan duties, he was at one time a partner in the Land Ho Carriage Service, a division of Land Ho Farm Percherons. He also enjoys an occasional trail ride when time permits.

Richard and Melinda are both members of the American Morgan Horse Association, the Bluegrass Morgan Horse Association, the Kentucky Morgan Horse Association, the United States Equestrian Federation, the Kentucky Horse Council and the Kentucky Association of Fairs and Horse Shows, Richard has served as President of the Bluegrass Morgan Horse Association. He is currently the Secretary/Treasurer of the Kentucky Morgan Horse Association. He has worked hard at recruiting members for both local Morgan Horse organizations and in getting more members involved in more activities. He was a member of the board of the Kentucky Horse Council for four years.

In his rare moments of free time, Richard relaxes by playing his piano and working on computer projects. He created websites for both MelRich Farm and the Bluegrass Morgan Horse Association and regularly updates the Kentucky Morgan Horse Association website. His reading tastes range from current events to science fiction. His interest in politics led him to serve two terms as president of America 2000 Democratic Club. 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.