In 2019, Robin Merrill of Poolville, Texas, was elevated to AQHA honorary vice president and also appointed to the American Quarter Horse Foundation Board of Trustees in 2019. Merrill is serving as the first appointed member to the Board of Trustees. She has also served on the Foundation Council, and was the Council’s chairwoman from 2001 to 2004.
Merrill and her husband, AQHA Past President Frank Merrill, have been involved in AQHA and the American Quarter Horse industry for many years and have been major supporters of the Foundation and its initiatives. The Merrills received AQHA’s 50-Year Breeder Award in 2018, and Frank was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2013.
In 1972, the Merrills founded Windward Stud, in Purcell, Oklahoma. Together, they owned and operated the facility for 34 years. After a very successful stint in breeding during which the Merrills produced many well-known horses, they sold the operation to Cowan Select Horses. They stayed to manage Cowan Select Horses LLC at Windward Stud from 2006 until 2012. The Merrills also manage M5 Performance Bloodstock, which has produced Hall of Fame horses Miss Jim 45 and Royal Santana, as well as AQHA Superhorse Roo Star.
Merrill was also involved with the New Jersey Quarter Horse Association, Florida Quarter Horse Association, Oklahoma Horseman’s Association, the Heart of Oklahoma Horseman’s Association, Oklahoma Quarter Horse Association and is a member of the National Cutting Horse Association Historical Committee. She also serves as an executive director for the Cowgirl Hall of Fame and Museum in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Merrills passed along their love for horses and AQHA to their three children, McKenzie who lives in Weatherford, Texas; Megan, who lives in Poolville, Texas with husband Matt Miller, and daughters Emery and Harper;; and son Tyler and his wife, Katy Merrill, who live in Weatherford with their son, Mason.
The American Quarter Horse Foundation connects horses and people through charitable giving to develop and support programs or initiatives that preserve our horse’s legacy and further the overall well-being of the American Quarter Horse and the people who comprise the Quarter Horse family.
