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Hail the crown: Kohler Stables is Morgan horse royalty
With thoroughbred horse racing getting into high gear as owners, trainers and jockeys set their sights on capturing the coveted Triple Crown – Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes – Kohler Stables has been the benchmark of excellence in Morgan horse breeding, training, and showing.
This equine legacy dates more than 100 years ago when Walter Kohler opened Kohler Stables in 1924. Herbert V. Kohler, Jr. grew the Stables into global prominence with savvy purchases of two stallions – Vigilmarch and Noble Flaire. Kohler’s breeding program has literally been built by these two sires, and the strength and success of Kohler Stables continues to this day.
“Morgans are very important to Herbert [Kohler, Jr.] and his family. He has given me the permission, the tools and the guidance to go forward, and we are by far the leading breeding farm in the world for Morgan horses.”
—Former longtime Kohler Stables Manager/Trainer
Kohler has been associated with horses dating back to company founder, John Michael Kohler. He grew up around horses in Austria, and the connection continued as he migrated to the United States. The origins of Kohler Co. were making cast iron farm implements, including horse-related items, and they were also used for working and transportation.
One son, Walter, established Kohler Stables in 1924. In the early years, Kohler Stables housed more than 20 horses at a time – mostly for leisure riding, but also occasional horse shows and riding competitions.
Herbert V. Kohler, Jr., brought Kohler Stables into prominence, this time, with Morgans – chosen for their beauty, intelligence, and versatility. Herb acquired his first Morgan horse in 1969 – a champion named Vigilmarch who would be the center of a thriving Morgan breeding program at Kohler Stables and an all-time great sire.
On a trip to buy horses for his children, he came across Vigilmarch, who had been abused and was undernourished. He paid a paltry $5,700 for Vigilmarch at a bankruptcy sale, and with proper care, the horse regained its health. Having rode his first horse at age two, Herb had an eye for a good horse.
“My father put me on a horse, on the saddle in front of him, for the first time when I was just a year old. On my second birthday, I have a very distinct memory of my father putting me on my own horse. I wasn’t tied in. I just had stirrups and reins,” recalled Herb.
In 1984, Herb’s second Morgan acquisition would be transcendent. The grand show horse Noble Flaire was a multiple World Grand Champion, World Champion in Park Harness, Morgan Horse of the Decade by Horse World Magazine, and inducted into the Morgan Horse Hall of Fame in 2016.
“Noble Flaire was Morgan Horse royalty and a charismatic ‘showman’ with a playful heart and a relentless appetite for attention. He carried himself with such elegance and panache,” described Herb, who himself was inducted into the Morgan Horse Hall of Fame in 1995.
Noble Flaire was the face of greatness for Kohler Stables. His breeding career propelled the Stables to uncharted heights throughout the 1990s, including in 1997 when Kohler Stables earned Breeder of the Year, Trainer of the Year, Horse of the Year, and Sire of the Year at the People’s Choice Morgan Awards.
Yet another horse was Herb’s favorite. Comic Strip, a half pinto and half thoroughbred, was a world champion jumper and family horse. Herb and the family often rode him on the trails in and around Kohler Village.
Horses bred by Kohler Stables continue to be identified by the “HVK” prefix, initials of Herbert V. Kohler, a trademark of quality in the industry. In tandem with excellent trainers through the years, Kohler Stables is perennially one of the most well-known farms in the breed. It and HVK prefix horses have dominated showrings for years.
Current Kohler Co. Chair and CEO David Kohler oversees Kohler Stables along with his wife Nina. “I have so many great memories growing up trail riding, working in the stables, and showing,” said David. In 2025, David and Nina accepted the prestigious Ellen Scripps Davis Memorial Breeders Cup Award that recognizes an individual and/or breeding enterprise who consistently breeds outstanding performance and show horses. The award honors the role that good breeding plays in the development and improvement of performance and show horses.
Today, the objective for Kohler Stables remains – to be one of the finest breeding farms in the world and to raise incredible stock with the beauty, power, athleticism, and performance that Kohler and the HVK prefix are known. Leading daily operations at the Stables these days are the talented duo, Liz and Mike Murphy, whose wealth of experience, passion, and commitment to quality ensure that the strong genetic pedigree continues with a lineage of past champions.