Mark Miller Owner
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Mark Miller Owner One of America’s most fascinating horse owners and breeders, distinctive horsemen and community leaders, Mark Miller rode Roy Rogers’ palomino horse Trigger as a boy, was a newspaper reporter for the Chicago Tribune, and entertained millions of visitors at his Arabian Nights Dinner Attraction in Kissimmee, Florida, which he founded and ran year-round for 26 years, until closing it to continue a family legacy, Al-Marah Arabians. Founded by his mother, the late Bazy Tankersley, Miller moved the farm in 2013 from its longtime location in Tucson, Arizona, to an 80-acre lakefront property in Clermont, Florida. “What would people be sur- prised to know about me? Probably, the influence I’ve had on the herd over the years. Mother listened to me about horses since I was a teenager,” said Miller. “During her last 10 years, she would ask me how I’d breed the horses before she made her decision. She never told me first. She always wanted my opinion,” he added. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Miller grew up on a 1,000-plus acre Arabian and cattle farm in Maryland, outside Washington, DC, that was once called Al-Marah Ranch. An oasis for politicians, dignitaries, and every fa- mous equestrian act passing through town, his formative years ranged from a particularly memorable meeting with “The Lone Ranger” television star Clayton Moore (who borrowed an Al-Marah Arabian for an appearance), to playing poker with US Senator Barry Goldwater. At 17, Miller spent a month at sea aboard a tramp steamer, accompanying two Al-Marah horses (a stallion and a mare) that oil tycoon Nelson Bunker Hunt bought from his mother as a birthday present for the King of Libya. Besides being the only person onboard with any horse experience (and entirely responsible for their health and well being), no one else on the ship spoke English. “I was trained for more than 55 years by the preeminent breeder in the world, my mother. This herd doesn’t just represent 70-some years of Al-Marah history. It is the core herd of the Arabian horse, first gathered in the desert by Abbas Pasha, 200 years ago. Breeding and preserving this band of horses is a privilege and an obligation,” shared Miller, who refers to himself as “custodian” of the oldest continu- ously-bred, privately-owned band of Arabian horses in the world. He is the sixth person in the third family to have control of the herd. “I know the horses. They are not just names and pedigrees. When I build an Arabian horse, I’m trying to build the ultimate machine that’s going to take feed and oxygen and transfer that into great athleticism. In my opinion, my mother was probably the greatest horse breeder of any breed. What she taught me about breeding is that good breeders also make hard decisions,” said Miller, remembering a landmark field test that his mother allowed Leroy Coggins, DVM (inventor of the Coggins test) to conduct on 450 horses at Al-Marah. (An important research study that had worldwide implications, advance decisions were made for each horse in the event of positive results.) A hands-on owner in every sense of the word, Miller is behind the wheel hauling horses when Al-Marah’s show string heads to competitions. “They’re my family. I like to drive them,” said Miller. “I’ve driven more than 1 million miles with a horse trailer. I’m going anyway, so I might as well take the horses,” said Miller, who typically sports jeans and a cowboy hat, or the occasional baseball cap, whether at horse shows or in a board room. “The thing I’m doing most differently from Mother is marketing,” explained Miller, whose well-honed leadership and creative talents, have long benefitted the community. Miller is four-time Chairman of West Kissimmee 192 Development Authority (the largest corridor designated for Community Redevelopment in the United States), on the Board of Directors for Experience Kissimmee, and the new Incoming Chair of Heavenly Hooves Therapeutic Riding Center, in Kissimmee, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Interestingly, Miller helped teach deaf children when his mother ran the first horsemanship for the handi- capped program in the United States at Al-Marah in the 1950s. “I was probably seven or eight years old teaching,” recalled Miller, now 68. “Part of Al-Marah’s mission is to introduce new people to the Arabian horse and sometimes, that means to horses in general,” said Miller, who introduced more people to horses than any other individual in the country with Arabian Nights. “We’re such a celebration of the breeding program. We try to create some- thing wonderful and beautiful and to do it in an ethical way, where we can share it with people.” Miller reflected, “Of course, it’s one thing to produce a great horse, but you really need to have a great trainer to showcase what your horses can do. People interested in dressage are obviously, going to be in- terested in a riding program like ours, where the Head Trainer is Kassie Barteau,” added Miller, whose gift for tapping top talent, made Barteau part of his vision for Al-Marah’s evolving legacy. A resident of Florida, since graduating from Rollins College in Winter Park with a double major in Philoso- phy and Far Eastern Religions, Miller’s efforts to contribute to society have been repeatedly honored. Named Outstanding Philanthropist for Lake County from the Community Foundation of South Lake Coun- try in 2015, Miller won the Humanitarian Award from Community Vision for his contributions to Osceola County’s homeless in 2014. Miller was inducted into the Hall of Fame at Osceola/Kissimmee Chamber of Commerce in 2013. “I’ve always had this dream of Al-Marah being what it is today,” said Miller. “I’m not saying it’s very differ- ent from what my mother had, but in some ways it is. My mother was a very modest person. She disliked talking about her success. I think a lot of what’s happened is that I’ve been able to tell people how great a breeder my mother was. I would be less than honest, if I were to say I did not think I could carry it on. I think she taught me well.” Miller reflected, “I was born a blessed person, because I was born into this herd of horses. The most inter- esting and wonderful people that I have met in my life, come to me through their respect, friendship and desire to know these great horses. I call myself a custodian of these horses because that’s exactly how I feel. To me, that makes me the luckiest person on the face of the earth.” Al-Marah Arabians, 1105 Autumn Lane, Clermont, FL 34711 ~ www.al-marah.com ~ 407-301-0800 .