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Hanson Merton

Merton Allen Bud (Hammer) Hanson
Sport: Equestrian
Year Inducted: 2012

Merton Allen Bud “Hammer” Hanson was born in Woodstock, New Brunswick in 1923. Bud was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the American Morgan Horse Association (2009), the Cornwall Sports Hall of Fame (2012), and the South Stormont Sports Hall of Fame (2012). Bud’s 1940 Woodstock New Brunswick High School basketball team (coached by famed Bob Brown) was inducted into the Woodstock Sports Wall of Fame on May 28, 2016.

Throughout his lifetime, he participated in many sports as an athlete, builder, founder, and organizer.

Bud won the 1940 New Brunswick Interscholastic Basketball Championship and the Malcolm Cup Trophy playing center position for the Woodstock New Brunswick High School team, and he was team captain (1941). At the University of New Brunswick, he was a basketball “Letter Winner” (1946); Manager of the Sports committee; winner of the Maritime Intercollegiate Senior Varsity Basketball Championship (1947); and played for the famed UNB senior civils basketball and bowling teams (1949).

In Cornwall, commencing in 1952, he was a Civil Engineer for the St. Lawrence Seaway Authority Corporation, and he played basketball, baseball, bowling, curling, hockey, winter skiing, and he became heavily involved in the equestrian sport.

Bud’s biggest contribution was being a renowned equestrian sport builder at the World, International, National, Provincial, and local levels.

In 1967, the Hanson family established the Big Oak Morgan Horse Farm where top quality Champion registered Morgan horses were bred, raised, trained, exhibited, and sold. Offspring from the farm won Championships and/or produced Champions at the World, Grand National, International, Regional, State, and Provincial levels. Horses carrying the Hanson-bred Morgan horse bloodline have claimed to date (2021) 93 World Championships and Reserves, 101 Grand National Championships and Reserves, and at least 140 Regional Championships and Reserves.

Bud served many National equestrian federations at the executive level in Canada and U.S.A. In Equine Canada, the national governing body for the equestrian sport in Canada, he served on the Board of Directors, and he was Chairman of the national Morgan Horse rules committee.

In the American Morgan Horse Association, he served on the Board of Directors (1973-1980), he was Chairman of the Open Competition Awards committee; he served on the By Laws committee and the Horse Show committee of the Grand National & World Championship Morgan Horse Show (1977).

In the Canadian Morgan Horse Association, Bud was President (1973-1979), Chairman of the Horse Show committee (1968-1973), and Chairman of the National Zonal High Score Awards System (1973) which he and his son Calvin founded. He also served as a member of the initial committee seeking international Reciprocity for registrations.

Bud was the Morgan Horse Breed Director to the Canadian Livestock Records Corporation in Ottawa during the 1970’s; and a committee member of the Newington Stormont County Fair Light Horse Show in the 1960’s.

Bud died November 8th, 2009 at age 86. His legacy in sports lives on.

Bud joins his son Calvin Hanson who was inducted as a member of the Cornwall Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.

Internet Links:

https://media.lib.unb.ca/archives/pephotos/14.jpg

http://media.lib.unb.ca/archives/pephotos/352.jpg

http://www.morganhorse.com/membership/honors/hall-fame/

http://halloffame.southstormont.ca/12-06.html