Melissa Murphy Rafano and two of her amateur rider friends have come up with an antidote for “stir crazy” after months of Covid lockdown.
With the horse show circuit in disarray, answering the question, “What are we going to do this summer?” became a priority. She and Alison Ward, a teacher, and Daria Kissenberth, a graphic designer, decided to start a retreat for riders who might be skipping the shows.
It’s interesting how often the very difficult virus situation has been the mother of invention for new ideas, and this is another one.
EQ Retreat, an entrepreneurial concept that debuts Friday July 10, offers three days of horse-oriented R&R with both fun and learning components. It is being held at the stable in Readington owned by Melissa and her husband, Chris Rafano. Called Promise Farm, the facility formerly was known as River’s Edge when perennial hunter champ Scott Stewart was based there.
With the Covid situation disrupting things this year, it was uncertain what horse shows would be doing and how they would be doing it, leading the friends to brainstorm about activities for the season when they normally would be at competitions.
“We wanted to explore other things,” said Alison.
Alison Ward, Melissa Murphy Rafano and Daria Kissenberth came up with the idea for EQ Retreat.
The thinking ran along the lines of, “This is such a lovely property, maybe we could start some kind of retreat for riders.”
When they did a test run, Charity Paashaus taught natural horsemanship the first day. The next day, they went to Horseshoe Bend Park in Kingwood for a trail ride and the third day, trainer Michael Dowling, came and gave them a clinic.
“Now we’re inviting the public to participate,” Alison said.
“The whole vision is that we want a clinic atmosphere, but with things for both the horse and rider,” she continued. Alison noted horse owners spend so much time doing things for their mounts that “we want to make sure the riders have a little spoiling time too.
Charity will be back for the July 10-12 session with natural horsemanship on the first day, followed by a barbeque. Next up is “a day of indulgence.” It starts with yoga and then breakfast, which is special because Melissa owns Sweet Melissa Patisserie in Lebanon, voted New Jersey’s best bakery on nj.com. It’s a place where you can get everything from truffled cremini mushroom quiche to the gamut of tempting sweets and pastries, so the catered meals will be quite memorable.
Riders can have their horse photographed by Susan Kozlowski, and then go for a ride in the arena or around the property, followed by a catered lunch and a visit from a massage therapist (while the horses get a magnawave treatment) before a wine-tasting with snacks. To cap off the day’s proceedings, animal communicator Armand Egidi will offer insight into the thoughts of the participants’ horses. The final day will involve equine bodywork, a clinic with grand prix trainer Nona Garson and an ice cream social.
The organizers are aiming to have an EQ Retreat every two weekends. One to be held at the end of July is still a work in progress, but for August, they are planning “a three-day three-day,” as in eventing. The first day will be dressage, the next cross-county and the third day show jumping with a clinician. An idea for another retreat might feature working with a judge.
The groups will be small, from six to 10 people “to make it feel like a retreat, not like a clinic where you’re just riding and going home.” The fee of $1,075 covers a stall for the weekend, with Thursday night arrival if participants wish, or they can come for the day at $350. Next time, there will be an option to enroll at a lower price for those who don’t need stabling and commute from home with their horses. There’s also an option to lease a horse for those who want to participate but don’t bring their own ride.
Even when shows come back in their usual format–hopefully next year–Melissa said the group intends to keep the retreats going. As she noted, “it’s like all these things you wanted to do, but never got around to doing. We just want to create an atmosphere where new friendships can be formed. I’m really looking forward to meeting new, like-minded people and just enjoying the horses.”
There is a Covid protocol, of course, but it’s not intrusive because as Melissa noted, the ring is big, the barns are open air and chairs can be set six feet apart.
“It lends itself naturally to something that’s conducive to the Covid rules,” she said. “You can take a breath, it’s nice.”
Those who want to sign up can go to eqretreat@gmail.com or call Alison at 908-872-5159.
