The Essex Horse Trials is reinventing itself. Again.
For the third time since its 2019 edition, when it was staged in late June at Moorland Farm in Far Hills, N.J., it has switched its date. Organizers are hoping that positioning Essex in early June will result in favorable weather conditions. And the horse trials is adding an Intermediate division for the first time, looking down the road to the possibility of including an Advanced section at some point.
Hannah Sue Hollberg was the open preliminary winner at the Essex Horse Trials in 2021. (Photo © 2021 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
The biggest change, however, came last year, when the dressage and show jumping phases moved to the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation’s Gladstone headquarters, while cross-country continued just down the road at Moorland.
The innovation was a huge hit with competitors, who appreciated riding at the prestigious venue, with its storied history of Olympic medalists who trained there.
“Local people like to come here; it’s like getting to Yankee Stadium if you’re in Little League,” observed Ralph Jones, co-chair of the horse trials with Morgan Rowsell, who is also the cross-country course designer.
Essex co-chairs Ralph Jones and Morgan Rowsell. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
As Morgan noted, competing in the iconic main arena at Gladstone is useful for teaching young horses about dealing with atmosphere in their surroundings while competing, which will serve them well as they move up in their careers.
The Essex set-up is the same this year. A cocktail party will be held during the stadium jumping, which follows the dressage on Saturday June 3 in Gladstone. Cross-country is set for Moorland the next day, where the Peter Chesson Memorial Car Show also will be staged. Another atmosphere test for both horse and rider is the water complex at Moorland, surrounded by enthusiastic tailgaters.
The event has attracted a number of the sport’s biggest names in recent years, including Olympic individual medalist Phillip Dutton; U.S. Eventing’s Rider of the Year, Boyd Martin; Will Coleman, the top U.S. finisher at last year’s world championships and Hannah Sue Burnett Hollberg.
Essex was a major fixture on the eventing circuit from the late 1960s through 1998, when it last ran at the USET. When some of the USET property was sold, that meant it was no longer optimal for the cross-country phase, so the event didn’t go again for 18 years. But there were many who remembered Essex and missed it. An opportunity to stage all phases at Moorland, also home of the Far Hills Race Meeting, led to its revival in 2017.
A mid-July date in 2021 (2020 was cancelled due to Covid) wasn’t great weatherwise, and a continuing problem was the lack of all-weather ring at Moorland for dressage and jumping. Then last year’s switch to the fourth of July weekend was a problem for volunteers and sponsors who had other plans for the holiday, so an alternative was needed.
“It’s difficult to get a date,” said Morgan, citing the crowded eventing calendar.
He negotiated on behalf of Essex with Chris Donovan of the Maryland Combined Training Association, which has an event on the same June dates. He noted she was gracious about giving permission for Essex to run on the first weekend in June. There really isn’t a conflict, he pointed out.
While the Maryland event gets most of its participants from that state and southern Pennsylvania, Essex tends to draw from New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania and U.S. Eventing’s Area I, Morgan explained. He noted that Area I has lost a good number of events over the past few years, which means Essex is an important and convenient stop for riders from New York and New England.
The lowest level division offered at Essex is Beginner Novice, with Intermediate the highest. Morgan explained that while the cross-country fences have a maximum height two inches higher than Preliminary, “the show jumping is significantly higher” than Prelim at 3-feet, 11 inches and more technical. Chris Barnard, a popular eventing show jumping course designer, will be handling those duties at Essex again.
Essex is always looking for people who would like to be patrons of the event to help keep it going. Those who are interested can contact Ralph at ralph@essexhorsetrials.org. The Essex website is www.essexhorsetrials.org.
The event’s beneficiary is the LifeCamp in Pottersville, a century-old venture that provides a day camp each summer for 300 kids ages six through 14 from the greater Newark area.
Last year, a visit to cross-country day was an enjoyable field trip for the campers and their parents. They had a picnic by the water complex for a memorable afternoon, really getting into watching the horses splash into the water.
Campers had a chance to brush a pony during the horse trials. (Photo by Hillary Murphy)
“It was super exciting,” said Kathy Cree, the camp’s director, who also noted about the setting “Moorland Farm is a beautiful place by any standard.”
The kids, most of whom had never been close to a horse, were thrilled to be able to brush and pet a pony that was brought to the horse trials. They also learned about what the pony eats and how to take care of it.
“This pony was just the best, sweet and calm. Six kids at a time were brushing the pony. It was great,” commented Kathy.
She expects 150 to 175 kids with their parents and grandparents to attend the horse trials this year, though there could be more.
The camp has a link with Essex through James Cox Brady, who founded it a century ago and also built the imposing stables at the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation on what was once his farm.
“The support of the horse trials has been amazing for us and we are incredibly grateful for it,” said Kathy.
“Beyond the financial piece of it, it helps get our name out in the community with people who may not be familiar with what we do. All the money that comes in goes to our programs, so we don’t really spend a lot of money on marketing” But with the publicity for the horse trials, she commented, “People say, `Oh, we saw your name around town.’”
Programs provided by the camp include swimming, with every child getting a swim lesson daily.
“It’s a lifetime skill that is portable,” Kathy pointed out.
Those interested in learning more about the camp can go to www.greaternewarklifecamp.org.
“We’re happy to schedule tours over the summer,” said Kathy, noting volunteers are also welcome.
