“A special place to be”

The Essex Horse Trials, which began in 1968, is a piece of eventing history that always looks toward the future. In a bold move, the competition’s latest version was showcased this weekend at two venues–Moorland Farm in Far Hills and the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation’s Gladstone headquarters.

Cross-country is being held Saturday at Moorland, but the Gladstone portion, staged today, offered dressage in the North Field and show jumping in the main ring. It was a homecoming; Essex hasn’t been at the Team since 1998, after which it embarked on a 17-year hiatus until it was revived at Moorland in 2017.

Moorland has great cross-country footing, but no all-weather rings, so putting on two segments at Gladstone was the answer to that situation. And there was a bonus: For many riders who had never ridden at the facility that is famous around the world, the experience was unforgettable.

“It’s like a horse show at the queen’s castle. It’s wonderful,” said Matthias Hollberg, a native of Germany who is the husband of last year’s Essex Open Preliminary winner, Hannah Sue (formerly Burnett).

Morgan Rowsell, co-organizer of Essex with Ralph Jones, noted, “The riders really felt like it was a special place to be. You don’t see things like this in this country.”

As Hannah Sue noted with a smile, “Why do you have to go to England when you can just go to Essex and compete at the queen’s castle?”

She is leading the featured $10,000 Open Preliminary division with Stakkato Bronx on 20 penalties. Matthias is fourth on 26.4 with J, who is a developing eventer. Primarily a show jumper, Matthias is happy to bring along horses and then hand them over to his wife.

“Matt does such a good job with the horses that are sensitive and a little bit tricky,” said Hannah Sue.

“Even though he’s a small horse,” she commented about J, “he was quite strong. I think we sorted that out pretty well, hopefully. When I rode him he felt quite big for me, so Matt’s been getting him going a big softer. He’s very talented.”

Hannah Sue thinks J might be a 5-star horse someday.

Jacqueline Mars, a great patron of eventing owns Stakatto Bronx with Christa Schmidt. Mars Equestrian is among the presenting sponsors of Essex, along with AIG, Peapack Gladstone Bank and Running S Veterinary Services.

Riders and horses coped well with temps in the high 80s, but as Open Preliminary competitor Matthew Bryner observed while looking down at his horse’s braids, “Even the rubber bands are melting.”

But the heat is just something you have to take in stride when competing during the summer. Dealing with the weather all too often is a big part of eventing.

An electrical storm, well-timed because it happened before the featured Prelim jumping, sent everyone scurrying into the solid walls of the stable.

The weather cleared afterward, and a good-sized crowd watched from the stands while the 150 people at the VIP tent enjoyed a great view of the arena action, aided by sliders, fries and a choice of beverages.

Partiers in the VIP tent could practically reach out and touch the horses during show jumping. (Photo © 2022 by Nancy Jaffer)

Horses stayed overnight in the historic stable before shipping to Moorland about seven minutes away. Lila Gendal of Vermont enjoyed keeping her horse, off-the-track thoroughbred Tropical Cognac, in a stall that had been inhabited by famous horses over the decades.

“This is my first time here,” she said, “but I grew up riding with Denny Emerson (a member of the U.S. Equestrian Team) so I’ve heard about this place for years. So to come here is just incredible. You can feel the history. I’m very happy to be here.”

For results of Day 1, click on this link.