Pony Up! is a new way for kids to meet horses and have fun

by Kate Seaman | Apr 17, 2016

By Nancy Jaffer
April 17, 2016

Colton McGregor and Brookside Pink Magnum.
(Photo courtesy of Becky McGregor)

How do you get more people involved in equestrian competition, in order to grow the sport? There’s always lots of talk about that, often without much of a conclusion. The U.S. Equestrian Federation has been trying to figure it out for years, and the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association is working on a solution after a report revealed just 1 percent growth in nine years.

There are a huge number of people out there who like horses and find them appealing, but only a small fraction of those actually ride, and even less compete. Discussion of the “grass roots” usually centers on showing opportunities at the lower levels. Equestrian organizations, perhaps understandably, tend to focus on people who already are in the sport and paying dues, rather than drawing newcomers into it.

So how do you reach people who aren’t involved at all and may never even have touched a horse? Breyer Animal Creations–you know those collectable models–has a concept, and will put it into action June 18 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation’s Gladstone headquarters.

It’s hosting an intriguing initiative, Pony Up!^®. The idea is to introduce children under age 16 to the world of horses, from models to real animals. It’s a hands-on experience that also includes crafts. Each person attending will go home with a model, and perhaps a desire to spend more time with real horses.

Pony Up!^® will be an especially welcome opportunity for those who would like to go to Breyerfest, the big three-day model horse extravaganza held each summer at the Kentucky Horse Park, but don’t have the time to go, or resources to cover air fare and hotel rooms.

It will feature “many of the same things people like about Breyerfest. If we’re satisfied it can be a success, we can roll it out to other places in the country,” said Kathy Fallon, a vice president of Reeves International, which owns Breyer.

“We wanted to test our idea at a place local to us,” said Kathy, referring to the fact that Reeves is in Pequannock, Morris County, about 40 minutes from Gladstone. Even more important, the USET’s charm and history make it a good showcase.

For children who have never encountered horses, this is an opportunity to see and touch them, as well as take pony rides (Children who wish to ride should wear long pants and lace-up shoes.) The event might be the first step in equestrian involvement that could lead to trail rides, showing, gymkhanas and many other activities.

The Breyer model of Brookside Pink Magnum.
(Photo courtesy of Breyer)

“What is the one thing different about Breyerfest?” Kathy asked, answering her question this way: “It’s the opportunity to be up close and personal, meet horses and their riders and talk to them when they have time to talk to you. At a horse show, people are busy competing, they’ve worked really hard, they don’t  have time to be welcoming to a family that wanders in and says, `Gosh, what’s going on here. My little girl loves horses. Maybe she’d like to do it.”

After experiencing a casual and relaxed atmosphere at Breyerfest, “parents say, `Maybe we’ll let the kids ride now.’ The horse industry really needs to look to the parents,” Kathy commented, noting, however, commitments to soccer and other sports is a “huge barrier.

Yet she believes, “The more parents get the message about how terrific it is to be involved with horses and horse sports and what a great thing it is to teach the kids compassion and caring for other creatures, the more they’ll be willing to dedicate the time” it takes to keep the children involved with horses.

Featured equine guests at the USET will be two inspirations for Breyer models, Arabian superstar Oration from the Desiderio family’s Tranquillity Farm in Chester and Rebedon Farm’s Brookside Pink Magnum, a strawberry roan Welsh stallion with a solid disposition who lives in the backyard of trainer Becky McGregor in Harmony, Warren County.

Although Magnum’s model is still available, Oration’s model already has been retired, since it was a special run made only for Breyerfest. The highest-priced discontinued model, in case you were wondering, is the Andalusian Alborozo, whose likeness was cast for the 2008 Breyerfest. A customized model of the horse went for $13,500 at auction.

Magnum, a Canadian-bred 19-year-old, is as sweet as they come. Becky’s 2 and 1/2-year-old son, Colton, learned to walk by toddling along the fence line next to the pony. Every time, the child fell, Magnum would wait patiently for him to stand up.

“They’ve been buddies ever since,” said Becky, noting the toddler rides the stallion, whose offspring have won the USEF Pony Finals and various Welsh titles.

Oration and Michael Desiderio.
(Photo courtesy of Breyer)

Having the pony become a Breyer model was a longtime dream of Becky’s late grandmother, Eileen Coyle, who used to write to Breyer regularly, asking for a model to be made of Magnum. It didn’t happen while Eileen was alive, but “On the one-year anniversary of her death was when I got the call from Breyer that they were going to make Magnum a Breyer. It was validating for me,” said Becky.

Magnum has been memorialized as a Breyer model for three years.

“It’s very surreal. He’s a little bit like a celebrity. Kids get awestruck around him,” said Becky, who noted people will stand in line for hours to see Magnum at Breyerfest.

“Then we come home and he’s my son’s pony and he lives in the backyard and he rolls in mud,” she said with a chuckle.

The Desiderios have had a similar experience with the 9-year-old stallion Oration, who has received comments of “Wow!” on judges’ cards and has won everything in the Arabian world and is a natural for open competition because he looks “like a little warmblood,” said Ricci Desiderio, whose son, Michael, rode the horse at Breyerfest.

The overwhelming reception that Oration got there demonstrates how effective it is for kids to actually meet such a special horse.

“We’ve got to start to get everybody in horses to get them started to develop them as riders. As they get more educated, they become more capable and move up the scale of riding,” said Ricci.

“You need to get them in the door to show them what we do. Marketing ourselves is a hard thing. If you don’t get them exposed to the horses, there’s no way in the world they’re going to get an interest.”

He pointed out that horses present a lifelong benefit to children who get started with riding.

Brookside Pink Magnum and fans at Breyerfest.
(Photo courtesy of Breyer)

Will eventing changes be for the best?

by Kate Seaman | Mar 27, 2016

By Nancy Jaffer
March 27, 2016

Olympic victory gallops, like this one by the German team at the 2012 London Games, will have two less participants if a controversial effort is passed to cut the number of riders on a squad.
(Photo by Nancy Jaffer)

There is no doubt that major change is coming yet again to the sport of eventing, motivated in great part by the intense desire to have it remain in the Olympics.

If your only interest in the discipline is at the lower levels, don’t stop reading. Changes at the top have a way of trickling down to somehow affect everyone who participates, even if they’re only at training level, or  below.

Changes proposed by the FEI (international equestrian federation) are prompted by the International Olympic Committee’s Agenda 2020 (that’s the year the Olympics will be held in Tokyo). The agenda is subtitled, “The strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic movement.”

As IOC President Thomas Bach put it, “It is a picture of progress. It is a picture that ensures the uniqueness of the Olympic Games. It is a picture that promotes the Olympic values. And it is a picture that strengthens sport in society.” And he might well have added that to remain in that picture, sports must do whatever is deemed necessary.

Any format adopted also would be used for the World Equestrian Games. The measures, which include some not directly involving the Olympics, will be discussed and no doubt debated during the FEI’s sports forum in Switzerland next month and voted on at its general assembly this autumn.

The U.S. Equestrian Federation and the U.S. Eventing Association both have weighed in with concerns about a number of the suggestions, which also are geared to making eventing more TV-friendly.

The U.S. Eventing Association didn’t mince words in its conclusion about a good bit of the remodeling:

“Should the FEI move forward with all of the proposals as outlined and deviate from the recommendations as outlined by the USEF, the USEA and other major National Governing Bodies of the sport, we will need to reconsider whether risking the integrity of the sport of Eventing justifies remaining a part of the Olympic Games.”

And that’s the crux of it. Is changing the eventing game to such an extent that some believe it becomes nearly a different sport worth the prestige of being in the Olympics?

Will Connell, the USEF’s director of sport, noted about that question, “Where you draw the line between a sport giving up its values in order to stay in the Olympics is a very difficult one.”

He added, “We’re not at the point where we’re saying what is proposed is going to destroy the integrity of the sport to the point where we shouldn’t do it, we should accept going out of the Games. it would be wrong for us to ever say that without a very detailed consultation with athletes and all our internal stakeholders,” he pointed out.

Jim Wolf, who served as director of sport programs for the USEF and director of eventing with the U.S. Equestrian Team before that, thinks it’s crucial for eventing to stay in the Olympic movement.

Now head of Wolf Sports Group LLC, a sports marketing, event management and logistics firm, he cited the “crediblity and cachet” bestowed by the Olympics and the ability to capture part of its worldwide audience. It is also, he said, “a selling point for the sport,” which needs sponsorship to thrive.

“You’ve got to make sports TV-friendly,” he commented, noting other sports, from athletics to cricket, have changed their formats to achieve that end.

At one time, the Olympic Games were the pinnacle, the only chance some sports–such as equestrian–had to be on a global stage. But that’s no longer the case. Once-obscure sports now appear regularly on TV and with many people dropping cable in favor of viewing the action on their computers, tablets or cellphones, live-streaming of their favorite competitions is a frequent occurrence. The World Equestrian Games and the proliferation of major venues that attract many thousands of spectators also provide prominent pathways for horse sports.

All it takes is one fall on cross-country for a team without a drop score to have its Olympic medal hopes dashed.
(Photo by Nancy Jaffer)

This is not the first time that there has been concern about the Olympics dropping equestrian sports (dressage and jumping also are due for changes, but nothing as drastic as eventing). Eventing has a big target on it because, among other reasons, it’s expensive to stage and the scoring isn’t easy to understand.

In 2002, the recommendation by the IOC’s program commission that eventing should be dropped from the Games after the 2004 Olympics shook the discipline. But the FEI got busy to counter the commission’s recommendation, which was geared to limiting the size and cost of the games by eliminating some sports.

So the FEI did what it had to do. Remember the classic format, and its acreage-eating roads and tracks and steeplechase segments that tested speed and endurance? They were an integral part of the sport for nearly a century, but those segments have disappeared (except at a few low-level outings) and last were seen at the Rolex Kentucky 4-star in 2005, the year after the Olympics went to the short format to save time, money, and eventing’s place in the Games.

That also paved the way for warmbloods to dominate the discipline, since the endurance of the thoroughbred was no longer essential.

Many changes to the sport, once a military exercise, have been extremely beneficial. When Lana duPont Wright got the USEF’s Lifetime Achievement Award in January, we were reminded that women were excluded from Olympic eventing rosters until 1964, the year she broke that barrier. And speaking of breaking things, her horse fell twice (one fall did not mean elimination in those days) and broke his jaw on cross-country during an era before horse welfare was not a prime consideration, as it is today. That’s another good change.

But the USEF and USEA do not support a change that would limit Olympic teams to three riders, (rather than the five who competed in 2012, 2008 and 2004) with one alternate horse or horse and rider combination. That would mean no drop score. The U.S. fielded three-member teams from 1928 through 1956, but four-member teams with one drop score were the rule from 1960 through 2000. The cross-country test by its nature often involves eliminations, so availability of a drop score assures teams of having a shot at a medal, or at least an honorable completion.

The USEF stated in its reason for not supporting this change.“This would make the sport about completion and not about competition.

“The statistics show very clearly that if there are three in the team for cross-country with no drop score, either a significant number of teams will not complete or the cross-country will be dumbed down to an extent that the very essence of eventing is destroyed.”

An answer that could make teams of three work better, Will noted, would be utilizing a CIC format, with dressage followed by show jumping rather than cross-country, which would be run last.

It eliminates the pressure involved on what USEA termed, “an unprepared or physically compromised horse or rider” when show jumping is the day after cross-country. With the advantage of a drop score, they could be held out, as is often the case, but having cross-country last could help when there are only three on a team.

An alternative of awarding points to horses that do not complete and/or allowing them to show jump “only makes the scoring more complicated,” according to the USEF.

Will believes discussions have gotten stuck on teams of three and “haven’t embraced all of what agenda 2020 stands for. We haven’t really discussed in depth how we better present the sport,” which includes reducing its cost.

Teans of three offer the option for more countries to compete, which meets the eternal goal of increasing a sport’s universality, always a major IOC consideration. But it also raises the question about whether the bar will be lowered to accommodate that ambition.

Other changes proposed include changing the name of the sport. How about Equestrian Triathlon? Equi-triathlon? Equestrio? Triquestrian?

The USEF wondered is “adopting a new name going to change anything or just further divide the community and confuse the public?” USEA also pointed out it will be costly for the governing bodies, sports organizations and those presenting events to change letterheads, signs, trademarks and the like.

Eventing is at a crossroads, no doubt about it. All we can hope is that those who understand its essence are able to prevail, so remaking the sport does not mean ruining it.

Essex Foxhounds and Thanksgiving: A special tradition

by Kate Seaman | Oct 8, 2017

By Nancy Jaffer
November 23, 2017

It’s a tradition that began when Jacqueline Kennedy, the charismatic former First Lady of the U.S., would ride out with New Jersey’s Essex Foxhounds on Thanksgiving. The interest in her and her family was intense. As one Essex veteran told me, “photographers were hanging from the trees” when she appeared on the scene.

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis at the Essex Foxhounds’ Thanksgiving hunt during the early 1980s.. To the left in black is her son, John F. Kennedy Jr. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)

Word got around. Eager to catch a glimpse of Jackie, people started coming to the Thanksgiving hunt to gawk. While Jackie stopped riding with Essex decades ago and died in 1994, the custom continues.

Today, as always, hundreds converged on the elegant Ellistan estate in Peapack, N.J., to watch the hunt gather before it headed out across the green fields of Somerset County.

The scene at Ellistan on Thanksgiving 2017. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)

Those who come to the property take photos and videos, tailgate, toss a football and generally enjoy an hour or two out in the country before heading off to their dinner.

Tailgating on Thanksgiving at Ellistan. (Photo by Lawrence J. Nagy)

Some have never been close to a horse, and are fascinated by watching sleek mounts and their well-turned out riders.

Eager kids reach out to touch a horse. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)

For horse-savvy locals, it’s a time to see old friends, chat with pillars of the equestrian community and discuss who’s riding which horse.

It’s also a time to appreciate open space in the most densely populated state in the union. Essex is part of the community, an example of countryside sport, and how closely riding and horses are involved with land preservation.

Taking a fence on Thanksgiving.

Drs. Brendan Furlong and Wendy Leitch. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)

Essex Foxhounds Committee Chairman Sally Ike and Treasurer Jim Gordon. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)

The Johnson family had a smart turnout as the hunt gathered. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)

Huntsman Bart Poole and the hounds.

A side-saddle rider adds a touch of elegance to the hunt field.

On the Rail Archives

by Kate Seaman | Apr 19, 2016

Is it time for equestrian sport to go ‘cool and sexy’?

by Kate Seaman | Apr 10, 2016

By Nancy Jaffer
April 10, 2016

Will Olympic eventing gold medalist Michael Jung someday be wearing a form-fitting shirt rather than “museum clothes” for the dressage phase?

A member of the Olympic press commission who spoke at last week’s FEI (international equestrian federation) sports forum noted, “There are tons of new sports trying to knock on the Olympic door. Skateboarding, surfing and rock climbing are almost guaranteed to be on the Olympic program for Tokyo because they are perceived as cool and sexy sports.”

That’s not the kind of revelation geared to making the FEI happy. The shadow over the forum in Switzerland was the longtime concern that equestrian sports–perhaps one discipline, two or all three–could be dropped from their most glittering showcase, the Olympics, as its motto of “faster, higher, stronger” morphs into “cool and sexy,” leaving horses in the dust.

But the press commission representative, Alan Abrahamson of the U.S., advised the FEI to take heart. His thought? “You have that core audience. What you need are more and younger fans. This is not a crisis point. It’s not a moment of desperation for you, it’s a moment rich with opportunity.”

No, I’d say it’s a moment of desperation. With change on the agenda of the forum in a big way, the FEI obviously is determined to do whatever it takes to stay in the Olympics, and not everyone is behind the measures being conceived toward that end.

Example: The U.S. and other major eventing nations came to the forum maintaining that fielding teams of three to eliminate the drop score and make more room for other countries (referred to as “flags”) in the line-up isn’t the way to go in terms of horse welfare.

In the future, it would apply not only to dressage, which had teams of three in 2008 and 2012 and is the least risky of the disciplines, but also to eventing and show jumping (whose Olympic gold medalist, Steve Guerdat, expressed some concern about the reduction in team members for that discipline.)

There will be more pressure on all team members to finish, regardless of whether a horse is tired or has some other issue that could be addressed if there were a drop score available.

Writing in Horse & Hound, former U.S. eventing coach Mark Phillips noted statistics show fewer eventing teams will complete with three members, which is not good for the “picture” the sport presents to the world. Citing a lost shoe or an “innocent overreach” that could eliminate a team horse, he commented “there is a real chance of medal teams being ruled out.”

Michael Etherington-Smith, a two-time Olympic cross-country course designer and chair of the European Equestrian Federation’s eventing committee, maintained during the forum, “I see no evidence to suggest what is in existence is broken. Quite a lot of people aren’t buying into this.”

The arguments were made during the live-streamed conference, but apparently fell on deaf ears, since the more countries that participate in a sport, the better its standing with the International Olympic Committee. Limiting the number of athletes who can take part in the Olympics, which may seem counter to the desire for more flags, is done to control the enormous costs of the fixture, so the flags have to be spread out over fewer people.

No sooner had delegates returned home from the forum than they got a missive from the FEI stating its Bureau had concluded that teams in all equestrian disciplines for the Olympics would be three members, and countries that did not qualify a team could be represented by a maximum of one individual. That also rules out composite teams. Currently, a country that did not qualify a team during a championship, such as the World Equestrian Games, could make one up from individuals who were high enough on the ranking lists.

“I find it disappointing that the Bureau would come out so overtly and basically say, `Thank you for coming to the sports forum, but we’re not going to listen any of your proposals around numbers in a team,’ especially in eventing, where there was a very strong case put forward for drop scores,’’ said the U.S. Equestrian Federation Director of Sport Will Connell.

It’s actually no surprise that the three-member edict came in; the FEI obviously was moving that way, but the question is how to handle it in eventing at the Olympics to make sure a good number of teams complete. The answer seems to be a CIC format, where cross-country comes after show jumping, rather than before it, as in a traditional, longer-format CCI. At the same time, there is fear that Olympic eventing will be dumbed down further, as its cross-country already is less difficult that the WEG, which is a true 4-star.

But wait! The Bureau asked all technical committees to “work in the same direction for the WEG” as they do for the Olympics, adding that it understands “differences across the disciplines are still possible.”

The prospect of a WEG/Olympic synchronization raises hackles, especially because the IOC has nothing to do with the WEG.

“A lot of the eventing community feels very strongly that whatever happens in the Olympics shouldn’t impact on the WEG format. Why can’t we have a WEG that’s a 4-star team competition?” Will asked.

He added many people are concerned how changes will filter down to the lower levels.

“That’s part of the reason people are very keen to retain the current WEG format. What you don’t want is what is currently called a 4-star becoming obsolete,” he commented.

There was talk about “the equestrian community only being a quarter of the people who mattered in this decision, with the other three-quarters being the public, the media and sponsors.”

As Will said, “If you go down the levels, those other three sectors reduce in importance in comparison to the community that is eventing. The shame of it is that many of the significant decisions have been built solely around more flags.’’

As he pointed out, there are many strong points of horse sports that argue for it to remain in the Olympics. What other sports have people in their 50s and 60s (Canada’s show jumper Ian Millar is 69) competing and as possible medal contenders? Not gymnastics or swimming, among many others.

And what other sport has such gender equality, with women competing against men? That should be a huge plus in the struggle to stay in the Games.

Giuseppe della Chiesa, the FEI’s eventing committee chairman, noted the biggest challenge is “to maintain the standards of cross-country; otherwise, all this means nothing.”

U.S. Eventing Coach David O’Connor said it’s time to have a 4-star CIC, that can help prepare riders for championships and 4-star CCIs.
Will commented that having CIC 4-star competitions is “a good suggestion in order to help nations and athletes rise to the challenge of a WEG at 4-star level.”

I asked Will whether with all the changes, Rolex Kentucky could wind up becoming a CIC 4-star.

He replied, “If the WEG gets dumbed down to where the Olympics are quite possibly heading, maybe that’s the case (Rolex becoming a CIC) unless high-level sponsors say, `No, we want to be part of maintaining prize money at the 4-star level.’

“If prize money at the 4-star level continues to increase, I’m sure the 4-stars will continue,” he said.

The eventing committee, meanwhile, has proposed introduction of a lower-level event with cross-country at a 1.05-meter level, to allow a smoother transition between national and international competitions for developing countries in the sport. It also could be used to develop a children’s level category, which has been very successful in show jumping.

Initiatives mentioned to make eventing more television- and spectator friendly (a big part of the Olympic equation) include changing the scoring to positive numbers, rather than having the winner be the competitor with the least penalties, and compressing eventing into three days (it’s four days at the championship level) by concluding dressage in one day. That could happen via shortening the test through eliminating the first salute, deleting the judges’ collective remarks and making the interval between horses shorter.

Dress was also discussed. Frank Kemperman, chairman of the FEI dressage committee and the man who runs the celebrated Aachen, Germany, show, called dressage outfits “a kind of museum clothes…the dress doesn’t look like sport.” He would like to see eventing pave the way on that.

Dressage judge Cara Witham of Canada noted it already has been done in the U.S. at the North American Junior and Young Rider Championships, where it has been so hot when it was held in Kentucky during the summer that there sometimes has been a mandatory “no jackets” rule and competitors rode in team logo polo shirts.

“They looked fantastic for dressage and eventing,” said Cara, while noting that ironically “the young people said they preferred to wear tailcoats and jacket.”

A suggestion to change the name of eventing didn’t go anywhere. Yet. In discussions of name changes, Frank said, “I missed the word `horse,’ noting “equestrian already is a difficult word for a lot of people,” comparing it to “Chinese.”

FEI Vice President John Madden said, “We get quite myopic. We think the rest of the world understands us. They don’t.”

Andrew Finding of the European Equestrian Federation probably had the best idea: “Why don’t we have 15 to 20-year-olds come up with a name?”

Draft rules will be sent in July to national federations, who must give their feedback to the FEI by Sept. 9. The FEI will vote on the proposed rules at its general assembly in Tokyo Nov. 22.

The WEG and the continental championships will survive, of course. But what happens if despite all the efforts to the contrary, equestrian is no longer part of the Olympics somewhere down the road?

“That’s the $99 million question,” said Will.

“If jumping came out of the Olympics, it’s going to continue,” he commented. Then there’s a but.

“Would dressage be where it is now? Would eventing continue in its current guise? You don’t know whether certain owners would still want to be involved, whether the investment would be the same. Certainly, programs focused on winning medals would be drastically reduced. I don’t think any of us want to be out of the Olympic Games, but for sure, there are some people saying at some point, if eventing is changed too much, should eventing say, `We’re not going to take that change?’

He cautioned, “I’m not saying that. I don’t think we’re there in any way, shape or form.”

At the same time, “There is no doubt we’ve got to make our sport more presentable and understandable. We need to work to get more flags into the sport. Whether that needs to be done instantaneously or over a period of time should have been based on a more analytical approach.”

The WEF will get better as well as bigger, management vows

by Kate Seaman | Apr 3, 2016

Big prize money, glitz, glamour and high-profile riders such as Georgina Bloomberg have raised the profile of the Winter Equestrian Festival at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center.
(Photo by Nancy Jaffer)

With $9 million in prize money, classes for everything from cross rail hunters to 1.6 meter jumpers and 12 weeks of competition in sunny (much of the time) Florida, the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington has all the earmarks of a dream destination for horse lovers.

But there are problems compounded by size and popularity at what is in effect the world’s largest and longest horse show, drawing exhibitors from 34 countries and having an economic impact of $200 million on the area. Complaints include concerns about dangerous schooling areas, footing issues, sub-par congested stabling and traffic on the grounds of the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center and adjoining roads.

To address the situation, Mark Bellissimo, CEO of Equestrian Sport Productions, called what was in effect a town hall meeting, saying he wanted to hear the thoughts of the horse show community. And he got an earful, with hundreds attending the session last week at PBIEC.

One of the messages from there is news that big changes are afoot, which will mean the growth of the enterprise and hopefully, horse sports along with it.

Here’s the question Mark posed to the crowd, “How do we manage a successful product that has probably gotten to a point where we need to rethink it?”

Although he was aware of problems on the showgrounds, Mark said he hadn’t called a session like this previously because an obstructionist town council meant it was impossible for him to get anything done. The Jacobs family, which has opposed Mark on many fronts, backed candidates who got elected four years ago to form a council majority. Lawsuits have flown back and forth between the parties, with some legal issues and bitterness on both sides still unresolved.

Until a new council was seated, ESP decided not to undertake any initiatives, knowing they would be frustrated.

“In a world where we were constrained, our options were limited,” Mark explained.

He gave an example of having spent $9.25 million to build an FEI facility (where the international horses are kept on the showgrounds), only to find the town wouldn’t allow parking there.

“There were 15 things like that. Fundamental to that, we’ve probably got 50 things we’d like to do here, in a world where we couldn’t do one of them…it was a challenge,” he said.

However, in last month’s municipal election, two candidates won seats that changed the majority on the council, which Mark believes gives him the green light to make badly needed improvements.

At the same time, he is planning to close on the International Polo Club this month, which will give ESP and Wellington Equestrian Partners, which owns the properties, another venue in addition to the Adequan Global Dressage Festival grounds and PBIEC, all within close proximity to each other. There plan is to distribute the load for the various disciplines across three venues to relieve congestion.

The Saturday Night Lights initiative at WEF introduces new people to the excitement of show jumping, bringing in crowds who fill the stands.
(Photo by Nancy Jaffer)

The Adequan Global Dressage Festival grounds.
(Photo by Nancy Jaffer)

One was problems in the warm-up area of the International Arena, where a solution suggested was having a separate entrance and exit. Yesterday afternoon, a barrier was up along the entrance side, which would protect horses entering from someone swinging wide around a practice jump.

That certainly showed follow through, but as one groom pointed out to me, while it was a good idea, it wasn’t what horses were used to all circuit, so why do it on the last day of the jumper show? I watched for awhile as horses were led in, however, and didn’t see any getting upset.

Mark listed a number of items that will get action, including footing.

“It’s absolutely critical for us…to make sure we have the best footing in the world there. We’ve heard there are some concerns there, so we want to address them head-on,” said Mark.

They are going to replace all the footing in the International Arena, the focal point of the PBIEC grounds, and work on drainage issues there that may be complicating the situation. Every other ring is going to be evaluated to make sure they are draining properly and that any issues with them are handled.

“It’s our goal to have the safest facility and the best facility for horses,” Mark said, citing how well things have gone elsewhere (referring to his built-from-the-ground-up show facility in Tryon, N.C)  in other places “when we’ve had cooperation from individuals that allow us to do things.”

In terms of traffic problems, there will be a new paved approach to the showgrounds on 40th Street, now a dirt track, that will offer access to the facility. ESP also will be putting money into a new turn lane on Pierson Road in front of PBIEC, where traffic backs up when a show is going on.

WEF is going to do at least one jumper show with a parallel track for both a 2-star and a 5-star as riders have requested.

More important, in terms of congestion and inadequate stabling, things will be moved around to “decompress and spread out the volume over a bigger space. We’ve got hundreds of acres but it’s been impossible for us to use them.”

Added Mark, “Our vision is that Wellington is the greatest place in the world to show. Our fundamental view now is we’ve got a pathway where we don’t have two hands tied behind our back and someone throwing a grenade at us every other step.”

People have forgotten what the showgrounds, and the shows, were like before WEP took over.

“At the last event prior to our ownership,” said Mark, “horses were falling in the ring. This facility at that time had $2 million in prize money, it had terrible rings, terrible footing.

“We made a fundamental decision to not only spend $25 million just to buy the dirt, but then to invest another $25 million to improve it. We made a decision as a long-term strategy to try to re-shape the sport. We have more international competitions than any place on the planet. We went from 19 FEI classes to 51,” while prize money for those classes went from $1.2 million to $5 million.

“ We now believe we can deliver and make the tweaks that make this a great experience for everyone. We’re opening that dialogue because we can execute on it.”

It’s been quite a life, by George

by Kate Seaman | Mar 20, 2016

By Nancy Jaffer
March 20, 2016

George Morris is a much-in demand clinician.
(Photo by Nancy Jaffer)

It takes bravery to jump the types of fences that George Morris cleared many thousands of times in a career that stretched from the 1940s until now, but it required even greater courage to reveal himself in his long-awaited, tell-all new book, which was released this month.

We know him as the most influential figure in the development of hunt seat equitation as it is practiced today, and as a great competitor, author, judge, coach and clinician. You may have ridden with him at Hunterdon in Pittstown, where he set up shop in 1971 and made it synonymous with the ultimate in show ring success. Perhaps you read his classic volume, “Hunter Seat Equitation,” or attended one of his clinics, as a spectator or rider. Maybe you were just fascinated by him from afar. Whatever the circumstances, George has always been one to attract great interest, and his book answers any question you wanted to ask (but wouldn’t have dared to).

He has been a dynamic figure in the sport through many decades, often imitated but never duplicated, and served as a mentor to scores of top riders, including Melanie Smith Taylor, Katie Monahan Prudent, Leslie Burr Howard and so many more equestrian household names, throughout the Western Hemisphere and overseas.

At the same time, he has been a living bridge from the past, when showing was developing its modern look in post-World War II America, through the glory days of the U.S. Equestrian Team and Bertalan de Nemethy, into the current era. At age 78, he’s still fit and hasn’t slowed down–his latest venture is coaching the Brazilian Olympic show jumping team.

“Unrelenting–The Real Story: Horses, Bright Lights and My Pursuit of Excellence,” written with Karen Robertson Terry (Trafalgar Square/www.horseandriderbooks.com) is 418 pages (not counting the appendices) that detail every aspect of George’s life. He spares nothing while describing his evolution in riding or his personal life, whether it’s dalliances with the likes of Tab Hunter and well-known figures in the equestrian world or his hard-partying past. Loved the story of his time at New York’s old Studio 54, where he describes Betsee Parker (the owner of many champion hunters today) rollerskating on the dance floor with her braids flying.

Three members of the USA’s 1960 Rome silver medal Olympic squad and pillars of the U.S. Equestrian Team: Billy Steinkraus, Frank Chapot, George Morris.
(Photo by Nancy Jaffer)

These lines from the book explain the dichotomy that is George, and the choices he made to balance his skill and his nature: “Never fully comfortable in the straight family-oriented horse show world and just as out of place in an alternative subculture with a stereotypical identity crisis, I learned in the sixties to seek my own circle of friends. It hasn’t always been easy, living two very delineated lives and bouncing from one to the other.”

Some may get their kicks from reading about what once was George’s secret life, as he names names and fills in details, but others, like myself, will appreciate this book as a history of the sport, its times and what led up to them.

Born into a socially elite Connecticut family, George was a high-strung and insecure child, suffering what might be defined as a nervous breakdown at age nine.  He saw “horses as salvation,” as one chapter title states. Riding became an avenue to success for a boy who wasn’t good at “ball sports.” Even though he was not a natural talent in the saddle, that paid off for him, because he had to go through all the steps that gave him the building blocks of what it takes to teach riding.

There were missteps along the way of course. I was horrified to read that with ambitions to teach, he blindfolded his niece, took away her reins and stirrups and smacked her pony with a crop so it would take her over three fences. She fell off and broke her arm; it could have been worse.

And then there was the horse he stole out of a trailer at a show to provide a ride for his nephew.

Luckily, those incidents did not characterize the career he would have.

George Morris was saluted at the Winter Equestrian Festival after stepping down as U.S. show jumping coach.
(Photo by Nancy Jaffer)

George always shows his students how it’s done.
(Photo by Nancy Jaffer)

At age 14, he won both the Medal and Maclay finals at the old Madison Square Garden, which put him on the path to glory. He is honest enough to admit that he had an advantage because his toughest competitor didn’t have access to her best horse for those classes. That type of frankness gives this book credence, whether he is talking about a drinking problem, the rather unsavory measures taken to make sure horses jumped high in the 1950s (when he called it a “veritable free-for-all),  or how brutal competition could be in that era. (It was horrifying to read that during the Rome Horse Show in 1959, for instance, the course was so difficult that 20 horses fell and one had to be put down. This was show jumping, not eventing.)

In this century when everyone at least espouses concern about the welfare of the horse, it’s hard to believe it was otherwise not so long ago.

Showing during Morris’ early years was primarily for the elite, all part of a social scene that included luncheons, balls, dinner parties and lots of formal dress.

He takes us through the changing times, when the jumpers (whose riders were once characterized as “the wrong element” by an acquaintance of his mother) became the focus at shows instead of the hunters, and the U.S. Equestrian Team was an organization that those who loved the sport and their country strongly supported.

George’s story isn’t told from his viewpoint alone. There are contributions by dozens of people whose names you’ll recognize, offering memories of their involvement with George. Among them are Ludger Beerbaum, Robert Dover, Bobby Burke, Kathy Moore, Robert Ridland, Bernie Traurig, and on and on. Their thoughts were nearly as fascinating as George’s tales.

The many photos are wonderful, offering additional insight. They include shots of George with stars of the sport, past and present, from his mentor Gordon Wright, the d’Inzeo brothers of Italy and Nelson Pessoa to current figures, such as Rich Fellers and McLain Ward.

Without a knowledge of history, there is no sense of perspective. For those who don’t remember when the National Horse Show was at the Garden, who really aren’t able to place Rodney Jenkins or can’t believe horses once were shipped abroad by sea, this book will provide an education in entertaining style.