Though paces began with hunts and required people to be in formal or ratcatcher dress suitable for hunting, restrictions have eased greatly these days in many cases.

Often, western riders and those in casual attire (but always with a helmet) are welcome. Although many paces have fences, most offer go-arounds and it is not required for participants to jump.

On April 24, the Friends of Lord Stirling Stable and the Somerset County Park Commission’s Lord Stirling Stable will host the first in the 2016 Hunter Pace Challenge, a series of five events, beginning with the SCPC/FLSS Spring Pace sponsored by Horsemen’s Outlet of Lebanon.

Additional competitions include the Rutgers Equine Science Center Fundraiser Pace May 22; the 2016 SCPC/FLSS Fall Pace Sept. 11, the State 4-H Horse Program Pace Oct. 23 and the SCPC “Stuff the Turkey” Pace Nov. 6.

Teams participating in four of the five events are eligible to win a cooler for each of the team’s horses. Team members must remain constant but are not required to ride the same horses for every event

Specifications are posted on the Friends’ website, www.flssnj.org. Ribbons are awarded to the first six teams in each division finishing closest to the ideal time set by the pace team.

Register in person on the day of each event. For additional information or questions about the Hunter Pace Challenge call 908-766-5955.

On May 7, the Essex Foxhounds will have their pace at Cedar Lane Farm on Homestead Road in Oldwick. Go to essexfoxhounds.org for information.

May 15 is busy for paces. From 8 a.m.-2 p.m., the Somerset Hills Pony Club pace will be held starting from the Fowler Road Parking Area of the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation in Gladstone.

This is a fundraiser to help SHPC educate members, while developing leadership skills, confidence, and sportsmanship. A bonus here involves points given for correct answers to checkpoint trivia questions.

Contact 908-507-7354 / baytoff@hotmail.com

The same day, the Alexandria Equestrian Association’s Trail Pace will start from The Salvation Army’s

Camp Tecumseh, 445 Mechlin Corner Rd., Pittstown. The pace runs from 8 a.m.-noon, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Salvation Army. Check www.aeanj.com or call 908-295-0819 (day of pace only) for status updates.

McLain Ward (HH Azur, Rothchild), Kent Farrington (Voyeur, Gazelle), Beezie Madden (Breitling, Simon, Cortes C and Quister) and Lucy Davis (Barron) are on the roster, along with Reed Kessler (Cylana), who rode on the 2012 Olympic team with McLain and Beezie.

Also listed are 2000 Olympic alternate Todd Minikus (Babalou), 2008 Olympic team member Laura Kraut (Deauville), 2000 Olympic teammates Lauren Hough (Ohlala) and Margie Engle (Royce) and Callan Solem (VDL Wizard), the top-placing U.S. rider from last month’s Longines FEI World Cup Show Jumping Finals in Sweden, where she was seventh.

The only ones in the group with no Olympic experience as either a team member or alternate are Lucy and Callan.

Like the U.S. dressage riders, U.S. show jumpers will be going on a tour of European shows before the squad of four and one alternate is selected.

Although riders and trainers often focus on giving clinics when they quit show business, Bernie decided to do it in a different way. He started EquestrianCoach.com using video as an integral element of his business. And the intensity with which he always trained and rode now comes through in his teaching, both in person and via the recording.

His operation is popular around the country, and next month the Californian is heading east to a workshop hosted by Judy Richter and Coker farm in Bedford, N.Y.

The workshop, which also is USHJA-approved as a trainer certification clinic, runs May 6-8, with an optional session over natural obstacles May 9.

It’s a semi-private riding and auditing experience,, with three days and evenings of immersion and educational interaction. Bernie works with small groups of three to four riders, including amateurs, juniors and professional from all jumping disciplines at several levels.

When Bernie decided teaching was going to become his life, his question was, “How can I reach the masses?” rather than just dealing with 25 people a weekend at ordinary clinics. Bernie said he realized “education is desperately needed. I had a great desire to spread knowledge.”

He knew nothing about video or developing a website, but he understood what it would take.

“I surrounded myself with good people,” he said, noting “it evolved as I competed less and less and I started to do more clinics. Your ability to improve people and horses and relate to them; your skills get so much better if you do a lot of it. That made it easier for me to get a point across, whatever the topic was.”

Auditors are encouraged to join in the daily discussions between Bernie and the riders, and are also able to participate in video presentations and Q&A during dinners on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Coker Farm, a respected operation in Westchester County, is easy to get to from New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Maryland.

For more information and to register go to EquestrianCoach.com and click on East Coast Workshop.

If you can’t be there, make a donation or sponsor a Mylestone horse, indicating it’s for Help A Horse Day. For more information, go to http://www.mylestone.org/news.asp?page=284

The performance division draws top horses and riders to the 18-acre facility, where the Festival Area Shops at Dressage at Devon offer everything from riding apparel to tack and fine art, jewelry, antiques, pottery, and Dressage at Devon souvenirs.

To purchase seats, visit the online box office at www.dressageatdevon.org and click on “spectators.”