by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 2, 2026
Multi, multi gold medalist Michael Jung of Germany is retiring fischerChipmunk FRH at the age of 18.
There were no more worlds for Chip to conquer.
*He is doing very well, and it means a great deal to me to see him in such excellent condition,” said Michi, who has no need to push for more. After all, how much room do you have for medals on your walls?
“Olympic individual gold in Paris, two victories in Kentucky, team gold at the European Championships in Blenheim, and finally, individual gold at the World Championships in Aachen in front of a home crowd—what a journey,” Michi recounted.
“Naturally, Chip will remain with me, where he can now enjoy life even more out in the pasture. I am incredibly grateful for the time we’ve shared—a bond that certainly doesn’t end with his retirement from sport. A huge thank you also goes to the Fischer Group and the DOKR (German Olympic Committee for Equestrian Sports) for making it possible for me to ride such an exceptional horse and to achieve all these magnificent, unforgettable successes with him!”
Michael Jung and fischerChipmunk FRH.
A Hanoverian by Contendro, bred by the Meyer-Kulenkampff partnership, Chip was developed starting in 2013 by another German rider, Julia Krajewsk
Multi, multi gold medalist Michael Jung of Germany is retiring fischerChipmunk at the age of 18.
*He is doing very well, and it means a great deal to me to see him in such excellent condition,” said Michi.
“Olympic individual gold in Paris, two victories in Kentucky, team gold at the European Championships in Blenheim, and finally, individual gold at the World Championships in Aachen in front of a home crowd—what a journey,” he recounted.
Michi and Chip were always popular winners.
“Naturally, Chip will remain with me, where he can now enjoy life even more out in the pasture. I am incredibly grateful for the time we’ve shared—a bond that certainly doesn’t end with his retirement from sport.
“A huge thank you also goes to the Fischer Group and the DOKR (German Olympic Committee for Equestrian Sports) for making it possible for me to ride such an exceptional horse and to achieve all these magnificent, unforgettable successes with him!”
A Hanoverian by Contendro, bred by the Meyer-Kulenkampff partnership was developed starting in 2013 by another German rider, Julia Krajewski. She was so proud of him in Aachen in the world championships last summer that she became teary-eyed.
Starting in 2019, Michi and Chip formed their partnership. In 2022, they secured team gold in Pratoni at the world championships, and in 2024, the pair won Olympic gold.
Michi had plenty of smiles during his time with the marvelous Chipmunk.
In 2025, Michi took the pressure off at the European Championships, being satisfied with a silver medal in the individual competition and team gold.
It was all in preparation for the ultimate goal — gold in Aachen this year at the world championships. It was the crowning achievement of their shared career.
Aachen is always something special. But a World Championship in Aachen is even more so. To head home with two medals and the title of World Champion is the ultimate.
From winning the Federal Championship (Bundeschampionat) for five-year-old eventing horses with Julia in 2013, to becoming an Olympic and World Championship legend, and finally, a contented retiree, that is the story of fischerChipmunk FRH,
His record with Michi included Team European Champion and individual silver medalist 2021, German Champion 2022: Team World Champion and winner of the five-star event in Kentucky 2023: Team European silver medalist 2024: Individual Olympic Champion and German Champion 2025: Team European Champion, individual silver medalist, and winner of the five-star event in Kentucky 2026: Individual World Champion and team silver medalist .
Those weighing in on the retirement news included Great Britain’s Laura Collett, who, with her horse London, was a perennial rival of Michi and Chip.
“I enjoyed all the battles,” she stated.
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 1, 2026
The first ASPCA Maclay finals to be held in Tryon, N.C., was quite a success on Sunday, in an impressive arena worthy of the National Horse Show’s signature event.
The three riders who headed the class all had been stars in the previous major fall equitation championships. Their smooth performances put the competition’s four judges to the test in a class that started at 7 a.m. and ended about 10 hours later.
The National moved south this year from Lexington, Ky., one of its several homes over its long history, though many people still think of it in connection with its original base, New York’s Madison Square Garden. The ring at the Tryon International Equestrian Center was beautifully put together, with the show’s orange and black colors prevailing as usual. Trainers and riders were loving the new location for the show that is part of the North American Indoor Circuit.
The starting field of 160 was narrowed to 24 after the first round of jumping, and the subsequent flat phase kept the leaders close. How to determine who deserved the coveted title? The four judges had a real challenge
The second round over a different course was the final test. The trips from the leading contenders all looked smooth. If you weren’t a licensed judge, you reasonably might have thought several of them were flawless, and been glad you didn’t have the task of selecting a winner.
The top six all got final scores of 90-plus, for an amazing display of quality riding.
Kaitlyn Linck wound up as the winner, but by a very narrow margin. The Clinton Corners, N.Y., resident had been second to Baylee Rowan going into the final jumping phase, with an average score (first round plus flat phase) of 91.71. Baylee was ahead of her with a 92.04, while Valencia/USEF Medal winner Parker Peacock was on 90.13.
Kaitlyn Linck with the Maclay trophy and Missy Clark, Baylee Rowan, Stacia Madden, Ken Smith and Parker Peacock.
So how did judge Hope Glynn, working with Tom Brennan (Scott Fitton and Holly Orlando were the other judging panel), determine who would get their name on the coveted silver tray?
“That top group was all in the mid- to the high 90s, which was exciting. It was exciting to see this group of riders, a lot of whom we hadn’t gotten to see before at this level,” said Hope.
“We saw a lot of new faces rise to the top. We were very proud to judge this group of exceptional riders.”
She added, “We had to decide whether to work off again, an additional work-off,” said Hope.
But in the end, they realized they had seen enough.
“The (eventual) leader (Kaitlyn) had enough of a lead at the end that she really rose to the top. When Baylee (the leader after round 1 and the flat phase) came, she had a beautiful canter, rode beautifully off the turn, a forward gallop to the base of the triple bar (the first fence of the second round) which is exactly what you want.”
But then ” her horse swapped off the lead off the ground there… She got a little snug coming up to the combination in front of us and the horse was a little bit slow with its shoulder there. That to me was the difference between first and second. It was a very strong group.”
Kaitlyn Linck on her way to victory. (Photo by Phelps/Mane Source Media)
Tom Brennan praised course designers Paul Jewell and Nancy Wallis, saying “they built beautiful courses, especially the second round.”
In the first round, the third fence was an oxer, filled unusually with coleus plants that became a topic of conversation. In the second round, it transformed into a one-stride double of verticals, with the B element narrower than the A element. Tom said the judges mentioned a few small things they wanted to see on the route. But Tom noted it was the designers “baby.”
Kaitlyn and the coleus.
Kaitlyn, known as KK, trains with her mother, Karolina, and Stacia Madden at Beacon Hill. She ended up with a final average of 92.39, bolstered by her winning effort of 93.75 for round two. She does her own work with Don Touch de Tiji Z, a Zangersheide who found his niche in equitation for the last three seasons.
KK finished second in both the Washington International’s equitation championship and the Medal on him last month.
“I honestly was kind of expecting to be second again,” she revealed, “so to win really felt surreal.”
Part of the secret may have been that Stacia changed her usual red nail polish to blue, she confided. Red is the color of the second- place ribbon; we all know what the blue ribbon means.
Baylee, third in the Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals East four weeks ago, wound up second on 90.78 with a mark of 88.25 for round 2. Since her regular mount, Watermelon, suffered an abcess after the Talent Search, she has been riding different horses but clicked with Lucky Spot RW after riding him for only three days.
As a result, “I didn’t really have any expectations coming in,” she said.
“I’m really happy with the result.” Of her mount, she said, “He’s just been the most incredible partner, and we’ve really grown together.”
The Rhode Islander is a working student for Missy Clark and the team at North Run, which keeps her busy. But since it was such a big day, she said, “I was given a groom for this horse, which was so helpful.”
Parker, second to JJ Torano in the Maclay last year, rides with Ken and Emily Smith at Ashland.
A North Carolinian, she was aboard Montverdi and couldn’t stop talking about him. She blamed herself for a rail in the first round, and noted that through the day. “He was spectacular in every round and on the flat. He tries 110 percent every time he walks into the ring. He wants to win just as much as we do,” she emphasized.
“I am just so grateful to have had him as my partner for these last two years.”
Click here for results
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 30, 2026
For the first time in 12 years, international show jumping will return to Las Vegas in 2027.
The debut of the Premier Jumping League, a new global team-based showjumping competition, will be presented by Wynn Las Vegas next April.
Vegas was the home of the FEI World Cup Finals six times, with the last edition in 2015. It was scheduled again for 2020, but Covid cancelled that running and it hadn’t been back since.
The competition April 15-17 will be held at a purpose-built venue at the Las Vegas Event Plaza, the expansion site adjacent to the Wynn Las Vegas hotel.
“With horse and rider welfare central to all decision-making at the PJL, particular consideration has been given to the quality of stabling, competition footing and wider equestrian operational requirements,” the organization announced.
Eighty of the world’s leading riders will compete on 16 PJL teams, with $100 million in prize money offered across the League’s inaugural season.
The League previously announced the location for another of its shows, in Hamburg, Germany. While developing its competition calendar, PJL “made a strategic decision to follow the natural movement of the international showjumping circuit, ensuring that neither horses nor riders would be overtaxed by League commitments.”
The League wants to align itself not only with traditional equestrian venues, such as Hamburg Derby Park, but emphasizes “it is equally important to organizers to identify progressive destinations that would enable the PJL to engage audiences in untapped territories, ultimately benefiting the wider jumping ecosystem.”
The PJL will activate at the Wynn’s Concours event this weekend. A celebration of automotive heritage, craftsmanship and innovation, the Concours event brings together car enthusiasts from around the world.
The PJL statement noted, “Las Vegas has been steadily establishing itself as one of the world’s most exciting destinations for international sport – with the presence of Formula One, the Las Vegas Raiders, Super Bowl LVIII, WWE, and now, the PJL.”
Veteran show manager Dale Harvey of West Palms Events, who represented Canada at the international level, will oversee the three-day Las Vegas competition.
PJL CEO Neil Moffitt, brings more than 30 years of experience in global entertainment and hospitality to the League. Moffitt has built some of the world’s most recognizable entertainment brands such as Hakkasan Group, where he served as CEO, Godskitchen and Global Gathering, which grew into Europe’s largest electronic music festival.
Neil founded and sold Angel Management Group, a Las Vegas-based festival and entertainment business, which became one of the largest non-gaming hospitality companies.
PJL President and CEO Nick McCabe formerly ran Hakkasan Group and Pacha Group, overseeing more than 60 premium venues across four continents.
PJL stated, “The leadership team brings a unique combination of local expertise and global entertainment and equestrian sport experience, positioning the PJL to deliver a new chapter in the city’s evolution as an international sporting destination.
“Backed by McCourt Global and its Executive Chairman Frank McCourt, and shaped by leaders from equestrian sport, international competition, and entertainment, the PJL brings together the world’s top riders and horses to compete for the biggest prize pot in the discipline’s history ($300 million in guaranteed prize money across the first three seasons), across iconic venues in North America, Europe, and the Middle East.
The League is designed to open the sport to new audiences in partnership with Box to Box Films (the production company behind F1’s ‘Drive to Survive’), and supported by a free-to-view broadcasting model.
The idea of the PJL concept involves “unlocking the full potential of jumping, demanded by today’s global sports and entertainment marketplace, without compromising its core values.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 29, 2026
He was an ex-racehorse named after a notorious Australian gangster, and cost a mere $850 as a sales project.
But Neville Bardos outshone everyone’s expectations — including those of his rider and original owner, Boyd Martin.
The chestnut gave Boyd, now ranked number two in the world, his “first taste of victory at the FEI level, winning the Melbourne Three Day Event. I will never forget pulling out a clear round and receiving the trophy from Australian eventing legend Bill Roycroft. From that moment on, the fire was lit,” Boyd remembered.
Neville helped put Boyd on the international eventing map after he was imported to the U.S. in 2008 as an 8-year-old from Australia, which had been home to both of them. The tough thoroughbred took Boyd to the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky just two years later, ending with a tenth-place finish in their first championship.
“I had come so close so many times to riding at a championship, but had always fallen short,” Boyd admitted.
At the 2010 WEG, Boyd had a show jumping round with Neville he will never forget.
“I honestly thought it might never happen. Nev and I finished on our dressage score. He really delivered. To this day, I can still remember every stride and every jump of that show jumping course. That event really gave me momentum for the rest of my journey.”
Boyd and Nev after dressage at the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games.
On Wednesday, Boyd, his family, friends and Neville’s owners sent their beloved horse to his eternal rest at the age of 27.
After retirement, Nev had lived in the field at Boyd’s farm in Pennsylvania, no doubt teaching the young horses pastured with him a few tricks.
“He was very happy, but over the last year, he really started losing weight and muscle,” Boyd reported.
“I had Neville’s longtime vet and good mate, Dr. Kevin Keane, take a look at him, and we both agreed that the upcoming winter would be unfair for Neville to endure.”
So it was a fond goodbye after what Boyd rightly termed, “a good run. He was one of those horses that truly changed my career. I’m not sure I have ever ridden a horse as tough and brave as Nev.”
Boyd mentioned that Nev “had a feisty outlook on life.” He wouldn’t have been a quick sell at the beginning, but it all worked out when Boyd learned “he could seriously jump.”
Neville and Boyd at Rolex Kentucky 2010.
Nev eventually was sold to a syndicate, even though, as Boyd recalled, “It was a daunting task finding 10 people to support him, and I sincerely want to thank the group that got behind him.
“At the time, I was an unknown rider with a wild Thoroughbred and big dreams. Those 10 people gave me the belief that there were supporters in this country who would stick by you through the good and bad and help you achieve your goals. The bulk of that group are still supporting horses for me 16 years later.”
Boyd and Nev the year after they came to America.
There were so many good things about his partnership with Neville Bardos Boyd will never forget, but also one terrible night that can’t be erased from his memories.
“In 2011, we had a terrible barn fire at True Prospect Farm,” he explained.
“It was one of the most horrific events of my life. I managed to free a few of the horses, with the last one being Nev.
“I will never forget dragging him down the aisleway by his windsucking collar, with my good mate, Phillip, (Dutton) pushing him from behind as the roof was falling in,” said Boyd. The firemen tried to stop the friends from going back into the blazing barn, but the eventers prevailed.
“Along with a number of other horses, Neville spent weeks in the intensive care unit at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center recovering,” recounted Boyd.
“I truly got to see the heart of a champion when Neville came back into work. Eventually, he and Nev completed their goal of competing at the Burghley 5-Star, where they finished seventh, barely three months after the fire. He entered three more events after that, but did not complete them and called it a career in 2012.
“I have never felt a horse with so much grit and determination as Nev,” Boyd stated.
“I also believe he was the first event horse ever to make the front page of The New York Times through his amazing achievements.”
Boyd thanked the people who helped him with the horse. They included: Kate Chadderton, Shannon Kinsley, Lindsay Taylor and Steph Simpson among the grooms and caretakers.
“They all equally loved him and cared for his every need during the prime of his competition career. I also want to thank his farriers, Bob Sims in Australia and Doug Neilson in America, for their care and dedication to Nev over the years.
“Sarah Reese cared for him, rode him, and groomed him every day in the twilight of his life. Neville loved Sarah, and she really looked after him like the champion he was.”
Listing his coaches, he mentioned his wife, Silva, who rode Neville Bardos at his first-ever eventing competition at the Scone Horse Trials, “and fell off him in the cross-country.”
Then there were Heath Ryan, Jamie Coman, and Leesa Robinson in Australia, and in the U.S., Phillip Dutton, Katie Prudent, Lauren Hough, Michael Barisone, Oded Shimoni, and Mark Phillips.
Neville was buried by Boyd at the top of the gallop track at his farm.
“Every time I zoom up that track, I will always think of him at the top of the hill,” Boyd noted fondly.
“It’s amazing how horses touch our lives. Never in my life would I have believed that a scruffy off-the-track Thoroughbred would have such an incredible impact on my life.”
Not to mention the life of everyone who became a fan after seeing what he could do and learning about this legendary life. Rest well, Neville Bardos. But we know you’ll be watching.
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 27, 2026
The fabulous show jumper United Touch S is under veterinary care after developing an infection, according to Richard Vogel Sporthorses.
United developed “an infection that requires ongoing treatment and close monitoring. He is receiving the very best care, and we are working closely with our veterinary team to support his recovery in every way possible.
Richard Vogel and United Touch S at the FEI World Cup Final in April.
“At this stage, it is too early to determine the timeline for his recovery. United’s health and well-being are, and will remain, our absolute priority.
“We know how much United means to so many people around the world, and we are very grateful for the concern, support and understanding being shown for him. We will share a further update as soon as there is meaningful progress to report.”
United, a 14-year-old Westfalen by Untouched, has represented Germany in major championships under the guidance of Richard. He’s ranked number one in the world and is the European champion. The horse was on the winning team in the World Championships at Aachen in August, and won the Rolex grand prix there earlier in the year.
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 28, 2026
For the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, the slogan and emblem featured Stars in Motion. In the 2028 version of the Games, it’s now Stars Align.
The organizers explain, “The idea is simple: the stars align when dedication meets a generational moment. In 2028, that means athletes, coaches, organizers, partners, small businesses and volunteers bringing years of preparation to the world’s sports and entertainment capital, where supporters from around the globe will gather as Los Angeles hosts a historic third Olympic Games and its first-ever Paralympic Games. Together, they’ll create the memories people carry with them long after the Games end.”
Stars in Motion
“Los Angeles is the place where dreams take flight, and the Olympics show us what’s possible when the world unites. ‘Stars Align’ is a call to action, whether you’re an athlete at the peak of your skill, a volunteer welcoming the world to these Games, or a fan cheering passionately from the stands. We can’t wait for the stars to align in 2028 so we can share this moment with everyone,” said LA28 Chairperson and President Casey Wasserman.
“Stars Align” debuts in a film accompanied by the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ hit “Can’t Stop,” bringing together unforgettable Games moments and the spirit of LA.
It features the landscapes and landmarks of Los Angeles, from cultural icons such as the Hollywood Sign and Griffith Observatory, alongside the city’s sunsets and communities that call LA home.
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 27, 2026
The Rutgers Equine Science Center marks its twenty-fifth anniversary Nov. 14, presenting its Fall Horse Management Seminar with the theme, “The Performance Horse.”
The seminar, running from 1-6 p.m. will be held at the Rutgers Eco Complex, 1200 Florence Columbus Road , Bordentown, N.J. Speakers include prominent veterinarians and an assistant professor of equine podiatry.
Patrick Reilly of the Rowan Schreiber Veterinary School will discuss “The Science of Shoeing Sport Horses- What has Research Contributed to Practice?” He previously was the chief of farrier services and the director of the applied polymer research laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center,
Dr. Singen Elliott from Mid-Atlantic Equine is speaking on “The Horse’s Neck And Its Relationship To Soundness,” while Dr. Brian Nielsen of Michigan State University talks about “Management Of Young Horses To Promote Longevity And Reduce Injuries”
The afternoon presentations are $30 per person. They will be followed by an anniversary dinner that is $60 per person. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Brendan Furlong, a former U.S. Equestrian Team veterinarian from Hunterdon County, whose topic is “From Oldwick to the Olympics.”
To register, click this link.
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 25, 2026
New Zealand’s Price family dominated the season’s final 5-star eventing competition, not just winning but taking five of the top 10 placings at France’s Les Etoiles de Pau.
World number one Tim Price and Jarillo added just 5.2 cross-country time penalties to their dressage score, finishing with a fault-free show jumping effort on 30.9 penalties, ahead of Great Britain’s Bubby Upton on Its Cooley Time (32.9). Tim and Jarillo were the reigning champions from 2025.
Tim Price and Jarillo (Irish eventing photo)
“With Jarillo, all you have to do is lower your heels and put your legs in and he jumps,” said Tim. Pau was Jarillo’s fourth 5-star start and third completion.
“When I walked the course I thought it was tough.” Tim revealed.
“There were 10 of us within four points of each other. The time allowed was tight, so it was a course for the best horses and the best riders. That’s what we want!”
Tim’s wife, Jonelle, came in third with Senor Crocodillo (34.6). She also was eighth and ninth with Grappa Nera and Capitaine de Hus. Tim completed the massive Price sweep in fourth place with Happy Boy, who came closest to the 11-minute optimum time on the Pierre Michelet-designed cross-country route with only 3.2 time penalties there. Twenty-nine horses (including six ridden by the Prices) finished the event from the original starting field of 49.
The only U.S. rider to complete the eent was Hallie Coon on Kapriccio in twelfth place.
click here for results
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 25, 2026
The “next generation” — and the generation after that — dominated the spotlight at the Washington International Horse Show Saturday night, as Lillie Keenan, 30, won the 5-star $340,000 President’s Cup after 16-year-old JJ Torano took the 2-star feature earlier in the day.
Riding her own Kick On, Lillie added to her long string of victories at the show. She has been winning there since the days when she took championships in the pony divisions.
Her time of 36.69 seconds held up in a surprisingly large13-horse jump-off (more than half of the 22 starters) over the course designed by Colm Quinn.
The President’s Cup, which is an FEI World Cup qualifier, has special meaning for Lillie, who is thirty-first in the world standings.
She’s been watching the class since she first came to the show on a small pony.
“My mom always wanted me to see the best riders in the world, so it’s pretty awesome to now be one of them,” said Lillie, who has become a regular on U.S. Nations Cup teams.
Ireland’s Daniel Coyle, 33, who was second last year, had to settle for that placing again with his longtime partner, Ariel Grange’s Farrel, on a time of 37.13.
“My plan didn’t go according to plan at all,” admitted Daniel, who knew he had “left the door open” for someone else to clinch the victory. But the world twenty-fourth-ranked rider came up with some impressive titles anyway, taking Leading International and Foreign Rider honors, while Farrel was international jumper champion and Ariel was the leading international owner.
Third went to world number three, 45-year-old Shane Sweetnam, a U.S.-based Irish rider, finishing in 38.09 seconds with Seabrook LLC’s Pia Maria H. Lillie’s mentor, 51-year-old McLain Ward, was fourth with Michael Smith’s Jordan Molga M. McLain, timed in 38.44 seconds, had the disadvantage of going first in the tie-breaker, since he was the pathfinder in the initial round. McLain is world number seven.
The 2-star $50,000 Ambassador’s Cup, running for the first time, was an impressive victory by JJ on I Am Inge, his double-silver mount for last summer’s FEI North American Youth Championships.
JJ’s time of 32.22 seconds made for a comfortable victory over Daniel Coyle, earning second on Nord Face VDL in 33.37 seconds. Laura Kraut and Cinnamon were third in 33.49 seconds to clinch the 2-star championship.
Of the Holsteiner mare he started riding for Ilan Ferder earlier this year, JJ said, “She seems like a slower-going horse, but she’s quicker than you might think. She’s been a great horse for me, and I’m thankful to have her because of Ilan. She’s an amazing horse; she’s super quick, competitive, and wants to win as much as I do.
“She’s super sweet on the ground,” he added.
“She’s fun to play with in the stall. She’s very amped up and hot when she comes up to the ring, but at the barn, she’s pretty laid back and chill.”
In addition to his jumper success, JJ has dominated the equitation division, taking the ASPCA Maclay, the USEF Medal and the Platinum Performance USEF Talent Search Finals East, among other titles in the last few years. The one that has eluded him is Washington, and it slipped by again, as he finished tenth. The class went to Emi Richard of Connecticut, topping a field of 40 that was tested in a hunter phase, a jumper phase and a ride-off in which the top 10 swapped horses.
The Washington show, which was last held in the District of Columbia in 2019, now runs at the Prince George’s Equestrian Center in Maryland. That venue is also the home of the Capital Challenge show, which wrapped up there this month.
Click here for results of the President’s Cup, here for the Ambassador’s Cup and here for the Washington Equitation Finals
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 22, 2026
By a 40-7 vote, the New York City Council on Thursday approved a long-debated ban on horse-drawn carriages, as of June 2028. That’s 20 months from now, a long time in which much can happen.
Big questions have not been answered, such as how carriage owners will be reimbursed for hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in medallions, what the city will do to help them, the drivers and additional workers find future employment, as well as the fate of the horses when the ban goes into effect.
The legislation puts restrictions on what can be done with the horses, including prohibiting their sale or transfer for slaughter, resale for slaughter and sale to carriage companies elsewhere.
In a statement opposing the measure, Councilman Jim Gennaro emphasized the action involved, “what the New York City Council has never done before: eliminate a legal and regulated industry.”
He pointed out, “This industry’s official regulators, the NYC Department of Health and the NYPD Mounted Unit, affirm this industry’s safety record and affirm the humane care of the horses in this industry. This same industry has made reasonable requests for improvements, such as hitching posts and access to water, requests denied by the Central Park Conservancy.”
The Transport Workers Union, representing the carriage drivers, indicated it will take legal action. And while Mayor Zohran Mamdani supported the bill, he hasn’t committed to signing it. The law can go into effect without his signature, however.
“This bill is a train wreck of constitutional and due process violations,” Union President John Samuelsen stated.
“It offers nothing concrete for blue-collar drivers and carriage owners, who will be financially crushed, stripped of their jobs, their licenses, expensive city-issued medallions, small businesses and way of life.” (For some perspectives from those who drive carriages, click on this link.)
Many of those who long have been in favor of the ban, especially on social media, seem ignorant about horses, including what it costs to keep and care for one. They think the carriage veterans will be running free in green pastures. Where? Who will pay their board, and cover farrier, veterinary and feed costs for several decades? It’s not unusual for horses to live into their late 20s.
Who will keep track of what happens to the horses. Will those people even know if they wind up in a kill pen somewhere, and if so, what will they do about it?
The legislation is called Romanch’s law, after 18-year-old Romanch Mahajan, who died when he hit his head on the ground after jumping from a carriage. The horse pulling it had spooked, apparently due to “stray voltage” under ground. The teenager was trying to help his mother, who fell out when the horse bolted.
That incident finally pushed passage of the long-considered ban, even though it was the only human death attributed to the carriage industry in 150 or so years. Meanwhile, the city has logged 133 deaths involving E-bikes in the last seven years.
There are, however, those who contend the ban at its roots, is a real estate play enabling the West Side stables where the horses live to be available for development.
If so, that could lead to a possible solution. How about this? For permission to develop the West Side property, the buyer would have to pay for construction of a stable in Central Park, where horses could continue to work without having to go to their stalls via city streets, one of the big objections to the carriage business. c
For an idea of how to make that happen, look no further than Wellington, Fla., “The Winter Equestrian Capital of the World.”
In order to develop the land at Equestrian Village, where the Winter Equestrian Festival’s dressage show was held, the Village mandated that the main showgrounds down the road would have to be expanded to include space for dressage.
No expanded showgrounds, no development.
But work is close to completion on the showgrounds, and when it is finished (long before the original 2028 deadline), construction can get under way in earnest on dwellings to be constructed at the former Equestrian Village.
So the question to be asked is why there was no push in the past to move the horses to Central Park? A decade ago, former Mayor Bill de Blasio said his team was researching logistics for building a stable in the park, but nothing happened.
PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) contends that “suffering is built into the horse-drawn carriage industry. Carriage rides are no walk in the park for horses made to haul them.”
In this era of social license to operate, more radical groups, such as World Animal Protection, maintain that using horses for sport, racing, and entertainment is fundamentally exploitative and “inflicts intentional harm, coercion, and suffering on sentient beings.”
There are those who call for the end of horse racing and equestrian events. With the animal rights agenda in play, that can have further reverberations, threatening using horses for sport or even simply riding and driving. And what about the mounted police horses?
So the carriage horse ban may have even more importance as a precursor. Author James Baldwin put it this way, “If they take you in the morning, they will be coming for us that night.”
