The Essex Horse Trials are making yet another comeback

by Nancy Jaffer | May 31, 2021

The Essex Horse Trials didn’t run in 2020 due to Covid, but the event will be making up for that this summer, adding to the competition at Moorland Farm in Far Hills with tailgating, shopping, a car show and a concert.

The fixture runs July 17-18, with the Music in the Somerset Hills organization kicking things off July 16, as Stephen Sands conducts an all-star Broadway orchestra led by Jonathan Dinklage, the concertmaster for the show “Hamilton.” Call (973) 339-7719 for information.

The Essex Horse Trials has a great site at Moorland Farm, also home of the Far Hills Race Meeting. (Photo © 2019 by Lawrence J. Nagy)

“Essex is on the same weekend in July as Fitch’s Corner (New York) used to run,” said Ralph Jones, who co-chairs Essex with cross-country course designer Morgan Rowsell.

Essex Horse Trials co-chairs Ralph Jones and Morgan Rowsell. Photo © 2018 by Nancy Jaffer)

As Fitch’s founder, Fernanda Kellogg, explained her event, “My motivation was to create the best quality event for the lower levels, but with the spirit of a top national or international horse trials.” It ran for 25 years through 2018.

The Essex crew hopes to emulate what Fitch’s Corner achieved.

“Fernanda Kellogg did such a great job with that event and the country weekend atmosphere she created, as well as the support for riders with young horses to bring along,” explained Ralph.

Tickets go on sale this week for the multi-faceted fixture at Moorland Farm in Far Hills, which will offer eventing levels from Beginner Novice through Preliminary, with prize money for the first three places in Open Prelim sponsored by Running S Equine veterinary services. Other sponsors are MARS Equestrian, Peapack Gladstone Bank, AIG, Maxons Restoration, Kienlen Lattmann Sotheby’s International Realty and Turpin Realtors.

Essex was a mainstay of equestrian sport in the Somerset Hills for 30 years until it ceased running at the U.S. Equestrian Team headquarters after 1998. It made a comeback at Moorland in 2017, followed by successful editions in 2018 and 2019 before the pandemic put it, like so many other things, on hold. And now Essex is making another comeback.

It’s for a good cause. Proceeds benefit the Greater Newark LifeCamp in Pottersville, which provides an enriching day camp experience for approximately 300 Newark-area youths per day for six weeks during July and August.

General admission for Essex is $10 for adults, with those under 17 complimentary, as is the parking. Those who want to get closer to the action and enjoy a picnic have a choice of locations for tailgating. Each tailgating spot offers four general admission tickets good for both the Saturday and the Sunday. A waterside location is $300; a water view is $150 and a hillside location goes for $50. Get tickets at https://essexhorsetrials.org/tailgate. Private tents are also available by the show jumping arena upon request by emailing Katherine@essexhorsetrials.org.

The car show at the 2019 Essex Horse Trials drew hundreds of vehicles and enthusiasts. (Photo © 2019 by Lawrence J. Nagy)

An added attraction on Saturday is the Peter Chesson Memorial Car Show. Peter, a Gladstone resident who died in April, is best known in the equestrian community as the father of Lizzy Chesson, the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s managing director of show jumping, and the former husband of Sharon Chesson, who was one of the USA’s top driving competitors.

For more information about Peter, read the obituary in the box below. It was written by P.J. Chesson for those in the race car world:

A third pillar of the equestrian community, Ray Francis, has died during a tearful week

by Nancy Jaffer | May 24, 2021

A quick description of Ray Francis would be perfectly accurate using just three words: dignified, respected and meticulous.

But when one talks about him as a horseman’s horseman, there has to be more detail to explain his essence. A convivial top trainer and judge who made a graceful transition from riding in competition to showing young horses in hand and serving as head of the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s hunter breeding committee, he set a standard and left his mark on the industry, as well as the people who are a part of it.

Ray and Cheryle Francis. (Photo by James Leslie Parker)

When he died yesterday at age 96, we lost a true gentleman who not only did it all, but more important, did it all well. With his loss coming just days after the passing of Mason Phelps and John Franzreb, the equestrian community is truly bereft.

Ray’s wife, Cheryle, said  “My belief is that Devon Horse Show is going on in heaven and all the special people are there.”

Rita Timpanero, a fellow judge who was a longtime friend of Ray’s, noted that although he had health problems in recent years and was confined to his chair and bed much of the time, Ray still had that special twinkle in his eye and loved being with Princess, a Jack Russell she bought for him that became his constant companion.

Ray and Cheryle, together for 42 years, ran Offington Stable in Pennsylvania. It was named for the horse business Ray and his mother had in his native Britain, where he left school at age 14 to work in the stable on the historic Offington Hall estate after his father died of a heart attack.

He was involved with a broad spectrum of equestrian activities–teaching and training, playing polo as well as fox hunting and showing, As a youngster aboard a 12.2-hand hackney pony named Bill, he set a record, jumping a five-foot, eight-inch fence in competition. He would hitch his pony to a cart and drive him to the shows, then saddle up and compete, before putting Bill in harness again and heading home.

He came to the U.S. in 1959, figuring rightly that in those days, he could make a better living in America than in England, though he never lost his delightful British accent or precise diction. In Ohio, he worked at Cyrus Eaton’s stable, Acadia Farms. He replaced a mediocre group of horses there with better mounts, and soon Eaton’s friends started coming around and bringing their children for lessons.

Acadia became one of the country’s top show stables in the 1960s. Ray’s star students included Pam Carmichael, who had Chance Step and Lansonette, a pair that became the Horse of the Year and reserve two years in a row for the junior hunters. Pam is the mother of top show jumper Lillie Keenan.

Trainer Robin Rost Brown remembered that when she was growing up in the 1970s, Ray was very businesslike. “His kids (students) were always presented perfectly, horses presented perfectly. He brought us up to a new standard, a new level.”

When Ray turned to hunter breeding competition, he put on the white cowboy hat that was his trademark in the ring. Named leading handler at Devon eight times, he also was involved in breeding horses that he showed. Hunter breeding day at Devon in 2016 was dedicated to him; it was the first time in 45 years that he couldn’t show there.

Ray showing at Devon. (Photo courtesy of Cheryle Francis)

Some of the best horses he worked with included Trouble with Tom (his first in-hand horse), Beau’s Cottage, a pony named Flying Mouse, Given Road and Character Count, as well as Anastazia and Spanish Spear (both Best Young Horse at Devon), among many others.

Despite his busy career, he always found time to put his efforts toward the betterment of the sport, serving as president of the National Professional Horsemen’s Association, as well as heading the Ohio and Eastern Pennsylvania chapters, and becoming vice chairman of USEF Zone II.

After he and Cheryle closed their stable, they moved to Maryland. Their location on the Chester River was perfect, next door to hunter pony breeder Nancy Jayne Reed of Lands End Farm, whom he advised and helped in promotion of her ponies.

Explaining why Ray was so popular, National Horse Show Secretary Cindy Bozan noted that “first and foremost, in the minds of horsemen, if anything ever happened, you knew you could call Ray. If you were broken down on the side of the road, without a question he would be there with a trailer, no matter what the time. He was a true friend and a horseman. He always had a joke, he always had a laugh. He understood everything there was about getting to the ring, being in the ring.”

Ray earned many honors outside the show ring, including the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He is also in the National Show Hunter Hall of Fame and received the Pennsylvania Horse Show Association Lifetime Achievement Award, in addition to the National Professional Horsemen’s Association’s Frank Hawkins Lifetime Achievement Award and the New England Equitation Finals Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as the USEF’s Pegasus Award.

Those wishing to make a donation in Ray’s memory may contribute to Compass Regional Hospice 150 Courseball Dr., Centreville, MD, 21617; the Equestrian Aid Foundation (https://www.equestrianaidfoundation.org) or Danny and Ron’s Dog Rescue (https://dannyronsrescue.org).

Cheryle, who is secretary of the Devon Horse Show, said Ray didn’t want a funeral and was cremated, but asked that a tablespoon of his ashes be placed in the Dixon Oval at Devon. You can expect that there will be some celebrations of his life. Perhaps the National Horse Show can do something for Mason, the former chairman; John Franzreb, the longtime ringmaster and Ray.

“It’s been a wonderful life with horses,” Ray once told me.

“I had some beautiful horses, great horses, and known a lot of nice horses too. And good riders.  I’ve got no complaints.”

And now another sad shock; we have lost John Franzreb, dean of ringmasters

by Nancy Jaffer | May 22, 2021

The horse show world has lost another icon during a very sad week.

John Franzreb III, the ringmaster of ringmasters, died yesterday at age 79. He was diagnosed with cancer only recently, after coming back from last month’s Pin Oak show in Texas, where he worked as hard as he always did. His death came four days after we lost his friend Mason Phelps, former chairman of the National Horse Show. It’s all very hard to handle.

John served everywhere from the Florida circuit to Devon, the Washington International and National Horse Shows, as well as points west,  but will be remembered as much for his warm and welcoming personality as for his dignified and effective arena demeanor. Despite having done his job for decades, he never lost his enthusiasm for playing such a key role on the sporting scene.

John Franzreb where he belonged, center stage at the National Horse Show. (Photo © 2019 by Nancy Jaffer)

John made every class and every presentation seem special, whether it was at a smaller show or an international competition. Always perfectly turned out, his mere presence demonstrated a standard that paid respect to the sport. He was old school at its best.

His wife, Judith, recalled how he loved to pose for photos with children, who years later would come up and remind him, “You gave me my first ribbon.”

John was as vibrant as a man 30 years his junior. His work kept him young and gave him energy..

“He was blessed by every person he ever came across in the horse show world. He thrived on their enthusiasm and love of horses and hoped each day he was with them he was a contributing factor to their lives,” Judith said.

She noted that in addition to his horse show work, he was active on Staten Island with the Boy Scouts, Red Cross and local zoo.

Vicki Lowell, president of the Washington show, called John “an integral part of the Washington family,” a genial presence who  “always brought his wonderful style, smile and pomp and circumstance to the opening of each class and the presentation of awards. Start to finish, he was all class, warmth and kindness. We loved John.”

Every presentation was special for John Franzreb ( Photo © 2019 by Nancy Jaffer)

As she fondly recalled, “He was so kind and reassuring. He really loved everyone and was so positive.”

“He was like everybody’s horse show grandpa,” remembered Liz Soroka, a key staffer at many horse shows, noting John was a real gentleman. He always used to compliment the women working at the National when they dressed up for the Saturday night grand prix, which made them feel very special.

John was tapped for his first ringmaster position at the age of 17 at Madison Square Garden by National Horse Show Manager Honey Craven. He was supposed to compete in the show, but his junior hunter had gone lame.

Honey recognized talent when he saw it. He told John’s father, who ran the family’s Clove Lake Stables on Staten Island, “I need someone to be a ringmaster. Your son knows what to do.”

And indeed he did.

Honey also passed along some “advice”,  an order, not a suggestion: “Stand up straight, keep your hands out of your pockets, keep your jacket closed at all times, say `Yes, sir, no sir, yes ma’am, no ma’am’ and make sure you go to Mass on Sunday.”

While John served as a horse show manager over the years, including at the National, he was best known for his style and capability in his ring duties.

“If you needed a ringmaster at your horse show, there was nobody better,” said David Distler, Washington’s manager and Devon’s co-manager. When something went wrong, “John kept his cool and knew exactly how to handle it,” David stated.

He recalled that when a four-in-hand had jackknifed at Devon, John specified what needed to be done, and that kept the coach from turning over.  Once when a horse went down, John called members of the jump crew to surround the animal until screens could be put up to shield the scene from the public.

“The ringmaster should always be a horseman,” John used to say, and that he was.

“If something goes amok, the ringmaster must stop it,” he emphasized when we talked about it a few years ago.

“I am omnipresent,” he told me, “I’m always watching.”

Alan Keely, a ringmaster who worked with John at Devon, noted “he always had great stories to tell.” Alan sometimes wondered if they were a bit embellished, but after knowing John for awhile, he said “I could see the twinkle in his eye.

“He was a pleasure to work with,” added Alan, commenting that he and John “spoke the same language. If  he saw something going on in the ring, he did something about it, whether it was a dog in the ring or a rider down.”

John Franzreb and Mason Phelps at the National Horse Show. (Photo © 2019 by Nancy Jaffer)

Lenore Phillips, president of the Phelps Media Group founded by Mason, recalled that she liked to see John brushing his coats at 6:15 a.m. at the National, making sure all was perfect for his appearance that morning.

“I felt like I was watching a piece of history in action, someone who took pride in carrying on a tradition,” she said.

When many people decided not to go to the National last year due to the Covid situation, she was gratified to see John there.

“I wouldn’t miss this,” he told her.

Noting that Mason and John had known each other for decades, she said, “as sad as I am not to see either of them any more, I’m just happy they’re together now.”

In addition to his wife, John is survived by their three sons: John IV (Cheryl), Jeffrey (Christine) and Jarad (Crissy), as well as six grandchildren: Dr. Taylor Franzreb, who graduated from veterinary school this month as John III watched on his iPad; John IV,  Margaret Rose, Casey, Sean and Ally.

There are no plans as yet for memorial ceremonies, but there certainly will be.

Mason Phelps sadly has said farewell

by Nancy Jaffer | May 19, 2021

Whether he was on the red carpet, running a horse show, pulling out all the stops to organize a party or helming his public relations firm, Mason Phelps Jr. was always a force to be reckoned with.

He knew everyone and had a knack of getting them to do what he wanted, usually for the greater good of the equestrian community. He was often controversial, but never dull.

Mason Phelps in the National Horse Show’s orange and black colors. (Photo © 2014 by Nancy Jaffer)

The multi-faceted Mason, who died in his sleep last night, will be missed from Newport to Palm Beach and on out to the West Coast, as well as Canada, where he spent quiet summers.

After a dinner with friends at his home in Wellington, Fla., Mason went to bed and didn’t wake up, succumbing to a heart attack. It’s probably the way he would have wanted to go, but it was just too soon; he was only 72.

Even so, the founder of Phelps Media Group and former National Horse Show chairman crammed plenty into his interesting life, from being an alternate on the U.S. Olympic eventing team in 1968, when he was Rider of the Year for the U.S. Combined Training Association, to running a hunter/jumper stable, founding the International Jumping Derby on his family’s farm in Newport R.I., serving in equestrian governance, leading the National Horse Show and being integral to starting the Equestrian Aid Foundation (formerly the Equestrian AIDS Foundation), a fundraising organization for equestrians in need.

Mason on Gladstone at Punchestown, Ireland, 1967. (Photo courtesy of Phelps Sports)

Most recently, he stepped up to head a new group, Athletes Equity Resource Center, that is raising funds for Athletes for Equity in Sport.

Kim Tudor had dinner with Mason earlier this month and recalled, “I’d never seen him happier or looking better.”

She met him through Gene Mische, head of Stadium Jumping Inc., who put Mason in charge of public relations when the National Horse Show moved to Florida in 2004. Mason had no p.r. experience, but he learned fast and started Phelps Media Group, which became a public relations giant in the industry.

“If it could be done and even if it couldn’t be done, he was going to try it,” said Kim, noting, “he just had the spark that lit up any event.” And those events often were over-the-top lavish.

His Denim and Diamonds fundraisers for the U.S. Equestrian Team were legendary. Who could forget the party where show jumpers Margie Goldstein-Engle and Leslie Howard rode in on elephants? And the entertainment, with such names as Donna Summer, The Village People and The Pointer Sisters?

Someone once told Kim, “Mason Phelps is the only person I know who could exceed an unlimited budget.”

Mason often organized parties to benefit the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation. (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer)

He definitely was a character, and a lot of fun, but never took himself too seriously.

“You could tell stories about him, but he could always tell them better,” observed Kim.

“Every room he was ever in, the spotlight was on him,” said Marty Bauman, head of the Classic Communications public relations agency and a close friend of Mason’s, who spoke to him just yesterday.

“He was a star, whatever he did, wherever he went. He packed a lot of living into his life.”

Gina Johnson, who knew Mason from her days working at Stadium Jumping, observed, “If you ever met anyone born to wear a tuxedo, that was Mason. He was so elegant and so funny and could be such a gentleman. Yes, he had very strong opinions and he was fearless in what he believed needed to be done.

“He was one of those once-in-a-lifetime personalities,” she remembered.

“He really did just light up the space he was in.  It’s hard to believe he was mortal.”

Lenore Phillips, recently promoted to the presidency of PMG, is still in stunned disbelief at losing the company’s founder.

“It never occurred to me that there would be a situation when he wouldn’t be bugging me. I thought that was going to be a constant in my life and that I would be the one that went first,” she said with a sad chuckle, but noted the firm will continue without him.

Lenore, who had been a groom and a vet tech, always wanted to work for PMG, but through two interviews was told she didn’t have enough meaningful experience to qualify. Things changed in her third interview, when Mason marched into the room, interrupted and took over.

He talked to her for an hour and said “I think you’re the perfect fit for us, because you really know the industry and it seems like what you don’t know, you’ll figure out.”

She explained, “He gave me this huge chance and believed in me when other people didn’t. That’s just who he was. He loved people who loved our sport and there just isn’t going to be another person like him. There are so many people he propped up and pushed forward. That, I think, is the most important part of his legacy and that goes back to his generosity of spirit.”

Mason had more than one side; he definitely was multi-faceted.

“He was a judgmental person, and everyone who knows him knows how sharp he could be,” said Lenore.

“But at the same time, he was the first person to embrace you if you needed help.”

That help could take any form. When I met him at the Jumping Derby sometime in the 1980s, my rental car was stuck in the mud. Everyone had gone home, and I was alone–until Mason came along. He pitched right in and pushed my car out of the muck, this glamorous guy who had been hobnobbing with socialites at the fabulous Derby party the previous night.

When it came to those who had fallen on hard times and needed a financial boost, “he helped a lot of people, he gave a lot of money without a lot of recognition, and supported things related to the sport,” said Bill Weeks, chairman of the National Horse Show, who took over that position from Mason.

Bill is one of the many who have been impressed by Mason’s magic.

He remembered when Mason felt the National should move to Kentucky in 2011, he made a sponsorship pitch to Pearse Lyons, the head of Alltech, who had backed the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Lexington.

Mason gave such a persuasive account of why Pearse should support the National that the executive ended up doubling the amount requested.

Mason got the National Horse Show moved to the Kentucky Horse Park. (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer)

“I was almost in disbelief,” said Bill remembering how stunned he was. “It was like one of those pinch-me moments.” That was especially true because if Pearse had not come through, the future of the show would have been in doubt.

“Mason was always at his best when the chips were down and his back was against the wall,” Bill mused.

“Somehow, he’d always find a way forward. Mason was like the Pied Piper. He just had that enthusiasm and entrepreneurial spirit. He would get people motivated and they would follow.”

Mason dressed to suit every occasion; after all, you can’t always wear a tuxedo. Who can forget the figure he cut during his days at the National Horse Show, sporting its traditional colors in orange pants and a black jacket, or alternatively, black pants and an orange jacket. Remember him in white tie and tails? And then there was the time in 2005 that the good sport was Willy Wonka for a National Horse Show party.

Mason didn’t always wing it, and he took important matter seriously. He knew the industry and had deep insight into how it would have to evolve. For instance, in 2014, despite his deep roots in the past, he took note of the fact that the fall indoor shows needed to keep reinventing themselves.

“It’s a changing world,” he told me.

“Those of us with these events have to change with the times and not get stuck. Tradition is fine and I’m a believer in tradition. At the same time, you have to find a balance between tradition and what’s current.”