by Nancy Jaffer | May 8, 2016
By Nancy Jaffer
May 8, 2016
Tailgating at the water complex is a great way to get a view of stars such as Buck Davidson, winner of the CCI 3-star at Jersey Fresh last year with Ballynoe Castle RM. He’s back with a different group of horses.
Did you miss Rolex Kentucky last weekend? Couldn’t make it to Badminton this weekend? There’s another chance to see top-notch eventing this spring, and it’s close to home.
Building on the success of last year’s competition, this week’s Jersey Fresh International Three-Day Event is continuing its progress at the Horse Park of New Jersey in Allentown, Monmouth County, with offerings for fans and families as it seeks to broaden its base.
Such major players as Buck Davidson and Boyd Martin (both of whom rode at Kentucky and Badminton), Kim Severson and Jessica Phoenix are among the large number of entries in the CCI 2- and 3-star as well as 2- and 3-star CICs offered at Jersey Fresh. The event is a selection trial for the Rio Olympics this summer.
Jersey Fresh, the Horse Park’s premier competition, is elevating its status in 2016.
“I’m hoping we can jump forward again this year,” said Brendan Furlong, whose B.W. Furlong and Associates veterinary practice boosted the event in 2015 with a $25,000 sponsorship. This year, that has grown to $30,000, while Brendan’s son, Adam, has gotten a number of smaller sponsors, including Zoetis and Merial.
Brendan believes that could be “the beginning of something where they can come in and get a title sponsor out of it.”
Tailgating at the biggest water obstacle has been a major hit at Jersey Fresh over the last few years, and this year it’s been so popular that a second area was opened up to accommodate demand.
“If we can keep on bringing people in, we can generate public interest and public awareness of it,” said Brendan.
As was the case last year, the cross-country course designed by John Williams will run past the members’ tent in the main ring, while the trade fair has been expanded and moved to an area near the grand prix arena.
“It was time to rethink the location and set-up of the trade fair from prior years,” said Dan Wunderlich, chair of the Jersey Fresh organizing committee.
Boyd Martin, a Jersey Fresh regular, will be competing there again this week.
“JFI has evolved into one of the most recognized three-day events in the county. We are committed to having all aspects of our event be first-class and, by moving the trade fair to a prime and more accessible location, we are assuring that everyone can enjoy a wide range of experiences amidst the excitement of the competition.”
It’s also an opportunity to buy, buy, buy, from Dubarry boots; bridle accoutrements and jewelry to match at Browbands with Bling and saddles from Devoucoux, as well as items from Quilted Horse Design, Svetlana Designs and The Fabulous Horse, among many others.
There will be more food vendors than in the past, including Fork in the Road’s food truck and Pretzelphoria.
Meanwhile, the state Equine Advisory Board will sponsor the New Jersey Equine & Agricultural Expo Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. It features displays by 4-H, Pony Club and other organizations. Children will be offered a free Breyer horse they can paint and take home, and pony rides also will be available.
On Sunday, the Zoetis Pony Chase will provide entertainment with racing Shetlands racing over hurdles.
Admission to JFI and the Horse Park of New Jersey is free on Wednesday for the first horse inspection and the start of dressage; Thursday, when dressage continues and Friday, when dressage wraps up.
General admission tickets for Saturday and Sunday are $10 per person. Children under 12 are admitted free of charge, as are 4-H and FFA members with ID; Pony Club members (with pin), and military members and their dependents with ID. Seniors 65 and older are admitted at a discount of $5 per person.
The Jersey Fresh International Three-Day Event/Horse Park of New Jersey is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, charitable and educational organization that relies on sponsors, volunteers and members to sustain operations. Further information is available at jfi3d.com, or about the Horse Park, at horseparkofnewjersey.com.
by Nancy Jaffer | May 1, 2016
By Nancy Jaffer
May 1, 2016
Sinead Halpin is 11th at Rolex Kentucky after a difficult go on cross-country with Manoir de Carneville.
Rolex Kentucky is the Western Hemisphere’s only 4-star event, and one of just six in the world, so it’s always difficult.
But throw in a day of rainstorms and the cross-country phase becomes even more testing. No one made the 11-minute, 15-second optimum time yesterday on the course designed by Derek di Grazia, who also will be laying out the routes for the 2018 World Equestrian Games and the 2020 Olympics.
It takes experience to know how to handle a situation like the one riders faced at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington this weekend. With 64 horses competing, the ground became difficult as both the competition and the rain continued.
“Horses that ran earlier in the day had different going than the horses at the end of the day. I was shocked at how much the footing changed. It deteriorated quite a bit,” said Sinead Halpin, who operates a stable in Long Valley. Even so, she moved up with Manoir de Carneville from 18th after dressage on Friday to 11th following cross-country.
The question is, if the ground had been better, could he have risen higher in the rankings? Tate, as the Selle Français is known, has finished as high as third place at Rolex. He enjoys quite the resume, having been an Olympic alternate in 2012 and part of the U.S. effort at the World Equestrian Games in France two years ago.
“I was really happy with him, but I would have loved to have run earlier in the day,” commented Sinead, who went on course with her chestnut Selle Français at 1:36 p.m., more than three and one-half hours after cross-country began at 10 a.m.
Rolex leader Michael Jung of Germany, who has Olympic, world championship and European championship gold medals to his credit, started on course at 11:36 a.m. He was only two seconds over the optimum time with Fischerrocana FST, but no one was any faster.
Interestingly, Holly Payne Caravella, who operates a stable in Chester, went at 10:24 a.m. on the thoroughbred Never Outfoxed, and her effort that collected only 2.8 time penalties (which means she was a mere 7 seconds slow) boosted her from 67th after dressage to 19th. She was tied with two other women for the best time by an American.
Santino put in a good effort for Holly Payne Caravella on cross-country.
“I think the Olympics are something you don’t plan on. You say, `Yeah, it would be great,’ but you start ticking off the boxes on the way to the Olympics and if they work, they work, and if they don’t, they don’t. Honestly, the horse is 16 years old and he’s a beautiful, wonderful horse and I’ve been looking to get to Rolex, and if Rolex works out, great.”
Holly is part of a well-known eventing family. Her mother, Marilyn Payne, is judging in Rio, and her brother, Doug, also competed at Rolex, where he stands 25th on Vandiver, moving up from 50th after dressage.
On her second horse, Santino, Holly was 15th after dressage and looked as if she stood a good chance of moving up, considering the way the thoroughbred, who went at 1 p.m., was handling the course. Then she ran into trouble at the new water jump.
“He hung his stifles on the ‘in’ of the water, and I got knocked forward and almost came off. I tried to save him, but by the time I picked up to save it, I was headed right toward the crowd, so there was no way of getting back to the corner (the second element),” she recalled.
“I had to circle back to do the option on the corner, so I crossed my tracks and picked up 20 (penalties) to get back to the option. It was a total shame. I rode a bit aggressive; I should have been more patient. It’s nothing related to him. It was totally my fault.” Because of the crowds and roping, there was no way for her to turn back without crossing her tracks. So Santino dropped 26 places to 41st.
Asked about the footing, she said. “It definitely deteriorated. On the galloping lanes I was trying to look for good ground, moving a little left or right The take-offs were pretty good, but a couple of the landing spots, I felt them maybe stumble on landing on the back side of the jump, it was getting a little thick. But it didn’t seem to be bothering him.”
The event ends today with stadium jumping. It will be an opportunity for some riders to recoup, and others to drop further in the standings. The prediction is for more rain, but luckily, it is run in an arena on all-weather footing, so the ground shouldn’t be a factor.
I’m still drying out from cross-country, but I’ll be back in the weather again so I can update tomorrow night to tell you how the Jersey girls fared.
by Nancy Jaffer | Apr 24, 2016
By Nancy Jaffer
April 24, 2016
Gladstone will offer a chance once again for combined drivers to test their skills at a venue with a long history in the sport
The Gladstone Driving Event, once the most important sporting competition of its kind in the country, is making a comeback next month at Hamilton Farm, home of the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation.
The event, admired all over the world in its heyday, has been held on and off over the last decade or so. It was not staged in 2015 due to a lack of entries.
With a later spot on the calendar this year, there is more enthusiasm from drivers as they have additional time to get their horses fit. Even so, organizers wisely are keeping it on a manageable small scale.
On Saturday, May 21, competition in the Pine Meadow section of the property will include dressage and cones for exhibitors in both the combined test division and the driving trials section. Competition that day should run from approximately 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. or a little later. For the trials division, the Sunday will be devoted to the marathon, running from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. through the hazards (complex obstacles) that have proven a compelling challenge over the years. The horse-and driver-friendly route has been laid out by well-known course designer Marc Johnson.
Tricia Haertlein, president of Gladstone Driving, noted that 17 enthusiastic volunteers cleared the hazards of sticks and brush.
“The hazards are pretty well ready to go,” she said, adding trails through the area are still being cleaned up.
Pine Meadow was the scene of the World Pair Driving Championship in 1993, the culmination of years of building up the sport in this country. Under the direction and sponsorship of the late Finn Caspersen, European competitors were brought to Gladstone to give American drivers experience in facing the world’s best drivers and their horses. When the U.S. earned a team gold medal in the World Pairs Driving Championship in 1991, it offered an opportunity for the country to host the event two years later.
That was a fabulous show, with a record 23 countries participating. Everything after that was an anti-climax, however. As New Jersey drivers retired, died or moved south, the base of the sport in this area diminished and Gladstone downsized.
“We used to be a hotbed of local people driving,” said Tricia.
“Now we need to count on more people coming from a distance,” she explained.
“There’s people out there driving; we just have to get them interested in combined driving.”
Heather Walker, who ran driving events–including Gladstone–for years, noted the entire sport isn’t what it was in this country.
She said selectors who are picking squads for the world championships this year in four-in-hands and singles had only four of the former and six of the latter from which to choose.
In 2010, when the four-in-hand world championship was held as part of the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky, 14 fours tried out. And she recalled that in 1995, “there were 15 singles–there might have even been 20”–vying for slots on the U.S. world championships team.
13-time national four-in-hand champion Chester Weber, seen here in 2003, was a regular at Gladstone, where he got his start in competition. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
While show jumping, eventing and dressage are thriving, driving has drawbacks those other disciplines do not.
Heather, chairman of the U.S. Equestrian Federation Driving Technical Committee, said “the culture has changed so much” and for kids, “that kind of activity is not what they do. Driving is not something you can do by yourself. When something goes wrong with a carriage, it goes crazily wrong. You need someone there with you.
“When you’re going to a show, you need transport of the carriage as well as the horse. It’s a more complicated sport.” It can be expensive, too. And she pointed out, “the economy is a huge drain on people’s time as well as their money” especially when few people’s work week is limited to 40 hours.
So how to rebuild?
“We need events that are competitor-friendly and that people can start at, on a lower level, a casual level, where you don’t need two sets of harness and can get people interested,” she commented.
The four-in-hands that once were the stars of Gladstone but have become scarce in the U.S. these days aren’t on the program next month. It is limited to Training, Preliminary and Intermediate levels for singles and pair ponies and horses, as well as Very Small Equines (miniature horses).
“We’re hopeful. We’ve got a decent entry in each class,” Tricia said, saying organizers would like to have between 30 and 40 competitors who are looking to get started in the sport or move up to another division.
“Looking at who’s around here right now, this is the level of show we need to be doing. You have to build your own constituency.”
“Once they get here, we’re going to take really good care of them,” she continued, explaining an anonymous donor is providing breakfast and lunch daily for the competitors.
Tricia emphasized that it’s a competitor-friendly competition but while spectators are welcome at no charge, they should be aware that there won’t be food on the grounds for them.
The event, chaired by longtime volunteer Gayle Stinson, will be judged by internationally known drivers and longtime Gladstone competitors Sem Groenewoud and Lisa Singer, as well as pleasure driving judge Mary Harrison in cones. That segment will be staged against a backdrop of trees on the historic Main Drive lawn.
by Nancy Jaffer | Mar 6, 2016
By Nancy Jaffer
March 6, 2016
Tailgating has become increasingly popular at the Jersey Fresh International. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
The state is still in the throes of winter, but work has been under way for months on the May 11-15 Jersey Fresh International, which is an Olympic selection trial this year.
It’s time to start making plans to attend New Jersey’s largest three-day event. The schedule includes not only the 2- and 3-star CCI and shorter CIC competitions, but also is adding an advanced horse trials division.
Regulars who compete at Jersey Fresh include Pan American Games gold medalists Boyd Martin, Philip Dutton and Lauren Kieffer, as well as such big names as Michael Pollard and Buck Davidson. No wonder the theme for the tailgating at the water jump complex this year is “Stars, stars, stars.”
The event at the Horse Park of New Jersey in Allentown was upgraded markedly in 2015, spurred by a grant of $25,000 from former U.S. eventing team veterinarian Brendan Furlong’s B.W. Furlong & Associates. The amount has been raised to $30,000 for 2016, with much of it going for prize money. Brendan said his son, Adam, is trying to get a couple of veterinary suppliers in to contribute money as well.
Explaining his commitment to Jersey Fresh, Brendan said, “New Jersey was very instrumental in the sport of eventing in the U.S.,” citing its origins going back to the Essex Horse Trials in the 1970s.
“There’s a long tradition of eventing in the Garden State, and it’s a great date on the calendar,” said Brendan of Jersey Fresh, noting the competition is a prime destination “for horses to move up to the 3-star level after their winter campaign in Florida.”
Also, it’s often a destination for horses who for some reason “don’t make it to the Rolex Kentucky 4-star in April, or who don’t finish Rolex,” he pointed out.
As an example, he noted that last year, after Buck was not having a great go at Rolex with Ballynoe Castle RM, he pulled up and came back to win the 3-star CCI at Jersey two weeks later.
The popular winner of the CCI 3-star at Jersey Fresh last year was Ballynoe Castle RM, ridden by Buck Davidson. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
“I would like to see more people in the New Jersey eventing community (commit) to make it a destination event. It has grown a lot, and they generally have a good entry. It’s just branding it and getting it to be one of those events that ultimately could be synonymous with a promoter or a sponsor,” Brendan observed.
He doesn’t think obtaining a title sponsor for this year is realistic, but he would like to see it happen next year.“I’m hoping that each year we can make it a better and better event,” Brendan commented.
Lisa Mackintosh is all in on that.
“We’re building on a lot of the things we added last year and stepping it up this year,” said Lisa, a member of the event’s organizing and steering committees, noting putting the VIP tent in the main arena, where riders came through on cross-country, was quite a hit.
She explained the vendor area is being moved to a prime location between the grand prix ring and the cross-country course. The number of vendors is being increased and the quality is getting boosted.
Meanwhile, efforts are continuing on the campaign to improve footing at the Horse Park. Allyson Jeffery, who is heading the footing committee, said a $20,000 bequest has come through on that front. The total raised is now $35,000, but that is only one-tenth of what is needed. She is working toward finding a major donor who can contribute to the footing fund, since a new surface will benefit not only those competing at Jersey Fresh, but also all the other shows for a variety of breeds and disciplines that are held at the park.
Those interested in being a vendor for Jersey Fresh may contact Lisa at ljmackintosh@earthlink.net, while anyone interested in tailgating should email shelly.liggett@gmail.com. Volunteers also are needed. For more information, go to jfi3d.com.
by Nancy Jaffer | Feb 14, 2016
By Nancy Jaffer
February 14, 2016
Gabriel Armando and Zipero.
WELLINGTON, Fla. — As was the case for so many people, the events of Sept. 11, 2001, changed Gabriel Armando’s life.
The banker from Argentina was working in midtown Manhattan that day, not at the World Trade Center downtown, but he had friends who died when the buildings were destroyed by terrorists.
While the idea of changing his hobby of training dressage horses into a profession had been in the back of his mind, the notion that it was time to make the most of the rest of his life could not be denied after the twin towers came down.
He became involved with the horse business in multi-dimensional fashion.
Not only does he do clinics in many locations, both in the U.S. and elsewhere, he also is an international rider and judge who has officiated in 20 countries. That’s a rare combination. A two-time Argentine national champion, he and his wife, Suzanne Ross-Armando, run Armando Dressage in Ringoes at Diamond Creek Farm, where they are assisted by Stephanie Weber. This winter, they are based in the White Fences development near Wellington with 15 clients.
Gabriel, 53, has been competing this winter at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival with a well-behaved and friendly Dutchbred 11-year-old, Zipero, owned by Tania Loeb Wald of Brazil. The horse has been with Gabriel for a year and he has developed him to Grand Prix from Small Tour.
“He’s doing his first steps into it,” said Gabriel, noting the horse has only been in five Grands Prix.
Top people from around the world come to Wellington to show, which can be intimidating to some, but not to Gabriel..
“It’s a great experience to compete against the best, that pushes me to become better,” he said.
Gabriel competes for Argentina, which he represented in the 2003 and 2007 Pan American Games, qualifying for the freestyle in both on Euclid, a Westfalen, who he developed and was only seven years old in the first Games. On the other side of the coin, he judged the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico.
In 1998, Gabriel was on Argentina’s silver medal team in the South American Championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Obviously, international competition is important to him, and he may be interested in pointing toward the 2017 Reem Acra Dressage World Cup Finals, since they are in Omaha.
“It’s interesting,” he said, noting Zipero should be more developed in Grand Prix by then.
But as long as he rides in international classes, he cannot judge internationally in the same year, though he can judge national classes. There’s always a choice involved in these things; few international judges continue to ride internationally.
But he manages to do both well.
“He’s a sweetheart,” said Elisabeth Williams, an FEI steward at WEF and chair of the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s High Performance Dressage Committee. She noted he is easy to deal with both as a judge and as a rider, which, she added with a sly smile, can’t be said of everyone.
Lars Petersen, a Danish Olympian and top dressage trainer, said of Gabriel and his wife, “I really like them both. I have respect for judges who judge the big classes and then throw themselves out there (in the arena). Most people just like to talk about it, but he’s still throwing himself out there and I think that’s great.”
Growing up in Argentina, Gabriel liked jumping. His father, Norberto, was a casual rider, yet he “understood dressage was the way to develop balance and, the seat.” If Gabriel wanted to jump, “The rules were we had to do dressage also,” he said.
Gabriel Armando competing on Zipero at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival.
So dressage was, in effect, just a means to be able to go over the fences. But it all changed when Gabriel was 16.
“My Swedish trainer made me ride a schoolmaster,” recalled Gabriel, who trained with Owe Christian Moltke.
The well-educated horse “was doing all these tricks, piaffe/passage and piroutte. And I decided that was the feeling I wanted to have on a horse.”
When it was time attend university in Buenos Aires, where he majored in business administration, “I tried to go to college, ride and work,” he said.
That was an impossible regimen.
“Something had to go,” said Gabriel, who stopped riding for 2 and 1/2 years at that time.
“I was miserable because I couldn’t ride,” he noted.
When he finished school and went to work for a bank, however, he started riding again.
It turned out the bank “needed a specialist in emerging markets in the branch in New York.”
He was eager to take the job in 1997, to a great extent beause it would give him the opportunity to ride and train in the U.S.
After he made his decision to leave banking for horses, the 2003 Pan American Games were in the back of his mind.
“I wanted to be in full-time riding by then,” said Gabriel.
He has never regretted giving up banking.
“I love the horses, being outside, you’re your own boss,” he said.
But there’s more to it than that.
“The journey of training a horse and making them better every day is what keeps me going–learning from my horses.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 31, 2016
By Nancy Jaffer
January 31, 2016
Judy Hennessy, N.J. Horseperson of the Year.
Her mission is to teach children about horses and their care, so 4-H volunteer extraordinaire Judy Hennessy certainly wasn’t looking for recognition.
That’s why being named New Jersey Horseperson of the Year was quite a surprise.
“I had no clue. It never would have dawned on me that anything like that would have come of this,” said Judy after receiving the award last weekend at the state’s annual breeders’ luncheon in Eastampton.
She got involved when her children, Kevin and Stacy, joined after seeing how much fun the 4-Hers were having at the Somerset County 4-H Fair. In the late 1970s, she took over as the leader of the Chaps N Spurs club, which now has members from both Somerset and Hunterdon counties.
At one time, however, there were 17 4-H clubs in Somerset County alone. The state was less developed then.
“There were horses everywhere,” Judy recalled, noting how kids would keep their horses in their backyards and go for daylong rides with a lunch bag tied to their saddles.
“You can’t do that anymore,” she said, noting few children even take care of their own horses these days.
Although her children long ago graduated from the 4-H ranks, she has kept on with it because “kids need to be made into better horsemen. You’re a caretaker. A horse can’t go out and take care of itself. You’re responsible, even if your horse is at a (boarding) barn.”
She mourns the fact that for the most part, kids don’t read about horses, not “Black Beauty” or the “Black Stallion,” not books on riding and horse care. So Judy finds a way to educate them, whether it’s through field trips, using the annual tack sale as a learning experience about different kinds of equipment or offering one-on-one advice.
Carol Ward, the Somerset County 4-H agent, called Judy, “One of our most dedicated volunteers.” She sees her every Wednesday with her own club, but Judy comes on other nights to work with children prepping for the Horse Bowl and other competitions.
“If the kids will come, she will be here. If they are willing to put in the time, she is certainly willing to impart her knowledge; it’s quite extensive. Anatomy, physiology, style of riding, all types of things–she is a treasure to have,” said Carol.
In addition to everything else she does, Judy coordinates two county 4-H qualifying horse shows each year and two tents full of horses during the Somerset County 4-H Fair.
“For a lot of the kids, that’s the only time really they are responsible for their horses,” she said.
Carol pointed out that since 1989, Judy “has been our one and only state 4-H coach for Hippology, the study of the horse.
“She works with our state team from April until the national competition in November. Every week, she drives down to the Horse Park of New Jersey to work with them. She gets no pay or reimbursement for her gas, that’s something you just don’t find these days in very many people.”
Karyn Malinowski, director of the Equine Science Center at Rutgers, agreed, calling Judy, “a tireless supporter of horse education programs for youth. Judy’s humble spirit and devotion to horses and young people made her the perfect choice for this prestigious award.”
But the real reward for Judy, who is employed as a secretary at the Mid-Atlantic Equine Medical Center, is when the kids she works with really understand how to care for horses and perhaps point for veterinary school or something else involving horses.
“I’m glad to see them go on ahead and stay in the business,” Judy said.
by Nancy Jaffer | Dec 17, 2021
With the major competitions of 2021 now behind us, how do you get your eventing fix until the season starts again in earnest?
Here’s an easy answer that offers an opportunity for entertainment and education while relaxing by the fireplace. Sip that mulled cider and read Jim Wofford’s, “Still Horse Crazy After All These Years.” It’s a book that is as much a history of the sport during the Olympic medalist’s lifetime (with a glance at .the key years before) as it is a biography.
If you’ve ever attended a dinner where Jim was the speaker, you’re familiar with his clever blend of charm and wit. That’s reflected in his conversational writing style, which makes this an easy and most enjoyable read. At the center of his manuscript is his conviction “that horses are wonderful, life-changing creatures.”
Carawich and Jim in the water at Badminton.
For those behind in their Christmas shopping, Jim’s book is an easy choice for the equestrians on your list. It’s available both in print and as an e-book from www.horseandriderbooks.com. You don’t have to be an eventer to appreciate the horse world from his special vantagepoint. As he puts it, “I literally grew up with horse sports in the United States.”
The son of an army officer who rode in the 1932 Olympics and became the first president of the U.S. Equestrian Team, Jim spent his youth on the family farm next to Fort Riley Kansas, the home of the U.S. cavalry until 1949. (Did you know that during the cavalry era, the Army bred its own horses–and very successfully, too.) Sadly, Jim’s father, who taught him to ride, died of cancer in 1955. Because the grief-stricken 10-year-old boy associated horses with his father, Jim did not ride for three years after that.
But he soon came around; horses were in his blood. At the time Jim started eventing seriously during the early 1960s, the sport was small in the U.S., what his mother called a poor stepchild of the popular show jumping discipline. And dressage? It barely existed.
“Event riders all knew each other,” Jim recalls. That was easy, there were so few of them. Selected for training at the USET’s Gladstone, N.J., headquarters to prep him for international competition, he interacted with more experienced competitors such as Mike Plumb, Michael Page and Kevin Freeman, among others.
He also had an acquaintance with so many of the big names during that time, from Gen. Fuddy Wing, who was running the USET in the early 1960s, to Philip Hofmann, first president of the U.S. Combined Training Association (now the U.S. Eventing Association) and others who, sadly, likely will be recognized by few in this era. Further afield, Jim even met Queen Elizabeth after finishing in the ribbons at Badminton.
Jim met Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phllip at Badminton.
The great horses he knew are also a major part of the narrative, of course. You’ll meet Castlewellan, The Optimist, Carawich and so many more that galloped through Jim’s life and are seen among the many photos in the book.
The author knows how to tell a story, and the book is filled with scores of intriguing tales, many of which will make the reader feel like an insider. One I particularly liked involved how Jim and Kevin turned the tables on a practical joke perpetrated by a young Robert Ridland (now the U.S. show jumping coach many decades later).
Jim’s heyday in the sport was at a moment when endurance and guts, as much as talent, were the keys to victory. The big players and their mounts were a different breed in those days; in the case of the horses, they were literally a different breed. The successful ones were thoroughbreds, or mostly so.
Jim and I had a conversation about that, and why the eventing of yesteryear (which you can read about in detail in his book) is only a distant relation to today’s competitions.
Jim on Kilkenny at Badminton in 1968.
“Since 2004, we’ve been doing a different sport,” he told me. That, of course, was when the long format with its steeplechase and roads and tracks was abandoned in favor of the current more compact version.
“The only common theme is the fact that we do it with horses,” Jim said.
“Obviously, how you determine your winners is very different now. The old ratio of difficulty was 3 (dressage) to 12 (cross-country) and 2 (stadium jumping). Those were guidelines. If you were a cross-country star, chances are you were going to be a star regardless of the dressage or show jumping.
“And now, after they changed the scoring slightly a few years ago, you have a sport that is judged 1/1/1, with all three disciplines being equally important.”
When the element of endurance is eliminated, he noted, you’re going to get different riders and different horses wearing the ribbons. Horses that won a gold medal in the 1960s and ‘70s would not be successful today, Jim believes. Conversely, he thinks, only a few of today’s 5-star horses would be successful in a classic 22-mile Olympic three day event.
Carawich was one of Jim’s most successful partners.
He recalled that when he was on the rules committee of the FEI (international equestrian federation), in the late 1970s and early ’80s, “the Germans already were haranguing they wanted to change it.”
Why? They wanted conditions more favorable to the warmbloods they bred, sold and competed. The change was entirely German and financially driven, said Jim, explaining that “as long as you had to go 22 miles, the German verbands (breeders) were not going to be successful.”
Not unexpectedly, if Jim had a choice of riding either format, he would pick the classic version, “the thrill of the steeplechase, the difficulty of getting a horse that fit and retaining the soundness.’
He has watched riders looking worried at the Kentucky 5-star, six or eight minutes into a 10-minute course, that the horse is going to hit the wall, “meaning you’re starting to get to the limits of its physical capability.”
He pointed out that in 1978 at the Kentucky Horse Park, the steeplechase was in the infield and we galloped at 690 meters per minute for five minutes–half the length of the (current) 5-star cross-country. And that was just the warm-up.”
Today’s warmbloods are wonderful, he commented, but added, “if I had to choose the era and I were young and fit these days, I would still choose the classic era because of the difference in the horses and the difference in my skill set and the difference in the nature of the scoring. It was skewed toward someone with the skill set I had at the time.”
Jim is a popular emcee for awards ceremonies. (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer)
He added, “Riders these days are better riders in terms of pure riding capability. They are so far ahead of our era. Having said that, I’m not sure these people would learn how to ride a tired horse, or learn (to ride them) in such a way that they did not get tired. I don’t know how many people today, with all of their technical polish, would have the nerve to go down to the coffin (jump) with a horse that’s starting to get a little heavy in the shoulders.”
Eventing’s roots are in the cavalry, as were Jim’s through his father.
The sport “was designed by the military for the military, to satisfy to satisfy the military’s concerns and goals,” said Jim.
“It was a tough life these horses led. They broke them when they were four and expected them to still be in service when they were 14.”
It took horsemanship as well as riding ability to make that happen.
Part of his mission writing the book is to educate people and memorialize that classic era, while highlighting the incredible changes through which he has lived.
Jim has trained horses and riders at competition all over the world. (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer)
And his perspective goes beyond being a remarkable rider. He has been a successful coach and played an important role in governance, serving as president of the American Horse Shows Association (a predecessor of the U.S. Equestrian Federation), secretary of the USCTA and a member of committees for other horse sport entities that as a group he and his family referred to (not always fondly) as “the alphabets.”
Jim wrote the book for his four grandsons (all four know how to ride, but none are involved with horses), “so they won’t have the same vacuum that I have about my father,” he explained.
“That was a serious driving force. In another 10 or 15 years, they will get serious. They will keep looking forward and then they will start looking back over their shoulders. I didn’t write this as some earthshaking thing for posterity. I really wrote it as a memorial to my father and as a guideline for my grandsons.”
(Photos from Still Horse Crazy After All These Years by Jim Wofford reprinted with permission from Trafalgar Square Books (www.horseandriderbooks.com)
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 25, 2021
Back to normal, and it feels so good. Seeing the hundreds of people who came out this morning to watch the Essex Foxhounds gather for their annual Thanksgiving meet was quite a contrast to the scene in 2020.
Last year, the front field of the Ellistan estate in Peapack was empty, with a sign on the fence saying spectators would not be allowed because of Covid.
The hunt happened, but it took off unobtrusively from the back of Ellistan and no one was there to cheer on the riders.
The mood in the sunshine today was such a welcome contrast; all smiles, people happy to be out, greeting friends and enjoying the magic of the countryside en masse.
“It’s really nice to be able to gather again,” Karen Murphy, who is the joint master of Essex, told the crowd.
“Thank you so much to all of our landowners for allowing us to celebrate this great sport. We couldn’t do it without you,” added Jazz Merton, the other joint master.
“Saving traditions like this is so much fun and important to all of us.”
The field takes off over the first fence. (Photo © 2021 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
“This is a tradition we must continue,” agreed Pia Hamlin, a hairdresser in Peapack, who comes every year.
“We need to be outdoors with friends and family and then go eat a good turkey later on.”
Jack Chesson sports holiday-appropriate headgear. (Photo © 2021 )Nancy Jaffer)
“Todo hermosa, beautiful,” said her friend Guido Enrique, a visitor from South America who was seeing the Thanksgiving meet for the first time.
Pia introduced him to another tradition, the hot toddy, served graciously by the Slack family, Ellistan’s owners, who provide it for those 21 and over. The younger set, on horseback and on foot wasn’t forgotten; they enjoyed hot cocoa.
For those who wanted something more substantial, the occasion offered an opportunity for tailgating, reminiscent of the scene at the Far Hills Race Meeting that was held down the road from Ellistan last month. Indeed, Lexi and Dana Sendro of Pittstown set out a candelabra and tablecloths they used to display at the races for their spread, complete with sparkling wines.
How did it happen that so many people, even those without an equestrian connection, make the meet a must stop on Thanksgiving? It goes back to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who was a member of Essex and often rode with her daughter, Caroline and son John. They always drew a crowd, and even after the family no longer came out on the holiday, people who had learned to enjoy watching horses and hounds continued coming out.
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis at Ellistan in the days when she rode with Essex. (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer)
I was reminded of the day I met Mrs. Onassis at the Essex Foxhounds hunter pace in 1984. My editor at The Star-Ledger, where I was the equestrian columnist, read somewhere that the former First Lady would be riding in the pace and wanted a story. I happened to be riding in it as well, so I nervously juggled the two priorities.
Knowing Mrs. Onassis didn’t give interviews, I approached her somewhat hesitantly and told her I was from the newspaper.
“Oh, am I in trouble?” she asked me with a charming smile.
I said no, we were just going to take some photos of her riding. She was very nice about it and we got a lot of good shots of her galloping along with Emil Spadone. I can’t find a copy of the story (I have literally thousands of clippings scattered hither and yon), but I did find a letter she wrote me very graciously after I mailed her the photos taken by the paper’s photographer (Sorry, I don’t remember who it was.)
And as you can see, she wished me a happy Thanksgiving, and I also wish all of my readers the same.
Enjoy some other photos from today.
Huntsman Bart Poole and the hounds. (Photo © 2021 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
Essex Joint Master Jazz Merton leads the way. (Photo © 2021 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
Essex Joint Master Karen Murphy gives Adeline and Margo Swartz a lift on George Clooney during a break in the action. (Photo © 2021 by Nancy Jaffer)
Why is this hound wearing a number? In memory of his father, auto racing enthusiast Peter Chesson, James Chesson donated radio collars for the hounds. And 76 was the number of his dad’s race car. (Photo © 2021 by Lawrenc J. Nagy)
The late Lou Piancone always drove a four-in-hand at the Thanksgiving meet. The Johnson family has picked up the tradition with its pair and carriage. (Photo © 2021 by Nancy Jaffer)
The Brienza and Juntilla families collaborated on a spread that included the makings for mimosas. (Photo © 2021 by Nancy Jaffer)
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 14, 2021
The horse business isn’t easy in the nation’s most densely populated state, but the Rutgers Equine Science center offers a leg up for its proponents in many ways.
The center, marking its 20th anniversary this year, is concerned with everything from better equine health and well-being through research, which has top priority; to environmental stewardship, land use planning, youth involvement and many other related subjects under the guidance of founding director Dr. Karyn Malinowski.
As she puts it, the Center is “the docking station for everything equine.”
Its annual Evening of Science and Celebration on Zoom last week combined several honors with updates on scientific topics.
The Spirit of the Horse Award, always presented to someone who has made an impact on the horse industry and who in turn has been impacted by their involvement with horses, went to Assemblyman Ron Dancer.
The son of famed harness driver Stanley Dancer, he raced and trained horses himself from 1968 through 1998. But now he’s better known for his legislative accomplishments.
Spirit of the Horse winner Ronald Dancer.
In that arena, the assemblyman has been a fervent advocate for horses, which often involves educating other legislators.
He good-naturedly cited “a learning curve with my colleagues about the value of the equine industry in the state.”
The Equine Center and a landmark economic impact study it produced “helped build a lot of support for the industry,” he pointed out. It showed that horse have a $1.1 billion economic impact on the state, providing 13,000 jobs in connection with $4 billion in equine-related assets and 42,500 horses as counted in a 2007 survey.
There were 222,000 acres supported by horses in a largely urban/suburban state, a figure that includes not only land devoted to horses, but also involved with their support, such as farms that grow hay and feed.
The assemblyman worked tirelessly in a successful attempt to have the Legislature pass a bill written to eliminate the tax on boarding horses. Gov. Phil Murphy did not sign it last year, however, and the “pocket veto” meant it didn’t become law.
“If taxes are your issue, then New Jersey’s probably not your state,” the Governor famously advised in 2019, and we saw how it applied to this initiative.
The Gold Medal Horse Farm award went to Topline Farm, a well-run 10 acre establishment in Alexandria Township. The facility won for outstanding equine management.
Topline Farm in Alexandria Township.
The farm is run by Katie Wigness; her husband, Kris, and her father, Ron Hutchins. Katie noted in the equine industry, “its important to be a good neighbor and be aware of your impact on the neighborhood and community.”
During the science part of the evening, the keynote presentation was made by Dr. Sarah White-Springer of Texas A&M University.
Her talk was entitled, “The Mighty Mitochondria: The Importance of Muscle Health for Optimal Equine Performance.” (Without getting too technical about it, the mitochondrian is the powerhouse of the cell.)
Her research focuses on ways to improve performance and reduce injury in equine athletes, looking at mitochondrial adaptations to diet and exercise, in addition to skeletal muscle bioenergetics.
She pointed out that selenium increases mitochondrial biogenesis, which eventually creates energy, but that training a horse also increases mitochondrial density. The scientist cited the piaffe as a strength exercise that leads to muscle building, but of course, it takes a horse with a specialty to engage in that.
If dressage isn’t your horse’s thing, hill work increases endurance, while long-and-low work engages the horse’s topline, she said.
In another presentation, Dr. Jennifer Weinert-Nelson discussed Quick-N-Big crabgrass as a planting that can counteract the “summer slump” in pastures. And since it’s not the grass of choice for every horse, it’s good for a field where an obese horse is turned out to cut down on its consumption.
Doctoral candidate Ellen Rankins explained her work involving equine-assisted activities for veterans with PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). The veterans work with horses on the ground, including grooming, leading and long-lining. Muscle activity, heart rates and blood samples are used as indicators of what effect such work has on both the veterans and the horses.
Skylar Cooper, a member of the New Jersey 4-H Horse Project, talked about flashy Zebroids, such as the Zorse, a cross between a zebra stallion and a domestic mare that rarely occurs in nature, and the Zonkey, produced by a zebra stallion and a jennet (female donkey).
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 5, 2021
Show jumping will no longer be part of the modern pentathlon lineup following the Paris Olympics in 2024, the International Modern Pentathlon Union has announced.
The sport received an unwelcome spotlight in Tokyo after a horse refused with a German rider who had been leading the competition to that point. She whipped the horse and burst into tears, a moment memorialized in a photo that made headlines around the world. Her mount was punched by her coach, who was disciplined by being sent home.
In a letter to athletes, the pentathlon union explained the decision, stating, “We would be making a mistake if we were to take our place in the Olympic programme for granted past Paris 2024. It is not granted for us, it is not granted for anybody.
“We really need to make sure that in that new environment, with all of these new sports (such as skateboarding) that have demonstrated strength and a lot of traction with people and media, we have to make sure that our sport if (sic) flawless.”
The organization’s executive board held a secret meeting this week in which it was decided to remove horseback riding from the program. Riding’s replacement sport has yet to be decided, but cycling is under consideration.
A riding working group had been set up to explore whether the equestrian element should be continued in the format that also includes shooting, running, swimming and fencing, which debuted at the 1912 Olympics. There have been innovations since, including running all the sports in a 90-minute broadcast-friendly format, rather than over a period of days.
Modern pentathlon participants are assigned a horse and have just 20 minutes before competing in the jumping. It’s a big ask for athletes who are not accomplished riders. The five-discipline event began as a military competition, with women taking part for the first time in 2000. It has not been among the more popular events to watch for viewers of the Games, which endangers its continuing inclusion.
However, more than 650 pentathletes wrote a letter expressing no confidence in the pentathlon organization’s president and board, asking for their resignations, while at the same time they pressed to keep riding in the pentathlon to save the integrity of the sport. The board is reported already to have decided on an alternate sport to replace riding, but if so, it was done without promised consultation with the athletes.
Meanwhile, people for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) called for all equestrian disciplines to be dropped from the Olympics, not just the riding phase of modern pentathlon. The FEI (International Equestrian Federation), which is the governing body for the Olympic disciplines of dressage, eventing and grand prix-level show jumping, does not regulate pentathlon.
“Just as the Olympics evolved to include sports that are of current interest, like skateboarding, surfing, and sport climbing, in a world that increasingly refuses to accept abuse in any form, it’s time to remove sports that are no longer supported by the public,” PETA’s senior vice-president of the equine matters department, Kathy Guillermo, wrote to International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.
There is no comparison between riding in the pentathlon and the Olympic equestrian sports, which are run at the highest standard of athleticism and care for the horse, most of which have been with their riders for many years.
