by Nancy Jaffer | Feb 20, 2018
Who doesn’t love a parade? Riders with the kind of horses that can handle excitement are invited by the New Jersey Quarter Horse Association to participate in Sussex County’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade in Newton March 17. You don’t have to be an NJQHA member to ride, but an Irish theme is encouraged for all.
The parade starts at 11:30 a.m. Participants need to arrive between 9:30 and 11 a.m. Parking for trailers will be at Route 206 and Park Street. NJQHA signs will show the way to the entrance. A police escort will take riders from the parking area to the parade starting point.
Donuts and coffee, compliments of the NJQHA, will be offered to participants before the parade. For more information, call Susan Auer at (908) 418-5923.
by Nancy Jaffer | Feb 9, 2018
Olympic judge Marilyn Payne will be presenting a program called “You Be the Judge” at the Horse Park of New Jersey March 31—just in time to get ready for the start of the putdoor competition season.
She will introduce the 2018 eventing dressage tests and the U.S. Dressage Federation movements through Third Level.
The talk is a cooperative effort, sponsored by the Eastern States Dressage and Combined Training Association, the Horse Park and Footlight Farm of Roosevelt. Heidi Lemack, president of ESDCTA, got a grant for the program from the state Equine Advisory Board. Willette Brown, the new dressage trainer at Footlight, came up with the idea, according to Allyson Jeffery, president of the park’s board.
“My equine community is coming together at last,” said Allyson.
Marilyn, who lives in Tewksbury, has judged every 4-star eventing competition in the world. A member of the FEI eventing committee, she also serves on the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s eventing committee—and led the effort to design the USEF’s 2018 tests.
Olympic judge Marilyn Payne, who is also an active eventer, will be presenting a program about dressage tests at the Horse Park of New Jersey. (Photo© 2017 by Nancy Jaffer)
Two riders will be accepted as participants at each level: beginner novice, novice, training, modified, preliminary, intermediate and advanced. The fee is $40 for Horse Park or ESDCTA members, and $65 for non-members.
Auditors also are welcome to join in an interactive experience. They will get packets that include the tests and numbered cards so they can participate in scoring. The fee is $25 for members and $45 for non-members.
Before starting to work with the riders, Marilyn will introduce the basics and purpose of each level, explaining what the judges are looking for.
The deadline for rider registration is March 21. Early registration for auditors is March 24. Walk-ins are welcome, but they may not get all the materials if they don’t register in advance. Footlight Farm will provide lunch for advance registrants.
To register, go to http://www.horseparkofnewjersey.com/event-2813516
by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 31, 2018
Riders 25 and under may apply for a 2018 Lindsay Maxwell Charitable Fund/USHJA Emerging Athletes Program Regional Training Session, where both mounted and unmounted horsemanship instruction is featured.
The session in New Jersey will be held June 18-22 at Centenary University in Long Valley features 1984 Olympic double gold medalist Joe Fargis and Colleen Reed. The application deadline is April 16.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 15, 2018
By Nancy Jaffer
January 15, 2018
Kelly DeSaye nearly hung up on the person who notified her that she had won the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association’s Amateur Sportsmanship award.
“She said, `Hi Kelly, this is Cheryl Rubenstein from the awards program,’” Kelly recalled.
“I was having a crazy day and you’re thinking, `the hotel points, a free resort vacation’, you know, the calls you get. I was just saying to her, `Listen, I’m really not interested’ and she said, `Kelly, don’t hang up. I’m from USHJA.’ I was laughing so hard, but when she told me, I literally cried,” the Farmingdale resident recalled.
“I was so shocked. There were people out there who recognized what I did.
Kelly DeSaye, center, receiving her USHJA amateur sportsmanship award from Marla Holt and Marianne Kutner. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
“I love horse showing,” said Kelly, who competes in the adult amateur hunters and rides six days a week. But the award wasn’t given because she’s an enthusiastic participant. It was about the way she treats people, and animals.
“In Kelly’s world, there are no strangers—just people she hasn’t met,” said her trainer, Mary Babick.
And Kelly is always up for making new friends.
“I love meeting people. I want to know what they’re about,” said Kelly, whose engaging approach puts people at ease and helped earn her the award.
“She is always ready to lend a hand, a listening ear or a shoulder to lean on. She’s someone that you want to have on your team,” observed Mary. Although Mary is president of USHJA, she noted Kelly’s award was a “pleasant surprise” to her and she did not even know of the nomination until she saw the materials from the awards committee.
One of the stories that defines what Kelly is about involves the time she handed over her down coat and gloves to a chilly concierge at HITS Ocala on an unseasonably cold day.
“Please stay warm,” she told the woman.
Kelly explained, “Everybody in this world struggles for something. I had no idea if this person had everything or anything, or if she was just unprepared.” Whatever it was,Kelly wanted to help.
Her inspiration in the show world is Betty Oare, the wonderful hunter rider and consummate volunteer who is still going strong at age 76.
Kelly and Betty met when they were both riding thoroughbreds at a show and compared notes.
“She’s a lot of fun and really has a good heart,” Betty said of Kelly.
“She’s a very generous kind of lady with an upbeat kind of manner.”
Off-the-track thoroughbreds are Kelly’s mount of choice. “I love that second chance,” she explained.
A determined Kelly in action.
Kelly, who characterizes herself as “an animal person” is into rescue, with pigs a specialty.
“There’s no such thing as a micro-pig,” said Kelly, but unfortunately, people who buy a piglet as a pet don’t necessarily realize that, she pointed out. When the animal gets too big, they often don’t want anything to do with it.
Kelly rents a farm in Colts Neck where she keeps rescue pigs.
“Some were abused, some were abandoned, some were just dropped off,” said Kelly, who also has two pigs living in her house.”
“It’s just like having a dog,” she maintains about the pigs she nurtures and loves. “They are so smart.”
Kelly at home with one of her adopted pigs.
As a shelter volunteer, she also raises money for animals that need rescue, getting particularly involved with canine refugees who came north after Hurricane Irma.
She also raises money for a variety of causes in the horse world and beyond. Whether it’s running a raffle or donating for a charity auction, she’s all in.
Kelly’s equestrian involvement began when she was growing up in Colts Neck, where she rode western in 4H. Then she discovered boys, went to college, had a daughter, Brittany, now 30, and didn’t begin riding again until she was 45. After her daughter went to college, the empty nest syndrome hit her and she decided to get involved with horses to fill the void.
She said her husband, Michael, “supports me 100 percent,” and notes he also has been part of the horse world. Polo was his game, and he also has been a successful racehorse breeder.
All was going well for Kelly on the show circuit until three years ago, when her horse started bucking wildly after finishing a round. “He catapulted me 30 feet out of the ring,” remembers Kelly, who broke her neck when she fell.
She stopped riding for six months, then started taking lessons with Mary. Kelly returned to the ring with a titanium neck and a determination to improve herself and continue competing.
“Mary opened my eyes to a new world,” said Kelly, who is still jumping at age 54 and enjoys competing those thoroughbreds.
“If I have the worst round in the world, I still come out of the ring smiling,” she said. “Now I know what to do next time.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 10, 2018
March 1 is the entry deadline for the New Jersey Equine Artists’ Association Eighth Biennial “NJEAA Art of the Horse” contest and exhibition, which runs May 20-June 17. Works will be exhibited at Prallsville Mills in Stockton.
Judging from past exhibitions, it’s worthwhile to see the wide range of artwork that is presented.
For more information, email xochitlb@comcast.net
by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 10, 2018
Former Fair Hill International Three-Day Event Executive Director Charles Colgan, who was also a former director of the National Steeplechase Association, died Jan. 2 after a brief illness.
Colgan, 77, who held the Fair Hill post for 10 years, was the son of a member of the Treasurers and Ticket Sellers Union, which enabled him to attend a wide variety of sporting and theater events in New York City. His deep love of horse racing developed from his experiences at the old Madison Square Garden, the New York racetracks and summer visits to Saratoga.
Practicing as a lawyer in North Carolina, he found a way to connect his professional life with his love for sport by working for the National Steeplechase and Hunt Association in 1971. He also served as editor of American Steeplechasing.
Colgan met Audrey Walsh, daughter of Hall of Fame horse trainer Mickey Walsh, while he was working as a white cap and she as an exercise rider at Belmont Park. They married in 1963. Their daughter, Kelly Colgan, and her husband, Peter McDermott, are prominent in today’s horse racing industry. Survivors also include his daughter, Kerry Shovlin, son Patrick Colgan and four grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be may to St. John Holy Angels Church,82 Possum Park Road, Newark, Del., 19711.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 5, 2018
The Wellington Eventing Showcase, which introduced hunter/jumper/dressage fans to eventing at the Winter Equestrian Festival, will not be held in February. It was a huge hit for the last three years (Boyd Martin won it every time) with a highlight in 2017 seeing riders gallop through the VIP tent to take a fence right in the midst of the party.
Boyd Martin on Welcome Shadow jumping through the VIP tent at the 2017 Wellington Eventing Showcase. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
The unrecognized competition with a $100,000 purse was staged on the grounds of the Adequan Global Dressage Festival, a short canter from the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center where most of the WEF is presented.
Cross-country—the final phase in this format–ran on the derby field at Global. The next day, a show jumping grand prix was held there. That was always a bit dicey on that first weekend of February, because the $220,000 Longines FEI World Cup jumping qualifier also ran on that Sunday about a mile away at Deeridge Farm. I remember rushing from Deeridge to Global to catch the last of the WEF jumping class, and some of the riders also did a bit of dashing to participate in both.
Carly Weilminster of Equestrian Sport Productions said WEF organizers “had been given feedback from the show jumping riders that they’d prefer to do all of the FEI classes during the week on the grass instead of just the Grand Prix on Sunday. So we moved the Grand Prix to Saturday and all of the qualifying classes are now on the grass.”
The Saturday class, the 4-star $205,000 Net Jets Grand Prix, begins at the odd time of 11 a.m. at Global. Saturday night’s class is the Great Charity Challenge in the main arena at PBIEC at 6:30 p.m. Since the Longines class is on Sunday, it wouldn’t work to have a WEF class that afternoon, leaving Saturday morning as the window of opportunity.
Carly said organizers had hoped “to still be able to do the Showcase, but it posed a big logistical challenge with stabling and the field usage, etc” so it was called off. She added “We’re going to re-evaluate the week next year, but would still like to host the event.”
Lack of sponsorship also was a problem, as Equestrian Sport Productions is putting its efforts into September’s FEI World Equestrian Games in North Carolina and finding sponsors for that is taking precedence.
by Nancy Jaffer | Dec 29, 2017
The U.S. Equestrian Federation has fined Jazz Johnson Merton $5,000 and issued a two-month suspension for “unsportsmanlike behavior toward her horse, Joe Cool.”
On a widely circulated video that made headlines here and abroad, the Tewksbury resident is seen directing a kick toward the horse’s belly after she fell off during her round in the 3-foot, 3-inch division for older amateur-owners at the 2017 Hampton Classic.
The suspension runs Aug. 1-Sept. 30, which includes the 2018 Hampton Classic.
Contacted for comment, she cited the apology she issued after the incident.
It stated, “One of the greatest pleasures in my life has been riding and showing horses, and I have enjoyed this hobby since I was a little girl. In the recent incident at the Hampton Classic, I had a very inappropriate emotional response to my horse’s behavior, one that I have never had before. I was scared and angry, and reacted very badly. For that I am deeply sorry.
“My reaction was short lived, and immediately after I realized my mistake, I got back on to jump a schooling fence in order to finish the day on a trusting note with this horse.”
She promised, “I will never again exhibit this unprofessional display of aggression and poor sportsmanship.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Dec 23, 2017
By Nancy Jaffer
December 23, 2017
She’s done it all, from winning Olympic team show jumping medals and writing a book, to victories in the world’s major grands prix, as well as earning spot in the Show Jumping Hall of Fame. Her mounts have included such famous names as Starman, Livius and Eros.
But now Anne Kursinski has something else on her resume, the title of U.S. assistant show jumping coach and development technical advisor, which she assumed this fall. Anne, who operates the Market Street training stable in Frenchtown, is working with U.S. team coach Robert Ridland.
Robert Ridland and Anne Kursinski. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
It’s a perfect relationship, since the two go way back together.
They’re both Olympians, native Californians who trained at the Flintridge Riding Club with Jimmy Williams and later with U.S. Equestrian Team coach Bert de Nemethy.
Anne, who at 58 is younger than Robert, 67, recalled she looked up to him when she was a kid. Anne remembers Robert returning to Flintridge after he rode on the 1976 Olympic team, which made an impression on her. Anne’s ambition was also to ride in the Olympics, which she did three times, earning two silver medals in the process, and was an alternate twice.
“It’s a fun camaraderie with him,” she said of Robert, noting he has had quite a career, running the World Cup finals, having his own training barn, being a course designer and a technical delegate. Meanwhile, she has been a selector for the team, so their paths have crossed often.
“We have a rapport and get along very well,” said Anne.
“We’re very, very comfortable with each other. I have a passion for the team, I always have, and if I can’t do it myself, then I want to help other people do it.”
For his part, Robert said, “I feel Anne is essential to the program.” After spending a year shadowing former coach George Morris before taking on the job himself after the 2012 Olympics, Robert said, “It was hard for me to imagine that he was able to do all he could do as a one-man show.
“Our country is too large,” he observed, noting Anne “is an invaluable asset to the team and myself as the development coach and my assistant.” For 2018, he noted, show jumping involves “two parallel programs, one focusing on the WEG (World Equestrian Games in Tryon, N.C.) and then all the rest, including qualifying for the Nations’ Cup final.” And don’t forget the Longines FEI World Cup finals in Paris.
Robert also is a believer in putting younger, less-experienced riders on squads to bring them along. He and Anne are part of a larger team that includes DiAnn Langer, the Young Rider coach, and Lizzy Chesson, the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s director of show jumping.
Before taking the job, Anne said, “My concern was, I still have a business and I’m still actively competing.”
Anne is known for her classic form over fences, no matter how high they are. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
But she was reassured by Robert and Lizzy that she could still be involved with her other pursuits, which cleared the way for her to move into the position.
“I love the team,” she noted. “The Nations’ Cup and the tours were my favorite part of competing, I was passionate about that. I do love to teach and share my experience. To have done it from a little kid all the way up through the Olympics is helpful.” And she mentioned that when she is working with less-experienced team riders and “helping them up the pathway,” she’s giving a boost to many more people than she could by working on her own.
Anne, who has been a chef d’equipe in the past with Young Rider teams, now relies on information from DiAnn about those who have been in the Young Rider program and are moving up.
The group she deals with primarily “is different than the Young Riders, in that they need more structure in a way.” While they may have been on one or two Nations’ Cup teams, she mentioned, “These guys have already been over there, but they still need guidance.”
She went to Samorin, Slovakia, with a team during the autumn.
“When they had to ride in the Nations’ Cup, they were nervous. To be able to help them with that, I enjoy it. I’ve been in that situation myself.”
In fact, said Anne, “I was in high school when I went to my first Nations’ Cup at Spruce Meadows,” which helps her empathize with members of her squads. There’s no doubt that the mission is clear: “The bottom line is to get the next generation on the podium, doing what Beezie and McLain are doing,” she pointed out.
by Nancy Jaffer | Dec 22, 2017
New Jersey residents who didn’t come to the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation in Gladstone last spring to watch the national Grand Prix, Prix St. Georges and Brentina Cup championships missed their chance to see the country’s best dressage riders close to home.
The 2018 U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions will host 14 dressage title competitions, which also include the Young Horse matches, at Lamplight Farm in Wayne, Ill. Previously, the championships were split in two at different locations.
The U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation’s historic stable was the backdrop for the USEF Dressage National Championships in 2017, when Kasey Perry-Glass won the national Grand Prix title on Goerklintgard’s Dublet. (Photo by Lawrence J. Nagy)
Hallye Griffin, USEF’s managing director of dressage, noted, “Holding the full spectrum of the championships in one location, over a weeklong period, will give us the opportunity to showcase the talented athlete/horse combinations across the full spectrum of the divisions.
“We hope that this will also prove to be an exciting event for spectators, sponsors, vendors, and supporters as we look to grow the event into something very special, while continuing to highlight our dressage competition pathways and programs in an effort to deliver continued sustainable success in our sport.”
