by Nancy Jaffer | Dec 1, 2020
December looks bleak for horse showing in New Jersey following the issuance of new Covid rules. State mandates on indoor sporting competitions stopped allowing indoor shows beginning Dec.5, through Jan. 2. Outdoor shows can run, but no more than 25 people at a time can be on the showgrounds outside..
“I think it’s done,” U.S.Hunter Jumper Association Director Katie Benson said on Tuesday about December showing in the Garden State. She spoke during the Zone 2 (New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York) meeting at USHJA’s virtual convention. The idea seems to be “to keep people home for the holidays,” she commented. At the same time that shows can’t go on in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus, it’s okay for everyone to stand in line at Walmart, she observed wryly.
Andrew Philbrick of Hunter Farms in Princeton, who cancelled a two-day show scheduled for Dec. 19-20, agreed with Katie that “the month of December is going to be a shutdown.”
Mark Leone, the Zone 2 chairman, wondered what will happen after Jan.2, asking what can be salvaged.
“What do we do, just sit tight?” he commented. “It’s so unpredictable. There’s nothing to be done.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 26, 2020
So much that we enjoyed sadly has fallen by the wayside during the Covid era, but those who found a way to adapt have kept precious customs alive.
The Thanksgiving meet of the Essex Foxhounds for decades has drawn hundreds to watch horses and hounds gather at Ellistan in Peapack. The ritual started when Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and her children would ride out, and it grew even after they no longer were a part of it.
But this year, state Covid restrictions that limit outdoor gatherings to 150 people meant the public could not be invited to the great estate, where they always enjoyed tailgating, seeing old friends and watching the riders depart.
The Essex members were determined to continue the tradition for themselves; they just had to do it in a different way today.
“Some things are just too valuable not to do; it’s just been tradition,” said Jim Gordon, who is the Essex treasurer.
So 27 Essex riders met at the hunt club, then hacked over to the “backyard” of Ellistan for the traditional stirrup cup before starting their ride, not discouraged by mist, occasional drizzle and a bit of rain.
Riders met for a stirrup cup behind Ellistan, rather than in front of the house, where the public usually gathers. (Photo © 2020 by Nancy Jaffer)
Dennis Sargenti is served a stirrup cup. (Photo © 2020 by Nancy Jaffer)
Smiles seemed broader than usual this time around, underlining the meaning of getting together and giving thanks for being able to do it.
Sarah and Hank Slack, owners of Ellistan. (Photo © 2020 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
Essex Joint Master Jazz Johnson Merton and her niece, Rose Biedron. (Photo © 2020 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
The Johnson family always brings a carriage to the meet. (Photo © 2020 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
Smiling in the rain, Essex Joint Master Karen Murphy gives Reagan Price her first ride. (Photo © 2020 by Nancy Jaffer)
Lizzy Chesson, the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s managing director for jumping, looks good in the saddle herself. (Photo © 2020 by Nancy Jaffer)
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 20, 2020
It obviously was Steve Teichman’s destiny to become the U.S. eventing team’s farrier.
The career path that made him one of the most respected practitioners of his trade around the world began in an unusual way when he was just 13. Steve’s father came up with what he thought was a bright idea to sidetrack his son’s artistic inclinations, since he preferred the teen to focus on eventually getting a “proper” college degree.
“I know this guy who shoes horses in Delaware. Why don’t you go work with him for a summer? Maybe that will satisfy some of your creative instincts,” Dad slyly suggested.
Turns out he was right–except that it backfired.
“This is where the hand of fate gets involved,” Steve recalled with a smile.
“I did that, and there wasn’t any looking back.” He had found what he was meant to do. Even though Steve went on to get a degree in biology, he was shoeing horses on the side while in college and never stopped.
Steve’s father “wasn’t really happy” with the way his plan turned out, but legions of horse owners, veterinarians and team members over the years have been incredibly grateful that Steve pursued what appears to be his pre-ordained profession, from which he retired this month.
Steve Teichman in a familiar pose with handfuls of shoes by his truck. (Photo © 2020 by Nancy Jaffer)
Jim Wolf, who managed the U.S. eventing teams in the 1990s and into the 21st century, called Steve “just a genius. He’s an artist, an engineer, all those things you need to be a good farrier.
“He’s the whole package and such a great person to have on team trips, such a great influence on everyone about how to be a human being.”
Steve did his utmost to get horses in shape to compete, but he also had the same type of consideration for the horses.
“He could always figure out how to get the horse comfortable,” said Jim, yet at the same time, “If Steve said a horse shouldn’t go (into a competition) then it shouldn’t go.”
Steve’s expertise has been unique.
“What made him so good was in solving a crisis, he was able to see the big picture,” commented Oldwick-based Dr. Brendan Furlong, who served as veterinarian for the eventing team.
“His understanding of micro- and macro-anatomy of the horse’s foot is probably greater than any other person I’ve ever interacted with,” observed Brendan, calling Steve, “an incredibly clever man.”
Brendan Furlong and Steve Teichman have watched many horses go over the years as they blend their expertise to solve problems. (Photo © 2020 by Nancy Jaffer)
He got to know Steve while treating horses ridden by two-time eventing world champion Bruce Davidson. In the early middle 1990s, Brendan recalled, a lot of U.S. riders were training in the United Kingdom, where the Americans were having problems getting farriers who would do things the way they wanted them done. The answer to that was drafting Steve, who began working with the team in 1997.
Here’s a story that demonstrates Steve’s inventiveness. When the team went to the Open European Championships at Burghley, England, that year, one horse had torn off a shoe on cross-country and as the time came for the horse inspection, the competition’s farrier was nowhere to be found. He had the forge, the steel and everything else that Steve needed to use if he were to fix things (he couldn’t transport his own equipment overseas, so he was reliant on the local man’s truck.) Steve came up with an inventive remedy for the bar shoe he lacked–nailing an ordinary shoe on the foot backwards to provide support for the trot-up. The horse passed the ground jury’s scrutiny, Steve finally got access to the truck and was able to produce a regulation bar shoe so the horse could compete in the show jumping phase.
In the days when he worked in the blacksmith shop at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center, Steve thought about pursuing a veterinary career, then decided against it.
“I just felt this industry needed the help so badly, I decided to stay with it,” he said.
Steve gives his next move some thought. (Photo © 2020 by Nancy Jaffer)
And that was the way things went until this week, the last time Steve completed his regular shoeing jobs. Although he still will be involved with some consulting, help the industry out with a few clinics and take on a special case here and there, at the age of 62, he decided it was time to step aside from his farrier business.
“Physically, it’s really hard,” he said.
“I don’t want it to get the best of me. It controls your life. It’s hard to take time off with the quality of horses we do.” In a regular (non-Covid) year, he noted, “by now, you would know where you are every single week until April. It’s pretty grueling.”
Yet he still is thinking of the greater good for those who keep on shoeing horses. He spent three and a half years getting a master’s degree in equine locomotion with Britain’s Royal Veterinary College and just finished a 38-page paper on toe surface modifications and how they affect break-over.
“It was really fun to do. I only wish I was 40 years old when I did it,” he said wistfully, “but when it’s published, it will be good to get it into the hands of farriers. This industry needs that.”
While in the last 30 years he thinks there may have been as many as 35,000 peer-reviewed articles in veterinary journals, he estimated there have been only 10 articles on that order for farriers.
The college sent over professors four times a year to meet with students in space provided by the University of Pennsylvania.
“They started this program because they wanted farriers to research and ask questions if they needed answers; vets look at feet differently than a farrier,” he explained.
As difficult as it was to think of retiring from a regular shoeing schedule, Steve pointed out, “There are a lot of other things I really enjoy doing, too.”
He’s had a parallel career producing art and doing silver and metal work, as well as engraving. A gallery or show is his next ambition, and he plans to have a website.
Some of Steve’s engraved bracelets. (Photo © 2020 by Nancy Jaffer)
Steve got his training for engraving from men who dealt with firearms. He worked on people’s firearms at his house after getting a federal firearms license. But when he moved to Unionville, Pa., firearms weren’t allowed in a residential neighborhood, so that was the end of that.
“What am I going to do with all these skills,” he wondered, then had his answer in short order.
“It was much more profitable to work on a bracelet, and safer,” he realized.
He’s planning on taking some time to go to Florida with his partner, Laura Rowley, who is an animal communicator and intuitive healer. The two don’t work together, but every once in awhile, her insight will help him out. He recalled being on the phone one day with a client whose horse had a lameness problem, when Laura overheard the conversation and told him, “it’s not in his feet, it’s in his back.”
A good friend of Steve’s is Patrick Reilly, New Bolton Center’s chief of farrier services and director of the applied polymer research laboratory, who also got a diploma in equine locomotor research from the Royal College.
He calls Steve, “The hardest working farrier I know. He’s honest about what he can do and what he can’t. He’s happy to talk to you about it. I would consider him very definitely to be a role model.”
Patrick, who moved to Unionville from New Hampshire, recalled a funny incident when his son, Patrick, came home from the first day of first grade and was very disgruntled.
When his father asked what was wrong, he explained, “I got into an argument after I said my father was the best farrier because he works at New Bolton. And this other kid said, `No, my father’s the best farrier.’” That was Marshall, Steve’s son, and there aren’t many places in the U.S. where two elementary school pupils would have a conversation like that!
Steve’s last turn with the team was the 2019 Pan American Games in Peru, where the U.S. eventers qualified for the Olympics.
“A lot of the team’s medals belong to Steve,” said Jim Wolf.
“We wouldn’t have medaled nearly as many times as we did without Steve. We had gold medal horses and riders, but I have to tell you we had a gold medal backup team and he was a star player.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 17, 2020
A crowd-funding campaign, launched on Veteran’s Day by the Rutgers Equine Science Center, will raise money for a large-scale research project focusing on Equine Assisted Activities & Therapies (EAAT) for veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
The ESC research project will focus on the horse human bond, and how EAAT affects both humans and horses during these types of therapy sessions.
“The study will look at how the interactions between the horses and humans, sometimes referred to as a “horse/human bond” affect one another,” said Ellen Rankins, Ph.D. Candidate and project lead.
“Not only will data be collected during the trial period, we will also follow up with the participants to observe how long these changes are sustained over time.”
The Center’s goal is for all of the costs associated with the study to be paid for by the research fund, making the therapy sessions completely free to the veterans. After hearing about the project, Foundation Equine Wellness and Performance (a mobile veterinary practice based out of Bordentown) decided to make a donation by issuing a challenge match to anyone willing to donate. For every dollar ESC raises, Foundation Equine will match up to $2,500.
“We are so happy to take part in the Equine Science Center’s crowdfunding campaign,” said Dr. Daniel Keenan, owner of the practice.
“We wanted to contribute to this project not only because it will better our understanding of how Equine Assisted Activities & Therapies affects the health and wellness of the horse, but because it will also examine how these types of therapies can improve the lives of veterans with PTSD, and others who would benefit by these types of therapies.”
To help with this challenge-match visit the Equine Science Center’s crowdfunding webpage at: https://go.rutgers.edu/ESCResearchFund.
The project is a partnership with statewide stakeholders including: the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs; Special Strides located in Monroe, New Jersey (where the therapy sessions will be conducted); Rutgers’ graduate school of applied and professional psychology, the university’s office of veterans and military programs and services and the Rutgers Business School’s military and veteran engagement programs.
For information about donating to the project, contact Leadership Gifts Officer Roz Beberman at roz.beberman@rutgers.edu or phone 848-932-3593.
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 12, 2020
Juniors can ride as guests of the Monmouth County Hunt at 10 a.m. on Nov. 29, with no capping fee. On Junior Day, braiding is not mandatory, but riders must wear white shirts with a stock tie, black or navy jackets and tall boots. Hairnets also are required.
For older riders, the capping fee is $100 and for car follwers, $25. Want more information and an invitation? Write to monmouthcountyhunt@gmail.com
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 5, 2020
Mark your calendar for 7-8:30 p.m. Nov. 12, when the Rutgers Equine Science Center will hold its annual Evening of Science and Celebration virtually. The keynote will come from ESC Founding Director Karyn Malinowski on a hot topic, “Equine Welfare: A New World for Equine Athletes.”
The guest speaker, Dr. Allen Page of the University of Kentucky’s Gluck Equine Research Center, will discuss, “Can We Use a Blood Test to Predict Catastrophic Racing Injuries in Horse?.” The toll taken by such injuries continues to be a matter of concern, as legislation is being directed to improve safety at the racetracks.
Also scheduled are presentations of the Spirit of the Horse Award and the Gold Medal Horse Farm Award. To register for the evening, go to https://go.rutgers.edu/Evening2020
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 31, 2020
It was nearly everything a show jumper could hope for–a victory in a 4-star grand prix worth $213,300, over a track laid out by an Olympic course designer, and against an all-star field that included some of the sport’s biggest names, McLain Ward and Kent Farrington among them..
Only one element for a perfect class was lacking as Devin Ryan won the National Horse Show Grand Prix on Eddie Blue tonight: There wasn’t a cheering crowd to salute his achievement, because Covid rules meant fans couldn’t attend the competition, which was watched in person by just a few exhibitors. And Devin really missed having spectators at the Kentucky Horse Park’s Alltech Arena when he went through the timers in 35.13 seconds as the pathfinder in a seven-horse jump-off.
Devin Ryan and Eddie Blue on their way to winning the National Horse Show Grand Prix. (Photo by Elaine Wessel/Phelps Media Group)
“I wasn’t sure I jumped clean, because I rubbed a couple of back rails on a couple of oxers,” he told me.
“I go through the timers and there were a couple of people clapping, but it’s not like a roar that you get from a crowd to really know when you jump clean.” He wondered, “`Did I jump clean?’and then they announced it, and I was like, `Ah, yes.’ That was the only thing that was little bit weird.”
That’s if you don’t count having your temperature checked at the facility every day, but the routine is becoming old hat now for people showing through Covid.
Devin left nothing on the table for his colleagues. He won not only the Leading Rider title, he also collected the Groom’s Award, since he took care of Eddie himself all week. The only help the Long Valley horseman got was from Long Island friends, Myrna Treuting and her daughter Ali, who set fences for him.
Just one other rider, Spencer Smith, was clear in the tie-breaker over the Guilherme Jorge-designed course. He was aboard Quibelle from Georgina Bloomberg’s Gotham Enterprizes, finishing in 35.26 seconds. The fastest jump-off round, 33.71 seconds, belonged to Paul O’Shea on Skara Glen’s Machu Picchu, but he had a rail to finish third.
Devin taking his victory gallop. (Photo by Georgie Hammond/Phelps Media Group)
Eddie, an 11-year-old Dutch warmblood owned by LL Show Jumpers LLC, wowed the international ranks in 2018 by finishing second in the Longines FEI World Cup Finals in his first appearance at that competition and then being part of the U.S. gold medal team later that year at the FEI World Equestrian Games. Will the Olympics be next?
Last year, with the Tokyo Games scheduled for July 2020, Devin was “a little conservative with him, hoping to be a discretionary pick for the short list. Then Covid hit.”
He didn’t do much traveling once showing resumed, trying to run his business in New Jersey and knowing his customers didn’t want to travel too far. So he lived in a camper at HITS in Saugerties, N.Y., for much of the summer. Eddie was 12th in the $500,000 grand prix there, but after that series ended, he didn’t show for six weeks before going to Tryon, N.C.
“He’s doing what you want a championship horse to do,” said Devin. Eddie, a son of VDL Zirocco Blue, has been clear or had 4 faults since starting to show again, with the exception of his first class out, the Welcome at Tryon, where he had two rails down; Devin said he “felt rusty” after his layoff but soon got back into the game.
Noting that things are “sort of getting shut down right now” in Europe because of Covid, Devin is grateful for the shows in Tryon and Kentucky.
“I’m glad that they are holding these events and proving they can hold them and be safe,” he said.
“It’s good for the sport.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 30, 2020
A third-place finish in the Adequan®/ USEF Para Dressage National Championships last weekend signified a triumph of will and commitment for Alanna Flax-Clark.
Even traveling to the competition in Tryon, N.C., took some resolve during the Covid crisis, since she has underlying conditions dating back to the 2008 life-threatening infection that left her coping with a variety of challenges when the initial symptoms subsided.
“I didn’t know whether to go or not,” said Alanna about the championships, adding, “I was nervous about the number of people and horses in one place. I was thinking about cancelling at the last minute.”
As Michel Assouline, the U.S. para dressage technical advisor noted, “Some (para) riders need extra precautionary measures to minimize a Covid risk of infection because of a weak immune system. In fact, some riders didn’t make the journey to Tryon because of the risk traveling poses.”
Alanna heading to the arena with trainer Sara Schmitt. (Photo by Lindsay Y. McCall)
But Alanna did wind up heading south from New Jersey with her Califon-based trainer, Sara Schmitt. She knew it was the right decision when she saw how well things were handled, with plenty of space in the stabling and a new arena, even as classes from the Pennsylvania National and Washington International shows were being held at the Tryon International Equestrian Center.
Staying in an Airbnb nearby and skipping a party also added to her sense of comfort. Alanna cited dressage show manager Monica Fitzgerald for doing a “fantastic” job.
“It’s hard to have everyone’s needs met and have a dressage show and the hunter/jumpers there at the same time,” she noted. “We did feel safe. People were good about wearing masks. It was part of your outfit.”
After breaking 70 percent for her freestyle to Abba music, it was obvious the situation suited Alanna, 37, and her mount, El Paso, affectionately known as Taco.
Alanna and Taco. (Photo by Lindsay Y. McCall)
“Overall it was three of our best rides, the most consistent, the most reliable, the most harmonious. I felt like it was our best show overall,” said the rider, a former special education teacher who has only been competing since mid-2017.
“In spite of everything that’s been happening this year, Sara has really been good about figuring out how to push me, push my horse into developing better gaits, developing confidence, allowing me to ride a more forward trot, increasing my accuracy and geometry,” said Alanna as she reflected on how things have developed in 2020.
“Those are easy things to get better points automatically. I think my feel as a rider has gotten much stronger. Even if Sara schools him for two minutes, I get on Taco and I feel like I have the confidence to school him for the way I need to, which a year ago I can’t say I was able to do. I think all those things are pointing me i the right direction for where I want to go.”
As she observed, “Dressage is such a cool sport, you never stop learning. I can continue to develop my skills constantly.”
This year’s show was a happy contrast with the 2019 edition, where bad luck plagued Alanna. Taco lost a shoe and she lost her reins in one test, a real problem since she can’t close her fingers around them and has to put her hands through loops to guide her horse.
Alanna, who was an alternate for the team competition at the Tryon show, was on top in the individual Grade II Division standings of those who walk and trot in their tests. Her composite championship score of 67.948 percent put her behind two big names in para dressage, Rebecca Hart (77.029) who took the tri-color on Rowan O’Reilly’s El Corona Texel while competing in Grade III and Sidney Collier (76.147) reserve champ aboard Going for Gold LLC’s All in One in the Grade I Division.
Alanna shows Taco the blue ribbon they won for their freestyle. (Photo by Joanna Frantz)
Commenting on Alanna’s progress, Sara observed, “She’s very consistent and the judges are starting to recognize her, but Taco is not the quality of those horses.” (Tex and All in One).
“We’ve been working hard. I feel good about what we’re doing, but it’s nice to see it reflected in the judges,” Alanna commented.
Sara is, of course, pleased that her student is making measurable progress.
“She is a lot stronger and her horse is a lot stronger,” Sara noted about Alanna, who as of last month was ranked 14th in the world in her division.
When Alanna first came to her several years ago, “she couldn’t ride for 10 minutes,” Sara recalled, while noting how her endurance has increased dramatically.
Alanna is riding more and also works as special projects manager for Mane Stream in Oldwick, where it serves individuals with physical, developmental, emotional and medical challenges through equine-assisted activities, therapy services and educational initiatives.
This winter, Alanna will be headed to Florida for competition and training, with the Paralympics as a goal. While next summer’s Tokyo competition is fast approaching, she will have more time to refine her game and perhaps get a second horse with the 2022 World Championships and Paris 2024 on the horizon.
At this point, however, she said, “I just want to focus to being in the present.”
She said she couldn’t do what she does without Sara; Maggie O’Leary, the assistant trainer and Caelyn Adams, her groom. Alanna also is glad for the support of her family in California, happy they are able to see her ride via the livestream that is ubiquitous since Covid.
Michel noted, “It was hard for Alanna this winter to continue training because of strict lockdown restrictions where she lives, but we managed to do regular online remote coaching and riding session analysis. Alanna has a good coach and she has really come from strength to strength since moving from California to New Jersey two years ago.
‘Having regular support from a coach makes a difference. I give support to both Alanna and her coach. So Alanna’s work ethic and move to her personal coach have produced great results. She is very strategically focused.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 25, 2020
Private services were held yesterday at St. Brigid’s Church in Gladstone for James C. Brady, a member of a family with deep roots in Somerset County and the thoroughbred industry.
Mr. Brady, 85, was the grandson of James Cox Brady, who built the landmark stable that is the home of the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation on his estate, Hamilton Farms; his son, the second James Cox Brady, was one of the founding directors of the Monmouth Park racetrack. He also served as chairman of the New York Racing Association when Belmont Park was built.
The late James Cox Brady of Bedminster
In turn, his son, the third James C. Brady, kept up the family tradition, managing the Mill House Racing stable whose runners included America Alive, Brilliant, Trappe Shot and Rattlesnake Bridge. He was the general partner of Mill House Associates, successor to Brady Security & Realty Corporation. In 1957, Mr. Brady began work at Bankers Trust Company, resigning to take a position as commissioner of banking in New Jersey Gov. William Cahill’s cabinet, helping plan development of the Meadowlands Sports Complex, including Giants Stadium and the Meadowlands Racetrack.
In 1983, Mr. Brady was appointed secretary-treasurer of The Jockey Club, joining newly elected chairman Ogden Mills Phipps and vice chairman William S. Farish. These men led a three-decade period of growth for The Jockey Club, establishing new commercial business, including Equibase Company and several technology-based service and data businesses. Proceeds from the commercial subsidiaries fueled increasing investments in the marketing of Thoroughbred racing and research and advocacy for improved safety and integrity of the sport. Mr. Brady, who remained on the board of stewards until 2013, was succeeded by his nephew, Ian Highet, as secretary-treasurer of The Jockey Club in 2010.
At his home in Somerset County, he also was a supporter of the Essex Foxhounds..
Mr. Brady is survived by his wife of 63 years, Joan Babcock Brady; his brother, Nicholas Brady, a former chairman of The Jockey Club, U.S. Senator, and Treasury Secretary; and his sisters Lisa Richards and Eliot Stewart; a son, James C. Brady and his wife, Anne Lusk Brady; daughters Joan “Nonie” Brady and her husband, Wilhelm Merck; and Kerry Chace Brady and her partner, Brock Dolman. Mr. Brady had two granddaughters, Audrey Slade Brady and Millicent McKay Brady.
A memorial service celebrating his life is to be held in the spring of 2021. In lieu of flowers, donations in Mr. Brady’s memory may be made to LifeCamp, http://greaternewarklifecamp.org/, a summer camp for inner city youth, long supported by the Brady family.
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 14, 2020
As we know far too well by now, Covid-19 has wrought changes in a horse show routine that likely will never return to its pre-pandemic state.
Those who have adjusted will fare best when the virus is just a bad memory. So on the plus side, it has been a time for the nimble to innovate and find a way to clear the obstacles they have encountered in this difficult era.
Derek Braun, the man behind the Split Rock Jumping Tour, knows all about difficult.
New Mexico’s tight Covid restrictions forced the cancellation of his August 2-star show in Santa Fe. Split Rock’s competition that ran with April’s Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event wasn’t held when the eventing had to be called off.
Rowan Willis and Blue Movie over the Split Rock fence in the 2019 grand prix during the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event. (Photo © 2019 by Nancy Jaffer)
Then forest fires added to the burden of a bad year, leading to cancellation of the first week of Derek’s Sonoma, Calif., show. Prior to this, the California show was Split Rock’s biggest, selling out annually.
“It was a worst case scenario disaster,” Derek remembered.
“We dealt with so many variables we could never have predicted during a two-week span in California. To give everybody the security of the welfare of horses and rider beyond Covid was difficult to maneuver. My team gained a lot of grit and learned a lot from that experience.”
Oh, and his first Longines FEI World Cup qualifier, a 4-star scheduled for an arena in Fort Worth during December, also had to be cancelled because of Covid, which wreaked havoc on 2020’s indoor shows.
But he found a pivot position by expanding into the hunters. The catalyst was his purchase of the two Country Heir shows in Kentucky which, unlike his fixtures, offered hunter competition.
“I can’t say I would have thought that I would go in the direction of hunters in general because I’m so passionate about show jumping,” said Derek, but he emphasized, “In the past, I’ve always been open to any opportunity that I thought was good for myself and my team and the direction of our tour.”
Now, he believes, hunter competition is “a natural progression for myself and my team.”
Derek pointed out that the Kentucky Horse Park, home of Country Heir, is eight minutes from his farm, so it was a perfect fit.
“It is a very popular show in general. We hope to grow both sides of that event,” he continued, noting plans call for bolstering the jumper side of Country Heir and at the same time adding “some unique touches” to the hunter side, so competitors can “feel special and like they’re getting what they paid for.”
That may include live streaming, more extravagant awards presentations and rider bonuses for every division “just providing more opportunities and experience for everybody in every division. We’re so used to doing that for every division for every class in the jumper ring. We’re going to bring that level of detail and attention and exposure of all the hunter divisions as well.”
With the ice broken, the hunters are becoming part of Split Rock’s plans not only for Country Heir, but likely for a couple of other events that “may also incorporate hunters in some fashion,” said Derek, adding the Split Rock team is thinking of adding such divisions to the Santa Fe and Columbus, Ohio, shows.
“ I feel we’re really ready to handle a 1,500-2,000 horse horse show, whereas we’re used to handling 400 horses. It’s a totally different ballgame. We want to bring the same level of organization and attention to a 1,500-plus horse show,” said Derek.
“It’s the right time to hit it out of the park.”
