That’s a key question in this era of Social License to Operate; that is, public acceptance of horse sports. The answers are even more important.
British Equestrian, Great Britain’s national federation for horse sports in Great Britain, is involved with a major research project on the subject, which could become a model for other countries — many of which, including the U.S., are grappling with the same situation.
BE’s partner in its work is State of Life, which specializes in measuring and demonstrating the social and economic value created by various organizations. Sad that horse sports have to be justified these days, but that’s the case
The effort, which started with a research phase in 2024, has moved on to investigate the social value of equestrianism.
State of Life has worked with several sports and community organizations to provide in-depth analysis of their social impact. They are involved with developing a new national model dealing with the social value of sport and physical activity for Sport England. The government is seeking to estimate the contribution of community sport and physical activity to health and well-being in the country.
In the first phase, equestrian activities were proven to have benefits ranging from the social value outcomes of physical and mental health and subjective wellbeing, to individual, social and community development.
Examples: riding, stable work and hippotherapy contribute to fitness and rehabilitation, while equine-assisted therapy provides therapeutic support for those with conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression. Engaging in equestrian activities has demonstrated an increase in confidence, employability and social connections, strengthening both individuals and communities.
Stage two will take this research to the next level, calculating the monetary worth of equestrian social value. It will demonstrate the way equestrian activity can be a vital contributor to public health, aligning with a government “Get Active” strategy. The findings will enable BE and its affiliates to showcase the industry’s impact on people’s lives across the United Kingdom, shape future strategies with data-driven insights (otherwise known as evidence), advocate for equestrianism’s unique benefits and strengthen investment and strategic partnerships.
Abigail Bevan, Insight and Research Manager at British Equestrian, noted, “We’re excited to measure the tangible impact of equestrianism, following the gathering of research, which has proven the vast benefits our sector provides to the community, by encouraging people to spend time in outdoor spaces, connecting with nature, creating friendships and enjoying partnerships with our incredible horses.”
A celebration of life for Rodney Jenkins, one of the world’s greatest show jumpers, will be held June 1 from 3-5 p.m. in the 1853 Club on the jumper side of the Upperville, Va., showgrounds.
The Red Rider passed away at age 80 last December, leaving memories of a stellar reputation in both the horse show and racing worlds.
He grew up learning to ride by the seat of his pants in Orange, Va., where his father, Enis Jenkins, was a professional horseman. Rodney became a huntsman, then worked for Gene Mische, who went on to be the country’s best known horse show organizer.
Rodney’s talent took him to the top of the sport, with victories everywhere from Madison Square Garden to Devon and all the other great shows. He was most famous for his many wins with Idle Dice, but other honors included being American Grand Prix Association champion and American Horse Shows Association Horseman of the Year.
Rodney Jenkins and Idle Dice.
The horseman also was part of the U,S. Equestrian Team, earning team and individual silver with Czar in the 1987 Pan American Games.
After hanging up his saddle in 1989, Rodney turned to training racehorses. He was successful at that too, until he retired for good in 2024. His best season at the track came in 2006, when his horses won $1.8 million.
He will be most remembered for his ability in the show ring, a standout with the hunters as well as the jumpers. He had a great eye for a fence, and understood what a horse was thinking almost before the horse knew what it was thinking.
Yuri Mansur and the fabulous mare Miss Blue-Saint Blue Farm finished atop a field of the world’s best riders in the Rolex Grand Prix of Rome Sunday, as the show at the Piazza di Sienna wrapped up with a spectacular competition.
“She was born for this job,” Mansur said about the daughter of Chacco Blue, who also was a winner in Hamburg, Germany last year and in Fontainebleau, France, last month. The victory for the veteran of Brazil’s teams came, appropriately, on the day after his forty-sixth birthday.
Yuri Mansur won the Rolex Grand Prix of Rome with Miss Blue-Saint Blue Farm.
“This is a mare from Brazil, she didn’t have any experience when she left there, but in three years since 2022, she has given me my best wins,” said Yuri.
“And I feel it’s just the beginning, we’ve had some bad luck with health problems, but now she is good again and she is doing an unbelievable job.”
He is just the second rider from Brazil to win the grand prix. Rodrigo Pessoa, who was sixteenth on Sunday with Major Tom, took the title in 2009.
Yuri rode for the first time only at the age of 14. The Olympian gives credit to working with Belgium’s Ludo Philippaerts as both a rider and groom.
“He helped get me started…so a big part of my journey came through Ludo. I bought a barn in 2017 in The Netherlands and now Holland is home for us”, he explained.
Remarkably, his jump-off didn’t go as planned.
“What almost made me lose was I spoke with McLain Ward, and he told me to start from the right for number one. And then at the last moment, I changed to the left, and I didn’t get a good shot to number one, so I added one stride and that meant I had to risk as much as I could,” Yuri explained.
“I had planned seven strides, but I did eight from fence one to two, and that made me just risk as much as I could in the rollbacks. I had two really blind distances but I kept following and we worked it out.”.
His time of 35.65 seconds was just 0.11 seconds ahead of Ireland’s Cian O’Connor and Iron Man in the second round of the test designed by Uliano Vezziani on the broad green field, surrounded by thousands of spectators in the heart of the Eternal City.
It was the third 5-star runner-up finish for Cian with the steel-gray Zangersheide gelding, but he wound up winning the leading rider trophy named after Italy’s greatest horsemen, brothers Piero and Raimondo D’Inzeo.
Cian said his mount “hasn’t much experience against the clock and he’s such an expressive jumper, he’s not maybe as quick as some of the others because he takes his time at his fences but that’s something we’re working on.”
France’s Nina Mallevaey, a rising star at 25 years old, finished third in 36.35 seconds with Dynastie de Beaufour.
“I know I have an amazing horse that is really generous. We did our first five-star Grand Prix about a year ago and I think we have built a great relationship together,” said Nina, who began her international career with Julien Epaillard and is now trained by Helena Stormanns.
“It’s my first time here in Rome and since the beginning of the week she’s been enjoying that arena and loving to be here. This was a dream of mine to come here so I’m very, very happy.”
A favorite of the Italian crowd, Giulia Martinengo Marquet, was galloping toward the sixth fence of blue planks with Delta Del’Isle, as a member of the course design team was adjusting a plank that had blown down in the wind. She had to turn away while the clock was stopped and the crowd gasped. However, she was able to finish the course quickly with only one knockdown and qualify for the second round. Giulia finished ninth.
The second round’s fastest effort by far, in 33.39 seconds, belonged to the USA’s Laura Kraut on Bisquetta. But a knockdown at the first element of the Rolex double simply meant she was the quickest of the four faulters, winding up sixth.
Karl Cook, Laura’s teammate on the winning Nations Cup squad Friday, missed his opportunity for the 125,000 Euro ($142,000) first prize and the honor of back-to-back wins in the class when Caracole de La Roque slipped out behind on the turn to the the third fence, the imposing green Rolex wall.
He made a valiant effort to recoup but ended his tour of the course with two knockdowns. That meant he did not qualify for the second round, limited to the top 12 of the 45 starters, and wound up twenty-second.
The USA’s McLain Ward and his Olympic team silver medal mount, Ilex, retired after dropping two rails, joining the list of six other riders who did the same. The fourth member of the American Nations Cup squad, Lillie Keenan, had two rails and a time fault with Argan de Bellard in the first round to wind up thirtieth.
There’s no admission charge for the Essex Horse Trials at Moorland Farm on Route 202 in Far Hills, N.J., The action starts with the dressage phase at 8 a.m. at this scenic venue, followed by show jumping and cross country. Competition runs all day.
Riders competing whose names you will recognize include Ryan Wood, Lauren Chumley, Holly Payne Caravella and Hannah Sue Hollberg, The divisions range from Open Preliminary down to Starter. If you’re thinking of trying eventing yourself, it will be interesting to see what an introduction to eventing looks like.
Vendors and food trucks will be on hand if you want to take a break from spectating. The event gets under way with the dressage phase at 8 a.m. and runs all day.
A perfect round under pressure–which is the trademark of anchor rider McLain Ward–avoided a jump-off and clinched the first U.S. victory since 2009 in the Rome Nations Cup on Friday.
McLain Ward and Imperial in the midst of one of the world’s most beautiful venues.
Aboard his newest mount, Imperial HBF, McLain’s performance in the 5-star Nations Cup Intesa San Paolo assured America its 4 penalty score could hold off the French team, which had to settle for second on 8 penalties.
After the first round over the course designed by Uliano Vezzani on the grass field of the scenic Piazza di Siena, the U.S. was tied on 4 faults with France and Germany. But the second time around, the latter dropped to fourth behind the home team, Italy, which claimed third place on the podium with 20 penalties.
McLain, who took over the ride on Imperial in February from Great Britain’s Tim Gredley, was double clear, as was his teammate and protege Lillie Keenan aboard Kick On. Laura Kraut, who was on the 2009 team with Cedric, dropped a rail on each trip with Bisquetta. Karl Cook had a rail in the first round with his Olympic team silver medal mount, Caracole de la Roque, but was fault-free on his second go to help secure the USA’s sixth victory in the history of the class.
After lifting the silver trophy above his head, U.S. Coach Robert Ridland noted his riders have been on a real winning streak.
U.S. Coach Robert Ridland and the trophy, with team members McLain Ward, Laura Kraut, Lillie Keenan and Karl Cook.
“Three in a row sounds pretty good,” he said with a grin, referring to team victories this spring at the Longines FEI League of Nations in Ocala and the Nations Cup in Wellington, Fla.
He also pointed out that not only McLain, but also Laura and Lillie were on horses they had never ridden previously in a Nations Cup. Karl was the lone rider who had Cup experience with the mare he rode Friday.
The Cup “was a tough slog from the very beginning,” Robert continued.
“We drew first in the order and we were hoping that would stay true in the end, but it certainly wasn’t easy. After the first round, we knew what we had to do in the second round, and as that was unfolding, we weren’t really creating much of a gap. So we were prepared for a jump-off, but one way or another we were going to try to win this thing!”
Mclain, a member of the winning team in 1997, noted that Vezzani’s style of course designing “always allows us to ride, it’s not about tricks and it’s not hiding jumps. But you had some bold fences, the wall (centered with a statue of a wolf nursing Rome’s founders, Romulus and Remus), the triple out of the corner with the chariot in the way. And then the last line was shifting away from the side, very delicate and that’s always a challenge. This is Rome, an iconic event, and it should be difficult,” he added.
Not only had he not jumped a Nations Cup previously with Imperial, this was his first 1.60 meter class with him.
“Tim Gredley did an incredible job bringing this horse to the highest levels of the sport”, he pointed out.
And he was delighted that his pupil, Lillie Keenan, was the other double-clear. He was surprised, however, when she told the story of how Kick On received his barn name of Ken.
“I got him around my twentieth birthday, when the Barbie movie was coming out and it just seemed right,” she explained. (For those who don’t know, Barbie’s boyfriend was Ken.)
She went on to say how well he is evolving.
“He’s really gone from strength to strength, I took him to the World Cup Finals not long ago and that was at that stage the biggest thing he’d ever seen, and really going into today, he rose to the occasion and I’m so proud of him!”, she said.
Karl Cook, who won the Rolex Grand Prix of Rome with Cara in 2024, said, “Between last year and this year, it’s completely different. When I was here last year, I more or less had no expectations. I remember in the jump-off last year, I just decided whatever was about to happen was just going to happen. That kicked off my whole summer. Without this show last year, the rest of the summer would not have happened,” said Karl, for whom Rome was a precursor to his Olympic experience.
Laura noted that Bisquetta “took a little look at the wall (fence 3) which surprised me, normally she’s super-brave, so I rode her very strong and that made her very strong, so I think that first fence in the middle of the combination (fence 4) came from that. She finished very well and I thought the second round she jumped beautifully. Maybe I was a little free to the plank (fence 9) and she lightly touched it.” The top element went down as a result.
“I could have been better today, but I had great teammates to back me up and I’m excited about Sunday,” she said. Laura will ride Bisquetta in the Rolex Grand Prix while Karl tries for two in a row with Cara. McLain will ride his Olympic horse, Ilex, while Lillie has entered Argan de Beliard.
The stories are amazing. Even those who weren’t in Gladstone, N.J., for the 1993 World Pair Driving Championship have heard what a spectacular competition it was, with a record 23 countries participating at Hamilton Farm, home of the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation.
Although there had been other good combined driving events at Gladstone before and after the championship, nothing else held there ever could match the championship, where the marathon segment was watched by 15,000 spectators. That was a unique experience.
But as time went on, the importance of the driving event in the Pine Meadow section of the property diminished. That’s what happens when supporters move, retire or pass away.
The Gladstone Equestrian Association, founded by the late Finn Caspersen and now headed by James C. Brady III, has sought to rejuvenate competition at the site. Over the weekend, its horse driving trial and combined test (dressage and cones without the marathon) drew 40 entries, the maximum it could handle logistically.
“We’re super-excited because for the first time in probably 10 years, we were completely sold out,” said Christine Siracusa, a volunteer and sponsorship coordinator.
The ground was soaked by torrential rain during the week, so some drivers opted to scratch the marathon and compete in the combined test instead due to mud.
But others, from those driving mini horses (also known as VSEs — very small equines) to pairs of horses, opted to forge ahead in the best sporting tradition.
A small but mighty volunteer base, several of whom had been lending a hand to Gladstone driving events even before the Pair Championship took place, did yeoman work to make the 2025 competition happen.
“Mother nature was not our friend this week. We ended up having three course changes, but our course designer (Bruce Jones) and officials were amazing,” said Christine Siracusa, a coordinator of volunteers and sponsorship.
“The weather couldn’t have been any better” on Saturday and Sunday.
Having some time to dry out, the marathon course “was not as mucky as we thought it would be,” she pointed out.
“I was at the finish line and saw everyone smiling. They were excited, they kept on thanking us for putting on a fabulous event and hopefully, they’ll keep coming back and supporting this event.”
John Layton, the GEA Gladstone Driving president, was thrilled by the number of entries and has big plans for next year. He hopes to reopen and re-do the former George’s Gorge marathon obstacle, fixing it up and renaming it the Gulch of the Northeast. John also wants to see a tailgating destination near there for optimum viewing of the action..
Amie Bauman, who handles the same duties as Christine for the GEA, is a driving professional from Pennsylvania who teaches and trains, as well as competing.
She guided Lois Kennedy’s 5-year-sold VSE stallion, Sundance, to victory in the VSE Single Preliminary, with 113.77 penalties, the best score in any of the Preliminary divisions.
“He’s a natural at it. He has so much talent. He just loves it,” she said of the bold little stallion, who handled the marathon obstacles with energy.
Amie has been coming to the driving event since 1983, the days of fellowship when local legends Bill Orth, George Hoffman, Joe Urso, Norm Sutton and George Millar — all gone now — were competing.
Looking to the future of the event, she said, “It absolutely has to keep going. It’s such a historic piece of property and we don’t really have many driving events in the North anymore.”
She works with the GEA and helps keep up the property for the event.
In that regard, she cited the assistance of Paul Miller Land Rover in fixing roads and cutting down some trees; the USET Foundation and its facility manager Maureen Pethick, who “have been incredible,” hiring a company to fix the roads and helping wherever needed, and the Hamilton Farm Golf Club, which also cut down trees and loaned equipment to the volunteers readying Pine Meadow for the competition.
Amie added, “I just need to give a shout out to the Gladstone Equestrian Association and all the people that are on it, and also all of the volunteers who help. Without them, none of this would happen.”
Shelly Temple, president of the ground jury, believes it’s important for the GEA driving trials to continue.
“The history of this place is incredible. We’ve all competed here every year. The obstacles are still very workable. I think it’s a great show. You have a lot of dedicated people who want to keep it going, a good group to bring it forward and they’re getting sponsors, so I think there’s a lot of potential. There’s a lot possible here. There were new competitors, I didn’t know a lot of them; a lot of young people were here, which I love.”
But she added, “more people need to step up and help this crowd that has kept it going. It’s very important for our sport.”
Competitors’ horses were able to stay in the historic USET stable, elegant with its tile floors and polished brass.
“That’s a great benefit to showing here,” mentioned Shelly, a 2007 team bronze medalist in the World Pony Driving Championships.
Another judge, Lisa Singer, was equally as enthusiastic.
She was National Pairs Champion nine times and a member of the U.S. team at eight World Pair Championships. Lisa no longer drives competitively, but teaches, trains, runs shows, gives clinics and designs courses.
Looking at the roster of competitors on her clipboard, she said, “What was neat was that I only knew three people on this list. There’s a lot of new people, a lot of young people coming. That’s awesome.”
Click here for Horse Trial results. Click here for Combined Test results.
Admit it. Haven’t you always wanted to try eventing, but were intimidated after watching the Badminton and Kentucky 5-stars — ooh, the galloping looks like fun, but those big fences…
How do you make the dream of trying this intriguing discipline a reality? The June 1 Essex Horse Trials offers a perfect chance to begin, if you try the new Starter division at Moorland Farm in Far Hills, N.J. It’s the picturesque home of the Far Hills Race Meeting each October, one of the country’s great steeplechase occasions.
But for the Essex Starter division, the fences cross-country are only 2-feet, 3-inches high. No grobs, banks or ditches here, just straight-forward, inviting jumps.
The Tewksbury Trail Association is having several of the Starter fences built, and after the competition they’ll go back to Christie Hoffman Park where you’ll see them on your trail rides. There’s still an opportunity to provide starter fences. You can even put the name of your company or charity on them if you wish.
For the dressage segment, all competitors need to do is put their horse or pony in a snaffle and be able to walk, trot, canter and do a few circles. Special equipment is not needed, a jumping saddle will be just fine for all three phases.
Oh, and you don’t have to be a member of the U.S. Eventing Association or for that matter, the U.S. Equestrian Federation, if you’re only entered in the Starter section.
This is a great opportunity. You can use it either as a one-off, to say you evented, putting it on Instagram and your resume. Or it could be the springboard to moving up the levels eventually. Either way, you’ll have fun.
Essex, with a history stretching back to 1968, is now a one-day event, which means you don’t have to stable your horse or stay overnight in a hotel.
But it has the feel of a larger competition. There’s free food in the riders’ lounge for participants, owners and parents; a trade fair for a little shopping between phases, and tailgating at the water complex if you prefer to stay on the sidelines and watch. Here’s a link to the Essex website.
“People don’t realize how good this event is,” said Marilyn Payne, who stepped up as the organizer earlier this year when there was concern the event wouldn’t be held again.
“This is the best one-day horse trial in the whole United States,” she declared, citing the amenities mentioned above (and this is an Olympic judge making that comment, so she knows!)
Despite all that Essex has to offer (its levels run through Preliminary) entries are lagging. The closing date is May 27. The opportunity is too good to miss, but it’s much easier for organizers if people get their entries in on time instead of waiting until the last minute, as too often is the case. For more information on the event, click here. Marilyn can be contacted at marilyn@essexhorsetrials.net.
Another plus about Essex is that it gives back beyond the equestrian scene, benefiting the Life Camp in Pottersville, which provides an enriching summer day camp experience for 300 youths daily for six weeks during July and August.
Campers between the ages of 6 and 13 come from the greater Newark public school system, as well as from Newark Charter School Programs. A group of the children attends the horse trials and have a ball with a picnic by the water jump. For most, it’s their first experience being in the countryside, and they love it.
Centenary University’s Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association team did it again.
For 35 years, the team has won the organization’s High Point Hunt Seat Equestrian Championship, which is determined by the total number of points teams accumulated throughout the season. The record had largely gone unnoticed until equestrian historian Steve Maxwell contacted team coach Michael Dowling last month.“Steve is very familiar with our team and our program,” said Michael, who co-coaches the University’s IHSA team with Heather Clark.
“He reached out to share his research showing that we had won the championship for 35 consecutive years, and how very impressed he is with our team and our program. Steve knows his stuff — he attends zones and nationals almost every year — and his data is very accurate.”
The IHSA team competes in approximately eight horse shows per season to accrue points for the Highpoint Hunt Seat team score, while riders also earn points to advance individually to zones and nationals. This year, Centenary was the Zone 3 champion, with Caroline Mancini winning USHJA/High-Point Hunter Seat Rider. The team took third at IHSA National Championships May 2-4 at Tryon International Equestrian Center in North Carolina, placing behind Purdue University and Sacred Heart University.
“What makes this special is that Purdue and Sacred Heart are both D1 schools with significant resources,” noted Centenary President Dr. Dale Caldwell.
“Incredibly, small D3 Centenary beat national athletic powerhouses Stanford University and the University of Southern California. This is a testament to the dedication of Centenary’s riders, coaches, and equestrian faculty. Their hard work has made Centenary one of the nation’s best competitive and academic equestrian programs in the nation.”
In addition to the IHSA team, Centenary hosts an International Dressage Association squad, and just completed the inaugural season of a new NCEA team, which competes through the NCAA. In addition, the University’s Equine Studies Department offers academic major, minor, and certificate programs that involve students in daily operations at the Centenary University Equestrian Center in Long Valley.
“At a larger university, students may have a riding lesson a couple of times a week,” Michael said. “But at Centenary, our students spend most of their downtime at the Equestrian Center, helping to care for and rehab the horses. Here, they become comfortable riding unfamiliar horses — which they often must do in competition — so they’re very prepared. Our students also have a lot of exposure to additional riding opportunities and trainers that may not be available at other universities.”
Heather Clark cited the professional experience of the University’s faculty and coaches as a contributing factor to the program’s extraordinary long-term success: “We’re all very invested in cultivating our students and helping them to reach their goals. Professionally, we’re active members of the equine field. For instance, Michael and I both have our own training facilities and our resident veterinarian, Jesslyn Bryk-Lucy, DVM, has her own practice. Other faculty are stewards and judges. We have such deep faculty expertise and are all committed to developing Centenary riders, competitively and academically.”
“Cultivating young professionals is really what Centenary is all about,” agreed Kelly Munz, chair of the Equine Studies Department, noting that undergraduates routinely encounter between 20 and 30 working alumni at horse shows around the country.
“While we welcome successful junior riders, we’re just as interested in developing the talents and passions of riders of all abilities. When we traveled to nationals in May, we transported between 14 and 18 of our horses to the competition. It’s a major effort that will provide amazing professional experience, not just for our competing riders, but also for those students who will be caring for and schooling the horses. This is very much a team effort.”
It was a great day for the Irish at the $135,000 Old Salem Farm Grand Prix on Sunday in New York.
But it wasn’t the luck of the Irish that had riders from the Emerald Isle finishing first through fourth in the class, according to course designer Alan Wade — who also happens to be Irish.
“I think they just rode better on the day,” he said of winner Jordan Coyle, runner-up Darragh Kenny (who was third as well) and Philip McGuane, in the class presented by the Kincade Group/UBS Financial Service Inc.
“Nationalities don’t come into it. They were three good riders and they’re very hard to beat when they go double clear. They’re riding some nice horses, too,” Alan pointed out.
Jordan was second to go in the 11-horse jump-off, culled from a first-round group of 34 entries from seven countries, but neither his countrymen (or anyone else) could match his slick time of 34.67 seconds on the 10-year-old Dutchbred mare, Keep Me With You NC. Darragh was closest but still far away with Amsterdam (36.33) and just a little slower on Zero K (36.80), while Philip McGuane clinched fourth on Orphea HQ (37.28).
Jordan suggested that Darragh hadn’t proceeded at top speed in his round against the clock with Amsterdam.
“I don’t think he gave it 110 percent, like we normally do, but he was also with a very good horse. He’s probably thinking of very good days to come, too,” Jordan said.
After the victory gallop, Jordan reminisced about his ties to Old Salem, where he had worked at the beginning of his career and lived in a bedroom above the barn. It’s a real Cinderfella story. But let him tell you about it: click on this video clip.
Announcer Peter Doubleday offered a tribute before the class to the late announcer Mike Moran, who died earlier this year. It was pointed out that Mike, who also had Irish roots, would have been thrilled with the results.
Alan, who was assisted by Paul Jewell in laying out the route around Old Salem’s massive arena, noted that since it was transformed from a grass ring to an all-weather surface, “the ground is excellent.”
That was proven when torrential rain on Friday led to cancellation of classes, but by Saturday, the footing was perfect again. The last time I visited Old Salem, the arena had a grass surface, which was more problematical in heavy rain.
Scott Hakim, the president of Old Salem, explained his thoughts about the transformation of the arena in this video clip.
The grand prix course had what I call a dog leg, a line that went off to the side on an area that juts out, because the ring is a unique shape.
“It’s different,” Alan agreed, explaining it couldn’t be a more conventional shape because the giant oak tree on one side had to have its roots preserved. Hence the detour.
Fabulous buffets are a VIP tent trademark at Old Salem.
It was a great day not only for the Irish, but also for everyone else who came to watch the action at the spectacular facility nestled in the heart of Westchester County’s stunning horse country.
The weather couldn’t have been better, with sparkling sunshine and a perfect temperature of 72 degrees.
The flowering trees and people watching from the grassy hillside along the ring made a lovely picture.
Admission is free, which is an enormous plus in terms of bringing in more people to appreciate horse sport.
Old Salem means a lot to many people, because so many riders still in the area started their careers there.
Katie Dinan, the highest-placed U.S. rider at the Longines FEI World Cup Show Jumping Finals last month, recalled her earliest memory of Old Salem as we chatted outside the arena during a break in the grand prix.
“I must have been about six, and I did my first walk-trot here. And I never trotted, I couldn’t get my pony to trot, it was really a walk class for me. That was my big debut; I wasn’t successful, but I still loved it,” Katie smiled, as she told me about it.
She added, “It’s a regular stop on our calendar, probably since 2001. The show is great; the ring now is great. They’ve stepped up every year, FEI level. It’s just a pleasure to be here. It’s really nice that we can compete at such a high caliber that close to home. There are so many great horses and riders in this area.”
Scott Hakim also grew up riding at Old Salem, and naturally the place is close to his heart. Click on this video clip to find out more.
Since it was founded in 1964, Old Salem has had quite a history, along with several different names. Former owners of the 120 acres included actor Paul Newman and his wife, actress Joanne Woodward.
With so much open land in the New York metropolitan area falling prey to development, it’s wonderful see a place like Old Salem not only persisting, but also excelling; bringing top riders to a facility worthy of them and their horses, while welcoming the community to enjoy equestrian sport.
Olympic dressage and World Championships team medalist Steffen Peters is offering a two-day clinic June 7 and 8 at the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation in Gladstone, N.J.
Auditors can enjoy the rare opportunity to learn from the former World Cup champion for a fee of $60 per day. One of the USA’s most decorated competitors and a mainstay of its team for nearly three decades, Steffen is known for his supportive teaching style as he offers instruction on the ways for horse and rider to improve their performance.
Lidiya Frumova, who is organizing the sessions, noted that Steffen does only a few audited clinics annually. So the amateur trainer noted proudly how happy she is that he agreed to come from the other side of the country for the occasion.
There is a waiting list for participants, who are eager to ride in front of Steffen. However, as Lidiya noted, just being able to audit the clinic with the California-based rider is a valuable learning opportunity. Steffen will work for an hour with each rider, who range from First Level to Grand Prix.
Vendors will be on site with wares including boots, saddles and apparel.
