by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 23, 2019
The Pittstown Trail Association is presenting its Trail Obstacle Challenge Aug. 17 at Finn Park, 36 Perryville Road, Pittstown from 8-11 a.m.
The course of approximately 3.5 miles will offer several fun and unique trail obstacles. Children are welcome. The event is beginner- horse and -rider friendly, with go-arounds for all obstacles.
You may ride alone or in groups of up to five, but riders are judged individually.
All finishers will get one raffle ticket for each completed obstacle. Raffle tickets will be used for prize raffles. The drawing is at noon. Winners must be present or have someone available to pick up the prize.
To pre-register (optional) or for questions, email Sandy at SANDY.HOWLS@GMAIL.COM or call 908-303-7955.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 19, 2019
We’re all feeling the heat, but don’t just duck into the air conditioning and fail to consider your horse.
The Liberty Side-Saddle Network cancelled its shows this weekend, which were set for the USET Foundation in Gladstone, because of concerns over horse and human welfare.
Princeton Show Jumping in Skillman sent an email advising that while its show this weekend will continue, there will be adjustments to the schedule “as dictated by weather and conditions. The decision whether to compete will be left to individual riders and trainers. Please use good judgment and consider the health and welfare of your horse first. Don’t forget to take good care of yourselves too!”
Princeton also passed along some tips from the Running S Equine veterinary clinic in Tewksbury:
- Be aware of the temperature and heat index. Try to work in the cool of the day. If your class is in the heat of the day, it is wise not to compete, unless you know your horse is very fit and handles the heat well. Some horses are very stressed by extremes in heat and humidity.
- Provide plenty of cool, fresh water and shade to your horse as often as you can.
- Sponge baths with a little alcohol in the water in front of a fan are a great way to cool your horse down. Remember to remove the water with a sweat scraper as you sponge or hose your horse off. Ice water is fine to use, especially on the head and neck and between the back legs.
- Provide electrolytes, either free choice in a block or granular, or with a good-quality paste. Horses lose a great deal of sodium and chloride in their sweat and these need to be replaced.
- When riding or exercising your horse, pay close attention to whether they are sweating. If they are not, stop exercising and get them to shade and cool conditions quickly.
- Pay close attention to your horse in the heat and do not continue if your horse appears stressed or tired.
Manhattan Saddlery put out a recipe that could give your horse a cooling boost with frozen treats.It’s easy enough for you to grab a slushie, popsicle, ice cream cone or frozen margarita, but what about your horse?
It’s a snap to make horse popsicles, and any help with hot weather hydration is a plus, so why not give it a try. There are myriad recipes online (and some really bad videos on YouTube…), but it is this simple: Fill a plastic cup or food storage container with some apple and carrot chunks, add a bit of gatorade or unsweetened apple juice diluted with water, freeze, remove cup and serve.
Mix it up the way you want–grate the carrots/apples and add some oats, include a dollop of unsweetened applesauce, a couple of peppermints or a spoonful of molasses. Just make sure the ingredients are all horse-safe, and not too sugary. You can put the popsicle in your horse’s feed tub, or hand feed (freeze a carrot in the center as a “stick” to hold).
If your horse doesn’t engage with the popsicle, he/she will likely eat all the chilled fruit and veggie chunks after it melts.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 19, 2019
There are summer camps for nearly every pursuit these days, whether it’s surfing, movie-making, weight loss or archeology. But one of the most unusual is Camp Leaping Horn, the annual side-saddle gathering that wrapped up today at the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation headquarters in Gladstone.
Everyone at the camp came to side-saddle in a different way. Jen Stevenson, the camp organizer, passed a sign for a clinic being posted at her barn seven years ago by Shelley Liggett, who was president of the International Side-Saddle Organization (ISO). When Shelley asked if she would attend, Jen said no–then walked 10 steps before remembering that she was getting married in a few months and wanted to go down the aisle on horseback.
“I had seen all these horrifying videos of brides being run off with,” said Jen, who quickly decided the clinic was a good idea, even though she only wanted to learn how to “get on, get off and survive my wedding day. But by the end of it, we were trotting and cantering and having a blast.”
Jen, who owns Paws and Rewind Photography, “got swept into the ISO,” so much so that after running the camp with Shelley in 2018, she took it on by herself this year.
Virginia Hankins came from California to ride side-saddle at the USET Foundation.
The leaping horn, in case you’re wondering, is the second pommel on a side-saddle, curved to enclose the left leg, while the right leg goes over the horn, or top pommel. The leaping horn provides a greater measure of security for the rider.
A closeup of a side-saddle and the leaping horn.
“The ladies of camp are the most welcoming, inclusive, unique group of women I’ve ever met,” said Jen, who wasn’t exaggerating, considering those in attendance include a professional mermaid and a female jouster. The camp drew 18 riders and nine auditors from as far away as California, Wisconsin and North Carolina.
A few years ago, Shelley told me why she started the camp.
“I thought side-saddle riders needed to get together more often in a casual environment, as opposed to a show, which is more stressful,” she explained.
“There also was a definite need for education and information.”
Not only were campers learning about riding side-saddle this week, they enjoyed speakers—including a judge talking about side-saddle from her perspective–and got lessons in make-up and costuming (many side-saddle riders are re-enactors, take their horses in parades or participate in festivals). They also got schooled in the dress appropriate for fox hunting or showing and enjoyed many other components that make up this unique experience.
Stunt actress Virginia Hankins came all the way from California for her side-saddle fix after learning how to ride side-saddle at last year’s camp.
“Where I am in Los Angeles, there aren’t any good trainers for sidesaddle,” said Virginia, who said someone might put a western saddle on a horse and just tell the rider to throw her leg over the horn if she wanted to try side-saddle. Coming to the camp enables her to get tips from instructors and work alongside like-minded riders, although no one else is teaching their horse to handle a side-saddle rider in a mermaid’s tail. That took training, Virginia noted, since the tail would slap along as her horse, Milo, walked out in his role as a unicorn.
She didn’t bring horse or saddle to camp, but it was arranged for her to borrow a saddle and lease Macaroni, the very patient Wonder Pony, as she called him. Virginia, who has been riding since she was five, founded a company called Sheroes that provides mermaids and pirates for entertainment and private parties. She was in the movie “Star Trek into Darkness,” and served as the mermaid trainer for the 30th anniversary of “The Little Mermaid.”
The support of the other campers, who keep in touch during the year, is very important to her.
“Their philosophy is, `Why shouldn’t you? If you have an interest in it, if you have a passion for it, just do it.’ They’re right behind you.”
Virginia was taking a lesson from Angela Alutin, a former master of the Windy Hollow Hunt. Angela was inspired by tales of her great-grandmother riding side-saddle up a mountain to a fancy hotel in her Tennessee town. Her husband, Ken, whom she married last month at the Essex Horse Trials, told her of a side-saddle clinic at Red Tail Farm in Bedminster six years ago that introduced her to a new world. She got a side-saddle on permanent loan from a friend, Anne Van den Berg, and her involvement really took off.
“Side-saddle has allowed me to go foxhunting all over the East Coast,” said Angela. “There’s a sisterhood, we’re all good friends and help each other, which is so unusual in the horse world.”
Angela Alutin out with the Essex Foxhounds riding sidesaddle.
Asked about the appeal of side-saddle, she responded with, “the elegance, the tradition. It’s like getting a Barbie doll and all the outfits for it.”
But despite that, riding side-saddle isn’t frivolous.
“It’s hard, it’s a challenge and it’s something else you can do with your horse. This is not the type of discipline you do with a green horse,” noted Angela, saying it’s something to try on an animal with which you have a seasoned partnership.
And what makes it hard?
“The way you hold on is by bringing your right leg to your left knee, this is the grip. You don’t do this in anything else, riding.”
Kate Hopkins, who studied fashion design in college, was the costume queen of the camp. She started riding one of the horses used by her father for his logging business in Maine, then stopped riding in the sixth grade. She always wanted to go back to it, though.
After she and her husband, Robert, visited a Renaissance fair, they talked about getting involved with horses but knew the equines had to earn their keep. So they came up with the idea of a jousting company. (I’ll bet you never thought of doing that to make your horses pay their way…)
Side-saddle plays a big role in the life of Kate Hopkins, one of the participants in Camp Leaping Horn.
Round Table Productions uses rescue horses and serviceably sound horses who can’t compete in shows anymore. Kate, who has trained lions and other large cats, trains the horses with patience and respect.
“I had always wanted to ride side-saddle,” Kate said, recounting her reason for getting involved with it 15 years ago at one of Shelley’s clinics.
“I am the proverbial child who wanted to be a princess when I grew up. Princesses ride side-saddle all the time, preferably on unicorns. I get to do all these super-cool things, and it’s even better when it’s done in a side-saddle.”
She’s made movie appearances, including one in “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” with Nicholas Cage.
Jeannie Whited, a museum specialist at the Smithsonian, was among those giving lessons at the camp. She remembered her inspiration for getting involved in side-saddle came when she was eight at a dressage show, where she spotted a woman in a black habit on a gray horse.
“That was all I could see,” she recalled, repeating exactly what she thought at the time: “I want to be her.”
You don’t need a fancy horse to ride side-saddle. North Carolina veterinarian Laureen Bartfield goes side-saddle on her very versatile mustang, Diesel. She rides the former reining horse aside for a variety of pursuits, including hunter paces and working cows (for which she has a western side-saddle.)
Laureen Bartfield and Diesel in the USET Foundation stable.
Explaining why she has trailered 12 hours from her home to get to camp every year since it began, she said, “I love it because of the friendships I form when I come here, and let’s face it, you get to play dress-up,” said Laureen, who has a 110-year-old vintage habit to wear in shows.
“It’s so elegant and lady-like and there’s not much else in my life that’s ladylike,” added the vet, who is involved with a mobile spay-neuter operation that addresses pet overpopulation, serving the low-income pet owner.
She enjoys housing Diesel in the elegant USET Foundation stables. “Just to be able to stay here, he’s a mustang, in this hall of fame. I camp out in the north field. It’s a whole vacation for me. My email says I am not texting, phoning, goodbye.”
Amy Magee was sitting on the floor of the rotunda, near where vendors displayed their wares, repairing a side-saddle. Amy, who works as a nurse, has been riding side-saddle for 30 years but couldn’t find anyone to repair her saddle. So she learned how to do it herself after learning leather working from a saddler. Most saddlers don’t want to repair side-saddles, because of the time involved; there are no quick fixes as there would be with a modern astride saddle.
Amy Magee works on a side-saddle during camp. (Photo©2019 by Nancy Jaffer)
“You open them up and 10 other things fall apart, this piece falls off and that piece falls off. They’re old. I wish they could talk to me,” Amy said.
“World War II crushed the side-saddles because women started riding astride and all the skilled artisan craftsmen went off to fight the war and never came back.” Some of the companies that made side-saddles also didn’t survive, so the pre-war saddles must be treasured and preserved.
She rides her Hanoverian, Little Lady, in a side-saddle, doing everything from eventing, point-to-points and dressage to hunting and showing. Amy had ridden side-saddle for 30 years, but really focused on it when a horse reared up and fell over on her in 2001. Ending up with a crushed pelvis and broken back, she found the side-saddle more comfortable for her when she resumed riding..
Participants were supposed to demonstrate their improved skills at the Liberty International Side-Saddle Network shows this weekend, but in the interest of horse and rider safety, they were cancelled due to the excessive heat wave.
A regular instructor at the camp had been Roger Philpot of Great Britain. For nine years, he served as head of that nation’s prestigious Side Saddle Association, and spent more than two decades teaching in the U.S.
A tribute to the late Roger Philpot at Camp Leaping Horn.
He had talked to Jen about starting a Camp Leaping Horn in the United Kingdom, but sadly died last year before that could be accomplished.
An award in his name for the most improved rider was presented to camper Abigail Thurston, a cardiothoracic pediatric nurse-anaesthetist.
Jen is buying a farm in Stockton, where she hopes to run another clinic this fall and have more regular side-saddle get-togethers before the next Camp Leaping Horn.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 13, 2019
Phillip Dutton will be riding Z this week on the U.S. eventing Nations Cup team in Aachen, Germany, one of the world’s most prestigious competitions.
But last week, it was business as usual for the Olympic individual bronze medalist, who came to Tewksbury to share his knowledge with riders at varying stages of development, from Advanced down to the lower levels. He gave a clinic at the Heron’s Landing stable, run by Heather Gillette at Ruby’s Meadow, the old Hill & Dale Farm that is now owned by eventing competitor Jacques Foussard.
Meg Kepferle and Heather Gillette with clinician Phillip Dutton. (Photo©2019 by Nancy Jaffer)
But what, I wondered, do you do when you only have 45 minutes or so to work with two or three riders before moving on to the next group?
With an emphasis on correctness, Phillip said he tries “to do a little bit on the flat; simple stuff, where you get your horse to ride through a turn, keep him off your inside leg and adjust, being able to go forward and back.” Then it was time to do the same with the jumping.
“There’s a common thread between the dressage, the show jumping and the cross-country. You don’t do your dressage work and forget about it for the jumping,” said the two-time Olympic team gold medalist. “We do some cross-country exercises with fall-down jumps, and some basic show jumping.”
A serpentine exercise involved three jumps, coming from an oxer (think of it as a corner on a cross-country course) to a vertical in three or four strides, “holding a line on the horse so you’re coming into the jump (vertical) on an angle to make the line work,” as Phillip put it. After that, it was three strides to another oxer.
Jacques Foussard angles Miss Ruby Cooley over the vertical. (Photo©2019 by Nancy Jaffer)
“The difficulty is holding the line and the horse understanding he can come into a jump on an angle and stay on the line that the rider brings him in on,” Phillip told me. That involves “the horse trusting the rider (so) they’re doing what they’re asked to do.”
He believes, “Most horses want to do the right thing. It’s just a case of getting them to understand. Most of the time, it’s usually not enough understanding from leg to hand. Your horse can’t ignore you when you say, `Okay, move forward’ or when you say, `let’s shorten up,’ because if they do (ignore you) and the jump’s there, it’s a problem. You’ve got to get that communication and trust going. I find with horses, it’s all repetition. It’s also coordination with the horses as well, that they have to learn to do it athletically.”
I often heard Phillip calling out the word “travel” as he worked with the participants, so I asked him what that was about.
“It means you’ve got to keep coming forward,” he explained.
“A lot of riders’ natural tendency coming to a jump is to be tentative and hold back. Our job as a rider is to give the horse confidence. The analogy is if you’re in a car with someone who’s driving, you get a feeling whether you’re safe in that car or not. The horse has to get this feeling from you, that safety, security and confidence. Coming into a jump, traveling or going somewhere and being definite about your ride in is what you’re trying to get across to your horse. Coming in tentatively or holding back, that doesn’t send that good message to your horse.”
As Phillip noted, “If you gallop on, get the horse going forward, it’s much easier to see a distance because your horse is in front of you or thinking forward, rather than holding back. Especially at home, you’ve got to get away from just relying on your hand to get to the jump, but rather, riding up to the jump.”
The first to work with Phillip were Heather, on Vincent Chase, an off-the-track thoroughbred, and Meg Kepferle on Anakin, third last month in the Advanced Division at the MARS Essex Horse Trials. Meg and Anakin will be following up their debut in that section at the Millbrook, N.Y. event next month.
Phillip Dutton offers advice as Meg Kepferle takes Anakin over an oxer. (Photo©2018 by Nancy Jaffer)
“I need to be better than I am because my horse is better than I’m riding,” said Meg, explaining why she’s going to put an emphasis on lessons like the one she had with Phillip.
“My horse felt a lot more tired jumping 2-6, 3-foot rideability questions than he would jumping a big track. Jumping big is easy for him,” said Meg.
“You don’t have to jump big jumps to get better; you have to make an adjustable horse. You want these tools available for you, not just luck and an honest horse.”
Meg, who was the head groom and barn manager for international rider Sinead Halpin before opening her Mountainview operation in Long Valley, noted straightness has always been an issue for herself and her mount.
“He has a wicked right drift and I have a bit of a weak right leg,” she explained. The antidote? “All day long, square turns.”
“Phil’s the best of the best,” Meg said. “He knows how to read the horse and rider and the situation really well. It’s a privilege to be able to ride with someone like this. It’s kind of nice that he’s come to New Jersey. I hope he comes back.”
When I asked Meg if there was anything else she wanted to share, she replied, “People should know they don’t have to be wanting to go to the Olympics to ride with an Olympian. It’s important that they think they are approachable, because they really are, and they have a lot of good things to say.”
Heather wanted to bring Phillip to the farm because she rode with him when she was working with other horses. It was time for Vinnie, who has competed once at Preliminary level, to crank up, “so call Phillip,” she said, noting she also wanted to share his expertise with her students.
Phillip encouraged Heather and Vinnie. (Photo©2019 by Nancy Jaffer)
Since she is a judge and technical delegate, Heather is juggling a lot of things, which meant she was happy to have Phillip come to her instead of having her go to his place in Pennsylvania. Heather also is busy with lessons and barn renovations.
“We’re bringing the old farm back to life,” she said.
She told me that one of the things she learned from working with Phillip is that the serpentine line needs to be incorporated in Vinnie’s training. And “Instead of whoaing and turning,” she needs “to sort of keep coming through the turns and use a more open rein.
“I have a very nice young horse who wants to try hard but needs to be a little more rideable. I have to challenge him a little more, I need to be less of his protective mom and more, `If you’re going to be a big boy, step up and do it.’”
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 13, 2019
Dear Readers: We’re revamping this website to improve its appearance and readability. It’s a bit of a process, so we’re still doing some tinkering. But you probably won’t notice, and everything — On the Rail, New Jersey Activities Schedule and features — are all available. We will be having two features instead of one on the front page now. I hope you like what we’ve done.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 10, 2019
Jumper riders missed the Devon Fall Classic last year when it went on hiatus. So they’re overjoyed to know it’s coming back this year Sept. 12-15 at the showgrounds in Devon, Pa., the home of the spring Devon show.
While the feature is a $25,000 grand prix, there’s something for everyone. That includes the Zone 2 (Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York) championships–children’s and adult amateur jumpers, junior and amateur-owner jumpers, young jumpers and thoroughbred jumpers.
There also will be plenty of entertainment, carnival games, rides and all kinds of food and shopping.
The just action keeps going at the showgrounds on Route 30, where Dressage at Devon will run Sept. 24-29.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 9, 2019
After nearly a quarter-century in Pennsylvania, Kevin Babington has set up shop in New Jersey again.
The Irish show jumper is now based at Hayley and Toby Carlson’s Ketcham Farm at Cream Ridge in Monmouth County, where he received a hero’s welcome last night with a surprise party. It was a celebration for his sweep of top placings in Sunday’s $100,000 Great American Insurance Group Grand Prix presented by Aon, as the Lake Placid, N.Y., horse shows ended their two-week run.
Kevin won with Shorapur (the runner-up in the previous Sunday’s $100,000 grand prix), was second on Debra Wycoff’s Super Chilled and third with his own veteran campaigner, Mark Q. He was the only rider to go fault-free in the seven-horse jump-off on the turf, his favorite type of footing.
Kevin on his way to victory with Shorapur at Lake Placid. (Photo by The Book LLC)
“I love the grass, so I think the horses sort of feed off that a little bit. Everything was aligned and it worked out. I’m still in a bit of shock,” Kevin acknowledged, but adding about his trifecta, “I never would have called it.”
His record at the show earned him the Richard and Diana Feldman Perpetual Challenge Trophy for Excellence and $2,000 as the rider winning the most prize money in the two grands prix.
Not surprisingly, he’s a fan of competing at Lake Placid (For more on the show, see the first On the Rail item on this website)
“I love it. It’s such a good atmosphere. I find it different than any other show in the country. People who have been going there have been going there forever,” he noted. “They go to make a holiday out of it.”
The youngest of 11 children and the grandson of a horse trainer, Kevin started riding at the age of nine at his home in Tipperary, inspired by the show jumping he watched on television. His heroes were the famous Irish international riders Eddie Macken and Paul Darragh, but he also had an eventing and dressage background. Kevin trained with Iris Kellett, an Irish horsewoman known around the world before coming to America.
He worked briefly for Beezie and John Madden before getting a job at Frank and Mary Chapot’s Chado Farms in Neshanic Station in 1989. His job was to ride the young horses. Logging time at local show gave him the advantage of getting mileage in the ring that he lacked with a background in dressage and eventing.
Kevin learned from Frank (who had been the U.S. Equestrian Team’s show jumping squad captain) to “let the horses think for themselves. They can either jump or they can’t jump.”
While he was at the Chapots’ farm, he went to a local show where he met his wife, Dianna, who lived a mile down the road. Since Kevin only worked until noon every day at Chado, he was able to start a freelance business in the afternoons.
After 2 and ½ years with the Chapots, he opened his own operations in Quakertown and Stockton. In 1996, he moved to Pennsylvania, where he worked with Saly Glassman who partnered with him on his most successful horse, Carling King.
It was aboard the Irishbred chestnut that he jumped a 4/0 in his first Nations Cup (at Aachen, no less!), won Great Britain’s King George V Gold Cup, finished fourth in the 2004 Olympics and wound up eighth in the 2002 World Equestrian Games.
Kevin on Carling King at the 2004 Olympics, where he finished fourth. (Photo©2004 by Nancy Jaffer)
In recent years, Kevin and Saly had been doing different circuits, so when the Carsons offered him a spot at their place, he was ready to move back to New Jersey.
“The time was right,” he explained.
In addition to finding the farm’s central location convenient to highways in horsey area near a lot of shows (expect to see him at Princeton Show Jumping competitions in the next few weeks) he has found the perfect setting for training.
“The facility (a former standardbred farm) is a horseman’s dream,” said Kevin. It has a half-mile grass track and an all-weather track (good for a warm-up to get horses “a little in their own balance”), as well as a seven-acre grand prix field, and big indoor and outdoor arenas.
The 2016 Devon grand prix went to Kevin on Mark Q. (Photo©2016 by Nancy Jaffer)
Kevin also operates a Florida farm, but he likes having a northern base. Dianna, who formerly practiced law, helps with the teaching. Their daughters Gwyneth, 16, and Marielle, 13, are also successful riders.
Kevin walks a course with his daughter Gwyneth, who also rides jumpers. (Photo©2019 by Nancy Jaffer)
In addition to his three grand prix horses, he has a group of up-and-coming mounts: Call Me Ruth; also Carrick, named after the town Kevin came from in Ireland, and a mare nicknamed Chip. They are owned by Diane Thomas and Vivian Day. Diane is also part of the group that owns Shorapur.
Kevin no longer travels to Europe to compete as often as he once did. “I’m not overly focused on that because I have a nice group of horses but I don’t have a championship horse,” he pointed out.
Staying abroad to compete, “you sacrifice a lot,” he noted, then quickly added, “I don’t regret a minute of it, it put me on the map, but it does put a lot of strain on your business and your family.
“There are so many good riders with good horses on the Irish team at the moment that I need to be a realist about it,” he observed. At the same time, Kevin pointed out, “Now that we have so many nice FEI shows in the U.S. I don’t feel the urge to go to Europe.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 8, 2019
Young riders will have a chance to experience the college equestrian competition format and win scholarships at New Jersey’s College Preparatory Invitational Sept. 21-22 at The Ridge at Riverview in Asbury.
Founded in 2010, CPI not only educates hunter seat student-athletes about competition, it also provides them with resources to make connections and weigh options that can enrich their college experience. In addition, participants in grades eight through 12 can participate in clinics and educational presentations led by top competitors and leaders in the equine industry.
Academic excellence and social integrity are part of the equestrian experience through the CPI Scholarship and Educational Fund. Student riders can earn scholarships via equitation competition at a CPI event, academic achievement and community service. CPI also produces CPI College Spotlight events for colleges and universities seeking to recruit equestrian students.
The CPI Horse Show requires that all participants have a trainer on site to coach them during a CPI competition. If a student’s trainer is not available to coach the participant, the CPI provides the option for an experienced coach such as Heather Clark, co-coach of the Centenary University equestrian team and assistant professor of equine science.
She will serve as clinician and CPI “Hire-a-Coach” at the New Jersey show.
“I feel CPI is a wonderful program,” Heather said. “It gives the students insight into what the colleges and universities have to offer in their equine programs. Being a coach for CPI, I will be able to share my approaches to and experience of catch riding.”
Since joining Centenary in 2007, Heather has helped coach its Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association team to three national championships, and a reserve title and helped produce three Cacchione Cup champions.
Earlier in her career, she was a show and sales barn rider/trainer for dealer Alan Waldman in the Netherlands. Heather served as the assistant rider, trainer, and road manager for Andre Dignelli of Heritage Farm, and also as the assistant rider/trainer for Nona Garson, who runs The Ridge at Riverview.
To learn more about the CPI, visit collegeprepinvitational.com.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 8, 2019
Most horse shows allow riders little time for relaxation these days, what with evening classes, ranking points and plenty of cash on the line.
But the two weeks of showing at Lake Placid, which just marked its 50th anniversary, enables those taking part to combine a vacation with competition. It’s known as a family destination, offering opportunities for boating, hiking, fishing and kicking back in the scenic beauty of the Adirondacks.
The U.S. Equestrian Federation Heritage Show has quite a history. The grand prix winners over the years have included many of the best horse/rider combinations in the country, from Rodney Jenkins and Idle Dice to Michael Matz with Jet Run and Leslie Burr Howard on Albany. The final Olympic selection trials for the 1984 and 1988 Olympics were at Lake Placid.
While the show struggled at one time, noted Lake Placid’s chairman, Philip Richter, it has since found itself and people have come back in droves. It turned around in recent years despite a crowded calendar, with such major big money shows as Canada’s Spruce Meadows, the Great Lakes shows in Michigan and Tryon in North Carolina on its dates. Even so, there were so many entries at Lake Placid this year that 100 horses had to be turned away because the facility was at capacity.
“It’s just a reaffirmation of how different these two weeks are from the run-of-the-mill shows,” Philip maintains, noting that people get tired when they camp out for months at a showgrounds.
At Lake Placid, “people enjoy a vacation with their horses. It’s short, it’s special with some great competition,” he said, noting both grands prix are now $100,000 classes on turf. That’s indicative of the money that has been put into the show over the last few years, with $1 million spent three years ago on all-weather footing. Last year, $200,000 was devoted to a new ring with all-weather footing.
Lake Placid Chairman Philip Richter (left) does a little of everything at the show, from making presentations to competing in the amateur-owner jumpers and insuring things run the way they should. (Photo by The Book LLC)
“We have to keep reinvesting in the grounds,” said Philip, “Our view is that having a bunch of money in the bank isn’t doing us any good. We’re not in the business of making a profit for profit’s sake; we’re in the business of reinvesting in the grounds and having the exhibitors come back again.”
Improvements on the horizon include increasing the power to industrial grade to cope with demands such as fans, microwaves. refrigerators and a variety of devices used in the stables.
Philip also wants to improve the drainage in the wash rack area and take steps for the show to end earlier in the day so people can have more time to enjoy their surroundings.
“We know we have to improve a lot,” said Philip, but he added, “There’s a lot of low-hanging fruit.
“We’re working on various three- to five- to 10-year plans for the horse show,” he explained, noting long term that also includes looking at making Lake Placid an FEI (international equestrian federation) show. If the sport continues to move that way, he pointed out, “we can’t ignore that.” However, at present, it doesn’t have the amount of land necessary for all the stabling and rings required.
“We strategically really have to be on our toes and understand how the sport is changing and change with it if appropriate,” said Philip.
“Changing with the times” also means an upgrade to the food at the show, with more healthy and vegetarian options, and updating the clothing and accessories sold in the show’s store.
Another goal is to get some of the grant money that New York State has allocated for the Adirondack State Park. The process should be helped by the results of a study from the State University of New York at Buffalo about the show’s economic impact on the Adirondack region.
Two years ago, Philip succeeded the late Richard Feldman, the captain of the show for decades who was revered for his dedication to it. The show is now run under a different operating structure, an executive committee of five members—including Philip, Collin McNeil, Louis Jacobs, Tim Hooker and Brian Sweeney–who make decisions that must be approved by the board of directors, which includes new, younger people who are actively involved in the show.
“There’s so much history and heritage in these rings,” said Philip.
“We’re trying to keep the nucleus of what we’ve got, but modernize and improve every day and aggressively go after some of these things that can continue to make the show competitive.”
–Nancy Jaffer
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 5, 2019
Mane Stream in Oldwick is seeking volunteers age 14 or older to provide support with Equine Assisted Activities for individuals with special needs. Duties include grooming and tacking up the horses, as well as assisting riders and therapy clients during riding lessons and therapy sessions. Prior experience with horses is not necessary in order to become a volunteer.
A 2 and 1/2-hour orientation and training session is mandatory to ensure the safety of participants. The session will provide an overview of the programs offered by Mane Stream and explain the responsibilities of a volunteer. The follow-up training session will provide a closer look at horse behavior and will involve hands-on practice of the skills introduced at orientation. Come 45 minutes earlier and complete the camp training all in one day to be ready for next summer.
The orientation and training schedule: Aug. 22, 6:30-9 p.m.; Sept. 21 3-5:30 p.m., Oct. 22, 6:30-9 p.m. Camp Trainings is held 45 min before each Orientation & Training
It is important to register as soon as possible as orientation and training is limited to 16 people. For more information or to register for an orientation and training session, go to the website and create your volunteer profile at www.manestreamnj.org or call volunteer coordinator, Rebecca Jablonski at (908) 439-9636.
Mane Stream is a non-profit registered charitable organization whose mission is to improve the quality of life for individuals with physical, developmental, emotional and medical challenges through a diverse program of equine-assisted activities, therapy services and educational initiatives. Mane Stream is designated as a Premier Accredited Center of PATH: Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship, International, which provides education, accreditation and resources for the equine-assisted activities industry.
