by Nancy Jaffer | Feb 16, 2017
Riding with HEART is looking for donations of tack and riding gear for its spring tack sale April 1-2. All donations are tax deductible. Items needed include saddles, bridles, halters, blankets, turnouts, riding jackets, breeches, tack trunks, barn equipment, even horse trailers – – basically anything for the horse, rider, or barn. Horse-related home goods are also appreciate.
Bring donations to the RWH farm, 639 County Road 513 just west of Pittstown, Mondays through Fridays from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. or Saturdays from 10 a.m. to noon. Call 908-735-5912 before you come or to set up an alternative drop-off time.
The sale runs from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. April 1 and noon to 3 p.m. the nextday, when there will also will be a half-price sale on selected items.
by Nancy Jaffer | Feb 14, 2017
Dr. John Steele was inducted into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame in 2009. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
The word “legend” is often overused, but in the case of Dr. John Steele, it’s a completely accurate description of a veterinarian whose remarkable reputation was no exaggeration.
Dr. Steele, who died last week at the age of 91, continued his practice until the end with never a thought of retiring.
“Rest and you rust; motion is lotion,” he said to me a few years ago, and while he was discussing a prescription for his equine patients at the time, it applied to him as well. He was never one to sit on the sidelines; involvement was his tonic.
While his skill at diagnosis and treatment brought him a roster of famous patients, he was someone to whom all horses mattered.
As he once told Jennifer Calder in the Chronicle of the Horse, “To me, the most important thing about my life is the horse. They are good for me and I will be good to them. That is my goal until the day I day.”
The animals Doc treated included such boldface names as Gem Twist, Authentic, Eros, Glasgow and Indigo, but he grew up on a farm where his first equine contact was with draft horses. He also became involved with standardbreds because his father loved harness racers.
Graduating in 1946 from Cornell University’s veterinary college, he went back there as the school’s youngest assistant professor.But it was in private practice where he made his name. Dr. John Steele & Associates is located in Vernon, N.Y., and he also spent winters in Wellington, Fla., to serve his clients.
Dr. Steele is survived by his wife, Suzanne; five children, seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
A celebration of his life is planned for 6-8 p.m. Monday, March 13 at the Patio at Polo in the Polo Club, 11198 Polo Club Road, Wellington, Fla. Everyone is welcome to attend and share memories and photos. RSVP to johnsteelememorial@gmail.com.
Those who wish to make a contribution in Doc’s memory should consider the John R. Steele ’46 Graduate Scholarship Fund established in his honor at Cornell University eight years ago. It benefits veterinary students with a farm background and an interest in equine medicine. The fund is geared to opening doors for those who might not have considered a Cornell education to be within their reach.
To donate by mail, send a check to John R. Steele, DVM ’46 Graduate Scholarship, C/O Office of Alumni Affairs & Development, Box 39, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-6401.
To donate on line, go to this link .
by Nancy Jaffer | Feb 13, 2017
The Alexandria Equestrian Association wraps up its Eastern States Dressage and Combined Training Association-recognized winter dressage schooling show series April 1 at the Alexandria Park indoor arena, 242 Little York -Mt. Pleasant Road, Milford.
For more information, go to www.aeanj.com/dressage.html. You can also Follow AEA on Facebook.
Western Dressage and eventing dressage tests are also being offered.
Those who would like to volunteer to help with the shows should contact Sandy Howland at sandy.howls@gmail.com. No experience is required.
by Nancy Jaffer | Feb 7, 2017
By Nancy Jaffer
February 7, 2017
Wellington, Fla.’s designation as “The Winter Equestrian Capital of the World” is no exaggeration.
On Sunday, two $216,000 show jumping grands prix were held at different locations about a mile apart. That’s $432,000 in prize money being given for competitions that each featured multi-national starters and Olympic medal winners.
Todd Minikus was one of the Wellington weekend winners on Babalou. (PHoto by Nancy Jaffer)
Remember the days when $25,000 was a big grand prix purse, and grands prix were special occasions because there were so few of them? It wasn’t that long ago. Who back then could have imagined how the sport would ramp up.
The CP Palm Beach Masters is a new show, only in its second year, but it drew 97 horses for the qualifier for the featured Longines FEI World Cup Jumping competition, which was limited to 40 starters. The Masters is held on the Jacobs’ family Deeridge Farms, a lush 300-acre enclave. It’s a boutique show with only two arenas and a vast VIP tent between them.
The Longines class was the next-to-the-last in the East for riders to get points to qualify for the Cup finals in Omaha next month, so it took on extra importance. The winner turned out to be the league leader in the West, Nayel Nassar, a California-based Egyptian.
Nayel Nassar and Lordan against the backdrop of the VIP tent at the CP Palm Beach Masters. (PHoto by Nancy Jaffer)
As I left the Masters to head to the other grand prix, I passed a polo match in full swing. Only two or three minutes away, I turned onto the grounds of the Adequan Global Dressage Festival, where the Winter Equestrian Festival’s Ariat Grand Prix was held.
It was staged on the emerald turf of the derby field, where three riders made the jump-off. Todd Minikus, who didn’t make the tiebreaker at the Masters with Valinski S, hustled to the Ariat to take his chances with Babalou and hit paydirt to win the class.
The day before, the $100,000 Land Rover Eventing Showcase at that venue drew such big names as Britain’s William Fox-Pitt and New Zealand’s two-time Olympic gold medalist Mark Todd. They couldn’t get ahead of Boyd Martin, who won the competition for the third year in a row. Since its inception he has taken the title on three different horses.
Boyd Martin and Welcome Shadow (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
He was aboard Welcome Shadow for his hat trick, prepping for April’s Rolex Kentucky 4-star as he collected a $33,000 paycheck. And to be fair, I should mention that William and Mark were riding borrowed horses.
You’ll see things at competitions in Wellington you won’t see elsewhere. This time, it was a jump in the middle of the VIP tent, the climax of the cross-country course designed by former U.S. eventing coach Mark Phillips.
The action keeps going here. Tomorrow, 3-star dressage gets under way, a day before 5-star dressage takes the stage at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival location where the eventing was held. At AGDF, which is within brisk walking distance of the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center, this week you could see the members of the USA’s Olympic bronze medal dressage team, dressage development coach Debbie McDonald, Lars Petersen—who is retiring his longtime mount, Marriett on Friday; and plenty of others you’d recognize.
Polo under the palms at the International Polo Club in Wellington. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
PBIEC, which offers 12 weeks of high-level shows in the winter and early spring, attracts many of the biggest names in the sport. Walk by the International Arena, and you’re likely to pass Olympic individual gold medalist Nick Skelton of Great Britain and his partner, U.S. team gold medal Olympian Laura Kraut (second in the Longines qualifier, by the way); Jessica Springsteen, Sergio Alvarez Moya of Spain, McLain Ward, Kent Farrington and a host of other boldface jumper names.
One of the many beautifully landscaped private arenas in Wellington. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
If you haven’t been to Wellington, it’s worth a trip, even if just to see the legions of fabulous farms, one more beautiful than the next. They have spread far beyond Palm Beach Polo, the gated community that was the original magnet for equestrians and those who enjoy being part of the horse scene.
Last week, taking advantage of the fact that no dressage show was scheduled, a benefit dressage “fun” exhibition with riders in costume was held at the heart of Palm Beach Polo.
Jim Koford as Aladdin at Dressage Under the Stars. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
There’s something going on every day of the week in Wellington, with the general exception of Mondays and Tuesdays, when everyone catches their breath before starting another intense week of showing,
On a trip to the supermarket, you’re sure to see plenty of shoppers in boots and breeches; I’ve spotted Georgina Bloomberg and Chris Kappler there, among others. They have to eat too. This is where many top riders have barns, and although they may go elsewhere the rest of the year, a good number of them call Wellington home from November through April.
You have to come at least once. No matter which week you select between January and the end of March, you’ll find plenty to fascinate and entertain you. And there’s nothing like the sunshine when it’s snowing at home.
by Nancy Jaffer | Feb 2, 2017
Logan’s Brook Equine Center is presenting a jumping clinic with Jeff Cook March 11-12 at the U.S.Equestrian Team Foundation headquarters in Gladstone.
Formerly an associate of George Morris, Jeff is among the country’s leading clinicians. Sections will be offered at 2-6, 3 feet and 3-6 and higher. The cost is $400/day for participants, or $20/day for auditors.
To sign up, contact Nancy Jones, 908-581-8158 or jonesie@logansbrook.com or Vicky Sroka 908-304-5762 or srokas1@verizon.net
by Nancy Jaffer | Feb 1, 2017
Want to practice your trail class skills? 7 Springs Farm, 14 Perryville Road, Pittstown, will have a course set up from 10 a.m.-noon on Sunday Feb. 19, and a second session from noon-2 p.m., if more than 15 riders register for the first session. Try opening a gate, crossing an obstacle and opening a mailbox, in addition to barrels, poles, etc. The fee is $15. Call Susan Witte at 908-238-9587 to reserve a spot.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 29, 2017
B.W. Furlong & Associates is holding its 16th annual Horse Health Seminar Feb. 19 from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at Beaver Brook Country Club, 25 Country Club Dr., Annandale.
The agenda is wide-ranging, with topics including leptospirosis, colic, embryo transfer, navicular and an “ask the vets” session. Registration is required. The cost is $35 before Feb. 10 and $45 thereafter.
For more information, contact the clinic at 908-439-2821.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 29, 2017
The 2016 debut of Monmouth at the Team won the New Jersey Horse Shows Association’s Show of the Year award this month.
The historic USET Foundation stables made the perfect backdrop for Monmouth at the Team, the NJHSA’s 2016 Show of the Year. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
It took some daring on the part of co-organizers Tucker Ericson and his cousin, Michael Dowling, to move New Jersey’s oldest horse show out of Monmouth County into the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation headquarters in Somerset County, more than an hour away.
But it worked and was hugely successful on both the sporting and social sides.
“We’re excited that it had a great first go,” said Katie Benson, NJHSA president, who runs the Briarwood operation at Black River Farm in Ringoes.
“Briarwood’s Derby Day got beat, but that’s fine,” said Katie, who was elected last month as a director-at-large for the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association.
“Briarwood had the award for a lot of years, but Monmouth is new and exciting,” she commented.
The success of Monmouth at the Team will be reflected in its 2017 show, which is growing to seven days from six and will have three days that are B-rated from the U.S. Equestrian Federation, as opposed to its single C-rated day last year.
It is adding a $5,000 USHJA hunter derby with fences set at 3 feet on one of the recognized days, but also will have an unrecognized derby, with a $10,000 purse. Fences will be set at 2 feet, 2-6 and 3 feet.
The August show turned out to be an end-of-summer attraction in highly competitive Zone 2 (New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania), drawing a legion of quality horses and riders.
“It’s kind of like, if you can make it in New York City, you can make it anywhere; if you can make it in Zone 2, you can make it anywhere,” Tucker quipped.
Jumpers are featured on the weekend, a draw for sponsors and “local people who maybe don’t know the sport that well,” said Tucker, explaining they can follow that action more easily than they can the hunters.
All of last year’s sponsors are coming back, and they include the banking and car dealership categories, as well as the usual equestrian-related firms.
“They see the benefit in equestrian sports,” said Tucker, who is also active as a judge.
“Everyone stepping up and supporting us is what we need,” he added. “We didn’t cut corners. We put money back into the atmosphere and quality of the event.”
The USET Foundation will be given a utility building through money raised by the show and the efforts of the show’s presenting sponsor, Precise Buildings. The project is already on the drawing board, but needs to go through the municipal approval process before it can be constructed. Tucker said it is hoped that the building can go up after this year’s show.
Once that is completed, a judges/announcer pavilion will be the next project.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 28, 2017
By Nancy Jaffer
January 21, 2017
It’s always nice to get a trophy. But it’s even better when the honor comes in memory of a mentor.
Endurance rider Meg Sleeper of Kingwood Township proudly stepped up to accept the Maggy Price Endurance Excellence Award at the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s Horse of the Year Gala last weekend in Lexington, Ky.
Meg Sleeper and Syrocco Harmony competing in the endurance world championships. (Photo by Pamela Burton)
“It was really a nice surprise. I didn’t expect it at all,” said Meg, a veterinary cardiologist who was coming to the USEF for an endurance meeting at the organization’s convention the day after the gala. The proof was that she needed to change her flight to arrive a day early in order to have a presentation photo taken with the impressive bronze horse trophy. The award is given to the Endurance Rider Ranking List athlete with the most points earned in the competition year.
“It meant so much to me because I knew Maggy,” Meg explained.
Maggy, who died 10 years ago, was a unique character, outspoken and an active participant in the old American Horse Shows Association (a predecessor of USEF) and the U.S. Equestrian Team. In 1992, she represented the United States at the World Endurance Championships in Spain, where she won an individual bronze medal and team silver.
“My first competitive trail ride was 1981, and Maggy was in her prime at that point,” Meg recalled.
“She was always one of the people I looked up to. When I was in vet school, I got to ride one of her horses. All of her horses were named Ramegwa something,” said Meg, who rode Ramegwa Rhodora, a mare that belonged to former world champion Valerie Kanavy.
Ramegwa stood for the names of Maggy’s children, Raymond, Megan and Wayne.
“I admired the fact that not only did Maggy produce really great horses, but wherever those horses went, everyone knew they were from Maggy because of the Ramegwa name,” said Meg.
When Meg started breeding horses, she decided to follow Maggy’s lead and came up with a name that signified her program.
“I picked a word I liked because I didn’t have kids, therefore, all my horses are Syrocco something.”
A perennial world championships competitor, Meg spends half the year working at the University of Florida, where she is involved in research on gene therapy for heart disease. It’s a canine study, but in the future it could be useful for horses and other animals, she said.
Meg, who also took the Price award in 2011, was among several Jerseyans in the spotlight at the dinner. Kaitlin Hofer and her mother, Liz, are regulars at the HOTY Awards, bringing home armfuls of championship ribbons in the Welsh division, but this one was their swan song.
Their Glynhafan Hermione, the USEF’s grand champion Welsh pony, has taken that title six times, in 2008 and from 2012 through 2016. She also has to her credit 15 USEF championships and three reserves, and 16 Welsh national championships and nine reserves as well. She also has been the country’s high-score Welsh section B champion for five years.
What’s the secret of her success? “She likes to win things,” said Liz, who took the Welsh Pleasure Sections A&B Adult to Ride title with Hermione.
Liz and Kaitlin Hofer accepting their USEF Horse of the Year awards in Kentucky. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
“We don’t school her when we go to shows. We just warm her up and she goes in the ring cold.”
Kaitlin, a 17-year-old high school senior at Northern Highlands in Allendale, also picked up a USEF championship on Capstone’s Tootsie, a Welsh/quarter horse cross, for Half/Partbred Welsh Pleasure. Now she will be focusing on her hunter, SF Peter Pan, so 14-year-old Hermione will be used primarily for lessons at the Hofers’ Lower Cross Farm in Saddle River. The mare may be shown occasionally by kids in the barn, but they won’t be going after any more Horse of the Year titles. Asked how she thinks other competitors in the Welsh division will react to Hermione’s absence, Liz replied, “They’ll be happy not to see her. I don’t think anyone’s come close to what she’s done.”
Audrey Schulze of Ridgewood also starred in the Welsh division, taking the title in Welsh Pleasure/Section B with Gayfields Talladega Knight, calling him a pony “who likes to work. He likes a good ride.”
The joy of the evening was quite a contrast to last year at the same time, when Audrey and her mother, Anne Marie Snyder, cancelled their trip to Kentucky to collect a reserve championship ribbon after another of their ponies, Magical Masterpiece, came down with Lyme disease and there was a question as to whether she would survive. Luckily, she did, but she can no longer be ridden and is retired at Red Tail Farm in Bedminster.
Seven years ago, Audrey started riding at Saddle Ridge Riding Center after going to camp there, then moved on to Liz Hofer’s farm, where she became involved with Welsh ponies. She now rides with Brian and Jolene Cash at Hidden Acres Farm in West Milford. Anne Marie is always there to watch her lessons.
Audrey Schulze of Ridgewood on Gayfields Talladega Knight. (Photo by Janice Thomson)
“I listened to everything every trainer said, so I would be ready when the time came to buy her something, I wouldn’t be one of those moms who had no clue,” Anne Marie said. In fact, she thought riding looked like so much fun she started taking lessons herself. While Audrey and Anne Marie are at the barn every night, husband Gary Schulze is making dinner, playing his part in the winning team.
Audrey, a 13-year-old eighth grader at the Village School in Waldwick, is moving on to the pony jumper division with Tally. She’ll be getting stiff competition there from Ponies Unlimited of Franklin Lakes, which took the national championship in that section with Angel and reserve with Cartier, as well as third (EZ to Spot) and fourth (Jet Pilot).
Donna Owen, who runs Ponies Unlimited at her home in Ringwood, said her daughter, Devon, only started competing in the pony jumpers nine months ago. A seventh-grader at Macopin Middle School in West Milford, Devon took over the ride on Angel from Gianna Orecchio of Hewitt, who campaigned the 14.1-hand paint/quarter horse mare the first part of the season and started accumulating points toward the HOTY award.
Devon Owen on Ponies Unlimited’s Angel. (Photo by Rachel Bradford)
Devon, who was the hunt seat pleasure national champion last year on Sky’s the Limit, is hoping to make it to the USEF Pony Finals this summer.
Asked about how she likes working with Donna, Devon said, “It’s hard, because she’s my mom, but overall it’s good.” Does she listen to her mother? “Sometimes. It depends on the day,” Devon responded cheerfully. But she and her mother do work together taking care of the 10 ponies on the farm; mom mucks while Devon grooms and rides.
Other Jerseyans who won HOTY championships include Leslie Goryeb of Far Hills, Half/Anglo Arabian Pleasure/Pleasure Driving Open with Nutcracker’s Magdalena; Clara Hayes of Manasquan, Green Pony Hunter/Medium with Arnaby Bodacious, and Annika Bruggeworth of Mays Landing, Three-Gaited Park with Hollywood Heat and Three-Gaited Park Pleasure with Secret Meeting.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 23, 2017
West Milford High School junior Mackenzie Suffy earned high point rider honors at last weekend’s College Preparatory Invitational (CPI) in West Palm Beach, Fla.
The event at the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center replicated the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association’s competition format, in which participants do a draw for their mounts. The event also featured a college fair attended by representatives of 35 institutions of higher learning that offer an equestrian program.
Mackenzie’s trainer, Brian Cash of Hidden Acres Farm in West Milford, came to Florida. But with a format that allowed little to no schooling, Mackenzie had to rely on her own ability and instincts. She competed in the advanced division, with two different horses for the flat and jumping phases.
“It was awesome. I’d like to do it again,” said Mackenzie, but as the winner, she is not eligible to compete a second time. Instead, she’ll concentrate on training her 18-hand, 6-year-old Irish import, Meitreo H.
“We bought him off a video and hoped for the best,” she said. Her plan now that he’s gotten some experience is to make the finals of the major equitation championships.
Mackenzie Suffy, the high point rider in the College Preparatory Invitational. (Photo by Andrew Ryback)
The CPI was far from her first major accomplishment, however. She won Marshall & Sterling National Junior Medal Championship last year, and year-end championships in a variety of divisions, as well as being voted the N.J. Horse Shows Association Junior Rider of the Year in 2015.
Mackenzie, who hopes to be a professional, will be spending two months at the HITS shows in Ocala, Fla., this winter under a special program where she goes to school four mornings a week and rides the rest of the time.
