by Nancy Jaffer | Apr 3, 2019
The Jersey Fresh International three-day event at the Horse Park of New Jersey in Allentown is on the list of potential selection trials for the U.S. team at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. That would include this year’s competition May 8-12 and the 2020 competition.
U..S. team regular Boyd Martin, seen here riding Kyra at the 2018 Jersey Fresh International, competes annually at the Horse Park event and is hoping to go to Tokyo 2020. (Photo©2018 by Nancy Jaffer)
Jersey Fresh, where the cross-country course has been designed by former U.S. coach Mark Phillips, has often been used as a selection trial for the Olympics and the WEG. The final list of trials will be published in the official team selection procedures for Tokyo.
While the U.S. qualified its show jumping and dressage teams for Tokyo at the 2018 World Equestrian Games, eventing has yet to qualify for the Games and is seeking to do that at the Pan American Games this summer.
The prestigious events that also are on the list of potential trials include several 5-star (formerly 4-star) events: Land Rover Kentucky; Badminton and Burghley in England and Luhmuhlen event in Germany
by Nancy Jaffer | Mar 30, 2019
Don’t you love all the opportunities that are appearing for off-the-track thoroughbreds? For too long, they have been ignored in the show ring they once dominated, and elsewhere in the equestrian firmament too.
But the Jockey Club’s Thoroughbred Incentive Program is making a difference, and now the Monmouth County hunt is offering the only pace series in the country to feature TIP-sponsored awards for thoroughbreds. The series, which started April 7, resumes May 5 starting at 50 East Branch Road in Allentown, and runs from 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. The final segment is June 9.
The paces are open to both English and Western riders. The only dress requirements are ASTM helmets, collared shirts and shoes with heels. There are go-arounds at all the fences, and in addition to the open division, there are also junior and hilltop (slower) sections.
To be eligible for the TIP awards, your horse must be registered. Go to tjctip.com to get the TIP number card that is needed for eligibility. For questions about the paces, email monmouthcountyhunt@gmail.com.
by Nancy Jaffer | Mar 22, 2019
The Eastern States Dressage and Combined Training Association is offering a dressage training symposium April 6-7 with Lilo Fore at the Horse Park of New Jersey.
A retired 5-star international dressage judge, Lilo is a U.S. Equestrian Federation S judge with an R rating as a dressage sport horse judge. A U.S. Dressage Federation certification instructor and examiner, she has trained many Grand Prix horses and had been a short-listed rider for the U.S. Equestrian Team.
The symposium is an approved USDF “L” continuing education program and well as a USDF University program and a National Education Incentive program.
Those who want to audit should fill out the form at this link and mail to Kem Barbosa, 282 Carter Road, Princeton, NJ 08540 Those who register by March 24 will pay less than those registering after that date or at the door.
Pre-Registration (before March 24)
ESDCTA, Horse Park of NJ & Pony Club Members – $50 per day ($100 for 2 days)
Non-Members – $75 per day ($150 for 2 days)
Regular Registrations (after March 24) and at the door
ESDCTA, Horse Park of NJ & Pony Club Members – $60 per day ($120 for 2 days)
Non-Members – $85 per day ($170 for 2 days)
ESDCTA Volunteer Bucks: $20/day. If you are using volunteer bucks you must mail in a registration form with your check and volunteer bucks to Kem Barbosa.
by Nancy Jaffer | Mar 7, 2019
Call it Dr. Meg Sleeper’s version of the trifecta–or maybe just a self-styled hat trick.
Last weekend, the veterinary cardiologist rode three different home-bred horses, who are all related, to win 75-mile, 100-mile and 50-mile endurance competitions over the course of three days.
Meg Sleeper and Syrocco Madrigal, her up-and-coming horse. (Photo by Becky Pearman)
It was a total of 23 hours, 27 minutes and 27 seconds worth of riding for the 51-year-old equestrian from Kingwood Township. She was, understandably, “a little tired,” but had no after-effects from her long hours in the saddle, except for slightly sore abdominal muscles. And that was a good thing, she said, because it was proof she was “riding fairly balanced. I felt better than I thought I would, that’s for sure.”
Of course, she’s in fine shape, riding every day, as well as working out with weights and doing yoga to stay fit.
The event was former endurance world champion Val Kanavy’s Fun in the Sun FEI (international equestrian federation) fixture in Williston, Fla. Followers of the discipline suspect that no one has won endurance competitions three days in a row, but the records aren’t geared to searching for that kind of information.
At any rate, you don’t need the record books to know what Meg and her mounts did is a special achievement.
“I thought the horses were competitive and might go well, but I didn’t necessarily expect to win,” Meg revealed.
“I’ve done a 75-mile ride and a 100-mile ride back-to-back once before. That’s a lot of mileage, and I wasn’t sure could I do a 50 on the third day. But that’s what I did.”
She won the 75 with Syrocco Cadence, a 15-year-old. In the 100, it was Syrocco Rimbaud, a 13-year-old who is a veteran of the 2016 world championships in Slovakia, and for the 50, her winner was 8-year-old Syrocco Madrigal, “the horse I hope will be my up and coming horse,” said Meg.
Meg and Syrocco Rimbaud, her 100-mile winner. (Photo by Becky Pearman)
“This was the first time I asked her to see what she could really do,” she observed about Maddie.
“She has done 75-mile rides twice before, but I never asked her to do much more than trot. She was great. It was a really hot weekend (in the low 80s) down here. It required some pacing and being cognizant of the humidity (which was 100 percent one day). She cantered the last loop and was happy to do it, so I was really pleased.”
Meg noted it was interesting “when you compare it to something like Tryon,” the aborted 2018 world championships at the FEI World Equestrian Games in North Carolina.
These are unsettled times on the endurance scene, following the disaster of that WEG endurance, which eventually was cancelled because of weather conditions but had all sorts of problems, beginning with mass confusion at the start.
In terms of the weather, in countries such as the U.S., Australia and South Africa, “We’re used to these conditions, the heat and humidity, and you ride accordingly,” Meg observed.
“One of the things that happens in those kind of events, depending on the country, some riders are used to cantering from point A to point B. Then you give them a rest and go from Point B to Point C. You really can’t really do that in the Southeast. Most U.S. riders don’t ride that way. To me, the goal of endurance is to ride as fast as you can, safely. Depending on the conditions, it may be mostly walk-trot. I think it’s interesting how different the sport is depending on where you are in the world.”
Syrocco Cadence, the 75-mile winner. (Photo by Becky Pearman)
There were three loops. For the 75, riders did two of them twice and for the 100, they did three of them twice .
“We’ve had a very wet year here, so there were sections of trail that were wet, and then a lot of sections that were quite nice,” said Meg.
“Val designed the trail and did a nice job making it as good as it possibly could be.”
She added, “There’s a lot of luck that goes into it. Each horse had a good day and it doesn’t get any better than that. I had a lot of support and a lot of well-wishes since, and that’s been really mind-blowing.”
Meg is usually pointing toward a world championship, but with the current uncertainty in the sport, it’s a different story. The FEI has a “temporary committee” that is trying to figure out what to do with endurance, while the American Endurance Ride Conference has voted to terminate its affiliate relationship with the U.S. Equestrian Federation at the end of the year.
Meg Sleeper’s immediate goal is to enjoy her horses. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
So as Meg sees it, “Right now, my main goal is just to enjoy the horses and have fun riding and competing. I’m just going to sit back, at least for the next few months, and see what happens.”
However, she was just named to the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s Endurance Sport Committee. That appointment will remain in place until, or if, a new endurance affiliate is approved by the federation’s board, at which point the it would revert to the affiliate.
Areas of focus for the committee include clearly defining pathways for athletes within the sport, growing the sport of endurance within the U.S., and building a strong base at the national level for endurance athletes to expand into international levels of competition.
Meanwhile, USEF announced it will offer its inaugural Endurance National Championships at the 2019 North American Endurance Championship, hosted by Central Florida Horse Shows Nov. 14-16 at the Broxton Bridge Plantation in Ehrhardt, S.C.
Top U.S. endurance combinations will vie for USEF national champion and reserve honors at the event, which offers open 1- and 2-star competitions, along with junior and young rider divisions at those levels. There also will be an unofficial FEI team competition open to squads from the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
by Nancy Jaffer | Feb 22, 2019
A tribute to Dorothy Knocke Maxfield was held March 14 in the trophy room at the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation stable in Gladstone.
A much-admired instructor who was also a dressage and eventing official, Dorothy died Feb. 17 in Mobile, Ala., of natural causes. She was 76.
Dorothy Knocke Maxfield. (Photo by Marie Cobb)
The daughter of U.S. Dressage Federation president and Eastern States Dressage and Combined Training Association founder Lazelle Knocke, Dorothy grew up on the family farm, Hobby Horse Hill, in Readington. A graduate “A” Pony Clubber, Dorothy was a professional horsewoman for more than half a century. She started out as an eventer, spending a year with the U.S. Three-Day team from 1963 to 1964 before focusing on dressage.
A U.S. Dressage Federation gold medalist, Dorothy earned her “R” U.S. Equestrian Federation Dressage judge’s license and “r” Eventing license, as well as a USEF Technical Delegate’s license for both dressage and eventing. She also held an FEI Dressage steward’s license.
A lifetime member of the U.S. Pony Club, Dorothy was dedicated to teaching young riders, accompanying generations of them to Pony Club Nationals over the years. She was awarded USPC Jubilee Legend recognition in 2005.
She was also the organizer of recognized shows at Hobby Horse Hill and involved with the Amwell Valley Event.
Dorothy committed her life to training horses and students at all levels, her most important legacy. She was able to take complex and complicated concepts, breaking them down into smaller, understandable pieces and then teaching the rider to communicate those concepts to their horse.
Former student Amy Nemeth recalled that Dorothy, her first dressage instructor, “was tough as nails, but instilled in me what it took to be successful. She taught me more lessons then just riding. She may not even have known that. I thought I was special because she let me shine her boots and clean her tack! She was an integral part of my dressage riding and training; the first instructor to get me to stop hanging on my left rein, which she so eloquently did with yarn on that side.”
Mary Alice Edwards remembers taking her first lesson with Dorothy 25 years ago in Lafayette, Louisiana.
“I had been a `rider’ since I was 12 years old, but soon found out I knew nothing about dressage. The first thing she asked me was “What is the distance between each letter in the dressage arena?” Well, of course I did not know; I thought, `Who knows those things?’
“So began my journey of learning dressage. She was so dedicated to her students and their horses, making sure we were going on the right path of knowledge. She became a good friend and a wonderful mentor. Every time I ride, I hear her words of wisdom in my head.”
Dorothy is survived by her daughter, Deborah Kuschel (Gunnar), her identical twin sister, Diane Kohout, and her younger sister, Martha Hoffarth (Anton).
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the United States Pony Club Inc., 4041 Iron Works Parkway, Lexington, KY 40511 ATTN: in memory of Dorothy Maxfield. A donation also can be made online at https://www.ponyclub.org/secure/Forms/MakeAGift.aspx. In the note section, please include “in memory of Dorothy Maxfield.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Feb 21, 2019
There were two winners of the $100,000 USHJA/WCHR $100,000 Peter Wetherill Palm Beach Hunter Spectacular at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Fla.
One was Brad Wolf’s Private Practice, ridden by Tori Colvin, who took home the $30,000 first prize last weekend.
Tori Colvin and Private Practice. (Photo©2019 by Nancy Jaffer)
The other winner was the EQUUS Foundation, which received the $22,000 second-place check that went to Cheryl Olsten’s Lafitte De Muze, ridden by Amanda Steege. But that money didn’t go home with the horse.
Amanda Steege and Lafitte de Muze with USHJA President Mary Babick and USHJA CEO Kevin Price. (Photo©2019 by Nancy Jaffer)
Cheryl donates all of Lafitte’s winnings to EQUUS. Explaining why, Cheryl said, “He really is a special horse, a humble fellow who gives his all and loves people. I was taken with him and his eager spirit, and feel very lucky to be his owner.
“The thought came to me that I wanted to celebrate that spirit, and what better way than to donate his prize money to a cause? A horse helping other horses seemed appropriate. After much research, I came upon the EQUUS foundation.”
Lafitte did the 2018 Spectacular as a first-year horse, when it was only his third show in America.
“It was amazing to feel how much more mature he is a year later,” said Amanda, who divides her time between Ocala, Fla., and Califon, N.J., where she has stalls at Pinnacle Farm.
The top 12 in the first round of the Spectacular came back for a handy round, where speed and maneuverability counted. Lafitte was in the lead going into the handy, but he wound up second to Private Practice by just half a percentage point when Amanda played it a bit conservative.
Amanda Steege and Lafitte de Muze in the $100,000 Hunter Spectacular. (Photo©2019 by Nancy Jaffer)
Even so, Amanda said, “I was really happy with my handy round. I thought he jumped amazing. I made the conscious choice to go around the red vertical on the way to jump (number) one.
Tori’s horse has won derby finals and is a bit more experienced than my horse. My horse is working his way up to being able to do those types of things and I wanted to just make the very best decision that I could for him for this to be the most positive experience possible. Other than that, I thought he was quite handy, very adjustable, very smooth. His jumping style felt amazing.”
The class was held in WEF’s International arena, usually the venue of the jumper grands prix, and it can be quite intimidating under the lights with a big crowd on the sidelines.
Amanda’s horses shipped in to WEF just six days before the Spectacular, “which I think actually is difficult to do, for my horses to come here and get used to the chaos and surroundings of Wellington in addition to having to go in the International Ring,” she said. “I was extra proud of Lafitte for being able to handle that.”
Lafitte has done some impressive winning, including the $500,000 HITS Hunter Prix and the $50,000 WCHR Pro Challenge at the Capital Challenge Horse Show last year.
All that prize money meant Lafitte could be a real asset to whatever charity Cheryl chose for donation of his winnings.
Cheryl liked the concept of the EQUUS mission, so she called its president, Lynn Coakley, for details. Lynn told her EQUUS is an “umbrella” foundation, supporting scores of organizations that need funding to maintain their own missions of helping to rescue, re-home and retrain horses bound for slaughter. The list runs from mini horses to race horses, quarter horses, wild mustangs that have been rounded up, carriage horses and show horses.
“They are all perfectly fine animals that, for whatever reason, have been cast aside,” Cheryl noted.
“EQUUS `vets’ these organizations to make sure they all legit and comply with the necessary standards.” For more about the foundation and its mission, click on this link .
It gives Cheryl comfort to know “that in a small way, the prize money that Lafitte wins is going to help rescue horses from the horror that awaits them and the painful trip across the border” to slaughter. She appreciates that this will give them a second chance. Cheryl wants Lafitte to stand for “being an ambassador and star for the EQUUS foundation, spreading the word. What better gift can one give if not to help another?” she asked.
“We hope his message inspires others to do the same.”
Private Practice was victorious in the USHJA International Hunter Derby in Kentucky last summer, and Amanda will be pointing Lafitte toward that class this summer. Tori has won the Spectacular five times, so she’s used to the challenge.
But junior rider Jordan Allan aboard Dana Schwarz’s Kind of Blue found herself in an unfamiliar position next to two stars of the sport in the victory ceremonies.
Jordan Allen and Kind of Blue (Photo©2019 by Nancy Jaffer)
“It’s beyond exciting,” she said.
“It’s my last (junior) year and everything is sort of shaping out. I’m just so lucky to have incredible horses to show, Kind of Blue especially. I’ve been showing him for about two months now. I know him like the back of my hand.
“I’m so excited. I thought he was amazing in both rounds, obviously, but in the second round, I think he really stepped it up with the brilliance. I thought he was just amazing. I knew I didn’t have to go crazy, but he just always steps to the plate.”
Jordan, who is a working student for Florida professionals Ken and Emily Smith, says they are like a second family to her. She doesn’t own any horses, but each week, they get mounts for her to show and she is grateful. Others she thanked included Brady Mitchell, Adam Graham and Alvin Menendez.
Jordan Allen, Amanda Steege and Tori Colvin. (Photo©2018 by Nancy Jaffer)
This fall, Jordan will be going to the University of South Carolina, where she will ride on the equestrian team. When she mentioned she would be studying on a pre-med track, I suggested that if she is going to be a doctor, she should have Private Practice, because of his name.
“I’ll take him!,” she replied.
by Nancy Jaffer | Feb 21, 2019
The Burlington County 4-H Horse Advisory Board is putting on a new series of hunter shows, which is the primary fundraiser for the county 4-H Horse Program. It provides education and scholarships for young equestrians in 4-H.
Although the organization has run a hunter show series for more than 30 years, it was open only to 4-H members until two years ago, when it became open to all riders. This year, the class list has been redesigned and includes more championship divisions. Series sponsors are being sought to provide championship and reserve prizes for a series designed to be relaxed, fun, safe and educational for everyone.
The Burlington County Fairgrounds has two large show rings and two smaller schooling rings. It offers spectator seating and easy access from Routes 206 and 295, as well as the Turnpike. The footing was recently redone and has received excellent ratings from USEF. The Dressage Experience Show Series offers three licensed shows there, run through the Transitions 4-H Club.
The shows will be held April 27, May 11, June 9 and June 23. The fairgrounds are in Springfield Township, at Route 206 and Jacksonville-Jobstown Road. For more information about sponsorship, contact Ellen Clark at eclark8968@gmail.com.
by Nancy Jaffer | Feb 20, 2019
The Horse Park’s grand prix ring as it looked last year during Jersey Fresh, when it wasn’t ready for jumping. (Photo©2018 by Nancy Jaffer)
Resolving footing issues is important work for the off-season at showgrounds in the northern climes.
At the Horse Park of New Jersey in Allentown, all outdoor rings including the warm-up arena, the Lazelle Knocke (East) Ring and West Ring have undergone repair and maintenance work with the help of Aaron Thompson.
Aaron, based in North Carolina, grooms arenas for various event facilities including the Carolina Horse Park, Morven Park, Va., Devon, Pa. and Fair Hill, Md. First as a rider/working student of Denny Emerson, then moving to professional arena grooming, he understands the discipline-specific needs the Horse Park arenas must offer.
The grand prix arena, which was redone last spring but wasn’t ready to be used for the Jersey Fresh event’s show jumping, has had material added. It was worked and then tucked in before a good snowfall to assist in the settling process. Of course, there has been more rain than snow in New Jersey this winter.
The Horse Park is having a fundraiser from 4-10 p.m. March 14 at the Texas Roadhouse, 1305 Route 33, Hamilton, with 10 percent of patrons’ order (including gift cards and takeout) going to the Horse Park.
At the Hampton Classic on Long Island, only a final grading and sod installation for this spring remain for the re-do of the grass grand prix field that drew some criticism at last year’s show.
Work began on the Hampton Classic’s grand prix arena as soon as the awards ceremony for the featured class ended.
The project is being managed by Allen Rheinheimer, the show’s equestrian manager, along with the Hampton Classic’s turf consultant, Steven McDonald, the founder of Turfgrass Disease Solutions LLC. He consults for more than 150 athletic fields, golf courses, and turfgrass systems each year. He teaches Turf Management and Turfgrass Weed Science at Rutgers University.
Meanwhile, the Classic is about two-thirds of the way to its $1 million goal that will pay for the project. Those who wish to donate can go to this link .
by Nancy Jaffer | Feb 16, 2019
Call it the daily double. Only in Wellington, Fla., could you have a 5-star-rated $210,000 grand prix with 44 entries in the afternoon and a 3-star $134,000 grand prix with the same number (but different horses, or course) a couple of miles away in the evening.
That’s what happened yesterday in the municipality that bills itself as “the winter horse capital of the world,” though the classes ran with two different scenarios.
The afternoon competition, the Longines Grand Prix of the Palm Beach Masters at Deeridge Farm, drew the biggest names, among them U.S. stars Beezie Madden, McLain Ward and Margie Engle. The foreign riders included FEI World Equestrian Games silver medalist Martin Fuchs (who sadly fell off Silver Shine when the horse refused the second jump), Lorenzo de Luca in his snappy Italian Air Force uniform and Great Britain’s 2012 Olympic team bold medalist Ben Maher.
The jump-off was a cavalry charge of 15 horses, bringing to mind last Saturday’s 18-horse jump-off at the Winter Equestrian Festival’s 5-star $391,000 Fidelity Grand Prix, won by Martin on his WEG horse, Clooney 51.
Despite losing a rein before one fence and adding an unplanned stride, Paul O’Shea emerged the winner on Imerald van’t Voorhof while managing to get a time of 36.03 seconds, 0.75 faster than Margie on her intrepid stallion, Royce. The difference is the way Royce clears the fences, leaping high in a fashion that keeps the rails up, but which means some lost time.
Palm Beach Masters grand prix winner Paul O’Shea of Ireland on Imerald van’t Voorhof. (Photo©2019 by Nancy Jaffer)
“My horse is not the quickest in the air,” said Margie, who had the advantage of going last over the course designed by Alan Wade, who did the routes for the WEG.
Paul rides Imerald, a potential sale horse, for the Tisbo family’s Tequestrian Farms. Interestingly, one of the award presenters was Lauren Tisbo on behalf of her family’s Suncast enterprise, a sponsor of the class.
Margie Engle and Royce. (Photo©2019 by Nancy Jaffer)
Third place went to Juan Manuel Gallego of Colombia, the rider of Coulash van de Broy Z, who called it an honor to be on the dais at the press conference with Paul and Margie. Beaming, he said, said it was “one of the happiest days of my life.”
There was quite a contrast to the afternoon class and last night’s Winter Equestrian Festival’s Cabana Coast Grand Prix, run under the lights at the Equestrian Village, down the street from WEF and best known as the home of the Adequan Global Dressage Festival.
It looked as if there might not be a jump off. After the first half of the class, the only clear round among 22 starters belonged to Nicki Shahinian-Simpson on Akuna Mattata.
Nicki Shahinian-Simpson and Akuna Mattata. (Photo©2019 by Nancy Jaffer)
Four retirements and two eliminations in that group had course designer Catsy Cruz of Mexico asking for an Advil. But a jump-off emerged with the lone fault-free trip in the second half, Spencer Smith on Quality FZ.
Nicki and her mare, known as Nahla, ripped through the tiebreaker in 37.08 seconds. Spencer, who rides with Canadian Olympic gold medalist Eric Lamaze (but was on his own last night) clocked in at 38.71 seconds.
Spencer Smith and Quality FZ. (Photo©2019 by Nancy Jaffer)
Third place went to the fastest 4-faulter, Laura Chapot of Neshanic Station, N.J., who had the last rail with Chandon Blue. Laura is always a speedster, and it paid off as she got the Martha Wachtel Leading Lady Rider honors for the week.
Why was the course so tough?
“The grand prix here it always much more difficult than it walks,” said Laura.
“The lights, the difficulty of the smaller ring, the new venue. It always seems like you walk it and it doesn’t seem too bad and then the rails down come from everywhere. She’s very clever in the way she sets the course that way. It wasn’t one specific problem.”
Laura Chapot and Chandon Blue. (Photo©2019 by Nancy Jaffer)
Laura prefers a small jump-off to a larger one, explaining, “I don’t like it when there’s 15 clear before you go. As long as you’re confident in your plan and trust your horse, then it’s a matter of riding the course. If you ride it well, you can do it. When there’s a lot clear, you can get unlucky.”
Nahla is an interesting horse, because she is a triplet out of SRF Dragonfly, one of Nicki’s longtime mounts. Luckily, Dragonfly didn’t have to give birth to all three—they were carried by different surrogate mares. Each is in a different stage of development, but all are looking like they will make it in the jumper ranks.
Nicki has tried a few World Cup qualifiers with her, and believes that if she makes the cut and gets to the finals in Gothenburg, Sweden, this April, Nahla will be up to the challenge.
by Nancy Jaffer | Feb 11, 2019
The Garden State Horse Show, one of New Jersey’s iconic equestrian competitions, has been reorganized from a multi-ring fixture in order to fit in one famous arena at its new home, the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation’s Hamilton Farm in Gladstone.
“We had to drop some redundant divisions, but there is something for everyone over the nine days of competition; from unrecognized to C-rated to AA-rated: We have it all,” said Tucker Ericson, who has taken over the show’s management for the Junior Essex Troop.
Tucker Ericson (right) and his cousin, Michael Dowling, who run Monmouth at the Team together. Tucker is the sole manager for Garden State. (Photo©2018 by Nancy Jaffer)
Tucker knows what he’s doing, having masterminded the move of the Monmouth County Horse Show from the Horse Park of New Jersey to the foundation’s grounds in 2016.
Renamed as Monmouth at the Team, that show has been a huge success in Gladstone. The same thought process is going into Garden State, which runs from April 29-May 5 (preceded by an unrecognized show April 27-28) and much of the formula will be the same. As Tucker explained it, that includes “weather-proof footing, posted orders and a hospitality tent that puts a smile on your face. That is my recipe to transition a multi-ring show into one.”
As is the case with Monmouth, spectators will not be charged admission.
“We want the community to come out and enjoy and support the vendors and first class competition,” said Tucker.
The historic U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation stable is the perfect backdrop for the horse shows held at the venue. (Photo©2018 by Nancy Jaffer)
Garden State is different from Monmouth, in that it goes up to the AA (Premier) rating and has a $25,000 grand prix by EquiJet. The AA show is, however, preceded by a separate show that is not recognized and offers such classes as 2-foot hunter, leadline and a $10,000 hunter derby.
The Junior Essex Troop Show began in 1951 and was the largest all-junior show in America until 1972, when it became an open show. It was held at the Junior Essex Troop Farm in West Orange until that was sold. It moved to Chester for several years before it grew too big for Chubb Park and was relocated to the Sussex County Fairgrounds.
The Junior Essex Troop of Cavalry originally was composed of boys ages 11-18, who were proud to wear a uniform as they learned military drilling and discipline, along with riding and horse care.
The troop bond was so strong that even though the organization stopped daily operations in 1989, those who participated remain on the committee, chaired by Rodney Seelig, and as volunteers for what has become an annual reunion.
Entries close April 15. Click here for a link to the prizelist.
