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.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 3, 2019
John Adams on future generations celebrating the Declaration of Independence:
“I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty; it ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 3, 2019
After 30 years as one of New Jersey’s best-known equestrian facilities, Duncraven will be going on the market this month.
The 75-acre farmland-protected property in Titusville, Mercer County, is continuing to host horse shows run by Claudine Libertore while it is still owned by Tim Fedor, but it basically shut down as a boarding operation in May.
An aerial view of Duncraven.
Explaining his reason for selling, Tim said, “I sat down with my wife, we’re empty nesters now, and we decided to move on and probably head south.” He would like to see Duncraven remain as a boarding stable and/or show facility. Thank goodness its farmland protected status means it can’t turn into a housing development, as too many of our horse farms have done.
Naturally, Tim has many memories as he looks back over his time at the property. But he noted, “The one thing that stands out the most is meeting all the people and some of the young kids who come in as boarders and how they develop and change.
Duncraven is still the scene of many horse shows. (Photo by Paws and Rewind)
“The horses teach them a lot of responsibility and give them a lot of self-confidence. I’ve seen some dramatic changes in young women who come in as shy and timid and leave very confident, grown-up people. I’ve had customers who have been with me over 10 years and I’ve seen them go from 9- or 10 years old until they go off to college. It’s a pretty neat process to watch.”
The property initially was purchased as an investment for potential development. It was envisioned “as an equestrian estates type of development,” Tim recalled.
“Then my family kind of took a 360 and was more into preserving things. We also owned 75 acres across the street, which we sold to the Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space Program nine or ten years ago.”
A closoe-up view of the barns.
Getting involved with Duncraven “was quite the learning curve,” said Tim, who had not even ridden a horse when he started.
Trainers who have leased stalls at Duncraven have included the late Gary Kunsman, eventer Buck Davidson and show jumper Kevin Babington. But one constant through the years has been the facility’s own head trainer, Nancy Wallis.
“She has been with me the entire time. She is the most incredible person there is. The most hard-working, generous; I can’t possibly say enough about her. I don’t think I would have made it 30 years without her,” he emphasized.
The Duncraven property is a scenic place for shows. (Photo by Paws and Rewind)
Nancy, who freelances and does a lot of course design, has more than a sentimental attachment to Duncraven.
“It’s like the end of an era,” she said.
“If we ever had a Duncraven reunion, there would be 500 people there: People who have been affected through that business, whether working there, as a student or attending horse shows. Maybe we’ll all be standing by the ingate next year– it will just be somebody else’s place.”
Duncraven is listed with K.L.Sotheby’s International Real Estate out of Bedminster homes@williamlandesman.com as well as Keller Williams Real Estate (connie@kingstonluxurygroup.com) in Clinton.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 1, 2019
Want to improve your core strength through the movement of horses? Mane Stream in Oldwick is offering a five-week Women’s Pelvic Health Group Program starting July 17 from 1:30-2:30 p.m. It offers exercises you can do at home, along with education and support.
“The pelvis is the core of our movement experience- it is integral to almost all of our body’s movement, balance, and posture,” according to Mane Stream’s promotion of the program.
The sessions will be led by Gina Taylor, a licensed occupational therapist, PATH International (therapeutic riding) Certified Instructor with Advanced Standing. Sign up online https://bit.ly/2J9ZOL3 or email Gina at gina@manestreamnj.org
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 1, 2019
Looking for something patriotic to attend on the Fourth of July, as long as it has an equine element?
Celebrate the 243d anniversary of the Declaration of Independence signing at Ringwood Manor in Ringwood State Park, located in northern New Jersey.
There will be crafts, demonstrations and children’s activities from 11 a.m.-4 p.m., while the Manor is open to the public from 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. for self-guided tours.
The main program begins with an explanation of the historical background of declaring independence at 2 p.m. Re-enactors will perform a militia muster and debate between loyalists and “rebels.” News that the Declaration has been signed and the document itself will be brought at 2:30 p.m. by three horseback re-enactors — Chris Arzt on Jäger, a Standardbred; Brett Bokman on Pistol, a Quarter Horse and Joe Puccetti on Vic, a 100 percent Foundation Morgan.
The dramatic reading of the Declaration will be followed by a flag ceremony and a salute to the new nation at 3 p.m.
You can do it all, pay homage to a key moment in our nation’s history and still have time for your barbeque.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 24, 2019
A free barn safety and fire prevention program will be held from 6:30-7:30 p.m. July 23 at the
Horse Park of New Jersey in Allentown.
Presented by the Garden State Horse & Carriage Society, it will include a power point presentation in the indoor arena, followed by hands-on training with a fire extinguisher.
A signed waiver may be required for the hands on training, which could be limited depending on the number of people who want to do it..
The presenters will be firefighter John Perrotto and a member of the Fire Academy staff. Those attending are asked to bring their own chairs.
