A veteran pairing won the featured Advanced division at the MARS Essex Horse Trials today, as Will Coleman and the dependable Obos O’Reilly took the title by a wide margin.
Their beautiful trip around the formerly soggy course at Moorland Farm in Far Hills put a happy ending on a tumultuous few days for the division, being held at the event for the first time.
It drew 38 entries and an array of high-profile riders in addition to Will, who has been on the Olympic and FEI World Equestrian Games teams.
They included Olympic multi-medalist Phillip Dutton, Buck Davidson and Boyd Martin (who wound up winning the Preliminary Essex division yesterday). Those three, however, were among a total of 26 scratches in the Advanced ranks, with 18 bowing out after dressage, two retiring in stadium jumping and six overnight withdrawals.
A week of rain preceding the event, which was revived three years ago after a 19-year absence from the calendar, made things difficult despite impressive efforts by the organizers. The Advanced dressage and stadium jumping, which were supposed to be held Friday, were put off until Saturday, and the cross-country moved from Saturday to Sunday to allow the ground more time to dry.
There is no all-weather footing at Moorland, home of the Far Hills Race Meeting, so the grass surface for stadium jumping was not optimum, despite lots of divot-stomping and being rolled by heavy equipment. Some riders decided it was better to err on the side of caution than to take a chance with their horses. There were no fault-free trips in stadium among the 19 who did ride.
Although the footing was much improved this morning, course designer and event co-manager Morgan Rowsell felt it hadn’t tightened up enough. He decided to leave out nine jumping efforts on the last line, ending the course at the Buckeye Brush, a narrow obstacle after the Mars Sustainable Bay water jump.
“There was only one good question after that, so why force them to run through the deep going,” Morgan explained.
“Why not just play it safe,” added Morgan, noting the riders had expressed some concerns about the surface.
In the end, 11 horses started on cross-country. There were two falls on course, both at the airy Ditch Me Once oxer over a stream, six strides from the Von Stade road crossing, but those involved—human and equine—were able to walk away.
The course drew praise from those who did finish.
“I thought it rode great. It’s a shame we didn’t get to run all of it,” said Will, who complimented Morgan’s efforts. At the same time, he understood why some riders scratched as they were thinking ahead to future competitions, such as Phillip Dutton with Z, who is going to Aachen this summer.
I chatted with Will about his time at Essex, an event he cited for its “character,” and the regard he has for Obos.
Missy Miller made a big leap from 30th place after dressage to finish second on Quinn. She trains with Phillip Dutton, and although he and so many others scratched, she saddled up for cross-country and rode beautifully, finishing on 59.8 penalties.
It was only the second time Missy and Quinn have done Advanced, so you can see why she had a big smile on her face.
Hometown favorite Meg Kepferle of Long Valley was thrilled with Anakin, who finished third on 61.5 penalties after placing 23d in dressage.
“I never thought I would get to this level, to be honest,” she said, after joyfully crossing the finish line.
“After all the rain and the chaos of the weekend, in the back of my mind I was going to scratch,” she recalled.
However, “It just kept working out,” she said, noting how good her show jumping phase was, with only one rail down on a very difficult course set by Chris Barnard.
Meg made her final decision about running today with some outside help.
“I’m lucky to have some good advisors who told me it’s going to be fine. It was really good.”
Juli Sebring, who finished last in dressage in 38th place, made up for it on cross-country with Welbourne, winding up seventh overall with 121.8 penalties.
She got socked with time penalties because she stopped after veering off into the wrong galloping lane after the first fence, but when she learned she wasn’t eliminated for that, she literally got back on track and came home with a big smile on her face.
“My horse rode amazingly well. The footing rode fine,” she said.
Essex and the classic car show that ran with it today at the venue benefitted from weekend weather as sunny as the week was rainy. Attendance for the weekend was approximately 5,000, as ticket holders took advantage of vendors and activities for children in addition to watching the competition.
The efforts of the energetic volunteers drew raves from exhibitors about how helpful and friendly they were. I asked Ruth Beesch, who events at a low level and keeps her horse in nearby Tewksbury, why she decided to volunteer at Essex as an “event ambassador” who explains the sport to sponsors.
“It’s a local event that’s already becoming a premier event,” she told me.
“If those of us who are locals and love eventing and love our horses and our horse community don’t come out and volunteer for something like this, there’s something wrong with us.”
Erik Duvander, the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s eventing performance manager, was helping move jumps to secure the best footing on approaches to the fences for the Advanced stadium jumping on Saturday. A first time visitor to the event, he was enthusiastic about its potential and decided to pitch in.
Essex is definitely on the rise, despite the weather situation that affects any outdoor sport.
“We want to continue to grow the event and improve the event,” said Guy Torsillieri, who as the race meeting’s key player with Ron Kennedy, is the Essex event’s landlord.
“We had record rains. We never had it this wet, ever. We’re really good at making hard ground soft, but we’re not too good at making soft ground hard,” Guy observed.
Through the efforts of MARS Equestrian and other sponsors, he said that without losing the flavor of a smaller competition, “we’re positioned to make this an even better event.”
As Ralph Jones, who serves as the event’s co-chairman with Morgan noted, “We did the best we could. It was nice to have the armada of the Far Hills Race Meeting behind us to do some work on the course, because that showed the riders we would do everything we could for their safety during the competition, and that made a big difference to them, so I think we earned their respect.”
The MARS Essex Horse Trials didn’t have the weather on its side in the week leading up to this weekend’s competition, but the sun finally shone big time today, and so did the event at Moorland Farm in Far Hills.
The crowd was so large that auxiliary parking had to found, the cross-country course design was masterful and entries were excellent. Essex has a lot of elements that make it special.
“It’s what riders all dream of,” Boyd Martin said about the event after winning the featured Preliminary Essex section with Luke 140. He was first throughout the competition, despite time penalties on cross-country and a rail in show jumping, finishing on 30.10 penalties ahead of Cornelia Dorr with 31.10 aboard Daytona Beach 8.
It was Boyd’s first visit to Essex, but he was so enthusiastic, it certainly won’t be his last—despite soggy ground after days of rain. That led to a bunch of scratches in the Advanced division, which was being held for the first time. But listen to Boyd’s take on the event.
Revived for just three years since its last previous running in 1998, Essex got an amazing 38 entries for its Advanced division’s inaugural run. Only 18 riders showed up for stadium jumping, however, with Boyd on Contestor and Buck Davidson on Erroll Gobey retiring after having rails. None of the competitors jumped a clean round.
Sixteen will try the advanced cross-country at 8 a.m. Sunday. Because of the rain-drenched ground, Advanced could not run dressage and stadium on Friday as planned, and everything had to be rescheduled to take place Saturday and Sunday.
Leading the way in Advanced is Will Coleman on Obos O’Reilly with 35.70 penalties. Right behind him is Jennie Brannigan with I Bella on 37.30. Jennie had quite a day Saturday, taking first and second in the Open Preliminary with F.E. Connory and Hopscotch, respectively.
Like Boyd, Will was making his Essex debut, and he was very positive about his experience.
“I think it’s one of the best new events in America. They had bad luck this week with the weather, but I think we’re all just ecstatic with what they’ve done here and really, really excited about coming back next year,” Will said.
Cross-country course designer Morgan Rowsell, who co-chairs Essex with Ralph Jones, noted, “We got six or eight inches of rain over the last week. The only reason the footing is suspect is because the rain just came down and came down. I would rather the riders pull out if they feel this is wrong for their horses. It’s just a bad circumstance, but we’re having a good weekend.
“The riders accept and appreciate our efforts and they will be back next year. Running 16 horses, we’ll make a show of it.”
To hear Morgan’s thoughts about his cross-country course design for the Advanced division, watch this video.
We’ll wrap up our coverage of Essex tomorrow night, so be sure to come back to the website then.
Lord Stirling Stable in Basking Ridge is presenting “Pony Pals,” a program for children and their parents designed to introduce kids to ponies while encouraging child-parent interaction.
“Pony Pals” on June 29 is tailored to two groups: children 2-4 years of age and 5-7 years. A parent or legal guardian must accompany their child/children for the program at 256 S. Maple Ave.
The younger group will meet from 10-11 a.m. Activities are a pony-themed story and a pony ride. The fee is $10 per child/parent pair and $5 for each additional sibling age 2 to 9 years.
Children ages 5 to 7 will meet from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Their activities include a pony story, a game or craft,and a pony ride. The fee is $12 per child/parent pair. Siblings ages 5 to 9 may attend for an additional charge of $6 each.
Pre-registration is required online at www.somersetcountyparks.org, by phone at 908-722-1200, ext. 5010, or in person at the Stable office. Payment by cash, check, Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover is required at time of enrollment.
It’s been nearly 30 years since a complete rodeo (not just the professional bull riders) came to Madison Square Garden, so let’s hope it’s been worth the wait.
The Cowboy Channel will present Rodeo New York on Father’s Day weekend 2020, with competition June 19-21. It’s not too early to mark your calendar for next year.
The Equestrian Businesswomen group, which presented a day of meetings during its first gathering in West Palm Beach, Fla., in January, is having a meetup June 20 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
The session, which runs from 6-9 p.m. at Jacob & Anthony’s American Grille, 38 High Rock Ave, will involve cocktails and conversation with female entrepreneurs and businesswomen in the equine industry.
The event will feature an open bar and hors d’oeuvres for a night of conversations, networking and community. There is no fee and no need to formally RSVP, but the organization asks that you mark yourself as “going” on the EQBW Facebook event page so they can get an idea of how many people will attend. Feel free to share the event with other women in the industry who would want to attend.
At the meetup, get an idea of what EQBW will give members when it launches its membership platform. It will offer more opportunities for networking–both online and offline–and collaboration among members and participating experts.
EQBW is creating a digital community aimed at helping engage, support, and inform equestrian businesswomen through eLearning content created by industry experts on various topics from business management and how-to business tool tutorials to personal growth and development.
For more information about both the Summit and the new membership platform, please visit www.EqBusinesswomen.com.
The personification of dedication and fairness, he was an Olympian who made a seamless transition from the U.S. cavalry to decorated soldier and modern military commander, serving in three wars.
“The ability to lead other men in combat is a rare skill, and he found a home in the Army,” noted Jim Wofford, an Olympic eventing medalist who was a lifelong friend of Gen. Burton.
Jack went on to become a prominent civilian figure on the equestrian scene as well, serving as a judge, steward, committee member and inspiration, remaining an important part of the sport until just a few years before his passing. He served as a horse show official for the last time when he was 92.
He always made it his business to stay fit enough to do his job, whatever it was, and rode with the Loudon, Va., hunt into his 80s.
“He never takes the elevator, even if his room is on the 10th floor,” Sally Ike, the USEF’s director of licensed officials, observed a few years ago. She would always salute Gen. Jack when she saw him, and invariably received a snappy salute in return.
A native of Illinois, Jack was a member of the ROTC at Michigan State College when he graduated in 1942 in the midst of World War II. Four days later, he found himself taking an intensive six-week cavalry course at Fort Riley, Kansas, before being shipped to El Paso, Texas. There, as part of the First Cavalry Division, he patrolled the Mexican border, “looking for spies, saboteurs or whatnot,” he recalled a few years ago when I interviewed him for a story.
He got a good education in riding and horsemanship during college, because in those days, ROTC at land grant schools had horse cavalry or horse artillery, with a detachment of soldiers taking care of horses and a few officers to teach classes.
“The military system was based on the European system,” he explained to me once. The ROTC guidebook was “The Cavalry Manual of Horsemanship and Horsemastership,” vintage 1935. The instruction including shoeing, conditioning and stable management, as well as riding.
Jack Burton in his army days
But his time on horseback once he was serving with the Army turned out be short-lived.
The Australians were light on infantry, since they had shipped four divisions to fight with the British in the Far East, while the Japanese were on their doorstep in New Guinea, bombing Darwin and Brisbane.
So Jack’s outfit, was sent over, without horses, to “clean up New Guinea.”
While he was still in Australia, Burton saw an attractive blonde dancing during a gathering at a hotel.
“I cut in on her, got her phone number and it went on from there,” he remembered.
“When we took the Admiralty Islands, we spent six months building a naval base, and they let us go down to Australia on leave. I called her up and said, ‘Let’s get married.'” He and Joan were married in 194 and had two children, Jonathan Jr. and Judy Lewis. Joan pre-deceased him.
Jack didn’t get back to horses until after the war, when the show circuit started up again following a four-year hiatus.
Although the army had been mechanized, he was assigned to the cavalry school at Fort Riley, where he was the instructor for the last two years that horsemanship classes were held for officers.
Although it was clear that the cavalry was nearing the end of its days, “They finally decided they wanted to send a team to the 1948 Olympic Games in London, since the Army had sent teams to all the previous Olympics,” Jack recollected.
Jack Burton on Air Mail in 1948. USET Foundation archive photo.
He was in the elite group of officers who were getting ready for the Olympics, which had not been held since 1936.
“All we did was train,” he said. “We trained jumpers, three-day horses and what we had in dressage.”
While preparing for the Olympics, the Army team competed in jumping at the biggest shows, including the National at Madison Square Garden, as well as Dublin and Geneva.
“I was a junior officer, so I would travel with the horses. We’d go in baggage cars equipped to haul horses. When we shipped horses to Europe, we went by boat. It took about 11 days. Soldiers would clean the stalls, but I helped,” he remembered.
In 1947, the same year he was U.S. Three-Day Eventing Champion, Jack won the National Horse Show’s international individual show jumping trophy with Air Mail, beating the legendary Mexican General Humberto Mariles, whose country’s teams dominated the competition at the National for a decade.
Although Jack was selected for the 1948 Olympic jumping and eventing teams, his horse went lame and he found himself in the position of helping his teammates as reserve rider. It was the last gasp for the cavalry in the Olympics.
After the Army gave up its team in 1950, the fledgling U.S. Equestrian Team was formed. Jimmy Wofford’s father, 1932 Olympian Col. John “Gyp” Wofford, the USET’s first president, asked Jack, who was in Europe with the Army horses, to bring back any he thought could be candidates for the 1952 Olympics.
“I returned by boat with 12 horses that could be used on the team, one of which was Democrat. He could jump, he could three-day and he could dressage. He was a thoroughbred bred by Gordon Russell in the army remount system,” Jack had recounted.
“When we had 14 regiments of cavalry, we had to buy thousands of horses. The highest price buyers could pay for a horse was $165.”
Jack chose well. The fledgling USET won the bronze in eventing and show jumping, with Democrat playing a role in the latter success, then going on to major victories at the National Horse Show and elsewhere.
While Jack had hoped to ride on the 1952 Olympic team in Helsinki after missing his chance four years earlier in London, the Army had other plans for him. After serving in Korea, however, he finally made the eventing squad in the 1956 Olympics.
He fell off Huntingfield when the horse stumbled coming off an 11-foot drop on cross-country.
“In that day, we had a phase E after cross-country,” said Jack, who was picked up by his horse’s owner and thrown back into the saddle so he could complete the test.
“The horse galloped phase E, 1,000 meters, but when I arrived at the finish line, the Swedes there saw I was noncomprehensible and put me in the ambulance.”
After doctors determined Jack had a concussion, they said he shouldn’t ride in the jumping phase the next day. He followed their advice.
“There was no point, because one of the other U.S. riders got eliminated in jumping and the other was eliminated in cross-country. But I probably should have,” he said wistfully, “so we at least could have had a horse finish.”
That wasn’t his last experience with the Olympics, as his involvement with horse sports took another turn when he became an official. He judged eventing at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, as well as the 1966 World Championships in Burghley, England, and the 1982 World Championships in Luhmuhlen, Germany. At the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, he was on the appeals committee.
After two tours of duty in Vietnam, Jack retired from the military in 1975 as commander of the Third Armored Division and went on to be executive vice president of the USET.
Following World War II, there was nothing in the way of civilian eventing. The sport was known as “the military,” appropriate since it had started as a test of cavalry officers’ mounts.
“The Army once a year had an Olympic-level three-day event. It was the graduation of the advanced (officers) course. That was the only eventing in the U.S.,” Jack remembered a few years ago.
A correspondent for the Nashville Tennessean newspaper contacted him when he was stationed at Ft. Knox, Kentucky, asking him to come to Tennessee and help put on a civilian event in 1953.
“We went down to Percy Warner Park, where there was a steeplechase course. We added some tires and barrels and made a cross-country course. We didn’t have a rulebook, so I copied the FEI rulebook,” Jack said.
What would be a training/preliminary-level event today, attracted about a dozen riders, including some from Canada, and the sport grew from there.
“Denny Emerson (a former president of the U.S. Eventing Association) referred to Jack as the Johnny Appleseed of the eventing world,” recalled Jimmy Wofford.
“Wherever Burton would be stationed, suddenly an event would spring up. He got Pony Clubs involved in it; he got local combined training associations started. The interesting thing is that after he left, they still kept going, so he must have had some knack of developing things that could stand on their own two feet and didn’t depend on Gen. Burton being there.”
Jack adapted well to change, knowing from his experience in the military when to argue against it and when to fall in line and accommodate it. He served as president of the U.S. Combined Training Association (now the U.S. Eventing Association) and wrote the first U.S. rulebook for eventing.
He will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery last this year, and his memory will be honored in December at the USEA’s annual meeting in Boston. Jack was among the last of a great generation of horsemen, and we salute him.
The New Jersey Equine Artists’ Association’s 2019 Invitational Exhibit of equine art by local/regional artists began June 9 at Prallsville Mills, 33 Risler St., Stockton, and will be on display through Sunday, June 23. It is open Thursdays through Sundays, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. or by appointment.
“This is the group’s third time at Prallsville Mills and it has been a great venue to showcase these majestic animals at work, sport and play, in the wild and dreams,” commented the group’s founder/director, Sheila Barnes.
“This is NJEAA’s 20th anniversary, starting with local artists in 1999. We have been thrilled with the response of art/horse lovers‘ to our shows over the years.”
The Sawmill at Prallsville Mills is a historic site on the Delaware River and Raritan Canal, with a lovely backdrop for this exhibition. NJEAA provides information, education and networking opportunities for its members, whether beginners or professionals. To learn more contact Barnes at: xochitlb@comcast.net or call (908) 284-9751.
After its popular top-25 show rating program was put on hold for five years, the North American Riders Group (NARG) is back to represent riders, owners, trainers and their horses, with a focus on improving the sport.
After three meetings in 2019, the NARG board has elected new members, submitted an updated position statement to the International Jumper Riders Committee and approved a proposal for the return of the NARG Top 25.
Following the February and April meetings, the NARG board took on Lauren Hough as its new treasurer and invited three new members to join. Mark Leone remains as president and Tiffany Foster of Canada as vice president. The board includes Kent Farrington, Jimmy Torano, Andrew Welles, Missy Clark and Will Simpson of the U.S., along with Canadians Mark Samuel and Ben Asselin, and Mexicans Enrique Gonzalez and Eugenia Garza. Jennifer Markee continue as executive director.
The board has updated and reinstated the NARG Position Statement to IJRC, including addressing the blood rule (involving blood found on a horse in competition) with solutions for revision. It also deals with adjusting the allocation of FEI Ranking Points for the AAA Category as well as the Nations Cup Final; the escalating costs of competing at FEI events in North America, particularly 2* shows; and the potential implementation of an FEI Course Designer Certificate of Capability.
The ranking of the NARG Top 25 shows will return in 2020, taking into consideration six years of past reports, the current show jumping landscape in North America and revamping the evaluation system, NARG website and communication systems. There also has been a discussion of presentation methods and reaching out for feedback from an evaluation panel in the sport.
EqSol returns as not only producer of the NARG Top 25 report, as it was from 2010-2015, but the agency has agreed to take on the vision and mission of the entire project.
Anyone who wants to participate or has ideas for NARG should contact Jen Markee at (516) 428-4423.
The event, presented by the Hunterdon Foundation, is family-friendly, with tailgating playing a big role at Fieldview Farm in Pittstown, where gates open at noon. The rain date is June 9..
Tickets may be purchased online at http://hunterdonpolo.org/ or at Bishop’s Supermarket, Whitehouse Station; Bourbon Street Liquors, Califon, Clinton, Lebanon and Flemington and
Coach Stop Saddlery, Bedminster.
Those interested in tailgates, custom packages and sponsorship opportunities may email hunterdonevents@gmail.com.
Could there have been a more appropriate winner than Doug Payne for a division of the 2019 Jersey Fresh International Three-Day Event?
Even though Doug lives in North Carolina now, he’s still considered a hometown hero in the Garden State, so it was nice to have him finish at the top of the standings today in the CCI 3-star Long, presented by Zoetis.
Doug’s roots are in New Jersey; he grew up in Tewksbury Township at Applewood Farm, a facility run by his mother, Marilyn Payne, an Olympic judge, trainer and all-around expert in the sport of eventing. Starr Witness, the mare he rode to the title today came from Emil Spadone’s Redfields Farm in Tewksbury. And he has ridden at Jersey Fresh for many of its 17 years, although he didn’t come last year.
Jersey Fresh sometimes has struggled in the past, but many of the riders who competed in the event at the Horse Park of New Jersey commented how much they appreciate the efforts to improve conditions by event organizers and the park’s board. The weather cooperated Saturday for cross-country, with gorgeous sunshine and moderate temperatures that drew hundreds of tailgaters, although today was a complete opposite, drenched in cold rain. Even so, the footing installed a year ago in the grand prix ring held up well enough. Unfortunately, however, it was decided to cancel the park’s first Preliminary Eventing Derby as the rain continued to pour down after the regular divisions wrapped up.
I asked Doug what he thought about the event, and he replied, “There are pretty dramatic improvements. The arena footing is good, the cross-country, you couldn’t have asked for a whole lot better as far as footing goes. The courses were good, they were challenging,” he said of the routes designed by Mark Phillips.
“I was glad to see that in the end it wasn’t a dressage show. In years past, they’ve gone a little bit softer and now it got a little harder, and I think appropriately so,” said Doug.
Going into the show jumping phase, where the course was designed by Chris Barnard, Doug stood second to overnight leader Lynn Symansky on RF Cool Play. With 27.3 penalties to his 30.1, she did not have a rail to play with. When Doug turned in a clean round, the pressure was on Lynn, who dropped a pole and finished second. Doug was also fourth with another double clear on Cascor, who came up from seventh after dressage. Doug characterizes that gelding as the mare’s “boyfriend.”
Starr Witness is a former hunter, but she was too hot for that division despite her classic jumping style, so Emil thought it would be worth it for Doug to give her a shot in his discipline.
“She goes in a rubber snaffle and you hardly have to touch her reins,” he said. “She’s just learning now to relax and open up her step and become more efficient on cross-country.”
Doug was standing third on Quantum Leap in the CCI 4-star Long after cross-country, but he wasn’t presented at today’s final horse inspection because he had a “pretty wicked” heel grab incurred yesterday.
“This sport’s not easy at all, and it can be very frustrating,” said Doug, who really came into his own in a big way this year, finishing fifth at the Land Rover Kentucky 5-star last month on Vandiver. It was a long journey.
“At this point, over time, we have a great group of horses. It’s been incredibly rewarding. It’s an exciting time, because we’ve had the majority of these horses forever,” said Doug, thanking his wife, Jessica; Starr’s owners Catherine Winter and Laurie McRee, and the others on his support team, as well as Emil, who kept a 5 percent interest in the Dutchbred mare so he could be in the winner’s circle photos.
Starr Witness, Cascor and Vandiver are all under consideration for the Pan American Games squad that will go to Lima, Peru, this summer in an effort to get the U.S. eventing team qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The squad will be named next month, after U.S. horses compete at the Bromont, Quebec, event, and longtime selector Bobby Costello promised, “We’ll have a winning team.”
Jersey Fresh’s featured CCI 4-star Long, presented by B.W. Furlong Associates, went to Fylicia Barr, who moved up from fourth in dressage to first yesterday with a fault-free cross-country trip on Galloway Sunrise, the mare she bought for $500. (For the back story in yesterday’s article, click on this link.)
Fylicia had a rail in hand going into today’s competition. Sunny toppled a pole during her round but she still had extra margin after Arden Wildasin, standing second with Il Vici, also had 4 penalties. Fylicia’s final score was 38.4 penalties to 43.2 for Arden. It was the inaugural 4-star win for Fylicia, who was the first person ever to sit on Sunny and has brought her up through the levels. Her goal is to qualify for the 2020 Kentucky 5-star.
A Pennsylvania professional, Fylicia didn’t take Sunny to Florida this winter, so she wasn’t sure about her degree of fitness for cross-country going into Jersey Fresh.
“I knew after the first jump, she was game-on the whole time, hunting the flags. It’s just a really cool experience to have a horse who knows her job so clearly,” said Fylicia.
“And then today, we’ve always struggled with the show jumping but my eye was in and she was just jumping out of her skin for me.
“Despite the weather, she came in and put in almost a foot-perfect show jumping round. It’s been a long time coming, and I feel like all the pieces finally came together this weekend, and it’s really exciting.”
Fylicia is thinking about breeding the mare with an embryo transplant into a surrogate, so Sunny can still compete.
Arden thanked her parents for supporting her “through all of my journeys, because they’re who allow me to do what I love to do. If I want to go out and do something, they’ll say, `Go for it.'”
She added, “I’ve learned to enjoy every moment. And that’s the biggest thing. No matter what happens, you enjoy it, because you never know when it’s going to end.”
Arden, an amateur, has competed in dressage and show jumping as she seeks to expand her skill. She did both on Mystery Whisper, Phillip Dutton’s 2012 Olympic ride.
But her thirst for expanding her horizons isn’t just limited to riding.
“I went to leather-making class; when I have spare time, I can make a bridle,” said Arden.
“I’d rather learn everything in all disciplines…but also, all the horse care. You might not understand it at that point, but you always have it in your tool bank.
She keeps her horses at her house.
“I wake up, I feed them, I do night check. Everyone asks, when do I take a vacation? This is a vacation.This is my best time I can spend. Me being the happiest is always around horses.”
