The Horseshoe Bend Park Benefit Trail Ride in Kingwood Township will be held from 9 a.m.-noon Nov. 4. You can choose whether you want to do four, eight or 12 miles (if it’s either of the latter two, you have to get on the trail by 11 a.m.)
The area has a mix of terrain, and you can ride alone or in a group of up to four people. Innovations this year are a raffle and a tack swap/sale. The fee is $40 or $35 for members of Friends of Horseshoe Bend Park. Pay at the event, but for planning purposes, please register beforehand with megsleeper@icloud.com.
Get on Horseshoe Bend Road off of Spring Hill Road. Do not get on Horseshoe Bend Road off Route 12, as there is a narrow bridge going that way,
Are you up to date on what’s happening in scientific research involving horses? Catch up at the Rutgers Equine Science Center’s Evening of Science and Celebration Nov. 8 at the Cook Student Center on the G.H. Cook Campus at 59 Biel Road in New Brunswick.
The keynote presentation by Dr. Burt Staniar of Penn State Univeristy involves a visual tour of how fiber affects the equine gut. His research focuses on equine nutrition, pasture and gastrointestinal health.
The evening begins with dinner at 6 p.m. and continues at 7 p.m .with the keynote presentation, an update on equine muscle physiology and awards. The Spirit of the Horse will go to Kennis “Buttons” Fairfax, while John Crater and Mortonhouse Farm in Long Valley has been designated the Gold Medal Horse Farm.alley, NJ
Admission is $15 for students, and $35 for adults, which includes dinner, other refreshments and dessert. To register, click on this link
The Essex Foxhounds will hold a mock hunt at 11 a.m. Oct. 21 at Cedar Lane Farm Road, 87 Homestead Road, in the Califon section of Tewksbury Township (just outside of Oldwick).
Riders, who should wear hunting clothes or ratcatcher, will have the option of trying one of three flights. The first group will jump everything and go at a forward pace, the second group has go-arounds and will proceed at a moderate pace. The third group stays on the flat, no jumps, and the pace will be gentle.
There always has been informal betting at the Far Hills Race Meeting, where groups of friends would organize their fun wagers. But on Oct. 20, it will be the real deal, as the 98-year-old fixture will offer pari-mutuel wagering for the first time.
With the introduction of wagering, the race meeting delivers on a long-held promise, pairing betting with its world-class steeplechase races, including the $450,000 Grand National (Grade 1). A National Steeplechase Association race meet record of $850,000 in purses will be presented.
“Far Hills is pleased to offer our loyal patrons this prized amenity: A chance to bet on our races,” said Far Hills Chairman Guy Torsilieri. “The wagering experience is yet another way for our fans to enjoy and be intimately involved in our races, which, every year, draw top horses from the United States and overseas.”
Under New Jersey law, Far Hills will conduct its one-day of wagering under Monmouth Park’s pari-mutuel license. All races will be under the supervision of the New Jersey Racing Commission.
“After years of working closely with the Far Hills Race Meeting team, we’re so pleased the partnership is finally official,” said Dennis Drazin, president and CEO of Darby Development LLC, which operates Monmouth Park.
“We are grateful to have an opportunity to support this beloved 98-year tradition while also raising greater awareness for steeplechase racing and all equine sports throughout the region and beyond.”
With strong support from Central New Jersey legislators and near-unanimous votes in the New Jersey Assembly and Senate, legislation authorizing pari-mutuel wagering at Far Hills passed in August 2016, with the law taking effect the following month. Far Hills officials had worked to prepare for pari-mutuel wagering last year, but logistical issues at its Moorland Farm race course delayed the launch until the 2018 meet.
“We have resolved the logistical issues, and we’re now ready to provide a top-quality wagering experience,” Torsilieri said.
In the Borough of Far Hills, local officials have embraced the partnership.
“As mayor, I and the borough council support the introduction of pari-mutuel wagering at the Far Hills Race Meeting, not only to enhance the event’s experience, but also to continue to provide funding for local charities, medical facilities and borough programs—both present and future— providing an important benefit to our residents,” said Borough of Far Hills Mayor Paul Vallone.
“Wagering will help to invigorate the equestrian tradition, which is part of the fabric of our region, and enhance growth within the Far Hills Race Meeting and throughout the entire borough as we both near our centennial anniversary.”
While pari-mutuel wagering will primarily serve Far Hills’ patrons, bettors around the world will also have an opportunity to wager on Far Hills’ races. Far Hills will continue to provide high-definition video streaming of its races, as it has done for the past two years.
“We feel that Far Hills offers a premier steeplechase experience, and we welcome the opportunity to share our races with all of America and jump-racing fans around the world,” said Torsilieri, who also is the National Steeplechase Association’s president. “We hope that this combination of top-level competition, a superior video experience, and a wagering opportunity will attract new fans to steeplechase racing.”
Over the years, the race meeting has provided more than $18 million to fund local health-care initiatives, including the Steeplechase Cancer Center at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset (named in honor of the Far Hills Race Meeting), Cancer Support Community of Central New Jersey, Bonnie Brae, the ARC of Somerset County, LifeCamp and Community in Crisis. For tickets and more information, visit www.farhillsrace.org.
The Pittstown Trail Association is hosting a 10 a.m. trail ride and luncheon fundraiser Oct. 14 that is open to everyone. Helmets are required.
Space is limited, however, so those who want to participate must register by Oct. 6 with their name, phone, email and desired group speed. All groups will have a leader. There will be walk/trot and walk/trot/canter rides of four to eight miles. Trails cross roads and water.
The ride will be held at Finn Park, 36 Finn Road, Pittstown. Trailer parking is in second lot on the right. Park your trailer on the back side away from soccer area parking.
To register, send an email to SANDY.HOWLS@GMAIL.COM or call (908) 303-7955.The fee is $10 for current association members and $30 for non-members. Those who join the group the day of the ride can do so for $55 and pay for the ride at the member rate. You must bring proof of equine liability insurance.
The potluck lunch begins at at 12:30 p.m. Please bring a dish to pass. All are welcome to attend the potluck lunch, friends and family too.
Historian Barry Thomson will give a lecture on equestrian pursuits in the Somerset Hills Wednesday Sept. 3 at 7 p.m. at the Peapack-Gladstone Library. Barry has fascinating stories and pictures to match about the heyday of horses and sport in an area known for foxhunting, shows and racing.
Admission is free but registration is requested. Go to https://sclsnj.org/for information.
Will Faerber from Art2Ride will present a classical riding clinic Oct. 13 and 14 at Lord Stirling Stable, 256 S. Maple Ave., Basking Ridge. The clinic, which will run from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, is designed to introduce classical principles of foundation training. Auditors are welcome.
An Art2Ride Clinic focuses on the basic principles of relaxation, suppleness, connection and engagement over the topline as the foundation to all disciplines. This system is designed to improve the horse physically and mentally, taking the resistance out of riding.
Will is a master horseman who studied extensively in Portugal with Nuno Oliveira whom he considers his greatest influence. He has competed in eventing, jumping and dressage, in addition to coaching his students to regional and state championships; including Horse of the Year awards.
The auditing fee is $30 at the door. For advance tickets available at a discounted price, contact cemott27@verizon.net. For detailed information, go to the Art2Ride website: https://art2ride.com/event/new-jersey-classical-riding-clinic-2/ or email Marnie at njhcrep@gmail.com.
When Heronwood Racing Partners set out to buy a thoroughbred who would run under the stable’s colors, members of the group already were thinking of a way to make sure the horse would have a new job after he finished at the track.
Mark Bellard, the partner of hunter/jumper trainer Rachel Rosenthal, is in the group with Julia Greifeld of Whitehouse Station, a director of Mane Stream therapeutic riding, and Anthony Sileno of Mendham, who revealed “I’ve wanted to buy racehorses since I was about five years old.”
Like Anthony, Julia said, “I’ve always loved the thought of a racehorse. I’ve been approached many times over the years, but I wanted to be with people who would be interested in an end-game plan for the horse. I could never sell any kind of horse down the road.”
The group invested in Street Fighting Man, a son of 2007 Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense and a great-grandson of Native Dancer. Street Fighting Man, who raced at Woodbine in Canada as a two-year-old, is known around the barn as Jagger after Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones, who sang the tune for which the horse was named.
When Heronwood took on Jagger after his time in Canada, he contracted pneumonia within the first week.
“It was a long road back,” Mark recalled, but the flashy-looking black with a come-from-behind technique finally was ready for the New York racing scene, breaking his maiden with odds of 19-1 at Aqueduct on Rachel’s birthday in 2016.
“I can’t wait until he’s my jumper,” Rachel exclaimed, to which Mark responded, “Hold your horses.”
Street Fighting Man kept running for another year. By the time he finished the 2017 season as a five-year-old, having won a little more than $80,000 in 22 races, it was decision time.
(To see Street Fighting Man in action at the track, click on the video below and watch the number 3 horse with the jockey in the red cap.)
“The risk at that level is that you have to put them in claiming races. The trainer spotted him in places he thought he wouldn’t get claimed,” said Mark. But the fact that Jagger was a turf horse made the next step easy. At the end of 2017, the partnership was faced with laying him off for six months until racing on grass began again, or retiring him.
Retirement won, and it was on to the next step for Jagger.
“We always knew we’d need a plan, and fortunately, with Rachel, we had one,” said Mark, discussing Jagger’s future. After chilling out in upstate New York for a few months, Jagger came back to Heronwood, Rachel’s barn in Bedminster, for training in his new vocation.
As Julia mentioned, “I liked the fact that he’s being trained by a professional for his next step in life.”
At the track, Jagger was under the guidance of trainer Nick Esler, who rides his own horses.
“He put some good miles on this horse,” Mark noted. “As soon as Rachel got on him, she knew it wasn’t like starting from scratch.”
Heronwood’s big goal is next month’s Thoroughbred Makeover, presented by the Retired Racehorse Project. Jagger will be among hundreds of off-the-track thoroughbreds who have 10 months or less of retraining. Competition involves 10 different disciplines, with entries seeking a share of the $100,000 in prize money. At the end, according to the organization, there will be one overall winner, “crowned America’s Most Wanted Thoroughbred.”
It won’t be Jagger. The Heronwood group is under no illusions, considering that Jagger doesn’t have a lot of mileage in jumping and only seven months of retraining.
Rachel Rosenthal jumping Street Fighting Man. (Photo courtesy of Mark Bellard)
“It’s not about going there to win,” explained Rachel, who does feel Jagger will be prepared well enough to put on a decent performance.
“It’s about showing the community what you’ve got,” she continued, saying, “We’re going there to represent.”
Mark is as enthusiastic as the other partners about the Thoroughbred Makeover concept and Jagger’s appearance in Kentucky.
“It’s such a great exit plan for all the thousands of thoroughbreds that are looking for a second career. I think it’s gained a lot of traction with all the trainers and owners. It gives them more options what to do with their horse, sooner rather than later.”
Julia reminisced about how thoroughbreds once ruled the show ring, and then fell out of favor as the warmbloods took over. Thoroughbreds are making a comeback now through initiatives such as the Makeover and Thoroughbred Incentive Program at many shows.
“This re-purposing is a relatively new thing,” Julia pointed out. Anthony believes “the whole movement has reached almost everybody” and those at the track are more aware of the options for horses that have stopped racing.
Even though Jagger is pursuing a different profession now, racing is still in the partners’ blood.
“It gives us a lot of fun and takes us on some nice journeys,” said Mark. While Heronwood has no racehorses at the moment, it does have a mare in foal to 2008 Derby winner Big Brown. The partners also are looking for a filly who can race for them and then become a broodmare as her end game.
As for Jagger, “Right now, we’re interested in re-purposing him and giving him the best start,” said Rachel.
“We’re just trying to set him up for whatever his next stage might be. Had we not given him this training, he would have very few options,” Julia pointed out.
Anthony said a horse like Jagger probably would have wound up running in $10,000 claiming races at Mountaineer, a track in West Virginia.
“He would have been asked to run every couple of weeks until he broke down,” said Mark. But this horse has a different destiny, and Rachel is confident he has star quality, noting how much she likes his temperament.
“That’s the number one thing you look for in any horse,” she mentioned.
“He’s so sensible. I take him out in the woods and down the road. I think he’s really athletic; he’s been so easy to train. He gets it, and gets something new every day.”
At their board meeting this month, directors of the U.S. Equestrian Federation voted to require all adults with a competing membership to complete the organization’s Safe Sport Training program in order to participate in USEF activities or enter shows.
Members can access the free training program directly through their member dashboard or go to the USEF website to learn more.
USEF President Murray Kessler stated, “I am very proud of the work done in drafting this proposal and the board of directors, which approved this critical rule designed to keep our children safe while they enjoy, excel, and advance in our sport.”
There had been controversy over a proposal to require everyone who signed an entry blank as a trainer to take the course, but Murray earlier this year said he wanted to have the Safe Sport training requirement go beyond licensed officials, directors and others originally required to go through it, saying he felt it was important that all members be required to take it.
A 30-day grace period to complete the awareness training will be provided to all members who renew or join on or after December 1, 2018. Members joining prior to December 1, 2018 will have until January 1, 2019 to complete the training. Those who do not complete the training within the grace period will be ineligible to participate in USEF activities, including competitions.
The Safe Sport Policy and the rules that govern it have been created to protect all athletes from misconduct within the sport, according to USEF. This new rule is consistent with efforts to ensure the safety and welfare of equestrian participants, especially minors. Education and training everyone is crucial to protecting athletes and eradicating abuse.
At a show, members will not have to present documentation about having taken the training unless the 30-day grace period has expired and they completed the Safe Sport training in the previous 48 hours.
Competition management and secretaries will have access to a combined suspension and ineligibility list in the same manner as the current suspension list to identify those who are ineligible to compete.
Safe Sport training records from the U.S. Center for SafeSport automatically update the USEF systems every 24 to 48 hours. If a person appears on the Safe Sport Training Ineligible list, but has completed their training before the system updates, they can print and take a copy of the completion certificate to the show office to prove they are eligible to compete.
It’s nice to envision global championships, such as the Olympics or next month’s FEI World Equestrian Games, as an opportunity for the all the best horses and riders on earth to compete head to head. In reality, it seldom works out that way; think of everything that can derail a contender before the big competition.
It has happened to the dressage champion of last month’s Aachen horse show, as a pasture injury to Cassidy has forced rider Cathrine Dufour to withdraw him from the Danish team. With Cassidy goes the chance for the Danes to be medal contenders in Tryon, N.C. Cathrine, who won individual and team bronze at the 2017 European Championships, also had a chance to be on the podium as an individual at WEG.
There’s still plenty of great competition in the dressage ranks, with Germany and the U.S. as team medal favorites. The Dutch, Swedes and Brits aren’t on the same level, but they could well threaten for bronze. Individually, Germany’s Isabell Werth is a favorite, though it has yet to be decided which of her three equine possibilities will get the nod.
The USA’s Laura Graves with Verdades and Kasey Perry-Glass (Dublet) both distinguished themselves at Aachen and should be contenders in Tryon, along with Olympic and WEG multi-gold medalist Charlotte Dujardin on her new, but inexperienced horse, Mount St. John Freestyle. The mare has competed outside of Britain only once, however. Mileage counts during the rigors of a championship. Several other Germans could be contenders too, and perhaps someone unexpected will pop up on the podium.
