Life changes are nothing new for Greg Best, who will be involved in another big one next year.

Growing up in Flemington, he was a winner with ponies when I first met him. He went on to become a gold medalist at the North American Junior and Young Rider Championships before taking the U.S. Equestrian Team Talent Search title.

He emerged as a star grand prix competitor under the tutelage of former U.S. show jumping coach Frank Chapot. At the age of 24, Greg teamed with Michael Golden’s legendary New Jersey-bred Gem Twist for two Olympic silver medals in 1988,  then finished fourth in the 1990 World Equestrian Games, where Gem earned the Best Horse title.

But after a fall that injured his shoulder, Greg was ready to go in another direction–halfway across the world. In 1994, he started a new life in New Zealand, where he enjoyed the simplicity of that country’s equestrian scene (as compared to the way the sport is done in the U.S.)

He became a citizen and made his mark as a rider, then coached the Kiwis’ 2004 Olympic team. Greg; his wife, Kim, and their two children, Will,  3 and 1/2 and Pippa, 9 months, live on an 80-acre farm with a view of a scenic landscape that includes wineries.

But supporting his family means Greg, 51, has spent a lot of time away from New Zealand, doing 40 or 50 clinics annually.

“I’m really struggling with this whole thing of traveling for half the year. All of this is about family for me; the most important thing is my family. I recognized I needed to change something in my life,” Greg told me the other day.

He found the answer at Dana Hall, a girls’ private day and boarding school in Wellesley, Mass., where he has been a regular clinician for the last five years at the Karen Stives ’68 Equestrian Center. In 2017, Greg will be a trainer at the center, living in the U.S. with his family from May into November. That’s pretty much a down time for showing in New Zealand, where the seasons are the opposite of the U.S. Greg says the horses have their shoes pulled and live outside, with no blankets, for four months or so.

“New Zealanders,” he explained, “do things a bit differently, much the way we did things growing up.”

At the 1990 World Equestrian Games in Sweden, where Gem was named Best Horse.

He got a house through Airbnb and will move in next spring. Cookie DeSimone, who has been the school’s trainer in residence since the 1970s, will work full-time through December 2016, and then continue on a part-time basis.

The hope is that “there’s enough planning and preparation that’s gone into the program in the six months I’m there that the rest of the staff is going to be able to keep things ticking over,” said Greg, who called it “a work in progress” while noting he has no plans to remain in the U.S. year-round.

Even so, technology, from videos to Skype and Facetime, can fill in any gaps and keep him in touch with his students and staff.

Greg met several times with Dana Hall graduate Karen Stives, the eventing team gold and individual silver medalist at the 1984 Olympics, who died last year.  His aim, he said, is “to honor her legacy, Karen’s vision for the program and incorporate the ideas of myself and the rest of the staff to create something very special for the students.”

About 100 of them participate in the school’s program annually, and there are 45 horses in the stable, half of which belong to students, while the other half are school horses.

Students compete both during the school year and the summer in major shows, including HITS, the Vermont circuit, Lake Placid, the equitation finals and the fall indoor circuit.

Greg will be at the shows with the girls, but he also wants to put the emphasis on horsemanship; not just riding and showing, focusing on an overall knowledge of horses.

“Greg exemplifies the qualities that Karen Stives ’68 envisioned for our program, and we know she would have been very pleased with his addition to our staff,” said the center’s director, Sarah Summers.

In the last 10-12 years, Greg has gotten away from riding, but after four or five operations, his shoulder is better and he plans to get back to being a participant now.

“It’s not (that) I’m expected to ride, but it’s something I’m really wanting to do. I’ve got one shot at this left,” he commented.

Where it will take him remains to be seen.

“I’ve done the show stuff I want to do, but just knowing my competitive nature, I think I’d want to get back in the ring at some stage,” he said.

Greg Best, left, ringside when he coached the 2004 New Zealand Olympic show jumping team.

The big picture for his Dana Hall students, however, involves a lot more than winning ribbons.

“My approach is not about showmanship, it’s about horsemanship. That sums up my teaching in a nutshell. I want to teach these people how to ride, I want to teach them how to train horses. My goal is to educate these kids and inspire them to love the sport the way that I love the sport. I hope, in the process, that I create what we think of as successful riders.”

He emphasized, “I just want to do it the right way; I don’t want to take any shortcuts.”

Greg believes in imparting knowledge that can help the students learn how to train their horses so they can go on and train other horses and continue to be successful five, 10 or more years down the road, not just for a few weekends here or there.

He will be giving clinics at the center in August and October 2016. Riders outside of the Dana Hall community are invited to participate. Registration information is available on the school’s website, www.danahall.org.

John White of Stillwater and Hoboken has been competing with his team of striking gray Czech Kladrubers for six years at Devon, and last week finally clinched the show’s ultimate reward in his division by taking the coaching championship. He wound up with a two-point edge over Paul Martin’s team.

“The horses have been excellent,” John said.

“I’m very happy with that and I’m very happy with all the people that have helped us.”

Meanwhile, Laura Chapot of Neshanic Station, who has collected many Devon honors over the years, earned another Saturday night as she took the Leading Lady Jumper Rider title for the Carol Hofmann Thompson trophy. Her name also is on the trophy from 2014.

In the final class, the $50,000 Idle Dice stake, Laura was second to McLain and Tina with Quointreau Un Prince, and third on Thornhill Kate.

“This is one of our favorite horse shows, and I think this is one of the most important shows in the country,” said Laura.

“They really raised the bar this year with added prize money and making it an FEI competition. To be the leading lady rider here is certainly very prestigious, and I am so proud to win the trophy that is donated by Carol’s family. She was a great friend to us. I’m really thrilled to have won it again.”

To read more about the Devon Horse Show, see my “postcard” report on the web site of Practical Horseman magazine.

Amanda Derbyshire on Cannavaro BH.

At the age of 21, Amanda Derbyshire left her native England “to experience America” for three months. Six years later, the charming grand prix show jumper is still here, competing at major shows with an impressive string of horses.

Asked what she likes about the U.S., Amanda promptly replied, “Everything,” then added brightly, “the weather.”

She started out at Heritage Farm in New York, and now is a private trainer and barn manager for Becky and David Gochman’s Baxter Hill Farm.

Like so many immigrants, she stayed for “the opportunity. The shows here are really nice,” she said.

Amanda is spending the summer in Flemington, riding out of Scott Stewart’s base, Rivers Edge Farm. Both were at the Devon Horse Show last week, where Scott won the Leading Hunter Rider title and guided Betsee Parker’s A Million Reasons to the Grand Hunter Championship. Amanda was second in the $40,000 International Speed Stake on the flashy chestnut, Goldbreaker, behind new world number one-ranked rider McLain Ward, who wound up as the show’s leading jumper rider and also was aboard the open jumper champion, Tina La Boheme.

Several other ribbons also came Amanda’s way, including a seventh place on her top horse, Lady Maria BH, in the highly competitive $225,000 Sapphire Grand Prix of Devon.

McLain paid her quite a compliment.

“I think Amanda is excellent,” he said.

“She’s a great blend of two systems. She has a grittiness that comes from her background in England,” he continued, noting she “digs in, which you don’t see in the U.S. always; you see the young riders typically are kind of a little soft.”

The grittiness, “has been refined with a lot of style, so I think with the right horses, Amanda can go anywhere she’d like to go.”

Amanda rode in England with Olympic gold medalist Nick Skelton, and has trained in America when she can with Nick and his partner, Laura Kraut, another Olympic gold medalist. She also gets help occasional from Scott’s partner, Ken Berkley.

“I’m confident doing it on my own. I don’t always need someone there,” said Amanda, who won the Table A class in the 2-star division with Lady Maria at the Global Champions Tour stop in Miami Beach during April, where she also was first in the two-phase competition on Cannavaro BH. Of Goldbreaker, she said, “He’s so fast, he’s so brave. He’s kind of a horse I can use on any occasion. He really does try hard. He has his own style, but he’s never yet said no to anything I’ve asked him to do.”

Explaining how Amanda came to work for Baxter Hill, Becky Gochman said, “We really wanted her because we knew she was a great rider and would make an extra effort to help me, and she was also small enough to ride the ponies.”

The Gochmans’ daughters were quite successful in the pony ranks at Devon. Sophie, 13, was champion and reserve in the Small Pony section with Betsee Parker’s Bit of Love and Love Me Tender, while her younger sister, Mimi, 11, was reserve in both the Mediums on Pegasus Show Stable’s Truly Noble and in the Larges on Fair Play Farm’s Storyteller.

Lady Maria BH, Amanda Derbyshire’s star jumper.

“As our relationship developed, we soon figured out she could not only help with our girls but she’s a great rider in her own right,” commented Becky, who took Devon’s 3-foot, 6-inch Amateur-Owner Hunter over 35 Grand Championship with Empire.

“We’re learning along the way and Amanda’s a great teacher for our children in the jumper division and we feel so blessed to have her that we want to support her when we can as a jumper rider,” Becky continued.

“She finds really interesting horses. We give her a nice budget, but certainly not the kind of budget some of the other riders are going with. She’s talented at finding horses. She’s such a nice person that people want to see her succeed, so that helps.”

Amanda buys horses in England, rather than on the continent, as so many do.

“I get them from a lot of people I know, rather than going to Europe from people that I don’t know,” she said.

Becky said, “The thing I like about her is that she helped Nick Skelton, and took some of his young horses to the smaller shows where they would start, so she comes from the frame of mind where she does everything herself.”

Becky added, “She’s tough on my girls and makes them work hard at the barn and takes them on trail rides and has them gallop through fields. We appreciated the British heritage she brings to our training program.”

Amanda explained, “I still like hacking-out along the roads, which you don’t see anyone doing here.”

She enjoys taking the horses down quiet Old Croton Road near Rivers Edge.

“It’s very peaceful and nice,” she said.

“We hack out on the main roads in England, with tractors, wagons and everything else coming by.”

Amanda started riding because her mother did, but that was a more casual approach to the sport. She got her first pony when she was four or five, then went on to the pony jumpers.

“It’s a lot different than the system here. When I came here, it was a big change, but I tried to keep the qualities a lot of the European riders have. The style here and the precision are a lot more than we would have back home,” she said, explaining the type of preparation here also is quite a contrast to the way it’s done in Britain.

Amanda is getting to know her area of New Jersey, dining out at Ninety Acres in Peapack and the Red Rooster in Flemington. She also enjoyed a visit to New Hope, just across the Delaware River from Lambertville, but most of her time naturally is spent with the horses.

The Gochmans really appreciate Amanda.

“She’s just a lot of fun,” observed Becky.

“She has the cutest personality. She’s one of a kind. It’s a thrill watching her compete and get better and better. I really feel that she is starting to come into her own. She’s confident she can do it.”

If you own a horse, you probably have a familiarity with pasture, but how much do you really know about making the most of the property where your horse eats and roams?

Equine Extension Specialist Dr. Carey Williams of Rutgers University offered insights to a group of about 50 that turned out last week in Long Valley for one of several evenings of “Wine and Equine” held around the state.

The sessions also included information about manure (if you’re a horse owner, you’re familiar with that too) from Extension Specialist Dr. Michael Westendorf.

The idea of the program, which will continue with new information at other locations in June, was to expose horse farm owners to the concept of improving the environmental sustainability of their acreage.

Such property helps maintain open space in the most densely populated state in the country, where horse farms account for more than 20 percent of the agricultural land base.

A 1,000-pound horse needs from two to three acres for enough pasture to provide its total nutrient requirements. But one horse can be maintained on a half-acre of pasture if turned out for less than three hours a day, all the way up to unlimited turnout time for two acres. Ratios can be changed with elevated levels of management.

That means attention to mowing, irrigating, fertilizing and over-seeding. Plants need a chance to recover after grazing, so pasture rotation is key, and use of drylots or “sacrifice” areas (so called because they involve giving up land that could be used as pasture) also plays a major role in that regard.

Carey suggested dividing big fields into smaller sections to facilitate rotation, closing the horses out of one section to let it regrow while introducing them into another section. That offers a chance to mow (which controls weeds) and spread manure in the grazed section while it rests.

Grazing expert Jill Ott of the U.S. Department of Agriculture had the attention of both equine and human spectators for her presentation about drainage.

A month later, grass could be six to eight inches high, provided there has been proper management, unless the weather is hot and dry.  How low grass can be grazed depends on soil properties and the type of grass; fescue and orchard grass, for instance, should only be grazed down to about three inches minimum, Carey said.
Manure has value, Mike emphasized, noting it can reduce the need for energy-intensive nitrogen fertilizer and limited resource phosphorous fertilizer.  The downside of manure that is improperly dealt with involves erosion, possible groundwater contamination and ultimately, a decrease in pasture and farm productivity.

“You’ve got something that can definitely be a resource, but if managed incorrectly, is a problem,” he commented.

Nutrient management plans are necessary in dealing with manure, and that’s an area where the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service can help.

USDA representatives were on hand to explain what NRCS does, which includes working out resource assessment toward a conservation plan, and offering financial assistance where available if an applicant is eligible. NRCS representatives will come to a farm to help develop a plan that is tailored specifically for the landowner’s needs.

This is the first year $400,000 is being offered to horse farms by NRCS.  Applications are due by June 17 for the first round of funding, which covers pasture, manure and nutrient management plans. The second round deadline is July 17, and it only covers nutrient management plans.

To find out more or obtain help in getting in touch with NRCS, contact Carey at carey.williams@rutgers.edu.

The next Northern New Jersey program is June 21 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Centenary University Equestrian Center, 56 Califon Road, Long Valley,  while another Central New Jersey session is June 23 during the same hours at Fantasie Farms, 30 Wygant Road, Cream Ridge.

The programs are free, but an RSVP is required to either westendorf@aesop.rutgers.edu or carey.williams@rutgers.edu.

There certainly was tragedy aplenty at last weekend’s Jersey Fresh International Three-Day Event, and it can’t be forgotten. But there needs to be perspective in seeing the big picture while looking back at the competition, which was put together with a great deal of effort and drew a record crowd to the Horse Park of New Jersey.

“He just happened to meet it wrong and didn’t get his legs out,” she said. The horse was uninjured.

Philippa’s husband, Peter Humphreys, issued a moving statement, which said in part, “Philly lived and breathed the sport. For her, the cross-country was it… She knew the risks. We talked about them often. She accepted them unconditionally. She went out the way she would have wanted, doing what she loved more than anything else in the world, on her most treasured partner.”

Those who would like to contribute to a memorial college fund for the couple’s six-month-old daughter, Millie, should go to this website: https://www.youcaring.com/millie-elizabeth-humphreys-570323.

Cross-country day also claimed an equine victim, Skyler Decker’s CCI 2-star entry, Inoui Van Bost, who was injured at a Trakehner fence. He was euthanized due to a leg injury.

There also was great concern over the total of 16 falls on cross-country, which had everyone searching for reasons why they happened at the event, which was an Olympic selection trial.

David O’Connor, the U.S. eventing coach and former president of the U.S. Equestrian Federation, complimented Jersey Fresh for “great atmosphere” on cross-country day, saying “as a spectator thing, I think it’s greatly improved with the effort they put in here.”

At the same time, he said, “there were quite a lot of falls that were unexpected, at fences horses don’t normally fall at.”

David continued, “The riders are all questioning what happened. So we have to sit down and really look at the factors that produced a day like” that.

“There were really too many horse falls, I’d say the same thing about Badminton (the British event the previous weekend).The priority for all of us in the sport is to not have horse falls.”

The situation will be examined not only by the organizers and course designer, but also by the USEF’s technical committee and the U.S. Eventing Association.

“I think there are several of us who will get down and have that conversation,” David concluded.

Marilyn agreed that there should be an inquiry into why there were so many falls, but she also mentioned that some horses weren’t fit enough, noting a CCI is a major challenge.

Some riders, meanwhile, suggested the difficulty may stem from the Horse Park having insufficient land to put on a CCI, which is longer than a CIC (Jersey Fresh offered 2-star and 3-star ratings in both.)

Boyd Martin, a Jersey Fresh regular, suggested part of the problem may be “a piece of land trying to run a CCI that’s not quite big enough and the course has to go up and back and left and right and twist and loop, here and everywhere. There were just too many crashes. I don’t know what the answer is.

“This is a great venue, a great event.” But he also cited problems with “so many holds and delays. It’s more than just bad luck. It’s hard to get a flow here or a rhythm.

“The horses are a bit bamboozled with all the rollbacks,” he maintained, and was not alone in that contention.

He also noted that “Jersey Horse Park is an important venue for us as event riders and improvements are made here every year. The footing (cross-country) was better than ever. The course design’s good. It just doesn’t have that three-day event feel, like Bromont (Canada) or Fair Hill (Md.)  where you gallop in straight lines…and the courses are bigger and it really backs the horses up.”

He believed that last year, the course was more difficult, but there were less falls. He couldn’t explain why.

“If it was something simple, I’d tell you. Maybe it needed to be bigger. There is such a thing as bad luck, but it just happened too much” on cross-country day.

“I’m sure there will be talk whether we should keep this a CIC or if we should try doing a CCI somewhere else, but people more important than me will make a good decision.”

Even if Jersey Fresh became just a CIC, he thinks it would draw.

“This time of the year, there are so many top level event horses that need a run, they’re always going to get numbers here,” he said.

Ironically, I remember that in 2015, riders had been very complimentary about the courses, saying they were much less twisty than they had been in the past. Over the years, more land has been added for cross-country, but there’s a question as to how much more will become available. A field once used for steeplechase under the old long format hasn’t been maintained and would require a great deal of work and money to become useful.

Event organizer Jane Cory said course designer John Williams “felt there would be little or no benefit” to adding that land if how much of it could be used was restricted by the state.

Responding to comments that horses could get distracted because the route led them toward the stables and then away again, Jane said, “these are horse that are trying to go to the Olympics–is that really a problem?

“I think we hire pretty competent FEI officials…not one single one of them has ever said `don’t do a CCI.’”

She pointed out that Jersey Fresh had three members of the ground jury, three technical delegates and four stewards. “All those people check everything.” and there also were two rider representatives to whom riders can go with concerns. There were no complaints before cross-country, and the ground jury just asked for a few small adjustments that were made.

“Something happened. I don’t know what,” said Jane, who explained the organizers will have a post-show meeting and also seek input from the ground jury.

She said there have been compliments in recent years about the courses, which makes her wonder why some people now are saying now it’s not appropriate for CCIs, noting it’s the first year she has heard that.

“We’re not ready to say we’re not having it,” she emphasized. “Jersey Fresh is not considering dropping the CCIs.”

On a day that started with glorious weather and perfect ground conditions, it seemed all the effort that had gone into improving this year’s Jersey Fresh International Three-Day Event was paying off. A record crowd was tailgating around the Jersey Shore cross-country water complex and in the adjacent field at the Horse Park of New Jersey in Allentown.

A stellar list of riders was contesting the Olympic selection trial, and the trade fair — grown to impressive proportions — was set to great effect around the outside of the cross-country course and the main arena, as opposed to being walled off in a pavilion.

But the day was marred by two heart-breaking accidents. Early in the morning, Inoui Van Bost, ridden by Skyler Decker, was injured at a Trakehner, the 19th fence on the CCI 2-star course. He was taken to the New Jersey Equine Clinic in nearby Millstone, where he was euthanized.

Sadly, worse was to come. A few hours later, at fence 16, the Grand Table, on the CCI 3-star course, Philippa Humphreys was killed in a rotational fall, when her horse, Rich N Famous fell on her after she hit the ground. The mother of six-month-old Millie, Philippa was a very experienced eventer. A native of Great Britain, she was based in Michigan. Her horse was not injured.

Jersey Fresh Safety Coordinator Rusty Lowe noted a bystander nearby who was a nurse immediately gave Philippa CPR after the 12:38 p.m. accident, and emergency medical staff members were there within 45 seconds. “Heroic” efforts were made to resuscitate her before she was transported to a local trauma center, where she was pronounced dead an hour later.

She was wearing an air vest that deployed and had “full protective gear,” according to Rusty. He explained that the mechanics of the fall and the entire weight of the horse falling on top of her “caused severe enough injuries that she couldn’t survive.”

Course designer John Williams said there was “nothing unusual” about the table that could have led to a problem.

“It was meant to be one of the big, easy-galloping fences in between other questions. It had a round face,” said John.

“It was not a fence that had caused any other trouble.”

The officials, organizers and riders all were subdued by the loss of life, human and equine. Plans for music and dancing at a Saturday night dinner were scrapped, and the occasion was simply used as an opportunity for a meal where those involved could draw comfort from each other.

“It was a really tough day,” said Holly Payne Caravella of Gladstone, who stood second after cross-country in the CCI 2-star on Bruisyard Hall.

She noted, however, that the falls of Skyler’s and Philippa’s horses came at straightforward fences, as opposed to difficult combinations.

For more on Jersey Fresh, click here for a rundown of what happened on Sunday, May 15, 2016.

Did you miss Rolex Kentucky last weekend? Couldn’t make it to Badminton this weekend? There’s another chance to see top-notch eventing this spring, and it’s close to home.

Building on the success of last year’s competition, this week’s Jersey Fresh International Three-Day Event is continuing its progress at the Horse Park of New Jersey in Allentown, Monmouth County, with offerings for fans and families as it seeks to broaden its base.

Such major players as Buck Davidson and Boyd Martin (both of whom rode at Kentucky and Badminton), Kim Severson and Jessica Phoenix are among the large number of entries in the CCI 2- and 3-star as well as 2- and 3-star CICs offered at Jersey Fresh. The event is a selection trial for the Rio Olympics this summer.

Jersey Fresh, the Horse Park’s premier competition, is elevating its status in 2016.

“I’m hoping we can jump forward again this year,” said Brendan Furlong, whose B.W. Furlong and Associates veterinary practice boosted the event in 2015 with a $25,000 sponsorship. This year, that has grown to $30,000, while Brendan’s son, Adam, has gotten a number of smaller sponsors, including Zoetis and Merial.

Brendan believes that could be “the beginning of something where they can come in and get a title sponsor out of it.”

Tailgating at the biggest water obstacle has been a major hit at Jersey Fresh over the last few years, and this year it’s been so popular that a second area was opened up to accommodate demand.

“If we can keep on bringing people in, we can generate public interest and public awareness of it,” said Brendan.

As was the case last year, the cross-country course designed by John Williams will run past the members’ tent in the main ring, while the trade fair has been expanded and moved to an area near the grand prix arena.

“It was time to rethink the location and set-up of the trade fair from prior years,” said Dan Wunderlich, chair of the Jersey Fresh organizing committee.

Boyd Martin, a Jersey Fresh regular, will be competing there again this week.

“JFI has evolved into one of the most recognized three-day events in the county. We are committed to having all aspects of our event be first-class and, by moving the trade fair to a prime and more accessible location, we are assuring that everyone can enjoy a wide range of experiences amidst the excitement of the competition.”

It’s also an opportunity to buy, buy, buy, from Dubarry boots; bridle accoutrements and jewelry to match at Browbands with Bling and saddles from Devoucoux, as well as items from Quilted Horse Design, Svetlana Designs and The Fabulous Horse, among many others.

There will be more food vendors than in the past, including Fork in the Road’s food truck and Pretzelphoria.

Meanwhile, the state Equine Advisory Board will sponsor the New Jersey Equine & Agricultural Expo Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. It features displays by 4-H, Pony Club and other organizations. Children will be offered a free Breyer horse they can paint and take home, and pony rides also will be available.

On Sunday, the Zoetis Pony Chase will provide entertainment with racing Shetlands racing over hurdles.

Admission to JFI and the Horse Park of New Jersey is free on Wednesday for the first horse inspection and the start of dressage; Thursday, when dressage continues and Friday, when dressage wraps up.

General admission tickets for Saturday and Sunday are $10 per person. Children under 12 are admitted free of charge, as are 4-H and FFA members with ID; Pony Club members (with pin), and military members and their dependents with ID. Seniors 65 and older are admitted at a discount of $5 per person.

The Jersey Fresh International Three-Day Event/Horse Park of New Jersey is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, charitable and educational organization that relies on sponsors, volunteers and members to sustain operations. Further information is available at jfi3d.com, or about the Horse Park, at horseparkofnewjersey.com.