Arielle and Dutch are on their way along two tracks

by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 19, 2023

Buying a weanling as a sport horse prospect is a long road. But the trip has been worth it so far for eventer Arielle Aharoni, who earned the best placing of her career with the multi-talented Dutch Times at the MARS Equestrian Bromont 4-Star Long in Canada this month.

She finished second, just a little more than a rail behind eternal Olympic medalist Phillip Dutton and the exciting Azure, as that mare logged her first FEI victory.

“I definitely had a couple of tears in my eyes,” Arielle remembered about her reaction to a very special accomplishment.

“I was a little bit in disbelief of how well we did. It definitely didn’t feel real. I knew it was in there, but I definitely didn’t think it was all going to be put together,” commented the recipient of a Bromont Rising Under 25 development grant in 2019.

Her mother, Christina Barna Aharoni, said, “We were thrilled. It will put her on the map a little bit. Sometimes you have to wait for the stars to align for that perfect result. And you know what, how do you beat Phillip? But we’ll take it.”

Christina and Arielle Aharoni with Dutch Times at home. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)

While Dutch’s Bromont ribbon was a milestone for Arielle, who finished 10th in that event last year, the 23-year-old Bedminster, N.J., resident is a long way from the finish line. The professional trainer is hoping to take her 15-year-old son of Good Times (by Nimmerdor) to the Land Rover Kentucky 5-star next year, and eventually ride on Nations Cup teams for the U.S.

That’s plural for a reason — “I have ambitions to make multiple teams,” said Arielle, referencing the inspiration of German superstar Michael Jung, who does it all. Dutch is a powerful show jumper, as well as an eventer.

Arielle and Dutch in May’s $50,000 Devon Arena Eventing competition, where they finished third. (Photo courtesy of Christina Aharoni)

Eventing and show jumping are in her sights at the moment. She admits, “dressage is not quite there yet but I’m thinking one day…”

Then she conceded with a smile, “We have to get a little bit more training in us.”

Arielle began sharpening that discipline this spring with respected trainer Heather Mason, who said, “I have been very impressed with her dedication to improving her dressage. It’s clear she works hard between lessons, and the hard work paid off at Bromont.” (Arielle was eighth in that phase.)

“She has a great relationship with her very talented Dutch. It’s nice to see a young professional training and riding their own horses up the levels.”

Erik Duvander, who is involved in training such top riders as Boyd Martin and Liz Halliday-Sharp, watched Arielle at Bromont.

“I am always talent scouting, and Arielle caught my eye a few years ago,” he said.

“The girl has grit!  And you can’t teach that. With a decent horse and perseverance, you can learn the rest. This is Arielle,” he said, and at Bromont, “she did a super job.”

Arielle focuses on getting around the cross-country courses safely when she events, and that’s how she handled the Bromont route laid out by Olympic course designer Derek Di Grazia.

Arielle going cross-country on Dutch Times at Bromont. (Photo XO Girl Productions)

“I never really go for time, I never really pushed the envelope,” she said, explaining her priority is getting around safely, while she knows exactly where she could have made up time if that had been her plan.

Based at Aharoni Equestrian on a scenic Branchburg, N.J., farm, where she oversees care of 14 horses, Arielle works closely with her mother, who selected Dutch as a brash weanling out of the glamorous palomino Alino Queen (by Michellino) at Lauren Efford’s Goldhope Farm in Pennsylvania.

“He was just full of himself,” recalled Christina, “and I said, `This horse is going to be a star’.”

Arielle chuckled as she remembered the reaction of her eight-year-old self when Christina got Dutch.

“I did every sport under the sun except for riding,” she reminisced, citing ice skating, taekwondo and playing soccer.

“I didn’t want to do the same sport as my mom. And then she bought Dutch and I was upset she didn’t buy me a horse and that’s how I got started. (Toby, her first pony, still lives in the Branchburg barn.)

Christina began riding at the old Claremont stable in New York City, where she was born the year after her parents emigrated from Ukraine. She continued riding on Long Island before she wound up teaching at Winterbrook in Montville, N.J. and evented a bit, even competing at the Essex Horse Trials in its heyday. She had some lessons with Marilyn Payne and knew Denny Emerson, Bobby Costello and others still prominent in the eventing world.

Christina broke Dutch, and then turned him over to Tik Maynard, who went on to ride him in FEI competition in 2014 and 2015, before Arielle took over.

A member of the Amwell Valley Pony Club, Arielle got her A ratings in dressage and eventing. She has taught at Pony Club camp as a give-back, under the theory, “they gave you a start, you have to give them a start.”

Arielle graduated from Bernardsville, N.J., High School in three years by filling in blank spaces in her schedule with courses. She immediately got a Young Rider grant to work with Phillip Dutton for a month, then moved on to a working student job with Boyd Martin for two years before starting her own business.

Although Arielle is definitely in charge, her mother plays a major role, even though she works as a visiting nurse.

“She cleans, she organizes, she yells at me when I’m on my horse to put my heels down,” said Arielle.

“If there’s a horse with a cut, she tells us how to deal with it. She’s like a vet who hasn’t gone to vet school. Usually she’s right. She knows way more than I do, so it’s, `Yes, mother’.”

While it was a big decision to leave Boyd and go out on her own, Arielle reflected, “I’m glad I took the opportunity. It’s a long process building your own business. I’m glad I did it young, so could rely on my mom a little bit.”

She noted her mother handled the situation in such a way that “I didn’t notice I was taking over.”

Arielle’s father, Yuval, who emigrated from Israel, works for Torsilieri Inc. in Gladstone, N.J. That’s the company for which he has cut the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree and put it up in New York City. But Arielle notes he pitches in with the horses, doing a bit of everything: “He knows how to groom, tack up a horse; he will feed, he’s quite handy, he fixes the fencing.”

Christina likes the fact that Arielle is involved with three disciplines, thinking that what she learns in each makes the others stronger.

Arielle hacking Dutch Times at home. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)

“On a whim,” as Christina put it, after Arielle got more into her relationship with Dutch, they went to Andrew Philbrick for lessons a year ago. Though these days he’s best known as the impresario of Princeton Show Jumping, Andrew also has been a rider and trainer.

Christina called that relationship, “The best thing that ever happened. That accuracy in show jumping pays huge rewards on cross-country. Dutch literally skips around the 4-star now like it’s a gymnastic. Andrew is very positive and that helps the rider’s confidence, which makes them ride better.”

Andrew called Arielle “a worker. She is not a dilettante of any kind and will get on a 3-year-old or just about anything that needs a ride.”

He mentioned she has ridden in FEI show jumping classes at Princeton. Her talent has been noticed in the right places and he thought there was a possibility the eventing team for this autumn’s Pan American Games could be on her horizon.

Christina noted the Aharonis have had offers for Dutch “that would make us financially solvent. And the answer is, ‘No thank you,’ because he’s a family member. All of our horses become family members.”

While Dutch is the lead player in Arielle’s band of horses, she has others who are coming along. A pair of 5-year-olds also came from Lauren. Notorious, a buckskin, is Dutch’s full brother. Veni Vidi Vici, also known as Pickle, is by Valentino out of Dutch’s half-sister. She hopes to get them to their first events by the end of the season.

Arielle with Notorious and Pickle. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)

Lauren believes in breeding all-around horses: “They can jump, they can think, they can move. And that’s what I think is so important.”

Then there’s Chumley, bought as a hunting horse for dressage rider Alice Tarjan, who named him after her friend, eventer and dressage rider Lauren Chumley. Arielle has evented Chumley, but feels his real strength is show jumping.

Arielle on Chumley at the 2022 Essex Horse Trials. (Photo © 2022 by Lawrence J. Nagy)

She also is involved with Fantom, who came to her from Andrew. She is looking for sponsorship to help support her relationship with that horse, a show jumper.

Andrew calls Arielle, “Extremely talented. She has determination and real talent and all I really needed to do was take someone that was really concentrating on cross-country and try to then educate her in the mind of a show jumper. She has the potential to ride for both teams. It’s not very usual, but she absolutely could do this.”

Have something to say? Tell USHJA

by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 16, 2023

How many times have you heard complaints about issues in the sport and what equestrian governance organizations are doing — or not doing — about them? But if all the conversations go nowhere, it’s frustrating. And that applies not only to those who raise the issues, but also to the organizations involved.

The U.S. Hunter Jumper Association, however, has come up with a Town Hall concept that enables members to air their concerns on a regular basis. The series began in April and originally was to end in July, but USHJA President Mary Knowlton said in an interview this week the initiative has been so successful that the forums will continue in August and then monthly through November.

The discussions range along a variety of topics, from the number of jumping classes a horse should be allowed to enter at a show, to how long a horse should be longed, judging concerns, and of course, the cost of showing.

Mary explains one of the reasons for holding the Town Halls by saying, “We need more connections.”

There are matters that must be dealt with. As she points out about one key subject that has been aired at Town Halls, “Social license is an uphill battle. People just don’t understand it. They’re struggling with it.”

USHJA President Mary Knowlton.

It’s a big issue for the FEI (International Equestrian Federation), which is making much of its Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Commission, using the slogan, “Horse First.”

The bottom line is that if the public thinks horses are being mistreated in some way, whether it’s not getting enough turnout, being overused or any other thing they see (even if it’s misinterpreted) they can make trouble for the sport.

Adam Cromarty, an announcer at many equestrian competitions, wrote an article in Horse & Hound predicting that within 10 years, use of spurs and crops will be banned as part of the social license movement. He added he couldn’t vouch for his timeline on such a ban, and I’d guess it will be much, much sooner than he predicted.

As Mary noted, everyone is a cell phone photo or video away from fame on the internet–and that’s not a good thing. Remember the outrage when a coach punched a horse who refused a fence in the jumping phase of the Modern Pentathlon? The outcry led to the equestrian segment of the sport being removed after the Paris 2024 Olympics in favor of an obstacles (on foot) phase, and there is a real question of whether the sport will even be part of the 2028 Olympics.

Many people don’t know the difference between the Olympic horse sports (eventing, show jumping, dressage) and  the equestrian part of the pentathlon (an event that also includes running, fencing, shooting and swimming).

The subject of social license is world-wide. Francois Mathy Jr., the vice president of the International Jumper Riders Club, recently addressed the European Parliament’s horse group to explain the high standard of care for competition horses and emphasize their welfare.

He explained, “The reason the human started creating a bond with horses: transport, labor, war; these
reasons are obsolete: the sport and the leisure around the sport are now the only purposes
for the modern horse. Without the sport, his existence would even be threatened.”

Although there have been approximately 90 people participating in the last two USHJA Town Halls, Mary noted that for the most part, “they don’t want to bring up anything; it’s me who brings it up.”  At the same time, she pointed out, “This is their meeting. This is not me talking at them, but I find it becomes up to me to choose subjects.”

She added, “I try to keep my ear to the ground as much as I can. It (the Town Hall) connects to our members and makes members realize we are listening to them. We’re open to having conversations.”

At this week’s Town Hall, Florida trainer Don Stewart did raise some issues, including: “Why are the 3-6 divisions continually declining?”

To that, Mary replied, “In general, people seem to want to jump lower and owners seem to want to jump their own horses, rather than having professionals developing them. So it seems to be a continual downslide into 3-3 and 3-foot and lower and lower.”

Don also asked, “Why are the hunter courses getting more and more watered down? ”

Mary addressed that by noting, “There is a huge shortage of hunter course designers right now. Part of this could be just getting more course designers licensed and teaching them what (you) are…expecting from a hunter course?”

At the same time, Don wondered, “Why are we competing for the same prize money as we did in the ’70s?”

Mary said, “The rulebook speaks to how much the minimum prize money can be for all these hunter sections. Finding prize money is not that easy.” On the other hand, she noted the Green Hunter Incentive program and the International Hunter Derby offer a great deal of prize money (as opposed to the regular sections).

One comment came from an anonymous attendee who said riding as an amateur-owner and having her horse showing in a professional division as well “is too costly to do it all.”

That’s an example of the way the cost of horsekeeping and showing often comes up.

“It’s getting more and more expensive for the people who run shows, and of course, that trickles down onto the exhibitor,” Mary said.

“It is crazy how much it costs right now. It’s insanity when a bag of grain is $30.” Not to mention the price of manure removal

Mary noted when those attending the Town Hall don’t come up with topics, it is up to her to choose subjects.

In that regard, she said, “I try to keep my ear to the ground as much as I can” to determine what interests members.

She added one consistent topic is generated by “people who don’t think (hunter) judges are doing a good job.” At this week’s Town Hall, there was discussion of having judges use scribes, so they don’t glance down at their clipboard and miss what’s happening in the ring. However, unlike the situation in dressage, where it is primarily volunteers who are used as scribes, the number of scribes who would be required for multi-ring hunter shows would be cost-prohibitive. A comment from one judge at the Town Hall noted that it would be impossible to use her scoring system if the numbers and notes were entered by someone other than herself.

An exciting development involves the initiative between USHJA and the U.S. Eventing Association to hold their 2025 annual meetings in the same location, so they can share thoughts about common concerns on at least one day of their sessions.

The next Town Hall, June 26 at 7 p.m., will address the base of the sport. Click here to register for the online meeting.

“People asked for it to be called a Grassroots Town Hall,” Mary said.

While there are those who scorn the “lower level,” Mary asks, “Really? Those are people who are fueling our industry. Not everyone is going to be a megamillionaire showing at a really high level.”

Another legend gone

by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 13, 2023

Ellie Wood Page Keith Baxter, the winner of the 1936 ASPCA Maclay Finals, died Monday at the age of 101.

An active fox hunter who also starred with hunters in the show ring, the Virginian was inducted into the National Show Hunter Hall of Fame in 2000. While she won many championships, perhaps the one for which she is best remembered is the Maclay.

She was victorious on Big Tip, of whom she said, “Of course he was a Thoroughbred. We didn’t ride anything but Thoroughbreds.”

Her mother, Big Elliewood, had a yard full of ponies and children at Keithwood, where students from the nearby University of Virginia in Charlottesville would come to ride. Her father was one of the original whippers-in of the Farmington hunt, and hunting was as important as showing for her family.

The horsewoman’s ability was legend. During the 1940s and ’50s to the mid-1960s, she found herself much in demand to ride in ladies’ and amateur classes. The horses on which she competed included Substitution, Spanish Mist, Escapade and Adventure.

She and her late husband owned The Barracks, a farm in Charlottesville that was purchased in 1973 by Claiborne Bishop and her husband, Tom, a former Master of Fox Hounds. Claiborne (who was three years old when she began riding with Big Elliewood at  Keithwood), said Ellie Wood was “still as sharp as a tack” past her 100th birthday, which she celebrated at the Upperville Colt and Horse Show. Last week, she wanted to know what happened at the Devon Horse Show, and asked Tom for a report on that competition.

She stopped by the barn once a week, and kept up the high standards that were her trademark.

“She stamped all of us who rode with her,” said Tom, noting she would come out with the hunt following a double-hip replacement even when she was in her late 90s..

“She rode beautifully and expected a lot from you, but she was supportive.”

Claiborne added, “She had a following.”

Although riding wasn’t the only pastime at which Ellie Wood excelled–she also was an avid dancer and tennis player–her classic style and bravery over fences were what made her a much-admired figure in the horse world.

In 2022, she was awarded the National Show Hunter Hall of Fame’s Founders Cup for Excellence, joining William Steinkraus as one of only two recipients thus far.

In a statement, the Hall said, “Ellie Wood was an inspiration to many riders, young and old, in the hunting field as well as in the show ring. She was one of a kind and a lady of the highest order. Thanks, Ellie Wood, for showing us the right way to conduct ourselves in and out of the show ring. We are eternally grateful.”

She is survived by her son, Charlie; her brother, Tommy Keith and sister-in-law Sue Keith, as well as two grandchildren. Arrangements are pending.