by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 17, 2022
European champion, reserve world champion, second place in the Longines FEI World Cup final and winner of the Grands Prix of Geneva, Zurich, Basel and Lyon, the gorgeous gray. Clooney 51 is saying goodbye to his fans next month.
Ridden by Martin Fuchs, this son of Cornet Obolensky owned by Luigi Baleri competed in two Olympics (Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2021) and won the the Rolex Grand Prix in 2019 at the Palexpo.
Just after the Olympics in August 2021, Clooney fell in turn-out and broke his shoulder. The efforts to save him for a happy retirement came to fruition. But his connections felt that what was missing from his career was a last lap to say goodbye to his many fans.
The Geneva, Switzerland, show was a natural location for this, since those involved with him are Swiss. It will happen on Sunday, Dec. 11 before the start of the Rolex Grand Prix.
“Clooney is the horse of my life, an extraordinary being. He has given me so much and it is with him that I have had my greatest successes,” stated Martin.
Martin Fuchs and Clooney. (Photo © 2018 by Nancy Jaffer)
“His accident was a terrible ordeal for him and for all my team, but in the face of it he proved what strength of character he has. Today, he is well and he deserves to have a ceremony that reflects his fabulous career and the genius that he is. Geneva was an obvious choice, as we had one of our most beautiful moments here when we won the Rolex Grand Prix.
“I am very much looking forward to this farewell, which promises to be very emotional, and during which I will be surrounded by the great Geneva public, my family, my team and my friends.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 28, 2022
Trainer Joy Kloss, who ran Fox Hunt Farm in Lumberton, N.J., died suddenly on Thanksgiving night in Tryon, N.C. She was 71.
Joy Kloss, second from right, with Leslie Howard, Anne Kursinski and McLain Ward at the 2016 memorial service for Frank Chapot. (Photo © 2016 by Nancy Jaffer)
A USEF judge, she was a respected trainer who gave clinics and was involved in horse sales.
Callan Solem, who met Joy through her own mentor, the late Carol Hofmann Thompson, called Joy “the consummate horseman. There was nothing about anything at the barn or the training she couldn’t do herself. She afforded so many possibilities to so many people.”
Added Callan, “You always knew where you stood with her. That was a working woman. There was not any work she was not willing and able to do when it was going to make things better for a horse.”
Joy’s close friend of more than a half-century, Nancy Dawn Ashway, her classmate at Southern Seminary and Junior College in Virginia, was just on vacation with her earlier this month.
“She had great horsemanship. She was straight to the point. She didn’t coddle her students,” Nancy recalled.
Kathy Brown Serio, a former student, paid tribute to Joy on her Facebook page, calling her a “fierce competitor, a loyal friend, and a force to be reckoned with…”
She added, “I thank you immensely for all you did for us growing up, there will never be another Joy Kloss. You taught me the subtleties–how to finesse a course, and showmanship, and I will forever be grateful.”
Survivors include Joy’s daughter, Kayley White (Al) and two grandchildren.
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 24, 2022
All across the country, friends and families bond in several ways at Thanksgiving, whether it’s over football, watching the Macy’s parade or of course, sharing a turkey.
But in New Jersey’s peaceful Somerset Hills, hundreds have adopted a different tradition–seeing the Essex Fox Hounds off on their holiday hunt.
The Essex foxhounds head out across their country. (Photo © 2022 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
It started when Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was a member of Essex, and the public would come to the gathering at Ellistan in Peapack for a glimpse of the former first lady and her family.
Even after she was no longer part of the hunt field, however, more and more people would return each Thanksgiving, so they could enjoy the sight of horses and riders at their festive best, watching with interest as they gather, then take off behind the huntsman over green fields.
There was a time when you had to know someone to discover the Thanksgiving meet, but these days, Essex is reaching out to the community. The club invited friends of the hunt to attend, and enjoy a stirrup cup, courtesy of Sarah and Hank Slack, Ellistan’s owners.
Huntsman Bart Poole enjoys a stirrup cup and a greeting from Chris Nelson and Jim Gordon. (Photo © 2022 by Nancy Jaffer)
The Slacks’ front pasture seemed even more crowded today, as hundreds turned out for the occasion, with their stately stone manor providing the perfect backdrop.
Many arrived early to tailgate and enjoy socializing on the grounds of the estate. One group, families that met when they were neighbors in Temple, Texas, nearly a half-century ago, came from as far away as Atlanta and Virginia for a reunion, something they have been doing for 40 years or so.
They had never seen the hunt before, but were eager to try something new. Their menu included champagne (the choice of most people who brought a spread), cider doughnuts and pumpkin muffins. After the riders set off, the friends were heading to Robin Hoffman’s house in nearby Mendham for dinner, with everyone pitching in on the cooking.
Scott Hoffman, Kara Gullo, Meg Trammell, Michele Lafrance, Robin Hoffman, John Francis Gullo II and Dick Lafrance start their day tailgating. (Photo © 2022 by Nancy Jaffer)
Also tailgating were regulars Dana Sendro of Fox River Farm and her daughter, Lexi Sendro, of Trouvaille Equestrian, both in Stockton. Their table was set with roses, candelabra and the same hunt-themed tablecloth they used at the steeplechase races, held in October down the road at Moorland Farm in Far Hills.
Dana and Lexi Sendro were into the festive look. (Photo © 2022 by Nancy Jaffer)
They were enjoying spinach and goat cheese fritatas, blueberry muffins and a charcuterie board. After the hunt, Dana was going home to clean stalls while her father, Bill Kendzulak, handled the cooking.
Donna Durling, who fractured her sacrum while out with Essex six weeks ago, understandably couldn’t be on horseback today, but she wasn’t about to let them take off without being on hand and bringing some champagne. Her partner, Ed Johnson, was mounted, and she was riding with him in spirit.
A carriage always appears at the Thanksgiving meet. Jeromy Smith drove the Johnsons’ carriage to add an extra note of interest. (Photo © 2022 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
As the members of the hunt came together prior to moving off, Jazz Johnson, one of the four Essex masters of foxhounds, walked around to personally greet those who had come out to be part of the scene. She thanked the Slacks for hosting the occasion, then invited the crowd to have a drink and sign up to become a Friend of Essex, so they could be notified of future events.
The Essex masters of foxhounds, Sarah Slack, Dennis Sargenti, Lynn Jones and Jazz Johnson. (Photo © 2022 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
“I’m just trying to take every opportunity to remind people that there’s this huge connection between fox hunting and the land, open space and the countryside,” she told those with whom she chatted.
“It means so much to us to try to preserve this tradition and keep everybody thinking about the beauty of this natural sport.”
To find out more about Jacqueliine Kennedy Onassis’ connection with Essex, click here to read a story I wrote last year.
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 21, 2022
A memorial service will be held next year for Sergeantsville Grain & Feed owner James Fred McCue Jr., who died Nov. 7 at age 73.
The son of Esther Mastrobattista McCue and James Fred McCue Sr., Jim was a native of Bernardsville, where he was the 1967 Heavyweight State Champion in wrestling and received a scholarship to Bloomsburg University in Bloomsburg, Pa., for wrestling. He has been inducted into the Bernardsville High School athletic hall of fame.
At Bloomsburg, Jim he won the Pennsylvania State College Wrestling Conference Championship. He qualified for the U.S. Olympic wrestling team, but was unable to compete due to injury. Jim went on to complete his master’s degree in Education, but ultimately decided to go into the family business.
He worked at Somerset Grain & Feed in Bernardsville until he purchased Sergeantsville Grain & Feed in 1981. Jim was happiest when working hard and being with his own family, feedstore family, friends, and customers. Jim was a staple of the Sergeantsville community and cherished its members.
Jim McCue
He served on the Delaware Township Committee and Planning Board, becoming the only person in New Jersey, at the time, ever elected to local office by a write-in vote. That is the way he became the mayor.
Jim’s friends described him as firm but fair, generous and hardworking. He was big-hearted and didn’t take things too seriously, being known for his sense of humor.
Jim is survived by his wife of 37 years, Stephanie; their children, Chelsea McCue Harms (John Harms) and Peter B. McCue; a granddaughter, Scarlett Harms; his sister, Sarah “Sally” McCue Horwitz (Ralph Horwitz) and his brother Peter A. McCue (Elizabeth Miller).
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Doylestown, Pa., Hospital IMU unit, Doylestown Hospital Hospice or any charity of choice.
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 20, 2022
Barbara Isaac, one of the country’s pioneers in therapeutic riding, died Nov. 14 in Ormond Beach, Fla., at the age of 91.
The founder, with her husband, Hanen, in 1979 of the Handicapped High Riders Club which became Riding High Farm in Allentown, N.J., she was part of a group interested in learning about therapeutic riding instruction who gathered around Octavia Brown’s dining room table in the late 1970s.
Octavia, founder of the Somerset Hills Handicapped Riding Center (now Mane Stream in Oldwick) told those who came to her Bedminster, N.J., home everything she knew about the subject, in the days before NARHA (North American Riding for the Handicapped Association) was formed, and its successor, PATH International, wasn’t even a dream.
As Octavia recalled, Barbara “made it clear that she had been seeking something like this to put her heart into–and she did.”
Barbara devoted herself to Riding High’s clients and its growth. She also contributed to the development of therapeutic riding in the state and the country.
“Since more and more people in New Jersey were learning to be instructors and wanting to create programs, Barb suggested we create a state interest group and that was the birth in the early 1980s of HRH (Health and Recreation through Horses) of N.J., which served as a network and information resource for those providing equine assisted services,” Octavia stated.
Barbara Isaac, second from right, when Health and Recreation through Horses of N.J. received the Dominic Romano Community Service Award at Centenary University in 2013. With her, from left, were Mary Alice Goss, Joan Schneider, Gaye Collins, Octavia Brown and Liz Doskotz. (Photo courtesy Octavia Brown)
“We were the first state group under NARHA, and things just went on from there. Way more politically savvy than I was then, she contacted the New Jersey Horse Council and the New Jersey Equine Advisory Board for HRH to become a member. That opened the door to making the entire New Jersey horse industry aware of what we were up to, and they embraced us from then on,” said Octavia.
She recounted that Barbara “got herself on the board of the New Jersey Special Olympics and talked them into funding an annual statewide Special Olympics equestrian competition, as far as I know the first in the nation as a free-standing horse show.
“When the national Special Olympics were drafting guidelines and rules for national competition, the two of us went to Washington D.C. to meet Eunice Shriver (the sister of Jack and Bobby Kennedy) and persuaded her to offer horse show ribbons as well as the standard three Special Olympics medals, pointing out that this would be a horse show.
“She told us that having gone to Foxcroft (a private equestrian-oriented girls’ school), she perfectly understood why ribbons were important. That is in effect to this day. She also agreed that men and women, boys and girls of all ages should compete together, only divided by their equestrian skill level.”
Barbara went on to train future instructors at Riding High Farm, which became a PATH premier accredited program.
“It’s safe to say that while I may have introduced Equine Assisted Services to New Jersey,” continued Octavia, “it was Barb who made it respected and valuable to the movers and shakers in the New Jersey equine industry. She once said to me, `Sometimes, I feel like your pupil and sometimes like your mother.’ She taught me so much about politics, running an organization and influencing people, sometimes against their so-called better judgment, to follow her lead. Thanks to her dynamic leadership, we achieved so much in and for New Jersey.”
Barbara was a mentor to many, including Mary Alice Goss, founder of Special People United to Ride.
“She was very dynamic, very loving and very giving,” said Mary Alice, who did her practice teaching with Barbara before starting SPUR.
“She supported all of us, she helped anybody and everybody who showed an interest. If you came up to Barbara and said, `I’m thinking about starting a program,’ she started supporting you.”
Robyn Sturz, the executive director of Riding High, noted that Barbara was one of those people who made sure something got done, once she had an idea.
“Everyone jumped on the train with her for whatever the ride was going to be. She definitely was a strong-willed person and an icon in the industry. It rollar-coastered into what therapeutic riding is today.”
One of her interests was working with at-risk youth, which Riding High continues to do today, along with therapeutic and veterans’ programs, serving 95 people each week.
Barbara stayed involved with Riding High for decades. Even after retiring in 2005, she made it a part of her life for another 10 years, until she moved to Florida.
Visitation will be Nov. 27 6-8 p.m. and Nov. 28 9:30-10:30 a.m. followed by her funeral at Huber-Moore Funeral Home, Bordentown, N.J. Interment will follow at the Brig. Gen. William C. Coyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 350 Provinceline Rd., Wrightstown, N.J. Donations in her memory may be made to Riding High Farm, 145 County Road 526, Allentown, N.J
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 18, 2022
A horrific fall in a jump-off tragically put the brakes on professional rider Cassandra Kahle’s promising career last January. The following nine months have tested her, as she works to recover from a traumatic brain injury, focusing on therapy with the same determination she once applied to winning in competition.
Cass has never stopped pointing toward a comeback since she came out of a coma..
There was a moment while Cass was still in the hospital when her mother, Natasha Brash, tactfully asked, “What do you want to do, other than riding?”
Cass didn’t hesitate to respond.
“I don’t really know anything other than riding, I’ve done it my whole life,” she pointed out.
“I couldn’t come up with something else I felt as passionate about. I just knew I had to work at getting back to it.”
Cass and her physical therapist, Pete Marsicano, joined her mother on Zoom last night to fill in friends and relatives on how her recovery is going.
Cass can smile as she discusses her progress.
Pete, based at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in Flanders, N.J., originally was working with Cass five days a week.
The sessions have been cut to three days a week as Cass gets better. She is back to riding at Redfields in Tewksbury Township, N.J., where she works for Emil Spadone, but notes it’s a slow process.
“There wasn’t really a thought about not getting back on,” she mentioned, while at the same time admitting, “I was nervous about getting back on.”
That was only the beginning. It was a start, yet the challenges continue.
“I can’t see a distance to a rail anymore,” she said with a smile.
“Any chance of seeing my spot like I used to; it’s gone.”
But just being on top of a horse is huge step for Cass, who was in a coma after her accident. Since she doesn’t remember the accident, or even the week before it, “In one way, I’m really fortunate,” she said. “because I have no actual fear.”
Progress has been slow, yet steady.
At the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, where Cass underwent therapy after getting out of the hospital, she learned how to stand and walk again.
When she came back to New Jersey and started going to Kessler at the end of May, it “jump-started my progress,” Cass recalled.
Knowing his patient was set on riding again, Pete set up a bolster in therapy, to simulate something that would have a relationship to a horse’s back. That enabled her to practice regaining her balance before getting into the saddle again. Pete even figured out a way for her to use an overhead weight bar, making the move equivalent to holding the reins on a strong horse without getting pulled out of the saddle.
Cass’s physical therapist at Kessler, Pete Mariscano.
“I’d have to hold my balance with my feet off the floor, so it was really like riding a strong horse with no stirrups. That really resonated with the feeling of riding and being able to hold my core and my balance and not get pulled over the fence. That was a big confidence booster,” said Cass.
“An exercise being as close to the actual task is beneficial,” Pete observed.
Natasha showed Pete how to give Cass a leg up on the bolster, because “mounting seemed like the biggest question.”
Once that got answered, it eased one of Cass’s worries.
“I hadn’t been emotional at all this whole time,” said Cass, but “just that feeling I was getting a leg up and swinging my leg over–oh my gosh, I just about broke down into tears. That was the closest I felt to getting back on a horse. And I was like, oh my goodness, this is actually real. I guess it’s going to happen.”
As Pete noted, “She’s been game for all of it, and that makes the whole PT process that much more effective.”
It was his experience working with stroke patients when he was in school the made him realize it was his life’s calling. With Cass, he is learning about horses, and on occasion he has even been spotted neighing and cantering around the clinic. They both believe a sense of humor and few laughs are a good way to smooth the journey.
Meanwhile, actually riding is a form of therapy in itself, Pete observed.
Cass at Devon when she was competing. (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer)
Cass has started to talk to a sports psychologist, who advised her to go from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset.
“That has helped me keep my positive attitude, because it’s easy to get hard on yourself and you’re learning to post all over again and you can’t keep your stirrups. It’s a rough road.”
Added Cass, “She has helped me see the other side of how hopefully I can learn from it and grow from it. Something that may have held me back before the accident, now is a good time to work on it and get down to the basics and overcome some of those issues.”
Sometimes, though, that’s easier said than done.
“It’s hard to keep a positive attitude at this stage. I’m ready to be right back to normal. I think I should be jumping and competing.”
Realistically, she added, “I’m a few months away from that. It’s time to dig in and push through and try to get back to feeling confident in my riding again. It’s a process.”
Her situation has helped her understand what her amateur students go through, “the issues and struggles they have,” and she hopes what she has gone through will help with the way she teaches them.
As she becomes fitter, things become easier. She is still working on posting trot with no stirrups.
“At first, it was half a lap each way and walk in between. Now I can trot for five minutes. That’s enough to keep you motivated and going the right way.”
Knowing that so many people care about her is crucial to her improvement, and looking ahead, she would like to find a way to help people in her position who don’t have that kind of support.
“It has made such a difference and given me comfort,” she explained.
“There could be dark times, you have to watch where you let your mind go. When I was in the hospital, coming in and seeing a new bouquet of flowers and a card really gave me the confidence that, `Okay, I can do this.’ There are no words how grateful I am for that support. It really made the difference.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 17, 2022
When you are spending time with your horses, it’s quite possible you are being watched, whether you’re showing, grooming, riding, training or engaged in some other activity. That’s the way it is when everyone has access to a digital video camera, and it can cause an issue with animal welfare.
For all the wonderful photos and videos of riders demonstrating their love and appreciation of their horse with a pat or a hug, it only takes one negative picture to set off critics of horse sport.
A rider showing appreciation for her horse helps the image of the sport. (Photo © 2022 by Nancy Jaffer)
Although you may be doing nothing wrong, a lot depends on how your actions are interpreted. There is great concern these days about “social license,” which means the way those who are exposed to equestrian sport–even if they know nothing about it–perceive and accept how animals are being treated.
It’s something that can go viral fast. Remember the outcry over what happened in the pentathlon at the Tokyo Olympics, when a coach punched a horse who had refused a jump? Pentathlon moved quickly to eliminate the equestrian portion of the five-part event (which also includes swimming, shooting, running and fencing) after it is held at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
But the incident also sparked comments from those with no knowledge of horse sport about how horses were treated in other disciplines at the Games. In today’s world, fewer people than ever are connected with horses, or in the larger picture, agriculture, as we grow increasingly urbanized and suburbanized.
At last weekend’s FEI General Assembly in South Africa, social license was a hot topic.
Roly Owers, CEO of the World Horse Welfare organization, explained “The idea behind social license is that we must be transparent, ethical and accountable for what we do. We must do right by our horses–and be seen to be doing so.
“If we are not,” he warned, “we risk losing our social license and face dwindling support, and potential intervention by outside regulation.”
The European Equestrian Federation, which participated in the meeting, cited “the importance for all stakeholders to understand the pressing needs for our sport to adapt and monitor the opinions of those around us.”
When remembering the need to do right by our horses, it is also important to keep in mind the omnipresence of digital cameras.
FEI President Ingmar de Vos stated, “There can be no complacency or reticence to change, to keep things as they are. Because the world is changing, the sporting, media and sponsorship landscapes are changing. And as a result, the way we present and manage our sports also have to change.”
That obviously will mean some new rules, sooner rather than later.
Dr. Natalie Waran, chair of the new FEI Equine Ethics and Welfare Commission, said, “there is change that needs to happen and we are here to develop a strategy, provide objective advice, make recommendations and then see how these recommendations can be put into operation.”
The commission’s first task was to obtain research about the current views of stakeholders and the wider public.
A survey involving research by the independent Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Commission had 27,710 people involved with horses responding. The most were from France, followed by the USA and Germany, but residents of 116 countries were queried.
Seventy eight percent of those answering the survey believed believed that welfare standards need improving, while 6 percent felt it is impossible to provide adequate welfare protection. Only 16 percent believed welfare standards are high.The majority of the respondents contend that horses frequently (46 percent) or sometimes (45 percent) enjoy being used in sports. The most respondents concerned about the welfare of horses in sport were veterinarians (87 percent) and leisure riders or drivers (84 percent.) Those least concerned were FEI board members (53 percent).
Key concerns were what happens in “the other 23 hours” that horses don’t spend competing, as well as tack/equipment, and training and riding practices.
Respondents indicated that in order for the future of the horse sport to be protected, it will be
important that above all, there is improved enforcement of existing welfare rules, as well as new welfare rules developed with an eye toward science and a required level of knowledge about equine welfare by those involved with horses.
A companion survey of the general public’s opinions about horses being used in sport had 14,273 respondents from 14 countries, but the numbers were scaled, so they could be weighted as 1,000 respondents per country. Nearly half of the respondents had had some experience with horses in the past (47 percent), while 27 percent had no experience with horses.
Asked whether they though horses enjoyed being used in sport, 47 percent believed they did sometimes, while 20 percent thought they never enjoy sports. The more experienced the respondents were with horses, the more they believed that they enjoyed being used in sport.
Those who have no experience with horses would have no way of knowing what equines do or do not enjoy, but again, this is simply a matter of how they perceive things–rather than being based on actual knowledge.
While 65 percent of the respondents were concerned about the use of horses in sport, only
35 percent had no concerns. Respondents were most concerned about endurance,
followed by eventing and carriage driving. They were the least concerned about
dressage.
Their biggest areas of concern were horse welfare (34 percent), followed by horse safety (32 percent) and then, at 9 percent, human safety and sustainability (8 percent). In terms of use of horses for leisure, 62 percent of the public had concerns.
To improve their confidence in sport horse welfare, 19 percent of the respondents would like to see or hear more about the daily care the horses receive. Another 18 percent wants
to know what happens to horses when they leave sport.
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 15, 2022
The mascots of the 2024 Paris Olympics have been announced, and they are….two hats. Not berets, which might first come to mind when thinking of a French chapeau. The honor instead goes to Phyrigian caps, to be called the Phryges, for short. The Phyrigian cap was a symbol of liberty during the French Revolution (and you know how that turned out.)
Here they are, the Paris 2024 Olympic mascots.
So why this incredibly odd selection, though in recent years, mascots have not been sensible and cute choices such as Amik, the beaver that was the rep of the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, or Hodori, the tiger from Seoul 1988.
According to Julie Matikhine, brand director of Paris 2024, the most important attribute for a mascot is “meaning.” Cuteness is no longer sufficient.
“We are absolutely not in an approach of symbolizing through an animal or finding the famous designer that could have an idea instead of us. Meaning comes first each time Paris 2024 is designing or creating something,” commented Julie, who said the Games wanted “a mascot with something to say.”
“To be honest, at one time we even considered that perhaps it was better not to have any mascot rather than have a mascot with no precise purpose or meaning.”
The respective Olympic mascots for Paris 2024 embody the idea of liberty “but in a cuddly way.”
Yikes.
What’s wrong with something cute that could be found in nature, such as the duck-billed platypus, kookaburra and an echidna (spiny anteater) from Sydney 2000? Many mascots were stylized, such as the 1992 Barcelona mascot Cobi,a Pyrenean mountain dog with human clothes and characteristics, and that is imaginative, rather than wacky.
The caps’ predecessor in Olympic mascot weirdness was Whatizit, later known as Izzy, the symbol of the 1996 Atlanta Games. A “product of information technology,” it was considered an unusual mascot because it was not an animal, a human figure or an object. Obviously, it started an unfortunate trend.
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 21, 2022
Cody Dorman, a 16-year-old with a rare genetic disorder, got the attention of the nation when his namesake, Cody’s Wish, won the dirt mile at the Breeders’ Cup earlier this month.
Cody was on hand for that victory–the four-year-old thoroughbred he met as a foal always wins when he is present.
Cody Dorman and Cody’s Wish. (Photo courtesy of Churchill Downs)
Recognizing the bond between colt and teen, the Turf Publicists of America have given their 2022 Big Sport of Turfdom award to Cody.
The honor has gone to a varied group of special people, everyone from Secretariat’s owner, Penny Chenery, to author Laura Hillenbrand (“Seabiscuit”), recognizing those who enhance coverage of thoroughbred racing through cooperation with media and racing publicists.
Cody, born with the rare genetic disorder, Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, is unable to walk or communicate without a tablet, but his story has captivated millions. The boy wanted to meet a thoroughbred, and got to do that as a result of Keeneland’s Make-A-Wish Day in 2018. The colt showed an interest in Cody from the start, and that’s how he got his name.
The handsome son of Curlin perks up when the boy is around, and has served as inspiration for the teen to get through some tough times.
“Cody has brought to the forefront what it means to be strong and brave in his personal life, as well as highlighting the extraordinary interaction that occurs between horses and humans,” said Wendy Davis, TPA president. “He gives inspiration to us all.”
The award will be presented at the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program’s annual awards luncheon Dec. 6. The luncheon is part of the 2022 Global Symposium on Racing.
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 16, 2022
The Rutgers Equine Science Center has established a scholarship in memory of former Assemblyman Ronald S. Dancer, a champion of the New Jersey horse indsutry who died earlier this year.
He served the 12th Legislative District and was the deputy Republican Leader in the state Assembly. He had been a member of that body for 20 years. A horseman who was the son of the late Hall of Fame harness horse racing driver Stanley Dancer, he raced and trained harness horses professionally from 1968 through 1998.
Assemblyman Dancer was part of numerous equine-related boards and organizations over the years. He was director and vice president of the New Jersey Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association, director of the state Department of Agriculture’s Standardbred Sire Stakes Board of Trustees, a director of the U.S. Trotting Association Director representing New Jersey, and as a state horse racing commissioner.
Assemblyman Ronald Dancer and Karyn Malinowski of the Rutgers Equine Science Center.
He worked to ensure the sustainability of the equine industry in New Jersey, sponsoring the legislation authorizing the state leasing of Meadowlands and Monmouth Park Racetracks to the private sector, and advocating for the state budget line-item grants that have been made to the Rutgers Equine Science Center over the years.
Assemblyman Dancer was also a veteran of the U.S. Army, and an avid supporter of the Equine Science Center’s research into equine assisted activities for veterans with PTSD.
In 2021, he was awarded the “Spirit of the Horse” award by the Rutgers Equine Science Center. This award recognizes persons whose lives have been impacted by their involvement with horses and who continue to give back to horses and the equine industry.
“For his incomparable work as a horseman, legislator, colleague, and friend of the equine industry,” said Karyn Malinowski, founding director of the Rutgers Equine Science Center, “We are proud to announce the Assemblyman Ronald S. Dancer Memorial Scholarship, in recognition of his steadfast commitment to the equine community, education, and giving back to those in need.”
The scholarship will be given to an undergraduate student majoring in Animal Sciences with an equine emphasis, who has dedicated their time through service and leadership, just as former Assemblyman Dancer did throughout his entire career.
Further information about the establishment of the memorial scholarship will be provided in the coming weeks on the Equine Science Center’s website.
