by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 15, 2023
(a reminiscence from an Oklahoma friend, Barbara Haney, was added to this story July 24)
Kavar Kerr “lived a life of doing for others in an incredible fashion. She was a force of nature to get things done,” said Burr Collier, president of the Blowing Rock, N.C. Horse Show, remembering his friend, who died July 13 in Jackson Hole, Wyo., surrounded by her three dogs.
“Everything she did was for the good of the sport and the people (of) the sport that she loved,” he recalled.
Kavar Kerr.
Tom Wright, who was one of her trainers, noted, “She gave the shirt off her back to her friends and people she respected. She loved fiercely, and worked tirelessly for the underdog and felt that caring and supporting artists was a particular responsibility in her life.”
He added, “a great horseman and successful amateur rider, she owned great animals and supported many professionals, just when they needed her most.”
Kavar enjoyed some very successful horses, among them Trust Me and Sleigh Ride in the hunter ranks, and in eventing, Mike Huber’s mount Southcoast, who won a section of the 1983 Open Preliminary event at Rolex Kentucky.
She was known for her great sense of humor and her love of all animals, but it was her charitable side for which she will be most remembered in the equestrian world.
A year after Louise Serio and Geoff Teall started the World Championship Hunter Rider organization in the early 1980s, Kavar came to them and said, “Why don’t we make this bigger and make it a foundation and start an emergency relief foundation?”
As Louise noted, “She changed lives like that. She was just an amazing lady.”
Kavar enjoyed showing her hunters.
The American Hunter Jumper Foundation, which merged with the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association in 2013, helped scores of equestrians in need, whether they were dealing with illness, a barn fire or other tragedies.
The Kavar Kerr Distinguished Service Award, named in her honor, is presented annually by the World Championship Hunter Rider Committee of the USHJA for exceptional dedication, leadership, and commitment to the WCHR Program through volunteer service and philanthropic efforts.
The center of the WCHR logo, at the top of this page, bears a likeness of Kavar jumping one of her horses.
Another person whose life was changed by Kavar is international show jumper Laura Kraut. Her first Olympic mount, Liberty, was purchased in a partnership put together by Kavar, who brought in Peter Wetherill, Joyce Williams and Kate Gibson and was part of the syndicate herself.
When Laura won the 4-star grand prix at Chantilly, France, on Bisquetta over the weekend, Kavar was on her mind.
“I thought of her when I was in there getting the ribbon,” said Laura.
“She’s the person who helped me get to the next level of my career, and the point where I am now. She never took credit for it.”
As Laura was building her resume, she rode a hunter for Kavar and lived with her in Florida during the winter circuit.
“We were really great friends. She had the biggest heart, the greatest sense of humor–I never laughed more with anyone than I did with her,” Laura remembered
Peter Wetherill ended up buying in on the Anthem syndicate as well, and Kavar’s introduction of Laura to him was key.
“If it weren’t for Peter, I wouldn’t have gotten Anthem, he came in at the 11th hour through Kavar’s urging and helped us buy Anthem, and then he bought Cedric,” said Laura, referring to her 2008 Olympic team gold medal mount.
“None of that would have happened without Kavar.”
Laura noted Kavar had bravely struggled with pain and illness for decades.
Losing Kavar was “very, very sad,” Laura acknowledged, but “she’s out of pain now. I feel confident she got out of life what she wanted.”
Barbara Haney grew up with Kavar in Oklahoma, where the two were part of “very small” hunter/jumper group during the 1970s.
“She first had a small roan, Carousel (later inherited by younger sister Mara),” recalled Barbara.
“I can even remember her riding jacket from then: a Scottish tweed from Miller’s, of course, that looked so sharp on Carousel.”
When Kavar was diagnosed with severe scoliosis, she “had to stop riding for a while, while she wore a back brace to correct that condition. She would still attend all the shows and was always ready to lend a hand when I needed one, like to hold a crop, or keep my place in the order at the in gate,” Barbara reminisced.
“At a big show in Tulsa one night, I managed to misplace my gloves right before the show started. She ran around and found a pair for me to borrow. I won the eq championship that night with whoever’s gloves those were, which was one of the biggest wins I have ever had,” said Barbara.
“After I left Oklahoma for college, I wrote to her, and saw her once or twice, but we drifted apart, since I was working internships in the northeast and wasn’t back home much. I’d given up riding to concentrate on school, and didn’t go back to riding for another 20-ish years. I still thought our paths would cross again at some point.”
Kavar, who was on the board of the Kentucky Horse Park, also raised money for the first World Champion Hunter Rider Spectacular at the Winter Equestrian Festival with funding from the late Sallie Wheeler. The class is named after the late Peter Wetherill.
Always upbeat, Kavar was known for her great sense of humor.
For the Blowing Rock show, Kavar brought in money dedicated to Sallie Wheeler and her late husband, Kenny, in recognition of all they had done for the horse show world.
A native of Oklahoma, she was a granddaughter of Robert Kerr, who served the state as governor and U.S. senator. Kavar was a big fan of the University of Oklahoma Sooners and enjoyed watching their football games in person when she could.
Twelve years ago, Kavar was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and presumably had only five years to live. A brother and sister had died previously, and she did not want her parents to face burying another child, so she was determined to live.
Her mother, Joffa, a sculptor, died in June 2022 and her father, Bill Kerr, died a week and two days before she did. He was the founder of the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, Wyo. and Kavar served on its board. Outside of the horse world, she was also active in philanthropy, serving on the board of a battered women’s shelter in Wyoming.
Kavar, who was 64, is survived by her sister, Mara Kerr of Edmond, Okla.; her niece, Ayla Mashburn of Oklahoma City, a nephew, Graycen Mashburn (Whitney), Edmond, Okla., and great-nieces Tyler, Aubrey and Caroline.
Private services will be held in Minnesota, at the final resting place of her parents and siblings, Joffa and David.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 20, 2023
Devin Ryan of Long Valley, N.J., has been selected to compete on the USA’s NetJets squad for Great Britain’s Hickstead show next week. A member of the 2018 World Equestrian Games gold medal team, Devin was out of the highest level of the sport after his top horse, Eddie Blue, got sidelined by a bone bruise.
Devin Ryan and Eddie Blue at the Longines FEI World Cup Finals. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
He brought Eddie back gradually, not rushing his recovery. Patience paid off. Devin did well in April at the Longines FEI World Cup final, where he was 13th, and then had only one rail in the hotly contested Aachen Nations Cup to contribute to the team’s fourth-place finish this summer.
Devin will be joined at Hickstead by another veteran, Olympic team gold medalist Laura Kraut. As usual, coach Robert Ridland is mixing in less-experienced riders, so they can get mileage.
The others on the team are Charlotte Jacobs, Paris Sellon and Alessandra Volpi, who was a member of the third-place squad this month at Stockholm, where she just missed the podium individually in the grand prix, finishing fifth in her first 5-star competition.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 17, 2023
A “manure link” website, set to go live in March, will list manure and compost availability by geographic location within New Jersey.
It will also will enable those seeking manure or compost to sign up for notification when the resource they are looking for becomes available. The project will give smaller farms with limited land capacity a way to distribute their manure to composters and farmers who can use it to benefit their operations.
The state Department of Agriculture is partnering with Rutgers University, the Office of Research Analytics and the New Jersey Compost Council to develop the New Jersey Manure Link website. The intent is to connect livestock farms (manure generators) and composters with farmers seeking these resources to provide an alternative option from purchasing fertilizer.
The NJDA’s Division of Agricultural and Natural Resources received a Conservation Innovation Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service to fund creation of the New Jersey Manure Link project. The concept is designed to be “where to find what feeds your field” for Garden State farmers. The website is designed and hosted by Rutgers University’s Office of Research Analytics.
“We believe this website will be a valuable resource for farmers and composters,” state Assistant Secretary of Agriculture Joe Atchison said.
“The ability to provide a clearer pathway to make connections between these operations will benefit all involved.”
The Compost Council will provide outreach and educational components, including two hands-on composting field days and resources for the website. The field days will be scheduled for livestock farmers and composters, as well as producers across all agricultural sectors, including urban farming, to demonstrate the importance of composting, nutrient management and how to effectively incorporate organic materials into farming practices.
The goals of New Jersey Manure Link include recycling valuable nutrients, generating accessibility to organic materials, reducing animal waste excess and protecting waterways adjacent to livestock farmland.
The project will allow urban farmers to gain access to raw feedstocks, as well as finished compost. The project falls within the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Global Warming Response Act 80 x 50 Report from 2020. It identifies the need for the reduction, recycling and reuse of agricultural organic waste materials, as well as increased education and adoption of composting practices.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 14, 2023
Cortes C was a real trouper. This was a horse who gave his all at some of the world’s biggest show jumping events.
When Beezie Madden announced this week that he had died at the age of 21, I remembered the way he always crossed his front legs when he jumped. I’d call it his trademark.
Beezie Madden at Cortes C at the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in France. (Photo © 2014 by Nancy Jaffer)
Nicknamed “Tiny,” because he wan’t, after joining forces with Beezie, this Belgium warmblood by Randel Z was on many Nations Cup teams, including the 2013, 2014 and 2015 Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Finals in Barcelona.
In 2013, he and Beezie won the Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Chantilly in France. A back-to-back winner of the Longines King George V Gold Cup in 2014 and 2015, he also was in great form in 2014 at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in France. There, he was on the U.S. team bronze and was named Best Horse in the individual final, where Beezie was third.
He contributed to the U.S.silver medal in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, but he was sidelined by injury before the team final and retired from competition in 2017.
Beezie recounted on social media that Clark Shipley, his late former groom, called Tiny,“the friendliest horse you’ll ever meet in your life. He’s all over you at all times, mauling you. He loves attention. You could pretty much do anything to him.
“If you walk him around, he mauls every person standing around. He drags you over there. He’s always had this personality. He’s been friendly from the start.”
In retirement, Tiny loved to greet tours at the Madden farm in Cazenovia, N.Y.,and have his picture taken with fans.
Beezie mentioned, “We have no doubt Clark was waiting for Tiny with bags of carrots on the other side.”
As she revlected, “Tiny was one of a kind. With top results as a young horse with (Belgian rider) Gregory Wathelet and then years of being at the top of the sport with our team, I was blessed to have him in my life. I will forever be thankful to Tiny and (owner) Mrs. (Abigail) Wexner for our years together. His passing leaves a hole in all our team’s hearts.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 11, 2023
Eventer Jane Sleeper usually is the one who offers a helping hand, whether as a volunteer or by training horses and riders, drawing on the wisdom learned in her long career.
But Jane, 73, had a bad fall in late May, noting with her usual sense of humor, “I just don’t bounce anymore.”
Four days ago, she returned home from rehab and is “slowly making progress,” revealing she “got stepped on when I fell off!.”
While she noted, “kind, encouraging words keep me motivated,” more than that is needed to get her through this difficult time.
A GoFundMe has been set up to handle some of the many expenses Jane is facing. Click here to access the GoFundMe page.
Direct contributions can also be made through PayPal via janeesleeper@gmail.com or via checks payable to her at Jane Sleeper, 130 Buck Run Road, East Fallowfield, Pa. 19320.
An auction also has been organized by Niamh O’Connell to benefit Jane. Niamh said so many in the equestrian world have been motivated by Jane, and now are coming to her aid.
“The amount of people who reached out to me and said, `I want to help’ has been pretty amazing,” Niamh reported.
To participate in the auction through 8 p.m. July 24, click here .
Items up for bid include lessons with 5-star riders, a tailgating package for the Maryland 5-star evebt, a package of studio portraits from Niamh, who is a photographer, and a breeding contract to one of Gem Twist’s clones.
Kennett Brewing Company in Kennett Square, Pa., is the site of a benefit for Jane July 23 from 4-7 p.m., featuring equestrians, such as Lillian and Ryan Wood, as celebrity bartenders. There will be a raffle that evening as well. The bar is at 109 S. Broad St., suite 2.The Phone is 610-444-0440. There will be a similar benefit at the Whip Tavern in Coatesville, Pa., Aug. 13 from 3-6 p.m.
