by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 26, 2022
Sale Johnson, who owned several of the USA’s top international show jumpers in the late 20th Century, has died at the age of 73 in Jupiter, Fla., after battling Acute Myeloid Leukemia.
The horsewoman was an active rider as well as an owner. Karen Murphy recalled getting to know Sale when her family moved to New Jersey’s Somerset Hills from Union County.
“She was super welcoming,” Karen recalled.
“We did the Essex Foxhounds hunter pace. She was like a little kid, she was so excited about it, and I was a kid, I was 11 or 12. We thought that was a big deal and it was really fun,” said Karen, who called Sale “really generous of spirit.”
Born Nancy Sale Frey in St. Louis, Mo., Sale operated her equestrian interests out of a farm in Bedminster, N.J., and was known not only as a rider, but also a golfer and philanthropist who was concerned about the welfare of animals.
A natural athlete, Sale was a leader in basketball, softball, volleyball, swimming, field hockey, and tennis. She toured nationally on the junior tennis circuit and swam in the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) ranks.
At the University of Miami, she captained the varsity tennis team as a freshman. After graduation, Sale worked in real estate marketing in Miami, and served as an advisor to the Miami County School Board’s Distributive Education Program, where she helped young adults gain skills to prepare for their vocations.
In 1982, Sale moved to New York City, where she was devoted to numerous charitable and community efforts, such as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the Morris Animal Foundation, the Lenox Hill Neighborhood Association, the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Alzheimer’s Foundation and the Lupus Research Alliance.
Her main area of philanthropic interest was autoimmune research, particularly diabetes and lupus, two diseases that affected her immediate family. With her daughter, Casey, who died in 2010 of complications from diabetes, she co-authored “Managing Your Child’s Diabetes,” published in 1994.
She was honored for her philanthropic endeavors with several awards, including the Achievement Award for Volunteer Service from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, as well as the Rosenwald Award for Outstanding Philanthropy.
An accomplished golfer, she won several championships in that sport. Her involvement with horses included her own riding experience and extensive involvement as a patron of the sport.
Michael Matz rode her horse, Heisman, who was the number one U.S. qualifier for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Sale also owned The General, who won team bronze and individual gold with Michael at the 1995 Pan American Games in Buenos Aires. Following the retirement of her two stallions, Heisman and Golan, she ran an international horse breeding business out of the farm in Bedminster.
Sale, who died Sept. 8, is survived by her siblings, Alan and Jimm; her children, Jaime and Ava; her granddaughter, Maeve Shulman, and two ex-husbands; New York Jets owner Robert Wood Johnson IV and sportscaster Ahmad Rashad.
Donations may be made in Sale’s memory to the Lupus Research Alliance, https://www.lupusresearch.org/.
by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 26, 2022
The Spring Valley Hounds, which began in the New Vernon section of Harding Township, N.J., were scheduled to be hunting in a joint meet with the Amwell Valley Hounds from the Spring Valley Showgrounds Oct. 2 to commemorate the 100th year of the township’s founding.
Due to inclement weather, the meet has been postponed to Nov. 13.
The municipality was created in September 2022 from portions of Passaic Township following a referendum, and named after U.S. President Warren G. Harding. The area was once semi-rural, but as it developed, Spring Valley moved most of its operations north to Allamuchy, where there is more open space. For the last three years, however, Spring Valley has hunted in New Vernon once a year.
At the meet, Tim Brogan will be donating the scarlets that belonged to his late grandfather, Bill Keegan, a longtime supporter of Spring Valley, “in the hope of paying them forward for future riders who get their colors with SVH.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 14, 2022
After months of refurbishing and renovations under the new ownership of the Stout family, Duncraven is ready for its close-up.
The stable in Titusville, Mercer County, N.J., is holding an open house Oct. 1 from 4-7 p.m. to show off its re-do, from state-of-the-art footing to new fencing and a clubhouse where boarders can relax and get snacks.
Duncraven is being refurbished.
The stable will offer two types of board. The first is regular board for $1,595, and no requirement for training. Those who want access to amenities can pay another $400 per month.The other option is full board with access to the clubhouse for $2,195 month.
A redone barn aisle is waiting for boarders.
Those who aren’t able to make it on Oct. 1 can also see what Duncraven has to offer on Oct. 2, when it is hosting a benefit show for Kevin Babington.
by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 25, 2022
BP Goodfellas, bred by Kevin Babington, won the five-year-old title at the FEI WBFSH Jumping World Breeding Championship for Young Horses this weekend.
The son of Stakkato Gold out of Goodwin’s Loyalty mastered a tough 16-jumping effort test set at Lanaken, Belgium by course builder Eugène Mathy. The highest obstacles were set at 1.30 meters, with eight of 47 combinations entered making the jump-off.
Gerard O’Neill and BP Goodfellas at Lanaken. (Zangersheide photo)
Rider Gerard O’Neill topped the competition in the tie-breaker with a clear round in 40.12 seconds. They edged Ristretto Vd Heffinck, ridden by Olivier van der Vaart,clocked in 40.52 seconds.
Gerard had been riding the horse only four weeks before this championship. BP Goodfellas’ regular rider had reached the maximum of three horses to ride in the championship and thus Gerard get the nod.
“I have nothing but admiration for this horse. He didn’t need, in retrospect, to jump the double, with the speed at which I entered. But he did a great job, he is a nice horse to ride with a real winner’s mentality. I also rode his mother a long time ago, so that makes a nice story. And I expect this is only the first chapter for BP Goodfellas,” said the winner.
Kevin had ridden Goodwin’s Loyalty between 2013 and 2015. They took the 1.45 meter derby at Spruce Meadows during their time together.
Stakkato Gold is the sire of Kevin’s longtime mount, Shorapur, who is doing broodmare duty at the farm of Greg Broderick where Goodfellas was foaled. Goodwin’s Loyalty is by OBOS Quality, the sire of one of the Babington family’s most successful horses, Devon grand prix winner Mark Q.
An Olympian who was a longtime member of the Irish show jumping team, Kevin suffered a severe spinal cord injury in a 2019 accident during a grand prix and has been working hard on his rehabilitation ever since. He is still in demand as a coach and is teaching on a regular basis. Goodfella’s win is great news for him, though he has no plans as yet for the horse’s next move.
by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 25, 2022
The USA’s Chester Weber had a tough go today in the cones competition at the FEI World Driving Championships in Pratoni del Vivaro, Italy, finishing 17th in that section to end up eighth overall as Boyd Exell of Australia kept his crown. It was Boyd’s sixth straight victory since his inaugural gold in 2010.
Chester, third individually after the dressage phase, slipped to fourth following yesterday’s marathon . Nine penalties on the cones course and 16.02 time penalties were costly.
Boyd had a total of 156.06 penalties for the event, retaining his edge because of his victorious 34.13 penalty score in the dressage. He had no knockdowns on the cones course, but accumulated 5.92 time penalties with a wise element of caution to his driving in rain and a damp surface.
Boyd Exell along the cones course on his way to his sixth world title. (Photo courtesy FEI)
Ijsbrand Chardon of the Netherlands led his country to its eleventh gold (313.93) in the team competition, while he took silver individually on 159.82, failing to add to the five individual golds he already had. Third went to Germany’s Michael Brauchle (164.89) as his nation earned silver (327.45) over Belgium (356.39) in the team contest.
Ijsbrand’s 25-year-old son, Bram, the youngest ever to win a world driving championship as he did with the indoor FEI World Driving Cup in Bordeaux earlier this year, was the only driver to go double-clear in the cones to win that section. He was using his “A Team” for that phase, having had issues with his combo in the dressage and marathon.
“I’m the current Dutch, European and World Cup Champion,” said Bram, “but on the World Championship I had unusual mistakes, the same as Tryon (the 2018 world championships in North Carolina.) I needed revenge on the Sunday, I needed it…to show that I can do it”, Bram said.
Boyd said, “I have the pressure of having fantastic horses and you mustn’t let them down.That’s one of the hardest things–they are 15 years old now and so experienced.
“The team of people around me, all the helpers, it’s about not letting them down too. Plus Koos (de Ronde of the Dutch team), Bram and Ijsbrand they add to the pressure too. So even when you have great horses, you also have to watch out for these guys.”
Boyd added, “When you look back in history, other drivers have had fantastic horses, and I’ve also had them over the years. Over time, everybody has great horses. It’s nice to remember them too.
“The pressure was also about keeping the reins dry.I had a second pair of gloves which I hadn’t thought I’d need! Also, the horses and carriage were starting to slip in the corners. The course was a good testing course today, but only in good conditions.
“With all the many U-turns in the wet conditions, it made it much harder. I used the information my team fed back to me about the rounds before me and I didn’t expect my horses to spook at the wooden horse in the middle, which cost me a few seconds. But overall, I tried to stay calm and not knock any balls“, Boyd added.
The U.S, which won gold in the championship at the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games, did not have a team in this year’s competition after Misdee Wrigley cancelled her participation due to health reasons.
There were only six driving teams at Pratoni, compared to 16 for the eventing championship the previous week. And Australia’s driving squad had just two members. Boyd’s teammate, Tor van den Berge, was eliminated, which meant Australia did not finish as a team.
Four-in-hand driving is expensive to pursue. That’s particularly so for Americans, since the major competitions are in Europe and it’s costly to ship so many horses and carriages abroad.
At the USA’s national championships last year, only Chester and Jimmy Fairclough participated. It’s a beautiful sport, but the money factor limits involvement to the wealthy or those who have great sponsors.
Click here for the individual standings. Click on this link for the team standings.
by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 24, 2022
The USA’s only representative at the FEI World Driving Championships dropped one place, from third to fourth, after today’s marathon, but with the cones phase to come on Sunday, he still has a chance for a medal.
Chester Weber in the marathon. (Photo courtesy U.S. Equestrian)
Australia’s Boyd Exell continues to lead individually at Pratoni del Vivaro, Italy, with a total of 150.14 penalties after scoring 116.01 in the marathon, where Chester added 118.36 penalties to his dressage score for a total of 159.88
Michael Brauchle of Germany sizzled to win the marathon with 107 penalties for a total of 156.18, as the Netherlands’ Ijsbrand Chardon moved up to third and brought his team into first place. His score was 157.47, adding in 114.49 from the marathon.
“This year I won the marathon at Royal Windsor and Valkenswaard and that was good for me. I’m a young man and I have a lot of strength and my horses fight for me and with me. It’s a big plus for me in the marathon when my horses have fun–big fun,” said Michael, who is posing a big threat from his vantagepoint in second place overall so far.
“My right leader is Djamilo (Jamie) and he’s a brilliant marathon horse. He knows his job; he’s been doing this for four years. I bought him as a young horse, and we have worked together for a lot of years and make a good team together. I think we also put Germany in a good place now,” Michael commented.
Boyd, the defending champion, was sixth in the marathon and will have to hustle in the cones to keep his place, as the three others are so close behind him.
Boyd Exell in the marathon. (Photo courtesy FEI)
Chester, who was ninth in the marathon, noted, “The course was hilly up and down oted, “The course was hilly up and down and it was really a nice challenge. There are a lot of shows where we’ve driven the same track so many times, and that experience can be invaluable, but when you come to a competition like here in Pratoni, and this was a really new feeling and test, and you really had to be a clever driver and know where your strengths are and what you can and can’t do.”
With two newer combinations debuting in their first world championship, in both Amadeus and Julius V, the pair strengthened the team’s overall score with their agility and responsiveness to the questions asked along the track.
“I felt like the first four obstacles were really strong,” mused Chester, who was on the USA’s gold medal team at the 2018 world championships during the World Equestrian Games in Tryon, N.C.
“They handled it really well. I lost a little bit of pressure on the leaders after the fifth obstacle, but this team is a little inexperienced and completely new leaders from Tryon and they showed a lot of promise today,” he explained.
“We’ve been working really hard at home to try and get them faster and certainly what I saw in the first four obstacles is the talent we need for the future and standing on another podium.”
In the team competition, the Netherlands has 311.58 penalties after taking over the lead from Germany, which has 314.85. Belgium is in third with 335.20. The U.S. has no team because Misdee Wrigley withdrew shortly before the championships due to health reasons. Only two drivers are required to make up a team, though most countries have three drivers and a drop score.
Click here for the individual standings
