by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 27, 2022
State flags were flown at half-staff in memory of Assemblyman Ronald Dancer, a great friend of the New Jersey horse industry, who died at the age of 73 after a long illness.
Assemblyman Ronald Dancer
The son of famed harness racing driver Stanley Dancer, the assemblyman was a driver, trainer and breeder of standardbreds himself. The Ocean County resident “was a work horse, not a show horse,” Gov. Phil Murphy observed in a statement following the assemblyman’s death last weekend, referring to the legislator’s efforts for the equine industry, agriculture, tourism and veterans.
Ironically, when the assemblyman was successful in getting the state Legislature to pass a bill eliminating the tax on boarding horses, it was Murphy who doomed the measure by failing to sign it into law in January 2020.
Assemblyman Dancer’s most recent effort on behalf of the horse industry is a bill that would allocate $2.5 million for long-awaited improvements at the Horse Park of New Jersey. The bill remains in committee and its fate could be uncertain without the assemblyman pushing to get it to the floor for a vote.
“Assemblyman Dancer dedicated his career to supporting the agricultural community in the Garden State. Having been a lifelong equestrian himself, Assemblyman Dancer was a tremendous supporter of the equestrian community and thereby the Horse Park of New Jersey,” said Ellen Brindle Clark, the Horse Park’s interim president.
“His willingness to listen to his constituents’ needs, and find ways for the state government to help, made us feel valued and supported. We sincerely appreciate all the effort Assemblyman Dancer put towards helping the Horse Park of New Jersey. The Board of Trustees could not have asked for a better advocate and friend. He will truly be missed.”
He served on both the state horse racing commission and the state Department of Agriculture’s Sire Stakes board. The Rutgers Equine Science Center honored him with its Spirit of the Horse award.
The assemblyman, who grew up in New Egypt, was for 22 years the mayor of Plumsted Township, where he lived. He was known as the man who got things done. His volunteer work involved everything from the Ocean County Board of Social Services to the Ocean County Senior Citizens Advisory Council.
The assemblyman is survived by his wife, Brenda; two children and two grandchildren.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 25, 2022
What kind of wine goes with lectures on pasture and supplements for your horse? Whatever they’re serving at the Cream Ridge Winery on August 4, when Rutgers’ Carey Williams and Penn State’s Laura Kenny will discuss making pasture more productive, as well as what type of supplements and forage are best.
Admission is free to the Evening of Wine and Equine is free at Cream Ridge, 145 County Rd 539, Cream Ridge, N.J. Wine tasting accompanied by light snacks begins at 5 p.m., with the program to follow at 6 p.m. Those who would like to buy wine and glasses to take home will get a discount.
While there is no fee for the evening, those planning to attend need to register by emailing Carey at cawilli@sebs.rutgers.edu.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 21, 2022
The British kept everyone waiting, but today they finally named their team for the Blue Hors FEI World Dressage Championship presented by Helgstrand, which will be held in Denmark next month.
Although Valegro is long retired, the country’s star, Charlotte Dujardin, still has plenty of horsepower. She was selected with Imhotep, a 9-year-old Dutch warmblood, partially owned by her mentor, Carl Hester, with Valegro’s groom, Alan Davies, at her side.
While Carl isn’t on the team as a rider because he didn’t have a horse available, you know he will still be active, and part of whatever success Britain enjoys in Denmark.
Charlotte also has a direct back-up in the 13-year-old stallion Everdale in case something goes wrong with Imhotep, so she’ll be a key part of the British effort. Everdale, the sire of Imhotep, was ridden by Charlotte Fry on the Tokyo Olympic bronze medal squad.
Also selected for the British squad are Gareth Hughes with Classic Briolinca (and as a direct reserve ride, Sintano Van Hof Olympia); Richard Davison (Bubblingh) and Charlotte Fry (Glamourdale ).
Britain could be a medal contender, though likely not on the scale of the Danes, who are favored, as often-dominant Germany is weaker than usual without its pregnant Olympic gold medalist, world number one Jessica Von Bredow-Werndl and TSF Dalera BB. Sweden also looks as if it could be in for a medal. And don’t forget the USA.
Steffen Peters (Suppenkasper) and Adrienne Lyle (Salvino) were no surprise to make the Dutta Corp. U.S. dressage team for the championships. Both were on the country’s Tokyo silver medal team. Also named was Ashley Holzer (Valentine) an Olympic medalist for her native Canada before becoming an American citizen. She looked like a lock for the squad on Valentine after some impressive performances during the European tour this summer.
But newcomer Katie Duerrhammer with Quartett was a bit of a surprise, as speculation ensued about the fourth member of the squad. Katie, at 33 the youngest rider in the group, is trained by Adrienne. Debbie McDonald, Adrienne’s mentor, works with her, and Steffen as well. Steffen is the highest-ranked U.S. rider in the world, at number 19.
Alice Tarjan of Oldwick, N.J., was named alternate with the U.S.-bred Serenade MF and will train in Germany with the squad before it leaves for Denmark.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 25, 2022
A memorial service is important to the friends and family of someone who has passed away, but you can bet that Bill Ellis really would have appreciated commemoration of his life with a hunter derby.
And that’s just what he’ll get at 8 a.m. on Friday July 29 at Princeton Show Jumping’s Summer Classic in Skillman, N.J., where the $10,000 Bill Ellis Memorial/U.S. Hunter Jumper Association International Hunter Derby will be held. The international derby was Bill’s favorite class.
He was not only successful in the saddle, having won the leading rider title at such prestigious hunter/jumper shows as the National, Devon and Upperville, but he also did well on the quarter horse circuit. The trainer ran Four Winds with business partner and husband David Connors. The operation was located at Carol Stillwell’s Stillwell Stables in Colts Neck, N.J., at one time, but they also had a farm in Ocala, Fla., the area where Bill had based himself in the early 1980s.
Bill, a member of the National Show Hunter Hall of Fame, died at the age of 69 last November. He probably was best known in the 21st Century as a respected judge, having worked in that capacity for more than 30 years.
Bill Ellis in judging mode. (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer)
Another claim to fame was his discovery of the talented thoroughbred For the Moment for his student, Lisa Jacquin. That duo went on to contribute to the U.S. team silver medal at the 1988 Olympics, in addition to winning many important competitions.
A small memorial service for Bill was held at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, but not everyone who would have liked to attend could be there.
So Kelly DeSaye came up with the idea of the class at Princeton, with Carol, Bill and David’s client, putting up $5,000 toward the purse. The derby emerged as a group effort, with the remaining $5,000 donated by Cara Garito, Kelly Moore, Dolly Hubbard, Abby Skelton, Lanie DeVoer and Peggy McNeil.
Noting Carol Stillwell was a long-time customer of the trainer, when the derby idea came up, “she thought it would be a really fun thing to honor Bill,” said Mary Knowlton, an administrator at Princeton Show Jumping and president of USHJA.
Bill was one of Mary’s mentors.
“He was a funny person, a wonderful horseman, generous with his time,” recalled Mary, who until recently ran Knightsbridge stable in Colts Neck.
When she was getting started on the big circuit with Carol Stillwell’s regular conformation hunter, Marshall, Carol sent Mary on the road with Bill. She felt it was a privilege to work with him.
“Bill, for so many of us, was a real icon,” Mary observed.
“He went too early.”
Kelly, who is known for her dedicated volunteer work with USHJA, put together the memorial derby, which is drawing such big names as Amanda Steege with Lafitte de Muze and Jeff Ayers with Cartel.
“There’s been so much support of people buying tables just to be here that day,” said Kelly, who trained with Bill the first time she went to Ocala.
“It’s very special. Everybody at the horse shows loved Bill, he was always there to help no matter what.”
Bill Ellis in the days when he was a champion rider. (Photo courtesy of David Connors)
Carol Stillwell remembers Bill’s belief that “every trainer, every individual that touched a horse had a responsibility to put that horse first. The horse’s needs always came first, that was from the very beginning.”
During the time she rode with Bill, Carol said, “I learned a lot, it was a long journey.” About 35 years, to be exact.
She remembered that despite his sense of humor, he was all business when riding was involved.
“When I started out with Bill, I was not a very disciplined person, I was very talkative,” Carol said.
She recalled that didn’t sit well with him when she was supposed to be focusing.
That was brought home to her, she recalled, the time she started to say something while jumping around a course while he was teaching.
“He called me into the middle of the ring and said, `The lesson’s over. We don’t talk during lessons. You want to talk? We talk after lessons, we talk before lessons, we don’t talk during lessons.’”
Carol can still laugh about that incident and explained, “He was a tough taskmaster. But if you’re talking, you’re not paying attention to what you’re doing. There was so much I learned from him.”
The derby, being held during Princeton’s sold-out World Champion Hunter Rider show, will begin following remarks by Carol and David Connors. Bill’s sister, Barbara Ellis, and his son, Billy Ellis, also will be on hand.
As Carol mused what Bill meant to her, she noted, ” The older I got, the smarter he got. He was such a wonderful trainer and so devoted to the horses. I miss him desperately.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 15, 2022
Only one Olympic veteran has been named to the U.S. NetJets show jumping team for the world championships in Denmark next month.
McLain Ward and Contagious will lead the way as Lillie Keenan (Argan de Beliard) and Brian Moggre (Balou du Reventon) will be making their debuts on a championship squad. Adrienne Sternlicht, a member of the 2018 gold medal world championships team, was selected with Cristalline.
McLain Ward and Contagious on their way to winning the Sapphire Grand Prix at Devon last month. (Photo © 2022 by Nancy Jaffer)
Jessica Springsteen, 30, a teammate of McLain’s on the Tokyo silver medal Olympic squad last year when she rode Don Juan Van De Donkhoeve, will be the traveling alternate with RMF Zeclilie. She is a native of Colts Neck, N.J.
Brian, a Texan, will turn 21 Aug. 7 when he arrives in Denmark for the competition, which begins several days later on Aug. 10. In the final observation trial in the Netherlands this month, he was the only U.S. rider to turn in a clear round during the Nations Cup, where the squad finished eighth.
Lillie, 25, a New York City resident who trains with McLain, made her Nations Cup debut in 2014.
Sternlicht, 29, a Connecticut resident who previously trained with McLain, is the only team member who will be riding the same horse she was aboard in the 2018 championship. Cristalline’s best finish this year was fourth in the Sapphire Grand Prix at Devon, which McLain won with Contagious.
McLain at age 46 is very senior to his teammates and has had a stellar career. The Olympic multi-medalist from Brewster, N.Y., won the 2017 Longines FEI World Cup finals with HH Azur and took two classes with Contagious at Aachen this summer.
Show jumping is one of four world championships that will be in Herning, Denmark, this summer. The others are dressage, para-dressage and vaulting. And no, it’s not the World Equestrian Games.
The WEG began in 1990 in Stockholm as a one-off compiled of all the FEI disciplines. It went so well that it continued, some years in better style than others, through 2018 in Tryon, N.C. The very expensive and difficult to present WEG ended after Tryon.
So this year, the eventing and four-in-hand world championships will be held in Pratoni, Italy (just as was the case in the 1998 WEG based in Rome), but they’re far from the four disciplines in Denmark. Endurance will be in Verona, Italy. Reining has been dropped by the FEI so it’s no longer part of the world championships scene.
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by Nancy Jaffer | Jul 7, 2022
The Interscholastic Equestrian Association which offers competition opportunities to equestrians in grades 4-12, is adding something for adults.
During the organization’s 21st season, which begins next month, adult amateurs 21 and older can take advantage of a pilot program that provides a horse and tack, reducing the cost of being involved in competition–especially since participants don’t need to own a horse. It’s similar to the way collegiate league programs operate.
All adult riders must become members of the IEA and be associated with an IEA coach. Adult rider members will participate as individual participants only and not as part of a team. The Adult pilot program includes Hunt Seat, Western and Dressage, with three class options for each discipline.
Adult riders will not be limited to the number of competitions in which they may participate. Unlike the situation with youth riders, points will not be earned and therefore no post-season competitions will be held. Results of adult classes will be collected and posted to the IEA website throughout the regular season this year.
The Adult Pilot Program is optional for any returning IEA team. More information can be found in the IEA 2022-2023 Rulebook under Adult Pilot Program Addendum.
The IEA 2022-2023 regular competition season runs August 2022 through May 2023, depending upon discipline. Adult rider applications will be made available on the IEA website later this month on the Membership Page.
Want to know more? Contact the following IEA Adult Pilot Program Coordinators: For questions regarding competitors, coaches or membership: Jennifer Eaton – jenn@rideiea.org or call 1-877-RIDE-IEA ext 203. For show managers with questions about hosting adult classes: Emily David – emily@rideiea.org or call (814) 207-2603.
