by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 25, 2020
Private services were held yesterday at St. Brigid’s Church in Gladstone for James C. Brady, a member of a family with deep roots in Somerset County and the thoroughbred industry.
Mr. Brady, 85, was the grandson of James Cox Brady, who built the landmark stable that is the home of the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation on his estate, Hamilton Farms; his son, the second James Cox Brady, was one of the founding directors of the Monmouth Park racetrack. He also served as chairman of the New York Racing Association when Belmont Park was built.
The late James Cox Brady of Bedminster
In turn, his son, the third James C. Brady, kept up the family tradition, managing the Mill House Racing stable whose runners included America Alive, Brilliant, Trappe Shot and Rattlesnake Bridge. He was the general partner of Mill House Associates, successor to Brady Security & Realty Corporation. In 1957, Mr. Brady began work at Bankers Trust Company, resigning to take a position as commissioner of banking in New Jersey Gov. William Cahill’s cabinet, helping plan development of the Meadowlands Sports Complex, including Giants Stadium and the Meadowlands Racetrack.
In 1983, Mr. Brady was appointed secretary-treasurer of The Jockey Club, joining newly elected chairman Ogden Mills Phipps and vice chairman William S. Farish. These men led a three-decade period of growth for The Jockey Club, establishing new commercial business, including Equibase Company and several technology-based service and data businesses. Proceeds from the commercial subsidiaries fueled increasing investments in the marketing of Thoroughbred racing and research and advocacy for improved safety and integrity of the sport. Mr. Brady, who remained on the board of stewards until 2013, was succeeded by his nephew, Ian Highet, as secretary-treasurer of The Jockey Club in 2010.
At his home in Somerset County, he also was a supporter of the Essex Foxhounds..
Mr. Brady is survived by his wife of 63 years, Joan Babcock Brady; his brother, Nicholas Brady, a former chairman of The Jockey Club, U.S. Senator, and Treasury Secretary; and his sisters Lisa Richards and Eliot Stewart; a son, James C. Brady and his wife, Anne Lusk Brady; daughters Joan “Nonie” Brady and her husband, Wilhelm Merck; and Kerry Chace Brady and her partner, Brock Dolman. Mr. Brady had two granddaughters, Audrey Slade Brady and Millicent McKay Brady.
A memorial service celebrating his life is to be held in the spring of 2021. In lieu of flowers, donations in Mr. Brady’s memory may be made to LifeCamp, http://greaternewarklifecamp.org/, a summer camp for inner city youth, long supported by the Brady family.
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 23, 2020
The new World Equestrian Center in Ocala, which is set to open in January, has been allocated the U.S. Longines FEI Nations Cup™ qualifier by the FEI. The prospective dates for the show hosting it are March 16-21, although the full FEI calendar is still awaiting approval.
The qualifier previously was staged at the Palm Beach Masters in Wellington, Fla., a fixture which is no longer being held. Prior to that, the qualifier was staged by HITS, also in Ocala, a few minutes’ drive from WEC. The class is the qualifier for the Nations Cup final, which was not held this year due to Covid. It usually runs during September in Barcelona. Another Nations Cup that is not a qualifier for the final is held at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington.
WEC has state-of-the-art indoor arenas and two stadiums, a 5-star hotel, restaurants, a veterinary clinic and retail shops. The facility, under the same ownership as the World Equestrian Center in Wilmington, Ohio, will offer not only hunter/jumper shows, but also dressage and eventing competitions as well as shows for a variety of breeds, and non-equestrian offerings.
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 22, 2020
After nine years, Laura Graves and Curt Maes, co-owners of dressage sensation Verdades, have gotten married.
Curt has been a partner in the success of Diddy and Laura, the first American dressage rider to be ranked number one in the world. The Olympic team bronze medalist who won double silver at the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games. did not make a bid for the Tokyo Olympics, retiring Diddy at the beginning of this year.
Curt and Laura
The couple lives in Geneva., Fla., where Laura is bringing along horses that she hopes will be future grand prix stars. They include SenSation HW, a seven-year-old black gelding who was the Markel/USEF five- and six-year-old national champion.
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 22, 2020
The Vermont Summer Festival, which was held at HITS’ Saugerties, N.Y., facility this year due to Covid restrictions in is home state, is returning to its regular venue in 2021. However, HITS is remaining on board to handle the logistics.
“I am very excited to be a part of what John has created in Vermont, and continue the history and tradition of this circuit,” said HITS President Tom Struzzieri, citing his long relationship with the Vermont shows’ organizer, John Ammerman.
“For John to use myself and HITS to run these events on his behalf is flattering. I am confident that we can live up to the confidence he is demonstrating in HITS.”
The shows will run July 6-Aug. 15 in East Dorset, Vt.
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 22, 2020
The 2021 European Championships in show jumping and dressage–which had been cancelled when the Olympics were moved to next year–are on again.
The championships were called off when the Olympics were rescheduled to keep the focus on the Tokyo Games. But a number of national federations and the European Equestrian Federation pointed out that many nations had more competitors and horses available to compete than just the three from each county who would be riding in Japan.
The logic prevailed, with the European Jumping Championships allocated to Riesenbeck, Germany, Aug. 30-Sept. 4 and the dressage championships going to Hagen, Germany Sept. 7-12, pending final confirmation from the latter organizer. If these venues for some reason cannot host the championships, they won’t be re-bid.
The European eventing championships are not being held because organizers who expressed interest did not follow through. The European Paralympic championships also will not be held so those competitors can concentrate on their mission in Tokyo.
The European championships are staged on odd-numbered years in the Olympic cycle. The equivalent in the Western Hemisphere is the Pan American Games, but they are held only once during the Olympic cycle.
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 14, 2020
As we know far too well by now, Covid-19 has wrought changes in a horse show routine that likely will never return to its pre-pandemic state.
Those who have adjusted will fare best when the virus is just a bad memory. So on the plus side, it has been a time for the nimble to innovate and find a way to clear the obstacles they have encountered in this difficult era.
Derek Braun, the man behind the Split Rock Jumping Tour, knows all about difficult.
New Mexico’s tight Covid restrictions forced the cancellation of his August 2-star show in Santa Fe. Split Rock’s competition that ran with April’s Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event wasn’t held when the eventing had to be called off.
Rowan Willis and Blue Movie over the Split Rock fence in the 2019 grand prix during the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event. (Photo © 2019 by Nancy Jaffer)
Then forest fires added to the burden of a bad year, leading to cancellation of the first week of Derek’s Sonoma, Calif., show. Prior to this, the California show was Split Rock’s biggest, selling out annually.
“It was a worst case scenario disaster,” Derek remembered.
“We dealt with so many variables we could never have predicted during a two-week span in California. To give everybody the security of the welfare of horses and rider beyond Covid was difficult to maneuver. My team gained a lot of grit and learned a lot from that experience.”
Oh, and his first Longines FEI World Cup qualifier, a 4-star scheduled for an arena in Fort Worth during December, also had to be cancelled because of Covid, which wreaked havoc on 2020’s indoor shows.
But he found a pivot position by expanding into the hunters. The catalyst was his purchase of the two Country Heir shows in Kentucky which, unlike his fixtures, offered hunter competition.
“I can’t say I would have thought that I would go in the direction of hunters in general because I’m so passionate about show jumping,” said Derek, but he emphasized, “In the past, I’ve always been open to any opportunity that I thought was good for myself and my team and the direction of our tour.”
Now, he believes, hunter competition is “a natural progression for myself and my team.”
Derek pointed out that the Kentucky Horse Park, home of Country Heir, is eight minutes from his farm, so it was a perfect fit.
“It is a very popular show in general. We hope to grow both sides of that event,” he continued, noting plans call for bolstering the jumper side of Country Heir and at the same time adding “some unique touches” to the hunter side, so competitors can “feel special and like they’re getting what they paid for.”
That may include live streaming, more extravagant awards presentations and rider bonuses for every division “just providing more opportunities and experience for everybody in every division. We’re so used to doing that for every division for every class in the jumper ring. We’re going to bring that level of detail and attention and exposure of all the hunter divisions as well.”
With the ice broken, the hunters are becoming part of Split Rock’s plans not only for Country Heir, but likely for a couple of other events that “may also incorporate hunters in some fashion,” said Derek, adding the Split Rock team is thinking of adding such divisions to the Santa Fe and Columbus, Ohio, shows.
“ I feel we’re really ready to handle a 1,500-2,000 horse horse show, whereas we’re used to handling 400 horses. It’s a totally different ballgame. We want to bring the same level of organization and attention to a 1,500-plus horse show,” said Derek.
“It’s the right time to hit it out of the park.”
