by Nancy Jaffer | Dec 22, 2020
I have never posted the work of others on my website, but this story from Horsey Hooves about an Appaloosa who lost his eyes is so touching and amazing it just seemed perfect for Christmas. And at this point of a difficult year, we all can use something heartwarming.
Endo jumping. (Photo: Jumpswest.com)
Endo contracted recurrent uveitis, glaucoma and cataracts in one eye, which had to be removed. Months later, the same problem involved his other eye, which also was removed.
Totally blind, he relied on his owner, Morgan Wagner, and the two developed an incredible line of communication that even enables her to send him over a jump, do pole bending and handle trail class-type obstacles.
Here is a link to the article and amazing video about Endo the Blind, as he is called. And if learning about him makes you a fan, here’s his website .
by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 16, 2020
Anyone who has spent time with Lynn Matthews knows she is rarely at a loss for words. The one exception was the moment when the N.J. Department of Agriculture’s equine specialist learned she would be getting the prestigious Spirt of the Horse award at this month’s Rutgers Equine Science Center Evening of Science and Celebration.
Lynn laughed while remembering how ESC Founding Director Karyn Malinowski “had never seen me speechless” until she told the astounded recipient about the award.
“I couldn’t say anything, I was so excited. I’ve never been recognized in my entire career in state government because I always say, `No, no, no, the board chairman should get it,’ or this one or that one,” explained Lynn, who for more than three decades has done several jobs that benefit agriculture in New Jersey, including serving as secretary of both the state Equine Advisory Board and the board of the Horse Park of New Jersey. The award recognizes those whose lives have been impacted by their involvement with horses and who continue to give back to horses and the equine industry
“I’m not one for the limelight,” Lynn explained. “But this was my night and it was virtual and it was absolutely amazing.”
As Karyn noted, “Lynn unselfishly and tirelessly has dedicated her whole life to our industry. Sometimes people go above and beyond in their efforts, and Lynn is one of those people. Her summers and weekends are non-existent because she is working all the time. For that, the Equine Science Center wanted to recognize Lynn with this Spirit of the Horse award.”
Adam Furlong, president of the Horse Park of New Jersey, observed, “I cannot imagine that there are many people who have expended more energy and resources for the well-being of the park over the last 30-some years than she has”
For many, Adam noted, “She is practically synonymous with the Horse Park. I know few people in life who have greater passions or care than Lynn does for the Horse Park.”.
Lynn Mathews, left, at the Horse Park of New Jersey, with her niece, Grace Goeke and Tony, a 30-plus pony Lynn took care of for years.
Lynn actually had to get permission to accept the trophy that now sits proudly in the hutch in the dining room at her home, because there are strict rules about state workers accepting gifts. Lynn was thrilled that her supervisor, Joe Atchison, the director of marketing and development for the department of agriculture, also was on the Zoom call for the ceremony.
State Secretary of Agriculture Douglas Fisher recognized Lynn by saying she, “serves the New Jersey equine community with great passion and commitment. She epitomizes the spirit of helping others, working hard, and getting results. In countless equine endeavors in New Jersey, Lynn has benefited so many people and activities throughout the years.”
Lynn’s first horse show experience was at the Morristown Armory, where the eight-year-old won her class on a pony named King Magic. Interestingly, the blue ribbon was pinned on his bridle by Lt. Col. James Marsh, who would go on to be president of the New Jersey Horse Council and take a leading role in the horse industry. He was someone Lynn would come to know very well.
During her youth in Lancaster, Pa., Lynn rode saddlebreds, winning a wide variety of saddle seat equitation classes and riding in the Good Hands at the National Horse Show in Madison Square Garden.
Lynn Mathews as a teen on her equitation horse, The Rogue.
She had a nice walk-trot mare that she rode to fifth place in a big ladies’ class at Devon. But after that horse bowed a tendon she got involved with Standardbreds. After buying, breaking and training a Standardbred filly, she went to Liberty Bell Park and got a job with Joe Greene. She met her husband, Rob Mathews, because Joe’s farm was buying hay from him. The couple now runs a Christmas tree farm in Chesterfield Township.
She picked up her trainer’s license before becoming involved with officiating, serving as a program director for the New Jersey Sire Stakes. Then 33 years ago, Lynn came on board with the department of agriculture.
That gave her “unbelievable opportunities to share my passion with kids and help them learn to be good horsemen and stable managers. The kids are our future, and if we can’t keep them excited somehow, there’s going to be a lot more big buildings and not as much agriculture.”
Lynn’s other positions with the department of agriculture include coordinating the junior breeder program, serving as the agricultural fair coordinator and being a member of the Animal Emergency Working Group. (Her husband goes with her to help in that regard.)
“He’s just the best partner in the world,” said Lynn. Karyn noted that when emergencies arise, “Lynn is there to help as a loyal supporter of the equine community in the state of New Jersey.”
She’s been a stand-in for director of the Sire Stakes program, since that person retired unexpectedly. Her load is a bit lighter now, since she just retired as an Emergency Medical Technician as well as a teaching CPR and Red Cross first aid.
Everything she has done has helped make a difference.
“I love giving back,” said Lynn, who earned a degree from Thomas Edison State University. She was quick to acknowledge, “My family and the department have been Incredible support for anything that I want to do for agriculture for horses.”
The other honor presented during the evening was the Gold Medal Horse Farm Award, which went to the 64-acre Centenary University Equestrian Center in Long Valley. Part of the New Jersey Equine Environmental Stewardship Program, the award recognizes outstanding equine farms for their dedication to environmental sustainability and management.
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 25, 2020
This weekend is one that the Essex Foxhounds usually devote to appreciating the country way of life, highlighted by its Masters Chase of fun races at Natirar, a Somerset County park that once was part of a great estate.
The Covid situation meant the chase and its afternoon of tailgating couldn’t be held in 2020, but Essex recouped–and in the process made up for having to cancel its puppy show earlier in the year for the same reason.
Instead, it offered a hound clinic at its Peapack base, with members and guests gathering to hear an appreciation of hound breeding by Tony Leahy, president of the Masters of Foxhounds Association. He is the master of both the Fox River Valley Hunt in Illinois and the Massbach Hounds in Georgia, enabling him to hunt from August to mid-April.
Tony Leahy explains a fine point about hound breeding.( Photo © 2020 by Nancy Jaffer)
The gathering benefited the Countryside Alliance of the Somerset Hills. It’s a non-profit “formed to educate the public about breeding horses and hounds and the sporting life,” said Jazz Merton, who is the joint master of Essex with Karen Murphy.
According to Tony, the Essex Foxhounds “is one of the foundation genetic schools of American foxhounds in the U.S., and for American foxhounds in the world.”
Jazz noted that huntsman Bart Poole has been working to breed hounds concentrating on three family lines. It was informative to see three generations of hounds and how they were related.
Buster Chadwell was the huntsman for Essex from 1940 to 1977, with one year off for serving in World War II. His son, Roddy, followed him in the position. Their hound acuity made the Essex pack famous.
“The Chadwell family was renowned for breeding and training deer-broke hounds,” said Jazz, referring to canines that won’t get distracted by running on deer. With the prevalence of deer in the area, that’s a gift.
“Once the older hounds are smart about that, the younger ones are easy to train. They get the picture pretty quickly. It’s like a team; they all really want to work together. That’s what the breeding program is about, having a group or a family of good hunting hounds,” Jazz continued.
“It’s better to have a family of good hounds than to have one superstar who’s always outrunning the pack.”
To the average person, the hounds may look pretty much alike, aside from different coloration or the way their spots are arranged. But Bart knows them all by name, and it’s impressive to see him address them and watch the way they respond.
Huntsman Bart Poole shows off the Essex hounds and Tony Leahy offers observations for guests in Peapack. (Photo © 2020 by Nancy Jaffer)
He and Tony cited the attributes of each hound, but Bart was practically poetic talking about Rhubarb “She has all the qualities,” enthused Bart.
“We call her the Swiss army knife.”
Her “multidimensional strengths and road nose” were paired with the pluses of Bristol, who has a “brilliant fox sense and thoughtfulness” in a mating designed to produce a family that was bred to embody those traits. The offspring were Raisin, Radish, Reaper, Roddy and Rubbish (which Tony cited with a smile as another “great name.”)
There is a real knack in “how to create families and keep things going in a sustainable way,” said Tony. It’s both an art and a science.
“You can’t necessarily breed the best to the best and expect to get the best,” he explained.
One goal is to produce hounds that have longevity yet can “still run with as much power as possible. Any pack of hounds should try to maintain at least four, possibly five, dominant female lines.”
When discussing various qualities of the hounds, “bidability” is a word he prefers to use rather than trainability. The communal dynamic among hounds, huntsman and staff can offer a type of built-in consensus, the teamwork to which Jazz referred, and that requires hounds who are open to it.
“For a group of hounds to be a mile away from you and want to get back to you,” Tony said, “that’s special.”
Asked about the state of foxhunting in America, Tony noted that with Covid, “a lot of people are coming back to the sport. It’s safe, it’s family- and community-based.”
While there are restrictions on many other sports during the pandemic, being socially distant aboard a horse in the fresh air means hunting can continue.
“From kids to 90-year-olds, there’s a place in most any of the hunts for anybody. What we’re seeing is that hunts are re-energized,” Tony observed.
“People come back to something familiar and that has some honesty and integrity and purity to it. It’s a shared bond when you’re out there in the field.
During the afternoon, Valerie Gimbel was honored for being part of the Essex field for 50 years, while former hunt secretary Constance Silverman was recognized for her contributions.
Huntsman Bart Poole plays a tribute to the late James C. Brady. (Photo © 2020 by Nancy Jaffer)
Before the clinic began, Karen asked for a moment of silence for longtime Essex benefactor James Brady, who died last week. In Mr. Brady’s memory, Bart played “Gone Away” on his horn. (See Mr. Brady’s obituary in the On the Rail section of this website.)
Karen characterized Mr. Brady as “a strong supporter of Essex; he had an interest in what we did and how Essex stepped into this next century. He kept an eye on things.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 1, 2020
It is truly the end of an era. Lt. Col. John Russell, the last of America’s influential cavalry veterans, passed away at his home in Texas Sept. 30 The world’s oldest living Olympic medalist was 100 years, 7 months and 28 days.
He likely was the last student of the legendary Brig. Gen. Harry Chamberlin in the Army’s equitation course before mechanization put an end to it.
The colonel, a show jumper, was the first non-German to win the Hamburg Derby–doing it on the American-bred quarter horse, Rattler–and rode on the U.S. bronze medal team at the Helsinki Olympics in 1952.
He also was part of the team that took the Nations Cups in Lucerne, Switzerland, and Dublin. As an individual, he won the puissance in Dublin, as well as the Prize of Paris in 1949.
Col. Russell eventually was put in charge of the U.S. Modern Pentathlon Training Center, serving as a mentor and inspiration to scores of athletes over 80 years.
John Russell, second from left, met at the Helsinki Olympics with Capt. Antonio Reimao and Maj. Fernando Paes of Portugal and Sgt. 1st Class Norman Brinker of the USA.
Gretchen Ornia Pacher, who owns Palermo Show Stable in Bedminster with her husband, Osvaldo, rode with Col. Russell during her junior years in San Antonio, along with her younger sister, Kate Bauer, and best friend, Gayle Cox.
His students always called their instructor “Colonel,” even though his army days were long behind him. Gretchen noted, “Colonel really never stopped teaching, he loved this sport so much that he taught as long as he could up through his final years.
Col. Russell behind the desk at his office in San Antonio.
He was, she said, “a kind man who loved our sport and all aspects of it. His teaching methods made riders think and problem-solve for themselves. One famous line in lessons was Come again,' which basically meant,`Think about the jump or exercise you just did and try it again.’ No elaborate explanations, just think and give it another try.”
Col. Russell served in World War II as a member of Gen. George Patton’s staff, selected because of his equestrian skills–you’ll remember that Patton was quite a horseman himself–and earned a Bronze Star, the Soldier’s Medal and a Purple Heart. After the war, he was named to the U.S. Olympic team for the 1948 London Games, part of the last U.S. equestrian delegation chosen from the U.S. Army. Col. Russell finished 21st in individual jumping on Air Mail.
Once the Army equestrian team was disbanded, Col. Russell was selected for the first civilian U.S. equestrian team in 1952. At the Games in Helsinki that year, he won team jumping bronze on Democrat alongside Arthur McCashin (Miss Budweiser) and Bill Steinkraus (Hollandia).
At the 1951 National Horse Show, John Russell rode the Italian thoroughbred Blue Devil to win the Royce A. Drake Memorial Challenge Trophy, donated to the show by the 1948 U.S. Army Horse Show Team. Blue Devil also evented. (Photo by Budd)
In 1956, Col. Russell became the officer in charge of the U.S. Modern Pentathlon Training Center at Fort Sam Houston,Texas. Over the subsequent decades, he coached the U.S. modern pentathlon delegations at six Olympic Games, where his athletes won six medals. His teams were also winners in the world championships. He helped organize the 1959 and 1977 World Modern Pentathlon Championships, and organized the modern pentathlon at the 1959 Pan American Games.
Olympic eventing medalist Jim Wofford, who was assigned to the pentathlon stables while he was in the Army, remembered that his father, Col. John Wofford, the first president of the U.S. Equestrian Team, was Col. Russell’s coach. In an interesting twist of fate, Col. Russell in turn became Jim’s coach.
Jim recalled that Col. Russell offered, “such an unusual mixture. His foundational riding was completely and thoroughly technically correct. And yet his training and teaching were entirely based on intuition.
“What made him special was his extraordinary ability to understand the horse’s capabilities, to understand the rider’s capabilities and to understand how to get the rider to maximize the horse’s capabilities That is not a function of keeping the straight line from the elbow to the horse’s mouth.”
Jim also cited the colonel’s “come again” technique, that helped enable riders to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it.
Even though Col. Russell was no longer in the service when Jim was riding for him, he still had the clout of a commanding officer, “because whatever he said around the stables went.”
Gretchen recalled Col. Russell as “a friendly man who loved conversation. He and my father, Dr. Charles Bauer, would have lengthy conversations even after we were no longer clients. We often visited Colonel when we’d all go home to Texas for Thanksgiving. He was always interested in the horses Osvaldo and I would find in Argentina.
“In a sense, I can thank Colonel for my marriage. Col. Russell was the one who presented the invitation to my sister for the international junior jumper competition where Osvaldo and I met.
“Colonel was a phenomenal rider himself. Apart from being an Olympic medalist, he was a stylish rider with a knack for winning.
“There are thousands of stories about Col. Russell. He touched so many people’s lives, not only the riders he taught, but their families as well. He will be remembered as a wonderful and hard-working man who lived a full and productive life.” Due to Covid, there currently is not a planned service. He will be laid to rest at Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery with family present.
“Next time I visit my father’s grave there, I will definitely stop and pay my respects to this very important man in my life. I look forward to an announcement of a celebration of his life in the future. I’m sure his friends and family will do one, once we can all gather again.”
Col. Russell on Democrat at the 1952 Olympics.
Col. Russell received many awards in recognition of his importance to the sport, including the Pegasus Medal of Honor from the U.S. Equestrian Federation and the Gold Medal of Honor from the UIPM, modern pentathlon’s international federation. He was inducted into the U.S. Show Jumping Hall of Fame in 2001 and the San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the FEI in 2010.
After retiring from coaching, he ran the Russell Equestrian Center in San Antonio, where his sons carried on his legacy and trained the next generation of champions.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation or USA Modern Pentathlon.
British sailor Jasper Blackall, also 100, is now the oldest living Olympic medalist.
by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 16, 2020
There are still plenty of horses in the New Vernon section of Morris County’s Harding Township, but in an earlier era, the area really could be called horse country without any exaggeration.
It was the original home of the Spring Valley Hounds, founded in 1915 and now based in the wider-open spaces of northwest New Jersey’s Sussex and Warren counties.
The Spring Valley Hounds meeting at Tyvan Hill.
But anyone who has ridden in New Vernon over the years or still enjoys the bridle paths will appreciate a visit to Tyvan Hill, which for many years hosted Spring Valley’s Thanksgiving Day hunt. The stone building is open to the public until October 4 as the designer show house and gardens of Mansion in May, cleverly rechristened Splendor in September after it was postponed due to the pandemic.
A fundraiser presented by the Women’s Association for Morristown Medical Center, it features rooms re-created with the imagination of a variety of designers. There are some horsey notes–a wide-ranging mural by Cindy Gelormini, known as the “Paint Diva of New Jersey” offers her interpretation of the hunt meeting at Tyvan Hill in decades past. It starts on the second floor and winds down along the stairs to the first floor, where she depicted a horse sticking out his head over the Dutch door of his stall.
This horse sculpture welcomes guests to Tyvan Hill.
Greeting you in the courtyard is a life-size horse sculpture (you can buy it for $8,000 after the showcase ends, if someone hasn’t already spoken for it). The entire ballroom, designated as the history room, is devoted to information on the property and its owners.
There are photos of the hunt and that classic Morris County Bridle Path Association map featuring a poem around the outside exhorting readers to “go forth and ride and ride.”
Unique wallpaper from the 1940s in the sales office features jockeys and racehorses.
Mansion in May, a fundraiser held every two or three years to benefit the medical center, was derailed by Covid restrictions. Many events all over the country were cancelled in the wake of the virus, but those behind this one weren’t giving up.
“We were so committed for two reasons,” said co-chair Kathleen Ross (whose mother-in-law, Margaret Ross, rode with Spring Valley).
“One, it was because it was for the hospital. (Funds raised go toward the facility’s Gagnon Cardiovascular Institute).
“We had the blessing of the hospital,” she continued, noting the medical center sent staff, including the heads of risk management and nursing, to walk through as organizers explained their Covid safety protocol. The hospital personnel gave the seal of approval for the plans of how to stay safe with social distancing and masks.
And reason number two?
“We had to do it because every one of those designers stuck with us,” explained Kathleen.
“When we closed in March, they were between 40 and 50 percent done with their rooms. When we got the blessing from the hospital and things were okay in New Jersey, we said, `That’s it, we’re doing it.’ On July 21, we sent an email to all of them and said `Come back.’ On Aug. 21, they were finished.” The show house opened Sept. 8.
Tyvan Hill
Pat O’Connor, co-chair, said a corporation is the current owner of the property, noting it is now for sale with eight acres and glorious views for $2.975 million.
Designed in the late 1920s by the architectural firm of Peabody, Wilson & Brown, known for their work on “large country residences,” Tyvan Hill is reminiscent of a little Downton Abbey. There’s even a section of the building once used for servants. The call buttons for each room are still on the wall in the servants’ quarters.
The 10,000-square-foot house was built for decorated World War I and II veteran John Castles Jr. and his wife, Dorothea, a daughter and granddaughter of Vermont governors. Other owners included Douglas Bowman Weed and Donald Cushing McGraw Jr. of the McGraw-Hill publishing company. The last family to live in the house was headed by Revlon President Sol Levine.
There is much more to learn from a visit to the ballroom/history room, and one can easily spend half of a delightful day touring Tyvan Hill and its gardens.
For information and tickets, go to www.mansioninmay.org.
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 26, 2020
Heading west from Oldwick to Illinois for the Dressage Festival of Champions last week, Alice Tarjan had her own little wagon train. She was hauling four horses herself, while two were shipped commercially.
Asked about the challenge of dealing with half a dozen mounts at the six-day U.S. Equestrian Federation national championship, she acknowledged, “It was exhausting.”
But worth it. Her string came home with two championships and three reserves in an all-hands-on deck effort.
“It was a lot of work,” she acknowledged in a masterpiece of understatement, noting how her husband, Dennis Sargenti, pitched in, along with friend and fellow competitor, Lauren Chumley of Pittstown, groom Debbie Altland; trainer Marcus Orlob and his crew, as well as various other people who stepped up when needed.
Alice, Marcus and Abby Fodor of Bloomsbury made a mark for New Jersey at HITS’ Lamplight Equestrian Center with standout championship and reserve performances during the competition, which drew 175 entries from across the country.
With the Covid situation, Alice initially wasn’t sure about making the trek, but Marcus talked her into it, saying, “You need to go, the horses need the ring time.”
A mark of 88.400 percent won the first four-year-old class for Alice’s homebred mare Gjenganger, followed by Marcus second and third on Flambeau (88.220) and Alice’s stallion Glory Day (81.400). She’s handed Glory over to Marcus because “he’s more horse than I want to ride. It’s a fun horse to watch.”
Alice Tarjan and Gjenganger, her four-year-old champion. Photo © 2020 SusanJStickle.com
Glory, who like Gjenganger is by 2014 Danish Warmblood Society champion stallion Grand Galaxy Win, was first with an 88.400 in the second class, where the mare was second on 85.400. But Gjenganger’s cumulative score took the tricolor for the division’s championship honors, leaving Glory as reserve.
Commenting on her chestnut protege, Alice said, “She’s been very easy to bring along, she’s naturally talented.”
Although the mare was sent out to get started under saddle, Alice has done all the work on her since then. It’s unusual for her to be riding a homebred; she buys most of her horses after watching them on videos, and her competition record makes it obvious she knows what she’s looking at.
Donatella M won the Developing Grand Prix for Alice with a score of 71.708 on the final day, while her stallion, Harvest, took the reserve honors in that section with 70.208.
Alice Tarjan and Donatella M. (Photo © 2020 SusanJStickle.com)
That mare is a 9-year-old, “a little further along than Harvest,” said Alice, noting she put in basically a clean test on both days at the Festival.
“The changes took a long time for her to understand. I think I brought her to four different trainers to help me get the changes on her. It’s a credit to her rideability that she actually figured it out. She really works for you, she really tries.
“Harvest is really, really green. He’s only eight. We just brought him for ring experience,” Alice continued, noting he was focused on breeding duties in the spring.
“I’m thrilled with the result. It’s not what we were expecting. He doesn’t get worried about the work, but he can be a little spooky and the environment can be a little bit of an issue sometimes, so we really did want to get him some exposure. Once he goes down centerline now, he’s been very workmanlike about it. I love training horses, you have to figure out how to explain to the horse what you want. That’s the fun of it.”
Summersby II, second in the Five-Year-Old Young Horse division, was second in the Four-Year-Old section last year.
“I was happy to repeat. She’s going to be a fantastic Grand Prix horse, fun to bring along,” Alice predicted about the Oldenburg mare, who earned 80.400 percent in the final.
Alice won the FEI Grand Prix on Candescent (71.478 percent), but didn’t get a shot at the championship because the mare was eliminated under the blood rule from both the Special and Freestyle after she bit her tongue and a little blood showed. It was especially a shame because Candescent, who can be challenging at times was “fantastic. She was fighting on my side,” said Alice.
Candescent won the Grand Prix. Photo © 2020 SusanJStickle.com
While the eliminations were disappointing, the rider noted, “I’m a big proponent of the blood rule.
“Zero tolerance is the way to go,” added Alice, who is a lawyer. If the rule isn’t zero tolerance, she asked, “where do you draw the line?”
Although the “no spectators” mandate was in effect, as it has been at all USEF competitions since they resumed in June after a Covid break, Alice said there were so many divisions at the show “it had a championship feel to it.” Marcus noted for the young horses, however, relatively quiet surroundings were a plus.
Marcus, after being a reserve champion at the Festival twice, finally got his blue cooler for the Six-Year-Old championship on Spirit of Joy by Sir Calypso. Owned by Jeanette Pinard, who also owns the four-year-old Flambeau, he earned 86.800 percent in the final with the only horse in the class to break the 80 percent mark.
After the class, Christine Traurig, the U.S. dressage young horse coach, suggested he take Spirit of Joy to Germany in December for the World Championship for Young Dressage Horses. The competition was moved from August to the end of the year because of Covid.
Marcus Orlob and Spirit of Joy. Photo © 2020 SusanJStickle.com
“It’s so hard to make plans with this whole situation, especially for the young horses,” said Marcus about the pandemic, noting he had competed the horse only three times before the championship.
“I feel like he’s doing everything right,” Marcus said about the Westfalen gelding.
During his first season in Florida, Marcus came to the attention of Steffen Peters when the Olympic medalist worked with him in a demonstration clinic at the Global Dressage Forum North America in West Palm Beach seven years ago. Steffen urged him to become a U.S. citizen, thinking he could have a future with the team.
Marcus Orlob at the 2013 Global Dressage Forum where he was “discovered” by Steffen Peters. (Photo © 2013 by Nancy Jaffer)
Marcus wants to ride with the U.S. squad in an international championship, and emphasized Spirit’s owner has been very supportive.
“Jeannette would love to be part of the dream to go to an international event,” said Marcus, calling her “fantastic,” and noting she already turned down an offer for the horse.
“At the moment, I feel he’s doing everything right,” Marcus said of Spirit.
“The main goal is to bring him up to the Grand Prix. I just started with baby half-steps, the beginning of passage. Now it’s just a question of how well he will do it. At the moment, he does everything I hope for. The long-term goal would be the Olympics and World Championships.”
Marcus was thrilled by Alice’s invitation to ride Glory in the Four-Year-Old division. He admires what she has done.
“She can fill a whole U.S. team herself. She has so many fantastic horses coming up right now. She has a very good eye and is really good with the young horses.”
Of their collaboration he said, “I feel like we have a very good partnership going on. I give her credit, she’s so focused and tries 120 percent. At the moment, it works really great with us.”
He is a fan of Gjenganger.
“You can already see the power and swing in the trot and canter. Later on, the passage work will be huge for that horse and on top of that, she’s a beautiful mare. Wow, that she bred the horse, it’s like hitting the jackpot.”
Speaking of Jeannette and Alice he noted, “It’s great to have those two backing me up.”
Marcus and his wife, Shannon, met at Warendorf, the German national training center, when Marcus was getting his rider/trainer certification. The couple runs Elite Expression in Annandale.
While Marcus went to college for interior design and thought he would end up working in his family’s funeral home business, he wound up opting for horses. He rode with German trainer Hubertus Schmidt and Johan Zagers, coach of the Brazilian Olympic team.
Abby Fodor, who trains with Heather Mason, marked her last year in the pony division by taking the Pony Rider championship after finishing first in the team test on Slip and Slide with a score of 70.238. She was third in the individual test with 66.216, but topped the charts with her overall score. Since Heather didn’t come to Illinois, Abby worked at the show with former U.S. Dressage Federation President George Williams.
Abby Fodor and her former western reining pony Slip and Slide were champions at the Festival. Photo © 2020 SusanJStickle.com
Her 14.2-hand quarter horse/Halflinger cross was a Canadian western reining pony she bought sight unseen from someone who got him at an auction and started him in dressage.
When he arrived in New Jersey, the first time Abby laid eyes on him she saw a “fat little hairy pony, we didn’t know how he was going to work. Then I rode him, then I loved him.”
This was the pony’s third time competing at the Festival, where the duo won the children’s championship in 2017. In 2018, Abby and “Slide” picked up the reserve championship in the pony division.
The pony ranks aren’t the last stop for the 16-year-old chestnut. Abby, a 16-year-old junior at Immaculata High School in Somerville, has shown him at Prix St. Georges, and thinks PSG/I-1 “is his max.”
Whatever happens, he has a home forever at Abby’s family farm, where she takes care of him herself.
