by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 22, 2017
By Nancy Jaffer
October 22, 2017
It had been years since I attended the Far Hills Race Meeting, once a “must” stop for me, but now off my calendar because it often conflicted with the Dutta Corp. Fair Hill (don’t confuse the names) International Three-Day Event in Maryland. This year, though, Fair Hill was last weekend, leaving me free yesterday to head back to the races a few miles from my home in New Jersey.
For those unfamiliar with the Far Hills phenomenon, I should explain that it is a day when everything seems to stop (including the traffic) in this tiny Somerset County town, where as many as 40,000 racegoers have descended on it in previous years.
The whole day is about the steeplechase races. Stores close, trains to the Far Hills station are packed, sidewalks are jammed and caterers stay up all night to prepare the feasts served at coveted tailgate spots on the hill at Moorland Farm. Want to buy a ticket at the gate? That’ll cost you $200.
I could go by car only so far on the road to the races, because the traffic was overwhelming. So my husband dropped me off and I started walking, carrying a couple of cameras and other gear. A woman in an SUV obviously felt sorry for me and kindly asked if I’d like to ride with her. I didn’t see the point, since the line of cars had been proceeding even more slowly than I was, and she agreed that we’d probably arrive at the same time. She was right. We ran into each other near the first turn on the race course and caught part of the first race, the Gladstone, together.
Menacing Dennis, second from the lead here, was the winner of the $50,000 Gladstone, the first race at Far Hills. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
Turned out she was Laura Traphagen, a former show ring competitor and friend of the family with whom I used to board my horses in New Vernon (about 20 minutes from Far Hills). That’s how it is on race day at Moorland; you’ll see people who have some connection with you that has nothing to do with racing.
I noticed that eventer Holly Payne-Caravella had sent out a tweet Friday saying she would be at the races (like me, she had been obligated to go to Fair Hill instead when there was a date conflict.) I found her at a space in the front row that her family has had for 30 years, although she sadly pointed out that since she last attended, a big tent had been erected in front of the their location, so the Paynes’ view of the racing was blocked.
Holly and her brother, Doug, also a successful eventer, had ridden in the pony races that once were a feature at Far Hills, and of course, we started talking about the old days. I had her there, since I can remember going to the races in the 1960s (before she was born), when there may have been about 5,000 people maximum on hand, most of whom were wearing tweed and knew each other. The crowd often used to include Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who had a home in Peapack and hunted with the Essex Foxhounds.
Long ago, the races were sponsored by the Essex, so the local hunt could thank farmers across whose property they rode. The races moved to Moorland, then a private estate, in 1916.
A stuffed fox decorating a hillside parking space at Moorland Farm is a reminder that the races were once associated with a hunt, but no longer. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
For years, they were called the hunt races by those in the know. Essex hasn’t been involved for decades, however, and the crowds grew after the races were marketed as “Family Day in the Country” during the early 1970s. The races have raised millions of dollars for charity, benefiting Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset (where the Steeplechase Cancer Center is located) and RWJ Barnabas Health, as well as the Cancer upport Community.
As Holly noted, folks in the know these days call Far Hills “the races.” Those not in the know call it “the hunt,” which annoys me (I work in words, after all) since the steeplechasing has nothing to do with a hunt anymore. But those folks often don’t even know what the occasion is about anyway; they’re just there to eat, drink and be merry.
They also make fun side bets. Although it was hoped that pari-mutuel betting would be in place for this year’s races, it didn’t work out and 2018 should be the first time it is in effect.
Michael Manasia of New York, who is looking forward to parimutuel betting at Far Hills and Virginia Ranger of New Vernon show they are into the partying with their lampshade hats and good humor. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
Under-age and excessive drinking had become a problem at the races, so this year there was a real crackdown and increased presence of law enforcement. There also was an initiative between Lyft and Beam Suntory (Makers Mark) to offer some free rides home from the event.
I have only anecdotal evidence of how the initiative worked from what I experienced, but walking out of Moorland in the past, I’d often run into stumbling, falling-down drunks. I encountered none of that this year, and the young people with whom I spoke seemed fine. I did wonder, however, why so many people searching for the Far Hills train station to return home were walking in the direction of Peapack instead. I gave out directions to a good number folks to get them back on track, so to speak.
Conditions were optimum both for the horses and the spectators, while the autumn colors of the trees added just the right artistic note to the incredibly scenic picture as spectators spread across not only the hillside, but the infield as well..
“It’s a beautiful day, the racecourse is in perfect shape and I’m tickled pink,” said Guy Torsilieri, president of the National Steeplechase Association, who chairs the race meeting with Ron Kennedy. He noted sales were “a little off because we really aggressively launched that campaign against underage drinking and I’m okay with that. If they figured out they couldn’t come here and drink, it’s fine with with me.”
Non-racing sport horse competition is my mainstay. I used to cover racing (most notably, I wrote about Secretariat’s Belmont victory that secured the Triple Crown in 1973, the first time in 25 years that a horse had taken that honor.) But I’ve been away from racing for a long time, so I was looking for a sport horse link—and I found it.
That first race, the $50,000 Gladstone for three-year-olds, was won by Menacing Dennis, after Snuggling, first across the finish line, was disqualified for interference and placed third. Dennis is trained by Julie Gomena, who was a winner at the 1994 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event.
The feature at Far Hills is the $400,000 Grand National Steeplechase, which dates back to 1899 and has been run in various locations, including Saratoga and Belmont. It’s the richest steeplechase in the U.S.
The honors went to Mr. Hot Stuff, an 11-year-old son of Tiznow who had an undistinguished performance in the Kentucky Derby as a three-year-old. He’s owned by Gil Johnston, who also owns show jumper Leslie Burr Howard’s top ride, Gentille van Spieveld. See, there’s that connection. Gil also gave me a little scoop when she told me that a new mount, Flo, has been purchased for Leslie.
Mr. Hot Stuff was third going over the final fence in the $400,000 Grade I Grand National, the Far Hills feature. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
As the horses headed to the finish line, where a solid mass of people watched along the fence, Mr. Hot Stuff showed his class by passing the battling Modem and All the Way Jose to win by a nose.
But heading toward the finish line, Mr. Hot Stuff (right) put on a surge to overcome Modem (center) and All the Way Jose, winning the Grand National. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
Although Mr. Hot Stuff has had some soundness issues, and often needs to go back to Gil’s Tennessee farm for a year or so to recuperate, she believes in him and her patience has paid off. Mr. Hot Stuff appears likely to be the National Steeplechase Association’s leading earner of 2017.
“He’s a cool horse,” said trainer Jack Fisher, who pays off the thoroughbred in his favorite mints.
Gil bought him as a five-year-old at auction, without knowing whether he could jump. But she had confidence, since he was “an athletic-looking horse.” At the moment, she has no plans to retire him, but when they hang up his saddle for good, he’ll be living at her Tennessee farm along with 20 or so other retired horses.
The last race, the 3 and ¼-mile New Jersey Hunt Cup over timber, brought me together with people from the eventing world. Nina and Tim Gardner, who own Jennie Brannigan’s best-known eventer, Cambalda, were in the winner’s circle after their 9-year-old gray, Where’s the Beef, took charge of the seven-horse field.
Nina and Tim Gardner, familiar faces at three-day eventing, with Ivan Dowling who trained their New Jersey Hunt Cup winner, Where’s the Beef. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
Jennie reconditioned the gelding by Rockport and rode him in several eventing competitions “to get him going and relaxed,” Nina said. The rider made her debut as a jockey in March 2015 with the horse, finishing fourth in an allowance race on the turf at the Aiken Spring Steeplechase. He was ridden at Far Hills by Mark Beecher. The Gardners, residents of Maryland, are now looking to have their horse start in the Maryland Hunt Cup.
The trophies at Far Hills have great meaning beyond being souvenirs of a win.
In the second race, 2 and 1/8 miles on the turf, Whitman’s Poetry scored the victory. The race is named in memory of trainer Harry E. Harris, whose daughter, Diane, presented the trophy. Diane’s late mother, Muriel Harris, was the secretary of many of our local horse shows in the Somerset Hills several decades ago, and Diane was quite a rider herself. She had a top pony named Little Bronze Wing, but isn’t involved with horses these days. Still, seeing her brought back memories.
The trophy for the Peapack race, a two and 1/8 mile competition for fillies and mares that was won easily by Lady Blanco, is particularly special. It is a new one in memory of Betty Merck, a great lady who was a former master of Essex and an avid steeplechase owner whose horses won at Far Hills. The beautiful silver cup was bought a few years ago, before she passed away, and now has been pressed into service as a special memento.
Lady Blanco opens up a huge lead in the Peapack against the backdrop of the hillside and tower. I saw her in the post parade and sensed she would win. “She’s all business. She’s very sweet, but she’ll run over top of you if you’re not careful,,” said owner Amy Taylor Rowe, noting it was only her second start. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
The races, sponsored by the Open Road Auto Group and Peapack-Gladstone Bank, really have become an extravaganza with many moving parts, including a vendor village and giant viewing screens. Those tweedy folks who attended in the 1960s and before wouldn’t recognize their event.
Ron Kennedy, who co-chairs the races, said he got up at 5:30 a.m. Saturday after a few hours of sleep to make sure everything was on target at Moorland. He keeps a pad of paper and a pencil by his bed to keep track of thoughts he has during the night about what has to be done.
The race meeting, he pointed out with a good-natured smile, “is so explosive. It’s like a cannon—there’s no chance to get ahead of it.” But the organizers do an excellent job in managing their once-a-year-day.
If Moorland sounds familiar to you, maybe it’s because you identify it as the home of the Essex Horse Trials, which was reinstituted in June after a 19-year absence from the scene. It will host the trials again June 23-24 2018, offering another chance to spend time at one of the most beautiful locations in New Jersey.
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 8, 2017
By Nancy Jaffer
October 8, 2017
Two of the biggest names in equitation headlined the weekend’s Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals East, with Taylor St. Jacques (a star at Devon this year) leading the standings after three phases, only to drop to second in the final rankings after 2015 ASPCA Maclay winner McKayla Langmeier showed her prowess once again.
McKayla Langmeier won the Platinum Performance/ USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals East on Skyfall. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
The two days of competition at the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation in Gladstone, N.J., ended with the special format of the Final Four, in which the top candidates after three phases (flat, gymnastics and a 12-obstacle course) rode their own horses over an eight-fence route, then took each of the other three participants’ mounts around it as well.
The Final Four is a real equalizer. For instance, while McKayla has had her mount, Skyfall, for five years, Taylor Griffiths, who finished third, had only met her ride, Caracas, last Tuesday. On the other hand, that big gray carried Halie Robinson to the West Coast Talent Search title last month, so he definitely had the right stuff.
No one was perfect in the Final Four. McKayla had a rail with Caracas and also a cross-canter mishap on a turn, but Taylor knocked down the second element of a wall-to-oxer double. That counted strongly against her because it happened on her own mount, the fabulous Charisma, who won the Grappa award as Best Horse in the final. Meanwhile, in the plus column for McKayla was the way she rode the first line in a neat nine strides, rather than a scrambling eight.
Taylor St. Jacques and Charisma. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
McLain Ward, who judged the class with fellow grand prix show jumper Jimmy Torano, called the Final Four concept “phenomenal,” citing the way it worked out at this championship. (Interestingly, the Final Four horse-switching for the World Show Jumping Championships, after which the Talent Search segment was modeled, has been dropped. It seems show jumpers are just too expensive these days to be swapped off.)
But it still works at the Talent Search.
“For me, it was exciting right to the very end. I think that’s the beauty of it; it changes, there’s ebbs and flows, it’s not one mistake and you’re out,” McLain said.
“Riders have a chance to rebound and fight back. Taylor fought back and made it very close. There was not a lot of room for McKayla to make a mistake, she had a beautiful last round and got the job done.”
McKayla was surprised to find out she had won. While she and Taylor St. Jacques were waiting for the announcement, neither was sure what the outcome would be.
Talent Search judges McLain Ward and Jimmy Torano work on laying out the final course for the class. (Photo copyright 2017 by Nancy Jaffer)
The Talent Search process is an educational weekend that serves riders on the rise who apply themselves. Taylor Griffiths is only 14; Abigail Brayman, who was fourth, is still polishing her resume. Nina Columbia used it to get a foothold on improving her position on the Big Eq scene. Nina, 16, of Kinnelon, was the top-placing New Jersey competitor in the field of 52, finishing eighth.
McLain said of Nina, “The girl was close all week, we thought the world of her. She had a nice way with the horse, a nice attitude, nice feeling.”
Nina got introduced to horses by the time she was three at the Smoke Rise Riding Club, where her grandmother, Barbara Columbia, also rode. Barbara was on hand to watch her granddaughter, along with Nina’s father, John Columbia, who drives her to lessons three times a week at Beacon Hill in Monmouth County, a long way from the family’s home in northern Morris County.
After riding with Robert Beck in Long Valley, Nina started taking lessons with Stacia Madden at Beacon Hill a year ago.
“She’s provided me with the most amazing opportunities,” said Nina, noting she also found her finals horse, Checkland.
Nina Columbia and Checkland. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
“He’s the most amazing partner, he saves me and he’s awesome,” said Nina, a junior at Kinnelon High School.
She made her Talent Search debut in 2016, but this time it was a different story.
“I’m taking the lessons I learned last year and applying them to this year,” said Nina. While it can be challenging to take part among a legion of top riders, she noted, “I’ve been really working hard. I’ve been thinking a lot. Stacia taught me to think, to plan, to take a breath. That’s what I’ve been doing, and it’s paid off.”
“Any time you’re competing against top riders, it brings your level of riding up to the next level,” Stacia said about Nina’s performance.
She takes pride in her student’s improvement.
“Everything is just starting to come together at the end of the year,” commented Stacia.
Nina is hoping to ride NCAA at college, and is interested in pursuing the horse business professionally, but first, she’s focusing on the the Medal and Maclay finals this autumn.
More items of interest:
- The top 10: 1) McKayla Langmeier; 2) Taylor St. Jacques; 3) Taylor Griffiths; 4) Abigail Brayman; (Check out who trained them in the main story above); 5) Addison Piper (trained by Emily Smith); Alexandra Pielet (Val Renihan); 7) Carly Hoft (Don Stewart); 8) Nina Columbia (Stacia Madden); 9) Daisy Farish (Andre Dignelli); 10) Michael Williamson (Don Stewart).
- The other Jerseyan in the finals, Emma Callanan of Tewksbury Township, also had a credible performance to move from 21st following the gymnastics phase to wind up 11th after earning a 90 that was the third-highest score in the Sunday morning jumping. She is trained by Dana Hart Callanan.
- During the gymnastics phase, riders had to go from a one-stride double of verticals to a one-stride double of oxers in five strides. Later in the course, they had to ride the same line in reverse, but with six strides between the combinations. It was interesting to see how many riders ran out of room the second time and chipped at the first element of the final combination.
- In the Sunday morning course, the water jump banked with mums was a bogey for some, but only a few in the top 15 had difficulty there, and all of them did clear it, just not necessarily in great style.
- McLain had words of encouragement for those who struggled: “Whether you were successful or not in the jumping course, I hope you learned something and you understood your own riding strengths and weaknesses and that of your horse better. Not everybody’s going to master it, but they should leave not feeling defeated. They should leave thinking, `This is what i need to do to get better.'”
- The tests need to be reflective of the times and the standard of the sport. “We’re not preparing kids to go hunting anymore,” said McLain.”We’re preparing kids to jump the Nations’ Cup Final, and I think that needs to be reflected in all the equitation finals, in my opinion. Otherwise, it’s not relevant.”
- McKayla is coached by her parents, Linda (also a Maclay finals winner) and Kenny, as well as Missy Clark. Missy also trained Abigail Brayman. Taylor St. Jacques is trained by Andre Dignelli, who judged the West Coast finals, and Taylor Griffiths gets her coaching from her stepfather, Frank Madden, and her mother, Jen Madden.
McKayla Langmeier with John Brennan; her parents, Ken and Linda Langmeier, Missy Clark and Emily Smith of Platinum Performance. (Photo copyright 2017 by Nancy Jaffer)
- Discussing McKayla, Missy mentioned her “work ethic: A-plus; talent: A-plus; Dedication: A-plus; Interest level: A-plus. All of it. She has worked so hard for so many years and always is so respectful and polite and appreciative. She’s a good one.”
- Everyone was thrilled to have judges of Jimmy and McLain’s caliber. “Not only are these two guys so knowledgeable, their level of passion is through the roof,” Frank Madden pointed out.
- McLain got a laugh when he revealed the reminder to be kind that he wrote at the top of his scorecard, “Remember, your daughter might be here in a few years.”
by Kate Seaman | Oct 8, 2017
By Nancy Jaffer
November 23, 2017
It’s a tradition that began when Jacqueline Kennedy, the charismatic former First Lady of the U.S., would ride out with New Jersey’s Essex Foxhounds on Thanksgiving. The interest in her and her family was intense. As one Essex veteran told me, “photographers were hanging from the trees” when she appeared on the scene.
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis at the Essex Foxhounds’ Thanksgiving hunt during the early 1980s.. To the left in black is her son, John F. Kennedy Jr. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
Word got around. Eager to catch a glimpse of Jackie, people started coming to the Thanksgiving hunt to gawk. While Jackie stopped riding with Essex decades ago and died in 1994, the custom continues.
Today, as always, hundreds converged on the elegant Ellistan estate in Peapack, N.J., to watch the hunt gather before it headed out across the green fields of Somerset County.
The scene at Ellistan on Thanksgiving 2017. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
Those who come to the property take photos and videos, tailgate, toss a football and generally enjoy an hour or two out in the country before heading off to their dinner.
Tailgating on Thanksgiving at Ellistan. (Photo by Lawrence J. Nagy)
Some have never been close to a horse, and are fascinated by watching sleek mounts and their well-turned out riders.
Eager kids reach out to touch a horse. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
For horse-savvy locals, it’s a time to see old friends, chat with pillars of the equestrian community and discuss who’s riding which horse.
It’s also a time to appreciate open space in the most densely populated state in the union. Essex is part of the community, an example of countryside sport, and how closely riding and horses are involved with land preservation.
Taking a fence on Thanksgiving.
Drs. Brendan Furlong and Wendy Leitch. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
Essex Foxhounds Committee Chairman Sally Ike and Treasurer Jim Gordon. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
The Johnson family had a smart turnout as the hunt gathered. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
Huntsman Bart Poole and the hounds.
A side-saddle rider adds a touch of elegance to the hunt field.
by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 15, 2017
By Nancy Jaffer
Sept. 15, 2017
She’s never owned a horse. But Isabelle Heckler of Colts Neck has managed to get some pretty extensive experience in riding and equine care because, simply put, she’s a worker.
The U.S. Hunter Jumper Association’s Emerging Athlete Program was designed for someone like Isabelle, the only New Jerseyan named to compete in November’s 2017 finals at Ohio’s Lake Erie College. There are 24 finalists, culled from a group of 180 who took part in regional training sessions around the country this year. The sessions include both riding and horse management, and always feature expert instructors in both.
EAP’s mission is to discover riders under 21 with ability, but lacking the opportunities of others in their age group who have been riding regularly in the elite shows. The concept provides education for young riders in their quest to become knowledgeable horsemen and women. It can boost participants in their aspirations to be professionals–or at least have serious involvement in horse sport.
One of EAP’s best-known alumni is Jacob Pope, who won the 2011 national finals after competing primarily in local and regional shows. He went on the next year to take the USEF Talent Search Finals East and the ASPCA Maclay title at the National Horse Show.
Isabelle brought a green horse to her training session this summer at Centenary University in Long Valley, noting, “It’s nice to be surrounded by peers who are coming in with horses they’ve ridden once before and wanting to show off their riding ability by showing how much they can improve in three days.”
Isabelle Heckler competing in schooling jumpers on Federico de Michelis’ Tlaloca Z (Photo by Sportfot)
As a veteran of a 2014 EAP training session in New York with Candice King, Isabelle went to this summer’s session “with the intention of helping everybody out and trying to re-create the experience I had in 2014, because everybody was so helpful and made my experience so easy. I could never have imagined making it to nationals.”
Anne Kursinski, the developing rider coach for the U.S. show jumping team, presided at the Centenary session, which also included extra-curricular activities, such as a tour of the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation headquarters in Gladstone led Sally Ike, EAP committee chairperson. Sally, an eventer who rode with the team, is based in Gladstone as the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s managing director of licensed officials.
“It was incredible,” Isabelle said of her visit to the historic stables. “I hadn’t taken all the time to appreciate all the history that is so important to it.”
Her ambition for the national finals is typical Isabelle: “To just be the best teammate and rider that I can be.”
She’ll be getting real team experience this fall after trying out and being accepted as a new member of the varsity NCAA squad at the University of Georgia, where she is a sophomore and previously participated in Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association competition.
Isabelle Heckler in adult amateur hunter competition on Catrine Golia’s Royal Expectation. (Photo by Sportfot)
Isabelle started riding as a child when she and her mother, Margot, a veteran of the U.S. Pony Club, cared for a variety of animals at a farm in Middletown. “My mom put me on a horse one day, and I never got off,” Isabelle chuckled.
After she got really invovled in horses and started taking lessons, Isabelle recalled, “My parents sat me down and told me that if I wanted to keep riding, I’d have to figure out a way to do it myself.”
So she did.
“At the time, it seemed very life-shattering,” said Isabelle of her parents’ decision, but she realized in retrospect, “it was so instrumental in forming a work ethic and forming character.”
The 19-year-old spent a lot of time as a working student, for Bill Ellis and David Connors, as well as Max Amaya, among others, including Laura Bowery, with whom she rode in Wellington, Fla., last winter. One of her big moments was riding in the 1.20-meter jumpers at The Ridge show there.
Max called Isabelle “a very dedicated worker, passionate about the horses.” He added, “I think she’s going to be able to succeed in the industry because she’s doing all the right steps. She worked very well with others, she’s always ready to help, and she’s not shy about asking for help when she needs to. She’s a good team player.”
Still considering her future, business major Isabelle isn’t sure if she will be a professional horseperson, though that seems likely considering her lifetime involvement with horses, which also involved being a hotwalker for a racing stable.
Looking forward to the finals and learning from Olympic gold medalist Peter Wylde in the riding segment and Anne Thornbury for stable management, she enthused, “It’s going to be such an amazing opportunity.”
What Isabelle has gotten from EAP, she observed, is “the emphasis on being a well-rounded horseperson. None of us are ever too successful to not have to clean a stall or groom our horses or wrap them at the end of the day.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Sep 14, 2017
By Nancy Jaffer
August 30, 2017
When the applause ends, after the crowds go home, what’s next for a top horse who has retired from eventing?
In the case of Ballynoe Castle RM, better known as Reggie, that question can be answered with one word: Paradise.
Reggie enjoying retirement at Apple Hill Farm with his pint-size companion, Barney. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
The lucky 17-year-old Irish Sport Horse, who was saluted in an emotional retirement ceremony at the Rolex Kentucky 4-star in April, is now comfortably ensconced with his owners, Cassie and Carl Segal, at their picturesque 49-acre Apple Hill Farm in Pottersville.
Reggie, the U.S. Eventing Association’s all-time point earner, deserves his rest. His career, which began with Buck Davidson in 2006, ended last year. Now that’s all behind the sturdy son of Ramiro B. He is not only living a life of leisure in scenic surroundings, it’s a life of pampering as well.
Groomed to a glow every day, Reggie’s bay coat is as shiny as it was when he competed at the biggest three-day events, including the Burghley, Badminton and Rolex 4-stars, as well as two World Equestrian Games. When he’s not enjoying the pasture with its panoramic views; a cornfield, the handsome barn and the Segals’ house, Reggie appreciates variation to his days by hacking on the farm and along the nearby trails under the guidance of his caregiver, Jessica Kiener, who is married to the farm’s property manager, Matt Kiener.
Regie can just sit back and relax at Apple Hill. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
Jess, who used to work in the barn at Somerset County’s Lord Stirling Stable in Basking Ridge, has been a competitive eventer herself, training with Buck. Remember her mount, the Segals’ My Boy Bobby, who is also in retirement at Apple Hill?
Jess won the American Eventing Championships at Intermediate level with him, having started him at training level. A fond memory for the Segals and Jess is the time she won Groton House and led the victory gallop with, as Carl puts it, “all the red coats” of U.S. team veterans following behind her.
A typical day in retirement begins for Reggie at 7 a.m., when he gets three-quarters of a scoop of Ultium to supplement his grass diet, which also includes a little hay at supper time.
Living outdoors suits Reggie, who is turned out with Barney, a spotted pony Jess said is “obsessed” with the pasturemate who towers over him. If the weather is hot, Reggie and Barney can escape the heat in what the Segals call a shed, but which really is part of the barn, with rubber blocks on the floor and automatic insect sprayers to keep the bugs away.
The Segals bought Apple Hill because they wanted some land.
“We had never heard of the sport of eventing. We didn’t know from horses. We thought we’d get a couple of horses and do trail riding,” Cassie said. So much for that.
Reggie in the barn with Jess and Matt Kiener and Cassie and Carl Segal. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
As we chatted after Reggie’s grooming session, the talk naturally turned to recollections about this memorable horse.
“The first time we saw him was at Buck’s farm,” said Cassie, who noted Reggie was purchased sight unseen through Patricia Nicholson in Ireland.
“She called Buck and said, `I’ve got this really special horse I think you’re going to like.’ Buck talked to us and we said, `Okay, we’ll give it a try.’”
Although Reggie had competed up to the preliminary level in Ireland. Buck had never ridden him before the sale.
When the Segals were introduced to Reggie at Buck’s barn, there were no gasps of awe, no predictions of fame.
“He looked like all the other horses Buck has,” Cassie acknowledged, recalling her first impression of the gelding who would become the star of their stable.
Reggie and Buck Davidson on the way to winning the 2015 CCI 3-star at the Jersey Fresh International Three-Day Event. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
“I don’t think there was anything really special that stood out. He was just a nice event horse. We like the Irish horses a lot.”
Carl remembered, “We saw him compete at Plantation for the first time in 2006 at prelim. He won. There are plenty of horses at prelim who fizzle out and can’t do intermediate or advanced. We didn’t have any expectations of him being an advanced horse.”
So the Segals were just happy at the beginning that he “was beautiful and his disposition was good.” He was also fond of people.
“He’s just the sweetest,” said Cass, who rode him once and called the experience “thrilling.”
Reggie was Buck’s go-to horse, a friend as well as a mount. Buck misses him.
“When Jess and I went down to pick him up at Chesterland, Buck made sure he wasn’t there,” said Cass, noting Buck already has visited Reggie at Apple Hill.
Buck takes a final gallop on Reggie during the Rolex retirement ceremony. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
After Reggie’s retirement ceremony at Rolex, Buck and I talked about the horse, who had made did his final appearance in the dressage arena for the test ride at the 4-star with longtime groom Kathleen Blauth-Murray aboard.
“We’re so proud of the horse, but more, we’re proud of the family and the team that has been behind him since day one,” said Buck.
“We’re as close as can be and we’re all brought together because of Reggie. He loves being part of the action. What a joy to have (him) in the barn for the last 11 years. There’s probably more talented horses out there than Reggie but there will never be another winner like him.
“My life is owed to him. It was a great career and I’m thankful I was actually able to be the one who steered him around. It was a joy every single day.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 28, 2017
By Nancy Jaffer
Aug. 20, 2017
Monmouth at the Team may well be one of the friendliest shows you’ve ever attended—it seems as if a smile is the uniform of the day.
Christina Bond’s smile was mirrored by those on the faces of many other competitors at Monmouth at the Team. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
“It’s like a neighborhood gathering, so we want to be open to everybody coming,” said Michael Dowling, the show’s co-organizer with Tucker Ericson.
Michael noted that after competing, some of the exhibitors go home to shower and change, then return to the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation in Gladstone to watch, mingle and listen to the different bands that provide a toe-tapping soundtrack.
“We want people from outside the horse world too, local people who don’t have kids or people showing. We’re trying to embrace the community as a whole, not just the horse part. We want people to enjoy this place,” continued Michael, and the atmosphere is conducive to that.
No question is too silly to be answered politely, patience is everyone’s strong suit and there’s a general feeling of congeniality and fun. What was that word—fun? Yes, it’s a week-long horse show that’s more like a party, both in and out of the hospitality tent.
Michael Dowling, co-manager of Monmouth at the Team. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
The show, New Jersey’s oldest, moved from its namesake county last year after Michael, who is a trainer, and Tucker, a horse show judge, bought it. The transition was seamless and it was named the New Jersey Horse Shows Association Show of the Year for 2016.
What’s the formula for this success?
“I think we keep doing what the people want,” said Tucker.
“They want an event, not a horse show. They want their family and friends to come and hang around and laugh and hear the music and drink great drinks and eat great food and watch their family members horse show in a venue that has a lot of history about our Olympians and our sport.”
Tucker Ericson, co-manager of Monmouth at the Team. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
The show, managed by Creigh Duncan, puts new life into the grounds of the foundation where U.S. teams once trained for the Olympics and other major competitions. Names such as Steinkraus, Chapot, De Nemethy, LeGoff, Wofford, Ridland and many more are part of the facility’s tradition in the big ring behind the landmark stable.
“It’s a piece of history, an unbelievable facility,” said Ricci Desiderio, trainer at Tranquillity Farm in nearby Chester.
He assessed the show this way: “I think people love it. It’s a slower pace, you’re only showing one ring.” Ricci and his wife, Stephanie, made the show a family affair with son Michael and daughter Alexandria busy in the arena.
Liz Durkin’s Durkin Firm in Livingston is a show sponsor, but the attorney is more involved with Monmouth at the Team than simply fulfilling the role of a backer.
“I brought my hunters and my jumpers. We emptied our barn,” said Liz, whose stable is in Warren County.
“We’re really just loving it. For those of us who are in the hunter/jumper world and are local, there’s nothing that’s not spectacular about this horse show,” she commented the other day.
“This show has been going since 7 o’clock and everyone is in a great mood 12 hours later. Everything is just perfectly done. There are so many horse shows that are so routine. There’s nothing special about them. Everything about this show is special, from the venue on up.”
Maxime Tyteca and Niels Haesen of Stal de Eyckenhoeve in Belgium brought one horse, Sirlando, across the Atlantic for the show. The Dutchbred and Maxime competed in the hunters for the first time, the day after the six-year-old former dressage horse and show jumper got out of quarantine.
Niels Haesen and Maxime Tyteca present the award for the Round of the Day to Jazz Johnson Merton. The award is sponsored by Stal de Eyckenhoeve. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
The couple, business partners in selling horses and building a farm in Ocala with Tucker, appreciates the character of the show. As Niels pointed out, it’s quite different from the multi-ring extravaganzas in Wellington and Ocala.
“It’s only one ring and everyone’s together around the ring,” said Niels. “Everybody’s here.”
“I love having one ring that we can all sit and watch and enjoy,” said trainer B.J. Ehrhardt,, a longtime Monmouth exhibitor who rode at the show when it was at Monmouth Park’s Wolf Hill Farm before it moved after 1971.
“The people all get to mingle, which we never get to do at horse shows, because we’re always too busy running around. I think they do a fabulous job.”
There are those who have suggested that the show could hold extra classes in the indoor ring, or in a ring in the North Field, but Tucker’s answer is short and sweet.
“Oh no. It’s all about this arena and the energy around this ring. We’ve got an amazing staff,” said Tucker, noting they have handled as many as 400 trips over fences in a day. Everyone contributes to the effort.
“Trainers and exhibitors have risen to the occasion. We have put together an amazing group of sponsors. The support is outstanding. They are trying to help us make this work,” continued Tucker, pointing out that the economics of a one-ring horse show are challenging, compared to a multi-ring show.
The good feelings start with the parking people. Telling showgoers where to park is a thankless job—everyone wants to be in the very limited VIP spaces or 10 steps from the ring—but Linda and John Ericson (Tucker’s parents) do it with a smile and the offer of a cold bottle of water.
John is a former Hunterdon County school superintendent. His wife, who was an assistant to an attorney at an insurance company, said cheerfully, “I never thought I’d have parking on my resume.
“We just love it, but it’s not easy. We get up at 4 in the morning and start working at 5:30 a.m.,” Linda reported proudly.
Tucker pitches in wherever he’s needed, too, often tending bar in the hospitality tent that stretches along one side of the ring.
The seven-day show proves that if you present a special product, it’s possible to attract exhibitors without extravagant heaps of prize money or the ultimate in U.S. Equestrian Federation ratings. Its highest rating is B, and the jumpers are Level 3.
The biggest purses are $10,000 each for the Sunday Aug. 20 mini-prix and the Bobcat Hunter Derby that was held Thursday, the one day of the show that is not recognized by the USEF. The Derby attracted 99 entries at a time when other shows are struggling to fill their classes, and the beautifully turned-out horses were top-class. Despite the feeling of informality that pervades Monmouth at the Team, this is no backyard show.
Jazz Johnson Merton, joint master of the Essex Foxhounds that are based just down the road from the foundation grounds, topped both rounds of the Bobcat Derby to win with Joe Cool, a lovely gray warmblood owned by her daughter, Willa. At age 12, Willa is a little small for the stately Joe, so mom got to ride him in the derby.
Jazz Johnson Merton, winner of the Bobcat Derby with Joe Cool. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
“He’s just a really good, solid egg,” Jazz said of the gelding.
This is her first year competing at the show, but since she lives in Pottersville only a few miles away, “I was very pleased to be here this year. It’s in my backyard and such a lovely venue. I hope to see more competitions here again.”
Monmouth was Jazz’s prep for the Hampton Classic, where she will be riding Joe in the 3-3 hunters.
On Saturday, Aug. 26, she’ll be riding other horses in the Essex Foxhounds’ hunter trials at the foundation, so Monmouth was a good prep for that too.
While she hasn’t hunted Joe yet, “some of our show horses do foxhunt. All of the equestrian sports are so crucial in keeping the land open and keeping the countryside so beautiful in this area.”
Conservation actually was the theme of the Bobcat Derby. It was sponsored by the Nature Conservancy which wants to build “Bobcat Alley” for New Jersey’s last remaining wild cats. To survive, the endangered species needs land to roam. So the conservancy is trying to connect preserved land between the Appalachians and the Highland section of the state. The wildlife corridor will provide space for the animals to hunt, roam and increase their numbers.
In keeping with that mission, the Conservancy gave away headbands with tufted (fake) bobcat ears. They were the accessory to have. Some competitors even wore the ears on their helmets as they went over the fences.
Jennifer Petrisko shows off her bobcat ears during her round with Sri. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
I was interested in finding out why the conservancy wanted to have a sponsorship at the show.
“We look for people to help us out,” explained philanthropy assistant Jeff Burian.
“The show has a large crowd so it gets the word out, and that’s the primary thing.”
Mary Conte, who does marketing for the conservancy and came up with the headband concept, notes that the conservancy is located a few miles from the foundation in Chester.
“This is an opportunity for us to build awareness of the good works we are doing in our community,” she noted, detailing why the organization is involved with Monmouth at the Team.
Mary Conti at the Nature Conservancy table in the hospitality tent. (Photo by Nancy Jaffer)
“A lot of people don’t know who the Nature Conservancy is and don’t know we’re working right here in New Jersey to help wildlife and people and nature. So we thought this was a great opportunity to meet people in our community.”
Monmouth at the Team is a refreshing fixture, proving what can be done when people who have both vision and expertise work hard and enlist like-minded folks to help them.
I have a habit of making suggestions, for what they’re worth, to show managers about what I think they could do to improve their events. But there wasn’t a suggestion I could make to Michael and Tucker–they did it all, and they did it right.
I look forward to the 2018 edition of Monmouth at the Team, and I know there’s a legion of showgoers who feel the same.
