Are you happy with the conditions for horse-keeping in your state? Or are you thinking of relocating to a more horse-friendly environment?
It’s a tough decision, but a company called Lawn Love has made it a bit easier by ranking the Best States for Horse Lovers. They compared all 50 states based on 27 metrics, such as equestrian programs, riding trails, horse shows and museums.(Not sure why museums would be a vital factor, but maybe some of the horse lovers referenced in the title of the study take the cultural aspect of their equestrian fixation seriously.)
Also considered were the availability of horses for sale, boarding facilities, veterinarians, trainers and affordability.
In case you’re wondering why Lawn Love cares about the Best States for Horse Lovers, it’s because grass is an essential component of equine diets, and pastures need horse-friendly grass types for safe foraging. Makes sense, right?
The rankings were put together to mark National Horse Protection Day earlier this month. Number one is California, ranked first for equestrian activities and equine care. Its overall score is 77.46, which puts it 13.71 points ahead of Texas, number two but with a number one ranking for equestrian education. Number three Florida has a score of 53.51, followed by Kentucky (39.92–number one in equine access) and New York (38.66),
New Jersey is 18th with a score of 23.56. Oddly, it was third-best in terms of affordability, which experience told me didn’t seem right, so I contacted the Lawn Love people about that. John Schmidt explained that New Jersey has the third-highest cost in the country, tied with California, but the metric was adjusted by income.
“We took the average salary of each state, as well as the average care cost, and figured what the average percentage of one’s salary would be used for equine care,” John said.
In relation to the average income, it has the third-lowest percentage, so it’s ranked third for that metric. I’m sure from most horse owners’ point of view in New Jersey, it may not feel like that.
It is 24th in equine housing and care, 15th in equine access and 12th in equestrian education.
The worst states? Delaware is at the bottom of the list, with Mississippi second worst, then West Virginia, Alaska and Hawaii. Why were they the worst? An overall lack of equestrian attractions and equine resources.
To look at the rankings of every state, click on this link.
Beloved veterinarian Dr. Meg Mullin, “dedicated her life to what she did and had fun doing it.”
That comment, from Will Connell, former U.S. Equestrian Federation director of sport, sums up the essence of Dr. Mullin, who died Thursday after weeks in a coma following a riding accident.
A sports medicine clinician at the B.W. Furlong and Associates veterinary practice, Dr. Mullin was the U.S. team veterinarian in several disciplines. Much admired for both her professional expertise and upbeat personality, she had an abundance of friends who mourn her loss.
Dr. Meg Mullin was an enthusiastic polo player. (Photo courtesy B.W. Furlong Associates)
“She meant everything to us,” said Dr. Brendan Furlong, who had worked with her since 1997.
“Meg was a force to be reckoned with. Her love of life and her dedication to the practice and to her colleagues and to the horses was phenomenal. She leaves a huge hole, certainly in our lives and practice, and also in the horse industry.”
Dr. Mullin, known to her friends as “Muggy,” had experience with all types of horses, but her favorite equestrian pastime became playing polo. She enjoyed it at the Cypress Polo Club in Lake Worth, Fla., during the winter, and during the summer at Tinicum Polo Club in Pennsylvania, near her home in Clinton, N.J.
Carolyn McKay, the Cypress club manager, was watching as Dr. Mullin mounted Antojito last month and began walking the horse at the beginning of a casual ride. Suddenly, the mare reared up, then fell to the ground dead, hitting her rider in the face with her head.
McKay rushed to the unconscious Dr. Mullin’s side after calling 911, holding her hand and talking to her until the ambulance arrived.
“I had the feeling Meg never knew any pain or discomfort; she was just riding until she wasn’t,” McKay said.
Shortly before her accident, Dr. Mullin was interested in buying another horse to add to her string, which also included Leona and Contessa. But ironically–considering what would happen a few weeks later–when the animal was vetted and determined to have a heart murmur, she decided not to buy it, McKay related.
Recalling the delight with which Dr. Mullin would enjoy getting out on her horses and letting her rough-coated Jack Russell, Scooby, run around at the club, McKay said, “She had it all here when she came out to ride. She just enjoyed every minute of being with the animals and being outside. She was smiling from ear to ear until she was done.”
Dr. Meg Mullin. (Photo courtesy B.W. Furlong and Associates)
Her charisma was felt by the club members as well, said McKay, noting she “gave encouragement and smiles to everyone, both on and off the field. She just made it fun.”
Dr. Mullin was known for her work with the USA’s youth show jumping teams, driving horses, occasionally event horses and most particularly, the para-dressage team horses.
“She was very much part of the team behind the para-dressage team that helped it go from out in the wilderness in Rio (Paralympics 2016) to the podium in Tokyo (2021). That’s without doubt part of her legacy,” said Connell.
“She was completely dedicated to her job,” he continued.
“She got on with people and was the right person for the para-dressage environment.”
Lizzy Chesson, the USEF’s manager of show jumping, called Dr. Mullin’s passing, “a huge, huge loss for us, the team and the industry.”
Dr. Mullin’s private clients also were tremendously fond of the veterinarian.
“All of us at Ashmeadow Farm are devastated about the loss of our dear friend, Meg,” said top hunter rider Amanda Steege.
“She was kind, smart, hard-working, upbeat and always put the needs of the horses first. She made me strive to be a better horsewoman. I will miss her dearly.”
A native of Philadelphia, Dr. Mullin fulfilled a long-held ambition when she was able to attend the Super Bowl and root for the Philadelphia Eagles this winter.
She attended Chestnut Hill College and the University of Virginia for her undergraduate studies, then received her veterinary medicine degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
“She was always a horseman,” said her sister, Jennifer Kovacich, who wrote,”The night sky has one more star as Meg makes her way to heaven. Please carry forward a bit of her sparkle with you to share in abundance.”
In addition to Jennifer, Dr. Mullin also is survived by her brother, Raymond (Miriam Pugh); her sister, Kumari (Kumara Frank), and her nephews, Mitch and Nicholas Kovacich.
Arrangements will be made in the future for a celebration of Dr. Mullin’s life. Those who want to donate in her memory may go to a GoFundMe page put up by Pam Wildman for Dr. Mullin, which will expand into funding for equestrian sport safety.
Irish rider Daniel Coyle, who is leading the North American League for the FEI World Cup Finals, is ready for a serious shot at the global indoor jumping championship in Omaha next month.
He demonstrated his prowess on Sunday in the Winter Equestrian Festival’s $226,000 CSIO 4-star grand prix presented by JTWG Inc.
Only four riders from a field of 43 managed to make it to the jump-off over a course set by Anthony D’Ambrosio, and just two of those—Daniel on Ivory TCS and the USA’s Lacey Gilbertson with Karlin Van ‘T Vennehof—were fault-free in the tiebreaker, which had no related distances. Daniel’s time of 38.06 seconds could not be beaten by Lacey, who gave it a good try in 39.30.
The Canadian-based rider has long had his eye on the big prize, the World Cup. He qualified as the North American leader in 2020 for the final, which was supposed to be held in Las Vegas, but it was cancelled by Covid. So he’s really looking forward to this year’s renewal.
“I have great depth in the string (of horses) and I think for the World Cup Finals, we need that. We set out this year as a plan to go there and do well,” he said.
Legacy, who won a qualifier, will be his number one horse for the Cup. Ivory, who he owns in partnership with Canadian Ariel Grange, might be number two (he’s allowed to take two mounts) but he suggested the stallion Gisbourne VDL also may be a candidate to help take the pressure off Legacy.
While the European Championships this summer will offer another chance to excel on the global stage, Daniel notes the World Cup is a unique opportunity at the highest level.
“It’s a different strategy, because all of those other major championships, you need to be on a team. Whereas at World Cup Finals, you don’t, it’s more a personal thing, you can do your own plan and it’s not part of a team.
“You never want to upset what is happening with a team but at a World Cup Finals, it’s all down to you and you alone,” explained Daniel.
He has had to work at being independent, noting “I think my best strength is being as strong as I can for me, and that usually is the best for the team. It took me a few years to figure that out. Trying not to do something wrong sometimes doesn’t help. Try and be the best person you can be for yourself, and everybody else–hopefully they can have the same idea.”
Ivory, known for her speed, was purchased by Daniel in partnership with Ariel at the VDL auction.
“I’m not wealthy enough to keep these horses, so I bought her to sell,” said Daniel, but fate intervened.
“A few people actually have tried her already and didn’t buy her, and I’m delighted they did not,” noted the mare’s rider moments after his victory gallop.
It came down to the wire: would Anna Buffini get the final North American slot in the FEI World Cup Dressage Finals, or was it possible that Sarah Tubman could earn the trip to April’s competition in Omaha?
Although there were nine others riding to music under the “Friday Night Lights” at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival, the drama for those in the know involved the two formidable competitors who are also friends.
Sarah, second to go on First Apple before a packed house, earned an impressive 77.450 percent despite her disadvantageous spot in the starting order.
In Thursday’s Grand Prix that acted as a qualifier for the freestyle, her chestnut stallion said no in his first piaffe. In the freestyle, he was a different horse, completely cooperative. Sarah had no major holes in her scores, but her freestyle, to the music of Boston (More than a Feeling), was a little on the conservative side, with a degree of difficulty/calculated risks going from 8.3. to 8.9
Anna’s ride to the theme from “Top Gun Maverick” lost marks on FRH Davinia La Douce’s right pirouette, which oddly was marked from a 4 to an 8 (judges see different things depending on their position around the arena, but that was quite a spread). Her degree of difficulty for the test, however, topped out at an impressive 9.5.
“It was definitely a tricky ride.” said Anna.
In the past, that hadn’t turned out well, This time, however, “I think our partnership and the work we put together the last couple of years has really come together, so even if it is a little tricky, we can still come out with a solid test and perform well.”
After all, as Anna pointed out about her 16-year-old Hanoverian by Don Frederico, “she’s a chestnut mare. They all come out a little bit different, every single show.”
But she thinks the biggest benefit of this show is that it is a test that will have prepared her for Omaha.
“It’s such a good experience to ride under that kind of pressure when you have to deliver,” observed Anna’s trainer, Guenter Seidel, who coincidentally was Sarah’s trainer when she lived on the West Coast.
While it was close, the 28-year-old Californian’s total of 78.280 percent prevailed over Sarah’s mark, which in turn was just 0.40 ahead of third place Morgan Barbançon Bolero. That rider, representing France, had previously qualified for Omaha.
Morgan called her ride to French music the best test.
“He was really with me, I had a great ride.”
One of the judges, Clive Halsall of Great Britain, noted that no competitor was mistake-free.
At the same time, he praised them, noting, “These riders all came with the intention to do the very best they could. You could see the pressure was on and they all wanted to win this class.”
While he said judges “want to see good freestyles with risks,” there is always a risk/reward balance, as harmony needs to exist with a degree of difficulty. He noted, the riders “really went for it and tried.”
Korea’s Dong Seon Kim had a nice performance on his new horse, Galleria’s Bohemian, formerly ridden in the Olympics by Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour, who was on hand to help. Bohemian’s new rider was very credible to soaring music from the show “Les Miserables,” but it stopped before he did as he got a little behind at the end of the test. He was sixth on 73.565 percent.
Sarah has no hard feelings toward her rival of the evening. In fact, the two had an impromptu hug when they met up after the competition.
“She’s an amazing human, rider and person,” said Sarah, who has known Anna a long time. Sarah originally was from California and now lives in Wellington, Fla., home of the AGDF.
For her part, Anna called Sarah’s ride “incredible. It could have been either of us. She deserves to go as much as I do, and I really wish she could go.”
Sarah is moving on and long has her eye on another goal–a spot on next year’s three-member team for the Paris Olympics.
Three North Americans will be riding in Omaha: Steffen Peters, a former Cup winner who qualified in California with Suppenkasper; Alice Tarjan of Oldwick, N.J., who made the cut on Serenade MF and Anna, who had 57 points. Sarah, with 54 points, is the first reserve.
Adrienne Lyle, who was expected to qualify with the veteran Salvino, lost her shot for Omaha when the stallion popped a splint last month and she could not compete.
Anna’s father, Brian, knew that “whoever is going to represent the U.S. you’ve got to put up a good number. We were delighted Sarah did so well, and then okay, if you’re going to go, you better earn it. And she did.”
Anna’s music was remarkable. After she saw the Top Gun movie with her family, she recalled, “We were sitting at the end with tears in our eyes and I was like, `This has to be my freestyle.’ We just loved it.”
She rode it for her grandfather, James Robinson, who was an Air Force master sergeant, before he passed away last July.
In her quest to qualify for next month’s FEI World Cup Dressage Finals, Anna Buffini came east from California with FRH Davinia La Douce to compete in the final qualifier at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival in Wellington, Fla.
The effort paid off today in the Grand Prix for Freestyle, which she won with a mark of 72.500 percent, as four of five judges gave her an 8 for the collective marks (general impression). Her mare, a 16-year-old Hanoverian by Don Frederico, looked bright and happy throughout her performance.
“It’s always hard to come over here and then acclimate them to a different coast. The first show, especially, to have a solid ride. She just nailed it,” said Anna.
But the real test comes in the freestyle Friday night, because that is the class that counts toward the World Cup (the Grand Prix is simply a required stop along the way.)
Speaking about the freestyle and the tight contest to qualify for the World Cup, she said, “It’s very difficult. It’s up and down. You don’t know if you’re in, you don’t know if you’re out We have to do our absolute best tomorrow (Friday) to make it. The freestyle is my favorite, that’s no secret, and the freestyle is her favorite. If we can go out there and do what we’ve done the last three shows in California, it could be very competitive.”
Anna trains with Guenter Seidel, who has been a longtime team member. “I wouldn’t be here without him. Everything you see in there is because of him,” Anna maintained.
The picture for the finals changed when Adrienne Lyle was unable to compete Salvino here after he popped a splint. She is the top-ranked U.S. rider, at number 10 in the world. Steffen Peters, like Adrienne a member of the 2021 Olympic silver medal team, qualified in California with Suppenkasper. Alice Tarjan of Oldwick, N.J., has qualified and did not need to compete this week.
That left Anna’s big competition as Sarah Tubman with First Apple. But the Dutchbred son of Vivaldi balked in his first piaffe, throwing his head in the air and failing to execute. Scores for that movement ranged from zero to 1. He wound up eighth of 12 starters with a score of 66.413. First Apple will have a lot of ground to make up in the freestyle, but his test has been designed specifically for him, as opposed to the standardized Grand Prix in which he competed on Thursday.
There was a 13th starter, but unluckily Julio Mendoza Loor of Ecuador, who had the score to win the class, was eliminated after a spur drew blood on Jewel’s Goldstrike.
Second place went to Canada’s Chris von Martels with Eclips (70.174), while Dong Seon Kim of South Korea on Galleria’s Bohemian (68.435) was third in the combination’s first FEI appearance. A mistake at the end of the two-tempis was costly, marked with 3s and 4s, but piaffe and passage brought some 8s to the table.
Bohemian was previously ridden by Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour on the Danish Olympic team and to a victory in the freestyle at Aachen last year. Cathrine was on hand to offer support for the horse’s new rider, who is reported to have paid millions (how many millions is hard to nail down) for the 13-year-old Westfalian by Bordeaux.
The busiest rider of the day was Morgan Barbançon of France (who formerly rode for Spain), fourth and fifth on Bolero (68.326) and Deodoro (68.218). She is already qualified for the World Cup finals.
Earlier, Morgan won the Mission Control 3-star Grand Prix qualifier for the Grand Prix Special with Habana Libre A, a Dutchbred by ZZ Top. Her score was 71.630 percent.
There’s no question as to who is her favorite mount.
“He is the best horse I’ve ever ridden and has all the makings of a top horse; every time in the ring he gets better
I often find that the people involved in putting on an equestrian competition may be as interesting as those participating in it.
Such is the case with Bernardo Costa Cabral, the 45-year-old course designer from Portugal who will head the team laying out the jumper courses at April’s Longines FEI World Cup finals in Omaha.
His resume includes some of the most prestigious shows in the world, from Royal Windsor and the London International in Britain to the National in this country, as well as shows in the Middle East and Europe.
When I met him at the Royal Winter Fair seven years ago, however, the designer wasn’t quite as well-known as he is now. So I was interested in the beginnings of his career. How many designers get involved with that aspect of the sport from a young age?
But he did, and in a unique way. I’ll let him tell you about it. Click on this video to learn his story.
The finals April 4-8 are in Omaha for the second time since their debut in the midwestern city in 2017. It’s a shame that it took six years for the World Cup to return to the U.S., but as you may remember, the 2020 finals in Las Vegas had to be cancelled because of Covid. Happily, now things are back on track and in another three years, they are set for Fort Worth, Texas, under the auspices of the Split Rock series.
But why wait that long? It isn’t often that there is an opportunity to see the best competitors in show jumping as well as dressage and vaulting in the U.S. It would be nice to go to the Paris Olympics to see them in 2024, but that will be one expensive trip, and not within the means of so many people.
Omaha, however, is a town of reasonable prices, so take advantage of the chance to be there and watch the legends, such as Germany’s dressage star Isabell Werth and the USA’s super show jumping McLain Ward (both won in 2017.)
