Take heart, working students. It is possible to make it to the top of the game with a lot of effort. A case in point is Adrienne Lyle, who began her rise as a working student for Debbie McDonald in 2005.
Last night, she won the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s International Equestrian of the Year honors, presented at the organization’s annual meeting in Kentucky. It only took 18 years for her to get there.
The trophy was awarded based on a popular vote, and Adrienne acknowledged her supporters, saying, “I want to thank everyone who took the time to vote in the USEF Equestrian of the Year awards. I’m very humbled to receive this award.”
A 2021 Tokyo Olympic team silver medalist, Adrienne went on to comment, “One of my favorite sayings is that when a rider stands on a podium, they never stand alone. It is incredible how many people’s dreams are intertwined in this sport of ours, and just what a huge village it takes to help make these dreams come true.
“I’m thankful to all the amazing people in my life who have supported me and helped shape me into the rider and horsewoman I am today. I want to say a special thank you to my long-time coach, Debbie McDonald; Salvino’s owner, Betsy Juliano; and my whole team of fabulous grooms at home, who are such an integral part of any success our team has.
“Last, but certainly not least, thank you to these horses—these amazing animals who allow us to be part of their journey and bring so much joy to so many lives.”
A veteran of two Olympics, Adrienne also was on the 2022 world championships team that clinched a berth for the U.S. in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Now she is working toward qualifying with Salvino for the FEI World Cup Finals in Omaha this April.
Friday night Jan. 13 moved her closer to that goal, as she won the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle with a score of 83.540 percent. Second went to Sarah Tubman on First Apple (78.250). It was Adrienne’s second freestyle victory this season as she accumulated points for Omaha.
But it all began where she grew up, on Whidbey Island in Washington State.
“We had cows and a couple of ponies,” Adrienne recalls of her life on her parents’ small farm. “I started hacking around, riding Western and bareback—I never had formal lessons then. I joined the U.S. Pony Club when I was nine years old because some of my friends joined.”
She went to her first Pony Club dressage lesson with a Western saddle on a $200 pony named Salsa. From there, she rode in Pony Club Games and started eventing.
She began to develop a small business at her parents’ farm, both bringing horses in to train and managing the barn. “I was mucking and grooming. I learned how to write down all my income and expenses–what you can write off and what you can’t–and how to keep track of everything.”
Adrienne found herself most interested in the dressage aspect of eventing.
“I’d get problem horses and spend so much time in dressage work that when I finally put a jump in front of them, it wasn’t a big deal anymore,” she says. “I just loved the training process.”
With Miguel, a Swedish warmblood gelding, she earned a team silver medal at the 2002 Cosequin Junior Dressage Team Championship at Dressage at Devonwood in Portland, Oregon. It would be the first of many medals for her.
In 2004, competing in the North American Young Riders’ Championships, she and Miguel contributed to a team bronze medal for Region 6.
The next year, Adrienne began working on a plan to take some lessons with dressage icon Debbie McDonald. She arranged to stay at the farm of a family friend in Hailey, Idaho, Debbie’s hometown, doing chores in exchange for Miguel’s board–so she could trailer to Debbie’s base at River Grove, for training.
During the initial lesson she gave Adrienne, Debbie recalls, “The first thing I noticed was her natural ability and the feel she has for riding. I was impressed with the training she had done and how far she had brought this horse.”
The bonus was Adrienne’s attitude (are you paying attention, working students?)
“She’s a joy to be around,” said Debbie. “She gets along with anybody.”
Adrienne’s workday started at 7 or 8 a.m. In addition to riding, she groomed, wrapped and iced the horses’ legs when needed. She cleaned tack, laundered blankets and bandages, fed, watered, turned out horses and helped manage the veterinary care and shoeing schedules. And if sweeping and vacuuming were necessary, she did those chores, too.
“Most kids today just want to ride,” Debbie once observed. Adrienne was different.
“She knows there’s a lot of work involved in horses. You don’t look at the watch when you’re working with horses and she’s willing to do all that. She accepts all aspects of the business. If it means cleaning a bathroom or a stall, she is up for it.”
Everyone at the USEF dinner could see how that turned out.
The National Equestrian of the Year title for the second time went to hunter rider Hunt Tosh. In 2022, he was a winner everywhere, from Devon to the 2022 Platinum Performance/USHJA International Hunter Derby Championships in August, There, he took two of the top three spots: the champion title with Wheeler family’s Cannon Creek and third place with Ceil Wheeler’s 2013 warmblood gelding, Autograph.
“One definition of ‘horseman’ is one whose skill with horses is exceptional,” said Hunt. “Although I do not consider myself exceptional, I’m fortunate to be surrounded by those who are: a group of people that includes my family, friends, vets, farriers, grooms, breeders, farm manager, and owners who I am lucky enough to call my friends. I learn something from these exceptional people every day. But we all owe the most to the horses. To be able to spend my life caring for these animals is a privilege.”
In addition to Adrienne, eventer Will Coleman and para dressage rider Kate Shoemaker were nominated for the international rider title.
Those in addition to Tosh who were nominated for national titles included Janae Griffin (Friesian),James Hitt (Arabian), Wendy Potts (Arabian), Jim B. Robertson II (Roadster) and
Matt Siemon (Arabian).
The 2022 USEF Lifetime Achievement Award was presented posthumously to Hope Hand, a leader who helped develop paralympic competition for equestrians.
Hope, who died last year, began riding at age 10. She discovered para dressage as an adult, when her daughter, Amy, learned about the sport as part of a school project on the Paralympics. That opened the door to Hope’s life work and lasting legacy in equestrian sport, as both an elite athlete and as a sport leader.
She was first alternate to the Atlanta 1996 Paralympic Team and competed at the British Invitational in 1997, earning gold, silver, and bronze. As a member of the U.S. team at the 1999 World Dressage Championships, she won a bronze medal. She also competed at the 2000 Paralympics in Sydney, Australia, finishing fifth in the overall standings.
In addition to serving on the USEF board and on numerous committees, Hand also was president of the U.S. Para-Equestrian Association. She was instrumental in transitioning para dressage into an FEI and USEF sport, and never missed an opportunity to educate, recruit, or mentor participants, from the grassroots to the elite level.
Her tireless support for para dressage and its athletes contributed to the growth of the sport and the success of the U.S. program, including the U.S. Para Dressage Team’s outstanding results at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
Other USEF award winners were USEF Junior Equestrian of the Year: Skylar Wireman; Sallie Busch Wheeler Trophy for Distinguished Service to Equestrian Sport: Elisabeth Goth;
Ellen Scripps Davis Memorial Breeders’ Award: Eleanor Hamilton and Maryanna Haymon;
Kip Rosenthal Memorial High Score Equitation Award: Augusta Iwasaki; Pegasus Medal of Honor: Jan Decker, Sally McClure Jackson and John R. “Doc” Steele.
Also: Richard E. McDevitt Award of Merit: William “Bill” Ellis, John King, Antonio “Pusito” Lopez, Richard Picken, Nancy Turrill; USEF/EQUUS Foundation Humanitarian Award: Meris Bickford; USEF Youth Sportsman’s Award: Ryder Richardson and Walter B. Devereux Sportsmanship Award: Charlotte Skinner-Robson.
As much as a new year is a time for looking ahead, it also is an opportunity to look back and enjoy a bit of nostalgia.
For me, what filled the bill on the latter perspective was “The Outside of a Horse,” a book of recollections by Steven D. Price.
The subtitle is, “MyLlife On, Off and Around Horses,” which covers a lot of ground for this retired book editor/author, who enjoyed more than the horses during his involvement in the equestrian world for nearly 70 years. The characters he met, the places he visited, all come alive with his winning writing style. If you didn’t know them before, you will after you read the book.
Steve was someone I often would see at the National Horse Show or in Wellington, Fla., the “Winter Equestrian Capital of the World.” A keen observer of the equestrian vista and the people he met around horses, Steve always had a reminiscence or a tale to tell.
Steve cubbing in Virginia.
I suggested he should write them all down at the very least, or better yet, compile a book. That’s what he did, and I have been remiss in not doing a story about it until now, because it wears so well that there did not appear to be any urgency in telling my readers about it.
But finally, with my new year’s resolution not to procrastinate, I have gotten around to it.
The volume is peppered with names you’ll recognize, even though many have moved into the mists of history. Steve mentions his encounters with Gordon Wright, the great trainer who was an icon of the sport in the mid-Twentieth Century; former U.S. Equestrian Team show jumping captain Bill Steinkraus, a close friend; Alexander Mackay-Smith, the longtime editor of the Chronicle of the Horse as well as a founder of the U.S. Pony Club and the U.S. Combined Training Association; Triple Crown winner Secretariat and Joy Slater, the steeplechase jockey/jumper rider with whom he wrote a book.
Among the others who will ring a bell with my older audience, and perhaps a few of the younger readers, too, are Victor Hugo-Vidal, whose resonant voice echoed through Madison Square Garden in the days when he announced the National Horse Show there, “bon vivant” Mason Phelps, founder of the International Jumping Derby, and the toast of the show jumping scene, Rodney Jenkins, with whom Steve was supposed to write a book, but it didn’t work out. Ditto trainer/artist Ronnie Mutch, whose illustration graces the cover of the volume.
Steve noted there are those who have called him “the Zelig of the horse world.” Zelig, as portrayed in Woody Allen’s 1983 movie of that name, was an “ever-present and often inconspicuous figure” at major historic events.
For his part, Steve was apt to turn up anywhere on the equestrian landscape, from the National (at several different venues), chatting at the ingate with Harry DeLeyer of Snowman fame and being on hand for the 1978 World Three-Day Eventing Championships, which made the new Kentucky Horse Park a destination.
Steve was an amateur rider. Not amateur, as in amateur-owner hunters, but a hobby horseman. He started riding, the same way so many others have, at camp. In the 1950s, that was a whole different experience. Seat-of-the-pants sums it up. No one bothered with a hard hat (helmets were not in the picture until years later) and lace-up shoes with heels sufficed for those who didn’t have boots.
But the joy of those days, even with the difficulties of learning to post in a western saddle, left Steve with a lifelong love of horses and riding. It was the seed for moving on, to training with Kip Rosenthal, as well as adventures that included bit of low-key showing, and fox hunting in Ireland. Then there was the time that he almost ran into Great Britain’s Prince Phillip on the dance floor during at party at the 1983 FEI World Cup Finals in Vienna. What could be more Zelig?
Steve in a lesson with Kip Rosenthal.
His first book, in 1972, was “Teaching Riding at Summer Camp,” even though he was far from an expert. That set the stage for the dozens of volumes he would produce, from a hunter/jumper manual with Anthony D’Ambrosio, now best known as a course designer, to the story of the Budweiser Clydesdales and “Riding for a Fall,” a polo primer.
He was involved in the production of “Thou Shalt Fly Without Wings,” the welcoming video that greeted visitors to the new Kentucky Horse Park’s museum, which opened after the 1978 championships.
Steve also produced an equestrian mystery, a la Dick Francis, but set in the horse show milieu rather than racing.
Have a good time sharing Steve’s adventures, including his involvement with a Japanese businessman’s Arabian operation at a Kentucky farm, where several Mongolians who didn’t speak English came to check out the horses. Hilarious.
He also fulfilled a lifelong dream by riding in the Grand Entry at a Texas rodeo, 65 years after he first clambered on a horse at camp. His life reads like a great fun ride.
Fulfilling a dream in the Grand Entry at a Texas rodeo.
Oh, and about the title: It’s from a famous quote, attributed to Churchill and others: “There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.”
My headline, which I have always used for New Year’s stories over the decades, comes from a seldom-sung verse of a favorite carol, Deck the Halls. It is amazing how fast a year goes by, isn’t it?
Last January, we were still feeling the effects of coming out of the Covid panicdemic, so everything felt a little bit new as the year 2022 began. Remember that the 2021 Olympics and many other competitions were held without spectators. The dressage and show jumping phases of the Land Rover Kentucky 5-star three-day event were staged in an empty stadium, with only cardboard cutouts looking on from the stands.
But this year, the crowds came back, and not just in Kentucky.
Shows such as Devon, which was not held for two years, were welcomed by fans. It was good to have everything return that makes Devon, Devon, from the ladies’ hat contest to the lemons with candy sticks, the tea sandwiches and an acapella men’s chorus singing the Star-Spangled Banner before the Sapphire Grand Prix. And yes, that class ended as usual, with McLain Ward collecting the blue ribbon.
Another big show that came back after a two-year absence was Toronto’s Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, celebrating its hundredth anniversary in the same style we always loved; women in long gowns, men in tuxedoes or white tie and tails; a sold-out arena and top caliber international horses and riders to close out the North American Fall Indoor Circuit in style.
The months zipped by. One minute, we were looking forward to 2022’s world championships in the Olympic disciplines and Para; now we’re focusing on this April, when the FEI World Cup Finals in dressage and show jumping return to the U.S. for the first time since 2017. In 2023, as in 2017, it will be held in Omaha, and vaulting is joining the offerings.
The inaugural Omaha finals was the first time an international championship in the Olympic disciplines was held in that area of the country. The concept achieved its goal of boosting equestrian sports in that region. Want proof? Split Rock’s Fort Worth, Texas, show will present the finals in 2026.
The world championships were a mixed bag for the U.S. The dressage team’s sixth-place finish guaranteed the U.S. a berth for that discipline in the 2024 Olympics. The show jumping team was not so lucky, with Sweden dominating the team championship and its star, European Champion Henrik von Eckermann on the superlative King Edward, taking individual gold. He is ranked number one in the world.
World Champion Show Jumper Henrik von Eckermann gave King Edward a hug after winning his title.
The American squad finished eleventh and will have to do better at the Pan American Games to earn a place in Paris.
The U.S. para riders, however, came through with individual silver and bronze medals, and a team bronze that qualified the country for the Paralympics in Paris.
The eventers don’t have to sweat Paris; they qualified for the 2024 Games with a team silver, their first team medal at a world championships in 20 years.
There were plenty of big stories during the year. Former Winter Equestrian Festival impresario Mark Bellissimo presented a plan for developing acreage in Wellington, Fla., including the site of the Global Dressage Festival (dressage would move to a different location in the community under another facet of the complicated deal.)
That saga will continue well into the new year, with hearings slated to start in February.
The most high-profile narrative was the trial of dressage trainer Michael Barisone, charged with attempted murder of a tenant on his property in a teacher/student relationship that went very wrong. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity and remains at Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital.
A lot happened on the local level in New Jersey in 2022.
More than two years after Lord Stirling Stable’s horses were sold as the facility was shut down during Covid, a plan to buy “a number of horses” and begin reintroducing equestrian programming before the end of the year at the Somerset County facility in Basking Ridge was announced in September. It didn’t happen.
The only specifics offered included “limited trail riding for more experienced patrons,” and providing lead-line rides for beginners. But this month, pony rides and grooming lessons for kids were halted “until better weather,” even though the stable has an indoor arena.
Lord Stirling was the venue where so many people started riding in a robust lesson program before Covid struck. There are fewer and fewer places in the state where such programs are available.
Another one that’s off the list is Essex Equestrian Center in West Orange, which closed this month. No reasons were given for the closure, but it has gotten more and more expensive to operate such facilities.
The Delaware Valley Horsemen’s Association, whose lower-level shows were popular for decades, ceased operations in the face of declining entries and a squabble between the organization’s factions.
If the entry end of the horse business goes away, it will lose its base and become a sport only for the wealthy. But in that regard, a hopeful sign is that the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association’s Outreach programs that enable people to venture into the show scene for a reasonable price with appropriate challenges in the arena.
What lies ahead for 2023? I think a key issue will be “social license to operate.”
Don’t forget the emphasis the FEI (international equestrian federation) puts on that, as public opinion of horse sports is emphasized. Everyone has a video camera on their phone, so there’s no hiding not only abuse, but also practices that some with no horse experience would interpret as abuse.
Expect a great deal of “guidance to promote an ethical horse/human relationship” under the banner of equine welfare. Practices you take for granted now may well not pass muster in the year to come.
One more thing. As we look back over 2022, let’s recall the people who were part of the horse world that left us in the last 12 months. Read about them at this link and raise a glass to their memory.
It’s a scene that resonates every autumn, set to the bright, beckoning notes of the huntsman’s horn and the music of hounds in full cry, played out against a backdrop of brilliantly colored leaves.
Eager riders on neatly clipped mounts with carefully braided manes gather for the excitement of the chase, galloping across the countryside and over fences as they take part in a treasured ritual. Even in New Jersey, the most densely populated state, the tradition continues with five hunt clubs.
Although the traditional look may be the same as in decades past, times have changed, and the hunts have changed with them. In any area where territory is at a premium, keeping these hunts going requires a greater effort than it did when open land was more available and the march of development slower. That means reaching out beyond the sport’s usual constituency, actively recruiting members and supporters.
“All of the hunts are really doing their best to confront reality,” said David Feureisen, the New Jersey/New York District Director for the Masters of Foxhounds Association of North America and a master of the Golden’s Bridge Hounds in North Salem, N.Y.
Andrew Barclay, director of hunting for MFHA, which has 144 member hunts, recalls a time when “hunting really was a fabric of the community. People who owned the land hunted, there was much more of a tie-in to the area and the hunt.”
The passing years have brought a big difference in that regard.
“Nowadays, most hunts have got people from towns and elsewhere who don’t really know what hunting’s about,” he observed. “You’ve got to educate all the new people who moved out to enjoy the countryside.”
The clubs’ masters of foxhounds, who lead the way in keeping things going, have plenty to do.
“The work of the master always has been a major job, but it’s much more complicated than it used to be,” he pointed out.
Barclay, formerly the huntsman for the Green Spring Valley Hounds in Maryland, noted it’s increasingly the practice for hunts to be headed by multiple masters.
“You don’t have the lord of the manor becoming master. It’s people who work for a living, and by dividing the workload, hopefully you’re not overworking any one master,” he explained.
All but two of the five clubs that hunt in New Jersey have more than two masters, because the job entails so much responsibility, from landowner relations to finances and conservation, along with everything in between.
“It’s too overwhelming for one person. It no longer suits to have a single master who is in charge of everything. There are so many nuanced things to be done,” said Jazz Johnson, who serves with Dennis Sargenti, Sarah Slack and Lynn Jones as a master of the Peapack-based Essex Foxhounds.
In addition to keeping landowners happy and insuring the integrity of a hunt’s territory, attracting new members and encouraging them to stay on board is a concern. The image of hunting as a sport with a touch of snobbery is outdated. Now it’s busy building a new identity.
“There’s a much more awareness toward proactiveness on the part of hunts and I think that’s a good thing,” said Barclay, noting, “There is a lot of interest in hunting. Covid actually increased the interest, as people could not do things they wanted to do or go to the horse shows. and they ended up coming back to hunting. Almost to a hunt, they say their membership and capping (riding as a paid guest) picked up during Covid.”
Meg Valnoski, who serves as one of the masters of the Monmouth County Hunt with Jen Donaldson and Doug Raynor, observed about hunting that “In the past, it was far more social.”
There was a time when some people equated being in a hunt club as similar to joining a golf club, and they remained a part of it longer, she commented.
“Now there’s more rotation of membership, so we have to keep working on it,” said Valnoski.
You don’t have to ride to be associated with a hunt, though.
“We try to go at it from multiple angles,” she mentioned.
“We urge people to get involved however they would like; as volunteers, car followers, patrons–what gives them a comfort level. People can be around the hunt club without immediate pressure of signing up for a big membership. It gives them time to process.”
When it comes to following the hounds on horseback, though, she noted that “the fear factor” can dissuade people from actually mounting up and joining the field.
But not to worry.
What’s different today is “what you see on TV and the way it used to be when I started hunting. It’s a little bit tamer, to be honest,” Valnoski said.
Although the “first flight” includes experienced riders who can keep up with the huntsman and hounds, jumping every fence along the way, there’s also a tamer second flight that likely won’t jump at all. And gaining popularity among hunts is a third, or walking, flight.
At Monmouth, that started with a September introductory clinic on hunting at the club’s Allentown base. Other hunts offer similar clinics to give people a quick course, complete with tips on hunt etiquette, on what to expect when they’re out hunting, as well as what is expected of them.
Riders and hounds from Monmouth gather before the start of the hunt. (MegVal Photo)
MFH Donaldson mentioned that people would say, “I’d like to try this sport, but I’m nervous to try it.”
The walking flight led by a Pony Club member proved to be the answer; it was so popular it was added every Sunday in October. Hosting it, however, “is not easy,” Donaldson advised, “because you get everything from very green horses to very timid riders, who have either never been out of the ring or never been on a trail ride.”
Yet it’s worth the extra effort.
“For us, it’s a way to give more people access to the sport. There was a ton of interest because it provided them (the riders) a great way to see hounds work at a pace they were comfortable with. We’ve had riders in it every single week coming to cap, including two who have joined as members. We did it at our 137th opening day with the blessing of hounds and breakfast under a tent.”
Once riders gain confidence, some move to second flight, where they can trot and canter up hills, said Donaldson.
Valnoski noted Monmouth also uses social media and stays in touch with local barns and trainers. The suggestion is that instead of going to a show every weekend, trainers can pursue an income alternative in leasing horses to those who want to try hunting, while picking up trailering and training fees along the way.
“It has to be a constant effort and integrated approach to reaching out to new membership,” said Valnoski.
In that regard, Essex promotes its Friends program.
“We’re trying to reach out to a broader group of people…and be a little more like a community organization and not such a closed club. We’re very approachable,” said Essex MFH Dennis Sargenti.
“We’re going to have days when people can follow on foot, with a fieldmaster. It’s weather-dependent. I think all the clubs are facing dwindling memberships, so it’s another way of getting people involved.”
In a unique approach, Windy Hollow offers a series of well-subscribed dressage shows at the Sussex County Fairgrounds in Augusta, N.J.
A beautiful view of the Windy Hollow Hunt’ s country. (Photo courtesy of Windy Hollow)
“The shows are a major fundraiser, so we can keep our dues low,” said Lindie Scorsone, a joint master of Windy Hollow with senior MFH Ed Wiley, Emily Wiley, Shane Haslim and Dale Roberts.
A broader base is key for clubs’ survival, and preservation of the countryside is a watchword for all the hunts. It’s also an important element in appealing to a new constituency. Essex, for instance, is very involved with the Countryside Alliance of Somerset Hills.
“We would like people to know that Essex Fox Hounds is about more than the fox hunting, it’s about supporting the community and keeping the country open. We’re involved with many other organizations in the area, the Pony Club, the puppy show and lots of local businesses. It’s important that if you are out here, there’s so much else going on you can be a part of,” said Jeanne Clarke, who was handing out the red-jacketed Essex Almanac during the gathering for the Thanksgiving hunt, where hundreds turn out to send off the riders and perhaps even enjoy a stirrup cup.
PART TWO, out next week, will deal with the future of hunting in New Jersey and include comments from masters of the other hunts.
In Part One last week, we talked about how New Jersey’s hunt clubs are adapting, becoming more welcoming, even offering options for people who just want to walk and trot while following the hounds. Here is a link to that story. This week, we discuss the future for these clubs.
Hunt clubs are about more than the chase. They play an important role in the equestrian community, often supporting Pony Clubs and a variety of activities such as hunter paces and small shows. That’s in addition to helping keep land open while encouraging an appreciation for the countryside and its way of life.
The beauty of horses and hounds running together could kindle admiration in those unfamiliar with equine pursuits, which might inspire them to explore an equestrian connection after glimpsing hunters in action.
So it is important that the clubs continue, but they face challenges in terms of sufficient membership and land on which to operate. Can they survive? It depends on the club, the area where they are located and the determination of their leaders and members.
“We’re in a spell now because of the changing times and changing economy where some hunts can’t stay viable,” said Andrew Barclay, director of hunting for the Masters of Foxhounds of America Association.
He called it, “A funny time for foxhunting, we are losing some hunts right now because of money or a change in the way people view outdoor country sports. It’s happening all around. People aren’t doing as much outdoors like they used to. Too many other things we’re competing against.”
Even so, he pointed out “There are other hunts that are trying to start.”
The most significant issue faced by many hunt clubs across the country is how to deal with a loss of territory as development continues its march. This is particularly an issue in densely populated New Jersey.
In Hunterdon County, the Amwell Valley Hounds’ Cindy Hoogland Nance, who serves as joint master with Dan Wasserstrom, worries that “We are on our last 10 to 20 years of foxhunting in New Jersey.”
She observed, “New Jersey is becoming slowly not a horse community, as it used to be. The farms are being bought up.”
Members of Amwell, founded in the 1960s, ride across farmland, not estates, as the Essex Fox Hounds often do, and not on state land, as the Monmouth County Hunt, with roots in the 19th Century, does at the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area.
“In the valley, our farmers are real farmers,” the Amwell master explained.
“They’ve owned the land and farmed it, normally for two generations. Some three.”
The younger generation, however, is not going into farming.
“These lands are getting sold off to people coming out of New York and taking 100 acres of our territory,” Nance said, noting newcomers often get bad legal advice amid fears that someone will get injured on their property if they allow the hunt to ride there. Although New Jersey has an equine liability law to protect them, they and their attorneys may not be aware of it, she suggested.
Amwell, Nance explained, is “getting encroached by suburbia. Once we lose a 10-acre slot, we tend to lose the coherence of being able to get to the 100-acre field on one side and the 100-acre field on the other side.”
The Amwell Valley Hounds hunt across farmland.
There are people coming in who don’t farm, and don’t want the hunt on their property. But the hunt can be a plus for landowners, she pointed out, since Amwell mows where it hunts and will clear fallen trees.
Similar issues with territory affect Essex in Somerset County and the New York-based Windy Hollow Hunt, which at times also meets over the state line in Sussex County.
Farmers like the hunt because the area is “infested,” as Nance puts it, with bold coyotes, pests that can attack goats, lambs and pets, in addition to children–sometimes when adults are just feet away.
“Almost every pack in the country is hunting coyotes,” the MFHA’s Barclay said.
The Essex hounds operate wearing GPS collars, which joint MFH Jazz Johnson notes is particularly helpful with puppies who could stray, as well as when hounds are following coyotes.
“Because coyotes run in a straight line, they can get way outside of our allowed hunt territory very quickly,” she noted. If one or two hounds start following them and are headed out of bounds, the GPS makes it easy to “go and retrieve them.”
Coyotes offer “a cracking run” but they can get so far so fast that the proximity of Routes 78 and 206 could mean danger.
She noted that hunts elsewhere are coping with coyotes too, and “a lot of coyote pressure means much fewer foxes.” She doesn’t think that’s the case around the Essex territory, but rather “it is a problem in other hunt countries where there’s a lot of open space.”
“Nowadays in the sport,” she said, “the aim is not really to be killing game, it’s really just the pursuit and the… sporting (aspect) of it.”
Nance coordinates New Jersey hunts’ fundraising event schedules, so one hunter pace doesn’t conflict with another, for instance. Could more such cooperation mean mergers as an answer to problems facing the hunts?
“We’ve been starting conversations on how we’re going to do it,” she said, emphasizing they are in the “very preliminary” stage.
She believes, “the future of us is coming together with the different hunts, combining these packs with each hunt responsible for a particular territory.”
That, she explained, would mean “we can move around a little bit more versus doing the same five or six fixtures and going around in a circle.”
Windy Hollow MFH Lindie Scoresone agreed, “the biggest problem is losing land.”
Windy Hollow rotates around its territory, spending one-third of the time in New Jersey, the rest in New York.
“You don’t want to over-hunt the area, you can’t be there every couple of days,” she pointed out.
The Windy Hollow Hunt setting out.
Vernon, N.J., is “one area where we’ve been very lucky. There are a lot of farms that have been preserved and are friendly to the hunt. Further down in Sussex, they’re putting in fancy horse breeding farms and saying, `Sorry, we don’t want you to come through here anymore.’ That makes it difficult to get around.”
All hunts need to make concessions to landowners, but as long as it’s a two-way street, it often can be done.
One farm where Windy Hollow hunts “has cows in there and we have to work around where the cows are,” Scoresone said.
They also had an issue with a deer hunting club that didn’t want Windy Hollow to come through their leased land. It was “touchy,” but such matters can sometimes be solved with negotiation.
At one point, Windy Hollow considered additional acreage that looked promising for hunting, but it was “close to Route 94 and sort of a dangerous area to hunt.”
With the Vernon option, “we can back away from 94 and into those areas that have been preserved. It’s much better than we ever thought,” Scoresone commented.
In terms of increasing membership, she noted Windy Hollow’s Pony Club kids are very young,” but “we’re hopeful that’s the next step.”
Lynn Jones, an MFH from the Essex Fox Hounds, feels the same.
“One of our real priorities is to get the interest of young riders in the sport. We’ve engaged with the Somerset Hills Pony Club and encouraged those members to come out with us for a very nominal fee. It’s been great to have these young kids out hunting with us. It’s actually one of my favorite things, to teach them the sport,” she said.
Children are the future for the Spring Valley Hounds, as they are for the other hunts seeking to expand membership. (Photo courtesy Scott Mickelsen Photography).
The Spring Valley Hounds decades ago adjusted to the suburbanization of its territory in New Vernon, just outside of Morristown in Morris County, by splitting time between that area and Allamuchy in more rural Warren County, where the kennels were located.
Now it visits New Vernon on only a few occasions, since that area is far less horse-oriented than it used to be, despite retention of its trail system and small showgrounds. But in the northwest part of the state, Spring Valley, which also hunts territory in Sussex County, has “a bunch of landowners who like to see us,” said Dr. David Schroepfer, who serves as joint master with Dr. Louise Barbieri.
Spring Valley has another edge. Unlike the New Jersey hunts that chase foxes and coyotes, it is a drag hunt, with hounds following a line laid out in advance. Rather than using messy fox scent, Spring Valley’s hounds sniff anisette; yes, the liquer. It also smells better to humans, should one happen to spill it.
Schroepfer notes an advantage of a drag hunt is its ability to be more nimble than a live hunt.
“If there are crops in one section, I can direct hounds around that. Usually, that takes care of some people’s issues,” he said.
The hunt has “a fair amount of young members,” while partnering with a stable means people can ride horses out from there. Schroepfer believes in a focus on youth and families. Spring Valley’s “Coffee and Cars” is an event that attracts people who may not want to hunt, but still like to be a part of things.
“My thought is, if I get the whole family involved, then everyone is involved,” he said. With a drag hunt, he pointed out, if new or novice people are out, it’s easy to control certain situations.
“We can just stop for a little bit and do something else and modulate things,” he explained. It also enables Spring Valley to avoid areas that host deer hunters on a private basis. By the time Spring Valley gets to those sections, the hunters usually are finished for the day.
The Spring Valley Hounds, led here by Dr. Dave Schroepfer, enjoy their location in northwest New Jersey. (Photo courtesy of Scott Mickelsen Photography)
The masters of the New Jersey hunts meet once a year for dinner and to talk over common issues as a group. One of those issues is the question of mergers.
“Spring Valley has no interest in merging,” said Schroepfer, though like the other hunts, Spring Valley does joint meets with other clubs.
“We just do our own little thing; things seem to be going along okay,” he said.
Could drag hunting provide an answer for clubs feeling the territory pinch?
Windy Hollow’s Scorsone notes, “We really enjoy live hunting and having a live view”
With drag hunting, she contends, “You draw a different group of people who just want to go out for a couple of hours and run and jump. We’ve talked about it, and maybe use one territory? Everyone says, `No, we’re not interested.’ But if it ever got to the point where we couldn’t hunt at all unless we do that, it’s probably the solution.”
“Tally ho, ho, ho” a Christmas-spirited rider joyfully called out as a merry group on horseback set off to sing carols at three farms in Bedminster, N.J., today.
The event was organized by the Somerset Hills Pony Club, which invited others, including members of the Essex Fox Hounds, to join them. The group met at the farm of Jean and Peter Clark, where they were braced against the chill with hot cider.
The caroling concept had lots of appeal, both for the singers and those for whom they sang.
“It’s a nice thing to do, so I think everyone’s really excited to be out in the neighborhood,” said Peter, serving gingerbread and other goodies from a table on his front lawn.
“It’s really in keeping with the spirit of the season, and just another great expression of community around here, the neighbors going out and doing things with one another,” he added.
The horses were decked out for the occasion in (fake) holly, felt reindeer horns and glittering garlands. Riders favored red and white capes and Santa caps.
The procession of 20 or so riders included everyone from children to a grandmother. They rode along at the walk for four miles, stopping to serenade delighted members of the community who came out to watch and listen.
The tunes they sang sounded pretty good, considering each rider was an amateur and there were no rehearsals.
Doug Tansey, husband of Pony Club District Commissioner Brita Tansey, enthusiastically played Santa Claus, leading from the back of a pickup truck as the group wound its way around the unpaved roads.
The lineup of songs they offered included “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing,” “Jingle Bells,” “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and their favorite, a heartfelt, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”
Hester De Voogd, who rode with her friend, Joy Custer, is from the Netherlands and noted that a similar caroling ride wouldn’t take place there. Christmas celebrations involving equines are confined to the stable. But as she pointed out, until she came to this country she had never experienced hunter paces or tailgating afterward.
“Completely new for us,’ she said, and called the experience, “amazing. It’s so much fun.”
Rebecca Casey, who was the main organizer, “really did an awesome job,” said Brita.
A friend of Rebecca’s “had planted the seed a few years ago. We have a lot of fun pony clubbers and a lot of people who enjoy getting out and spreading good cheer,” Rebecca said, explaining the genesis of the concept.
Frank Crisola, who greeted the singers at his house, was obviously enjoying himself.
“Loved it. It’s a great tradition. I hope everybody keeps it up.”
Lizzy Chesson and her mother, Sharon Chesson, gathered with their family at Bailiwick Farm to welcome the singers with cider and candy.
“It’s such a great tradition to have everybody out and celebrating Christmas and part of the countryside. Having the kids here singing, it’s just wonderful.”
Here’s a short video of the caroling:
A 2021 Tokyo Olympic team silver medalist, Adrienne went on to comment, “One of my favorite sayings is that when a rider stands on a podium, they never stand alone. It is incredible how many people’s dreams are intertwined in this sport of ours, and just what a huge village it takes to help make these dreams come true.
