Over the eons that I’ve written about the horse industry, showing, eventing, racing and other equestrian sports, I’ve accumulated stacks of programs, orders of go, course diagrams, photos, magazine articles and newspaper clippings. Lots and lots. Boxes and boxes of them.
Some (not even all!) are jammed into a storage locker, where I’ve started to go through the imposing piles of paper. This journey down memory lane begins with the 1970s and runs on through Olympics, world championships, World Cup finals and other competitions from around the globe. I’ve rediscovered pieces about people and horses, some well-remembered but long gone now, and a sort of historical perspective on what’s happening today.
As I culled the archives, I found so many interesting old stories that I decided some should be shared with my readers now and then, before the paper they’re on crumbles into dust. A few of these articles may be familiar; others could offer a new viewpoint.
I’m starting with a 1985 piece on eventer Mark Phillips, written when the Olympic gold medalist who won Badminton and Burghley came to the U.S. Equestrian Team headquarters in Gladstone, N.J.,to give a clinic for American eventers. It may seem a bit quaint, but remember this was a different era and quite a big deal at the time because of his connection with Britain’s royal family.
Here’s the original of the 1985 story that introduced Mark Phillips to many of my readers.
In 2023, we all know Mark as the former chef d’equipe for the U.S. eventing team, and a sought-after course designer (he put together the cross-country route for the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games and many other tests here and in Europe). His daughter, Zara (Tindall), who was only four when this story was written, went on to become European Eventing Champion and subsequently World Champion, earning an Olympic team silver medal to boot.
But 38 years ago, that was yet to come and the general public knew Mark Phillips best as the man who married Great Britain’s Princess Anne. Below is the story in readable form (don’t try to make out the words in the clipping above–you’ll strain your eyes.) The article was written primarily for a non-horse-oriented audience: Here it is–
June 16, 1985:Yank Equestrians jump at chance for some royal lessons
The world at large knows Capt. Mark Phillips as the good-looking fellow who married Great Britain’s Princess Anne.
In the international equestrian community, however, Phillips is famous for his competitive stature. His dossier includes four wins at the world’s most prestigious Three-Day Event and membership on the British teams that won gold medals in the Three-Day Event at the Munich Olympics and the World Championships.
He also has a reputation for good sportsmanship, and it is the desire to share his approach to riding with others that has brought him to New Jersey for a few days.
Phillips is giving a helping hand to up-and-coming American eventers at the U.S. Equestrian Team (USET) Training Center in Gladstone.
There are those who might consider that aiding the opposition. Even Phillips cheerily refers to the American three-day riders as “sort of traditional enemies” of the British in the sport.
“America has always been the team to beat as far as we’re concerned,” he notes.
But Phillips is quick to add, “If you can’t help somebody in sport, well … ,” and the unspoken words are a dismissal of those too mean-spirited to share their knowledge.
Three-Day Eventing is enormously popular in Britain, where the combination of dressage, riding over obstacles cross-country and jumping fences in· a stadium setting can draw 100,000 spectators.
Ironically, though the U.S. has won the eventing team gold medals in the last two Olympics, the sport has a much lower profile here.
That doesn’t make it any less of a passionate pastime for its practitioners, however. Their ranks include the 15 riders who came from all over the East and Midwest over the weekend to work with Phillips. He volunteered for the duty and did not charge the team for his presence, considering it “an honor” to be at the elegant Gladstone facility.
“So much history in equestrian sports and success has come out of this place,” he explained.
Phillips even admitted to a bit of I nervousness before arriving.
“Americans are more technical than we are,” he observed. “We tend to ride more by the seat of our pants.”
The riders got along well with the informal Phillips, partying with him at a local restaurant one night and eagerly seeking his opinion on their horsemanship.
“I work on my own at home, so this is particularly valuable to me,” said 23-year-old Nick Marnye of Kentucky after finishing a schooling session with his palomino quarter horse, Good as Gold.
Phillips liked Marnye’s mount, and that was a boost to the young rider.
“It certainly gives you a little more confidence,” said Marnye, adding he appreciated Phillips’ attitude.
“I know he’s here to help me, not destroy me,” added Marnye, who had some previous instruction that rendered the opposite effect.
Indeed, Phillips in action is the essence of encouragement. Attired in boots, breeches, an argyle sweater and flat wool cap, Phillips instinctively goes through the proper movements-holding imaginary reins, straightening the shoulders as he instructs from the ground.
“Thank you very much indeed. Excellent,” he says with enthusiasm time after time, as riders successfully use suggested techniques and obtain the desired response from their animals.
Phillips believes in pushing the positive.
“If you take the top 10 riders in the world, what’s the difference on the day (of competition)?” he asked.
“Confidence. If confidence is high, you go and do it. If you say, ‘I’m no bloody good,’ you give up.”
Though he is 36, giving up is something Phillips himself has yet to seriously consider. His sport is a dangerous one. A tiring 1,100-pound horse who takes a misstep at an immovable cross-country jump can mean bone-crushing disaster for a rider.
But the father of two is looking ahead to the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, and hoping to be a part of the scene there.
“I’ve had two or three really bad years, when horses I thought would come through, haven’t,” said Phillips.
“But I won the Novice Championship last year with Distinctive and I’ve got two or three others I’m very excited about.
If these prospects don’t pan out, he conceded, “That might be the time to call it a day and spend time teaching.”
As Phillips has acknowledged in the past, “There’s no fame shorter than sporting fame” and he accepts the fact that the moment will come when the trophies will go home with his students, rather than himself.
He teaches all over the world, doing instructional clinics in Australia and New Zealand regularly, and ranging as far afield as Japan. He hopes to do more such work in America after breaking the ice this time.
And it’s possible there may be more opportunities like the commentating stint he handled for Australian television at the Olympics.
“I had never done it before and I was a real novice,” he admitted. “But people wrote and said they enjoyed it. That gave me a bit of a buzz. Maybe all the effort was worthwhile.”
Eventing sponsorship in Great Britain is quite the thing, and Phillips is backed by Land Rover. The firm is committed through 1988 to his “Range Rover” team, which includes a contingent of young riders he is bringing along.
Like all top competitors, Phillips often yearns for someone to give him a few pointers, just as he helps others.
Though he has had some dressage coaching, there is little time for him to get assistance. During his stay here, he worked on jumping techniques with retired USET Show Jumping Coach Bertlan de Nemethy of Far Hills.
At home, Princess Anne occasionally lends a hand, if asked. A top eventer herself, she rode on the 1976 British Olympic team, while Phillips was the reserve member there.
Since the birth of the Phillips’ children, Peter, 7, and Zara, 4, Princess Anne has been concentrating primarily on events for novice horses.
But the mutual eventing aid comes only “as and when required,” Phillips said, noting, “It’s like a husband and wife can’t teach each other to drive. There’s nothing worse than help from a husband or wife when you don’t want it.”
Phillips added he and Princess Anne “interchange a bit” and occasionally swap horses. “Sometimes the feminine touch works better with a horse, and sometimes the male strength is better. Different horses react differently,” he commented.
Phillips doesn’t feel that being married to Princess Anne has affected his position in eventing.
“Sport doesn’t do anybody any favors. It’s no respecter of rank or anything else,” said Phillips. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a poor boy or a rich boy once you get in the arena.”
Besides, he noted, before he was married he had won Badminton, the biggest annual event on the Three-Day calendar, several times and ridden in the Olympics.
“Within the sport, I was already a name,” he pointed out. “Once you’ve got to the top, you’re always a name.”
Even as the decades sped by, the dedicated alumni of Junior Essex Troop never forgot lessons learned or friends made in the cadet auxiliary of the Essex Troop, 102d Cavalry, New Jersey National Guard. As youngsters on a 13-acre farm in West Orange, they experienced military discipline and the virtues of hard work; grooming horses, cleaning stalls and doing other chores that kept the place running.
They were trained in equitation, marching and marksmanship, sharing a brotherhood that became a lifelong bond. Troopers were easy to spot as they rode in competition, proudly wearing their regulation green uniforms. The JET drill team was famous for its star turn of having each rider, lance in hand, jump his horse safely through a ring of fire.
Although the farm was sold in 1983 and the youth program ceased operations in 1987 amid changing times, those who had been part of JET stayed close. The Troop’s Garden State Horse Show continued to be staged by alumni, doing everything from announcing to serving as jump crew. The show also did double duty as an annual reunion for the men.
It was held at various locations, from Chubb Park in Chester to the Sussex Country Fairgrounds in Augusta and finally, in 2019, at the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation in Gladstone.
But with no active organization for young people to bring troopers up through the ranks, the task of putting on a large show became too much for the aging former troopers, so their spring dates went to The Ridge at Riverview in Asbury.
The JET alums then were left with $140,000 and the question of what to do with the money as they undertook the process of formally dissolving their corporation.
“There was no sense in keeping it going,” explained Rodney Seelig, president of the 11-member JET board. At the same time, it was important to distribute the funds to organizations with the same values the troopers had learned.
“We got so much out of Troop,” he pointed out.
“It meant so much to all of us,” agreed another board member, John Walker, who is pleased that distribution of the funding was well thought-out.
After much due diligence, the board decided on donations to four organizations. The Interscholastic Equestrian Association, the USA’s largest youth equestrian organization with a reach across the country in 44 states, also will be receiving JET trophies for national championships in addition to funding.
The 14,550-member IEA offers programs for riders in grades 4-8 and 9-12, with the idea of promoting lifelong involvement in equestrian sports while developing an appreciation and understanding of them through competition and educational opportunities.
“IEA is quite like Troop in its mission,” said Tim Cleary, an officer of Troop who became its horsemanship instructor and is an associate professor of equine studies at Centenary University.
“The Junior Essex Troop, and riding organizations like it, were the foundations of the IHSA (Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association) and the IEA. We, as kids, experienced the format they are doing now.”
There is something for every level in IEA and even a variety of disciplines—it offers western and dressage competitions as well as hunt seat, and has a pilot program for adults.
It creates a lot of memories. John noted that the first horse show ribbon ever won by his son, Jack, now 27, was at an IEA show as he was inspired to go on with his riding and is training today to be a veterinary technician.
“I am so happy to have the Junior Essex Troop name live on in an organization that is so much like it,” Tim commented .
“The objective is/was to introduce those drawn to horses in a way that is affordable.”
The other beneficiaries of JET’s generosity are Project Forces for Horses in Long Valley, which helps veterans; Work to Ride in Philadelphia, introducing horses to children in an urban setting and Mylestone Equine Rescue in Phillipsburg, N.J. It is run by SusanKelly Thompson, a granddaughter of Solon Maxfield Palmer, a cavalry veteran who was a commandant of JET, incorporated in 1943.
IEA had a natural link with JET. Roxane Durant, IEA’s executive director and one of its founders, worked at JET shows in the early 2000s when her former husband, the late Mike Rheinheimer, was managing them.
“I did the ingate and whatever needed doing,” she said.
“I feel like I met the Junior Essex Troop and a least a piece of their history,” Roxane observed.
“In there somewhere, it planted some seeds for creating a similar program that also connects kids using horses,” she suggested.
JET team at the 1959 Junior Olympics at the Thomas School on Long Island: Ronnie Scornavacca, Pat Devlin, Pete Andre, Denis Glaccum.
Roxane views the Troop’s donation as “an incredible endorsement for us,” noting the two organizations talked for more than a year before the decision was made.
“It’s an honor to be chosen to carry on their legacy,” she said.
Kathy Dando, IEA’s resource development director, notes the organization offers many benefits.
While it helps increase revenue for lesson barns—which are vital but often have a tough time surviving, at the same time “it is really promoting good access to grassroots education for the sport,” she pointed out. In addition, it provides second careers for equine athletes and
“good safe instruction and positive promotion for getting our kids access to benefits of the sport and learning well.”
Stories about JET remind Roxane of how she grew up, going to a local barn and putting on horse shows, in a youth community centered around horses.
“Those were the dreams I always wanted to keep alive for other kids,” she mused.
She expects the JET funds will go toward IEA’s Benevolent Program, which supports both students and coaches in financial need. IEA helps between 20 and 40 riders a year with financial support.
It’s a win not only for IEA, but also for equestrian sport.
Roxane notes kids who might not otherwise be able to ride will get the boost they need from IEA.
“Those are the kind of kids that will step into this industry because they fought hard to be in it. That’s hugely significant and their (JET’s) funding will be a key to us being able to continue that program.”
Those interested in learning more about IEA can contact membership coordinator Jennifer Eaton at jenn@rideiea.org, or go to the website at rideiea.org.
Everyone on the show jumping circuit knows Karen Golding. She was a longtime groom for Olympian Michael Matz and the caretaker of the great Jet Run, with a reputation so outstanding that she became the only groom in the Show Jumping Hall of Fame. Karen went on to work as an Olympic stable manager and then an FEI steward.
But several decades ago, she fell and broke her ankle, which started a series of health problems that have spiraled and gotten much worse. Even though her issues included diabetes and heart concerns, she was able to control them and continue working.
Then three years ago, she broke her other ankle in a car accident. Despite that, she was still able to get around in her wheelchair and work. However, things got out of control last March. Then, after being hospitalized in the autumn when she fell out of her wheelchair, she eventually wound up in a rehab facility where she didn’t get the kind of care she needed.
“It’s just been a horrible, horrible situation for her for the last 10 months. She’s devoted her entire life to this industry, and I think we need to take care of her,” said Jimmy Herring, who is working with another friend of Karen’s, Maureen Pethick, in putting together a GoFundMe page and helping organize private donations to cover the enormous expenses of Karen’s care. The goal is to raise $120,000, which would cover her costs for a year.
“She’s done so much for so many over the years, and she needs us right now; she needs her equestrian family, she needs help,” said Maureen, who was the U.S. Equestrian Team’s director of dressage in the days when she worked closely with Karen.
After Jimmy went to Florida last summer to see Karen, he realized her condition wasn’t improving and was, in fact, getting worse, as she was suffering from bedsores. It got to the point where doctors had to amputate her right leg below the knee. Meanwhile, attorney Krysia Nelson, a friend of Karen’s also came into the picture to try and get things straightened out.
Krysia, who used to ride with Michael Matz, holds Karen’s power of attorney. She brought in Dr. Michele Hollis, a concierge physician who also is a rider. The doctor said Karen should leave the rehab facility and be treated at her Wellington, Fla., home. Michele advised she could find the right people to work for Karen there, which would help improve her patient’s health.
Karen, 72, who can’t get out of bed, needs wound care daily from Allstate Health Care, but also additional assistance, including two men who come every night to turn her in bed so she doesn’t get bedsores. They perform other care as well. Her housemate, Tracey Edge, also helps out in the evenings.
“When they say it takes a village; I’ve got a mini-city,” Karen said with a chuckle.
“I feel so lucky with the people that I have.”
The new regimen is working. Last week, she had a milestone when she was able to sit up on the side of her bed during her physical therapy session. Even though it was painful, she was determined to do it.
“I feel like I really, really achieved something,” she commented.
Karen works with weights on her arms to try improving her strength. She also is looking forward to getting a prosthesis for what previously was her “good” leg.
However, she has exhausted the long-term care she can receive under Medicare, and was spending so much money to get the assistance she needs at home that it rapidly emptied her savings accounts.
Karen has gotten help from the Matz family and other private donors, including USET Foundation Treasurer Philip Richter and jumper rider Teri Kessler, as well as the Equestrian AID Foundation, which gave her a grant (it is only permitted to assist with living expenses, not care).
Missy Shelley-Mello, who takes care of Karen’s German shepherd, Elton John, also helps by sitting in and helping sort things out when doctors are explaining various medical options and treatments.
“She’s up against so much,” said Missy, but she believes if Karen gets the prosthetic and can get back in the golf cart, she can resume the life she loves.
“There are quite a few people who have stepped up,” said Karen, expressing how grateful she is.
“We’re trying to raise as much as we can, so hopefully, with this better care, she can learn to get around in a wheelchair again,” said Jimmy.
“I know she wants to work again, I know she’s going to try, but one step at a time.”
Karen Golding (second from left, front row) at the 2022 Show Jumping Hall of Fame Dinner.
At the very least, the hope is that Karen can get well enough to live in her house with only a companion, rather than nurses and the rest of the current entourage.
Karen would like to go back to stewarding so she can interact with the riders, but most of all, she longs to be more indpendent.
As she explained, “I don’t like relying on people to do things for me.”
To help support Karen’s care using a check, make it out to Karen Golding and send it care of the lawyer who has her power of attorney–Krysia Nelson, P.O. Box 66, Keswick, Va. 22947. To contribute to Karen’s care using GoFundMe, here is the link
I always thought of Jimmy Wofford as the irreplaceable man. Jimmy, who died today after a long struggle with cancer, held the status of legend befitting his expertise in a variety of roles.
He was a doer who checked all the boxes; few lives are as well-lived and appreciated as his. And right up until nearly the very end, he made the most of the time he had left, visiting family and friends in England, going fishing and enjoying his Fox Covert Farm in Virginia.
(NOTE: Jimmy’s funeral has now been set for 11 a.m. Feb. 24 at Trinity Episcopal Church, 9108 John S Mosby Highway in Upperville, Va. Donations in his memory may be made to the Piedmont Fox Hounds Conservation Fund c/o Box 592 Upperville, VA 20185 or The National Sporting Library,102 The Plains Road,Middleburg ,VA 20117.)
Heavily influenced by his military heritage, he grew up on a farm next to the Fort Riley, Kansas, Army base, where the U.S. cavalry trained. His father, Col. John Wofford, was an Olympian who rode on the U.S. army show jumping team in the 1932 Olympics.
Jimmy went on to get Olympic and world championships medals in eventing. He then became a coach, generously sharing his knowledge of the sport to the benefit of horse and rider, whether in person or through the books he wrote.
There likely isn’t an eventer who wasn’t influenced in some way by this master horseman.
Jimmy going cross-country on Carawich.
Swapping his riding clothes for a business suit, he moved seamlessly into equestrian governance, becoming a most effective president of the American Horse Shows Association, the predecessor of the U.S. Equestrian Federation. He also served as a vice president of the U.S. Equestrian Team.
His great sense of humor was a treat for every audience when he served as an after-dinner speaker or a master of ceremonies at the U.S. Eventing awards presentations.
A real student of history, he used that to tailor his perspective on the world. An engaging writer, he produced several technical equestrian books.
But his finest effort was “Horse Crazy After All These Years,” his life story that was both motivational and entertaining. It’s a history as much as it is a biography, because Jimmy lived through all the changes in U.S. horse sport that brought us from the army teams to today’s very different world.
Jimmy’s heyday in the sport was at a point in time when endurance and guts, as much as talent, were the keys to victory. And he had all three.
As an outdoorsman, he enjoyed going fishing with his dog, shooting and fox hunting.
Last month, he left his home for the final time to attend a meet of the Piedmont Fox Hounds, greeting the masters and thoroughly enjoying the action, despite the burden of being on oxygen. His friend, Jim Wolf, took him there, reporting that “everyone in the hunt field came by and said hello and the hounds came up to him. It was nice.”
Jim and Jimmy were like brothers. They had traveled the world together and engaged in their share of shenanigans.
“What do you say about someone like Jimmy, who’s an icon of the sport?” asked Jim.
“He made so many contributions it would be hard to catalogue them. It just goes on and on.”
Added Jim, “He got some really good years after the diagnosis, and he went after it. He did not feel sorry for himself. He had a long time to say goodbye; he hadn’t left anything undone or unsaid.”
Jimmy will be mourned by many, including me. He was a loyal friend, a faithful correspondent and a continuing inspiration. But as his daughter, Hillary Jones, told me, we can take comfort because he is now at peace after his grueling final battle.
Jimmy enjoying one of his favorite pastimes, fishing with his Labrador Retriever by his side. (Photo courtesy Jim Wolf)
He leaves Gail, his wife of 56 years; Hillary and her sister, Jennifer Ince, and four grandsons.
Funeral arrangements are in italics above, but I also would count on some kind of tribute at the Kentucky Horse Park during the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event in April.
When you think of family projects, perhaps painting the living room, cleaning the garage or planting a garden comes to mind. But for Natalee and Steve Herrig; their daughter, Hannah, and her husband, Zach Ketelboeter, the family project is being produced on a grander and altogether different scale.
It’s a state-of-the-art horse show facility, rising from an old cattle pasture similar to the properties you can still see on the drive of a half-hour or so from glamorous Sarasota on Florida’s west coast. The still-rural location offers a contrast to the busy tourist destination city with its famous Gulf beaches, high-end stores and wonderful restaurants, but it’s close enough to allow exhibitors access to those features.
When the family started its work, there was nothing on the property they had bought, just over the Sarasota County line in Manatee County. Hannah and Zach named it TerraNova after two of their horses, Terra and Nova, but the name was doubly appropriate because it means “new land” in Latin.
Eventually, the showgrounds will be surrounded by housing, estates particularly suitable for horse lovers who want to enjoy their animals in the country, while being close enough to Sarasota that it’s easy to hop over for shopping or dinner.
Steve, whose businesses include workers’ compensation insurance, handed the equestrian portion of the project over to Hannah, an eventer turned dressage rider who has a degree from the University of Florida in communications and leadership fulfillment. Her husband is experienced in construction and stable management.
Natalee is part of the effort as well, handling community outreach and charitable initiatives. Since TerraNova opened last year, it has hosted not only jumper shows, but dressage competitions and eventing as well.
Although the facility had no track record in eventing, it immediately received dates from the U.S. Equestrian Federation for those competitions, because it has not only a specialist operations team experienced in the discipline, but also demonstrated the ability to accomplish what the family set out to do.
The ambitious TerraNova endeavor continues its growth, with a permanent VIP pavilion, a new show office under construction and permanent stables for the horses shipping in to compete. The barns are state-of-the-art, with a high-ceilinged design that maximizes air circulation, as well as stall fans, LED lights and “mattresses” cushioning the stall floors to insure horses get a comfortable night’s rest.
I asked Steve how he feels now that his vision has gone from imagination to reality, and he swiftly but politely corrected me. Listen to what he and the rest of his family had to say in this video.
Florida isn’t always as balmy as it is portrayed in the commercials suggesting that you come on down. There was a recent cold snap in the Sarasota area (you can hear the wind blowing in the videos above and below) but the organizers were quick to move the VIP facility back toward the comfort zone with heaters whose flames danced as showgoers gathered around them.
Trainer Michele Grubb, who has been nominated for the Show Jumping Hall of Fame, has added TerraNova to her list of showing destinations.
“The footing is great, the management is great, the new barns are absolutely spectacular, the VIP is lovely. There’s nothing more you could ask here for the horses, exhibitors, the spectators. The only thing, it is very far from the hotels,” she said, noting that makes it difficult for people, including grooms,who are staying in motels closer to Sarasota if they need to be present at the showgrounds late at night or early in the morning. Cabins and other onsite accommodations are part of the venue’s plan, but there is no completion timeline for them as yet.
Irish rider Jonathan Corrigan, based in Wellington on the east coast of Florida, showed at TerraNova last year as well as in 2023, noting that it can hold its own among the many shows in the state.
“They were brave building this with everything else that’s going on,” he pointed out, while mentioning that Florida’s west coast has less in the way of showgrounds than the Ocala/Wellington axis.
“I know we’re planning on coming back a couple of times this year,” he said.
A Winter Equestrian Festival regular at Wellington, Jonathan commented that at TerraNova, “The classes are easier, a little bit softer, They’re still competitive enough, but there definitely is less pressure. If you want to come and bring an FEI horse or two and then bring a couple of young horses, it’s a great place to do it.”
When I wondered if he could evaluate TerraNova in relation to the lavish World Equestrian Center in Ocala, he pointed out, “WEC is pretty much finished and these guys are just getting started, so it would be hard to compare them just yet.”
Olga Zarlenga, who is going to be barn manager at TerraNova, was manager of the show jumping at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
She noted one important aspect of the new facility is that “They’re listening to the riders” about what they want,” which doesn’t always happen elsewhere.
As to its location, she said, “Everything starts from somewhere.” As an example, she mentioned that “Ocala was, okay, it’s horse country, but suddenly WEC was there and everybody wants to go there.”
The TerraNova show jumping competitions this winter, which include competitions rated 2 stars by the FEI (international equestrian federation), are being run by the Split Rock Tour. It was founded by Derek Braun, who put his riding career aside so he could focus on his efforts on advancing the sport with an updated perspective.
Split Rock’s event manager, Mike Belisle, was also involved in developing the TerraNova concept. He is delighted with the growth of the site and its shows. Hear what he had to say in the video below.
One innovation that gained instant popularity is Natalee’s project, Tiny Town. This miniature village complete with a child-sized veterinary clinic and market is a magnet for kids when they get tired of watching horses jump.
The vendor area is still a work in progress, with only a few tents selling vests and saddlery. There undoubtedly will be more vendors when there are more spectators.
Emilien Rieyre is based in Wellington with Voltaire Design, but wanted to come over and see what TerraNova was about. He had a conclusion about the venue that was similar to that of many other people I spoke with there.
“It’s really different but it’s beautiful,” he said.
From a stark orphanage in Ukraine, a country where trouble was brewing, to being named PATH International Youth Equestrian of the Year, Vika Christian has come a long way in a decade. And it was horses who helped her get there.
PATH leads the advancement of professional equine-assisted services to support more than 53,000 special needs individuals, like Vika, through a variety of equine-assisted services.
When Nancy Christian of Budd Lake, N.J., adopted five-and-a-half-year-old Vika, the child appeared to have a lazy eye that interfered with her vision. But after Vika got to the U.S. and underwent a brain scan, it was revealed she actually suffered from a birth defect, septo-optic dysplasia, which made her legally blind.
Horses play an important role in the lives of Nancy and Vika Christian. (Photo courtesy Centenary University)
And that wasn’t all.
“She had a speech impediment as well, and she’s hyper-active,” said Nancy.
“She had a lot of things any ordinary child would have trouble dealing with. The orphanage let her go out in the world with no diagnosis at all.”
Luckily, Vika’s new mother is a special education teacher at the Valley and Ridge School in Blairstown, so she knew how to handle a very difficult situation. Finding activities for Vika wasn’t easy at first, however, as Nancy sought opportunities that would help socialize her new daughter.
“We didn’t last long in dance class; even in day care, we didn’t last,” Nancy recalled.
But then she got some good advice.
“I had been talking to parents in special needs groups, and they suggested I check out riding,” said Nancy.
It started to look like a dead end, because insurance wouldn’t cover hippotherapy, a formal type of treatment utilizing horses and professional therapists, which was out of her price range. Even so, Nancy kept looking and met someone whose daughter participated in Centenary University’s TRAC program of therapeutic riding in Long Valley.
That was a start, but it didn’t turn out to be an instant fit. As Vika tells the story now, when she was introduced to horses, she thought, “What the heck are you doing to me? That’s way bigger than my dog and you want me to do what with it?”
When she got in the saddle, her hyper-active side came through, and it didn’t please the patient Lucy, one of the good-hearted horses in the TRAC program. The mare wasn’t retaliating, she just looked unhappy.
Then TRAC founder Octavia Brown came to the rescue of both of them.
As Octavia recalled, she saw Vika pulling on the reins and bouncing “all over the place, she was out of control. I finally got tired of it and marched over there and said, `Vika, Lucy doesn’t like it when you behave like that. If you do it again, you’re going home.’”
Vika paid attention. That was her breakthough moment.
“It was, I guess, the first time she suddenly took in that another creature could care, and she needed to care about it. And that was the first time she actually regarded the needs of another being as being important,” Octavia mused.
“She puts it as a matter of trust. From that moment, we started to be able to engage the concept of Lucy as something she needed to pay attention to. We laminated a picture of Lucy and she had it under her pillow. She’d come and talk to Lucy about her problems. And Lucy’s caring about what she did was the first real attachment she developed, as far as we can tell.”
As Vika’s mother describes her daughter today, “She is now a going concern.”
Octavia explained, “When you’re brought up in an orphanage in Ukraine and nobody really gives you love or affection, you don’t know how to relate to anyone, and she didn’t. This horse made her able to do that.”
What matters, according to Octavia, is “The fact that the horse is non-judgmental in a nonverbal sense (and) doesn’t try to control you. The fact she learned to care for that horse’s reactions shows you how powerful that silent reaction of the animal is. She didn’t need people talking to her, she just needed the sense that something accepted her for who and what she was, if she would also accept them for what they are.”
Acknowledging the importance of the PATH award, for which there were nominees from all over the world, Vika said, “I am proud to accept this award, but PATH Intl. has given me more than an award. It has taught me trust—how to trust my horse, people, and myself.”
TRAC Director Karen Brittle pointed out, “Anyone who wants to know what the value of therapeutic riding is just has to watch Vika at TRAC. She has a palpable joy when she is at the barn that’s very contagious.”
It is, she said, something that has impacted not only Vika and her family, but also the instructors who have worked with her over the last 10 years.
“You can see how this person who struggles with attention (deficit) and impulse control and other behavioral challenges is incredibly motivated to demonstrate more consistent behavior for the benefit of her horse. She’s become quite a young horsewoman. She’s always thinking about the horse first instead of thinking about what she wants to do.”
Riding became the centerpiece of a life that meshes Vika’s Ukrainian heritage with becoming an American. The Ukrainian government mandates that adoptive parents ensure their child maintains a link with their culture.
Nancy and Vika are learning Ukrainian (Vika’s first language is Russian, which is widely spoken in the eastern part of the country) and they go to a Ukrainian summer camp in the Catskills. It’s been helpful for Nancy that her college roommate had a Ukrainian background, so she can offer advice about cooking and celebrating holidays.
Vika also follows what is going on in her homeland’s war, and she and Nancy write to Volodymyr, the English-speaking taxi driver (he learned the language from video games) who was so kind to them while they were in Mariupol. He is now fighting with the army.
Before adopting Vika, Nancy spent three months in Ukraine learning about the country so she would be better able to relate to her new daughter. She can really empathize with the situation facing Vika, who had been institutionalized all her life.
Her sojourn there taught her “how exhausting it is to try to fit in and learn a new culture.”
But Vika has made plenty of progress. She puts in additional riding time at Freedom Horse in Long Valley and is competing in horse shows. Originally, she was on a leadline; now she’s off the lead and on her own with a horse and a dream.
While many teenagers are saving up to buy a car, Vika’s eyesight condition means she won’t be able to drive. So she’s saving up for a horse. And there’s no question about what she wants to do for a living, something with horses.
For her, and a lot of the children we serve in the program, horses are the one thing that has really, really clicked,” said Karen.
“This is a big piece of her identity. When other kids are talking about ski trips or soccer, Vika has this to talk about. To be honored at an international level for something that drives you is an amazing experience in someone’s life.
“This is something she is good at and works hard at and now she has been recognized. It’s a life-changing moment in a positive way for anyone.”
