“Gladstone.” It’s a name synonymous with excellence in the horse world, the former U.S. Equestrian Team training center at Hamilton Farm in New Jersey, now the home of the USET Foundation.
For decades, Gladstone was known around the world as the base for the U.S. show jumpers who represent the country in international competition. Eventing team members were there for a number of years as well, and it became the venue for training sessions in a variety of disciplines.
As a competition site, many of its glory days in the ‘80s and ‘90s centered around the annual Gladstone Combined Driving Event, fueled by the enthusiasm of USET President Finn Caspersen. His horses were regulars in the four-in-hand competition that usually included drivers from overseas, imported by Finn.
Combined driving involves dressage, a marathon where horses are timed as they weave in and out of obstacles (driving’s version of eventing’s cross-country phase) and concludes with the cones test. In that segment, the carriages travel around a winding layout involving pairs of road cones, trying to avoid knocking off the balls resting atop them.
The excitement of driving at the picturesque Gladstone venue culminated in the October 1993 World Pairs Championship, which drew competitors from a record 23 countries. It was the largest such competition ever held outside Europe, with 15,000 spectators watching the marathon segment.
Many of those who helped organize that competition came from the Northeast’s driving community. However, as drivers retired, died, or moved south, their ranks in the region grew thin. In recent years, driving competition continued to some extent at Gladstone, but it was low-key.
That is about to change. An invigorated Gladstone Equestrian Association Driving Committee will be putting on several competitions this year in the Pine Meadow section of Hamilton Farm. That includes a Combined Driving Trial June 29-30, as well as a Combined Test that weekend for those who don’t want to do the marathon and will stick with just dressage and cones.
Driving events have been a fixture at Gladstone for decades. (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer)
“The place is like hallowed ground,” said John Layton, president of GEA Driving.
“The place is unbelievable, the history. It’s small compared to what it used to be, but we have the opportunity to make it great again.”
Jimmy Fairclough, who started driving at Gladstone in the 1970s, is glad the GEA group is ramping things up.
“If there is anything I can do, I’m all in for it,” Jimmy emphasized.
Jimmy Fairclough, right, with teammates Chester Weber and Misdee Wrigley Miller on the podium after winning the gold medal at the 2018 world championships. (Photo © 2018 by Nancy Jaffer)
A member of the U.S. 2018 world championships gold medal four-in-hand team, he was also part of the pairs team that won gold in the 1991 world championships. The victory gave the U.S. the right to host the 1993 championships at Gladstone.
That was during a time when Gladstone “was the heart of the sport in North America,” as Jimmy put it, with training sessions, a spring event and the Gladstone Driving Event.
Now it’s a different story.
Jimmy, who lives in Sussex County 45 minutes from Gladstone, drove his young horses there last year. He notes that competing on the winter circuit is so costly that by the time it’s finished, so are the bankrolls of many people who might otherwise enter more competitions in the north.
As a result, he pointed out, in the Northeast, “We’re struggling for shows in the summer.”
At the same time, however, the sport has changed and is more flexible than it used to be. No longer is it necessary to have a roads and tracks segment, for instance, a change which enables saving on space and labor.
“There are so many possibilities,” Jimmy suggested.
John Layton has taken advantage of that situation.
“People need an entry-level to come into combined driving without spending thousands of dollars to see if they like it or not,” he pointed out.
The resident of Juliustown in Springfield Township, part of New Jersey’s Burlington County, came up with the concept of driving derbies, one of which is set for April 7 at the Horse Park, an hour south of Gladstone, while another will be held at Gladstone Sept. 14 as part of a six-event series throughout the region.
“It’s a whole new format, an introduction to combined driving,” said John, a Horse Park board member. He noted many people intrigued by combined driving are intimidated about diving right in because a full marathon can be quite a challenge, and it’s expensive to get all the equipment needed.
In the derby, competitors try their hand at two marathon obstacles, while negotiating a series of cones before tackling the obstacles, in between them and at the end of the run.
“It really took off. It gives everybody a taste of combined driving in a one-day format,” said John, who works as a union carpenter.
That’s one answer to the big question of how to attract new drivers to the sport, enabling it to grow. Another might be a Standardbred division that debuted as an exhibition division at the Horse Park in 2022.
“In our area, harness racing is huge,” explained John, a competitive driver himself whose Eris K. was the number one-ranked Cleveland Bay driving horse in the U.S. last year.
“We have a bunch of people between 25 and 40, a lot of young women who want to do something with these horses that came off the track.”
He got permission from the U.S. Equestrian Federation for them to compete using a jog cart and quick hitch harness. Some of the obstacles were wider than regulation to allow for the size of the carts. Of the eight drivers who competed in the division, five moved up to regular combined driving classes after getting a taste of the sport.
Another way of adding to the driver ranks is by bringing in young people.
In 2023, the Garden State Driving Event at the Horse Park had a youth division for the first time, contested by eight exhibitors.
“Out of that came the USEF providing a driver development clinic at Gladstone for the youth that were at Garden State,” said John, who also is president of the DelMarva Driving Club and put on 12 driving events in 2023. The number he’s staging this year is 15.
The June Gladstone event will have a youth division, which John feels is a “huge” development as part of the event for the first time. But for permission to hold the division, the committee needed to be creative, because American Driving Society rules say young people need a navigator on the marathon. That was a problem for those who have VSEs (Very Small Equines), otherwise known as mini horses pulling their carriages, since they can’t haul too much weight. So permission was given to follow the VSEs with a navigator in a golf cart.
The driving committee is bringing life back to Pine Meadow, which has long been mostly idle.
“We want to have Pine Meadow used,” said Maureen Pethick, the USET Foundation’s communications and facilities coordinator. She assists with matters relating to the property, but doesn’t have a vote on the committee, which which also includes Christine Siracusa, a former member of the Garden State Driving Committee; competitive driver Amie Bauman, John and Diane Unger and longtime supporter Gayle Altenburg-Stinson. EllenMarie Ettenger is the competition organizer; her husband, Bruce Ettenger, is the course designer.
How cool are the pinneys with the name of the event displayed over the competitor number. (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer)
Upkeep of the large Pine Meadow tract, which has many trees, is an issue. While the Foundation keeps Pine Meadow mowed it has other priorities as well, so more work needs to be done by volunteers.
The GEA members have been busy cleaning up marathon obstacles as stumps are pulled, while ruts are being smoothed out on footing and trails to make the optimum surface for carriages.
Maureen noted that horses coming to the driving event will be able to use the Foundation’s historic stables. That means the tents previously rented for stabling are no longer necessary, which saves everyone money.
“I think it’s going to be a huge help,” said Maureen.
Christine agreed, commenting, with that benefit, “Whatever we can bring in with sponsorship, donations and entries, we can continue to put back into the grounds.” In two or three years, she said, that could lead to staging a full combined driving event over three days.
“I’m hoping that with some of the things we’re doing this year, people are going to come and love what we’re doing and going to want to come back,” said Christine, a Clinton Township resident whose 14-year-old daughter, Kate, competes in driving with a Welsh cob.
“I’m excited that some new young blood is coming into the sport,” said Christine, who works for a pharmaceutical company.
Support from others in the community is key for the event. She noted, for instance, that veterinarian Christina Wilson and former driving competitor Sharon Chesson (a member of the 1991 gold medal pairs team) will be housing officials, Purina Equine Nutrition is sponsoring the competition’s briefing dinner and Bruce Apgar, who has competed in driving, is helping with refurbishing Pine Meadow using his excavating equipment.
This year, in addition to the competitions, drivers can also take advantage of training days at Gladstone May18, Aug. 24 and Oct. 19, which gives them an opportunity to experience the facility.