The Delaware Valley Horsemen’s Association, a grassroots show series that ran for more than seven decades in Hunterdon County, N.J., has called it quits.
Founded in 1949 by veterinarian, Dr. Welling Howell, the organization in its prime offered competitions for everything from hunters, jumpers and dressage to western, thoroughbreds, draft and driving. It became a popular destination for riders beginning their show careers or those who simply wanted to compete in a low-pressure atmosphere.
Over the years, top professionals such as Frank Chapot and George Morris found it a good place to start their green horses. Olympic double silver medal star Gem Twist even competed there at the beginning of his career.
Dr. Howell’s commitment to DVHA was carried on by his widow, Wanda Howell, who died last year. The organization, which traditionally ran its shows with volunteers, had 50 life members, some of whom no longer live in the area, according to DVHA chairperson Judith Stratton.
This year, according to former president Sue Haydu, there were 35 members, down from an all-time high of more than 300 at one point.
There were not enough members to put on the shows, Judith commented, saying it was difficult to get people to come out and help.
But Jessica Brittain, who was president of DVHA until September, said, “no one was picking up the slack, so I decided to try.”
Of the shutdown, Judith said, “We knew it was coming; we held on as long as we could. We just didn’t have the support.”
A statement from DVHA said its board “sadly came to the realization that DVHA was no longer sustainable and voted to dissolve.”
“It’s very sad, but times have changed,” commented Denise Quick, who competed at DVHA for years.
There are others besides Jessica, however, who felt it should have kept going.
“I think closing it may have been a little bit premature,” observed Penelope Jo Schell of Valley Crest Stables in Annandale, who believes the DVHA shows were making enough money to cover the bills.
She remembers DVHA from the early ‘70s and the days when her parents were officers in the club.
“I grew up there and have since taken my students there for years and years,” said the trainer.
“I think we should have given it one last try.”
There are many reasons for DVHA’s demise, but a big part of it is the way the horse industry has evolved in parts of New Jersey and elsewhere as development continues to take agricultural land.
“Little shows are not able to make enough money, there aren’t many backyard horses,” Denise said, noting that at the same time, “there are so many horse shows.”
The show season, meanwhile, has transformed into a year-round enterprise. There was a time when few people would go south for the winter, so they trained their horses at home and took them to DVHA for an introduction to a show atmosphere before the season would start in earnest and they would go to bigger competitions. Now many competitors head for Florida as soon as the temperatures drop, while at home, several show venues keep running through the winter, but they are indoors.
The U.S. Equestrian Federation also has promoted its Outreach program for lower-level riders, which enables trainers to take their top riders to shows and also bring along beginners who they otherwise would have had to take to smaller shows or those that weren’t licensed by the federation, noted Sue Haydu.
At DVHA, “Entries were light, but I think entries are light everywhere because the pool is so diluted” with several shows to choose from on many weekends, pointed out Jen Cassidy, assistant trainer at Summerfield Farm in Pittstown.
The DVHA facility was “a little more old-fashioned” without fancy footing, she noted, “but I think the people who went this year tried to make it work.”
There were many things that led to DVHA’s demise, only some of which were unique to the organization.
In 2015, its treasurer was charged with embezzling more than $68,000, leaving the organization with only $500 to start the new season. Although the former treasurer’s sentence required her to pay back money, Sue Haydu said just $30,000 of that amount was received as the organization struggled to remain solvent.
“We owned the grounds…we needed to bring in enough money to cover taxes and insurance as well as running all the shows,” she said.
The Covid pandemic also hurt DVHA, in the same way it affected so much across the board.
Another factor in what happened to DVHA was dissension between two groups about how the association should be run.
When Jessica became president three years ago, Sue said, the approach was changed to let both members and non-members win high score awards.
With that model, Sue asked, “Why join?”
Jessica, who is the trainer at the Phoenix Rising Farm in Milford, runs schooling shows there and had experience managing the Briarwood shows, which were a popular series in Readington for years. She said she was forced to resign from DVHA in September.
Upon hearing that plans were to dissolve DVHA, her reaction was, “You can’t do that,” contending the decision was made by “this little band of older members. They decided they just wanted to close down; (they felt) it wasn’t worth trying anymore.”
Jessica saw DVHA as a place for kids to “get their feet wet” before going to bigger shows. She said at the last show, there were more than 100 entries and enough money was being made to keep the shows alive “until we made a better profit. We would have kept it going.”
The closure “wasn’t up for a true vote,” she contended.
The showgrounds of nearly 10 acres in East Amwell are for sale, and the hope is the property will go for agricultural use, rather than construction of the three houses that would be permitted on the property under the current zoning.
Proceeds will go to four beneficiaries named in a dissolution agreement, according to Judith. They include the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation, a veterinary school within 50 miles, tuition for a local veterinary student and a therapeutic riding organization.