Monmouth at the Team, which runs Aug. 12-19, is in its fourth year of implementing an intriguing competition concept that works. Cousins Tucker Ericson and Michael Dowling took over the faltering Monmouth County Horse Show in 2016, expanded its dates, cut it back from multiple rings to one and moved it to the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation’s Gladstone facility in Somerset County.
Riders tend to come from the tri-state area, and include many well-known names. Managed by Creigh Duncan with courses by Skip Bailey, the show has created a unique template. It was followed to Gladstone last spring by the Junior Essex Troop’s Garden State, show as it relocated from the Sussex Fairgrounds and came under Tucker’s wing.
The transformation of Monmouth, New Jersey’s oldest horse show, was an instant success. At first, when it was still in the concept stage, that was due to the appeal of riding at its historic venue. But as soon as it got going, its character added more appeal. In addition to the draw of the 124-year-old show’s setting has been the focus on upscale hospitality, complete with live music, which enables people to eat, drink and socialize ringside without missing any of the action. This year, the Aon riders’ lounge has been added to the hospitality component.
Such amenities are unusual for a show that isn’t FEI recognized or rated at the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s top levels. The show’s highest rating involves “B” days, but it also includes a day emphasizing Outreach and a Level 3 jumper mini-prix (August 18) and another with unrecognized classes featuring the Nature Conservancy’s $10,000 Bobcat Derby (August 15).
Note the rider’s helmet–see the Bobcat ears? These headbands are a popular item on Bobcat Derby Day during Monmouth at the Team. (Photo©2018 by Nancy Jaffer)
The Derby has two divisions pinned separately, with $5,000 in prize money each. The first is for non-professionals with fences at 2-feet and 2-6; the second is an open class with 3-foot jumps.
A special exhibition is scheduled for Friday afternoon before the $5,000 Welcome Stake, sponsored by Equine Billing Services. International rider and dressage coach Catherine Haddad Staller will present three riders to showcase “The Joy of Dressage.”
Catherine has represented the U.S. at two FEI World Cup™ Finals and earned more than 150 placings and wins in international competition. With her husband, Dr. Greg Staller, founder of Running ‘S’ Equine Veterinary Services, she breeds and trains international dressage talent at Khimoni, their Califon facility.
The exhibition showcases Catherine’s positive approach to training horse and rider. Those appearing will include Michelle Brady, 27, from La Grande, Oregon, who earned her USDF Gold Medal in 2018. Michelle worked cattle in the stockyards of La Grande before she became a working student for Catherine in 2012. She went from groom to top trainer for Team Haddad Staller in only a few years, producing her first Prix St. Georges horse in 2018.
Hope Beerling, 20, from Queensland, Australia, is a leading young rider there. She won the 2018 FEI Young Horse Championships in Brisbane. Her talent, seat and balance give young horses the confidence to relax and perform their best.
Katie, a 39-year-old dentist from Austin, Texas, lost her lower right leg to cancer in 2015, but her love of horses became her lifeline. The para-dressage equestrian began training in 2018 with Catherine, whose system of skeletal riding places emphasis on riding from the seat and weight, without tremendous pressure from the leg.