Admit it. Haven’t you always wanted to try eventing, but were intimidated after watching the Badminton and Kentucky 5-stars — ooh, the galloping looks like fun, but those big fences…
How do you make the dream of trying this intriguing discipline a reality? The June 1 Essex Horse Trials offers a perfect chance to begin, if you try the new Starter division at Moorland Farm in Far Hills, N.J. It’s the picturesque home of the Far Hills Race Meeting each October, one of the country’s great steeplechase occasions.
The water jump always draws a crowd at Essex. (Photo © 2025 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
But for the Essex Starter division, the fences cross-country are only 2-feet, 3-inches high. No grobs, banks or ditches here, just straight-forward, inviting jumps.
The Tewksbury Trail Association is having several of the Starter fences built, and after the competition they’ll go back to Christie Hoffman Park where you’ll see them on your trail rides. There’s still an opportunity to provide starter fences. You can even put the name of your company or charity on them if you wish.
For the dressage segment, all competitors need to do is put their horse or pony in a snaffle and be able to walk, trot, canter and do a few circles. Special equipment is not needed, a jumping saddle will be just fine for all three phases.
Oh, and you don’t have to be a member of the U.S. Eventing Association or for that matter, the U.S. Equestrian Federation, if you’re only entered in the Starter section.
This is a great opportunity. You can use it either as a one-off, to say you evented, putting it on Instagram and your resume. Or it could be the springboard to moving up the levels eventually. Either way, you’ll have fun.
Essex, with a history stretching back to 1968, is now a one-day event, which means you don’t have to stable your horse or stay overnight in a hotel.
But it has the feel of a larger competition. There’s free food in the riders’ lounge for participants, owners and parents; a trade fair for a little shopping between phases, and tailgating at the water complex if you prefer to stay on the sidelines and watch. Here’s a link to the Essex website.
To watch the higher levels, tailgating by the water complex is the place to be. (Photo © 2025 by Lawrence J. Nagy)
“People don’t realize how good this event is,” said Marilyn Payne, who stepped up as the organizer earlier this year when there was concern the event wouldn’t be held again.
“This is the best one-day horse trial in the whole United States,” she declared, citing the amenities mentioned above (and this is an Olympic judge making that comment, so she knows!)
Despite all that Essex has to offer (its levels run through Preliminary) entries are lagging. The closing date is May 27. The opportunity is too good to miss, but it’s much easier for organizers if people get their entries in on time instead of waiting until the last minute, as too often is the case. For more information on the event, click here. Marilyn can be contacted at marilyn@essexhorsetrials.net.
Another plus about Essex is that it gives back beyond the equestrian scene, benefiting the Life Camp in Pottersville, which provides an enriching summer day camp experience for 300 youths daily for six weeks during July and August.
Campers between the ages of 6 and 13 come from the greater Newark public school system, as well as from Newark Charter School Programs. A group of the children attends the horse trials and have a ball with a picnic by the water jump. For most, it’s their first experience being in the countryside, and they love it.
