By Nancy Jaffer December 8, 2018 While the holidays are an occasion for celebration, at the same time, they offer an opportunity to polish memories. We think of those who are no longer with us, recall cherished moments with our horses and reminisce...

By Nancy Jaffer Nov. 25, 2018 Joining the ranks of such legends as eventing stalwart Giltedge, Olympic double-gold medal show jumper Touch of Class and dressage star Brentina on the pages of history is a tall order for any horse. But joining their...

By Nancy Jaffer November 22, 2018 It was 23 degrees this morning when the Essex Fox Hounds started assembling for their Thanksgiving hunt. I expected a small field of riders and figured only a few spectators would show up. Wrong and wrong. The...

November 6, 2018 He was not only a great horseman, but racehorse trainer J. Willard Thompson also should be remembered as a great gentleman. The horse world lost a much-admired figure when he died Saturday at the age of 83 after a long illness. A...

By Nancy Jaffer October 25, 2108 It seems like common sense to acknowledge that New Jersey’s horse industry is part of the agricultural community, but everyone doesn’t see it that way. To some who raise crops, “Horse people are not farmers.  That’s...

By Nancy Jaffer October 14, 2018 The phrase “old-fashioned fun” is too seldom heard these days in connection with equestrian sports, which tend to be high stakes, played with horses bearing even higher pricetags. So it was refreshing to roll back...

By Nancy Jaffer October 7, 2018 At the end of three phases of competition, 2017 ASPCA Maclay winner Maddy Goetzmann and 2018 North American Young Rider show jumping individual gold medalist Daisy Farish were 1-2 in the Platinum Performance USEF...

By Nancy Jaffer Sept. 25, 2018 Two New Jersey horsemen carried a little extra baggage in the form of gold medals on their flights home yesterday from the FEI World Equestrian Games at the Tryon International Equestrian Center. The realization of a...

By Nancy Jaffer August 20, 2018 While a number of shows in its region have been scratching for participants this summer, Monmouth at the Team is so well-attended that part of the mandate for next year is figuring out a way to limit entries for...

By Nancy Jaffer July 29, 2018 Last weekend, Devin Ryan was jumping on the U.S. Nations’ Cup team in Aachen Germany, the most prestigious horse show in the world. This weekend, he was back home in New Jersey, coaching competitors in the...

By Nancy Jaffer July 14, 2018 It doesn’t really seem as if being held for just eight years qualifies a horse show as a tradition, but the Briarwood Derby Day is an exception to that rule. Started by N.J. Horse Shows Association President Katie...

By Nancy Jaffer June 18, 2018 The doors are locked at Beval Saddlery Ltd. in Gladstone, a fixture in the Somerset Hills for 63 years. Although a paper sign tacked up at the entrance said the store is closed “temporarily,” area equestrians are...

  By Nancy Jaffer June 5, 2018 He’s a character. He’s been a clown (literally). And now he’s a champion. Andy Kocher, a native of Pennsylvania who grew up attending the Devon Horse Show as a spectator (“I never showed”), rode into the Dixon...

By Nancy Jaffer May 20, 2018 “They’re trying their hearts out,” commented Boyd Martin, discussing improvement efforts at the Horse Park of New Jersey, where he won three of four divisions at the Jersey Fresh International Three-Day Event presented...

By Nancy Jaffer May 9, 2018 A horse show manager’s tenure usually is measured in terms of several years—if the person in question lasts even that long. So it’s very unusual when someone manages a show for three decades, as Tim Cleary has with the...

March 26, 2018 Swimmer Michael Phelps. Track star Carl Lewis. Para-equestrian Annie Peavy? Why not? Annie is one of seven finalists for the AAU James Sullivan Award, which has been won by Phelps, Lewis and so many other top U.S. athletes—but never...

By Nancy Jaffer February 20, 2018 It’s been discussed for years, but now the Horse Park of New Jersey really is on the verge of improving the grand prix arena, as well as performing deferred maintenance on its other two rings. Wisely, the park has...

By Nancy Jaffer January 30, 2018 Tom O’Mara’s equitation championship-winning children once enjoyed more name recognition than he did. But the former investment banker has become high-profile through his roles in the U.S. Equestrian Federation and...

By Nancy Jaffer January 4, 2018 It’s going to be a year with potential at the Horse Park of New Jersey. There’s quite an opportunity on the horizon because its premier competition, the Jersey Fresh International Three-Day Event, offers a selection...

By Nancy Jaffer December 6, 2017 Donna Strait Martin personifies staying power, a virtue as important in people as it is in horses. Her lifelong dedication to equestrian sport remains productive. While there are 700 U.S. Equestrian...

By Nancy Jaffer November 16, 2017 “I’m still smiling,” said Maia Barnes, days after winning the Fourth Level Adult Amateur Championship at the U.S. Dressage Finals presented by Adequan. Maia, who rode Benvica to a score of 69.889 percent at the...

  By Nancy Jaffer September 28, 2017 NOTE CHANGE OF DATE DUE TO WEATHER Autumn is the busiest season for equestrians. There’s an abundance of trail and hunter paces, the indoor shows are getting under way along with regional championships, and...

By Nancy Jaffer August 30, 2017 When the applause ends, after the crowds go home, what’s next for a top horse who has retired from eventing? In the case of Ballynoe Castle RM, better known as Reggie, that question can be answered with one word:...

By Nancy Jaffer August 9, 2017 Andrew Ramsay has gone to all the right places seeking help with his ambition to ride on U.S. show jumping teams. During his quest, the native of California was mentored by Alan Waldman in the Netherlands, worked with...

By Nancy Jaffer July 1, 2017 Moorland Farm in Far Hills is on the brink of becoming a new center for equestrian activity, following the successful rebirth of the Mars Essex Horse Trials last weekend. As the event concluded, “I made it very clear to...

By Nancy Jaffer June 18, 2017 Robin Rost is reinventing her life. Is it merely coincidence that the green hunter with whom she has been having success in the 3-foot, 3-inch division is named Master Plan? At age 60, Robin, a native of Sussex County...

By Nancy Jaffer June 23, 2017 The dream is on the verge of reality. A cross-country course walk yesterday for supporters of the Mars Essex Horse Trials-- being revived June 24 and 25 after an absence of 18 years-- was an exciting reveal of handsome...

By Nancy Jaffer June 7, 2017 A new venue for an equestrian competition is always exciting, especially when it’s ideal. A location doesn’t get any better than Moorland Farm in the heart of picturesque Far Hills, New Jersey, where the revival of the...

By Nancy Jaffer May 24, 2017 Can you imagine taking a sample of feed every time you open a new bag, keeping it in a baggie marked with the date the feed bag was opened and the lot numbers? Oh, and writing all the information in a log book,...

By Nancy Jaffer May 15, 2017 Forget the rain. Things are looking brighter for the Jersey Fresh International Three-Day Event, which has had its ups and downs over the years. So give the dedicated workers and organizers applause for their efforts at...

By Nancy Jaffer May 5, 2017 The 50th anniversary of the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association is being celebrated this weekend at its national championship show in Kentucky. IHSA, begun by Robert Cacchione at New Jersey’s Fairleigh Dickinson...

By Nancy Jaffer April 23, 2017 What type of footing should you put in your ring? The number of options is positively confusing—do you want an artificial surface? And if you choose that, will it include bits of rubber, fiber or wax? How about...

By Nancy Jaffer April 14, 2017 They saw the light. The CP National Horse Show, where the ASPCA Maclay at 3-6 has been the industry standard for generations, just scrapped plans to use the Maclay name for a new 3-3 equitation competition. In my...

By Nancy Jaffer March 21, 2017 This month’s Live Oak International driving event, which hosted four national championships, brought back memories from the era when the sport of combined driving reached its peak in the U.S. It built to a crescendo...

By Nancy Jaffer March 8, 2017 The scenic Somerset Hills, once one of the horsiest areas in New Jersey, is making a big comeback in terms of equestrian activities. They had gradually tapered off over the years, until the Gladstone Gathering in 2015...

By Nancy Jaffer Feb. 14, 2017 It wasn’t just an ordinary announcement. Word that former U.S. eventing coach and Olympic medalist Mark Phillips will be the new cross-country course designer for the Jersey Fresh International Three-Day Event looks...

By Nancy Jaffer January 28, 2017 It comes across as the type of meet-cute, made-for-TV movie that you’d see on the Lifetime channel. Jolene Alala, a “Jersey girl” working at her family’s small Passaic County stable, traveled to Ireland to help a...

By Nancy Jaffer January 14, 2017 The U.S. Equestrian Federation has been relaunched enthusiastically at its annual convention, with a “major makeover” geared to bringing “the joy of horse sports” to more people at all levels. “I cannot and will not...

By Nancy Jaffer December 31, 2016 What will you remember about the equestrian year gone by, and what do you hope for in the equestrian year to come? As 2016 takes its place in history and 2017 gets a turn on the calendar, let’s enjoy a break in the...

By Nancy Jaffer November 24, 2016 Note: Click here to read the column posted earlier this month about the 2020 Olympics and the FEI meeting. It's a Thanksgiving tradition in New Jersey's Somerset Hills--going to the Essex Foxhounds meet before...

By Nancy Jaffer November 15, 2016 The historic Gladstone headquarters of the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation will be hosting the U.S. Equestrian Federation's FEI dressage championships May 18-21 2017, bringing them back to New Jersey after a...

By Nancy Jaffer November 4, 2016 They finally got it right. Less than two years before the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games, the FEI has chosen the Tryon, N.C. International Equestrian Center as the venue for the quadrennial eight-discipline...

By Nancy Jaffer October 28, 2016 As you may have heard, there's an election on Tuesday, November 8. But more than the presidential race is on the ballot in New Jersey. In effect, it's the future of the state's horse industry. Question 1 asks...

By Nancy Jaffer Sept. 29, 2016 Our equestrian history keeps moving on, but Ron Davis doesn't want to let it get away. His documentary, “Harry and Snowman,” recounts one of the great horse stories of our time in the words of Harry de Leyer, the man...

By Nancy Jaffer Sept. 13, 2016 “Breeding is a humbling profession,” said Ilona English, stating a truth that goes with the territory for anyone trying to produce their own sport horses. But at this point, Ilona is experiencing the flip side of that...

By Nancy Jaffer September 4, 2016 You'll still see Chris Kappler by the ingate or the schooling area at major shows, like last weekend's Hampton Classic, but he won't be on a horse. His name used to appear regularly in the equestrian publication...

By Nancy Jaffer Aug. 21, 2016 It sounded like a good, if rather unusual, idea--moving the Monmouth County Horse Show--which needed a boost--to Somerset County's U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation headquarters in Gladstone. But until the show actually...

By Nancy Jaffer Aug. 14, 2016 If there is an iconic image of New Jersey show jumping, it's a horse clearing a jump at the Sussex County show with the colorful lights of a ferris wheel in the background. Generations of riders and spectators relish...

By Nancy Jaffer July 24, 2016 What bothers you most at a horse show? Bad footing, overcrowded grounds, poor stabling? Generations of exhibitors have voiced complaints about those issues and others, too often without getting satisfaction. Sometimes,...

By Nancy Jaffer July 17, 2016 It all started with a discussion on the issue of dressage ponies that Jenny Carol had with a friend over dinner in 2007. “I never felt kids were getting the respect they deserved for riding the ponies,” she said,...

By Nancy Jaffer July 10, 2016 Hundreds of horses over 100 years had taken a toll on the unique U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation stable in Gladstone. While the 12-foot box stalls still were serviceably sound, they looked worn. Shortcomings generally...

By Nancy Jaffer June 23, 2016 Even before yesterday evening's Invitational Derby Cross competition at Moorland Farm in Far Hills, I knew there wasn't going to be just one winner. I'm talking big picture here, not who was taking home the blue ribbon...

By Nancy Jaffer July 3, 2016 Impressive! That's the reaction prompted by the announcement of the U.S. Olympic equestrian squads. It's the most promising group of American athletes headed to the Games since 2004, when the country brought home five...

By Nancy Jaffer June 19, 2016 Where do young people go to learn about horses if they're interested not only in riding, but also in finding out how to take care of their mounts and make lasting friendships in the process? Answer: Pony Club. Such...

By Nancy Jaffer June 12, 2016 Life changes are nothing new for Greg Best, who will be involved in another big one next year. Growing up in Flemington, he was a winner with ponies when I first met him. He went on to become a gold medalist at the...

By Nancy Jaffer June 5, 2016 John White of Stillwater and Hoboken has been competing with his team of striking gray Czech Kladrubers for six years at Devon, and last week finally clinched the show's ultimate reward in his division by taking the...

By Nancy Jaffer May 15, 2016 Ten years ago, Ilona English delivered a little colt she named Powell. Over the weekend, Powell delivered for her, winning the CCI 3-star at the Jersey Fresh International Three-Day Event. Not only did the blaze-faced...

By Nancy Jaffer May 8, 2016 Did you miss Rolex Kentucky last weekend? Couldn't make it to Badminton this weekend? There's another chance to see top-notch eventing this spring, and it's close to home. Building on the success of last year's...

By Nancy Jaffer May 1, 2016 Rolex Kentucky is the Western Hemisphere's only 4-star event, and one of just six in the world, so it's always difficult. But throw in a day of rainstorms and the cross-country phase becomes even more testing. No one...

By Nancy Jaffer April 24, 2016 The Gladstone Driving Event, once the most important sporting competition of its kind in the country, is making a comeback next month at Hamilton Farm, home of the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation. The event, admired...

By Nancy Jaffer March 6, 2016 The state is still in the throes of winter, but work has been under way for months on the May 11-15 Jersey Fresh International, which is an Olympic selection trial this year. It's time to start making plans to attend...

By Nancy Jaffer February 14, 2016 WELLINGTON, Fla. -- As was the case for so many people, the events of Sept. 11, 2001, changed Gabriel Armando's life. The banker from Argentina was working in midtown Manhattan that day, not at the World Trade...

By Nancy Jaffer January 31, 2016 Her mission is to teach children about horses and their care, so 4-H volunteer extraordinaire Judy Hennessy certainly wasn't looking for recognition. That's why being named New Jersey Horseperson of the Year was...

After the U.S. team failed to medal in eventing at the Tokyo Games, there was a lot of soul-searching and discussion about what went wrong. Get ready for more discussion; no U.S. show jumper will be in tomorrow’s final for the individual medals. So...