TAH Feb-March 2024 by Aiken Horse Productions

Volume 19 • Number 4

February-March 2024

The Aiken Horse

February-March 2024

SuzyHaslup_TAH_Sept2019.qxp_Layout 1 4/5/20 5:46 PM Page 1

FOX HOLLOW ON THE LAKE

$675,000

Your dream of a waterfront property and an equestrian paradise can come true with this spectacular 12.76 A offering in gated Fox Hollow on the Lake consisting of two lots which could be separated. Your private driveway leads by grass fields, ready for fencing and a barn, to your circular driveway and newly painted cottage, dock and 16X20 storage shed fronting Town Creek Lake. The 1985 board and batten two bedroom/two bath cottage has ten foot ceilings, screened porch, and insulated windows. All appliances convey. Have your morning coffee overlooking the lake and fish from your private dock. Good pasture and recently cleared and groomed trails offer riding and walking opportunities. Fox Hollow has an extensive trail system, irrigated show rings and a cross country course. This captivating waterfront property offers a blend of tranquility, privacy, and convenience for the nature lover and equestrian. Seller is offering a $5000 closing cost credit.

REDUCED

BRIDLE CREEK FARM

$419,000

SUZY HASLUP Realtor™

JOYNER POND HUNTBOX $319,000

SOLD

Welcome to this exceptional custom-built 2 BR/2 BA hardiplank house in Bridle Creek. This light-filled home has an open floor plan with pine floors, wood burning fireplace with shiplap, & eat-in kitchen with stainless steel appliances. The primary bedroom has a bath with brick floor, subway tile & granite. With 2 acres, there is room for your horses with direct access to trails.

Fantastic opportunity to have a turn key horse property in the area of other horse farms. 1 BR/1 BA apartment with tongue and groove pine paneling, appliances, on demand water heater, & newly screened porch w/dog fenced yard. 3 fenced grass paddocks, 4 stall barn w/12X12 matted stalls, storage and wash stall, sand arena & room for a grass derby field. High speed internet available.

$239,000

LOT 62 MEADOW CREEK

$53,620

LOT 5 WOOD'S END

$275,000

Priced at $275,000 this lot provides an exceptional opportunity to own a farm adjacent to the 2200acre Hitchcock Woods offering 70 miles of riding trails open to the public year round. Lot is partially cleared and ready for home and barn, paved cul-de-sac, underground utilities with city services and no HOA. Possible owner financing. Direct access to the Hitchcock Woods.

AIKEN HORSE DISTRICT $2.99 MIL

UNDER CONTRACT

UNDER CONTRACT Home & 3 A surrounded by horse farms and fifteen minutes to downtown Aiken. This newer manufactured 4 bedroom/2 bath home is ready for fencing and shed or barn on a front field of gorgeous coastal Bermuda grass. The 2128 sq ft residence has an open floor plan, LVP and carpeting, with abundant natural light throughout.

Realtor™

An Accredited Land Consultant, Suzy achieved the title of Leading Sales Agent in 2013, 2015, 2016 & 2020, received recognition in Meybohm’s “Best of the Best” & President’s Club, and earned 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 & 2023 RLI APEX awards for top producing land real estate agents.

UNDER CONTRACT

NEW HOLLAND ROAD

KATHRYN SIDERS

Wonderful lot in equestrian subdivision with an extensive trail system and across from an event training facility. Watch beautiful sunsets from this level lot with pines and some hardwoods. The property lines are clearly marked and it is easy to walk. Shared community trails and dirt roads for hacking. This lot is beautiful with a low $360 HOA annual fee.

Old Greentree Stables, a 10 A. equestrian property located in the heart of Aiken’s Horse District across from Aiken Training Track & near Bruce’s Field fronts 3 clay roads w/border of Magnolia trees. Featuring 21 stalls in 3 barns, 21 paddocks, grass jump fields, 2 residences & a groom’s quarter. Rare find in Aiken’s Horse District & suitable for any equestrian discipline w/several areas perfect for dressage or jump rings. Short hack along sand clay roads to 2200 A. Hitchcock Woods.

www.AikenHorseRealty.com (803) 215-0153 • suzy.haslup@gmail.com February-March 2024

The Aiken Horse

Horses Welcome! 2.5+ Acres in Huntcliff

Valley View Farm in 302 Corridor

Prime Development Opportunity

Fun-loving home enjoys numerous living spaces for entertaining, including a Great Game room, in-ground saltwater pool, pool cabana & grill, outdoor kitchen and large storage / workshop areas to support your hobbies or side business. 4 Bedrooms | 3.5 Baths | 3814 square feet | 2.59 Acres | Pool & Outdoor Kitchen

Turnkey farm with covered arena is ready for you and your horses to enjoy the season! Valley View Farm, a 15+ + acre equestrian training facility is located in Aiken's coveted 302 equestrian corridor close to polo & training venues. Ideal for any discipine! 3 BR/ 2 BA Home | 12 Stall Barn | Covered Arena | Barn Apartment

23+ Acres of Piney Woods with over 460 feet of Paved Road Frontage in central location with Easy Access to Aiken, North Augusta and I-20 to head west to Augusta, GA or east to Columbia, SC & just 15 minutes to downtown Aiken. Wide trails, good sandy soil & gently rolling terrain with Breezy Hill water line in horse-shoe shape on property.

2124 Trail Point | Offered for $720,000

1799 Hatchaway Bridge | $895,000

23.1 Acres Connector Road | $470,000

Improved Price

Seasonal or Full-time Midtown Gem

Live Minutes to Clarks Hill Lake

Morrison-Wright Cottage

Renovated with style - charming ''Midtown'' home enjoys a location within one of Aiken's most desirable neighborhoods, close to Bruce's Field; Fermata & Green Boundary Clubs; Hitchcock Woods & Aiken's horse & downtown districts. 2 Bedrooms | 2.5 Baths | 1418 sf | Fenced Yard

Looking to enjoy the lake life? Come see this well-renovated home ideal for indoor & outdoor living! Fabulous kitchen, baths & spacious back porch looking out to the newly fenced back yard. Ideal as a full-time residence or weekend retreat! 4 Bedrooms | 3 Baths | 1.46 Acres | 3-Sided Carport | Outdoor Flex Space

Downtown Aiken, Historic “town“ home and beautiful gardens are ideal for entertaining and fine living. This well-renovated home will captivate those who appreciate the glamour of yesteryear & the harmony of formal, family and outdoor living spaces. 5 Bedrooms | 3.5 Baths | 5926 sf | Pool | Parking Court & Pavilion

807 Boardman Road | Offered for $348,500

6447 Ridge Road | Offered for $497,000

704 Hayne Avenue SW | Offered for $1,545,000

Improved Price

$5000 Buyer Credit Offered

Coveted Location in Woodside!

Gum Tree Farm - 91+ Acres

The Cottages on Fairfield

Elegant home with European feel and exceptional livability in a beautiful, park-like gated community offers stunning finishes, fine details and wonderful living spaces inside and out. Join Woodside or the Reserve Club for country club amenities. 3 Bedrooms | 3.5 Baths | Expansive Terrace | Fenced Yard

Tranquil 91+ acre tract with a 4.6 acre pond for the sporting life. Property is ideal for a hunting / fishing retreat, horse farm or a multi-generational homestead. Multiple home sites offer& cleared trails are easy to navigate on foot, horseback, or vehicle. 91.47 Acres | 4.6 Acre Pond | Gazebo and Dock | Cleared Trails

Newly constructed, move-in ready cottages close to Downtown Aiken. Charm, style and low maintenance exteriors make these cottages a unique opportunity to invest in Downtown Aiken as a seasonal or full time residence with income producing potential. 4 Bedrooms | 2 Baths | 1561 sf | 1 Car Attached Garage

116 Charles Towne Place | Now $734,000

411 Snipes pond Road | Offered for $612,100

415 & 419 Fairfield St NE | $249,500 each

Foxchase on Hitchcock Woods

302 Equestrian Corridor

Barrington Farms

Build your dream home, hobby farm or seasonal retreat in Foxchase on 5.2+ acres! Privately sited down a gated, shared drive and tucked behind protected Aiken Land Conservancy acreage lies a special opportunity to live in Foxchase, ideal for both equestrians and nature enthusiasts. Enjoy the serenity of Hitchcock Woods along with easy access to downtown Aiken, equestrian venues and southside shopping!

A low-density community of 12+ acre parcels with minimal restrictions to give property owners' flexibility to develop their property to their vision while maintaining standards to protect property values. ONLY 12 Parcels with road frontage on Bluffwood, Shadow Lane &/or Camp Rawls Roads. Build your Seasonal or Full Time Retreat!

22.28 Acres privately situated at the end of a shared drive in Barrington Farms. conveniently located in the Banks Mill Equestrian Corridor. As you drive through the gates of this established community, you will note the gently rolling terrain, old-age trees and lovely estate homes and farms. Beautiful home sites, community bridle paths and high speed internet in a private setting close to Downtown Aiken!

1798 Huntsman Drive| Offered for $225,000

Becky

Cissie Marie Tracey

Ten 12 to 30+ Acre Lightly wooded Parcels Offered for $100,000 - $213,500

Jenn

Lot 1 Section 8 | Offered for $218,250

Leader in Luxury Sales

Trust the Market Leader’s #1 Team in SC- 2020, 2021 & 2022

803-998-0198 | SullivanTurnerTeam.com 4

The Aiken Horse

February-March 2024

The Preserve at Whisper Farm

35 Acres for your Private Equestrian Retreat

Unique opportunity to be a part of The Preserve at Whisper Farm in Aiken County's eastside Horse Country, close to polo venues and within hacking distance to several live hunt fixtures. The original Whisper Farm homestead offers a stunning context for the 35 acres offered. You will enjoy high breezy land, beautiful sunrises, breathtaking sunsets, the sounds of nature and a peaceful environ for you to design your private retreat or equestrian paradise. Lot 4 boasts a gorgeous 10 acre front field, designated as green space and ideal for a polo field, training area or pasture. A 25 acre building envelope has multiple desirable home and barn sites. Property owners can take a morning walk or ride out on the 2-mile perimeter trail that encircles the Whisper Farm and Preserve parcels. For the equestrian, in addition to the trails, fixtures and natural schooling areas, there are multiple eventing, training and polo venues just a short drive away. Come experience this property in person to appreciate the natural beauty and ambiance. We think you will be inspired!

35.08 Acres | Minimal Restrictions | 2 Mile Perimeter Trail

Offered for $507,500 185 Gadwall Lane The Sanctuary

220 Homeward Bound Sea Horse Farm

772 Montmorenci Road Vespers Farm

Improved Price Discover The Sanctuary and its spectacular setting in the midst of Aiken horse country! Privately situated on 12.7 acres, this French country inspired property offers a gorgeous home, handsome 4-stall stable, saltwater pool & spa and beautiful views across the 6 fenced paddocks. The enchanting setting is peaceful and serene, private and convenient to equestrian venues and daily shopping needs. Truly singular in its beauty and exceptionally well maintained inside & out! 3 BR + 3.5 Ba Home| 3094 SF | Saltwater pool 12.7 Ac | 4 Stall Barn | 6 Paddocks | 3 Run-ins Storage Building | Heated/cooled Garage Offered For $1,800,000

Cissie Sullivan

Live the good life at Sea Horse Farm - a captivating equestrian and waterfront property that offers a harmonious blend of tranquility, privacy and convenience for sporting life enthusiasts. This property boasts a quality built, luxury home and barn, stunning infinity pool and spa and dockside entertaining. Hack to the nearby community arena to school your horse or get on the water for some of the best spotted bass fishing around. With Mt. Vintage’s nearby tennis & golf, a 3-sport day can be your everyday

Exceptional farm in Aiken’s 302 equestrian corridor! Lovely Southern, quality brick home is nestled privately on 24 acres with beautiful established pastures surround by stunning woodland views. For horse enthusiasts, there is a 4-stall center-aisle barn with tack room, 1/2 bath and storage area; 3 established pastures, and 2 four-bay run-in sheds and several nearby training venues. Come home to your special place and enjoy peace, relaxation and gratitude for another beautiful Aiken day!

3 BR + 3.5 Bath Home| Heated Pool | Dock 8 Acres | 5-Stall Barn | 3 Bay Garage Offered for $1,649,000

3 Br + 3.5 Bath Home |3273 sf | 3 Bay Garage 24+ Acres | 4-Stall Barn | Hay Barn Offered For $1,625,000

Tracey Turner

803-998-0198 | SullivanTurnerTeam.com February-March 2024

The Aiken Horse

#1 Team in Aiken MLS 2022 & 2023 3725 Lone Oak Drive “Mallet Hill Farm”

568 Beaverdam Drive 3 Options to Purchase - Reach out for details

CELL: (803) 522-3648

$899,000 | 1,780 +/- Sq. Ft. | 19.23 +/- Ac. | 4 Bed | 2.5 Bath Hardwood Floors | Vaulted family room w/ FP 4 Paddocks w/ 3 Run-Ins | Natural Footing Arena 4 Stall Barn w/ tack room & half bath

www.SharerDale.Com SharerDaleTeam@gmail.Com OFFICE: (803) 761- 0678

The Aiken Horse

February-March 2024

651 Oak Meadow in Vale Estates

145 Capriole Drive in Chime Bell Meadows

February-March 2024

www.SharerDale.Com SharerDaleTeam@gmail.Com OFFICE: (803) 761- 0678

The Aiken Horse

Section One

Boyd Martin riding Phoebe Brokaw’s Heidsick; Sporting Days Farm February HT.

SECTION

10 12 16 20 24 26

Letter from the Editor Winter into Spring Sporting Days February HT Atelier de La Ruelle OTTBs in Japan Aiken Outreach

Photography by Gary Knoll

Section Two

36 40 46 50 56

Southern Belle Classic Secret Lives: Cody Dressage in the Park Dara Knot Horses of Great Oak

Lucy Tidd riding Kayla, Dressage in the Park, Aiken Horse Park. Photography by Gary Knoll

SECTION 64 68 72 76 80

Aiken Hounds Huntsman Marianne Of Whisper Farm Aiken Hounds Formal Meet Straightness Clinic Eventing 2024

Section Three

Huntsman John Tabachka takes the Aiken Hounds into the Hitchcock Woods Photography by Pam Gleason

SECTION

Section Four

Heather Bush riding her own Bond 007; Stableview Season Opener, January.

87 90 92 93 94 96 99 106

Ask the Judge Tales of Rescue: Pilgrim Volunteers: Diane Bird Directory Classifieds Stable View Season Opener Calendar of Events Index of Advertisers

Photography by Pam Gleason

The Aiken Horse

February-March 2024

WELCOME HOME TO

AIKEN , South Carolina

An authentic equestrian town rich in historic charm, fine homes, horse farms & Southern hospitality

www.FindAikenHomesandFarms.com | BARB GOULD USKUP | 803.295.3199

DA R L I N G W O O D FA R M

Set on over 12 acres in highly desirable Hopeland Farms, this exceptional equestrian property leaves no detail unaddressed. The main residence is a spacious farmhouse with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, full of custom details and built-ins including hickory engineered hardwood floors, custom cabinetry, great room with fireplace, and an entire back wall of windows. Above the attached 3-bay garage is an apartment with fully equipped kitchen, large main living space, oodles of storage, 2 bedrooms and bath. Back deck offers ATV swim spa with cover and 2 jetted seats, with stunning views of irrigated magnolias, hollies, camellias, gardenias and azaleas. Nearby is an adorable 1200 square foot guest cottage with wood laminate flooring, fully equipped kitchen with solid surface counters, 2 pantries, large main living space, 2 bedrooms and large full bath, and attached carport. For horses, the center aisle barn offers two 10x15 matted stalls, paneled tack room and wash stall with hot & cold water, paddocks, pastures, run-in shed, covered storage area, and natural grass riding arena. Exceptional horse property ideally located only minutes from downtown Aiken and multiple equestrian venues including Bruce’s Field, Highfields, Aiken Polo club fields, New Bridge Polo, Wagener Polo, The Vista, Stableview, New Holland Arena and The Hitchcock Woods! $1,599,000

BARB GOULD USKUP

Your RESULTS-oriented REALTOR® 803.295.3199 www.FindAikenHomesandFarms.com

NEW IMPROVEMENTS!

NEW PRICE!

H E AV E N ’ S G R A C E F A R M Horseman’s turnkey equestrian property on just over 11 acres suitable for any discipline. Located within equal distance of both Aiken and Columbia with great proximity to I-20, as well as many equestrian venues. Gated entrance leads to a charming 3 bedroom, 2 bath split floor plan residence with many recent upgrades, including waterproof engineered flooring (lifetime warrantee) and energy efficient windows. Fiber optic internet by Carolina Connect easily allows for remote office. Fully perimeter fenced with no climb, a newer 7-stall shed row barn with water, electric, and fans in each stall, 2 large pastures, smaller board fenced paddock, and an arena with excellent sand footing and solar lights. These amenities are ones that equestrians of all disciplines would appreciate. Additional shed provides ample storage for hay and supplies. With its beautiful sunsets and peaceful ambiance, Heaven’s Grace Farm could be your Heaven on Earth! $495,000

www.FindAikenHomesandFarms.com | BARB GOULD USKUP | 803.295.3199 February-March 2024

The Aiken Horse

February-March 2024

The

Aiken

Horse

Aiken’s Horse Publication P.O. Box 332 • Montmorenci, SC 29839-0332 • 803.643.9960 • TheAikenHorse.com • TheAikenHorse@gmail.com Time Dated Material • Periodicals • Volume 19 • Number 4

The Aiken Horse

t’s February, and that means the horse world in Aiken is buzzing with activity. We had a cold snap in January, just enough to bring out the winter clothes, complain about ice in the water trough, and remember how much easier it is to take care of horses when the weather is warm. But now that it is February, the sun is out, horses are starting to shed, and spring is in the air. There still might be winter ahead – February has a bad habit of bringing us the occasional ice storm – but we are heading into the absolute best time to be a horse person in Aiken. February and March are the months when Aiken is filled with seasonal horse people who come here for eventing, foxhunting and horse shows, or just to ride and train in the beautiful Aiken countryside. The yearround and seasonal population of horse people here is growing all the time, especially since many people who come for a visit feel so at home they end up buying property. We hope that this trend continues, ensuring that horse people keep an obvious presence in Aiken, and that land that has historically been in equestrian use remains horse country for the foreseeable future. So if you are here for a visit, think about staying. All horse people are welcome in Aiken. We have another big issue for you this time withso many great stories and pictures. In the first section, check out what’s on tap in the Aiken equestrian world, learn about Aiken Outreach, a nonprofit that

is focused on “pinpoint philanthropy” and read about Boyd Martin’s trip to Japan to provide guidance to riders retraining Thoroughbreds for post-track careers. In the second section, we have an article about the Southern Belle Classic horse sale which is returning to Stable View this spring. You can also read about new plans for the eventing facility Dara Knot, and meet two special horses: Cody who is our over-20 “Secret Lives” horse this time and Duke, one of the amazing horses at Great Oak Equine Assisted Programs. We were unable to fit everything into three sections, so we have four! In section three you can read about John Tabachka, who is the new huntsman for the Aiken Hounds, and meet Marianne Yost who has spent the last few years transforming a dilapidated farm in Aiken County into an elegant gathering place. You can also learn more about straightness training for horses from the inventor of the method, Klaus Schoneich, who visited from Germany this January and will be back in April. Section four has Ask the Judge with Amy McElroy who answers readers’ questions about dressage, and an article about the United States Eventing Association volunteer of the year Diane Bird and her husband. Of course you will also find our indispensable calendar – remember that this is on our website, too. We are doing our best to keep it updated. We hope you love this issue. As ever, if you know something we should know, or have an idea for an article, drop us an email. We want to be your horse newspaper!

The Aiken Horse

EDITOR & PUBLISHER Pam Gleason

ART DIRECTOR Gary Knoll

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jean Berko Gleason

LAYOUT & DESIGN Gary Knoll

PHOTOGRAPHERS Pam Gleason Gary Knoll

ADVERTISING

803.643.9960 theaikenhorse@gmail.com

Going Out Of Town? Don’t miss future issues of The Aiken Horse. We will send you a one year subscription (6 issues) for $36. Send check or CC # & your mailing address: 705 Flowing Well Road, Wagener, SC 29164. Or sign up on the web at TheAikenHorse.com

Pam Gleason Editor & Publisher

Aiken

The

Horse

Aiken’s Horse Publication

The Aiken Horse Policies: The opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publishers, editors, or the policies of The Aiken Horse, LLC. The Aiken Horse is owned by The Aiken Horse, LLC.

February-March 2024

CC AIKEN HORSE FULLPAGE.pdf

1/23/24

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the remembered woman

CMY

803-844-8180 108 A Laurens St. NW, Aiken, SC 29801 February-March 2024

The Aiken Horse

Winter Into Spring

Celebrating Aiken’s Busy Season

By Pam Gleason, Photography by Gary Knoll & Pam Gleason

t’s February, and the Aiken winter/spring season is off to a flying start. We have already had two USEF/USEA recognized horse trials; the wildly popular schooling series, Tuesdays in the Park, held at Bruce’s Field in the Aiken Horse Park, is attracting a deep roster of eventing talent; and Whiskey Road Hunt Week is getting underway with foxhunts, beagling, parties and the Hitchcock Foundation Hunt Gala. We have hunter/jumper and dressage shows at Highfields, Stable View and the Aiken Horse Park, recognized horse trials at four different venues in Aiken County and organized schooling and educational opportunities for eventers, carriage drivers and anyone else who has, or loves, horses.

while others pay tribute to aspects of Aiken’s culture, flora and fauna. Watch the horses jump over a miniature version of the Willcox, or a gigantic fox squirrel . . . the motto of the showcase is pretty accurate: it is “an event like no other.” Ticketing is already underway, so be sure to visit the Aiken Horse Park website to reserve your spot. (aikenhorsepark.org) The next weekend, March 9, brings the harness races at the historic mile track for Standardbreds, McGhee’s Mile. Harness horses train at this track over the winter before returning to the Northeast and the Midwest, and these races are both a final outing for the horses before they leave town and an excuse for a tailgating party. There is general admission both in advance and at the gate, as well as railside parking – call ahead to reserve, as space is limited. You can follow McGhees’ Mile on Facebook, or call 803-617-8511. March 16 brings the Aiken Trials, a day of racing for young Thoroughbreds that have been preparing for their careers at the Aiken Training Track all winter. The Trials are considered the first leg of the “Aiken Triple Crown,” three consecutive weekends of horse sport that have dominated the spring calendar for decades. Today, however, the Trials fall in the middle of a five-Saturday sequence. The day includes Thoroughbred races, pony races and tailgating parties, a vendor village and tailgating and hat contests. The racing is informal, and does not go on any horse’s actual record, so it might be considered a schooling outing or a practice. However, Aiken has a reputation for producing champions that run in all the marquee races nationwide, so the Aiken Trials, established back in 1942, are not always as inconsequential as they may seem. Not only do they include horses that might go on to illustrious careers, the day is also often covered by the Blood Horse, one of the most important racing magazines in the country. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit aikentrials.com The Aiken Steeplechase, held at the spectacular new track on Richland Avenue, is the following weekend, March 23. In terms of attendance, this is “the big event.” The steeplechase has the largest audience of any of Aiken’s equestrian events, drawing spectators and tailgaters from around the state and the nation. Although the new track was designed to have more railside and second row spaces than ever, these spots are sold out far in advance: if you don’t already have railside parking, don’t expect to get it now. General admission and paid

In March, February’s intense training and competition will give way to a series of Saturday spectator-friendly events that have become annual rites of spring for everyone in the Aiken area. These start with the $100,000 Conceal Grand-Prix Eventing Showcase at Bruce’s Field in the Aiken Horse Park, presented by Taylor, Harris Insurance Services, on March 1-2. This is a modified version of eventing that “condenses the traditional country-side eventing environment into a spectator friendly venue.” Friday features dressage and showjumping in one of the arenas at the Aiken Horse Park, followed by Saturday’s cross country, in which the horses rocket around a course that weaves in and out of the arenas and over the lawns at the park. The eventing showcase is at the Advanced level, and the top 30 eventers in the FEI rankings are invited, along with a number of wildcard spots for elite local riders. The fences are all designed with an Aiken theme: some of them are modeled after iconic Aiken landmarks,

The Aiken Horse

February-March 2024

parking is available both in advance and at the gate, however. You may also opt to purchase tickets in a range of prices, granting you entrance to the Guarantor Tent or the Winners Club Tent, and it is also possible to have a deluxe trackside chalet. The steeplechase always includes a large vendor village, and there are various contests on the infield as well: hat contest, funny pants contest, and so on. For more information, visit aikensteeplechase.org.

The final leg of the Aiken Triple Crown, on March 30, is Pacers and Polo, a polo game usually held in partnership with the University of South Carolina Aiken athletics department. This is the first exhibition polo game of the spring season, and it is also often the most popular since it draws a large crowd of college students along with the traditional polo aficionados. There is a change to the event this year. In the past, the actual polo game has been put together by Aiken Polo Club with the rest of the event organized by the university. This year, however, Aiken Polo Club has taken over the whole thing, and the match will raise funds for the USC equestrian program in addition to the university's athletic department. USC Aiken Equestrian includes Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association teams in hunt seat and western, United States Polo Association women’s and men’s teams, and the defending national championship intercollegiate eventing team. Pacers and Polo has traditionally been held at Powderhouse Field across from the Aiken Horse Park, but this year it will move to Aiken Polo Club’s Whitney Field on Mead Avenue. Whitney Field is a more intimate setting, with less parking space, so Aiken Polo’s social director Susie Kneece stresses that people should consider buying tickets in advance, especially if they are interested in fieldside parking or admission to the social pavilion. General admission costs just $10 and includes free parking. Fieldside parking spaces for tailgaters are $125, and admission to the pavilion, which includes catered food and an open bar, is $100 per person. (This may be the best deal of any of the equestrian entertainment options in Aiken this spring.) Contact Susie Kneece for tickets and stay tuned to the Aiken Polo Club website and Facebook page, which will be updated with more information as it becomes available. (Susie Kneece: skneece@gmail.com; 803-646-3302; aikenpolo.org or AikenPolo on Facebook.) The final weekend in March also marks the renewal of another of Aiken’s great equestrian traditions, this one going all the way back to 1916. The Aiken Horse Show in the Hitchcock Woods returns to the historic show ring from March 29-31, welcoming exhibitors and

February-March 2024

spectators to share an authentic Aiken tradition in one of the prettiest spots anywhere. This is an old-fashioned horse show, with natural fences, family classes, leadline and costume class for the kids and an annual contest to see whose qualified foxhunter will come out the champion of the foxhunter division. This division is for horses whose main job is carrying riders on the hunt field, not cantering around a show ring, and this may be the only show they enter all year. There are also open and green hunter divisions, a sidesaddle division, a therapeutic riding class for the riders at Great Oak Equine Assisted Programs, and more. Although the Aiken Horse Show in the Hitchcock Woods is not recognized by any official organization and there are no points to be earned towards year end awards, it is a prestigious event nonetheless. The organizers take pride in inviting some of the most qualified hunter judges in the country to officiate. The courses are set by well-known professionals, and the ring itself, seeded with rye and typically emerald green, is always beautifully decorated with flowers, smilax and other greenery. Nature plays its part as well: the ring is surrounded by tall pines and dogwood trees that are usually in bloom just in time for the show. And if there is one thing that you can (almost) count on in an Aiken spring, it’s good weather. According to the Hitchcock Woods Foundation, last year’s show attracted exhibitors from 21 states and Canada, and spectators came from 26 states, Canada and even England. There are many ways to participate in the show: you can ride, watch, or sponsor. If you would like to ride, keep in touch with the Aiken Horse Show webpage for the class list, which is forthcoming. To buy a luncheon ticket in the ringside Hitchcock Tent, to become a sponsor, or to donate to the annual silent auction, contact the Hitchcock Woods Foundation office. Call 803-642-0528, email info@hitchcockwoods.org or visit aikenhorseshow.org for more information. These six events barely scratch the surface of what is going on in Aiken this winter, where there is something happening almost every day of the week. As spring comes into full bloom in April and May, there will be yet more exciting events, including the Stable View $60,000 FEI CCI 2-4 Star and USEF/USEA Horse Trials April 5-7, the Aiken Spring Classic Horse Show I (April 18-21) and II (April 25-28) at Highfields Event Center and the Aiken Charity Horse Show I (May 1-5) and II (May 8-12) at the Aiken Horse Park. Polo season starts in April, too, with action at six USPA recognized polo clubs., Winter and spring are exciting months to be in Aiken, whether you participate in or attend the city’s main equestrian events or not. It’s a new year; there is a certain energy in the air; days are getting longer and the horses are feeling good. It’s the perfect time to ride, train, or just enjoy a trail ride through Aiken’s historic horse country, perpetuating Aiken’s equestrian traditions into another eventful spring. ❦ Gently Loved Equestrian Tack, Clothing & Stable Supplies ❦

-Now Accepting Select Consignment Items-

❦ BY CHANCE OR APPOINTMENT ❦

3914 Wagener Rd. Aiken, SC 29805 Cynthia & Jim Keating (803) 640-2339 ffif@aol.com

The Aiken Horse

WHEN SCHOOL IS OUT-2024 GREAT OAK SUMMER CAMP IS IN!

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The Aiken Horse

February-March 2024

The Aiken Horse

Sporting Days Farm February Horse Trials

Photography by Gary Knoll

EXPERIENCE A CENTURY OLD AIKEN TRADITION IN HITCHCOCK WOODS The 108th Annual

AIKEN HORSE SHOW March 29—31, 2024

Julian L. Peabody ~ Aiken Horse Show, March 1932

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Corporate and Business Sponsorships available with one year of advertising Individual Sponsorships and Luncheon Reservations available For more information visit: www.aikenhorseshow.org or call 803-642-0528 18

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February-March 2024

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Atelier de La Ruelle

New Styles and Trends in the Alley By Pam Gleason

n October 2023, Aiken gained a new equestrian and dressy-casual clothing boutique when Atelier de la Ruelle opened in the Alley downtown. The store offers a selection of women’s clothing as well as a range of equestrian apparel imported from Europe. Alana Aldrich, who owns and runs the store, also offers items from her own brand, DoubleAline, created to appeal to the emerging market of professionals working from home. “There’s a big trend in fashion right now called ‘quiet luxury,’” said Alana. “It’s about having taste and elegance, but not being flashy. Aiken epitomizes quiet luxury for me. So I’m trying to have all the essentials – if you need a great white poplin shirt or a striped shirt, or you need a nice pair of jeans or a pair of khaki pants, we’ll have it. And what I’m bringing in is the best quality you can get for the money in the midprice range.” For the riding clothes, which are in a part of the store christened the Equitelier, Alana says she is the exclusive United States distributor for the Mrs. Ros brand from Holland. This brand is known for its high-quality materials, style, and reasonable price point. Mrs. Ros drops two “color stories” into its line each month, with colors that coordinate with the previous month’s selection. This enables horsewomen to update their riding wardrobes on a regular basis. “You know how dressage people like to have colors that match?” asks Alana. “This line makes that easy.” She points out a pair of britches, a riding top and a saddle pad, all in matching colors. There are schooling boots for the horse too. “What I really like about this line is that the fabric is thick, so in the breeches there is no showthrough, and you can tuck your shirt in. They have a nice selection for children, too.” Alana Aldrich, who is a graduate of the Parsons School of Design in New York, has worked in the fashion industry her entire adult life. When the pandemic hit in 2020, she was furloughed from her job as a creative director for a large branding and marketing company. Working from home in New York, she launched an e-commerce and wholesale business and began selling her own designs online. She found a product in Switzerland that repels the COVID-19 virus, and marketed products that were coated with this antiviral finish. Those items and her “luxury work from home” attire (cotton cashmere jogs, cotton cashmere hoodies, etc.) made her website popular and her business a success. A lifelong rider, Alana has lived and worked in New York and Los Angeles. But when COVID hit, she wanted to go somewhere quieter. She spent time in Millbrook and Saratoga, New York; in Greenwich, Connecticut; and in Palm Beach, Florida. But when she came down to Aiken to look at a dressage horse to buy, she found somewhere she wanted to live. “I thought I would spend six months here and see how I liked it,” she said. “It reminded me of Greenwich, in the old days before the hedge fund guys and the billionaires got there. . . I felt it was similar to Saratoga which is my favorite city in the world. I just liked the fact that there’s been a lot of integrity with the historic preservation here, and the people are so nice . . . it’s refreshing after being in New York. . . .I decided to put down roots.” Not quite three years later, Alana is living in a 1910 cottage near the golf course, a short walk to downtown. Her horse, a Hanoverian gelding named Fantom MLW, lives at Vaughn Equestrian where Alana trains with Melissa Vaughn. Her online business was still doing well, and she said she decided to open a brick-and-mortar retail store because she

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missed the interaction with people. She also felt that there was a need in Aiken for the kinds of clothes she carries. Atelier de la Ruelle translates from French as “studio in the alley.” She hopes her new shop will be a welcome addition to Aiken’s equestrian culture. “I think people here, they go ride their horse, then they put on a clean shirt, and go out to dinner or go to the grocery store. Or they maybe come here for a horse show, and need to pick up a schooling shirt or something to wear out. I felt like there wasn’t a huge selection of that kind of thing in Aiken. I asked people here where they were buying their clothes, and they told me Target and Walmart.” Alana noted that she has friends who are coming to live here from Los Angeles and New York, who appreciate high quality clothing. There are also a lot of retirees here. “They don’t want to blow their money on an expensive outfit, but I don’t think that they should have to dress Walmart,” she said.

In addition to the quiet luxury trend, there is also a push in the fashion industry toward being more environmentally responsible. This means using natural and recycled fabrics, but it also means making clothing that will last a long time, and won’t end up in a landfill a year or two after it is manufactured. Higher quality clothing is definitely more expensive to buy, but it may actually end up being less expensive to own because it will be wearable year after year. “What we can do immediately is buy clothes that are a better investment in our wardrobes, because we are going to fill up the planet with these clothes that we throw out,” continued Alana. “You know, spend a little bit more and have less clothes, but better clothes.” Alana says that she is still making time to ride her horse, but that the store, which has developed a growing following, is taking up a lot of her time. When she is not there along with her rescue greyhound Chase, her friend, Heather Haas, who lives in Three Runs Plantation with her horses, minds the store for her. This spring, Alana will be making buying trips to Holland, where she will look at clothes, but also at dressage horses, hoping, possibly to bring one home. Atelier de la Ruelle is at 208 The Alley SE, Aiken SC.

February-March 2024

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February-March 2024

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February-March 2024

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Thoroughbred Retraining Clinic in Tokyo

Boyd Martin Returns to Olympic Venue to Teach By Amber Heintzberger

n December 2023, the Olympic event rider Boyd Martin made his sixth trip to Japan. It would be the fourth time that he has traveled to teach clinics there, focused on retraining Off the Track Thoroughbreds. The clinic was hosted by the Japan Riding Association ( JRA) in conjunction with Godolphin’s Lifetime Care program and took place at Baji Koen Equestrian Park, the Tokyo Olympic venue.

Boyd’s first trip to Japan was as a young gun, just getting started in the horse business, when he went there from his native Australia to teach a clinic on breaking in young horses. He was there most recently in 2021, when he was representing the United States Olympic Team at the Tokyo Olympic Games riding Tsetserleg (also known as Thomas.) A longtime proponent of OTTBs, Martin made headlines in 2012 with his scrappy ex-racehorse Neville Bardos, who qualified for the London Olympics but ultimately wasn’t selected for the team. He also campaigned the American-bred Blackfoot Mystery, with whom he represented the United States at the Rio Olympics in 2016. While previous clinics in Japan took place at multiple venues, the 2023 clinic was entirely at Baji Koen. Boyd, whose own farm Windurra is located in Cochranville, Pennsylvania and who has winters at Stable View in Aiken, said it was a thrill to return to the Olympic venue, which he praises as a premier facility, with a cross-country training course and beautiful stables, “all right in the middle of the city. It’s a special place to me since Thomas and I contested the Olympics there, and it’s an excellent place to teach since everything is right there.” This year, the clinic was scheduled in late December, and Boyd jetted into Tokyo and got right to work. With a new baby at home, he was eager to return to his family, so the day after the clinic, he was on a plane to get home for Christmas. In past years, he has traveled around and done some sightseeing, attending the Japan Cup, a premier horse race, as

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well as visiting Thoroughbred breeding farms in Hokkaido, and the Tasco Dome, a winter training facility with a big indoor gallop track. He’s gone to farms where the horses are born and bred, and toured the Shadai Stallion Station where elite stallions like Deep Impact live. Deep Impact, a son of Sunday Silence, won the Japanese Triple Crown and was the leading sire in the country for 12 years. Boyd remembers seeing his padded stall and personal security guard. Given Japan’s prominence in the racing industry, there are a large number of exracehorses in the country, and there is a growing focus on preparing them for second careers, leading to a need for more education among riders and trainers. Boyd said, “Japan breeds, I think, 7,000 Thoroughbreds a year and the idea was to come up with a bit of a system. Between the JRA, Godolphin, and the National Riding Club Association of Japan, they all invite riders to come for a few days of clinics. There are some horses that are really green, and a few 9-year-olds that are jumping 1.20 meter jumping courses or competing in eventing.” While he doesn’t necessarily teach the same horses and riders year after year, there were we a few familiar faces participating, both as riders and as support staff. Notable among them was his translator, Kosuke “Kosi” Kawakami, who had moved to Australia to work as a jump jockey when he was younger and later became a professional translator back in his native country. He’s been translating for Boyd since Boyd’s first trip to Japan. “He had a great career in Australia as a jump jockey and does a lot of translating for the Japanese racing groups that come out to Australia,” said Boyd. “Over the years Kosi has picked up all the lingo for the dressage and eventing – he has a background in jumping, so that was

February-March 2024

ridden him in races. They hadn’t seen each other for many years and it was a really cool moment to see them reunited. The horse had obviously put on weight and slowed down over the years!” This year’s clinic took place over three days. Participants began each day with a discussion in the classroom and then participated in a riding clinic that consisted of dressage, grid work, some jumping and a little cross-country for the eventers. Groups were separated into dressage horses, show jumpers and eventers. “The first day we all just basically met in a lecture room and talked about strategies and tools I’ve used over the years for dressage, show jumping and eventing horses,” said Boyd. “I wanted to get a feel for the riders and horses so we did general flat work and then did some simple trot poles and cavaletti, working on lengthening and shortening the stride, and rideability. With the dressage group we worked on getting the horses relaxed and supple.” a bit easier for me. We’ve become the best of friends over the years.” Boyd noted that Yasuko Sawai from Godolphin, the global Thoroughbred racing entity, has been at the clinics every year and is very keen on making sure the off the track Thoroughbreds in Japan get a second chance after their racing careers are over. Two of Japan’s leading jockeys, Christophe Lemaire and Hiroshi Kitamura, also came to the clinic. “We were honored,” said Boyd of Lemaire and Kitamura. “That was awesome. I had lunch with these guys and they’re very passionate about their horses. It’s amazing the celebrity status these guys have: everyone flocked to them for photos and autographs. We discussed Thoroughbreds in racing and the attributes I like to find in event horses. One of the coolest moments was when one of the dressage Thoroughbreds was out there and both of them had The second day, he said, “We worked on a number of gymnastic exercises, focusing on the horses’ technique and shape over the fences. With the dressage horses we worked on lateral movements, shoulder-fore and a bit of counter canter.” On the last day of the clinic, the event horses tackled the cross country course. They used the ditches, water, and coffin jumps, and worked on the riders’ galloping positions. The show jumpers practiced a proper course, going around once or twice to give the horses a chance to feel what they’ll face in competitions. The dressage horses focused on movements for the test: shoulder-in, half-pass, and center lines. In closing, Boyd said, “Every time I go back to Japan, I’m blown away by the improvement in the horses and riders. It’s always nice seeing the same faces again. The first time I went over, it was a pretty wild and rugged group; things have really clicked into gear. I was impressed with this year’s group.”

February-March 2024

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Aiken Outreach

Being a Good Neighbor By Pam Gleason

hen it comes to helping young people in need, John Hawks is nostalgic for the concept of an old-fashioned friendly neighborhood. “Back in the old days, if you were out playing with your friends and you ended up at Mrs. Smith’s house at lunchtime, she would make lunch for you,” he says. “If you needed something, your neighbors would help you. A lot of people say, why can’t we go back to those old days and the old way of doing things?”

motto is “making a difference one student at a time.” “It can be a painful reality when you’re a kid and you are being left behind,” says Hawks. “When all of your friends and peers are going somewhere you can’t go, or have something that you can’t have because you can’t afford it, that’s very difficult. What we are able to do is step in, working through a teacher, to provide an ‘I’ve got your back’ moment.” Perhaps most important, the foundation acts quietly, so the student does not feel ashamed or like he or she is taking charity. All of the gifts come with a note that says “We just want you to know that your neighbors love you.” “If we can get that message out, it’s good for everyone,” says John. “I think it tightens everything up. I think it gives that student confidence; that it makes a difference in how they feel about themselves. I’ve come to find that the number one problem of a lot of these kids is confidence, and nothing will kill confidence more quickly than being left behind.” John Hawks and his wife Faith relocated to Aiken several years ago from Baltimore County, Maryland along with their horses. Faith is a foxhunter, and John, who does not ride, says he likes horses. They live on a farm in the historic horse district that John describes as magical. The foundation, which is entirely donation-based, has a four-member working board of directors made up of other people in the Aiken equestrian community. Aiken Outreach is modeled on a similar foundation that Hawks created back in Maryland called the My Neighbors Foundation. This organization, established in 2005, started out small and currently serves seven high schools in Baltimore County. With an executive director and nine board members, that foundation is self-supporting and has the funds to step in quietly to improve the lives of many local students. Hawks hopes that Aiken Outreach will be similarly successful. So far, the group is working with South Aiken and Aiken High Schools, and the board members hope to be able to branch out into the county as well. In order to grow and be successful, the Aiken Outreach Foundation will need the support of the community, mostly in the form of donations. “Aiken is great for philanthropy,” says John when asked what people should know about the foundation. “People here are very philanthropic. They should know that with this foundation, we don’t have administrative costs, so 100% of the money that you give goes to the kid who needs it, Aiken Outreach working board: Elissa Lumley, Kate Antrim, Risa Moon, John Hawks and it goes quick. We call it pinpoint philanthropy. John Hawks is not content to wonder about such things. Instead, he People should know that the average amount we are giving right now is has come up with a way of supporting high school students in the local $100 per kid, so if you donate $500, that is five meaningful impacts you community through a program called Aiken Outreach. Aiken Outreach are making. is a charitable foundation that provides small grants to individuals that “We’re not trying to cure heart disease or cancer,” he continues; enable them to participate in various activities or to purchase needed “We’re just trying to help sustain a community by helping children. I items. Students’ needs are identified by a representative at the high love that idea – we’re just citizens, working in the old way, to support school, who relays that need back to the foundation. Started in 2023, our community.” the organization has paid for college application fees, school field trips For more information about Aiken Outreach or to donate, visit and computers, as well as for things like for cooking and music lessons aikenoutreach.com or follow on Facebook. and even running shoes and prom hairdressing. The organization’s

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February-March 2024

Exclusive Clothing, Gifts and Sporting Art

126 Laurens Street SW Aiken, SC 29801

803.642.9772 equinedivineonline.com

February-March 2024

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AIKEN OUTREACH "All Means All" MAKING A DIFFERENCE ONE STUDENT AT A TIME Our mission is to provide Aiken County high school students who cannot otherwise aﬀord certain additional academic expenses – such as sports equipment, school trips, graduation, or prom expenses – with the necessary funding. We see this as a simple moment between student and teacher, handled swiftly and discreetly, fostering inclusion and conﬁdence. You can donate now at aikenoutreach.com. Your contribution enriches the lives of our community's teens! Connect with us

@aikenoutreach

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February-March 2024

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February-March 2024

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February-March 2024

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AIKEN HORSE Bridle Creek 102122.qxp_Layout 1 10/24/22 8:12 AM Page 1

Not our first rodeo.

BRIDLE CREEK EQUESTR I AN COMMUN I T Y

From the developer of Three Runs Plantation comes another wonderful equestrian neighborhood in Aiken, South Carolina. Bridle Creek meanders across 1,000 wooded acres, featuring ve-acre lots and larger. Amenities include a dressage arena, jump arena, X-Country Schooling area and an activity center with meeting, social and tness space. All this plus miles of scenic trails. Now selling in Phase Three. Inquire today by calling 1-888-297-8881 or email info@bridlecreekaiken.com 1,000 Acres • Miles of groomed and marked trails • Jump arena • Dressage arena with mirrors • X-Country schooling area Activity/Fitness Center • Homesites from 5+ acres • From the developer of Three Runs Plantation HOMESITES INDIVIDUALLY PRICED • DEVELOPER FINANCING AVAILABLE • BRIDLECREEKAIKEN.COM Marketed by The Carolina Real Estate Company, Aiken, SC. Plans and prices subject to change without notice. This does not constitute an offer in any state where prohibited by law. No time requirement to begin construction.

Inside 36 40 46 50 56

Southern Belle Classic Secret Lives: Cody Dressage in the Park Dara Knot Horses of Great Oak: Duke

Buckeye Acre Farm

What Matters To You, Matters To Us

What matters to you matters to us

Hello from Buckeye Acre Farm, Since 1995, we have been committed to training and selling safe, gentle and beautiful horses who are suitable for the entire family. When we select horses for our program, our standards are rigorous – they must have excellent conformation and the brains to tolerate all kinds of distractions, from heavy traffic and gunshots to noisy children. We’ve also begun to work with true performance horses, but our requirements remain the same. They still need to be eye-catching individuals who are sound and can be ridden by all levels of riders. Feel free to contact us to talk about your next equine partner - better yet, come visit us at our farm in Ohio’s Amish Country. You are always welcome!

Duane Yoder

BUCKEYE ACRE FARM 5028 Township Road 355, Millersburg, Ohio 44654 | Duane & Miriam Yoder Family 330-231-2324

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February-March 2024

Visit Us at the Southern Belle Classic Meet our Auction Horses

Cocktail

Misty | Hip 1 2020 Black Mini Horse • 22 inches high Finley | Hip 13 2019 Buckskin AQHA Gelding • 15.1 h Colonel | Hip 21 2017 Blue Roan AQHA Gelding • 15.3 h Cocktail | Hip 47 2019 Gray AQHA Gelding • 14.3 h

Finley

Leo | Hip 55 2020 Red Roan AQHA Gelding • 15.1 h

Colonel Misty Leo

If auctions are not your style, we always have a variety of horses in training on our farm. Contact Duane to help you find a good match for your situation and skill level.

View our horses at buckeyeacrefarm.com | Mention this add for a 10% discount for on-farm horse sales, good until 3/30/24.

February-March 2024

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Southern Belle Classic Returns Premier Horse Sale at Stable View By Pam Gleason

he Southern Belle Classic premier horse sale will return to Stable View in Aiken this March 22-23, bringing with it a selection of 60 handpicked, quality horses coming from all across the country. The sale, created by Tiffany Fuller and Meredith Mobley through their company Belles in Boots Productions, bills itself as “the South’s Elite Horse Sale.” This will be the second annual sale put on by the company. The first sale, held last year on the same weekend and also at Stable View, was highly successful, with essentially all of the horses leaving the property to go to new homes. Prices and interest in the sale were extremely robust. The high seller, consigned by Diamond K out of Ohio, went for a cool $157,000 with the average horse fetching $34,000 and the average pony $12,000. 85-pound Misty is lot #1 equitation and so on. A number of the trainers teach their horses tricks, such a sitting down on command, rolling a ball or allowing dogs to jump on and off their backs. The sale catalog, complete with pictures, videos and descriptions, is available online at southernbelleclassic.com The catalog includes horses from a variety of different breeds. Quarter Horses, America’s premier western performers, are, of course, wellrepresented. There are also Friesians and Friesian crosses, drafts and draft crosses, gypsies, paints and ponies. If you are looking for something in particular you can sort the catalog by age, breed, height, consignor or color. Have your heart set on a palomino? There are eight to choose from, or take your pick of the 10 buckskins that have been consigned. Interested in a horse that will stand out? Check out the “unique” category under color. This includes some duns and cremellos, as well as truly unusual looking horses such as hip #12, 4CMidnight Moon, a 2017 Gypsy Vanner gelding with a rare speckled black and white coat. There is also a selection of six ponies, or pony-sized horses, mostly Gypsy Vanners, a breed that tends to measure on the short side. The most unique animal in the auction is tiny Misty, hip #1, a dwarf miniature pony. Misty, who has been adopted as the Southern Belle mascot, is just 22 inches tall and weighs only 85 pounds. Misty is

Meredith Mobley and Tiffany Fuller “I think that people are really focused on quality right now,” said Meredith Mobley. “I think that’s where a sale like ours really gets to shine because we’ve done that homework ahead of time. We’ve weeded out a lot of horses; they have all been through vet checks; we’ve reviewed all their videos and they are all from really reputable consigners.” The Southern Belle Classic is one of a small number of high-end sales for western-type horses that offer animals that have gone through an immense amount of training, either for a specific event such as reining, or for all around general riding and using. The number one characteristic of these horses is probably that they are broke, meaning essentially that you can do pretty much anything with them, and they will remain calm, focused, safe, and willing. Although most of the horses will come with western training and will be under western tack, many of the consignors also have English backgrounds. In addition to stereotypically western-type horses, there are horses with jumping experience, as well as horses that are ready to start competing in dressage. There are also horses that drive, horses suitable for working

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4CMidnight Moon, the horse with the speckled coat.

February-March 2024

consigned by Buckeye Acres in Ohio, and according to her catalog description, “Misty turns any bad day into a good one.” “I asked her consignor how he was going to get her here,” said Meredith, “Because she can’t go in the trailer with the other horses, and he said he was probably just going to put her in the back seat.” Meredith and Tiffany, both residents of South Carolina, started their company in the summer of 2022, and produced their first sale at Stable View not much more than six months later. Since that time, their business has taken off, as they quickly developed a reputation among both buyers and sellers for honesty, transparency, and their goal of matching the most suitable horses to people looking for a new riding partner. After the first sale, their Facebook page was filled with pictures of happy buyers from far-flung states enjoying their horses. As a testament to their success, there are a number of buyers from last year who are planning to return this March to add another member to their herd. According to Tiffany and Meredith, relationships are the key to their success and they have committed themselves to forging good ones with

consignors, buyers, vendors, sponsors and the Stable View and Aiken communities. As far as consignors go, they are very picky about whose horses they will consider for their catalog. This year, many of the same consignors will be returning and there are also some new names on the roster. “We’ve had some consignors that apply to us,” said Meredith. “We vet them and check them out and there’s also a little bit of going to the folks that we know and trust and saying ‘Who would you be proud to stand next to, whose horse would you be really proud to have offered alongside yours?” Even with their most trusted consignors, the Belles in Boots women are selective. “We’ve hand-picked not only the consigners, but the horses that they bring as well,” said Tiffany. “The horses go through an elimination process.” Meredith agreed. “I think we’re really very clear on what we’re looking for. And our consigners, they care about their reputations. And so they know what we’re looking for and what we expect and then they match the horses to that.” In addition to having their videos and biographies assessed by Tiffany

February-March 2024

and Meredith, all of the horses in the catalog have been vet checked before they come to Aiken and they all have 10 x-rays that may be reviewed before the sale by contacting the consignors directly. Horses are checked over once they get to Aiken by Dr. Ben Mitchell from Southern Equine Service to make sure that they are basically sound and healthy, but this is not an actual prepurchase exam. Anyone interested in having a more complete prepurchase exam conducted on a horse needs to arrange that before the date of the sale. And for buyers, Meredith and Tiffany say they are there to help, especially for people who are unaccustomed to buying at auction. “If somebody’s new to auctions, and they’re a little nervous, they can just call us,” said Meredith. “I always say we love to talk horses all day long, so we really don’t mind. We’re happy to hold somebody’s hand through their first bid; we’ve been there, and we know what it’s like.” Meredith and Tiffany say that their horse sales venture has made them new friends around the country, both among consignors and buyers. Their company has also put on events, such as a horsemanship workshop with Diamond K Ranch, held at Stable View over the winter. They have also just started a podcast in which they conduct interviews with their consignors about horses and horsemanship, as well as with their auction staff, their auctioneer and Barry Olliff, who owns Stable View along with his wife Cyndi. You can find the podcast through their website or Facebook page. They say that they have a few more projects up their sleeve, too. Their goal is not just to sell horses, but to provide information, education and to be a valuable resource for the horse community at large. “One question we’ve asked all the consignors for our podcast is how they feel about coming to the sale this year, and they are all excited about it,” said Meredith. “There is a lot of excitement about coming back to Stable View; they loved the place, and they loved the people and the town of Aiken. And of course, the weather . . . everyone loves the weather!”

The Southern Belle Classic is run over two days, Friday, March 22 and Saturday March 23. Friday features veterinary exams and the opportunity meet the horses, talk to the consignors, and try horses. This is followed by a trail and versatility preview that will be livestreamed, and a ticketed dinner. Saturday starts out with a two-hour window to try horses, followed by an arena preview, happy hour to get everyone loosened up, with the auction itself starting at 3 pm. The auction will be livestreamed and phone and internet bids will be accepted from registered buyers. Further information can be found at southernbelleclassic.com.

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Southern Belle Classic Consignments

Regal’s Mercury Lot #32

2 0 1 9 R e g i s t e r e d P e r c h e r o n x Q ua r t e r H o r s e c r o s s g e l d i n g | 1 6 h a n d s

AY ’ s S h a r i s Crystal Lot # 11

2018 Regist ered Friesian x Percheron cross mare | 16 hands

Rudy F. Helmuth & Rebecca Detweiler 319-334-8649 Independence, IA Photography by Sarah Gabb Ad Design by Cynnia Gildernii

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February-March 2024

The South’s Elite Horse Sale March 22-23 SouthernBelleClassic.com 803.702.5405

Stable View 117 Stable Drive Aiken, South Carolina

60 versatile, gentle-broke horses of all breeds, disciplines, sizes, ages, and colors brought to you by the nation’s top trainers from across the country In-person, online, and phone bids accepted

Open to the public! X-rays an Vet Exams on file and upon request Enjoy meeting consignors and horses throughout the sale weekend along with food, cocktails, and shopping! The consignors would love to tell you more about their horses so feel free to reach out!

February-March 2024

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Secret Lives of Horses

Cody: A Lifetime of Adventures

By Nancy Johnson, Photography by Gary Knoll

ody, a 14.3 hand registered American Paint gelding, will turn 30 in April. His owner, Trish Leslie, will celebrate his birthday as she has for more than two decades – with a special birthday cake made of pureed carrots and apples mixed with molasses and peppermint treats. “He is resigned to wearing a birthday hat, just like he knows he’ll have a Santa hat or wreath on for the annual Christmas photo,” she says with a laugh. Trisha met Cody in 1998 when she was a beginner rider in her 20s. She had just started taking lessons at Bobby Schofield’s training facility in Beech Island, South Carolina when Cody and another horse came to the farm to be sold. Her first thought when she saw him standing in a muddy paddock was that he was a bit on the small side. She also noticed that the other horse was tearing around the paddock, while Cody just stood calmly taking in his new surroundings. Trish remembers Bobby walking up to her and saying, “This is the horse for you,” as he indicated the little Paint. “I am so grateful that he matched us up,” she says, “But there’s a funny story that goes with my buying him.” Cody was so quiet and easy-going that Trish immediately felt comfortable riding him on her own. But about six months into her horse ownership experience, Bobby noticed that the horse displayed several reactions that would be typical of a young, green horse, not the experienced 9- or 10-year-old they believed him to be. Although they had his papers, neither Trish nor Bobby had really looked at them. “When we pulled out his papers, we were both shocked to find that this horse I’d been riding all by myself in a huge hay field was just turning 5!” Realizing that the horse had no formal education, Trish put him in training with Bobby. “Bobby is excellent at starting young horses, so again, I knew I was in the right place,” Trish says. Discovering that Cody was so young piqued her interest in the horse’s past, so Trish began digging. “I found out that I was his fifth owner in his short life,” she says. She learned he was bred by a prominent breeder of Paint horses in Indiana, and she discovered that in every generation of his pedigree there were grand champion pleasure or halter horses. “I was a little intimidated and felt this horse really deserves someone who knows what they are doing. He could be a champion and I always felt a little bad about the fact that I wouldn’t bring him to his full potential,” she says. Trish was determined to continue the basic training that Bobby put into Cody. “We did an incredible amount of groundwork and built an amazing relationship because of it,” she says, adding, “And the groundwork really translated over to the riding.” Over the years, Trish did many clinics with Cody, always receiving many compliments. They also competed in some local benefit shows. “We won the first class at our very first show,” she says. “I still have that blue ribbon hanging on his picture. I rode him Western and English, so I’d be scrambling around changing saddles and outfits at the same show.” After a time, Trish and her husband bought a small farm in Aiken and moved Cody and a companion horse home. “We were at the farm for 16 years,” Trish says. “We’d been there about six years when I finally bought a trailer and Cody and I got to explore Aiken.” Trish vividly remembers the first time she loaded Cody up in her trailer to join a mock hunt group that met on Wednesdays at various places. “I’ll never forget it because that was the day I found my horse group.” The popular trail ride welcomed riders of all abilities and disciplines and concluded with a potluck dinner. “Most of my close friends I’ve met through going places with Cody. We’ve ridden all over, even on the beach.” In 2008, when Trish was riding in Hitchcock Woods with Samantha

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Spitler, who founded the mock hunt group, the two were discussing all the rewarding things they had done with horses. “I said to Samantha, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun to Christmas carol on horseback in downtown Aiken?’ She looked at me and replied, ‘I think we can make that happen.’” That was the beginning of Aiken’s iconic Hoofbeats Cody’s younger days with Trish’s daughter Maddie Christmas Parade. In 2023, the 14th annual event included almost 300 horses and carriages, along with 100 dogs. “It’s so uniquely Aiken and I am so proud of it, especially the fact that we have been able to make it into a fundraiser for Aiken Equine Rescue and the SPCA Albrecht Center,” she adds. Ever since the release of the 2004 epic biographical western movie, Hidalgo, people have told Trish that Cody looks like the horse featured in the movie. Trish also saw the resemblance. “When I read that the main shots were done with a registered Paint named RH Tecontender, I thought they could be related as Cody’s registered name is RH Mr. Cherry Te. It turns out they have the same sire and are just a year apart in age. . . . His brother may be a movie star, but I still feel like I got the better horse.” While she wasn’t expecting it to be so, Trish’s last ride on Cody was about five years years ago in Hitchcock Woods. “My friends and I were just heading down Cathedral Aisle and I could feel Cody was hurting with each step. He wasn’t limping but was just ouchy. I got off immediately and walked him back to the trailer.” After a full workup by her veterinarian, it was determined that Cody had navicular disease. With corrective shoeing, he is sound in the pasture, but is now fully retired. “As much as I would have loved to keep riding him, with all he has done for me, I just couldn’t bear the thought of him being in any pain.” Trish and her husband moved to Harlem, Georgia for work reasons and do not, for the time being, have stabling at home for Cody. These days she boards him and her other horse, Bella (a retired polo pony), at Samantha Spitler’s place on Hatchaway Bridge Road in the 302 equestrian corridor. Trish says that Cody lives like a king at Samantha’s. Aside from the navicular, his overall health is excellent. He and Bella share a big, beautiful pasture with another older mare. Despite her busy work schedule in Augusta, Trish makes the hour drive to see him at least twice a week. “As soon as he sees me drive up, he trots right over,” she says. But it’s not just Trish he comes to see; he visits with everyone in the neighborhood. “I don’t think he has ever met a person, horse, or any other animal that he didn’t like,” she notes. “One of my favorite things about him is his soft nicker. If a horse could purr, that’s what it would sound like.” Trish says that her future plans include bringing Cody and Bella back home so that she can care for them herself and see them every day. She misses having Cody in her back yard. “Over the years, I’ve owned and ridden many other horses. I now realize I hit the jackpot on the first try. I know I’ll never have another horse like him. He is the one who taught me how to ride, but more importantly how to connect with a horse.”

February-March 2024

The Aiken Horse

February-March 2024

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2024 /‘25 CALENDAR DATES

9 Eventing Academy X-Country Schooling Day 10 Eventing Academy Schooling Day 11 Eventing Academy Schooling Horse Trials 14-15 USEF/USDF ‘Too Hot To Trot I” Dressage 16-18 USEF/USDF “Too Hot To Trot II” Dressage 21 Hunter/Jumper Institute 11 Schooling Dressage 12 USEF/USDF “Fall Frenzy” Dressage 18 Hunter/Jumper Institute 19-22 USEF/USHJA $50,000 National ‘A’ Rated Hunters & Level 4 Rated Jumpers ‘Fall Classic’ 27-29 “Oktoberfest” $60,000 FEI CCI-S 2/3/4* & USEF/ USEA Horse Trials (BN, N, T, M, P, I, A)

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OCT NOV DEC

6 Schooling Jumpers 7 Whiskey Road Hunt 13 Schooling Dressage 15 Eventing Academy X-Country Schooling Day 16 Eventing Academy Schooling Day 17 Eventing Academy Schooling Horse Trials 20 Hunter/Jumper Institute 24 Whiskey Road Hunt 4 Schooling Jumpers 5 Whiskey Road Hunt 7-8 USEF/USDF “Winter Wonderland” Dressage 13 Eventing Academy X-Country Schooling Day 14 Eventing Academy Schooling Day 15 Eventing Academy Schooling Horse Trials 18 Hunter/Jumper Institute 26 Whiskey Road Hunt

JAN

2025 CALENDAR DATES

8 Schooling Dressage Collection 11 Winter Combined Test 15 Hunter/Jumper Institute 18-19 USEF/USEA “Aiken Opener” Horse Trials (BN, N, T, M, P) 29 Schooling Dressage Collection

FEB

MAY JUNE

3-7 USEF/USHJA $50,000 National ‘A’ Rated Hunters & Level 4 Rated Jumpers ‘Mid-Summer Classic’ (pending USEF approval) 13-14 USEF/USDF “Only in America” Dressage 17 Hunter/Jumper Institute 19 Eventing Academy X-Country Schooling Day 20 Eventing Academy Schooling Day 21 Eventing Academy Schooling Horse Trials

AUG

JULY

4-5 USEF/USEA Stable View Local Charities Horse Trials and USEA Intercollegiate and Interscholastic Championships 8 Schooling Dressage 15 Hunter/Jumper Institute 7-19 Private Function 30-June 2 USEF/USHJA $50,000 National ‘A’ Rated Hunters & Level 4 Rated Jumpers ‘Summer Classic’ 6-9 USEF/USHJA $50,000 National ‘A’ Rated Hunters & Level 4 Rated Jumpers ‘Summer Classic I’ 15-16 USEF/USDF “Summer Solstice” Dressage 19 Hunter/Jumper Institute 21-23 USEF/USEA Summer Horse Trials (BN, N, T, M, P, I, A) 27-30 USEF/USHJA $50,000 National ‘A’ Rated Hunters & Level 4 Rated Jumpers ‘Summer Classic II’

SEPT 44

5-7 Stable View $60,000 FEI CCI-S 2/3/4* & USEF/USEA Horse Trials (T, M, P, I, A) 11-14 USEF/USHJA $50,000 National ‘A’ Rated Hunters & Level 4 Rated Jumpers ‘Spring Classic’ (pending USEF approval) 17 Hunter/Jumper Institute 20-21 USEF/USDF “Spring Fever” Dressage 27 Aiken Symphony – Horses and Harmony

2 Schooling Jumpers 3 Whiskey Road Hunt 4-6 T.I.P. Championships 9 Schooling Dressage 11 Eventing Academy X-Country Schooling Day 12 Eventing Academy Schooling Day 13 Eventing Academy Schooling Horse Trials 16 Hunter/Jumper Institute 19 Whiskey Road Hunt 31-Nov. 3 USEF/USHJA $50,000 National ‘A’ Rated Hunters & Level 4 Rated Jumpers ‘Fall Finale’ (pending USEF approval)

8-9 USEF/USDF “I LOVE Dressage” 14 Eventing Academy X-Country Schooling Day 15 Eventing Academy Schooling Day 16 Eventing Academy Schooling Horse Trials 19 Hunter/Jumper Institute 26 Schooling Dressage Collection

MAR

FEB

2-3 USEF/USDF “Southern Comfort” Dressage 8 Eventing Academy X-Country Schooling Day 9 Eventing Academy Schooling Day 10 Eventing Academy Schooling Horse Trials 14-17 USEF/USHJA $50,000 National ‘A’ Rated Hunters & Level 4 Rated Jumpers ‘Winter Classic’ (pending USEF approval) 20 Hunter/Jumper Institute 22-23 Southern Belle Classic Auction 29-31 Private Event

APRIL

10-11 USEF/USDF “I LOVE Dressage” 16 Eventing Academy X-Country Schooling Day 17 Eventing Academy Schooling Day 18 Eventing Academy Schooling Horse Trials 21 Hunter/Jumper Institute

MAR

“A GATHERING PLACE” • AIKEN, SOUTH CAROLINA • 484-356-3173

1-2 USEF/USDF “Southern Comfort” Dressage 7 Eventing Academy X-Country Schooling Day 8 Eventing Academy Schooling Day 9 Eventing Academy Horse Schooling Horse Trials 13-16 USEF/USHJA $25,000 National ‘B’ Rated Hunters & Level 3 Rated Jumpers ‘Winter Classic’ (pending USEF approval) 19 Hunter/Jumper Institute 26 Schooling Dressage Collection 30 Spring Trail Race

FOR MORE INFORMATION: svfequestrian.com/2024-calendar-dates/ STAY CONNECTED!

February-March 2024

2024 Plans

December we will be preparing Cross-Country with Noll Smith, our designer and looking forward to our first 2024 Horse Trials Check www.sportingdaysfarm.com for info and prize lists Sat Jan 6

USEF/USEA Horse Trials Sun XC School

Tues Apr 2

Schooling Show Dressage CT TOT X Rails & Up Ribbons USEF/USEA Horse Trials XC School

Schooling Show Dressage CT TOT Dressage X Rails & Up Ribbons Sat Feb 3-4 USEF/USEA Horse Trials Thurs/Fri Feb 8-9 Apple Days Sun Mar 3 USEF/USEA Horse Trials Thurs/Fri Mar 7-8 Apple Days 3 Phase

Sat Apr 20 Sun Apr 21

Sat Apr 28

The Cookout at the Water Jump at 6:00pm Bring a Covered Dish and BYOB

Tues Mar 12

Sat

May 4

Schooling Show Dressage CT TOT X Rails & Up Ribbons

Sat

June 29

Schooling Show Dressage CT TOT X Rails & Up Ribbons

Sat

Jan 13

Thurs/Fri Tues Mar 19

Schooling Show Dressage CT TOT X Rail & Up Ribbons Mar 21-22 Apple Days 3 Phase Schooling Show Dressage CT TOT X Rails & Up Ribbons

Sat

Apr 28

Schooling Show Dressage CT TOT X Rails & Up Ribbons

Look for further activities on our Website and Facebook

February-March 2024

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Dressage in the Park, Aiken Horse Park

Photography by Gary Knoll

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(800)782-9583 February-March 2024

February-March 2024

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A Community for Eventers Babette Lenna’s Vision for Dara Knot

By Amber Heintzberger, Photography by Gary Knoll

he Dara Knot is a Celtic symbol for strength. The term comes from the Gaelic word “doire”, meaning oak tree and the symbol represents the connectivity between that tree’s roots and branches. The event rider and trainer, Babette Lenna, chose to name her farm Dara Knot because she hopes that it will become a deeply-rooted part of the Aiken eventing community. Lenna and a group of investors purchased the 88-acre property, formerly Paradise Farm, from Lellie Ward in 2021. While the farm was formerly a quality competition venue, Lenna has been reconfiguring the property as an inviting training center that can be enjoyed by eventers of all levels. Today, Dara Knot features a full cross-country course from Beginner Novice to Preliminary, three competition-size rings, and rolling terrain in close proximity to dirt roads for hacking. Lenna has expanded the stables from 18 to 28 permanent stalls with large paddocks, and she adds temporary stabling to meet demand during the winter season. Her aim is to provide a resource for other trainers, her students, and the entire Aiken equestrian community. Originally from Maine, Lenna, 43, had her business in Massachusetts for two decades. For 12 years, she helped run Gathering Farm in Hamilton (the former home of the United States Eventing team) for the Bartolotti Family. Then, in 2020, she went out on her own, basing her business at Hi Rok farm in nearby Essex, Massachusetts. Having spent many winters in Aiken, Babette knew the area well, and when the opportunity came to purchase Paradise Farm, she organized a group of investors, and and they bought it. For the first years after the purchase, she spent a few months back in Massachusetts each summer, but now she has finally made a full transition and will be based in Aiken year-round. “I started coming to Aiken in my early teens – my aunt and uncle were early to come to Aiken as retirees,” she said. “He played golf and she was into horses, so I came to visit them. Aiken has always seemed like a second home. I started coming down for my business around 2006, and renting space in the winters as everyone does. I knew maybe eventually I might own property here, but this was just an opportunity that arose and the timing was right.” Babette has taken her time making changes to the farm, noting her respect for the work that Lellie Ward did to make it such a special facility. But she has slightly different goals. “I think all the competition facilities are so great now, and it becomes very expensive for the ‘mom and pop’ operations,” she said. “I’d rather invest to make this a really top-quality training facility for the community. I’m planning to add a galloping track and eventually want to redo the rings – maybe one every five years! As our needs adapt and the town adapts, I hope we can have the capital backing to do that.”

couldn’t handle them,” she said. “I’m good with the quirky ones; the one I have now tries to buck you off when you get on, and the other one is a bolter. Some of it’s physical and some of it’s training, and we’re working through that. I also have great client horses and my clients are super invested in their training programs, so they’re nice horses – I’m not suffering whatsoever!” She conceded, “My goal with the horse Tim helped me buy was to get back to the Advanced level, but the farm is taking a lot of my focus right now, as it should be. . . it’s definitely the time in my life to do that. It’s an incredible property to train horses on and there are many things I’m grateful for.”

Building a Community

Lenna credits her assistant, Madison Blodgett, with helping her keep things running. Blodgett, who is also from Maine, started working for Lenna after finishing high school and has been with her for about three years. “Madison lives in Aiken basically year-round with me and is really my right hand at the farm,” said Lenna. “She is just one of those great young kids who will work with the strength of ten people. She understands the whole lifestyle; she grew up with some great people in Maine, her parents are incredible human beings and they’re all a huge help to me.” Lenna also credits Michael McCarthy, who owns Kildare Construction, for helping with a lot of the hard work involved in maintaining the farm. Developing a community at Dara Knot is key to Lenna’s vision. “To see the property and what it’s turned into is fun for everybody because they’ve all put as much into it as I have,” she said. “The investors are patient people. . . . they’re a small group and know I have crazy ideas. Eventually I’ll pay them back and it’ll be mine. It’s like syndicating a horse of a lifetime. It’s special to have them be part of it; while I’d love to have been able to afford to buy this myself, they made it attainable, and having the group also makes me accountable. It’s a good motivator.”

A Vision for Dara Knot

Lenna said that her vision for the farm is that it’s accessible and that people use it all the time. She said that she enjoys being surrounded

A Change of Focus

Having previously competed to the four-star level of eventing, Lenna’s main focus recently has been developing Dara Knot. She still gets plenty of time riding, just not at the upper levels of the sport, at least for now. “I had a lovely young horse from Tim Bourke named Quality Collusion; he’d done the 4-year-olds with Tim, and I developed him up to be a two-star horse. He was lovely, but I needed to sell him because that’s how we do it in this business. I’m thrilled that Stella Sunstein will take him on to do the things I would have liked to do with him.” Now, she said, she’s back to riding the “feral” Thoroughbreds that she loves and has a talent for developing. “I tend to get them from someone else, who got them off the track and let them down and sometimes

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by active horse people and developing a community where people can work together. “Dara Knot is a Celtic symbol that means roots and community and growth, and that’s what my vision is. I was trying to come up with a name that had more meaning to it. It took a while to let it roll off the tongue, because of course it’s been known as Paradise for so long, but it’s a nice feeling that people have started referring to it as Dara Knot. At the end of the day I’m lucky to have the farm. I am lucky to have such an incredible group of people supporting me and a community to be a part of. It’s busy and hectic but it definitely works and it is a dream come true.”

February-March 2024

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February-March 2024

The Aiken Horse

February-March 2024

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February-March 2024

Visit our store: 119 Bolton Ct. Aiken, SC 29803

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The Horse of Great Oak Duke: The Ideal Therapy Horse By Pam Gleason

When he was 2, Duke was sold to a dealer in Minnesota, and from ccording to Deborah McWhirter, who is the manager of equine there he was shipped all the way to Maine, landing at Hemphill’s services at Great Oak Equine Assisted Programs, Duke is an ideal Horses, Feed and Saddlery in North Vassalboro, Maine: a horse, feed therapy horse. The 15-hand chestnut Quarter Horse is calm, kind and and tack dealership that prides itself on acting as an equestrian hub unflappable. He’s the horse to bring out for a student who might be a in northern New England. From there he was purchased by Alysha little afraid of horses, and the one that new volunteers use when they are Minnick, who saddle broke him and then sold him to Sherry Veinot a first learning how to help in an equine therapy session. Most important, few years later. he is one of the few horses that is quiet and safe enough for people who At the time, Sherry and her husband Terry were living in Derry, New need the aid of a mechanical lift to be put on the horse. Hampshire. Duke was just green broke, but he was sweet and tractable “It takes a special horse to accept the lift,” says Deborah, noting that of and good on the trails where Sherry liked to ride. He could be quick on the 12 horses in Great Oak’s program, only two are comfortable with it. his feet, thanks, no doubt to his cutting horse heritage, but he was very “It creaks and makes noise and it’s scary to most horses when you trainable and easy to get along with. swing over them,” says Grace Flanders, who is the manager of volunteer “He was a great horse,” says Sherry. “He would go wherever you services and the person who teaches the horses to accept the lift by wanted; up hills, through brooks, over bridges, wherever you pointed going in it herself. “The first time we used the lift with him, he just stood him. . . and he was good with there. He didn’t do anything, the grandchildren. He would and that’s just amazing when give them pony rides, and if you think about it.” I’m remembering it right, they Great Oak Equine Assisted used to invite him to their tea Programs, located a few miles parties.” from downtown Aiken, offers The Veinots, who still have a range of horse-centered a home base in New England, activities, including therapeutic spend their winters in Aiken riding for people with special and Duke would come down needs, ground work with with them. Sherry took him horses, and programs to provide on a few hunter paces and once equestrian information and tried to take him foxhunting, experiences to people in the but that did not go so well. community who might not “He did not hunt,” she said. otherwise be able to interact “He got very, very excited, so I with horses. It has a beautiful did not do that again!” rolling campus, spacious Several years ago, Duke paddocks for its equine started to have some issues with residents and both indoor and Grace Flanders, Deborah McWhirter and Duke his hooves and the Veinots outdoor arenas. In addition, it realized that he was not up to doing the kinds of things they wanted a has walking trails winding through its 40 acres that can be used for trail horse to do. And so they donated him to Great Oak, where he could be riding when the weather is good. used for ground work and other duties if it turned out riding was not in “Duke is a very solid citizen,” says Deborah. “Everyone loves him his future. because he’s so steady and he has such a smooth gait. We love him Once he was at Great Oak, Duke saw farriers and vets and eventually because we can use him for any kind of lesson and we know we can was diagnosed with navicular syndrome. He was such a nice horse, always trust him. He’s not going to bite; he’s not going to kick. He has a however, that the Great Oak management was determined to return nice calming energy, too, so he’s great to use with some of our students him to soundness. With the help of careful corrective shoeing as well as who have ADHD. His personality makes them calm down.” regular visits from the veterinarian Dr. Shelley Onderdonk (who treats Duke arrived at Great Oak two years ago. In addition to his lessons him with acupuncture once a month) Duke improved more and more. on the property, he has also been used for outside activities and he has Today he has a nice long stride and happily gives lessons at the walk been just as unflappable off campus as he is at home. For instance, he and trot, and he has just started cantering without a hint of his former has participated in the therapy class at the Aiken Horse Show in the problems. Hitchcock Woods, and he has competed at the Special Olympics both Duke has been such a star at Great Oak that this year the management in Georgia and South Carolina, each time helping his riders win blue nominated him to be recognized as the PATH International Horse of or red ribbons. Taking everything in stride, Duke can be ridden both the Year. PATH International (Professional Association of Therapeutic English and Western and he is reliable and trustworthy on the trails. Horsemanship) is an association that trains and certifies therapeutic Duke, properly Duke of Oil, was born in Nebraska on May 6, 2006. riding professionals throughout the United States and Canada. Great A registered American Quarter Horse, he was bred for cutting on Oak recently learned that Duke has won the Horse of the Year award his dam’s side, with a pedigree tracing back to the great Doc Bar, an for his region (region 3) and will now be eligible to be recognized as the AQHA and National Cutting Horse Association champion and sire of overall PATH International Horse of the Year for 2024. champions. On his sire’s side, he has halter and performance breeding, “He’s a very special horse,” says Eva Finnan, a certified PATH and his family tree is dotted with champions and world champions instructor and Great Oak’s program director. “People don’t understand there, too. Duke himself seems to have been born with more modest what a horse like him can do. To me, a horse like Duke is right up there aspirations. His papers show him as a stocky little colt with four white with an Olympic horse. He is worth his weight in gold.” socks and a blaze, a quizzical look on his face.

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February-March 2024

The Aiken Horse

February-March 2024

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THE BEST WEEKEND ALL YEAR!

APRIL 25-28, 2024

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Aiken Hounds Huntsman Marianne Of Whisper Farm Aiken Hounds Formal Meet Straightness Clinic Eventing 2024

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February-March 2024

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New Huntsman for the Aiken Hounds John Tabachka brings passion and experience By Barton Perkins, Photography by Pam Gleason

ohn Tabachka, who is the new professional huntsman for the Aiken Hounds this year, has plenty of experience in the job. Not only has he been a huntsman for the past 30 years, he has the sport of foxhunting in his blood. “I grew up foxhunting,” Tabachka said. “My dad was a huntsman.” Tabachka is originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he rode horses and learned to play the trumpet. But it was not until his early 20s that Tabachka first considered becoming a professional huntsman. He had initially planned on a career in law enforcement, but after leaving the police academy Tabchka found himself drawn back to the world of horses. “I was out of the police academy for over a year and didn’t have a job,” Tabachka said. “So I answered an ad in the Chronicle of the Horse in 1990, and there you go.” Over his three decades as a huntsman, Tabachka has worked for hunts all over the country, but primarily in Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania. Then, four years ago, Tabachka and his wife Jennifer decided to move to Aiken for the warmer weather. “I had taken a fall and had an injured shoulder,” Tabachka said. “I needed some time off, so we decided to move down South.” Once in Aiken, Tabachka began riding with the Aiken Hounds and eventually joined them as their newest huntsman. “For the most part being a huntsman is about breeding, raising and training the hounds,” Tabachka said. “Then being the one in control of the hounds when you are off on a day’s hunting.” Currently, Tabachka works with around 20 hounds, ranging from some who have been hunting for 10 years to youngsters who have just started going on hunts. He said he is rather particular about what kind of foxhound he enjoys working with. “It’s more a type of hound,” Tabachka said. “I like an American or Penn-Marydel cross, versus an English-American cross or an English hound.” Tabachka is involved with all stages of the hounds’ lives, starting with their breeding and ending with helping to find them retirement homes at the end of their careers. “I’d say a foxhound’s career is about eight seasons,” Tabachka said. “After that they retire and can and do make lovely, loyal house pets.” He is also heavily involved with hound training during hunts, making sure they behave well and are able to be around horses safely. “I like to give the hounds a chance to be right,” Tabachka said. “What I mean by that is I let them go and go do their job, and if they make a mistake, they make a mistake. We correct it, and I give them chances to go and do their job and do it well.” A large part of the hounds’ training is knowing how to respond to

The Aiken Horse

the different calls Tabachka makes with his horn during hunts. Over the course of a single hunt he may wind up using eight different calls on his hunting horn, signifying “moving off, doubling, heel, gone away, gone to ground, calling the whipper-in, the kill [in the case of the Aiken Hounds, which is a drag hunt with no live prey, this just means the end of the hunt], and going home.” Notably, Tabachka is a a two-time winner of the National Horn Blowing Championship held each year at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show in Harrisburg. “I took trumpet lessons back in grade school,” Tabachka said. “Little did I know that it would benefit me this way.” Over the course of his career, Tabachka has seen many changes in the overall practice of foxhunting. For instance foxhunting itself has shifted from pursuing red and gray foxes to focusing more on coyotes. A variety of safety precautions have also been put in place to ensure the safety of hounds and riders alike, and technology has transformed many aspects of the sport. “Radios have become more useful and necessary, and we’ve gone from no tracking collars to having GPS locating tracking collars on the dogs,” Tabachka said. Such precautions have allowed Tabachka to keep better track of the different flights of hounds whenever they are used in hunts in the Hitchcock Woods. The Hitchcock Woods, widely considered to be one of Aiken’s crown jewels, originally began as an equestrian playground developed by Thomas and Louise Hitchcock during the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. In 1914, the Hitchcocks established the Aiken Hounds as a drag hunt where the hounds follow a manuallylaid scent as opposed to a live fox, and the hunt was formally accepted by the Masters of Foxhounds Association in 1916. The Hitchcock family ultimately established the Hitchcock Foundation in 1939 (now the Hitchcock Woods Foundation) donating much of the land to be protected and preserved in perpetuity. The Aiken Hounds continue to use the Hitchcock Woods as their home. Today the Aiken Hounds is the oldest continuously operating drag hunt in the United States, and it gathers more than 100 riders and their families every year during the hunt’s annual blessing of the hounds on Thanksgiving morning. “It’s wonderful,” Tabachka said. “The trails are so well cared for and the woods are loved. It’s a real honor to ride through these woods and realize the history of it and why these woods are here.” While he has only lived in Aiken for the past four years, Tabachka is deeply in love with the town and says that the weather alone makes it worth living in. “I like the weather,” he said. “Honestly, I love the weather here; it’s my favorite part about Aiken.”

February-March 2024

The Aiken Horse

February-March 2024

The Aiken Horse

Resurrecting Whisper Farm A Labor of Love By Pam Gleason

hen Marianne Yost bought Whisper Farm in 2020, her friends thought she was crazy. The 100-odd-acre property is located in Salley, in one of the last truly rural parts of Aiken County. Owned by the same family going all the way back to 1790, it had been neglected for decades and had been on the market for six years with no takers. There is little wonder why. The dilapidated farmhouse was surrounded by acres and acres of overgrown, nameless, tangled weeds that entirely obscured its outbuildings. It came with its own peculiar baggage: a stuffed raccoon, an urn that housed the ashes of a long-deceased proprietor. It was a run-down, worn-out place far from anything, not somewhere that people imagined a woman alone would feel either safe or comfortable. Not quite four years and hundreds of hours of work later, the purchase does not look crazy at all. Marianne, who loves to restore houses (she says she has done 20 of them) tackled the project with determination and gusto. Doing some of the work herself, and some with the help of friends and professionals, she transformed the property into an elegant farmstead. Today, it includes not just her own home, but two additional reclaimed cabins for short or long-stay rental, three small studios for writing, thinking and entertaining, a stable, and several grassy paddocks available for her own and her guests’ horses. With the growth of the Aiken equestrian population, other horse people have moved into the neighborhood, which no longer feels so isolated or remote. Marianne entertains frequently, has been successfully renting her stalls, pastures and guest houses to travelling Marianne in front of the Cotton Cottage

From above: Rose Tree/Blue Mountain opening meet at Whisper polo players and fox hunters, and has various entrepreneurial plans to make the farm work for her. In addition, she has played host to the Rose Tree Blue Mountain Hunt, which had its opening meet and hunt breakfast at Whisper Farm this winter. The journey to this point has not been either quick or easy, and has included some moments along the way that made for laugh-out-loud anecdotes that she shared freely on her Facebook page – she explains that she shares these things to maintain her social connections since she lives solo out in the country. For instance, there was the incident with the tractor. Marianne was still living in downtown Aiken at the time, occasionally camping out at the farm, which did not have much in the way of plumbing or other modern conveniences. She had heard

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stories about farm equipment being stolen in rural areas, and she had a new John Deere tractor that her neighbors graciously agreed to keep for her when she was not at home. One day, she had been working long hours removing old aluminum siding from the house, and was meeting a friend that night for cocktails at the Willcox downtown. “I was looking forward to going out,” she said. “So I took a shower with the hose on the back porch, put on a short stretchy dress and heels, got all dolled up with make-up and rushed out to get into my car. But my car wasn’t there. Where’s my car?” Then it dawned on her. “I thought, oh my gosh, my car is at my neighbors from when I picked up my tractor.” Not wanting to be late, she had no choice but to get on the tractor and drive it through her farm and then down the road and over to her neighbors to pick up her car, short dress, high heels, makeup and all. “I did a video and put it on Facebook,” she said with a laugh. “That was very popular.” Immediately before moving to the Aiken area Marianne lived in Palm Beach, and, on first meeting, still has a bit of a social, Florida vibe. But that is not who she really is. In fact, Marianne is a horse girl from childhood. Growing up in suburban Pennsylvania, she dreamed of having a pony. When she was in the second grade, her parents ran into the family doctor whose daughter was taking riding lessons. “I’ll never forget it,” she said. “My father came in after being out to dinner and woke me up and said, ‘Do you want to take riding lessons or ice-skating lessons?’ And you know, that was pretty magical. The day I finally had my first lesson, it was the longest day of my life, waiting on the curb for my Saturday at two o’clock, first riding lesson on a pony named Jungle Juice.” Marianne’s first lesson set the course for her life. It took place at Broad Acre Stable in Whitemarsh, Pennsylvania, under the guidance of Mick Warmington, an expatriot British steeplechase trainer who ran riding

February-March 2024

camps and gave lessons for children. On that very first lesson, Jungle Juice jumped out of the ring and ran back to the barn with Marianne holding on for dear life. She didn’t fall off, and Mick went right to her father and said “Mister, she’s a natural.” “It was a magical place,” said Marianne, who spent her childhood riding ponies there and foxhunting. As a teenager she continued to ride and hunt, sometimes escorting other people, sometimes working for Mick Warmington helping to make horses. Later, after she was married, she had her own riding school called Childs Ford Farm where she taught children’s riding lessons. It was then that she decided that she wanted to play polo. Her mother had a home in Palm Beach and she had seen the game and it appealed to her. Having grown up with three brothers, she enjoyed playing ball sports, and she loved riding, so it seemed a natural fit. There was no polo near her, so she decided to start her own club. “I called information, and I got the number for the polo association, and I called them and said I wanted to start a polo Rose Tree/Blue Mountain Hunt in front of the main house club. And whoever answered the phone sent me a brochure that had a list of ten things to Marianne was the president of the club and she played there for do. I followed the instructions, and then we had a polo club. In the end, several years before the realities of life interfered. She had a young no one in the polo association could believe it.” son, she was going through a divorce, and polo and horses went by the In fact, the United States Polo Association was so impressed with wayside. For a long chapter of her life, she was horseless. She worked Marianne’s ability to make polo happen, they asked her to be on their in real estate and marketing, traveled, married again, spent time on club committee, where she served for three years. Today, Tinicum Polo wooden boats, and went through tragedies, including the suicide of her Club is still going strong, more than 30 years later. second husband. Finally, she immersed herself in Palm Beach social life for eight years, as a way to press a reset button on her life. While living in Florida, she decided to take up polo again, and started playing in the arena at Palm City Polo Club with Joey Casey. This was the impetus behind her move to Aiken: she thought it would be fun to come back to polo, to be somewhere that horse sports are accessible and where she could get back to her old equestrian passions. A brief stint on the polo field at Wagener Polo Club convinced her that it was probably time to hang up her mallets for good, but she loved Aiken, and stayed, buying and renovating two houses downtown before she encountered Whisper Farm. Marianne loves to write, and has already completed one novel (Suddenly Single in Palm Beach) and plans to write another. She says that her farm gives her the quiet time and the space to think, write and be creative. It has also brought her back, after a long time away, to her original passions and her authentic self. “I’ve thought about this,” she said “When I was a little girl, my dad would always say we’ll get a farm . . And I would circle the classified ads, and at breakfast, I would slide the newspaper over to him. I was always doing that. And I think I finally got what I dreamt of. I think I have achieved my dream.” On the grounds of Whisper Farm, the cleared farm land stretches toward a wide sky. Bluebirds flit from tree to tree. The rental cabins, resurrected from ancient structures discovered beneath the weeds, are picturesque and evocative, their architecture recalling an earlier time. Marianne says she is planning to sell some of the farmland to other like-minded people since she does not really need 100 acres. She also hopes to have some longer-term residents in her rental houses so that she can spend more time in England where her son lives with his family. But is she here to stay? She says yes. “People used to ask me, why would you want to live out there?” she said. Then she gestures to the pastoral winter vista. “And I ask, who wouldn’t want to?”

February-March 2024

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February-March 2024

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The Aiken Hounds Formal Meet in The Hitchcock Woods

Photography by Pam Gleason

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February-March 2024

The Aiken Horse

Straightness Training

Klaus Schöneich and Gabriele Rachen-Schöneich By Pam Gleason

laus Schöneich and his wife Gabriele Rachen-Schöneich are on a mission to improve the lives of horses by teaching them to carry their bodies correctly. The couple, who live in Germany, have developed a method of horse training that corrects a horse’s natural crookedness, enables him to carry his rider with less stress, and helps him to develop a natural athletic posture. The Schöeneiches founded and run the Center for Anatomically Correct Horsemanship ARR in Goch, Germany near the Dutch border. There, they have worked with thousands of horses and riders over the past three decades and they say that graduates of their program are happier, sounder, perform better and have less need for therapeutic intervention from chiropractors, massage therapists and the like. Although Klaus and Gabriele do most of their work in Germany, they also travel to give clinics and educational talks. In January, they were in Aiken where they conducted a seminar at Kirstin Ridgway’s Sapphire farm. They will return in April for a three-day clinic, and Kirstin says she is in the process of establishing an authorized Straightness Training center in the United States. The plan is that she will work with people and their horses, with the active help and assistance of Klaus and Gabriele via Zoom or WhatsApp. Kirstin explains that the methods that Klaus and Gabriele have pioneered are often imitated, but that what they do is more complicated than it might seem, so their continued involvement and advice is crucial to success. In addition to teaching and training, Klaus and Gabriele have written a number of books. The most well-know of these was translated into English and is called Straightening the Crooked Horse, first published in the U.S. in 2007. They also have another influential book, so far available only in German, called Die Kraft der Diagonalen, which goes into more detail about the theory and practice of functional training on the lunge line. This book is in its third edition in Germany, and an English translation is under consideration. Klaus says that the latest edition of the book includes 16 additional pages that discuss the implications of working with horses afflicted by two conditions. One of these is Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy (PSSM), an inherited muscle condition that causes muscle cramping and pain. The other is Equine Complex Vertebral Malformation (ECVM) a congenital disorder in which two specific vertebrae in the horse’s neck develop in atypical ways. At the January seminar, the audience first observed the dressage trainer Tom Murray working with one of his young horses in the round pen with the help of Gabriele Rachen-Schöneich. Then Klaus gave an illustrated talk to describe the methods he and Gabriele use to train or rehabilitate horses. He also presented some of the theory behind the method. At its base, he says, the goal of training is to bring out the natural athletic ability of the horse. As he explains it, a horse at liberty can carry himself in two modes. The first is the “flight mode” in which he is running with his head up, and most of his weight in on the forehand. Alternatively, the horse also has an athletic mode: “If we see a stallion going around the mare, he is moving totally different: he suddenly has a high athletic force. . . the stallion gives a presentation of the highest potential he can show. We must train the horse so that he moves the way that a stallion does around a mare.” The actual straightness training is designed to counteract a horse’s natural one-sidedness. As Klaus explains it, horses can be either righthanded or left- handed. In order for the horse to be able to use his hind legs effectively and to carry himself like an athlete, he must learn to use

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both sides equally and correctly. From the Schöneiches point of view, the vast majority of behavioral, training and even soundness problems stem from a horse being crooked. Klaus and Gabriele start their work with three to six weeks of lungeing. Only when the horse has learned to bend and to use his hind legs effectively does he start training under saddle. The last step is for his rider to learn how to communicate with him in a different way. “The rider must use the seat to cue the horse,” says Klaus. “It must be the seat and not the leg.” Kirstin Ridgway, who organized the seminar, is the daughter of the late Dr. Kerry Ridgway, a beloved veterinarian and integrative medicine practitioner who lived in Aiken for a number of years. She says that her father first encountered Klaus when they both were giving talks at the same conference in Europe. Dr. Ridgway was so intrigued with what Klaus said that he and his wife Christine went to visit Klaus and Gabriele at their stable to observe the training. “They were planning to go there for two days, but they ended up staying for 10 days,” says Kirstin. “They saw the progression of the horses, and they were just amazed.”

When Dr. Ridgway returned to the states, he told Kirstin about the straightness training, and when Klaus came to do some clinics in the U.S. Kirstin brought him a young horse that she had bred. At the time, she also had a horse she was hoping to take up to Grand Prix dressage, but she was having all kinds of trouble with him. She listened to Klaus give a lecture in which he described another Grand Prix horse that was exhibiting similar behaviors. Then he showed a video of the same horse after six weeks of straightness training, and all the negative behaviors had disappeared. So the next time Klaus came to town, Kirstin brought her upper level horse, too. “The transition after doing this work with him for three weeks was remarkable,” she said. “And so the next time he came, I brought three or four horses and then the next time he came I brought six horses.” A straightness training convert, Kirstin now incorporates Klaus and Gabriele’s methods into all her training and rehab work. Kirstin says she is looking forward to Klaus and Gabriele’s return in April, and she hopes that horse people from all disciplines will be interested in attending the sessions. Although she is focused on dressage, the training can help all horses, whether they are performing in the arena, jumping, going western or playing polo. “This method has completely altered my approach to training horses,” says Kirstin. “The results that I have seen, and how much the horses enjoy the work, have been really fascinating and amazing. There is always more to learn.” Klaus Schöneich and Gabriele Rachen-Schöneich will be back in Aiken from April 25-27, 2024. For more information or to reserve a spot in the clinic, contact Kirstin Ridgway: 415-596-3449

February-March 2024

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Setters’ Run Farm Carolina International CCI and HT

March 14-17, 2024

Carolina Horse Park 2814 Montrose Road Raeford, NC Where the Best Come to Win. Novice to Advanced Horse Trials CCI1*-S, CCI2*-S, CCI3*-S, & CCI4*-S Vendor Village, Food Trucks & Kids Zone Free to Spectators! PC Brant Gamma Photos

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February-March 2024

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Eventing Season 2024

It’s eventing season in Aiken! Below you will find a quick guide to what is happening this February and March, along with a directory of the relevant venues, with their websites and contact information. Kick on!

February 1 3-4 6 7 8-9 9-11 13 14-15 15 16-17 17-18 18 20 20 21 21 22-23 23-25 24 24-25 27 27 28 28 29-1

Apple Tree Farm Two Phase. USEF/USEA Horse Trials @ Sporting Days Farm. Tuesdays in the Park @ Bruce’s Field February Schooling Horse Trials @ Full Gallop Farm Apple Days at Sporting Days Farm & Apple Tree Pine Top Intermediate Horse Trials Tuesdays in the Park @ Bruce’s Field Cross Country Equestrian Workshop & Competition @ Full Gallop Farm Apple Tree Farm Two Phase Eventing Academy Schooling @ Stable View USEF/USEA Winter Horse Trial @ Jumping Branch Farm Eventing Academy Schooling Horse Trials @ Stable View Dressage Tests of Choice @ Full Gallop Farm Tuesdays in the Park @ Bruce’s Field Hunter/Jumper Institute @ Stable View February Horse Trials @ Full Gallop Farm Apple Branch @ Jumping Branch & Apple Tree Pine Top Advanced Horse Trials Cross Country Equestrian Workshop & Competition @ Full Gallop Farm Jen Marsden Hamilton Clinic. Location TBA. Tonya Amato: Jump4joytonya@gmail.com Dressage Tests of Choice @ Full Gallop Farm 2024 Aiken Educational Sessions @ Bruce’s Field February II Horse Trials @ Full Gallop Farm Schooling Dressage Collection @ Stable View Dara Apple 3-Phase @ Apple Tree Farm & Dara Knot

March 11-2 1-4 3 5 7 8-9 9 9-10 10 10 12 13 14 14-17 16-17 20 21

Grand Prix Eventing @ Bruce’s Field. Bruce’s Field Lucinda Green Clinic @ Full Gallop Farm USEA/USEF Horse Trials @ Sporting Days Farm Tuesdays in the Park @ Bruce’s Field Apple Days @ Apple Tree & Sporting Days Eventing Academy Schooling @ Stable View March Dressage Tests of Choice @ Full Gallop Farm Southern Pines Horse Trials @ Carolina Horse Park March Horse Trials @ Full Gallop Farm Eventing Academy Schooling Horse Trials @ Stable View Tuesdays in the Park @ Bruce’s Field March Schooling Horse Trial @ Full Gallop Farm Apple Tree Farm Two Phase Carolina International @ Carolina Horse Park Pine Top Spring Horse Trials Hunter/Jumper Institute @ Stable View Apple Days Schooling CT/Dressage @ Apple Tree & Sporting Days 23 Dressage Tests of Choice @ Full Gallop Farm 27 Schooling Dressage @ Stable View 27 Cross Country Equestrian Workshop & Competition @ Full Gallop Farm 28 Apple Tree Farm Two Phase. 30-31 Jumping Branch Farm USEA/USEF Spring Horse Trials

April 5-7

Stable View $60,000 FEI CCI-S 3/4/5* & USEF/USEA Horse Trials 13-14 Longleaf Pine Horse Trials @ Carolina Horse Park

Eventing Venues for Schooling & Competition Aiken Horse Park (Bruce’s Field)

Jumping Branch Farm

Apple Tree Farm South

Pine Top Farm

Dancing Horses Equestrian

Sporting Days Farm

Dara Knot

Stable View

Full Gallop Farm

The Vista Schooling & Event Center

931 Powderhouse Road. Aiken, SC 29801 803-226-0121 kate@aikenhorsepark.org, www.aikenhorsepark.org 1530 Oak Ridge Rd. Windsor, SC 29856 Alison Eastman-Lawler, 603-345-0382 apltrefarm@aol.com, www.appletreefarm.com 149 Moseley Road Williston, SC 207-210-7900 dancinghorses@rocketmail.com; dancinghorsesaiken.com 4069 Wagener Rd. Aiken, SC, 29805 Babette Lenna: 207-837-0842 babette@babetteeventing.com, www.daraknotaiken.com 3828 Wagener Rd. Aiken, SC 29805 Lara Anderson, 803-215-6590 fullgallopfarm@yahoo.com, www.fullgallopfarm.com

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179 Fox Pond Rd. Aiken, SC 29801 Tim Shaw: 240-460-1094 timshaw628@gmail.com, www.jbfarm.com 1432 Augusta Hwy. Thomson, GA 30824 Janet Wilson: 706-449-2029 pinetopeventing@gmail.com; www.pinetopfarm.com. 3549 E. Charleston Hwy. Aiken, SC, 29801 803-226-2024 sdaiken@aol.com, www.sportingdaysfarm.com 117 Stable Dr. Aiken, SC, 29801 484-356-3173 info@stableview.com, www.stableviewfarm.com 859 Old Tory Trail, Aiken, SC 803-262-5263 vistaschooling@gmail.com, www.schoolthevista.com

February-March 2024

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February-March 2024

A 501c3 Non-Profit Organization, not organization state funded South Carolina Equine Promotion Foundation a 501c3 non-proﬁt not state funded

Your Showgrounds Your Camden Showgrounds

60-acres with 9 Barns, 288 Stalls, 5 Show Rings (3 Outdoor, 2 Covered Arenas), Cattle Pens, Generous Space For Lungeing And Schooling, RV Parking, Cafe’, Pavilion & more scequinepark.com

I-20 Exit 101 443 Cleveland School Rd Camden SC 29020 Mailing Address

Dates Subject to Change

February 3

South Carolina Horse Council Expo

February 8-11

SCQHA VRH Cattle Classic

February 23-24 IEA Region 4 Finals

P O Box 2174 Camden SC 29020

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with Signage & more! Email flinntamara@gmail.com for details

March 1-3

SCQHA Southern Gold Classic

March 9-10

Palmetto Paint Horse Club 2 Judge

March 16-17

Four Beats for Pleasure

March 22-24

Camden Spring Classic I

April 6-7

PSJ Camden Spring Classic

April 12-14

Palmetto & Carolina Paint Horse Clubs 6 Judge

April 20-21

NCPEA Golden Breakout of the Carolinas

April 27-28

SCDCTA Springtime Dressage

Please contact your Show Manager with questions about their event For Booking Information or Schooling Appointment contact Leon Rembert 803-229-0057 or camdenhorseshows@gmail.com

Scan the QR Code or visit scequinepark.com to Donate Online

February-March 2024

We Look Forward To Seeing You Ringside! The Aiken Horse

Inside 87 90 92 93 94 96 99 106

Ask the Judge Tales of Rescue: Pilgrim Volunteers: Diane Bird Directory Classifieds Stable View Season Opener Calendar of Events Index of Advertisers

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February-March 2024

Ask the Judge

Questions about Dressage With Amy McElroy

Amy McElroy is an FEI competitor, and a USEF S judge. She is qualified to officiate at any USEF recognized national show at all dressage levels. She rides, trains and teaches at Fair Lane Farm in Aiken and judges between 15 and 20 dressage and eventing shows each year. In her popular Ask the Judge column, she answers readers’ questions about dressage. Do you have a question for Amy? Send her an email at McElroyDRM@aol.com, or visit her website: www.amymcelroy.com.

Dear Amy, I recently imported an FEI dressage horse from Holland. I am planning to compete him starting at Prix St. Georges this season in Aiken. I have competed at dressage shows in the past but never at this level, or done any upper-level tests. I have a few questions I am curious about, and I have asked around but gotten mixed answers. So here you go! A big concern is that I will not be able to remember these long tests. Is it too embarrassing to have a caller at this level? Are there any restrictions on equipment and attire at these levels? I heard spurs are no longer required? Finally, is the passport my horse traveled with from Europe sufficient for competing? All advice is greatly appreciated.

Upper Level Novice

Dear Upper Level,

How exciting, and congratulations on the purchase of your new horse. Rules can be confusing and often change so it is wise to be current on the latest information. All your questions are interesting and the answers are important to know. Let’s start with your first question in regard to having your Prix St Georges (PSG) test called for you while you ride; it can be intimidating to memorize such long tests. In the National levels (Training to Fourth level) all riders have the option to have their test movements announced so they can have less worry about forgetting what to do next. Prix St. Georges, however, is a Federation International Equestre (FEI) level test, and the rules for the FEI are different. Although I don’t think it would be embarrassing to have an FEI test read for you, it is illegal at these levels, so you must perform the ride by memory alone. Here are some suggestions to help you gain confidence in memorizing. At home, practice your test with a caller until you can perform it successfully. It can also be helpful to draw the test on paper and go over the movements in your head, or to do your test on foot, or even mounted at the walk – whatever works best for you to find your way. On a good note, I rarely see riders go off course at the PSG level. If you did go off course, you would receive an error. As in the lowerlevel tests you would be corrected and allowed to continue your ride. What is different, however, is how many errors you are permitted, and how they factor into your score at this level. In the National levels you are allowed two errors, but are eliminated if you have a third one. In the FEI tests you would be eliminated if you had a second error. In the National level, an error would subtract two points from your final raw score. For example, if you earned 240 points and had one error, two points would be taken away for a total of 238 points, and your final percentage would be calculated from that number. (So if, for instance, your test had 360 maximum points, your final score would drop from 66.7 to 66.1.) In the FEI, an error is a lot more costly. Here you would have two full points taken off your final percentage score. For example,

February-March 2024

if you earned a 60%, your score would adjust down to a 58%. Therefore, knowing your test is imperative! When it comes to attire and equipment, there are many significant rules to be aware of. If you are competing in Aiken, although you would be riding FEI level tests you would be competing under USEF rules, not FEI rules. The FEI rules only apply to official Concours de Dressage International (CDI) competitions. At this time, Aiken does not yet have any CDI dressage competitions, so for now, you would be following the rules for FEI tests at a National show. Here are dress rules for riding PSG and above. It is mandatory to wear protective headgear with a secure harness. Although I have rarely seen it, a short riding coat or cutaway, modified tailcoat is permitted. A tailcoat is only allowed in classes above Fourth level. Be sure your jacket is of a single color. It may have subtle pin-striping, checks, or tweeds. Stripes or multi-colors are not permitted. Tasteful and discreet accents, including modest piping and crystals are acceptable. When competing above Fourth level, tall English-style riding boots, including dress or field boots or variations of them, are required. There are also guidelines now for gloves. At these levels gloves are required – this is a new rule for 2024! The gloves may be white, off white, or the same color as your coat. The rumor you heard about spurs not being required for FEI is true except that at this time it only applies to CDI competitions. At National level shows, spurs are still mandatory in FEI level tests. There are a few equipment requirements when competing above Fourth level. It is now compulsory to use a well-fitted dressage saddle that is close to your horse with long, near vertical flaps, stirrups and a girth. As far as bridles go, you may use a snaffle bridle or double bridle in competition as well as in the warmup. On your scoresheet you will see a major difference in the collective marks at this level. Previously, you had five collective marks to sum up your test. Now there will be only one final mark. The final collective mark is called General Impressions. This encompasses the harmonious presentation of the rider/horse combination, the rider’s position and seat, and the discreet and effective influence of the aids. This score has a coefficient of two, meaning it is worth double points. It is a reflection of your ride, and will be similar to your final percentage. Finally let’s discuss the passport. At this time, you will not be required to present or have any passport for your horse when competing at a National level show even if you are competing in an FEI test. This would be different for CDIs where the passport would be required. I hope I have given you some insight. The USEF 2024 rulebook is available as a resource, and I always recommend reading it. If you have questions when you are at the show, the competition’s Technical Delegate (TD), can help you clarify a rule. Enjoy this new journey, and tests, put on your tailcoat (if you choose), wear a big smile and dance away.

The Aiken Horse 87

February-March 2024

The Aiken Horse 89

Tales of Rescue

Jessica Webster and Pilgrim Submitted by Equine Rescue of Aiken

orse rescue is not easy; this is something that everyone who volunteers at Equine Rescue of Aiken comes to understand on a deep and personal level. Equine Rescue of Aiken, located on a 99-acre farm on Aiken’s Southside, is one of the largest horse rescues in the Southeast. The rescue was founded to help save and rehabilitate horses that have been victims of abuse and neglect. Over the years, that mission has expanded to taking in retired Thoroughbred racehorses to help them transition to new homes. Along the way, it has also become a place of healing; a place where horses that have been mistreated can find compassion and care, and a place where people in adversity can be and engaging. Over the next months, he slowly regained weight and strength under the careful tending of the rescue’s staff and volunteers, and thanks also to donations from many people who were touched by his story. By the end of March 2021, he was round and healthy, and he graduated from his paddock to living out a pasture with a few other horses. And then, healthy and happy, he was put up for adoption. It was not long before he found his match. Jessica Webster had been passionate about horses since she was 4 years old. She grew up riding out with her friends, going to horse shows – she was a horse girl. Her life took a dramatic turn when she was diagnosed with Stage 4 lymphoma. Although the treatment successfully halted the cancer, it came at a cost – Jessica’s thoracic spine was damaged, leaving her wheelchair-bound. When Jessica met Pilgrim, she felt an instant connection. She sensed the echoes of Pilgrim’s past struggles, and knew his spirit was eager for a new beginning. She adopted him and took him home, and their connection grew deep and strong. “Pilgrim came into my life at a time when I had just lost my heart horse unexpectedly,” said Jessica. “He helped me heal with his silly and sweet antics. . . . He is just such a joy to have around and never fails to put a smile on my face and make me laugh.”

given new hope for the future. Because of this, the rescue has earned its motto: people helping horses, horses helping people. Starvation cases are among the most difficult situations that the rescue encounters. Horses that arrive at the rescue weak and emaciated often cannot be saved. Sometimes, there are serious veterinary reasons that have led to their weight loss. Other times they are just too far gone: they have organ damage, or their bodies are overwhelmed when they start getting proper nutrition. Pilgrim is a quarter horse cross gelding who was seized by animal control in November 2020, along with three donkeys. When he arrived at the rescue, he was gaunt and weak, with ribs that stood out sharply under his matted coat. His legs were swollen with infection, his eyes were dull, and yet his kind personality shone through. Right away he was friendly and talkative, whinnying for his hay and showing that, despite the terrible neglect he had suffered, he was still bright, friendly

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February-March 2024

The Aiken Horse 91

An Affinity for Eventing

Art and Diane Bird are devoted volunteers By Nancy Johnson

“I

t all started when we were watching the 1984 Olympics on television – it was the first time we had ever seen eventing,” Diane Bird begins. “We both thought it looked pretty cool!” At the time, Diane and her husband, Art, were living in New Jersey on their farm, with four horses of their own. The couple enjoyed attending showjumping competitions in the Northeast and not long after they first saw eventing on TV, they were at the American Gold Cup showjumping competition held at the Devon Horse Show grounds in Devon, Pennsylvania. The program had an ad for a three-day event at Bruce Davidson’s Chesterland in Unionville, Pennsylvania. “1986 Chesterland was the first event we attended,” Diane recalls. Art adds with a grin, “We walked the cross-country course and said to one another, ‘There is no way a horse is going to jump those fences!’” A great memory from their first time spectating was chatting with the Olympic gold medalist Karen Stives at the food court. “She spent 20 minutes of her valuable time explaining all the rules and divisions to us,” Art remembers. Diane chimes in, “We just loved the sport and how friendly everyone was. We were both hooked.” By 1988, Art and Diane found they could enjoy their newfound sport and contribute to it by volunteering at events. Diane recounts one of their early volunteering days. “It was a low-level event in New Jersey. I was the fence judge at the new ditch,” she begins. “I bet there were 40 falls at that ditch. I did nothing but put people back on horses and I was just exhausted. As I dragged myself back to the tent at the end of the day, all the other fence judges gave me a standing ovation!” In 1999, Art and Diane moved to Virginia, where they served on the organizing committee for the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington. The facility had an unusual layout of warm-up rings leading into the stadium jumping arena that necessitated great care and timing by the in-gate crew. “No one else understood how to do it and keep the riders moving and safe, so Diane and I always had to run that area as a team,” Art explains. “But we really wanted to fence judge, so we started traveling to other events to do so,” Diane adds. They continued to branch out, volunteering all over Virginia and North Carolina and soon discovered Aiken, doing volunteer stints at Paradise and Full Gallop Farms. “We really liked Aiken and moved here in 2017,” Diane says. They currently focus on events at Stable View, Sporting Days, Jumping Branch, and Grand Prix Eventing at Bruce’s Field, but they still venture to a couple of old favorite events in Virginia and Maryland. Typically, Diane is the starter for cross-country, while Art prefers fence judging. Diane notes, “What I like about starting is that you get involved with the riders; it’s personal. Whereas fence judging you just see them fly by.” In 2019, Diane was honored by the United States Eventing Association as volunteer of the year. Despite cutting back on traveling recently, she ranks second in lifetime volunteer hours, which are tracked

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by the USEA. While most of the Birds’ involvement is on a volunteer basis, their experience has led to occasional paid positions as well. “It helps us buy hay for our four retired horses,” Art says. He explains that he is paid to do the scoring while Diane’s work as part of the decorating team and scribing at some dressage shows are also paid positions. “I love the decorating,” she says. “It’s fun to do the flowers and little touches with a theme.” The Birds enjoy many aspects of their time spent at events. “What I really like about eventing is that most of the riders are really nice, kind and generous,” Diane says. “They help each other. For instance, someone

will finish the course and say to the next rider, ‘Be careful at jump 14, the footing is deep’ or something like that.” Art agrees. “You will even see upper-level riders helping out the novice riders – it’s kind of like a fraternity.” While Diane says she enjoys and admires many of the local riders, she has a few favorites; one is Sally Cousins. “I like how she rides and how she takes care of her horses,” Diane says, adding, “I also really admire Sarah Kuhn. She is a very elegant rider and can stay on horses that I can’t believe anyone but a bronc rider could stay on! And what’s not to like about Boyd [Martin] and Phillip [Dutton].” The Birds say it is impossible to choose a favorite event. The three World Equestrian Games they attended, Stockholm (1990), the Netherlands(1994), and Tryon (2018), at which they were fence judges, were impressive from a competition standpoint. But in the local event category, both Art and Diane say Stable View’s Octoberfest 4* is by far their favorite. Still up for a new adventure, Diane notes that the American Eventing Championships at Rebecca Farms in Big Sky, Montana is on their bucket list. “We were at a dude ranch in Big Sky a while back. It’s just breathtaking,” she says. Art adds that he’d like to go to Badminton, the five-star event in the UK. “Not to work though, just to watch.”

February-March 2024

Directory of Services BOARDING/TURNOUT/TRAINING/SALES Chime Ridge Stables. 803-508-3760 Katie Erpel Dressage offers training of young horses to FEI, boarding, sales, and lessons with USDF Bronze and Silver Medalist Katie Erpel at her quaint, boutique style facility conveniently located off of Charleston Highway on the Windsor/Williston line. Haul-in lessons are welcome to her newly renovated GGT arena or travel to your farm is available as well. www.katieerpeldressage.com (305) 778 5336 Sporting Days Farm. 3549 Charleston Hwy, Aiken, SC 29801. 5.5 miles from Aiken byoass. Offers year round, seasonal or short term board as well as dry stalls. 150 acres with trails and practice areas. USEF/USEA Horse Trials in the winter, schooling shows. Visit our website to see all we offer in 2023. www.sportingdaysfarm.com The Stable On The Woods: Elite boarding & training facility and home to trainers Darrell and Melissa Vaughn. With access to Hitchcock Woods, our barn sits on 70 acres and boasts a full size dressage arena with mirrors, show jumping arena and highquality grass pastures making this the ideal place for you and your horse. Training program to meet your needs, whether your discipline is Dressage, Eventing, Hunters, Jumpers or Foxhunting. thestableonthewoods.com 603.785.0435 Vaughn Equestrian: offering training, sales, and boarding. Professionalism is the guiding principle of owners Darrell and Melissa Vaughn in shaping every component of Vaughn Equestrian. Dressage, Jumpers, Eventing & Young Horses. training and sales. vaughnequestrian.com (603) 785-0435 COMPANION ANIMALS Trinity Farms Terriers: Irish Russell Terriers. Old World, Healthy 100 year old Bloodlines with proven calmer dispositions. Health & Dispositions guaranteed. Preservation breeders for 48 years. Donna Fitzpatrick 803-648-3137 easyjacks.com, trinityfarmskennel.com CONSTRUCTION & GRADING & FARM SERVICES G. L. Williams & Daughter. Serving the CSRA for over 54 years. Specializing in hauling, grading, clearing, property maintenance, and excavation. We provide everything from several types of fill dirt, top soil, compost, mortar sands, crushed asphalt/concrete, to screenings and a variety of rocks. Roll-off containers and manure removal available. (803) 663-3715. Certified DBE. WOSB. www. glwdtrucking.com Southern Ridge Excavation. Drainage, grading, small clearing, pad prep, utility ditching, pond mowing. Third generation family operated; Licensed & insured. Call Alex Koegel. 803-522-5752. southernridgex@gmail.com. FARRIER SERVICES Alyte Touch Equine Massage: Revitalize your horse’s stride with farrier care and soothing equine massages. Enhance their performance with Alyte Touch. Accepting new clients! Schedule an appointment today: 607-223-9011 or on facebook.com/ alytetouch HAY Round and Square Bales. Oakwood Farms: 3593 Silver Bluff Road, Aiken SC 29803. $60 per bale round hay bales. $70 per bale round bales kept inside. Square bales at $7.00 per bale. Will deliver for a small fee. Please call 803-645-8960 LB Performance Hay. From Farm to Stable. Local and imported hay; large or small quantities. Hay delivery and unloading. Lou Berizzi: 803-640-5484.

February-March 2024

Hoss Luva Hay. Exceptional quality local Coastal Bermuda Hay, Alfalfa mix and Canadian Timothy. Competitively priced. Will deliver state-wide. Satisfaction Guaranteed. Jim McClain: 803.247.4803 INSURANCE Betsy Minton, Sterling Thompson Equine, 803-617-8353. Now writing homeowners insurance for private residences. No horses required but certainly welcomed. Access to top-notch underwriters offering customized, affordable coverage. Still delivering excellent competitive insurance options for your horses and farms. betsyminton@sterlingthompson.com. Sterling Thompson Equine: 800 942 4258 INSTRUCTION/LESSONS Amy McElroy. USDF Gold Medalist and USEF S judge. Instruction and training at all levels. Visit amymcelroy.com or call 803.6404207. Aiken Horsemanship Academy. Your naturally inspired adult learning resource! Offering Clinics, Courses, Starting young horses, Evaluations, and Lessons. JulieRobins.com 803-220-1768. Jodi Hemry Eventing. Three-Star Eventer offering professional training, sales, boarding, instruction, horse shows, located in the heart of Aiken. 803-640-6691 JodiHemryEventing@gmail.com JodiHemryEventing.com REAL ESTATE/ RENTALS Aiken Luxury Rentals. Fully furnished cottages; walk to downtown. Perfect for temporary assignments, or housing while you build. Work-from-home ready; high speed internet. Antique finishes & modern convenience. info@aikenluxuryrentals.com. aikenluxuryrentals.com. 803-648-2804. Aiken Vacation Rentals. Comfortable, clean furnished homes. Downtown, Pet Friendly, Fast WiFi. info@aikenvacationrentals. com Call/Text (803) 216-5414 Locally owned small business. AirBnB Superhost. Carolina Real Estate Company. Fine homes, estates and horse properties in Aiken, South Carolina. Let us welcome you home to AIKEN, Home of Horses, History & Hospitality! carolinahorseproperties.com. (803) 648-8660 Sharer Dale, Keller Williams Realty Aiken Partners. “Where town meets country.” sharerdale@gmail.com. 803.522.3648 Suzy Haslup, Meybohm. “Your Aiken Horse Real Estate Specialist.” Buying or selling in the most celebrated equine community in the South. ww.aikenhorserealty.com; 803-215-0153 Sullivan-Turner Team, Meybohm. Specializing in marketing & selling Aiken’s horse country properties. southernhorsefarms.com. 803-215-4734. Whisper Farm: Lodging for riders & horses. Every bedroom has stall & paddock! Close to foxhunting, eventing & polo in the 302 equestrian corridor east of Aiken. 410-924-1790. thewhisperfarm. com. SADDLES/SADDLE FITTING Melodie McGowan Saddle Fitting. Servicing all makes and models of English saddles. New and used saddles also available. 585-6135000; melodie@mysaddle.com.

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Classifieds Beautiful Friesian/Draft X Mare. Ready to be your next trail partner. Renaissance is a stout 15 hands and walks through water, over logs, and rides out alone. Smooth trot, easy canter & excellent ground manners, Barefoot easy keeper. $3,800 Text 607-743-1309

Ava Max:Hanoverian/TB cross. Perfect first horse for a teen or Pony Clubber. Great lesson horse that can take a joke and adapt to the rider. Experienced with dressage, jumping, and trail riding. $2,900

Find her video at www.haffeydressage.com 607-743-1309

BOARDING/TURNOUT/ TRAINING Dry stalls and full care available at Sporting Days Farm 150 acres with practice areas. Great for green horses. 803-226-2024 text preferred. Available self care. One 12X12 stall with turnout paddock. Chime Ridge Stables 803.508.3760 South Aiken FARM SERVICES Southern Ridge Excavation. Drainage, grading, small clearing, pad prep, utility ditching, pond mowing. Third generation family operated; Licensed & insured. Call Alex Koegel. 803-522-5752. southernridgex@gmail.com. G. L. Williams & Daughter. Serving the CSRA for over 54 years. Specializing in hauling, grading, clearing, property maintenance, and excavation.We provide everything from several types of fill dirt, top soil, compost,

mortar sands, crushed asphalt/ concrete, to screenings and a variety of rocks. Roll-off containers and manure removal available. (803) 663-3715. Certified DBE. WOSB. www.glwdtrucking.com HAY Hoss Luva Hay. Exceptional quality local Coastal Bermuda Hay, Alfalfa mix and Canadian Timothy. Competitively priced. Will deliver state-wide. Satisfaction Guaranteed. Jim McClain: 803.247.4803 LB Performance Hay. From Farm to Stable. Local and imported hay; large or small quantities. Hay delivery and unloading. Lou Berizzi: 803-640-5484. Round and Square Bales. Oakwood Farms: 3593 Silver Bluff Road, Aiken SC 29803. $60 per bale round hay bales. $70 per bale round bales kept inside. Square bales at $7.00 per bale. Will deliver for a small fee. Please call 803-6458960.

HORSES & PETS Competitive Third Level Dutch Warmblood for sale. 10 years old, amateur friendly, quiet in the show ring and on trails. Push-button ride. www.haffeydressage.com for video. Text: 607-743-1309. Trinity Farms Terriers: Irish Russell Terriers. Old World, Healthy 100 year old. Bloodlines w/ proven calmer dispositions. Health & dispositions guaranteed. Preservation breeders for 48 years. trinityfarmskennel.com; easyjacks. com. Donna Fitzpatrick 803-6483137. RENTALS/HOME SHARES Aiken Luxury Rentals. Fully furnished cottages; walk to downtown. Perfect for temporary assignments, Work-from-home ready; high speed internet. Antique finishes & modern convenience. 803-648-2804. info@aikenluxuryrentals.com. aikenluxuryrentals.com.

Aiken Vacation Rentals. Comfortable, clean furnished homes. Downtown, Pet Friendly, Fast WiFi. info@ aikenvacationrentals.com Call/Text (803) 216-5414 Locally owned small business. AirBnB Superhost. Whisper Farm: Lodging for riders and their horses. Every bedroom comes with a stall and paddock! Close to foxhunting, eventing & polo in the 302 Equestrian Corridor east of Aiken. 410-9241790. thewhisperfarm.com.

Advertising in The Aiken Horse CLASSIFIED ADS are $30 for the first 30 DIRECTORY LISTING ADS: $30 per issue words & 40 cents for every word or $100 for the year (6 issues.) thereafter. Add $5 for blind classified. BUSINESS CARDS: $75 per issue or $300 PHOTO CLASSIFIEDS for horses: $40; for the year (6 issues.) Limit 30 words & one picture DISPLAY ADS are available in a range of PHOTO CLASSIFIEDS for real estate, etc. sizes. For a detailed rate sheet and $50; Limit 60 words & one picture. publication schedule, visit our website: BOXED CLASSIFIEDS: add $5 to your total TheAikenHorse.com

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MAILING ADDRESS: The Aiken Horse, P.O. Box 332, Montmorenci, SC 29839 EMAIL: theAikenHorse@gmail.com We accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express. Pay for classifieds and business cards online: TheAikenHorse.com Pay a Bill or call us: 803.643.9960

Advertise in the April-May 2024 issue! Deadline March 22, 2024 Subscribe: $36 per year. Check out on our website or send your check to Subscriptions, 705 Flowing Well Road. Wagener, SC 29164

February-March 2024

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Stable View Season Opener

Photography by Gary Knoll

The Aiken Horse

February-March 2024

Aiken Area Calendar of Events February 1

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Apple Tree Farm Two Phase. Schooling CT/Dressage, 1530 Oak Ridge Club Rd Windsor, SC Allison apltrefarm@aol.com (603)345-0382 appletreefarm.org Eventing Schooling Show. Bouckaert Farm 9445 Browns Lake Rd, Fairburn, GA. 770.892.2117. equestrian@BouckaertFarm.com; BouckaertFarm.com Aiken Winter Encore. Aiken Horse Park Foundation, 931 Powderhouse Rd, Aiken. Equus Events, Inc. J.P. Godard, Show Manager. 803-646-696. equusevents@aol.com. equusevents.com. Southeastern Classic Polo Tournament. New Bridge Polo Club, 862 New Bridge Rd, Aiken. Tiger Kneece: 803.646.3302, newbridgepolo.com Fashion for Compassion Gala hosted by White Rose. Eclectics to support Equine Rescue of Aiken. The Reserve Club at Woodside. 3000 The Reserve Club Dr, Aiken. aikenequinerescue.org; (803) 643-1850 Hunting Country Schooling Days. FENCE 3381 Hunting Country Rd, Tryon. 828.859.9021, fence.org Highfields Just For Fun Show. PSJ Shows. Highfields Event Center, 147 Warehouse Road, Aiken. 803.649.3505, psjshows. com South Carolina Horse Council - Expo. Carolina Equine Park (SCEP), 443 Cleveland School Road, Camden, 803.486.4938, scequinepark.com

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Schooling H/J at Bouckaert Farm 9445 Browns Lake Rd, Fairburn, GA. 770.892.2117. equestrian@BouckaertFarm.com; BouckaertFarm.com USEF/USEA Horse Trials. Sporting Days Farm. 3549 Charleston Hwy. Aiken, SC. Cindy Wood (410) 726 8926 cindy@ firefoxfarm.com SportingDaysFarm.com Tuesday’s in the Park. Bruce’s Field, 931 Powderhouse Rd SE, Aiken. 803.830.7077, kate@aikenhorsepark.org, Aikenhorsepark. org 2024 Aiken Educational Sessions. Bruce’s Field, 931 Powderhouse Rd SE, Aiken. 803.830.7077, kate@aikenhorsepark.org, Aikenhorsepark.org February Schooling Horse Trials. Full Gallop Farm, 3828 Wagener Rd, Aiken. Lara Anderson: 803. 215.6590, fullgallopfarm@ yahoo.com, fullgallopfarm.com Whiskey Road Foxhounds Hunt Week. Whiskeyroadfoxhounds. com. Apple Days at Sporting Days Farm & Apple Tree. 1530 Oak Ridge Club Rd Windsor, SC Allison apltrefarm@aol.com (603)345-0382 appletreefarm.org

February-March 2024

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SCQHA VRH Cattle Classic. Carolina Equine Park (SCEP), 443 Cleveland School Road, Camden, 803.486.4938, scequinepark. com Cupid Classic. PSJ Shows. Highfields Event Center, 147 Warehouse Road, Aiken. 803.649.3505, psjshows.com Pine Top Intermediate Horse Trials. Pine Top Farm, 1432 Augusta Highway, Thomson GA. Pinetopfarm.com Hunting Country Schooling Days. FENCE 3381 Hunting Country Rd, Tryon. 828.859.9021, fence.org Landmark Farm HDT. aikendrivingclub.org, 480 Thrasher Lane, Windsor. 603.533.8585, ttt@farsidefarm.com USEF/USDF I Love Dressage. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm.com, stableviewfarm.com Region 11 IEA Finals. Georgia Horse Park. 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway. Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, georgiahorsepark. com Tuesday’s in the Park. Bruce’s Field, 931 Powderhouse Rd SE, Aiken. 803.830.7077, kate@aikenhorsepark.org, Aikenhorsepark. org Aiken Driving Club Derby. Greenfields Farm. 1060 Curb Chain Lane, Windsor. 603.533.8585, ttt@farsidefarm.com Cross Country Equestrian Workshop & Competition. Full Gallop Farm, 3828 Wagener Rd, Aiken. Lara Anderson: 803. 215.6590, fullgallopfarm@yahoo.com, fullgallopfarm.com Apple Tree Farm Two Phase. Schooling CT/Dressage, 1530 Oak Ridge Club Rd Windsor, SC Allison apltrefarm@aol.com (603)345-0382 appletreefarm.org Eventing Academy X-C Schooling Day. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm.com, stableviewfarm.com Carolina Classic. PSJ Shows. Highfields Event Center, 147 Warehouse Road, Aiken. 803.649.3505, psjshows.com Eventing Academy Schooling Day. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm.com, stableviewfarm.com Atlanta Youth Dressage Challenge. Georgia Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway NE, Conyers. 770.860.4190, Georgiahorsepark.com Pipe Opener II CT at Carolina Horse Park. 2814 Montrose Rd., Raeford, NC 28376. 910-875-2074, info@carolinahorsepark. com. Carolinahorsepark.com Elite H/J local at Bouckaert Farm 9445 Browns Lake Rd, Fairburn, GA. 770.892.2117. equestrian@BouckaertFarm.com; BouckaertFarm.com IEA Region Finals Zones 1-6. Georgia Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway NE, Conyers. 770.860.4190, Georgiahorsepark.com USEF/USEA Winter Horse Trial. Jumping Branch Farm. 179 Fox Pond Rd, Aiken, 240-460-1094. timshaw628@gmail.com. JBFarm.com. Regions 1 & 6 IEA Finals. Georgia Horse Park. 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway. Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, georgiahorsepark. com Spook Busting Secrets with Anna Twinney. A two day clinic with hands on training with your horse or one of our OTTBs. Equine Rescue of Aiken. 532 Glenwood Drive, Aiken. aikenequinerescue. org. Jumping Branch Farm USEA/USEF Winter Horse Trials. Jumping Branch Farm, 179 Fox Pond Rd, Aiken. 803.260.5970, aelee28@gmail.com, jbfarm.com USEF/USDF Dressage at Bruce’s Field. Bruce’s Field, 931 Powderhouse Rd SE, Aiken. 803.830.7077, kate@aikenhorsepark. org, Aikenhorsepark.org Eventing Academy Schooling Horse Trials. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm.com, stableviewfarm.com

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Dressage Tests of Choice. Full Gallop Farm, 3828 Wagener Rd, Aiken. Lara Anderson: 803. 215.6590, fullgallopfarm@yahoo. com, fullgallopfarm.com Tuesday’s in the Park. Bruce’s Field, 931 Powderhouse Rd SE, Aiken. 803.830.7077, kate@aikenhorsepark.org, Aikenhorsepark. org Hunter/Jumper Institute. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm.com, stableviewfarm. com February Horse Trials. Full Gallop Farm, 3828 Wagener Rd, Aiken. Lara Anderson: 803. 215.6590, fullgallopfarm@yahoo. com, fullgallopfarm.com Apple Branch at Jumping Branch & Apple Tree. 1530 Oak Ridge Club Rd Windsor, SC Allison apltrefarm@aol.com (603)3450382 appletreefarm.org Elite H/J at Bouckaert Farm 9445 Browns Lake Rd, Fairburn, GA. 770.892.2117. equestrian@BouckaertFarm.com; BouckaertFarm. com IEA Region 4 Finals. Carolina Equine Park (SCEP), 443 Cleveland School Road, Camden, 803.486.4938, scequinepark. com PSJ Winter II. Highfields Event Center, 147 Warehouse Road, Aiken. 803.649.3505, psjshows.com Pine Top Advanced Horse Trials. Pine Top Farm, 1432 Augusta Highway, Thomson GA. Pinetopfarm.com Cross Country Equestrian Workshop & Competition. Full Gallop Farm, 3828 Wagener Rd, Aiken. Lara Anderson: 803. 215.6590, fullgallopfarm@yahoo.com, fullgallopfarm.com Low Country Classic Dressage. Mullet Hall Equestrian Center, John’s Island, SC. Carol Freiligh: 843.857.6229, treasurer@scdcta. com, scdcta.com Jen Marsden Hamilton Clinic. Location TBA. Tonya Amato: jump4joytonya@gmail.com Spring Audubon Drive. Aiken Driving Club. Aikendrivingclub. com, 1060 Curb Chain Lane, Windsor. 603.533.8585, ttt@ farsidefarm.com Dressage Tests of Choice. Full Gallop Farm, 3828 Wagener Rd, Aiken. Lara Anderson: 803. 215.6590, fullgallopfarm@yahoo. com, fullgallopfarm.com Windsor Trace Continuous Drive. Windsor Trace. 1060 Curb Chain Lane, Windsor. Lisa Singer: 610.960.8695. windsortracecde@gmail.com 2024 Aiken Educational Sessions. Bruce’s Field, 931 Powderhouse Rd SE, Aiken. 803.830.7077, kate@aikenhorsepark.org, Aikenhorsepark.org February II Horse Trials. Full Gallop Farm, 3828 Wagener Rd, Aiken. Lara Anderson: 803. 215.6590, fullgallopfarm@yahoo. com, fullgallopfarm.com Schooling Dressage Collection. Stable View. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm. com, stableviewfarm.com Dara Apple: Apple Tree Farm & Dara Knot Three Phase. 1530 Oak Ridge Club Rd Windsor, SC Allison apltrefarm@aol.com (603)345-0382 appletreefarm.org

March 1

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Oyster Roast. Aiken Steeplechase Racecourse, 538 Two Notch Rd SE, Aiken. 803.648.9641, info@aikensteeplechase.com, aikensteeplechase.com Grand Prix Eventing at Bruce’s Field. Bruce’s Field, 931 Powderhouse Rd SE, Aiken. 803.830.7077, kate@aikenhorsepark. org, Aikenhorsepark.org March Madness I. PSJ Shows. Highfields Event Center, 147 Warehouse Road, Aiken. 803.649.3505, psjshows.com SCQHA - Southern Gold Classic. Carolina Equine Park (SCEP), 443 Cleveland School Road,Camden, 803.486.4938, scequinepark.com

The Aiken Horse

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Lucinda Green Clinic. Full Gallop Farm, 3828 Wagener Rd, Aiken. Lara Anderson: 803.215.6590, fullgallopfarm@yahoo.com 2 Hunting Country Schooling Days. FENCE 3381 Hunting Country Rd, Tryon. 828.859.9021, fence.org 2 Spring Fling Clinic with Aiken Driving Club. Paul & Sue Dougherty’s Farm, 551 Spring Branch Rd, Windsor. Katy Rhinehart. gkm104@heartofiowa.net 2-3 USEF/USDF “Southern Comfort” Dressage. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm. com, stableviewfarm.com 2-3 USEF/USDF Raleigh Winter Dressage. Rosinburg Events. J.B Hunt Complex. 4631 Trinity Rd, Raleigh. 919.839.4701, Rosinburg-events.com 2-3 Sedgefield at the Park Kickoff NCHJA “C” H/J Show. Carolina Horse Park. 2814 Montrose Rd, Raeford. 910.875.2074, info@ carolinahorsepark.com. Carolinahorsepark.com 3 USEA/USEF Horse Trials. Sporting Days Farm. Joannah Glass: 610.613.2010, jhallglass@aol.com, sportingdaysfarm.com 5 Tuesday’s in the Park. Bruce’s Field, 931 Powderhouse Rd SE, Aiken. 803.830.7077, kate@aikenhorsepark.org, Aikenhorsepark. org 7 Apple Days. Schooling CT/Dressage, 1530 Oak Ridge Club Rd Windsor, SC Allison apltrefarm@aol.com (603)345-0382 appletreefarm.org 8 Eventing Academy X-Country Schooling day. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm. com, stableviewfarm.com 8-10 March Madness II. PSJ Shows. Highfields Event Center, 147 Warehouse Road, Aiken. 803.649.3505, psjshows.com 8-10 Eventing HT at Bouckaert Farm 9445 Browns Lake Rd, Fairburn, GA. 770.892.2117. equestrian@BouckaertFarm.com; BouckaertFarm.com 9 McGhees’ Mile Harness Race. 620 Banks Mill Rd, Aiken. 803.617.8511, mcgheesmile.com 9 Eventing Academy Schooling Day. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm.com, stableviewfarm.com 9 March Dressage Tests of Choice. Full Gallop Farm, 3828 Wagener Rd, Aiken. Lara Anderson: 803.215.6590, fullgallopfarm@yahoo. com 9-10 Southern Pines Horse Trials. Carolina Horse Park. 2814 Montrose Rd, Raeford. 910.875.2074, info@carolinahorsepark.com. Carolinahorsepark.com 9-10 Hunting Country Schooling Days. FENCE 3381 Hunting Country Rd, Tryon. 828.859.9021, fence.org 9-10 Palmetto Paint Horse Club. Carolina Equine Park (SCEP), 443 Cleveland School Road,Camden, 803.486.4938, scequinepark. com 10 March Horse Trials. Full Gallop Farm, 3828 Wagener Rd, Aiken. Lara Anderson: 803.215.6590, fullgallopfarm@yahoo.com 10 Eventing Academy Schooling Horse Trials. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm.com, stableviewfarm.com 12 Tuesday’s in the Park. Bruce’s Field, 931 Powderhouse Rd SE, Aiken. 803.830.7077, kate@aikenhorsepark.org, Aikenhorsepark. org 13 March Schooling Horse Trial. Full Gallop Farm, 3828 Wagener Rd, Aiken. Lara Anderson: 803.215.6590, fullgallopfarm@yahoo. com 14 Apple Tree Farm Two Phase. Schooling CT/Dressage, 1530 Oak Ridge Club Rd Windsor, SC Allison apltrefarm@aol.com (603)345-0382 appletreefarm.org 14-17 USEF/USHJA Regional “B” Rated Hunters & Level 3 “Winter” Jumpers Rated Classic. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm.com, stableviewfarm.com 14-17 Carolina International. Carolina Horse Park. 2814 Montrose Rd, Raeford. 910.875.2074, info@carolinahorsepark.com. Carolinahorsepark.com

February-March 2024

14-17 Elite H/J at Bouckaert Farm 9445 Browns Lake Rd, Fairburn, GA. 770.892.2117. equestrian@BouckaertFarm.com; BouckaertFarm. com 15-17 Ashley Hall PSJ Series. PSJ Shows. Mullet Hall. St. John’s Island. 803.649.3505, psjshows.com 16 Aiken Trials. Aiken Training Track, 538 Two Notch Rd SE, Aiken. 803.648.4631, aikentt@bellsouth.net, Aikentrainingtrack.com 16-17 Four Beats for Pleasure. Carolina Equine Park (SCEP), 443 Cleveland School Road, Camden, 803.486.4938, scequinepark.com 16-17 Pine Top Spring Horse Trials. Pine Top Farm, 1432 Augusta Highway, Thomson GA. Pinetopfarm.com 16-17 Grassroots & Dusty Boots. Aiken. 843.762.9965, grassrootsdustyboots@gmail.com 20 Hunter/Jumper Institute. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173. info@stableviewfarm.com, stableviewfarm. com 21 Apple Days. Schooling CT/Dressage, 1530 Oak Ridge Club Rd Windsor, SC Allison apltrefarm@aol.com (603)345-0382 appletreefarm.org 21-24 Tryon Welcome 1. National/Level 3. Tryon International Equestrian Center. 25 International Blvd, Mill Spring, NC. 828.863.1000. Resort.Tryon.com 22-23 Southern Belle Classic Auction. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm.com, stableviewfarm.com 22-24 Camden Spring Classic I. Carolina Equine Park (SCEP), 443 Cleveland School Road,Camden, 803.486.4938, scequinepark. com 22-24 Sedgefield at the Park “Early Spring” NCHJA “C” H/J Show. Carolina Horse Park. 2814 Montrose Rd, Raeford. 910.875.2074, info@carolinahorsepark.com. Carolinahorsepark.com 23 Dressage Tests of Choice. Full Gallop Farm, 3828 Wagener Rd, Aiken. Lara Anderson: 803.215.6590, fullgallopfarm@yahoo.com 23 Aiken Spring Steeplechase. Aiken Steeplechase Racecourse, 538 Two Notch Rd SE, Aiken. 803.648.9641, info@aikensteeplechase. com, aikensteeplechase.com 23 March Madness Kick Off Schooling Show. Poplar Place Farm, 8191 US Hwy 27E, Hamilton, GA. 706.681.8748, show@ poplarplacefarm.com, poplarplacefarm.com 23-24 FRC Combined Training. FENC,E 3381 Hunting Country Rd, Tryon. 828.859.9021, fence.org 24 Highfields Just For Fun Show. PSJ Shows. Highfields Event Center, 147 Warehouse Road, Aiken. 803.649.3505, psjshows.com 27 Schooling Dressage Collection. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm.com, stableviewfarm.com 27 Cross Country Equestrian Workshop. Full Gallop Farm, 3828 Wagener Rd, Aiken. Lara Anderson: 803.215.6590, fullgallopfarm@yahoo.com 27 Aiken Driving Club Derby. Greenfields Farm. 1060 Curb Chain Lane, Windsor. 603.533.8585, ttt@farsidefarm.com 27-30 Tryon Welcome 2. National/Level 3. Tryon International Equestrian Center. 25 International Blvd, Mill Spring, NC. 828.863.1000. Resort.Tryon.com 28 Apple Tree Farm Two Phase. Schooling CT/Dressage, 1530 Oak Ridge Club Rd Windsor, SC Allison apltrefarm@aol.com (603)345-0382 appletreefarm.org 29-31 Aiken Horse Show in the Woods. Hitchcock Woods Foundation. Aiken. 803.642.0528, info@hitchcockwoods.org 29-31 Eventing HT at Bouckaert Farm 9445 Browns Lake Rd, Fairburn, GA. 770.892.2117. equestrian@BouckaertFarm.com; BouckaertFarm.com 30 Pacers and Polo. Aiken Polo Club. Whitney Field, Mead Ave, Aiken. aikenpolo.org; Susie Kneece: skneece@gmail.com; 803646-3302 30 Spring Trail Race. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm.com, stableviewfarm.com

February-March 2024

30-31 USEF/USDF March Magic. Carolina Horse Park. 2814 Montrose Rd, Raeford. 910.875.2074, info@carolinahorsepark.com. Carolinahorsepark.com 30-31 NC Rodeo. FENCE 3381 Hunting Country Rd, Tryon. 828.859.9021, fence.org 30-31 Jumping Branch Farm USEA/USEF Spring Horse Trials. Jumping Branch Farm, 179 Fox Pond Rd, Aiken. 803.260.5970, aelee28@ gmail.com, jbfarm.com

April 4-7

Southern Pines CDE. Aiken Driving Club. Aikendrivingclub.com, 1060 Curb Chain Lane, Windsor. 603.533.8585, ttt@farsidefarm. com 4-7 Tryon Welcome 3. National/Level 3. Tryon International Equestrian Center. 25 International Blvd, Mill Spring, NC. 828.863.1000. Resort.Tryon.com 5-7 Stable View $60,000 FEI CCI-S 3/4/5* & USEF/USEA Horse Trials. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm. com, stableviewfarm.com 5-7 Camden Spring Classic. PSJ Shows. SCEP, Camden. 803.649.3505, psjshows.com 5-8 Georgia On My Mind Stock Show. Georgia Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway NE, Conyers. 770.860.4190, Georgiahorsepark.com 6-7 Schooling Show at Bouckaert Farm 9445 Browns Lake Rd, Fairburn, GA. 770.892.2117. equestrian@BouckaertFarm.com; BouckaertFarm.com 6-7 NC Working Equitation. FENCE 3381 Hunting Country Rd, Tryon. 828.859.9021, fence.org 11-13 Georgia On My Mind Pro-Am. Georgia Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway NE, Conyers. 770.860.4190, Georgiahorsepark.com 11-14 USEF/USHJA National “A” Rated Hunters & Level 3 Rated “Spring” Classic. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@ stableviewfarm.com, stableviewfarm.com 11-14 Tryon Welcome 4. National/Level 3. Tryon International Equestrian Center. 25 International Blvd, Mill Spring, NC. 828.863.1000. Resort.Tryon.com 11-27 Aiken Saddlery 6 Goal. Wagener Polo Club. Billy Raab: 561.719.3318, bkrpolo@aol.com, wagenerpolo.com 12-14 Palmetto & Carolina Paint Horse Clubs. Carolina Equine Park (SCEP), 443 Cleveland School Road, Camden, 803.486.4938, scequinepark.com 12-28 Henry Cato Memorial 4 Goal at APC. Aiken Polo Club, Aiken. Tiger Kneece: 803.646.3302, aikenpolo.org 13 Spring Classic. Poplar Place Farm, 8191 US Hwy 27E, Hamilton, GA. 706.681.8748, show@poplarplacefarm.com, poplarplacefarm.com 13-14 Grassroots & Dusty Boots. Mullet Hall, John’s Island. 843.762.9965, grassrootsdustyboots@gmail.com 13-14 Aiken Carriage Classic. Aiken Driving Club. Aikendrivingclub. com, 1060 Curb Chain Lane, Windsor. 603.533.8585, ttt@ farsidefarm.com 13-14 Cheryl & Co H/J at Bouckaert Farm 9445 Browns Lake Rd, Fairburn, GA. 770.892.2117. equestrian@BouckaertFarm.com; BouckaertFarm.com 13-14 Longleaf Pine Horse Trials. Carolina Horse Park. 2814 Montrose Rd, Raeford. 910.875.2074, info@carolinahorsepark.com. Carolinahorsepark.com 13-14 FENCE Horse Trials. FENCE 3381 Hunting Country Rd, Tryon. 828.859.9021, fence.org 17 Hunter/Jumper Institute. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm.com, stableviewfarm. com

The Aiken Horse 101

18-21 Aiken Spring Classic. PSJ Shows. Highfields Event Center, 147 Warehouse Road, Aiken. 803.649.3505, psjshows.com 19-21 TRHC Horse & Hound. FENCE 3381 Hunting Country Rd, Tryon. 828.859.9021, fence.org 19-21 USDF/USEF Tryon Spring Dressage. Tryon International Equestrian Center. 25 International Blvd, Mill Spring, NC. 828.863.1000. Resort.Tryon.com 19-5 New Bridge Polo Championships. New Bridge Polo Club, 862 New Bridge Rd, Aiken. Tiger Kneece: 803.646.3302, newbridgepolo.com 20-21 USEF/USDF “Spring Fever” Dressage. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm.com, stableviewfarm.com 20-21 USEF/USDF Spring Dressage Series I & II. Poplar Place Farm, 8191 US Hwy 27E, Hamilton, GA. 706.681.8748, show@ poplarplacefarm.com, poplarplacefarm.com 20-21 USEF/USDF Prime Time Dressage. Carolina Horse Park. 2814 Montrose Rd, Raeford. 910.875.2074, info@carolinahorsepark. com. Carolinahorsepark.com 20-21 NCPEA Breakout of the Carolinas. Carolina Equine Park (SCEP), 443 Cleveland School Road, Camden, 803.486.4938, scequinepark.com

25-28 Aiken Spring Classic. PSJ Shows. Highfields Event Center, 147 Warehouse Road, Aiken. 803.649.3505, psjshows.com 26-28 Sedgefield at the Park NCHJA Spring “C” H/J show. Carolina Horse Park. 2814 Montrose Rd, Raeford. 910.875.2074, info@ carolinahorsepark.com. Carolinahorsepark.com 27 Aiken Symphony. Horses and Harmony. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm.com, stableviewfarm.com 27 Jungle Drive. Aiken Driving Club. Aikendrivingclub.com, 1060 Curb Chain Lane, Windsor. 603.533.8585, ttt@farsidefarm.com 27-28 USEF/USDF SCDCTA Springtime Dressage. Carolina Equine Park (SCEP), 443 Cleveland School Road, Camden, 803.486.4938, scequinepark.com 27-28 USEF/USDF Massey Ferguson Dressage at the Horse Park. Georgia Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway NE, Conyers. 770.860.4190, Georgiahorsepark.com 28 Dressage & CT Schooling Show. Sporting Days Farm. Joannah Glass: 610.613.2010, jhallglass@aol.com, sportingdaysfarm.com 28 Cookout at the Water Jump. Sporting Days Farm. Joannah Glass: 610.613.2010, jhallglass@aol.com, sportingdaysfarm.com 28-11 Wagener 4 Goal. Wagener Polo Club. Billy Raab: 561.719.3318, bkrpolo@aol.com, wagenerpolo.com

Business Cards

102

The Aiken Horse

February-March 2024

The Aiken Horse 103

Outfitting Southeastern Farriers for Over 30 years

GREAT SERVICE AND QUALITY FARRIER SUPPLIES ARE OUR PRIORITY

Aiken, SC

803.685.5101

Columbus, NC 828.894.0280

www.monettafarrier.com

104

The Aiken Horse

February-March 2024

Now Open

A PASTURE BOARDING facility for retired horses and resting polo ponies. 742 James Davison Heriot Road, Dalzell, SC 29040

Onsite owners. Convenient access to I-20 and I-95. All new fencing and refurbished grass

Jared and Katherine Thompson 870-816-5814 highmeadowpastures.com

February-March 2024

The Aiken Horse 105

Index of Advertisers Advertiser

Advertiser

Page Section

Page

Section

Advertiser

Page Section

Adams Horse and Pet Supplies

Dara Knot

Performance Equine Vets

Aiken Chiropractic

Derrick Realty

PEVS Sporthorse Campus

Aiken County Farm Supply

DFG Stables

Progressive Show Jumping

Aiken Fine Homes and Land

Engineered Equine Performance

R & R Regal Equine

Aiken Horse Park Foundation

Epona

Rado Residential

Aiken Horse Show

Equine Divine

RE/MAX Tattersall Group

Aiken Horsemanship Academy

Equine Rescue of Aiken

Shane Doyle

Aiken Land Conservancy

Finally Found it /Tack Shack

Sharer Dale Team RE

6-7

Aiken Luxury Rentals

FOTAS Aiken

Solterra Farm

Aiken Outreach

G L Williams and Daughter

South Carolina Equine Park

Aiken Polo Club

Gary Knoll Photography

Southern Belle Classic

Aiken Saddlery, Inc.

Glowing Results

Southern Equine Service

Aiken Steeplechase Association

Great Oak EAP

14-15

Southern Ridge Excavation

Aiken Tack Exchange

Haffey Dressage

SPCA Albrecht Center

Aiken Trials

107

Highfields

Sporting Days Farm

Aiken Veterinary Clinics, P.A.

Ina Ginsberg

Stable View, LLC

American National Insurance

InnerCoastal Livestock

Straightness Training

Apple Tree Farm

Jill Diaz Polo

Sullivan Turner Team

4-5

B & K Grading and Paving

LandRover Kentucky 3de

Supreme Top Form

Be Fly Free

LEGISequine.com

Tally Ho Vacation Rentals

Breakfast at The Gallops

Lightning Protection Systems

Teddi Ismond

Bridle Creek

Mark Lexton

The Kneaded Edge

Buckeye Acres Farms

34-35

Meybohm RE Haslup

The Kneaded Edge

Carol Gillis, DVM

Meybohm RE Vaillancourt

The Tack Room

Carolina Company RE

108

Meybohm RE Vaillancourt

The Willcox

Carolina Company Uskup

Meybohm, Taylor Team

Tom Wendel DVM

Carolina Equine Clinic

Moorefield Farm

Triple R Stables

Carolina International

New Bridge Polo Club

Tumbleweed

CHAPS

NibbleNet

Vaughn Equestrian

Clint Bertalan Farms LLC

Oak Manor Saddlery

Whisper Farm

Curated Clothiers

Park Avenue Oyster Bar

106

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February-March 2024

The Aiken Horse 107

A I K E N, S O U T H C A R O L I N A

HOMES | HORSES | HISTORY | HOSPITALITY

C ome Home to Greener Pastures

www.CarolinaCompany.com | 803.648.8660

PREVIOUSLY COMPLETED BUILDER’S PLAN

Winter Colony Estate “Live Oak” THOMAS BOSSARD | 803.640.2845 | $3,500,000

Situated on just under 3 acres on Aiken's famed Easy Street, this completely renovated property was expanded and restored in 2003. Originally 3 separate buildings, the center is believed to be a 1840s home. Around 1910, the structures were combined including new construction of the living room which joins them today. The pool and pool house. were built in the 1920s and restored in 2000. The live oak in the rear of the house is approximately 300 years old and gives the house its name. The final addition to the estate was the current 2-car garage and apartment. The main house features 4 large bedrooms with sitting rooms, baths and closets. Custom kitchen with laundry room and pantry flow into a breakfast room. Large dining room opens to expansive living room with intricate mill work. There are 2 sitting rooms off the main living room, a game room, office, wet bar and half bath. There are extensive decks and patios throughout the property overlooking the gardens. The estate includes magnificent gardens, 2-car garage with gardener's bath & apartment, grand pool house, 9 stall barn with new roof and room for apartment above. Adjacent to the barn are 3 paddocks, and a 3 car garage with a 2 bedroom apartment above. This property is truly a one of a kind and is just steps from Hitchcock Woods.

Three Runs Plantation JACK ROTH 803.341.8787 | $354,200

New Construction at Bridle Creek JACK ROTH 803.341.8787 | $839,000

Beautiful Donnie Shaffer home under construction on 5.03 acres, 3,018 square feet, 4 bedrooms and 3 full baths, oak hardwood floors in foyer, great room, dining room, kitchen and owners bedroom. 18'' Ceramic tile in all wet areas, extra large mudroom, 17 SEER Heat Pump, Kitchen has extra sink, 10' ceilings in Family Room and Foyer, 9' elsewhere on the main floor. Kitchen Aid stainless appliances including gas cooktop, microwave and dishwasher, 6' garden tub in owners bath with tile shower. Bridle Creek owners enjoy amenities including trail system, community arenas, and new fitness center with kitchen. Expected completion in summer 2024.

Steeplechase Equestrian JACK ROTH 803.341.8787 | $1,100,000

Beautiful and very rare 6.44 acre building site in coveted equestrian community. Very flat building site with nice trees, located close to the Activity Center South with a jump arena, dressage arena with mirrors and a cross country schooling area. Amenities include clubhouse, additional arenas, swimming pool with cabana, and miles of groomed trails.

Meticulously constructed, this all-brick home combines luxury and functionality in a wonderfully private sanctuary. Built in 2010, this 4000 sq ft estate boasts 4 bedrooms and 5 baths. Enchanting landscaped grounds span nearly 6 acres. Private driveway leads to solar powered electric gate. A 2-car garage adjoins the house, and a pair of garages and workshop with full bath, heating & cooling could convert to horse barns. Outdoor amenities include saltwater pool with new liner, and newly installed irrigation system. Contemporary home features high ceilings in the great room, open floor plan, and chef’s kitchen with GE Profile appliances, and LG washer and dryer. The primary bedroom includes office, walk-in closet, and lavish bath. Upstairs are 2 generously sized guest bedrooms, each with private full bath. Screened porch with new gas fireplace, outdoor cooking area with a built-in grill and sink, and Trex brand decking offer an ideal setting for outdoor entertainment. Includes fiber optic internet, fully encapsulated basement with new dehumidifier, an endless gas tankless water heater, gas-fired Generac generator, pellet heater in family room, electric window shades, Wi-Fi-controlled thermostats, and beautiful oak floors with inlaid walnut wood accents.

Historic Rose Gate

BRIAN CAVANAUGH 803.624.6072 | MIKE HOSANG 803.270.6358 |$1,985,000

Mile Bridge Tract

Classic Southern elegance defines this 1892 Colonial-style home in the heart of Aiken's downtown historic district. Gleaming heart pine floors, 7 fireplaces with intricately carved mantels, beautiful box bay windows & transoms, and soaring ceilings are a few of the home's exquisite historic features. Main floor has kitchen with corner breakfast nook, formal dining room, living room, family room/parlor, great room/music room, and powder room. Main floor bedroom has adjoining full bath. Upstairs are 3 bedrooms and 3 full baths. The spacious primary suite has a pass-through to adjacent bonus/sitting room, that could be used as a 5th bedroom. This marvelous 1.34-acre property includes a unique guest cottage with attached 2-stall stable. Ride to the Hitchcock Woods, or walk to downtown dining or shopping!

LAND East Side Horse Country MIKE HOSANG 803.270.6358 | $900,000

Conveniently located in the heart of the eastside equestrian corridor, this multi-use 80+ acre parcel offers an opportunity to create a lifestyle of your dreams. Equestrians, farmers, hunters, and developers — consider the possibilities!

Ulmer Heritage Lots

JANE PAGE THOMPSON | 803.215.8232 Multiple parcels offered in Williston – Barnwell County at Highway 39 and Shad Road, Ash Lane, Oyster Trail, and Bluebonnett Valley. Paved county roads and private dirt roads provide access to beautiful land with a multitude of uses! Lots range from 0.59 acres to as much as 22.91 acres. BRING ALL OFFERS! Starting at $13,500

MIKE HOSANG 803.270.6358 | $7,000 per acre

Expansive 362-acre tract available in Johnston area on the border of Aiken and Edgefield counties. Endless possibilities for this lovely land, with part of the acreage cleared, part wooded, and several gorgeous homesites. Approximately 137 acres cleared, and about 225 acres wooded with a mix of hardwoods & pines. Possible uses include hunting, horses, recreational, timber, farm, or residential development. Seller will consider subdividing.

Solstice Meadow RANDY WOLCOTT | 803.507.1142 Lovely building lots in this quiet little equestrian neighborhood, with access to miles of trails and the Freeman Preserve! Lots range from 5 to 5.42 acres. ONLY $85,000 EACH LOT

Bridle Creek

JACK ROTH | 803.341.8787 Over 600 wooded acres of Aiken’s horse country, featuring equestrian homesites of 5 acres or more. Community amenities include dressage and jump arenas, cross-country schooling, miles of trails and NEW activity center with fitness equipment and kitchen. Developer financing available! $22,500 per acre

JACK ROTH: 803-341-8787 COURTNEY CONGER: 803-645-3308 THOMAS BOSSARD: 803-640-2845 TOM MURRAY: 626-644-3008 BARB GOULD USKUP: 803-295-3199 MIKE HOSANG: 803-270-6358 LORI SALCH: 803-270-5972 RANDY WOLCOTT: 803-507-1142 MARY TROTMAN: 502-857-1782 ELIZABETH BLACKWELL: 850-566-6295 ALEX TYRTEOS: 203-249-3071 BETTINA RUCKELSHAUS: 803-640-1625 JANE PAGE THOMPSON: 803-215-8232 DANA MASSEY: 803-599-0400 LEE HEDLUND: 803-221-6831 BRIAN CAVANAUGH: 803-624-6072 SHELLEY FARQUHAR: 561-267-9514 MELISSA MAJOR, Broker: 803-640-3249