March / April 2023 Issue

List Your Home With Confidence

So ph isticated St y l e

Enjoy an unparalleled lifestyle at Edgehill.

At Edgehill, experience retirement living in a pet-friendly community with the refined ambiance of a grand hotel and an unmatched level of amenities and services. Choose from a diverse array of activities and programs, savor

food, socialize with like-minded residents and embrace the freedom to live the carefree life you desire. Where life meets style.

To learn more, call 203-409-8377 or visit EdgehillCommunity.com

25,000

WE MAIL B&NC MAG TO THE MOST AFFLUENT HOMES IN NEW CANAAN AND DARIEN, CT

ARMONK, BEDFORD, BEDFORD HILLS, KATONAH, MT. KISCO, NORTH SALEM, PLEASANTVILLE, POUND RIDGE, SOUTH SALEM AND WACCABUC, NY

AND WE’RE MOST PLEASED THAT OUR B&NC MAG READERS SPEND AN AVERAGE OF OVER AN HOUR READING EACH ISSUE!

GET IN TOUCH

FOR ADVERTISING INQUIRIES: advertising@bedfordnewcanaanmag.com

FOR GENERAL INQUIRIES, OR CONTENT SUBMISSION: info@bedfordnewcanaanmag.com

SIGN UP FOR OUR E-NEWSLETTER ON OUR WEBSITE, OR BY EMAILING INFO@BEDFORDNEWCANAANMAG.COM WITH THE SUBJECT LINE: SUBSCRIBE.

AND DON’T MISS OUR CALENDAR OF LOCAL EVENTS AT www.BedfordNewCanaanMag.com

DON’T FORGET TO FOLLOW OUR INSTAGRAM: @BEDFORDNEWCANAANMAG

PHOTO BY: ANDREA CERASO HAIR AND MAKEUP: EVA SCRIVO

PRESIDENT’S LETTER

MAR/APR 2023

...and that perspective and approach leads us to meet with, and write about, some really great people doing really great things in our community.

In this March/April 2023 issue, we’ve focused on four women in the community who are each making a difference in animal rescue:

- Our cover feature, film and TV star Arielle Kebbel, works with SkyDog to rescue wild horses.

- PRAI Beauty CEO Cathy Kangas works through her Cathy Kangas Foundation for Animals and with the Humane Society of the United States on all sorts of animal rights and rescue activism.

- Michelle Brier co-founded and works for BluePath, providing companion dogs for kids with autism.

- Penny Smith-Berk runs Rescue Right at Northwind Kennels in Bedford, a leading rescue for ‘difficult’ dogs.

…Although the problems involved - in the U.S. and in our own community - relating to horses, dogs, cats and other wild animals and pets are drastic and dire, by focusing on the positive we’re able to promote some outstanding local women doing big things about these problems!

Also in keeping with our ‘pet’ theme, we’ve featured Kathy Hoets, a New Canaan-based Pet Portraitist, who will be giving away a personalized pet portrait to a lucky reader. For a chance to win a custom oil painting of your furry friend, email us 3-5 photos of your pet and share their name, breed, and town to: info@BedfordNewCanaanMag.com

And for more of the local, feel-good kind of vibe B&NC represents, this issue also features:

Terry Hanratty, a long-time New Canaanite, who won the NCAA National Football Championship as the sophomore Quarterback at Notre Dame and was then the youngest person to be on the cover of Time Magazine, and who won two Super Bowl Championships with the Pittsburgh Steelers during his NFL career.

Rob Labritz, the Director of Golf at Glen Arbor Golf Club in Bedford Hills, who’s submitted his third piece for B&NC - this about his first year on the PGA Tour Champions.

Spring is a time for renewal and growth! We encourage you to catch the spirit! Try to find the positive in everything you see! …And try to do something positive in the local community!

Truly yours,

Cas Ey Kapla N PRESIDENT

B A LLE T H IS PÁ N I CO

MARC H 2 6

America’s Leading Latino Dance Company and One of America s Cultural Treasures!

MAR C BROUSS A R D APRI L 1 6

Long hailed powerhouse vocalist and king of Bayou Soul!

RI TA RUD N E R

APRI L 2 6

Legendary comedian Rita Rudner returns to the time in 10 years!

RIC K WAK EMA N APRI L 4

World renowned keyboard player and member of English rock group YES!

H A P PY 1 0 0 T H BI RT H DAY JU DY ! APRI L 2 7

Judy Garland’s 100th birthday celebration, starring internet sensation, Debbie Wileman!

O N E N IG H T O F QUEE N APRI L 11 & 1 2

A night of Queen’s greatest hits “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Killer Queen” and more!

G A ZI L LIO N BUBBLE S H O W

APRI L 3 0

Get ready for this fun, unPOPable, family-friendly show!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

p.97

OUR COVER FEATURE

is on ARIELLE KEBBEL. Film and TV Star, passionate about horse rescue…and now putting down roots right here in the B&NC area.

P.64

p.55 - BLUEPATH: KIDS’ BEST FRIEND

BluePath breeds, trains and places service dogs with kids with autism between the ages of 5 and 11, and facility dogs for organizations including the Bedford Police Department and West Patent Elementary School.

p.64 - ANIMAL RIGHTS & RESCUE ACTIVIST: CATHY KANGAS

Cathy Kangas is the CEO of PRAI Beauty and runs the Cathy Kangas Foundation for Animals. She’s a renowned animal rights and rescue activist and philanthropist, and one of her current projects is developing a shelter in or near New Canaan to provide a long-term home for unadoptable dogs.

P.74

p.74 - RESCUE RIGHT

P.55

Penny Smith-Berk is the driving force behind Bedford-based Rescue Right, the animal rescue operation she runs on a shoestring budget and as a labor of love. Based out of Northwind Kennels in Bedford, Rescue Right is a leader by all measures in compassionate rescue, shelter and adoption for ‘difficult’ dogs and ‘trap, neuter, release’ to control the number of local feral cats.

p.84 - KATHY HOETS: PET PORTRAITIST

P.84

New Canaanite, Kathy Hoets, paints pets. She says, “I try to see into the eyes and capture the soul of the animal.” B&NC has teamed-up with Kathy to GIVE AWAY a FREE Kathy Hoets pet portrait to one lucky B&NC reader. Email or Instagram your name and your pet’s name and breed, and 3 to 5 photos - of the pet! - to @bedfordnewcanaanmag or info@BedfordNewCanaanMag.com.

• 10% OFF ONE

• 15% OFF TWO

• 20% OFF THREE OR MORE *OFFER ENDS ON APRIL 1ST

STOP BY OUR JACK VICTOR TRUNK SHOW ON SATURDAY MARCH 25TH & OUR HICKEY FREEMAN TRUNK SHOWS ON SATURDAYS MARCH 4TH & APRIL

1ST. OR SCHEDULE A PERSONAL FITTING FOR ACCESS TO A VARIETY OF FABRICS & COLORS TO HELP YOU FIND THE PERFECT LOOK.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

P.113 P.29

p.113 - ALL-AMERICAN LEGEND: TERRY HANRATTY

As sophomore Quarterback in 1966, Terry Hanratty led Notre Dame to win the NCAA National Championship - and was then the youngest person to be pictured on the cover of Time Magazine. He went on to win 2 NFL Super Bowls as back-up QB to ‘the other Terry - Bradshaw’ on the Pittsburgh Steelers. He’s a long-time New Canaan resident, and you might see him around on his daily 5+ mile walk.

p.123 - ROB LABRITZ: MY FIRST YEAR ON THE PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

Rob Labritz is the Director of Golf at Glen Arbor Golf Club in Bedford Hills, and recently completed his rookie year on the PGA Tour Champions. In this issue, Rob writes exclusively for B&NC about what it’s like chasing his dream on the pro stage.

p.40

- I DO: WEDDINGS & VOWS

In a quintessentially local wedding, Emily Morris, from Waccabuc, married Ryder Bohlander, from Katonah, at the Waccabuc Country Club on 7.16.22, in a perfectly planned affair by La Maison Fête.

p.29

- THE BEDFORD OAK VOL. II of VI

Local best-selling author, Katie Sise-Sweeney’s, second installment of this locally-based fictional story in six parts. Vol I, published in the previous issue of B & NC Magazine, and available at BedfordNewCanaanMag.com, introduced us to twenty-seven-year old Claire, who goes to the end of Hook Road and follows the instructions of an old Bedford prophecy promising that if someone circles the Bedford Oak nine times, she will set free a spirit. Volume II opens on Claire meeting the spirit she has called forth.

THE BEDFORD OAK VOLUME

II OF VI

BY KATIE SISE SWEENEY

The following fictional story is Vol II of a six-part fantastical mystery set in Bedford. Vol I, published in the previous issue of B&NC Mag, introduced us to twenty-seven-year old Claire, who has just tragically lost her fiancé, James. On the night of James’ funeral, Claire goes to the end of Hook Road and follows the instructions of an old Bedford prophecy promising that if someone circles the Bedford Oak nine times, she will set free a spirit. Volume II opens on Claire meeting the spirit she has called forth.

“Claire?” the ghost asked as she stared at me, the naked branches of the Bedford Oak swaying above her tiny body. It didn’t surprise me that she knew my name, but it still took me a moment to get my bearings. I studied her see-through face with its high cheekbones and flashing eyes. Her long hair looked white-blond in the moonlight, and her tiny shoulders were set, like she had a plan, and a reason for finding me.

“That’s me, I’m Claire,” I said, my voice nearly lost on the wind. My body trembled from a heady mix of anticipation and cold.

“I’m Beatrice,” the ghost said matter-of-factly. Just like with the ghosts who visited me in my bedroom when I was little, I could discern her age: not quite thirty, maybe twentyeight or so. I took in her delicate, symmetrical features, and I imagined meeting her in human form at a party with my friends and wondered what I’d think of her.

“We have much to do together,” Beatrice said, coming toward me. Her translucent layers of skin and bones shimmered in the moonlight, and she wore a flowing nightdress that stopped just above her ankles. She moved like she was familiar with the terrain, familiar with Bedford, and familiar with me. “Claire, really,” she said, trotting over the frozen earth, dress billowing. There was something fast and disjointed about the way she traveled, like a jumpy black-and-white film from the 1920s played on fast forward. “Lose that silly surprised face you’ve got going,” she said. “A part of you had to know this trick with the Bedford Oak might work. Why else would you have done it?”

I could feel my jaw tighten, as though all the emotion I’d swallowed back today at James’ funeral was threatening to climb up and out of me. “Actually,” I said, “it didn’t work, not exactly. No offense, but I was trying to summon the ghost of my fiancé, James. He was killed last week in New York City.”

Beatrice waved a hand. “No offense taken,” she said. She didn’t say anything about James dying, and if she felt sorry for me, she didn’t show it.

“Maybe you’ve met him up there?” I asked, gesturing toward the cloudy heavens.

Beatrice’s lips pursed. Her light gray eyes blinked, and she looked like she was trying to scan her memory, but eventually she shook her head and said nothing more. Her voice was deep and resonant like a woodwind when she said, “Come now.” She reached for me with a see-through hand. Maybe I should have been scared, but I wasn’t. I’d never actually touched a ghost, even when I was little, and her hand didn’t feel quite human; it was warm and pliable like taffy, maybe a force field of sorts. “I need to stop by the police station,” she said plainly.

“Excuse me?” I asked. I suddenly felt as if we were standing too close, like strangers taking a ballroom dance class. Warmth radiated from Beatrice in waves, not cold like I expected.

“The police station,” Beatrice said, dropping my hand. “Where the police are. Has the term changed during the past century?” She looked at me like she was seeing me for the first time, and unimpressed with what she saw. “You do know what a police station is?”

“Yes, of course I do, but I—”

“Claire,” she interrupted. A large bird high in the arms of the Bedford Oak spread its black, oily wings and screeched. I gazed up at the oak, still not quite believing its magical promise was real. All those years we’d circled her trunk as children and chanted the Bedford lore to each other: had we ever come close to setting free a ghost?

Beatrice snapped her bony fingers, and I could hear the harsh snap even above the hurtling wind. Like the handshake, it confirmed she had a physical presence, no matter how translucent she looked. And that seemed to follow the physical rules of my childhood ghosts; they’d certainly done whatever they’d wanted in terms of adjusting the toys and furniture in my bedroom to their liking.

“There’s something at the police station I desperately need to find,” Beatrice said firmly. “Do you understand?”

I didn’t, not really. We stared at each other, a standstill of sorts. My eyes passed over her beautiful face, memorizing her just in case she disappeared. Suddenly she seemed too good to be true, like a glitch in a delicate time-space fabric that I could somehow ruin with a misstep.

Something wild cried out behind us in the dark brush, and maybe Beatrice sensed the uncertainty and longing inside of me because she seemed to soften. Her voice was gentler when she said, “Someone I care about deeply is in trouble. And something I need her to remember is at that police station. If you’ll come with me, I promise I’ll explain more when we arrive.”

I looked down at my snow boots, stalling.

“Would you believe, Claire, that there’s a darling golden retriever being raised as a service dog at the police station?”

I couldn’t meet her eyes. It felt like everyone had been talking to me like a child since James died, and now Beatrice was doing it, too.

She exhaled. “He dug something up,” she said. I raised an eyebrow.

“Not a bone or a clue,” she said quickly, “or anything like you see on those crime shows you all love to watch now. He unearthed a locket, and then he buried it again. It once belonged to me, and I need it back.”

I tried to tamp down my uneasiness. Of course, I wanted to go with her, but I was unsure of what I was really agreeing to. A walk to the police station to find a locket in the middle of the night? It was miles away. I was about to suggest we drive, but Beatrice turned quickly and started toward the stone wall. “Is this all too much for you?” she asked over her shoulder. Her translucence began to fade; she flickered a few times and became shadow-like.

“Beatrice?” I called, panicked. I could barely see her.

“Your fiancé, James. You’ve just lost him,” she said, and I tried to place where her voice was coming from. “Perhaps you find my presence too unsettling.”

I opened my mouth, but the words got caught. I needed Beatrice to understand that her ghostly presence could never be too strange; if anything, she was a comfort and a reason to hope I’d find James again. “I just needed a minute, that’s all,” I said, starting off toward the spot where I’d last seen her. “I’m ready. I’m coming. Please, wait.” She grew brighter, and I could make out her glistening shape near the stone wall. I broke into a run. The night had stilled around us; the wind had stopped whistling, the animals seemed to have stopped scurrying, and even the Bedford Oak looked at peace with what we were doing.

Beatrice waited for me at the wall. “I offered the invitation out of kindness,” she said, and it was obvious she was losing patience. “But you’re not obliged to take it. I can do my business at the police station by myself.” Even as she said it, she seemed just the slightest bit unsure. And I gathered from the look on her face that maybe she did need me for something.

But then she turned and started to climb the wall.

“Beatrice, wait!”

A sliver of moonlight lit the jagged stone puzzle pieces. I watched as she easily hoisted herself over the stones and landed on the other side. I clambered after her, the wall easier to navigate than usual. I tried not to stare too hard as we walked along the narrow edge of Cantitoe Street. How much of Beatrice was my conjuring, and how much of her was real? Who was she? When I was little, it upset me too much to see younger ghosts: some were barely older than me, and some were even younger. I think they could tell how distraught they made me, and maybe that’s why they rarely came to visit. Even Beatrice was too young to have died; it must have been tragic.

Snow had begun to fall, but still somehow everything felt warmer as we walked. Even the winding road felt easier to maneuver, despite the dark. It was as if being with Beatrice softened the edges of our travel. I was about to turn left onto the road that led to the police station, but Beatrice said, “Just a moment longer this way,” and soon we were gazing onto the idyllic grounds of a preschool, a beautiful church the color of butter, and a graveyard marked with ancient gray stones. I watched Beatrice take in the sight of the gravestones— maybe she was buried there; so many people from Bedford were—but her face stayed placid, and if the graveyard was familiar to her, I couldn’t tell. A breath later, she made a lightning-fast turn and doubled back along Cantitoe to Bedford Center Road. Something about the way we were traveling felt surreal, as though Beatrice was somehow dragging me along at an unnatural speed. Our feet were touching the ground, but barely.

“Beatrice?” I asked, watching her legs and mine fly over the black gravel.

“I know what you’re going to say,” she said. “But do you really want to walk at your human pace? It’ll take us forever. We’ll be there in a few minutes if we do it my way.”

“But what if someone sees us walking all paranormal like this?”

“Well, they can’t see me,” Beatrice said, like that solved everything. “I’ll slow us down if a car approaches, all right, Claire? And you’d be surprised how many unearthly things you humans don’t seem to pick up on.”

“Am I really the only one who can see you?” I asked, glancing sideways at her, trying to catch my breath. Cold air burned my lungs, but it was more from excitement, not physical exertion. The way we were moving felt like magic.

“Yes. That’s right,” Beatrice said, “because you’re the one who called me back. Unless there’s a true clairvoyant living in your town. Or a highly sensitive child with extra-sensory capabilities. Some animals. Otherwise, I’m invisible except to you.”

I tried to steady myself as we trekked even faster. “So, you’re all just hanging out up there and around here?” I blurted, waving my hands through the dark like I was trying to show her what I meant.

“Souls and ghosts, you mean?”

I nodded.

“Oh, sure. Billions of us.” Headlights bore down upon us, and Beatrice slowed down just as she’d promised. “We don’t need a good Samaritan stopping and thinking you need their help,” she said, tucking me behind a grove of pine trees.

The car passed us, and we started up again, zooming past towering evergreens and the cream farmhouse where my friend Amy grew up. I had too many questions to fit inside this sacred night, and I was too focused on the dizzying pace we were traveling to ask them, anyway. But then Beatrice said, “Hanging about Earth in soul form is like a watered-down version of being a true ghost.” Her glowing hair fanned out like sunlight against the

dark sky. “We have much more of a presence in ghost form,” she said. “As a soul, you’re a whisper on the wind; a slight of hand; a barely perceptible flash of energy. But, as a ghost, we resemble the human form we had in our most recent lifetime. We can do all kinds of clichéd tricks, like move around objects and make creaky noises in all the old Bedford homes. And there are highly sensitive humans, like yourself, who can see and touch us. Not many, but some. I have my own scent in ghost form, for goodness’ sake, did you know that?”

I shook my head no. How could I?

“How do souls get brought back as ghosts?” I asked.

“Sometimes it’s by silly lovestruck girls like you who do fabled tricks that actually work.”

“I’m not sure it’s merely silly to want to see the love of your life again.”

“Oh, don’t be cross,” Beatrice said. “I didn’t mean it like that. And the Bedford Oak lore is a beautiful way to be brought back. I’ve been hovering around that gorgeous oak in soul form for an awfully long time. It’s a magical spot, isn’t it?”

We were quiet for a few moments. Beatrice slowed just a bit as the road narrowed and a rocky ditch formed along the side. Icy black water ran like a river inside the ditch. Water always filled my dreams as a child, and often, those dreams came right before one of the ghosts would wake me. We passed a line of naked forsythia bushes, and I thought about how they were one of the only flowers James could name. He’d loved them in early April, always cutting clumps of them and sticking them in his mom’s vases. He used to do it each spring when we’d take trips up from the city. His mom said he did it in high school, too, and I liked to imagine him tearing across the bucolic landscape of Bedford with his crosscountry team in March, wielding scissors and waiting for the forsythia to bloom. James had loved the spring; he’d wanted to set our wedding date for April, but I had a book of poetry set to publish then, one I’d sold to an independent press for an infinitesimal sum. I’d pushed for a summer wedding to have more time between two things that seemed like such large-looming life events.

Now that just felt incredibly foolish, and I wished more than anything that James and I had boarded a subway car the morning after he proposed and made it official at city hall. Because now I could never marry him; and marrying him felt like the thing I wanted most. How could I have let him slip away?

“James,” I said to Beatrice, feeling tears turn to ice on my skin. Desperation set in, a deep pit in my stomach, a blanket of cold. “I need to describe my fiancé to you, because maybe you’ve seen him up there this week and you didn’t realize. He’s my age, with chestnutbrown hair and deep brown eyes—”

“Sounds like a looker,” Beatrice quipped, not unkindly. “But as I’ve told you, there are billions of us, so it’s not likely I’d bump into your fiancé, now, is it?”

I swallowed over the knot inside my throat.

“There are some old friends up there I’ve never crossed paths with,” Beatrice prattled on, not seeming to notice I was crying. “And trust me, some of them I’m eager to give an earful to.”

It felt like the right moment. “What happened to you, Beatrice?” I asked, wiping the tears from my face. “How did you die so young?”

We passed a row of swaying pine trees, and I could make out a frozen pond and a makeshift dock beyond the trees. Beatrice sniffed, and I was pretty sure she wasn’t planning to answer me, but then she said, “Later, Claire. I’ll explain everything later. I promise.”

But I wasn’t ready to give up. “Who or what is inside the locket?” I asked.

She looked sideways at me. The landscape along Bedford Center Road blurred as we flew to its end and landed on the main street that cut through the downtown of Bedford Hills. I turned once to see the library I’d loved as a child, where I’d get lost in stories about horses and babysitting clubs, but never ghosts. Ghosts had felt too real to me back then to be an escape. “You’ve got to give me something, Beatrice,” I said.

She nodded, and there was a tremble in her finely boned chin. “The locket holds a photo of Arthur, Christine, and me,” she said. “Christine was my dearest friend, and Arthur’s sister. And Arthur is the man I was in love with during my lifetime here on Earth, and the man I’ve been in love with ever since. Our souls have never been able to find each other again, not in any meaningful way.” She sounded as if she were about to cry, but she quickly got ahold of herself. “We were engaged to be married once, just like yourself.”

“When were you engaged?” I asked, my heart beating faster. She wasn’t from this time, of course. But I couldn’t pinpoint from where or when she’d come.

She was silent for a breath. In the distance, a train whistle sounded.

“I’d been in love with Arthur for ages,” she finally said, “but he first proposed marriage in 1893 right after we read in the New York Times that our town was about to be flooded.”

My mind whirred, catching on itself and sputtering. Beatrice had to be talking about Katonah, one of the hamlets of Bedford, where many houses were in the direct path of the new dam and reservoir about to be built for New York City’s water supply. To avoid the fate of their homes being drowned and destroyed, the townspeople put the houses on rails lubricated with laundry soap and physically moved them with the help of horses. Many of those historic houses still stood in Katonah.

“I need this locket,” Beatrice said impatiently. “And to get it back, I need to see this dog at the precinct whilst in my ghost form. He’s just a puppy, and he’s going to be good—he’s going to change someone’s life. I’ve been watching him for a few weeks, and I’m pretty sure he senses me hanging about. And that’s at a miniscule energy compared to the energy I’m generating now in ghost form. I know he’ll be able to lead us to where he buried the locket, and then we can dig it up. We just need to convince the police to let us take him for a walk.”

“Are you kidding me, Beatrice?” I asked, even though I knew she wasn’t. We kept the train station on our right, curving at the traffic light and descending a hill toward the police department.

“I’m certainly not,” Beatrice said solemnly. And then she hushed her voice and said, “I think I know where Arthur’s older sister Christine is. She made tragic mistakes in her previous lifetime, and so did I. None of us escaped unscathed: not Arthur, not Christine, and certainly not me. This is Christine’s first lifetime back since what happened to us in Katonah, and she’s about to make another mistake far too like the one she made over a century ago…”

Her voice trailed off. We stared up at the red-brick police station with its black shutters and stoic white columns.

“I’ll help you, Beatrice,” I said. “You have my word.”

She turned to me, her light eyes blazing. “Oh, thank goodness for you,” she said. She held my gaze, and I felt my mouth curl into a smile for the first time in days. I liked Beatrice. I liked her turns of phrases and the way she carried herself, and I liked how much more I knew about her than I ever did about the ghosts who visited me when I was little. That she could distract me from the crushing sadness for even a split second felt like a gift.

“I do need you, Claire,” she said. “When we get inside that station, I’m going to need you to do some fast-talking with the police officers so that we can locate this dog, and then the locket burial grounds.”

“I’ll do it,” I said. But I knew that wasn’t going to be it, I could sense it. “But why did you come back as a ghost, Beatrice? You had to have had a say in it.”

The door to the police station swung open, and a young woman exited. I panicked, even though Beatrice had assured me no one could see her. The woman glanced at me and smiled, never once turning in Beatrice’s direction. I gave a small wave as she disappeared into her car, marveling at what was really happening here.

“After tonight, Claire, we’re going to Katonah,” Beatrice said, hands on her slim hips, gray eyes narrowed. “And after we do the one thing we must do in Katonah, I promise to do something for you.”

We stared at each other. I didn’t dare breathe.

“You said his name is James?” she asked.

I could barely get the words out. “Will you help me find him?”

“Of course, I will,” said Beatrice. “I understand true love, after all.” …TO BE CONTINUED

the quintessentially local wedding of

EMILY MORRIS & RYDER BOHLANDER

In a

The pair met at John Jay High School more than a decade ago and were good friends in school, but went on to University of Maryland and Hobart, respectively, and lost touch… Until they were both out on a mutual friend’s pontoon boat on Lake Waccabuc for a day of fun during the summer of 2020. Both had returned home to their parents’ houses for the covid summer and were excited to get out and see friends. “We immediately hit it off and have been inseparable ever since,” Emily shared. The pair dated for a little over a year, and got engaged in October of 2021.

quintessentially local wedding, Waccabuc-native Emily Morris married Ryder Bohlander from Katonah at the Waccabuc Country Club on July 16, 2022.

07.16.22

“My family have been Members at the Waccabuc Country Club for over thirty years and I’ve always wanted to get married there,” says Emily, “and to make it even better, Ryder and I were both camp counselors together there in high school.”

Emily always wanted a summer wedding, so the couple picked July, with a bright and whimsical floral theme, and enlisted the brilliance of Brett Cameron, of La Maison Fête in Bedford, to work her magic and make Emily’s vision a dreamy reality.

On Friday evening, special guests were invited to join the families for a rehearsal dinner and welcome reception at Purdy’s Farmer and the Fish in South Salem. It was an intimate evening filled with hysterical speeches and delicious food. The s’mores bar was a definite hit. Emily wore a Tory Burch dress that she’d bought five years earlier and had been saving in her closet for a special occasion!

Saturday’s festivities took place at the Waccabuc Country Club, on an unseasonably perfect day; warm and summery, but not too hot to enjoy. Although there was a bit of rain in the morning - for good luck - by the time pictures started, the sun had come out and was shining bright as the ceremony began on the first hole of the golf course just behind the clubhouse. The lush green backdrop provided an exquisite setting for the couple to exchange vows, officiated by Emily’s uncle, John Morris, who lives in Bedford. Emily’s cousin, Conor, and Ryder’s brother, Mike, each recited carefully selected readings to honor the couple. Emily’s dad, Dave Morris, walked her down the aisle to ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ by Elvis Presley, and Emily honored her mother, who passed away in August 2019, by stitching her mom’s initials onto her custom Lela Rose dress as her ‘something blue’, and with Lily of the Valley, her mom’s favorite flower, in her bouquet and in Ryder’s boutonniere. On her right hand, Emily wore her mother’s wedding band, encrusted in diamonds and emeralds, and another ring bearing her father’s family crest.

As Emily desired, Brett kept everything at the ceremony a completely white-and-green color scheme; with beautiful white parasols and paper fans, white chairs, and mostly white flowers with pops of green. But in complete juxtaposition to the ceremony, the reception was a colorful affair, complete with a floral-filled sailcloth tent with rattan accents - a signature of La Maison Fête’s summer soirees - complete with bistro and minitwinkle lights strung atop the dance floor. “I wanted there to be an element of surprise going from the ceremony into the reception tent, and La Maison Fête executed what I wanted even better than I thought was possible,” Emily recounts. The flowers were all single variety stems of Peonies, Ranunculus and Sweet Peas, placed in whimsical mismatched vases to evoke the feeling of a flower market. The colors in the flowers were mirrored with other accents in the room, like pink Julia Armory linens, and a round hand-painted watercolor menu complete with the couple’s new crest at the top - “B” for Bohlander, with a Hummingbird. Emily’s bridesmaids - eight of her closest friends - and her lifelong best friend and Matron of Honor, Katherine Burger, all wore an assortment of well-matched pastel floral dresses, which made the room feel even more like a Shakespearean garden. “The colors and textures came together perfectly, creating what I’m happy to say was an elegant, gorgeous and romantic evening,” Emily smiled.

The couples first dance

was to Vance Joy’s ‘I’m With You’ Although they’d taken dance lessons, they decided the canned dance wasn’t quite their vibe - so they scrapped it, and just enjoyed an impromptu moment. And Emily’s father chose ‘To sir with love’ for their father-daughter dance. Ryder’s brother and best-man, Rick, gave an amazing speech that had everyone grinning ear-to-ear. And Ryder’s parents, Bruce and Jeanne, were thrilled to welcome a daughter into their family.

The food was delicious; the couple chose to start with Arugula Salad followed by a split plate of pan seared halibut and filet mignon with potato gratin and summer vegetables. “Emily took care of almost everything and made it perfect, I pretty much just got involved to help pick the food - which was my favorite part. The highlight of planning a wedding is definitely the tastings!,” Ryder half-joked.

The night continued into an after-party in the Carriage House, where the band continued to perform until a DJ took overand everyone danced the night away! “I’d seen a previous event that La Maison Fête did where they had these fabulous silver streamers creating an entryway, with tassels hanging from the ceiling inside, and I knew I wanted that.” There was a pizza truck and other treats to keep guests satiated, a cigar bar, and a disco ball. “We were there until at least 2am - and with credit in part to all of the espresso martini shooters - it was quite a party!” Ryder exclaimed.

Looking back fondly on the perfect day, Emily said, “It was so special to have our families and friends all together to celebrate with us. My favorite moment was probably my first look with my dad and two brothers, Jim and Brendan; we’re all really close and it’s a memory I’ll always hold close.”

Ryder works in medical sales, and Emily, who has a background in public relations, recently started Emily Bohlander Consulting, a boutique agency in Westchester specializing in PR, Events and Social in the lifestyle and fashion space. The couple moved to Emily’s dad’s house in Waccabuc this fall, and are now househunting - hoping to put down roots in Pound Ridge.

La Maison Fete is a full-scale event planning and design company. From weddings, dinner parties, luncheons, birthdays and more, we make every gathering memorable. Visit our shop in Bedford to explore the world of entertaining through a curated collection of beautifully crafted home and fashion goods.

La Maison Fete 11 Court Road, Bedford New York 914.234.8627 www.lamaisonfete.com

WEARABLE

One-of-a-kind fine jewelry, exclusively designed and handmade by local Artist/Jewelry Designer Alicia Andros

Style that spells escape and adventure. Designed in New Canaan, CT. Hand-crafted in India. NICOBLU.COM

635 Frogtown Rd, New Canaan, CT • (203) 801-5608

Confidence. It’s built over time.

Our

UPCOMING ADMISSION EVENTS

www.countryschool.net/visit

BLUEPATH SERVICE DOGS

KIDS’ BEST FRIEND

BluePath, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization founded in 2016, raises, trains, and places service dogs for area children with autism. Headquartered in Hopewell Junction in nearby Dutchess County, the organization was co-founded by long-time Bedford resident, Michelle Brier, involves dozens of B&NC Mag locals in its volunteer network - including the Bedford Police Department, regularly trains dogs in and about Katonah, and has placed its special dogs with autistic kids within the B&NC Mag readership.

New Canaan Country School is a co-ed, independent day school for students in Pre-K (ages 3 & 4) through Grade 9 living in Westchester and Fairfield counties. Graduates excel at top day, boarding and public secondary schools and go on to lead lives of impact and purpose. For more information, please visit countryschool.net.

students graduate with the courage to have a point of view and the skills to express it, honed through years of practice.

Michelle explains, “I’m a marketing and development executive, and had experience at the Guiding Eyes for the Blind among other nonprofits. I’ve always been struck by the ability of service dogs to profoundly transform people’s lives. I’m passionate about the work we’re doing at BluePath because our service dogs are changing the lives of kids with autism!”

The primary function for BluePath dogs is to protect the child, and particularly to ameliorate dangerous ‘wandering’ behaviors by serving as the ‘anchor’. But beyond unparalleled safety, BluePath dogs reduce stress and facilitate connection for the child, their family, and everyone around.

As MJ Miller, a parent of a BluePath dog recipient, who lives in Darien, puts it, “Since receiving our service dog, Ezra, we’ve been able to participate in more activities together as a family. This includes going for walks, eating at restaurants, and bringing our son, Bennett, with us when shopping or running errands. Ezra has

eased our anxiety - knowing our son is safer and less likely to wander. It has given him more independence, as we no longer have to constantly hold his hand in public places. It’s also brought my son and his typical sibling closer, as they now share the same love and interest in Ezra!”

And as another local mom, Kate Petersen, shares, “Wesley was diagnosed with autism at two years old, and community outings have always been a challenge. The grocery store felt like a war zone with meltdowns and escape attempts. …Then we received Reba from BluePath. Now Wesley is calm and content, and instead of running at the supermarket, he began talking to us to communicate his wants and needs. He has gained so much confidence that he even speaks to other shoppers - he loves to tell them about his dog! I could never have imagined the magnitude of Reba’s impact. Now Wesley moves through the world thoughtfully instead of reactively. I feel like I can breathe again and, as a family, we have so much hope for the future. Reba has been the most incredible gift!”

Volunteering to help raise and train BluePath dogs may be therapeutic for the volunteers as well! As Bedford Police Chief Melvin Padilla says about Maverick, the BluePath dog the Bedford Police Department is currently raising, “The department is committed to promoting the overall health and wellness of our officers. Raising Maverick is a unique approach to reducing job-related stress, while also offering us new ways to connect with residents and give back to our community.”

BluePath’s facility therapy dogs, like Maverick, are a little different from the autism service dogs, in that their primary purpose is to assist with mood regulation, provide emotional support, and help to increase social interaction and connectedness for people without a specific impairment. A National Institute of Health study states, “The presence of a dog in an educational setting seems to support concentration, attention, motivation, and relaxation - reflecting reduction of high stress levels which inhibit effective learning and performance.” And research from the University of California at Davis shows that students who practiced reading skills with classroom dogs increased fluency by between twelve and thirty percent. …The Board of Education for the Bedford Central School District just voted to approve BluePath’s facility therapy dog, Jacey, joining the team

BluePath involves a cadre of volunteers as a part of its ‘Puppy Raising Program’. The program includes: ‘Puppy Raisers’, like Jeff and Nina Kellogg in Katonah, who care for the pups in their own homes for a period of about 16 months, teaching basic obedience skill and house manners; ‘Foster’ volunteers, who provide a loving and supportive environment, exercise, engagement, direction and relaxation for the young

adult dogs, beginning at about 18 months of age and typically lasting 6 to 12 months - and who are responsible for bringing the dog for training with BluePath’s professional staff, at BluePath headquarters, three to five days a week; ‘Sitters’, who care for dogs while their Puppy Raiser or Foster are out of town or need assistance, and; additional volunteers to support BluePath operations and administration and facilitate BluePath events like the Annual Walkathon, activities like ‘Puppy Yoga’, and programs like ‘Paws to Learn’ - in which future service dogs provide therapeutic services, including emotional support, assistance with mood regulation and opportunities for social engagement, connectedness and increased physical activity, in schools, camps, and adult facilities.

BluePath dogs are ‘purpose-bred’ through a network of partner organizations, and BluePath favors Labradors, Golden Retrievers, and Lab-Golden crosses for their superior health and temperament. To be eligible to receive a dog, families must have a child between the ages of 5 and 11 years old with an autism diagnosis who requires the dog for safety. The organization has placed 36 autism service dogs and 4 facility therapy dogs since inception, and presently has another 36 dogs being developed and trained for service. BluePath has the highest ‘Platinum’ evaluation from Candid, and top ratings from Charity Navigator. It receives no government funding, relying entirely on the generosity of donors and volunteers to fulfill its mission.

BluePath’s co-founder Michelle Brier, who also serves as the organization’s Vice President for Marketing and Development, makes the appeal: “Getting each dog ready for service is a tremendous - and expensive - process that involves thousands of hours of training from our professional staff and our dedicated volunteers. Still, we provide BluePath dogs - including extensive ongoing follow-up support - with absolutely no charge to the recipient. …We need donations! And we are always looking for volunteers to support our programs! No experience is required, and it’s an incredible way to make a difference in the world!”

presence of a dog in

setting

CREATING HOMES TO FALL IN LOVE WITH!

MASONRY WORK CARPENTRY WORK

LANDSCAPING & OUTDOOR LIVING RENOVATIONS

Milton’s Home, Garden, and Patio have been proudly serving the Westchester and Fairfield counties for nearly two decades, established in 2004.

631-633-4900 www.miltonshomegarden.com

THE FINE ART OF LANDSCAPING AND INTERIOR RENOVATIONS

Loan approval is subject to credit approval and program guidelines. Not all loan programs are available in all states for all loan amounts. Interest rates and program terms are subject to change without notice. Visit usbank.com to learn more about U.S. Bank products and

services. Mortgage and Home Equity Products are offered through U.S. Bank National Association. Deposit Products are offered through U.S. Bank National Association. Member FDIC. ©2022 U.S. Bank

MEET OUR PEDIATRIC DENTIST, Dr. Saliba, and our good friend Robin the Robot

Jessica Saliba, DMD, received her dental degree at Harvard Dental School and her pediatric speciality training at Mt. Sinai Hospital where she is an adjunct clinical instructor.

Children love Robin the Robot, who can talk, play games and help them feel comfortable. She has a good memory and can even recognize faces!

Our office manager, Maryann, will discuss insurance with you and keep the process simple and transparent. We participate with these insurances: Delta Dental, Principle, and Cigna. We accept almost all insurances and will submit your claims.

Michelangelo Manco Private Wealth Mortgage Banker Greenwich, CT

2 0 3 -731-2069 o ffice

2 0 3 -253-8772 cell michelangelo.manco@usbank.com NMLS # 4041 78

CATHY KANGAS

B&NC MAG featured Cathy Kangas in our September/ October 2021 WOMEN IN BUSINESS issue. As B&NC MAG then explained, Cathy grew up in the countryside of Surrey, about an hour outside of London. Her father was CEO and Managing Director of Selfridges in London, and her mother was the Managing Director at Leonidas, a Belgian chocolate company. She met her husband, Ed Kangas, over 25 years ago, and they’ve lived together in New Canaan ever since. He was the Global CEO and Chairman of Deloitte for over twenty years, and is the current Chairman of Deutsche Bank USA, and also sits on the Hovnanian board. And as Cathy put it, about living in New Canaan for three decades now, “Our offices are right here in town, across from the Train Station. It reminds me of being in a small village in England. My Mum lives here as well. It’s so special here! I wouldn’t think of being anywhere else!”

The reason for featuring Cathy in the Sep/Oct 2021 WOMEN IN BUSINESS issue was because she’s the Founder and CEO of PRAI Beauty, a leading company in luxury skincare, focused on the 50+ demographic, with a magical neck cream made with PRAI extract from Thailand as the product that made the company famous. As examples of its success, PRAI is the #1 skincare brand in Marks and Spencer’s in the UK and, with Cathy as the on-camera spokesperson, PRAI is the #1 selling skincare brand on HSN and on QVC!

But the reason for this feature on Cathy Kangas, in this pet-themed March/April 2023 issue of B&NC MAG, is because Cathy is New Canaan’s animal rights and rescue A-lister! Across a wide spectrum, Cathy is well-known for her activism and philanthropy. As Cathy explains, “Since I was a little girl, I’ve always wanted to protect animals. I see animals as vulnerable creatures and feel that humans have all the power - and how we use that power says a lot about exactly who we are. Showing humanity toward animals speaks to our souls.”

From when she started PRAI, Cathy established the guiding principle that PRAI would not test their products on animals and that all products would be cruelty free. In addition, Cathy directs PRAI resources toward supporting all kinds of animal-related causes. Through its PRAI FOR PAWS initiative, as just one example, PRAI supports thousands of pet adoptions a year at rescues all over the world.

And over and above PRAI’s animal-related mission, Cathy established and runs the Cathy Kangas Foundation for Animals (CKFA), a registered 501(c)(3) charitable foundation dedicated to helping animals in need. “I put my money where my mouth is,” Cathy declares with a kind of confidence that reflects she knows what she’s doing. “I first got involved - personally and financially - in animal-related activism working with the Humane Society of the United States on the effort to reduce or eliminate Canadian seal hunting. I went up there and saw what was going on - and did my best to get in the way of it. And then I offered the Canadian government $16 million to shut the hunt down. …Since then, the seal hunt in Atlantic Canada has been reduced by 90%. And I received the Humane Society’s Compassion in Action award, and now sit on their Board.”

“Since I was a little girl, I’ve always wanted to protect animals.”

ANIMAL RIGHTS AND RESCUE ACTIVIST

One major initiative, in conjunction with the Humane Society of the United States, has been Saving The Beagles. Having learned that some 50,000 Beagles were being used in testing facilities around the United States, we led an effort to rescue and place as many of these dogs as we could - including Benny and Bailey, the two Beagles I adopted - and working with the Food & Drug Administration to modernize testing requirements and guidelines. We managed to rescue 4,000 Beagles from just one facility!

Then there’s Free The Shelters. As USA Today reported, this great organization works with 81 shelters around the United States and Canada, and I’ve picked-up the adoption fees to rescue over 8,000 dogs.

Another effort, called ‘NOWZAD’, which is run by a British Veteran who served in Afghanistan named Pen Farthing, was formed to rescue pets from war zones.

Pen had been rescuing pets in Afghanistan and uniting them with soldiers - but at the unsustainable cost of $4,000 per pet. During the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, I worked with American Airlines and arranged a giant airlift that brought 200 dogs, 89 cats, and 86 people to safety in the United Kingdom. The Wall Street Journal recognized me for this work, and Channel 12 News in Connecticut called me a ‘Hometown Hero’. …NOWZAD is now working to distribute much needed animal food and medical supplies in Ukraine. I serve as NOWZAD’s Global Ambassador and on their Board and they are working to help distribute much needed animal food and medical supplies throughout the country.

In French St. Martin, where stray dogs are a huge issue for both the locals and for tourism, I’ve been working to support I LOVE MY ISLAND DOG, and its champion Ursula for over a decade. The group had a shelter that was blown away in Hurricane Irma, and we’re working to rebuild. In addition to the need for dog rescue, I LOVE MY ISLAND DOG runs a spay/neuter program, and we just treated 100 dogs and plan to treat 200 more this Spring.”

Cathy continues, “When the Romanian League in Defense of Animals called for help because their well had failed and they had no water for the 700 dogs in their care, I stepped-up to repair the infrastructure. And I’m helping them again in connection with their efforts to save animals in war torn Ukraine.

And among many other organizations in this area, we work extensively with ADOPT A DOG in Greenwich and Armonk - and I sit on their Board, PAWS in Norwalk, and both the Stamford and Bridgeport Animal Control.

And my concern, and my efforts, and work, and charity, extend to all animals that need help, not only dogs. As just one example, I’m a big supporter of the SQUIRRELWOOD EQUINE SANCTUARY in Montgomery, New York. They save abused and unwanted horses and I funded a program there to provide equine therapy for Veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other war-related problems. …And, of course, I’ve adopted 12 horses, 2 ponies, and a very noisy donkey at Squirrelwood as well.”

I’m willing to work on everything from rescuing a single dog to the big species-saving projects,” Cathy declares. “My biggest focus over the years has been dog and cat rescue:

Kristy Morrell, Foster Care & Adoption Manager at Adopt-A-Dog Inc. and Founder of Project Precious Rescue, says, “We are so grateful to have Cathy as a long-time supporter of Adopt-A-Dog! She donates her time and serves with total dedication, and she’s an invaluable member of our rescue team. When we step up to rescue the most needy, neglected dogs, Cathy is always a fierce advocate for them! She does not ever hesitate to support us in that mission, and aside from that unwavering support, we are also happy to be able to call her a friend! Cathy truly is a voice for the voiceless and a warrior when it comes to the “underdog”, and we are grateful to have her on our side!”

Pen Farthing, Founder and CEO of NOWZAD, says, “Cathy has been with the NOWZAD since our inception in 2007, ensuring our charity could be the positive difference for animals in Afghanistan - even though the odds were impossibly stacked against us. She has never given up on a cause she truly believes in.”

Beth Hyman, Owner and Founder at Squirrelwood Equine Sanctuary, says, “We have had the privilege and honor of working with Cathy over the past 18 years. Simply stated, our life saving work here at Squirrelwood Equine Sanctuary could not happen without her!”

And Dana Costin, Director of the Romanian League in Defense of Animals called Cathy, “...a true hero for animals around the globe!”

Still, notwithstanding Cathy’s exemplary record of service and achievement in animal rights and rescue and all the recognition she’s received, Cathy declares, “I’m just getting started!” She explains, “I’ve established the Cathy Kangas Foundation for Animals in order to expand on the kind of work we’ve been doing. While I’m currently a principal donor, CKFA is an effective vehicle to raise funds that will be used to enlarge and extend our existing projects, and allow us to get involved in new endeavors. The CKFA team vets proposed projects to ensure efficacy, and then follows through on each of our investments to be certain that our objectives are achieved. With CKFA - and with more dollars - we can rescue more dogs, cats and horses, and do more as animal rights activists!”

Presently, Cathy is focused on establishing a community dog sanctuary to provide a permanent home for ‘unadoptables’.

“We’re still euthanizing over 3 million dogs a year in the U.S. - and that’s a disgrace. Nationwide there’s been a relative decrease in dog adoptions as compared with the number of people purchasing puppies, and correspondingly the older dogs and dogs with health issues and other problems - the dogs I call the ‘unadoptables’ - languish in deplorable conditions in kennels, or worse. I believe every community should provide a sanctuary for the long-term care of these animals,” Cathy explains. “CKFA is now searching for a site. Somewhere within about an hour of New Canaan. Maybe an old horse farm or dog kennel - with a lot of land. The vision is to provide a kind of retirement home for these ‘unadoptables’ - and that the New Canaan-centered sanctuary CKFA will establish can serve as a model for communities around the nation.”

…And when Cathy puts her mind - and the Cathy Kangas Foundation for Animals - to doing something, it’s not just a ‘pet’ project, it’s going to get done!

EveryoneCathy works with is impressed with her passion and effectiveness…

Experience & Integrity Matters

— Bedford, NY—

Nikki is a perfect choice for a realtor if you are looking to sell your home. She began by working with us to price our home competitively and gave us tips on how to make our home enticing to prospective buyers. (Kristen D.)

— Pound Ridge, NY—

Nikki McMann’s professionalism and expertise resulted in the quick sale of our house and getting us into the perfect rental home. It was a pleasure working with her. (Gary W.)

— Greenwich, CT—

We have bought and sold many houses over the course of our lives and Nikki McMann was the single best listing agent we have ever worked with. (Christopher H.)

— Katonah, NY—

Nikki is a consummate professional, with an added dose of empathy. I would highly recommend her. (William T.)

"Couldn't have had an easier experience. My boiler started making this crazy whining noise. called Robison and they had a tech at my house in about a half hour. The tech figured that a motor was burnt out. Changed it out and that was it. FIXED! Best part was it was covered by my service plan and it didn't cost me a penny."

- Salvatore, Putnam Valley

"The equipment worked wonderfully, the rebates were fantastic, but most of all the Robison personnel, from the sales rep to those who installed the system were the best. Their friendliness and expertise were incredible!"

-David, White Plains

PENNY SMITH-BERK & RESCUE RIGHT

AUTHORED AND PHOTOGRAPHED BY: DIANA KIRKWOOD

Penny Smith-Berk is the driving force behind Rescue Right - the animal rescue operation she runs, on a shoestring budget and as a labor of love, out of her Northwind Kennels business at 402 Old Post Road in Bedford. Penny acquired Northwind Kennels and opened Rescue Right in 2012, after a career in animal rescue including having served as Adoption Coordinator for the Yonkers Animal Shelter. Penny reflects: “After 25 years of working in the animal rescue field, I was aware that there were many, many ways to handle animal rescue… And that there are people who do rescue wrong. I wanted to make sure that we were not guilty of that. There are so many gaps that need to be filledin with animal rescue. You must think very carefully about what it means to shelter. To shelter does not mean to take in the tiniest, youngest, cutest, most adoptable animals and get them out as quickly as you can…To me, and to everyone who works with me, to shelter means to take in an animal who, for one reason or another, and generally through no fault of its own, has no place to go temporarily, where its needs can be met, and its life can be saved. And that is where Rescue Right fills in those gaps. It’s very intentional. It’s something we do every day and something we’re very proud of!”

Rescue Right is making a huge difference! The shelter saved 662 companion animals in 2022 alone, and has saved over 6,000 companion animals since opening their doors.

In fulfilling the traditional shelter functions of rescuing and adopting out homeless cats and dogs, Rescue Right stands out as willing to take-in ‘difficult’ animals that no other rescue operation will accept. As Penny describes, “The questions we ask are: ‘Is the animal in danger?’, and ‘If we don’t take the animal, is it likely to lose its life?’ The dog may have medical or behavioral issues that require more in terms of time, money, and effort, but it’s even more rewarding when we finally find that animal a home.”

A favorite example is Zeus, a German Shepherd. At four years old, Zeus had developed perianal fistulas, a painful, debilitating condition that limited his ability to properly absorb food. He was sold and resold on Craig’s List five times before he ended up at Rescue Right. When Penny took him in, she reported that ‘he was absolutely emaciated - about 50 pounds, snarling, and in pain, and didn’t trust anyone’. Penny spent several thousand dollars on medications and six months nursing him back to a healthy 100 pounds. …And Zeus is now the beloved pet of a regular volunteer and her three kids. At other shelters, Zeus might not have been viewed as worth saving.

Above and beyond the outstanding rescue and adoption operation, in some desperate circumstances Rescue Right also provides companion animals temporarily without a home with a shelter until they can be reunited with their families. Rescue Right believes strongly in serving the most vulnerable animals and in keeping families together—even when it comes at a significant financial cost to the shelter.

When a local woman and her two children found themselves in an impossible domestic abuse situation, they were still reluctant to enter a women’s shelter because their dog could not join them. Terribly, this is a fairly regular problem. Most shelters will not offer temporary shelter for an animal—they will only take-in animals that have been surrendered to them. A family friend called around, asking various animal shelters to board the dog. Every one of them said ‘no’. …That is, until she reached Penny. Penny boarded the woman’s dog for nine months, free of charge, until the family had found housing that would allow dogs. Penny’s view of the situation was straightforward: “They’d already lost everything else they had— we couldn’t let them lose their pet, too.”

After Hurricane Sandy, Penny sheltered 32 vulnerable dogs whose owners had lost their homes. For several months, Rescue Right provided food, shelter, and medical attention for those dogs - all out-of-pocket. Eventually, 30 of those dogs were reunited with their families and the other two, who were surrendered by their previous owners, found new homes.

And Penny is currently sheltering John Bell’s six cats. John was a long-time teacher in the Bedford Schools and just before reaching retirement, his house burned to the ground along with all his possessions. He had eight cats in the house, two of whom died in the fire. The six who survived suffered burns and smoke inhalation. While John is currently living in a hotel, his cats are staying at Rescue Right, boarding for no charge until he finds a place to live that will allow him to reunite with the surviving cats, his only family.

SERVING THE MOST VULNERABLE ANIMALS AND IN KEEPING FAMILIES TOGETHER

RESCUE RIGHT BELIEVES STRONGLY IN

And in addition to all of that, Rescue Right runs a ‘Trap, Neuter, Release’ program to control the number of local feral cats. They’ve trapped, neutered and released thousands of cats, all over Bedford, Katonah, Goldens Bridge, Bedford Hills, Chappaqua, and Somers. …And not surprisingly, Penny began to bring some friendly cats and kittens home…and has an active ‘side gig’ getting them adopted.

Penny summed up Rescue Right’s mission saying, “To us, rescue…is a sacred duty! It is a privilege to save animal’s lives, to serve our local community, and to help keep families together!

WE INVITE YOU TO JOIN US!

THIS IS REAL RESCUE, AND WE CAN’T DO IT WITHOUT YOU!

MICHAEL WINTER

It is our honor and privilege to take care of our community in a sacred, mindful, and loving way.

203.702.7400 | makingthebestofeveryday.org

www efacademy org Empowering the next generation of Global Changemakers Get in touch (212) 988-9292 Local | Long-Distance | International Office Moving | White-Glove FLATRATE.COM TOP TIER MOVING SERVICES WITH GUARANTEED PRICES 914-234-3492 • bradsellpc.com BRADSELL CONTRACTING Painting Carpentry All Your Building Needs Under One Roof

KATHY HOETS

PET PORTRAITIST

Kathy (nee Williams) Hoets was born in Taipei, Taiwan, and moved to America with her mom when she was ten years old. They first moved to Malibu, California, then settled in Walnut Creek in Northern California, where Kathy attended public school at Los Lomas High School. Kathy was offered a scholarship at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, but determined instead to continue assisting her mom in the manufacturing business she’d built-up in Oakland. Among other responsibilities, Kathy did illustrating and design for the company.

“After years of living in and around San Francisco and working for my mom’s company, I could no longer resist New York City’s gravitational pull,” recalls Kathy. “I came to New York in 1985. I got a job as a Secretary, and after about a week my boss said ‘listen you’re a good kid, but you’re the worst secretary in the world, and I have to let you go’. Then I got a job working as a Trader on Wall Street because I speak Mandarin, but I wasn’t much good at that either. I went to Hong Kong for about a year to work as a Designer in the garment industry, and when I came back to New York I got a good job utilizing my talent in design and illustration. It was the 80’s, and I loved being out almost every night disco dancing and the whole Big Apple club scene and nightlife.”

“I met Pieter Hoets in 1991 at a cocktail party in a fancy penthouse on 5th Avenue in the 60’s,” Kathy continues. “He was a debonair international investment banker and offshore portfolio manager with J.P. Morgan, and had a very noticeable Dutch accent and European attitude. He took me and all my girlfriends dancing, at Au Bar, and - the way he held me, and danced, and kissed me - I fell in love, and moved-in with him three months later!”

“Pieter knew a lot about art and art history. In part because his family were renowned Dutch hunters - his father, who was actually born in Indonesia, would even be invited to ride with the Dutch Royal Family - Pieter was fascinated by, and collected all kinds of pictures and sculptures of rhinos. And his favorite color was blue,” Kathy recalls. “So while he was away on a business trip I painted him a blue rhino with a banana tree. I always knew how to draw, but this was my first experiment with oil painting. …And Pieter was so supportive! Of course he told me he loved it, but then he also said it reminded him of Henri Rousseau, and told me I had real talent, and encouraged me to continue painting. I started to study art history and focus on the techniques of the masters.

PHOTOGRAPHY: ANDREA CERASO

“Pieter got called back to New York in 1997,” Kathy explains. “I didn’t want to live in the City - partly because of our English Yellow Lab, Winnie - and only wanted to get a place in Connecticut. Pieter kind of threw out his demand that I would have to find a stone house with a pond, no more than 50 miles from Manhattan, and only then, he would make it my wedding gift…and the first weekend we went looking we found this Frasier Peter stone house, with a swimming pool, in New Canaan! It was perfect for us - and for Winnie! I started to take a lot of classes at Silvermine, and I learned more about different techniques. …Then, in 2001, our son Erik was born - and for at least a few years my painting took a back seat to being a full-time mom!

When JPMorgan merged with Chase a few years later, Pieter decided it was time to retire - and the family moved for a two-year stay in Bali! “It was paradise. We lived in the middle of the Ubud monkey forest, and our garden had an enormous wrap-around cage with a dozen monkeys, two iguana, three peacocks, a bunch of rabbits and hamsters, and many exotic birds in-residence. We were lucky to get the chance to do it before it was time for Erik to start school,” Kathy recounts. “And then, when we returned to New Canaan, because Pieter was mostly retired, aside from some consulting work, he became the totallyinvolved dad. Pieter had been a soccer player and a runner - he ran a 3:08 in the 1984 New York City Marathonand he became a real soccer-dad, and tennisdad, for Erik. The two were inseparable until Erik left for prep school at St. Pauls in 2017. And during those years at home in New Canaan, I resumed my painting in earnest. I won some awards at Silvermine and the Carriage Barn, and even started to sell some of my paintings on steel of elephants, rhino and koi.”

Then, suddenly, late one night in 2017, while Erik was away at St. Pauls, Pieter died of a heart attack outside their New Canaan home. “We were absolutely shocked…and devastated. We had quite a life together!,” Kathy recalls. “But when Erik asked if he should take a semester hiatus from prep school, I told him it would be better for him to stay in school, with his friends and his support system there. He was doing very well there and I didn’t see what good it would do for him to stay around with me. He’s a very good student, and was the Captain of the Varsity Tennis Team at St. Pauls, and now he’s a Junior at Georgetown and doing very well there.” About her own journey Kathy continues, “It took me two aimless years to get myself going again.”

“Late in 2019, a woman who’d purchased one of my elephant paintings years before, called and asked if she could come to my studio. When she visited, she asked if I could paint her husband’s dog,” Kathy recalls. “I’d always loved painting animals. The first painting I ever did as a kid was of a horse. But I’d never painted a dog. She said ‘If you can paint an elephant you can paint a dog’, and I figured it was worth a try. I asked her to send me a few photographs, and as soon as I got a look at the snapshots of the dog, I realized how different the task of painting someone’s pet is from painting iconic representations of an animal, as I had done in the past. In every picture she sent, the dog’s tongue was hanging out. I spent some time on the phone talking with her about the dog. I had to relate to the dog, in order to understand that the tongue wag was a part of its personality. To paint a pet, I have to understand the animal. …She called me after I sent her the portrait, to tell me her husband cried when she gave it to him!”

“And then just before covid, I was in Miami visiting with friends, and when I was talking about having done my first commission, I got the next request to paint a dog,” Kathy says, as if she’s still a little amused by the whole experience. “And when I returned to New Canaan, an old client of Pieter’s got in touch with me to say he’d seen the portrait I’d done that I’d posted on Facebook, and asked if he could commission portraits for each of his six dogs for the wall of his Manhattan townhouse! He hung all six portraits together on one wall and tells me he likes to look at that collection more than the multi-million dollar masterpieces he has around the rest of the house!”

I REALLY FOCUSED ON LEARNING THE CRAFT OF PAINTING. I WAS PAINTING MOSTLY LANDSCAPES, AND SUNFLOWERS, AND CLOUDS, AND I STARTED TO GET MORE EXPERIENCED AT VARIOUS TECHNIQUES AND AT APPLYING AND MATCHING COLOR.”

“In 1992, Pieter was offered a position in Genevaand we spent the next five years traveling around Europe,” Kathy smiles.

In the past three years, with almost no marketing, Kathy’s dogs and cats have become something of a phenom. She’s completed over 50 commissions, even including a few painted in memoriam. “I’m trying to channel the dog,” Kathy explains. “Of course, it starts with a conversation about the pet, and I’ve done dogs, cats, and even birds, but when a client gives too much direction it confuses me. I want the client to believe and trust in me. I’m really just trying to get the right color from the client, and then maybe picking up on a few of the pet’s key personality traits, and how the pet makes the client happy. I ask for five to ten photographs of the pet…and take it from there! Every pet is different, and every painting is different. In terms of color, mood and style. I try to see into the eyes and capture the soul of the animal. I’m using oil paint, and the hands-on process takes about 30 hours or more for each painting, depending on the size. It can take me two to three months to complete a particular piece. I’m trying to limit myself to doing about 20 commissions a year, so each piece gets my special attention…and so I have time to live my life!”

Indeed, Kathy is back in stride! She took the entire summer of 2022 to travel around Europe, including some splendid wining and dining, and visiting family, friends, and lots of museums. She’s planning a trip back to Bali to paint in nature, and she makes regular trips to Miami and Palm Beach whenever the weather gets cold in New Canaan. “I decided to move out of the main house and into the cottage on my property - where my art studio has always been. It’s less to take care of, and I have a real sense of freedom and the feeling I can pick up and travel whenever I feel the urge. And when I’m in New Canaan, I have a really nice balance between painting and spending time with a great group of friends I have in the community. My life is terrific, and I’m always ready for the next adventure!”

B&NC Mag has teamed up with Kathy to GIVE AWAY

one of her pet portraits to a lucky B&NC reader. Do you want your pet painted?

Enter by: emailing 3-5 photos of your furry friend to info@BedfordNewCanaanMag.com please include your name, your town, and your pet’s name and breed.

Welcome Spring!

The end of winter is in sight! Now is a great time to plan ahead for your favorite Spring traditions. Decorating eggs for Easter? Preparing a Passover seder? You’ll find what you need at The Market!

Start your holiday meals with the finest, freshest ingredients... from crisp spring vegetables in the Produce Department, to fresh lamb in our Meat Case, and luscious cakes in our Bakery.

Planning a party? Look through our Catering Menu for tasty food ideas. Let us handle the cooking, while you focus on the rest of the festivites! Call Ellen to start your party plan today.

ARIELLE KEBBEL

Arielle Kebbel is precocious and thoughtful, giggly, and charming. She gives off girl-next-door vibes and could certainly pass for a twenty-something, but is also perfectly cast in an array of more serious, sophisticated or sexy roles. She is always poised, and is consistently well prepared, but manages to give off an easygoing and care-free air. Arielle’s seemingly never-ending tank of energy is palpable, and she’s always smiling. She’s strikingly beautiful, like Charlize Theron, and yet also seems friendly and approachable, like Jennifer Anniston. And she’s a star on film and TV.

PHOTOGRAPHY: ANDREA CERASO HAIR & MAKEUP: EVA SCRIVO

ARIELLE KEBBEL

“I was born in Orlando - in a birthing center. My parents were, and are, pretty progressive. I think I was taking lemon-flavored fish oil when I was like 10. I grew up in Winter Park, and my mom, who’s very spiritual, used to take me to drum circles when I was young,” Arielle shares about her upbringing. But then she immediately turns to her lifelong passion: horses! “...I pretty much came out of the womb with a connection to horses in my soul,” Arielle says openly. “My parents said ‘no’ to riding until I was five. At that point, I went from a lead line to cantering around the ring - in the first lesson! I felt like I was doing exactly what I was meant to do! And the trainer turned to my dad and said ‘you better get a night job’!”

Arielle’s parents surprised her with a pony named Flique. “He was my trainer’s daughter’s horse, a mix between a Quarter and a Morgan, and he wasn’t a great mover, and was definitely not an expensive show horse,” she recalls with a smile. “…But we’d go in as a team, and we got some big wins against some really fancy ponies. I learned a lot of life lessons at a young age. I’ve always been non-stop, driven, and veracious, but riding taught me discipline, and to put my head down and do the work. If I wasn’t in school, I was at the barn.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I had a fairly normal early childhood. I went to my first concert - the Janet Jackson Velvet Rope Tour - when I was 13. I did track, volleyball, cheerleading, and was on a competitive dance team,” Arielle recalls. “But by the time I was in 7th or 8th Grade, I was ready to start performing! I’d been performing in a way when I was competing in the show ring, and felt there were a lot of similarities to the way you have to stop thinking and drop into a deep trust when you’re counting down to a jump - and when the director calls ACTION!”

PHOTOSHOOT LOCATION: RHIANNON EQUESTRIAN ASSISTING TRAINER: JENN GIACOPELLI HORSE: KIWI

ARIELLE KEBBEL

When Arielle was 14, she happened into her first gig. “My friend’s mom was a casting director and they needed extras for a Creed music video, for the song ‘Can You Take Me Higher’. I loved everything about being on set that day, and spent most of the day admiring the lead girls in the video. I called them ‘sparkle girls’ because we watched the hair and makeup team doll them up and I thought they were so untouchable with the amount of attention they were getting. I was in awe of how the Director worked. At the end of the day I went up to her to thank her and share how inspiring it was to watch her work, and she said, ‘We were actually just talking about you…can you come back tomorrow’. To my great surprise, when I returned the next day, I’d been bumped-up. Suddenly someone was getting me breakfast and doing my hair and makeup, and I remember thinking ‘OMG, I’m a sparkle girl now’! ”

From there, she’d caught the bug. It was the late 90’s when the ex-Mickey Mouse Club kids were hitting big, and Brittney was huge. And Florida, where Arielle grew up, was booming with acting and modeling. Arielle recounts, “I called my friend’s mom’s talent agency from the set of the Creed music video and told them I was on the set and had been bumpedup…and that I needed representation! That’s how I got my first agent. And I’ve been working ever since.”

“As soon as I got my drivers license at 16, I would drive two and a half hours to Tampa, four nights a week, while juggling my high school homework, to take an adult acting class which was really impactful for me. I had to lie to the instructor about being 18 to get into that class... but I know she knew I wasn’t.”

me to invest and reinvest in myself, so I spent the majority of what I earned on updating headshots and on coaching classes, and I think I even chippedin for the performing arts school,” Arielle explains.

The investment quickly began to pay off… At 17 Arielle was flown to L.A. to test for parts in Freaky Friday and Mean Girls - which she didn’t get. But she did get her first team of managers and agents in L.A. out of the venture. Soon thereafter, she got a call to audition for one of the recurring characters on Gilmore Girls, which was already wrapping a successful second season. “My Agents sent me a VHS of Gilmore Girls and told me to watch it. They said there was a role to play Dean’s new love interest and that the requirements were being 5’8” or taller and being a fast talker - I am both! I watched ten minutes of the tape and was like… OK, I’ve got this!” Arielle recalls.

Acting became her passion, and Arielle made it her mission to succeed. By sophomore year of high school she had switched from her public school to a performing arts school that would allow her to graduate early and prioritize her acting and modeling schedules…and make money. “My older sister and younger brother – who now both live in Florida – both did the college route, but it wasn’t for me. It was somehow always clear that I was going to do my own thing. It was a combination of my drive, and my parents knowing they weren’t going to stop me. But I was very disciplined. My parents taught

“The audition was out in Los Angeles, and I’d already decided to move out there - essentially, to ‘go big or go home’. I managed to graduate from high school early, with a 4.0 gpa, and make the move to L.A. just in time for the Gilmore Girls audition. My mom and I drove out to L.A in January of 2003. On the day we arrived we swung by my Agent’s office - I was wearing a vintage troll shirt, overalls, and matching pink sandals. My Agent asked ‘Did you bring any other shoes’, and I said, ‘Oh my God yes, I have flip flops in every color! …I’ll always remember that. I had the audition and then a callback a week later…and I blew it. I was about to run out of the room - when Kenny Ortega gave me a second shot. He told me to breathe, and to trust myself … and all of a sudden I opened my mouth, and it was just instinct. It sort of just flowed out of my body. When I walked out of the room, I was on this natural high. I wanted the job, but I knew if I didn’t get it, that was ok too. That I was going to be ok in L.A. - that ‘I could do this’. …Before I got home, I’d gotten the job, and I was on set the next day. I was acting right away - which was so lucky, but I had a ‘recurring’ role and wasn’t a ‘regular’. I was terrified of the idea of not having steady income, so I also worked as a Nanny and a Cocktail Waitress. I worked hard and made sure I was always busy. Too busy at times, but that’s what I did. I wanted complete financial stability. …And I really had this end goal of being able to not only support myself, but also to be able to have horses!”

Navigating a big new city alone at the start of a new career would be daunting for most teenagers, but failure never seemed to cross Arielle’s mind. “I’m sure my parents were worried, but I didn’t really fully comprehend that at the time. They trusted me, and I was always pretty responsible. I was never afraid that I wasn’t going to make it. My backup plan was to take care of and train animals on set. I always knew that I’d find my way,” she says with a lot of self-confidence, but not a hint of conceit.

“I said ‘yes’ to auditioning for everything. I was so clueless, and I must have been 1 of 300,000 blonde 18 year olds all vying for the same parts. And then right after I got Gilmore Girls, I got a part in Grounded For Life, and then American Pie, and then Soul Plane where I filmed my first scene with Snoop Dogg.

ARIELLE KEBBEL ARIELLE KEBBEL ARIELLE KEBBEL ARIELLE KEBBEL ARIELLE KEBBEL ARIELLE KEBBEL ARIELLE KEBBEL ARIELLE KEBBEL KEBBEL KEBBEL ARIELLE KEBBEL ARIELLE KEBBEL KEBBEL KEBBEL ARIELLE KEBBEL ARIELLE KEBBEL

ARIELLE KEBBEL

…One day I’m sitting in the Coffee Bean on Sunset Boulevard and talking on the phone with my mom, and these girls tap me and exclaim ‘Oh my God! Are you Arielle Kebbel?!? You play Lindsay in Gilmore Girls!!’ I was pretty excited to be recognized for the first time, but they quickly followed with ‘We hate you!’ …And I knew I was doing a good job as hate was just what the part called for! …And I loved my first taste of fame! I went to lots of red carpet events and parties. Not because I necessarily wanted to be there, but because I wanted to be meeting the right people and constantly promoting myself. I also didn’t understand at that time the power of saying ‘no’. I came from a background where it was sort of taught that it’s better to go out and self-promote than wait for things to come.”

ARIELLE KEBBEL ARIELLE KEBBEL

ARIELLE KEBBEL

NECKLACE BY: GIVING KEYS

JOHN TUCKER AND AQUAMARINE

WERE BIG ROLLS FOR ME

Within just a few short years of moving out to L.A., Arielle scored guest-star and recurring roles on shows like CSI, Law & Order: SVU and Entourage. And she was also getting cast in studio movies, often playing a popular, clique-leading, mean girl, with big breaks in John Tucker Must Die and Aquamarine. “When I first moved to L.A., you were either a film actress or a TV actress. John Tucker and Aquamarine were big roles for me, followed by films like The Uninvited and Grudge 2. I felt like I’d established myself as a film actress. …Then came the writer’s strike, and everything was turned on its head. All of a sudden, you weren’t one or the other - everyone started taking what they could get.” And Arielle landed parts in an array of TV shows and movies including The Vampire Diaries, Life Unexpected, 90210, Midnight Texas, Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector, Ballers - which took her to Miami for extended periods of filming - and Fifty Shades of Grey “And then streaming really changed the game all over again, because it went from 22 episode seasons, to series that were 10 to 13 episodes a season… It’s less physically and mentally demanding, and it allowed me to have different roles and take different jobs, and then walk away from each of those characters. Streaming has caused networks and services to have to share actors, and as a result, you’re much more of a free agent. It used to be that if you were the face of a show, that network didn’t also want you acting in a show on another network – or anywhere else really. Now you’re able to jump from show to show and movie to movie.”

“I’ve worked hard as an actor. I’ve been inspired by certain performances, like Nicole Kidman in I Love Lucy, and it’s my dream to move into roles like that one, or to discover and play the next Erin Brockovich. My method of acting is sort of a combination of two or three formal methods, and I’m big on research. …And knowing when to throw it all away, relax - and play on set. When I was a doctor in a small independent film, I spent a month shadowing a real doctor, to watch and learn and be able to have this authentic backstory. It makes me more comfortable when I’m on set. I have the confidence of knowing what that role is really supposed to look like. Although I’ve always had a good memory - and used to slay my family in the game ‘Memory’ - to memorize large

chunks of dialogue I’ll write it over and over again, until I can visualize it on the page. And I do a lot of journaling in the first person of the character I’m playing, so that in-between setups I can stay in character. For me the hardest part of acting isn’t when I’m filming - it’s staying focused in-between takes. There’s ideas from the director, the other actors talking about what feels right and where we can adjust, the script supervisor obsessing over continuity, the director of photography asking to adjust marks, and hair, makeup and costumes making minor adjustments - and as all of this is happening, I have to stay in character because we are about to roll into our next take. I think that’s what they should teach in acting school. Sure I have the right to ask for privacy if I don’t want these distractions around me, but I also recognize I’m one piece of the storytelling, and I think it’s important to give every department their time when possible. To stay in character, I go into my ‘competition headspace’ from horse show days - and do my best focusing.”

Now, Kebbel dabbles in a bit of everything. She plays Lucy as a recurring role on 9-1-1 and just wrapped filming an indie film called Site, a psychological thriller. Arielle is also emerging as a Producer. About the future of her career, Arielle comments, “I like this reboot nostalgia moment we’re experiencing, and I’m working on two very special remakes right now - I can’t share any more details…but stay tuned!”

Arielle’s favorite show these days is Succession. “I’d love to have a role in it,” she exclaims, “...and I also love reruns of The Good Wife, and Ted Lasso, and Only Murders in the Building is cute. I’ve always loved comedy, and I admire actors like Jessica Chastain, who are able to do comedy and drama - and just keep getting better.”

Arielle comments, “I’ve started to think about the next phase for me. Selecting the right roles is really the thing. When I started out, I misunderstood the role of agents and managers in Hollywood, and leaned on them too much to protect me. They didn’t always. In some roles, and particularly some photoshoots, I felt I was being objectified, and as a result, for a while I stayed away from roles that felt too sexy. It took some time to find a happy medium.”

ARIELLE KEBBEL

“The real shift in my career as I move forward, is that I’ve also started producing,” Arielle declares. “I recently sold my first film to a major studio, and I’m excited to be both producing and acting in it. And I have several projects I’m developing, including a special horse piece, as well as writing and directing my first short film. As an actor, sometimes I’ve felt pretty voiceless on set. Producing, and eventually directing, will give me a chance to have more control of the projects I work on, the roles I choose, and my overall ability to influence the outcome according to my own sensibilities. And I also think it will give me the chance to incorporate more healthy practices into the industry for people that want that.”

Arielle reveals, “I’ve always felt strongly connected to my intuition, and I’m really into health and wellness and spirituality. I’m in a class right now where I’m learning about acupuncture meridians, so I can basically give myself acupressure when I’m on set. I do a lot of yoga. I’ve always been interested in people who’ve had signs from the other side, and I’m really inspired by an amazing psychic medium named Laura Lynn Jackson. Of course I collect crystals - and they’re in every pocket! It’s important to bring healing and humanity to the entertainment business and into daily routines. More recently I’ve had a few friends ask me to do some energy work with them, which has been very rewarding. I even fantasize about maybe opening a sort of apothecary where you could make your own bath salts and candles, and offering acupuncture and other holistic healing…in a barn surrounded by horses, of course!”

And without sharing too many details, Arielle added, “I’m single right now, but at some point I want a family. I feel being a film producer and more behind-the-camera will help to give me more control over my schedule than I have today. And I think that kind of agency will also allow me to focus on my other passions - mainly horses!”

Arielle recenters, “A big part of my mission to become successful has always centered on my drive to have and be around horses - and that has never changed. As soon as I began to save up some money in L.A., I moved further out of the grind, looking for more greenery and mountains, and the opportunity to ride. I’d started riding again in my early twenties, and owned a horse called Breezy, and was even doing the show circuit on the West Coast when I had the time. But as much as I love riding horses, my passion for helping was really ignited when the fires happened in L.A. five or six years ago. I was watching animals being moved and just felt compelled to help. I’d been tracking SkyDog Sanctuary, and got in touch with the Founder, Clare Staples, and I started volunteering.”

ARIELLE KEBBEL

Most recently, Arielle

ADOPTED A WILD MUSTANG, NAMED SNOW WHITE, RESCUED BY SKYDOG SANCTUARY

Based on a 9,000 acre ranch in Bend, Oregon, and with a secondary facility in Malibu, California, SkyDog’s mission is to:rescue wild horses and burros who have ended up in kill pens, are headed to slaughter, or have somehow been abused, starved or neglected, and; educate people about the sad plight of America’s dwindling number of wild horses and the implications of the Bureau of Land Management’s adoption incentive program. Clare and the SkyDog organization work to raise the massive amounts of money necessary to do SkyDog’s charity and to assist in efforts to help horses across the country. Arielle has found a calling as an advocate for SkyDog and the horses it saves. She says, “For years I sponsored a particular ‘mature’, beautiful, white, wonderful, old gentleman of a horse, named Swazey, who recently passed away. Now I’m sponsoring a donkey with a broken ear, named Flopsy. Being a Board member of Skydog, and helping be a voice for wild horses, brings me a sense of direction and inspiration. It keeps me going, seeing these majestic horses being rescued. I actually look at pictures of them before I go to sleep.”

Most recently, Arielle adopted a wild Mustang, named Snow White, rescued by SkyDog Sanctuary and a lady named Ann Cunninghamin in Upstate New York. Arielle is keeping Snow at Rounded Crest Farm where she’s receiving holistic care from trainer Erika Rose a.k.a ‘The Galloping Guru’. Arielle explains, “Believe it or not, I dreamt about Snow White before I ever met her. I heard about this group of eleven Mustangs that needed help while I was on set in North Carolina. I dropped everything and rushed to Upstate New York to get Snow. When she got off the trailer, Snow was nervous and wary of people. She was rounded-up when she was just two years old, and spent the last two years in horrible conditions. She had no reason to trust humans. She would let Erika put a halter on her, but she was not gentled and was not used to being touched. I spent time sitting in her stall, observing her, and having her get used to my energy. After a few days, Snow started to let me untangle her mane and pet and groom her. And over the last few months, we’ve developed a real bond! She’s small, so I’m tempted to jump on bareback, but we’re not quite at the point where I’m ready to start riding her yet. I want to let her just be a horse and run around and enjoy her life for now.”

“Personally,” Arielle reveals, “aside from riding and my work with SkyDog, I really love music that makes me move, including salsa, country, rock, and pop. And I love to dance. And when I’m singing to myself, I think if I had a stronger singing voice I might have tried to be a singer instead of an actor. I love connection and time with people I love - and that’s been more evident since Covid.”

Talking about her move to Bedford, Arielle says with a glow, “At this point, it’s probably the single accomplishment I’m most proud of. People go to L.A. to find freedom and fulfill their dreams, but the outdoors there is mostly brown mountains and vast wide-open spaces. Here, it’s about the trees and the animals and the forest and the rivers and the…and to get to hear stuff like this…you hear?”

Arielle stops to listen to a chirping bird. “I was filming in Manhattan in 2019, and on the weekends I would take the train to places up the Hudson and spend the days with girlfriends going apple picking, antiquing and, of course, whiskey tasting! The train always felt like I was in a movie, and a big part of the enchantment for me were the changing seasons - which I’d never really experienced growing up in Florida or living in L.A. I got it in my head that I wanted a farm. And then we wrapped, and I went back to L.A. …and lockdown hit! I woke up one morning literally gasping for breath. It was 7:00 a.m. and I had somehow heard the message ‘start looking for land’. It was kind of like, I felt everything had come together at that moment. I was hearing myself in these interviews saying ‘one day a farm in New York’, and all of a sudden it seemed like my only possibility. This is when I realized how sexy laying in bed and looking at Zillow really is!!! I started looking further North than this, but realized I needed to be closer to the City. I saw this house, with a pool, overlooking this beautiful river, with the ad ‘This Could Be You This Summer’, and I was struck that ‘this really could be me’! I can’t believe I live here! I can sit at my desk and look out and see people trail riding - it’s fantastical! Inside the house, my style is more neutral tones, and I like leather-brown, oranges and greens. I want a calming, soothing atmosphere. I have a rescue cat named Buddie, and a rescue dog named Pepper. And I’m learning to be a plant mom. …I go outside every day - and just smile! I can hear the river, and I have a vegetable garden and a butterfly garden! I’m outside as much as possible. What I love about Bedford is that nature is part of your life all the time!”

Getting a little choked-up with emotion, Arielle continued, “This is the first home that I bought, and that’s very meaningful for me. I’m putting down roots. Having a special place like Bedford to call home is really important to me. I’m starting from scratch on friends here in the area, and I underestimated how exciting that is. It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a position and a place where I feel so open to meeting new people. My neighbors are amazing. I have this one very special neighbor who I call my ‘fairy godmother’. And, I met Martha Stewart last Spring and we had fun sharing some mutual stories about Snoop, and our love of horses. I even had the privilege of riding Martha’s Friesian horse on the trails around her property.” Motioning to her own cheeks, Arielle remarks, “I was smiling from here to here!!”

Stoneleigh Manor | New Canaan, CT $4,750,000

Bordering The 4,200-Acre Reservation | Pound Ridge, NY

$4,250,000 | 6 BR, 6.1 BA | Pool | Web# H6218799

Sally Slater: O 914.234.4590 | M 914.584.0137

Luxurious Lakefront Home | Mahopac, NY

$3,250,000 | 4 BR, 3.2 BA | Web# H6217334

Margaret Harrington: O 914.232.3700 | M 914.572.7395

Timeless Antique Farmhouse | Canaan, CT $2,500,000 | 5 BR, 5.1 BA | Web# 170533268

Anne Santa Maria: O 203.889.5580 | M 917.734.1780

O 914.232.3700 | M 917.533.4168

DRESS BY: CHRISTY DAWN, A regenerative clothing brand that Arielle works with.

Wealth Management Solutions Built Around

Born in 1948, he’s from Butler, a town of about 15,000 outside Pittsburgh in western Pennsylvania; in the same area that’s fostered 6 of the 23 quarterbacks currently in the ProFootball Hall of Fame - Blanda, Unitas, Namath, Montana, Marino, and Kelly. “It’s not exactly ‘something in the water’,” Terry says, “but it definitely has something to do with the workingclass rough-and-tumble environment. Tough people breed tough kids, and I grew up with kids whose dads were steel and mill workers. Football was the toughest sport, and every town produced a stand-out quarterback every year. My dad was a salesman and my mom was a work-at-home seamstress, and I knew football was my ticket to something different.”

He attended St. Paul Butler Catholic School, and then Butler Senior High School, with about 1,000 kids in each class. He also played varsity basketball and baseball, but football at Butler was something else entirely. “Three out of the four kids in my backfield went on to the NFL. In his 20 years at Butler, my high school Coach, Art Bernardi, sent 62 players on to Division I college teams. On Friday night you could have robbed any house in town - everyone was at the Butler football game!,” Terry reminisces.

Coming out of high school, Terry was a top national prospect. Coach Bear Bryant came to visit, trying to get Terry to go to the University of Alabama. Assistant

Coach Paterno made his bid for Penn State. Terry wanted to go to Michigan State to play for Coach Duffy Daugherty. “Then Coach Ara Parseghian came to visit me to convince me to come to Notre Dame. My four-year-older brother, Peter, who died four years ago, had gone to Notre Dame on a track scholarship - although I broke his record in high school! - and had a great experience there. Coach Parseghian took me out to a coffee shop in the Hilton Hotel in Pittsburgh. He ordered a $4 steak, and I had a $2 club sandwich with fries because I didn’t want to appear to be taking advantage. We talked for two hours, and more about life than about football. He told me I needed to go to Notre Dame for the education and the kind of man it

would make me - and choosing Notre Dame was the best decision I’ve ever made,” Terry says. “Although I have to admit, I still root for Michigan State - unless they’re playing against the Fighting Irish.”

NCAA Division I rules prohibited any freshman from playing varsity football, but as a sophomore, in 1966, Terry led Notre Dame to win the National Championship! He was such a phenomenon that Time Magazine put him on their cover on October 28, 1966 - then the youngest person ever on the Time cover! In each of his junior and senior years, in 1967 and 1968, he led Notre Dame to a Top-10 finish! In his three years at Notre Dame, Terry had 304 completions for 4,152 yards, with 27 touchdowns,

and the team went 24-4-2! Terry says humbly, “It was all because of the great people around me. And Coach Parseghian. Everyone on my team graduated! And I still get together once a year with all the guys.”

In the 1969 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers picked Defensive Tackle ‘Mean’ Joe Greene in the First Round, and Hanratty in the Second Round. “Our family’s hometown attorney was my agent, and I probably could or should have done more proactively about the draft, but I was thrilled to be drafted by the Steelers… My hometown team! Art Rooney was known to be the best Owner in the NFL!” Terry says fondly. “But after the Steelers drafted ‘the other Terry’, Bradshaw, as the overall #1 pick in the 1970 Draft the year after my rookie year, my starting QB days were over, and my role as the back-up QB became pretty permanent.” Hanratty played 1969 through 1975 with the Pittsburgh Steelers - and has the Super Bowl Champion rings from Super Bowl IX in 1974 and from Super Bowl X in 1975 to show for it! Then, somewhat ironically, he finished his NFL career, in 1976, playing with the new expansion-team Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who lost every game that season. Hanratty finished his NFL career with 2,510 passing yards and 24 touchdowns, having appeared in 50 games.

TERRY HANRATTY An All-American legend!

Terry has the kind of quiet confidence every NFL Coach tells his team they’ll have if they become Super Bowl Champs, and Terry’s life-after-football has been rather idyllic. He had a successful 35-year career in financial services, working for Oppenheimer, Cowen, and Sanford Bernstein. He also worked for a few years as a Sportscaster for ESPN. He retired eight years ago, but still does some consulting now. “I’m really interested in a company that has a UV light technology, which has been proven to substantially eliminate pathogens from the air without any negative associated impact. This could be a game changer for hospitals, schools, office buildings and other public spaces,” Terry says enthusiastically about one of his consulting gigs. He had three daughters, Kelly, Rebecca, and JJ, with his first wife, from whom he was divorced in 1979. “I know it seems impossible looking at me,” he jokes, “but I have three daughters over 50, and 3 grandchildren - all girls!” He met his current wife, Kelly, in the early 90’s, and the ‘Honest Abe’ circumstances say everything about his character. …Kelly was in Manhattan, down from Boston where she lived, for a business conference. Kelly was then working for a Big Five accounting firm, has also had a successful career in financial services, and is now with Deloitte. When she was getting out of her car in Manhattan, Kelly’s wallet, which she’d had on her lap to pay tolls during the trip, fell to the street without Kelly noticing. Sometime later, Terry, who was living in Manhattan and on his way to return a video at Blockbuster, found the wallet. Terry arranged a date to meet with Kelly to return the wallet to her, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Terry and Kelly had their son, Conor, in 1993, and moved to New Canaan in 1994. Then came their daughter, Erin, in 1997. Talking fondly about raising Conor and Erin in New Canaan, Terry says, “I coached football, basketball and baseball for Conor, and had a couple of all-star teams! And I coached softball and basketball for Erin. I remember her first basketball team, in first grade, was boys and girls, and they played half-court four-onfour. Zach Allen, who now plays Defensive End in the NFL for the Arizona Cardinals, was on Erin’s team and was simply dominant. We had to hold the score down in most of the games! And we won the Girl’s Softball State Championship when Erin was 10. Erin played a mean Second Base. They both graduated from New Canaan High School. Conor, who’s 6’5” and 300 lbs., went on to Notre Dame, where he also played football, until a number of concussions put an end to his football career. He’s now an Investment Banker with Houlihan Lokey. And Erin went to Pepperdine University, and has a great job in Sports Marketing with Two Circles Media Company. I’m really proud of them both!”

These days, Terry plays some golf, although he says, “I’m about an 18. I play a few charity outings in Pittsburgh every year, but I don’t play enough to be good….And, for regular exercise, I walk at least 5 miles a day.”

Of course, Terry roots for Notre Dame and the Pittsburgh Steelers and says he almost never misses watching a game either team plays. “We were in South Bend quite a bit when Conor was playing. We even had a house just off-campus, which we finally sold in 2022.” But Terry says he also has a soft-spot for the New York Giants, and that he’s a solid New York Yankees fan.

As for the future, Terry declares,

STAYING IN NEW CANAAN.

This was a terrific community to raise Conor and Erin, and I can’t think of a place where I’d rather live. We’re looking for a place in Florida, but I could never live there year-round. I like the change of seasons.”

“WE’RE

AFTER

Senior living that rises above the rest.

All your life, you have looked for experiences beyond the ordinary. Retirement living should be no different. Located on 136 sprawling acres, our pet-friendly community offers Bark Ridge, an on-campus dog park for our four-legged residents, along with many outdoor walking trails.

Combined with beautiful and spacious apartment homes, world-class amenities, engaging activities, gourmet cuisine and impeccable service, Meadow Ridge offers a brilliant opportunity to enjoy the best in senior living.

To learn more or schedule a tour, call 203-349-8862 or visit MeadowRidge.com

BY ROB LABRITZ

It’s truly amazing when a life long dream becomes a reality. My dream of playing the PGA Tour started when I was 4 years old in Southington, Connecticut. There wasn’t anything that I wanted to do more than hit a golf ball and play all the time. It was my love, my passion and my emotional release. As a boy, I used to wake up every morning and play golf at Pattonbrook Country Club before I got on the bus for school - and then again as soon as I got off the bus on the way home from school. In college, I had a scholarship but found it way too easy to skip class and hit golf balls - so I only lasted two years after my grades weren’t up to par (a little golf humor). I had a routine for the past 22 years which included waking up, working out, eating breakfast with my family, heading to the club, checking in with my team, practicing for an hour, teaching some lessons for a few hours, having lunch, checking in with my team, teaching a few more hours, practicing for a few hours, checking in with my team, practicing until dark, going home and having dinner with my family, stretching or working out, a little meditation, and going to sleep. Rinse, wash, repeat! Not a bad routine for 22 years. The minimum work-out time was an hour a day and the minimum practice time was three hours a day. If there was more time i would find myself either working out or practicing in little increments, all with the vision of winning the qualifying tournament for the PGA Tour Champions. With visualization you have to see things to the smallest detail to make sure that the vision becomes reality. I had envisioned a phone call to my wife thousands of times - and sure enough on December 10th of 2021, that phone call became a reality! To this day it brings emotions to the surface that I cannot control. Tears of joy which I don’t think will ever go away!

MY FIRST YEAR ON THE PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS ROB LABRITZ L

All those years of practice and playing finally paid off last year on December 10th, when I won the PGA Tour Champions Qualifying Tournament - by 3 shots, over 4 days. I’d finally achieved my dream - and it only took me about a half-century. I’d qualified to play on the PGA Tour Championsamongst the best players in the world, over 50 years of age. I’m 51.

Golf Tour has had some lasting effects on the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions. One of the nice things about the PGA Tour Champions that’s different from the PGA Tour, is that most of the tournaments are only 3 rounds, with no cut. The only exception to that are the Senior Majors, which are 4 rounds, and have a cut after the 2nd round.

My rookie year on the PGA Tour Champions was one of the most challenging, fun, and eye opening years of my life. I went from being a local PGA Golf Professional who spent my days teaching and playing in as many tournaments as I could, to a full time PGA Touring Professional. I played in 26 events on the PGA Tour Champions. We traveled from Scotland to Canada and all over the United States. The purse each week ranged from $1.8 million to $4 million dollars. Next year, we’ll be playing for an additional $8 million dollars in prize money. Now that’s cool! I guess the LIV

My year started in February at the Chubb Classic at Tiburon Golf Club in sunny Naples, Florida. Coming from teaching in the cold snowy weather in New York, I would now be teeing it up weekly with the likes of Bernhard Langer, Ernie Els, Fred Couples, and Padraig Harrington. Such a better way to spend the week! I must say I was a bit nervous, but had waited for this moment my entire life! I was prepared, ready, focused, and just totally pumped to be there! I couldn’t stop smiling. It was a solid event as I finished in a tie for 18th and cashed my first check on the PGA Tour Champions. I was on my way!

After the Chubb we went on to play events in Arizona, California, and Mississippi. First month done, and I’d managed to have my best finish in Mississippi during that stretch, with a 5th place finish! The adrenaline was flowing those four weeks like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. The rush of the crowds cheering, signing autographs, and playing pro-ams, was all right up my alley!

Each week out on the Champions Tour you have to really be on your game - both physically and mentally! When you’re playing against the best golfers in the world you have to bring your ‘A’ game. As a long time PGA Club Professional, who played in

numerous tournaments and 8 PGA Championships, I was used to playing at a high level; but playing fulltime and at this competitive level is a whole other realm. In addition, as a rookie I was unfamiliar with most of the courses we played each week; posing the challenge of learning the nuances of each new course and adjusting my technique for chipping, pitching, bunker play and putting to fit the different types of grass, rough, greens, sand, and other elements. Most of my fellow PGA Champions Tour players have had years on the Tour and have the advantage since they’ve played each course before, numerous times from their PGA Tour days and now also as a part of their PGA Tour Champions play.

I MUST SAY I WAS A BIT NERVOUS, BUT HAD WAITED FOR THIS MOMENT MY ENTIRE LIFE!”

ROB LABRITZ

All the weeks of travel also took its toll. The schedule usually called for four tournaments in a row, followed by one week off, then another three weeks straight. I was playing 18 holes a day - for 30 to 40 days straight. It was a grind! Physically, I found myself strong and healthy. Besides always being out there practicing and hitting shots, I’ve always made sure I spend lots of time working out, stretching and getting body work done. Mentally, it was a struggle to be away from my family for weeks at a timeand I was particularly missing being home to see my daughters Ryan and Logan and my wife Kerry. I have a great support system at home, but I do try to put family out of my mind when I’m out there on the course. This was easy for me since golf has always been my sacred place. But my family was able to join me for a few tournaments which was really special. Seeing my daughters, son Matthias, and wife Kerry smiling and cheering me on fills my heart like you can’t imagine.

I was prepared to the best of my ability, but learned that I had to do so much more. …Like when I found myself in top contention for a win at the Dick’s Sporting Good Open in Endicott, New York, and a final round 75 derailed my chances for a victory.

The highlight of my year came when I finished 4th at the US Senior Open at Saucon Valley in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. I found myself having the time of my life, and since it was so close to home, my family, friends, and members of Glen Arbor were able to come out to cheer me on. I played in the second to last group on Sunday, and was paired with golf legend Ernie Els! Such a cool day! The crowds at Saucon Valley really got behind me, which was a true unexpected treat! To feel the energy of the crowds is something that I dreamed about my entire life. It’s a feeling that I cannot explain, but I must say is one of the best feelings that I’ve ever experienced! And the 4th place finish exempted me into the 2023 US Senior Open in Wisconsin!

Golf is a crazy game! One day you’re on top, and then the next it’s hard to find your rhythm and the putts just don’t fall. It’s all a learning experience - and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Each week I’m out there, I’m constantly learning. I finished the season with two top-5 finishes and three top-10 finishes this year! I know in my heart that the PGA Champions Tour is where I belongand that I’m on the right track to eventually achieve that victory! The biggest thing is that I’ve never stopped smiling - and will never stop smiling as long as I’m out on the golf course competing!

As the season finished out, I’d played well enough to make the Charles Schwab Cup playoffs. I had to be in the top 54 on the money list on the Champions Tour, and my position going into the playoffs was 34th.The playoffs consist of three events at the end of the season, and the fields are whittled down from the 54 players who make the playoffs, to 45 who make the second playoff event, to 36 who get to play in the last event of the season. I must admit that I was emotionally exhausted at this point in the year. It was November and I’d played more rounds of golf in one year than I’d ever done before. I had no idea what mental tiredness was until I experienced the second playoff event, the Timbertech Championship in Boca Raton, Florida. I shot rounds of 78, 75, and 71, to finish 49th in that event, which crushed my chances of playing in the final event of the season, the Charles Schwab Cup Championship. I did, however, birdie my last hole of the season - and left the course with a smile!

I finished the year in 37th position on the official money list and 41st on the Charles Schwab Cup points list - which is good enough to retain my PGA Champions Tour membership so that I have playing privileges for the 2023 Season.

I’d like to give a huge shout-out to my family, friends, coaches, trainers and sponsors, including GlenArbor Golf Club, Centerview Partners, ICapital, Golden Child Holdings, V1Sports, Athlade, Orion Infrastructure Energy Partners, ToochUSA.com, Titleist, FootJoy, and Galvin Green, for all of the support throughout the season. I could not have done it without everyone’s help. It takes a village to succeed out on the Tour, and I am blessed to have my family and all the rest in my life. To Kerry, my beautiful wife…You are my rock and I love you with all of my heart!

After reflecting for a few weeks since the end of the 2022 Season, I think I should give myself pretty high marks. I was on a quick learning curve, and I gave 100 percent of my energy, focus and determination. I’m really looking forward to the 2023 Season, and applying all the lessons I learned this year, to winning on the PGA Tour Champions. Heading into the 2023 season I’ve made a few tweaks that I’m sure will lead me to my goal of winning senior major golf championships. My off season prep has made me stronger and has helped a ton, and I feel even stronger than last year. My visualization is still in full effect as well. Since I’ve seen most of the courses in 2022, I’ll now be able to play 2 less rounds a week on Monday and Tuesday. This will free up my mind and save so much energy going into each week. I am sure that these small adjustments will save mental and physical energy throughout the season - which is key to winning on the PGA Tour Champions! And I can promise everyone that I’ll always be smiling, having fun, and making my dream of winning out there a reality.

Watch from the couch Play the course with friends

From the couch to the greens in no time. Soak in the views in Hilton Head when you book a nonstop flight at FLYBREEZE.COM