Have you ever thought about how co-operative horses really are?
Dear All,
Happy December! I hope everyone had a yummy Thanksgiving, and is gearing up for some cold winter weather which unfortunately necessitates many layers of clothes. Hopefully you can still get on your horse despite all the restricting cold weather gear.
The annual Turkey Trot, held November 17, at the Horse Park of New Jersey and the adjacent Assunpink Wildlife Management Area, had great weather and was a wonderful success, with 182 riders. This was considerably more than last year!
Save The Date for the annual Awards Luncheon to be held on Sunday February 23, at the Copper Hill Country Club in Ringoes NJ. A fun time is expected for all.
Silent Auction: We will again hold a silent auction of donated items at the Awards Luncheon. Proceeds from the auction fund the grants, mostly the youth grants. So please look through all your “stuff” and bring anything that’s still in great shape that someone else might want or need. And please solicit any shop or trainer that might be willing to donate an item, a lesson, or any other service to help fund our educational grants. Thank you in advance.
I hope everyone has a wonderful winter season, merry holidays, and a happy New Year! See you all in 2025!
If you’re reading this, you are probably a member of ESDCTA, but I’m sure you know of someone who rides dressage or events who is not a member. You know all about the wonderful things offered like educational programs, clinics with big name trainers, horse shows, year-end awards, and not least, that sense of being part of a community of likeminded people. The more members ESDCTA has, the better the programs we can offer. Our membership numbers are also important considerations when state and local governments decide on legislature that affects us (like open space), and we advocate for our sports (We helped get better footing at the HPNJ). Please reach out to your equestrian buddies and tell them about all of the benefits of membership and have them sign up. The more the merrier!
WHAT’S YOUR TALENT??
Let us know what you would like to help us with in 2025. All skills and interests wanted. Have an idea? We want to hear about it. Remember, this club is what YOU make it. Contact president@esdcta.org if you are interested.
NEWSLETTER COMMITTEE
Have a great article that you would like to share?
Please send article to: Meredith Rogers: newsletter@esdcta.org All submissions are due by the 15th of the month. Due to space considerations, the editor reserves the right to edit submitted articles. If necessary, articles will be edited and returned for your review. AND YOU GET VOLUNTEER HOUR FOR EACH STORY!
Milestone
Please Contact this newsletter if you know any ESDCTA members who have achieved any Milestones. Success at a show, regional/national/international award, new horse, or anything else you want to celebrate.
e-mail: newsletter@esdcta.org
MEMBERSHIP QUESTIONS
For membership questions including updating physical or e-mail addresses please contact: Heidi Lemack membership@esdcta.org
Deadline: 15th of prior month Email: newsletter@esdcta.org
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Email: treasurer@esdcta.org
Amateur Dilemma
By Meredith Rogers
It’s the season of holidays and if we were lucky, we just stuffed our faces with turkey and stuffing and pumpkin pie. Thanksgiving is aptly named, founded as a day of giving thanks for the blessings of the harvest and of the preceding year. In the modern age, we still have the same things to be thankful for. We may have gathered the meal we just had at the grocery store, but the food we just devoured was some farmer’s harvest. I give thanks for all the people who surround me and supported me all year, even though most weren’t sitting around that Thanksgiving table. I give special thanks to my horse who gives of himself so I can accomplish my goals and dreams.
Whatever winter holiday you celebrate (or not), you probably have some extra time off from work or school to spend it with loved ones, which for us equestrians, includes our equines. Spend it wisely. Time is something we don’t get back. We all aged a year in 2024. That’s a blessing, in and of itself. Others were not so fortunate.
This season is also a time to take stock in the year behind us and recognize all that we’ve been blessed with. Even if it’s been a “bad year” it’s still been a good year because we’re still here with the opportunity to do better, be better, learn, and grow. Both in horse sport and in life, the worst thing we can do it rest on our laurels or wallow in our sorrows. Every year has both ups and downs. I hope that 2025 holds more highs than lows for everyone.
Play hard (but not too hard)
News from Outside the Ring
USDF Finals 2025
The USDF has just announced that after 11 years of being at the Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington, KY, USDF Finals is moving to the World Equestrian Center—Ohio, Wilmington, OH, for at least 2025 (October 30-November 2) and 2026 (October 29-November 1). This facility comprises more than 200,000 sq ft of climate-controlled riding space and more than 750 permanent climate-controlled stalls. The ability to stay mainly inside was a primary driver in making the decision to move Finals, since the weather in Kentucky that time of year is unpredictable. Another benefit is that it’s about 2 hours closer to our area!
Tight Nosebands No More
If you crank your noseband super tight, you are now on notice. The FEI has developed a new tool to measure noseband tightness, and in testing it was proven successful. The FEI Measuring Device will be available for purchase by anyone and its use will be gradually phased in at FEI events, starting 2025. It’s only a matter of time before USDF/USEF/USEA adopts this standard.
Fake Dressage News
Former special constable, Christopher Harper-Davies lied big time on his resume, telling his superiors at the Gloucestershire, UK, police that he was a grand prix rider and coach, a member of the Great Britain Dressage Team, and had coached Singapore’s only Olympic dressage rider. He was barred from policing after a hearing where he said that he was scared of competing and that’s why he had not competed at the games. He had also lied about previous police work with another city. In an interesting twist, the Singapore Olympic rider had for a time been trained by Harper-Davies’ then partner, but he, himself had not been involved.
HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT HOW CO-OPERATIVE HORSES REALLY ARE?
By, Earlen Haven, Country Haven, Woodstown, NJ
When you think about it, a horse would never have to allow us to get on their back if they really didn’t want us to. I receive the emails of the weekly photos from the Chronicle of the Horse called “Missed It Mondays” which shows a million different ways that riders have gone off of horses when jumping. In most cases, if we want to be truthful about it, it was our fault not the horses. In reality, many riders just are not aware of what they did to make the jump difficult for the horse to negotiate.
In some of the photos, riders are on the horse’s neck actually up behind their ears. Others show a rider sailing through the air and not having let go of the reins, yanking on the horse’s mouth. I have seen horses jump a fence with the rider not having any body contact with the tack…being totally above the horse with the legs and body six inches away from any part of the saddle.
I have seen riders pull a horse’s chin back to their chest when they tripped, causing them to fall on their shoulder. Riders sometimes land in front of their saddle on their withers when they are learning to jump or smack the horse in the back at the peak of the fence with the rider’s fanny…or snatch them in the mouth because they don’t allow them to stretch their necks over the jump as they need to for their balance.
Beginner riders generally do not sit quiet and soft either with their body or their hands as they are learning to post and sit the canter. How many riders have you seen in a jump position, not staying above the horse’s back but pounding up and down each stride in the saddle?
How many riders are not even rough with their hands, but still never follow their horse’s neck forward to allow the horse to stretch his neck and back and carry his body in a relaxed position?
I’ve seen riders whose legs kick the horses every stride.
Please don’t misunderstand, I’m not saying that everyone is a bad rider or that riders intentionally do these things, but we all have had situations occur that have not been the most enticing for horses to want to continue carrying us on their backs while we are learning to ride.
I saw a youtube video of an open jumper jumping a 4’+ course in an indoor arena. The rider started to go off but grabbed the horse around the neck and was hanging off the side of the horse’s neck when he jumped the next fence before she fell off. The horse just kept jumping the same course over and over and over without the rider. He must have jumped the entire course 2 or 3 times by himself. And guess what….. he never hit a fence nor had a bad take-off or landing. There were a number of people trying to get him stopped so they could go on with the show and he ignored them all and just kept jumping! Clean round after clean round! It’s kind of amazing what they can do when we as riders do not interfere with them.
I hope all of us as riders think about how tolerant our horses really are and give them an extra treat for putting up with us.
If you have any questions or comments, please call Earlen Haven @ 856-769-1916 or email me at Earlen@countryhavenfarms.com. I would be happy to entertain a discussion with you.
Horse Treats
By Meredith Rogers
It’s the season to give thanks, which often includes giving back. Horses have been helping people since they were first domesticated, but there is a special category of horses that serve as either psychological or physical (or both) therapists for humans in need. With some forms of equine therapy, the therapist teaches the patient to work with the horse in order to learn to apply those same skills to every-day life. Horses are good for this line of work because they pick up on the emotions of the people around them, which helps patients to learn that their behavior affects others. Therapeutic horseback riding has been shown to build motor, communication, and social skills. The horse’s pelvis moves similarly to a human’s, providing sensory input that helps improve neurologic function and sensory processing.
Check out these equine therapy organizations for more information:
• American Hippotherapy Association –www.americanhippotherapyassociation.org
• Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International –www.pathintl.org
• National Center for Equine Facilitated Therapy – www.nceft.org
