ESDCTA Collective Remarks - March 2024

The 2023 awards luncheon, held Sunday February 25, 2024, was a huge success. Congratulations to all the award winners! A special thank you to the volunteers who put in many hours to help make it a success, including the creation of the program booklet, taking reservations, making table assignments, score collecting and tabulating, acquiring and organizing the awards, trophies, and door prizes, organization of the silent auction, and acquisition of the table centerpieces, among others. Ed and Jill Kuc did an amazing job as emcees, there were fun games, great food, friendly catching up, fabulous awards and prizes, and Becky made it before her delivery date. There were about 110 attendees, and the silent auction brought in a little over $1,000 to be applied toward youth grants. A special thank you to our sponsors and individuals who donated silent auction items. All in all, it was a wonderful annual event.

We’re looking forward to a couple of upcoming clinics, check the website for all the details:

• April 7 Fix-a-Test clinic with Lisa Schmidt, in support of upcoming Youth programs

• April 13-14 Musical Freestyle clinic and seminar with Terry Ciotti Gallo

I’m looking forward to spring as I’m sure most of you are, except for mud season, which seems to be already upon us. Although spring is starting here in Aiken SC, I’m looking forward to a second spring when I return north.

Remember to give your horse positive reinforcement, kind words, and a few carrots, apples, bananas, watermelon, or whatever their preference happens to be. My horse is what keeps me sane, motivated, and content, and I hope your horse does the same for you.

President

Board

Vice

Holly Cornell

Ellen Brindle-Clark

Secretary secretary@esdcta.org 201.240.4505

Treasurer

Ruth McCormick

Betty Adduci

treasurer@esdcta

Executive Board

Dressage at Large

Eventing at Large

Dressage Competitions

Eventing Competitions

Marketing Membership Membership

Finance Education

Youth Calendar/Omnibus

Jena Rondinelli

Jennifer Duelfer

Dr. Lisa Toaldo

Janice Pellegrino

Paige Zimmerman

Vacant

Heidi Lemack

Gary Maholic

Victoria Shilton

Stephanie Warner

Mia Zimmerman

datlargeMAL@esdcta.org eatlargeMAL@esdcta.org dressage@esdcta.org eventing@esdcta.org marketing@esdcta.org membership@esdcta.org membership@esdcta.org fi nance@esdcta.org education@esdcta.org youth@esdcta.org marketing@esdcta.org

609.306.8221 215.489.1557 6093511054

NJEAB Representative crunner141@comcast.net Awards

OFF BOARD COMMITTEE CHAIRS

Grants

Equipment

Newsletter

Nominating

Show Results

Becky Kuc

Carolyn Montgomery awards@esdcta.org

Holly Cornell

Wilma Pfeffer

Meredith Rogers

grants@esdcta.org dressage@esdcta.org newsletter@esdcta.org nominations@esdcta.org

Holly Cornell results@esdcta.org

COLLECTIVE REMARKS

CROSS COUNTRY...

News Across Our Region

COMMUNITY NEWS

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 2024. 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

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You will receive an

Send Payment to:

Betty Adduci

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102 Patricia Ct, Middle Grove NY 12850

Email: treasurer@esdcta.org

Amateur Dilemma

By Meredith Rogers

Have you heard the phrase, “social license to operate”? It’s currently buzzing around in equestrian sport. It means that the community grants approval to continue doing what you are doing. For us it means that society supports us riding our horses, and it is being threatened by a number of scandals. There’s always been an undercurrent of disapproval but it’s historically been relegated to a fringe group of fanatics (PETA comes to mind). However, a number of high profile cases has brought it to our doorstep.

You may have or may not have heard about what is going on in Europe with Helgstrand Dressage. They are an elite stable in Denmark, with a satellite farm in Florida, that trains and sells high-end dressage horses. An undercover documentary called “Operation X” was broadcast on Danish television at the end of November and showed abusive training practices at the farm. In response, Andreas Helgstrand was banned from riding on the Danish national dressage team, which means he’ll miss the Paris Olympics. Andreas insists he’ll do better, and further repercussions are pending. However, what happened at Helgstrand Dressage pales in comparison to what our own Cesar Parra has been doing to horses for years. I am not going to post links to any of the videos that are circulating around social media but I’ve seen many of them and they are abhorrent. Cesar, formally based in Frenchtown, NJ, and now in Jupiter, FL, is no stranger to abuse allegations. In 2009 he was investigated when a horse he was lunging flipped over and was severely injured. He was cleared of those charges but if you ask many local equestrians “everyone knew” his training practices were harsh but no one, meaning the FEI, USEF, USDF, did anything about it. Thankfully, this time it took only a day for something to happen. The FEI suspended Cesar, which means he can’t show nationally or internationally, and opened an investigation along with USEF.

We are losing our social license to operate, but more than that, dressage has a fundamental problem that isn’t unique to horse sport. There is big money involved, maybe not at the level that you and I ride at, but at the top and it trickles down. Judges reward big moving horses. Breeders create bigger moving horses. Buyers spend a lot of money to purchase them and bring them to trainers who charge a lot of money. The trainers take those horses and make them move even bigger. Judges reward those even bigger moving horses. One problem is that owners often expect their trainers to win (since they spent all that money), and certain trainers feel that pressure and resort to lessthan ethical means to get there. However, another reason these people get away with it is that the abusers are usually quite charming and dangle owners’ dreams in front of them. They rationalize what they are doing and everyone believe them. It’s a slippery slope. How much whip or spur is too much?

What can we do as lowly amateurs at the bottom of the totem pole (which we are really not)? First, we can treat our own horses with respect and be horrified when we see someone who doesn’t. Second, if we see something we should say something, which is incredibly difficult because the NJ/PA horse scene is very small. Third, we should pay attention to what the powers that be (USDF and USEF) are doing and demand change when we can. After I was horrified by watching the Cesar videos, I wrote to USDF and USEF, requesting a portal where we can submit anonymous concerns – like Safesport for equines. Both USDF and USEF got back to me quite quickly! There already is a form (https://members.usef.org/reporting-forms/equine-abuse) and phone and text numbers ((855) 682-8733 or 2USEF (28733)); all of which can be submitted anonymously. This should help with #2 but that this existed should have been more public. I greatly admire the fearlessness of the people who posted the videos of Helgstrand and Cesar. I hope I can admire our governing bodies for how they respond.

If you’ve moved…Make sure the ESDCTA, USDF, USEA, USEF, and any other equestrian organizations you belong to, have your most recent address.

(Updating with one organization doesn’t necessarily transfer to the others.) You don’t want to miss a thing!

News from Outside the Ring

Nurse By Day, Polo Player By…

Shariah Harris is the first Black player to compete in the US Women’s Polo Championship which was held February 4-23, 2024 at Port Mayaca Polo Club, Okeechobee, FL. Her team made it all the way to the semifinals. I can’t believe it’s taken this long, but what maybe is even more impressive is that Shariah Harris balances her polo practice with her career as a surgical nurse at Lankenau Medical Center, in Wynnewood, PA. She started riding through Philadelphia’s Work to Ride program for underprivileged kids. Then she earned a scholarship to Cornell University, which is where she started playing polo, leading her team to the national finals. She equates surgical nursing to riding horses in that both are complicated and unpredictable and require thinking ahead and being quick on your feet. I think she speaks for all of us when she says, “I don’t think any polo player can tell you the horse wasn’t their biggest draw to the sport. The adrenaline, the fast pace comes later, but your initial love is the horse.”

Commuting is Hard

A horse found out the hard way that traveling down I-95 in Philadelphia is no fun. On February 20 at around 6am, a horse galloped down the northbound lanes of the highway near Girard Avenue. He exited at Allegheny Avenue where he was captured and loaded onto a trailer by his owners, the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club, which is a nonprofit organization in Strawberry Manion that teaches children to ride. As per his veterinarian, he is in good shape despite his adventure and the club is trying to figure out how he got loose. They suspect vandalism. The Philadelphia police had some fun with it, posting on X (formally Twitter): “Hey Philly, uh, hold your horses (so we don’t have to).”

A Great Start to the New Year with Felicitas von Neumann-Cosel

By Paige Zimmerman

I had a great time riding with Felicitas von Neumann-Cosel this past month! Olivia Steidle Dressage hosted our first clinic of the year, and all of the riders received great feedback and new homework. I wish I was able to watch more of the lessons, as everyone I spoke to raved about what a great experience it was to ride with Felicitas. It was nice to see the “regulars” again (our usual clinic-ees), and also see some “new” riders enjoy their lessons. I had the opportunity to do a few lessons with Ducati with much improvement from one day to the next!

In my lessons we focused on Ducati’s ability to be attentive, relaxed, and reach forward to the contact as he gets comfortable with balancing more power. He has been quite hot this winter as he learns more about self-carriage and starts to understand more difficult concepts such as the canter pirouettes and touching on the tempi changes. To keep him supple, we warmed up by doing leg yields in the walk across the ring, with either a halt transition or a few trot steps during the movement. Felicitas encouraged me to feel him and decide for myself what I wanted to do within the movement, depending on how he was feeling. For example, if I felt that he was rushing sideways, I could halt. Felicitas told me to make the halt feel like “an island of peace” and if he was to move around I should just softly halt him again and let him relax and chew the bit. On the other hand, if I felt that he needed to be a bit more responsive to my aids, I could ask him to jig for a few steps and then allow him to relax again. During these exercises she made sure that I was encouraging him to stretch forward and out with a long neck. That relaxation is incredibly important for his mental focus, so that he doesn’t panic or get claustrophobic. Ducati always reminds me to be tactful with my reins and contact. Every step I have to remind myself to imagine I am “pushing against an imaginary wall,” as Felicitas often says.

We then brought the lateral work into trot and canter, doing leg yields, shoulder-in, haunches-in, and half-pass all with transitions during the lateral movements. One exercise that was especially helpful was canter-walk-canter transitions while doing

haunches-in. I could really feel how my inside hip had to engage to get the walkcanter transitions, since my outside leg was already back and in place to ask for the haunches-in. This focus on my inside hip being active and having the feeling of flowing forward in the upward transition is especially helpful for me to imagine in the flying changes too, although we didn’t work on those during my clinic lessons. These lateral exercises and transitions really got him to listen to me, so that he didn’t have the chance to take over. I felt that he gave me a much better reaction to my leg and seat aids and that his neck was more relaxed. My ending trot was super powerful and soft through his back, which was great to feel. Lately I can get the power forward, but I can’t always control it and prevent his neck from getting short and “turtle-ing” (very fancy dressage words we are using here, haha). But in my clinic lesson, I felt that I got that power forward with a long neck, and I could feel his shoulders come up in the trot, making my half-halts effective and giving me a place to sit on him. It was a great feeling that I can usually only maintain for like 20 meters at a time… so we will be working on continuing to recreate that feeling.

I am looking forward to working with these exercises more in the coming months! Thank you to my fabulous trainer Olivia Steidle for organizing such a big clinic and for taking beautiful pictures, and I really enjoyed watching her rides too! Thank you Brenda Bocina Curnin for letting me ride and learn with Ducati. Between Olivia, Brenda, and my parents, I feel so lucky to have this team of passionate dressage confidantes supporting me!! Of course, thank you to all the host barns for welcoming the clinic to your facilities. And a big thank you Felicitas for the great feedback as usual. I think this was one of our best clinics yet.

It’s Now or Never (the Eagle Has Landed)

By Lori Kelly

Last month I discussed why it was my dream to go to Florida. Well, I’m happy to report that Henri arrived safely in Florida on New Year’s Eve. He has been the barn favorite since his arrival and has turned out to be quite the hunter packer! My daughter, Molly has fallen in love with him as have her barn friends. It looks like I will be having to wrestle him back when we leave for home in April.

My first ride in Florida had to wait because Molly was showing Henri at a HUNTER show over the weekend. It was a wonderful weekend watching them jump around. Henri was so calm and chill, he acted like this was just something he did every weekend. The pair were Champion in their division! Not bad for a dressage horse!

I finally got my turn to ride and lesson before we shipped out again for my first dressage show the following weekend. I have always struggled with the canter lengthenings; afraid that I would get run away with or that I would “lose control,” but watching my trainer ride Henri the previous week helped me to realize that he really wasn’t going to go anywhere. As a result, I was brave enough to work on some “baby” lengthenings prior to my lesson. So, on lesson day, we really spent a lot of time just working on lengthening and shortening so that I could get the feel of the lengthened canter, the feel of shortening the stride, and the confidence that I was always in control. It was a solid first lesson in Florida and exactly how I envisioned I would solidify my skills over the next few months. I felt ready for our first show together.

Show day arrived with beautiful weather in the 70s, and due to an early ride time, a pretty quiet atmosphere. Warmup went extremely well. Mr. Perfect Pants did not put a foot out of place and responded willingly to everything I asked with confidence. I was definitely ready to go! My First 3 test proved to be more challenging than I expected. I got through the test but just barely. It was poor judgment on my part to do First 3 at my first show, on a new horse, after not riding for almost 45 days. There was just too much to do in that test and in relative quick succession. I was simply in no shape physically to be effective for the whole test and my score reflected that. It started out fine, maybe a little slow but overall respectable. Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse during the first canter lengthening. As I was half way through the movement I stopped riding anticipating the transition back to working canter. Henri took this as an excuse to break – because well, if you stop riding it must be breaktime right? It rattled me, but I forged ahead. However, by now I was tired, like really tired. The thought of pulling up and excusing myself crossed my mind. Fortunately, my inner

My daughter Molly and Henri, hunter champions

voice literally shouted in my head “DON’T YOU DARE GIVE UP!” So, I kept going, as best I could. Unfortunately, my lack of fitness was really working against me. As the second canter lengthening approached, I took a minute to mentally prepare so as not to make the same mistake twice. Henri felt this and took the opportunity to break –again, before we even began the movement! I regrouped, picked up the canter, but by then it was really too late to actually get a decent lengthening and “show a difference”.

Overall, score-wise, it was not a great first showing. However, from a learning perspective, it was a really really good first showing. I learned so many valuable lessons, not the least of which was to trust my horse and the importance of rider fitness. I know now that the movements are there, I need to be effective and ride them. I am now more confident that my goals are attainable, I just need to “plan the work and work the plan.” Next horse show is a month away – time to start working the plan!

Henri and his new friend Hammy the barn pig

All decked out on show day

Horse Treats

By Meredith Rogers

As we play in our sandbox or gallop through our green pastures, we sometimes forget that not everyone rides in the same saddles that we do, wears the same clothes, or has the same goals. Horse people come in all varieties, but the love of the equine binds us all, as the story below illustrates.

A group of 30 nuns of the Franciscan Poor Clares order (founded in 1644) fled Cuba in 1959 when Fidel Castro took over and landed in Corpus Christi, Texas, speaking no English. As part of their show of faith they vowed a life of poverty and sought to be self-supporting. To make ends meet at their monastery, they made communion wafers and raised birds and Persian cats. Due to their reputation as animal lovers, an Ohio breeder made a donation in the form of two miniature horses.

Those two horses inspired the nuns to expand, and at their height they had a herd of around 70 miniature horses on a 98-acre ranch in Washington County, Texas, where they gave tours around their rigid prayer schedule to as many as 20,000 people each year. Many of the horses they trained were competitive at American Miniature Horse Association shows throughout the Southwest. In 2011 the herd was liquidated due to the aging of the last remaining nuns, and the farm was sold to the Pax Christi Sisters who are running a retreat center on the site. Still, what a legacy!

Picture courtesy of

https://www.experiencebcs.com/listing/monastery-of-st-clare-miniature-horse-farm/137/

The Equestrian Athlete Clinic: The Rider as Athlete

By Ellen Broadhurst

Equestrians are the first to admit that we’re more likely to focus on the care and feeding of our equine partners than we are to take care of ourselves. Our horses get regular vet check-ups, dental appointments, chiropractic work, massages, and other therapies designed to keep them in tip-top shape.

But, riders are athletes, too, as we spent the afternoon discussing at the Equestrian Athlete Clinic organized by the Lehigh Valley Dressage Association in partnership with ESDCTA. Taking care of both sides of the rider/equine equation are equally important.

The clinic, held on February 4, was hosted by Equi-Librium Therapeutic riding center in Nazareth, PA, and Christina Coxe, Program Director, led off the afternoon with the strong reminder: “Everyone here is an athlete … and we should train as athletes. We should do it for our horses, because if we’re not our best selves, we’re doing them no justice.”

And, Ms. Coxe pointed out, “unlike many sports, riding horses is something we can do, until we absolutely can’t. And if we take care of ourselves like the athletes we are, we can stay in the saddle longer.”

The day was structured to give riders a taste of different areas in which they can think about managing themselves as athletes. Each of the thirty to forty-five minute sections could have been a stand-alone clinic, but the purpose of the day was to give riders enough information to be curious about the value that each segment -- goal setting, rider biomechanics, nutrition, and yoga -- can bring to the rider/horse partnership, with the expectation that riders would independently explore further.

Goal Setting

Starting and finishing with “Goal Setting,” the introductory and closing segments were led by Mary Terp, Associate VP of Human Resources for United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley. Ms. Terp led riders through a series of exercises that were meant to help participants gain clarity around the “whys” of their riding goals: essentially, what is it Goal

that we want out of our equestrian life? And, how do we really feel about the choices we are making now? Ms. Terp was clear that goals can be competitive, but they don’t have to be. Goals ultimately have to be SMART, Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

Asymmetry/Rider Position Demo

For the second segment, participants moved to Equi-LIbrium’s indoor for a discussion on asymmetry and rider position. Ms. Coxe, also a PATH International Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor, as well as a Certified Athletic Trainer with the Lehigh Valley Health Network, led the discussion using three Equi-Librium volunteers as demo riders.

Few riders are symmetrical, and Ms. Coxe used her riders to demonstrate various degrees of asymmetry and how she would coach them through their physical issues. Ms. Coxe is a proponent of the Equiformance Posture slings (https://equiformancebands.com/). These bands are designed to help riders develop correct positioning through the use of resistance bands.

Ms. Coxe explained that the resistance bands (or any prop that a rider uses to help correct balance and symmetry) are about input: the bands create a feedback loop for the rider to feel where they are meant to be and begin to create correct muscle memory.

For each rider, Ms. Coxe assessed their individual asymmetry, set up resistance bands to work on those imbalances and then had the riders work a bit at the walk and trot. The riders were able to talk to the participants about how the resistance bands changed how they felt, while Ms. Coxe could point out where the asymmetries were improving.

Strengthening with Fit bands

Ms. Coxe also led the third session for participants: an interactive on-the-mat demonstration where participants were given a series of different exercises using fit bands to target muscle groups used while riding to improve balance and symmetry.

The exercises focued on common areas of weakness, working on overall rider symmetry. For any individual with Fit Bands

specific weaknesses or prior injuries, more specialized exercises can be developed that target individual needs.

Nutrition Lecture

The nutrition lecture was led by Darla Fafard, ACE Certified Health Coach. Ms. Fafard focused on the idea that as athletes, equestrians need to be properly fueled. Our bodies require calories for fuel, but not all calories are created equal.

Ms. Fafard eschews faddish “diet trends’ that create imbalances in our macronutrients. Athletes require carbohydrates (for the quick fuel the body needs to work), proteins, and fats. In general, the balance is around 40%-50% carbohydrates, 30% protein, and 20%-30% fat. But, she was quick to point out, the quality of macronutrients matters.

Not all carbohydrates are created equal: quality whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and beans promote good health by delivering vitamins, minerals, and fibers. Highly processed carbohydrates, white flour, pastries, soda, and anything containing refined sugar are easily digested carbs that contribute to weight gain, promote diabetes and heart disease.

For fats, it’s important to look for healthy fats from nuts, seeds, olive oil, salmon, cod and avocados. Saturated and trans fats are considered unhealthy fats, and are found in more highly processed foods.

Proteins can come from plants, like legumes, but the easiest source of protein is lean, unprocessed meats. One of the benefits of a protein-rich diet is that protein is slow to be digested, making you feel more full for longer. The downside of too much protein is kidney stones and osteoporosis.

Ms. Fafard also made a point that as athletes, it is important that we make the connection between what we’re eating and what we’re feeling. If we’re not eating enough or not eating enough of the right things, then the body uses all the energy it has at that moment, leaving us feeling weak, depleted, and drained. Strength comes from proper fueling, and proper fueling is a balance of the quality, macronutrients our bodies need.

Yoga for the Equestrian

The last interactive session found all participants on their yoga mats in the Equi-Librium indoor as Jen Butrymowicz, yoga Instructor and equestrian, of Essence Yoga, Lebanon, NJ, led the group in a series of stretches designed to increase flexibility and mobility for riders.

Yoga practice helps us with our strength, flexibility, range of motion, body awareness, and balance, all important for the athlete rider.

Ms. Butrymowicz is a life-long equestrian who credits yoga with helping her return to health after experiencing severe neurological issues. She describes yoga as a mind and body practice that also teaches us mindfulness and correct breathing techniques, all of which are useful tools in dealing with our flight-prone equine partners.

Conclusion

Overall, the Equestrian Athlete Clinic was well received by participants. The combination of short sessions, packed with high-quality information meant that every participant left learning something new, and for many they left with quite a range of new ideas.

The clinic was designed as a fundraiser for Equi-Librium under the umbrella of the LVDA Giving Back Program: the clinic raised $1500 for Equi-Librium.

AEA SCHOOLING SHOW II

2/24/2024

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