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u Hunter Princess Completes First Event, Places Only Almost Last

What happens when an avowed hunter princess turns to the dark side? COTH staffer Ann Glavan is finding out—and blogging about it with hilarious results!

“I felt like I was about to go whitewater rafting as I strapped myself into my life vest and pinney, complete with the medical armband and Moji’s seriously intense tendon-guard boots. All function, no frills. I kind of felt like an Avenger putting my battle garb on versus a courtier on her way to hunter land,” she writes in her account of her first event with her Friesian-Thoroughbred cross, Moji. Read about her decision to give eventing a go: coth.com/article/hunter-princessgoes-rogue, and all about her first foray into the land of three phases: coth.com/ article/hunter-princess-completes-first-event-places-only-almost-last

MOLLY SORGE PHOTO

u COTH Horse Show Dad: Why They Ride

Chad Oldfather, professor and non-horsey dad of horseobsessed daughters, shares his insight and wisdom on coth. com with thought-provoking blogs. In this one, he addresses the question of just why he supports his daughters’ riding considering the financial and time commitment it involves.

“And yet, you may be thinking to yourselves, here you are,” he writes. “So what gives, Horse Dad? Why not just send your kids out for soccer or softball instead?

“I’ve tried to puzzle my way through that,” he continues. “Just what might my daughters get from riding that they wouldn’t get somewhere else? What’s the added value? I can’t say that I’ve got a complete list, but I think I’ve managed to identify a few things that are more effectively learned in riding even if they may not be unique to the sport.”

Read more: coth.com/article/coth-horse-show-dad-why-they-ride

SHANNON BRINKMAN PHOTO

u Being A Hero Vs. Being A Horseman

Riders who represent the United States abroad carry a unique weight on their shoulders—not just of their own expectations but also those of the general public and fans. After a disappointing outing at the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton CCI**** (England), Lynn Symansky took to the keyboard to explain her week and discuss how public scrutiny affects a rider.

“It’s easy to have an answer for everything while hiding behind a computer screen, but it’s much harder to back up that scrutiny face to face and accompany it with realistic expectations,” she writes. “I believe that constructive criticism and difficult discussions are necessary to bringing about positive change, but not at the expense of mudslinging those who are trying to give it their all.”

Read more: coth.com/article/being-a-hero-vs-being-a-horseman

u The Disciple Of Classical

Dressage

“Dawn had yet to lighten the sky as Charles de Kunffy, then around 20, set out on the deserted streets of Budapest to make his way from his apartment to the riding academy. The city on that early November morning in 1956 was under martial law, imposed by the occupying Soviets. The curfew lifted at 6 a.m., and de Kunffy had six horses in training.”

Thus begins the tale of one of dressage’s most prolific writers and trainers, a classicist who arrived in the United States and has since spent decades sharing his passion for dressage and the horse. Jennifer Calder’s piece “Charles De Kunffy: Saved By Horses” is the centerpiece of our annual Dressage Issue (June 5 & 12, p. 40), illuminating his past as well as what he hopes will be his legacy.

Don’t Miss In The Magazine

u The One And Only Pam

Baker

SPRING HORSE SHOWS ISSUE: Julie Winkel Examines Abuse p. 50

We ran out of our May 1 & 8 issue thanks to readers calling in to buy extra copies of the magazine featuring Virginia trainer Pam Baker on the cover. In the latest of our Living Legends series (p. 30), Laura Lemon takes a look back at Baker’s roots, the family atmosphere at her Hillcrest Farm, and the philosophies that have seen her inspire decades of young riders as she passes on solid horsemanship and life lessons.

“I’ve taken a lot of horses that people have thought were difficult, and they were,” Baker said. “But you know, you work through it, and they can learn. And that’s I think the passion I have right now.”

Vol. 80, No. 12 May 1 & 8, 2017 • $4.99 Inside: Meet Hunter Horse Whisperer Tyler Klees p. 40 Bev Bedard: On People, Pooches & Being Present p. 46 The Mule Who Scored A 10 p. 76

Living Legend PAM BAKER p. 30 •••

u The

Evolution Of College Equestrian

What was riding like at schools before INTERCOLLEGIATE ISSUE the Intercollegiate The Changing Face Of Collegiate Riding Before the establishment of the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association, schools like Sweet Briar, Hollins, Centenary and Skidmore found different Horse Shows ways to offer their students an equine fix. BY LAURA LEMON Association came along? This 54 The Chronicle of the Horse May 29, 2017 • chronofhorse.com 55 historical feature, “The Changing Face Of Collegiate Riding,” (May 29, p. 54) in our annual Intercollegiate Issue looks back at a different mentality for a different time, when riders enjoyed foxhunting, clinics and casual shows. From Skidmore to Sweet Briar, the concept of “physical education” prevailed before the competitive show environment we see today.

“It was just an atmosphere that kept you interested and kept me wanting to grow as a rider and to learn as much as I could,” said Dudley Macfarlane of her years at Hollins University (Va.).

Before their graduation, Sweet Briar College seniors like Madison Cromwell take one final ride through the main campus, capturing photos in front of the Mary Helen Cochran Library, just as students before them have done for decades. ELIZABETH FISCH PHOTO Clouds covered the sky as Sweet Briar College student Madison Cromwell swung her leg over the school’s Lord Of The Dance. But despite the gloomy weather, it was an exceptional day for her and her 2016 graduating class—it was the day for the senior ride. Before she turned the tassel left and threw her cap in the air,

Collegiate Riding Is Born Once women’s colleges, Centenary and Skidmore transitioned to coeducation in 1988 and 1971, respectively, while Hollins and Sweet Briar remain all women’s schools. All began offering riding in the earliest decades of the 1900s, although some of the initial documentation and history appears lost or murky.

In 1925, Sweet Briar hired Wilmer Carter Blackwell to act as the farm manager of the former estate turned college. During the interim between the first and second world wars, Sweet Briar women weren’t allowed to venture outside the campus. So when “Pop” Blackwell bought a livery stable from a nearby town, he brought those horses for the students to ride.

Almost simultaneously at Centenary, the community’s resort operator at Budd Lake, Jack Santoris, shipped the horses on campus during the tourist

Sweet Briar College student Susanne Strassburger posed in front of the Mary Helen Cochran Library in 1935—a special moment that Sweet Briar students continue to capture. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE MARY HELEN COCHRAN LIBRARY AT SWEET BRIAR

off-season to teach lessons in front of the main building. With Skidmore and Hollins, such a definitive start is difficult to pinpoint. In addition to the racing culture in Skidmore’s hometown of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., student handbooks from the 1920s detail horses available to rent for rides as well as ads from a local saddlehorse renting company. At Hollins, meanwhile, the first mention of a campus horse show in 1931 alluded to an equine culture already set in place. From these various beginnings, each Cromwell and the equestrian seniors college started to incorporate riding in adventured on one last hurrah—a ride their physical education, with students through campus. bringing their own horses or using

While the stables and main campus donated ones. Physical education, nestle together on more than 3,000 former director of riding at Sweet Briar acres in the shadows of the Blue Ridge Paul Cronin commented, differed from Mountains in Sweet Briar, Va., the today’s ideal of athletics. school always reserved riding on the “Women’s colleges had physical pristine quad for special occasions, with education and athletics, so the

the senior ride being one of them.

Wandering down from the Harriet Howell Rogers Riding Center, Cromwell stopped to pose by the president’s house before cantering in front of the Mary Helen Cochran Library. “Click” goes the photographer’s camera.

In 1935, Susanne Strassburger similarly meandered down to the library. She perhaps won at the annual Sweet Briar College Horse Show or wanted to commemorate some other special event. Strassburger stopped squarely before the building to present her noble steed. “Click” goes the camera.

Despite numerous fashion shifts, safety regulations and cultural changes separating them, Strassburger and Cromwell’s shared moment eight decades apart symbolizes the long arc of collegiate riding.

Since Bob Cacchione led the charge at Fairleigh Dickinson University (N.J.) and established the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association, the organization has brought riding to nearly 400 colleges. But prior to its 1967 inception, colleges like Sweet Briar, Hollins University (Va.), Centenary University (N.J.) and Skidmore College (N.Y.) found different ways to incorporate equines into their college experiences.