Untacked july august 2015

The Chronicle of the Horse

VOL . 3, NO. 4 • JULY/AUGUST 2015

THE TRAVEL ISSUE Discover America’s Best Destination Horse Shows PLUS

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Untacked The C hronicle of the Horse

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PHOTO COURTESY OF HORIZON HORSEBACK

DAVE ALLEN PHOTOGRAPHY FOR SHUTTERSTOCK.COM PHOTO

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26 Destination: Showcation 48 Il Palio È Vita 56 Enrolling Now: The Safari School Of Life

68 Unguided And Off The Grid 78 The Cleveland Grand Prix: An 86 A Thoroughly Modern Ghillie 94 Blue, Bold And Unbridled 100 History And Heartbreak Hide

Behind Sandy Point’s Genteel Exterior

108 The Patron Saint Of Thoroughbreds

ON THE COVER: Bret St. Clair Photo

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94

PHOTO COURTESY OF DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

American Show Jumping First

s t n e t n Co

18 22

Departments 10 Editor’s Letter 12 Contributors 16 Around The Arena 18 Test Lab: UV Protective Shirts 22 Test Lab: Fly Sprays 116 City Guide 124 Charity Spotlight 126 Best Of Web & Print Parting Ways

TOD MARKS PHOTO

1 28

116 8

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EDITOR’S LETTER

Invest In Experiences Why do we travel? To escape the daily grind of work? To focus on spending quality time with our friends or family? To explore unfamiliar landscapes and cultures? Whatever reason you may have to book a vacation, it’s probably not because you enjoy being in airports or on planes for extended periods of monotonous purgatory; it’s all about arriving at some sort of new experience.

In this, our inaugural Travel Issue, we’re exploring many of the ways in which horses open doors around the world to those new experiences and the variety of equestrian getaways available today.

For the dedicated competitor who wants to add a hint of vacation vibe to their summer horse show schedule, our cover story, “Destination: Showcation” (p. 26), serves as the perfect guide. Meanwhile, more casual riders yearning for a mental escape can find inspiration in our riding holiday reports from South Africa (p. 56) and Ireland (p.

68). Or maybe your dream vacation is a departure from all things riding and an immersion in another culture. Photographer Elena Lusenti did just that for her stunning feature on the Palio of Siena (p.

48), one of Italy’s most famous traditions and the world’s oldest horse race.

In today’s materialistic and consumerist society, travel is—now more than ever—an important investment not in things, but in valuable experiences.

“Stuff your eyes with wonder,” Ray Bradbury exhorted in his famous dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451. “Live as if you’d drop dead in 10 seconds. See the world. It’s more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.”

Of course, there’s no getting around the fact that travel is a luxury; not everyone can afford to vacation abroad or even take time off to explore

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closer to home. But it’s the act of going outside our mental comfort zones, not just our physical ones, that’s most important, and that’s something we can all prioritize.

Next time you’re on the road for a horse show, take the scenic route. Stop someplace unexpected.

Try a new food, read the historical markers, talk to strangers. Foster your curiosity. Ask questions.

Listen. Even if you’re an introvert like myself, I promise these types of unexpected exchanges will prove to be rich and inspiring experiences.

The process of editing this issue motivated me to book two trips and start planning (a Pinterest board for each!) for three more, and I hope it ignites your wanderlust as well. Sometimes we all need a little nudge to encourage our participation as citizens of the world, but as you’ll read in the pages that follow, we’re lucky to have horses as a powerful facilitator.

— Kat Netzler, Editor

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Copyright© 2015 by The Chronicle of the Horse, LLC. Reproduction of any material (including photographs and drawings) without written permission is prohibited. All rights reserved. The Chronicle of the Horse® and the distinctive masthead that appear on the cover of the magazine are all registered trademarks of The Chronicle of the Horse, LLC and may not be used in any manner without prior written permission.

Elena Lusenti

THE CHRONICLE OF THE HORSE UNTACKED is published bimonthly. It is part of your

Stephanie L. Church

A Scottish writer and photographer specializing in country sports, Melissa works for a variety of British and international publications. She’s also studying for a postgraduate certificate in equine behavior at Oatridge College in Edinburgh, Scotland, which is helping her with her two young sport horses, Zara and Maia.

Stephanie is editor-in-chief of The Horse: Your Guide To Equine Health Care and its companion website, TheHorse.com, and is current president of American Horse Publications. She resides in Lexington, Ky., and she recently purchased a 9-year-old off-thetrack Thoroughbred named It Happened Again, aka “Happy.”

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Kim Ablon Whitney

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Originally from Milan, Italy, Elena is a photographer of horses and riders around the world. She brings her insightful eye to an equestrian culture she knows well, having competed with great success in high amateur-owner show jumping. Her travels around the globe always bring her back to her equestrian roots in Wellington, Fla., where she currently resides.

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Patti Schofler

Originally from Chicago, Patti now lives in Northern California and works as an equestrian publication writer and public relations consultant for athletes and businesses. Her writing has taken a variety of forms from newspaper reporter to airline publicist to paralegal to nonprofit development consultant.

Patti rides dressage on her Dutch Warmblood Novio and is a USDF “L” program graduate. She loves to travel and has also authored a book called Flight Without Wings: The Arabian Horse and the Show World.

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Author Betty Weibel combined her equestrian life with her career as a journalist and public relations professional. She’s the former director of public relations for the American Grandprix Association and has managed media relations for numerous national equestrian events. Today she is principal in Yopko Penhallurick, an award-winning public relations agency in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. The Cleveland Grand Prix: An American Show Jumping First is her first book published by The History Press.

Kim showed in the ponies and equitation as a junior and in the jumpers as an amateur. A USEF “R” judge in hunters, equitation and jumpers, she now officiates at shows across the country. She’s also the author of five novels, including several set on the show circuit. Kim lives with her husband and three kids near Boston.

Megan Brincks

A former staff reporter for The Chronicle of the Horse, Megan now lives with her dog and cat in Midland, Texas, where she works for a local community college. With time spent in almost every kind of saddle over the years, she rides whenever she gets the chance and recently started dipping a toe into the waters of eventing. In addition to spending time with and riding horses, she enjoys reading, traveling and hiking.

There are many rides, but only one journey.

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The C hronicle of the Horse

Untacked Volume 3 • Number 4 • July/August 2015

produced and published by The Chronicle of the Horse publisher

KATHERINE BELLISSIMO president/executive editor

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Editorial editor

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SHARON ROSE, sharon@chronofhorse.com MOLLIE BAILEY, mbailey@chronofhorse.com LISA SLADE, lisa@chronofhorse.com LINDSAY BERRETH, lindsay@chronofhorse.com JENNIFER CALDER, jbcalder@chronofhorse.com TAYLOR JOYCE, taylor@chronofhorse.com HALEY BURTON, haley@chronofhorse.com KIMBERLY LOUSHIN, kimberly@chronofhorse.com editorial interns

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tidbits from across the industry

Aroundthe Arena My Faves: Lucy Davis

Davis got her start in the saddle early—sitting on a horse before she could walk, beginning lessons at age 5, and competing in the ponies and junior hunters on the West Coast before moving into the jumpers. In 2008 the Los Angeles native earned double gold at the CN North American Junior and Young Rider Championships (Colo.), and she became the youngest winner of a Global Champions Tour grand prix in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 2013. She was also a member of the bronze-medal U.S. team at the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (France).

Now 22 and an architecture student at Stanford University (Calif.), Davis has represented the United States in three FEI World Cup Finals, and she scored her best finish—overall ninth—this spring in Las Vegas aboard longtime partner Barron. Herewith, a few of this prodigy’s favorite things. ➜ Breeches: Equiline

➜ Hunt coat: Again I like Equiline MOLLIE BAILEY PHOTO

stuff for most apparel, but I also had a Hermès coat this summer for my team coat, and that fits beautifully as well.

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➜ Riding boots: I like Parlanti. They break in really easily, but they still stay U N TAC K E D

➜ Comfort food: Burritos or

anything Mexican.

➜ Movie: Vicky Cristina Barcelona or anything Woody Allen.

➜ TV show: Game of Thrones

➜ Band: Kings of Convenience and Daft Punk

➜ Book: The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

➜ Place to ride: Montana on our ranch.

➜ Non-horsey hobby: I like to

draw and run and ski.

➜ Vacation destination: Spain ➜ City: Berlin

➜ Memory in the saddle:

Probably either getting to ride in Aachen [Germany], or winning the grand prix in Lausanne. Both of those were pretty good.

➜ Favorite type of jump: My

favorite jump would probably be a Swedish oxer because it never comes down. Anything that doesn’t fall down!

➜ Type of horse: I don’t know

if I have a favorite breed-wise, but I like horses that have a lot of blood—when they’re sort of petite and have a lot of blood.

➜ Competition venue: Aachen ➜ Guilty pleasure: Long show-

ers

➜ Stress reliever: Exercise

➜ Type of workout: Running or yoga

➜ Non-equestrian sport to

watch: Tennis

➜ Barn chore: Cleaning tack

In California, Even The Office Cats Are Out-Of-Work Actors

W

hen Melessa Lee takes a break from her show secretary duties for a stroll around the Horse Park at Woodside, no one asks how she’s been. They ask about DJ. “I was stewarding the other day, and someone came up to me and said, ‘Where’s your cat? That’s the best thing about going to the show office,’ ” Lee said.

DJ has become something of the show mascot since he’s started perching himself in Lee’s office as managing director of the Langer Equestrian Group’s Woodside Division. One exhibitor brings him baby socks filled with homegrown catnip, and boisterous dogs have learned better than to try to check out his whiskers too closely.

But before DJ started napping on add/scratch forms, he was an actor working with Critters of the Cinema, an agency that provides animals for movies and commercials. He’d been plucked out of an animal shelter thanks to his outgoing, trainable personality.

“From what we can figure out, he was in a Murder, She Wrote movie,” said Lee. When she went looking for a new kitty, Lee called her friend Janice Gantenbein, who works with Critters of the Cinema (her pig was on Boy Meets World). DJ hadn’t been getting much work because a white stripe down his face made him tough to find a double for when he needed a break. But he was just what Lee was looking for: independent, entertaining and friendly.

Years later, when Lee’s catsitter called in sick, she brought DJ from her Westlake

PHOTO COURTESY OF MELESSA LEE

pretty strong for a while—that’s hard to find.

DJ the cat is a fixture during the Langer Equestrian Group’s shows at The Horse Park at Woodside.

Village, Calif., home to Woodside for a few weeks of competition, and he immediately became a fixture.

Thanks to his star-studded start, the clicker-trained kitty comes when called, sits on command, and walks comfortably on a leash and harness. Though he’s officially retired, DJ still lives a pampered life. In the morning he has breakfast when Lee does, then turns in for a nap in the RV where they stay at Woodside. Lee retrieves him after lunch for his afternoon shift greeting visitors.

“He’s got a very big personality,” she said. “By the end of three weeks of summer, if there’s nobody around, he’ll walk outside and sleep on the deck in the sun.

I’m not sure a younger cat would have been quite so easy, but when we get to the showgrounds, he says, ‘OK, we’re here again.’ ”

Correction

On page 90 of our May/June issue of Untacked, we incorrectly identified Missy and Jessica “Ransehausen.” The correct spelling of their last name is Ransehousen.

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TEST LAB

Beat The Heat And Bid Sunscreen Bye-Bye Every major equestrian brand seems to have a UV-blocking, moisture-wicking, body-cooling cute tech top on the market this summer, and we put them to the test.

By SAR A LIESER AND LISA SLADE

>> FITS Breeze Tech Shirt Cooling factor: 7/10 Fashion factor: 10/10 Of the shirts I tested, the FITS Breeze was the cutest, as well as being functional for riding. The fit was perfect, not too tight but not boxy at all. I found myself wearing it all the time, even when I wasn’t heading to the barn, because it could so easily do doubleduty for sports and casual fashion. It’s flattering tucked into breeches or left loose with jeans or shorts.

This isn’t the one I’d choose every day for the middle of August, as I didn’t find the fabric quite as light or breathable as some of the others, but it was perfect for anything up to 85 degrees. It’s vented on the side and up the back, and the vents are larger than on some other tops. I also enjoyed the deep zipper on the front, which let in some additional cool air.

The Breeze shirt currently comes in three cheerful colors (aquamarine, coral and lilac), plus white. I tested the aquamarine, and it washed beautifully every time.

It offers UPF 50 protection, and the fabric is odor-resistant.

It feels delicate, but it never snagged on anything during my test period.

The Breeze is also offered in a short sleeve version, which might be better suited for the truly hot days of summer. The long sleeve version retails for $88, and the short is available in the same colors for $76.

Sizes S-XL. FITSRiding.com.

>> Kerrits IceFil Tech Shirt Cooling factor: 10/10 Fashion factor: 9/10 Perspiration can’t effectively cool your body if it just sits on your skin—it has to evaporate away in order to bring your skin temperature down. That’s why Kerrits’ ultra-light IceFil fabric utilizes multiple technologies to keep wicking moisture away even in the stickiest summer weather.

The shirt absorbs sweat, wicks it away from your body and dries so quickly that you don’t end up feeling hotter with the additional coverage. The relaxed fit and ¾ zip create excellent air circulation. This shirt is flattering, fits true to size and features a stock tie loop in the back, so you can even show in it if you want.

Add in the UPF +30 sun protection, and staying comfortable in the heat has never been easier. The only thing I could think of to improve this shirt would be a small pocket of some variety.

Available in sizes XS-XXL and comes in white, peony, Caribbean, pewter, bluebell or black. $59.00; Kerrits.com.

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>> SmartPak Trifecta ¼ Zip Top Cooling factor: 8/10 Fashion factor: 9/10 Fly sheets with built-in bug repellant have become almost de rigueur, but I’d never tried a shirt that claims to keep flies away before this one.

As any good sun protection shirt should, this polyester spandex blend provides UPF +50. It has mesh panels along the sides and upper back for ventilation, and the fabric features moisturewicking properties and an anti-microbial finish for odor control.

But the addition of InsectShield is brilliant. This proprietary component in the fabric helps repel annoying insects without smelling like bug spray, and it will last for up to 70 launderings in cold water.

I got brave with the Trifecta and ordered white, and while it didn’t come out of the wash spotlessly clean after I dropped it in the mud before I’d even worn it (oops!), it does hold up to normal horse dirt and returns to white after every trip through the washing machine.

This shirt features thumbholes and fits true to size, and it was long enough for my long torso. However, of the sun protection shirts I tried, it was not the coolest. The mesh panels definitely help, and the anti-microbial finish did its job— this shirt didn’t get stinky—but it wouldn’t be the one I’d reach for on a super hot and humid day.

Available in sizes XS-XL and comes in dark magenta, gray or white. $64.95; SmartPak.com.

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TEST LAB >> Tredstep Symphony

Futura Sport Top

This shirt isn’t the coolest of the ones I tried—to me, it’s best for a 60 to 75-degree day and not a 95-degree one, so I might not classify it as a traditional “sun shirt.” But even though it’s not quite as good in the very warmest weather, it still has plenty going for it.

I really liked the fit. This shirt fits close to the body—it would be a perfect choice to wear underneath a cross-country vest—so you’d probably want to size up if you wanted it a bit less tight. But because of that sleek fit, it’s a perfect shirt for layering under a vest or even more layers if necessary. It works as a solo layer or base layer.

In addition to testing it for riding, I took it on a run in 50-degree weather, and it worked well for that purpose too—wicking the sweat away and keeping me at a comfortable, steady temperature.

Tredstep calls this fabric AirSilk, and it’s a four-way stretch material that offers UV protection and is anti-bacterial and fast-drying. The shirt does have a soft touch to it, and that makes it comfortable for all-day wearing. The fit, though tight as noted, is flattering, and the fabric does hide some imperfections.

I tested the white/grey color of this shirt, and it has picked up some stains I’ve had no luck removing with the washing machine. In the future, I’d probably choose one of the darker colors—there’s also navy/red, green/white, black/gold, red/navy, classic/blue and pink/grey. In addition, Tredstep makes the Symphony Futura Competition shirt, in long sleeve and short, with the same fabric but a more show coat-friendly design.

Available in sizes XS-XL. $65; Tredstep.com.

JULY/AUGUS T 2015

This is the classic sun shirt, and it’s the one you’ll see on the back of nearly every hunter/ jumper rider and trainer at nearly every show.

There are plenty of good reasons for that—the shirt protects you from the sun with UPF 50, and pulling it on really does make you feel a few degrees cooler. The Equi In Style Cool shirts fit well, and they look professional in the saddle or on the ground.

There’s some technology behind the magic. The company claims their shirts reduce body temperatures by 5 degrees through a combination of IceFil, described as “a cooling factor that’s embedded in the fabric,” and strategically placed mesh sections.

I tested a white one with blue panels under the arms, blue around the collar and a blue zipper, and I loved the little pop of color with the traditional white. This particular shirt doesn’t fit quite as closely to the body

as the Kastel Charlotte, but I actually liked that feature on certain days, as it seemed to let in more breeze and was less clingy.

This shirt performed well in a dry heat and in humidity, though I found myself still occasionally wishing for short sleeves on extremely hot and humid days. It’s a trade-off for skin protection though, and I’d still prefer to be a little warmer than bake my arms or cover them in greasy sunscreen several times a day.

The shirts dry quickly, and line drying is recommended after regular machine washing. I did throw mine in the dryer by accident once, and it survived unscathed with no shrinkage. Though I was horrified the first time my horse slimed my pretty new white shirt with her green mouth, it washed right out.

At $96 or $98 each (depending on colors), they’re not inexpensive. But I have some that are several years old now, and they do look just as good as new.

Available in sizes XS-XXL. EquiInStyle.com.

>> Ariat Sunstopper

>> Kastel Denmark Charlotte Signature Shirt

Cooling factor: 8/10 Fashion factor: 7/10

Cooling factor: 6/10 Fashion factor: 9/10

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>> Equi In Style Cool Shirt

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Cooling factor: 10/10 Fashion factor: 10/10 My greatest hope when I pull on a long sleeve tech shirt is that it will feel only mildly warmer than wearing a tank top. But somehow, some way, the Ariat Sunstopper feels almost cooler than wearing nothing at all!

This lightweight pique knit top wicks away sweat thanks to Ariat’s Moisture Management Technology.

It features a breathable mesh underarm panel, providing maximum ventilation and cooling. A couple of times I put this shirt on for a hot evening ride, and by the time the temperatures had dropped just a little bit, I was downright chilly!

The Sun Protection Fabric technology also guards against harmful ultraviolet rays. I used to rely on lots of sunscreen and tank tops for riding on the hottest days, but now I choose this shirt instead.

The shirt comes in two options: the Sunstopper Polo, which features a ¾ snap placket closure, and the Sunstopper Zip Top, which will work for the show ring since it has a mock collar and stock tie loop. The fit is true to size, and the look reinforces Ariat’s stylish reputation.

Available in sizes XS-XL. Comes in navy, white and scuba blue, phyto green, pink clash dot or navy dot.

Price ranges from $49.95-$54.95; Ariat.com.

Cooling factor: 10/10 Fashion factor: 9/10 This is the shirt I pull out of my closet on the hottest of hot days; I’ve tested it in temperatures of up to 99 degrees with little humidity and then 90 degrees with a lot of humidity, and it performs well in both situations.

It’s a shirt that really provides relief from the heat while protecting your skin.

The Charlotte Signature is 88 percent nylon and 12 percent spandex, and it offers UPF 30 ultraviolet protection. It has mesh on the insides of the arms and a quarter-zip neckline.

The fabric is the thinnest of the shirts I’ve tried—that’s part of what makes it so cool—but it also feels delicate because of that, and it can catch snags if you’re not careful. The lighter colors, especially the white, are a bit see-through, and the fabric tends to cling when damp.

That doesn’t make it the most forgiving of the shirts, but the trade-off is worth it for the shade and cooling effects it provides.

It’s a little slimmer through the body than the somewhat-similar Equi In Style Cool Shirt—with the sizes erring towards running small. The light colors do pick up dirt, like anything will at the barn, but they machine wash clean without a stain.

The Charlotte Signature comes in an array of colors, with more added every season and some fun contrasts, and there’s even the Charlotte Studio Krystal option if you’re wanting some sparkly decorations on the back. All shirts sport the Danish flag, for company founder Charlotte Jorst’s native Denmark, below the collar on the back.

Available in sizes XS-XL. $75-$95; KastelDenmark.com.

www.kingslandequestrian.com /kingslandequestrian

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TEST LAB

Fend Off Flies With The Perfect Spray

There are natural options and chemical-based ones, some made with oil and some with water, and some critics say that none truly work. But we put 10 different bug-repelling sprays to the test to discover the merits of each and came out with some clear winners.

By LISA SLADE

Absorbine UltraShield Green

Pyranha Wipe N’ Spray Though this product was one of the more powerful choices in terms of fending off flies, using a towel to wipe it on added another step to my grooming and tacking process, and I found myself missing the ease of a spray. It’s tricky wiping it on a horse’s legs especially. But if you prefer a wipe-on product, and you want something that lasts a whole ride—which this one easily did—I’d recommend Pyranha. The company says you can also spray it directly on the horse, but then it should be brushed into the hair.

I had the best luck with daily or even more frequent use, especially for turnout, as I couldn’t detect it was still working 24 hours later.

Pyranha has the added benefit of a coat conditioner—lanolin—and I found the coat was first oily to touch, and then it was a bit slick once it had dried, but my mare was definitely shiny after applied.

RATING:

6/10

RATING:

4/10 The first time I sprayed this on my horse, someone at the far end of the barn aisle yelled: “What is that? It smells amazing!”

I was really drawn in by the aromatic oils in this spray, and I hoped it’d prove as effective as the chemical versions. In the perfect world, I’d choose to use all natural products on my animals as well as myself.

But despite the pleasing odor, and the fact I could also apply it on my dog, I just didn’t find the UltraShield Green fly repellent as effective as some other natural products.

It did repel the bugs immediately after spraying, but by the time I’d led my mare out to the ring or set her free in turnout, they were back.

This is still a good option if your horse is allergic or sensitive to some of the common chemicals in other sprays, or if the owner can’t tolerate breathing those same chemicals or something with a stronger scent. But be prepared to re-apply frequently!

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$14.95 for 32 oz.

Active Ingredients: Butoxypolypropylene glycol (15%), piperonyl butoxide (1%), pyrethrins (0.1%).

Farnam Bite Free Biting Fly Repellent RATING:

7/10

The Bite Free Biting Fly Repellent didn’t live up to its billing in terms of how many days it worked; Farnam says its advanced formula kills and repels biting and bloodsucking flies, stable flies, horse flies, deer flies, gnats, and mosquitoes for five to seven days—but it did work nicely in the shorter term. I was able to get in entire rides without irate tail swishes and head flinging, and this product was also one that protected for a whole day of turnout. Like most, however, it needed daily reapplication.

It’s supposed to protect against and kill deer ticks, and while I can’t necessarily confirm that was because of the spray, I didn’t find any on my mare during my test period. I also like that this one has a sunscreen as well.

$18.95 for 32 oz.

$18.95 for 32 oz.

Active Ingredients: Sodium lauryl sulfate (2.5%), geraniol (0.7%), clove oil (0.08%), citronella oil (0.06%), cedar oil (0.05%), lemongrass oil (0.05%), thyme oil (0.01%).

Active Ingredients: Butoxypolypropylene glycol (5%), piperonyl butoxide (1.6%), pyrethrins (0.2%), cypermethrin (0.15%).

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TEST LAB PLUS: A DIY AT HOME OPTION RATING:

2/10

There are a number of recipes out there for making your own spray, and they range from simple to extremely complicated, with a wide variety of ingredients. I was seeking one on the simple end of the scale, and ideally with ingredients that weren’t too expensive.

Farnam Repel-X RATING:

The recipe I tried includes: 2 cups white vinegar 1 tablespoon eucalyptus oil 1 cup water

6/10

I found the eucalyptus essential oil at a local health food store, and then I just combined the three ingredients into an empty spray bottle.

You can also substitute apple cider vinegar into that mixture.

My results weren’t great. The spray smelled good enough, and it didn’t harm my horse in any way, but it also didn’t really help. Just a few minutes after the initial dousing, they were back landing on my mare. You could make a lot of batches of this for the price of even one bottle of regular spray, but I’ll be leaving fly spray production to the experts in the future.

This is one of the more economical sprays on the market. It’s not as effective as some of its more expensive counterparts, but it works well for shorter periods of time—like a single ride—so I’d label it as one of the best bangs for your buck.

I also appreciated that the Repel-X is waterbased, so there’s no greasy film left on the coat after spraying. It’s not one I’d assume effective for a sensitive horse out in the field all day, but I was happy with its performance for an hour at a time, especially given its lower cost. $11.95 for 32 oz.

Active Ingredients: Piperonyl butoxide (0.5%), permethrin (0.1%), pyrethrins (0.05%).

Equicare Flysect Citronella Spray

Zephyr’s Garden Pure & Simple Plus Summer Spray

RATING:

RATING:

4/10 If you enjoy the scent of citronella, you’ll like this spray. Parent company Farnam states this product “contains botanically derived pyrethrins and oil of citronella,” though it still caries the label informing you of environmental hazards, and I still didn’t find it as potent as some.

The real negative to this spray was the oily residue it left on my mare’s coat, which then attracted dirt and dust. It’s called a grooming aid and a coat conditioner, but she felt greasy to touch, and when she worked up a sweat during a ride, the spray turned into a runny substance.

It wasn’t an attractive look on the neck and shoulders. I’ll be steering clear of this spray for the show ring for sure. $16.95 for 32 oz.

Active Ingredients: Butoxypolypropylene (15%), piperonyl butoxide (1%), pyrethrins (0.1%).

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3/10 This was another product that initially attracted me with its lack of harsh chemicals and toxins. I used it on myself, on my horse and on my dog, with no ill reactions from anyone. It smells amazing, thanks to the apple cider vinegar and essential oils inside, and it doesn’t leave a greasy residue or run when the horse sweats.

It also doesn’t work particularly well, and it’s expensive. I wanted to love it, but it’s too much to pay for a spray that flies defy. $22.95 for 32 oz.

Active Ingredients: “A blend of water, apple cider vinegar, organic aloe vera, wormwood, alcohol tinctures of lavender, chamomile, calendula, and arnica, citronella oil, eucalyptus oil and pennyroyal oil.”

Farnam Endure Sweat Resistant Fly Spray RATING:

8/10 This was a reliably effective spray, good for both riding and daily turnout, and it really doesn’t budge, remaining useful with a hot and sweaty horse. It’s a solid pick overall—not too oily and keeps bugs away for long hacks and ring rides. My mare also stomped less in the field. It includes sunscreen as well.

The only downside is that Endure attracts dirt when wet, after you’ve just sprayed it on. It’s one you’d want to be very careful using ringside at a competition; your slick and clean horse can look a little dirty again after application. $19.95 for 32 oz.

Active Ingredients: Butoxypolypropylene glycol (5%), piperonyl butoxide (1.6%), pyrethrins CAS (0.2%), cypermethrin CAS (0.15%).

R

TOP OVERALL PICK

RATING:

10/10

Absorbine UltraShieldEX

This spray treated my sensitive-skinned Thoroughbred to an absence of flies during turnout for solid 24-hour periods. In fact, I applied it once before going out of town for the weekend, and I returned to find my horse still less fly-covered than her pasturemates.

It also contains a sunscreen, which should stop some sun bleaching for horses turned out all day, and coat conditioners.

It’s not touted as sweat-resistant, but it could be; I didn’t notice a lessened effect after my horse started sweating.

A warning, though: This spray does make the coat extremely shiny but also slick—almost to the extent of Show Sheen. I found myself readjusting a saddle pad one day after using it.

Absorbine claims the UltraShieldEX stays active for 17 days, and in my own experience it didn’t last nearly that long, but it was still better than most. A daily application is probably still ideal, especially if you’re riding in a buggy environment or turning out in one.

E

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$20.95 for 32 oz.

Active Ingredients: Piperonyl butoxide (1%), permethrin (0.50%), pyrethrins (0.10%).

R

TOP NON-TOXIC PICK

RATING:

9/10

SmartPak OutSmart

This new spray has been making big waves since SmartPak released it this spring. It’s advertised as being non-toxic and plant-based, safe for horses and riders. Of the three sprays I tested without chemicals, this was my favorite by far, and it very nearly measured up to the best of the chemical sprays as well.

OutSmart proved effective at repelling flies for an entire ride, and I like that it’s water-based, so there was never an oily residue on my horse. The minty scent is incredibly strong, but I still found it pleasant (though a few of my barnmates deemed it too much, and it also caused my horse to lift her lip and clear her nose a few times the first time I tried it on her). Because of the strong scent, I didn’t love using it on myself.

OutSmart isn’t a long-lasting spray; SmartPak recommends reapplication about every five hours, and that’s really its only downside. That’s a bit of a hassle for horses turned out all day, but it’s perfect for riding. This is one I’d pack along in my show trunk and use for daily activities, but I’d likely choose another option for horses turned out in a fly-heavy environment for long periods of time. $22.95 for 32 oz.

Active Ingredients: Geroniol (5%), peppermint (2%).

$60.00 plus s&h Call 800.877.5467 to order OR online at chronofhorse.com C H RO N O F H O R S E .CO M COTH_Scarf 1/3 UN.indd 1

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COVER STORY

Destination:

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Showcation The mercury’s rising, the days are lengthening, and vacation season is here again. But summer doesn’t have to mean scrimping on your saddle time—now’s the time to pack up the whole family and check out some of our country’s best destination horse shows. From surf lessons just a mile from the showgrounds in Southern California to a brewery crawl via kayak in Northern Michigan to wheeled luging and bobsledding down the mountains of upstate New York, these horse shows cater to more than just competition: They’re serious about summer fun.

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COVER STORY Rock: Blowing Come For The Laid-Back Vibe, Stay For The Hacking And Hiking

DAVE ALLEN PHOTOGRAPHY FOR SHUTTERSTOCK.COM PHOTO

Blowing Rock, N.C. | July 21-26 and July 29-Aug. 2

In addition to riding at the horse show, visitors to Blowing Rock, N.C., can hike in the Blue Ridge Mountains, including at nearby Grandfather Mountain.

This 92-year-old competition in the Blue Ridge Mountains still runs only two rings and no night classes, but there’s a reason a host of top professionals keep it on their calendars. ►

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here aren’t many competitions where you can finish your round, turn right out of the ring, and set out on a long hack through the woods, but Blowing Rock Horse Show is one. Situated just 20 feet from the Moses Cone Preserve, the showgrounds connect to 25 miles of maintained carriage roads open for trail riding. But if you’re more into ambling on your own two feet, there are plenty of hiking trails within easy driving distance too.

The outdoor excursions are just one small part of why riders return year after year to the two weeks of the Blowing

Rock Horse Show, which retains a relaxed vibe while also hosting some serious competition; the 2014 edition offered a $15,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby and the $15,000 Kathryn G. Clark Memorial Challenge Of Champions for hunters.

But even with the number of classes and divisions, it’s no accident that the facility doesn’t have arena lights. Blowing Rock’s organizers have adhered to a strict policy: No night classes are offered.

“Over the decades we’ve discussed putting lights in and expanding the prize list to run at night, like a lot of horse

CATHRIN CAMMETT PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO

The barns at the Blowing Rock Horse Show aren’t fancy, but the laid-back vibe and rustic feel is part of why competitors love spending a few weeks there every summer. ►

CATHRIN CAMMETT PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO

▲ Thanks to Blowing Rock offering only two show rings, professional riders can enjoy a more relaxed schedule, even taking time to sit in the stands and watch the other divisions.

shows do,” says Maurice Ewing, who’s on the show’s board of directors. “We’ve always resisted that, and the reason is that the town likes to have access to the exhibitors in the evenings. The restaurant owners want people eating there, and the shops want people there. So when it gets dark, you have to quit.”

And that schedule still appeals to the competitors as well. Hunter rider Liza Boyd takes her clients—and her family— every year. Boyd, who started going to the show as a child with her father, Jack Towell, now takes her own children to the nearby theme park Tweetsie Railroad too.

“Only having two rings isn’t something you see anymore with these big horse

show facilities,” says Boyd, who’s based at Finally Farm in Camden, S.C. “It’s a nice break to be able to sit in the box and watch the horses go. It’s also so nice going to the Kilwins ice cream shop and sitting in the park with some ice cream—and that sounds so simple, but with everyone’s fast-paced lives, strolling around the park and shops after a long day at the barn, it’s really nice.”

If you’re looking for more outdoor adventure, one of the top local hikes is Grandfather Mountain, about 15 minutes outside of town, and there are also whitewater rafting facilities nearby.

Professional rider Daniel Geitner, who’s been attending Blowing Rock for about 30

years, since his short stirrup days, always sets up a fly fishing day for the Monday between the two show dates.

“It’s definitely a different show,” says Geitner, of Aiken, S.C. “Everyone is changing and evolving and adding new barns, and they’ve definitely touched up their barns and added some, but it’s still old school. They’ve kind of stuck with their guns, and it’s pretty neat. It’s different than the cookie-cutter kind of horse shows.”

Riders also appreciate the cooler climate that comes with being up in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Most rent houses for the duration, so it feels even more like a vacation.

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CATHRIN CAMMETT PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO

COVER STORY

◄ Riders enjoy the cooler climate at the Blowing Rock Horse Show, though the high-altitude showgrounds are somewhat famous for their fog.

CATHRIN CAMMETT PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO

In contrast to the urban horse shows that dominate the calendar in fall and winter, Blowing Rock’s summer series boasts untamed nature close at hand in every direction. ►

“We’re so hot that time of year—to actually get to pack some sweaters and have cool mornings, it really helps at that point in the summer,” says Boyd.

“Sometimes the fog will roll in. I can’t tell you how many classes have been held where you can’t even tell how they judge them. We had a kid one year, she was on course, and we were at the in-gate, and she jumped an outside line, and the next

turn was an outside line, and we just never saw her. She’d fallen off at the end of the ring, and the pony was just standing there. That doesn’t happen very often!”

The first Blowing Rock show ran in 1923, and it was organized by Lloyd M. Tate and held on Green Hill Road.

In the mid-1920s it moved to a small golf course nearby, and then it found its current home in 1934 when T.A. Broyhill

“It sounds so simple, but with everyone’s fast-paced lives, strolling around the park and shops after a long day at the barn, it’s really nice.”

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sold the grounds to the Blowing Rock Charity Horse Show Association for $1.

It’s now known as the L.M. Tate Horse Show Grounds at the Blowing Rock Equestrian Preserve. The competition endured through both the Great Depression and World War II, and it was named a U.S. Equestrian Federation Heritage Competition in 2014. Ewing’s worked with the show for 66 years now.

“That’s kind of indicative of the way most of us feel about this horse show,” says Ewing, of Concord, N.C. “Most of us have been involved with it most of our lives.” ►

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COVER STORY Huntington Beach: Horse Showing In Surf City, USA

BRET ST. CLAIR PHOTO

Huntington Beach, Calif. | July 1-4 and Aug. 6-9

Huntington Beach, just a mile from the showgrounds at the Central Park Equestrian Center, is famous for its beautiful sunsets over the Pacific.

Sun, sand and some serious fireworks make these West Coast shows feel like real vacations. ►

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N

estled away in Huntington Beach Central Park and situated only a mile from the Pacific Ocean, the Huntington Beach Surf and Summer Classic series combines top-notch competition with a distinctive SoCal vibe.

In the three years since the summer series began, show manager Dale Harvey has made it his mission to create a fun

show environment that matches the spirit of “Surf City, USA.” A hospitality tent open to all spectators and exhibitors stands in place of an exclusive VIP area to encourage a friendly, open atmosphere.

And the ambiance is equally chill back in the stabling area, where horses lazily hand-graze in the shade of the park’s large, billowing trees.

But while the atmosphere may be

AMY MCCOOL PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO AMY MCCOOL PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO

▲ Huntington Beach hosts two legs of the GGT Grand Prix Series, which draws riders like Lane Clarke, Ashlee Bond, Kristin Hardin and Kasey Ament, pictured here aboard Varon in the $25,000 Grand Prix of Huntington Beach.

relaxed, the Surf Classic, held July 1-4, and the Summer Classic, Aug. 6-9, still attract serious talent, like top West Coast jumpers Lane Clarke, Ashlee Bond and Kristin Hardin. Both Huntington Beach shows are part of the GGT Footing Grand Prix Series.

“It’s always quite fun,” says Clarke, Laguna Hills, Calif. He’s been bringing his horses to jump in the Surf Classic $25,000 GGT Footing Grand Prix for the past three years.

“The footing is really nice, and the

jumps are great,” he continues. “People come out to watch, and the vendors are set in a way where everyone’s enjoying everything the show has to offer. It really is a relaxed atmosphere. And it’s so close to the beach!”

The oceanside boardwalk, an easy stroll or bike ride from the showgrounds at Huntington Central Park Equestrian Center, boasts everything from shops at South Coast Plaza to restaurants along the pier to bike rentals and surf lessons at the world-famous Corky Carroll’s Surf

▲ Huntington Beach Central Park makes for a relaxed and verdant horse show location just a mile from the ocean.

School. You can even bring your dogs along for some fun at Huntington Dog Beach.

Another big draw for the Surf Classic in particular is the local Independence Day celebration.

“The city of Huntington Beach has always had a very large, family-friendly Fourth of July,” explains Kristy Miller, a trainer at Black Star Equestrian, based out of the Central Park Equestrian Center. “There’s a parade in the morning, and they do fireworks every night.”

The horse show takes on a patriotic feel too, complete with red, white and blue guest favors and American flags lining the ring.

“We have special exhibitor parties

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▲ Horses enjoy the chill vibe at the Huntington Beach Surf and Summer Classics just as much as their riders.

DAVID WOODBERY/ISTOCK.COM PHOTO

BRET ST. CLAIR PHOTO

COVER STORY

▲ A trip to the Huntington Dog Beach is the perfect reward for the patient horse show dog.

and special classes that are part of the GGT Grand Prix Series, and the show on Fourth of July is very fun and festive,” says Harvey. “We’re really looking forward to that this year; Huntington Beach is an iconic spot to celebrate the Fourth of July, and it’s a great community with a great deal of activities surrounding the show.”

But even if crashing surf and festive fireworks aren’t your thing, Huntington Beach constitutes a fun getaway. The

picturesque grounds of the park’s equestrian center include 25 acres of trails, so riders can hop on for a quiet hack and stop occasionally to feed the ducks in the lake or enjoy a picnic. The entire park encompasses 350 acres of land with trails, playgrounds, campgrounds, a nature center, four restaurants and two dog parks. Plus it boasts the largest children’s library west of the Mississippi River.

If you have a few minutes before you

“There’s a parade in the morning, and they do fireworks every night.”

—Kristy Miller

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ride in the morning, Miller suggests a favorite local breakfast joint on Main Street called The Sugar Shack, while Jan’s Health Bar is a hotspot for a refueling lunch between classes. Want to enjoy a cold beer over dinner after a long day at the show? You can choose from more than 80 varieties on tap and design your own burger at Slater’s 50/50. (They’ve got a dog menu too!)

“There’s something for everyone in Huntington Beach,” says Miller. “The shows in the summer are great for riders to enjoy their horses at a rated show in beautiful weather and still be able to go out and enjoy a vacation with their families.” ►

COVER STORY Lake Placid: A Sporting Mecca In The Mountains Lake Placid, N.Y. | June 23-July 11

JOSEPH SOHM/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM PHOTO

The town of Lake Placid is nestled in the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York.

It may be known primarily for its winter sports, but come summer, there’s something for everyone to enjoy in this beautiful upstate New York town. ►

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O

ver the last 46 years, the Lake Placid Horse Shows have built up a devoted following of equestrians who look forward to the chance to combine top competition with family-friendly activities.

“Lake Placid is magical,” says top amateur jumper rider Philip Richter, who began attending when he was still in the womb. “It’s a competitive horse show, but it’s also a vacation, and it’s the only show of the year that’s both those things.”

Lake Placid hosted the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympic Games, and the area’s rich sports history is one of the reasons equestrian competitors feel a special energy in the small town. Richter, of Bedford, N.Y., remembers walking over the grand prix open water jump, then frozen, on his way to watch the ski jumping during the 1980 Olympics, and he has his ticket from the famed “Miracle On Ice” hockey game between the United States and the Soviet Union framed and displayed on the wall of his office.

MOLLIE BAILEY PHOTO

MOLLIE BAILEY PHOTO

▲ The Lake Placid Horse Show series draws a loyal crowd of top equestrians every year, including riders like Margie Engle, who won the $75,000 Le Grand Prix Hermès there in 2010.

The ski jump complex built for the 1980 Olympic Games towers in the distance near the grass grand prix field. ►

Around 1,000 horses flock to Lake Hunter Derby during I Love New York The competition is top rate—the show Placid’s unique showgrounds in the (July 2-5). hosted U.S. Olympic team selection trials Adirondack Mountains every summer.

The weather’s cool in July, and the in 1984 and 1988—but there’s plenty You can’t miss the Olympic torch days wrap up early, allowing plenty going on outside the ring too. Before sitting right by the stabling area or of time to enjoy the quaint town and the grand prix the second week there’s a the ski jumping complex towers in the surrounding area. hilarious annual doggie costume contest background of the rings. Charter planes “We have a one-mile riding trail (a miniature donkey has been known to occasionally take off and land from the that leads from the showgrounds to the sneak in from time to time), and kids Lake Placid Airport, directly next to river at Mr. Feldman’s barn, and that’s can sign up to ride down Main Street the grounds. become a huge favorite,” says executive on two show-sponsored floats during Last year chairman Dick Feldman director Lori Martin. “The kids jump the Fourth of July parade. Downtown, added a third week of USEF Premieroff their horses and go for a swim in the which features both its namesake lake rated competition to the calendar. The river. I don’t think a lot of horse shows and Mirror Lake, welcomes the influx showgrounds include a grass field that have that!” of equestrians, with plenty of good hosts two $75,000 bars and restaurants grand prix classes and catering to the horse “The kids jump off their horses and go for a swim in the one $100,000 class, show set, and even a river. I don’t think a lot of horse shows have that!” as well as a $15,000 w i ndow-de cor at i n g USHJA International —Lori Martin competition.

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COVER STORY

MOLLIE BAILEY PHOTO

◄ Riders love taking their horses down the horse show’s mile-long riding trail to enjoy a dip in the river.

There’s plenty to do outside the show ring at Lake Placid, like dress up your pooch for the annual doggie costume class. ►

Katie Jacobs Robinson, who’s been coming to the show since she was in pony straps, loves that her non-horsey husband, son and daughters want to come to this horse show as much as she and her equestrian daughter do.

“There’s so much for everyone to do,” says Robinson, who rides out of her family’s Deeridge Farm in East Aurora, N.Y. “My son can golf, my husband loves to go boating on the water, and the girls love to go shopping in town. We barbecue and waterski and fish and go tubing. It’s such a fun place to be.”

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and figure skating shows on Saturday nights, plus an adventure camp for kids.

On Mondays when the show goes dark many riders hit the trail; there are more than 2,000 miles of marked hiking trails in nearby Adirondack Park, as well as 2,300 ponds and lakes, popular with kayakers, canoers, paddleboaters and fisherman. Adrenaline junkies can head to nearby Whiteface Mountain to try out wheeled luging and bobsledding, or bring a mountain bike to test out the highest vertical drop in the East.

If watching athletes is more your style, visit the Lake Placid Olympic

Training Center, where 10 of the 28 U.S. Olympic medalists from the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games prepared.

Visitors can stop in the ski jumping complex and bobsled run as well. And stars from non-snow sports (think canoeing, kayaking, wrestling and boxing) utilize the center to get ready for international competition.

“It’s just a wonderful place to be in the summertime, whether you’re at the horse show or in town,” says Martin.

“We have so many people who return year after year.” ►

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COVER STORY

Santa Fe: Fiestas And Siestas In “The City Different”

PGIAM/ISTOCK.COM PHOTO

Santa Fe, N.M. | July 22-Aug. 9

Visitors to the inaugural Santa Fe Summer Series at the Equicenter de Santa Fe can expect a welcoming atmosphere and plenty of local flavor in the form of chile ristras decorating the showgrounds.

The Southwest will welcome equestrians to a brand new threeweek series of A-circuit competition and unique entertainment this summer. ►

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fter five years in limbo, the Equicenter de Santa Fe (formerly known as the Santa Fe Horse Park) finally found new ownership in January, and five months later the showplace is ready to welcome the world to its gates once again, “making the city a summer destination for more than chiles, art and opera.”

The revival will be a labor of love for two couples, Brian and Phyllis Gonzales and Guy and Sharon McElvain, who created the Grand Prix de Santa Fe in

2004 and managed the competition until 2009, when the property entered foreclosure. After purchasing the facility and undertaking an extensive renovation, the two families have partnered with Double J Management and Southbound Show Management to mount their inaugural Santa Fe Summer Series.

“We’ve been waiting for them to bring it back, and I think they’re bringing it back even bigger and better,” says local trainer Meredith

CSFOTOIMAGES/ISTOCK.COM PHOTO CAPTURED MOMENT PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO

▲ “We want to step out of the normal horse show and step into horse shows with entertainment, catering to our sponsors and our exhibitors,” says trainer, rider and Equicenter de Santa Fe operations director Janet Hischer.

The Museum of Contemporary Native Arts is just one of Santa Fe’s many museums and galleries. ►

Houx-Remiger, who competed in the Santa Fe Grand Prix years ago and will be bringing short stirrup and grand prix riders alike from her Sandia Farm in Albuquerque, just 50 miles away.

“I think this is going to have a new hype around it with the team that’s hosting it and consistently backing it and wanting to make it better,” HouxRemiger continues. ”For this to be their first year and start this big, compared to just the grand prix they used to have, is wonderful.”

With 66 permanent stalls and 500 temporary, the 137-acre venue is well on

its way to reaching the ultimate goal of 1,500-horse capacity within the next five years. Five show rings and an indoor are all equipped with German Geo Textile footing, and the grass grand prix ring was adapted from a polo field to make it conducive to show jumping.

Four polo fields were left intact for riders to hack or school on, and the showgrounds border Bureau of Land Management-owned property that’s open for trail riding. Caza Ladron Hunt, for which Brian and Guy serve as jt.-MFHs, also has its kennels at the Equicenter; mock hunts on borrowed

“We’re trying to stick with the New Mexico atmosphere, the Santa Fe hospitality. It’s a very cultural, provincial-type town.”

—Janet Hischer

horses can be arranged for competitors who want a taste of the original sport from which their own evolved.

While the new amenities are great, it’s the distinctive local style that sets the Equicenter de Santa Fe apart.

From the chile ristras that decorate the VIP area to the rollicking exhibitors’ parties planned for every week, the southwestern vibe is pervasive and infectious.

“We’re trying to stick with the New Mexico atmosphere, the Santa Fe hospitality,” explains Janet Hischer, Double J Management operations director. “It’s a very cultural, provincialtype town. They call it ‘The City Different.’ We want to step out of the normal horse show and step into horse shows with entertainment, catering to C H RO N O F H O R S E .CO M

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PMPHOTO/ISTOCK.COM PHOTO

COVER STORY

▲ The city of Santa Fe embraces its reputation as a vibrant, quirky cultural community.

◄ Built sometime before 1628, the San Miguel Chapel is the oldest church building in the United States.

our sponsors and our exhibitors.”

The showgrounds will also feature its own beer garden and a special “Jazz and Hunters” night that combines live music with a weekly USHJA Hunter Derby. And in addition to a grand prix, each week will be capped with a fun class intended to entertain onlookers and challenge competitors, such as a ride and drive challenge featuring local Indy car drivers.

“We feel like we’re going to give back to horse people and sponsors in a different way, because horse shows are our passion,” says Hischer.

“Everything they’re doing is trying to be fun. It’s a great family-like staff and team,” agrees Houx-Remiger.

“They’re asking every question they can to exhibitors, from what kinds of jumps

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to what kind of classes to what kind of food to stabling to footing—anything they can to make it what the exhibitors want.”

But there will be plenty to entertain competitors off the showgrounds as well. Nestled in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains, Santa Fe boasts a lovely climate for anyone looking to escape the summer heat, meaning you’ll actually enjoy hitting the local links or strolling through town to check out its many art galleries. History buffs will enjoy visiting the area’s many museums, as well as the San Miguel Chapel, the oldest church in the United States.

Alongside Italian, Asian, Middle Eastern and French cuisine, Santa Fe offers its own traditional fare that ranges from blue corn enchiladas

to red and green chili, all sprinkled liberally with cilantro. On off days, competitors can enjoy a coffee lover’s tour of Santa Fe’s coffee and tea houses in the morning and then visit the local vineyards for wine tasting later in the day.

“People get together at night and find a local little bar and enjoy themselves,” Hischer says. “I love walking around and just seeing old buildings and going in museums and studying the history of the area. If you like history, you’ll love it, and if you like eating, you’ll love it!”

“Santa Fe is a great destination,” adds Houx-Remiger. “It’s a city with a lot of charm and history and great food; it can be as relaxed or fun as you want it to be.” ►

www.kingslandequestrian.com /kingslandequestrian

/kingslandequsa

COVER STORY

The Great Lakes Equestrian Festival:

New Name, New Management, Same Summer Fun Traverse City, Mich. | July 1-26

PHOTO COURTESY OF TRAVERSE CITY TOURISM

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore was voted Most Beautiful Place in America by “Good Morning America” in 2011. The park covers 65 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline with enormous dunes reaching 450 feet high.

Boating, sailing, hiking, biking and breweries bring riders to celebrate summer at this horse show in beautiful Northern Michigan. ►

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F

or a decade beginning in 2004, Horse Shows by the Bay welcomed road-weary competitors to Karin Flint’s Flintfields Farm in a bucolic northern corner of Michigan’s “mitten,” but last winter a dispute over U.S. Equestrian Federation licensing put the future of the popular summer series in jeopardy.

So when new show manager Stadium Jumping Inc. announced in April that the show would indeed have an 11th year, henceforth known as the Great Lakes

Equestrian Festival, many of its loyal attendees breathed a collective sigh of relief.

“I’ve just fallen in love with the area, so I’m thankful I can come back!” says show jumper David Beisel, who’s traveled every year to Traverse City from his home base in Goshen, Ohio. “I like that there’s something for everybody to do. My wife Paige shows in the amateur hunters, my 10-year-old son Cooper does the short stirrups, and my 8-year-old daughter Izzy shows in the ponies. It’s nice—they

PHOTO COURTESY OF TRAVERSE CITY TOURISM

▲ First-time visitors to Traverse City are often stunned by the turquoise water and sandy beaches of many of the area’s lakes.

DIANA HADSALL PHOTO

The showgrounds at Flintfields Farm boast a festive atmosphere during the summer series. ►

have something for everybody.”

Like many competitors, the Beisels spend the entire month in the Traverse City area, which is also known as “the Cherry Capital of the World” due to its many nearby orchards and the National Cherry Festival, held there every July.

The town is also the recipient of many awards as a travel destination: One of “20 Best Small Towns,” in the April 2015 Smithsonian magazine; an “Up and Coming Food City,” in the April 2015 Conde Nast Traveler; and one of the “Top 10 Best Summer Trips for 2012,” per

National Geographic, to name but a few.

“It’s work, but I also get to vacation at the same time,” explains David.

With 800 horses passing through the series (and stalls for 1,100), the Flintfields Horse Park show facility encompasses 80 acres of rolling countryside, with five show rings and a campground with a children’s area. VIP tent services will be expanded this year, and Sundays feature free kids’ activities such as pony rides, magicians, face painters and music, all open to the public.

There are weekly exhibitor and

sponsor parties with live music, food, and beer and wine from the many local wineries and breweries. Week 3 will highlight a “Beer and Ear Party” (think corn on the cob) benefitting JustWorld International, along with an ice cream social, corn-eating contest, golf cart decorating contest and parade, and the insanely popular (and quite entertaining) JustWorld Horseless Horse Show, wherein children and adults race on foot through a miniature, human-scale grand prix course, with proceeds benefiting the charity.

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DIANA HADSALL PHOTO

COVER STORY

▲ Torch Lake, with its crystal-clear waters and laid-back atmosphere, is a favorite among riders.

◄ A fence designed after the Mackinac Bridge, which connects Michigan’s mainland with the Upper Peninsula, it just one of the examples of local flavor incorporated into the competition.

“It’s a great show to bring the whole boasts another bonus: Since it’s on the family to even if there are family northwestern lake coast of the state members not interested in horses,” says and is still in the Eastern Time Zone, Matt Morrissey of Stadium Jumping. daylight extends to after 10 p.m.

“The location is very unique.”

“The jumper ring is beautiful, but the Off the showgrounds you’ll find best thing about it is that at night after plenty of opportunities for boating and the show you can still go home and get sailing on the area’s many freshwater your bathing suits on and lie by the pool lakes, countless hiking and biking trails, or go in the water,” she says. “It stays the Sleeping Bear Dunes National light so late at night! For us, the staff and Lakeshore Park, wineries, breweries, trainers, we love it. We get a little bit of and many dining options in charming holiday at the end of every day. waterside towns. Traverse City is even “The Gochmans actually bought hosting eight “Paddle For Pints” events a log cabin on Elk Lake,” Derbyshire throughout the summer—pub crawls continues, “so on Mondays we go of sorts that connect six different local boating and jetskiing with the kids. The breweries on an urban stretch of the kids go waterskiing in the morning and Boardman River via kayak. then come to the show in the afternoon.

For Gochman family trainer Amanda There’s also a very cute movie theater Derbyshire, who will be spending and great restaurants.” her third summer “It stays light so late at night! We get a little in Michigan this year, the location holiday at the end of every day.”

The water is a big draw for the Beisels as well.

“When we aren’t showing, we’re on our boat on Torch Lake,” says David.

“The kids love tubing. We stay at the Grand Traverse Resort, The Shores, right on the beach. It’s five minutes from the showgrounds and is a great place to watch the sunset and eat s’mores. And my wife and I certainly enjoy the dining.

Our favorite places are Siren Hall in Elk Rapids and Trattoria Stella in Traverse City.”

Like many regulars, Derbyshire says she was thrilled to learn an agreement had been reached for the show’s continuation.

“We were worried for a while that it wasn’t going to happen, and we would have to change our plans!” she says.

“We’re just really happy bit of we can go back.”

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www.Tryon.com

PHOTO FEATURE

Thousands of frenzied spectators fill every inch of the Piazza Del Campo in Siena, Italy, on Palio days. Access to the center of the square is free to the public, but claiming a good position requires sleeping on the cobblestones overnight or standing in place for 24 hours at a time; fainting spells are quite common.

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Il Palio È Vita Dating back to the 13th century, this is more than just the world’s oldest horse race: “The Palio is life.”

Text and Photos by ELENA LUSEN T I

Oppio, the horse representing the contrada Drago (dragon), scored a clear victory in last July’s Palio. The pair from the contrada Aquila (eagle) finished second, which is considered to be a shameful defeat worse than finishing last.

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PHOTO FEATURE

H

eld twice each summer in the majestic central square of a medieval Italian town, the Palio of Siena is one of the most thrilling and culturally rich equestrian spectacles on earth. But visitors be forewarned: It is not a mere historical reenactment, an educational exhibition or a tourist trap. The Palio is a competition of the highest stakes, fueled by centuries worth of intrigues, rivalries and alliances. To the Sienese, “the Palio is life.”

Siena is divided into 17 districts, known as contrade, and its residents are renowned for their neighborhood pride and passion; loyalty to your contrada ranks above that of your church or the state.

Contrada captains select the group of horses for each Palio, but individual mounts are assigned to each district via a lottery conducted by the mayor. Palio horses are always mixed-breed mares or geldings; no stallions or Thoroughbreds are allowed.

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A representative from Bruco (or caterpillar, a powerful contrada named for its silk trade) oversees the day of the horse assignment lottery.

Medieval costumes and traditional performances in the lead-up to the races have been carried on virtually unchanged for centuries.

On race day, each horse is delivered to its contrada’s church, where residents invoke the blessing of their patron saint for their equine representative.

Catholic traditions play an important role in the Palio. The July 2 edition, known as Palio di Provenzano, coincides with the Feast of the Visitation and a local festival honoring Madonna di Provenzano, a painting once owned by a Sienese leader that was supposed to have miraculous curative power. The Aug. 16 Palio dell’Assunta happens the day after the Feast of the Assumption and is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

The race lineup is always a very tense process and often a lengthy one, as the starting order is not revealed until the last moment. This is when the final negotiations and strategies among contrada captains and jockeys take place.

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PHOTO FEATURE After lengthy trials and veterinary inspections, a jury selects the 10 horses for the Palio lottery three days before the race. Then, once Siena’s mayor draws the assignments for each contrada, the horses are taken back to their allocated districts and assigned grooms who will guard them night and day.

So when the contrade go head-to-head in a horse race in Piazza Del Campo every July 2 and Aug. 16, it’s the culmination of a year’s worth of plotting, planning and political maneuvering, not to mention hard work. Nothing is more important than winning the Palio, though ensuring that your contrada’s rivals lose ranks a close second.

For each race, 10 of the 17 total contrade are selected to take part, and the community leaders in each district battle behind the scenes to hire the best jockeys. These young men will run the race bareback at uncontrolled speeds around 90-degree turns on the outside perimeter (packed with dirt) of Siena’s magnificent piazza full of thousands of passionate fans.

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Trial races are held in the days leading up to the real competition, and tickets for the stands around the square sell out even for these practice runs. On Palio day, viewing spots from balconies or these prized seats can cost thousands of dollars.

Each contrada hosts a good luck dinner the evening before the race, and rows of tables lining the streets often surpass a mile in length. But it’s more than just a party—it’s also the last opportunity for contrada captains to finalize their partiti, or attack and defense strategies, with their allies. Each captain makes agreements with as many other contrade as possible, with the exception of their main rival.

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PHOTO FEATURE

A young contrada debutant takes a pizza break.

Palio weeks are exhausting, with endless parades and festivities that engulf the entire city from dawn to well past midnight.

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Alfieri, or flag wavers in traditional medieval dress, play an important role in the pre-race parade, called the Corteo Storico.

In the Palio’s version of a post parade, about 700 officials descend on the track in addition to the 10 participating horses. This Corteo Storico celebration is a two-hour spectacle of medieval costumes, intricate flag maneuvers and drum line performances.

Nowhere is the intense rivalry of Siena’s contrade more powerful and apparent than at the start line of the Palio. Jockeys use their whips, made of stretched and dried cowhide, to attack and irritate opposing horses and riders; grabbing another rider’s reins is the only tactic outlawed.

Jockeys are expected to whip, push and crowd their fellow riders, especially those from major rival contrade, and it is not unusual to have a few horses end the race without a jockey (mattresses are often strategically placed along the walls of the square to soften riders’ inevitable falls). But in Palio rules, the horse is the featured athlete, not the rider, meaning he can still win the race—and glory for his contrada—without his jockey.

The ultimate shame of the Palio is finishing second, which is universally acknowledged among the Sienese as being the loser—a fate far worse than finishing last.

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TRAVEL

Enrolling Now:

The Safari Schoo Spotting South African wildlife from the back of a horse is a bucket list-worthy experience, but going off the grid is priceless.

By KAT NETZLER

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A

s I headed to the airport, I stewed in my d isappoint ment—not exactly an appropriate emotion for a person embarking on a weeklong South African horseback safari.

I’d looked forward to this trip for months, but a surprise late-winter snowstorm had kept FedEx from delivering my telephoto camera lens in time for my departure, and the photographer in me couldn’t really fathom how I’d document the experience without one. How could I get magazine-worthy photos of lions with nothing longer than a 55mm lens, or garner Instagram likes with a photograph of a crocodile taken with, gasp, just my iPhone?! Before I’d even stepped on the plane, I felt sure the week ahead was going to be one long missed opportunity.

Luckily somewhere over the Atlantic a reality check materialized in my brain during the 16-hour flight from Atlanta to Johannesburg.

“Even if I can’t take every photo I want,” I reminded myself, “this is still a trip of a lifetime, and it ought to be appreciated. It’ll be an exercise in living in the moment. I’ll just be present.”

Ha. I don’t know about you, but in my social circles, “be present” is a bit of a scolding mantra these days. But

ol Of Life

PHOTO COURTESY OF HORIZON HORSEBACK

>> Situated on a private game reserve in the Waterberg region of South Africa, Horizon Horseback Safaris offers riders of all ages and experience levels the chance to see some of the continent’s most famous species of wildlife.

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Giraffes Before Breakfast

PHOTO COURTESY OF HORIZON HORSEBACK

My first goal upon arrival, well after midnight due to a delayed flight, was to simply be present in a bed for as many hours as possible.

I’m sure I gave Finn, the Horizon staff member who kindly got me settled in to my amazing private lakeside hut, the stink-eye when she informed me we’d be setting out on our first ride in roughly six hours.

But getting up early that first morning was one of the best decisions I made all week. It not only cured my jetlag, but it also whetted my appetite for the amazing opportunities I’d have at my fingertips for the next four days. The morning prior I’d been chipping ice off my windshield in Memphis, Tenn., and now I was riding a horse through the African bush amongst herds of zebra and impala, looking up at graceful giraffes. And it wasn’t even 9 a.m.

“I’ll sleep when I’m dead,” I quickly resolved.

My fellow travelers that week— one couple from Perth, Australia, and another from rural England— shared this mindset, and together we enjoyed a string of increasingly amazing experiences, from swimming our horses to trying (and being terrible at) polocrosse for the first time to spying cheetahs on a Jeep game drive to riding elephants across the open plains. Elephants!

You may not think of South Africa as a particularly verdant place, but the Waterberg region comes by its name honestly. There are countless lakes and ponds in the area, and Horizon guests and their horses alike enjoy cool swims on hot days.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF HORIZON HORSEBACK

it’s a difficult concept, with phones and tablets and smartwatches and all manner of technological devices compelling us to document and share every minute of our daily experiences. Going off the grid mentally, let alone geographically, is a skill that actually takes some practice.

My destination, Horizon Horseback Safaris near Vaalwater, South Africa, was about to teach me how.

The giraffes at Horizon stick to the forested areas and are harder to spot than you might think, which makes any sighting that much more rewarding.

KAT NETZLER PHOTO

The view from the safari base lodge at Entabeni Game Reserve.

KAT NETZLER PHOTO

Wildlife sightings aside, a trip to the Entabeni Game Reserve is worth the effort just for the magnificent views from the Jeep as you travel down the steep cavern road from the park’s upper escarpment to the lower.

>> If You Go Horizon Horseback offers four different safari packages tailor-made for everyone from honeymooners to non-riders to families with young kids. You can learn more about each at their website, RidingInAfrica.com.

You can also reach Laura Dowinton via email at laura@ridinginafrica.com or call toll-free with any questions at 1-855774-7030. (South Africa is six hours ahead of the U.S. Eastern time zone and nine hours ahead of the Pacific.)

The exchange rate from U.S. dollars to South African rand is quite favorable, and prices are low for goods and services. Meals (and basic alcoholic drinks for adults) are all included in your stay, and they’re top-notch. Chefs Rhynos, David and Maria cook up amazingly fresh, colorful and varied meals three times a day that I’m still dreaming

about (and trying to work off).

The most daunting hurdle is the journey itself. Delta offers direct daily flights from Atlanta to Johannesburg, but at a flight time of nearly 16 hours there and 17 hours back, it’s one of the longest commercial hauls in the world right now. From Johannesburg it’s then another two hours to the Triple B Ranch near Vaalwater. (Horizon arranges all car transfers for you.)

But the travel truly is worth it for the experience you’ll have once you’re finally there. I left on a Saturday and returned on a Sunday, but I’d definitely recommend a longer stay for visitors coming from North America. Schedule a full week at Horizon, at least, or you’ll leave feeling like you missed out on some things.

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Every activity seemed to top the last—a progression cleverly crafted by Laura Dowinton, who runs Horizon with her husband Shane.

PHOTO COURTESY OF HORIZON HORSEBACK

An Accidental Business

A family of hippos has taken up residence at Horizon, and they hop from pond to pond on the property, mostly at night.

But don’t worry—while you may hear them outside your window, an electric fence on the shore discourages them from dropping by the guest huts unannounced.

KAT NETZLER PHOTO

The Waterberg region’s geography varies greatly every few miles, changing from sandy deserts to scrubby forests to rocky mountains to beautiful open grasslands resembling the American West.

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Horizon Horseback Safaris is based out of Triple B Ranch in the malaria-free Waterberg region, and it boasts what I’d call a laidback luxury vibe, with private guest huts, gourmet meals, a pool, massage services, and riding activities for all ages and experience levels. But unlike many other extravagant safari retreats in the area, this business has grown organically over the past 20 years

from very humble beginnings.

Rupert Baber, a fifth-generation Waterberger, and his wife Tanya Baber hired the Dowintons in 1993 to break and train their herd of 60 horses. Once that goal had been reached, however, the horses needed a job, and Triple B Ranch, then enduring a 10-year drought, needed one too. So in addition to raising cattle and doing a bit of horse breeding, the Dowintons dipped their toes in the water of tourism—though it barely even qualified as that back then.

“When we started it in ’93, it was only local trade; we just took people riding on the weekends,” Laura explained. “People brought

KAT NETZLER PHOTO

TRAVEL

We hold our collective breath as our Entabeni guide endures a few scary moments in a standoff with an emboldened female elephant.

KAT NETZLER PHOTO

KAT NETZLER PHOTO

Sharp eyes are a must on any safari, whether you’re in a Jeep or on horseback. While cruising through the Entabeni underbrush at dusk in search of lions, this female black rhino—the only one of this endangered species remaining in the park—came walking out of the bush and right up to our vehicle as if by design. Our guide was thrilled to see her again, saying it had been months since his last encounter with her.

A day trip to the nearby Entabeni Game Reserve affords not only the opportunity to see big game up close, but also some stunning views of South Africa’s geological marvels.

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TRAVEL

their own bedding, food, everything. We could have eight guests, with one bathroom, and we all just shared.

“Any time we actually made a little money,” she continued, “we’d say, ‘Oh, we’ll buy sheets now!’ or, ‘We’ll buy pots and pans and make breakfast!’ ” More than 20 years later, Horizon now has a herd of 80 horses, and it provides training for and employs about 25 residents of the local community in roles ranging from bush guides to drivers to chefs.

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wanted the farm to function as a business was just to create something that could employ people locally,” Laura said. “We’re so rural, and there are just so few jobs out here. We’ve handed on some fantastic staff members who’ve gone on and gotten great jobs.”

The business has grown so much that it now also includes Camp Davidson, located across the valley from the ranch, which affords guests the ultimate “glamping” experience: Think luxury tents with outdoor showers and gourmet meals served al fresco by the pool.

“It’s grown with us, and we’ve

KAT NETZLER PHOTO

PHOTO COURTESY OF HORIZON HORSEBACK

KAT NETZLER PHOTO

Even the youngest of riders can enjoy the thrill of a horseback safari at Horizon.

The elephants are limited to just one tour per day, scheduled early in the morning, so at the end of our ride the guides thanked them with treats, removed their saddles, and released them for the rest of the day. Watching them happily wallow and play just like horses relishing turnout was even more rewarding than the ride itself.

>> What Makes A Good Safari Horse?

PHOTO COURTESY OF HORIZON HORSEBACK

“Maybe we should have brought our helmets!” we all joked, only half-kidding, as we climbed aboard elephants at the Greater Shambala Game Reserve near Vaalwater. It’s here that Waterberg Elephant Back Safaris offers the pachyderm equivalent of an hourlong guided hack, and it’s a surreal, amazing experience. Babies trundle alongside their mothers while guides answer all your questions about these highly intelligent creatures and the process of training them.

Because horses are prey animals, riding one on safari means “you become part of the herds of wildlife,” says Alison Mundy of Singita Grumeti Safaris in Tanzania (Singita.com). “Being in a vehicle or on foot cannot compare. Each stride the horse takes is an adventure.”

When you’re out in the open, you need to trust the horse below you, so good training is essential. Safari horses can be anything from ex-racers to bush ponies, and they’ll be chosen for their calm temperaments and comfortable paces. In addition to big game lurking around corners, there are plenty of other dangers, such as massive aardvark holes and slippery rocks. Safari horses must be responsive and sure-footed, “so the rider can let them pick the footing and look further ahead,” says Mundy, and have the stamina to gallop for five minutes together.

“We might take [anywhere from a few] weeks to a year to train a new horse,” says Alice Gully of Aardvark Safaris, which hosts tours in 16 African countries (AardvarkSafaris.com). Guides will take them out in a group with older and more experienced horses to lend a calming

presence when acclimatizing them to big game.

“Large herds can cause excitement,” says Martin Dodwell of Singita, “but once they’ve seen the annual migration and accept it, there won’t be anything bigger.”

Some threats are obvious—due to their size, elephants are the most intimidating, and the scent of a lion will put a horse on high alert—but some are less predictable.

“The worst is reedbuck,” notes Mundy. “They hide in the grass until you’re close and then run. The first thing you see is a fair-sized, lion-colored animal. It only takes a second to realize it’s a harmless antelope, but a horse can move quite a bit in a second!”

That’s why horseback safari guides will tell you the most important aspect of training a new horse happens without any humans present. These horses live out in a herd 24/7, as nature intended, so every moment of every day is spent honing their instincts.

“They graze in the unfenced bush alongside impala and antelope,” explains Gully, “and develop a sixth sense for threats.”

—Octavia Pollock

At least one polocrosse lesson during your stay at Horizon is a must. Even if (like me) you have terrible handeye coordination and no prior experience, the fun will win out, and you’ll be hooked in no time.

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TRAVEL The People Make The Place

It’s easy to see why. The Waterberg is a stunningly beautiful place to live, but the Dowintons also seem to attract amazing people into their orbit. Most of the riding staff are volunteers—young women with equestrian experience who come from around the world to work for three-month stints—but many of them have grown to be part of the family and return several times over.

The horses are fantastic, the wildlife incredible, and the food

PHOTO COURTESY OF HORIZON HORSEBACK

grown with it,” said Laura, who’s a warm and welcoming host and a great storyteller. She and Shane both hail from Britain but met in the rainforests of Queensland, Australia, and have traveled all over the world together; if you’re trying to learn to live in the moment, theirs is the perfect example to emulate.

“I’ve never had a five-year plan in my life,” Laura said with a laugh. “I remember going to a dinner party where someone asked me that, and I was like, ‘Seriously?’

But I know I have no plans to go anywhere else.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF HORIZON HORSEBACK

KAT NETZLER PHOTO

Camp Davidson, located across the valley from Horizon’s permanent base at Triple B Ranch, offers guests a taste of “glamping” in amazing luxury tents.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF HORIZON HORSEBACK

The guest huts at Horizon’s main camp at Triple B Ranch are built in the charming and traditional Dutch-reminiscent style.

The quintessentially African interior of my lakeside hut.

The beautiful main lodge at Horizon serves as the heart of the ranch.

TRAVEL of Boerewors sausages cooking over an open fire for lunch in the bush, or the sound of hippos outside your hut in the night.

I won’t lie—I did miss a few opportunities for great photos. But had I framed my entire vacation through a camera lens, ruining the present by constantly plotting the best way to make this experience look awesome in the future… Well, that would have been one long missed opportunity.

This feature was created in partnership with Horizon Horseback, which funded a portion of travel expenses.

After an all-day ride through the bush, there’s nothing better than gin and tonics served up by the pool at Camp Davidson before dinner. The entire camp, including this swimming area, is modular—built on top of existing rock formations and completely removable so as to have the least impact on the environment as possible.

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Editorial Note

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our dinner table discussion game with some well-informed insight on the conflict between religion and science in the American South. And I can’t count the number of interesting conversations I had with my fellow riders out on the trail, about everything from Australian politics to Qatari culture.

The last thing on my mind was that camera lens, sitting at home in some cold shipping warehouse. Because you can’t take pictures of lively conversations, or of the taste of a cold gin and tonic at the end of a long, dusty day. You can’t photograph the feeling of scoring your first goal in polocrosse, or the smell

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and accommodations to die for, but it’s the people who really make the Horizon experience unique.

It was easy to be present with so many interesting people to get to know. Viva, one of our riding guides, was a German lawyer in her early 30s who’d trained with Olympic eventer Christopher Bartle in Britain and was heading back home for a final interview with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Local theologian and scientist Dr. Philip Calcott not only conducted a fascinating astronomy lesson for us one night (and this is coming from someone who’s never cared a wit about planets), but he also upped

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Coffee or tea as ordered is delivered to your tent’s porch each morning at Camp Davidson.

Channel your inner Hemingway in the lounge tent at Camp Davidson.

Our group enjoys pre-dinner cocktails on the patio at Camp Davidson before a fantastic al fresco meal and a great night’s sleep.

TRAVEL

UNGUIDED And Off The Grid Facing a major birthday and a mild identity crisis, the author embarks with purpose on an Irish riding vacation without a plan.

By S T EPH A N IE CH U RCH

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My mount Shanlara patiently awaits his chance to gallop.

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wo or three emphatic honks of the horn were all it took to rouse the Irish countryside’s inhabitants from their peaceful slumber.

Atti, the strapping Hungarian, and I walked over to the fence, looking beyond it to the green-carpeted hillside, and waited, listening: First, the ambient sounds of a County Sligo morning—birds chirping overhead, a light breeze. Then, a distant whinny and the scuffle of hooves, followed by rhythmic hoofbeats.

Suddenly, a rowdy bunch of Irish-bred geldings of all colors and sizes spilled chaotically over the landscape and into the feeding corral, bright-eyed and happy to see us, but more preoccupied with vying for position at the breakfast trough than saying hello.

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TRAVEL

When riding in Donegal, it’s not about if it’s going to rain, it’s when. Going in with those expectations and a good raincoat will do you wonders. This was the only day when it rained steadily throughout, and the gorgeous views of the Bluestack Mountains made up for it.

Atti is a veteran team member at Horse Holiday Farm. The steeds seemed to give him a nod of acknowledgement, then sneered at one another like competitive siblings, roughhousing at the table between mouthfuls.

I scanned the group. Most were Irish Draught crosses—some were big-bodied, solid, fit for a Renaissance-era knight (or at least a 21st century CrossFitter) to ride. Others were slighter, more athletic70

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looking. An attractive steel gray covered with dapples caught my eye. He appeared younger than the others, with some filling out left to do, looking the part of a mount learning the ropes of being a holiday horse.

The gray ate his fill, turned and searched for the dirtiest spot in the corral, and dropped and rolled vigorously, as if his very life depended on covering every inch of his body with the grayish brown, silty mud.

“Boy, that one’s going to be fun to groom,” I thought, amused. Then, on a hunch I turned to Atti and said, more as a matter of fact than a question, “That one’s mine, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” he replied. “That’s Shanlara.

You’ll be riding him this week.”

Huh. OK. He was not the big veteran Irish Cob I was expecting, but I needed to trust the process. It was vacation, for crying out loud, and not just any vacation: one with a purpose.

Taking in the sunset on my birthday eve in Ardara.

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Christa’s mount Doonbeg checks out some sheep grazing in what she likes to refer to as Teletubbyland.

Decision Point A few months before this adventure began, I’d become keenly aware of a few things: My number of bridesmaid appearances had climbed well into the teens, my mom-to-be friends were being reminded by doctors of their “advanced maternal age,” and their families were outgrowing their houses. My own situation mainly consisted of figuring

You’d be surprised how much you can fit into and onto a saddlebag— an extra pair of breeches and shirt, undergarments, toiletries and snacks. Here, Shanlara trots steady for me on a loose rein under all that gear near Portnoo.

out which online dating service churned out the least offensive suitors, who to visit on my next solo vacation so I wouldn’t be exploring a place entirely alone, and how to fix a leaky faucet or other home maintenance DIYs. But for all this freedom and no-stringsattached-ness, I was freaking out a little.

Having expected to be on a similar timeline as the rest of my friends—a cautionary tale straight out of the social media playbook—I was restless and uncertain. I had a birthday

coming up, one that was a big deal in my mind, and I needed a way to deal with it and the awareness that my career had progressed, but other life areas weren’t going anywhere fast.

It was a full-on quarter-…OK, let’s be honest…third-life crisis. I needed to get grounded again, stat. Travel to faraway places does that for me, and so do horses.

Given that I had not left the States for a fun trip for several years and was on a C H RO N O F H O R S E .CO M

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near-decade-long horse ownership hiatus after a riding injury that left me reluctant to get back into the game, I was admittedly far from these two tangible things that brought happiness. So I bit the bullet, booked a flight to Dublin, and, with some arm-twisting (it didn’t take much), convinced an adventurous friend to meet me in the Emerald Isle to ride.

I’ve taken an Irish riding vacation before—it’s a rite of passage for many riders, I think. But this trip would be a little different from the daily follow-the-leader hack of my 20s. This was to be a seven-day, unguided trek around County Donegal, in northwest Ireland, with maps and stays in private homes or bed-and-breakfasts each evening.

It would be a true getaway from the familiar and all its trappings, and I’d be “off the grid” and completely immersed in the beauty and predictably unpredictable weather that characterizes Ireland.

A Warm Welcome I had traveled on my own for a few days, taking the train from Dublin to gorgeous Galway—my home base for exploring The Burren and Cliffs of Moher, nearby in

County Clare—before taking the bus north to Grange. Upon entering the gates of Horse Holiday Farm, I’d met my darling host, Colette Anhold, and settled in to my room on the inland side of the house, which gave me a grand view of iconic Benbulbin, the rock formation that inspired some of William Butler Yeats’ final verse.

Downstairs, through the picture windows, I could see the sun setting over Dernish Island, the green spot of land that falls between them and the open North Atlantic. A few surfers dotted the horizon— the area is known for its world-class surfing.

Colette and Tilman Anhold have been running this outfit for more than 40 years— he the accomplished, no-nonsense German horseman, and she the sharp scheduler yet warm and gracious Irish hostess who gives you the feeling you’re family. You can stay at their home farm and ride out each day, guided or unguided, with a friend or with a group of other guests. (Incidentally, these other guests often end up being friends, on Facebook and in real life. Colette even said, with raised eyebrow, that many romances have started between guests who met at HHF.) Many people do choose to keep Grange as their base. Others go for one of the Donegal unguided rides.

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TRAVEL

Lesson #1: Trust The Horseman, Trust The Horse

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Another beautiful sunset over a vista just outside Ardara.

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Back to getting acquainted with Shanlara the gray. This pairing was my first exercise in understanding just how intuitive a horseman Tilman Anhold is—clearly a perfect marriage of his classic German horsemanship with Ireland’s stellar hunttype horses.

I’m six feet tall and haven’t been a twig since high school. But Tilman somehow saw that Shanlara and I would be an ideal fit. Also, “He’ll look good in pictures,” I remember him saying.

I knew that Shanlara knew his job was to navigate rugged Sligo and Donegal. As such, I settled into the idea of being paired with a young horse. Remember that injury that sidelined me? It was sustained coming off a youngster. But Shanlara was easy to catch, seemed chill enough about loading, and though I discovered he wasn’t one for a thorough grooming or any sort of doting display of affection, he was a very kind and level-headed horse. He would also tolerate a brief hug if it meant a carrot was

Musicians play traditional Gaelic tunes beneath Donegal checkered flags at Nancy’s Pub in Ardara.

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Checking out the guestbooks at each stop along the way and reading stories about our horses written by other travelers was one of our favorite activities.

involved. The little treat hound even stole a banana from my pack one day as we were tacking up.

I was lucky enough to get a test ride with several guests who were based at the farm for the week before my friend Christa arrived for our unguided tour.

We saddled up and started walking out for a day aptly described as “Riding by the Sea,” with sweeping views of the Atlantic and Donegal Bay and a lunch stop in the seaside town of Mullaghmore. I settled into the tack I would be using for the week and started to get accustomed to Shanlara’s size—he was narrow compared

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to some of the draft crosses I’d piloted occasionally during my riding hiatus.

My mind was busy and uneasy. I was dealing with the first-world problems of withdrawal from connectivity and the emails that were piling up in my absence. Also, guilt from denying myself the simple pleasure of riding regularly for so long, along with exhaustion from trying to convince myself almost daily that the return on investment (time and finances) wasn’t worth getting back into owning a horse. Oh, right: then there’s an inordinate fear of beach gallops I’d need to overcome, probably soon.

Just as I got out of my head enough to settle in for a quiet, relaxed trail ride along the shoreline, our guide asked us to gather our reins and get ready for a gallop.

My heart rate leapt.

Do not race, he instructed, and stay off your horses’ backs. OK, fair enough, I can do that. This was not when or how I imagined the first gallop would go down, but I had to decide right then to trust Tilman, trust my guide and trust my new mount. I bridged my reins just in case, took a deep breath, and tried to expel it calmly. From a walk we set off into a steady canter, easing into a confident

You can find more information about Horse Holiday Farm Ltd. in Grange, County Sligo, Ireland, at their website, Horse-Holiday-Farm.com. For the most expedient answer, you can reach Colette Anhold via the enquiry form on the website, or email hhf@eircom.net.

Reservations are a must because spaces go fast. The holiday season spans late April through mid-October, while the highest season is mid-July through mid-August.

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TRAVEL Lesson #2: Don’t Get Lost The next day, my friend Christa, a redheaded Texan who’s married to a Frenchman and lives in Paris with their three children, arrived in Sligo. She was paired with Doonbeg, a larger, moregrayed-out Irish cob of a horse. Christa joined us for some riding in the afternoon, and when we returned to HHF, we watched our horses roll, as just-sponged gray horses do, in the setting sun.

We would be taking the Donegal Trail West, spending six days with our horses, our hosts, and a variety of other

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gallop. To my surprise, young Shanlara’s pace, while swift, was like a metronome.

He held a straight line and at no point felt squirrely or out of control; he was a complete gentleman of a horse, eating up the shoreline with his stride.

Initial fear gave way to utter joy at this chance to be doing what I love again, and I could feel the tears, whether from sea air or from exhilaration (it’s anyone’s guess), streaming across my temples.

When it came time to bring our horses back to a trot and walk, Shanlara complied without a fuss.

I couldn’t stop smiling. I was back.

Why had I stopped riding, again?

A cooked-to-order traditional Irish breakfast at the Bonners’—delectable nourishment for the ride to Portnoo.

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A rainbow for my birthday—one of many we were treated to throughout the week.

locals along the way. Oh, yes, and we’d be using saddlebags to carry the items we’d need. Both Christa and I were at first a little overwhelmed, but this was a part of the whole wilds-of-Donegal experience— take only what you need and hang on.

The morning after a night of careful saddlebag packing, Atti dropped us off with horses, maps and phone numbers at a forestry trail about an hour away from HHF. We climbed aboard, took a commemorative “before” photo, and headed on our way.

It took us a few hours to get used to the scale of the map, how frequently we’d see a yellow-painted tin arrow affixed to a post to confirm our path, how best to repack our saddle bags for convenience, and how to handle the horses when nature called (plainly, pee breaks for the people). We also learned we were taking far too many photos

DOS AND DON’TS Don’t leave home without these essentials: • Helmet

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• Sense of humor

The whole of Donegal, including its adorable ponies, were celebrating their recent soccer championship win with checkered Donegal flags.

A beautiful seaside view near Ardara on a birthday ride toward the galloping beach.

in the beginning. “Strikingly gorgeous” is the norm in Donegal, and if we missed framing one pretty shot—not to worry, we’d have another to capture in minutes.

Christa and I quickly settled into what became our daily routine of covering about five hours of ground, while gazing at the unbelievable green vistas spiked with gray stone and purple heather. Shanlara’s stride would take us far ahead of veteran Doonbeg (“Why hurry?” he seemed to say. “Feed will be there no matter what time we get in!”), and I’d stop to examine the map and let Christa catch up, only to find she had been singing scores from Phantom of the Opera as she walked.

We’d trot and canter when the footing allowed, and we’d pause to confirm our direction. We did get turned around more than once, but that made for even more interesting stories. We’d stop and

• Paddock boots and halfchaps (unless you like wearing your tall boots into town after a long day and a shower) • Lightweight layers (think hiking, camping, or exercising in fluctuating temperatures).

My technical shirts and windproof vest were perfect.

• A witty friend

admire “epic sheep”—those we dubbed so because they would perch high atop stone precipices, looking down dramatically over their domain.

As we traversed the southwest corner of Donegal in a counter-clockwise fashion, we opened and closed many gates and marveled at how generous landowners were to allow us to pass through their properties. I gawked at the Blue Stack Mountains, marveling at the true stories we heard about them (a Royal Air Force plane crashed on Croaghgorm during the second World War—apparently some of the wreckage still remains) and imagining my own (did I mention it looked like a movie set?).

We crossed ancient stone bridges and passed high-tech windmills, saw centuriesold abandoned homesteads in the hills— stone house ruins lacking roofs, of course,

• Raincoat that will cover your knees while riding (or you can rent for a small weekly fee from HHF) • Small stuff sacks for clothing and toiletries • Money to exchange for snacks along the way • A good camera or smartphone • Something waterproof in which to place the camera (or wear it in a waist camera bag beneath your raincoat) • Large Ziploc bag or an explorer’s map bag designed to keep your map dry

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TRAVEL

An unplanned foray into the untamed Irish countryside is the perfect antidote to the “third-life crisis.”

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because they had once been thatch. We’d go several hours without seeing a human being—usually our only companions were sheep and cattle. And we’d know when we were coming into civilization again when we caught a whiff of fermenting silage.

Each evening we’d feed, groom and tuck our horses in for the night, then visit our hosts over dinner or during the ride to a pub for pints. Mary Logue speaks and teaches Gaelic and knits Irish sweaters.

Barbara Bonner, who hosts for two separate nights of the trip, is an unbelievable cook and charmingly militant about having her guests’ rain-soaked clothes dried before morning.

The Coyles make a ridiculously tasty Irish

coffee and insist you take it while you warm your feet by the fire.

We always spent time poring over the guest books: We enjoyed reading them almost as much as writing our own messages and sketching little pictures of our days’ adventures. Shanlara and Doonbeg were guest favorites, and we got to read about what other riders had discovered while piloting them weeks and seasons prior.

One of many delightful (if accidental) wrong turns took us down this beautiful road near Portnoo. We had a little trouble with the map here, but the horses seemed to know exactly where to go.

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Lesson #3: Age Is Just a Number Aside from following the basic routine of getting ready, eating breakfast, tacking up and riding, our days were far from ordinary.

This wasn’t your lounge-by-the-ocean-witha-book, lose-track-of-what-day-it-is kind of holiday. It was a choose-your-own adventure one. Our hosts in the evenings were incredibly accommodating, and we had such freedom with our timelines—and such steady, sound horses—that it really was a matter of picking whether you’d want to ride in the mountains, through forests, or by the water.

I spent my big-deal-birthday eve near a picturesque town called Portnoo, where

our horses stayed in a stone-walled pasture right on the water. We had clam chowder at Nancy’s Bar in charming Ardara (elected in 2012 the best Irish village in which to live), and Christa humored my hope to find a pretty sunset to Instagram (I wasn’t always unplugged!). After we walked around the cute town, we returned to Nancy’s to listen to local musicians.

The next day’s choices were mine as birthday girl. First item of business? A beach gallop. (Admittedly several.) Shanlara and I had become quite the team at this point.

Prior to our gallops he would stand calmly, extending one leg out in his very best impression of Zenyatta the race horse. Then we would gallop happily. After, we walked around in water about knee deep, letting our horses splash (but not lie down!) before heading back to the trails.

That birthday was a memorable one indeed. We spent about 10 hours riding, mainly because I wanted to stop and take a photo of just about every vista—from looking back over the Gweebarra Bay and Portnoo to the mountains ahead. We traversed trails where Tilman and his crew had built bridges over boglands, donned coats for rain multiple times, eked our way past scary pigs (the one

DOS AND DON’TS Do Not: • Gallop or trot in the water.

• Gallop on hard roads (short trots are acceptable).

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• Swim your horse.

thing the horses didn’t seem to like), and saw vivid rainbows arching over towns we passed.

Christa and I—between each of her trail-time arias—had picked up a lot of good perspective and insight on life timelines and deadlines, real and imagined.

Here’s the thing: Staring a big birthday in the face can be daunting. We really are prone to envisioning a timeline early in adulthood and sticking to that in our comings and goings, plans and executions of plans. And if we’ve drifted off course, or never really managed to follow the path we’d intended in the first place, it’s easy to get bogged down in “what ifs” and accompanying frustration.

Add to that tendency a lifelong passion for horses and riding, and I’m convinced that ups the determination ante. Whether it’s years of riding a stadium course just-so to ensure a finish on a dressage score or to undo the penalty point of a wrong turn in dressage or a botched transition, something has made us think that maybe, just maybe, we can control our destinies and make life go exactly as we had imagined.

As we paused on the last hill overlooking the road by the Bonners’ home, which was bathed in light from a golden sunset, an

We leave our damp equipment out to dry in front of a pub while we enjoy a leisurely lunch in the happy little town of Mullaghmore.

• Tie your horse to fences or gates—only to trees, strong pillars or strong poles (and DO tie your horse short!).

• Wear spurs.

• Swap horses with other riders.

Do: intense feeling of gratitude and peace set in.

I had a distinct awareness that while my life might not at this point even resemble what I had expected back when I was embarking on career and adulthood, it’s pretty stunning in its own way and full of unexpected turns and surprises…just like this trip. And, though it’s cliché, it’s not about where you are along the proverbial path, necessarily, but who you’re with.

We strode into Glenties, where the Bonner family waited for us on the front stoop to wish me a happy birthday. Barbara’s granddaughter had made a poster bearing the words “Happy Birth Day Spehanie!” that hung in the barn, and I couldn’t stop grinning as we untacked, fed, and put our horses away.

We went inside to a special meal of local trout and a bottle of red wine (she’d remembered from a few evenings prior that I liked reds).

I felt grounded, indeed, and loved— even by people I had only met days prior.

And I was finally back in the saddle, exactly where I was supposed to be.

• Treat your holiday horse as you’d treat your own.

• Be safe and always wear a helmet.

• Walk in the water.

• Check your girth. Tighten it.

• Warm up and cool down your horse properly.

• Follow HHF’s care instructions for horse and tack. Only use clean equipment.

• In addition to cleaning before and after riding, as you would your own horse, keep an eye on your horse’s feet and shoes. Tilman Anhold will send out a farrier to meet you if needed. He puts his horses’ health and welfare first.

• Take lots of photos.

• Feed your horse according to instructions.

• Have a wonderful time.

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HISTORY

The Cleveland Grand Prix: An American Show Jumping First

Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2015, this historic contest in Ohio’s Chagrin Valley was once a giant leap forward for American horse sport. In an excerpt from her book, author Betty Weibel details the inaugural event in 1965.

Story and photos courtesy of Betty Weibel

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f you visit the Cleveland Metroparks Polo Field today, you will see a bronze Ohio Historical Marker that recognizes the significance of the Cleveland Grand Prix with brief text, but there is so much more to the story.

The concept of a grand prix jumping competition in the United States began to evolve after Hungarian immigrant Laddie Andahazy’s interest was piqued by the German Equestrian Team’s clean sweep during the 1936 Olympics.

“I dreamed of having an equestrian exhibition such as what I saw in Europe,” he said.

In the 1960s, Andahazy was director of riding at Lake Erie College and visited equestrian centers on behalf of the college’s Academic Term Abroad program. During his travels, he

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collected literature and photographs. He also brought back a small show jumping handbook that detailed fence construction and diagrams of European course designs, including the 1936 Olympic course.

“When I traveled to Italy, Germany and France, I visited as many equestrian areas as I could. I wanted to transfer what I saw. When I made a presentation at the Chagrin Valley Hunt Club and showed the films and slides I had collected, everyone was very interested,” said Andahazy.

Among those who were interested was D. Jerry Baker. Baker had competed successfully with the U.S. Army Team and in the 1960s was general manager and trainer for J. Basil Ward’s Hound’s Hill Stables in Gates Mills, Ohio.

Baker approached Chuck Mapes and Leah Goetz (Stroud) at the Blue Lakes Farm horse show in Newbury, Ohio, about holding a grand prix and stated that he thought he could get the backing of Mr. Ward.

“I told them that I wanted to give $3,000 away, and they thought I had taken leave of my senses. They didn’t really know where I was going to come up with the money, and I said that if they’d let me do it, I would be sure that I would come up with the money,” said Baker. *** The sunny Sunday afternoon of July 25, 1965, brought a new era to show jumping in North America. A field of 29 horses piloted by 20 riders from six countries competed in the first North American show jumping grand prix.

More than 10,000 people were on hand to witness the first grand prix and caught a glimpse of a multimillion-dollar sport in the making.

The roster of male and female riders included such noted equestrians as Canadian Jim Day, Rodney Jenkins, Sonny Brooks (the first African American show jumping rider), Max Bonham and the husband-and-wife team of Mary and Frank Chapot, who represented the United States Equestrian Team.

Only Mary and Frank Chapot were experienced in jumping a course of that caliber, due to their experience riding on the U.S. Equestrian Team. According to Chuck Kinney, who served on the jump crew, the jump order was altered from the customary random draw so that Mary Chapot would go first in the class. He said organizers reasoned that if the other riders saw a lady jump around successfully it would encourage others and keep them from “chickening out” of jumping the imposing course.

In order to be eligible to compete in the grand prix, horses had to be shown in two other classes during the Chagrin Valley PHA Horse Show and pay an entry fee of $100. The grand prix comprised two rounds of competition and

a tie-breaking jump-off, if necessary. Among the officials scoring faults that day sat honorary judge Kathy Kusner, a member of the U.S. Olympic team the year before in Tokyo.

First to go on course, Mary Chapot rode her mare, Tomboy. The pair jumped around in good form and made it look easy, riding forward and jumping faultlessly. The Chronicle of the Horse described their historic round: Tomboy started over the first three fences with extreme ease. Then came the first combination of the Grand Prix. Riders gathered to the sidelines to witness the distance as Tomboy made the first fence very well, taking two rather long strides to the second fence, over easily, one very long stride and over the double oxer, with no apparent difficulty.

She turned, jumped the 7th and 8th fences, and made a sweeping right-hand turn to negotiate the second combination along the back wall of the course, two very large vertical fences. The third fence of that line, not part of the combination, was rather demanding to

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A state historical marker honors the first show jumping grand prix in America.

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HISTORY THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

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fter being canceled in 2014 due to scheduling conflicts and a dearth of sponsorship, the Cleveland Grand Prix will be back to mark its golden anniversary on July 12, the final day of the Chagrin Valley Hunter Jumper Classic.

The grounds will be decorated with vignettes honoring past Cleveland Grand Prix riders and winners, including a topiary sculpture of Tomboy, the mare aboard whom Mary Chapot won the inaugural class in 1965, as well as a scaled-down replica of the famous Cleveland Wall fence. Guests can also sample the show’s signature drink, the Grandshire Julep, created by the local Tom’s Foolery Whiskey Distillery in honor of the anniversary.

Bernie Traurig, a two-time winner of the Cleveland Grand Prix, will host a hunter/jumper clinic July 5-6, and Harry de Leyer, the crowd-pleasing rider and owner of the famous Snowman, will be on site during Cleveland Clinic Children’s Family Day to tell his story. Betty Oare, an alumna of the 1965 grand prix class, will judge hunter riders during the rated week as well.

The Chagrin Valley Trails and Riding Club and the Chagrin Valley PHA Horse Shows Inc. will host Casino Night on July 9 to raise money to perpetuate both organizations, and the show will also be collaborating with the Western Reserve Land Conservancy to celebrate another type of horsepower with the Horse Country Motor Classic vintage car show on grand prix day.

Historical footage of the Cleveland Grand Prix will be shown on digital screens throughout the showgrounds thanks to a new partnership with Cleveland-based MCPc. If you can’t make it in person, log in to USEFNetwork.com to see the 2015 Cleveland Grand Prix live streamed from the Cleveland Metroparks Polo Field. You can find additional information about the event and ticket sales at ClevelandHorseShow.com.

ride to. Tomboy started forward, and it proved just difficult enough, for her rider had to take back and then drive forward again. Jumping it well, she went straight on to a rather large liverpool.

Taking another rather long right turn, Tomboy faced the first five-foot flower oxer which she met in complete full stride, left the ground easily and continued to a very large birch gate. Again, jumping with no difficulty, and to this time with no faults, she made her left turn to face the 16-foot water jump—actually 10 feet of water but requiring a 16-foot spread to clear it.

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back, but drove the big chestnut forward; they met the water jump perfectly, were clean, and continued over a 5-foot stone wall without fault.

Chapot was one of several female riders to compete that day. In addition to Tomboy, she rode Anakonda in the grand prix and was the only woman to finish with a clean round. Other female competitors included Laura Nichols on her Gun Club and Great Idea, Ruth Engel on Wildcat for C. Schott and George Jayne, Bunny Kizorek on S. Jayne’s Fair Trade and Betty Oare (entered as Mrs. E.M. Oare), who rode her hunter Navy Commander.

Oare recalled the following during an interview with the author: Navy Commander was the Working Hunter Champion of the country, and he had never done anything like the grand prix. He was so brave…it was a real thrill. He only had one rail that he rolled, and it was my fault.

I remember riding in the parade before the grand prix with Rodney Jenkins—we were friends from Virginia, and he was riding Blue Plum, who was owned by the Firestones. I still have that picture of the parade.

We were allowed to take a piece of greenery home, and my dad took home a bush that is still in my backyard.

Ernie and I had only been married a year at that time, and I entered as Mrs. E.M. Oare and was happy to be. All our lives we have entered our horses as Mr. and Mrs. E.M. Oare.

This is one sport where women are equally as strong as men, especially in the jumpers. I never thought about men versus women—I just wanted to make the horse go well.

During the grand prix, Max Bonham was injured in the first round of competition; he had

and faulting at the liverpool (for stepping in the water portion of the jump). Frank Chapot, veteran of three Olympic Games, followed her round and also had eight faults but a slower time of 56.8 seconds aboard Manon, a Frenchbred mare. The final challenger, Rodney Jenkins and Sure Thing, had trouble with a refusal and knockdown, which left them with 15 faults and the third-placed ribbon.

Frank Chapot’s other mount, Good Twist, finished fourth with 4 faults after round 2.

Prior to the grand prix, Sonny Brooks of New Jersey had bailed off a falling horse during a qualifying class. He was able to complete the qualifying round riding another horse, but he rode with a broken arm above the wrist and

Laddie Andahazy, who served in the 1960s as director of riding at Lake Erie College, is credited as the brainchild of the first grand prix event on U.S. soil. Andahazy traveled throughout Europe on behalf of the school’s Academic Term Abroad program and “visited as many equestrian areas as I could,” he recalled. “I wanted to transfer what I saw.”

LAKE ERIE COLLEGE PHOTO

the only serious fall on course, ironically aboard J. Basil Ward’s horse, Emmie K. After a trip to the hospital for a check-over, he returned to the show grounds to see the conclusion of the event from the sidelines.

After the first round of competition, eight riders proceeded to the next round or first jump-off, which produced three fault-free rounds. The final tie-breaking jump-off was held over a grueling course of eight fences ranging in height from 5' to the ominous 6'2" Cleveland Wall. Time determined the results of the second jump-off.

Mary Chapot went first in the tie-breaking jump-off and had a fast time of 51.5 seconds with eight faults for knocking down the wall

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HISTORY waited to go to the hospital after he was done qualifying for the grand prix. Brooks rode The Imp in the grand prix with his arm in a cast and finished fifth, with 4 faults over the two rounds.

Canadian Jim Day, aboard the famous jumper Nanticoke, finished in sixth place over the inaugural course with a two-round score of 8 faults. They were followed in the ribbons

by Rodney Jenkins and his other mount, Blue Plum.

There were many accomplishments that day, but it was Mary Chapot who bested the show jumping competitors aboard her chestnut mare, Tomboy, to take home the $1,200 winner’s share of the $3,000 purse. She also received a 20" silver trophy donated by Ward, president of Addressograph Multigraph, and a blanket of red carnations (the Ohio state flower) and a red, white and blue blanket-cooler.

Following the grand prix, the participants relaxed at Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert Humphrey’s nearby residence, Hunting Hill, before heading home.

From an early age, Mary Chapot had built a record of equestrian accomplishments. In 1960, she won the ASPCA Maclay and AHSA Medal Championships, which are judged on equitation, or the rider’s physical style and mental ability to negotiate a course. She was the first woman and still one of only a few riders to accomplish both these wins. One year later, at the age of seventeen, she became the youngest female rider for the United States Equestrian Team. Two years before the Cleveland Grand Prix, Mary Chapot struck gold with Tomboy, winning the team and individual gold medals at the 1963 Pan American Games in Brazil.

The year before Cleveland, the pair made their Olympic debut at the 1964 Tokyo games.

Stylish spectators packed the VIP section at the first edition of the grand prix.

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WORTHY OF WHEELER

T

During an interview with the author, Chapot recalled:

Mary Chapot and her mare Tomboy, pictured with patrons Mrs. Gilbert Humphrey and J. Basil Ward, emerged the victors of the inaugural Cleveland Grand Prix in 1965.

CHAGRIN VALLEY PHA HORSE SHOWS INC. PHOTO

CHAGRIN VALLEY PHA HORSE SHOWS INC. PHOTO

he U.S. Hunter Jumper Association’s Wheeler Museum recently added the Chagrin Valley PHA Horse Show to its current exhibit, A Sporting Tradition: Iconic Horse Shows Across the United States.

Located at the association’s headquarters at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, the Wheeler Museum features photographs, video, artifacts and other memorabilia to showcase 20 of the most historically significant and storied hunter/jumper competitions across the United States. In addition to their longevity and long-standing traditions, the horse shows featured share similar traits: competition, community and charity.

Unable to visit the museum in person? Head to ushja.org/wheelermuseum to check out their excellent video tours of each exhibit.

When I rode at Cleveland, we didn’t know what grand prix were at that time, and it was very special. The course was beautifully decorated with flowers and was longer than any course we had ever seen before…

Tomboy was a Thoroughbred by Wait A Bit, out of Jane Tana, a mare that Show Jumping Hall of Fame member Adolph Mogavero showed years earlier. She was of average height and solidly built. You wouldn’t have picked her out of a lineup as the Thoroughbred in the group. She had an easy temperament and was pretty laid back to ride. Bert de Nemethy always worried about her fitness, so we were often sent to the upper field at Gladstone for a gallop. In the barn, she was easy to deal with other than the usual ears back at feeding time.

When I met her, she was a green jumper with Dave Kelley. I tried her out as a possibility to ride in the Medal and Maclay Finals, then in New York. That wasn’t going to work, but I loved her, and my parents bought her for me that fall.

We trained briefly with Jimmy Williams in California before being selected for further training from the USET Screening Trials.

We went on to ride with the U.S. Team, training with Bert de Nemethy and, of course, my husband, Frank Chapot.

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HISTORY She wasn’t the fastest—probably because I didn’t know what I was doing—and she probably couldn’t jump as high as some, but she was very, very consistent, jumping many clear rounds in Nations Cups.

After winning that first grand prix in Cleveland, Mary Chapot and Tomboy went on to win several more big classes, including the prestigious John Player Trophy in London. At the 1967 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada, the pair earned a silver medal, and in the 1968 Olympic games in Mexico City, she and her teammates rode to a fourth-placed finish.

The country needed the change, or the sport was going to go right down the drain. It was a gamble, but it was a gamble that paid off.

Naturally, there were mistakes made. I’d made mistakes in designing the course—not drastic mistakes, but things that had to be corrected. Nevertheless, we got show jumping off the ground in Cleveland…

I remember in 1965, the first year that we held it, there were two members of the U.S. Equestrian Team there, and they came up to me after they walked the course and said, “Jerry, do you realize that this is longer than the Grand Prix of Aachen (Germany) and it’s bigger?”

I said, “Yes.” And then I said, “Do you realize that this is the Grand Prix of Cleveland?” And with that they turned around and walked away.

I’m happy to say they won it. Bert de Nemethy was there—he backed it completely.

It was that sort of day, that sort of an event.

And it was at the right time. The country needed a change, and as I look over my career, I’m glad I was part of the change.”

CHAGRIN VALLEY PHA HORSE SHOWS INC. PHOTO

Human and reptilian representatives from Cleveland Zoological Society, one of the Cleveland Grand Prix’s many beneficiaries, participated in the event parade in this undated photo.

After retiring from international competition, Chapot went on to coach her daughters, Wendy and Laura, who both had much success competing on the horse show circuit. Tomboy eventually retired with an injury and had one foal, a stallion called Good News Joe, who sired several good horses.

In 1977, Baker reflected on the first Cleveland Grand Prix during a local interview with WBKC Radio:

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Read More Author Betty Weibel published The Cleveland Grand

Prix: An American Show Jumping First in June of 2014. It’s available at bookstores, tack shops and many online retailers. For more information, visit

ClevelandGrandPrix.com.

O’NEILL PHOTO

In the late 1990s, the U.S. Dog Agility Association held its 10th annual Grand Prix of Dog Agility Championship at the Cleveland Metroparks Polo Field in conjunction with the horse show. In a display of creativity, organizers developed a unique relay race combining the canine agility and show jumping into a single event in the same ring on Friday afternoon, demonstrated here by Tricia Booker.

30UPF protection

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PROFILE

A THOROUGHLY

MODERN

GHILLIE

SCOTTISH PONY TRAINER LUCY RIDDELL MAY BE A FAN OF PEARLS AND PURPLE POLISH, BUT HER SKILLS ON THE HILL MATCH THAT OF ANY MAN. Story and photos by MELISSA VOLPI

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PROFILE

“I feel privileged to be part of Her Majesty The Queen’s breeding program here,” says ghillie Lucy Riddell, who’s responsible for training the 39 Highland ponies at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.

used to buy Highland ponies that were green and train them for the hill,” says a focused Lucy Riddell as she throws a collection of tack over two sturdy steeds. “But there is nothing like starting that training from foal.”

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The young ponies Riddell is working with are named Barra and Morlich. This is only Barra’s second season of carrying hinds—the female gender of red deer common in the United Kingdom—and Morlich is now in his third season. Both ponies are tied to a trailer, parked in what feels like one of the most remote places

left on earth: the wilds of Her Majesty the Queen’s Balmoral Estate in Royal Deeside, Scotland.

Riddell doesn’t necessarily fit in with the setting, but at the same time, it’s clear she belongs here. With her blonde hair pulled back and hidden by a pink striped headband and her ears adorned with dia-

mond drops and pearl studs, she resembles the subject of the famous Vermeer painting Girl with a Pearl Earring. But she’s also wearing a Musto weatherproof jacket over tweed breeks, or hunting pants, and rubbercovered leather boots with gaiters. The look is practical but modern, and it sets her apart from most other ghillies, past and present.

Centuries ago, when Scotland was under clan rule, Highland chiefs would employ young ghillies—always male— to assist them on hunting and fishing expeditions. These countryside servants would help guide the chiefs to a stag or covey of grouse, in much the same way a gamekeeper does today, and the ghil-

lies even carried the chiefs across rivers to stop them from getting wet when salmon fishing.

But today Riddell is bucking that history. She serves as head ponyman and ghillie on the Balmoral estate, having joined the team in July of 2013. She is the second female to be employed in this position at Balmoral.

Queen Elizabeth started Balmoral’s Highland pony breeding program in 2007, and the 39 head that reside there today are all deer ponies at various stages of training. Part of Riddell’s job is to get them fit for carrying stag (male red deer) and hind carcasses and to introduce the youngsters to the hill.

“All our ponies go out on the hill in pairs,” Riddell says as she tightens the three straps around Barra and Morlich’s girths and fits the breeching straps, used to keep the saddle from slipping forward when the ponies walk downhill carrying a deer, around their hindquarters.

“We put an experienced pony alongside a 3- or 4-year-old so that the young pony gets to see the older pony carry,” she explains. “The young pony learns to walk the ground and then, at the end of the stag season, they have their first carry.

We start off with a calf, then move on to hinds.”

During the stag hunting season, from the beginning of July to Oct. 21, and the hind season, from late October until mid February, Riddell assists the estate’s headkeeper, Gary Coutts. She’s out on the hill five days a week, in all weather conditions.

“Lucy’s CV was impressive,” says Coutts. “But I wanted to make sure that she was fit enough to do the job—that was my only concern. When I spoke to her former employer, Kevin Simpson, the headkeeper on the Dalnacardoch estate, he told me she was helping to load 16-stone [roughly 225 pounds] stags during the season, and that said it all for me.”

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PROFILE A professional ghillie will walk anywhere from 10 to 16 miles up and across the unforgiving terrain of the moor on stalking days.

Lucy Riddell so excels as a stag-hunting assistant—a role held only by men for centuries—that she was invited to join Her Majesty the Queen’s staff at Balmoral Castle in Scotland in 2013.

ON THE HILL

With Barra and Morlich tacked and ready, Riddell receives a radio message from Coutts. He’s been walking across the flat top for two hours in search of hinds, and it’s now time for Riddell to bring the ponies up the hill to meet him.

We leave the trailer and Land Rover and walk in single file up the long face, with Riddell leading the way. She’s constantly prodding the boggy peat with her walking stick to make sure the terrain isn’t too deep for the ponies.

I stop for a moment when we reach the summit to catch my breath. I’m in no doubt that this view is breathtaking when the weather’s warm and lovely. But there’s something sinister about the hills today— like the low cloud is hiding a guilty secret— and it makes me wonder why a woman of 34 would want to be a ghillie.

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“Five years ago I started my own business called Chesthill Backing, Training and Livery at my father’s estate in Glen Lyon [in central Scotland],” Riddell tells me. “I brought on young Highland ponies for the show ring and made a name for myself at the Perth County Show, Blair Castle Horse Trials and The Royal Highland Show.

“I really didn’t intend to get into deer ponies, but when my father’s new keeper became enthusiastic about using horses on our hill at Glen Lyon, I saw it as an opportunity to get back to basics with the Highland ponies I love,” she adds.

So in 2010, Riddell started a renaissance of sorts, backing and working the first deer pony on her father’s estate in 50 years. She trained the ponies under saddle first, to get them used to things flapping about behind them. Then she would “blood” them and

walk them past skins to get them used to the smell. After the pony was 100 percent confident, she started placing real carcasses on its back to acclimate it to the feel and weight.

Riddell started with calves and hinds when the ponies were 3 years old and then moved on to the heavier stags when they were 4. She sold her first deer pony to an estate in the north of Scotland in 2012 but now spends all her time looking after Her Majesty’s Highlands.

We spot Coutts next to a large rock on another stone. The hinds have already been field dressed and are ready for the downhill ride to the larder. Coutts tightens up the straps on the ponies’ saddles before dropping the lead ropes and reaching down to pick up the first hind’s back end. Riddell lifts the front, and together they place the hind onto Morlich’s back and tie it on.

While Highland ponies are born with a natural aptitude for carrying heavy loads and navigating extreme terrain, training for their work as stag hunt ponies still takes several years. At Balmoral Lucy Riddell always takes her Highlands out in pairs, the younger learning from the older as they progress from simply walking to carrying calves, then hinds and then stag.

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PROFILE

The Scottish Highlands are beautiful when the sun shines, but more often the landscape is misty, moody and even a bit sinister.

“That’s why I always paint my nails bright colors on dull overcast days,” Riddell says. “It instantly cheers me up when I look at them!”

Then they place the second hind onto Barra’s back.

Riddell makes lifting a hind look easy.

“If guests offer to lift the stag for me, they’re given short shrift!” she says with a smile.

THE DESCENT

The journey down seems longer than the journey up. The heather is dark and dreary, and it doesn’t help that we have to use our palms as rain shields.

“That’s why I always paint my nails bright colors on dull overcast days,” Riddell shouts back to me knowingly. “It instantly cheers me up when I look at them!”

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the Landy and trailer are parked and load up the ponies, whose sides are now stained with blood.

Coutts and Riddell walk anywhere from 10 to 16 miles up and across the moor on stalking days. But their day doesn’t end when they reach the estate courtyard late in the afternoon. After washing the blood and sweat off the ponies and putting them into the stable to dry, Riddell will help Coutts in the larder by preparing the deer carcasses and heads and dealing with the paperwork. Riddell records everything by hand: what was shot and by whom. Venison not used in Balmoral Castle kitchens is sold to Highland Game.

After that, Coutts and Riddell go their separate ways for the evening. The former usually goes off to carry out a bit of vermin control, while Riddell exercises the other ponies. The opportunity to ride out and compete with the season was one of the reasons Riddell accepted the position at Balmoral.

When the hind season finishes, Riddell moves the working deer ponies from her stable yard on the estate to the main stud farm. During the spring and summer months, she works alongside stud manager Sylvia Ormiston, looking after the stallions, broodmares and foals. This part of the job also involves backing the youngsters for riding and stalking.

“We’re with the horses from the day they’re born to the day they walk the hill carrying a stag on their back,” says Riddell. “Even in retirement we’re there to care for them and find them loving homes.

“Four of the retired deer ponies have been donated to a therapy center that offers riding to mentally and physically disabled children and young adults,” she explains. “I feel this is a really good way to let our ponies have a very gentle, very rewarding life after working for us on the hill here.”

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THE HORSE IN ART

Blue, Bold And

The wild, aggressive power of Blue Mustang, coupled with the fact that sculptor Luis Jiménez Jr. was killed in the process of creating the piece, has inspired many urban legends about Denver International Airport’s controversial installation.

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Unbridled

COLORADO’S MOST FAMOUS AND POLARIZING EQUINE SCULPTURE HAS BEEN CALLED EVERYTHING FROM BEAUTIFUL TO “BLUCIFER.”

By PAT TI SCHOFLER

PHOTO COURTESY OF DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

H

is 9,000-pound body is electric cobalt, with glowing, fiery red eyes. He’s rearing up to the height of a three-story building, his body fit and powerful. He’s the horse of our dreams, or the horse of our nightmares: Blue Mustang, “the Devil Horse” of Denver International Airport.

An emblem of the American West— unbridled, rugged and innovative—this monumental sculpture by Luis Jiménez Jr. carries on the legends that brought him into being. He is not the smooth perfection of an idealized horse; he is scrappy and untamed and meant as a wild spirit. He’s also deadly.

In June of 2006, Jiménez was rotating the giant stallion with a chain hoist in his Hondo, N.M., studio when a piece came loose and pinned him against a steel support, severing a major artery and killing the 65-year-old artist.

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THE HORSE IN ART

PHOTO COURTESY OF DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

The fiberglass Blue Mustang weighs 4.5 tons and rears as high as a threestory building.

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Jiménez was a well-known sculptor, whose work CALLING FOR BACKUP Horses appeared in many of Jiménez’s works, includhad been featured by national and international museing Vaquero, installed in Houston’s Moody Park. Mesums, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum teño stands at the University of Oklahoma’s Fred Jones and the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D. C., the Jr. Museum of Art. But if Denver’s Blue Mustang was Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the going to be part of that legacy, who was going to finish Art Institute of Chicago. He had been honored by an it? With the tragic death of its creator inspiring the myth invitation to dinner at the White House with President of the horse’s demonic power, some questioned whether it George W. Bush. should even be completed at all.

Jiménez had been working on Blue Mustang, a 32-foot It was unusual for an artist to have his own fabrication fiberglass sculpture, since 1993, when he was chosen by a facility as Jiménez did. When working in reinforced plasblue ribbon panel of Denver citizens to create a piece for tics, most artists who create largethe city’s new airport, scheduled scale public art hire fabrication to open in 1995. shops to turn their smaller version Raw and passionate, Blue of a piece into the large specified Mustang began at a quarter of the size. size as Mesteño, an 8-foot tribute Jiménez had worked on Blue to Jiménez’s Appaloosa stallion Mustang for more than a decade.

Blackjack. But the distinctive He had enlarged and made molds character of the mustang had its of the front half of the horse, but roots in El Paso, Texas, where by the time he moved to the back Jiménez was born. He apprenhalf, he was behind schedule; ticed there for his father, an DIA was impatient and discussundocumented immigrant, in his ing a lawsuit. custom neon sign shop, and he —RUDOLFO ANAYA Jiménez relented by turning picked up a love of vibrant colors over the enlarging process of the and the themes of Chicano art back half to Kreysler & Associalong the way. ates of American Canyon, Calif., where laser scanners Jiménez was also known for his work with polyand computer-controlled routers accurately reproduced a chrome fiberglass. After graduating from the University foam pattern of the sculpture. That way Jiménez was able of Texas at Austin, he moved to New York, where in to more quickly make the fiberglass mold and final fabri1996 his first exhibition led him to working in fiberglass cation. for his public art. He told Texas Monthly in 1998, “If my “When he came to the shop, he was very friendly,” images were going to be taken from popular culture, I recalled the company’s president, Bill Kreysler. “Like a lot wanted a material that didn’t carry the cultural baggage of artists, he was a very inquisitive, easy-going guy, and of marble or bronze.” he got along well with the guys in the shop. He would “The kind of medium he used shocked the art world sit with them during lunch and ask about what they were at first,” said Rudolfo Anaya, professor emeritus of hisdoing. They really liked his visits. tory at the University of New Mexico, after Jiménez’s “When you talked to him about his art,” Kreysler condeath. “It was first called outlandish and garish, but it tinued, “you realized the depth of thought he brought to spoke not only to Hispanics, but to the world. In the his work and the kind of imagery and blend of cultures he coming years there will be a school of Luis Jiménez art.” was trying to portray.”

“The kind of medium he used shocked the art world at first. It was first called outlandish and garish, but it spoke not only to Hispanics, but to the world.”

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THE HORSE IN ART

PHOTO COURTESY OF DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

After its sculptor’s death, Blue Mustang was completed in 2008 by Kreysler & Associates in California and then shipped whole to its new home at the Denver International Airport.

INHERITING A CHALLENGE

Jiménez was killed a year later, and a bitter dispute over culations hadn’t been completed, and this was a concern. the sculpture’s rightful owner—the airport versus JiméParts of the armature were buried in the fiberglass. We nez’s estate—followed. Eventually the parties reached had to do quite a bit to figure that out and to be sure the an agreement, and DIA commissioned Kreysler to finish welds were OK.” the piece. He was already familThese calculations had to iar with the project, and he’d also consider the strength needed for fabricated Lawrence Argent’s I a 32-foot, 4.5-ton figure to stand See What You Mean, a 40-foot blue on its hind legs while buffeted by bear that stands on his hind legs blasting prairie winds. and peers into the Denver ConAfter the structure was redevention Center. signed and rebuilt, ready for the The Blue Mustang project back and front halves to join, —LUIS JIMÉNEZ JR. overtook Kreysler’s 35,000 square some areas in the middle were foot shop. found missing and needed rec“There was quite a bit of work reation. Because Kreysler had all left to do,” Kreysler said, noting the steel armature needed the computer data from the laser scanning and a threeinside the sculpture to hold it up. “The engineering caldimensional computer model showing what the original

“People can be affected by a work of art they hate if it makes them think.”

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PROTECTING THE UNPOPULAR

But even after the horse was finally finished, Kreysler’s challenge continued. He struggled with a way to send the piece to Denver completed.

“We didn’t want to do any assembly or painting on site because of the exposure to the elements,” he explained.

“If we built a cradle for it at the right angle and fit it on a flatbed truck, it could go as one piece.”

Blue Mustang arrived just so in February of 2008, with a giant crane waiting to assist its placement.

“We engineered the pick point, or top of the center of gravity, where the crane lifts it and hangs it in the exact pose it will be mounted in,” Kreysler recalled. “Then you can lower the feet down on a foundation, slip bolts into place, cover them with concrete, and go home. That way, installation was only two to three hours.”

But public outcry began almost as soon as Blue Mustang’s hind hooves were set in concrete and his eyes alit in red. Out came the names like “Blucifer,” “Devil Horse,” “Satan’s Steed” and “Blue Horse of Death.” A website called ByeByeBlueMustang.com (now defunct) soon sprang up as well. The sculpture even helped fuel rampant Internet conspiracy theories about the airport’s secret affiliation with the New World Order.

But a policy under Denver’s public art ordinance allowed the airport to protect the installation from relocation or removal for five years. That period expired in 2013, but the horse hasn’t gone anywhere.

“It’s our promise to the artist that we vetted this along the way, and we will see it through to completion with a minimum five-year guarantee,” said Chris Stevens, art and culture program manager for the Denver Airport.

“This gives the community the opportunity to engage with the art. And we’ve seen with Mustang that people who didn’t like when it was installed have really come around and now see it as an icon—an asset for the city.”

Denver public art is paid for by local developers who are required to contribute 1 percent of the cost of

major capital projects. Blue Mustang cost the city around $650,000, and today estimates have put its worth at $2 million.

Blue Mustang is now part of urban legend. Each time Kreysler travels to Denver, he tests the waters. He takes the shuttle to the airport’s rental car area, which requires a drive past the big blue sculpture.

“What’s the deal with the horse?” he’ll ask the driver.

He gets a different story every time. One man told him seven people with some relationship to the horse were killed. Another was certain it was made in South America. And another said since someone donated it, the airport had to put it up.

“The purpose of public art is to create a dialogue,” Jiménez was once quoted as saying in response to a question on the controversies stirred up by some of his work.

“The worst thing for a work of art is to be ignored.

“People can be affected by a work of art they hate if it makes them think,” he said. “My work tries to make bridges within a community, and it can evoke controversy if it brings up issues people would rather ignore.”

Rest assured, Luis. No one can ignore the Blue Mustang.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CONGRESSMAN FILEMON VELA

model looked like, he was able to complete the structure.

With the colors so important to the soul of the work, it was fortunate that Jiménez had already painted some portions of the body and face.

“We didn’t have to start from scratch and could continue the color, techniques, blending and materials as he would wish,” said Kreysler. “And we had an associate of his to help.”

“When you talked to him about his art, you realized the depth of thought he brought to his work and the kind of imagery and blend of cultures he was trying to portray,” said Bill Kreysler of Blue Mustang’s creator, Luis Jiménez Jr., pictured here in his New Mexico studio in 2003.

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HISTORY

History And Heartbreak

Hide Behind Sandy Point’s Genteel Exterior This working horse farm, once a crown jewel of notorious playboy Reginald Vanderbilt’s country estate, still houses memories of a bygone era.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JAMES GARMAN

By K IM ABLON W HITNEY

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PHOTO COURTESY OF JAMES GARMAN

PHOTO COURTESY JAMES GARMAN

W

hen most people think of Newport, R.I., they see visions of spectacular mansions along a cliff walk, built as summer retreats by America’s wealthiest families during the 19th century. What many people might not know is that these families also often built equally lavish horse farms there as well.

Nearly every winter I judge a U.S. Equestrian Federation local-rated show for trainer Jay Sargent at Sandy Point Stables in Portsmouth, R.I., and as I sit in the booth alongside the uniquely shaped indoor ring, I can’t help but look up at the giant, cathedral-like ceiling. The arena is like no other that I know.

Between breaks in the classes, announcer John Bahret—Sargent’s husband—tells me snippets of the history of the farm and the infamous man who built the property back in 1902: Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt.

Who was this Vanderbilt, a man so interesting that the gossip that swirls around him still feels fresh? And what part did this extravagant horse farm play in his legacy?

Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt, the youngest son of Cornelius and Alice Vanderbilt, never lived up to his family’s expectations as a businessman and instead developed a reputation as a playboy and a rogue. One of his true passions, however, was horses.

Quite The Character

Vanderbilt is one of the most prominent names in Newport history. The crown jewel of all the Newport mansions is The Breakers, which Cornelius Vanderbilt II bought in 1885. After a fire claimed the original, more modest home in 1892, Cornelius’ wife, Alice, rebuilt the mansion to epic proportions of opulence, earning her the nickname “Alice of The Breakers.”

Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt was the youngest son of Cornelius and Alice, and C H RO N O F H O R S E .CO M

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JOHN STONE PHOTO

he was surely expected to follow in his relatives’ hard-charging footsteps. The family had made its fortune in the businesses of steamships and railroads with a pattern of hard work and commitment.

But alas, Reggie never lived up to his family’s expectations. Instead, he became known as a playboy and rogue.

“Reggie was quite the character,” Bahret tells me. “When he came of age he inherited $7 million, and he was quite successful at drinking and gambling it all away.”

According to Dorothy Kelly MacDowell’s Commodore Vanderbilt and

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His Family: A Biographical Account of the Descendants of Cornelius and Sophia Johnson Vanderbilt, Reggie didn’t graduate from Yale University with his class because he failed a final examination—he was awarded his degree later. Nonetheless he was voted as one of the most popular members of the class of 1902.

He used most of his inheritance to live a wild lifestyle. In one story, he treated a group of his Yale classmates to a lavish night of dinner and gambling—to the tune of $70,000. At one point he owed $300,000 to the notorious gambling house Canfield’s.

In today’s terms, the man knew how to party.

Building Sandy Point

Growing up a Vanderbilt meant learning the social sports that made for a refined life: shooting, golf, tennis, sailing, fencing and, of course, riding. USEF “R” judge Susan Humes, great-niece of Reggie’s, recalls that horses were always a part of the Vanderbilt family.

“We have photos of my grandmother jumping a fence, and my mother rode and drove ponies,” she says. “We had to learn to ride side-saddle and foxhunt side-saddle three times a year because it was the proper thing to do. Reggie was no doubt raised to be a sportsman.”

Reggie’s love of horses was noted in the announcement of his engagement to Cathleen Neilson in 1902. Also duly noted, was his aimlessness.

“So far it is very difficult to decide as to what the young man will do in the future,” read the article in The New York Times. “He is very fond of outdoor sports, is a good polo player, [and] has a fondness for horses. Those who know him say that there is much good material in him, and that he will settle down and make a very practical business man.”

That same year, Reggie bought the 280-acre Sandy Point Farm in Portsmouth, adjacent to his brother Alfred’s Oakland Farm. Reggie rebuilt an existing villa and erected many other buildings.

Like most farms built by the wealthy in Portsmouth, Sandy Point would have its own powerhouse for electricity and its own fire station. In addition, Reggie built an “automobile house,” a coach house and, of course, a stable.

A. Stewart Walker of the New York City architectural firm Walker & Gillette, which would become known for its urban townhouses and suburban mansions, designed the stable with complete attention to detail. The showpiece of the farm was the indoor arena, surrounded by

After Reggie Vanderbilt’s death, Sandy Point became a part of neighboring Glen Farm and remained so through the 1950s, at which point various parcels were sold off. Trainer Jay Sargent began leasing the barn and ring in the 1970s and purchased it from the bank in 1994.

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HISTORY above the floor of the arena. Reggie spared no expense in choosing building materials, bringing in giant rough-cut cypress beams that measure 2' by 12' for the ceiling. The structure has three distinct roofs: the arena walls rise 20 feet above the stable roofing, allowing windows along the entire length and both ends of the structure.

“That arena has been through many hurricanes and snowfalls, including the Great Hurricane of 1938, which everyone talks about in Newport,” Bahret attests.

While much of Newport was decimated by the storm, the barn and arena came out unscathed.

Sandy Point became one of the preeminent breeding farms in the country for a time, and Reggie’s horses won numerous prizes at all the top horse shows.

30 stalls. It has a unique oval shape with curved corners built to suit Reggie’s hackney ponies.

At the north end of the arena were apartments for the grooms and storage for the hackney carriages.

“If you’re in the arena today and look to the north end, you’ll notice that the doorway between the arena and the storage area is giant,” explains Bahret.

“There’s also a huge archway so that Reggie could open what were really tall sliding doors on the north side of the arena and pass through straight into the arena with his carriages.”

What makes the 300' by 150' arena most impressive is the high ceiling, complete with cupolas for ventilation, 60 feet 104

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PHOTO COURTESY OF JAMES GARMAN

PHOTO COURTESY OF

JAMES GARM AN

Reggie Vanderbilt bought the 280acre Sandy Point Farm, adjacent to his brother Alfred’s Oakland Farm, in 1902. Like most farms built by the wealthy in Portsmouth, it would have its own powerhouse for electricity and its own fire station, as well as an “automobile house,” a coach house and, of course, a stable.

On the south end of the arena was Reggie’s stately lounge. A wall currently stands in the middle of the south end with a large Sandy Point Stables logo on it, but Bahret confessses he has an idea what’s behind that wall.

“If you were to pull the plywood off today, I’m nearly certain you’d find floorto-ceiling French doors,” he says. “That way Reggie would have been able to walk directly from his lounge into the arena.”

The lounge is now a recording studio, but Reggie’s stamp is still evident in the form of original wood paneling and an ornate fireplace. A photo of the lounge from back in Reggie’s day shows plush couches, framed photographs, exquisite lamps and vases, and a portrait of his grandfather, William H. Vanderbilt. Glass cabinets held Reggie’s many trophies.

Big Parties And Big Wins

gie’s horses won numerous prizes at all the top horse shows. His first wife, Cathleen, also competed his horses and won her fair share of ribbons.

One of Reggie’s favorite horses was Doctor Selwonk, with whom he claimed victories at the top shows of the time such as the National Horse Show (N.Y.), the Boston Show, the Newport Horse Show and the Philadelphia Horse Show. Other top horses he owned included Tiger Lillie, Astonishment and Amazement.

When Jay Sargent purchased Sandy Point in the mid 1990s, the entire roof had to be replaced, in addition to many other repairs, but she took careful pains to stick to the original style, which includes beautiful clapboard siding.

JOHN STONE PHOTO

Reggie was famous for hosting extravagant parties, and the celebration of the opening of his training ring was no exception.

There was an orchestra, and according to Portsmouth historian James Garman, the author of A History of the Gentlemen’s Farms of Portsmouth, RI: (Glen Farm, Sandy Point Farm, Oakland Farm And Others), “The ring was brightly decorated with many of the awards and trophies that Mr. Vanderbilt’s horses had competitively won.”

After a posh dinner, guests enjoyed a miniature horse show featuring polo ponies and dancing that went on all night.

Bahret recalls seeing a photograph of one of the parties held at Sandy Point with a banquet table that stretched all the way down the arena.

“There was also another party, a lun-

cheon where all the guests were on horseback and were served their food and drink by footmen,” says Bahret. “And for all the parties, the horses were cleaned and braided to show them off.”

Sargent notes that for another party, a costume ball with the most prominent members of high society dressed elaborately as kings, queens, harlequins and harem girls, the entire road to Sandy Point was lit with lanterns.

Just as he spared no expense in building his farm, Reggie spent freely on the country’s best horses and equipment. Each stall at Sandy Point was said to have a gold nameplate. While these markers are now gone, most of the stalls still have their original doors and hardware. Sandy Point became one of the preeminent Hackney breeding farms in the country, and Reg-

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HISTORY The Brother Next Door: Oakland Farm Oakland Farm was owned by Reginald Vanderbilt’s brother, Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt.

By all accounts, it trumped even Sandy Point Farm in its glitz and amenities.

“Alfred’s buildings were far more sophisticated than Reggie’s,” says Portsmouth historian James Garman.

The indoor arena rivaled Sandy Point at 265' by 125', but there was also a 100' by 200' addition that housed a trophy room, lounge, buffet room, offices, squash court, swimming pool and a rooftop garden. The trophy room even included a security system. Guests could observe the arena either from an upper gallery or a balcony that seated 200 people.

But sadly, for all its glamour, nothing remains of Oakland Farm. The ring was razed in 1937 and the stable demolished in 1948.

The main house was torn down as well and is now a condominium complex named Oakland.

Like Reggie, Alfred was involved with the horse show circuit in the United States and helped revive the National Horse Show. He won many top prizes and helped popularize four-in-hand driving.

Alfred was four years Reggie’s senior and by all accounts was more athletic, goodlooking and academically inclined than his younger brother. Reggie was said to look up to his brother greatly and tried to emulate him.

“My sense is that Alfred had his own life, and Reggie was kind of his odd-ball brother,” says Garman.

In 1915, Alfred was traveling aboard the luxury British liner The RMS Lusitania to London to attend a board meeting of the International Horse Show Association, of which he was a director. Tragedy struck when a German U-boat torpedoed the Lusitania near Ireland. Although he couldn’t swim, Alfred was sighted giving up his lifejacket to a female passenger. He was one of more than 1,000 people who drowned that day, and he was hailed a hero.

Alfred was very involved with the Newport Horse Show. After his death, Reggie vowed to keep the show going, and he did. The U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation awards an annual trophy for four-in-hand driving called the Reginald C. Vanderbilt Cup. In the end, Alfred is remembered as a hero and Reggie as a ne’re-do-well. But it’s Reggie’s farm that still stands.

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The Demise And Rebirth Of Sandy Point

Tired of her husband’s playboy ways, Cathleen filed for divorce from Reggie in 1919.

“R.C. Vanderbilt Sued For Divorce.

His Wife, Formerly Cathleen Neilson, Charges Desertion and Asks Custody of Child,” read The New York Times. The article, published on Aug. 19, said the papers were served to Reggie at Sandy Point, and the couple had lived separately for several years, with their only child, also named Cathleen, living with her mother.

In 1922, Reggie fell in love with 17-year-old Gloria Morgan. According to Arthur T. Vanderbilt II’s Fortune’s Children, The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt, Reggie confessed to Gloria that he’d squandered most of his inheritance and that income from a trust he had would, upon his death, be awarded to his daughter from his first marriage and any children he might have with Morgan.

But Gloria agreed to marry him anyway, and they were wed the following year.

When they weren’t traveling in Europe, Gloria and Reggie spent most of the next three years at Sandy Point, renovating the main house to their liking. Those years were filled with even more parties, both large and intimate, that lasted into the wee hours of the morning.

By all accounts, Reggie continued to drink heavily, frequent men’s clubs, have extramarital affairs and gamble throughout his second marriage. He drove his many fancy cars around Newport at breakneck speeds with his bull terrier in the passenger seat. He didn’t care what people thought of him and refused to worry about society’s rules for the upper class.

Reggie’s drinking and hard living did eventually catch up with him, though.

His health, which had never been good, became dangerously bad in 1924, around the time Gloria gave birth to their daughter, who was also named Gloria and referred to as “Little Gloria” (and would grow up to become the famous fashion designer Gloria Vanderbilt and the mother of journalist Anderson Cooper). For his family’s sake, Reggie tried to give up drinking by “taking the cure” in Europe—the old-time equivalent of rehab—but he relapsed upon returning to the States.

While Reggie may have contributed nothing to the family business and wasted his portion of the family fortune, he did make an impact in the horse show world.

He died of an esophageal rupture at Sandy Point on Sept. 4, 1925.

“There is some debate about his cause of death on the island,” says Bahret. “Some people of the older generations, over a few martinis, say he might have taken his own life.”

I could find no other mention of this during my research, and both Garman and news accounts from the time say Reggie died of the rupture and that his mother, Alice, was tending to him at the time of his death.

A wake was held at Sandy Point. Reggie was greatly in debt at the time of his death, and Gloria was forced to sell the farm to Moses Taylor of the neighboring Glen Farm. Taylor tore down the villa, and all the equipment, remaining horses and household items were sold at auction in the indoor ring. Gloria watched as people from all over Newport arrived, hoping

JOHN STONE PHOTO

A Lasting Legacy

While Reggie may have contributed nothing to the family business and wasted his portion of the family fortune, he did make an impact in the horse show world. While he wasn’t one for sticking to the rules in his regular life, it turns out he sought parity in competition.

In 1917, he initiated a meeting of representatives from various prominent horse shows in the country, and together they created the Association of American Horse Shows, later known as the American Horse Shows Association and the precursor to today’s USEF. “As I understand it, he thought with all

At the time it was built, Sandy Point’s 300' by 150' arena was a modern marvel, and the remarkably solid structure has survived countless blizzards and hurricanes, including the Great Hurricane of 1938, in the time since. On the south end of the arena was Reggie’s stately lounge, now walled off and used as a recording studio.

the horse shows there ought to be some rules and regulations,” says Humes. Reggie was the first president of the AHSA and served until his death in 1925.

Through an article in The New York Times that appeared four years after the founding of the AHSA, I got a sense for what types of rules Vanderbilt and the others who were instrumental in the burgeoning organization were concerned with. Some are still very much in play today; the pull between riders who could afford to show at the top shows and riders who stuck to local shows was an issue even then.

“The question of limiting the smaller shows to non-championship classes was discussed,” reads the article. “Mr. Vanderbilt pointed out that those in favor of this did so because it was felt it was a comparatively easy matter to win major honors where the entry list was meager.”

Reggie and his older brother Alfred were instrumental in organizing and supporting the National Horse Show. Reggie JOHN STONE PHOTO

to take home a souvenir.

Alice paid to have Reggie’s trophies bought on her behalf. She also purchased two family portraits, including the one of William H. Vanderbilt that had hung in Reggie’s lounge. I could find no information about what happened to the famous horses dispersed after his death.

Sandy Point remained a part of Glen Farm through the 1950s, at which point various parts were sold off to be made into houses, or to the town of Portsmouth to expand the public beach. Sargent began leasing the barn and ring in the 1970s and purchased it from the bank in 1994. The entire roof had to be replaced, and Sargent took careful pains to stick to the original style.

“Jay had to do so much work to rebuild it,” says Bahret. “It had really deteriorated over the years.”

It’s no longer the showplace it once was, but Sandy Point has endured as a monument of a bygone era of American society and equestrian sport.

was a director of the National from 1909 to 1924, and he also served as a judge at many of the top horse shows of the day.

While Reggie’s reputation as a “wastrel” or a “naughty playboy,” may be his legacy to many, in the horse show world and in Portsmouth he left a lasting legacy.

And all these years later, Reggie’s beautiful arena and barn still stand.

“Horses have lived continuously on the property since 1904,” says Bahret. “I think that’s something Reggie would be proud of.”

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THE PATRON SAINT OF THOROUGHBREDS The tragic loss of one horse inspired Jo Anne Normile to eventually save thousands more through her ingenious race horse rescue network, CANTER.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JO ANNE NORMILE

Though she didn’t grow up in a horsey family, Jo Anne Normile was infatuated with ponies and equine toys from an early age.

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t’s not uncommon to run into Jo Anne Normile on the backstretch of a racetrack or at a horse trial, but she might not recognize you right away. Yet if you mention the horse you rescued through the Communication Alliance To Network Thoroughbred Ex-Racehorses— the organization she founded, better known as CANTER—any time in the last decade, she’ll immediately make the connection.

Normile is one of the Thoroughbred’s most passionate patrons, and her whole life is oriented around horses. You’ll see the 66-year-old’s name on the boards of organizations like the Animal Advocates of Michigan or heading up a foundation

in the name of her beloved late race horse, Baby. He’s the inspiration behind her book, Saving Baby (see sidebar), and all of the non-profit organizations she’s a part of, devoted to rehoming and retraining retired race horses who would otherwise be destined for slaughter.

From the moment she strikes up a conversation, Normile conveys the contagious passion of a genuine, down-to-earth horse lover. She loves riding as much as the next amateur equestrian, but the sight of horses simply grazing peacefully in a field gives her just as much joy. Normile is a humble soul, unable to stay off the topic of horses for long.

“You see the [Kentucky] Derby, and you see that [glamorous] part of racing,” Normile says. “But you don’t see, until

PHOTO COURTESY OF JO ANNE NORMILE

By TAYLOR JOYCE

Jo Anne Normile discovered her passion—rescuing and rehoming Thoroughbreds after their racing careers—later in life than some, but she’s worked harder at it than most in the time since.

you’re there, the horses in the stalls with the blown-up legs that have been there for a week, and no one’s giving them bute because they’re going to slaughter anyway.

There’s a horrible part of it that you see more when you’re there.

“Those horses really need homes,” she continues. “Once they come into the

rescue part of it, my name—CANTER’s name—is on those Jockey Club papers, and that horse is like it’s mine. I can always find something about a horse that reminds me of Baby. I think I was just always trying to save him.”

In that process, Normile has assumed a number of roles and identities—

court reporter, philanthropist, author, motivational speaker, wife, mother, caretaker of both human and animal— but no matter which hat she wears on any given day, she’s able to transform seemingly romantic ideals into realities.

Normile isn’t just a passionate dreamer, but a doer.

“I can always find something about a horse that reminds me of Baby. I think I was just always trying to save him.”

—Jo Anne Normile

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SHANNON BRINKMAN PHOTO

Jennifer Merrick-Brooks retrained and competed Jo Anne Normile’s Scarlett in eventing after Normile’s tragic experience losing her other horse on the track.

THE HORSE GENE

Normile has always called Michigan home.

After her father served in World War II, her family lived in a modest two-bedroom home in the suburbs of Detroit.

“I was one of the lucky people who have the horse gene, and from as early as I can remember, my very first toys weren’t dolls, but plastic horses,” she says. “But I still didn’t quite comprehend why I couldn’t have a horse in my backyard, and it used to be a

daily topic at the dinner table: ‘Why can’t I have a horse?’ You just can’t quite understand zoning regulations at those ages!”

So Normile grew up writing, drawing and dreaming about horses.

“Black Beauty was one of the first books I had,” she says. “It was the children’s version, so it had very few words but a lot of pictures, and that still impacts me today.

I cried then, and I can cry now when I read the adult version.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF JO ANNE NORMILE

Jo Anne Normile’s first pair of Thoroughbreds were born and raised in her backyard barn and grew up loved like pets. Baby (pictured), who was euthanized due to an injury shortly after he began his racing career, would often wander up on the Normiles’ back patio looking for treats and company.

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Normile used babysitting money to spend as much time as she could at the local hack stable, where one could ride on the trails for $2 per hour.

“Of course, all the horses did was walk, but it didn’t matter—I just wanted that smell of the horse, to be on the horse, to become one with it,” she says. “The minute you sit on its back, you are one being. You can’t explain it to people that don’t have the horse gene. Dogs, cats, we’ve had them all and loved them dearly, but there is something about this 1,000-pound animal that gives its all for you.”

After graduating high school, Normile spent nearly a year studying at Eastern Michigan University and took a job as a legal secretary for two attorneys at a small law office in the summer. When the head secretary retired, they offered Normile a full-time position, which she couldn’t resist.

“It was just too tempting to take that $85 a week!” she recalls with a laugh.

In her youth, Normile had walked to the bus stop every day with her neighbor and grade-school sweetheart, John Normile, and by her first year of college, “We wanted to get married,” Jo Anne recalls. “And that [job] just seemed like

such a huge amount of money, meaning that we could get married sooner.

“It wasn’t so much a college-oriented school and neighborhood that I grew up in, so I quit school, and I took the job, and I was a legal secretary until I was 24,” she adds.

John and Jo Anne just celebrated their 48th anniversary, and now the two share a farm in Plymouth, Mich., home to Jo Anne’s first horse, a Quarter Horse named Black Beauty.

Their first daughter, Jessica, who’s now an emergency room physician, was born when Jo Anne was 24, and their second, Rebecca, now a professional dancer based in Las Vegas, arrived two years later. Jo Anne stayed at home with her daughters during their younger years, and riding naturally became a family affair.

The rate at the hack stable had gone

up, so it was $36 per hour for all three of them to ride.

“That man [at the stable] finally said, ‘Jo Anne, why don’t you buy a horse? For what you’re spending, you could be boarding a horse somewhere!’ So I started thinking about that,” Jo Anne recalls. “I was working as a court reporter then, and I thought, ‘My life really is almost half over. What is it in life that I want that I don’t have? I’ve got a lovely house and husband and children.’

“So I told the kids, without telling my husband, ‘We’re going to get a horse, but we need to find the perfect place to board it.’ So I would pick them up from school and say, ‘Don’t tell Dad—we’ll wait until we find the perfect place.’ And we’d go out to the country, a few miles from the city, and look at the boarding stables every day,” she says. “The more I did that, the more I

realized, ‘How is this going to work? One horse for three of us?’ ” Soon the after-school search for boarding barns turned into a search for a house with a barn and paddock. Eventually, at age 36, she found the property that would propel her into her new purpose: a big colonial overlooking a stretch of paddocks and a spacious barn.

While Jo Anne was still working as a court reporter, traveling to depositions around the state, she kept pleasure Quarter Horses for several years. When a friend with declining health offered her the chance to get into Thoroughbred racing, she couldn’t say no. She raised two race horses, Baby and Scarlett, but when the former broke down on the track and had to be euthanized, something changed in Jo Anne. She pulled Scarlett off the

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PROFILE Jo Anne Normile and her husband of 48 years, John, are loyal fans of the University of Michigan, the alma mater of their daughters Rebecca and Jessica.

track, but the compulsion to save more was overwhelming. Soon she was spending day and night coordinating with potential buyers of ex-racers destined for slaughter, even if it meant keeping horses at her own house as a lay-up facility.

“I had so many rescue horses here—far more than John ever knew,” she says. “But thankfully for me he didn’t know horses, and we always had bays with not a lot of white. I’d say, ‘That’s the same one!’ ” When Jo Anne discovered her husband couldn’t even differentiate between a chestnut and a bay, the game got even easier.

“I would have every stall in my barn— because he never went down there—filled with horses coming off surgery that were on stall rest, plus others,” she says. “I’d have like a dozen horses here, and he’d say, ‘Who’s that?’ And I’d say, ‘Scarlett!’ ‘Oh, OK.’ And then there’s a chestnut walking around, and he’d say, ‘Well, who’s that?’ I said, ‘Scarlett’s just walked around the back of the barn.’

‘Oh, OK.’ He just had no concept. I finally told him, just a few years ago.”

A SERVANT’S HEART

Normile’s second race horse, Scarlett, was a half-sibling to Baby. Though the filly showed talent on the track, Jo Anne pulled her from racing after Baby’s death and placed her with local trainer Jennifer Merrick-Brooks to retrain her for eventing.

As Scarlett climbed the levels, eventually competing at preliminary, Jo Anne and Merrick-Brooks became close friends.

They shared a love for the horse and firsthand knowledge of inhumane practices in the racing world, as Merrick-Brooks had 112

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“I had so many rescue horses here—far more than my husband ever knew. But thankfully for me he didn’t know horses, and we always had bays with not a lot of white. I’d say, ‘That’s the same one!’ ”

—Jo Anne Normile

PHOTO COURTESY OF JO ANNE NORMILE

gotten her start on inexpensive off-the-track prospects in the Detroit area.

“I went with her a number of times [to the track], and she would literally walk in with a clipboard,” says Merrick-Brooks.

“And just to see the respect and the communication she had with the trainers and even the jockeys—she would get tidbits from them saying, ‘This horse isn’t running well, but it’s a really nice horse,’ that kind of thing—was incredible.

“And through the development of the CANTER program, she just became an amazing liaison, having these horses go to new jobs or having the surgeries for a bone chip or something,” she continues. “It was just phenomenal to see these horses that didn’t have a second chance be able to have a second chance. And it was personally Jo Anne’s passion.”

CANTER was officially established in Michigan in 1997, and it’s now a 501(c)(3) non-profit with affiliates in two regions (New England and Mid-Atlantic) and 11 states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington).

While Jo Anne kept her job as a court reporter for some time, the stress inherent in both roles began to take its toll.

“Court reporting is very stressful and intense, and you can’t miss a word,” she explains. “Then you come home from that to a dozen phone calls about dying horses or horses that were found at the track. I would go to the track at 6 o’clock every morning and change there and go right to my job, then I’d come home and handle all of this stuff. My husband finally said, ‘Something’s gotta go.’

“Well, it certainly couldn’t be CANTER—that had become my life; that was reincarnating Baby and every horse I saved,” she continues. “I couldn’t give that up, so I quit work, which meant that Scarlett had to quit eventing, because that was what was paying for all of that. So Scarlett had to retire.”

The mare now lives in Jo Anne’s backyard once again, and at 23, she’s been a steadfast companion throughout some of her owner’s biggest heartbreaks and greatest challenges, including the decline in health of her husband.

Today John is confined to a wheelchair, and Jo Anne, of course, cares for him herself full time. John is active, volunteering at a local classroom of mentally disabled children three times a week, but Jo Anne says it’s also not uncommon for her to have

PHOTO COURTESY OF JO ANNE NORMILE

From Flickering Flame To Wildfire Jo Anne Normile put her foray into the racing world and its aftermath down on paper in a book called Saving Baby, co-authored by Lawrence Lindner and published in 2013. It’s dedicated to her husband, John, and their daughters Jessica and Rebecca, “who gave up so much so I could do what I had to do.”

Saving Baby is a memoir of Jo Anne’s introduction to, experience in, and departure from the racing world. A friend and race trainer entrusted Baby’s dam with Jo Anne, who raised the colt from Day 1. She familiarized him with a variety of sights and sounds and plenty of affection, and, as she’d promised his ailing owner, enlisted him in a race training program.

As a court reporter, attention to detail was Jo Anne’s forté, and she soon discovered the fate of many retired race horses: slaughter. When Baby slipped during a race and had to be euthanized, she dove headfirst into a campaign to spread awareness about the many fatal flaws in the racing industry. The Communication Alliance To Network Thoroughbred Ex-Racehorses, or CANTER, was a major facet to that campaign.

Today CANTER has hundreds of volunteers across the country who walk the shed rows at tracks, coordinate with owners and trainers, take photos, and advertise the horses online, helping them find suitable homes.

Saving Baby follows Jo Anne’s journey through love, regret and redemption as she finds her true calling in the horse world.

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PROFILE

Scarlett is now retired at 23 and enjoying her golden years back in Jo Anne Normile’s backyard.

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to take him to the hospital due to shortness of breath on any given day.

“He’s been in the hospital twice in the last six months with congestive heart failure,” she explains. “He needs a valve replaced, but the cardiologist said it’s so risky that

they’re using it as a last resort. Our daughter is an emergency room doctor, and she said, ‘I don’t think he’ll survive this surgery, so do as they say and don’t do it unless they say it is the only thing left.’

“It’s very hard to live with,” she says, simply.

But even in the midst of personal struggle, Jo Anne is nothing if not a fighter.

Both an optimist and a pragmatist, she continues to pour her considerable energy into causes she knows she can influence for the better.

In 2012, for instance, she began capturing the attention of a broader audience by speaking at the inaugural Equine Advocates Summit, and she returned again in 2013, both times addressing the question, “How do we end horse slaughter?”

“I feel as she does, and as many people who are involved both in equine protection organizations and in horse industry groups [do], that there is a way to be accountable and be responsible for every horse that is born to be a part of these industries,” says Susan Wagner, Equine Advocates’ founder and president. “There’s no reason for any of them to fall through the cracks.”

Together Jo Anne and Wagner now advocate for accountability and more ethical standards in racing.

“She’s definitely an important part of this movement to end horse slaughter and abuses in all facets of the horse industry, including the racing industry, and there are a lot of people in the industry who feel that way as well,” says Wagner.

“Jo Anne understands the front side and the back side of horse racing,” she continues.

“She’s been an owner, and she’s also been on the backstretch, and she’s been able to witness first-hand what is truly going on.

In her mind, there were certain things that were not right, and making them right is what she’s so passionate about.”

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CITY GUIDE

Savor Summer In Saratoga Springs

A statue of Kentucky Derby winner Sea Hero in the paddock at Saratoga Race Course wears a blanket of traditional pink roses on the day of the prestigious Whitney Handicap.

TOD MARKS PHOTO

By JENNIFER B. CALDER

Saratoga Springs, N.Y., may be named for its mineral waters, but during the high season of summer, this city is all about horses.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE/ STOCK STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHY

S

aratoga Springs, N.Y., and you will get an answer. (For has long been synreal. I’ve tried it.) onymous with horses.

But part of what makes From its historic Thoroughbred Saratoga feel like summer camp race meet to its top-notch polo for the horsey set is the variety schedule to the Saratoga Classic of experiences the town offers.

Horse Show at nearby Skidmore From lively nightlife to shopping College or the Saratoga Springs to cultural, historical and sportSaratoga Springs’ Horse Show, this vibrant little ing attractions, there’s a multidowntown district comes alive on sultry city comes alive with rich equine culture each tude of ways to pass your days. summer nights. summer.

Nestled in bucolic northern New York State In fact, it’s nearly impossible to go anywhere near the Adirondacks, Saratoga’s bubbling natural in Saratoga Springs and not be reminded of horses. Outdoor mineral springs, for which the town received its nickname, “The televisions on the porches of stately Victorian homes lining Spa,” still soothe visitors and residents at the Roosevelt Baths North Broadway are permanently tuned to the horse racing and from the numerous water fountains located throughout channel TVG, and the race announcers’ exultations blend town. perfectly with the faint roar of the live crowds at the nearby Whether you’re aiming to try your luck playing the ponies track. During the summer meet, you can walk down the street or are just looking for an elegant night on the town, Saratoga is and call out to anyone you pass, “Who do you like in the third?” a place where past and present co-mingle.

TOD MARKS PHOTO

PHOTOS COURTESY OF GIDEON PUTNAM

THE ROOSEVELT BATHS & SPA

Saratoga is nicknamed “The Spa” for the natural mineral springs that flow beneath the town. Tapping into their restorative qualities, be it by soaking in or drinking the naturally carbonated water (out of signature cobalt blue bottles), is a Saratoga rite of passage.

In 1831, Gideon Putnam created the town’s first spa. More than a century later, in 1935, following the efforts of President Franklin Roosevelt (who suffered from polio and had a vested interest in the healing properties of the water) to preserve the springs, the Roosevelt Baths & Spa opened.

These baths are located inside Saratoga Spa State Park, a 2,500-acre tract in the heart of historic Saratoga Springs. Now operated as part of the Gideon Putnam Resort, the bathhouse has 42 treatment rooms and is available to both guests of the hotel and the community.

The resort also offers fine dining in its Putnam’s Restaurant and Bar with seasonal outdoor dining in the Putnam’s Patio and Cafe.

24 Gideon Putnam Road, Saratoga Springs.

(866) 890-1171. GideonPutnam.com.

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ADAM COGLIANESE PHOTO

CITY GUIDE

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SARATOGA RACE COURSE

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Drawn by the rumored healing waters of the area’s natural mineral springs, wealthy Americans began flocking to Saratoga Springs and building summer homes there in the first half of the 19th century. Two such titans (and horsemen), John Hunter and William R. Travers, founded the Saratoga Race Course in 1863, making it one of the oldest sporting venues in the country.

More than 150 years later, not much has changed. Graceful Thoroughbreds still run around its hallowed oval beneath distinctive red and white awnings and bed down in the pine green shedrows on the backside. Adorned with enormous hanging flowering baskets, these barns rival the beauty of the track’s wood-floored clubhouse, where squeaky screen doors mark entrances to bathrooms and ceiling fans lazily circulate warm summer air.

“Every single day at the track has a special atmosphere you don’t find anywhere else,” says Hall of Fame trainer Jonathan Sheppard. “It’s an experience unlike most horse racing, which to me is a little bit cold and a way to play the numbers.

Here people are there both to watch quality racing and to have a good time—they plan their vacations around it. They get there early, spread out their blankets in the paddock area, meet friends, family, bring their kids.

“As a trainer, I get to see a lot of people from the horse business I don’t get to see the rest of the year,” he continues. “I really enjoy that the owners stop by the barns and spend a little time with their horses. It makes it more special.”

The summer meet, which offers both flat and steeplechase racing, runs July 24Sept. 7 this year.

267 Union Avenue, Saratoga Springs.

(518) 584-6200. SaratogaRacetrack.com.

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THE HORSESHOE INN

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE HORSEHOE INN

Located across the street from Gate 10 on the backside and nestled between barns, “The Shoe” serves as the constant backdrop for horses clip-clopping their way to the track. That’s part of why this casual Saratoga institution is where many racing professionals begin and end their days. They also offer one of the best breakfasts in town.

“My son Jake’s favorite pancake in town belongs to The Horseshoe Inn,” says Laurie Wolf, founding partner of Starlight and StarLadies Racing, who saddled runners for this year’s Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby. “You can leave the backside, grab a bite of breakfast, a nice Bloody Mary, and watch the horses walk to and from the track for the morning works.”

When the sun goes down, the outdoor bar area comes alive, featuring a wide range of live music played every night during the summer, save for Thursdays, when the track is dark.

You can’t go wrong with anything on the menu made with barbecued pork, which is smoked on site.

I personally recommend the pulled pork quesadilla!

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SARATOGA OLIVE OIL

1 Gridley Street, Saratoga Springs.

(518) 587-4909. TheHorseshoeInn.com.

SARATOGA OLIVE OIL COMPANY

If you need to lighten your wallet after winning big at the track, the shopping opportunities in downtown Saratoga are plentiful. Pop in to the Saratoga Olive Oil Company, which offers more than 60 flavors for tasting, in addition to balsamic vinegars.

Local brothers Chad and Clint Braidwood opened the flagship store in 2011, and there are now locations in Lake Placid, N.Y., and Burlington, Vt., as well.

The beautiful store features furniture and art by local artisans and bread from Mrs. London’s Bakery, a local staple.

484 Broadway, Saratoga Springs.

(518) 450-1308. SaratogaOliveOil.com.

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NATIONAL RACING MUSEUM AND HALL OF FAME

Across from the track on Union Avenue is the National Racing Museum and Hall of Fame. The museum showcases an extensive collection of racing memorabilia, highlighting the achievements of trainers, jockeys and horses through both exhibitions and interactive displays. Inductees to the Hall of Fame, awarded to those displaying excellence as breeders, owners, trainers, jockeys and horses, are celebrated in the Hall of Fame Gallery.

191 Union Avenue, Saratoga Springs.

(800) 562-5394 or (518) 584-0400. RacingMuseum.org.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE/ NATIONAL MUSEUM OF RACING AND HALL OF FAME

CITY GUIDE

SIRO’S

TIMES UNION PHOTO

For those who want to sing along instead of just listening to live music, Siro’s, with its iconic blue awning and ceramic lawn jockeys, is an upscale trackside mainstay. Located on the opposite side of the racecourse on Lincoln Avenue, this clubby piano bar in the front of the restaurant is a favorite haunt of some of the biggest names in the racing business.

“If you’re going there to eat, bring a wallet and a friend’s wallet,” admits former jockey and current NBC racing analyst Donna Barton Brothers. “But as far as late night, after dinner, looking for some fun at a piano bar? There is no better place.”

In fact, you may easily find yourself dancing and singing along to classics like “Piano Man” and old Journey tunes with racing personalities like owner (and celebrity chef) Bobby Flay and Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Shug McGaughey (this happened to me).

“It’s pretty heavily weighted to some of the game’s biggest owners,” says Brothers. “Some of the most serious people in the industry gather there—it’s like a pop-up party all the time!”

SARATOGA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

Just a 10-minute stroll from the Gideon Putnam Resort, also located within the lush park, the SPAC hosts the New York City Ballet and the Philadelphia Orchestra as well as a variety of pop, jazz and chamber music concerts and the Saratoga Wine and Food Festival. The Grateful Dead, James Taylor and Ray Charles have all performed at this amazing venue located in the heart of Saratoga Springs.

108 Avenue of the Pines, Saratoga Springs.

(518) 584-9330. SPAC.org.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE/ STOCK STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHY

168 Lincoln Avenue, Saratoga Springs.

(518) 584-4030. SirosRestaurantNY.com.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF HEATHER BOHM-TALLMAN

HATTIE’S

Hattie’s has been a part of the fabric of Saratoga since 1938, offering fried chicken and a variety of authentic Southern and Louisiana-style cooking such as jambalaya and crawfish étouffée.

Born in Louisiana in what she estimated to be 1900 (her mother died in childbirth), Hattie Grey opened the original restaurant on Federal Street with $33 dollars she had saved. Back in the 1930s and ’40s, Hattie’s was open 24 hours a day. In 1968, she moved to the current location on Phila Street.

Hattie was renowned not only for her chicken, but also for the philanthropic support she offered the town, hiring those who needed jobs, sheltering them in her home, and even helping them with school.

This tradition continues today with the program Hattie’s Helping Hands, which supports local charities. Beth and Jasper Alexander, who bought the restaurant in 2001, oversee the philanthropic efforts, and Jasper, who serves as chef, continues to fry the chicken exactly as Hattie did.

“Hattie’s is the best fried chicken in America,” says Donna Barton Brothers.

“Period.”

If you can’t make it to the downtown location, there’s an outpost at the track (with a truncated menu) and another in Wilton, N.Y. 45 Phila Street, Saratoga Springs.

(518) 584-4790. HattiesRestaurant.com.

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CITY GUIDE SARATOGA AUTOMOBILE MUSEUM

PHOTO COURTESY OF SARATOGA AUTO MUSEUM

Those interested in the other type of horsepower can visit the Saratoga Automobile Museum, located on the grounds of the park in the renovated Saratoga Bottling Plant. Exhibitions feature not only actual classic automobiles, but also photography and paintings of cars.

110 Avenue of the Pines, Saratoga Springs.

(518) 587-1935.

SaratogaAutoMuseum.org.

If you need a break from the bustling energy of downtown Saratoga, head north to Chez Pierre, a family-run French bistro that’s been a staple of the racing crowd since opening in 1963.

“I make a point of going there at least once every year,” says trainer Jonathan Sheppard.

“They’ve been there as long as I’ve been going there, practically! It’s very good food—nothing fancy, nothing pretentious—but it’s very popular with the racetrack people.”

The restaurant was started by a former American GI, Joe Baldwin, who, while stationed in France, fell in love with a woman named Pierrette and her native cuisine. They eventually married and had four children (the restaurant is named after their first son, Pierre), all of whom now play integral roles in the business.

Chez Pierre offers traditional French bistro fare along with personal creations including filet of sole Marguery, veal vosgienne and tournedos chasseur.

979 Route 9, Gansevoort.

(518) 793-3350 or (800) 672-0666.

ChezPierreRestaurant.com.

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TOD MARKS PHOTO

CHEZ PIERRE

IMPRESSIONS OF SARATOGA

The local source for “everything horse,” Impressions of Saratoga offers a range of gifts, collectibles and souvenirs. Opened in 1978, the store even has its own mascot, a miniature horse named Upset, and their own apparel and gifts collection, The Dark Horse.

“Our mascot, Upset, is named after the only horse to beat Man o’ War, in 1919,” explains Maddy Zanetti of Impressions. “Though Upset is much smaller than a Thoroughbred, standing at only 33" tall, he’s just around to spread the legends of The Dark Horse.”

368 Broadway, Saratoga Springs.

(518) 587-0666. ImpressionsSaratoga.com.

Equestrian & Sporting Art

THE PAVILION GRAND HOTEL

Located in the center of downtown Saratoga Springs, the Pavilion Grand will celebrate its first anniversary this summer. Originally built in 1819, this renovated boutique hotel features only 48 suites and has quickly become a favorite of those in the horse world. That means the staff won’t bat an eye at your barn smells.

“We have a large number of guests who stay with us throughout the year who are traveling as owners, riders, exhibitors, trainers and those who just love the sport and horses,” says manager Susanne Simpson.

Each suite at the Pavilion Grand provides a home away from home with full kitchens, 9' ceilings and exquisite detailing. Several offer private grass-covered terraces or rooftop gardens. If cooking isn’t on your vacation “must-do” list, there’s a full restaurant and bar on site.

And after a day at the track, the health and wellness spa awaits with a fresh-pressed juice bar and a full range of services.

“Horse in Stable” oil on canvas c1883, English, Edward Lloyd, SLR, 30” x 35”

30 Lake Avenue, Saratoga Springs.

(518) 583-2727. PavilionGrandHotel.com.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE PAVILION GRAND

Donald Rich Antiques

SPERRY’S

With the charming address of 30½ Caroline Street, Sperry’s has been a favorite since opening its doors in 1932. It was rumored to have operated as a speakeasy during Prohibition, and today there are two full-service bars, both inside and out on the patio. They make a mean martini, as well as a varied menu.

Richard Valentine, trainer of 2013 steeplechase Eclipse Award winner Demonstrative, says the establishment is one of his “must hits” every meet.

“Sperry’s is great. Soft shell crabs and gruyere cheese popovers for the table!” he advises.

30½ Caroline Street, Saratoga Springs.

(518) 584-9618. SperrysRestaurant.com.

“Polo Ponies”, Oil on Board

By Gilbert Scott Wright B1880-D1958, English, 23” x 27”

New Canaan, CT

203-966-5433

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CHARITY SPOTLIGHT A CLOSER LOOK AT:

SquirrelWood Equine Sanctuary

By focusing on treating each rescue as a unique individual, SES makes a significant impact on down-on-their-luck horses.

By MEGAN BRINCKS Photo courtesy of JOHN PAINTER

I

n a world with an equine rescue on every corner and an unending social media stream of horses in need of new homes, the two founders of SquirrelWood Equine Sanctuary keep their emphasis on individualizing rehabilitation efforts for each horse in their care.

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With backgrounds in polo and sport horses, respectively, Beth Hyman and Diane Butler founded SES in Montgomery, N.Y., with the mission of assisting horses at the end of their careers that, for whatever reason, end up at auctions.

Hyman and Butler also receive horses

SquirrelWood Equine Sanctuary helps give horses like Boo, an Argentinean Thoroughbred who ended up in a New Jersey auction house, a soft landing when they fall through the cracks in the sport horse world. Today Boo is a permanent resident of SES and a fierce competitor in the polo arena with the sanctuary’s co-founder, Beth Hyman.

>> WHAT IT IS: SquirrelWood Equine

Sanctuary is a 501(c)(3) organization focused on helping horses at risk for abuse, neglect and sale to slaughter. In addition to rehabilitating and adopting horses, SES also hosts permanent equine residents in need of safe place to live out their lives on their 92acre farm in Montgomery, N.Y.

from owners who are no longer able to care for them and from government seizures.

And although they keep an eye out specifically for polo horses, they have a wide variety of breeds on hand, from ponies to draft horses.

An average of 25 to 30 horses reside at SES at any given time, and many of those are permanent residents of the sanctuary and not available for adoption.

“They’re living out their lives here because of behavioral issues or health issues,” Hyman explained. “We tend not to adopt out horses that have issues that we feel would be a challenge to people, or if they need a specific sort of maintenance.”

When a horse arrives at SES, it will undergo quarantine and a full veterinary examination, including vaccinations.

Each horse also receives time—sometimes months—to acclimate to the new environment.

“We give them a full evaluation from a safety standpoint and to understand the needs of that horse,” Hyman said.

“Just like you wouldn’t expect a person to bounce right back from a traumatic situation, we don’t expect a horse to. At an auction, these horses are taken out of whatever their norm was, thrown into an entirely different one, and handled like livestock.

A horse that’s never been mistreated in its life might end up at the end of a cattle prod, and they don’t understand.”

Although they work tirelessly to prevent horses from going to processing plants, Hyman admits she doesn’t have an answer for U.S. horses being sold for meat.

“There’s a lot of heated debate, and everyone seems to fall on one side of the fence or the other,” she said. “We just pick up the pieces when the horses end up in places that are awful.”

At the end of 2014, Hyman and Butler found an off-the-track Thoroughbred and decided to enter him in the Retired Racehorse Project for the October 2015 symposium in Kentucky. Eddie, 6, had spent his life on the track with only a small amount of post-racing training before coming to SES. Only 15.1 hands, he caught Hyman’s eye online, and she and Butler decided to bring him to New York before Christmas.

“He’s a very smart little horse, and he really, knock on wood, seems to have come out of his racing career unscathed,” Hyman said.

But Eddie won’t be their only additional project in the coming year. Hyman and Butler have plans to branch out into equine therapy with a focus on serving military veterans and their loved ones.

They plan to start with day programs and expand to weeklong sessions for families.

“We feel like it’s an underserved community that’s not getting the help they need, and we know horses provide such a great therapeutic partner for people,” Hyman said. “It does the brain good and the soul good. That’s what we want to do with SES—go from doing only horse rescue to doing people rescue too.”

Although SES has a handful of volunteers who help keep the organization afloat—in addition to countless working hours from Hyman, Butler and their parttime barn assistant—they can always put more resources to good use.

“The horses have no history when they come here. Everything has to be done again,” Hyman said. “By the time you pay the vet, the farrier, you get the horse upto-date on everything, you evaluate it, do a 30-day quarantine—we spend on average $1,000 to $1,500 on a horse just to get it to ground zero.”

Hyman also encourages potential volunteers to not limit themselves to what’s geographically close. Instead, she says people should think about skills they have that can help from a distance including web design, social media management or anything else that might help a small nonprofit.

But, ultimately, she also wants people to look at rescue horses as genuine prospects for a productive, successful new career, whether that be a trail mount or show horse.

“People think rescue horses are throwaways,” Hyman said. “But there are horses that end up there through no fault of their own. They fall through the cracks.

Horses have such a capacity to heal and rehabilitate and go on to second careers.

Don’t write them off.”

>> LEARN MORE: Visit the SES website at Squirrelwood.org.

>>

GET IN TOUCH: Contact SES at (845) 361-2316 or luvpolo@aol.com.

>> GET INVOLVED: SES is always looking for new or gently used tack, clothing and equipment; monetary donations; or volunteers for a variety of tasks and skill sets.

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BEST OF WEB & PRINT

What’s Hot On The Web

NICKI MCGUIRE PHOTO

Blogger Jennifer Barker St. John discusses her daughter’s hilarious intensity when it comes to leadline results and uses that as a jumping-off point for inspiring her students (aka “the Minions”) to think beyond themselves by incorporating charity into their showing efforts.

“No, we won’t be donating $1.5 million, but maybe our contributions will make a difference for someone. Or maybe we will all just be better equipped to keep things in the proper perspective. Either way, it’s a win.” Read more at coth.com/article/just-call-her-mclain-boo-boo.

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Evan Coluccio’s Forever Horse Finds His Way Home

DAVID MULLINIX PHOTO

u Caution: Aging Adult Rider Every now and then, we put out a call to our fans for their best storytelling in a writing contest, and Kimberly Kitson’s tale of learning to ride as an adult struck a real chord with our coth.com readers. “We’re the ones who missed out on pony pals and bareback races, junior hunters and lifelong friendships forged alongside the show ring,” she writes. “That wistful awareness of what we missed is at the heart of our drive to make up for the lost years, knowing we’ll always be a step behind those with the natural balance and engrained muscle memory to confidently sit a buck that routinely dislodges us in the most unflattering ways.” You can read it all at coth.com/article/ caution-aging-adult-rider.

u The Dark Knight Returns:

Evan Coluccio showed Batman as a junior and young professional, but he lost track of the horse after he was sold years ago. Batman went on to show with multiple riders in the jumpers, hunters and equitation, but when he needed a different life, Coluccio got a call. “Just knowing that he’s in my barn with all the love he needs is really the only satisfaction I wanted out of this,” said Coluccio.

“I’ll be thrilled and probably cry when I ride him for the first time again, but honestly I think if I never got on him again I would still be so happy.” Read the entire story of Batman’s return at coth. com/article/dark-knight-returns-evan-coluccios-forever-horse-back-home

SPORTFOT PHOTO

u Just Call Her McLain Boo Boo

Don’t Miss In The Magazine u Walk A Mile In A

SARA LIESER PHOTO

If you were in charge of the USEF tomorrow, what would be the first things you’d do? How do you address the general feeling that showing is too expensive? What do you wish people knew about your job that they don’t know? Staffer Mollie Bailey posed these questions and many more to two top show managers, Bob Bell of the Classic Company and Tom Struzzieri of Horse Shows In The Sun, in the Chronicle’s June 15 & 22 issue, and you won’t want to miss it.

u Drawing The Line Between Training And Abuse Abusive horse training: How does it arise, and what can we do about it? Per Waaler’s Horseman’s Forum, a thoughtful and candid exploration of these questions in our June 8 issue of the Chronicle, is not to be missed. No matter what discipline you ride, “Don’t let shortsighted ambition distort the goal,” he writes.

ARND BRONKHORST PHOTO

u Flexion Tests Are Open To Interpretation Many veterinarians and horsemen rely on this diagnostic tool for help in identifying current and future lameness, but others say they’re too imprecise to have much value. In our June 15 & 22 issue of The Chronicle of the Horse, Christopher Oakford assesses the benefits of this prepurchase ritual and the limits of its efficacy and explores the studies that are helping to define best practices across the industry.

MOLLIE BAILEY PHOTO

Show Manager’s Shoes

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PARTING WAYS

Bouncing Back Photo by BOB LANGRISH

When his horse Tom Tom Go 3 stumbled in his approach to the wicker “wave” fence coming out of the lake at the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton CCI**** (England) this May, German rider Niklas Bschorer was nearly unseated, but he managed to push himself off the jump and back into the saddle.

The pistol-shot activation of Bschorer’s

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air vest, however, spooked Tom Tom, who whirled, sending his rider flying again, this time backward over his haunches and then sideways over his shoulder. Defying gravity, Bschorer ratcheted himself back into the saddle a second time and carried on, but his inflated jacket was a hindrance, and he had to retire despite the epic save.

www.kingslandequestrian.com /kingslandequestrian

/kingslandequsa