The Chronicle of the Horse
VOL . 3, NO. 5 • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
Foxhunting In The American South Through A British Lens
FALL FASHION PREVIEW
Classic Neutrals For Cooler Weather A SUPPLEMENT TO THE CHRONICLE OF THE HORSE
From Swan Lake To Cougar Rock
How Ballet Dancer Rusty Toth Became An Endurance Riding Champion
Remembering Paul Brown The Norman Rockwell Of Equestrian Art
BR AVO We applaud SCAD Equestrian for a championship year. IHSA 2015
ANRC 2015
Collegiate Cup National Champion Team
National Champion Team
Zone 5 Champion Team
Novice National Champion Team
Region 5, Zone 5 Champion Team
Individual National Champion and Reserve National Champion Riders in the Novice and National Divisions
National Tournament of Champions 2014-15 Overall Series Champion Team
scad.edu / equestrian
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Untacked The C hronicle of the Horse
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PHOTO COURTESY OF BALLET ARIZONA
VOL. 3, NO. 5
44 Rusty Toth: All The World’s His Stage 60 Dixieland Delight: Foxhunting in America’s South
70 From Wine To Waves In The Willamette Valley
82 Riding Out The Second World War 90 Reacquaint Yourself With Paul ON THE COVER: Sarah Farnsworth Photo
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Departments 16 Editor’s Letter
22 Around The Arena 24 Tech Spotlight: BlindSight 28 Test Lab: Bell Boots 32 The Clothes Horse: Fall Fashion Preview 40 The Clothes Horse: Support The Cause
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98 City Guide: Saugerties
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108 Charity Spotlight 110 Best Of Web & Print 112
Parting Ways
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PHOTO COURTESY OF CROSSWINDS EQUINE RESCUE
18 Contributors
EDITOR’S LETTER
Away From It All But Close Together
Was this really the best time to travel? Would it be irresponsible to go? Surely I should stay home and try to catch up on work, laundry, a million things that needed to be done on the farm. Thankfully, a coworker talked me into the trip, and I really had no idea the extent of what I was embarking upon. I’d never been inspired to take an equestrian holiday before; the idea of plodding along in a western saddle, walking for hours on end aboard a lifeless mount never really appealed to me—but that’s not at all what you’ll find on the Willamette ride. It’s not just the thorough horsemanship of Justin and Lindley Leahy, who expertly train, prepare and care for their horses, and who also ensure that the riders are treated to top-notch meals and lodging, that made the holiday such a week to remember. It was also the way they set up a cohesive group of guests and tactfully nurtured cooperation, trust and respect between everyone. When I boarded the plane to go to Oregon, I regretted that my riding friends were all too busy to come, thinking I might be the third wheel to couples on vacation. But by the end of the week in Willamette Valley, I was glad I’d gone alone, to have had the time and attention to give to the other riders on the trip, as each person enriched my experience in her own way. All six of us women arrived solo, without a spouse or friend, and we ranged in age from our 20s to 60s, coming from Austria, Iowa, Germany, Michigan, 16 S EP TEMBER / OCTOBER 2015
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California and Virginia. But over the course of six days we not only shared baby powder, Band-Aids and bike shorts, but also the stories of who we were, of joys and challenges that had defined us. We grew close enough to tell of cancer survivals, of serious health scares in our children, of careers that weren’t quite what we’d expected, marriages that had unraveled, of compromises we were or weren’t willing to make in relationships and places we’d found ourselves that sometimes fit with what we’d imagined and sometimes did not. The real magic of the trip was how we’d all been drawn from various parts of the world, at various stages of life, from different equestrian backgrounds and professions, to this shared experience provided to us by the horse. Away from the world of sport horse competition, this trip reminded me why I was drawn to horses in the first place and why I’ve always returned to them: for the amazing way they allow you to interact with nature and your surroundings—and for the incredible people you meet as you pursue this passion. —Beth Rasin, President & Executive Editor
EVA-MARIA MADANI PHOTO
A few weeks before I left for the Willamette Coast Ride (p. 70), I started to wonder if another writer should take the trip: Work was especially busy, with a few unforeseen circumstances having come up—plus it would be the longest I’d ever been away from my 6-year-old daughter.
CONTRIBUTORS
In This Issue CONTACT US: SUBSCRIPTIONS & RENEWALS:
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Manuscripts and photographs, accompanied by return postage, will be handled with care. Publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material.
Octavia Pollock
Octavia has hunted across the U.K. for pleasure and work, which often amounts to the same thing. She writes for the British publications Country Life and Horse & Hound and is thrilled to be discovering life behind hounds in the states. Octavia also runs Gateway to England, which offers American travelers the chance to experience the English country-house lifestyle.
Sarah Farnsworth
Based in the Cotswolds district of England, Sarah has been documenting the countryside, specializing in foxhunting but also covering all manner of British sport, for 10 seasons and earned numerous awards for her stunning photography. Her work has appeared previously in The Chronicle of the Horse and is regularly featured in magazines such as Country Life, The Field and Horse & Hound.
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. THE CHRONICLE OF THE HORSE (ISSN 0009-5990) is published weekly except for January 5, February 2, March 2, March 23, April 27, June 1, June 22, July 20, September 7, October 5, December 7 and December 28 by The Chronicle of the Horse, LLC 108 The Plains Road, Middleburg, Virginia. Periodicals postage paid at Middleburg, VA and additional mailing offices. THE CHRONICLE OF THE HORSE UNTACKED is published bimonthly. It is part of your subscription to The Chronicle of the Horse. To order single copies, call 800-877-5467 or e-mail subscriptions@chronofhorse.com.
Marsha Hayes
Marsha has been covering endurance riding since 2006, when she attended the 100-mile Western States Trail Ride (Calif.) for the first time. Her work has appeared online at thehorse.com and The Huffington Post and in print in The Equestrian News, Modern Arabian Horse and various breed publications. A competitive trail riding enthusiast, she splits her time between Kansas and New Mexico.
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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.
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Georgina Bloomberg and Juvina won the Central Park Grand Prix at the 2014 Central Park Horse Show Presented by Rolex in New York City. Available for order! There are no known contraindications to the use of intramuscular Adequan® i.m. brand Polysulfated Glycosaminoglycan in horses. Studies have not been conducted to establish safety in breeding horses. WARNING: Do not use in horses intended for human consumption. Not for use in humans. Keep this and all medications out of the reach of children. Caution: Federal law restricts this drug to use by or on the order of a licensed veterinarian. Each 5 mL contains 500 mg Polysulfated Glycosaminoglycan. Brief Summary Indications: For the intramuscular treatment of non-infectious degenerative and/or traumatic joint dysfunction and associated lameness of the carpal and hock joints in horses. See Product Package Insert at www.adequan.com for Full Prescribing Information. Adequan® is a registered trademark of Luitpold Pharmaceuticals, Inc. © Luitpold Animal Health, division of Luitpold Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 2015. Image of Georgina Bloomberg © Molly Sorge/The Chronicle of the Horse used with permission. AHD073 Rev. 7/2015
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xclusive Linda Luster scarf depicting eight sport horse disciplines: Dressage, Reining, Endurance, Vaulting, Para Dressage, Show Jumping, Driving, and Eventing. Pure silk, hand-rolled edges.
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tidbits from across the industry
Aroundthe Arena s My Faves: Laura Grave
Laura Graves’ passion for horses took shape as a young child thanks to her parents’ willingness to trade a washer and dryer for a pair of ponies. Now 28, she’s rocketed to the top of the U.S. dressage scene—and the international ranks as well—since her amazing secondplaced debut behind Steffen Peters in the 2014 Dutta Corp./USEF Grand Prix Dressage National Championship (N.J.). That accomplishment earned Graves, Geneva, Fla., and her longtime mount Verdades a trip to the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France, where they finished as the highestplaced U.S. pair in the Grand Prix Special and the freestyle. This spring the rising star earned fourth place at the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage Final (Nev.), and in July she picked up team gold and individual silver medals at the Pan American Games in Toronto. Herewith, a few of her favorite things. ➜ Breeches: Kingsland ➜ Shadbelly: My very first Team
LISA SLADE PHOTO
USA tailcoat is very special to me.
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➜ Riding boots: DeNiro
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On Deck
➜ Comfort food or drink:
Mark your calendar with these upcoming important dates.
➜ Movie: Saw (I know, I’m sick!)
u Sept. 1 Applications are due by this date for the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s Youth Sportsman Award. If you know an outstanding USEF member aged 17 or under who exhibits exceptional leadership potential, serves as a positive role model, demonstrates an ongoing commitment to the promotion of equestrian sport, and exemplifies positive sportsmanship principles, fill out a nomination form now at usef.org. The overall winner will receive a $1,000 grant payable to the educational program of his or her choice, USEF Life Membership valued at $2,500, a commemorative trophy, and automatic nomination for the USEF Junior Equestrian of the Year Award. The reserve winner will receive a $500 educational grant.
Grilled cheese and tomato soup
➜ TV Show: Criminal Minds ➜ Book: The Talent Code by Daniel
Coyle
➜ Musician: Tom Petty ➜ Vacation destination: Home! ➜ Place to ride: On any trails ➜ Place to shop: Online ➜ Type of restaurant: Sushi ➜ Non-horsey hobby: Cooking ➜ Thing to do with family and
friends: Laugh
➜ Memory in the saddle: I had
a pretty lazy Quarter Horse as a kid; I was invited to take him foxhunting in Vermont. I don’t think I have ever gone so fast on a horse! It was a blast!
➜ Favorite movement to ride: Pirouettes
➜ Type of horse: Hot and kind ➜ Guilty pleasure: Wine and chocolate
➜ App: iTranslate! ➜ Competition venue: Aachen, Germany
➜ Barn chore: Feeding ➜ Vehicle: Ford truck ➜ Stress reliever: A hot bath ➜ Non-equestrian sport to
watch: Baseball
u Sept. 15 Freeman’s, America’s oldest auction house, will be hosting its inaugural Sporting Art Sale in Philadelphia on Nov. 19, and consignments for this sale are welcome through midSeptember. Freeman’s specialists are currently in hot pursuit of American and European sporting paintings, as well as important equestrian bronzes, silver hunt trophies and other related decorative arts. To learn more or arrange for a private consignment consultation, visit freemansauction.com/ news/inaugural-sporting-auction.
KAT NETZLER PHOTO
➜ Street footwear: Flip flops
High performance sport horses will once again converge on New York City this fall for the Rolex Central Park Horse Show.
u Sept. 23-27 The second annual Rolex Central Park Horse Show in Manhattan will feature everything from world-class show jumping to top show hunters to Arabian horse classes, but the equestrian world is buzzing loudest about Charlotte Dujardin’s scheduled appearances with Valegro. The reigning European and World Champions and double Olympic gold medalists from Great Britain will be on hand in New York City to contest the U.S. Open Dressage Grand Prix and freestyle on Sept. 25-26. Head to centralparkhorseshow.com to purchase tickets and receive more updates about the event.
Corrections In our City Guide of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., published in the July/August issue of Untacked, we incorrectly stated that Saratoga Race Course’s dark days are on Thursdays, but Tuesdays are in fact the off days during the summer meet. We also identified John Hunter and William R. Travers as the founders of the Saratoga Race Course. While these individuals were financial backers of the 1863 creation, John “Old Smoke” Morrissey is considered to be the actual founder.
C H RO N O F H O R S E .CO M
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TECH SPOTLIGHT
A new device called BlindSight is helping once-blind horses “see” again with the help of echolocation. By ANN GLAVAN
Y
>>
Solstice, a blind horse living at Crosswinds Equine Rescue in Sidell, Ill., has become the poster child for a new echolocation device in development.
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PHOTO COURTESY OF CROSSWINDS EQUINE RESCUE
Blind As A Bat
ou may have seen the viral video on Facebook or YouTube: “Solstice sees by Echolocation— JordyCanid’s BlindSight!” In it, a blind Quarter Horse-mustang cross can be seen navigating his way in and out of a pattern of raised poles on the ground with the help of an odd-looking metallic box hanging off the throatlatch of his halter. The device, called BlindSight, uses an electronic sonar transmitter to emit a series of clicks that bounce off objects and back to the horse. This echolocation allows blind animals to “see” their environment, similar to the ways in which a dolphin’s clicking helps it navigate underwater. Inventor Paul Propst, an engineer, writer and service dog trainer by trade, wanted to make something to help his sister-in-law’s blind dog, Jordy, move around more confidently and
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TECH SPOTLIGHT
PHOTO COURTESY PAUL PROPST
>> VISIT FACEBOOK.COM/ CWER.ORG to watch Solstice’s fascinating demonstration of BlindSight, or head to JordyCanid.com to learn more about the device’s development.
The new equine-specific BlindSight model is octagon-shaped and “has two facets where the sound comes out, following the horse’s eyes, at 45 degrees,” explained inventor Paul Propst.
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independently. After noticing that Jordy was much better at avoiding objects when walking on hard surfaces as opposed to carpet, he surmised that the clicking of his nails on the floor was helping him crudely echolocate. Propst went about building a device that could help Jordy echolocate with more accuracy, and the prototype for BlindSight was born. He began offering the device to the general public in 2014. But it was Propst’s sister-in-law who first suggested he try to build a similar device for horses. As a volunteer at Crosswinds Equine Rescue in Sidell, Ill., she knew the perfect test subject: Solstice. “She brought the idea to me, and I said, ‘Well, we weren’t going to tackle that yet, but I think the dog unit could be modified,’ ” Propst said. “It took me about two months to get that worked out, and then we put it on the horses. And it turned out that, if anything, it works better with the horses than it does with some of the dogs.” Mike and AnnMarie Cross, the owners and operators of Crosswinds, both saw an immediate difference in the completely blind horse’s ability to navigate around his small paddock. “Where he used to bump into things, he started seeing them, and he learned the basics of [the BlindSight] in a couple days,” said Mike. “That’s really how fast it happened.” In the viral Facebook video (as of press time, it had more than 110,000 views), Solstice steps over raised poles repeatedly, without knocking into them. After experimenting with different
obstacles, Mike estimates the horse can “see” objects down to 3" above the ground and about 30' around him. That radius should be greatly improved when Solstice gets upgraded to the BlindSight-E—the equine model Propst is currently developing. So far he’s just learned the ropes on a modified large dog device, which emits one click per second. “Once the horses get used to it, they tend to move a bit faster, and they can outrun the thing,” Propst explained. The horse-specific unit will click three times as fast, and its shape will also be very different from the current dog design. “It’s octagon-shaped and flat, and it actually hangs horizontally,” Propst explained of the horse prototype. “It has two facets where the sound comes out, following the horse’s eyes, at 45 degrees. One of the weaknesses in the current [design] is a lot of the energy that comes out is lost in the horse’s neck. So it does work, it just doesn’t work nearly as well as it could.” Even without maximizing its potential, the BlindSight Solstice currently wears has allowed him independence, both in the field and under saddle. “When you first started riding him, he trusted you, and he didn’t listen to the echoes coming back. If you pointed him at the rail, he would run into the rail, because he trusted you to protect him more than he trusted the echoes from the device,” Mike said. “That has changed now. He can steer himself now, and he doesn’t have to listen just to me on his back.”
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TEST LAB
Behold The Descendants Of The Humble Bell Boot The days of struggling with gummy rubber are over, and high-tech overreach boots are now big business across many disciplines. We tested six brands to find out if they live up to their claims. By LINDSAY BERRETH
Dalmar Overreach Boot
Eskadron PikoSoft Dressage Bell Boots
Available in sizes small/medium and full/large, in black; $59.99. DalmarBoots.com.
Available in sizes S-XXL and colors white, navy, black and chocolate; $64.95. Eskadron products can be found at many online retailers, including SmartPakEquine.com and DoverSaddlery.com.
Dalmar has made a name for themselves with their popular cross-country tendon boots, and there’s a lot to like about the featured material they use in their products, carbon fiber. It’s very strong and lightweight, making it perfect for the strike plate on the back of the heel on this overreach boot. I’ve had my pair of Dalmar Overreach Boots for more than a year and used them for gallop sets with my off-the-track Thoroughbred. I’ve also competed at several events through preliminary with them, and they still look as good as they did when I first bought them. These boots are sturdy, lightweight and don’t hold water, making them a good choice for eventing and jumping. They’re meant to be anti-spin, but in my experience that’s reliant on making sure you put them on tight enough— I’ve had them rotate a bit if I secured them too loosely. In the end, it’s a personal choice whether you want to take the risk with the carbon fiber material; if you look around on the Internet enough, you’ll find scattered reports of Dalmar’s boots shattering when impacted hard enough. That being said, in my experience, they’ve held up really well.
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For a long time I was slightly confused when I’d see top dressage horses prancing around the ring during awards ceremonies wearing four bell boots. “What horse would tolerate wearing bell boots on their hind feet?” I asked myself. It turns out many of those riders were using Eskadron’s PikoSoft Dressage Bell Boots made of lightweight, soft neoprene. They don’t make noise when you ride and are understated in design and color— perfect for the minimalist! Horses that are closely clipped or get rubbed easily will appreciate the almost invisible feel of the soft lining around the top, and they’re easy-on, easy-off with one single double-lock Velcro fastener. They’re also easy to clean with just a rinse of the hose. Since these are so lightweight, I wouldn’t consider them the best choice for turnout, galloping or jumping; Eskadron makes a neoprene-lined, leather exterior bell boot that might be a better choice for those pursuits. But for flatwork and trail riding, these bells can’t be beat.
R
TOP PICK
Kentucky Solimbra D3O Overreach Boots A few years ago I tried Kentucky’s Solimbra D3O Eventing Boots on my preliminary-level eventer and found that while they were quite shock absorbing, the shell was very stiff. So I was a bit hesitant to try the D3O Overreach Boots, but my fears were unfounded. These boots are quite flexible and fit so close to the heel that the company says many users often mistake them for being a size too small at first. A small bump made of D3O—an innovative shock-absorbing material that binds together on impact—on the underside at the back of the boot fits perfectly into the heel bulb groove. They certainly lived up to the “no-turn” claim while I schooled cross-country. That close fit, combined with super-strong Velcro, means these boots aren’t budging! Kentucky Horsewear uses D3O in all of their boots. It’s thick, flexible, Silly-Puttyesque substance on the inside of the boot, while Solimbra is the durable, completely waterproof but still breathable material on the shell. It eases my mind that the boots are carbon fiberfree, as that material is known to splinter when impacted hard enough. After several uses, these boots have held up well and are easy to wash off after my rides. They’re my top pick for a durable boot for high level cross-country, galloping or jumping. Available in sizes S-L and in colors black, brown or white; $79. Kentucky-HorseShop.com.
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TEST LAB Veredus Carbon Shield Overreach Boot
These futuristic-looking boots are the latest design in heel protection from the Italian brand Veredus and look fancier than any kind of sneaker I’ve ever bought for myself. But don’t be intimidated. Upon first inspection, they look complicated and cumbersome to put on, but really, there’s just a Velcro pastern wrap and a small fastener around the coronet band. They’re anatomically designed to fit the heel bulb area, so there’s no chance of spinning. The brand recommends avoiding use on horses with low heels, as they won’t fit properly. My two Thoroughbreds don’t have that problem, so the boots fit well, but I noticed after a long flat session that they had migrated up slightly, so I made sure to tighten the bottom fastener to the third hole. These boots are clearly made to fit warmbloods with more substantial feet, but with three sizes to choose from and lots of adjustability, you should be fine if your horse has a well-shaped hoof and heel. The fastener around the pastern was very soft against my horse’s skin, as was the bottom fastener, but if you have an ultra-sensitive horse, these boots might not be the best choice since they sit right on the coronet band. They also don’t offer protection on the front of the coronet band or front of the hoof, so eventers, this is not your next cross-country boot. The back of the boots feature carbon fiber, and I think for jumpers or dressage riders, these boots would hold up well. They’re easy to clean and very lightweight too. Available in sizes S-L and in colors black and brown; they also come in white as the Piaffe Shield Boot for dressage horses; $234.95. Veredus.com.
Roma Scallop Bell Boots
If only these boots have been available back when I was a kid riding my first event horse around beginner novice in my royal blue-themed cross-country garb! Offered in a variety of bright colors, these bells are just plain fun and unlike any design I’ve seen. They feature a durable waffle-print PVC outer shell over a soft neoprene lining. They’re easy to put on, with just a single Velcro enclosure. The scalloped design is meant to prevent spinning, but unfortunately doesn’t on my Thoroughbred, perhaps because the boots sit a bit lower on his pasterns than some other brands. The design does work all the way around, though, so even when they did rotate, I successfully schooled cross-country without any pulled shoes or heel clipping. Neoprene and PVC are fairly durable, but the lack of a strike plate on these boots would make me hesitate to use them at a higher level of eventing or jumping. I did notice some wear on the bottom of the colored trim after a day of hill work, but after several uses, the black shell is still intact. They didn’t hold water either, which is a plus for any eventer. They were the easiest to clean after use of the boots I tested, and they dried very quickly. Roma’s Scallop Bell Boots would be perfect for turnout, lower level eventers, dressage or trail riders, kids on cute ponies or anyone who just wants to have some fun with color. Available in sizes pony and full and in colors black, black/blue, black/green and black/purple; $24.99. Roma boots can be purchased from multiple online retailers.
WoofWear Smart Overreach Boots
These boots feature a material called Poron XRD on the strike guard, which is similar to the material used in Kentucky’s D3O in that it’s flexible until impacted. They also have a PU shell for added protection around the coronet band, and the neoprene material is soft around the top of the boot. They’re easy-on, easy-off with just a double-lock Velcro attachment. An added bonus is a small tab on the strap to help grab it easier. But as an eventer, the most important factor I’m looking for in any bell boot is anti-spin efficacy. I’ve had hit-or-miss luck with many kinds that are boxy-shaped with strike guards, because often with one swing of a hoof they’ve twisted backwards, leaving my horse with an exposed heel. WoofWear’s bells don’t fit quite as snugly as the Kentucky boots, and they have just a simple foam nodule on the underside of each boot, but I can absolutely testify that they still stay firmly in place through jumping and galloping. They also clean up well, which is always a plus after a gallop through a water jump with mid-summer algae in it. Available in sizes S-XL, in black; $67.95. WoofWear.com.
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THE CLOTHES HORSE
Neutrality Accord
Our preview of the upcoming fall and winter lines from all your favorite equestrian brands reveals a return to basic black, classic browns and plenty of shades of gray. By K AT N E T Z LER
Equiline Blanche Show Shirt, Barbara Sweatshirt & Jackson Show Coat
The fall and winter women’s collection from Equiline is all about beautiful textures, including this classy lace-overlay competition shirt and woven jacquard-print sweatshirt. Both are available in sizes XS-XXL. Blanche comes only in white; $258. Barbara is available only in damascato (pale taupe damask); $235. For the gentlemen, the Jackson Show Coat features proprietary XCool fabric, which is 4-way stretch, breathable, water resistant and machine washable. Underarm inserts made of stretchy mesh fabric provide freedom of movement and airflow, plus there are three zippered pockets as well as slide and lock snaps on the front closure, so no popping of buttons. Sizes start at a junior size of Italian 42 and run through 56; available in navy, black and red; $1,050. equilineamerica.com.
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Kingsland Frostine Vest, Moon Show Shirt & Kelly Breeches
Wrap your core in puffy comfort in the newest ladies’ gilet from Kingsland, which features a shiny waterresistant exterior and a knitted collar. It’s perfect for layering over the Moon Show Shirt, made of technical quick-dry fabric with a brushed lining. Frostine available in sizes XXXS-XL; colors black, gold pale and white antique (shown); $240. Moon comes in sizes XXS-XL; white or navy (shown); $120. Kingsland’s Kelly breech boasts water and dust-repellant fabric and detailed pockets on front and back. Available in European sizes 30-44; colors white, blue Poseidon and grey forged iron (shown); $255. kingsland.no.
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THE CLOTHES HORSE Éce Equestrian Coat & Custom Printed Show Shirt The rich new jewel tones Éce’s offering this fall will make you want to pick up multiples of this machinewashable sport jacket. You can also commission custom show shirts with your favorite breed or barn logo detailing on the collar interior and cuffs. Coat comes in sizes 0-12; black, navy, nova red, sapphire, charcoal, taupe, fucshia and brown; $795. Custom shirts require a set-up fee of $125 and a minimum order of 16. They come in women’s sizes XS-L and men’s XS-XL; $170-$180. eceequestrian.com.
Ariat Blenheim Shirt & Ramiro Sweater
Ariat’s designers are experts at creating equestrian looks you’ll want to sport at the barn as well as the office. The Blenheim shirt’s beautiful foxhunting print and embroidered logo make it a clear standout of the brand’s fall line, but we also love the classic merino wool blend Ramiro v-neck sweater in a patriotic color scheme. Both available in sizes XS-XL; shirt $49.95; sweater $74.95. ariat.com.
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Asmar Melton Vest & Denim Breeches
Take one look at this beautiful wool vest and its dramatic European-style collar and you can tell it’s an Asmar design—a classic that’ll remain a staple in your closet for years to come. It’s made of tightly woven fabric, felted and heavily brushed for an ultra-soft finish, and you also have the convenience of an interior cell phone pocket and key tab. It also pairs perfectly with the new two-way stretch denim breech, whether you’re in the barn or out for the evening. Vest available in sizes XXS-XXL; colors charcoal mix (shown) or slate mix; $218. Breeches available in sizes 24-36; $240. asmarequestrian.com.
Romfh Cool-Dry Trainer Trench & Stephanie Show Shirt
Waterproof? Check. Breathable? Check. Saddle-friendly? Check. Romfh’s new Trainer Trench ticks all the boxes for rainy fall days and boasts gusseted back vents, a hidden drawstring waist, two-way zipper and vented underarms. The Stephanie shirt features fun prints hidden inside its collar, plackets and cuffs with quiet white top-stitching and logos. Jacket available in sizes XS-XL; in black with red trim; $145. Shirt comes in sizes XS-XL; colors white/teal bits (shown) and white/blue stirrups; $75. romfh.com. C H RO N O F H O R S E .CO M
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THE CLOTHES HORSE Kathryn Lily Competition Jacket & Shirt
Fit, style and easy-to-wash functionality come together in this brand’s first soft-shell show coat. Available in child sizes 2-14 and ladies’ XS-XL; colors black, navy, navy with blue collar/white piping, navy with black collar/navy piping and Just World (navy with sky blue collar/purple piping); $189-194. Their new show shirt line made with ProAir fabric is resistant to liquids and stains and comes in a variety of patterns from artist and equestrian Rachel Kruse. Available in children’s XS-L and ladies’ XS-XL; $79-$89. kathrynlily.com
Dubarry Dog Accessories, Heather Tweed Jacket & Cork Chelsea Boots
What’s next for the Irish brand that’s completely conquered the footwear market in the eventing world? Canine gear, of course! This fall marks the debut of Dubarry Dog, a line of collars ($69), leashes ($99) and adorable tweed neckerchiefs ($29) for the horse show hound. If you’d rather splurge on yourself, Dubarry’s beautiful new Cork Chelsea boots (fully waterproof, of course) come in four different finishes: mahogany, chestnut, russet suede and cigar suede (European sizes 35-43; $379). The Teflon-coated 100 percent wool Heather Tweed Riding Jacket comes in two totally new tweed patterns: shale (gray/blue windowpane) (shown) and café (chocolate brown houndstooth), as well as the brand’s classic acorn tweed. Available in European sizes 34-44; $599. dubarry.us. 36
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Equine Couture Stripe Whales Knee Patch & Beatta Full Seat Breeches
Not ready to let go of summer just yet? These whimsically embroidered schooling breeches will keep you in the beachy spirit long after the leaves turn. They feature a low-rise, wide waistband, seamless cuffs for comfort and a Euroseat design with silicone knee patches for superior grip. The Beatta model includes many of the same bells and whistles but with a more fashion-forward design. Contrast stitching adds a touch of style, while front and rear zip pockets complement a modern silicone full seat. Both models are available in women’s sizes 24-36. Whales come only in blue; $89.95; Beatta available in safari, berry, white or navy; $109.95. breeches.com.
Equi In Style Heated Shirt
This wildly popular cold-weather top, which features self-heating fabric that’s charged by your own movement to increase your skin’s warmth by 5 degrees, is back in some brand-new colors this season: chili pepper and slate blue. Available in a youth size, as well as women’s XS-XXL; $78-$96. equiinstyle.com.
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Baker Ladies Plaid Sweater
Take your love for Baker’s iconic plaid to an entirely new level with this classic sweater. Featuring the legendary pattern with tan trim, this 100 percent cotton V-neck provides both comfort and style. Available in sizes S-XL; $49.95. breeches.com.
Kaki Shadbelly & Convertible Vest
USG Lara Full Seat Breeches
Following a very successful launch of its Lara silicone knee patch style, USG is introducing a full seat model that’s sure to please riders of all disciplines with its low-profile silicone texture. Features two slide-in front pockets, two decorative back pockets with contrast piping, and popular Lycra cuffs for easy fit under boots. Available in regular sizes 22-34 and long 26-30; colors black with white trim, navy with white trim or white on white; $198. klselect.com.
This new children’s brand is making its big debut this fall with some beautifully grown-up designs, including this midnight blue shadbelly that features blue plaid points, an all-snap closure and an elastic back panel for a tailored fit. Kaki’s water resistant puffer jacket has removable zip-off sleeves for maximum functionality. Shadbelly available in sizes 4-16; $325. Jacket/vest available in sizes 4-16; colors tan or black; $85. kakiapparel.com.
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THE CLOTHES HORSE SmartPak Piper Full Zip Front Fleece Jacket & Drawcord Cowl Neck
Layering season is upon us, and SmartPak’s pretty Piper collection will make bundling up much more bearable with its affordable, flattering designs like the zip-front fleece jacket and cowl-neck pullover. The jacket has a smooth exterior that won’t attract hair, while the midweight jersey fabric of the cowl-neck model delivers super-soft comfort. Both available in sizes XS-XXL. Jacket comes in navy, navy with emerald (shown) and silver with Monaco blue; $44.95. Pullover available in colors greyed jade (shown) and cloud; $34.95. smartpak.com.
individuality It takes all shapes, sizes and colors to make the world go round. Express your style and individuality with Equifit Custom gear. D-Teq Custom Boots, ImpacTeq Half Pads and Ear Bonnets are customizable with your choice of color and texture. Add lettering, logo or a monogram for even more personalization. You’re only limited by your imagination. TM
TM
Visit EquiFit.net/custom or call 877.847.8434 to learn more.
Official PerfOrmance HOrse BOOt and leg Wear Of tHe Usef
Better fit. For a better finish.
Equifit,Inc® and the Equifit logo are registered trademarks. All rights reserved ©2015
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THE CLOTHES HORSE
Supporting The Breast Cancer Cause October is national Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and it’s easier— and more fashionable—than ever for equestrians to help spread the word and contribute to the race for a cure. By K I M BER LY L OUSH I N
SHOWMAN PINK HOPE RIBBON POLO WRAPS Multiple members of Showman Saddlery’s tight-knit small staff have been affected by personal or familial struggles with breast cancer, so the company is dedicated to raising money to help find a cure. These soft fleece polos are embroidered with pink breast cancer awareness ribbons and measure 118" long by 3.5" wide. $15.95. See ShilohTack.com for a list of dealers.
CASHEL CRUSADER FLY MASK Get the Cashel quality while still supporting your cause. This fly mask features a unique three-hole cap that eliminates forelock damage and ensures maximum comfort while blocking 70 percent of the sun’s ultraviolet rays. It boasts a subtle pink ribbon and pink trim, and if you go with the optional ears, the micromesh nylon comes in pink as well. Cashel donates five percent of the proceeds from the sale of each pink-trimmed fly mask to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Long nose also optional. $23.99-$33.99. CashelCompany.com. 40
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TIPPERARY PINK EVENTER 1015 LIMITED EDITION This cross-country safety vest is loud and proud, and when purchased between June 1 and Oct. 31, five percent of the proceeds will go toward Canadian breast cancer research. Made out of a lightweight and durable Durasport cover, this vest remains breathable while offering a dual density padding system for protection. With a front zipper and side laces, it’s easy to produce a custom fit. Sizes YXXS-XL. $269.95. PhoenixPerformance.com.
SPORT COUTURE
FALL/WINTER 2015 COLLECTION MADE FOR THE WAY YOU MOVE
ASMAREQUESTRIAN.COM
THE CLOTHES HORSE TORY BRIDLE LEATHER BELT We all love to sport a pop of color in the tack, and this beautifully crafted Tory belt affords us that opportunity. Havana in color, this 1¼" belt with ¾" ribbon has a wide look without being bulky and features a nickel buckle. Your purchase will also help Tory make its annual donation to the local Susquehanna Health Breast Cancer Center in northern Pennsylvania, and many of Tory’s retailers donate additional funds. Sizes 24-38. $31-$45. Visit ToryLeather.com for retailers.
OVATION ZOCKS D’FEET BREAST CANCER BOOT SOCKS You can keep your show-ring look traditional but still sport a sharp sock while walking around the showgrounds with these comfy socks by Ovation. Made of a nylon-Lycra blend, Zocks are ultra-thin and slippery to make pulling on your tall boots a breeze. Adorned with the D’Feet Breast Cancer logo, a pink ribbon wearing running shoes, these socks benefit the organization based in Galveston, Texas. $8.75. Visit OvationRiding.com for retailers.
BREAST CANCER PINK RIBBON FLY BONNET Handmade to order, this ear net is made from silky mercerized cotton yarn complete with ears made of either a shiny, satin fabric or Cool Max material. The ribbon charm and pink piping give a subtle nod to the cause, and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to breast cancer research. Available in cob, horse and oversize or custom sizing. $45. Etsy.com/shop/CreativeSeaHorse. 42
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CHARLES OWEN GR8 BREAST CANCER HELMET This helmet leaves no questions as to what cause you support. Baby pink in color with a black central panel, this GR8 is adorned with the trademark pink ribbon. With the sale of each helmet, Charles Owen will make a contribution to a breast cancer research charity. Sizes 6 7/8-7 3/8. $308-$360. Visit CharlesOwen.com/us for a listing of retailers.
SSG RIDING GLOVE FOR HOPE Your show of support doesn’t have to end when you enter the show ring. These subtly adorned gloves from SSG are made from soft cabretta leather with pink spandex gussets and accent ribbons show where your heart lies without shouting it to the world. SSG donates $2 per every pair sold to breast cancer research. Available in white or black; sizes 6-9. $30. Visit SSGRidingGloves.com for a listing of retailers.
LETTIA EMBROIDERED PAD With a hard-wearing exterior fabric, this schooling pad is made to last and is designed with equine comfort in mind. It comes in two breast cancer awareness models: black with bright pink edging and a single embroidered ribbon (pictured) or bright pink with allover pink ribbon print and black piping. Five percent all of proceeds go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. $59.99. UnionHillCorp.com.
kasteldenmark.com
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PROFILE
MERRI MELDE PHOTO
From professional ballet dancer to winner of America’s toughest 100-mile endurance ride, Rusty Toth (pictured riding with partner Kevin Myers, left) has always taken the road less traveled in life.
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ALL THE WORLD’S HIS STAGE No high performance horse sport may seem more incongruent with ballet than endurance riding, but Rusty Toth has long sensed a common thread between his two passions—one that’s helped him reach the pinnacle of both.
PHOTO COURTESY OF BALLET ARIZONA
By MARSHA HAYES
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PROFILE
An emotional Toth with Take A Break at the finish (right) of the 2013 Tevis Cup and at the awards ceremony the following morning.
T
MERRI MELDE PHOTO
On Aug. 4, 2012, a lithe, lotus-tattooed, earring-studded rider leapt from his chestnut Arabian at the finish line of the Tevis Cup (known officially as the Western States Trail Ride), pumped and pleased with his fourth-placed finish. The next morning, Rusty Toth’s Farrabba was announced as recipient of the Haggin Cup. And just one year later, on a Farrabba lookalike named Take A Break, Toth returned to take the Tevis Cup for the overall win. With consistent success like this, you might assume this talented competitor, now 43, sprang from a past filled with horses. But you’d be wrong.
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SUSAN KORDISH/COWGIRL PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO
RON OSBORN PHOTO
here are two trophies that hold special, almost mystical significance for endurance riders, and both are awarded at the conclusion of a grueling 100mile ride held every summer for the past 60 years from Lake Tahoe through the Sierra high country to Auburn, Calif. The Tevis Cup goes to the first rider to cross the finish line, while the Haggin Cup is awarded to the top-10 horse deemed to have finished in the most superior condition. Winning one is hard. Winning both is art. •••
“As the hours fly by on a ride, I experience a sense of surrender,” says Rusty Toth. “Time stands still. When you’re on stage it happens much faster, and for that time, there’s the truest sense of reality. You give up the crap.”
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PROFILE Because not so long before Rusty Toth won both top prizes, back-to-back, in North America’s oldest modern-day endurance ride, James Russell Toth was a professional ballet dancer, performing principal roles in everything from Swan Lake and Giselle to Don Quixote and Romeo and Juliet, everywhere from America’s biggest cities to stages across Canada, Europe and Africa.
A RUST BELT BILLY ELLIOT
From an early age, Toth displayed the ability to recognize opportunity, even if born of adversity. He was diagnosed at age 11 with scoliosis and fitted with a brace, but his doctor recommended ballet classes to strengthen his body. Once he began dancing, Toth says he knew immediately: “My body was born to do this.” After years of ballet lessons in his hometown of Detroit, Toth earned a scholarship to attend a Canadian ballet boarding school, and after graduation he turned professional. He danced with Ballett Basel in Switzerland for a year before joining Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in Montreal in 1996, and he soon ascended to the level of soloist. It was there that Toth first met Kevin Myers, who served as the company’s touring director but was also an avid
endurance rider. Myers invited Toth to crew for him at a 50-mile ride in May of 1998, and Toth was immediately hooked. With Myers’ help, Toth picked up riding quickly, and he completed his first endurance ride, the Prairie Rush 50 in Manitoba. Most first-timers opt for a 25-mile outing for their maiden competition, but Toth was intent on starting with a 50, and he proved he belonged there when his mount Wyatt won the best condition award. “Wyatt was my first horse, ever,” says Toth. “Wyatt and Kevin taught me how to ride.” Toth and Wyatt soon stepped up to 100-milers, even as the rider continued dancing professionally and moved westward throughout the late ’90s and early 2000s, to the Royal Winnipeg Ballet (Manitoba) and then Ballet BC in Vancouver, British Columbia. Eventually, after three years with Ballet Arizona in Phoenix, Toth retired from dancing professionally in 2008, at age 36. In a glowing review of Toth’s final performance in Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments, Arizona Republic critic Richard Nilsen wrote, “It is certainly a challenge to make a dance about depression, or about directionlessness, but Ballet Arizona’s dancers made those
Trying to discover the real Rusty Toth is like following an errant GPS. You listen to the directions, take notes and make the turns, but then new, unexpected information pops up, and a mechanical voice barks inside your head, “Recalculating. Recalculating.”
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characterizations compelling, especially James Russell Toth as Melancholy, who drooped through his moves, ever lowering his body as if under some weight.” Out of the floodlights, however, Toth has never seemed to bear such burdens. Ever the optimist, he instead stepped happily from the stage into an even richer and more balanced life. Asked what takes precedence today among his many interests, he hesitates only slightly before declaring, “Horses are my main passion.”
FANCY FOOTWORK
I visited Toth this past winter at his current home in Durango, Colo. He and Myers (who served as Ballet Arizona’s executive director for six years, until 2010) moved there five years ago after visiting Tevis and Haggin Cup winner and EasyCare CEO Garrett Ford at his Durango home to train and condition horses. The last time I saw Toth, he was crossing the finish line first at the 2013 Tevis. Now a long-sleeved shirt covered his tattoos, and he appeared even fitter and certainly much cleaner than he had after 100 miles of dusty trail, all of which, except for the last five, had been ridden behind other horses. But his blue-gray eyes still gazed with the same honest intensity. Yet trying to discover the real Rusty Toth is like following an errant GPS. You listen to the directions, take notes and make the turns, but then new, unexpected information pops up, and a mechanical voice barks inside your head, “Recalculating. Recalculating.” Just when you think you might know him, or arrive at the address where he truly resides, you look up, and the neighborhood has changed, and you know you’re lost. This is the exact sensation I get when
PHOTO COURTESY OF BALLET ARIZONA
“Rusty was very, very smart and definitely an artist. Not everyone is, but he was,” recalls Sandra Jennings, a former New York City Ballet dancer who now works with the Balanchine Trust and directed Toth’s last performance. “I was sad when he left the dance company, but he went out at the top of his game.”
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Toth performing in a show he helped choreograph and direct— The Living Yoga Project’s “Trikala,”—in his new hometown of Durango, Colo., and training his young horse RB Calvin at a 30-mile ride in Arizona.
everyone is, but he was. I was sad when he left the dance company, but he went out at the top of his game.” Toth’s presence now graces the stage at the old Smiley Middle School auditorium in Durango. By 10 a.m. the day before the “Trikala” premiere, the entire troupe has gathered for a final all-day rehearsal. Two lanky guitarists fiddle with their amps, while a dozen Lycra-clad women mill around the theater. A warm yellow light illuminates the dark space, as the guitarists break into a haunting melody, and beautiful dancers swirl about the stage. “More light,” Toth’s voice barks from the back. “I like the way the light looks on their skin.” He’d also failed to mention his role as
SUSAN KORDISH/COWGIRL PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO
Toth invites me to attend a performance of The Living Yoga Project’s show “Trikala,” a multi-dimensional expression of devotional yoga. Yoga? No one had mentioned to me that Toth is now a professional yoga instructor. Recalculating. To circumvent Toth’s ingrained modesty, I use the time before the performance to visit with Merri Melde, a fellow endurance rider, and Sandra Jennings, a former New York City Ballet dancer who now works with the Balanchine Trust. Asked to sum Toth up in two words, Melde quickly replies, “Cool and generous. Plus, he’s a great farrier.” A farrier? Somehow he’d also failed to mention his formal farrier training and growing list of clients. Recalculating. (Yet it makes sense that a dancer would see the importance of good feet. And, as Toth explains to me later, both Farrabba and Take A Break suffered various lameness issues before he took over their hoof care and switched to EasyCare Easyboot products, the company for which Myers now serves as director of marketing and administration.) When I inform Jennings, who directed Toth’s final professional performance in Arizona, of his two prestigious long-distance riding awards, she pauses before replying, “Why am I not surprised? He is a perfectionist.” I wonder if she, too, is hearing that “recalculating” voice in her head. “He was an incredible dancer,” she continues. “He had great musicality, a powerful presence, and I found him highly professional. Rusty was very, very smart and definitely an artist. Not
RON OSBORN PHOTO
PROFILE
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PROFILE co-director and choreographer. Naturally. Yoga poses flow into dance, and the performers leap and lift one another, emanating health, strength and joy. When Toth enters the light, barefoot and wearing baggy black pants, his lotus tattoos in full bloom, the air in the old auditorium seems to change. His lines are straighter and his flexibility greater, but his performance does not detract from those near; rather,
RON OSBORN PHOTO
Toth’s A-frame home in Durango is full of happy dogs, long-distance riding and running awards and framed memories.
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his spirit seems to encompass the stage, enhancing everyone’s performance. Suddenly I realize I’m seeing the same qualities I’d previously only seen Toth display in the saddle: lightness and empathy, power and perfection.
LUCKY LIFERS
After rehearsing all day, Toth retreats to the simple A-frame home set on five acres that he and Myers rent. The back deck offers views of mountains and grazing horses. A one-ton Dodge dually sits in the drive, hitched to the horse trailer, ready to roll just a few miles
down the valley for Toth’s frequent high-altitude training rides. As he opens the door, Toth’s two dogs rush at him, their tails wagging furiously as they emit little whimpers of joy. A half-decorated Christmas tree sits in the corner, and the opposite wall sports a picture of Buddha. The Tibetan flag hangs on another. A collection of belt buckles rests on a wooden ledge behind the sofa, and I assume they are Tevis keepsakes. Wrong again. Nestled among them are some 50-mile run buckles. As in, on foot. Recalculating.
RON OSBORN PHOTO MERRI MELDE PHOTO
Toth’s training as a professional dancer is sometimes easy to spot at endurance competitions. Here he gracefully presents Take A Break at a vetting at the 2013 edition of the Western States Trail Ride, known colloquially as the Tevis Cup, which they would go on to win.
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PROFILE “I believe in goals, but once you throw your leg over a horse, you have to be in the moment. The same is true onstage.”
“So,” I ask, “You ran 50 miles?” “Kevin and I did a few,” he answers vaguely. “I thought about doing the 100mile Western States Run, but…” He trails off, leading the conversation away from his athletic skills. “I wasn’t very fast,” he says. “It took me almost 12 hours to finish the 50.” We head outside, where five horses all look up as Toth makes his way toward them. With affection that seems motivated by something deeper than the bucket of Purina Ultium he rattles, they gather around him, extending their heads, saying, “Pet me! Pet me!” Auli Farwa, now 15, is the elder statesman of the group, while the youngest, 5-year-old Torque, is just starting training. Wyatt, Toth’s first horse, died of old age and is buried in Colorado. “Most of my horses are what I call ‘lifers,’ because they will be with me for life,” he says. After a two-year hiatus from Tevis, Toth is planning to take a gray gelding named FV Aul Mystery (aka Ripper) next summer. He and Ripper were in California ready to start the race in 2014 when Toth received a phone call from his brother. Their mother’s health was quickly declining, and doctors didn’t expect Janice Toth to live much longer. Rusty was on a plane to Detroit 54 S EP TEMBER / OCTOBER 2015
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SUSAN KORDISH/COWGIRL PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO
—Rusty Toth
“As the hours fly by on a ride, I experience a sense of surrender,” says Rusty Toth.
immediately and made it in time to say goodbye. This year, on the one-year anniversary of her death, the family will be holding a memorial. For Rusty, there was no question: He’ll be skipping Tevis again to celebrate the woman who made sure he got that first ballet lesson. “It’s just too soon,” he says. “Ripper and I plan on 2016.”
HE MAKES WOMEN CRY
The next evening of my visit to Durango, the “Trikala” premiere ends with a standing
ovation. For the finale, a collection of beautiful bodies gathers on stage, and with their arms around one other, they chant in Sanskrit, “Om, lead us from Unreality to the Reality…” Rusty is not among them. “I don’t chant,” he tells me later. “I’m not good at it.” The man with Buddha and the Tibetan flag on his wall does not chant. Recalculating. But as Britt Gordon, one of Rusty’s yoga students, tells me later, his classes are
RON OSBORN PHOTO
Toth at home in Durango with his up-and-coming mount RB Calvin, aka “Torque.”
still undoubtedly spiritual experiences. “I love him. I’m sorry, I have a boyfriend, but, you know, I love him!” she says with a laugh. “The first class I took from him, my girlfriend and I just looked at each other and cried. Tears ran down our cheeks. It was good, just intense.” In between serving customers in her part-time bartending gig, Gordon, who’s also a painter and teaches art, notes once again Rusty’s musicality. She rattles off a sampling of his energetic yoga playlist: “Royals” by Lorde, “Amazing”
by One Eskimo, “Lay Em Down” by Needtobreathe, and the sitar-heavy Jahta Beat version of the Buffalo Springfield classic “For What It’s Worth.” “Even though I mountain bike and run, his classes are the hardest workouts I’ve ever had,” Gordon says. “But it’s his spiritual advice that I cherish most. I keep a spiritual journal, and mainly it’s quotes from Rusty. One time he told the class to be like a bird, trusting the branch you land on. He told us, ‘Birds don’t know if the branch will break, but they don’t worry;
they just fly free if they need to.’ ” This ability to tune out worry and stress and to achieve intense focus, honed in ballet and strengthened in daily devotional yoga, is a key component in Rusty’s longdistance riding success. “I believe in goals, but once you throw your leg over a horse, you have to be in the moment,” he says. “The same is true onstage. A dancer lives in the moment. “As the hours fly by on a ride, I experience a sense of surrender,” he continues. “Time stands still. When you’re
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PROFILE on stage it happens much faster, and for that time, there’s the truest sense of reality. You give up the crap.”
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BILL GORE PHOTO
Toth, pictured here on the phone while ride managing the three-day Resolution Ride in Arizona, has been motivated to mentor younger riders and serve on the AERC Board of Directors. “I see 100s disappearing,” he sighs. “People think they can’t do it, but they can.”
MERRI MELDE PHOTO
The Tevis Cup is the ultimate testing ground for attempting that kind of transcendence. While many sandy desert 100-milers abroad can be completed in under eight hours, California’s rocky, treacherous trail usually takes more than 14. The course starts by crossing the Granite Chief Wilderness—the key words being granite and wilderness. Rocks. Mountains. River crossings. Swinging bridges. Drop-off trails. Rattlesnakes. Bears. Darkness. Solitude. Top international riders like Jeremy and Heather Reynolds and John Crandell III have won Tevis several times, but as with marathon running, most entrants are simply in it for the experience of finishing (and the belt buckle you earn if you do so within 24 hours). On average, only about half accomplish this goal. But in 2013, despite sweltering temperatures that reached over 100 degrees at some points of the ride, Rusty sensed it was his time to try for the title. He and Myers, riding together, had stayed near the front of the 160-horse field, but they hadn’t pushed hard. “I wanted to win, but it was so bloody hot,” Rusty recalls. “I let people pass me, and it was OK. It wasn’t until I hit the river that I knew I had a chance.” With 12 miles to go, he felt he had a lot of horse left beneath him. Take A Break or
LYNNE GLAZER PHOTO
THE WOMEN HE DID NOT MAKE CRY
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PROFILE
LYNNE GLAZER PHOTO
LYNNE GLAZER PHOTO
“Quake” had racetrack experience, and his rider had once told me, “A slow race horse can be a really fast endurance horse.” After traveling the first 88 miles with Myers and his bald-faced Auli Farwa, both riders knew it wasn’t “Farr’s” night to race. “There were no words,” Rusty recalls, “just a look between us. And then Kevin said, ‘Go. Have a good ride.’ ” By the final vet check, only six miles from the finish line, friends Jennifer Waitte and Jenni Smith, who’d also ridden alongside Rusty and Myers for many miles, found themselves in great position and on horses in terrific condition. Their mares vetted through quickly and were cleared to leave while Rusty still had his saddle pulled off, sponging and cooling Quake. In the lead with more than 94 miles down, Waitte and Smith were tired but ecstatic. They laughed together and chanted, “First and second at Tevis! First and second at Tevis!” “Then,” Waitte recounts, “something ran between our horses. Something fast. Something dark.” “We had spent the whole ride looking over our shoulders,” Smith chimes in. “Everyone kind of expects someone to catch them.” “I said, ‘I think that was Rusty!’ ” Waitte recalls. And so the two women looked at
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“Then something ran between our horses. Something fast. Something dark.”
—Jennifer Waitte
each other again, shrugged, laughed, and with undiminished joy started a new chant: “Second and third at Tevis! Second and third at Tevis!” “We really like Rusty,” says Smith (who even took over the ride on Auli Farwa for Rusty and Myers at the 60th annual Tevis this year, winning the Haggin Cup and finishing fifth overall). “That took the sting out of it. We were just like, ‘Well, he had more horse.’ ”
JUST SOME GUY WITH TATTOOS
Rusty and Quake cantered the last four miles, uphill, and won by 17 minutes. Seconds after crossing the finish line with a total time of 14:57, the rider jumped off, pulled his tack and started
sponging his hard-breathing horse. “I had an amazing crew, but I am definitely a hands-on rider and always will be,” he says. Quake’s pulse was down in under 10 minutes, and after trotting out sound, the victory was vet-certified. Quake and Rusty rested their foreheads together as the news cameras flashed, and cell phones captured the moment on video for YouTube. “I love 100s,” Rusty says. “The harder something is, the greater the reward. When you ride one horse 100 miles, something magical happens around mile 80. I’ve watched the horse’s mood swings, low points. You learn so much about yourself and your horse. I’ve learned that anything is possible. There is nothing like traveling 100 miles on a horse to teach you who you are.”
Rusty has started 26 100-mile rides and completed 22. That’s a lot of selfknowledge, and if he chooses not to share all he has learned, perhaps that is as it should be. But it’s telling that in the midst of all the insight he didn’t share, there was one story he chose to tell me twice, laughing delightedly at the end each time. That he finds it such a charming memory just underscores his tendency to downplay his greatest achievements and to never allow ego to color his sense of self. “I was sitting on a hill in the dark after I won Tevis, and I could hear two voices,” he tells me. “Who won?” “I don’t know. I heard it was some guy with tattoos.”
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COVER STORY
Huntsman Rhodri Jones-Evans leads his Mooreland hounds over the Alabama red clay.
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DIXIELAND
Delight Four young British women head to the American South for a week’s worth of hunting and a decidedly different experience afield. BY OCTAVIA POLLOCK PHOTOS BY SAR AH FAR NSWORTH
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COVER STORY
“H
A Midland hound sneaks a tipple.
ave you ever dodged armadillo holes before?” This was one of many unexpected queries from my host in our pre-trip email exchange, which dealt with topics ranging from the weather to redneck marriage proposals. Armadillos, I was cautioned, dig large, deep holes like heffalump traps all over the stubblefields of Alabama, and hitting one on horseback at a gallop tends to lead to an undignified somersault. These burrows and their odd-looking armored inhabitants, which can leap five feet in the air to escape predators, were merely the first of many things I’d need to consider when following hounds for a week in the American South. I’d never visited this part of the States before, let alone hunted there, so when Mooreland Hunt (Ala.) members H.C. Bright and Cary McWhorter invited photographer Sarah Farnsworth and me to go hunting, I seized on the invitation with alacrity. We were joined by fellow British invaders Melanie Atkins and Fiona Watson, who hail from the Devon & Somerset Staghounds, and were given a grand welcome by H.C. and Cary, Southern gentleman and belle, respectively. They fed us proper barbecued pulled pork, drove us all over the place (H.C. only got the car stuck twice), and kept us entertained on and off the field (a spot of snipe-hunting, anyone?). Sarah and I have hunted all over the United Kingdom, but never had we experienced the huge skies and vast fields that flank the wide waters of the Tennessee River and allow uninterrupted views of distant coyotes with hounds in pursuit.
COYOTES AND TACO TRUCKS
Host H.C. Bright of the Hillsboro Hounds.
Our first day, a sunny one in early February, was spent bouncing around in the back of H.C.’s 4x4, getting acclimated with the finer points of coyote hunting by following the Hillsboro Hounds (Tenn.) over the border in the rolling hills of the neighboring state. Fortified by copious cups of tea from a nifty onboard kettle, we earned our keep by radioing in a view of two beautiful, dark red coyotes. We marveled at the steadfastness of huntsman Johnny Gray’s pack, which he moved on across the recent tracks of 30-odd white-tailed deer without even a hint of riot. Ignoring the trail of one coyote, they set off in hot pursuit
“In the U.K., port and sausage rolls fortify riders at the meet, but it’s usually too dark and cold afterward to do more than dash home. Standing around in the sunshine gorging on ham and whoopie pies and swapping tales of 10-mile points is just the way to finish!” 62 S EP TEMBER / OCTOBER 2015
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Hillsboro Grinch meets one of his followers.
of the other. Apparently, unlike the solitary foxes we’re used to, coyote live, hunt and are hunted together, so it was easy to believe that the two we saw were concocting a plan to foil the hounds; eventually, they did. Afterward we were introduced to the great American tradition of the post-hunting potluck, read: feast. In the U.K., port and sausage rolls fortify riders at the meet, but it’s usually too dark and cold afterward to do more than dash home. Standing around in the sunshine gorging on ham and whoopie pies and swapping tales of 10-mile points is just the way to finish! Especially when, as at Dede Martin’s elegant boathouse later in the trip, a food truck dispenses huge portions of tacos
and sandwiches stuffed with bacon and mac-and-cheese. No chance of sticking to a post-Christmas diet down here.
FLIGHT SCHOOL
No matter where you are in the world, there’s nothing like spending time with a pack of boisterous, smelly, over-friendly hounds, and we had the rare treat of seeing the Mooreland pack up close when we walked them out with huntsman Rhodri Jones-Evans after our Hillsboro visit. Amid a sea of inquisitive noses, with the sun setting in a blaze of gold and pink over the ancient mule barn, Rhodri pointed out his best hounds, Equity and Eager of the hardC H RO N O F H O R S E .CO M
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“I envy the way they can announce their purpose without fear of reprisals from anti-hunt saboteurs,” says British rider and writer Octavia Pollock of American foxhunters.
An industrious young rider from the local Cedar Knob Pony Club lends a helping hand at the end of the eponymous hunt’s day in the field.
The author sports a reversible stocktie—one side traditional, the other side Realtree camo print—made by host Cary McWhorter for her day out with Full Cry Hounds.
driving E line that goes back to Iroquois Echo ’58 and the descendants of Warwickshire Windfall from the U.K. About a third of this pack goes back to Windfall, supplemented with Penn-Marydel blood through Midland Penn and Fox River Valley Kentucky ’02. Blending the best of British accuracy and American mouth, with the occasional wildcard thrown in, Rhodri has bred a fine, level pack. It had been an informal day at Hillsboro, so riders had sported an assortment of tweeds, turtlenecks and breeches of every shade from beige to nutmeg. But things smartened up for the main event: the 48th Annual Mooreland Hunt Week. Hunt vehicles were emblazoned with the logos of the Mooreland and Florida-based Live Oak Hounds (I envy the way they can announce their purpose without fear of reprisals from anti-hunt saboteurs!), and everyone conformed to the draconian dress codes listed on American hunt websites. As at home, the rules are less dauntingly enforced in reality, 64 S EP TEMBER / OCTOBER 2015
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but I did notice more make-up and jewelry than is usually seen in a damp English field. Still, none of that matters when we’re hunting, especially behind two such accomplished huntsmen as Mooreland’s Rhodri and Dale Barnett, of Live Oak. Hunt Week began with one day with Live Oak hounds (also a mainly crossbred pack, but rangier than their Alabama relations) and one with Mooreland. The views were glorious, with red coats and gleaming horses under a chilly sun, hounds casting among the trees, their coats mottled lemon and brown and black. Some 20 couple were hunted, more than I’m used to, and hunt staff stayed in very close contact; with two sets of whips shadowing proceedings there was no chance of anything slipping the gauntlet. We could see for miles across the stubble of corn and cotton fields, and not a sound could be heard save a sudden blast of music as hounds found a trail. Freezing temperatures and dry air meant scent was patchy, but the second day saw
Cary McWhorter grins and bears a rainy day out with Full Cry Hounds.
hounds streaming across fields the same gray-brown color of the coyote, their noses down and sterns high as we galloped along beaten-earth tracks in hot pursuit, hooves drumming and hearts pounding. Several vehicles kept up too, including that of Sarah’s gung-ho escort, fellow photographer Adrian Jennings. He and his wife Suzi, together with whip Becky Beam, Rhodri, Johnny Gray and a smattering of others all hail from Britain; we were evidently a rear-guard, not an invasion! Riding little Thoroughbred Charity and then Mopsy Athon’s handsome youngster Park, I swapped between first and second flights to experience following American-style. In the U.K., everyone hunts in one group under one field master, so it was strange to see the field split into flights, each one organized in order of seniority, and children banished to the back, leaving the tiny ponies little chance of leading adults over the biggest fences as they do at home.
It’s pleasant for the adults up front, but I do worry that keeping children away from the action will leave them immune to the magic of the chase. Etiquette is important, but enthusiasm and shared experience more so when it comes to inspiring the hunters of the future. Fortunately many huntsmen, including Rhodri, invite kids up with hounds, a sure-fire way to ensure the sport gets in their blood.
A MERRY DANCE, ROUND AND ROUND
Things hotted up in both senses on our third Hunt Week outing, when a combined pack of Mooreland and Live Oak hounds made for a cracking day in temperatures that made me rue my Melton coat. I was doubly privileged: Not only was I aboard Becky Beam’s splendid one-eyed hunter Red Bull, but I was also allowed to go on point with her, staying in touch with the aid of one of the many radios. Looking across a landscape more open than ever since a C H RO N O F H O R S E .CO M
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Mooreland huntsman Rhodri Jones-Evans’ mount waits patiently for his marching orders.
tornado swept away the tallest trees, we waited with bated breath as hounds drew thick covert west of the historic plantation Belle Mina. The Mooreland hounds pushed through the undergrowth as their Live Oak counterparts explored the edge, ready to pick up the slightest scent. And pick it up they did; a small gray coyote bitch broke away and led the pack on a merry dance, round and round, once even darting away from under the very noses of the lead hounds. Rather like hares, coyote tend to make ever-decreasing circles, eventually making a break for it in one direction, but this coyote stayed close to home, hunkering in a ditch, hugging a fenceline, or simply streaking away across the grass. We had a thrilling view when she crossed a gateway only yards from us, glossy coat gleaming as she cocked a snook at the hounds giving tongue in her wake. They were a mere 100 66 S EP TEMBER / OCTOBER 2015
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feet behind her, but it wasn’t long before she increased her lead. As we galloped around a patch of woodland, she doubled back the way she had come. Half an hour later, we were in just the right place to see her lope toward us and turn away through long grass and under a thorn bush back into covert. Hounds followed in her wake, overshooting her path, checking and casting, then picking up the trail with a whoop of music and taking it on into the woods. Rhodri and Dale stayed in touch, but not too close, letting the hounds puzzle out the route and making best speed in their wake. At home, such a sight of animals and humans connected by invisible threads is a poignant memory as we labor under the pernicious hunting ban, and I caught my breath with excitement. There was a lump in my throat as we galloped in pursuit.
Quintessential scenes from hunting in the American South: red clay and power corridors.
This small gray coyote bitch “broke away and led the pack on a merry dance, round and round, once even darting away from under the very noses of the lead hounds” during Mooreland and Live Oak’s joint meet.
We gave her best in the end as the temperature rose, satisfied at the performance of the combined pack that had stayed on one coyote for 2½ hours.
DOWNTOWN HUNTSVILLE HORN-BLOWING
downtown Huntsville, where we danced to a band called Juice and crammed into a photobooth to pose with Venetian masks and cowboy hats. Things ended on a high note, with Live Oak whip Trae Burris blowing “gone to ground” to call a lost member of our party to the car: stirring music for an Alabama parking lot. Unbelievably, we managed to get up at dawn the following day for one last hunt with the Full Cry Hounds (Ala.). Cary and I were roused by a spine-tingling sight as we arrived at her barn: a beautiful, safety-orange fox with dark points and intelligent face.
With the hunt ball that night, we hadn’t meant to stay out so long, but a quick scramble saw everyone bedecked in their finery and quaffing cocktails in Mooreland-branded glasses at the beautiful Huntsville home of Leslie Crosby MFH, where walls were adorned with hunting prints and “At home, such a sight of animals and humans connected by sporting trophies. A fresco in the entrance hall even tells the invisible threads is a poignant memory as we labor under the story of horse racing. Southern style, indeed! pernicious hunting ban, and I caught my breath with excitement. The main event took place There was a lump in my throat as we galloped in pursuit.” high in The Summit building in C H RO N O F H O R S E .CO M
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Horses, hounds and humans gather in an industrial plant parking lot outside of Huntsville, Ala., before the start of Mooreland and Live Oak’s joint meet.
Snacks are serious business in the South, and Mooreland’s Hunt Week joint meet with Live Oak was no exception.
Huntsmen Rhodri Jones-Evans (Mooreland, left) and Dale Barnett (Live Oak) pause for a picturesque check. Huntsman Johnny Gray leads his Hillsboro Hounds over a decidedly American coop. “We don’t get hunt jumps like that in the U.K.!” says photographer Sarah Farnsworth.
Sadly, it didn’t prove to be a good omen, as hounds drew blank. We were unlucky to be in an area unfavored by courting coyote couples, but it was great fun to join this small, informal pack of hunting devotees, where the single field stays within earshot of huntsman David Hyman. The Full Cry hounds are known for their performance rather than their looks: it’s success in the field, not on the flags, that matters here. My liver chestnut mare Ivy, kindly lent by Sharon Green, was keen as mustard, but the only action we saw was airborne: a huge murmuration of blackbirds cavorting in black clouds of wings as a hawk swooped from above. That’s part of the joy of foxhunting: Few activities allow people to get as close to 68 S EP TEMBER / OCTOBER 2015
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the sights, sounds and battles of the natural world. The usual delicious tailgate ended the day. They’re a sporting lot down there and unfailingly courteous; huge thanks must go to Mooreland stalwarts Evie Mauldin, MFH; her sister Martha; Elizabeth Gentry St. John, MFH; and former master John Sewell, whose reading of the country is second to none; Live Oak masters Martin and Daphne Wood and John Reynolds; and others too many to mention. It was a whirlwind week of frost and sunshine, dust and dancing, steaks and Red Stag whisky, good hunting and great company. The English invasion may just happen again.
www.kingslanddressage.com
TRAVEL
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From
WINE to WAVES
In The Willamette Valley
Justin and Lindley Leahy are realizing a dream for themselves and their guests with a unique, three-pronged Oregon equestrian adventure. Story and photos BY BETH RASIN
T
hirteen years ago, Justin Leahy stood on the Oregon coast— overlooking the quiet, unspoiled beaches and enjoying the mild climate—and an idea began to percolate. As the son of Willie Leahy, founder of Ireland’s famous Connemara Trail, riding tours were in his blood, and on that August day more than a decade ago, as he and his wife Lindley vacationed in the Northwest, he had a vision. “I tell people that largely this has been Justin’s idea and dream, and that I have been the person who has pushed him and given him
the courage to go for it,” said Lindley. “If he’s the brains, I’m the guts.” When the vacation ended, they returned to their home in Arizona, where Lindley was raised but where the Irish tend not to thrive. “We went back to Arizona thinking we could make Oregon home one day, but we didn’t really know how,” said Lindley. Yet the seed was planted. Fast forward to the summer of 2014, and that vision finally became a reality when the couple opened the Willamette Coast Ride at their ranch in Carlton, Ore.
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Putting The Pieces Together The Leahys knew the elements that needed to be in place for a top-notch experience for their guests, and the pieces came together one at a time: a ranch that would support their horses (they grow their own hay and wanted space for the horses to live outside), the horses themselves, and the scenic yet challenging trails and vineyards to ride across. Most importantly, they needed access to the coast; Oregon allows horses and dogs on all its sands (call it a beach, and you stamp yourself a tourist; it’s a “coast” here). “We had this dream of being able to do a multiday ride with experienced riders in beautiful country that you wouldn’t otherwise get to,” said Lindley, who was simultaneously answering my questions, preparing lunch for the trail, watching her three children, and packing up their beach condo. “It was a matter of finding a perfect spot for the ranch that was near a town that welcomed tourists. So we discovered the wine country, which was wonderful— they love tourists, and it’s just burgeoning.” They had a few other concepts for their ride: They wanted to pack lunches for the trail, not meet up with a delivered lunch, so that they could access the most beautiful spots, and they wanted to ride from point to point. And perhaps most importantly, they chose to limit the size of their groups, with a maximum of around eight riders. In this year, their second season offering rides, they booked 12 six-day tours with two to eight riders each, and next year they expect to offer 15 to 18 trips, running from May to early October. At the beginning and end of the season they also offer three-day trips in the mountains and vineyards. But missing the ocean ride would be a terrible shame—more on that later.
The best way to see the Willamette Valley of Oregon? On a horse’s back!
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TRAVEL From Southwest To Midwest To Northwest
Often your experiences teach you as much about what you don’t want to do as what you want to do, and this was the case for the Leahys when they left a thriving business at the Shenandoah Riding Center in Galena, Ill., where they’d landed after leaving Arizona (see sidebar). Much of their routine there had involved short trail rides—as many as 4,000 per year—for abject beginners. They offered instruction to tourists and lessons, as well as boarded horses and trained their own. But when their lease on the riding center was up, they knew what their next enterprise would involve, and it wasn’t first-time equestrians. If you sign up for the Coast Ride, you’ll get a good vetting on your riding ability over the phone to ensure you’re at least an intermediate rider, comfortable cantering in the open and on a variety of footings. Riders are grouped in like company, creating an experience where no one is pushed, no one is held back, and a synergy develops among the group not only on the trail but across the dinner table as well. The Leahys now live in a red farmhouse that was once the bunkhouse of Foothills Farm, dating back to 1915, with their three children—Osian, 12; Ryder, 5; and Catalina, 3. Add to that their dogs Henry and Hank, plus chickens and cats, and 20 horses used for the riding tour. Justin is willing to find a quality horse in almost any packaging. “Just like a dog, I think a mixed breed is the healthiest and soundest,” he said. Those mixes include Appendix Quarter Horses, Thoroughbred crosses (with Connemara and Standardbred), mustangs, an Appaloosa cross, an Azteca (Quarter Horse-Andalusian cross), as well as a Haflinger, Irish Sport Horse and Connemara— and each of them behave flawlessly, whether they arrived as a jumper who was too strong for his rider or as a 2-year-old unbroken mustang. The Leahys put a high priority on safety, with
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Lindley and Justin Leahy with (from left) Osian, 12; Catalina, 3; Ryan, 5; and Harry the dog.
The line of riders serpentines through the dunes at Bob Straub State Park.
From One Riding Holiday To Another When Rhonda Waddington of Tucson, Ariz., planned her trip on Willie Leahy’s Connemara Trail in Ireland about 15 years ago, little did she realize what she was setting in motion. She loved the Irish horses she met so much that she imported several—as well as Leahy’s son, Justin, who competed the horses for her at the Trojan-Horse Horse Trials (Ariz.), where he also met Waddington’s daughter, Lindley. Justin helped Waddington sell the Irish horses (one became one of Will Faudree’s first upper-level horses) and married Lindley in 2002. The pair spent 1½ years in Ireland before Justin gave up his organic sheep farming business, and they returned to Arizona. Before long, Justin’s cousin, Tony Leahy, a vice president of the Masters of Foxhounds Association and a huntsman for the Massbach Hounds and Fox River Valley Hunt (Ill.), suggested they move to Illinois to train horses for one of the huntsmen. Justin and Lindley were soon running the Shenandoah Riding Center, 2½ hours outside Chicago, turning it around from near closure to a thriving business—then setting off to start their own enterprise, which you can now enjoy on the Willamette Coast Ride.
helmets required and a constant awareness of each horse and rider. When we went for a gallop after lunch in a beautiful meadow one day, our Austrian guest let out a yodel of joy, and Justin, leading the group, stopped his horse immediately, checking to see if she was OK. Afterwards we would joke before each canter, knowing Eva-Maria was enjoying herself—not in distress. The horses aren’t dull but are all trained on the aids. Justin and Lindley spend the off season searching for mounts and training them, so when you want to get your horse’s feet in the ocean, you can take a feel and ask him to step a few feet sideways, and he moves right over, even as the icy water splashes his hocks. “When horses are interactive, they’re less bored,” said Lindley, as she checked on the progress of the tamale casserole in the oven. “And it’s nicer to ride a well-trained horse.” Most of the horses jump, popping over logs on Riders enjoy a canter up a hill on the backside of the Carlton Hill Vineyard.
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TRAVEL the beach, in the woods, or even jumping out of a sea cave, for riders who are so inclined. Not only will you enjoy the schooling the Leahys have instilled in the horses, but Justin enjoys sharing all kinds of horsemanship tips as you ride along or drive to the trail, from how to school a horse over a ditch, Irish-style, to a different kind of knot for tying your horse in the stable, to feeding hints, things to keep in mind when buying and trying horses, and training philosophies.
Hitting The Trail
When you show up for your first day at Foothills Farm, you can leave your hairnet at home; there are no pretensions here. But if you’re not used to five hours a day in the saddle, you might want to bring padded bike shorts (and they recommend baby powder). The ride offers time to not only enjoy your fellow riders and your horse but also to interact with the environment, as we heard about spotted owls living in the valley, saw red-tailed hawks and black-tailed deer. Blackberries grow everywhere, and we snagged the ones within reach and sampled yellow and red sweet plums right off the trees, perfect to grab from a horse’s back and most plentiful on the first day’s ride around Foothills Farm and to Carlton Hill Vineyard. Justin also shoes the horses, carrying his tools for rides where a shoe can’t be lost, sometimes tightening a shoe before riders mount up for a rocky forest ride. Coming from the grass of Virginia, I was amazed at the ability of the horses to handle the rocks on the forest trails—and then trot sound enough to pass an FEI inspection on the roads going down the hill. Steep climbs and descents are the norm here, but the rewards are the solitude of vast BLM or National Forest Service land, where we never saw another person during the two days we traversed the Coastal Range mountains. Lindley packed inspired lunches for the saddle bags, and when we arrived at a meadow after a couple hours of riding, we tied the horses to trees and unpacked delicious wraps, her mother’s potato salad recipe, marinated chicken, fresh fruits and chocolates. On our second day in the woods, we climbed Mt. Gauldy, ascending from 80 to 2,222 feet and back down to 70 feet on the other side, observing 76
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Mac Magee jumps her horse out of a sea cave.
On our trip to Carlton Hill’s tasting room, we sample their pinot noir, which won two Double Gold awards at the 2012 Oregon Wine Awards.
If You Go Fly into Portland, and Lindley Leahy can help arrange transportation to the ranch in Carlton, where the ride begins. The trip is all-inclusive, with top-notch lodging and memorable meals ranging from delicious and healthy homemade lunches to an exquisite tapas restaurant with unending courses, to upscale Italian or regional fare, with guests only paying for any alcoholic drinks (exclusive of the wine tastings, which are included). Learn more at WillametteCoastRide.com or contact Lindley Leahy at lindley@willamettecoastride.com.
The terrain of the Coastal Range is never dull.
The Hawk Creek CafĂŠ in Neskowin welcomes Willamette Coast riders.
There’s no shortage of opportunities for gallops on the shore.
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TRAVEL enormous strands of foxglove and sampling the salmonberries as we rode. We rode along the ridge and wound our way back down the other side, stopping to taste sour clover off the forest floor (surprisingly delicious) and eventually reaching the Little Nestucca River, where we watered the horses and turned them out in a meadow for the night. A short drive took us into the seaside town of Neskowin, beside Highway 101, and when we arrived at our condos, overlooking a majestic beach, our Austrian friend was too stunned for any more yodeling, but she did shed some tears at the sight of the wide beaches and turbulent surf, the creek at one end of the shore running into the ocean beside Proposal Rock, and the cliffs behind them. The romance of the place wasn’t lost on anyone, and as we made our way down to the water, although the beach was nearly empty, we noticed “Will You Marry Me?” written out in the sand. After a dinner within walking distance at Hawk Creek Café, we fell asleep to the sound of the waves.
Bring On The Beach!
Loaded with seven horses, the Leahys’ red Ford dually and aluminum trailer turned out of Pacific City the next morning and into the 484 acres of Bob Straub State Park, which is a spit between the ocean and Little Nestucca River, known for 50-pound Chinook salmon, and possibly the most beautiful place on earth. Huge grassy dunes divide the ocean from the river, and undulating trails through sandy woods take you from the park entrance to the dune trails and water. We spotted a bald eagle high on the cliff near the end of our ride. Seals sunned themselves on the peninsula point, although we sometimes caught a couple swimming or climbing their way back up to shore. The cooler temperatures by the ocean enlivened the horses, who were easily game for the gallops we did on the mud flats or on the edge of the river and ocean. They’ve been acclimated to the water and willingly stepped in, even into the waves, as we followed Justin’s lead to the safest areas, avoiding the steep dropoffs. All in a line, we walked up to their bellies, then turned left, going in deeper. As I focused on keeping my 78
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TRAVEL horse in place, I missed the wave coming up behind me, which crashed over my mustang’s rump and sent him scooting—so much fun! Although I’ve spent my life riding horses, I’d never had an experience anything like this, between the sights you could never tire of seeing, the sound of the hooves squeaking on the sand, the smell of the salt air, the wildlife, the horses, the fun and supportive fellow riders. We never wanted the day to end as we went from river to dunes to ocean and back again like kids running from one favorite ride to another at a fair. The second day at the ocean included walking through the town of Neskowin, fording the creek at Proposal Rock, and more gallops and forays into the water, this time on the coast in front of our condos. From Proposal Rock, we went seven miles down to the other end of the beach, to Proposition Rock and beyond. We saw a live crab swimming back into the ocean, toured a small sea cave, allowed some beachgoers to pet the horses, and enjoyed another sunny day between sand and surf. I don’t think anyone was ready to leave the cozy town of Neskowin that afternoon as we loaded into vehicles to return to Carlton. But how could you complain when your next stop was back to wine country? For our final day, we toured WillaKenzie vineyards, getting an early start due to the heat forecast for later in the day. We wound our way among the grapes of the Yamhill Valley, through woods, up and down hills, and through a pond beside which longhorn cattle grazed, before ending near the tasting room, where we had lunch and sampled eight varieties of WillaKenzie’s pinot noir. On the final day, we all exchanged contact information, and after we said our goodbyes, we headed back to “the real world” and our various jobs and responsibilities. But whether we were a farmer from Iowa, a dentist from Vienna, an elementary art teacher from San Diego, an author, life coach and motivational speaker from Michigan and South Carolina, or a graduate student from Germany, the horses—and the hospitality of Justin and Lindley—brought us all together to experience a beautiful part of the world in an unforgettable way. 80
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The Chelan oceanside condos in Neskowin, Ore., are a beautiful place to start and end your day of riding.
There’s plenty of time for simply relaxing and enjoying the amazing views that surround you on the Willamette Coast Ride. The Carlton Hill Vineyard is certified salmon-safe and LIVE (low-input viticulture and enology), or operated with minimal pesticides and fertilizers.
The Coastal Range mountain trails feature Douglas firs as well as ferns and mosses, for a rainforest-like feel.
The young grapes at Carlton Hill Vineyard enjoy an eastern exposure to the sun, unlike most vineyards in Oregon, which are south-facing. Owner David Polite believes it allows the grapes to ripen gently, preserving the delicate, complex nature of their pinot noir.
Editorial Note This feature was created in partnership with the Willamette Coast Ride, which funded a portion of travel expenses.
HISTORY
RIDING OUT THE SECOND WORLD WAR American horse sport was drastically curtailed before the final surrender 70 years ago, but the horsemen who persisted left a legacy for the generations to come. By BETH R ASIN
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any riders and owners today take the privilege of showing, hunting or racing their horses for granted. But during the United States’ involvement in World War II, horse sports dwindled from shortages of resources, and some Americans questioned whether they should continue to enjoy the luxury of sport while friends and family members risked their lives overseas. Advertisements in the The Chronicle of the Horse of the 1940s reflect the hardships of the times: Readers were reminded to buy war bonds or drive in carriages, not cars. Landowners were desperate for men to work their farms, and gasoline, rubber and fence rails were scarce. In 1943, the Chronicle had to forego its annual stallion issue because of the restriction on longdistance calls. New columns such as “War and the Horse” and “Farming In War Time” emerged to assist readers who continued to maintain their horses.
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“You’d do without a lot of things if it meant your cousins or brothers [fighting overseas] had what they needed,” said the late Nancy G. Lee, the Chronicle’s editor during most of the war, during a 1995 interivew. Horsemen endured drastic cutbacks to their game: “Great dispersal sales were held,” described the 1945 American Horse Shows Association Blue Book, “horses turned out for the duration and blankets and tack put away in moth balls.” But not everyone completely abandoned the equestrian pursuits they’d enjoyed before the war. “Man invariably turns to sport as a relief for taut nerves resultant from the dangers, deprivations and unhappiness of war,” wrote The Horse, an Army Remount publication, in 1943. Many addicted horsemen continued despite restrictions, and for most of these, horses offered a welcome respite from the horrors that were occurring in Europe and the Pacific.
BERT MORGAN PHOTO
Peat Moss (left) won a 1944 hurdle race at Aqueduct over Blue Kite. Racing continued at some tracks, but signs of the war, such as the air raid warning pictured in the background, were always evident.
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HISTORY KEEPING THE HUNT FIELD RUNNING
At the 1942 Masters of Foxhounds Association annual dinner, huntsmen swore to continue their sport so long as it did not interfere with the war effort. But by 1943, the attendance had dropped from 78 to 53 Masters, and financial aid for hunts had to be developed to keep some packs alive. “[S]till in all [present] there was a quiet determination to expend every possible way so that these recreational means of pleasure would bloom and blossom in troublesome times,” wrote Chronicle Editor Don Henderson in 1943. “Sport must go on. It must go harder and better and with more purpose than ever before. To give it up would create such a situation that would blackout the public morale, leaving people stagnated for the want of something to keep their minds clear and bright for the work to be done.”
Paul Mellon, the late philanthropist and owner of Rokeby Stables in Upperville, Va., served as a captain in the U.S. Army during World War II. This photo of him reading the May 12, 1944, issue of The Chronicle of the Horse on his way to the D-Day invasion on Omaha Beach appeared in his 1992 memoir, Reflections in a Silver Spoon.
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Nancy Hannum, who stepped into the role of MFH with Mr. Stewart’s Cheshire Foxhounds (Pa.) in 1945, witnessed the shortage of horses and huntsmen, but, “We made the best of what we had,” she said. Hannum’s husband, John, served in the Navy during the war, and she spent much of the time as a “camp follower,” meeting him when he came into port at New Orleans, Corpus Christi, Texas, or Key West, Fla. It wasn’t until he was discharged in 1946 and returned to Philadelphia that John was able to follow hounds again. “We had a lot of letters [from husbands overseas to wives in the hunt], saying they couldn’t wait to get back, and to keep their horses fit!” said Nancy, who passed away at the age of 90 in 2010. When her husband was sent to the Pacific, Nancy returned to Pennsylvania to help her family with their stable. Her stepfather was W. Plunkett Stewart,
“Sport must go on. It must go harder and better and with more purpose than ever before. To give it up would create such a situation that would blackout the public morale, leaving people stagnated for the want of something to keep their minds clear and bright for the work to be done.”
Cheshire’s founder and then-MFH. “He kept the hunt going, but he had to mount all the staff members,” said Nancy. “We cut way back, getting down to 12 horses during the war.” That was less than half of their usual 30 mounts. “Our greatest difficulty was keeping men in the stables,” she said. “The huntsman served as stable manager as well as keeping the hounds, and we brought people from the farm to help muck out.” The field shrunk to around 30 riders, and the meets fell from four to three times per week. But Nancy insisted, “There was never the thought of disbanding. “We didn’t stay out so long as to require second horses,” she said. “And older horses that we might have kept on for a half-day hunt were put down to feed the hounds. “You work with the tools you’re given,” she added. “And we forged on, summer, fall, winter and spring.”
—Chronicle editor Don Henderson, 1943
FREUDY PHOTO
Other packs were not so lucky. In 1943, The Horse described the reduction in staff and hounds undergone by many hunts. Millbrook Hunt (N.Y.) employed only one huntsman and one whip, where there had been two, and only one “man in the country” where there had been four. Their pack of hounds decreased by half, and they had only four, rather than eight, staff horses. Rombout Hunt’s (N.Y.) pack dropped from 40 to 15 couple. Like many hunts, picnic groups kept the country in shape to make up for a lack of help. Mrs. James C. Clark’s private pack in New York was described as a “war-time marooned pack,” unable to hunt “due to her Red Cross work.” And while some hunts were unaffected by the gasoline shortage, others were devastated. While the Cheshire members didn’t regularly use vans until the 1950s, the Chronicle reported in 1943 that the Frankstown Hunt (N.Y.) was “discontinued for duration due to the gasoline shortage.”
Nancy Hannum, pictured here congratulating her husband John B. Hannum on his third-placed finish at the Cheshire Point-to-Point (Pa.) aboard Bright Lantern, kept the stable and the hunt running during his wartime service in the Navy.
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HISTORY RESTRICTIONS ON RACING AND SHOWING
Steeplechasing, especially those meets sponsored by hunts, suffered a similar decline during the war years. In 1943, only three hunt meets were held: Middleburg (Va.), Rose Tree (Pa.) and Montpelier (Va.). Before the war, there were about 30 hunt meets. The Steeplechase Report for 1943 recorded fewer owners, trainers, riders and horses participating because of “the progressive influence of war conditions on the Sport.” Especially noticeable was the lack of young horses. Only Rose Tree and Montpelier continued throughout the entire war. Steeplechasing proponents defended the sport against criticism, based on the taxes and contributions it generated. In 1942, the United Hunts contributed $6,000 to the Army Emergency Fund, the Navy Relief Society and hospital funds. By 1945, the Steeplechasing Report boasted that the sport’s donations had reached $50,000 “to worthy charities [which] evoked the public’s high commendation.”
With so many of the country’s men away at war, women stepped into farm management roles, and the continued breeding of horses was encouraged due to the severe decline in Europe; some Americans feared a real shortage of horses in the post-war world. “This year, at Llangollen Farm, I have the same stallions,” advertised Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Whitney in a 1943 issue of the Chronicle. “I sincerely believe that breeding mares is not only good business, but a practical, patriotic gesture.”
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Flat racing suffered too. Saratoga (N.Y.) temporarily closed its doors, and the Maryland tracks combined their meets during those years. The racing could continue, however, since the horses were stabled there, reducing the need for transportation. Trains also served the racetracks at that time. “People from as far as New Jersey and Philadelphia regularly rode the train to the Laurel track,” recalled Lee. As a result, flat racing was able to make more sizeable donations, generating $5,395,239 to war relief efforts and charities in 1943. These donations, combined with the willingness of racing’s members to put the sport on hold when requested by the government in 1945, kept racing popular and led to a swift recovery in 1946. After the war, hunt meets received $32,000 in contributions for purses and to rebuild idle courses. Horse shows also overcame obstacles—both practical and legal. Peter Lert, a founder of the California Dressage Society and its former president, who passed away in 2012, recalled that the war nearly stifled equestrian activity in the West. “The number of crowds that could be assembled in one spot were limited, because they were considered good targets for air attacks. There were no football games or anything like that, and horse sports came close to a standstill for civilians,” he said. Competitions came to a halt nationwide wherever the government took over horse facilities for their military uses. “The Cow Palace near San Francisco opened just before the war,” said Lert. “The Army took over. People now can’t imagine how the whole economy turns around for one purpose. There were drastic changes.” The Saddle and Bridle Club of Buffalo, N.Y., founded in 1921 and host to many of the area’s shows, rented its arena to the Air Force as a parts warehouse. And the gasoline shortage took its toll. At the 1943 horse shows at Pimlico (Md.) and Warrenton (Va.), The Horse reported that, “Exhibitors transported horses in hitherto un-thought-of combinations or rode them to the grounds.” Perhaps the greatest loss to horse showing was the cancellation of the 1943 National Horse Show (N.Y.): “While every effort has been made to carry on,” stated The National Horse Show Association in
its announcement, “Even with a limited program as last year, the exigencies of war and the absence from horse show activities of many exhibitors has made it inadvisable to hold the National in 1943.” Although horsemen accepted their sacrifices, they also defended their way of life. “No spot on earth is any better for a child than the top of a horse,” asserted Margaret de Martelly in the Chronicle in 1944. “No event in a child’s life can make a man of him so quickly as a competitive horse show.” By February of 1945, the Office of Defense Transportation placed official restrictions on all horse shows, even though the gas shortage had already largely accomplished this. The ODT had to grant permission for every show, all of which had to be local and “reduced to a scale that would not interfere with transportation.” Shows in the mid-1940s were few and far between and limited in their scope, but, as Helen Lenehan recalled: “Those you went to were special.”
Peter Lert, a founder of the California Dressage Society and its former president, recalled that the war nearly stifled equestrian activity in the West. “The number of crowds that could be assembled in one spot were limited, because they were considered good targets for air attacks.”
HORSE SPORTS GO ON
Although government officials restricted wartime competitions, they also assisted horsemen through the Army Remount program. The loss of horses in Europe due to confiscation, food use and slaughter to prevent their falling into the hands of the enemy, combined with the halt in breeding, caused some Americans to fear a shortage of horses in the post-war world. To
NOWHERE TO RIDE IN EUROPE In England, conditions were even worse since feed was often scarce, for people, horses and hounds. As a result, many hunts were canceled. In 1944, an ad ran in the Chronicle offering English Beagles to anyone in the United States who would hunt them, to save putting them down. “There was no way to ride during the war,” said Judith Greenhalgh, MFH of the Blue Ridge Hunt (Va.) from 1971 to 2002. Greenhalgh, originally from Ireland, had moved to England just before the war and then emigrated to the United States when she was married after the war. She was 22 when the war broke out, and she drove people, supplies and messages in London during the Battle of Britain. “It was either that or be called into a factory,” she said. Greenhalgh managed to hunt once a year on a borrowed horse, but there was almost no showing and very limited racing in England. “There weren’t any animals kept except for prized animals,” she said. “The good Thoroughbreds were sent to America to be safe. And there was no feed to be had except rough feed, since everything had to be brought across the Atlantic.” Gen. Gordon Sellar, the long-serving MFH of the Frontenac Hunt (Canada), recalled that feed was rationed for horses in England just as it was for humans. “Some horses just had to eat grass,” he said, “because it was only rationed for race horses.” Sellar, an avid polo player prior to the war, recalled all 80 of the horses in an English polo barn being shot to avoid being drafted by the German Army, as had happened during World War I. “The German Army used thousands of horses for transport, and a lot of their officers were on horseback,” said Sellar, who died in 2004. Ironically, the first thing the Canadian Army had done at the beginning of the war was to sell their horses and acquire motorcycles. “I was too busy during the war to do any riding,” said Sellar. “I had hoped to get a weekend’s leave to ride or hunt, but I never got the chance.” Hunts continued on a shoestring, he said, “run by old men and women.” One of the positive aspects of the war on U.S. horse sports was the acquisition of foreign horses. Maj. Gen. Jonathan Burton, a 1956 Olympic competitor and later an international judge and U.S. Eventing Association Hall of Fame member, said that the American Olympic team benefitted from captured German mounts. “They had taken thousands and thousands from all over Europe,” said Burton. “So we had a lot of German dressage and jumping horses to compete in the late ’40s and early ’50s.” Burton, who spent the war years in Australia and the Philippines, said there was a lot of interest in wartime Australia in horses and showing. And in the Philippines, officers captured horses from the Japanese. “I rode when I had the chance,” he said. “But it wasn’t often.” C H RO N O F H O R S E .CO M
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HISTORY encourage people to breed more horses, the Chronicle asked readers to send their mares to the U.S. Army’s remount stallions. Writers for The Horse expected the United States to provide horses for a “large portion of the world.” The questionable availability of tires and gasoline prompted horsemen to breed horses in expectation of using them to rebuild after the war, especially in places where few roads existed. “If you breed now, your horse will be able to work in ’46 and ’47,” wrote Chronicle editor Henderson. “And you will have done something worthwhile by providing horses for a world that will need them.” Dorothy “Dot” Smithwick, trainer of steeplechase horses at Sunnybank Farm in Middleburg, Va., recalled the Remount program in nearby Front Royal, which her family’s stable utilized. “The government put out stallions to stand around the countryside,” said Smithwick, who passed away in 2013 at age 81. “Many of them were good in Europe and had been stolen, so you’d never get the papers on them, of course.” Similarly, the Rolling Rock Hunt’s (Pa.) misfortune provided an opportunity for the Whiteoakes Harriers (N.J.). When Richard K. Mellon, MFH of Rolling Rock, was unable to keep up his English hounds upon entering the service, Plunkett Stewart, then president of the MFHA as well as master of Cheshire, took them over. Stewart was aware This poignant column written by the legendary Gordon Wright, who would go on to enter the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association Hall of Fame and train George H. Morris, appeared in the Jan. 1, 1943, issue of the Chronicle.
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Yet even with this additional source of labor, a worker shortage persisted. In Hilton Village, Va., Mrs. R. W. Mitchell, who proclaimed herself not only a “backyard breeder but also a frontyard grazer,” used her race horses to keep her yard trimmed. And Nancy Hannum, whose family bought several horses off the race tracks every year in addition to breeding a few “to keep the staff horses coming in,” recalled that she ended up making many of these young horses herself. “You did the work yourself because there was no one to do it for you,” said Lee. Horse sports did more than just survive during the war. Horses, or the thought that one could return to horses, helped many horsemen through the war’s dark years. “Horses were a part of your life that remained the same,” said Lee. “While the papers were full of U-Boats blowing up ships, by going to the barn, getting your dogs and riding, you could feel like there was still some resemblance to life as you’d known it. Like a kid carrying a blanket, you just wanted to hold onto it.” This article is a revised version of a story that ran in the Chronicle on Aug. 4, 1995.
Elkridge won the Good and Plenty Steeplechase at Belmont Park in 1942, just before U.S. horse sports were curtailed by the war.
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of Whiteoakes master Ted Clucas’ desire to cross his harriers with English bitches and found a way to save the old hounds, continue their bloodline and improve Whiteoakes’ line. One of the changes that occurred in those years and has continued ever since is the influx of women into new roles. The shortage of stable help, said Nancy Hannum, led to women gradually moving into positions as grooms, both during and after the war. “It would have been impossible before,” she said. “But they realized that they could do as well or better than the boys because they took a real interest in the horses.” Women learned many other traditionally male tasks such as how to drive tractors (when gas was available). Smithwick said women assumed the master’s responsibilities in many hunts during the men’s absence. One of these was Mrs. Robert Young, who took over leadership of the Orange County Hunt (Va.) while her husband was away. Their son, James L. Young, later became the Orange County MFH and president of the MFHA.
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THE HORSE IN ART
Reacquaint Yourself With
Paul Brown The donation of a previously unpublished sketchbook provides the perfect excuse for the National Sporting Library & Museum to highlight this prolific and beloved sporting artist.
hat was your first encounter with Paul Brown? Did you pore over his children’s book illustrations, enjoying the wild tales and fantastic renderings of Crazy Quilt the Circus Pony, Silver Heels, Merrylegs the Rocking Pony, Puff Ball or Hi Guy, the horse who was bought for $5 and went on to win at Madison Square Garden? Did you meticulously study his instructions in Draw Horses: It’s Fun And Easy? (I don’t know about you, but no matter how hard I tried to follow Brown’s lead, my horses never looked like his.) Maybe you know him best for his action-packed steeplechasing, foxhunting and polo illustrations. Although Brown never owned or even rode a horse, his careful
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By SARA LIESER Artworks © PAUL BROWN
While Paul Brown is primarily known for his line drawings, he worked in a variety of different media including pencil, ink, chalk, crayon, watercolor and even oils, such as he did on Over The Brush Fence (1930), on display at the National Sporting Library & Museum in Middleburg, Va.
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Many current-day Paul Brown fans first got to know him through his children’s books. He wrote and illustrated 19, in addition to illustrating more than 100 titles for other authors.
NSLM, GIFT OF BOOTS WRIGHT, IN MEMORY OF MR. AND MRS. RICHARD E. RIEGEL, 2013
Despite not being a rider himself, Paul Brown took advantage of the many races, polo matches and hunt meets near his home in Nassau County on Long Island, N.Y., to watch, observe and sketch. The Chestnut Mare (1933) portrays two Argentinian polo ponies during an exercise session.
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“In every picture Brown shows us what is happening, is about to happen, or may happen.” – ROBIN BLEDSOE
observations of ’chasing eventually made him such an expert on the sport that he was asked to consult on the design of various racecourses. Did you see his drawings in the Brooks Brothers catalogs, which he began illustrating in 1932 and continued on until his death in 1958? A prolific commercial artist, Brown created more than 1,000 images for the iconic apparel brand, in addition to working for numerous magazines such as Collier’s, Cosmopolitan, Liberty, Elks, The American Legion, Country Life, Spur, Polo, The Sportsman and many others. Or maybe you’ve never heard of Brown at all. Despite being one of the most well-known equestrian artists of his time, his work has largely fallen off the radar in the more than 50 years since his death. When Mrs. Helen K. Groves donated a previously unpublished Paul Brown sketchbook from the Llangollen race meet (Va.) to the National Sporting Library & Museum, she and the NSLM staff saw an opportunity to reintroduce the artist to new audiences. “There are some generations who love him,” said Nicole Stribling, the curator of permanent collections at the NSLM. “They know his illustrations. They love his books. They grew up with him. And there are a lot of people who have never heard of him, but I think they’re going to be delighted by some of his images.” The NSLM has one of the largest publicly held collections of Brown’s work in the world. In 2011, Brown’s daughter, Nancy Brown Searles, gifted a large collection of original drawings, watercolors, archival material and one oil painting, which had been part of the family’s collection since her father’s death. In 2013, Boots Wright donated a collection of 158 original pencil and ink drawings in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Riegel. The drawings come from three of Brown’s
most popular books: Spills and Thrills (1933), Ups and Downs (1936), and Good Luck and Bad (1940). This fall, the NSLM will feature a special exhibit of Brown’s work and publish the Llangollen Race Meeting Sketchbook for the first time, along with an original essay about the meet from racing author Dorothy Ours. From Aug. 29-Jan. 17, “Paul Brown from the Permanent Collection” will be on display at the museum, showing approximately 25 of Brown’s works from the 1930s, including some original pencil drawings that will be on view for the first time.
A HORSEMAN BY OBSERVATION
Study any Paul Brown image, and you can’t help but be captivated by the realistic expressions his horses display. Flip through Draw Horses, and it reads like a Pony Club manual of anatomy: He demonstrates common conformation flaws alongside more correct images to instruct his reader. Study his action illustrations, and you’ll feel like the horses are going to gallop off the page in the next moment. “When it comes to animals, no one…can touch Brown in capturing action and expression in a few fluid lines,” wrote art book editor and bookseller Robin Bledsoe in her chapter: Paul Brown As A Book Illustrator, which was published in M.L. Biscotti’s biography Paul Brown Master of Equine Art. “No tricky angle, no tangle of legs, no dizzy colt twirling on a swing, stumps his photographic memory, imagination or execution. And the rendering is so sure, the composition so poised, that we never question these contortions. In every picture Brown shows us what is happening, is about to happen, or may happen.” It’s hard to believe a man so devoted to capturing every aspect of the horse in such exquisite detail wasn’t a lifelong equestrian, but Brown never sat astride one. All his expertise came from observation, not personal experience. Paul Desmond Brown was born in Mapleton, Minn., in 1893. His family moved to New York City, where his father, Charles H. Brown, became a successful actor’s agent, when Paul was 8 or 9. In Paul Brown Master of Equine Art, an old radio interview is quoted about the moment in Paul’s life when he discovered horses. “One day in 1904, I got 50 cents someplace and C H RO N O F H O R S E .CO M
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NSLM, GIFT OF BOOTS WRIGHT, IN MEMORY OF MR. AND MRS. RICHARD E. RIEGEL, 2013
In books such as Good Luck and Bad, Paul Brown drew thrilling crashes and falls, such as those shown in “Dismounts” Not According To The Best Schools Of Equitation (1940), along with a variety of other action scenes from various equestrian competitions he attended.
went over to the National Horse Show at the old Madison Square Garden and saw ‘fine leppers,’ [a term used for jumpers] as we called them, and Thoroughbreds for the first time,” he said. From then on he began filling his sketchbooks with horses. Though he attended the High School of Commerce in New York, he didn’t finish because he was more interested in drawing than his other studies. Largely self-taught, Paul quit school at 18 and opened his own commercial art business. He left his burgeoning business behind to fight in World War I—he went to Europe with the 1st Light Infantry Division—but even during the war he was still drawing and trying to get published. After returning, he married Harriett “Sallie” Smith in 1923 and built a house in Garden City on Long Island, N.Y. They eventually had three children: Geery, Whit and Nancy. Paul would live there, in Nassau County, for the rest of his life, and the location was ideal for attending hunt meets, steeplechases, races, polo matches and other equestrian events. 94 S EP TEMBER / OCTOBER 2015
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“Paul Brown was the first artist to accurately portray the polo pony in action,” wrote Biscotti. “This ability to capture an action scene of both horse and rider in unusual (and sometimes contorted) positions was a Brown trademark.” He also traveled a great deal in order to watch and illustrate the great equestrian sporting events of his time. By 1933 he was on his sixth trip to the Aintree meet, home of the famous English Grand National. His illustrations of horses in action found a mainstream audience in 1932 via Brooks Brothers. In a 1949 New Yorker interview, the brand’s chairman of the board, Winthrop H. Brooks, was quoted: “His women are not so hot, though he can do an occasional tweedy girl, or one in jodhpurs—and we sometimes suggest corrections on the human beings, male or female, in his preliminary sketches, but he won’t take comments on his horses, and he’s right. His horses and dogs are superb. The clothes in his drawings are secondary—that’s why we like ’em. If he ever drew a wedding, it’d be a fizzle unless the bridegroom was on a horse!” The 1930s was also the beginning of Paul’s writing
career; he eventually wrote and illustrated 32 books, 19 of which were for children, as well as drawing the illustrations for more than 100 books written by other authors.
A GLORIOUS AFFAIR
“A ‘serious-faced’ but amiable man, not quite 38 years old, roams the new race courses at Llangollen farm with his ‘pocket notebook’ ready. He can’t be everywhere at once, but you wouldn’t know it. Paul Brown draws and describes steeplechases ‘in a manner which suggests he hovered over the course in a low-flying Zeppelin, noting the positions and possibilities of all entries at every obstacle.’ In recent years he’s been honing this talent at Aintree, England’s, peerless Grand National. Now he applies his powers to four new races at a storied estate near Upperville, Virginia.” Thus begins Dorothy Ours’ essay, which will accompany the NSLM’s Llangollen Race Meeting Sketchbook, due out in September. The Piedmont Fox Hounds Racing Meet at Llangollen was a short-lived but glorious affair. The inaugural event in 1931 attracted as many as 35,000 spectators, despite
NSLM, GIFT OF HELEN K. GROVES, 2008
After attending the Piedmont Fox Hounds Racing Meet at Llangollen farm in Upperville, Va., in 1931, Paul Brown gave Jock and Liz Whitney a sketchbook with 15 illustrations of the Llangollen races, and these images will be published for the first time by the National Sporting Library & Museum in the Llangollen Race Meeting Sketchbook in September.
“He won’t take comments on his horses, and he’s right.” –WINTHROP H. BROOKS less than two months notice that it would take place. The race meet was the brainchild of John Hay (Jock) Whitney, a U.S. celebrity millionaire of the early 20th century. Whitney played polo, owned race horses and was passionate about the growing sport of steeplechasing in America. His mother, Helen Hay Whitney, earned the nickname the “First Lady of the American Turf ” due to her successful Greentree Stable racers and ’chasers, and as Jock followed in his mother’s footsteps, he became obsessed with winning the Grand National. In 1930, he purchased the Llangollen Manor near Upperville, perhaps in an effort to woo Mary Elizabeth (Liz) Altemus, who’d fallen in love with the area after visiting the Upperville Colt & Horse Show. That same year she attended Aintree with Jock (with a chaperone!), and in September the couple became engaged. Jock wasn’t the only member of high society fasC H RO N O F H O R S E .CO M
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NSLM, GIFT OF BOOTS WRIGHT, IN MEMORY OF MR. AND MRS. RICHARD E. RIEGEL, 2013
THE HORSE IN ART
A master of perspective, Paul Brown’s horses were always rendered in exquisite detail, and he was a master at capturing some of racing’s most exciting moments such as those pictured here in Llangollen Cup, Llangollen Farms, 1932, (1933) which was published in the 1933 book Spills and Thrills.
cinated by steeplechasing in the United States. During the summer of 1930, Paul and Aintree rider Eric Atterbury were designing a taxing brush course near Gallatin, Tenn., for the Grasslands Downs Racing Association. At 4½ miles long and with 26 jumps, this course was supposed to give American horses some practice for the Grand National. The race debuted in 1930, and only three horses finished, all of which had fallen during the race and been remounted by their jockeys. Llangollen’s brush obstacles were similar to those at Grasslands, and there was some debate over the fact that these fences weren’t aimed at representing the 96 S EP TEMBER / OCTOBER 2015
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American countryside. Rather, they were designed with Aintree in mind. And while 25 horses were listed for the Llangollen Cup, only nine would go to post. Many trainers decided their horses weren’t up to the task when they saw the course. The fences for the timber races were similarly impressive with controversial “Aiken” fences—dried brush heaped high on both sides of the rails and sloping out five feet on either side that mimicked fences found in the Aiken, S.C., hunt country—rather than the traditional mid-Atlantic post-and-rail fences. Only six starters contested the Piedmont Gold Cup over those mammoth Aikens, although in the end the jockeys praised the fences, for the horses jumped them well. In the following years, from 1932-34, the race meet grew, becoming a prominent event on the sporting and social calendar.
“He’s almost anticipating photography.” – DOROTHY OURS However, Jock would never win a Grand National. In fact, it wasn’t until 1938 that an American-bred and owned horse would: Marion DuPont Scott’s Battleship. In 1934 Jock deeded the Llangollen property to his wife. The meet was cancelled in 1935, and the couple divorced in 1940. But throughout that first event, Paul Brown was there, documenting every race in his sketchpad, taking notes and observing. He returned in 1932 to finish his drawings and presented the Whitneys with the finished product.
DOCUMENTING A SPORT FOR THE AGES
In today’s social media age, it’s hard to imagine a world where documenting every detail of a sporting event isn’t done as a matter of routine. But during Paul’s heyday, action photography was still in its infancy, and most bystanders had only their memories of the day, or maybe a newspaper article to immortalize it. It’s unknown whether the Whitneys commissioned Paul to create his sketchbook commemorating the Llangollen meet, or whether he gave it to them as a gift. Attending and illustrating the most important equestrian activities of his day was what Paul Brown did. And while he certainly captured the expressions and action of his subjects in exquisite detail, probably better than many photographs could have from the 1930s, Paul’s work is more than just images. “All the drawings we’re going to be showing have inscriptions from the artist with commentary on what was going on in the race and critiquing or telling what was going on in the story,” said Stribling. “In some he critiques riding styles and makes fun of positions. There are little jokes in there. “There are a couple instances where he puts in stories,” she continued. “ ‘This horse got hurt, and they thought he wouldn’t make it, but now he’s living a life of luxury at so-and-so’s farm.’ Even though he shows all these
crashes—because I’m sure that’s what sold; people loved to see those—but he often will make comments. Or when he says that a horse is destroyed or someone breaks their neck, there’s always commentary talking about why that’s sad.” He also took copious notes on all the elements of a race, not just the action. “His sketchbooks and notebooks are filled with detailed notes and sketches on the construction of the jump or the colors of the horses or the silks of the jockeys,” said Stribling. “He worked hard to document that sort of thing.” Paul’s legacy is not exactly that of a renowned artist, although he certainly was that. “Back in the 30s, among horse people, Paul Brown would be closer to a household name than most artists would be now,” said Ours. But his role was more akin to photojournalist than artist. “Is there a modern Paul Brown?” asked Ours. “What he did has been taken over by other forms. If he’d gone into the line of being a fine oil painter, there are still people who do that. You’d say he’s one of that line. He stands out as someone different. He’s almost anticipating photography. When trying to think who’d be his contemporary now, it’s probably Barbara Livingston and her fantastic racing photography. Paul Brown sketches are like her Saratoga photos.” For all that he wasn’t a horseman by trade, it’s obvious Paul cared deeply about horses. He delighted in their athletic feats, felt pain when they were injured, and was committed to sharing the reality of what it was to be a sport horse—not some stylized, idealized image—with the world. “My father was an artist who never had any formal training for his craft,” wrote his daughter, Nancy Brown Searles, in her introduction to Biscotti’s biography. “He worked very hard at perfecting his technique by doing drawing after drawing and studying his subjects thoroughly. As hard as he worked, however, it was not work for him. He always told us kids and his friends that he thought he was the luckiest man in the world, for he regarded his work as enjoyable as play—and he got paid for it!” For more information on the current Paul Brown exhibition and sketchbook publication, visit NationalSporting.org. C H RO N O F H O R S E .CO M
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CITY GUIDE
Savor A Slower Pace In Saugerties By LISA SLADE
S
augerties, N.Y., is best known by horse people for its show offerings in the dressage and hunter/jumper disciplines—most notably the HITS $1 Million Grand Prix held there every September. But drive away from the bustle of the busy horse show grounds, turn down Main Street, and you’re quickly transported into a different atmosphere altogether. You can take a stroll, enjoy a meal that’s both gourmet and unfussy, browse the antique shops that line the street or watch
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the sunset over the beautiful Hudson River. And in addition to the restaurants, art galleries and shops downtown, attractions like the Saugerties Lighthouse and nearby Opus 40, a sculpture park and museum, draw visitors who want their horse show experience to include a bit of nature and quiet time as well. Woodstock, N.Y., is also only 10 miles from Saugerties, and it offers even more restaurants. “[Saugerties] is a really cute town,” says dressage rider and trainer Diane Creech, who visits several times a year to compete. “You can tell the town is well-loved, and it’s taken care of, and it’s very inviting. It’s just a really nice place to walk around.” Eventer Gretchen Scott runs her business out of Saugerties, and she says the whole community appreciates when the horse shows come to town. “It has a small town feel, and yet in September in walks McLain Ward and the top guys from all over the world,” Scott says. “You can appreciate the quality of life here. From where I live in the village, I can walk to bars and restaurants. There’s a lot to do here.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF MISS LUCY’S KITCHEN
MICHAEL NELSON PHOTO
Downtown Saugerties is quaint and quiet, but it also offers plenty of restaurants and shops to break up the mundane routines of horse show life.
ALLEN BRYAN PHOTO
MISS LUCY’S KITCHEN
Picturesque Esopus Creek, a tributary of the Hudson River, runs through Saugerties.
Nearly every rider we surveyed lists Miss Lucy’s as a Saugerties favorite. “They use local foods, and they’re known for their desserts,” says local eventer Gretchen Scott. The menu at Miss Lucy’s changes daily based on availability of local foods from farmers, but you can always expect a healthy fusion of modern and traditional, like the jerk chicken salad with banana chutney that’s sometimes offered. At any one time, you might find a turkey pot pie with homemade biscuit and a Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwich on the same menu. There’s an always-rotating dessert menu as well, with offerings like a lemon brûlée tart and chocolate pot de crème, and an ever-evolving cocktail menu. They’re committed to sustainably sourced seafood as well as utilizing plenty of local produce, dairy and eggs. Make sure to check the website before you go, as the restaurant doesn’t keep traditional business hours. 90 Partition Street, Saugerties. (845) 246-9240. MissLucysKitchen.com.
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CITY GUIDE
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE RED ONION
VILLAGE DINER
THE RED ONION
The Red Onion’s another one-of-a-kind restaurant in Woodstock, and if it’s fish you want, look no further. It’s located in a circa-1850 farmhouse, which means that, yep, there’s a resident ghost. But don’t worry—she’s never been known to bother patrons. The Red Onion is known as an American bistro, and chef Kevin Katz opened it with Rochelle Farnsworth in 2002. “The house-cured sardines on the appetizers are a specialty on the menu,” says employee Ray Ganady. “They’re very well known. All of our fish preparations are worth trying.” The menu rotates often as the chef tries new flavor combinations with seasonal ingredients, though a few items always stay. You can view the menu of the day on the Red Onion website, but expect it to include salads, mussels, the house sardines and then creative entrees like the sautéed calf’s liver, served in a balsamic vinegar sauce with caramelized string beans, red onion, bacon and whipped potatoes. As an added bonus, if you visit on a Tuesday night, all wine bottles are 30 percent off. The cocktail menu also rotates regularly. 1654 Route 212, Saugerties. (845) 679-1223. RedOnionRestaurant.com.
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Whenever she’s competing at a dressage show at the HITS grounds, Diana Creech and her friends and clients stop in at the Village Diner, which offers traditional diner fare with low prices and in a casual environment. “We have never had anything bad there,” says Creech. “Whatever they cook up has always been good, and the portions have been good. The pies are delicious. The dessert is plenty, and it’s delicious. The people are nice. We walk in, and they recognize us right away.” Popular items include “The Heart Attack,” a breakfast sandwich with egg, bacon, ham, sausage, home fries, cheese and grilled onions, and their overstuffed omelets. Burgers are popular at lunch, as are their roast beef sandwiches. The diner’s popularity can occasionally be its own downfall; arrive early for a table during busy breakfast and lunch hours. There’s no dinner served here. 140 Main Street, Saugerties. (845) 246-7747. Find them on Facebook.
PHOTO COURTESY OF HUDSON VALLEY DESSERT COMPANY
HUDSON VALLEY DESSERT COMPANY
You have to love a place that makes horse-shaped cookies specifically when the equine clientele comes to town, and that’s just what the Hudson Valley Dessert Company does during the HITS Saugerties series. This little shop specializes in cookies, biscotti, cakes and granola, and you can pick up a treat to enjoy while walking around town or grab a bunch for your barn mates. Try the very popular biscotti, but the carrot cake is also renowned. 264 Main Street, Saugerties. (845) 246-1545. HudsonValleyDessertCompany.com.
SLICES OF SAUGERTIES
Hunter/jumper rider and trainer Jimmy Torano has some advice for you regarding restaurants in Saugerties. “Do not miss going to Slices,” he says. “I’d never been there until the last time we were there for three weeks, and then I hit it up twice a week. It has phenomenal pizza. The pizza is unbelievable.” For starters at Slices, they offer salads with organic greens (and free-range chicken if you’d like), and then you’ll want to try their garlic knots. But make sure you save plenty of room for the main course—the pizza. Guests can choose their own toppings or try one of Slices’ signature pies, like the Grandma Broccoli Rabe And Sausage (broccoli rabe, sausage, garlic, olive oil and mozzarella) or the Pizza Diane (spinach, eggplant, roasted peppers, tomato sauce and mozzarella). A cheeseless vegan pizza is also an option. Finish with the strawberry ricotta cheesecake. 71 Partition Street, Saugerties. (845) 247-3966. SlicesofSaugerties.com
PHOTO COURTESY OF RENWICK CLIFTON HOUSE
RENWICK CLIFTON HOUSE BED AND BREAKFAST
During the HITS circuit, the Renwick Clifton House is filled to capacity with equestrians. “We get a lot of riders since we’re only 1 mile from the horse show,” says Eric Adams, who owns the bed and breakfast with Miriam Adams. “We’re one of a few B&Bs in the county to have river views.” Built in 1812, the house only has four bedrooms, but it offers views of the Hudson River from its massive deck and a large, comfortable common space. A 200-year-old cucumber magnolia tree provides shade over the front porch. If you stay, you can help yourself to a four-course gourmet breakfast every morning. 27 Barclay Street, Saugerties. (845) 246-0552. RenwickClifton.com.
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LISA SLADE PHOTO
CITY GUIDE
LUCKY CHOCOLATES
When you’re walking through the main part of Saugerties, don’t miss stopping by Lucky Chocolates for a few handmade treats. Owned by Rae Stang, the shop offers every chocolate confection of your dreams. There are barks, cocoa-dusted almonds, salt caramels, truffles, turtles, toffees, and you can even buy a 5" tall French bulldog made of chocolate. Speaking from personal experience, the espresso and chili truffles are definitely worth trying, as is the salt shell turtle. As an added bonus, there’s an adorable 1,500-square foot loft above the shop that’s available for rent by the weekend or week. It sleeps six, is pet-friendly and boasts a rooftop garden, so it’s the perfect place to book with your barnmates—if you think you can bear all your show clothes smelling like chocolate. 115 Partition Street, Saugerties. (845) 246-7337. LuckyChocolates.com.
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SAUGERTIES LIGHTHOUSE
As soon as you approach the Saugerties city limits, signs start directing you to the lighthouse. Originally built in 1869, it’s now a museum and bed and breakfast, and it’s a recommended attraction from the New York Times, Budget Travel and Lonely Planet. The lighthouse sits on the Hudson River, at the mouth of Esopus Creek, and it doesn’t look like what you’ve probably come to expect from the term “lighthouse.” There are only two guest rooms in the bed and breakfast portion, with a shared bathroom, and it has some rustic touches— for instance, no air conditioning in summer. But the rooms are bright and airy and could provide a quiet respite for the horse show traveler. Even if you don’t decide to stay overnight or even visit the museum, it’s still worth the half-mile walk down a nature trail to see the lighthouse. 168 Lighthouse Drive, Saugerties. (845) 247-0656. SaugertiesLighthouse.com.
Want to wake up between crisp Egyptian cotton linens in a room where you can hear the rushing waters of the Hudson River going down Esopus Falls? The Diamond Mills Hotel is just the place for it. Many of this hotel’s 30 guest rooms have balconies that overlook the falls, and it’s often populated by horse show-goers and officials. They also offer some longterm apartment rentals for those staying on longer than a weekend. But even if you decide to stay somewhere else, the Tavern at Diamond Mills is worth a stop. Chef Giuseppe Napoli is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, and he serves up plenty of seafood options—like a north Pacific coast wild king salmon with lemon risotto and a butter-poached lobster risotto with blood orange mascarpone— alongside lamb and rib eye. “The tavern skillet burger with the truffle fries is fantastic,” says Debra Reinhardt, who manages the dressage shows at the HITS Saugerties venue with her Centerline Events Dressage Show Management. “The food there is just as good as it gets, and the setting is beautiful,” says Torano. “Our kids actually love to go there because they can go out on the back patio and see the waterfall. They always ask if we can go to Diamond Mills.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF DIAMOND MILLS
DIAMOND MILLS HOTEL AND TAVERN
25 South Partition Street, Saugerties. (845) 247-0700. DiamondMillsHotel.com.
PHOTO COURTESY OF LAND & SEA STEAKHOUSE
LAND & SEA GRILL AND STEAKHOUSE
“I love going to Land & Sea,” says dressage competitor Sharon McCusker. “It’s right there by the showgrounds.” This restaurant is described as an “old-school chophouse focusing on prime meats and seafood paired with wine and local beer.” The fried calamari is a favorite for an appetizer, while the steak and lobster are, unsurprisingly, the most popular entrees. The portions are plentiful, so arrive hungry or prepare to take some home with you. 395 NY-212, Saugerties. (845) 246-0355. Find them on Facebook.
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CITY GUIDE THE DUTCH ALE HOUSE
Sometimes after a horse show you just want a beer and burger, and the Dutch Ale House does both of those quite well. At any given time, they have 15 craft beers on tap, in addition to the host of bottled beers that populate their drink menu. The food is pretty standard pub fare, with some twists—like the brie burger or the truffle, garlic and parmesan wings—and there are specials every weekend. Check out the current beer menu online, as the beverages offered change regularly.
PHOTO COURTESY OF DUTCH ALE HOUSE
253 Main Street, Saugerties. (845) 247-2337. DutchAleHouse.com.
Annarella is show jumper Todd Minikus’ favorite place in town. “It’s just good Italian food,” he says. The place is known for its homemade breads—baked every day—fresh salads and an extensive wine list, in addition to its pasta and seafood entrees. The calf’s liver, sautéed in a red wine vinegar with caramelized onions and panseared polenta, is one of their specialties, as is the venison medallion in a red wine sauce. 276 Malden Turnpike, Saugerties. (845) 247-7289. Find them on Facebook.
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PHOTO COURTESY OF ANNARELLA RISTORANTE
ANNARELLA RISTORANTE
CUCINA
NEW WORLD HOME COOKING
PHOTO COURTESY OF NEW WORLD HOME COOKING
109 Mill Hill Road, Woodstock. (845) 679-9800. CucinaWoodstock.com.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CUCINA
To eat at Cucina, you’re going to have to leave the boundaries of Saugerties and head to Woodstock. But, by all accounts, this short trek will be worth it. “All of my customers go there, and they all speak very highly of it,” says Scott. The dinner menu, curated by chef Giovanni Scappin, is traditional Italian, and it offers plenty of options, ranging from a soup of the day to sandwiches, pizzas, pastas and main courses. Try the salmon, served with summer corn pudding in a cherry tomato vinaigrette. For dessert, the butterscotch budino with a toasted coconut crème gets rave reviews. In addition to dinner seven nights a week, you can do brunch at Cucina on the weekends. Don’t be surprised by its exterior appearance, which looks almost like a private residence.
New World caters to many tastes, and the diverse menu offers vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options alongside the regular ones. “It’s different food, all eclectic, lots of vegetarian options, and it’s food you wouldn’t necessarily get just anywhere,” says dressage trainer Katie Robicheaux, who shows at HITS. “It has a fun environment. I’m not vegetarian, but a lot of my clients are, and I don’t do dairy, so I like that they tell you what’s in everything.” Vegetarian favorites include the rigatoni and eggplant balls and blue corn crusted seitan cutlets. But omnivores need not feel left out. Chef Ric Orlando, a two-time winner on the Food Network series Chopped, offers plenty of meat options as well, including Campanelli’s local chicken on the grill, which comes with either Jamaican jerk, Dirty Blonde barbecue, chimichurri or Meanhouse Red barbecue sauce. There’s also a bacon-wrapped, smoked gouda-stuffed meatloaf, soft-shell crab pad Thai and oysters. Don’t miss the seasonal cocktails either, like the grapefruit mint vodka-jito. 1411 Route 212, Saugerties. (845) 246-0900. NewWorldHomeCooking.com.
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Proud to be the Official Jeweler and Broadcast Partner of the 2015 Central Park Horse Show Proud Sponsor of the 2015 Washington International Horse Show
CHARITY SPOTLIGHT A CLOSER LOOK AT:
Horses And Hope The Bluegrass State reaches its equine industry professionals and spectators alike with this innovative breast cancer screening and treatment program. By MEGAN BRINCKS Photo courtesy of HORSES AND HOPE
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K
entucky is known for lush, green pastures, high-energy horse races and supreme bourbon. But the Bluegrass State is also one of the leading states in cancer rates, and that’s a legacy the leadership team behind Horses And Hope would like to change. Formed by Kentucky’s First Lady, Jane Beshear, Horses And Hope began with a mission to educate Thoroughbred racetrack workers about breast cancer and provide free mammograms, in a partnership with the Kentucky Cancer Program. “For more than 20 years, we’ve worked with Kentucky’s first ladies on breast cancer projects,” said Connie Sorrell, director of the Kentucky Cancer Program. “When Jane Beshear
>> WHAT IT IS: Powered through the Kentucky Cancer Program, Horses And Hope reaches out to members of the state’s equine industry—and anyone attending equestrian events within its borders—to provide education, free screenings and treatment for breast cancer. Kentucky ranks first in the nation for cancer deaths, but Horses And Hope aims to change that statistic by promoting awareness, offering free screenings to employees and spectators at racetracks and horse shows, and working with Medicaid to provide treatment when necessary. While the initiative focused first on breast cancer, its new mobile screening center will soon offer early detection tests for six other types of cancer.
came in, I met with her and said, ‘Would you like to do something with the equine industry?’ She was thrilled because she loves horses, and she’s very committed to helping women of the state.” This wasn’t the first time Jane, whose daughter-in-law is four-star eventer Emily Beshear, had had a hand in Kentucky’s signature industry. She’s served on the board of Equestrian Events Inc., which organizes the Rolex Kentucky CCI****, and on the World Equestrian Games Foundation Board. And it certainly wasn’t the first time promoting cancer screening had occurred to her, either. “Even before [my husband, Governor Steve Beshear] won the election in 2007, I wanted to raise awareness for breast cancer prevention in Kentucky’s horse industry,” Jane said. “I had a vision of making the Kentucky Oaks race for fillies at Churchill Downs the day before the Derby a ‘pink’ event that would get the message out and raise funds for screening and treatment. “After meeting with Connie and Churchill Downs, we found a way to make this dream a reality,” she continued. “Now the ‘Pink Out’ on Oaks day at Churchill Downs is a highly anticipated annual event that raises awareness and money for breast cancer prevention and treatment efforts.” At the beginning of Jane’s tenure as first lady, Horses And Hope focused on the racing industry, reaching underand uninsured workers, trainers, breeders and owners. But they soon branched out exponentially by attending Saddlebred shows, including the World’s Championship Horse Show in Louisville, and other competitions and rodeos. The organization also began promoting breast cancer awareness days at racetracks to involve racing fans, many of whom would not have otherwise been
reached through the program. In 2015, Horses And Hope was named the official charity for Rolex Kentucky, and the event’s inaugural Twilight 5K run raised additional funds to support the mission. No matter where Horses And Hope goes, the model is similar, Sorrell explained. Bilingual outreach workers go barn to barn and stall to stall at any race or show to spread the message of screening and early detection for breast cancer. They occasionally host breakfasts where everyone can get a free meal as well, and they’ll help set up appointments for women to come to the mobile mammography van, where they can receive a free screening on site. If any test comes back suspicious, Horses And Hope will arrange for more extensive testing and treatment through Medicaid. “We not only provide that screening, but we’re able to complete that loop and provide treatment as well, which extends to plastic surgery, if needed,” Sorrell said. With the inherently transient nature of equine industry jobs in mind, Horses And Hope ensures that patients can receive treatment anywhere in the nation by working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Medicaid. “They all have embraced us,” Sorrell said. “It’s been unbelievable—the racetracks are thrilled to offer something like this for employees and race fans. We set up pink tents in the paddock area. Many of the race fans who come are just part of the general population. When we go to the horse shows, they have a lot of pink ribbon nights. We’ve not had to beg, borrow and steal; it’s ‘Let us help you—we know there’s a need in the community.’ ” Although Horses And Hope was
>> LEARN MORE: Visit the Horses And Hope website at HorsesandHope.org. >> GET IN TOUCH: Contact Horses And Hope through the Kentucky Cancer Program at kycancer@louisville.edu or by calling (502) 852-6318. >> GET INVOLVED: In addition to monetary donations to help get its new cancer-screening van on the road, Horses And Hope’s organizers need public involvement, including scheduling information about shows, clinics or any event that will have a gathering of equestrians in the state of Kentucky. originally conceived to last only through the completion of Jane’s tenure as first lady, Sorrell said she’s confident it will continue in an even more impactful way. “Jane Beshear, because she does everything in a big way, decided to raise $1 million to put a new Horses And Hope cancer screening van on the road,” Sorrell said. The new van will have amenities to screen for seven different types of cancer for both men and women— breast, cervical, colon, lung, prostate, skin and head/neck. And it will not only go to racetracks, horse shows and farms, but it will also travel around the state to pocket areas with few resources for cancer screening. “This will exist beyond Mrs. Beshear. She’s pledged to be involved in some way, but we have offices all over Kentucky, so we will be able to offer the support to people going forward,” Sorrell said. “She’s very smart and very ambitious, and [Horses And Hope] turned into a project beyond my wildest expectations. This will be the legacy.”
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BEST OF WEB & PRINT
What’s Hot On The Web u For Those Who Don’t “Get
It”: A Non-Horse Addicts Guide To Understanding Horse Addicts—Parts 1 & 2
BRANT GAMMA PHOTO
Amateur blogger Christiane Campbell has come up with a hilarious two-part guide to fielding those pesky questions from the non-horsey. “The barn is a place where two hours inevitably turn into six, and a ‘quick trip to the barn to hack’ is half the day. Most barns are outside of normal cellular networks, so while you should not expect us to respond to calls or texts while we’re at the barn, you should expect to see on Instagram at least 12 bird’s-eye-view photos of our horse’s mane, at least 27 angles of our horse grazing at the end of a lead rope, and at least 15 shots of him lying in his stall, all with proper filtering and hashtags,” she writes: coth.com/article/non-horse-addicts-guide-part-1 and coth.com/ article/non-horse-addicts-guide-part-2
u Retired Racehorse Project
Makeover Bloggers u Summer Storms And
Cicada Songs
In his first blog, eventer Matt Brown revealed that he was moving east in a quest to take his career to a new level. In this entry, he discusses the heartwrenching departure from home, navigating the team selection process, and more. “Finding the balance between doing what I need to do in order to make a team and doing what I need to do in order to keep my horses mentally and physically sound and confident, as well as what I need to do to keep me (and my wife) sane, is like performing a high wire act in bad weather,” he writes: coth.com/article/summer-storms-and-cicada-songs
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There’s Thoroughbred fever going around, as riders get their entries ready for the Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover. Chronicle blogger Tik Maynard has joined them, as has Michael Dignelli, brother of top hunter/jumper/equitation trainer Andre Dignelli. You can follow their horses as they adapt to their new careers at coth.com/ category/author-name/blogger-tik-maynard and coth.com/category/author-name /bloggermichael-dignelli
Don’t Miss In The Magazine
u The Rise Of The FEI Have you noticed the recent influx of new CSI grand prix classes in Kentucky, North Carolina, California, New York and New Jersey? Staff writer Lisa Slade explored the reasons behind this growth trend, what’s next, and how it’s affecting the sport in our Aug. 3 issue of the Chronicle. Pick up a copy today to read why USEF Sport Director Will Connell thinks “It’s great to see the expansion in show jumping, but I’m not sure we have all the horses in the harness.”
u Demystifying Marilyn It’s the Chronicle cover story everyone’s been talking about, and if you’re not already subscribing, you may have missed it. Grand prix show jumper Marilyn Little has become a lightning rod for controversy since she also took up eventing in 2010, and our associate editor Molly Sorge sat down with her for an in-depth feature in our Eventing Issue, just prior to Little’s subsequent doublegold win at the Pan American Games in Toronto. You won’t want to miss Little’s insight on rumors, respect and proving herself all over again in a new sport in our July 13 & 20 double issue.
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SHANNON BRINKMAN PHOTO
MOLLIE BAILEY PHOTO
u Honoring Our Living Legends Highlighting the rich history of horse sport in America is one of the Chronicle’s longstanding missions, and in our Living Legends series we celebrate horsemen and women who’ve made outstanding contributions to the community. Our July 27 Amateur Issue features the inimitable Betty Oare, who’s woven herself into the fabric of the horse world over five decades as a hunter rider, foxhunter, breeder, judge and more. And be sure to pick up a copy of our Aug. 17 issue for our cover story on Champ Hough, who, as an Olympic eventer, top show hunter, jockey, appraiser of Thoroughbreds, breeder, clinician, judge, movie consultant, trainer of President Reagan and Saudi Arabian jumpers, has enough experience for several lifetimes.
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PARTING WAYS
He Sticks The Landing Photo by TISH QUIRK Â
Show jumper Rob Gage found himself in a delicate position after parting company with his mount Floh at the 1987 Murieta Equine Classic (Calif.).
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U N TAC K E D
HORSEMAN’S SECLUDED PARADISE 2648 Appaloosa Trail Wellington, Florida
Beautifully upgraded 5 bedroom 4 1/2 bath home featuring a magnificent pool area with outdoor kitchen and tiki hut overlooking the 19 stall barn, generous paddocks and two riding arenas. Guest house and Grooms Quarters complete this Saddle Trail property.
MARIA MENDELSOHN
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