Massachusetts Horse October/November 2013

EQUE$TRIAN PROPERTIE$: BUYING AND SELLING YOUR FARM page 20

M ASSAC H U S E T TS

HORSE

EVENTING 101 RIGHT LEAD page 30

CAPTURING MEMORIES

October/November 2013 mahorse.com $3

EQUINE PHOTOGRAPHERS page 8

INSURANCE: A GUIDE TO THE BASICS RIGHT LEAD page 26

BLUE HILLS RESERVATION TRAIL GUIDE page 42

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Massachusetts Horse

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October/November 2013

contents

October/November 2013

columns 20 Equestrian Properties Right Lead

Mystical Photography

24 Blue Dog Leather Bay State Business

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8

26 Insurance Horse Sense

30 Eventing 101 Right Lead

36 Blue Star Equiculture Lend a Hoof

Joan Davis / Flatlandsfoto

38 Blue Hills Reservation

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Christina Anderson

Trail Guide

36

in every issue

features 8

Capturing Memories

6 From the Editor

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Pony Club to FEI horseperson profile

Equine Photographers

14

Course Brook Farm Three Generations of Innovation farm spotlight

Erin Risso

18

Highland Park Loyal, Bold, and Playful horse profile

7 Your Letters 33 This Olde Horse 34

Junior Horsemanship Awards

40 Overherd: News in Our Community 44 Bay State Happenings 46 Partners 50 Events Calendar 58 Massachusetts Marketplace 60 The Neighborhood 61

Is This Your Horse?

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Advertiser Index Massachusetts Horse

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from the editor

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oday is a perfect autumn day — crisp air, blue sky, and a breeze to keep away the bugs — I hope we’ll be this lucky on October 5 for the ninth-annual Massachusetts

Horse Benefit Show. I also hope you’ll join us for a fun and

M AS SAC H U S E T T S

HORSE vol. 12, no. 3 October/November 2013 ISSN 1945-1393 99 Bissell Road, Williamsburg, MA 01096 phone: (413) 268-3302 • fax: (413) 268-0050 • mahorse.com

competitive day to raise money for the 32 horses at Blue Star Equiculture Draft Horse Sanctuary, in Palmer. We’re giving away more than $8,500 in prizes and have $100 and $200 Classics, and there’ll be a fantastic silent auction. For a prize list and to enter online, visit mahorse.com.

Massachusetts Horse magazine is an independently owned and -operated all-breed, all-discipline equestrian publication for Massachusetts. © 2013 Massachusetts Horse All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this magazine or portions thereof in any form without prior written permission.

publisher/editor Stephanie Sanders-Ferris • steph@mahorse.com • (413) 268-3302 copy editor Doris Troy feature writers Stephanie Funk, Holly Jacobson, Sheila McCormick, Alessandra Mele, Stacey Stearns, Susan Winslow contributors Sharyn Antico, Lisa Grigaitis, Denise Kellicker, Kay Konove, Joan Lowbridge-Sisley, Diane Merritt, Emily Messing, Laurie Neely, Liz Russell

Kit Cat Photography

county desk liaisons Berkshire, Hampden, and Hampshire Counties Alessandra Mele • (413) 949-1972 • alessandra@mahorse.com Bristol County Michelle Camara • (508) 496-0925 • michelle@mahorse.com Essex County Holly Jacobson • (978) 356-5842 • holly@mahorse.com Worcester County desk liaison Angie Tollefson captured this image of 17-year-old George, owned by Elizabeth Curran, in Berlin.

A very special thank-you to the title sponsors of the Massachusetts Horse Benefit Show — Absorbine, Dover Saddlery, and Ponytail — as well as to our blue ribbon sponsor, Westfield Whip. A shout-out, too, to my brother Pete for his incredible

Essex and Middlesex Counties Sophiea Bitel • (781) 286-0729 • sophiea@mahorse.com Norfolk and Plymouth Counties Laura Solod • (617) 699-7299 • laura@mahorse.com Worcester County Angie Tollefson • (636) 459-5478 • angie@mahorse.com advertising main office • (413) 268-3302 • ads@mahorse.com Joanne McCluskey • (413) 323-6652 • joanne@mahorse.com

support of this year’s show.

Massachusetts Horse’s county desk liaisons have been out and

Advertising deadline for the December/January issue is November 1.

about covering events all over the state. Many photos are posted on our Facebook page with additional information about upcoming events; others are published in the Bay State on the cover: Elizabeth Barry, Bits and Bridles Photography Nasser JCH, owned by Laura Pelletier, of Granby

Happenings department in each issue of the magazine (see pages 44 and 45). Let us know when you’re having a horserelated event and we’ll try our best to be there. And remember

Massachusetts Horse is printed with vegetable ink on recycled paper.

to join us on Facebook.

Heading out the door to pick apples for my ponies and me.

Enjoy this lovely season!

Stephanie 6

October/November 2013

@Mass_Horse

the fine print The views and opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Massachusetts Horse staff or independent contractors, nor can they be held accountable. Massachusetts Horse will not be held responsible for any misrepresentations or any copyright infringement on the part of advertisers. Massachusetts Horse will not be held responsible for typing errors other than a correction in the following issue. All letters addressed to Massachusetts Horse, its publisher, editor, and staff are assumed for publication. Photos, stories (verbal or printed), notifications, news items, and all other material that is submitted, including all materials and photos not specifically solicited by Massachusetts Horse, are assumed to be legally released by the submitter for publication. Massachusetts Horse assumes no responsibility for damage to or loss of material submitted for publication. Reasonable care will be taken to ensure the safety and return of all materials.

your letters To the Editor: I received the Massachusetts Horse Junior Horsemanship Award at the Pipestave Summer Horse Trials and I want to give you a huge thank-you. It meant so much to me after I had a rough day in cross-country.

Kati Bolduc, via email

Orion Farm Wherere Stars A !

Born

Massachusetts . Florida

established 1988

To the Editor: The Interscholastic Equestrian Team feature and our ad in the August/September issue look amazing. Thank you so much.

You did an awesome job!

Liz Kleinfeld, Century Mill Stables, Bolton

To the Editor: The City of Westfield was thrilled to see the article about the Westfield Whip Manufacturing Company in your June/July issue. We are proud of and grateful for Carol Martin’s passion to transform her whip company into a working museum and preserving this unique part of Westfield’s history. It’s a wonderful article to be shared and appreciated by our community.

Thank you!

Diana McLean Community Development Block Grant Coordinator, Westfield

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To the Editor: I was very impressed with Andrea Bugbee’s article on Loveable Luna — very professional as well as getting the essence of the Therapeutic Equestrian Center program. Thank you.

John Cowley, DVM, Hampton Veterinary Services, Easthampton

To the Editor: Thank you for including a feature on Scribbles and Brittany Wallace in the April/May issue. Their story presents a great message, and Andrea Bugbee did an excellent job telling it.

Carson Barylak Federal Policy Advisor, Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, D.C.

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October 20 Worcestershire Pony Club 2 Phase Four Town Fairgrounds, Egypt Road, Somers, Connecticut karcorkery@verizon.net for info.

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Capturing Memories

MIG Equine

Equine Photographers

Tollen Thurber’s current favorite photo.

by Stacey Stearns

M

assachusetts Horse sat down with several Bay State photographers and learned about their education and how we can all take better pictures of our horses.

Meet the Experts Carol Hill owns CA Hill Photo, in South Dartmouth.

She focuses on farm and location shoots, and travels with farms to take pictures at shows.

Tollen Thurber, of Moments in Grace Photography/MIG Equine, in Erving, is a Massachusetts Horse county desk liaison for Barnstable and Franklin Counties and in her business specializes in private shoots and digital editing.

Lisa Cenis, of Shoot That Horse in South Hadley, has been a professional photographer since 1999 and focuses on carriage driving. She also shoots for clients at events and travels to their farms for private photo shoots.

Joan Davis, of Rehoboth, 8

October/November 2013

owns Flatlandsfoto. You’ll find her behind the camera lens capturing the beauty of dressage and the thrill of eventing.

Suzanne DeGeorge, of Newburyport, owns Suzanne DeGeorge Photography and focuses on landscapes. As a volunteer at Wings and Hooves Therapeutic Riding Center, she also has the opportunity to shoot horses and their riders.

Liz Barry, of Bits and Bridles Photography in Charlton, has been shooting horses, landscapes, and other images professionally since 2009. Liz specializes in horse shows and portraits.

Angie Tollefson is the Worcester County desk liaison for Massachusetts Horse and owns Kit Cat Photography and Animal Massage, in Lancaster, where she focuses on portrait shoots.

Massachusetts Horse: How did you get started in photography?

Carol: I started for fun in high school . . . several decades

ago! While I was in college, I was involved with the school photo service, shooting primarily sports. Since then I’ve taken a few courses from various equine photographers to keep updated.

Tollen: I loved photography from a very early age and received a 35 mm camera for my fifth birthday. I loved taking pictures and have been shooting ever since. It became a profession in 2003.

Lisa: I’m a self-taught photographer and have been shooting for 14 years. I started shooting trail-ride pictures for our local horse club and was then drawn to carriage driving.

Joan: I spent most of my life as a competitor and trainer in the sports of eventing and dressage. In 2001, a riding accident forced me permanently out of the saddle. A camera was part of my rehab.

In spring 2004 Pam Eckelbarger, from Hoof Pix Sport Horse Photography, took me under her wing as

her assistant, and taught me all about dressage and eventing photography.

Suzanne: I’m self-trained; I picked up a camera years ago and took photos for fun for the last twenty years. Last year I began doing photography full time. I always have a camera with me.

Liz: I received my first camera — a Polaroid — as a Christmas gift at the age of eleven, and never stopped shooting. The purchase of my first DSLR, in 2007, coincided with the purchase of my very first horse, solidifying the dream of becoming an equine photographer. Two years later, after shooting horse shows and portrait sessions for friends, Bits and Bridles Photography was born.

Angie: I’m primarily selftaught. When I fostered cats, I realized that the cuter the picture of the cat, the faster it was adopted. To get better at photography, I’ve taken a few classes and compete with my local camera club.

Kit Cat Photography

Joan Davis / Flatlandsfoto

The Road Home by Joan Davis, of Flatlandsfoto in Rehoboth.

MH: What’s one problem you see in many photos that’s an easy fix?

Carol: Many photos are taken too close to the horse, or using a lens with the wrong focal length. This is especially noticeable when the photo is taken head on or at a threequarter view — the horse’s head looks gigantic. The solution is either to back up from the horse or use a 200 m or wider lens for the focal length.

Tollen: This is really true — a lot of people don’t know why their picture looks funny, and it’s because of the lens.

Horses are built long and narrow. I shoot with a lens between 135 and 200 m; you get a much more accurate representation of the horse.

Try a 50 m lens and a 135 m lens and take the same picture of your horse — you’ll notice a difference.

Lisa: Just one, huh? I try to set up my images so they’re right from the camera. The first thing I look for is background; always check your background.

Joan: Edit yourself! I take thousands of photos daily.

Out of all of them, only a handful are really special.

When you’re shooting friends, take some time after downloading the photos to pick the best of the group to share with friends on Facebook or your online photo gallery.

Usually I narrow my selection to four to six images, which isn’t easy. That way, your friends see the best of your work.

Suzanne: Cropping is a useful tool and can really improve a photo if you notice afterward that the subject isn’t in the foreground.

Liz: A distracting background. Beware of what’s lurking in your photo! Whether it’s a trashcan or some other clutter, think before you shoot. Chances are you can avoid the offending item by shifting your position in one direction or the other.

Angie: Have something on hand to get the horse’s attention, like a bucket with grain or a candy wrapper. If

A recent favorite by Angie Tollefson, of Kit Cat Photography in Lancaster.

you start using it too soon, though, the horse will ignore it when you’re ready to shoot.

MH: What other advice do you have for horse owners taking photos at home or at a shows?

Carol: Make sure your horse and tack are clean. It doesn’t need to be fancy but tack absolutely has to be clean and neat. This is especially true of horses for sale. Presentation matters: They must be brushed, and can’t be wearing a ratty halter.

Lisa: If you’re in the picture, smile — it completes your turnout! If it’s just your equine, do your best to make it shine.

Joan: Learn how to use the camera without one of the preset shooting modes.

Aspiring photographers have some great cameras available at affordable prices. These cameras can do so much more than shoot in sports mode. Once you begin to understand a bit about shutter speed, aperture, and ISO,

you’ll have a much better chance to capture the image you envision. There are a number of great online classes teaching the basics of digital photography. Find one that fits your schedule and then spend some time with the camera manual and the class notes.

Suzanne: The best photos I’ve taken aren’t posed; they’re in-the-moment, natural photos that just sort of happen.

Liz: Utilize your camera’s autofocus function and let the camera focus on the subject.

It may take a little practice but you’ll have beautiful, sharp pictures before you know it.

Angie: People think a bright sunny day is good for photos, but it creates a lot of shadows. An overcast day is usually better. Photos of a sale horse must be clear and show off the horse’s personality.

That will help make a sale. If you’re having trouble, spend the extra money to have a professional shoot; you’ll make it back in the sale price of the horse.

Massachusetts Horse

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MH: Please describe a favorite photograph you’ve taken.

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October/November 2013

Carol: I took a black-and-white photo on the beach in Newport that’s heavily backlit, almost like a silhouette. The polo player is hitting the ball out of the water.

Another favorite is a reverse silhouette of my friend on her gray horse. I wasn’t shooting the horse, but it looked out of the arena and I snapped a few photos of it. Neither of these was a planned shot; I was in the right place at the right time.

Tollen: I love the interaction between the girl and her pony in one of my favorite photos. The photo sums it up to me.

Lisa: It’s the first picture I sold. Mr. Mischka chose one of mine for his Mischka Driving Horse calendar and it really motivated me. In 2013 one of my images was the calendar’s cover.

Joan: I seem to have a new favorite every weekend. This spring I had the opportunity to photograph the Great American Horse Drive, in Colorado, and a very special photograph I took then might be my current favorite. Recently I was allowed to photograph the Cavalia Odysseo show in Somerville and have some very special images from that performance. I don’t think I can really pick just one.

Bits and Bridles Photography

Suzanne: I have tons of favorites and in a sense my photos become my children. My favorites are the ones in which you can see the connection between the horse and rider; kids just love their horses.

Liz: I think I have one from every event. One of my favorites is a profile of my first horse, Rohan: his extremely muddy face, focused on his pensive brown eye looking out over the field. It

really captured the true Rohan. This picture is even more special to me now, as I lost Rohan two years ago.

Angie: My favorite photo regularly changes with what I’ve done recently.

Some past favorites are a rescue-farm shoot with large snowflakes in the picture and a little girl hugging her pony.

MH: Do you have any advice for those looking to do more with their photography?

Carol: Training and classes really help.

Second shooting with someone is beneficial because you learn a lot. Photography is a tough business right now; very few people are buying photos even though they love them. I enjoy photography and like the people and watching their horses.

Lisa: Get out there and shoot. With digital, there are no more excuses about film costs. Experiment and enjoy.

Suzanne: Sometimes you can even take good photos with just a point-andshoot camera. Take a lot of pictures. If you do, you’re bound to get at least a few good ones. Also, experiment with different light, angles, exposures, and other elements. And do whatever you can to get your work out there so people can see it.

Liz: Take lots of pictures. With the majority of photographers shooting with Massachusetts Horse

11

digital cameras, you can delete the ones you don’t like. You never know when you might capture a really great moment.

Angie: If you want to get better, talk to a photographer and ask her to critique your photos. Ask what you can do to improve.

will still be able to capture that extra spark that sets her apart.”

Having professional images to augment the photos you take is also a bonus for most equestrians. “I can’t tell you the number of people who have expressed

Final Thoughts

Shoot That Horse Photography

Carol has a long history in film shooting and likes to do minimal post-shooting editing. “It’s a little more challenging not to go into Photoshop to correct the photos,” she says. “It forces me to be more careful and accurate when I’m shooting. I use Tri-Color Lab in New Bedford for my printing; it does a lot of professional printing and when the photos come back, they’re beautiful and suitable to be hung on walls.”

Many of our Bay State photographers have seen horse-show shooting become more competitive. “It’s gotten complex in the digital age,” Tollen says. “The average family now owns a good camera, and digital photography enables people to take great photos on their own. That’s a really good thing; we encourage people to preserve their own memories. A professional photographer

their gratitude to me at a horse show when their batteries died or they had trouble with their camera,” Liz says.

“But equestrians need to be aware that in most cases the photographer isn’t paid to be at the horse show,” Tollen says.

“The income we make from shows is based on sales of photos. It’s a copyright infringement when proofs are online and

people take them without paying.

Supporting professional photographers through sales keeps us willing to wake up at four in the morning to go shoot a horse show and then spend the next day downloading proofs.”

“Many times, the event photographer is given access that would be restricted to the spectators, such as at a United States Equestrian Federation–recognized event,” Liz says. “Shooting horse shows is incredibly hard work, but capturing memories is what makes it worthwhile.”

“A lot of time, money, and education are invested in the profession,” Tollen says. “At the end of the day, all of us love focusing on the connection between people and their horses and immortalizing that with our lens.”

Stacey Stearns is a lifelong equine enthusiast from Connecticut who enjoys competitive trail riding with her gelding and learning the ins and outs of dressage with her mare. When not in the barn, she reads and writes about horses.

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Massachusetts Horse

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Sherborn

Course Brook Farm

Three Generations of Innovation

by Alessandra Mele

I

n 1927, Donald Rogers Mayo established a dairy farm on 300 acres of leased land in Sherborn and proudly called it Fairfield Farm. Some 70 resident cows were milked twice a day, and that milk was processed, bottled, and delivered daily to the locals. Today, on the same land, one sees miles of challenging cross-country fences, dozens of grazing sport horses, and Donald’s grandson, Matt, cutting hay and taking it all in. A lot has happened in more than 80 years, and the sport of eventing is better because of it.

divine way,” Matt says. “We’re very fortunate that this has been a family-supported affair, and people have really helped out.”

Always Improving By the 1990s, Course Brook Farm was committed to becoming an eventingfocused facility. Advanced-level event rider Jim Gornall came by the farm in

Heifers to Horse Trials Donald’s milk-delivery business continued through the 1970s, but it fell into the hands of Donald’s son and daughter-in-law, Jack and Nancy Mayo, after his sudden death in 1956. The farm faced obstacles over the years, from the Great Depression; to the emergence of convenience and grocery stores in the mid-1960s; to a final sale of the land in 1966, reducing the property to 60 acres; and then 1973’s oil embargo. Customers needed to save their money for gasoline, and the effect that had on milk sales almost shut down the farm. At this point, they made the shift to just redistributing the milk.

The farm was running under Nancy’s direction, and Jack, who saw the home-delivery milk industry in decline, built ten stalls in the main barn. The space was leased to a tenant who brought his horses to the farm. The Mayo family knew little about horses, but Matt recalls the excitement it caused: “Our family will never forget the Saturday when all ten horses arrived. Each of can remember the horses’ and owners’ names.” And Course Brook Farm was born.

Since that day, Course Brook has embraced eventing, and has seen tremendous developments as it’s grown into one of the state’s premier facilities for the sport. The dedication of the Mayo family to innovation and to improving their land has been unwavering, and clients and competitors who have been drawn to the farm from all over New England are the beneficiaries of their hard work. “It’s all moved along in a 14

October/November 2013

1996 and began talking to Matt about bringing the farm’s landscape to its potential. “Jim suggested that what we needed was a full cross-country course,” says Matt. “I looked at him, and my immediate response was, ‘What, for skiers?’ ” Matt soon learned what Jim had in mind, and embraced the opportunity to expand under his guidance. They began clearing areas, jumps were constructed, and they focused on utilizing the whole property for a well-planned track. Upon completion of this major undertaking, in 1998 Course Brook Farm held its first practice event. There was snow in the forecast, and Matt says he thought they’d have to cancel the big debut: “I walked into the barn and asked, ‘When are we going to postpone this thing?’ and people looked at me with daggers in their eyes; we weren’t postponing. I realized then the true intensity with which these riders compete.”

Braving the elements was worth it, though, to see so much work come to fruition. “I’ll never forget watching the first rider on the course, Jessie Shull, go out,” Matt recalls. “So much preparation had gone into making this a reality, and it was exciting to see it all come together.”

Further improvements have brought the course to the impressive three-mile system that it is today, and the project is ongoing. The farm has benefited from the advice of Olympic eventer and course designer John Williams and from the expertise of jump builder Eric Bull.

Twelve Training and Preliminary fences were added under the supervision of this team. “When John first came out, what he envisioned in one day was remarkable to me,” says Matt. “I didn’t think we had the facility for it, but John made a loop on the property that utilizes the water complex twice. He really had a vision.”

The water complex is an accomplishment in itself. Just introduced this June, the jump serves as a centerpiece on the crosscountry course, easy for spectators to view and inviting to competitors. The construction of the complex was a team effort, as John and Eric collaborated with volunteers from the farm to complete the task in 48 hours.

It’s an addition that elevates the course to a new level.

Even bigger plans are being put into motion to enable the facility to exceed competitively. John is designing a Preliminary-level course that will be built with the help of Matt’s brothers, Scott and Todd Mayo and debut in 2014. He aims to create an exciting track that’s very spectator-friendly. Course Brook Farm currently offers three levels of USEA-sanctioned competition — Beginner Novice, Novice, and Training — and everyone at the farm is excited to see the expansion into upper-level eventing.

Care and Camaraderie The competitive aspects that Course Brook Farm offers are exceptional, but ask anyone in its community why they love it there, and they’ll will tell you it’s the top-notch horse care in a friendly atmosphere. Although the farm has the capacity for 44 horses on 60 acres, there’s no “big-show-barn” feel. The facility consists of four small barns, all with unique characteristics that make for a charming set-up. There are plenty of paddocks and

lots of room to ride and train. In addition to the cross-country course, there’s a large indoor arena, multiple dressage rings, and a sand jumping ring.

There’s a lot going on, and the one who keeps everything moving in cadence is Sharon Cora, the farm’s general manager. Sharon took on this job in 2012, when there was a need for someone to “oversee the entire operation,” as she puts it. Sharon brings in new boarders, organizes schedules, and takes care of the farm’s marketing and advertising, among many other tasks. “Under Sharon’s leadership, everyone is happy and works together,” Matt says. “There’s a camaraderie on our farm, much in thanks to her.”

Sharon knows the importance of providing quality care in a pleasant setting.

“We care about each and every horse here,” she says. “We try to preserve a peaceful place where people can board their horses in a quiet, friendly atmosphere.”

The trainers are equally as involved in the Course Brook Farm community.

Erika Hawkes Hendricks and Stephie Baer are the co-resident trainers, and between the two bring decades of eventing experience. Erika has been teaching at Course Brook Farm since 2006, and Stephie has a 15-year history with the farm, but only recently committed to

training there full time. Erika is also a student of Stephie’s and believes their new partnership will only better the program at Course Brook: “Stephie brings a different perspective, and we work very well together,” Erika says. “It’s a great collaboration and I’m so glad to have her here full time.”

Erika has been teaching for 25 years in total, and came to Course Brook from her own facility, which she ran out of Wrentham. It was the right move: “I liked having my own farm, but when I came here, I no longer had to worry about running a business,” she says. “It was a nice transition to focus on teaching, which is what I really love.” Her career includes a Pony Club beginning, and she has competed in eventing through the Intermediate level. She spent quite a bit of time competing in Southeast Asia, an experience she says broadened her perspective as a rider and as a trainer. She works with all levels of students, and emphasizes developing solid basics. She also focuses on building a strong horseand-rider relationship, and strives to make them comfortable with each other.

Stephie, an Advanced-level eventer, is accomplished in the sport on an international scale. She has competed at Rolex Kentucky, Burghley Horse Trials, Bromont, and in Mexico. She was short-

listed for the 1988 United States World Championship team. Her teaching career spans 35 years, and she enjoys working with beginners through advanced. She says she decided to train at Course Brook Farm for the professionalism and community feel. “It’s really a good facility,” she says. “There’s a nice atmosphere here. You get to know everyone; I like getting to know who all the boarders and their horses are.” In addition, she says, “you get professional care here. We’ve seen a lot of facility improvements, and this is now a place where you can really train for eventing.”

There’s a sense of pride that surrounds the picturesque acreage of Course Brook Farm, and rightfully so.

From the early days of milking cows to hosting USEA-sanctioned events, the farm has seen incredible growth. Sharon sums up the feeling: “I’m very proud of what it has become. I’m proud of my team here, and of all the work that’s been done. I commend the Mayo family on their dedication to the farm.”

Alessandra Mele lives in Wilbraham, and enjoys riding her Quarter Horse, JoJo, and volunteering at Blue Star Equiculture, in Palmer, where she’s learning to drive draft horses.

Specializing in Lay Up, Broodmare & Retirement Boarding Large pasture turnout in a herd with rotational grazing. Certified organic with NOFA-NY. We have been working around horses our whole lives and have a lifetime of experience in animal husbandry. Please refer to our website to find out more about our facility and what we have to offer your horse. Any questions, please call or send an email.

“The Ortensi Farm and Equestrian Center is truly a home for my horse, Scamp. I have seen many positive changes with him. Scamp is very happy interacting with the herd and getting to really live like a horse 24/7 on this exemplary 500-acre hay farm. Horse Heaven is an accurate description of OFEC. Scamp has not been on any medications for his HYPP since boarding at OFEC. When I visit Scamp he is a happy, willing partner. I credit all of this to the expert care and handling he receives at OFEC.” ~ Judy Vinci

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berni@theortensifarm.com Massachusetts Horse

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by Sheila McCormick

by Lise A. Krieger

Erin Risso

Plymouth

Pony Club to FEI

E

Joan Davis / Flatlandsfoto

venting is arguably the most demanding of all equine sports — for horse and rider — and at Valinor Farm, it’s the principal venture. Sprawling over 50 pastoral acres off Old Sandwich Road in Plymouth, Valinor is the home of the Risso family. Erin, the oldest of four sisters, is its resident instructor and trainer. She has competed through CIC 2* level on her Thoroughbred gelding Beacon, a horse she started.

Valinor began as an agricultural farm on which the family raised corn and pumpkins. “That’s how we got the fields out back,” Erin says.

“We picked our own pumpkins.”

In the beginning, her mother taught dressage, running a modest lesson program out of the smaller barn on the hill that overlooks the newer additions — the larger stable, the indoor arena, and the numerous riding rings and paddocks. When Erin was 16, she discovered eventing.

“All I wanted for my sixteenth birthday was a cross-country course,” she says.

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At the time, the family was hosting numerous Pony Club events and school shows. After school and during summer vacations, Erin assisted her mom teach-

ing the beginners — the up/down, walk/trot kids. The farm’s eventing focus gradually evolved out of Erin’s increasing interest in the sport.

While at UMass Amherst, from 2000 through 2004, under the direction of Jerry Schurink, Erin taught participants in the community-riding program, as well as advanced riders, how to walk, trot, and canter, with some jumping. By her senior year she was teaching courses at the university’s Hadley Farm and teaching full time at Valinor on breaks and summer vacations. It was, she says, a very full schedule.

There wasn’t much time for a social life then or even now. “I’m pretty maxed out these days from sunup to sundown,” she says. But Erin has friends in the business, and they meet up at horse shows. “I leave myself a little bit of time to debrief,” she says.

These days her mom manages the business of the farm and two of Erin’s sisters have taken over teaching duties

with the younger kids. One of her sisters doesn’t ride. “She doesn't like horses at all,” Erin says, laughing. “She thinks they smell.”

Erin doesn’t spend all her time teaching and training. She’s also a fulltime firefighter for the Plymouth Fire Department. In that, she followed in her father’s footsteps. “We all grew up in and out of the firehouse,” says Erin, “and in college I joined the Amherst Fire Department. I was in that department for three years. I caught the fire bug — I took the test and passed.” She’s proud to say she’s been with the Plymouth Fire Department since November 2006.

It’s not difficult to realize that it takes a certain amount of courage to be a firefighter. For Erin, that seems to fit logically with the spirit that loves eventing.

She downplays the pluck and instead highlights the symbiotic work schedule.

“They’re really parallel careers in flexibility and scheduling,” she says. Erin appreciates the availability of shift swaps so she can be at the barn if necessary or if she needs to go to a horse show. “It’s busy, but it works. It’s a well-oiled machine,” she says.

Erin’s Training Philosophy For Erin, a good foundation in riding is key. “People have goals,” she says. “They want to achieve them, so they want to skip over the basic stuff to chase that ribbon or to chase that dream. If you do that, it catches up to you no matter what, so we spend a lot of time focusing on the basics.” Erin wants to ensure that her riders have achieved fundamental balance and rhythm. “One of the big things I notice when people first come here is that there are holes in their training, or they have built their training pyramid upside down. They’ve worked on [more advanced] things such as collection when they really need to start with balance.”

A Good Eventing Horse On the topic of what makes good eventing horses, Erin speaks passionately: “They have to be brave. They have to want to do it — they have to like the sport. I like a horse that can study a question by itself. I don’t like horses that just lock on and throw themselves at a question. You can train that out of them and teach them to be more studious. But, particularly for an amateur rider, the horses that just lock on and gallop and throw themselves at things — I think it’s kind of scary. We see that a lot at the lower levels in eventing, and people make the mistake of thinking this is brave. I’d rather have a horse that studies

the question and keeps its balance and keeps its rhythm and figures out the footwork on its own. The rider isn’t always a hundred percent and riding is a paired relationship. Especially in cross-country, people can mess up and it’s nice to know that the horse you’re on can say, ‘Don’t worry, mom — I’ve got this.’ ” For an amateur, Erin believes this is critically important. For herself, she’s always looking for a horse that has the talent and the ability to climb the levels.

“I really have to click with a horse,” she says. To test for this aptitude, Erin does a lot of work over poles and over terrain, though not at the same time. She says she learns a lot about horses by working them in the ring over poles.

“I like to get up off their back — get out of their way — and see what they do,” she says. “I like to see which horses throw themselves and stumble and fumble and the ones that take a step back — take a look — sort it out for themselves.

That’s the mentality — particularly for the ones going up through the levels.”

Training can help the ones that stumble and fumble, but, Erin says, “you’ll never know how instinctual it will become for them.”

This is not a gamble she wants to take. She’d rather put in the effort with the horse that has already shown the characteristics she’s looking for — the instinct to work through the problems it’s presented with.

Erin rides a lot of off-the-track Thoroughbreds. Many of these horses have this essential instinct naturally, she says, and credits them with being smart.

They have a neater turn of foot, she says, and a quicker reaction time than that of many other breeds. These horses most consistently demonstrate for her what it is she’s looking for, the ones she considers Preliminary-and-up material. “Up to preliminary, any happy-minded horse will probably fit the bill,” she says, “but beyond that, you don’t want one that’s struggling to find its balance.”

As for temperament, Erin believes there’s no one particular personality that can predict a successful eventer. Good ground behavior, however, is a must in her barn. She has a lot of working students and says she doesn’t want to worry that they’ll get hurt operating around any of the horses on the farm.

Erin’s Goals Her goals as a rider are elastic. She has four horses. One is retired. Her upperlevel horse is an off-the-track Thoroughbred gelding named Beacon.

She would love to bump him up to

Advanced, but the reality is that he’s already 14. She has to weigh whether it’s time to retire him down to teaching the younger riders. This, she says, would be a great second career for him. But for now, he’s sound and happy, and she says she doesn’t think he’s ready for retirement.

The Future for Valinor Farm “We started with this tiny little lesson program and have evolved into this thirtystall facility with the indoor arena and multiple rings,” says Erin. “I’d like to keep developing this place as a venue.

Right now we host Preliminary training and I’d like to host post-Preliminary events.” Valinor boasts one of the best cross-country courses and water obstacles in the Northeast. “We’ve been bringing in more high-end clinicians,” Erin says.

“I’d like to keep doing that. We remodel our plans every year. We reach our goal and then say, ‘What are we going to do next year and the next year?’ ”

Sheila McCormick, who lives in southeastern Massachusetts, is a technical architect with EMC Corporation. She has written six novels, and has written for New England Horse Talk. She has two horses, a Paint (Miss Reba) and an Appaloosa (Miss Jamae).

Massachusetts Horse

17

Haverhill

Highland Park

Loyal, Bold, and Playful

by Stacey Stearns

ighland Park, aka Parker, is a of my firsts in eventing with Parker — all the Pony Club championships in Virginia 19-year-old, 15.2-hand bay geldand mentioned to a few people that I was the way up to my first FEI event. He’s not ing owned by Carolyn Drover, of the fanciest dressage horse and I’m not looking for a new horse and wanted a Haverhill. Over the last five years, 20-year- Thoroughbred. Parker’s owner said the best show jumper, but he gives a lot old Carolyn and Parker and we’ve come a long have been successful on way.” the eventing scene Carolyn credits throughout the Millbrook as a great Northeast. Parker experience for her and began the sport at age Parker. It was the first seven, but his story had time they did an many chapters before Intermediate dressage that. test, and for Carolyn’s “Parker raced fortystandards it was an awethree times and some test: they scored a changed owners many 45.6. “I was pretty psytimes in his first five ched because our dresyears,” says Carolyn’s sage has come really far. mom, Sue. “He was Then I got to walk the adopted at age five cross-country course with through the Boyd Martin as part of Communication the Young Riders Alliance to Network Challenge,” she says.

Thoroughbred ExShe and Parker Carolyn and Parker at Groton House Farm on the Preliminary cross-country course in June.

Racehorses (CANTER) retired on cross-country New England and was after a refusal at an then turned down by a hunter-jumper angled fence. Carolyn notes that it was the Parker was for sale and that the barn was trainer because, the man said, he had ‘no looking for another lesson horse.” first time she had seen an Intermediate jumping talent.’ An eventing trainer took cross-country course and wasn’t as mentalCarolyn then tried Parker and his him, retrained him, and then sold him to barn tried Tiki, and, she says, “it was a ly prepared as she needed to be. a young lady in Virginia who evented and perfect fit for both of us. Parker came Pony Clubbed with Parker.” home with me and Tiki now has a forever Team Effort “Loyal, bold, and playful are the words that He continued to change hands, home with one of the riders from Jordan best describe Parker,” Carolyn says. “He’s though. After three attempts at the Stables and continues to win blue ribmy best friend. I took him to Florida for Preliminary level — Parker was eliminated bons.” my working student position last year and at one, withdrew from the second, and Evolution of a Champion to school with me at the University of had a score of 184 in the third — the “I got Parker in 2008 when I was fifteen Kentucky the year before that. Two years young lady from Virginia sold him to and was competing at Beginner Novice. ago I spent a month home for Christmas Jordan Stables, in the Boston area, as a without him and it was a horrible experimount for the owners’ daughter, but they I’d never done a recognized event and ence, I missed him so much. He whinnies wanted to move up,” Carolyn says. “I weren’t a good fit. He became an unsucwhen I arrive at the barn, and is playful knew Parker had done some preliminary cessful school horse there for two years. and bold under saddle.”

“Parker did change hands a lot when events but never thought I’d go that far.”

Carolyn and Parker became success“Carolyn’s first couple of events with he was racing,” Carolyn says, “but several ful because they clicked. She’s met his him were at Beginner Novice,” Sue says. of his owners bought him back because two previous owners and says they’re “Since then they’ve progressed through he’s sweet and a great horse to have in both excellent riders. But, she says, the barn. He isn’t a great lesson horse, so Novice, Training, and Preliminary. In “Parker needs a very specific ride — you October 2011, they did their first longhe sat around quite a bit.” can’t finesse your way around cross-counformat, three-day event, at Hagyard MidCarolyn began riding when she was try with him because he’s so bold.” six, but didn’t focus on a specific discipline. South, and last fall they did their first Carolyn and Parker’s attitude is to go out CCI*. In August we headed to Millbrook, She got her first horse when she was ten and get the job done, and she thinks New York, where Carolyn and Parker ran and then her Arabian-cross mare, Tiki, that’s why they’ve become a successful Open Intermediate against the likes of when she was 12, joined Pony Club, and team.

Philip Dutton, Boyd Martin, Rebecca started eventing. Carolyn’s equestrian “One challenge with Parker is that Calder, and Will Faudree,” names noted career evolved from there. you have to do everything right with him. for their success.

Carolyn got to the point that she was He doesn’t give you anything and is very “It’s very rewarding how far we’ve outgrowing Tiki. “Coming to terms with particular,” Carolyn says. “Knowing this come,” Carolyn says. “I’ve done so many that was tough for me,” she says. “I was at Sue Drover

H

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about him drives me to be a perfectionist in how I ride him. Parker’s funny. He’s like a Labrador around the barn and will sleep with his head in my lap, but you get on his back and he’s a fierce competitor.”

Parker and Carolyn are competing at a one-star event in Kentucky in October and hope to try another Intermediate next year, although they still enjoy entering at the Preliminary level. “I don’t plan my schedule too rigidly because Parker is older,” Carolyn says. “We take our schedule as it comes along.”

“This twenty-year-old woman passed her H/H-A level in Pony Club three years ago, is in her sophomore year at the University of Kentucky, and instructs at the local Pony Club Riding Center,” says her mom. “She rides with Tony Provencher, who came out of retirement to teach her. Carolyn goes to events without a coach or trainer and events on a shoestring budget. We’re very proud of her and know that she’ll continue to achieve great things.”

“Riding Parker has shaped the rider I am today, and my goals,”Carolyn says, “Although I enjoy success with Parker, I also find myself looking forward to the future and the possibility of finding a new young horse to bring along and maybe take to the top of our sport.”

Massachusetts Horse

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Equestrian Properties

right lead

Buying and Selling Your Farm

by Susan Winslow The Right Lead offers advice and tips from your neighbors and friends. Horse professionals from all walks of life will help you find the right lead.

© rjlerich

Who hasn’t daydreamed of looking out the window to see horses grazing contently in the backyard or, better yet, your own back 40? A farm purchase is exciting, but that dream can turn into a nightmare on both the buyer’s side and the seller’s if you don’t proceed with caution, sense, and a reliable real-estate agent.

Farms are considered specialty properties, and unlike residential properties, there are many more details to consider before you sign on the dotted line. Local regulations, livestock restrictions, and conservation and wetland issues are just a few of the topics you need to know about when searching for an equestrian property.

Then there’s the barn and fence configuration, turnout area, stall sizes, and the all-important neighbor situation before you even look at the home.

Fortunately, though, most pitfalls can be avoided by doing your homework, leaving emotion out of the purchase, and working with a reputable Realtor who understands equestrian properties.

A real-estate agent well versed in horses won’t bat an eye when a prospective buyer rushes out to size up the barn and pasture before even glancing at the home. A buyer’s agent who understands the distinctive needs of horse owners can save shoppers valuable time and money during the search process by eliminating unsuitable properties early on. At the same time, a selling agent who knows horses can highlight the most positive aspects of a property and direct the marketing toward appropriate buyers. When everyone is running on a busy schedule and time is valuable, an agent who knows horses is a tremendous asset.

Massachusetts Horse spoke with two realestate veterans who shared tips on both buying and selling equestrian property.

accompany the purchase of an equine property. She grew up on a farm in central Massachusetts surrounded by acres of open hayfields and an array of animals, including cows, horses, chickens, and bison. Her love and appreciation for farms, open land, and animals was fostered by this upbringing. After working in the corporate world for 20 years, she moved to New Hampshire and decided to pursue real estate after doing some

Buying Sally Mann, of Equine Homes, is a matchmaker. She listens, counsels, and helps buyers navigate the details, deadlines, and frazzled nerves that often 20

October/November 2013

buying and selling over the years.

Equine Homes was the perfect match. It provided the opportunity to work with buyers and sellers who had the same love for land, farms, and animals.

Equine Homes is a full-service agency. Its main function is to connect buyers and sellers of country and equestrian properties. It was started in 1995 by a horsewoman who decided the time had come to make it easier for buyers to find the unique properties that comprise the equine market and for sellers to market directly to their target audience. Agency owner Judy Fallon combined her passions for real estate and horses, and the company has grown steadily from a small New Hampshire firm to one of the leading equine-property venues. Sally says, “We cover all of the New England states and since 2003 have had a presence in Wellington and Ocala, Florida, two areas that are nationally known for their active horse communities.”

Sally emphasizes the value of working with a reputable real-estate agent who understands the unique challenges faced by both buyers and sellers when working with equine properties. She explains: “Buying or selling a horse property is much more complex than selling a

residential property, so it’s important to work with people who speak the language. A buyer’s agent [a real-estate agent who contractually represents the buyer] can also narrow down the list of available properties to meet the specific needs of a horse owner who is looking to buy. On the seller’s side, we’re able to help sellers market their farms to a large audience of horse owners.”

According to Sally, 80 percent of all buyers start their farm search online, and the agents at Equine Homes have assisted buyers from as far away as Switzerland and Singapore. “Because we’ve had a strong internet presence since we launched our website back in 1995,” she says, “buyers come to us from all over the globe. If we can’t help them directly, we’re able to refer them to other equine-property specialists in the region where they want to buy.”

She stresses the importance of due diligence when it comes to buying a horse property: “Even if you hire a buyer’s agent, make sure you’re clear about the questions you want him or her to ask. Check town regulations; make sure there are no restrictions on the number of horses you can have per acre. Check for deed restrictions, wetlands, and if the land is part of any type of conservation program [including 61A and APR in Massachusetts]. Because most horse people are concerned with the property’s proximity to roads and the surroundings,” she says, “take a very close look the general area as well as the neighbors.” Sally also recommends the use of websites that offer aerial views of properties.

She has seen fluctuations in the value of horse properties in the past few years; however, Sally is realistic about the current market, describing it with cautious optimism: “It’s a buyer’s market because of the economy. Although interest rates are very low right now, banks and appraisers are more conservative about making loans. The appraisal process can be very challenging for equestrian properties,” she says, “due to the lack of ‘comparisons’ that are required and the minimal value appraisers can assign to equestrian amenities, such as the barn, fencing, and acres

of pasture. It is difficult to put a value on horse properties.”

She offers the following advice for potential buyers: “If you don’t work with a buyer’s broker, make sure someone will have your interests in mind when it comes to contracts . . . even down to specifics like whether the stall mats, tack-room fittings, and gates are included in the sale. These are just some of the things a buyer’s broker at Equine Homes will do in addition to helping a person to find a suitable property.”

A Checklist for Buyers Kathryn O’Brien has been a Realtor with RE/MAX for the past 26 years, during which time she has sold more than 1,200 equestrian properties. She offers the following checklist for horse owners considering the purchase of an equine property.

• Check wetland restrictions. Any wetlands on the property can cause diminished use of a portion of the land. You need to know that up front. If the farm has never been surveyed, one might be in order if the boundaries aren’t clear.

• Check the water source. If it’s well water, check the flow rate. If it’s municipal water, get copies of the last two years’ bills and compare them with the number of horses the seller has housed and the number you would house. How many hydrants are installed and how long must the hose be to reach all the water buckets?

• Check the electrical system. Make sure the wires are safely inside a metal conduit. Have an electrician take a look.

The circuit-breaker box should be large enough to accommodate the electrical needs.

• If the barn has a bath and washing facilities, ascertain whether the facility has a full and approved septic tank or just a cesspool.

• Are there any trails? Access is an issue. How accessible are the trails? Before you buy, check out the condition of the trails: are they rocky, wet? Ask around about the mosquitoes, greenheads, deerflies, and midges. No one expects a bugfree environment, but some marshy areas can be horrible to ride through.

• Make sure you get a structural inspection of the barns and outbuildings; most building inspectors look at just a home. Check for rotted carrying beams and sills. In each stall, investigate the footing under the mats and check for rodents.

• Check the pastures for weeds and suspicious-looking bushes that might be poisonous.

Other Considerations for a Buyer How am I going to finance this property?

FNMA and FDMAC will not finance any property of more than 10 acres. Will the owner finance? You may need to look into

41st Annual

Fall Roundup Auction October 6 10 A.M.: New and used tack, equipment, stable supplies, trailers, buggies.

2 P.M.: Fresh and locally-consigned horses for sport, pleasure, or family use. Always an outstanding sample of riding horses, child-safe ponies, and young stock for winter projects. Consignment and catalog deadline: September 30.

Preview photos, auction policies, directions, and consignment information online at www.farmheritage.com. Next Auction: Sunday, December 8.

Jon Ensign Horsemanship Clinic October 12 to 14 Limited openings available.

New England Stock Horse Series Final show in 2013 series: October 20 Five individually-judged classes for western and ranch broke horses.

Day and series end awards.

WNEPHA Dressage Show November 3 Including western dressage!

Final show in 2013 Western New England Dressage Series.

Open to buy, sell, or trade horses 7 days a week, by appointment.

Nice Horses for Nice People.

Auctions . Hunter Shows . Stock Horse Shows . Dressage Shows . IEA

The Raucher Family 30 Florence Road, Easthampton, MA (413) 527-1612 . www.farmheritage.com

Need Hay? Quality Horse Hay Specializing in small loads of 100+ bales delivered to Hampden and Hampshire Counties.

Large loads anywhere in New England.

Dried-inside Round Bales.

Jay Noone (413) 222-8286 • hayjayhorses@yahoo.com local & long distance horse transportation . 4 x 6 stall mats . bagged shavings Massachusetts Horse

21

Chipaway Stables offers

Trailer Sales We don’t go to Equine Affaire so we have everyday low prices.

New and Used Trailers!

private lenders or a farm bureau.

Will I be able to sell this property when I want to? What’s the cost for insurance? Will I need to obtain any special permits?

Selling Anyone who watches even an hour of HGTV knows that the key to selling a home is a strong presentation. When preparing your property for sale, cleanliness speaks volumes about the history of care and maintenance. After you’ve cleared out the clutter and fixed all those nagging little things you’ve ignored for years, it’s time to turn to a strong listing agent to market your farm. A good listing

Horse & Pony Sales We specialize in horse trading.

We can match an owner with the perfect horse just about every time! From Western Pleasure to Trail, Driving to Cutting, we have a great selection that will please any equestrian.

Brands we carry

Tack Shop

Ranch Supplies stall mats . feed tubs . bunk feeders round pens . wire panels . gates square bale feeders . stock tubs swing gates . field wire . fences . stalls

Grain . Hay . Shavings

Abady Alpo Blue Seal Canidae Diamond Eukanuba Friskies Iams Kaytee Merrick Natural Balance Nature’s Recipe Neura Nutrena Nutro Wysong Old Mother Hubbard Pedigree Pinnacle

Poulin Precise Pro Plan Purina Purina Mills Science Diet Sensible Choice Solid Gold Triple Crown Triumph Wellness Whiskas Wild and caged bird and small animal feed.

Kakadu Oilskin Coats.

Country Corral 35 Main St., rear, Rte. 9, Williamsburg, MA (413) 268-0180 countrycorral@aol.com

Paper or plastic bags for shavings.

Wood Pellet Bedding Quality hay from Canada and New York first and second cut timothy to alfalfa.

Roping Practices Thursday Evenings Team Penning Team Sorting

Dave Costa, owner/operator 132 Quaker Ln. Acushnet 508-763-5158 www.chipawaystables.com 8:30 A.M. to 5 P.M., 7 days a week 22

October/November 2013

M-F 9:30AM - 5:30PM, Sat 9:30AM - 4:00PM Right behind A-1 Hilltown Pizza in Williamsburg center.

agent can make all the difference. To assist the agent, make a list of the positive aspects of your property: a description of the local horse community and activities, for example, and its proximity to major routes, the beach, show venues, trails, veterinary hospitals, and major cities. Armed with this information, the listing agent will be able to present your property in its best light and answer a buyer’s questions with in-depth knowledge.

Kathryn, an avid horsewoman, is a member of the Myopia Hunt and the Essex County Trail Association. She is also the owner of 26-acre By The Way Farm, also in Newbury, where she balances her busy professional life with early-morning rides. She shares her expertise as a listing agent with people who are ready to sell: “As a former public school principal and lifelong learner, I see my job as an educator when I’m selling any home. Horse properties have many more elements that need to be researched and completely understood before making an investment like this.”

Kathryn devotes a great deal of time to research before a property hits the market. She describes the process: “I spend about a week investigating exactly what I’m selling. I research the zoning, ConCom, and board of health issues as well as any notices of violations that have occurred in the past. I visit town halls and check for building-code compliances and septic certifications. I research the age of the buildings and if there are permits necessary for a change of use. I check with the town planner to see if there are any issues pending or will be in the near future that could negatively or positively impact the sale of the home. I go to the registry of deeds and make copies of recorded plans and see if there are any plans for subdivision in the area. I see if the parcel in question may be subdivided.”

Next, she turns to the financial challenges. “I research the data a bank appraiser will use to determine the objective value of the property,” she says. “My

next step is to figure out how the average consumer will be able to receive financing on the property. A commercial loan is strictly by the book and if the seller doesn’t have an up-to-date profit-and-loss statement for the business, the task becomes more difficult. Most of the smaller properties are financed based on the buyer’s income, with little emphasis on the equestrian component of the property.”

Kathryn uses the same procedure when working as a buyer’s agent.

She offers the following advice on finding a reputable real-estate agent: “Ask around,” she says. “Look for a Realtor, a member of the National Association of Realtors, who rides and has his or her own horses. It’s even better if you can find a Realtor who owns a horse facility, because that person has a more intimate knowledge of what it takes on a day-to-day basis to efficiently run a facility of any size.

Choose a Realtor who lives in your area, so he or she will be available to accompany you to each showing and explain the benefits of each property thoroughly.”

Whether you’re moving on from your property or looking for the farm of a lifetime, do the research and work with the professionals — you’ll be glad you did both.

Dressage & Combined Test

Schooling Series October 13 . Judge Keith angstadt “r” Western dressage tests equitation classes

November 17 . Year-end Awards Banquet Monkey bar/bistro 63 amherst, Mass.

Clinics

september 26 Bill Warren

international Judge

october 2 Verne Batchelder Fei trainer

November 2 Cindy Sydnor “r” Judge

Xenophon Farm Janice Kachavos, Instructor, General Manager . Elaine Kachavos, Competitions & Clinics

80 SuNDErlAND rD., rTE. 47, MONTAGuE, MASS. 413.367.9828 . XenophonFarm@aol.com

Massachusetts Horse

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Bay State Business

by Alessandra Mele

Blue Dog Leather

Handcrafting a Good Ride

another specialty. Perhaps the most surprising work Keith has produced is an elephant gas mask, in 2008, an art project using approximately 140 square feet of leather, created in collaboration with the sculptor Charles Jones, who lives in the Boson area.

The leather materials Keith works with and the techniques he uses vary from project to project.

Vegetable-tanned leather and chrome-tanned leather are in good supply, and come into the shop from reputable suppliers.

Keith’s knowledge of and his sensitivity to the materials ensure that he approaches every job from just Learning the Craft the right angle.

Keith was a master parachute rigKeith’s talent for restoring ger, working with cloth and sewing and cleaning deteriorated tack has machines. The transition to exposed him to all sorts of neglect leather came when his wife, Jane, and mistreatment of leather, and kept asking him to repair pieces he offers advice for properly mainof her tack. “I had to make some taining equipment. Regular care is adaptations when I switched from the key: “The most important cloth to leather, but really, sewing thing you can do is keep your tack is sewing,” he says. He embraced clean. The parts that come into the new material, and his talent direct contact with the horse’s for leatherwork got around by body are the ones that deteriorate word of mouth among Jane’s ridmost quickly,” he says. “After you ing friends. Soon he set up a tackKeith LaRiviere at the New England Equestrian Center of Athol’s ride, wipe down the tack to repair shop in the cellar of their Equestrian Showcase in June 2013. remove the sweat and dust that home, and made a business from the In the Shop have accumulated. Once in a while, craft. It wasn’t long before he outgrew The first thing that strikes a visitor comyou’ll want to give it a good, thorough the cramped space, and the couple ing into Keith’s shop is the rich, envelop- cleaning using a bar of glycerin soap, decided to build a shop next to their ing scent of quality leather. There’s no and a couple of times a year you should home, from which Blue Dog Leather mistake that Keith is busy with the stuff: apply a good-quality conditioning cream now operates. chaps, spur straps, and halters hang from to replenish the leather’s oils.” He recRepairing tack was a skill Keith hooks; projects are well under way at ommends Skidmore’s Leather Cream, picked up naturally thanks to his sewing sewing machines; a saddle tree rests on a which is made with beeswax and natural expertise, but when it came to making stand looking naked; and an array of gor- oils. saddles, he knew this was something he geous leather goods in different stages of had to learn. “Many aspects you can A Labor of Love development line the walls. All are evilearn from books, but at some point It’s not just skill and fine materials that dence of the skill and hard work of a you’ll profit from spending time with an make for quality work at Blue Dog true craftsman. expert who’s willing to teach,” he says. In Leather; it’s also a passion for the craft, The variety of projects Keith is will2011, when Keith made the decision to ing to take on, in addition to saddle mak- and Keith realizes how rare this can be. expand into saddle making, he went out “Working with leather satisfies my urge to ing, is impressive. As Blue Dog Leather’s to Colorado to learn from Jesse Smith, website puts it, “If it’s made of leather, we create,” he says. “To be able to make one of the most highly regarded saddle your living doing what you love — there’s can probably make it or fix it,” and Keith makers in America, with more than 40 has certainly proved this claim of versatil- really nothing better than that.” The years of experience. Keith handmade his interest Keith takes in every piece that ity. Bridles, halters, harnesses, and sadfirst saddle under Jesse’s supervision; it enters his shop is what brings in cusdles regularly come in and out of his took five months to complete. Later he tomers, who appreciate his devotion. shop, along with chaps, bags, belts, and continued his education by attending The environment in which Keith dog collars, but Keith welcomes the workshops led by such masters of the works also fuels him. Situated on Lake unusual projects as well. He has contrade as Pete Gorrell and Rod Nikkel.

Mattawa, Keith and Jane live happily with structed pieces for Civil War reenactors, Keith took his new skill back to their animals. Jane has played an imporincluding reproductions of antique gun Massachusetts, and now specializes in tant role in the success of Blue Dog holsters. Musical instrument cases are quality, handmade western saddles.

T

MIG Equine

he craftsmanship that has gone into the tack we use daily is too often ignored. A saddle must be functional, safe, and comfortable, and the time and labor that go into ensuring those qualities aren’t always appreciated. Only a small handful of people in New England can make western saddles by hand, and Keith LaRiviere, of Orange, is proud to be one of them. His business, Blue Dog Leather, offers quality leatherwork that is difficult to come by this side of the Mississippi.

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Whenever Keith sets out to make a saddle, he has the same goal in mind: “I want it to be the most comfortable, functional saddle you’ve ever sat in,” he says, “and I want your horse to be as comfortable as you are.”

Leather, as the director of marketing and Keith’s personal cheerleader. She proudly uses the first saddle Keith made in Colorado. “I just love being around his work,” she says. “I’m really the fan club.”

Also supporting the business are their two Bashkir Curly horses, Streak and Rickey, and two donkeys, Chrissy and Isabella, who graze out back and don’t seem to mind modeling Keith’s creations.

Keith and Jane also own two Australian Cattle Dogs, Kanga and Two Step. It’s this breed for which Blue Dog Leather is named, particularly after their beloved Ch. Blue Max, a slate gray or “blue” Australian Cattle Dog, whose memory is preserved in the company’s logo.

If you stop by Keith’s shop, perhaps you’ll look at the accoutrements we use for our horses in a new light, and really notice the artistry and craftsmanship that are behind them. The thought, expertise, and attention to detail that go into Keith’s handmade tack are refreshing in a world rife with mass manufacturing. It’s good to know that the craft endures in Massachusetts, as Blue Dog Leather offers uncommon quality indeed.

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Insurance

Confused ? A Guide to the Basics

by Stephanie Funk

There are certain things people simply don’t like to think about: taxes, death, and insurance, for example.

We go about our day-to-day routines with our horses, many of us wrapped in a bubble of “It won’t happen to me,” which only makes it an even more brutal intrusion when the unthinkable does happen.

Maybe it’s human nature to cringe at thinking ahead to the worst, or maybe it’s weighing financial output against calculated risks, but whatever it is, it can interfere with you protecting yourself adequately in case of an emergency. Properly insuring your horses and your farm is one of the most important things you can do for yourself and your family.

For a commercial facility, insurance is, or should have been, an important part of being in a business that’s already set up. For the average horse owner, those of us with one, two, or three equines in our backyard, insurance may be something that gets pushed aside.

Indeed, many of us aren’t aware of just how many types of coverage are available, or what all of the options are. Sure, most of us know about mortality coverage. But what about major medical? Loss of use?

Personal liability? Think your homeowner’s will cover that last one? Better check that policy before you need to use it.

So are you one of the ones still thinking “It won’t happen to me”? Let’s take a look at some potential scenarios.

The First Scenario You aren’t a commercial farm or operation, just an enthusiast. You love to show 26

October/November 2013

and have been successful at it for years.

You load up your horse to take him to a local show. Prince has always been a nice, calm horse, bomb-proof. You arrive at the show, offload him, and tie him to the side of the trailer when suddenly a neighboring trailer’s awning is sent flying by a huge gust of wind. Prince explodes, tears himself loose from your trailer, and takes off through the grounds. Along the way, he knocks down a show mom and cuts his leg. The show mom has to be taken to a hospital because she hit her head when she fell, and Prince requires three stitches in his leg. You’re stunned when you receive a bill from the show mom for her hospitalization and angered that you now have a vet bill too. Who is responsible for the damages?

Well, actually, you are. Even though the wind knocked loose someone else’s awning, it was your horse that tore through the grounds. And now those bills are being presented to you.

Everyone who owns a horse should purchase a liability policy for it. It’s relatively cheap: an addendum to an existing mortality policy for a single horse can be as low as $25 a year; a stand-alone Personal Equine Liability policy covering up to five horses can be purchased for $150 a year. Julie Poveromo, an agent at Hallmark Equine Insurance in Elgin, Illinois, explains the coverage: “Personal liability can be purchased in coverage increments of $300,000, $500,000, or up to a million. This coverage is available in double aggregate or even triple aggregate.” Double aggregate means that if you

bought coverage of up to $300,000 and in June your horse damaged the neighbor’s rare Ferrari one night when you didn’t lock its gate properly, then in September, while on a trail ride with friends, your horse spooked and caused injuries to someone, thus incurring another huge bill, your policy would cover both of those incidents up to $300,000 each. That’s a double aggregate.

Triple means up to three events. (If you own a horse that could cause up to $900,000 in damage in a single year, perhaps you ought to consider putting it up for sale!)

Now, regarding the stitches Prince needed after his romp through the grounds, unless you have a major medical policy on him, and very likely even if you do have one, you are paying that bill. Liability won’t cover damages to your horse: it covers only damages caused by your horse to someone else.

For damage to your horse, you’ll need a major medical policy in place.

This type of policy has a deductible, usually about $300. Hallmark Equine Insurance offers major medical coverage for up to $10,000 per year in protection for your horse. As Julie explains: “This covers diagnostics, and reimburses you for your vet bills . . . a very important distinction here: reimburses. Many people are under the impression that they just submit the bills to the insurance company, but it doesn’t work that way. You have to pay your bills first and then you get reimbursed for them, minus any deductibles.”

Another thing to bear in mind with this scenario is that the event you attended probably also carried insurance. So you think, why wouldn’t the event itself cover this accident? Well, event coverage is a tool designed to protect an event holder from lawsuits from third parties. Though the event holder would be covered if the show mom sues it, you won’t be.

The Second Scenario Little Susie is taking lessons at your barn.

She’s riding Ranger, a longtime school horse. Ranger’s getting a little long in the tooth, though, and lately has taken to stumbling. While walking through the parking lot to the outside ring, Ranger stumbles. Susie hasn’t been paying attention and goes off over his shoulder, causing him to step sideways away from her.

Unfortunately, he bangs into the fender of her mother’s car and dents it. Susie is crying and holding her wrist, so to the hospital she goes for x-rays.

A commercial operation should have in place General Equine Liability along with care, custody, and control policies at the very minimum. Lance Allen, director of Markel Insurance at Agririsk, in Kansas City, Kansas, explains: “Commercial liability insurance protects the policyholder from lawsuits from either your action or inactions causing injury or damages.

Usually it will cover up to $5,000 in medical payments without lawsuits.” That’s an important distinction: without lawsuits. In the case of Susie’s accident, not only is her hospital trip to x-ray her wrist covered, but the dent in the fender of her mother’s car is too. If Ranger had sustained an injury in all of this, however, he wouldn’t be covered unless he had his own medical coverage policy in place.

The Third Scenario You take good care of your horses. You make sure they’re eating properly, are dewormed regularly, have vet care, and get good hay. Therefore, it comes as a shock when one of your horses starts colicking . . . and he doesn’t respond to walking or traditional treatment. To your horror, the vet diagnoses a twisted gut, and you find yourself en route to Tufts.

Your horse is only eight years old. You gulp, hand over your credit card, and watch the charges mount.

Colic is one of the most dreaded words a horse owner can hear. A horse is built with an internal schematic that’s a recipe for disaster. Many feet of intestine loop back and forth, packing its barrel full of gut. It can’t burp or vomit. Horses love to roll around on the ground, and

will often eat things they shouldn’t. Now add humans and their artificial environments for horse keeping and it’s no wonder that colic is such a common proposition.

You can build in protection for your horse by purchasing policies specific to colic. Most companies offer some level of colic surgery within the mortality insurance. You can also purchase a policy specific to the care and treatment of colic, often up to $7,500 worth. And as anyone who has ever experienced this can testify, in an equine hospital you can reach $7,500 in a matter of days.

The Fourth Scenario Alice and Peggy were out trail riding.

Peggy was on a young horse, one that wasn’t too good about crossing water.

They reached a small brook, and her youngster started to refuse. Peggy asked and asked him to cross, but the horse refused every time. Alice was sitting on her old-timer to Peggy’s left. She was riding western, with an eight-foot set of split reins tied in a knot so she wouldn’t lose a rein when she dropped them on her horse’s neck. She was sitting quietly, waiting, with the reins hanging in a low loop below the neck. Peggy asked her youngster again, and that’s when he lost it.

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to consider in a policy is what happens if you take your horse someplace for a show, a trail ride, or a pleasure ride. As Maureen explains, “For competitive equine sports, some carriers [for homeowner’s] will not extend coverage to that event.” This can leave you in a tough situation if anything happens there that causes injury or damage to anyone.

Both Maureen, of Farm Family, and Lance, of Agririsk, make the same point: “You want to have your homeowner’s policy with the same company with which you have your commercial or personal equine liability policy. This keeps the insurance companies from pointing fin-

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October/November 2013

provides a layer of protection. Julie, of Hallmark Equine Insurance, explains: “Care, Custody, and Control protects the policyholder when boarding, trailering, or training, for example. The policy will cover mortality if the death was due to negligence by the policyholder or by his or her employees if at a facility.” It won’t provide coverage if your horse is injured or killed in any manner that is unrelated to the boarding farm or transportation.

The Sixth Scenario

gers at each other in the event of a claim,” says Lance.

Maria finally received her instructor’s license and wants to work as a freelance teacher. She doesn’t have a place of her own and doesn’t want to work for just one facility.

Can she legally practice her trade now?

If Maria goes to work at a farm that has in place an Equine General Commercial policy, it should cover both employees of that farm and independent contractors. For added protection, she should purchase her own General Commercial Liability policy. This coverage will follow her no matter where she teaches. “Shop around and ask questions,” says Maureen, of Farm Family Insurance.

“Ask about what the policy covers and what sort of deductibles it may have.”

Premiums start at about $500 per year. “It’s a lot more affordable than most people think it is,” Maureen says.

The Fifth Scenario

In a Nutshell

You own a small commercial barn and you have Equine General Commercial Coverage in place. You’re trailering your own horse to an event and your neighbor, John, asks you to take his horse too.

You have an empty stall, and John’s always been a good neighbor, so you say sure, and you don’t charge him for it.

Along the way, you get cut off by someone, causing you to swerve hard to the right. A trailer wheel drops into a ditch and flips the trailer. John’s horse has to be euthanized because of the injuries he sustained. John presents you with a bill for the value of his horse, some $25,000.

This is a case in which you should have had Care, Custody, and Control insurance in place. This type of policy

As you can see, insurance is a worthwhile investment. But what exactly should you get? Call around and talk to agents. Get advice to see what sort of coverage best suits you, get quotes, research companies.

Ask people who have insurance if they like their company. If they’ve ever had a claim, how well was it handled? Were they satisfied with the results?

As a rule of thumb, commercial operations should have — at minimum — a General Equine Liability policy and a Care, Custody, and Control policy added to it. If you have a horse that’s valuable, it would be to your advantage to have at least mortality insurance, as well as major medical and possibly loss of use.

As a private owner, you need at minimum a personal liability policy covering

Kit Cat Photography

Wheeling to his left, he thrust his head beneath the neck of Alice’s horse . . . right through the loop of reins.

Suddenly both horses were panicking and bolted through the woods, tied together. Peggy and Alice hit the ground and sustained injuries; the horses sustained injuries too. Fortunately, all the injuries were minor.

There are a couple of things that could happen here. Peggy’s homeowner’s insurance might cover damages to Alice and her horse. Homeowner’s is supposed to cover damages caused due to negligence by the policyholder. If they were riding on Peggy’s land, she’d have a chance at having the claim honored if her company hadn’t specifically excluded horses. Otherwise, Peggy had better hope she had a personal liability policy on her horse, because she could be held liable for the damages to Alice and to Alice’s horse.

Many of you are probably wondering why your homeowner’s wouldn’t cover accidents like this one. After all, it would cover liability from pets, if your cat scratched the neighbors’ child, say, or your dog gnawed their rare oak deck furniture.

So why wouldn’t it cover equine damages?

Maureen O’Mara, an agent for Farm Family Insurance in Williamstown, explains that Farm Family was founded specifically to handle the agricultural needs of the farming community. Over the years, the focus shifted from such agrarian activities as cattle and crop farming to more equine-related activities. Part of that change is the result of the loss of dairy farms in the area. Horses went from work animals, to backyard pets, to big business, with significant changes over the three decades that Maureen has been an agent with Farm Family. Maureen elaborates: “As part of that change, more and more homeowner’s polices are starting to exclude horses from their coverage; insurers feel that they’re too big a risk.

Farm Family Insurance has responded to this change by stepping forward and offering more coverage for equine-related insurance needs, whether they be commercial or personal.”

Even if your homeowner’s does cover your horse, one of the conditions

your horse. You also want mortality if the replacement value is more than you could afford out of pocket, and major medical if it is a competition horse or valuable. The more you use your horse, especially if you travel with him, the more coverage he should have.

Both commercial and private owners: Research whether the equine insurance company can pick up your homeowner’s policy as well. Some companies offer policies for the barns and outbuildings associated with a farm, along with coverage for equipment. Having your insurance needs met through one company could streamline things if you ever have a claim.

When it comes to horses, you can’t be too safe. Be prudent: Protect yourself and your barn from serious financial repercussions. In today’s litigious society, it’s unwise not to take care of yourself and your family first. Remember to shop around and ask questions, and don’t be afraid to compare companies until you find the right fit for you and your barn.

Coverage for Horses Mortality This type of policy is strictly for death.

Some companies, such as Hallmark Insurance, have a clause that says a horse is still covered up to 30 days after the expiration of the policy. Check with your agent to verify the coverage period and the conditions attached. You must have a realistic assessment of a horse’s replacement value.

If a horse is valued much higher than is plausible, the company may send someone to appraise the animal.

On average, this policy is available for foals on up to age 19. There’s usually some colic surgery and theft coverage built in. Premiums are assessed on a horse’s insured value, ranging from 3 percent on horses up to 15 years old to as high as 12 percent on horses 16 and older.

Major Medical and Surgical (MMS) Some companies offer this in addition to the mortality insurance. MMS typically covers medical and surgical procedures, including diagnostics necessary as a result of accident, illness, injury, or disease. This coverage is available for horses aged 6 months up to about 15 years.

Some companies offer a surgery-only addendum to a mortality policy, meaning that coverage would be for surgical costs, not diagnostic testing. Ask your agent for details. MMS coverage usually runs from $7,500 to $10,000. This type of policy is a must for anyone who does heavy competition with her horse, such as an eventer.

Colic Medical and Surgical Coverage A condition-exclusive policy, this covers strictly colic-related medical and surgical expenses.

Loss of Use (LOU) This coverage is for horses that are injured or otherwise compromised such that they can no longer be used in the manner they were intended for. This loss of use may be the result of an accident, illness, injury, or disease. Coverage may pay up to 50 percent of the insured value; check with your agent. This coverage is available for select coverage only. Note: In some cases, the ownership of a horse is turned over to the insurance company upon payment of an LOU claim, so be sure to get full details from your agent about the restrictions and conditions of this sort of policy.

When it comes to horses, you can’t be too safe. Be prudent: Protect yourself and your barn from serious financial repercussions.

Named-perils Coverage You can insure against specific events, such as fire, theft, wind, lightning, and accident. Some agencies will allow you to pick the coverage you want; others group them in tiers of protection.

Personal Liability Coverage This policy covers an owner in case of damage or injury caused by her horse to a third party. It does not cover things like someone riding your horse with your permission. You may purchase a policy from $25,000 up to $1 million. Coverage may be added to an existing mortality policy or be a stand-alone policy for up to five horses, with the ability to purchase coverage for more than that many. Everyone who owns a horse should invest in this coverage; many boarding stables are now making this a requirement. Premiums start at $25 a year.

Professional Coverage Equine Commercial General Liability This coverage is very important if you perform any commercial equestrian activities, such as boarding, instruction, training,

breeding, and buying and selling horses.

The policy can be augmented to provide on-premises coverage for independent trainers or instructors while acting within the scope of their duties at your operation. Premiums start at around $500 a year. Be sure to have your agent explain exactly what’s covered, what sort of aggregate it carries (multiple incidents in one year), and what the maximum coverage will be. Also find out what other policies could be purchased with this one: perhaps Care, Custody, and Control (see below).

Care, Custody, and Control Consider this coverage if you board, train, or breed horses for others. If one of those horses is injured or dies while in your care and you are found negligent, this policy will provide for the medical care or replacement cost of the horse up to the coverage limits. Legal defense costs are also covered. This policy extends to trailering horses too, although there may be a range limitation in place, such as up to 100 miles from home or within the United States only. Every barn owner who has horses that belong to someone else should carry this policy.

Equine Clubs and Associations Equine member organizations that would like to protect themselves can obtain this liability coverage. The basic policy provides coverage for several public event days during the year, and coverage for additional days is available. This policy helps to protect your group if you are faced with a lawsuit by a third party.

Defense fees, as well as property damage and/or bodily injury, are covered. This sort of coverage is a must for anyone who wants to hold public events. Many companies offer policies for one-day events too.

Some of them will even cover the setup and break-down required for that event.

Farm Coverage You can establish almost any degree of coverage you want, from EGCL and CCC to coverage for your residence, structures, equipment, livestock, and more. Having all of your insurance needs covered by one company can eliminate the lag time incurred when several agencies must figure out whose coverage applies to the situation. Ask your agent to explain the various packages. Most companies offer tiers of protection, for a homeowner with one or two horses, a private owner of several horses, or a commercial operation taking place at your residence. Make sure you have your equipment properly covered, as well as your buildings.

Massachusetts Horse

29

Eventing 101

right lead

by Alessandra Mele

Advice from Bay State Professionals

The Right Lead offers advice and tips from your neighbors and friends. Horse professionals from all walks of life will help you find the right lead.

Massachusetts Horse: What advice do you have for someone choosing her first eventing horse?

Kay Slater at the 2013 King Oak Farm Spring Horse Trails, Southampton.

Katie Rocco: When looking for your first event horse, you want something with mileage in the sport but not so much experience that it’s over-faced. Access his competition background on the USEA website to see if he has competed in sanctioned events, and be sure to look for his dressage scores as well as any penalties accumulated in each of the phases. If he looks good on paper and you decide to look at him, make sure you bring your instructor or someone with experience in competing and training who knows your riding ability.

Ride the horse on the flat to make sure he’s sound and easy to ride in both directions at all three gaits. When jumping, make sure you can ride him over a course of various types of fences. Most important, ride him out in the open. He must be adjustable in the trot, canter, and gallop. It’s always important to see if the horse will go into water and jump a small ditch. Maybe the seller will allow you to try the horse at a different location from his home base, to see if he’s rideable able away from home, with 30

Kay Slater: As a trainer of young riders new to eventing, I help many of my students choose their first event horse or pony. The most important qualities are safety, a solid foundation, and reliability.

I also think a young rider’s first horse

Tom Cross / Flatlandsfoto

It’s a great time to get in on the excitement of the sport of eventing. New England and New York make up Area I of the United States Eventing Association (USEA), one of the most active and competitive areas in the nation. With several reputable training facilities, many accomplished trainers, and a variety of events held across the Bay State, there’s ample opportunity for those new to the discipline. We rounded up a few of our local eventing professionals who were willing to give a “crash course” on their sport by answering three important questions.

fences to which he’s not accustomed.

October/November 2013

should be pleasant company — relatively friendly and easy to manage on the ground. Ideally, the new event rider can be matched with a reliable, experienced partner that knows the ropes and will be forgiving if the rider isn’t always perfect.

Usually a horse that needs a bit more push than pull can also help develop confidence and skills, as fear is less of a factor on this sort of horse, which makes learning easier.

When preparing to go horse shopping, I talk with the family — it’s a chance to share what both of our objectives are and to be clear about these expectations before we begin the search.

This conversation is important, as it clears up any dangerous misconception, such as a beginner rider purchasing a young, off-the-track Thoroughbred for a few hundred dollars or the idea of learning together. The green teaching the green is rarely a good plan.

Adrienne Iorio: Eventing is a serious sport; don’t embark on it alone. The search for your first event horse should begin with an event trainer you trust,

who will be able to help and support you on your journey. As you and your trainer begin the search for a horse, keep in mind that your first horse should further your education and confidence. I recommend an older horse with plenty of experience in the sport, even though it may mean a not-so-perfect vet exam and plenty of maintenance to keep the horse going.

Leasing a seasoned eventer might be a sensible option to prepare you for “the one.” If you must get a young horse, be sure you and your trainer have a solid plan as to how to bring it along in the sport.

Regardless of your decision, be sure you’re using your head and not your heart when making the selection.

Karen Lorenzo: The best advice I can give is to get a good trainer or an experienced friend to help find an appropriate mount. The most important attribute has to be temperament; second is soundness. When you try out a horse, always have the person showing it do a little flat work and jump the horse — a horse’s personality can really change when a jump is put in front of it. If the rider won’t jump the horse, you probably shouldn’t either. If the horse’s temperament is perfect for you, there are other issues that you might be willing to compromise on: for example, size, breed, sex. Also, keep in mind that past soundness is the best predictor of future soundness. A veterinarian can give you good advice on a horse’s x-rays and flexion tests, but always do some research into a horse’s soundness history — ask questions, talk to former owners, and take a look at old records.

As I always say to my clients who are buying a horse, when you get on a new horse, it should feel like sliding into your own bed after a long vacation — comfortable, natural, and easy. If you struggle to feel comfortable, then he is probably not the horse for you.

MH: When does a rider know it’s time for her or his first event?

Katie Rocco: When preparing for your first event, it’s very important to have a clear understanding of the flow of the competition and the rules associated with it. It always helps to be a groom for a seasoned competitor to gain a firm understanding of all that’s involved in the sport. Dressage forms the foundation for the rest of the phases of competition, so having the ability to complete a solid training/first-level test is essential. From here you can work on your jumping through your knowledge of flat work.

Expose yourself and your horse to new things by trailering to different locations and competing at small jumper shows. If you don’t have a cross-country course to school on at home, sign up for hunter paces to get exposure with different types of fences at different speeds on varied terrain. Confidence is key, so make sure you’re comfortable riding in these situations before signing up for your first event. When you feel bored with this preparation but excited for the thrill of competition, that’s when you know you’re ready for your first event. The same feeling applies when you consider moving up to the next level.

Kay Slater: All of our riders must have a well-established leg with weight in their heel before they begin eventing, or even jumping. The old saying “Heels down, eyes up” still applies. Without this essential skill, a rider can’t be safe jumping and traveling over various terrains. Thus, even our newest riders work on developing a solid, independent leg that provides

the foundation for a safe, effective position. Next, they must be able to keep their bodies up and balanced as they come to the jump. Jumping ahead of a horse, leaning to the jumps, and any other faults in the foundation need to be sorted out before a rider can go safely in cross-country.

We begin our students in the tiny divisions once they can ride safely in the open, going up and down small hills, and jumping cross-rails and logs. We start in combined events where they can practice just dressage and show jumping so they get used to that before we introduce riding cross-country at a show. We look for safe, well-maintained venues that offer Grasshopper divisions, in which a rider can just practice in a situation in which the volume never gets turned up too high. Some of our venues even let the rider have a “runner,” that comes along on cross-country.

We also often get more-experienced riders from other disciplines who want to try eventing. They may be able to start at Elementary or Beginner Novice, depending on their general experience and the quality of their lower leg. It’s exciting that the USEA is now offering Intro/ Elementary divisions at recognized events, as I believe this will give riders much better venues at which to enter the sport.

RER Ponies

United States Pony Club Center

A recognized

6th Annual Halloween Show October 27

“L” USEF Judge Tara Manion.

Many fun classes!

USEF/USDF Dressage Tests . Combined Tests Trail classes . Sit a Buck and Costume classes Visit www.RERponies.com for a full class list.

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Adrienne Iorio: You’re ready to go and test your skills at a horse trial once all the requirements for a level are easy to do when schooling.

Karen Lorenzo: A rider knows she’s ready for her first event when the dressage feels easy and the jumping happens without too many conflicts between horse and rider. It’s important for the rider to allow the horse to do its job. The jumping should flow with forward impulsion and there should be a high level of confidence with the height of the fences.

Make sure you first spend time at home jumping at least the height you plan on competing over at the show.

Meredith Scarlet and Denise Goyea: You’re ready for your first competition when you’re riding confidently at or above the level you want to compete in.

You should have already attended several dressage, jumping, or three-phase schooling shows and several cross-country schooling shows. You should be comfortable cantering at the required speed. You should be fit enough to stay in a balanced galloping position without getting winded. It’s important to discuss your plans with your coach, to make sure

Mark Viega

Meredith Scarlet and Denise Goyea: Always shop with an educated and trusted trainer who knows you. Buy a horse you can ride, not the horse you wish you could ride, will someday ride, or that your trainer rides well. We see many riders get trapped into what we call the Black Stallion Complex: a desire for a beautiful horse that loves only them.

They forget that it’s much more fun to own a horse that will be rideable, dependable, and easy to handle at shows.

Be open to other colors, shapes, and sizes than what you originally pictured. A thorough prepurchase veterinary exam is a must. It’s important that the vet doing the exam knows what you want to do with the horse. Things you couldn’t overlook on a Preliminary prospect might well be worth managing on a packer you plan to compete in Beginner Novice.

Dressage - Training through FEI Instruction Eventing - USEA ICP Level II Instructor USDF Silver Medalist . USHJA Certified Trainer Judging - USDF “L” Judge with Distinction

TRAINING, INSTRUCTION, JUDGING, COACHING, AND CONSULTING AVAILABLE. 22 ROOD HILL RD., SANDISFIELD, MASS. WWW.KATIEROCCO.COM PH: 413.258.4459 CELL: 413.429.6907 Massachusetts Horse

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you’re in agreement about your riding level. We recommend you attend an event as a groom or spectator before you enter as a competitor, so you know what to expect. When competing, remember to walk the cross-country course to get a good idea of what to prepare for.

MH: What was the best advice you’ve received from a trainer or instructor?

Katie Rocco: I’ve been very fortunate over the years to have ridden with a variety of trainers who’ve given me meaningful insights and techniques. The most powerful and universal piece of advice originally came from my training with Kathy Connelly. Kathy imparted how important it is for your horse to be balanced and adjustable, not only in the three phases of eventing, but also in

Eventing is a serious sport; don’t embark on it alone. every other aspect of your riding. Riding is a partnership between you and your horse, and as such it’s important to master the communication of your aids without force but with slight adjustments to your seat, leg, and overall position.

Understanding how to balance your horse, initially with transitions within a gait, enables you to establish that connection without having to over-bit or use overly aggressive aids. This will bring about harmonious dressage tests, moreadjustable cross-country rides, and moreaccurate and -cadenced stadium courses.

Kay Slater: I’ve received amazing advice from wonderful trainers throughout my life; I’m blessed to have been surrounded by excellence in training since birth. My late mother, Heather St. Clair Davis, was a gifted and thoughtful trainer, an “R” dressage judge, and a talented artist.

Growing up riding with her left an imprint in how I work with horses that I’m only beginning to access fully. Her ability to develop rhythm, relaxation, and balance in a horse was unequaled.

My older brother and coach, Tom Davis, of Flatlands Equestrian Center in Rehoboth, has helped me reconnect with my mother’s patient intentional ways of working with my mares and my clients’ horses. From both of them I’ve learned that relaxation and rhythm are the core, essential elements of any work, and remain so as the work gets more difficult.

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October/November 2013

I teach even our newest students to “post and sit slow,” and to hold the rhythm in the swing of their post, which helps the horse stay in balance without the hands being too strong. When a rider masters this, she can usually calm even the most nervous horse, as she creates a safe and soothing space for it.

A young Pony Clubber once asked Bruce Davidson Sr. what was most important for a new event rider to know. He replied “East and west” and pointed to his feet, which he’d turned out sideways.

He then went on to explain that having a secure lower leg is essential for a good event rider and must be developed. If you look at photos of the best event riders in the world, they have their ankles rolled in and their toes out, again providing a secure and stable base for safe jumping.

Adrienne Iorio: I’ve ridden with many of the greats in the sport, and took away the following: 1) The way to make a small fortune in horses is to start with a large fortune; 2) Make sure you love what you do and always put the horse first; 3) Success will come with work and time.

Karen Lorenzo: The best advice I ever got was probably more of an observation.

I’ve spent many hours watching upperlevel riders and trainers, and the biggest thing that sets apart the really good riders and trainers from average ones is that they ride each horse with a certain level of confidence and put aside their emotions. A good rider is capable of keeping her emotions in check, never getting angry, frustrated, or nervous and subsequently taking those emotions out on an equine partner. The good riders stay calm and show the horse the way to making good decisions through repetition, and they help the horse give them the answers they’re looking for. I see many amateur riders get upset and let their emotions get in the way. Staying calm and showing the horse the correct way always works.

Meredith Scarlet and Denise Goyea: The best advice is always personal for you and your horse. We would advise new eventers to compete below the level they’re riding at home and to expect their competitive performance to lag three to six months behind their schooling performance. Show nerves are to be expected, so make sure you have some coping mechanisms in place before the big day. Set yourself up to be safe and successful, and you’ll enjoy your first event.

Eventing Professionals Katie Rocco is the owner of Dragonfly Farm, in Sandisfield. She’s been riding for more than 40 years and has been eventing since she was a teenage Pony Clubber. Among her many accomplishments is earning a USDF silver medal. Today she’s a USEA Level II–certified instructor and a USHJA-certified instructor, and has experience working with students and horses of all levels.

She’s also a USDF “L” graduate judge, and can regularly be found judging dressage shows in the Northeast.

Kay Slater is the owner of True North Farm, in Harwich. Growing up in a family well known for eventing excellence, Kay received training early on from several world-class riders, participated in Pony Club, and competed in eventing, dressage, and the jumpers. She is a USEA ICP–certified instructor and the center administrator for the True North Pony Club. Professionally, Kay is a licensed independent clinical social worker who specializes in adolescent and women’s mental health as well as sports psychology. Her expertise in that realm translates into her training, as she strives to develop correct, happy, and confident riders.

Adrienne Iorio is the head trainer at Apple Knoll Farm, Millis. Her riding career has brought her through the international four-star level of eventing, including competition experience at Rolex Kentucky. She’s spent time training with many of the sport’s greats, such as Denny Emerson and George Morris. Adrienne is an USEA ICP Level II instructor, enjoys training young horses, and offers clinics.

Karen Lorenzo has been teaching and training at Orchard Hill Equestrian Center, in Berlin, for the past 12 years. She has evented through the Intermediate level, has shown in dressage through the fourth level, and is a USDF bronze medalist. Training young horses is one of her specialties, and she has worked with Irish sport horses, warmbloods, and off-the-track Thoroughbreds, among others. She has coached many riders toward reaching their competition goals; some are national champions through the Preliminary level.

Meredith Scarlet and Denise Goyea are the resident trainers at Scarlet Hill Farm, in Groton. They are both USEA-certified instructors and together they bring extensive riding experience, knowledgeable training, and enthusiasm to students of all abilities. Meredith has a Pony Club H-A rating and is a regular clinician for area Pony Clubs.

Denise has more than 20 years of competitive experience and has trained with a variety of top riders in the sport. She enjoys training horses in addition to teaching, and has brought many young horses into the sport.

Provincetown

This Olde Horse

Published by the Advocate Gift Shop, Provincetown, Massachusetts, in 1905.

25 Forest Lane, Millis, Mass.

C A Hill Photo equine | pets | farm visits | projects

CAHillPhoto@gmail.com 508.789.0541 South Dartmouth, MA http://cahill.smugmug.com

508-376-2564 • www.appleknoll.com

Many Thanks to all Competitors, Volunteers, and AKF Staff for a Fantastic 2013 Season.

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Looking forward to 2014.

Keep up with us at: www.appleknoll.com and on Facebook: Apple Knoll Farm Equestrian Center.

Why not kick off the 2014 season by joining us in Aiken, South Carolina? Email Adrienne Iorio for details: msamberfrog@mac.com.

Massachusetts Horse

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October/November 2013

lend a hoof Palmer

Blue Star Equiculture

Horses, Humans, and Mother Earth

by Alessandra Mele

T

earth. We work to restore that bond, and to remind people of the serious connection between humans and horses. Horses shaped our lives. They made us who we are and we made them who they are. We need them and they need us.”

Blue Star is a place where this partnership is valued and put into practice.

Alessandra Mele

he mission of Blue Star Equiculture has remained the same since its founding in 2009: to have a commitment to working-horse rescue and sanctuary by helping horses, humans, and Mother Earth. Pamela Rickenbach, founder and executive director, explains how these elements are intertwined: “Our mission comes from the belief that all things are connected. Making an effort to take better care of our horses in need leads to taking better care of our entire community,” she says.

BSE is certainly making that effort.

The horses that have found their way to the farm, which is in Palmer, come from all walks of life, and are seeking their forever homes or to live out the rest of their lives here with dignity and in peace. The herd comprises many rescues, such as Buford, an Appaloosa who was almost starved to death when he was discovered in desolate conditions.

There are working horses, like Mario the Percheron, who is young, fit, and willing to work under harness. There are retirees, such as Paddy, who pulled a carriage in New York City and is now spending his golden years with his new love, a mare named Cami. They all came to Blue Star, and each is treated with the specialized care and respect it deserves. This is a beautiful model for any community to emulate.

A Sacred Partnership To understand what Blue Star accomplishes, it’s important to consider the rich history of humans and horses working together. The relationship goes back some 6,000 years, when we partnered to survive, conquer, build, and make a living. With the introduction of automobiles and tractors, however, horses became less of a necessity and more of a luxury. “When that disconnect occurred, we began moving away from the earth,” says Pamela. “Working with horses is a skill that keeps us connected to the 36

October/November 2013

Pamela and her fiancé, Paul Moshimer, live on the farm and organize every avenue toward promoting this partnership in such a way that as many people as possible can experience it. Equine husbandry is seen at its finest in the bountiful organic gardens, where horsepower is used to perform the many tasks of farming. Day-to-day operations are tackled with the combined efforts of volunteers and equine residents. Whether harnessed to a plow, pulling a carriage, under saddle, or providing companionship, every horse has a place and a job.

From ancient times, the physical contributions of horses are undeniably significant. The emotional bonds they have with humans, however, are equally important. Pamela believes in the spiritual necessity for horses in a modern world: “Today we may not need them to physically conquer the world, but there is an internal need for them,” she says. “They allow us to reflect on ourselves, and make us grounded, sensitive people.” At BSE, the fellowship between human and equine, and the resulting peaceful, harmonious atmosphere, is proof of the good such a connection can do for the soul.

Educating Blue Star knows the importance of instilling its message across generations. Many of the volunteers are young people, and their goal is to learn to engage in partnerships with the horses, to communicate with them. Once they establish connections, they learn to be teamsters and perform work with their equine partners.

Pamela and Paul have embraced the five area colleges (Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, and Smith and the University of Massachusetts Amherst) as a means of sharing the horses and teaching sustainability. This fall they’re holding a class at UMass. In Draft Horse Husbandry, students will get a hands-on experience in partnering with horses to restore the environment. “The beauty of this program is the way the up-and-coming generation reengages with the earth, learning the critical act of farming and developing a rhythm with the horses,” says Pamela. BSE also takes on interns from the five colleges as another way to pass on the skills of farming with horses.

The UMass Stockbridge School of Agriculture recently partnered with Blue Star on a $200,000 Environmental Protection Agency grant. The money has been put toward a three-part initiative to install a paradise paddock–fencing system, a storm-management system to control wastewater, and a manure-management system. Parts of this plan are already in action, and there have been immense improvements in the farm’s landscape, a positive impact on the environment, and a boost in overall wellness of the herd. In collaborating with UMass, the farm has benefited from the school’s expert advice and students have witnessed effective ways to manage farmland.

Educating the entire community, and sharing its horses, is a top priority for Blue Star, which regularly holds events that will attract just about everyone. “Fun Days offer people a chance to

meet and greet the Blue Star herd, and to learn more about our mission in a relaxed atmosphere,” says Pamela. There are also clinics; this past year Blue Star hosted the Red Sofa Series presented by Nicole Birkholzer of Mindful Connections, which invited equine wellness practitioners to come to the farm and conduct workshops. The series was also streamed live over the internet.

The Share the Road event, scheduled for October 26, is a collective drive, ride, and walk on the roads of Palmer.

The aim is to educate the community about the horse’s historic role in society, and to promote the vision of improved access to roadways for equestrians.

improvements, but Pamela always keeps an eye toward the future and focuses on how her vision can reach its full potential. “We need to become completely selfsustaining as a working, profitable farm, and prove it’s an economically sound venture,” she says. “We need to look at our productive partnership with horses and use it to become sustainable.” This will be achieved by increasing herd memberships — the goal is 1,000 members contributing $10 per month — and by keeping the horses working, especially in the gardens, where they can harvest food and hay that will keep them sustained both physically and financially.

Building Blue Star has been a journey filled with challenges, and caring for

32 horses is no easy task. Pamela has never lost sight of the big picture, however, and says she receives joy daily from the happiness the farm brings to others, whether they come to the farm to interact with the horses or are some of the 6,500 fans of the Blue Star Facebook page and leave a positive or encouraging comment on a daily update from the farm. “The greatest pleasure in doing all of this is sharing it,” Pamela says. “All the people who come here feel better after they leave. You can see more clearly the things that truly matter — it’s all worth it.”

For information on upcoming events and how to volunteer and donate, visit equiculture.org.

All for the Horses Blue Star is a collaboration. The farm is run entirely by volunteers, and 100 percent of the money it raises through donations goes toward the care of the horses.

There are several ways to support Blue Star, but perhaps the best is by becoming a “herd” member. This entails contributing a minimum of $10 per month, for which a member receives free admission to events and discounted merchandise, lessons, and wagon rides. These consistent donations provide stability to the organization and ensure that the needs of the 32 residents are met. To learn how to become a member of the herd, visit equiculture.org.

The ninth-annual Massachusetts Horse Benefit Show, to be held on October 5 in Goshen, is expected to raise a large portion the of the organization’s income for the year, as Blue Star is the beneficiary.

“It will help especially in buying the hay we’ll need to get through the winter — which is a lot!” Pamela says. Blue Star plans to enter several of its draft horses into the show, and the event will draw many Blue Star alums who have been placed in loving forever homes.

Another fund-raising program is the Blue Star Equiculture Farm Share, which is in its second year of operation and has seen much success. Members of the community partner with Blue Star’s organicfarming methods by purchasing a share of the harvest in the spring. Every Sunday during the growing season, shareholders pick up their bounty of fresh produce, which has been grown and harvested with the help of the resident horses. The initiative raises money for Blue Star and supports the movement to buy locally grown food.

Over the past five years, Blue Star has seen incredible growth in financial support, volunteerism, and farm

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Massachusetts Horse

37

trail guide

Blue Hills Reservation

Milton

by Stacey Stearns

Laura Solod

towns. Although the parking lot was busy, good alternative. The Houghton’s Pond Blue Hills Reservation, in Milton, is a we ran into very few people during our parking for the ball fields has speed quiet oasis just 20 minutes outside of ride. The other trail users we saw were bumps on the road, and it can be diffiBoston. The 7,000-acre property stretches hikers, mountain bikers, and dogs with cult to navigate the lot, so it’s not recomfrom Quincy to Dedham and from their owners, and everyone was courteous.

Milton to Randolph, and offers 125 miles mended for horse trailers.

The directional loop trails we rode Make sure you pack water for your of trails. are marked with white and yellow trianhorse. It isn’t readily available on the Early Europeans named the Blue gles. These trails are also popuHills when they noticed the lar with mountain bikers and color of the slopes in the dishikers. The trails are marked tance while sailing the Bay only in one direction, so you State coastline. Native travel them counterclockwise.

Americans had made their To access either of these trails, home in these hills for the ride from the main parking lot previous 10,000 years and at Houghton’s Pond and down called themselves the headquarters path, which is Massachusett, or “people of a stone dust and sand way the great hills.” along Hillside Street. The The Metropolitan Parks white-triangle forest loop takes Commission purchased the a right into the woods; the yelland in 1893, and Blue Hills low triangles cross Hillside Reservation was one of the Street and go up past reservafirst areas set aside for public tion headquarters into the recreation. Today the woods.

Department of Conservation At the headquarters, and Recreation (DCR) manthere’s a beautiful old barn ages the reservation. You’ll that once housed the mountfind a trail map and more ed-patrol horses for police in information at www.mass.gov. the Metropolitan District One of the most popular Commission and the DCR trails is the hike up Great Mounted Rangers. The barn Blue Hill, at 635 feet the hasn’t been used in years, but tallest of the 22 hills in the Massachusetts Horse’s Norfolk County Desk Liaison Laura Solod rides at the it’s still a lovely structure, with a section. The summit provides Blue Hills Reservation often. “We ride the green-dot trail around Ponkapoag small stone building out front views of the entire metropolitan Pond and swim with our horses at Houghton’s and Ponkapoag Ponds,” she says. and the large, rambling wood area. On a clear day, you can barn in the back. I enjoyed see Mount Monadnock, which looking at the barn as we rode past on trails, and you’d need to carry it a bit of is 70 miles away in New Hampshire. our way up to the yellow directional trail. a distance from the pond or visitor’s cenAll of the major trail intersections ter to your trailer. It’s easier to pack your The Trail have a number on a tree that coincides own. Seasonal restrooms are available in Houghton’s Pond, in Milton, offers the with the map. If you’re facing the numseveral locations, including at best parking for horse trailers. In sumber sign, you’re looking north. Signs also Houghton’s Pond. mer, Houghton is a 25-acre kettle pond note how many miles to major points, If you didn’t print a map, get one at at the heart of the reservation for swimsuch as Houghton’s Pond. the reservation headquarters on Hillside ming. Trailheads for both loops I chose We started with the white-triangle to ride are at the Houghton Pond lots on Street. I strongly recommend riding with forest loop, which is six miles of wooda map. Although we had no trouble folHillside Street. To get there, use exit 3 land trails on the south side of Hillside lowing the white and yellow directional on I-93. loops, there are numerous trails and they Street. There are no major hills, but the I parked in the main lot on Hillside carriage roads have loose gravel and genintersect with each other at many locaStreet where the visitors center, concestle inclines. Those who have ridden here tions. sion stand, and swimming access to the say there’s nothing flat about Blue Hills.

Blue Hills Reservation boasts pond are. Pull in and then head for the The two things that stood out for me extremely well-maintained trails. They’re far back corner. We parked the trailer in were how rocky the trails are and how nicely marked and kept clear. The footseveral spots, using the fence and open well maintained everything is, and in ing is primarily loose gravel and hard area in front of the trailer as a buffer to most places the trails are wide enough pack with lots of rocks. Horses should give us room to pull out again. During for the horses to travel side by side. have shoes or boots. busy seasons, this lot will fill up fast, so If you finish the white loop and Riding in Blue Hills is peaceful; in plan to arrive early. There’s a parking lot would like to ride more, cross Hillside most places on the trails, you can’t hear on Blue Hill River Road with access to Street and follow the yellow triangles on the picnic area; it’s not very big, but it’s a the hustle and bustle of the neighboring 38

October/November 2013

the Breakneck Ledge loop in the Great Blue Hill section of the park. This 4.5mile loop is rugged, rocky, and hilly.

The trail immediately starts with a half-mile climb to Breakneck Ledge. This trail was really rocky, with exposed roots in places and some low-hanging branches; we walked the entire loop. The horses we took are fit but don’t trail-ride regularly. They handled this trail very well, though; pay attention and take it slow and you’ll be fine.

On the way to the directional loops and on the way back to the parking lot, you’ll ride along Hillside Street. You must also cross the street to get to the yellow trail and back from the trail. This is a busy street, so please be careful and aware of the cars at all times.

Plan Your Visit The Friends of the Blue Hills is a nonprofit organization that preserves and protects the reservation. The group does monthly trail-maintenance projects from April through December and also has an Adopt-a-Trail program. If you live near Blue Hills Reservation, consider volunteering with the group, as organizations like this one make it possible for us to enjoy the trails.

Both directional trails intersect with the Blue Rectangle Skyline Trail in several places, offering a neat view of some natural staircases and other trail features.

Horses are not allowed on the blue Skyline Trail. The directional trails also often travel along the green-dot trail.

For another ride, I’d like to use the map to exit the yellow trail/green-dot trail and connect to the paved Summit Road and then ride up to the Weather Observatory on Great Blue Hill. Another option I’d be interested in trying is the

green-dot trail around Ponkapoag Pond.

Parking at the other end of Blue Hill River Road accesses this trail.

It’s always great to trail-ride during the fall: The cool, crisp weather is invigorating and the foliage is stunning.

Happy trails!

For a trail map visit www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dcr/massparks/ region-south/blue-hills-reservation.html

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Therapeutic Riding Program Strides into Southwick Under the direction of Christina Strain, a Massachusetts- and Connecticut-licensed psychiatric social worker and certified special-education teacher, Southwick’s Strain Family Equestrian Center now offers therapeutic horseback riding for clients who are physically, emotionally, and/or cognitively impaired. “Therapeutic riding takes away limitations,” says Christina, who has owned and operated the center with her husband, Bill, since 1998.

“What people can’t do on the ground they can often do on a horse. To have that sense of controlling a thousand-pound animal: what an accomplishment!”

Christina uses her background and her skills as a horsewoman to match clients with suitable mounts.

Massachusetts-licensed instructors, who are additionally certified under the rigorous Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH) standards, teach all lessons. Small teams of trained volunteers lead the horses and walk beside each rider for safety. “We’re unique in that we run a traditional stable with boarding, training, and lessons, but also offer equine-facilitated psychotherapy and therapeutic riding,” says Christina.

Now there are openings not only for riders, but also for volunteers to lead the horses and walk beside them.

Volunteer training is provided, and no previous experience is necessary. For information about the program, visit strainfamilyequestrian.com.

King Oak Dressage Days The 29th-annual King Oak Dressage Days was held at the Three County Fair Grounds, in Northampton, in July.

Dressage riders from all over the East Coast competed in front of judges Joan 40

October/November 2013

News in Our Community Humphrey, Debbie Savage, and Doreen Horsey. This year was the first that King Oak Farm held the event at the fairgrounds. The overwhelming consensus from the competitors was positive. Most said they were impressed with the airy, comfortable stabling, state-of-the-art footing, and

place in the Pair Horse Championship and attained a personal best as well, driving horses belonging to Natasha, his longtime sponsor.

Now retired from competition, Larry still shares his talents as horseman and trainer in Massachusetts and Florida.

His technique employs classi-

The Dressage Trainers Network is a group of dedicated dressage trainers who meet semiannually to network, share ideas, and discuss training issues. Among membership benefits are discounts at clinics and workshops and for horse and liability insurance.

This event is open to all trainers and instructors. To register, contact Lisa Terrell at lisaterrell@charter.net or (878) 838-9408.

RER Ponies Expands

Sarah Bonini

overherd

Blandford Fair Horse Show manager Kelli Marie Wainscott, of Chesterfield, with volunteers Lloyd Cutting, of Williamsburg, and Krissy Shubert Przybyla, of Chester.

general layout. Said competitor Helen Cast: “I love the venue, the footing was good, and the stalls and barn were clean and well maintained. I also loved the individual viewing sheds for comfort: what a great idea.”

Larry Poulin Demonstration On August 26, internationally renowned driver and trainer Larry Poulin gave a demonstration in driving and riding dressage at Natasha Griggs’s stable, in Boxford, for the Boxford Trail Association.

Natasha’s horses Cody and Rivage, which have won the National Pair Championship for driving and have represented the United States abroad on a number of occasions, were used in the demonstration.

Larry represented the United States at the World Championships in France in 2003 and in Poland in 2005.

In October 2009, at the Kentucky Cup and Lexington Driving Classic, Larry won first

cal, humane methods to achieve a harmonious balance between horses and rider and or driver.

Trainers Roundtable The Dressage Trainers Network will hold a discussion called Creating Healthy Student-Trainer Relationships: How to Avoid the Trials and Tribulations on October 5 at the Old Harvard Library, in Harvard. The roundtable will address common dilemmas that arise between trainers and students. You’ll learn how to develop healthy boundaries and create a business that reflects your values with certified professional life coach Joan M. Shulman, MA, CPP. Joan coaches her clients to navigate relationships at the workplace and in their personal lives. She is experienced in the facilitation of challenging conversations and leadership issues for individuals, organizations, and nonprofits.

Joan rides at Cadence Farm, in Harvard.

Heather and Todd Dostal announce that the expansion of RER Ponies, a U.S. Pony Club (USPC)–Recognized Riding Center in Hatfield, is in the works. Fourteen acres will be added to the existing property, which will provide room for a new facility with a standard dressage ring, ample parking for shows, housing for six additional horses, and large grass turnouts. In the plans are also a boarding and lease program.

Later the center will incorporate a small crosscountry course, along with two arenas for recognized dressage shows, USPC rallies, and educational events.

Heather Dostal, owner-operator of the farm, says, “We’re very excited about the expansion. RER Ponies hopes to be able to offer more to the community. We’re planning to introduce a variety of smaller shows to start, and hope to eventually be able to host USDF-recognized dressage shows and USPC rallies.”

To learn more, contact Heather at 413) 427-2026 or rerponies@me.com.

USEA Talent Search On August 23, Lisa Samoylenko, of Eleazer Davis Farm in Bedford, organized and hosted a U.S. Eventing Association Young Event Horse Series Show for Area One at Scarlet Hill Farm, in Groton. Breeders and owners came from across New England and New York to

showcase their future stars.

The USEA hopes the program will encourage and promote the breeding of horses specifically for eventing. The series began in 2007, with the purpose of giving breeders and owners an opportunity to show the talent and potential of their young horses to be the great equine athletes that will become four-star national and international eventers.

The Young Event Horse test is for four- and five-yearolds under saddle. Horses are judged on conformation and type, dressage, and crosscountry skills (jumping, galloping, and general impression). The New Eventing Horse test is open to horses of any age that have not competed above Beginner Novice and is conducted at the four-year-old level. The Future Eventing Horse test is for yearlings, two-year-olds, and three-yearolds, all shown in hand and by age group and gender.

Exposure to testing at early ages gives developing youngsters experience and confidence.

Do Your Horse a Favor Veterinarians recommend targeted deworming based on fecal results, the environment, exposure to parasites, and the age and use of the horse.

Each horse should be treated individually. New England Horse Labs in Worcester County, USDA-APHIS certified, offers fecal analysis for horse owners and stable managers for as little as $15 a sample, with a free, postage-paid mailer. Call Jim Staruk at the lab, (508) 757-9100, to get started or go to www.nehorselabs.com for more information. Group discounts are available to barn managers.

Blandford Fair Horse Show For the second year in a row under new management and with a group of stellar volunteers, the Blandford Fair Horse Show kicked off in the rain on Saturday, September 3, with trailers still rolling in even after it began. “The show saw more than a hundred horses during the weekend, all the stalls were rented out, and riders were determined

to stay and enjoy themselves even through a two-hour rainstorm on Sunday,” says show manager Kelli Marie Wainscott. “The show raised money for Rainbow Rescues by holding some fun dog classes and a special pleasure class, in memory of Rose Dicarlo, that raised money for the Dana Farber Institute for Cancer Research. A record amount of challenge trophies, awards, and jackpot money was won and we look forward to new and exciting things next year. A special thank-you to Friesians in Pink for performing on Saturday and the Crimson Acres Drill Team for performing on Sunday,” she says. “The horse show was a favorite event at the fair and many requests have already been made to add night classes and more stalls.” The 2014 Blandford Fair Show will be Labor Day weekend, August 30 and 31.

Dave Thind Relocates German-certified trainer and biomechanics expert Dave Thind is relocating to his own Aspire Farm, in Walpole, a state-of-the art, full-service, sport-horse training, rehabilitation, and boarding center dedicated to providing the highest-quality environment for riders and their horses.

Just 30 minutes from Boston, the facility boasts 29 stalls, an indoor arena with new GGT footing, and a heated viewing lounge. Also new are an array of turn-out options and a walking track for warm-ups, cool-downs, and hill work. In addition, the farm has direct access to a system of safe and picturesque trails on conservation land.

After years learning from some of the best in Germany, co-owner Dave Thind has created a professional and positive learning environment, meeting the standards he sets for his own horses. Riders and their mounts are recognized as athletes and services are designed to promote wellness and enhance performance.

Above all, the focus is on the well-being of each horse, with custom-designed training programs, access to equine rehab Massachusetts Horse

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eDr phoToGraphY 2013

Farm & home Calls Clinics & horse Shows riding/training Sessions Dog agility events Dog Shows & Breed Shows Special Ceremonies Family Group photos Bridal Showers reunions & holidays prom / Semi Formal Senior portraits maternity photos & Baby Showers

eDr phoToGraphY erin ray - owner/ photographer . auburn, nh edrphotography.smugmug.com 603-548-5485 . eDrphoToGraphY@Yahoo.Com

equipment and therapies, unmounted biomechanics classes, Feldenkrais-based somatic education for riders, and regular clinics with experts.

To celebrate its official grand opening, Aspire Farm will be hosting a meet-andgreet and clinic the weekend of October 26 and 27. Both days will feature eight lessons during which Dave will answer questions and explain each step to auditors. In addition, he’ll teach interactive lectures at lunch on both days. Auditing is free for members of the New England Dressage Association and the Charles River Dressage Association.

For more information, visit www.aspirefarm.com.

Enlightened Fun with Bill Woods In August, USEF “R” judge Bill Woods, a former resident of Byfield and Rehoboth, returned to share his distinct sense of humor along with his treasure trove of teaching experience at a two-day clinic

organized by Kim Porter and held at Bradford Equestrian Center.

As chair of the United States Dressage Federation (USDF) Council of Instructors and Trainers, Bill helped create its program for instructor certification and its annual national symposiums, in addition to conducting workshops and producing training videos.

Peppered with references to 2001: A Space Odyssey and the lyrics to Meat Loaf songs, Bill’s running commentary kept the wheels turning, lightening up the serious side of dressage.

“The canter can’t be like pushing your mother-in-law down the stairs,” said Bill, and on aids: “Make the horse a vending machine ready to dispense any gait, anytime.”

“In a very short time, he figured out where I was in Ted’s training,” said event rider Amy Goodnow. “He reaffirmed what my trainer, who I don’t see often, says, so it’s great to know we’re all on the same page.”

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October/November 2013

Each critique was instructive for everyone.

Long lining Kelly Butterworth’s coming threeyear-old filly, Vera, led to insight into different methods used by the Swedish, Danish, British, and even the Zimbabwe Pony Clubs.

“I definitely improved my long-lining skills and was able to work my horse at the canter in long lines,” said Jill Kaiser. She then transitioned that exercise to the saddle.

“My biggest accomplishment was being able to bring my horse to a strange barn with a lot going on and have him focus. Bill encouraging me to just keep riding him forward and not let him get distracted was what I needed.”

If you like your dressage with a dose of humor, visit woodsdressage.com.

RRDC Fall Pleasure Show The Rowley Riding and Driving Club held its Fall Pleasure Show on September 8. It was an old- time show that gave riders an opportunity to show their diversity.

Attendance was terrific, Classes were in halter, lead line, equitation, hunt seat, western, saddle seat, jumping, trail, and mini driving, with the addition of a fun costume class. For many, the return of stadium jumping was a bonus.

FEI North American Junior and Young Rider Championships Several young riders from Massachusetts competed at the North American Junior and Young Rider Championships under the guidance of USDF Region 8 coordinator and Grand Prix medalist Nancy Later Lavoie, of Ashby Stock Farm in Ashby.

Representing the state on the Junior Team were Hope Cooper and Don Diamond, of Concord; Regan Salm and Karat EG, of Lincoln; and Clara Maynard and Diamond Delight, from Martha’s Vineyard. The team placed sixth overall. Young Riders were Grace Goodby and Schabos Waitongo, from

Marblehead, and Katelyn Kok and Morgan Enshoj, of Norton. Team members all rode great tests.

The NAJYRC is the premier equestrian competition in North America for riders ages 14 to 21. They come from the United States, Bermuda, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean to vie for team and individual FEI medals in the three Olympic equestrian disciplines — show jumping, dressage, and eventing — and the FEI World Equestrian Games disciplines of reining and endurance.

Thanksgiving Benefit Ride The F.A.R.M. of Tewksbury has begun its fund-raising efforts to build an indoor arena for its therapeutic-riding program. Entries are now being accepted for the November 2 Strongwater Farm Thanksgiving Ride — a trail ride to benefit The F.A.R.M.’s indoor-ring project — and space is limited. The ACTHA-affiliated ride consists of six miles of trails with judged obstacles. There will be other fun events as well.

For details and to sign up, contact Cordula Robinson at cordularobinson@hotmail.com.

All You Need Is Love Ridden by Sadie Stiles, New England Equine Rescue North’s Petey’s Cinderfella story continues: Petey and Sadie were winners of the James T. Walsh Memorial Trophy for best combined trail and pleasure-class scores at the BTA/BOLT Horse Show in August. This was Petey’s first show since coming to NEER North.

Petey was one of eight horses the organization took in during May. Emaciated and abandoned, Petey had one the most severe diagnoses: starvation. The Essex County Coop, in Topsfield, has been sponsoring Petey until he finds a forever home. Petey proved that many rescue horses do have the right stuff. Interested in giving him his forever home?

Visit neernorth.org.

Massachusetts Horse

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Bay State Happenings 113th Myopia Horse Show

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Hamilton, Essex County

USEA Fall Horse Trials

Alessandra Mele

King Oak Farm, Southampton, Hampshire County

Field Hunter Show

Laura Solod

Norfolk Hunt, Medfield, Norfolk County

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October/November 2013

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Partners Barre Riding and Driving Club The Barre Riding and Driving Club will hold its annual Fall Trail Ride in Barre October 12 and13. The club has many lovely trails along the Ware River watershed. They consist of cart roads, wooded trails, and beautiful old railroad beds. This ride is NEHT-affiliated. After a hearty breakfast and a long day of riding, we serve home-cooked meals and enjoy great entertainment. We encourage camping with your horse. This is a well-attended event, so come meet up with friends or meet new horse people.

Find us on Facebook or at barreridinganddrivingclub.com for more information.

always an adventure; we never know what the day will bring.

Ted was a big help with set-up, registration, and holding the fort while everyone was riding. Karen Parlin (whose horse threw a shoe just before the ride) stayed behind to help out and manage the BSTRA fund-raising table, selling our BSTRA Tshirts and sweatshirts. From what I could see, lots of folks

Colonial Carriage and Driving Society Members of the Colonial Carriage and Driving Society have been busy over the last few months. A number of them assisted in the Senior Beginner Driving Clinic, held in July at Green Meads Farm, Richmond. It was a great opportunity for students 55 and older to experience many

7Kay Konove

Hampshire County Riding Club

Special thanks to Matt and Lisa Domnarski for hosting BSTRA’s third-annual Pleasure Ride Sunday, August 11, at their farm in Ware.

Twenty-five riders and their noble steeds joined us for one of two courses, one of five miles and the other of ten.

Local riders and those from as far away as the Cape and Connecticut participated.

Joan Lowbridge-Sisley and Ted Sisley welcomed all registrants with coffee and doughnuts, so no one rode out on an empty stomach.

Although Mother Nature cooperated by providing a beautiful day, the torrential rains with which she doused Ware on the previous Friday produced several difficult water crossings on the 10-mile course. One in particular was the most harrowing water crossing I’ve ever encountered. God bless my gallant Morgan mare Jana for boldly leading our little party across that one. No one got hurt, but Linda Casey’s horse, Lucy, finished the ride one hoof boot short. I certainly hope the newcomers to BSTRA will join us again for another ride. It’s 46

October/November 2013

Diane Bozyczko

7Denise Kellicker

Bay State Trail Riders Association

is Wednesday, October 23, at 6 p.m. at Orleton Farm, Stockbridge. Dick Lahey will conduct his famous Quiz Bowl: fun for everyone!

November 20 is the date of a regular meeting and will include the food-pantry drive.

On December 8, CCDS is holding its Holiday Open House. A sleigh rally is planned for January, weather permitting.

For updates and membership information, visit www.colonialcarriage.org.

Thomas the Fjord waits patiently while Laura Corsun admires her ribbon from the costume class at the Colonial Carriage and Driving Society Summer Fun Day, in Stockbridge. Maureen Gamelli is the well-dressed circus clown.

were buying.

Special thanks to Simply Designs and Printing for sponsoring us, and to everyone for supporting BSTRA by coming out to ride.

On August 18 we held our Poker Run Pleasure Ride at Inman Hill Wildlife Conservation Area in Mendon. The trails were marked superbly and we all enjoyed a delicious lunch of pizza and homemade goodies.

Special thanks to Bellingham Animal Hospital for sponsoring the ride.

If you’re attending Equine Affaire in November, please stop by and visit the BSTRA booth, #823. We’ll have many items for sale, such as our new line of T-shirts and sweatshirts, and we love catching up with members and members-to-be. Learn more about BSTRA at ww.bstra.org.

7Lisa Grigaitis and Joan Lowbridge-Sisley

aspects of the sport of carriage driving.

Summer Fun Day, on July 28, was a hit: There were 13 riders at Orleton Farm, Stockbridge. The Big Top Circus theme encouraged a lot of clowning around! The event is a favorite among club members, as the games provide a challenge for drivers of all abilities. In addition, it’s another excuse to get together.

Thank you to the planning committee, Harvey Waller, Maureen Gamelli, Diane Bozyczko, Laurie Danaher, Carol Terry, Marilee Wagner, Carl Dudash, and Kay Konove, and to all volunteers and participants.

The 22nd-Annual Lenox Tub Parade was held on September 21. The state legislature has designated the parade, as well as the Gilded Age Weekend, an official historic occasion.

The next CCDS meeting

The Hampshire County Riding Club was established in 1936 by a group of local horse enthusiasts whose vision was to promote the understanding of horses and horse activities and to provide and support equine education, especially in the areas of use, care, breeding, and protection. In 1967 the club moved into its present location on Ball Road, in Goshen, where members enjoy equine activities on the spacious 48 acres of grounds, which feature a mowed area with two large riding rings and ample parking. The rest of the area is forest, with a network of wooded trails.

During the riding season, the club hosts shows and clinics for the public and monthly meetings, trail rides, and grounds evenings for members and guests.

HCRC’s emphasis is on monthly trail rides, some from our club grounds and others from local state forests and other equine-friendly areas.

To start the season, in April, we rode to the Red Bucket Sugar Shack in Worthington for a pancake breakfast, then through the Hatfield meadows and along the Connecticut River in May. In June we headed to the Montague Plains Conservation Area. Later rides were from the HCRC grounds into the DAR State

Forest and from the Four Seasons Sportsmen’s Club through the Chesterfield Gorge to Indian Hollow Campground. There was also a ride in the Conway State Forest and on the Whately trails. Coming up in the fall, you can join two more rides.

On Sunday, October 20, is the Fall Foliage Ride at Northfield Mountain Recreation Area, followed by a barbecue at the visitors center. Our Turkey Trot is scheduled for Sunday, November 10, in the Northampton meadows, followed by a barbecue and the chance to win a turkey.

All rides are open to club members and guests (guests pay a small fee). Membership benefits include discounts on club activities, a monthly newsletter, discounts at local businesses, use of the club grounds, and a free subscription to Massachusetts Horse. For more information about us, visit hampshirecountyridingclub.org or contact Diane Merritt at (413) 268-3372 or dianemerritt67@gmail.com.

7Diane Merritt

Massachusetts Quarter Horse Association The Massachusetts Quarter Horse Association had a fantastic summer show season and is now focusing on its fall events. On September 22, members enjoyed the annual trail ride and barbecue at Water Farm, Sutton. We’ll be holding another trail ride this spring.

Good luck to our National Youth Activity Team and 2013 MassQHA Queen Kayleigh McDonnell at the October All-American Quarter Horse Congress in Ohio.

Our last two meetings, at Kimball Farm, are November 2 and December 7. For details about these and upcoming events, visit massqha.com.

7Emily Messing

Mount Holyoke College Equestrian Center The Mount Holyoke College Equestrian Center slows down ever so slightly in the summer, without the hustle and bustle

of student lessons plus IHSA, IDA, IEA, and open shows. We did host some successful shows and clinics that took place over several days. Once again we welcomed the Eastern Region Andalusian Horse Club in July. This show runs in conjunction with a recognized dressage show.

We’re excited for their return next year.

New to the MHCEC this summer was the USHJA Emerging Athletes Program.

We hosted one of ten regional clinics around the country.

Twenty-four participants from up and down the East Coast came for a four-day clinic with nationally recognized clinician Karen Healey. The concentration was on flat work, gymnastics, and riding courses, along with daily lectures on stable management provided by Nanci Snyder.

IHSA western team coach Kelli Marie Wainscott continued her Sunrise Pleasure Horse Show Series to benefit the IHSA western team and offered a one-day clinic that focused on ring work and trail classes. The next in the series, with a Tuf Enuf to Wear Pink theme to support breast-cancer research, will be October 19. There’ll be a Breast Cancer Awareness division, along with a lunchtime performance by Friesians in Pink.

This fall, in addition to the intercollegiate and interscholastic shows, we’re continuing with several open competitions — the WNEPHA Hunter Series and the Gold Cooler Jumper Series. For a complete list of shows, visit mhcriding.com.

Educating People and Their Horses Steve Robinson, Professional Cowboy & Trainer

7Sharyn Antico

New England Equestrian Center of Athol The New England Equestrian Center of Athol’s summer schedule included trail rides, clinics, a young-rider show, a donkey and mule show, the ever-expanding Equestrian Showcase, and of course the annual NEECA horse show at Felton Field, Barre. NEECA is grateful to the Barre Riding and Driving Club for having

Rodeos . Horse Training . Old West Riding Adventures . Sale Horses Private & Group Lessons . Day Camp . Team Sorting . Roping & Rodeo Clinics Horsemanship Clinics . Calf Roping . Team Roping . Youth Rodeo Group

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opportunity to go back out for more exploration in the afternoon.

We’ll finish off the year in November with the annual Fall Social. Come join us for food and fun, and learn more about NEECA and our plans for 2014. Information on the

Sharon Cochran riding Maya at the Bay State Trail Riders Association Domnarski Farm Pleasure Ride in Ware.

trail ride and the social, along with pictures of past events, are available at neeca.org.

7Laurie Neely

West Newbury Riding and Driving Club As the warm-weather riding season of horse trials and organized trail rides winds down, West Newbury Riding and Driving Club shifts its focus to providing free educational and social activities to keep riders busy. In September, the club invited members to a demonstration and discussion on inflatable safety vests. This presentation

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October/November 2013

was given by long-time club member Gordon McLeod, Bit of Britain mobile unit manager and courtesy of Bit of Britain and Indian Meadow Farm, owned by Chris Phaneuf and Joe Uniejewski.

Relating to the theme of education, WNRDC recently

Karen Parlin

us as part of its well-supported series of summer shows.

As the Equestrian Park in Athol has expanded, other organizations have taken advantage of the opportunity to rent it for their own events.

A local barrel-racing group held a competition there in July and reported that they loved the easy parking and the groomed footing in the rings.

In September, Peter Whitmore put on the 2013 version of NEECA’s Picnic at the Park and Extreme Versatility Challenge.

Versatility — building a partnership with your horse by riding through a series of obstacles — is becoming particularly popular in our area.

Peter offers versatility training at Crimson Acres in Orange throughout the year, and his NEECA-sponsored clinic and competition is now a highlight of the schedule. This year NEECA added a memberappreciation picnic and held a raffle for a free 2014 membership.

The October trail ride will be at Ben and Susie Feldman’s Cutthroat Brook Tree Farm, which is on the Athol/Petersham line. It’s not too late to plan on joining us on Sunday, October 13, for a beautiful ride on some of the best-maintained and -marked trails in Massachusetts. From hilly trails with stream crossings to wide, gently rolling woods roads, there are trails to suit every horse and rider.

After the morning ride, there’s a lunch with time spent sharing stories, and an

added a schooling-only option for its future horse trials. This feature enables riders with green horses or instructors with inexperienced riders to enjoy the atmosphere of competition without the challenge of actually competing. A horse-and-rider team submits an entry for a reduced fee of $20, and is then allowed on the grounds during a horse trial. The schooling-only option entitles a rider to use the warm-up areas to school on the flat or to practice a few jumps.

WNRDC welcomes new members and new volunteers

year-round. Membership renewed by December 31 each year entitles an individual or family to a free subscription to Massachusetts Horse, free or reduced fees for club activities and social events, and the right to vote in general elections. Every volunteer is eligible to earn discounts on entry fees for subsequent mounted activities and is entered automatically into a twice-yearly raffle, drawn once in summer and then at the annual general meeting. The first volunteer raffle winner this year was Jessie Tonry, who won two tickets to Cavalia’s Odysseo. Ten other volunteers won the opportunity to see the press preview, including a one-hour condensed version of the show. Volunteers in their senior year of high school and college students are eligible to compete for the yearly continuing education scholarship, which is $500.

This year’s annual general meeting is Friday, November 1. At this time the Volunteer of the Year award will be presented, the second volunteer raffle winner will be drawn, elections for officers and board members will be conducted, and members will have the opportunity to request and discuss educational and riding activities for next year. A Yankee Swap will be held in early December. For more about us, visit www.wnrdc.com.

7Liz Russell

Bluebird Meadows Farm New & used tack buying & selling

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Massachusetts Horse

49

events October

5 IEA HUNT SEAT SHOW, Century Mill Stables, Bolton. centurymillstables.com.

6 SCHOOLING HUNTER SHOW , Victory Stables, Stoughton. victorystablesinc.com.

1 – 2 CONRAD SCHUMACHER CLINIC, Stoughton. warrenmcmullindressage.com.

5 DRESSAGE SCHOOLING SHOW, Uxbridge. letterperfectfarm.com.

6 HORSE POWER AUTUMN JUMPER SHOW, Southbridge. wildairefarm.com.

4 – 6 NORTH SHORE COACHING WEEKEND, Hamilton. myopiahunt.com.

6 R.J. SADOWSKI EQUITATION WORKSHOP, Plainfield. peacehavenfarm.com.

6 NEECA FALL TRAIL RIDE, Athol. neeca.org.

4 – 7 ERIC SMILEY CLINIC, Hamilton. blackoakstables.com.

6 WRC FUN DAY AND STEAK ROAST, Westfield. westfieldridingclub.org.

5 MASSACHUSETTS HORSE BENEFIT SHOW, Goshen. Over $8,500 in prizes. $100 and $200 Classics. Sixteen divisions. Dayend championships. To benefit Blue Star Equiculture. See ad below. mahorse.com.

6 HDA SCHOOLING SHOW, Briggs Stable, Hanover. heritage-dressage.org.

5 TRAINERS ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION, Harvard. Lisa at (978) 838-9408.

5 WNEPHA SHOW, Harmony Hill, Great Barrington. wnepha.com.

5 IHSA HUNT SEAT SHOW, Smith College, Northampton. smithpioneers.edu.

6 NETSA SHOW, Medway. northeastthoroughbred.com.

6 RRDC TWO-PHASE AND DRESSAGE SHOW, Rowley. rowleyridinganddrivingclub.webs.com.

6 FALL ROUND-UP AUCTION, Heritage Farm, Easthampton. farmheritage.com.

6 HRC SUPREME INVITATIONAL, Balmy Acres, Middleboro. hansonridingclub.org.

6 BSTRA PLEASURE RIDE, Hubbardston. bstra.org.

6 SORTING, Grafton. hillside-meadows.com.

6 BSTRA RIDE, Hubbardston. bstra.org.

6 HORSE TRIALS AND DRESSAGE SHOW, Uxbridge. azraelacres.com.

6 BLUE RIDER STABLES SHOW, South Egremont. bluerider.org.

6 PHOA FALL FROLIC TRAIL RIDE, Ten Broeck Farm, Pepperell. phoa.info.

Massachusetts Horse

Benefit Show All proceeds go to: Blue Star Equiculture Draft Horse Sanctuary

October 5, Saturday 8 A.M.

140 Ball Road, Goshen, Mass.

over $8,500 in prizes!

Katie Upton . katieupton.com

16 division day-end awards . six ribbons and a prize awarded in each class Food booth . Fenced-in warm-up area . Quiet, beautiful show grounds

50

$200 Walk Trot Ultimate Pleasure Classic . $200 Hunter Ultimate Pleasure Classic $200 Western Ultimate Pleasure Classic . $100 Dover Saddlery Walk Trot Equitation Classic $100 Dover Saddlery Hunter Seat Equitation Classic $100 Dover Saddlery Stock Seat Equitation Classic . Cupcake the Herdmaster Costume Classic

visit mahorse.com for a prize list and to enter online!

October/November 2013

6 GRHC FALL FOLIAGE RIDE, Southampton. granbyregionalhorse.org.

13 JUDGED TRAIL RIDE, Bearfoot Farm, Grafton. Carolyn at (508) 320-0591.

6 NETSA SHOW, Saddle Rowe, Medway. northeastthoroughbred.com.

13 BSTRA TORNADO ALLEY RIDE, Brimfield. bstra.org.

6 SORTING, Hillside Meadows, Grafton. hillside-meadows.com.

13 SCHOOLING DRESSAGE SHOW, Beland Stables, Lakeville. belandstables.com.

11 – 13 JON ENSIGN CLINIC, Heritage Farm, Easthampton. farmheritage.com.

13 AHAM TRAIL RIDE, Waters Farm, Sutton. massarabianhorse.org.

12 R.J. SADOWSKI DAY CAMP, Plainfield. peacehavenfarm.com.

13 WNRDC HORSE TRIALS, Pipestave Hill, West Newbury. wnrdc.com.

12 IHSA HUNT SEAT SHOW, Mount Holyoke College Equestrian Center, South Hadley. mtholyoke.edu.

13 HUNTER SHOW, Byfield. evenstrideltd.com.

12 – 13 BRDC FALL TRAIL RIDE, Felton Field, Barre. barreridingdrivingclub.com.

12 – 13 CRDA BILL WARREN CLINIC, Apple Knoll Farm, Millis. crdressage.org.

12 — 14 JON ENSIGN CLINIC, Heritage Farm, Easthampton. farmheritage.com.

12 USEA HORSE TRIALS, Course Brook Farm, Sherborn. coursebrookfarm.com.

12 MHC-, NEHC-RATED SHOW, Saddle Rowe, Medway. saddlerowe.com.

1 3 NEECA FALL PLEASURE RIDE, Athol. neeca.org.

13 WRC TRAIL RIDE, Knightville Dam, Huntington. westfieldridingclub.org.

13 DRESSAGE SCHOOLING SHOW, Montague. xenophonfarm@aol.com.

HORSE POWER SHOWS AUTUMN JUMPER SERIES October 6 & 27 November 3

HUNTER JUMPER DAY OF CHAMPIONS October 20

DRESSAGE SERIES See you in the Spring! three large sand rings . totally dust-free easy drive . spectator tents ample parking . easy turn-around great jumps . large & small dressage arenas

13 STARTER HORSE TRIALS, True North Farm, Harwich. truenortheventing.com.

Wild Aire Farm

14 SCHOOLING HORSE TRIALS, Valinor Farm, Plymouth. valinorfarm.com.

wildairefarm.com . (508) 765-0641 926 Dennison Dr., Southbridge, MA

16 – 20 NEW ENGLAND EQUITATION CHAMPIONSHIPS, West Springfield. newenglandequitation.com.

Minutes off I84, MA Pike, Rtes. 20, 9, 290, 146, 395.

18 – 21 HEALING NATURE OF HORSES WORKSHOP, Heart’s Desire Stable, Rochester. hnoh.org.

14th annual

Eastern Regional Trail Ride November 3 . North Brookfield Sportsmen’s Club, North Brookfield, MA 8 or 17 mile loop • Judged (optional) • Championship High-point Saddle! $3,500 in prizes • 16 Divisions • 5 Breed Awards • Raffles Check-in 8 A.M., Ride-out 8:30 to 10 A.M. (depending on loop)

Presents the 19th

Equine Expo Paraphernalia Sale Saturday, April 26, 2014 . 9-3

Arnold Photography

Large marketplace of new and used items!

Plus services for the horse, rider, and driver.

Larry Underwood (508) 867-7855 • eregtrailride@yahoo.com

Demonstrations All Day . $5 Admission Held in the indoor arena at the Topsfield Fairgrounds, Route 1, Topsfield Vendor Spaces Available . Free Parking

Contact Kay at: 978-768-6275 or kljoreo@aol.com Massachusetts Horse

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19 SUNRISE OPEN PLEASURE SHOW, South Hadley. kellimarie43@yahoo.com.

20 BENEFIT SHOW, Equus Therapeutic, Lanesboro. equustherapeutic.org.

20 HORSE POWER HUNTER JUMPER DAY OF CHAMPIONS, Southbridge. wildairefarm.com.

20 NORFOLK HUNT HUNTER TRIALS, Medfield. norfolkhunt.com.

20 SCHOOLING TWO-PHASE AND DRESSAGE SHOW, Dracut. cutterfarm.com.

20 NEW ENGLAND STOCK HORSE SHOW SERIES, Heritage Farm, Easthampton. farmheritage.com.

20 GRHC RIDE AND OBSTACLE COURSE, Wilbraham. granbyregionalhorse.org.

20 MYOPIA HUNTER TRIALS, Hamilton. myopiahunt.com.

20 HRC VERSATILITY, Balmy Acres, Middleboro. hansonridingclub.org.

20 LITTLETON HORSE OWNERS ASSOCIATION RIDE, Great Brook State Park, Carlisle.

Ann at (978) 486-3874.

20 SCHOOLING HORSE TRAIL AND DRESSAGE SHOW, Southampton. kingoakfarm.com.

20 SCHOOLING SHOW, Brewster. woodsongfarm.com.

20 BRISTOL COUNTY 4-H AND OPEN SHOW, Lakeville. hollowaybrook.com.

20 OPEN FUN DAY AND GYMKHANA, Blandford. kellimarie43@yahoo.com.

20 HUNTER TRIALS, Medfield. norfolkhunt.com.

20 NVH HUNTER PACE, Groton. nashobavalleyhunt.org.

22 – 23 CHRISTIAN SCHACHT, DVM, CLINIC, Pepperell. tenbroeckfarm.net.

20 DRESSAGE SHOW, White Spruce Farms, New Braintree. whitesprucefarms.com.

24 WNEPHA SHOW, Harmony Hill Farm, Great Barrington. wnepha.com.

20 BSTRA BIG PUMPKIN RIDE, Grafton. bstra.org.

24 – 27 OCTOBERFEST, West Springfield. twinstate.org.

20 HCRC FALL FOLIAGE RIDE, Northfield Mountain. Members and guests. hampshirecountyridingclub.com.

26 HUNTER SHOW, Cornerstone Farm, Haverhill. ridecornerstone.com.

Do you want a Calm, Connected, and Responsive Partner?

Helping to make your dreams come true!

Licensed Parelli Professional 3 Star Instructor and Horse Specialist

Avery Gauthier Located in Massachusetts and traveling to all of New England.

averysavvyrhodeisland.com 52

October/November 2013

.

(401) 418-0220

Massachusetts Horse

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26 DANCES WITH HORSES GALA, Boston Park Plaza Hotel. windrushfarm.org.

27 OPEN SHOW, Journey’s Haven, Rehoboth. journeyshaven@comcast.net.

3 HORSE POWER AUTUMN JUMPER SHOW, Southbridge. wildairefarm.com.

26 MSPCA BEACH RIDE, Salisbury. mspca.org/nevins.

27 HORSE POWER AUTUMN JUMPER SHOW, Southbridge. wildairefarm.com.

3 EASTERN REGIONAL TRAIL RIDE, North Brookfield. (508) 867-7855.

26 DRESSAGE TEAM COMPETITION, Uxbridge. letterperfectfarm.com.

27 HALLOWEEN HUNTER PACE, Apple Knoll Farm, Millis. appleknoll.com.

3 TWO-PHASE AND DRESSAGE SHOW, Hamilton. gatheringfarm.com.

26 SHARE THE ROAD RIDE/DRIVE/WALK, Blue Star Equiculture, Palmer. equiculture.org.

27 SORTING, Grafton. hillside-meadows.com.

27 PHOA TRAIL RIDE, Pepperell. phoa.info.

3 TURKEY TROT, Southampton. kingoakfarm.com.

26 IHSA HUNT SEAT SHOW, UMass Hadley Farm. umassathletics.com.

27 WNEPHA SHOW, Undermountain Farm, Lenox. wnepha.com.

26 – 27 HILDA GURNEY CLINIC, Mount Holyoke Equestrian Center, South Hadley. mtholyoke.edu.

28 HALLOWEEN HORSE TRIALS, Course Brook Farm, Sherborn. coursebrookfarm.com.

26 – 27 DAVE THIND CLINIC, Walpole. aspirefarm.com.

27 JUNIOR HALLOWEEN HUNT, Hamilton. myopiahunt.com.

27 SUNRISE STABLES HARVEST RIDE, Shirley. Renee at (508) 494-7283.

27 TSASA OCTOBERFEST, West Springfield. twinstate.org.

27 JUMPER SHOW, Byfield. evenstrideltd.com.

27 HALLOWEEN SHOW, RER Ponies, Hatfield. rerponies.com.

November 2 ACTHA CTC TRAIL RIDE, Strongwater Park, Tewksbury. (617) 642-8842.

3 SCHOOLING DRESSAGE SHOW, Beland Stables, Lakeville. belandstables.com.

3 FALL HUNTER PACE, Myopia Schooling Field, Hamilton. myopiahunt.com.

3 BSTRA TURKEY TROT, Myles Standish State Forest, Plymouth. bstra.org.

3 HRC COSTUME TRAIL RIDE, Borderland State Park, Sharon. hansonridingclub.org.

2 NEECA FALL SOCIAL, Orange. neeca.org.

7 – 10 EQUINE AFFAIRE, West Springfield. equineaffaire.com.

2 HALLOWEEN GYMKHANA, Leverett. brosewarne13@comcast.net.

9 HUNTER/JUMPER/EQUITATION SHOW, Greenfield. sbschool.org/riding.

2 IHSA HUNT SEAT SHOW, Biscuit Hill Farm, Shelburne. amherst.edu/athletics.

9 MHC-, NEHC-RATED HUNTER JUMPER SHOW, Medway. saddlerowe.com.

3 WESTERN NEW ENGLAND DRESSAGE SHOW SERIES, Heritage Farm, Easthampton. farmheritage.com.

10 HCRC TURKEY TROT, Northampton Meadows. hampshirecountyridingclub.com.

Like us on Facebook and be entered to win treats!

When North Woods Animal Treats’ Facebook page reaches 1,000 “likes” we’ll give 10 pounds of Nickers Horse Treats to one lucky “liker.”

Personalize your horse show awards with your own horse treats. Put your show’s logo and message on the treat packaging.

“I got some of your treats as a present and my horses just loved them!"

"These treats are a great size. They fit easily into a pocket and are one bite. Perfect for getting those ears up during in-hand classes."

“The best prize I won were the Nickers Horse Treats! It rewarded my partner, and I love that!”

NICKERS HORSE TREATS Handmade, human-grade treats flavored with real maple syrup.

Made locally, enjoyed around the world.

NICKERS HORSE TREATS 54

October/November 2013

www.northwoodsanimaltreats.com . (877) 692-6928

Massachusetts Horse

55

Western New England Professional Horsemen’s Association’s

Hunter/Equitation Shows Featuring year-end awards in many divisions including: Hunters, Pleasure, Equitation, and English and Western Dressage. Medals from Short Stirrup to 3'.

November 9 October 5 Stoneleigh-Burnham Harmony Hill School October 13 December 15 Finals!

Mount Holyoke College October 20 Equestrian Center Mount Holyoke College March 2 Equestrian Center Mount Holyoke College October 27 Equestrian Center Undermountain Farm

Western New England EW! Dressage Show Series N In an exciting expansion of the traditional horse show calendar, WNEPHA offers year-end high-point awards for both English and Western dressage classes. Tests offered for English include (USEF): Introductory Tests A, B, C Training Level Tests 1, 2, 3 Frist Level Test 1 Western Tests (WDAA): Introductory Level Tests 1, 2, 3, 4 Basic Level Tests 1, 2, 3, 4

November 3 Riverbank Farm

11 SCHLEESE SADDLERY FITTING CLINIC, Rehoboth. gretchendemone@comcast.net.

15 NEER NORTH SILENT AUCTION, Black Swan Country Club, Georgetown. neernorth.org.

16 IHSA HUNT SEAT SHOW, Mount Holyoke College Equestrian Center, South Hadley. mtholyoke.edu.

17 SORTING, Hillside Meadows, Grafton. hillside-meadows.com.

17 HUNTER SHOW, Castleneck Farm, Essex.

(978) 768-7998.

An organization for horsemen, by horsemen.

17 SCHOOLING HUNTER SHOW, Victory Stables, Stoughton. victorystablesinc.com.

17 IEA HUNT SEAT SHOW, Century Mill Stables, Bolton. centurymillstables.com.

wnepha.com

17 XENOPHON FARM YEAR-END BANQUET, Amherst. xenophonfarm@aol.com.

An organization for horsemen, by horsemen.

A new, beautiful 76-acre facility in Monson, Mass.

10 NEHC, MHC, WNEPHA SHOW, StoneleighBurnham School, Greenfield. sbschool.org.

17 TRAIL RIDE, Kripple Creek Farm, Pepperell. Casey at (978) 433-5925.

November 3 Heritage Farm

Divinity Dressage

10 HUNTER SHOW, Cornerstone Farm, Haverhill. ridecornerstone.com.

R.J. Sadowski, Jr. HorseMindShip™ Horsemanship and Riding Sessions 71 Pleasant St., Plainfield, Mass.

Learn to: • Understand horse behavior • Apply horse psychology • Build a powerful relationship with any horse

• 72' x 200' indoor riding arena with GGT footing • 12 x 12 stalls with run outs • Excellent-quality hay fed four times per day • Turnout includes both grass and dirt paddocks • Riding trails on property • Owner/trainer lives on property • Quality, professional care catered to your needs and your horse’s needs • A unique program created for each horse and rider.

Suzanne Markham is a USDF-certified instructor, an active Grand Prix competitor, and a bronze, silver and gold medalist.

Young horses started. Limited number of stalls.

Upper-level school horse available for lessons.

Contact Suzanne Markham at avatar0583@aol.com or (413) 250-3155 to come by for a visit!

56

October/November 2013

Have fun: • Day camps • Trail rides • Obstacles course • Private appointments at your farm or ours

Call R.J. or Paula for more information: (413) 634-8800 www.peacehavenfarm.com www.eomega.org/workshops/mind-whispering#-workshop-description-block

19 – 20 CHRISTIAN SCHACHT, DVM, CLINIC, Pepperell. tenbroeckfarm.net.

20 BSTRA TURKEY TROT RIDE, Myles Standish State Forest, Carver. bstra.org.

24 HUNTER SHOW, Byfield. evenstridltd.com.

28 THANKSGIVING HUNT, Hamilton. myopiahunt.com.

December

23 PHOA VERSATILITY CHALLENGE, Ten Broeck Farm, Pepperell. phoa.into.

23 CRDA AWARDS and JJ TATE CLINIC, Apple Knoll Farm, Millis. crdressage.org.

24 THANKSGIVING SCHOOLING JUMPER SHOW, Dracut. cutterfarm.com.

24 GOLD COOLER JUMPER SERIES, Mount Holyoke College Equestrian Center, South Hadley. mhciding.com.

24 CHILI PLEASURE RIDE, Maudslay State Park, Newburyport. Kim at (978) 502-3487.

1 DRILL TEAM PERFORMANCE, Lanesboro. equustherapeutic.org.

7 PHOA VERSATILITY CHALLENGE, Ten Broeck Farm, Pepperell. phoa.info.

8 PRE-HOLIDAY AUCTION, Heritage Farm, Easthampton. farmheritage.com.

29 GOLD COOLER JUMPER SERIES, Mount Holyoke College Equestrian Center, South Hadley. mhciding.com.

Special thanks to these Massachusetts Horse Benefit Show Sponsors!

Is your Horse Ready for Winter?

Star Lake Farm and Tack Proud sponsor of the Small Equine Driving division at the Massachusetts Horse Benefit Show.

A complete line of Miniature Horse tack, equipment, stable supplies, blankets, and more!

Visit our online catalog at www.starlakefarm.com or call (877) 782-7525

Westfield Whip

Where Tradition Demands Excellence d Prou f the r so o spon s et t s achu Ma s s nefit e e B Hors !

Show

www.westfieldwhip.com

.

(413) 568-8244 Massachusetts Horse

57

Massachusetts marketplace Six Acres in Andover, Mass.

• Zoned for up to five horses • trail access • in-ground pool • First floor master suite • offered well below assessed value contact Viktor spigulis at (781) 929-2734 or vspigulis@ziprealty.com

www.ziprealty.com/homes/96baileyrd

Proudly serving the Pioneer Valley for over 25 years.

Complete Wellness Care including Dental, Lameness, and Reproduction State of the Art Digital Radiography

John L. Cowley, M.S., D.V.M. P.O. Box 1019, Easthampton, Mass.

(413) 527-4414 thehorsedoctor@verizon.net

MARILYN LEARY, REALTOR 800.859.2745, EXT 709 MARILYN@EQUINEHOMES.COM

recovery . Maintenance . Performance therapeutic Massage . bodywork . reiki

Jo bunny

Independence Stable, LLC

WWW.E QUINE H OMES . COM

licensed massage therapist, certified equine massage therapist

800 . 859 . 2745

(413) 320-7690 • jobunny@comcast.net

’

Dressage Schooling Shows Including Lead Line and Western Dressage Tests!

Lessons . Training . Boarding . Clinics

Belchertown, MA (413) 284-0371 independencestablellc.com 58

October/November 2013

Boarding Available Indoor Arena . Outdoor Sand Ring Individual Lockers . Jumping Field Round pens . Grass Pastures Quiet, Friendly Atmosphere

16 David St., Southampton, MA (413) 527-0333

Massachusetts marketplace

Dressage training facility, Monson, Mass.

“R” Dressage Judge; FEI Trainer/Competitor; Lessons, clinics, German imported horses for sale.

Indoor/outdoor arenas, all day turnout.

www.deeloveless.com

(860) 208-6017 . deeloveless2@comcast.net

BLAZE ORANGE HORSEWEAR for hunting season & riding safety & visibility.

Free, aid p . agepost available rs te maile ur websi n.

See o rmatio fo for in

Large and Small Animal Medicine & Surgery Serving the North Shore since 1951 Helen Noble, vMd . Robert Orcutt, dvM derek Cavatorta, dvM phd Kirstin Anderson, dvM . Ashley Taylor, dvM

A USDA-APHIS inspected and certified lab vests . tailbags . half sheets . halters helmet covers . collars . dog vests

The Original Equine Protectavest www.protectavest.com (207) 892-0161

295 High St, Ipswich, Mass.

978-356-1119 (phone) 978-356-5758 (fax) www.srhveterinary.com

978-425-6181 cAll us first

MAnure reMovAl for lArge & sMAll fArMs roll-off containers 10 to 30 yards on call or scheduled service. full stock pile removals.

• Barn/outbuilding demo & removal • fencing demo & replacement Proud Sponsor of Bear Spot Musical Freestyle and the Oakrise Farm Show Series.

www.mitranoremoval.com Massachusetts Horse

59

the

neighborhood

ARTIST ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• J. T. HARDING East Walpole, MA, (508) 404-5883 www.jtharding.com Equine fine art and portraiture.

ASSOCIATIONS ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• BAY STATE TRAIL RIDERS ASSOC. Douglas, MA, (508) 476-3960 www.bstra.org Preserving trails, pleasure/competitive rides.

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY RIDING CLUB Goshen, MA, (413) 268-3372 hampshirecounty ridingclub.org Monthly trail rides, shows, gymkhana, educational speakers.

BARN CATS ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• PAWS WATCH Newport, RI, (401) 848-9867 www.pawswatch.org Barn cats need homes! Healthy, fixed, vaccinated barn cats provide rodent contol. Delivered!

CLIPPER SHARPENING ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• THE SHARPENING SHOP New Bedford, MA, (774) 992-7355 kleenkut007@gmail.com Clipper and shear sharpening by mail.

EDUCATION ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• EQUISSAGE NEW ENGLAND/NY Sterling, CT, (860) 564-7759 www.equissage-ne-ny.com Equine sports massage therapy certification.

EQUINE DENTISTRY ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• WENDY BRYANT, EQDT Northampton, MA, (413) 237-8887 www.ravenhillequine.com Natural balance equine dentistry.

Improved topline, maximized performance, increased flexion. Serving New England/New York.

DILLON’S EQUINE DENTISTRY Yarmouth, ME, (508) 528-2242 www.dilloneq.com 20+ years, servicing New England.

ANDREW MORTIMER, EQDT Plainfield, MA, (413) 634-5656 amanda@bcn.net Health, performance floating, extractions.

EQUINE ENTERTAINMENT ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• DALE PERKINS/MESA FARM Rutland, MA, (508) 886-6898 www.daleperkinshorseshow.com Trick riding and much more.

EQUINE MASSAGE ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• EQUINE SPORTS THERAPIES Brooklyn, CT, (860) 774-8027 www.equinesportstherapies.com Massage, digital thermography, aromatherapy, Reiki.

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October/November 2013

Your Everything Equine “white pages”

EQUISSAGE NE/NY Serving New England, (860) 564-7759 equisportmt@sbcglobal.net Certified Masterson Method practitioner, certified Equissage instructors, certified Equissage practitioners, Equine Bodywork, Myofascial Release, Infrared Photon Light Therapy, and Reiki.

HORSEBACK AND BODY Northampton, MA, (413) 320-7690 jobunny@comcast.net Massage therapy for horses, humans.

KIT CAT PHOTOGRAPHY & ANIMAL MASSAGE Central Mass., (636) 459-5478 kitcatmassage@gmail.com Certified equine and canine massage.

TOPLINE EQUINE MASSAGE Franklin, MA, (508) 254-7412 toplinemassage@yahoo.com Certified and insured.

EVENTING ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• APPLE KNOLL FARM Millis, MA, (508) 376-2564 www.appleknoll.com Cross-country schooling, training, lessons, sales.

COURSE BROOK FARM Sherborn, MA, (508) 655-9318 coursebrookfarm.com Eventing, dressage, boarding, crosscountry schooling, clinics, shows.

HAFLINGERS ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• SOMMER HILL FARM Adams, MA, (413) 743-9301 sommerhaflingers@yahoo.com One Haflinger is never enough.

HORSES FOR SALE ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• STRAIN FAMILY HORSE FARM Granby, CT, (860) 653-3275 strainfamilyhorsefarm.com New England’s largest quality sales stable. Supplying NE with horses and ponies since 1967. Forty family, trail, and show horses to choose from. New loads every week. We buy horses, take trade-ins and consignment horses. Great three-week exchange guarantee. Find us on Facebook.

HORSE RETIREMENT ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• GREEN ACRES RETIREMENT FARM Deansboro, NY, (914) 414-7872 greenacresretirementfarm.com Boarding packages starting at $225/mo.

INSTRUCTION/TRAINING ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• LISL DONALDSON Palmer, MA, (413) 283-3706 woodenhorsefarm.com Equine-assisted therapies, camps, lessons.

CATHY DRUMM Pittsfield, MA, (413) 441-5278 www.cathydrumm.com Clinics, lessons, training, and more.

FAIRFIELD FARM Rochester, MA, (508) 763-3224 dressageatfairfieldfarm.com Boarding, instruction, training, indoor.

HORSE-MIND-SHIP - RJ SADOWSKI Plainfield, MA, (413) 634-8800 www.peacehavenfarm.com Clinics, colt starting, farm visits.

NANCY LATER LAVOIE Ashby, MA, (561) 714-7447 nancylaterdressagehorses.com Dressage training level to Grand Prix.

DEE LOVELESS Monson, MA, (860) 208-6017 www.deeloveless.com Full-service dressage training facility.

MORNING LIGHT FARM Brimfield, MA, (413) 563-3477 morninglightfarm.net Boarding, training, clinics, indoor, trails.

WHITE SPRUCE FARMS New Braintree, MA, (978) 257-4666 www.whitesprucefarms.com Dressage shows, instuction for all levels and ages.

INSURANCE ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• BLUE BRIDLE INSURANCE AGENCY Pittstown, NJ, (800) 526-1711 www.bluebridle.com Equine insurance solutions since 1982.

CORINTHIAN INSURANCE AGENCY Medway, MA, (877) 250-5103 www.corinthianequine.com Equine protection specialists.

DON RAY INSURANCE Marshfield, MA, (781) 837-6550 www.donrayinsurance.com Farm, mortality, major medical and surgical, clubs, shows, instructors.

JUDGES ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• MARY BRAZIE Egremont, MA, (413) 528-2367 arabpinto13@yahoo.com Judging open, 4-H. Lessons, boarding.

CARRIE CRANSTON Ashfield, MA, (413) 628-0152 equine79@msn.com 4-H, open shows, carded, references.

ED GOLEMBESKI Gill, MA, (413) 863-2313 riker119@comcast.net 4-H, open shows, clinics, lessons.

KAREN VON BACHELLE South Windsor, CT, (860) 528-8027 bachelle@cox.net USEF “r” and NEHC H/HE/J. LOANS ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• FARM CREDIT EAST Middleboro, MA, (800) 946-0506 farmcrediteast.com Loans for equestrian facilities, farms, bare land, home sites. Equipment loans and leases.

MINIATURE HORSES, SUPPLIES ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• STAR LAKES MINIATURE TACK Atlasburg, PA, (724) 947-9939 www.starlakefarm.com Complete line of Miniature horse tack.

NORWEGIAN FJORDS ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• BLUE HERON FARM Charlemont, MA, (413) 339-4045 www.blueheronfarm.com Quality, purebred registered Fjords.

PHOTOGRAPHY ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• KIT CAT PHOTOGRAPHY & ANIMAL MASSAGE Central Mass., (636) 459-5478 kitcatmassage@gmail.com Horses, pets, people, portraits, events.

REAL ESTATE ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• EQUINE HOMES — MARILYN LEARY Oakham, MA, (800) 859-2745 x 709 Specializing in equestrian, country properties.

BERNICE GIARD, REALTOR/BROKER Oakham, MA, (508) 882-3900 oakham@charter.net Country properties.

RIDING APPAREL ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• COUNTRYSIDE FARM RIDING APPAREL Sterling, MA, (978) 235-4004 www.countrysideridingapparel.com Custom and in-stock riding apparel, equestrian jewelry, JPC dealer, used apparel, consignments welcome.

STABLES, FARMS, BOARDING ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• EMERALD FARM Bellingham, MA, (508) 966-2482 www.smithlyndequine.com Dressage, eventing, hunter, boarding, lessons, training, leases.

GLENCROFT FARM Southampton, MA, (413) 527-8026 kraymond24@hotmail.com Boarding, pastures, ring, trails, fields.

NEW MEADOWS FARM Pepperell, MA, (978) 502-0966 www.newmeadowsfarm.com Boarding, indoor, jump field, turn out, licensed instructor. Furnished one bedroom appartment for rent on farm. No smoking, no pets. $800 per month plus heat.

SUMMER CAMPS ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• MOUNTAIN TOP INN & RESORT Chittenden, VT, (802) 483-2311 www.mountaintopinn.com Adults, children, camps, overnight accommodations.

VERSHIRE RIDING SCHOOL Vershire, VT, (802) 685-2239 www.vershireridingschool.com Eventing, children, adult programs.

TACK AND HARNESSES ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• BLUEBIRD MEADOWS FARM N. Granby, CT, (860) 844-8689 www.bluebirdmeadowsfarm.com Mobile shop. Buy/sell new/used tack.

TACK, BLANKET, HARNESS REPAIR ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• BLUE DOG LEATHER (978) 544-2681 www.bluedogleather.com Quality repairs and custom work.

JENN’S TACK & BLANKET SERVICE (978) 340-5576 jennstackrepair@comcast.net Blanket cleaning, repair. Used blankets and tack for sale.

VEGETATION MANAGEMENT •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••F FAVREAU FORESTRY Sterling, MA, (978) 706-1038 favreauforestry.com Removal of vegetation encroachments; manure.

VETERINARIANS •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••F FAMILY VETERINARY CENTER Haydenville, MA, (413) 268-8387 famvets.com Traditional and alternative care for dogs, cats, exotics, and horses.

Blue Dog Leather

AMY J. RUBIN, DVM Sunderland, MA, (413) 549-5511 rubinaj69@yahoo.com Wellness and lameness exams, vaccinations, dentistry, emergencies.

Blue Dog Leather Saddle For Sale!

VIDEO/DVD PRODUCTION ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ZZ CREATIVE VIDEO PRODUCTIONS Fitchburg, MA, (978) 345-7250 www.zzcreativevideo.com Horse show/events documentation, reasonable, professional, experienced.

16” all-purpose saddle, turned and twisted stirrups, carved and tooled in an early Porter’s of Phoenix pattern, on a Rod Nikkel tree with Quarter Horse bars. Please call for more information about this saddle made right here in Massachusetts!

Quality leather goods made to your specifications: handmade western saddles . chaps . chinks . halters . bridles . reins breast collars . belts . harnesses . repairs . restoration Hand-crafted gear using high quality materials and workmanship.

Careful fitting for horse and rider.

www.bluedogleather.com South Shore Dr., Orange, Mass.

978.544.2681

Open most days. Call ahead to be sure.

advertiser index Jay Noone ............................................... 21 Jenn’s Tack and Blanket Service ................ 42 Joey Stetz Farrier Service ........................ 49 Just for Ponies ......................................... 39 Kit Cat Photography ................................. 19 Kyriebrook Farm ...................................... 48 Lamore Lumber ........................................ 45 The Mane Place ....................................... 42 Maple Meadows Farm ............................... 7 Massachusetts Horse Benefit Show .......... 50 Mindful Connections ................................ 10 MSPCA Nevins Farm ..................................... 52 New England Equine Medical and Surgical Center ................................... 16 Northwoods Nickers Horse Treats ............... 54 On the Road Trailers ............................... 45 Orion Farm ................................................. 7 The Ortensi Farm ..................................... 15 Peace Haven Farm ................................... 56 Purina Mills ............................................. 53 Ravenhill Equine Wellness Center ................ 25 Re/Max Kathryn O’Brien ........................... 12 RER Ponies ................................................ 31 Scratch n All ............................................... 11 SmartPak Saddlery .................................... 41 Star Lake Farm and Tack .......................... 57 Suffolk Downs .......................................... 25 Sunny Banks Ranch ................................. 47 Topline Equine Massage .......................... 17 Triple Crown .............................................. 3 Twin Valley Farm ...................................... 49 W. B. Mason Co., Inc. ............................... 49 Western New England Professional Horsemen’s Association ..................... 56 Westfield Whip ......................................... 57 Wild Aire Farm ........................................... 51 Xenophon Farm ........................................ 23 Yered Trailers .......................................... 27

is this your horse?

Alessandra Mele

A Horse Drawn Affair ............................... 45 Angel View Pet Cemetery ......................... 63 Apple Knoll Farm ..................................... 33 Aubuchon Hardware .......................... 43, 57 Avery Gauthier ......................................... 52 Back Bay Farm .......................................... 10 Bacon’s Equipment .................................. 22 Barefoot Performance ............................. 37 Bits and Bridles Photography ................... 61 Blarney Stone Acres .................................. 4 Bluebird Meadows Farm .......................... 49 Blue Dog Leather ...................................... 61 Blue Seal Feed ......................................... 64 C A Hill Photo .......................................... 33 The Carriage Shed ...................................... 2 The Cheshire Horse ............................ 19, 57 Chipaway Stables .................................... 22 Corinthian Insurance ............................... 62 Cornerstone Farm .................................... 35 Country Corral ......................................... 22 Country Tack ........................................... 57 Course Brook Farm ................................... 13 Crimson Acres ......................................... 57 Dillon’s Equine Dentistry ......................... 49 Divinity Dressage ..................................... 56 Don Ray Insurance Agency ....................... 27 Dragonfly Farm ......................................... 31 Eastern Regional Trail Ride ...................... 51 EDR Photography .................................... 42 Equine Homes .......................................... 23 Equissage ................................................ 47 Essex County Trail Association ................. 51 Fairview Farms JJC ..................................... 7 Family Veterinary Center .......................... 25 Farm Credit East ........................................ 11 Farm Family Insurance ............................. 55 Hardwick Farmer’s Co-operative .............. 57 Heritage Farm ........................................... 21 It’s a Pleasure Training ............................ 39 Jasper Veterinary Care ............................ 48

Is this your horse?

This photo was taken at the Hampshire County Riding Club Open Show, in Goshen. If this is your horse, contact us at win@mahorse.com for a month’s supply of SmartPaks and more from Massachusetts’ very own SmartPak, smartpakequine.com. The August/September winner was Taylor Timcoe, of Quincy, and her solid Appaloosa mare, Fergie.

Massachusetts Horse

61

62

October/November 2013

Over 30 Years of Service

Cremains available to family within 72 hours.

Massachusetts Horse

63

PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID FULTON, MO PERMIT

Amherst Farmer’s Supply 320 Pleasant St., Amherst (413) 253-3436 amherstfarmerssupply.com A.W. Brown Pet & Garden Center 144 Shaker Rd., E. Longmeadow (413) 525-2115 . awbrown.com Bernardston Farmer’s Supply 43 River St., Bernardston (413) 648-9311 bernardstonfarmerssupply.com

Brattleboro Agway 1277 Putney Rd. Brattleboro, VT (802) 254-8757 . achilleagway.net Bridgewater Farm Supply 1000 Plymouth St., Bridgewater (508) 697-0357 bridgewaterfarm.com Country Corral 35 Main St., Williamsburg (413) 268-0180 countrycorralonline.com

Erikson’s Grain Mill 113 Main St., Acton (978) 263-4733 Essex County Co-op 146 S. Main St., Topsfield (978) 887-2309 essexcountycoop.net Ferestein Feed 360 Central St., Foxboro (508) 543-3613

Hardwick Farmers Co-op Exchange Rte. 32, Gilbertville (800) 322-4329 hardwickfarmers.net Morrisons Home & Garden 90 Long Pond Rd., Plymouth (508) 746-0970 morrisonshomeandgarden.com

#38

Robbins Garden Center 28 Sutton Ave., Oxford (508) 987-2700 robbinsgarden.com Sweet Meadow Feed & Grain 111 Coolidge St., Sherborn (508) 650-2926 sweetmeadowfeedandgrain.com Thibault’s Poultry 92 N. Spencer Rd. Spencer (508) 885-3959