Massachusetts Horse June/July 2016

M A S S AC H U S E T T S

HORSE

MASSACHUSETTS HORSE TRIALS

USEA-SANCTIONED EVENTS page 8

ELISABETH LIBBY

LOVE IS A THOROUGHBRED EVENT page 14

SOUTHFIELD FARM

MOTHER-AND-DAUGHTER TEAM page 16

June/July 2016 mahorse.com $4

CAMP MARSHALL LEND A HOOF page 18

PEAKED MOUNTAIN TRAIL GUIDE page 24

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June/July 2016

contents

June/July 2016

columns 20 Connections

On the Ground and in the Saddle

8

22 Nina Amaral

Melissa Root

Abigail Powell

Mindful Connections

16

Will Work to Ride

Youth Spotlight

24 Peaked Mountain Monson

14

38 My Life with Horses

courtesy of Camp Marshall

John Targonski

Trail Guide

Kristy Stanek Pony Tails

18

in every issue

features 8

Massachusetts Horse Trials

5 From the Editor

16 Southfield Farm

USEA-Sanctioned Events

7 Your Letters

Mother-and-Daughter Team

26 Overherd: News in Our Community

Farm Feature

31 This Olde Horse 32 Partners 40 Massachusetts Events Calendar

14

Elisabeth Libby

18

Camp Marshall

Love Is a Thoroughbred Event

Equestrian Center

Horseperson Feature

Lend a Hoof

47 The Neighborhood 48 Is This Your Horse?

48 Advertiser Index 49 Massachusetts Marketplace

Massachusetts Horse

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4

June/July 2016

from the editor

E

very June, Pocketful of Ponies Farm comes alive

pants in a fun and casual atmosphere, the event is changing

with sounds. Songbirds wake me at sunrise, in early

its name and transitioning to a combination hunter pace,

evening I can hear the

judged obstacle course, and

soft, contented munching of my

horsemanship-knowledge

little herd as they graze outside

quiz. Participants can enter

a window, and the hooting of

one, two, or all three events.

barred owls sends me to my

And there’ll be more than

dreams.

$5,000 in prizes! To learn more and enter online, please

To help ensure that horses

visit mahorse.com.

have a place to be content, Blue

Summer is upon us. The

Star Equiculture Draft Horse Sanctuary is the beneficiary of

tree swallows are back —

this year’s Massachusetts Horse

singing and raising their

Benefit Adventure Trail, which

young — swooping through field and farm to capture all

will take place September 24 in Wilbraham. In 11 years, the Massachusetts Horse Benefit

Six-year-old Emma Harrington, of Paxton, won the Massachustts Horse Junior Horsemanship Award at the Central Massachusetts Horse Show Series, in Spencer, on April 24. Emma is riding Shetland Pony Oreo.

kinds of pesky flying insects for themselves and their

Show has raised more than $58,000 for horse-related non-

nestlings. I’m heading out to the barn to enjoy my horses; I

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M ASSAC HUS ETTS

HORSE vol. 15, no. 1 June/July 2016

ISSN 1945-1393

99 Bissell Road, Williamsburg, MA 01096 phone: (413) 268-3302 • fax: (413) 268-0050 • mahorse.com Massachusetts Horse magazine is an independently owned and -operated all-breed, all-discipline equestrian publication for the Bay State. © 2016 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 • steph@mahorse.com • (413) 268-3302 copy editor Doris Troy feature writers Nicole Birkholzer, Andrea Bugbee, Alessandra Mele Abigail Powell, Melissa Root, Kristy Stanek, Stacey Stearns contributors Susan Goldfischer, Holly Jacobson, Denise Kellicker, Suzy Lucine Jamie Maguire, Diane Merritt, Karen Morang Laurie Neely, Annamaria Paul, Liz Russell, Lisa Wohlleib county desk liaisons Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden, and Hampshire Counties Alessandra Mele • (413) 949-1972 • alessandra@mahorse.com Bristol County Melissa Root • (508) 863-0467 • melissa@mahorse.com Essex County Holly Jacobson • (978) 356-5842 • holly@mahorse.com Norfolk and Plymouth Counties Laura Solod • (617) 699-7299 • laura@mahorse.com Worcester County Karen Morang • (508) 797-2828 • karen@mahorse.com

State-of-the-Art Equine Laundry Facility

advertising main office • (413) 268-3302 • ads@mahorse.com

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Advertising deadline for the August/September issue is July 10.

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June/July 2016

Photo by Heather Rush.

High Brow, owned by Lauren Magoon, of Florence. Lauren rides at Heritage Farm, in Easthampton.

Massachusetts Horse is printed with soy-based ink on recycled paper.

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:

To the editor:

I just love this magazine. The articles are always interesting. I like that you cover the whole state. I don’t show, but I check the event listings to see what’s going on in my area each weekend.

Keep up the good work!

My student Ashley Cormier and her mom are thrilled [April/May: Youth Spotlight]. It’s really special for her to be in

Judy LaFleche, via email

To the editor: I was introduced to your magazine several years ago by South County Riders, an organization that partners with Massachusetts Horse, and have been an enthusiastic reader ever since. I particularly enjoyed your article on Harmony Hill Farm in the December/January issue.

Anne Fribourg, via email

Let us know your thoughts . . .

and we’ll enter you to win a $25 Cheshire Horse gift card. All letters received by July 5 will have a chance in the drawing.

Send your letters to: steph@mahorse.com or Massachusetts Horse 99 Bissell Rd., Williamsburg, MA 01096

an article. It’s wonderful that you’re featuring junior riders. It’s especially important for dressage to promote them. I’m grateful that you chose Ashley and I hope it inspires more young riders to give dressage a chance.

Susan Rainville, White Spruce Farms, New Braintree

Massachusetts Horse

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Massachusetts Horse Trials USEA-Sanctioned Events

Abigail Powell

by Abigail Powell

Anna Billings, of Sherborn, and Ain’t Misbehavin’ at Groton House Farm.

M

assachusetts was once a mecca for three-day eventing, and the grassroots promotion and love for the sport still remain. Several Bay State farms annually host horse trials at which competitors test their skills and their equine partnerships.

Three-day eventing could be most easily described as an equestrian triathlon, as it’s composed of three phases: dressage, cross-country, and stadium jumping. Originally a military sport, it was introduced in France in 1902 as a means to test the fitness and capabilities of cavalry officers and their mounts.

Traditionally, each phase takes place on a different day, usually beginning on Friday with dressage and culminating with stadium jumping on Sunday. Over the years, however, the format has undergone multiple variations. Cross-country day has seen the biggest change. Originally it was deemed endurance day because it consisted of four phases to test a horse’s fitness and endurance; nowadays, it usually calls for just one test of endurance.

And “three-day” eventing may take place on one day — all the phases, but in shorter formats. Most frequently seen 8

June/July 2016

at the lower levels, this makes holding horse trials significantly easier on the organizers, particularly as it conserves a very valuable resource: volunteers.

In a single-day trial, the dressage portion always comes first, but either stadium jumping or cross-country follows. The rationale behind holding stadium jumping after cross-country is to test the agility of the horse after he has expended a substantial amount of energy galloping over a long course.

As its official governing body, the United States Eventing Association (USEA) sanctions trials held around the nation. Bay State riders who compete in USEA-recognized trials can earn points toward qualification for national championships as well as those for Area 1.

The levels of competition range from Beginner Novice, where the maximum jumping height is 2' 7", to Advanced, with a maximum jump height of 4' 1". Between these levels are Novice, Training, Preliminary, and Intermediate.

Eventing made its first appearance as an Olympic sport at the 1912 games, in Stockholm. Civilians were allowed to compete in 1924; it wasn’t until 1964 that women could. To this day, eventing and the other Olympic equestrian disci-

plines are unique in being the only sports in which men and women compete together.

The first civilian horse trials held on US soil took place in Pennsylvania, but Massachusetts has the distinction of being the site of the first international three-day event, in 1973 at Ledyard Farm, Wenham. The man who established the Ledyard Horse Trials, Neil Ayer, made huge strides in popularizing the sport in America. He made such an impact, in fact, that the USEA headquarters, in Leesburg, Virginia, was dedicated in his honor.

Today, operated by Ferial and Marc Johnson, of Oakwood Equine Management, Ledyard Farm is still an active stable. Though the upper-level trials are but a memory, a small twophase event has taken place here for the past two years. In a two-phase, riders compete in dressage and stadium/show jumping.

A tour of Massachusetts finds five USEA-sanctioned events.

Stoneleigh-Burnham School The oldest still-running recognized horse trials in the state take place in Greenfield.

The trials’ history at the school is a

courtesy of Stoneleigh-Burnham School

Stoneleigh-Burnham School, Greenfield.

bit fuzzy, but it’s likely that the first ones were held around 1969. The well-known upper-level eventer Denny Emerson, who operates Tamarack Hill Farm, in Strafford, Vermont, had a hand in creating the event; at the time, his father was headmaster of Stoneleigh-Burnham.

Mina Williams, an alumna, has been the school’s director of riding for more than 20 years. “I love the camaraderie that eventers have,” she says. “It doesn’t matter what barn you’re from or who the people are — they’re all nice to each other and chitchat a lot.”

She laughs. “I also love knowing what time you’re going to go,” she adds.

“Stoneleigh-Burnham is very inviting,” says eventer Shauna Dempsey, who lives in Peabody. “It’s a smaller course, but they do a great job.”

The school runs two recognized horse trials annually, one in July and the second in October. The July show comprises Beginner Novice through Preliminary; the October show holds Beginner Novice through Training.

The cross-country course has changed over time and the school has put a lot of effort into upgrading it. A very versatile water complex opened in 2014, and Mina says it’s been well received.

“Stoneleigh Burnham is one of my favorites because it has easy access, ample parking, and friendly people,” says Rachel Laliberte, of Spencer, who events her horse at the Training level. “Plus, now it has money prizes and Thoroughbred Incentive Program awards.”

Groton House Farm Groton House Farm Horse Trials come perhaps the closest to the feel of Old World eventing. Simply being present on the grounds, among the ancient trees and rustic stone walls, transports you back in time. “You can feel the history, knowing that a lot of the greats rode here,” says rider Emily Tasker, of Barnstead, New Hampshire.

Indeed, Groton House Farm has a rich history of eventing, having run some of the earliest combined tests in the country. The property was originally purchased by Frederic Winthrop Sr. in 1903 and is still owned by members of the Winthrop family, among them Ann Getchell, who organizes the trials. Over time, the property transitioned from active commercial farming to a focus on equestrian sport. Groton House Farm’s equestrian program was on the upswing in the 1960s, as the dairy operation was

on the wane and cattle and pig farming were in decline.

Even before the sport had a governing body, in the late ’50s and early ’60s, Groton House annually hosted three or four major events. Ann and her sister, Iris Winthrop Freeman — a founding member of the United States Combined Training Association, which became the USEA — both rode. “Having ridden all my life, I thought eventing looked like more fun than showing,” says Ann. She got back into the sport when her daughters joined Pony Club.

The current series of annual trials dates back to 1978, when the event was tacked on to the Eastern New England Regional Pony Club Rally. As one of the district commissioners for the Myopia Pony Club, Ann thought it would be best to make use of the new course for more than an annual Pony Club Rally.

An insert mailed out with the omnibus secured some 50 entries for the inaugural event. Over the years, it grew from hosting Novice levels to hosting Intermediate to, in the 1990s, hosting Advanced levels. The farm even hosted a selection trial for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

The Groton House Farm Horse Trials stay true to the original three-day Massachusetts Horse

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format, with a victory gallop in the award ceremony at the conclusion of show jumping. It’s “old-fashioned,” as Ann describes it, but that’s not a bad thing — in fact, it’s what attracts many competitors. “Groton House is a beautiful event,” says competitor Dawn Marie Dascomb, of Madbury, New Hampshire.

“I love how they run it over three days and do a traditional awards ceremony after show jumping. It’s well run and the courses are always challenging and fun.”

The obstacles you’ll find on the cross-country course are built to fit naturally into the terrain, such as in fence lines and tree lines. “Competitors report that they like the feeling of riding crosscountry and going somewhere, not just jumping a bunch of portables in an open field,” Ann says.

Since 2009, Groton House Farm offers just Novice through Intermediate/ Preliminary, which is a combination of Intermediate dressage and stadium jumping tests with a Preliminary-level cross-country course. “It was sad to have to give up on Advanced and Intermediate,” says Ann, “but there just wasn’t a big enough entry after the FEI levels became a requirement for qualifications, and the sport migrated to the mid-Atlantic and points south.”

King Oak Farm The King Oak Farm Horse Trials were established in 1983, though the Southampton property has belonged to the Cross family for much longer. While she was teaching at Mount Holyoke College, Fran Cross bought the farm from her parents and decided to work with horses — “That’s what I always wanted to do,” she says. She chose eventing as her equestrian sport because, she says, she thought that with training, any horse and rider could be successful. She competed through Preliminary level, and now trains young horses and organizes the trials.

King Oak holds two events a year, in May — popular as the first outing of the season for many area competitors — and in September. “King Oak was the first recognized event for my mare and me,” says Maegan Bergeron, of Ipswich.

“As nervous as I was, the volunteers ran the event super smoothly, which relieved a lot of my anxiety and resulted in a fantastic, fun, and level-appropriate show. Every year I choose King Oak as our first rated show.”

The USEA-recognized shows here offer Beginner Novice through

Preliminary levels; a few other schooling shows have some lower-level options.

New this year, Fran has rearranged the layout of the cross-country courses so that all levels start and finish in the same field, although the tracks for Beginner Novice and Novice riders are different.

great feeling of camaraderie in this sport.”

The first USEA event at Valinor took place in 2006, which makes this year the tenth anniversary. Valinor hosts an Intro level during its USEA shows, as

Valinor Farm

Steve Harvey Photography

Valinor Farm, in Plymouth, is one of the newer eventing venues in the state. Owned by the Risso family, it was originally an agricultural farm; pumpkins and corn were its main crops. Robyn Risso also taught dressage lessons out of a small barn. When her daughters got involved with the sport Valinor Farm. through Pony Club, the farm began to specialize in eventing.

“We enjoy the sport and thought it was a good match for our property,” says Robyn. “We love that it gets riders out of the ring. Riding on hills teaches balance and conditioning — it’s good for both horse and rider. There’s also a

well as the Beginner Novice through Training/Preliminary crossover level.

“Valinor is very well run and a great show. It has a good amount of challenge but is inviting enough for a move up and for green horses,” says Emily Tasker.

Over the years, the operation has grown from the small barn on a hill to a thriving 30-stall facility with an indoor arena and multiple outdoor rings. The cross-country course itself has also changed over time, as have the logistics of how the event is run.

“We schedule riders to go directly from stadium jumping to the cross-country phase,” says Robyn. “Most riders appreciate tacking up twice instead of three times in one day, and it works well for us.” This year Robyn says she’s excited that the jumping test will take place in an outdoor arena with all-weather footing instead of in a grass ring.

Valinor Farm is very much a family affair. Robyn runs the facility and organizes the events; daughters Erin and Lisa teach and train. Erin participates in other events throughout the area, competing with various horses and riding up to the Intermediate level.

Then there’s Robyn’s husband. “The entire place would fall apart without Jack Risso, who keeps the facility and all the equipment running,” says Robyn.

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not having fun anymore,” she says, “and that’s still the plan.”

Course Brook Farm

may not be the best outing for your first time at a new level.

The farm hosts one recognized horse trial, in October — for some the last event of the season in the Northeast — and offers Beginner Novice through

water complex. “We hope to be able to unveil the improvements before our recognized three-phase,” says Matt.

Laura Solod

Course Brook Farm, in Sherborn, has Combined Tests been owned by the Mayo family since and Schooling Shows 1927. Originally called Though only five farms in Fairfield Farm, it converted Massachusetts hold USEA-recfrom dairy to horses in the ognized trials, many more 1970s, when milk sales host schooling shows. and deliveries declined.

Schooling shows — that is, triThe equestrian business als that aren’t sanctioned by began when the owners the USEA — usually have levleased out 10 stalls for a els at lower jumping heights tenant’s sport horses, and and make the sport more soon expanded. Course accessible to a greater numBrook focused on eventber of riders. All of the Bay ing beginning in the State farms that host USEA1990s, when advancedsanctioned horse trials also level eventer Jim Gornall hold schooling shows. convinced Matt Mayo to Stoneleigh-Burnham’s construct a full crossschooling shows take place in country course. The first May and August. “Having A competitor at the 2015 USEA Area 1 Schooling Horse Trails Championship. The schooling event took place championship will again be held at Apple Knoll Farm, in Millis, on August 28. non-recognized shows makes it in 1998 and the first USEAmore affordable for the averTraining/Preliminary levels. It’s currecognized was held in 2010. age person,” Mina says. rently undergoing major construction “Course Brook is a well-run event Since 2008, Groton House Farm that will finish a Preliminary track and on a small footprint,” says Rachel has been hosting Beginner Novice and Laliberte. “The farm is immaculate, and add to the courses for the other levels.

Elementary levels during unsanctioned In the works for the obstacle portion the course suitable for riders who’ve events twice a year. These shows enable are a large ditch and possibly a third been showing at a level all season.” It young or inexperienced horses and rid-

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ers to gallop across the same beautiful venues as do seasoned competitors, and are a great way for horses to get some experience.

A Schooling Horse Trials Championships competition was established just last year, for which riders qualify by placing at various local schooling events. This beauty of this show is that it provides inspiration for lower-level riders and horses. This season’s Area 1 Championship will be held August 28 at Apple Knoll Farm, Millis.

Qualifying schooling trials in Massachusetts will be hosted by Stoneleigh-Burnham School; Apple Knoll; Orchard Hill Equestrian Center, in Berlin; Azrael Acres, in Uxbridge; King Oak Farm; Scarlet Hill Farm, in Groton; Groton House Farm; Valinor Farm; and Course Brook Farm. To see a full listing of qualifying events, visit appleknoll.com.

Abigail Powell enjoys learning the ropes of dressage and eventing with her horse Maggie, a Mustang/Arabian she adopted from the MSPCA at Nevins Farm. She also owns Miniature Horse Zipper and goat Billy Boomer. She and her husband live in Topsfield.

Massachusetts Horse

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Horseperson Feature Southwick

by Andrea Bugbee

Elisabeth Libby Love Is a Thoroughbred Event

E

In the Beginning

Of course, Beth didn’t start off exercising racehorses. Instead, she began with a gift for athletics, a series of very naughty ponies, and a mom — the author Linda Snow McLoon — who was an eventer and the first leader of Hampden’s Scanticook Pony Club. Beth smiles recalling her Pony Club years, going to team competitions with her best buddy, Courtney Collins, riding in mounted meetings, and running through empty stables choosing stalls for camps. “There was great camaraderie. We had such good times,” she says.

Pony Club was fun, but eventing quickly became Beth’s passion (today, she’s a self-proclaimed eventing evangelist). “I just thought it was fantastic seeing my mom cruise out on cross country, walking the course with her, the three phases,” Beth says. “I had been to hunter shows, but this was more athletic. The whole thing totally appealed to me.”

In high school, Beth inherited her mother’s eventing horse, a 14

June/July 2016

Thoroughbred named Bayberry. She rode him through Training level and as a junior the pair qualified for Area 1 Championships. Though a soundness issue kept them from competing, Beth

Lynn Guelzow

ver wonder what kind of rider would be crazy enough to hop on a half-broke Thoroughbred and teach it to gallop? Meet Southwick resident Elisabeth Libby. She’s been kissing the wind on Thoroughbreds since her early teens and, though she stopped working at racetracks decades ago, her love for these graceful athletes continues to grow.

“When I think of the Thoroughbred breed, I see strong, smart, sensitive horses that run fast and far, jump high and wide, and, as long as they understand what you want, will always try and give it their best effort with honesty and bravery,” says Elisabeth (“Beth” to her friends and students). “I find them exquisitely elegant and easy on the eyes.” Beth is an eventer these days, and her two event horses are — you guessed it — off-the-track Thoroughbreds she brought from track to field and beyond.

was hooked. “It’s the cross-country,” she says. “There’s no question that galloping at speed, over open countryside, rolling terrain, over obstacles, to be able to do that on a horse that wants to do it as much as you do, there’s no greater feeling in the world to me. It’s just the biggest rush. It’s like a drug. It’s a disease.”

Racetrack U After high school, Beth headed off to Ithaca College without a horse, and from September to May she didn’t ride.

But college kids need summer jobs, and this kid’s main qualification was a past full of ponies. She landed seasonal employment at a Thoroughbred facility in Ocala, Florida.

“Florida was just an experience,” she says. “I was living in a trailer. I was grooming for four Thoroughbreds, exercising maybe two or three in the orange groves. That’s where I learned

how to gallop in the little jockey saddle.

“My Pony Club horse management served me very well caring for Thoroughbreds,” she says. “Those horses are bandaged every day. They’re groomed. They’re bathed.

They’re what make the whole thing go, so they get the utmost care. You’re just a tool to keep them in the most pristine condition.

“Plus,” she says, “not anyone can simply hop on a Thoroughbred and gallop it, but I’d grown up galloping my Thoroughbred bareback around my house, my father screaming at me, ‘Get off the lawn!’ and I’m tearing around, jumping walls, with only a halter and lead. You learn to stick. You get strong.”

From her Florida time, she describes garter snakes four feet long, a black widow nest near the hot walker, and a barn that had to be closed because there were so many cockroaches that if you turned on the lights at night, the walls seemed to move.

After sophomore year, Beth spent a summer working as an exercise rider and groom for trainer Gene Weymouth, in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. “His nickname was Crazy Gene,” Beth says. She nods vigorously, as she perhaps remembers why.

“I would go with him every morning to work, and we did work,” she says.

“I was getting on maybe half a dozen horses every morning. The first two weeks I would wake up and my whole body would be screaming. This was not like galloping at the farm. I mean, you were out there on the track, horses breezing by. It was all about the horse. I got bucked off a couple of times on the track. I’d fall into this slop and Gene would go galloping by, intent on getting the horse I’d fallen off. He wouldn’t even look down to see if I was okay.”

There, Beth also schooled young horses in the starting gate, which she calls “probably the most hair-raising experience of my life. Just getting them

in there, and maybe they don’t know what’s going on, and horses go galloping by, and yours begins to freak out and you’re in this tiny metal cage trying to cling. Before they race,” she explains, “Thoroughbreds have to get their gate card. In other words, they were schooled in the gate so everyone knew they were okay with it. That was one of my jobs.”

During her last summer before graduation, Beth worked under the trainer Ron Dandy at Suffolk Downs, in Boston. There, she groomed for four Thoroughbreds on a winning year.

Taking on every aspect of these horses’ care created a bond, and Beth particularly remembers one of “her” colts, named Royal Celebrity, who had a winning season and set a track record.

“The thing about him is that he was the laziest horse in the barn,” she says, laughing. “He would take a nap after work every morning. He would sleep on his side snoring and whinnying as he dreamed. He was so lazy that they’d put him on the hot-walking machine and then I’d hear the machine stalling because he’s standing there like this — ” Beth stretches her arms and legs into a “won’t-budge” pose.

That Face Fast-forward to adulthood, work, a wonderful daughter named Elaina Hoeppner, and many borrowed horses until, in the early 2000s, Beth dipped back into the racing world to buy herself a four-year-old gelding.

She recalls entering a stable at Rockingham Park, in New Hampshire, to look at a Thoroughbred sired by champion Slew o’ Gold, a son of Seattle Slew. His name was Slew Micci, but the stable hands called him Sloo-A-Michee with a dramatic Italian flair.

“Eventer Jim Wofford says you want a horse that’s going to be an athlete and a performer, but one that, when you come to the barn, you want to see that face. And I see Slew Micci,” Beth says, “and he’s only four. And he’s pretty skinny, but there’s something in his face, and he just looked at me. And I liked his face.”

It’s now 14 years later: “And I still have him,” Beth says. “He moved up the lower levels pretty quickly. I could tell early on — this horse just gets it. He sees jumps and it’s like, which one?

He’s definitely my horse of a lifetime.

He brought me through Preliminary level. That was my goal, and I made it

with him.” In fact, in 2009 she competed Preliminary with him at the United States Eventing Association Area 1 Championships — not too shabby for a horse who, at first, barely knew he had a left lead.

America’s Most Wanted Thoroughbred Then, late in 2014, two of Beth’s friends got OTTBs (off-the-track Thoroughbreds). “It kind of plants a seed in your mind,” she says. “OTTBs were on the upswing, and all of these websites start popping up, and you can’t help but look,” she says, shrugging and grinning like a guilty kid. In January 2015, she got a lovely four-year-old mare, Irish Silk, from Bowie Race Track, in Maryland. The clincher was yet another beautiful face, and the filly’s grand-sire was none other than Slew o’ Gold. Beth’s plan was to enter her into the Retired Race Horse Project America’s Most Wanted Thoroughbred, in which off-the-track Thoroughbreds with less than nine months of training compete in their discipline for cash and other prizes. The competition would be at Kentucky Horse Park in October 2015. continued on page 48 . . .

Massachusetts Horse

15

Farm Feature

Halifax

Southfield Farm Mother-and-Daughter Team

by Melissa Root

I

courtesy of Southfield Farm

Daughter Amy was brought up with n the six years since they built the horses. She and her Morgan first eight stalls of the main barn, Joanne Heath Smith and her daugh- Myrrhwood Monterrey (Rey) earned ter, Amy Heath, have steadily developed four world titles at Morgan Grand Nationals: Walk-Trot 8 and Under Southfield Farm, in Halifax, to the fullWorld Champion (1997), Walk-Trot 9– service facility it is today.

11 Reserve World Champion (1998), As you walk toward the barn, Walk-Trot World Champion (1999), between the large outdoor arena and and, in 2000, Junior Saddle Seat the spacious paddocks, you’re greeted Equitation Reserve World Champion. A by a bounty of beautiful horses. Some pro at 20, Amy continued to ride and are Morgans, some Paints, and begging train while working full time. for your attention as she shadows you down the fence is Rosie, a two-year-old double-registered Quarter Horse/Paint that’s Amy’s latest prospect.

A third-generation horsewoman, Amy says she always has a work in progress and loves bringing along horses starting when they’re young.

“All horses have a niche and we help them find it,” says Amy. “Communication is key to happy people and happy horses.”

Both mother and daughter have been riding Amy, student Gabrielle Natale, and Joanne. their whole lives, but there’s As luck would have it, at about the something special about working same time that her mother began buildtogether. “It’s a blast!” says Joanne. “We ing Southfield, Amy was laid off. That’s do everything as a team,” says Amy. when she began working full time at the “It’s fun,” says Joanne. “We teach and train together and have even shown farm, and it didn’t take long for her to realize that this is where she was meant against each other. We’ve got some to be. great stories . . .”

Joanne was thrilled to be working “My mom is the absolute best at with her daughter again. “Amy was groundwork,” says Amy. And boarder trained by me and by some of the best and student Sue Garrity says, “Amy in the country,” she says. clicks with the horses; they just can’t Her experience proved to be a ruffle her.” great asset to the business. Almost immediately, news spread that the two Thirty Years and Three Generations were working together and that Amy The family’s love of horses began with would be a fixture. New clients were Amy’s grandmother, a foxhunter in excited to get on board.

England who fostered in Joanne what would become a lifelong passion. Since Making Progress, Having Fun 1978, Joanne has been a professional, Joanne and Amy share an important working at a variety of facilities, includphilosophy: “A horse and rider must ing three of her own. No matter what, respect each other,” Amy says, and horses remained a constant. Six years Joanne nods in agreement. To get ago and only a year after moving to there, a trainer must take an individual Halifax, Joanne knew she wanted to bring her horses home, and she created approach—and now mother and daughter begin to finish each other’s Southfield Farm.

16

June/July 2016

thoughts. No two horses or riders are alike, says one. The goal is to find and build on their strengths to help develop areas in which either is less confident, says the other.

Finding the cause of behavioral or performance issues requires commitment and attention to detail. Amy often rides with her students; she says this gives her a perspective on issues she may not notice from the ground. “We don’t look for perfect,” she says. “We look for progress.”

Riders at Southfield Farm participate in shows throughout the year.

Though competitive, Joanne says, “it’s really important that you have fun, too.”

It’s not about the ribbons, says Amy. It’s about horse and rider becoming a great team.

Sue Garrity would agree.

She had kept horses at what she calls “a wonderful barn” for close to eight years but had never owned a Morgan.

Three years ago, Sue bought a very young gelding named Peter (KJM Pure of Heart).

Every horse before him had been dead broke. Without a trainer, she didn’t know exactly what to do with Peter, and the owners of her barn recommended Southfield Farm.

Soon Sue began taking lessons on one of Amy’s Morgans and was excited to learn more. She’d been told that Amy was an excellent trainer, and in November she moved Peter to Southfield. “He was out of control,” Sue remembers, but, she says, “Joanne and Amy were very welcoming, and so was everyone else. I felt at home right away.

I called it ‘the ninety-day challenge,’ and within just thirty days he did a onehundred-eighty-degree turnaround. I’ll never take him out of there.”

Now, she says, “Peter is thriving. He makes daily improvements in confidence, personality, and strength. And I have two barn families.”

Guidance and Confidence Sarah Fuller was desperate. Sky, a rescued Morgan, was violent and would

require lots of understanding and loving care. When Sarah took ownership, she needed a place for him to live. “I saw potential in this beautiful horse,” says Sarah, “but he wouldn’t be an easy one to handle.”

It’s been a year since Joanne and Amy agreed he could come to Southfield, and Sarah couldn’t be more pleased. “Within twenty-four hours, he had settled in,” she says. “I don’t have a single worry about him anymore.”

Though he still has his moments, Sky is happy and has taken well to handling.

For a self-described scared beginner when it came to Sky, Sarah says she attributes his training success and her own newfound confidence to Amy’s guidance.

Tailored to the Individual Whether it’s pleasure riding or the opportunity to show, Joanne or Amy will take care of you. Group and private lessons, tailored to every rider’s individual learning style, take place throughout the week. The goal of each lesson is to accomplish something — whether it’s a giant leap forward or something very small. All lessons begin and end on a positive note. “I tend to watch the progress more than the clock,” says Amy. Both mother and daughter work with clients at the farm, and Amy will accompany riders to open and breed events, both locally and on larger circuits, and coach them on site. When it comes to showing, there are options for clients on any budget. “You don’t need the most expensive equipment to have a great experience,” says Amy. “Neat and clean and a love for your horse are the most important things.”

The farm provides regular and training board, and there’s ample space for tack and storage. Training board means three to five training sessions a week as well as a weekly lesson. All breeds are welcome, but Amy and Joanne are specialists with Morgans, Arabians, Paints, and pintos.

Photographer Melissa Root lives in Dighton with her husband and their two horse-crazy girls.

Melissa hadn’t ridden since she was a child, but when her older daughter fell in love with horses, it was almost as if she was back in the saddle herself.

Massachusetts Horse

17

Lend a Hoof

Spencer

Camp Marshall Equestrian Center

by Alessandra Mele

I

t has become increasingly difficult to find the classic American sleepaway summer camp — you know, like in The Parent Trap: weathered wood cabins with initials carved in the windowpanes, archery lessons among towering pines, refreshing afternoon swims in the lake, and of course nightly gatherings around a roaring campfire for stories, songs, and s’mores.

Camp Marshall, a nonprofit in Spencer, is keeping the spirit of traditional, hands-on, rustic summer camp alive and well, and the Camp Marshall Equestrian Center is a big part of that effort.

Through year-round lesson programs, a therapeutic-riding program, and a range of equine events, the Camp Marshall Equestrian Center makes riding and enjoying horses an attainable experience for all.

horses, offers plenty of riding space, and boasts miles of trails. “Our incredible facility makes all we do possible,” says Rebekah Nydam, director of communications and marketing at Camp

Summer Camp Roots

courtesy of Camp Marshall

The Equestrian Center lies within the sprawling 275 acres of conservation land that the camp calls home, existing as an important component of the traditional summer program but providing year-round equine activities.

Built in the 1930s as a camp for workers in the Civilian Conservation Corps, Camp Marshall started out with three small buildings. The cabins went up in the 1950s, when it began holding overnight-camp programs, and today it’s a full-function organization with programs galore.

Camp Marshall has a longstanding affiliation with 4-H (it serves as the Worcester County 4-H Center). It was through 4-H that the facility’s first oneweek horseback-riding camp was held, in the 1960s, out of a steel, open-sided barn with movable stalls. The equestrian facility expanded in the 1970s when the Wells Williams Arena was built for horse and livestock shows.

Nowadays the Camp Marshall Equestrian Center accommodates 75 18

June/July 2016

Marshall. “There’s an indoor arena, four outdoor arenas, a cross-country field, and miles of trails for riding. A lot of different things can happen here.”

Activities for Everyone There’s certainly a lot happening at the Camp Marshall Equestrian Center; the facility is bustling with young riders and willing ponies from January through December. Rebekah fires off a range of activities and has to pause periodically because the list is so long: “We run alllevel lessons year-round and offer boarding services, which is a big portion of our program. We also host horse shows throughout the year and we do

hunter paces and, of course, trail rides.

We hold schooling dressage shows, and we’re even doing a three-phase event this year. There are traditional horseback-riding camps, and we have Girl Scout and Boy Scout horsemanship programs, which are very popular. We also offer field trips for local school districts, and pony birthday parties are in demand.” Rebekah takes a deep breath: “There’s just always so much going on!” she says.

That flurry of activity is a testament to the hard work the staff have put in to make the place a community resource. “A major goal of Camp Marshall is to get kids engaged with nature, the outdoors, and animals, and the Equestrian Center is a big part of that,” Rebekah says.

“Through no fault of their own, a lot of kids these days are stuck inside, attached to television screens and tablets. We present a chance for them to explore the outdoors and try horseback riding.”

Camp Marshall realizes that costs can be a challenge for people who want to ride, and it does everything it can to make horse time within everyone’s reach.

“We pride ourselves on offering riding lessons to people who otherwise might not be able to afford them,” Rebekah says.

“For this reason, we keep our prices lower than you might typically see at other barns; we always strive to keep our programs affordable.”

The most recent addition to the Camp Marshall Equestrian Center lineup of activities is a therapeutic-riding program, which makes the place even more inclusive. “Our PATH-certified therapeutic-riding instructor, Ashley Dufrane, helped us develop this program at the beginning of the year and we were able to launch it in March,” Rebekah says. “We’re now just starting to take clients. We’re so pleased that we now have a place where people with emotional, physical, developmen-

tal, or learning disabilities can come and experience being with horses, which is a proven therapy that can help them grow.”

Changing Lives The impact Camp Marshall is having on young equestrians is indeed evident: kids here tack up their own horses and give their best efforts in the saddle as they receive feedback from attentive instructors, and their laughter rings out from stall to stall. The kids are here to be with their horses, and to have fun with them.

Among the barn kids scurrying about the lesson horses are Rhea and Luci Negron, who have been riding at Camp Marshall for three years. Their mother, Allison, says riding at Camp Marshall has been a life-changing experience for her daughters: “I was looking for an affordable place for my girls to take lessons, and Camp Marshall made it possible,” she says. “Rhea and Luci started by taking lessons; now they’re on the riding team and leasing horses.”

And it’s been life-changing for Allison as well; she was inspired to get in the saddle herself. “About a year and a half ago,” she says, “we were at a horse show and I was nagging one of the girls about getting her horse ready, to which she responded, ‘Stop being such a helicopter mom!’ I turned to the girls’ instructor and said, ‘I think the only answer is for me to start taking my own lessons.’ And now we all ride here!”

Allison says she found the welcoming atmosphere at Camp Marshall to be therapeutic as she went through a challenging time in her life. “When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, riding at Camp Marshall was the one thing I made sure I did every week, even when I was feeling my worst,” she says. “Going on trail rides made me feel alive, connected, and future-oriented. Camp Marshall is just a great place where you can feel comfortable and be yourself, and be proud to be a beginner.”

Allison’s family has become so involved that they moved just down the road from the camp, and are at the barn several times a week. Now that Allison just finished her treatments, more than ever she’s enjoying time in the saddle alongside her daughters.

Building Community That welcoming, encouraging environment is the foundation on which Camp

Supporting our horse community since 2001.

Donating more than 2,000 Massachusetts Horse Junior Horsemanship Awards to Bay State competitions.

Raising $58,000 for horse-related nonprofit groups through the Massachusetts Horse Benefit.

Providing free subscriptions to the members of 32 organizations and clubs.

In our 15th year of news, photos, event coverage, and more to our community.

Marshall has been built, and the staff maintain that principle in every aspect of their work. “We’re all about connecting people,” says Rebekah. “We just want people to come out with their kids and see what we do.”

The organization credits its success to those who have rallied to create, foster, and teach in its programs. “Camp Marshall is possible because of the people who support us: our students, boarders, staff, and volunteers,” says Rebekah. “We have a great volunteer community and we couldn’t do most of the programs and events we pursue without the time and energy they put into sustaining us. It’s the people who make this place special.”

More help is certainly welcome. “A perfect place to start getting involved is just by visiting our website, campmarshallequestriancenter.net, where you’ll find information on all of our programs and how to get in touch with us,” Rebekah says. “Better yet, come visit the camp. There are always people here and we’d love to see you. We encourage people to come see what we’re all about, talk to us about our programs, and of course meet the horses.”

The long, balmy days and nights of summer bring an extensive calendar of activities to the Camp Marshall grounds, and lots of opportunity to participate. “We’re always looking for volunteers for our events — they take a lot of teamwork to put on,” Rebekah says.

June alone has an event almost every weekend, starting with a hunter pace and pleasure ride on June 5. A dressage schooling show, an open show, a jumper show, and horse trials follow to make for a very busy month.

No matter what the season, though, the significant work staff do year-round to bring horses into people’s lives is remarkable. Whether there’s the long grass of summer, grounds carpeted with fallen leaves, snow in the branches, or dandelions’ promise of spring, the spirit of adventure, lasting friendships, and cherished memories are available to anyone who loves horses and has a desire to learn.

Alessandra Mele, who lives in Wilbraham, works in marketing at W. F. Young/Absorbine. She enjoys spending time with the horses on her family’s farm, especially riding her Quarter Horse, JoJo.

Massachusetts Horse

19

Mindful Connections

by Nicole Birkholzer

Connections On the Ground and in the Saddle I’m happy to report that yes, we

Now, if your horse doesn’t have an opportunity to release some of the Your horse is a sentient being. stress energy he’s absorbed from his Every moment of every day, he takes in environment, then — sooner or later — his nervous system will blow a circuit.

What does that mean? Blowing a circuit can manifest in a number of ways. One day, when something spooks him, your horse will instinctively use that trigger to release some of the pentup energy. He might throw a buck or take off for a few steps. It’s not on purpose, not to hurt you. He does it because he’s a horse, a prey animal.

Releasing pent-up energy by running, farting, rolling, or snorting is the horse’s way of regulating its nervous system.

Any sudden noise, movement, or change in energy alerts your horse to danger, and that causes his sympathetic nervous system to send a message to his brain: Increase your heart rate and blood pressure, it says, and get ready for flight.

Horses that don’t have a lot of opportunity to naturally regulate their nervous system and come back into the parasympathetic state of relaxation develop health issues such as ulcers, colic, and weaving and cribbing behaviors. The blood flows to the heart and muscles rather than to nurturing the inner organs.

In Dakota’s case, when the stall door opens with a bang while he’s napping, his sympathetic nervous system goes on alert. When I walk him down the aisle and snap the crossties to his halter and then a group of people approach him, some nervous or excited, his sympathetic nervous system There’s very little information availkeeps on firing. able that speaks about how a horse Nora Britton asks Paws to participate and place his You can’t see it, but that’s what’s feels or what it experiences when we interact with him — on the ground, in muzzle in the halter. Paws happily complies. Nora and going on.

So the question becomes: What can the saddle, or while sitting in a cart. We Paws work with students from all walks of life at the Therapeutic Equestrian Center, in Holyoke. you do to keep your horse’s nervous sysusually don’t pay attention until the tem from firing so hard when you hang horse isn’t well or misbehaves. out with him? The simplest way you can Instead of considering and support- a slew of information from his environinfluence a horse’s well-being is ing the horse from the inside out, to ment, and he reacts. through breath. Connecting with stay safe we manage things on the outHe tenses up when he’s startled.

Dakota through breath calms his nervside. We wear a helmet, the right He tenses up when an anxious person ous system. footwear, even a protective vest — and or an overly excited one enters his A conscious breath puts you right that’s all good and important. But space. He tenses up when he can’t get into the present, the now, which is could we have safer rides, more-effecaway from something that causes pain. where your horse resides, and research tive lessons, a happier animal, and a And he absorbs that tension like a has found that proper breathing supbetter relationship with our horse if we sponge absorbs water. Like a sponge, ports your nervous system and a whole understood him better on the inside? too, he holds it in.

20

June/July 2016

can.

Nicole Birkholzer

My eyes are shut and I’m dozing when bang! suddenly the stall door opens.

“Hey, Dakota,” I hear and something gets pushed over my face.

Then I feel a tug, and I have no choice but to follow my person.

Moments later, my head is tied to the wall.

As my coat gets brushed, two people approach and start chatting with my person.

I sense their energy, a mix of high and low.

They touch my muzzle.

I’m about to take a breath, but here comes that thing . . .

Plop! It lands on my back.

A squeeze on my left side makes me want to move my right shoulder away from the pressure, but it doesn’t work. I hold my breath as they walk me to the spot where my person will get on my back. The chatter continues.

I am asked to walk.

I’m trying to figure out my person’s energy. It’s not easy to read . . . not present.

As we arrive at another space, there’s one more person already there, talking.

Wait! And there are three other horses.

That’s a lot of energy to take in.

Suddenly, I feel a pull on my mouth, I follow the pull and turn my head. Now my shoulder hurts a little more. The same pull on the other side . . . I turn my head, and my shoulder hurts a little less.

Next I feel a pull on both sides. This means I should stop.

Finally!

I take a deep breath.

Sigh.

I wish my person and everyone else around me would take a breath.

slew of other functions in both your body and your mind.

The good news is that, similar to yawning, taking a breath is contagious.

When you take a deep breath, you inspire your horse to take a breath. If Dakota is tense, my breath can help him breathe more deeply and thus reduce his stress.

The type of breathing we want to do for ourselves, and for our horses, is abdominal breathing.

When you take a deep belly breath, you automatically relax, you instantly turn on your parasympathetic nervous system, your cortisol levels are reduced, and your brainwave activity goes from stressful beta waves to the calming alpha waves. But, most important, after a couple of deep belly breaths, you and your horse simply feel better.

Take a look at this simple course of action that will protect your horse from nervous-system overload and will make for a more pleasant and healthier time together. This is what I do: • Whether I’m rushed, early, or on time, as I make my way down the aisle toward the stall or paddock, I take a deep belly breath, clear my mind, and tune in to my horse. I announce to Dakota that I’m heading his way.

• When I get to the stall or gate, I stop and take another breath and tell my horse the plan. I say, “Hi, Dakota, it’s time for our lesson.” This gives Dakota a chance to wake up, stop eating, or otherwise get ready.

• Then I open the door and step next to my horse and, instead of forcing the halter over his ears, I take another breath and ask him for participation. I ask Dakota to please put his muzzle into the halter. Now I stay open and curious — many horses never have the chance to respond to a verbal request. Initially, Dakota was surprised to be asked, but after a few more offers, he gladly cooperated.

• Next, before heading out into the aisle, I take another belly breath, and I invite my horse to follow me. This small but significant effort to connect with my horse pays off in all interactions that follow. After my offer of inclusion, Dakota becomes more tuned in — because I am.

• As I groom, I try to devote myself to the task and keep chatter with other horse owners at bay. My late Okie always pawed when I got caught up in a conversation while grooming him. It was his way of telling me that he wanted my

©

undivided attention. And rightly so: during the one hour a day I spent with him, he wanted me to be present. I learned to chat before and after my rides, but not while I’m actively engaged with my horses. Grooming and tacking up present good opportunities to breathe and to bond.

• If my horse is clean and doesn’t have a speck of mud on him, why brush?

Instead, I use my hands and stroke his entire body, legs included. Physical contact is very soothing. At the same time, I watch his response to my hands. Dakota will let me know about any sore spots or which areas he’d like me to scratch.

• Before I head off to the mounting block, I take a deep breath. Then take another one before I mount up. This will put my horse a little more at ease before he enters the arena. These deep breaths help me, too.

• Throughout my ride, I remember to take deep breaths — maybe each time I go past the gate; my horse will follow suit and start blowing out through the nose, which calms his nervous system in a natural way. I notice that my seat is better and, with that, my connection with Dakota is enhanced.

• When the lesson is over, I take off the

saddle and slowly move my hand from behind the withers toward Dakota’s tail.

If my hand wants to stop at a certain spot, I trust it. I hold my hand in place and breathe into that spot. I continue until the energy changes or my horse shows a sign of relaxation. Dakota lets me know he’s feeling calm by taking a deep breath, licking, chewing, or yawning.

• As I return my horse to his stall or paddock, I connect through a belly breath before we walk down the aisle together. Dakota and I enjoy this ritual; he goes back into his stall calmly.

By breathing, paying attention, and partnering with your horse, you’re creating a mindful connection.

Giving him space to roll or hang out with some friends will release the rest of the stress energy and ground him. And a grounded horse is a contented horse.

Nicole Birkholzer is a relationship coach for horses and their humans and the author of Pet Logic. As the creator of Mindful Connections™, she’s pioneering an approach to horsemanship and mindful living in which horses are honored as soul-companions and partners in our search for happiness, fulfillment, and wholeness.

Massachusetts Horse

21

Youth Spotlight

by Andrea Bugbee

Nina Amaral Will Work to Ride

New Bedford

J

Brianna Gosselin

Hungry for human companionship udging by social media, anyone and in constant want of stimulation, would get the impression that the Nina says Bandit requires varied only things teenage girls care turnout — sometimes alone, sometimes about are selfies, nail polish, and with certain horses, and never with certhe moment’s one special guy. But 16tain other horses. When it comes to year-old Nina Amaral cares only about acceptable equines, Bandit makes his being at the barn. And that one special preferences known. guy? You guessed it. He’s a horse.

“Nina’s the kid who eats, breathes, and lives horses,” says Sandy Gosselin, owner of Hixville Livery Stables, in Dartmouth. It was Sandy who nominated Nina, who lives in New Bedford, for this issue’s Youth Spotlight. “No matter what’s going on, Nina’ll be at the barn. If it comes down to cleaning stalls so she can get a chance to ride, that’s what she’s going to do. She loves animals and she’s always willing to learn. She wanted a horse so much that she found a job to help pay for it so her parents don’t have to.”

The horse Nina works to support is a gelding named Bandit, who lives on Sandy’s farm. Small and strong, Bandit is a 12-yearold buckskin who can be registered as either a Paint or a Quarter Horse. He belonged to Sandy’s brother until one day last June, when Bandit started whinnying. Sandy and Nina’s Nina and Bandit. mom, Ana, called Nina over.

“They were like, ‘Oh, your horse is calling you,’ ” Nina says. But From Balance to Barrels after four long years of riding other If you live near Nina’s hometown, you people’s horses, the hint didn’t register. might see this New Bedford High “Then they said it again. ‘YOUR horse School junior trail-riding with Sandy at is calling you.’ It was about a week after Horseneck Beach in Westport, or permy birthday.” haps camping with Bandit and buddies “She loves that horse. She just loves at Myles Standish State Forest in him,” says Sandy, who has known Plymouth. And if you come across Nina Bandit since he was the promising barrel-racing or sorting cattle at a comthree-month-old colt her brother petition, you’ll never believe that this brought home from an auction.

Massachusetts cowgirl had her begin“He’s the best horse in the world,” nings in dressage.

Nina says. “We’ve connected really well “I’m glad I started off riding dressince we met, but he can be intimidatsage because it’s kind of the basis for all ing. He was a stud until he was five other riding. I feel like if I hadn’t done years old. He sometimes takes advandressage, I wouldn’t be as good a rider tage if he knows he can. He’s strongas I am. Dressage is a lot of forward minded, and with people he can be movement. It’s nice for someone who needy. He doesn't like to be alone. He doesn’t want to go fast,” Nina says. “But likes knowing that other horses and I like to go fast,” she quickly adds. people are around him when he’s At the age of 12, Nina had wanted somewhere unfamiliar.” lessons; her older sister, Ashley, was 22

June/July 2016

already riding dressage. When Ashley switched from her dressage barn to Sandy’s place, Nina came along. It was with Sandy that Nina discovered that the careful balance and synchronicity required for dressage come in darntootin’ handy for bending around barrels at a full gallop.

Barrel racing is, says Nina, “the best thing ever. It’s so fast.

It’s less than twenty seconds. It gets my adrenaline pumping. You and the horse work together as a team a lot.”

For the uninitiated, the object of barrel racing is for horse and rider to, at top speed, circle three barrels set in the arena in a cloverleaf pattern. “You have to go all the way around the barrels; you can’t knock any over,” says Nina. “My best time is sixteen seconds.” Sixteen seconds is as long as it takes some riders to strap on a helmet.

Nina and Bandit also participate in open-arena ranch sorting.

She does this on a team with two other riders. Here, the object is to move ten numbered cows, one by one, in numerical order, over a designated line. ”You have to push the cows over the line without letting any other cows through — and you have to do it in under ninety seconds,” Nina says. “It’s tricky because cows like to move in herds. You have to learn to separate them. Communication is definitely key in cow sorting.”

It’s Sandy who takes Nina to most of her competitions, and Nina covers her own trailering costs by helping out at Hicksville Livery. “I love going to horse shows,” says Nina. “Right before I get ready to go in, I have a mind-set of just me and the horse. I try to connect with him a little bit, and when we’re running, I don’t hear anything.”

In 2015, Nina and Bandit placed second in the fourth youth division of the National Barrel Horse Association Massachusetts/Connecticut/Rhode Island State Championship. Nina even pulled a wild card that will enable her to attend the NBHA world competition, in Georgia, without qualifying, but that,

says Nina, is a treat she’ll likely save for another year.

“I don’t want to be number one.

I’m only sixteen. Once you’re at the top, there’s nowhere to progress to,” she says. “I don’t want a million-dollar horse; I want to progress with the horse I have. I just want to beat my own time.”

#notlazy Dave Costa owns Chipaway Stables, a sale, boarding, feed, and tack facility in Acushnet. Peripherally, he’s known of

horses,” Nina says. From school, she makes a beeline for Hicksville Livery, so she can muck until feeding time. “Then I’ll brush and ride,” she says. Nina spends at least two hours at the barn, and if she stays to ride, which is often, it’s even longer.

None of this is drag because the barn is where Nina wants to be. The horses, of course, are the mighty magnets, but the teen also appreciates her time with Sandy. “Sandy definitely helps me out with everything,” Nina says.

“She’s always teaching me, every single day. It’s not even just with horses. I call her my life manager.”

Nina is a natural student. “She’s always got an open mind,” says Sandy. “She’s always asking questions. She wants to know why a horse reacts the way it reacts; she wants to understand the animal, not just get on and ride. She’s one of those kids I think will go far.”

Amy Ferreira

An Indescribable Feeling Nina and Bandit at Chipaway Stables, in Acushnet.

Nina because, over the years, she’s come to the barn’s weekly cow-moving practices and various shows. But this year Dave hired her to help out on the farm on Sundays.

“My God, what an amazing kid — and talented, too,” Dave says. “She’s not lazy. She does her chores, but she’s the type of kid who asks what’s next or, if she sees something that needs to be done, she just does it. She’s not afraid to get dirty. She’s not afraid to pitch in.

I don’t know much about her family, but they did a good job. She’s a real good kid — the kind they don’t make any more. And it’s not just me.

Everyone who knows her says that.”

“She’s a very responsible sixteenyear-old,” Sandy says. “She’s older than her years.”

Sandy knows this because Nina’s at Chipaway only on Sundays. The rest of the week, Nina works for her and one of her boarders, veterinarian Jacqueline Brito.

“Every day I take care of five

“I just love horses,” Nina says, lengthening the word love for emphasis.

“I just love riding.”

To illustrate, she describes a day when she was finally able to ride after a long break due to bad weather and no indoor arena. At the simple pleasure of just loping, Nina says she had to pause.

“I literally said, ‘Whoa. That was awesome.’ It’s just an indescribable feeling when you’re on the back of a horse riding,” she says.

Riding will absolutely be part of Nina’s future but soon, so will college.

“I’m not saying you have to go to college to be successful,” she says, “but I don’t want to be ten years down the road saying, ‘Oh, I wish I had gone to college.’ With a degree, you always have something to fall back on.”

That’s Nina’s advice to herself. Her advice to other young riders? “Just work hard every day,” she says. “Be around horses as much as you can, because every time you’re around horses, you’re learning.”

Andrea Bugbee is a freelance reporter. She lives with her husband and their children in Southwick.

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23

Trail Guide

Peaked Mountain

Monson

by Stacey Stearns

P

eaked (pronounced PEA-kid) Mountain, in Monson, lies near in the Connecticut border in the pretty Pioneer Valley. Here equestrians can ride in a pristine, undeveloped section of the state, with panoramic views of rural and forested land from its summit, which rises to an elevation of 1,227 feet.

From the summit, on a clear day you can see into four New England states: look north across the Quabbin Reservoir to New Hampshire’s Mount Monadnock; Vermont’s Green Mountains are to the north. To the south you’ll have a glimpse of Connecticut’s Shenipsit State Forest; visible to the northeast is the Bay State’s Mount Washusett.

Maps were available at the Peaked Mountain tract. The Trustees of Reservations, who manage the property, ask trail users to go green by returning your trail map when you’re done by using the Trustees app on your smartphone.

At the Peaked Mountain tract,

you’ll find picnic tables and benches at the top of the meadow adjacent to the parking area. Bring water for horses and humans; there’s none available at Peaked Mountain. There are no restroom facilities at either tract.

the withers. The views will reward you.

The path is quite rocky. Logs have been placed across the trail to divert water and prevent erosion, but in places it’s worn away from rainwater runoff.

There are steep drop-offs at the summit; you need a well-trained and surefooted horse to go the distance.

On the Summit Loop, from markers 7 to 9, what is known as Bernie Avenue and Ruth’s Mountain Road is fairly flat. Butternut Road is a wide, flat trail with a scattering of oak leaves and acorns. As I went along, I found quartz rocks embedded in the trail at three spots.

Orange goldfish — a nonnative species — are in the fire pond. A little girl, there with her mom, told me she once caught a salamander here. I wasn’t expecting to see the goldfish, so I decided to count them. When I got to 30, I realized there were many more in the reeds on the opposite shore, which made counting futile. For a few sweet minutes, I watched them swim around in a head-to-tail formation.

It’s possible to water your horse at the fire pond, but don’t go in too far, as you’ll disturb the ecosystem.

At the Miller Pond tract, a one-mile trail loops around Lunden Pond, which is home to beavers, herons, and other wildlife. Riders looking for extra mileage can enjoy this area as well.

On the Trails

The Summit

The fire roads are all named by and for members of the Peaked Mountain Coop, which constructed them, in 1984, after a terrible forest fire. The roads lead through the woods and 3.5 miles of trails. All loops are marked with colored blazes. On a clear and crisp Saturday afternoon, I encountered six dogs and lots of hikers.

From the trailhead, there’s a 467foot gain in elevation to achieve the summit. The trail is strenuous — great for getting in some hill work. Make sure you take a break if your horse is tired, and reward him with a nice scratch on

Only experienced riders and trail horses should attempt the summit because of rocks and the technical difficulty. When I was a child, a neighbor’s horse caught a leg between two large rocks in the pasture; its leg broke and the horse had to be put down. This has stayed with me, and I’m always vigilant about rocks and their potential danger.

It’s not possible to overemphasize that safety must be your foremost consideration.

This trail is an endlessly climbing ocean of rocks, reminders of the glaciers that moved through the area mil-

Logistics

Stacey Stearns

Peaked Mountain is on narrow Butler Road, which twists along — do drive and ride very carefully. From Lower Hampden Road, a sign at the end of Butler tells you the trailhead is nearby. You’ll have a choice of two tracts, Miller Forest and Peaked Mountain.

The Miller Forest tract has a midsized parking lot: even with four cars, a two-horse trailer could fit in on the opposite side. Parking at the Peaked Mountain tract is much larger and great for horse trailers. It’s a dirt lot, with fence and stone walls surrounding it, and you must ascend a slight hill to pull into it. When I went, by mid-afternoon the parking lot was almost full. Do arrive early, and park strategically: that is, leave room to load your horse and to navigate back out of the parking lot.

Less than a mile separates the two lots, so it’s possible to ride in both tracts without moving the horse trailer.

Signs at the trailheads for each tract advise dog owners to clean up after their pets or risk losing access to the trails. This rule is strictly enforced, and one that equestrians should try to adhere to as well: Move your horse to the side or dismount and kick any manure off the trail. And always clean up around your trailer when you’re ready to go home.

24

June/July 2016

lions of years ago. I dismounted and hiked with my horse from marker 9 to the top. If your horse isn’t sure-footed, use Redin Road to avoid the rocky section of the Summit loop.

There’s a neat, hand-welded mailbox close to the summit: It’s called Peaked Notes, and has a pad and a pen so you can leave a message for subsequent trail users. I read poems and other musings when I took a look.

Standing at the summit, the Pioneer Valley panorama stretches for miles. Houses and farms are visible in the distance through the rolling New England countryside. I overheard a perhaps geographically challenged hiker remark to his companion that he was sure we were all looking at New Hampshire.

Then I watched a hawk soaring through the air beneath me.

I imagine coming up here in high summer, when it’s vivid green or in fall, when the foliage is spectacular.

Sometimes I envy riders out West with their wide-open spaces and snowcapped mountains, but the view from Peaked Mountain reminds me that I wouldn’t trade our Bay State treasures.

If you do go up the Summit Trail, you must come back down following the same route. Continuing from the overlook, the trail is pure rock and goes straight down, challenging hikers and those with dogs. This is not a trail horses can go on! Ride back to marker 9 and take Redin Road to the other part of the Summit loop and take a right onto West Rock Trail.

When you get to Roslyn’s Turnpike on the Summit Loop, from trail marker 7, pay attention to proper equitation on the steep downhill. Contrary to popular belief, don’t lean back. Rather, stay centered and balanced in the saddle and use gentle half halts to keep your horse collected.

There’s a certain stillness that comes with being in a forest that brings a special, deeper connection between horse and rider and somehow calls back into focus purpose and perspective.

That’s why I ride, and why I ride in the woods.

Happy trails!

Stacey Stearns, a lifelong equestrian from Connecticut, enjoys trail riding and endurance with her Morgan horses.

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You’ll find serenity on this 18-acre farm with a three-stall horse barn plus two run-in stalls, custom tack lockers/feed room, 10-ton capacity hay loft, and water hydrant. ElectroBraid fence surrounds two and a half acres of pasture and wooded paddocks. Huge two-car garage with room to park four cars. Custom farmhouse with many updates including: new central AC, new master bath, finished basement, and more. Potential for a 10-acre parcel to be carved off for a retreat lot or clear a pasture for the horses. $825,000.

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Overherd

News in Our Community Stable in Concord. Hunt Seat Future Novice on the Flat Campion was Isabella Garbiel-Achorn, of Muddy

IEA Nationals

Moran, from the Hillside Meadows western team and the Grazing Fields Farm hunt-seat team.

Woodruff, placed eighth nationally.

Congratulations!

Windrush Inaugurates 5K Fun Run

photo courtesy of Saltmarsh Farm Dressage

The North Gate Equestrian Team, from Sudbury, took first place in two categories at the Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA) National Finals, April 20 to 24, in Lexington, Kentucky.

They were the Hunt Seat Middle School Team and the Hunt Seat Upper School Team champions.

Plympton’s Cranberry Equestrian Hunt Seat Middle School Team was reserve champion.

Hunt Seat Junior Varsity Novice Over Fences Reserve Champion was Samantha Radosta, who rides with the Saddle Rowe Team, Medway.

Hunt Seat Junior Varsity Beginner on the Flat Champion was Jillian Alejo, of the Concord Equestrian Team, riding at Verrill Farm

Hanoverian filly Parisa (Pik L x Watercolor), born April 25 at Saltmarsh Farm Dressage, in South Dartmouth, is owned by Danielle Gavriluk.

Brook Farm, Amherst.

The Leading Crossover Rider Award went to Meghan

Hillside Meadows Western High School, coached by Amber

On June 16, Windrush Farm hosts its first 5K Trot-Trot Trail Race, which starts at 6:30 p.m. and is in conjunction with its Bring-a-Friend Night festivities. The race promises an old-time New England feel, with lots of twists and turns. It will take riders through the farm’s property and reveal hidden gems, such as the cabin in the woods, vernal pools, majestic birds, and open pastures.

During the farm’s second-annual Bring-a-Friend Night extravaganza, runners will get to partake of the open beer-and-wine bar and food-truck dinner, listen to

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music, and watch demonstrations. Expect awards, Tshirts, and lots of fun.

Located in North Andover, this nonprofit provides equine-assisted activities and therapies to children and adults with special needs, veterans, youths at risk, and survivors of human trafficking. To learn more about the evening, visit windrushfarm.org/trot-trottrail-race.

n Holly Jacobson

ECTA Celebrates Solstice The Essex County Trails Association’s (ECTA) thirdannual Summer Solstice Party will take place under the tents at Groton House Farm, in Hamilton, Saturday, June 18, from 6 to 10 p.m. Enjoy tasty food, cool drinks, live music, and a silent auction. Help support ECTA’s mission to preserve and maintain more than 450 miles of trails for hikers, runners, bikers, equestrians, and skiers. Tickets are $60 per person; $600 for a table of 10. To purchase tickets, visit ectaonline.org.

n Holly Jacobson

UMass Launches Horse Sale Program There’s a new way to buy a horse from the UMass Amherst Hadley Farm.

Replacing the former sealedbid process, the program enables university horses to be sold through private treaty. Revenues will be used for equine expenditures, such as breeding costs, veterinary care, and equipment.

The new program provides equine-management majors with real-world experience in marketing and sales, horsemanship and training, and equine reproduction of both Morgans and Hanoverians.

To see horses for sale, visit stockbridge.cns. umass.edu and choose the Academics tab, then click

through to the Equine Management page. For more information, contact Jill Smith, director of equine training, at (781) 603-4521.

n Jamie Maguire

Purchase of Undermountain Farm for Public Trails Completed Undermountain Farm is now permanently protected from development on more than half of the 156-acre property in Lenox, now that two and a half years of proposals, revisions, and discussions have ended. The Berkshire National Resources Council (BBRC) has completed the $450,000 purchase of the conservation restriction from the Sprague Family Trust, which has owned the land since 1974.

The final sale involved no taxpayer money, as the purchase was made possible by donations to the BNRC and fund-raising efforts. The intention is to develop a public-access trail system open to all nonmotorized recreation along 50 miles of trails from North Adams to Sandisfield. Development of the trails will begin when the BNRC raises funds for the construction.

The Spragues will continue to own the protected 83 acres, but the conservation restriction runs with the land, meaning any future owner will be bound by its terms. The stables and riding facility at Undermountain Farm, which operates on a 10-acre parcel owned by the Spragues, won’t be affected by the conservation restriction.

For more information about Undermountain, visit undermountainfarm.com.

n Alessandra Mele

Equine Groups Participate in Valley Gives Day Valley Gives Day is an annual fund-raising effort powered Massachusetts Horse

27

by the Community Foundation, which raises money for hundreds of nonprofit organizations in the Pioneer Valley. The 2016 Valley Gives Day was held on May 3, and among the 450 participating organizations were three equine organizations, each of which brought in significant donations to support its causes.

The Therapeutic Equestrian Center, in Holyoke, welcomed 87 donors, who raised a total of $4,696.

TEC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing physical, learning,

and recreational opportunities through therapeutic horseback riding. The money will go toward the care and keeping of the horses.

Palmer’s Blue Star Equiculture is a rescue and sanctuary that provides compassionate care for retired and disabled horses, as well as jobs and purpose for working horses. On Valley Gives Day, the organization was supported by 140 donors, who contributed a total of $17,299. The money will help defray the costs of hay and grain for the 32 resi-

Western New England Professional Horsemen’s Association’s

Hunter/Equitation Shows June 5 June 11 June 12 June 19 June 25 June 26 July 3 July 7 July 10 July 17 July 24 July 29 July 31

Harmony Hill Farm Riverbank Farm Biscuit Hill Farm White Horse Hill Fox Meadow Farm Emerald Glen Bonnie Lea Farm Harmony Hill Farm Bellwether Stables Heritage Farm Muddy Brook Farm Emerald Glen Biscuit Hill Farm

Dressage Shows English and Western dressage classes. Tests offered for English include (USEF): Introductory Tests A, B, C; Training Level Tests 1, 2, 3; First Level Test 1. Western Tests (WDAA): Introductory Level Tests 1, 2, 3, 4; Basic Level Tests 1, 2, 3, 4.

June 5 July 2 July 24

Emerald Glen Fox Meadow Farm Stockade

dent horses, vet bills, and tractor repair.

Joy of Jasper — founded in memory of a beloved rescue horse — is a nonprofit sanctuary in Holyoke dedicated to providing forever homes to horses and ponies in need. On Valley Gives Day, 30 donors raised a total of $970.

For more information on Valley Gives Day, visit valleygives.razoo.com.

n Alessandra Mele

Local Riders Prepare for U.S. Saddle Seat World Cup Kasey Saccocia, of Halifax, and Cailin Bridges, of Salisbury, joined other members of the U.S. Saddle Seat World Cup Team at the first training session, at Cascade Stables in New Orleans, the first weekend in March.

Team coaches Pam Roush, Barbe Smith, and Kent Swalla started the practice with five-gaited and three-gaited sections doing rail and pattern work, along with other drills on multiple horses. Physiotherapist Andy Thomas then evaluated the riders and provided guidance on how to strengthen their core, as well as general assistance.

Participants also received insights about teamwork and competition from John

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Arthur, Tulane’s seventh all-time leading scorer in basketball.

The athletes will continue training at their respective stables and will meet again to practice before the Saddle Seat World Cup, which takes place July 7 to 9 in Stellenbosch, South Africa.

For more information, visit saddleseatworlcup.org.

Liberty Work (September 11).

Neighmaste is a mounted and unmounted program combining basic yoga and breathing exercises with body awareness. Vaulting and Yoga incorporates somewhat advanced yoga positions with vaulting or gymnastics on horseback. Liberty Work involves both unmounted and mounted instruction on the language of equines.

In addition to private, group, and

courtesy of the MSPCA

“Jessica, a world-class equestrian, refuses to be a fugitive hiding under assumed identities. Through sheer grit, she struggles to reclaim her life only to discover that what she wants is an illusion.

When Jessica rides in a world-class steeplechase, she’s unwittingly used as an accomplice by a generations-old support network of the IRA in a devastating n Suzy Lucine bombing.”

Connie weaves stories from real-life ECTA’s Virtual Trail Run experiences with a passion for The Essex County Trails exposing history with a fresh Association (ECTA) twist. “I want my readers to be so announces its first virtual engrossed in turning pages that training trail running comthey forget to pick up their kids petition using a free app — a from school,” Connie says, great way to scope out the laughing. “In addition to being trails whether or not you entertained, I want my readers ride. The competition is free to feel their hours inside my and open to any runner, but books are well spent. When only ECTA members are elireaders think about characters gible for prizes, which will go or a passage after the story ends to each men’s and women’s because of a connection created, age-group winners. Age I’ve done my job as an author.” groups are under 25, 25–50, Currently Connie is a horse and over 50. lover without a horse, but she The virtual competition volunteers at a therapeutic ridGhost, a 16-year-old gray Thoroughbred mare, is very sweet and well manbegan May 1 and lasts until nered on the ground. She requires a confident intermediate rider to reassure ing center.

August 31. Prizes will be To find out more, visit her if she gets nervous under saddle. Walk, trot, and canter in the ring and on awarded at the ECTA Run the trails in English tack. For more information, email barnstaff@mspca.org or conniejohnsonhambley.com. for the Trails race, on call (978) 687-7453, ext. 6113.

September 17. Runners may Central New England compete as often as they’d like, but after-school lessons, Blue Rider holds 11 Equine Rescue Events times must be measured by any GPS weeks of camp, beginning June 13. All In celebration of the ASPCA’s 150-year tracking device and uploaded to Strava. camp sessions are taught by licensed anniversary, the group is sponsoring a Winners will be determined by their riding instructors. grant in the amount of $100,000 to segment ranking as reported by Strava.

Family events on the schedule are raise awareness of the plight that afflicts To learn more, visit ectaonline.org. the Hippity Hop Circus (June 4), the too many horses. Rescues and sanctuaries were invited to host events highlightn Holly Jacobson annual Hoe Down (July 30), and Fun Day (August 27). ing their work and how the community As part of the 25th-anniversary celcan help. All groups that take part in IHSA Hunt Seat Nationals ebration, Blue Rider invites all students this event are eligible to win a portion The Intercollegiate Horse Show — current and past — to share their of the grant. Judging criteria will be Association’s National Finals were held stories and photos. To learn more about based on the number of people in in Lexington, Kentucky, May 4 to 7. workshops, summer programs, upcomattendance, amount of money raised, a Mount Holyoke College’s Sabrina Fox ing events, and story submissions, visit 350-word essay, and three event photos. won the Walk Trot Canter Hunt Seat CNEER has hosted two events at bluerider.org.

Equitation Team class to help her team Stoney Hill Farm, in Barre. The first was win Reserve Champion Collegiate Cup the Mini Magic Show, which featured The Troubles Hunter Seat Team.

Miniature Horses in jumping, poles, Horse-loving readers are deprived of Chase Boggio, of Tufts University, sleep because they’re glued to the pages barrel racing, driving, and in-hand in North Grafton, was champion in classes. The second was a versatility of Connie Johnson Hambley’s new susOpen Hunt Seat Equitation Over clinic with Peter and Jessica Whitmore, pense thriller, The Troubles.

Fences and won the USEF Cacchione of It’s a Pleasure Training. Horses and Set in the lush Irish countryside, Cup. The Cacchione Cup is awarded to riders were challenged by a variety of the National Individual Hunt Seat High The Troubles is a multigenerational tale obstacles, such as a hanging pool-nooinvolving Boston’s ties to the Irish Point Rider. dle wall, a small pool filled with water, Republican Army, money-laundering Congratulations! the dreaded stuffed bull, barrels to schemes in world-class Thoroughbred jump, pedestal boxes to stand on, and Blue Rider Stables racing, and family secrets. even a strobe-light bar complete with South Egremont’s Blue Rider Stables’ “The Troubles continues the story of sirens.

25th-anniversary program includes Jessica Wyeth, a character many readers Upcoming events are a benefit picthree workshops: Neighmaste (June met and fell in love with while reading nic, the annual horse show, and an 12), Vaulting and Yoga (June 24), and the first book, The Charity,” says Connie.

Massachusetts Horse

29

held its annual awards banquet during its multi-breed show, in West Springfield.

Winners from Massachusetts were Rodney Hicks (of Richmond), who won Horseperson of the Year; Abigail Tate (of Newbury), who was Saddlebred Junior Exhibitor of the Year (this season she’s showing Hart’s Extraordinaire under the direction of High Tail Acres, in Newbury); Cassidy Bridges (of Salisbury), who earned Hackney Junior

open barn. To learn more about CNEER and its horses available for adoption, visit centralnewengland equinerescue.com.

n Karen Morang

Extreme Mustang Makeover

It was after Kendra named her mare Allura that she discovered the word’s meaning: divine counselor. “The name has become quite fitting,” says Kendra. “A wild horse takes much more time, patience, and trust building than does the typical domestic horse. Every day is like a long, quiet, focused meditation. Allura acts very similar to how a domestic horse behaves, whinnying for more hay and happily participating in human partnership. With just three week of training, Allura leads, longes, has been saddled, is halter broke, has had her hooves picked and legs wrapped, and been sprayed with fly spray.”

Emily Bersin

Thanks to the generosity of Peter and Jessica Whitmore, of It’s a Pleasure Training, 14 Mustangs arrived at their farm in Orange, for the third consecutive year, to take part in the Extreme Mustang Makeover.

The Mustang Heritage Foundation is instrumental in helping to get the thousands of wild Mustangs out of short- and longterm holding pens run by the Bureau of Land Management n Karen Morang (BLM) and into the homes of families across the United States by Strongwater Farm’s Chester sponsoring Extreme Makeover In May, Strongwater Farm competitions. It works in collaboraTherapeutic Equestrian Center, in tion with the BLM to transport Tewksbury, lost a cherished member Mustangs to facilities where of its team. approved trainers are randomly “It’s different from losing your assigned a Mustang to train. own personal horse,” says Diana Representatives from the BLM Lane, a long-time volunteer and facilitate the transport, set up the board member. “Chester was everypens, help unload the horses from body’s horse.” An outpouring of peotheir trailers, and process all paperple stopped by the farm to pay their work involved in the adoptions.

The Extreme Mustang Makeover Chester with Alesha Desharnais and her daughter Katie at the respects. “You see how many lives he event gives each trainer a Mustang to NEDA Spring Schooling Show. touched,” Diana says. train. Youths are given young geldChester, a handsome 29-year-old ings or fillies and are permitted to sadExhibitor of the Year; and Diesel H.S. bay Quarter Horse whose his steady, dle their Mustang but not to ride. and owner Jeff Hetrick (of Plymouth), easy presence gave confidence to all Adults receive horses from the age of who took Friesian of the Year. Tyler who worked with him, was a lead-line four and up and are encouraged to Lampropolous showed the six-year-old hero extraordinaire. He earned the train them under saddle. gelding. honor of PATH-Region 1 Horse of the The training culminates at the end The Greater Boston Charity Horse Year in 2015. of 100 days, after which the competition Show, held in May at the Topsfield “Chester was an instructor’s takes place, at the Topsfield dream,” says PATH-International Fairgrounds on August 5 and 6. In addi- Fairgrounds, was honored as Horse Show of the Year. Show Manager of the instructor Andrea McElaney. “Not only tion to cash awards and other prizes, all Year went to Molly O’Brien, who manwas he safe and reliable, but he also trainers have the option to bid to keep ages the Massachusetts Morgan Horse made every rider feel special and capatheir Mustang. Those who aren’t keepShow, which takes place in August at ing theirs do a title transfer to a new ble.” owner through the BLM. Adult trainers West Springfield’s Eastern States On his last day, he gave two leadmust run their Mustang through an Exposition. line lessons, one to a grateful young boy auction process; to keep the Mustang n Suzy Lucine dealing with overcoming fear who said they trained, they must outbid the highhe had the best ride of his life. Chester est bidder. This final competition will participated in his last dressage show at Kendra Hillier and Allura have you in awe of the trainers’ work the NEDA Spring Schooling Show, Kendra Hillier will be competing in the and the Mustangs’ progress as well as in helping his riders until the end. He was third-annual Extreme Mustang tears as you watch the emotions unfold.

Makeover, August 5 and 6 at the dearly loved and in his final moments To learn more, visit extreme Topsfield Fairgrounds.

Kendra’s surrounded by those closest to him. mustangmakover.com. assigned Mustang is a six-year-old dark Grieving volunteers and staff started a n Karen Morang bay mare who came from Divide Basin, serenity garden as a memorial to in Wyoming. Kendra is boarding her Chester, and to other horses that have UPHA Bay State Winners Mustang in Lunenburg. She says it takes passed.

In April, Chapter 14 of the United great patience in every aspect of train Strongwater Therapeutic Professional Horsemen’s Association ing with this curious but timid horse.

Equestrian Center, a 501(c)(3) organi30

June/July 2016

Ipswich

zation, uses the healing power of horses to provide education, social opportunities, and emotional support. It has special programs for veterans and a new one, free of charge, for children who have lost a parent. To learn more, visit strongwater.org.

This Olde Horse

n Holly Jacobson

Bring Your Horse into Focus Clinic Fairview Farms, in Brimfield, is hosting a Kerry Thomas Bring Your Horse into Focus Clinic on June 25 and 26. Kerry, of THT Bloodstock, will teach how identifying herd dynamics can help improve your horse’s performance. From the front page of the Wall Street Journal to the selection of a Breeder’s Cup Champion and Eclipse Award–winning racehorse, Kerry’s insights have become indispensable. Widely regarded as a pioneer in equine sports psychology, emotional communication, and herd dynamics, Kerry has spent more than 20 years traveling the world working with top Thoroughbred and eventing horses.

She even profiled Arabians at the Royal Stables of HRH Princess Alia, in Amman, Jordan.

Kerry will teach participants how understanding herd dynamics can improve your horse’s performance.

There will be a silent auction and raffle as well as a food booth to raise funds for the local Pony Club.

The clinic is to benefit HomeFront Equestrians, a free horsemanship program for military kids who don’t have the opportunity to interact with horses on a regular basis. Every aspect of horses, from grooming to show-ring competition, is offered at no charge to military families.

To learn more about Kerry, visit thtbloodstock.com. To register online, visit homefrontequestrians.org or call (413) 813-9005.

Overherdisms • “I just work on doing one class every three or four years.”

• “Why can’t our show start at ten o’clock like the Morgans?”

• “That horse is quite the comedian.”

• “Sing while riding; you can’t sing and hold your breath at the same time!”

U.S. mail wagon in Ipswich, 1909.

Have a photo for This Olde Horse? Email editor@mahorse.com.

Are you a dedicated horseperson with sales experience and potential?

Are you looking to parlay years of experience in the saddle into putting other people into saddles?

Would you like to make a living in the industry that you love?

Now, COUNTY SADDLERY, the world’s premier saddle makers and fitters, are looking to convert your years of experience and love for horses into a high-paying, high-value position.

Do you have contacts within the dressage, hunter, jumper, and eventing industry? Trainers, grooms, vets, or industry-related sales? is is a match for you!

As you already know, your horse’s saddle is a very personal and valuable piece of equipment. As a COUNTY representative, you’ll be asked not just to sell saddles, but to solve problems and build lasting relationships with your customer.

If you’re ready for a new and exciting career, send your resume to: Natasha@countysaddlery.com. (please include your equestrian qualifications.)

Massachusetts Horse

31

Partners Our goal is to foster connections within the horse community throughout the Bay State, and one of the ways we do this is with our Partners Program. Massachusetts organizations that partner with us receive a free one-year subscription for each member; space in the magazine for news, events, and photos; and a link from mahorse.com to its website.

Interested? Email partners@mahorse.com.

Kelly and Jim Shaw provided a nice lunch of hot dogs, hamburgers, and vegetarian chili. A sunny day of riding, friends, and tasty food: what more could one ask for? We thank Tourbillon Trailers for sponsoring the ride.

relaxing experience, meant to prepare us physically for the riding season. Thank you to Julia for donating her time and to Nancy Anger, owner of State of Grace Wellness and Yoga, for donating the use of her studio.

April was a month of

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BSTRA members Rita Cardinal, Karen Parlin, and Becky Kalagher at the March Madness Ride on March 19, in Douglas State Forest.

Lise Krieger

The BRDC’s annual Spring Trail Ride took place in May, as did the gymkhana and a Rachel Hackett Clinic. The Spring Trail Ride had great friends, great food, and wonderful trails.

In June we present the first show in a series of five.

Our annual Scholarship Show, on the 26th, is a significant fund-raiser because the proceeds support local students for their college education. We also offer equiships — for all ages — for those who want to further their equine knowledge. We take great pride in being able to help our community in this way.

For updates and more info on our events, visit barreridingdrivingclub.com or find us on Facebook.

We look forward to seeing old friends and new. Happy riding!

7 Denise Kellicker

Becky Kalagher

Barre Riding and Driving Club

Bay State Trail Riders Association

HCRC member Diane Merritt, of Williamsburg, and Breezy negotiate the gate obstacle at the 2015 Woodland Obstacle Course Challenge. The 2016 competition will be June 25 and features five divisions and more than 20 obstacles on woodland trails and the edges of fields.

Early-spring weather can be fickle, but the sky was clear and the temperature was uncharacteristically warm on March 19 for BSTRA’s March Madness Ride, which took place in Douglas State Forest.

Twenty-six horses and riders completed the 4.6-mile loop.

Passing by Wallis Pond, participants encountered friendly Boy Scouts practicing their survival skills.

On March 26, a Yoga for Equestrians Benefit was held at State of Grace Wellness and Yoga, on East Hartford Avenue in Uxbridge. Julia Taddei, a BSTRA member and registered yoga instructor, led 14 participants through a series of poses to improve balance, strength, and flexibility in areas important to equestrians. It was a

June/July 2016

trail work: three days were devoted to cleanup and trail improvements. On April 9, 21 volunteers cleared the complete 4.1-mile loop at West Hill in Uxbridge. This was our 23rd-annual work day at West Hill Dam. Two weeks later, on April 23, it was Park Service Day at Douglas State Forest. BSTRA members teamed up with the

DCR and the New England Mountain Bike Association to open up trails and build two bridges. It’s important that a variety of organizations work together to protect and improve the trail network; although our disciplines differ, we all have a stake in the beauty and safety of the trails we share.

BSTRA also collaborated with Friends of Upton State Forest, on April 24, during Upton State Forest’s Park Services Day. Anti-slip strips were installed to make the bridge off Southborough Road safer for horses, hikers, and bikers. BSTRA is testing to see how long this material will last.

In other news, congratulations to Dana Beauchamp, of Douglas, who won the BSTRA raffle for an annual trailer service at Tourbillon Trailer Sales. The gift certificate, a generous donation by Jay Forgue, Tourbillon’s owner, is valued at $295.

Your participation in BSTRA events — volunteering time, purchasing raffle tickets, or simply attending a ride — is a great way to give back to the trails we all love so much. See you at the next activity!

7 Annamaria Paul

Hampshire County Riding Club The Heidi Potter Obstacle Training Clinic will be held at the HCRC grounds on June 11 and 12. The clinic is designed for all levels and disciplines and incorporates unmounted as well as mounted obstacle-skill building. Auditors are welcome, too. To learn more, visit heidipotter.com or contact Lise, at (203) 685-2308 or lisekrieger@comcast.net.

On Saturday, June 25, we’ll be hosting the Woodland Obstacle Course

Challenge. It features five divisions — Lead Line, Inhand, Green Horse/Novice Rider, Junior, and Adult — to be judged on more than 20 obstacles arranged along our wooded trails. To see many of the obstacles, visit the Hampshire County Riding Club’s Facebook page. First-place prizes and six ribbons will be awarded in each division, along with a prize for overall high-point horse/handler. You’ll find details and entry forms at hampshirecountyriding club.org.

On July 4, you’ll see us riding in the Chesterfield Parade. Put on your stars and stripes and join us for this annual event.

Other midsummer activities are a camping weekend (July 22 to 24) at the Wagon Wheel Camp Ground, in Warwick, and, at our quarterly meeting (July 20, starting at 7 P.M.), a demonstration/ clinic with Rachel Hackett in the indoor arena at Carrier Farm, Southampton. We invited Rachel back because her presentation at our annual meeting last October was so helpful. She’ll be working with horses and riders to show how to evaluate a horse’s movement and make a connection through softening and balancing exercises.

For entry forms, event details, and volunteer opportunities, please visit hampshire countyridingclub.org.

7 Diane Merritt

Myopia Hunt Club Myopia Hunt Club is honoring its 135-year history with a full calendar of events.

Spring Roading, which began April 30 on a delightful sunny day, will continue through June 2: Tuesdays and Saturdays at 8 a.m. and Thursdays at 5 p.m.

On May 15, Myopia hosts its Spring Hunter Pace.

Riders of all disciplines are encouraged to join us from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. to enjoy the

North Shore countryside. A relaxed barbecue with awards for riders and teams follows at 5 p.m. at the Myopia Hunt Club Stables and is included in the registration fee.

Just what is a hunter pace? It’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like: a timed event over a crosscountry course in which groups go out in intervals, trying to guess and ride to the exact time a hunt field would take to cover the same course. Safety is key and helmets are required; neat horse and rider turnout is encouraged. Your horse should be conditioned enough to handle the approximately six-mile course, but riders set their own pace, so walking and stopping are certainly allowed. The entire event is incredibly organized — there’ll be plenty of staff, signage directing to parking, a registration area, a roped-off warm-up area, starters, and a well-marked course. For riders contemplating a foray into foxhunting or preparing for the cross-country portion of eventing, the hunter pace provides a friendly, low-key way to experience some of the same riding conditions of a formal hunt.

On June 4, we’re holding the ECTAthlon, which is sponsored by the Essex County Trail Association (ECTA). The relay event begins at 9 a.m. at Bradley Palmer State Park. The first group out are the runners.

They’ll pass their numbers to their mountain-biking teammates, who will follow a similar course. The bikers then hand off their numbers to riders and their equine counterparts, who will take on a 4.2-mile course through private trails east of Winthrop Street. This optimum-time course challenges riders to pace themselves to fall within a predefined time Massachusetts Horse

33

range — times too fast and too slow are penalized.

The final leg is for kayakers. They’ll meet their equestrian teammates at the north end of Winthrop Street and then launch into the Ipswich River and paddle 4.4 miles to the end. To learn more, visit ectaonline.org.

On June 8 we begin casual hound exercises.

These will take place Wednesdays and Saturdays at 8 a.m. until August 30.

Hound exercises provide an ideal opportunity to introduce green horses and riders to foxhunting.

The highlight of our summer season is the 116th Myopia Horse Show, September 2 to 4. This is one of the longest-running shows in the United States, and one of a very few that offer a natural, outside hunter course.

With so many options and opportunities to participate, watch, and volunteer, we invite you to join us in

our mission to preserve the future through the traditions of the past. For more information, visit myopiahunt.org.

7 Lisa Wohlleib

New England Equestrian Center of Athol Spring weather at the NEECA Equestrian Park means yard work, so on a chilly April day, a crew of enthusiastic volunteers came out to get the park ready for the many events we have scheduled. They cleaned, sorted, painted benches, put up fencing, and began a major landscaping project at the park entrance, all in time for the first event of the season, the April Gymkhana. In April and May we hosted the Trick Training Clinic with Phil Whitmore; a versatility clinic with Pete Whitmore; the annual Susan Harris Clinic, at Windswept Farm in Petersham; a National Barrel Horse Association competition; and the Spring Trail

Ride with Us! Competitive Rates & Great Service Call for a no hassle, free quote.

Ride at Winchendon’s Dennison Recreation Area.

Now, June is going to be even busier: events are scheduled for every week.

We begin on June 11 with the annual NEECA Equestrian Showcase, featuring demonstrations, vendors, a round-pen raffle and auction, and competitions for drill teams and versatility riders. Mustangs from the past two Extreme Mustang Makeovers, along with some in training for this year’s event, will compete in classes specially designed for them.

To learn more and register for the cash-prize versatility competition, please visit neeca.org.

The following day NEECA will host the second of five gymkhanas. Our gymkhanas are suitable for riders of all ages, skills, and disciplines, from lead line to advanced, any type of saddle, and carriage drivers as well.

We hope riders and drivers will come out and join the

fun, and while you’re here, explore our trail loop and extensive grounds.

Pete Whitmore will return for a round-penning clinic June 18. Pete will demonstrate with two very different horses, a draft and an Andalusian, to show how round-pen work is effective in developing a bond between horse and handler that extends into all aspects of training and horsemanship.

On June 25, NEECA is offering the Western/ English Dressage Clinic with Cathy Drumm. Cathy is one of the country’s premier western dressage instructors.

If you’re interested in participating, get in touch at pamdeg2002@yahoo.com right away, as there are only a couple of slots and we may establish a waiting list.

Auditors are welcome.

Have you ever thought about camping with your horse? July starts off with an informational Horse

Combined Test June 11

USEF/USDF Summer Dressage Show June 29 & 30 Mortality & Major Medical . Farm Packages Horse Associations and Clubs . Directors & Officers Horse Shows, Clinics, Events . Expo Coverage Instructor Liability . Payment Plans

June/July 2016

July 6 - 9

We will provide you with competitive rates, educated service, and help substantiate values.

Sunrise Pleasure Horse Show

Terri Ray (781) 837-6550 donrayinsurance.com

Outside Boarders Welcome . Summer Lessons Available

Insure your equine partner with a leading equine agent!

34

USHJA Emerging Athletes Program Regional Clinic

August 20 santico@mtholyoke.edu

www.mhcriding.com

Old North Bridge Hounds Participants say they learned a lot at ONBH’s second

lecture on all things sidesaddle, this time with a focus on sidesaddle fit. Many antique

Pat France

Camping Clinic on the ninth. No horses at this one but come learn everything you need to know to safely overnight with your horse.

Experienced horse campers Margo Petracone, Larry Marshall, and Marianne Wojcicki will prepare you to join us for an overnight at the park in September. On July 10 we’re holding another in the gymkhana series, and on July 17 is NEECA’s annual horse show, at Felton Field in Barre.

A Youth Fun Day is slated for August 6: this is for less-experienced kids, and we’ll have teaching stations on horsemanship topics.

Next is the annual Mule and Donkey Show, on August 14; then we have the eagerly anticipated Chris Irwin Clinic, August 21 and 22.

To learn more and see photos, visit neeca.org and the NEECA Facebook page.

7 Laurie Neely

AnnMarie Fisher, of Winchendon, turns and burns with Zenen at the April NEECA Gymkhana.

Sidesaddle Clinic, on April 10, with Sidesaddle Hall of Famer Rhonda Watts Hettinger. The clinic was once again hosted by Master/Huntsman Ginny Zukatynski at her farm in Berlin. The day began with a

sidesaddles were on display.

The presentation was followed by Rhonda’s ride on her horse Supremamente Lucida, a.k.a. Cricket, who wowed the crowd with her form over jumps.

The rest of the day was

full of firsts: Most of the riders had never ridden sidesaddle, and the horses participating — also their first time with sidesaddles — were Morgans, Warmbloods, a Thoroughbred, and a Percheron-cross carriage horse. Horses and riders easily adapted to their sidesaddle debuts and the riders were soon riding walk, sitting trot, posting trot, and cantering. Rhonda once again gave support and encouragement to all. Interest in sidesaddle continues to grow and we hope to present another sidesaddle clinic in late fall.

Our spring cubbing hunt season went from April to early June. Thank you to all of the landowners, “foxes,” staff, field leaders, horses, riders, masters, and our dedicated huntsman, Ginny Zukatynski, who made our cubbing season such a success. And, of course, our

Open Dressage Schooling Shows All dressage tests including western and even prix caprilli.

Year-end awards given to riders who attend at least three shows.

May 29 - Judge Suzanne Mente September 11 - Judge Linda Parameter October 23 - Judge Elaine Johnson

Adult Competition Camp Ride with Susan Rainville Sat. & show with Lisa Camilleri Sun.

June 11 - 12

Adults-Only Dressage Schooling Shows Year-end awards given to riders who attend both shows.

June 12 - Lisa Camilleri . July 17 - Heather Dostal

Kids Dressage Camps June 27 - July 1 . July 11 - 15

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resume our formal season in early September, with hunts on Tuesdays and Saturdays through the end of November.

We exercise hounds several days each week throughout the summer and we’d

For details on the hunter pace series, the New England Hunter Trials, other events, and the complete fall fixture card, visit oldnorth bridgehounds.org. If you’d like to ride as a guest at one of our hunts, please contact

Susan Goldfischer

appreciation goes to our wonderful ONBH hounds, whose joy when they’re out hunting is a delight to witness.

ONBH has two hunter paces scheduled — June 26 at Great Brook Farm State Park, in Carlisle, and October 2 at Red Rail Farm, in Lincoln. We’re busy with early plans for the New England Hunts Championship Hunter Trials, which will have open divisions. We’re hosting the event October 30 in Carlisle.

We will celebrate 150 years of hunting by our predecessor hunt, Millwood, and ONBH with a special hunt at Callahan State Park. We’ll also mark the 300th anniversary of the Historic Wayside Inn with a special hunt at the historic site. Summer-solstice group trail rides through our territories, a learn-to-hunt clinic, and other events are in the planning stages. We

ONBH Master of Foxhounds and Huntsman Virginia Zukatynski and the hounds at Fairhaven Woods, in Concord.

love to see folks interested in working with them. Guest riders and spectators are welcome to join us at any of our hunts and events.

Master and Huntsman Ginny Zukatynski, at (508) 7513315, in advance. And to be a part of our hunt by assisting from the ground or would like come out and see what it’s all about, feel free to join us.

7 Susan Goldfischer

West Newbury Riding and Driving Club

84 Annual th

June Show Saturday • June 11 Outside Course Warm-ups 6:30 to 8 a .m.

Trailer parking Starts at 6 a .m.

The WNRDC is pleased to announce that Allison Aamodt has joined the board of directors. Allison rides her Paint mare, Sadeeka, on the area’s trails and will be fostering a companion pony from NEER North.

Our club has planned a

full slate of activities and events, one of them brand new.

The annual Summer Barbecue will take place on Saturday, June 25, at 6 p.m.

The next morning is the Pipestave Hill Cleanup, from 9 a.m. to noon. Come one, come all: many hands make light work. Bring your rake, garden clippers, and gloves to help spruce up Pipestave after the long winter months.

Then mark your calendar for the Pipestave Hill Horse Trials (July 10 and October 9), the new Derby Cross (July 31), and the Adventure Trail (September 11). To learn more and for entry forms, visit wnrdc.com and find us on Facebook.

Submissions for the WNRDC scholarship contest are due mid-June. All graduating seniors who have volunteered to benefit horses and horse activities in West Newbury are encouraged to apply.

As always, WNRDC welcomes new members.

Volunteers are especially appreciated, as none of our activities can take place without their help. As a thankyou to them, every year the club holds two raffle drawings and presents its Volunteer of the Year Award.

7 Liz Russell

NEHC/MHC-rated Shows June 12 . July 17 . August 7

Briggs Stable • Route 139, Hanover Centre, MA affiliated with NEHC, mHC, and SSHC mHC, NEHC, and SSHC medal Classes

Show Manager: John Dougherty (781) 826-3191 Program may be downloaded at www.briggsstable.com.

36

June/July 2016

Stargazer Hill Farm 16 Rhodes St., Plainville, MA (401) 595-9892 . stargazerhillfarm.com

Massachusetts Horse

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Pony Tails

Ware

My Life with Horses

by Kristy Stanek

T

here’s nothing like walking into a barn and being greeted by the whinnies and nickers of your four-legged friends. As someone who as a five-year-old was always begging her parents to buy her a horse, it’s surreal that I got lucky enough to be able to surround myself with the animals I love most.

barn, longeing horses, and vacuuming them. I just didn’t think of the small things that make a big difference in the environment of the whole barn and in the health of every horse. When I learned how to vacuum a horse, I thought it was the most bizarre thing. Who knew that taking a vacuum hose to a horse is a good way to make its coat shine and get rid of the dirt and grime? I had always thought a thorough grooming and using Show Sheen was the only way.

During the months I was at Independence Stable, I came to realize that the horse world isn’t always about bringing horses to shows and winning ribbons. Although I know that’s a big part of it, I also know there are steps you need to take in order to be able to do shows.

Handling horses and managing a barn mean a lot of sacrifice.

You must take time to make sure every horse’s needs are met each and every day and that everything runs smoothly.

You must be able to keep yourself going and not stop until everything is done. It’s easy not want to do it and to be lazy because it’s a lot of work and sometimes overwhelming, but if you have passion and love something, such as horses, you can do anything you set your mind to. This was an important lesson I took away from my experiences at Independence Stable, and I’ll apply it to my life goals. I can never thank Dottie enough for letting me experience the life I’d been dreaming of.

The first one I learned to do was to stock up on hay bales and shavings bags. It’s a lot of heavy lifting and driving back and forth. Almost everything I did was easier said than done. There were chores I never imagined being required to do. I was taught about cleaning out automatic waterers, scrubbing all of the water buckets outside, getting rid of cobwebs in the

Nineteen-year-old Kristy Stanek, of Ware, has loved horses since she was just a little girl. She’s now an intern at Independence Stable, in Belchertown.

Dottie Brittingham-Foreman

Dottie Brittingham-Foreman

In June 2015, after high school, I began an internship at Independence Stable, in Belchertown. This was my first in-depth experience with handling horses and understanding what goes into their management.

Before Independence Stable, there were many times when I got to be around horses, but I was never at the heart of things, as I was now.

I’d always be watching from afar, never really seeing behind the scenes. I wasn’t an equestrian— just part of the audience, a young girl who saw the glossy finished product, not the work it took to get there. Now things are different. I understand that life with horses is one of sweat, blood, tears, and, most important, passion.

The first time I stepped foot inside Independence Stables, I expected that things would be easy because barn owners I had met made life with horses look simple.

That’s how fictional horse books I read as a child idealized equestrianism. In books, movies, and television shows, all the characters did was groom their horse, climb in the saddle, immediately form a bond with their horse, and become an Olympic champion. But that isn’t how it is.

The owner of the barn, Dottie Brittingham-Foreman, taught me that there’s a routine that needs to be followed. Most of it is dirty work and it’s not easy when you start doing it. The first time I did stalls, I thought it was going to

be a breeze, but it was exhausting, and because these were my first stalls, I didn’t clean them well. With repeated action and advice from Dottie, I learned.

It wasn’t until August that I was given other responsibilities. It was surprising how many chores had to be done weekly.

38

June/July 2016

Pony Tails is where young equestrians can tell their stories. Want to see your article in Massachusetts Horse? Email publisher Stephanie Sanders at steph@mahorse.com.

Massachusetts Horse

39

events Massachusetts

June 2 AFTERNOON JUMPER SHOW, Valinor Farm, Plymouth. southcoastseries.com.

2 DIAMOND H BARREL AND GAME SERIES, Hillside Meadows Equestrian Center, Grafton. hillside-meadows.com.

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5 CRDA DRESSAGE SHOW, Apple Knoll Farm, Millis. crdressage.org.

5 USEF GRAZING FIELDS FARM SHOW III, Buzzards Bay. grazingfields.com.

5 HUNTER PACE AND PLEASURE RIDE, Camp Marshall, Spencer. campmarshall.net.

5 OPEN JUMPER SHOW, Midnight Moon Stables, Chelmsford. midnightmoonstables.com.

2 – 5 CRAA SUMMER SPECTACULAR, Eastern State Exposition, West Springfield. orgsites.com /ct/connecticutriverarabian.

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

4 SEHA SHOW, Rozena’s Field, Raynham. southeasthunter.com.

5 ARIEL GRALD CLINIC, RER Ponies, Hatfield. rerponies.com.

8 MYOPIA HUNT SUMMER HOUND EXERCISES, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Hamilton. myopiahunt.org.

4 ECTA-THLON RUN-BIKE-RIDE-KAYAK RELAY, Bradley Palmer State Park, Hamilton. ectaonline.org.

5 RIDE FOR THE RIBBON, Felton Field, Barre. maridefortheribbon.dojiggy.com.

8 FEA BLACK DIAMOND JUBILEE BENEFIT SHOW, Granby. friesianevents.com.

4 OPEN SHOW, Orange. crimsonacres.org.

5 WRC RIDE, Otis State Forest, Otis. westfieldridingclub.org.

8 – 9 LUCINDA GREEN CLINIC, Ledyard Farm, Wenham. ledyardfarm.com.

4 HIPPITY HOP CIRCUS, Blue Rider Stables, South Egremont. bluerider.org.

5 DRESSAGE SCHOOLING SHOW, Bradford Equestrian Center, Bradford. (978) 374-0008.

8 – 11 CONNECTICUT MORGAN OPEN SHOW, West Springfield. ctmorgans.org.

4 – 5 BRDC WEEKEND CAMPOUT/TRAIL RIDES, Felton Field, Barre. barreridingdrivingclub.com.

5 CCDA DRESSAGE SCHOOLING SHOW, West Barnstable. capecoddressage.org.

9 – 12 CCDS PLEASURE DRIVING SHOW, Orleton Farm, Stockbridge. colonialcarriage.org.

June/July 2016

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

12 USEF GRAZING FIELDS FARM SHOW IV, Buzzards Bay. grazingfields.com.

11 RACHEL HACKETT CLINIC, Upper Main Farm, Hatfield. horseswithrachel.com.

12 WNEPHA HUNTER SHOW, Biscuit Hill Farm, Shelburne. wnepha.com.

11 NEECA EQUESTRIAN SHOWCASE, Athol. neeca.org.

12 AHAM OPEN SHOW, Camp Marshall, Spencer. massarabianhorse.org.

11 HHRC ANNUAL SHOW, Briggs Stable, Hanover. briggsstable.com.

12 BSTRA NATIONAL TRAILS DAY RIDE, Hodges Village Dam, Oxford. bstra.org.

11 WNEPHA HUNTER SHOW, Riverbank Farm, Dalton. wnepha.com.

12 WRC SHOW, Westfield. westfieldridingclub.org.

11 MHC SHOW, River Wind Farm, Pembroke. riverwindfarm.com.

11 COMBINED TEST, Mount Holyoke Equestrian Center, South Hadley. mhcriding.com.

11 RIDER FIRST AID WORKSHOP, Cutler Farm, Medfield. cutlerfarmequine.com.

11 – 12 HCRC HEIDI POTTER OBSTACLE CLINIC, Goshen. hampshirecountyridingclub.org.

12 ADULTS-ONLY DRESSAGE SCHOOLING SHOW, New Braintree. whitesprucefarms.ncom.

15 WESTERN DRESSAGE LESSON SERIES, Mount Holyoke College Equestrian Center, South Hadley. cathydrumm.com.

16 AFTERNOON JUMPER SHOW, Valinor Farm, Plymouth. southcoastseries.com.

16 – 18 ERIC SMILEY CLINIC, Black Oak Stables, Hamilton. blackoakstables.com.

12 Merrimack Valley Dressage Show, Bradford Equestrian Center, Haverhill. (978) 374-0008.

17 GAMES NIGHT, Crimson Acres, Orange. crimsonacres.org.

12 NEHC-, MHC-RATED SHOW, Stargazer Hill Farm, Plainville. stargazerhillfarm.com.

17 JUMPER SHOW, Hillside Meadows Equestrian Center, Grafton. hillside-meadows.com.

12 CENTERED RIDING CLINIC, Hillside Meadows Equestrian Center, Grafton. hillside-meadows.com.

18 CAPE COD HUNTER SHOW, Rozena’s Field, Raynham. capecodhunter.com.

12 – 13 EQUITATION CLINIC, StoneleighBurnham, Greenfield. sbschool.org.

14 – 17 SUMMER KICKOFF OPEN SHOW, Northampton. vtspringclassic@aol.com.

12 NEECA GYMKHANA, Athol. neeca.org.

15 MINDFUL CONNECTIONS FREE WEBINAR, Let the Magic Begin with Nicole Birkholzer. mindful-connections.com.

12 MHC SHOW, Haverhill. ridecornerstone.com.

13 – 14 ERIC SMILEY CLINIC, Scarlet Hill Farm, Groton. scarlethillfarm.com.

12 POKER RUN HUNTER PACE, Apple Knoll Farm, Millis. appleknoll.com.

15 JUMPER SHOW, Millis. appleknoll.com.

18 NEECA ROUND-PENNING CLINIC, Athol. neeca.org.

18 RACHEL HACKETT LEARNING CIRCLE, Upper Main Farm, Hatfield. horseswithrachel.com.

18 – 19 CENTRAL MASS. HORSE SHOW SERIES, Camp Marshall, Spencer. cmhss.net.

25 Forest Lane, Millis, MA ~ (508) 376-2564 Area 1 Schooling Horse Trials Championships

Summer Jumper Shows

August 28 Qualifying events at Apple Knoll, Azrael Acres, Course Brook, Green Acres, Groton House, Hilltop Equuestrian Center, King Oak, Frazier Farm, Orchard Hill, Scarlet Apple, StoneleighBurnham, and Valinor. Dates, division details, and more information at appleknoll.com.

Prize lists and entry forms at:

Wednesday Evenings Lead Line . Walk Trot . Walk Trot Canter Ground Poles . Cross Rails . 2' . 2'3" . 2'6" 2'9" . 3' . 3'3" . 3'6" . 3'9" . Height of Choice June 15 . June 22 . June 29 . July 13 July 20 . July 27 . Aug. 3 . Aug. 10 Aug. 17 . Aug. 24 . Aug. 31 . Sept. 7

Hunter Paces Poker Run - June 12 . Halloween - October 23

CRDA Dressage Shows June 5 . August 14 . October 2 crdressage.org

N.E. Miniature Horse Society Shows June 26 . August 21 • nemhs.org

appleknoll.com. Check the website often as new events are added!

The facilities at Apple Knoll Farm are available for rental for horse shows, clinics, and other equine activities.

Our cross-country course is open for schooling by appointment, weather permitting.

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18 – 19 BUCK DAVIDSON CLINIC, Course Brook Farm, Sherborn. coursebrookfarm.com.

20 VOLO FARM OPEN BARN, Westford. volofarm.com.

19 HRC TRAIL RIDE, Myles Standish State Forest, Carver. hansonridingclub.org.

22 JUMPER SHOW, Apple Knoll Farm, Millis. appleknoll.com.

19 SUMMER CLASSIC AND SCHOOLING DRESSAGE SHOW, Groton House Farm, Hamilton. grotonhousefarm.com.

22 MINI SHOW, Hanover. briggsstable.com.

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

19 WNEPHA HUNTER SHOW, White Horse Hill, Richmond. wnepha.com.

19 SCHOOLING DRESSAGE SHOW AND HORSE TRIALS, Southampton. kingoakfarm.com.

19 CCEA OPEN SHOW, South Yarmouth. ccequineassoc.com.

19 NSHA EQUITATION/JUMPER SHOW, Byfield. northshorehorsemens.org.

19 GRHC OPEN SHOW, Dufresne Park, Granby. granbyregionalhorse.com.

19 SSHC SHOW, Rozena’s Field, Raynham. sshconline.com.

19 SCHOOLING TWO-PHASE AND DRESSAGE SHOW, Cutter Farm, Dracut. cutterfarm.com.

22 – 24 JON ENSIGN CLINIC, Heritage Farm, Easthampton. farmheritage.com.

23 – 24 YANKEE COLOR CLASSIC, West Springfield. westernmassapp.com.

24 – 26 HORSE TRIALS, Groton House Farm, Hamilton. grotonhousefarm.com.

24 – 25 NORTHEAST FRIESIAN CLASSIC, Topsfield Fairgrounds. nefhc.com.

25 NEECA CATHY DRUMM DRESSAGE CLINIC, Athol. neeca.org.

25 RAVEN WOOD FARM OPEN BARN, Barre. ravenwoodfarmma.com.

25 HCRC WOODLAND OBSTACLE-COURSE CHALLENGE, Goshen, hampshirecounty ridingclub.org.

25 RANCH HORSE CLINIC, Heritage Farm, Easthampton. farmheritage.com.

25 – 26 HEATHER BLITZ CLINIC, Cutler Farm, Medfield. cutlerfarmequine.com.

25 – 26 JULIE GOODNIGHT CLINIC, Hillside Meadows Equestrian Center, Grafton. hillside-meadows.com.

25 – 26 KERRY THOMAS BRING YOUR HORSE INTO FOCUS CLINIC, Fairview Farms, Brimfield. fairviewfarmsjjc.com.

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

26 HUNTER SCHOOLING SHOW, Grazing Fields Farm, Buzzards Bay. southcoastseries.com.

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

25 HORSE TRIALS AND DRESSAGE SCHOOLING SHOW, Camp Marshall, Spencer. campmarshall.net.

26 NEMHS SUMMER CELEBRATION SHOW, Apple Knoll Farm, Millis. nemhs.org.

25 THREE-PHASE, Berlin. orchardhillequestriancenter.com.

26 VERSATILITY CHALLENGE, Spring Willow Farm, Mendon. springwillowhorsefarm.com.

Special Classics Equine Journal Pleasure Classic Two Town Trotters 4-H Fit & Show Classic Tough-E Nuf Stables Walk Trot Classic Holiday Acres Hunter Challenge Classic CEO Stables Equitation Classic Miles of Excavating Lead Line Suitability Classic Camp Marshall Gambler’s Choice Classic Emerald Equine Speed Round Classic

TWO HUNT RINGS, ONE OPEN RING

MHJ Medal Classes

CMHSS 2016 SHOW DATES Jumpers on Saturdays starting at 1 p.m.! all jumper shows judged by Jessie Caprioli.

DIVISIONS WITH DAY-END AWARDS 4-H Adult Walk Trot Beginner Walk Trot Beginner WTC Children’s Equitation Children’s Hunter Green Horse Hunter Green Horse Open Green Horse Open WT Lead Line Med./Long Stirrup Hunter Miniature Horse

OTTB Open Adult Open Hunter Open Junior Open X-Rails Pet Pony Children’s Stock Seat Senior Horse Short Stirrup Equitation Short Stirrup Hunter Walk Trot 11 & Under Hunter

Walk Trot 11 & Under Open Walk Trot 12 -17 Gymkhana

Saturday Jumper Divisions: 2’, 2’3”, 2’6”, 2’9”, 3’, and 3’3”

SATURDAY & SUNDAY, April 23 & 24 Judges: Richard Luckhardt & Ray Hackett

SATURDAY & SUNDAY, May 21 & 22 Judges: Lucy Tisdale & Kelli marie Wainscott

SATURDAY & SUNDAY June 18 & 19 Judges: mary Beth Hendrick Tocco & Sarah Bonini

Rings & Footing are New and Improved!

a great YEaR END aWaRDS BaNQUET with additional banquet awards, including a $100 leading trainer award.

SATURDAY & SUNDAY, August 27 & 28 Judges: Kimberly Jungherr & Karol Bennett

SATURDAY & SUNDAY, October 1 & 2 Judges: Jessica Roberts & Jennifer Sullivan

For information or prize list, contact Will George at: wgeorge79@aol.com or 508-344-4424

www.cmhss.net

42

June/July 2016

26 BRDC SCHOLARSHIP OPEN SHOW, Felton Field, Barre. barreridingdrivingclub.com.

26 DRESSAGE SCHOOLING SHOW, Xenophon Farm, Montauge. xenophonfarm@aol.com.

26 ONBH HUNTER PACE, Great Brook State Park, Carlisle. oldnorthbridgehounds.org.

AUCTIONS & SALE HORSES

We always have a nice selection of horses and ponies for sale.

Watch videos and view photos at farmheritage.com!

26 OPEN SHOW, Uxbridge. azraelacres.com.

Next Auction: Summer Wrap-Up Auction August 28

26 BUCKLE BLOWOUT SHOW, Balmy Acres, Middleboro. balmyacres.com.

Horses and ponies coming back from summer work.

Stay tuned to our website and Facebook pages for updates!

26 FREE HORSEMINDSHIP DEMO WITH YOUR HORSE, Plainfield. peacehavenfarm.com.

28 – July 2 NORTHEAST BENEFIT, Northampton. northeastbenefithorseshow.com.

29 MINI SHOW, Hanover. briggsstable.com.

29 JUMPER SHOW, Millis. appleknoll.com.

29 CROSS-COUNTRY DERBY, Scarlet Hill Farm, Groton. scarlethillfarm.com.

29 ROBIN GROVES CLINIC, Haverhill. leangst@comcast.net.

29 – 30 DRESSAGE SHOW, Mount Holyoke College Equestrian Center, South Hadley. ridemhc.com.

EVENTS

Clinics: June 22-24 Jon Ensign Clinic; June 25 Ranch Horse Clinic Stock Horse Shows: June 26 . September 11 . November 6 WNEPHA Hunter Shows: July 17 & October 2

July 1 MHC SHOW, River Wind Farm, Pembroke. riverwindfarm.com.

1 – 3 NORTHEAST REINING SHOW, West Springfield. nerha.com.

1 – 4 BSTRA CAMPOUT, Douglas. bstra.org.

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

Nice Horses for Nice People.

2 OPEN SHOW, Orange. crimsonacres.org.

2 MHC SHOW, Century Mill Stables, Bolton. centurymillstables.com.

3 WNEPHA HUNTER SHOW, Bonnie Lea Farm, Williamstown. wnepha.com.

The Raucher Family 30 Florence Rd., Easthampton, MA (413) 527-1612 . farmheritage.com State Auctioneer license # AU450.

4 MARION HORSE SHOW, Charles E. Washburn Memorial Park, Marion. marionhorseshow.com.

5 NHHJA SUMMER FESTIVAL, Fieldstone Show Park, Halifax. nhhja.com.

6 SCARLET APPLE HORSE TRIALS, Scarlet Hill Farm, Groton. sppletreefarm.org.

6 – 9 USHJA EMERGING ATHLETES PROGRAM REGIONAL CLINIC, Mount Holyoke College Equestrian Center, South Hadley. mhcriding.com.

6 MINI SHOW, Hanover. briggsstable.com.

7 AFTERNOON JUMPER SHOW, Valinor Farm, Plymouth. southcoastseries.com.

Massachusetts Horse

43

7 WNEPHA HUNTER SHOW, Harmony Hill Farm, Great Barrington. wnepha.com.

17 NEDA SUMMER SHOW, Twisdenwood Farm, Georgetown. neda.org.

7 DIAMOND H BARREL AND GAME SERIES, Hillside Meadows Equestrian Center, Grafton. hillside-meadows.com.

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

7 SEACOAST MORGAN HORSE SHOW, Topsfield Fairgrounds. nhmorgans.com.

7 – 10 NHHJA SHOW, Fieldstone Show Park, Halifax. fieldstoneshowpark.com.

APRIL 15 ~ 17 MassQHA Youth, Novice, and Open Show (massqha.com)

JUNE 16 ~ 18 Summer Kickoff Open Show vtspringclassic@aol.com 28 ~ 7/2 Northeast Benefit Horse Show (northeastbenefithorseshow.com)

JULY 8 ~ 10

Regional 4-H Horse Show (mass4H.org)

25 ~ 30 New England Morgan Show (nemha.com)

AUGUST 4~7

CT Summer Classic Show (ctasb.com)

9 NEECA HORSE-CAMPING DEMONSTRATION, Athol. neeca.org.

10 WNEPHA HUNTER SHOW, Bellwether Stables, Richmond. wnepha.com.

10 DERBY CROSS, Course Brook Farm, Sherborn. coursebrookfarm.com.

10 CCEA OPEN SHOW, South Yarmouth. ccequineassoc.com.

10 WNRDC PIPESTAVE HILL HORSE TRIALS, West Newbury. wnrdc.com.

413.584.2237 THREEcountyfair.com June/July 2016

17 HRC OPEN SHOW, Briggs Stable, Hanover. hansonridingclub.org.

17 ADULTS-ONLY DRESSAGE SCHOOLING SHOW, New Braintree. whitesprucefarms.ncom.

17 NEECA OPEN SHOW, Felton Field, Barre. barreridingdrivingclub.com.

17 MHC SHOW, Cornerstone Farm, Haverhill. ridecornerstone.com.

20 JUMPER SHOW, Apple Knoll Farm, Millis. appleknoll.com.

10 HORSEMINDSHIP GROUND-DRIVING WORKSHOP, Plainfield. peacehavenfarm.com.

20 MINI SHOW, Hanover. briggsstable.com.

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

11 – 17 AQHA REGION 6 SUPER 6 SHOW, West Springfield. massqha.com.

13 JUMPER SHOW, Apple Knoll Farm, Millis. appleknoll.com.

30 ~ 10/2 Mass. Horsemen’s Council Days of Champions (mahorsecouncil.com)

17 HUNTER SCHOOLING SHOW, Reunion Farm, Plympton. southcoastseries.com.

10 WRC RIDE, Blandford Ski Area. westfieldridingclub.org.

SEPTEMBER

17 ~ 18 Massachusetts State 4-H Show (mass4-H.org)

17 WNEPHA HUNTER SHOW, Heritage Farm, Easthampton. farmheritage.com.

18 NEDA SUMMER SHOW, Georgetown. neda.org.

13 WESTERN DRESSAGE LESSON SERIES, Mount Holyoke College Equestrian Center, South Hadley. cathydrumm.com.

Three County Fair (threecountyfair.com)

17 NEHC-, MHC-RATED SHOW, Stargazer Hill Farm, Plainville. stargazerhillfarm.com.

10 NEECA GYMKHANA, Athol. neeca.org.

11 ~ 14 Northampton Hunter/Jumper (biscuithillfarm.com)

2~5

44

8 – 10 REGIONAL 4-H SHOW, Northampton. mass4h.org.

17 SCHOOLING TWO-PHASE AND DRESSAGE SHOW, Cutter Farm, Dracut. cutterfarm.com.

20 ROBIN GROVES CLINIC, Haverhill. leangst@comcast.net.

21 AFTERNOON JUMPER SHOW, Valinor Farm, Plymouth. southcoastseries.com.

22 – 24 WMAA YANKEE COLOR CLASSIC AND OPEN SHOW, West Springfield. westernmaapp.com.

22 – 24 HCRC CAMPOUT, Warwick. hampshirecountyridingclub.org.

13 MINI SHOW, Hanover. briggsstable.com.

23 DRILL TEAM COMPETITION, Crimson Acres, Orange. crimsonacres.org.

13 MHC SHOW, River Wind Farm, Pembroke. riverwindfarm.com.

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

13 – 14 SHARON WHITE CLINIC, Scarlet Hill Farm, Groton. scarlethillfarm.com.

24 USEF MEDAL DAY I, Buzzards Bay. grazingfields.com.

15 GAMES NIGHT, Crimson Acres, Orange. crimsonacres.org.

24 OPEN SHOW, Uxbridge. azraelacres.com.

16 RACHEL HACKETT LEARNING CIRCLE, Upper Main Farm, Hatfield. horseswithrachel.com.

24 NSHA EQUITATION/JUMPER SHOW, Myopia Hunt Club, Hamilton. northshorehorsemens.org.

16 MHC USEF SHOW, August Farm, Holliston. rideaugustfarm.com.

24 BSTRA PLEASURE RIDE, Domnarski Farm, Ware. bstra.org.

24 WNEPHA HUNTER SHOW, Muddy Brook Farm, Amherst. wnepha.com.

7 NEHC-, MHC-RATED SHOW, Stargazer Hill Farm, Plainville. stargazerhillfarm.com.

25 – 30 NEW ENGLAND MORGAN HORSE SHOW, Northampton. nemha.com.

7 BSTRA PLEASURE RIDE, Northfield Mountain. bstra.org.

26 – 29 USEF HEAD OF THE BAY CLASSIC I, Buzzards Bay. grazingfields.com.

7 HRC OPEN SHOW, Balmy Acres, Middleboro. hansonridingclub.org.

7 BRDC OPEN SHOW, Felton Field, Barre. barreridingdrivingclub.com.

27 JUMPER SHOW, Apple Knoll Farm, Millis. appleknoll.com.

Dressage Schooling Show Series June 26 . Bill McMullin “R” July 31 . Lainey Johnson “L” September 4 . Kathi Bruce “L” October 9 . Lynda Angstadt “L”

27 MINI SHOW, Hanover. briggsstable.com.

7 THREE-PHASE, Berlin. orchardhillequestriancenter.com.

29 JUMPER SHOW, Hillside Meadows Equestrian Center, Grafton. hillside-meadows.com.

7 WNEPHA HUNTER SHOW, Blythewood Stables, Pittsfield. wnepha.com.

English & Western Tests

30 USEF HEAD OF THE BAY EQUITATION DAY, Buzzards Bay. grazingfields.com.

7 HCRC WINDSOR STATE FOREST RIDE, Windsor. hampshirecountyridingclub.org.

Dressage Clinics

30 – 31 USEA HORSE TRIALS, StoneleighBurnham, Greenfield. sbschool.org.

9 USEF MEDAL DAY IV, Buzzards Bay. grazingfields.com.

31 CCDS FUN DAY, Orleton Farm, Stockbridge. colonialcarriage.org.

10 JUMPER SHOW, Apple Knoll Farm, Millis. appleknoll.com.

31 DRESSAGE SCHOOLING SHOW, Xenophon Farm, Montauge. xenophonfarm@aol.com.

10 MINI SHOW, Hanover. briggsstable.com.

31 CCEA HUNTER/JUMPER SHOW, South Yarmouth. ccequineassoc.com.

31 WNEPHA HUNTER SHOW, Biscuit Hill Farm, Shelburne Falls, wnepha.com.

August

11 MHC SHOW, River Wind Farm, Pembroke. riverwindfarm.com.

13 CAPE COD HUNTER, Rozena’s Field, Raynham. capecodhunter.com.

14 DRESSAGE SCHOOLING SHOW, Belchertown. independencestablellc.com.

3 JUMPER SHOW, Apple Knoll Farm, Millis. appleknoll.com.

14 WRC RIDE, Becket Land Trust, Becket. westfieldridingclub.org.

3 MINI SHOW, Hanover. briggsstable.com.

14 MHC, USEF MEDAL DAY, August Farm, Holliston. rideaugustfarm.com.

4 AFTERNOON JUMPER SHOW, Valinor Farm, Plymouth. southcoastseries.com.

4 DIAMOND H BARREL AND GAME SERIES, Grafton. hillside-meadows.com.

4 – 7 CT SUMMER CLASSIC SHOW, Northampton. ctasb.com.

5 – 6 EXTREME MUSTANG MAKEOVER, Topsfield Fairgrounds. extrememustangmakeover.com 6 MHC-, NEHC-RATED HUNTER SHOW, Saddle Rowe, Medway. saddlerowe.com.

6 USEF MEDAL DAY III, Buzzards Bay. grazingfields.com.

6 – 7 BEAR SPOT DRESSAGE SHOW, Bear Spot Farm, Concord. bearspotfarm.com.

Like us on Facebook to see who’s coming!

11 – 15 NORTHAMPTON HUNTER/JUMPER SHOW, Northampton. biscuithillfarm.com.

1 – 4 USEF HEAD OF THE BAY CLASSIC II, Buzzards Bay. grazingfields.com.

3 – 7 PONY CLUB EVENTING CAMP, Stoneleigh-Burnham, Greenfield. sbschool.org.

Bill McMullin . June 25 Sharon McCusker Bill Warren Vern Batchelder

14 CRDA DRESSAGE SHOW, Apple Knoll Farm, Millis. crdressage.org.

14 NEECA MULE AND DONKEY SHOW, Athol. neeca.org.

Stalls Available

Stalls available in the 16-stall barn with attached indoor arena. Nestled at the base of Mt Toby this “Massachusetts Horse Farm of Distinction” provides outstanding care for you and your horse.

17 JUMPER SHOW, Millis. appleknoll.com.

Xenophon Farm

17 MINI SHOW, Hanover. briggsstable.com.

30 years

14 SSHC SHOW, Rozena’s Field, Raynham. sshconline.com.

17 – 18 MASSACHUSETTS STATE 4-H SHOW, Northampton. mass4h.org.

17 – 20 MASSACHUSETTS MORGAN HORSE SHOW, West Springfield. massmorgan.com.

17 – 27 SILVER OAK JUMPER TOURNAMENT, Halifax. fieldstoneshowpark.com.

oF outstanding clincis,

lectures

janice

&

&

competitions!

elaine

Kachavos

80 sunderland rd., rte. 47 montague, mass.

413.367.9828 X enophon F arm @ aol . com Massachusetts Horse

45

18 AFTERNOON JUMPER SHOW, Valinor Farm, Plymouth. southcoastseries.com.

20 SUNRISE PLEASURE SHOW SERIES, South Hadley. mhcriding.com.

18 MHC USEF MEDAL DAY, August Farm, Holliston. rideaugustfarm.com.

21 NEMHS FINALE SHOW, Apple Knoll Farm, Millis. nemhs.org.

19 GAMES NIGHT, Crimson Acres, Orange. crimsonacres.org.

19 SUMMER THREE-PHASE, Course Brook Farm, Sherborn. coursebrookfarm.com.

19 MHC SHOW, River Wind Farm, Pembroke. riverwindfarm.com.

19 CAPE COD HUNTER, Raynham. capecodhunter.com.

20 BLESSINGS FARM PONY RIDES, Charlton. blessingsfarm.org.

21 JUMPER SHOW, Chelmsford. midnightmoonstables.com.

21 NEECA GYMKHANA, Athol. neeca.org.

Honor a junior at your upcoming event with a free Massachusetts Horse Junior Horsemanship Award. To learn more and request one, visit mahorse.com/ Junior_Award.html.

20 RACHEL HACKETT LEARNING CIRCLE, Upper Main Farm, Hatfield. horseswithrachel.com.

20 HORSE TRIALS AND DRESSAGE SCHOOLING SHOW, Spencer. campmarshall.net.

Briggs Stable

Mini Shows Wednesday evenings starting at 6 P.M. June 22 to August 24 New all members of the Hanover Hunt & Riding Club are eligible for year-end awards.

t Star ! e Tim

Lead Line . Therapeutic . Walk Trot . Games Jumping . Equitation . Pleasure Great food and drinks available at the Hanover Hunt & Riding Club food booth.

Briggs Stable • 623 Hanover St., Hanover Centre, MA (781) 826-3191 Class lists may be downloaded at www.briggsstable.com.

Visit Briggs Tack Shop, a full service shop, while at the show!

46

June/July 2016

the

neighborhood

Your Everything Equine “white pages”

ASSOCIATIONS •••••••••••••••••••••••••• GRANBY REGIONAL HORSE COUNCIL Central & Western MA, (413) 527-9532 granbyregionalhorse.org Family-oriented trails, shows, clinics.

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

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

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY RIDING CLUB Goshen, MA, (413) 268-3372 hampshirecounty ridingclub.org Monthly trail rides, open show, hunter pace, clinics, educational speakers.

EQUINE MASSAGE •••••••••••••••••••••••••• EQUISSAGE NE/NY MA, CT, RI, (860) 564-7759 equisportmt@sbcglobal.net Integrated body work for performance horses: reiki, Masterson Method, sports and therapeutic massage, myofascial release, cranio-sacral therapy, infrared photon therapy.

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

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

DRESSAGE •••••••••••••••••••••••••• BRADFORD EQUESTRIAN CENTER Haverhill, MA, (978) 374-0008 Dressage for all disciplines and driving.

Keith Angstadt, USEF dressage judge.

CATHY DRUMM Pittsfield, MA, (413) 441-5278 cathydrumm.com Clinics, lessons, training, western and English dressage, hunter/jumper.

FAIRFIELD FARM Rochester, MA, (508) 763-8038 dressageatfairfieldfarm.com Boarding, instruction, training, indoor.

MEG HILLY South Deerfield, MA, (802) 595-1258 mhilly@mtholyoke.edu USDF “L” judge; FEI rider; private, semiprivate lessons; clinics.

NANCY LATER LAVOIE Ashby, MA, (561) 714-7447 nancylaterdressagehorses.com Training, lessons, clinics. Accepting new students of all levels. Top-class facility.

WHITE SPRUCE FARMS New Braintree, MA, (978) 257-4666 whitesprucefarms.com Dressage shows, instruction, all levels/ages.

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

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

NORTHEAST EQUINE VETERINARY DENTAL SERVICES LEAH LIMONE, DVM Topsfield, MA, (978) 500-9293 nevds.com Licensed professional veterinary dentistry.

Routine preventive care, maintenance, diagnostics, extractions.

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

KIT CAT PHOTO & 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.

EQUINE WELLNESS •••••••••••••••••••••••••• BLUE RIBBON EQUINE Massachusetts (413) 325-5777 blueribbonequine.com Massage, laser, LED, animal communication, “Where does my horse hurt” body checkups.

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

HORSES FOR SALE •••••••••••••••••••••••••• HERITAGE FARM Easthampton, MA, (413) 527-1612 farmheritage.com Auctions, sale horses, shows, clinics, boarding, lessons, and training.

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 threeweek-exchange guarantee. Find us on Facebook.

INSTRUCTION/TRAINING •••••••••••••••••••••••••• BACK BAY FARM Ipswich, MA, (978) 356-0730 backbayfarm.com Lessons, boarding, training, and sales.

FARM FAMILY INSURANCE farmfamily.com Carver: (508) 866-9150 Easthampton: (413) 203-5180 Great Barrington: (413) 528-1710 Marlborough: (508) 485-3800 Middleborough: (508) 747-8181 Northborough: (508) 393-9327 Norwood: (781) 255-2002 South Deerfield: (413) 665-8200 Southwick: (413) 569-2307 Topsfield: (978) 887-8304 Westford: (978) 467-1001 Williamstown: (413) 458-5584 Worcester: (508) 752-3300 JUDGES •••••••••••••••••••••••••• MARY BRAZIE Egremont, MA, (413) 528-2367 arabpinto13@yahoo.com Judging open, 4-H, carded.

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

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

PHOTOGRAPHY •••••••••••••••••••••••••• C A HILL PHOTO S. Dartmouth, MA (508) 789-0541 cahill.smugmug.com cahillphoto@gmail.com Equine, family, and farm photography in New England.

KAREN MORANG PHOTOGRAPHY Find us on Facebook.

Equine photography and events.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MELISSA N. Dighton, MA, (508) 863-0467 melissaroot.com Equine portrait photography and events.

REAL ESTATE •••••••••••••••••••••••••• ALTHEA BRAMHALL HOMETOWN REALTORS North Quabbin region, (617) 678-9300 althearealtor@gmail.com Real estate is more fun with horse people!

EQUINE HOMES REAL ESTATE LLC MA and NH, (800) 859-2745, ext. 704 equinehomes.com sally@equinehomes.com Sally Mann, Realtor, MA and NH. BERNICE GIARD REALITY Oakham, MA, (508) 882-3900 oakham@charter.net Country properties.

STABLES, FARMS, BOARDING •••••••••••••••••••••••••• CARRIER’S FARM Southampton, MA, (413) 527-0333 rcarrier0333@gmail.com Indoor, outdoor arenas, round pens, fields.

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

STRAIN FAMILY EQUESTRIAN CENTER LLC Southwick, MA, (413) 569-5797 strainfamilyequestrian.com Boarding, lessons, training, sales, therapeutic riding.

TACK •••••••••••••••••••••••••• CHESHIRE HORSE Swanzey, NH, (877) 358-3001 cheshirehorse.com English, western, feed, supplies, trailers.

DR. COOK BITLESS BRIDLE (866) 235-0938 bitlessbridle.com Safe, gentle, effective alternative to using a bit.

SMARTPAK RETAIL STORE Natick, MA, (508) 651-0045 smartpak.com/retailstore Tack, equipment, supplements, blankets, apparel, gear, gifts, clearance outlet.

TRANSPORTATION •••••••••••••••••••••••••• J.R. HUDSON HORSE TRANSPORTATION West Bridgewater, MA, (508) 427-9333 jrhudsonhorsetrans.com Serving the lower 48 states and Canada.

NORTHEAST EQUINE TRANSPORTATION Southbridge, MA, (774) 633-1499 nehorsetrans.com Serving Northeast, PA, NY, NJ, DE, MD. VETERINARIANS •••••••••••••••••••••••••• FAMILY VETERINARY CENTER Haydenville, MA, (413) 268-8387 famvets.com Traditional and alternative care for dogs, cats, exotics, and horses.

SOUTH DEERFIELD VETERINARY CLINIC DR. ROBERT P. SCHMITT S. Deerfield, MA, (413) 665-3626 sdvc@aol.com Equine medicine, surgery since 1969.

Massachusetts Horse

47

. . . Elisabeth Libby continued

Is This Your Horse?

Holly Jacobson

“It meant getting her ready for the eventing test,” Beth says, “but we were having the most horrible winter on record. I didn’t even really start on her until April.” Complicating matters was the fact that eventing is multidisciplined: dressage, show jumping, and crosscountry. “We always used to say the event horse is the ultimate equine athlete. It’s

eventing is generous, unending, and even contagious.

“When I met her, I didn’t even know what eventing was,” says Michelle. “Beth was the one who got me addicted to it.”

Kelly used to babysit Elaina at the barn while Beth rode. She only had to ask Beth once to teach her to ride and 22 years later Kelly is still in the saddle and eventing, at Novice level.

Is this your horse?

This photo was taken at the April 30 Gathering Farm Spring Two-Phase, in Hamilton. If this is your horse, contact us at win@mahorse.com for a month’s supply of SmartPaks and more from the Bay State’s very own SmartPak, smartpakequine.com.

Kelly Sullivan

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‘three days, three ways, baby,’ ” she says, laughing, quoting an eventers mantra.

“You have to be a jack-of-alltrades.”

Despite a foot bruise in August (one month off) and a gory hoof injury in September, Silky had a solid showing in Kentucky. No cash prizes, but a very pleasing performance. “I knew, at that point, she had potential,” Beth says. Meanwhile, Beth got to meet eventing heroes Laine Ashker, Tik Maynard, Philip Dutton, and Denny Emerson, who were also there.

Sharing the Love It would take a separate — long — article to describe Beth as a teacher and role model, but students Michelle Wollmershauser, of Agawam, and Kelly Sullivan, of Enfield, Connecticut, agree: Beth Libby’s enthusiasm for imparting what she knows about 48

June/July 2016

“Beth’s an awesome individual all around,” says Kelly, “and she’s always learning and bettering herself as a rider, so she can bring her students to the next level.”

“She’s really good about how to bring along a young horse,” Michelle says. “She’s great about not over-facing a horse and rider. Even if I was jumping three feet, it felt like two. And she listens to the horse. I like that about her. She’s not on there to be the boss. She’s on there to be the partner.”

And it was Beth who taught Michelle the eventer’s secret weapon for when things get rough. Wisely, it’s a survival tool that works both in the saddle and in life. “ ‘If anything happens,’ ” Michelle says, quoting her teacher, “ ‘you just kick on.’ ” Andrea Bugbee is a freelance reporter. She lives with her husband and their children in Southwick.

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