Connecticut Horse July/August 2015

CONNEC T ICUT

HORSE

HORSE OF A LIFETIME THAT SPECIAL ONE page 8

CONNECTICUT DRAFT HORSE RESCUE

July/August 2015 connhorse.com $4

LEND A HOOF page 12

MYSTIC VALLEY HUNT CLUB FARM FEATURE page 16

NATCHAUG STATE FOREST TRAIL GUIDE page 24

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Connecticut Horse

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contents

July/August 2015

columns

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Dr. Aimee’s Advice

courtesy of Mystic Valley Hunt Club

courtesy of Vanessa Baumann

18 Cushing’s Disease: A New Test

20 Nutmeg State Happenings 16

Events Photos

22 The Beauty of Now Mindful Connections with Nicole Birkholzer

24 Natchaug State Forest

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Reflections

Karena Garrity

Trail Guide

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in every issue 6 Your Letters

features 8

Horse of a Lifetime

7 From the Editor 26 This Olde Horse

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That Special One

Jordan Raquel Teixeira

28 Partners

Horseperson Feature

32 Connecticut Events Calendar

26 Overherd: News in Our Community

40 The Neighborhood

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Connecticut Draft Horse Rescue Lend a Hoof

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Mystic Valley Hunt Club

41 Advertiser Index 41 Is This Your Horse?

Farm Feature

Connecticut Horse

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Your Letters To the editor: It’s so nice to see a magazine for only Connecticut horse clubs and events.

Jeanne Lewis, via email

To the editor: The Newtown Bridle Lands Association Board of Directors and I are super excited about Connecticut Horse! Thank you again for thinking of the NBLA. We can’t wait to see the magazine. It’s very exciting to have something dedicated to Connecticut horses and industry.

Leslie Smith, via email

To the editor: So excited that you’re branching out into Connecticut. I’m on the board of the Connecticut Morgan Horse Association, and we’re excited to get the club involved as well.

Shannon Santoro, Facebook Send your thoughts to: karena@connhorse.com or Connecticut Horse 99 Bissell Road, Williamsburg, MA 01096

CONNEC T ICUT

HORSE vol. 1, no. 1 July/August 2015

ISSN 2378-5721

99 Bissell Road, Williamsburg, MA 01096 phone: (860) 391-9215 • fax: (413) 268-0050 • connhorse.com Connecticut Horse magazine is an independently owned and -operated all-breed, all-discipline equestrian publication for the Nutmeg State. © 2015 Connecticut Horse All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this magazine or portions thereof in any form without prior written permission.

publisher Stephanie Sanders • steph@connhorse.com • (413) 268-3302 editor Karena Garrity • karena@connhorse.com • (860) 391-9215 copy editor Doris Troy feature writers Nicole Birkholzer, Christine Church Aimee M. Eggleston, DVM, Toni Leland, Stacey Stearns contributors Joan Davis, Sally Feuerberg, Allison Forsyth, Raymond Hill Sharon Knies, Linda Lambert, Donna Legere, Suzy Lucine Gigi Ouellette, Leslie Smith, Nicole Souza county desk liaisons Fairfield and New Haven Counties Sally Feuerberg . sally@connhorse.com . (203) 339-0357 Hartford and Tolland Counties Christine Church . christine@connhorse.com . (860) 748-9757 Middlesex and New London Counties Karena Garrity . karena@connhorse.com . (860) 391-9215 advertising main office . (413) 268-3302 . ads@connhorse.com Advertising deadline for the September/October issue is August 7.

© Kathryn Schauer Photography, www.kathrynschauerphotography.com Eight-year-old Morgan/Friesian Tungsten, owned by Jessi Dinan and boarded at Miles Hill Farm, Guilford.

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

the fine print The views and opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Connecticut Horse staff or independent contractors, nor can they be held accountable. Connecticut Horse will not be held responsible for any misrepresentations or any copyright infringement on the part of advertisers. Connecticut Horse will not be held responsible for typing errors other than a correction in the following issue. All letters addressed to Connecticut 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 Connecticut Horse, are assumed to be legally released by the submitter for publication. Connecticut 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.

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July/August 2015

From the Editor

Discover the

W

elcome to the premiere issue of Connecticut Horse!

This magazine is published by Stephanie Sanders, whose Massachusetts Horse has been going strong

for 14 years. I’m delighted to be part of this adventure — and

Masterson Method of Integrated Equine Performance Bodywork Join us for our premiere

to share it with you.

Connecticut Horse will inform and entertain you. Within these pages, you’ll find an extensive, exclusive-to-Connecticut events calendar; up-to-date news; and feature articles highlighting farms, horse people (and the horses they love), and nonprofit horse-related

Beyond Horse Massage one-day seminar in Little Compton, RI, on July 18.

Doris Bouchard will demonstrate and attendees will have hands-on practice with the following techniques: Bladder Meridian . Lateral Cervical Flexion Hind End Release Points . Poll Release, Head up Scapula Release and Withers Wiggle (time permitting)

organizations.

I grew up in this state. Since the age of

Doris is a Masterson Method certified practitioner and coach, ESMT and instructor, and LCMT.

six, when I first posted

Learn more, become a host, and see upcoming dates at

the trot astride Suzy, a

www.Equissage-NE-NY.com.

pint-sized, jet black Paul Garrity

Shetland pony who had a lot of mane and even more attitude, I knew Karena Garrity and Truman.

Now Offering Craniosacral Therapy

horses were my thing.

As a teenager, I began taking lessons at Flight Way Farm, in Chester, where I spent many afternoons learning the intricacies of hunt seat from Terry Schreiber.

Almost three decades later, I still have the privilege of riding with Terry. She hasn’t changed a bit (pardon the pun), nor has this special place and the serene feeling that comes when you spend time with horses. Now my main equine squeeze is Truman, a handsome bay Quarter Horse who over the years has taught me much about the kindness of the equine spirit and how to be in the moment.

Horseback riding is my emotional and physical outlet — it provides a respite from the stresses of day-to-day life — and I’m grateful to belong to the Connecticut equestrian community.

Please enjoy this first of many bimonthly issues to come.

We promise to be chock-full of everything horse in the Nutmeg State. Giddy-up!

Karena Editor’s Favorite Quote “Eyes up. Look where you want to go,” says every riding instructor ever.

Connecticut Horse

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courtesy of George Morris

Horse of a Lifetime That Special One

by Karena Garrity Geroge Morris and Game Cock won both the ASPCA Maclay Horsemanship Finals and the AHSA Hunt Seat Equitation Final in 1952.

H

orses — like their people — are unique. For many, the horse of a lifetime is the one that immediately stole their heart; for others, it’s the one that jumped the highest or galloped the fastest. Some help riders to fly; others teach them how to land.

Which is your horse of a lifetime?

The Game Changer For George Morris — noted rider, trainer, clinician, and judge — the horse of a lifetime was Game Cock.

Although he says he’s had many great horses over the last eight decades, the chestnut Thoroughbred with a white blaze and three white legs was his first. It was on Game Cock that in 1952 the 14-year-old George rode to stardom in Madison Square Garden. The pair won the ASPCA Maclay Horsemanship Finals and the American Horse Show Association (AHSA) Hunter Seat Equitation Medal Finals, making George the youngest rider to achieve this feat.

As a boy, George began riding with the New Canaan Mounted Troop; his 8

July/August 2015

legs were weak, and it was thought that the exercise would help to strengthen his muscles. Now, he says, “I attribute my strong legs to Game Cock. He was a wonderful horse — very quiet, a fantastic mover, and extremely trainable. He was almost like a trick horse; I could teach him anything.”

Otto Heuckeroth, of the Ox Ridge Hunt Club in Darien, found Game Cock and handed George, then age 12, the reins. “He wasn’t a big jumper, which is why he was for sale, but he was wonderful at the three-foot, six-inch level,” says George. Two years later, the team started winning big.

Now called the founding father of hunt-seat equitation, George took riding to the highest levels. He has represented the United States in many international equestrian competitions, both as rider and as coach. In 1959, his show-jumping team took home the gold at the Pan American Games. He won a team show-jumping silver at the 1960 Rome Olympics and coached the showjumping team to silver at the 2006 Fédération Equestre Internationale and World Equestrian Games. In 2008, he

was the coach of the show-jumping team that won the gold at the Hong Kong Olympics and coached Beezie Madden, who took an individual bronze.

Today, George is president of the United States Show Jumping Hall of Fame and is on the United States Equestrian Federation National Jumper Committee. He also travels the world conducting clinics.

And it all began with Game Cock.

The Apple of Her Eye A decade ago, the teen Vanessa Baumann fell in love with a horse named Traveller (after General Robert E. Lee’s horse) except she heard the name wrong and thought it was Trevor, and that’s what she’s been calling him ever since.

Trevor, once ridden as a Civil War reenactment pony, is a grade horse with a dapple gray coat but a proud, natural carriage. Now, at age 32, he’s still her best friend. “He’s my everything,” says Vanessa, “and will be with me until the end. He’s the apple of my eye.”

When Vanessa met him, she was

courtesy of Hillary Schreiber Rheinheimer

courtesy of Vanessa Baumann

Vanessa Baumann and Trevor.

just 13. “He never liked to walk; he always wanted to go,” she says. “He used to smile when we were barrel racing.

I’m not kidding — he loved it!”

Today, suffering from arthritis, Trevor has traded in his speed and getup-and-go for retirement at her family’s Baumann Brook Farm, in Prospect.

Vanessa still calls him her love bug.

“He’s a happy pasture pet and hay burner. He makes me laugh daily,” says Vanessa, a respiratory therapist by day and member of the Connecticut Gymkhana Association in her free time.

“For example, when I’m filling water buckets, he loves to steal the hose and spray himself and everyone else.”

For Vanessa, Trevor is that once-ina lifetime horse: “He’ll always be my number one,” she says. “He taught me how to ride and gave me the confidence I needed to be able to ride other horses. I’ll be forever grateful to him.”

The Horse That Loved a Girl It was love at first ride, but with a twist: This time the horse fell for the girl.

Hillary Schreiber Rheinheimer, of Deep River, is an accomplished rider with extensive experience in showing

Hillary Schreiber Rheinheimer and Zorro.

and training. On her long list of accomplishments is competing in the ASPCA Maclay, USET, and USEF Medal Finals — and placing in the top 15. She’s come in first in the CHJA Medal Finals and was reserve champion at the New England Equitation Finals, and in college she was the reserve champion at the IHSA Cacchione Cup Finals and went on to win the International Intercollegiate Show Jumping and Team Dressage competitions. In 2011, she was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame at her alma mater, Hollins University.

In short, she’s been on a lot of horses. But none, she says, ever loved her the way Zorro did.

When a 13-year-old Hillary climbed into the saddle for her first ride with the black Argentinian Thoroughbred, she had no idea she was actually trying out Zorro to be her own.

“I didn’t know it was a test,” she says, “then I heard everyone saying ‘Look, she can ride him’ and that’s how I got him.”

A challenge for some, Zorro would do just about anything Hillary asked of him. “Some horses need to have their

hands held without anyone knowing it,” she says. It’s that sort of empathy that stands her in good stead as the director of the riding program and head equestrian trainer at the Ethel Walker School, in Simsbury.

“Zorro had very special eyes,” Hillary says, “more like human eyes than horse eyes, and they were very expressive. I always knew he gave me everything he could and I appreciated that. He was just one of those horses, and years later, after I hadn’t seen him for a while, he recognized me. I knew he loved me.”

Hillary moved on from Zorro when she was 16, but never lost track of her friend, the once-in-a-lifetime horse that loved her. As a matter of fact, when it was time for him to retire, he was brought back to her childhood home at Flight Way Farm, in Chester.

“It was wonderful that he came home,” says Hillary. “He was happy and fat and looking good, and I’m glad I knew where he ended up.”

Girl Power Abigail Nemec, of Colebrook, director of the equine program at Post University, says she started riding even Connecticut Horse

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Kitty Stalsburg

courtesy of Abigail Nemec

Abigail Nemec and Tara on the Maine 100-mile ride.

before she was born.

What?

Yes, that’s right. Abby was in the saddle in utero, as her mom rode while pregnant, and Abby caught the horse bug earlier than most.

“I thought I liked geldings, but it’s mares for me,” she says.

As a teenager, Abby got Tara, a three-year-old Arabian Standardbred.

“She was the alpha mare and I managed to get her started before she killed anyone, although that wasn’t for lack of trying on her part,” Abby says, laughing. “But once we developed an understanding and we knew that sometimes I got to make the decisions, it was okay.” She was an excellent horse, Abby says. “She always got us out of the woods if we got lost, and she was a great distance horse, but she was definitely opinionated.”

Their bond was so strong that Tara was even a part of Abby’s wedding.

So was this Abby’s horse of a lifetime? Nope — that honor goes to Tara’s daughter Elba, a 14.3-hand, half Welsh Cob/three-eighths Arabian/one-eighth Saddlebred, or, as Abby calls her, “a breed-your-own Morgan.” Elba, named for the island to which Napoleon was exiled, was intended to be a Pony Club project that Abby could sell.

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July/August 2015

Kitty Stalsburg and Sunny.

“Things didn’t go the way I’d planned and this horse never left me,” Abby says. “She was always meant to be mine. She knew every thought in my head.”

Elba was intelligent and knew what she wanted, Abby says. “The day she turned three, she said she was done being lunged and wouldn’t let me do it anymore, so I figured I’d be safer on her back than on the ground, and I got on. As soon as I did, she looked up at me as if to say, ‘What the hell have you been waiting for?’’’

And that was that. “But you had to sit exactly right on her back or she wouldn’t do anything,” Abby says. “She was very particular and insisted that you be correct at all times.”

As time passed, Abby started a family. She still had Elba, and then it was Abby’s daughter, Anna, who caught the riding bug. Eventually Anna “inherited” Elba, and the two went through Pony Club together. When Anna moved up to a more advanced event horse, Abby officially got her girl back.

“In the end we loved each other,” Abby says. “She was suffering some health problems, and one morning I woke up, looked out my bedroom window, and saw she was down. I went to her; she put her head in my lap and fell

sleep — dreaming, with her lips twitching happily, whinnying, her legs paddling. She woke up when the vet arrived and looked up, right into my eyes, then she passed.”

Abby pauses. “I’ve never had another horse have the same effect on me as Elba did,” she says quietly, “and I don’t think I will. Tara was something, and Elba even more. They both just showed up and wouldn’t leave. They were so much the same horse that I feel as if I’ve been riding the identical mare for thirty years.”

A Trio of Equines For Kitty Stalsburg, executive director of High Hopes Therapeutic Riding Center, in Old Lyme, the question was very difficult to answer, so she didn’t.

Not exactly. Instead, she talked about three horses.

“So many horses have made an impact,” she says, “all in different but tremendous ways. They all taught me something and left me with some wonderful memories. It’s just a challenge to pinpoint one.”

But then she remembered there was Sunny, a Vermont-bred Morgan who saw Kitty through her teenage years, and for that she says she’ll be forever grateful.

“There were many days after school when I’d take off into the woods on Sunny and just cry,” she says. “He was always there for me. He got me through those awkward years with unconditional love. He was my best friend growing up and he gave me the gift of someone else to be responsible for. He gave me acceptance and tolerance of who I am.”

Kitty and Sunny competed in hunter/jumper and 4-H shows, and when it was time to leave for Cornell, loyal Sunny went too.

Kitty’s second horse of a lifetime is Geri — High Hopes’ beautiful Lipizzaner — won at a fund-raising auction on Long Island when the mare was just 18 months old. The intention was to use her as a therapy horse, but not before Kitty started her, trained her, and brought her along (offsite), with the help of trainers, readying her to help and heal others.

“Geri is very special to me,” Kitty says, “and has been right from the getgo. I spent five to seven days a week for three years training her to be a therapy horse and it’s remarkable to me that she had such a long and successful career here.” Kitty says it’s been wonderful to watch this gallant white horse (who stared out gray), with her patented even gait and quiet movement, bring mile-wide smiles to so many students.

Recently, after more than two decades of service, Geri was retired from her job, but her story is a circle, as she will now return home to live out her years with Kitty.

“I’m so happy to be getting Geri back,” Kitty says. “She’s a wonderful soul and it’s special to me to be able to spend this time with her.”

The third horse in Kitty’s trio is her daughter’s 15.3-hand Hanoverian/ Thoroughbred cross, Flying High. Kitty “inherited” the chestnut mare with what she calls an “independent spirit.” Now she rides him through fields and on trails whenever she has a free moment.

“I’m still learning about myself as a person and as a rider every time I saddle up,” she says.

“Flying High is a real athlete and we’ve appreciated that part of him for a long time, especially when my daughter was competing with him,” Kitty says.

“Now he’s aged gracefully and is still so much fun to ride and be with. He allows me to enjoy the pure joy of riding and being part of nature.”

Sunny, Geri, Flying High, and the rest: “Every single horse I’ve had has taught me something new, good or bad.

I’m grateful for them all,” Kitty says.

“Every horse is a horse of a lifetime if you let it be. Each is teacher, and each is wonderful.”

Subscribe Today! at connhorse.com

Karena Garrity shares her home with her husband and two sons, as well as an elderly pug, a 16-yearold Manx cat, and a rescue Boston terrier/French bulldog. She volunteers at a therapeutic-riding center and spends her free time with her good friend, a Quarter Horse named Truman.

Connecticut Horse

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Lend a Hoof Haddam Neck

by Karena Garrity

Connecticut Draft Horse Rescue

I

Karena Garrity

t was the late 1800s when the mighty This show of anxiety distracts Moose, the 16-year-old alpha-mare Clydesdale European draft horses, with their rescue who’s trying hard to be good wide, muscular backs, towering and concentrate on her lesson with new height, and the strength of Hercules, trainer Jess Kuwaye, with whom she were imported to America and put to seems to be quite smitten. work in both fields and urban centers.

Moose stands quietly in the bright Today, there’s little need for draft red round pen as Jess (a farrier from horses as vigorous workers. But it’s not nine to five) gently picks up each hoof their formidable capacity for labor that attracted Stacey Golub to these massive beings; it was their big heart and their sweet disposition.

Lured by the gentle temperament of her first draft, Baron, Stacey — an equine vet — has a soft spot for these oversized equines and now jokes that founding the Connecticut Draft Horse Rescue (CDHR) is her second full-time job. “They do say that once you go draft, you never go back,” she says Jess Kuwaye working with Moose. under the gaze of several volunteers with a laugh. who’ve worked with this sometimes dif“Drafts are good natured, calm, ficult horse. “Oh, my goodness,” whisand kind, and they return every bit of pers one onlooker to another. “No one love you give them,” she says. “They’re here has ever been able to do that. Jess great family horses, the gentle giants of is so good for her.” the horse world.”

“It’s about trust and respect,” Jess On a windy day in late spring, it’s says as he moves Moose around the apparent that the volunteers agree with pen. When he begins to introduce the Stacey’s assessment. As they busy themsaddle, Moose seems to bat her long selves with the daily chores, the men eyelashes coyly. As Jess climbs the three and women who dedicate their free steps of the mounting block in the centime to the CDHR are inundated with ter of the pen and drapes himself over noisy nickers and low whinnies.

Moose’s back, one volunteer sheds some tears at the sight, knowing what a WHEN CORA (a Belgian–Quarter long haul it’s been to get Moose to this Horse cross) is separated from Maxine point.

— one of the five feral Clydesdales the A neigh from inside the large rescue took in two years ago, after their brown barn begs for attention. This owner passed away suddenly — Maxine outburst comes from the newest and lets everyone know how she feels: she’s smallest rescue, Hershey, a dashing, vocal in her protest and gallops thundark brown Miniature Horse who was derously up and down the fence line.

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July/August 2015

surrendered by his owner at the most recent annual CDHR gelding clinic fund-raiser. This tiny former stallion has an attitude much stronger than that of his draft herd mates, and likes to make sure everyone knows it. He rears up quickly in his stall to be eye level with visitors as they admire his spirited personality.

From big Moose to little Hershey, Stacey knows that with some training and a lot of love, CDHR’s rescues have a chance for — and a right to — a forever home.

IT ALL STARTED with an 11year-old Shire that she and several other like-minded horse lovers rescued.

Then, once Cleo was in a safe home, Stacey was itching to help more animals. Now her mission is to rescue, rehabilitate, and rehome drafts.

“It was such a wonderful feeling,” says Stacey. “I knew I wanted to keep on doing it. Since Cleo, we’ve been able to rescue fifty others and that doesn’t even count the ones we play matchmaker for that have never actually come to us.”

Early on, in recognition of the fact that Stacey was moving in the right direction, the rescue received enormous aid when the owner of 68 acres called and asked her if she wanted to rent the property.

“The landowner said, ‘Why should I pay someone to mow when I know there are horses you’re rescuing and I have property you could be using?’”

Stacey remembers. This was the spark she needed to follow her passion, and

in 2011 she officially opened the CDHR. On a shoestring budget, which is sustained solely by fund-raisers and donations, the CDHR is an oasis for horses rescued from abuse, starvation, feedlots, slaughter auctions, or owners who can no longer care for them.

LOCATED OFF A back road in the Haddam Neck section of Haddam and marked by overhead power lines, perfect white fences, and leafed-out trees, the CDHR is where Stacey and an army of compassionate volunteers take care of the spiritual and physical needs of their charges.

“This is our special place,” says volunteer Lori Harris. “We all spend as much time with the horses as we can.”

Lori got involved after she attended an open house at the barn. “I don’t have a lot of experience with horses, but I’ve always loved them and that’s why I’m here,” she says.

Lori says she’s very fond of all the rescues and enjoys introducing Gordy the goat, who over the past few months has become quite a Facebook star, as daily posts give followers updates on his health.

This special barn mascot, with his tiny ears and big horns, suffered from bladder stones, which necessitated surgery and a lot of postoperative attention. His plight was chronicled with photographs and news — and now everyone is overjoyed to see this friendly guy back in form, greeting volunteers and enjoying back scratches.

Another one of the rescue’s celebrities is pinto gelding Kaimi Meka Amos, who was born in spring 2012 as thousands of fans watched the live video stream through www.marestare.com. (In fall 2011, the CDHR had brought in Clydesdale mare Annie and soon learned she was pregnant.) This little ball of energy with long spindly legs, a short tail, flashy white and brown markings, and cataracts was nicknamed Kai, Hawaiian for “bravely seeking sight.” Kai has undergone several eye surgeries at Tufts Veterinarian School and still experiences some difficulties, but with all the tender loving care he’s getting, Kai should live a long and happy life.

The CDHR usually has eight to a dozen horses in residency in its two barns. Currently, several are up for adoption and Stacey and her volunteers . . . continued on page 38

Connecticut Horse

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Horseperson Feature

Ellington

by Christine Church

Jordan Raquel Teixeira

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is hauling. You have to be able to sit back, look, turn. The last thing you think about is hanging on. You’re thinking about sitting at the right time, looking at the right time, making sure you don’t hit that barrel.”

home. That’s when I got into gymkhana [events.] The first time I ever competed was on one of my Paso Finos, and we won third place overall.”

Despite that victory, this marked Jordan’s official transition into Quarter Horses. She bought a red roan named

Christine Church

Christine Church

hen people meet Jordan Teixeira, their first question is usually “Are you a model?”

Tall, slender, and with long silky blond locks, this young woman appears almost fragile. But as the saying goes, looks can be deceiving. There’s much more to

Jordan Teixeira and Jaycee at the $hodeo in Brooklyn.

Jordan than her beauty.

This 21-year-old, a sales representative for an inventory management company, also boasts superb riding skills — a talented barrel racer and gymkhana champion, she’s fearless in the saddle.

Jordan’s diversity in equestrian pursuits began with a merry-go-round of horses (from Paso Finos to Quarter Horses) and now encompasses a variety of disciplines (from trail and western pleasure to gymkhana and barrels).

“I like to go fast,” Jordan says, in the family’s barn in Ellington.

As she races around barrels, she and the sport are a good fit.

Jordan loves the thrill, the excitement. “Oh, my goodness,” she says.

“Every time before a show, your heart is pounding. You just want to go. I mean” — she claps her hands — “you feel like you’re flying. It’s awesome! Your horse 14

July/August 2015

Brooke Dougan and Jordan Teixeira.

In the Beginning As a child, Jordan first rode Victoria, her mother’s Paso Fino. She then spent years on the back of one Paso Fino or another as they rode the trails.

Eventually, though, says Jordan, “there had to be something more. Everyone wants to try something new. People who show a lot always say they want to trailride; people who trail-ride want to show.

The grass is always greener on the other side. I grew up doing a lot of trail, then I wanted something different.”

She decided to show in western pleasure: “That’s what I knew,” she says, “so I started out with that. But I like to go fast. Even when we used to trail-ride, we’d race down the field.

“The western pleasure shows were fun,” says Jordan, “but there’s a lot of waiting and you get in the ring and you just walk, jog, and lope. I can do that at

Romeo, but a wrench was tossed in the works: Romeo was suited to trail riding and had little to offer in the gymkhana pen. Jordan was back in the market for the perfect horse.

This time she bought Tessa. The mare had severe navicular disease, though, and thus wasn’t fit for the show ring. Frustration set in.

Then, through videos and friends, Jordan was drawn to reining — she loved the excitement. “It’s fast, too,” she says. “You’re doing spins and stops, you’re rolling back, and it all looked so cool.”

She sold Tessa and went on the search for a good reining prospect.

That’s when she found Royal, whom she still owns and shows. She studied reining for a season, but more setbacks arose. Royal acted up every time they entered the ring. He would refuse the

pen, rear, and balk, and Jordan knew his heart simply wasn’t in it. “I’d already spent a hundred and something dollars on one class,” she says, sounding disheartened as she remembers. “I’d been there for four or five hours and I couldn’t show him.”

At that point, Jordan came close to giving up. “I thought, clearly there’s something going on with him if he doesn’t like to show,” she says. “I had to deal with that, so we started trail riding.” They did that for the entire following year. “Royal was calming down, being really good,” Jordan says, “and I wanted to try gymkhana with him.”

During this time, she began the search for a good reining-horse farrier.

Enter Brooke Dougan. As a graduate of farrier school and with several years in equine science, Brooke was able to help Jordan find a farrier. The two women hit it off immediately, and would become best friends and partners in all things horse. “How would you like to go riding sometime?” was the question that began it all for the pair.

Their first event together was at a Tri-State Horsemen’s Association event, in Oneco, where Jordan and Royal took home champion in Open Gymkhana. “I did the first show with him; he was awesome,” says Jordan. “Went right in the pen. Excellent!” Her excitement at their win renewed her spirit. Then another monkey wrench . . .

“We did our second event and he was acting up,” says Jordan, “but we did it.” Her words start to tumble out: “We did a third event. He was rearing, freaked out, wouldn’t go in the pen, and as a rider you get very frustrated.

You can’t take it out on him because it’s not his fault. There’s obviously some kind of reason.”

And so Jordan went back to western pleasure part time, using Royal as her mount. “He loves to go slow,” she says, “loves it.”

Jordan and Brooke showed in local fairs doing western pleasure, but nothing thrilled Jordan like the fast pace of gymkhana and barrels.

Enter Jaycee In spring 2014, with the intent of continuing in western pleasure and equitation, Jordan purchased a gray Quarter Horse mare named Jaycee. “I wanted another western pleasure horse and she was a finished western pleasure horse,” says Jordan. “When I brought her to a show, she took off on me. I asked her to canter and she cantered, but it wasn’t

that slow, collected lope. It was more like ‘Oh, let’s go’ and she took off really fast.”

After working Jaycee at home, Jordan realized Jaycee is more comfortable moving out at the canter than going slowly.

Jordan and Brooke decided to test Jaycee’s pace. They raced her through the farm’s hayfield and found that she loved speed and had outstanding endurance. From there, the friends worked at patterning Jaycee.

Watching the pair is a treat. The buzzer sounds and the timer starts.

Jordan and Jaycee are off, the mare a blur of flowing gray mane and thundering hooves. Dirt billows into the air as the horse races full gallop down the pen, ready for the challenge for which one second can mean the difference between winning and losing. Whether it’s running barrels, pole bending, or dashing through the keyhole event, Jaycee knows her job.

Within the past year Jordan has taken Jaycee to cattle-sorting events, and this gray mare has certainly shown her skills. Jordan and Jaycee are now running the 1D at local events, with their eye on working their way up through the National Barrel Horse Association (NBHA).

“We did our first NBHA event in May,” says Jordan. Jaycee ran in 16.2 seconds, “which brought me home a little money,” she says. The fastest time was 15.3 seconds. “In barrel racing,” Jordan says, “one second is huge. But if she can do that at her first [NBHA] event, just imagine where we could be next year. We’re going to keep doing NBHA and local barrel shows and see where that takes us.”

Editor’s note: At NBHA events, all participants are timed. The fastest time overall wins first place in the first division (1D), then each division’s time starts one second slower. For example, if the fastest time posted is 21 seconds, the second division (2D) starts at 22 seconds. If you have participants posting times of 21, 21.5, 21.6, and 22 seconds, anyone faster than 22 is 1D; 22 or slower is 2D; 23 or slower is 3D; and 24 or slower is 4D. The amount of time between divisions can vary from event to event.

Capturing the special bond between horses and people with environmental fine art portraits.

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SarraAllenPhotography.com

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860.546.6998 BCLargeAnimal.com Connecticut Horse

15

Farm Feature Gales Ferry

by Toni Leland

Mystic Valley Hunt Club

I

horses so much that we’re glad we can share it with people,” she says. As a student leads her horse past her, Sally greets her by name, then nods. “There’s nothing nicer than seeing someone smile when she gets to be around horses,” she says.

Everyone around her is a happy and relaxed horse lover, and there are smiles everywhere you look. Walking

softly and sticks his nose through the grain hole, hoping for either a rub or a treat. And then there’s little Coco Puff, peering through the bars of his stall door. Sally scratches his nose. “Coco Puff is our lesson pony,” she says. “He’s the first horse a new student rides when she’s just beginning.” The pony bobs its head as Sally walks on out into the sunshine.

Toni Leland

Toni Leland

magine riding your horse in a beautiful setting on 172 acres in southeastern Connecticut. Better still, imagine taking lessons from the Connecticut Hunter and Jumper Association’s 2014 High Point Hunter Trainer, Sally Hinkle Russell. These dreams can come true at Mystic Valley Hunt Club in Gales Ferry, the training facility Sally owns.

A competitor at a Mystic Valley Hunt Club event.

On Mother’s Day in 1983, Sally found this perfect spot and set about building the riding school and training barn of her own dreams. Bordered by hundreds of acres of farmland and 16 square miles of watershed land, Mystic Valley Hunt Club presents a lovely and secluded getaway. And what better place to immerse yourself in your passion for horses?

Mystic Valley boasts three barns with tack rooms and storage, two indoor arenas, six outdoor sand rings, and a cross-country course. Six trainers/ instructors are at the facility every day, and a maintenance crew of four keeps the place clean and in good repair. The general manager (and a coach), Richard G. Luckhardt, runs the operation so Sally can focus on the riders and horses.

Sally’s smile brightens as she conducts a tour of her facility. “We just love 16

July/August 2015

Sally Hinkle Russell and Donut.

through an aisle of the main barn, Sally introduces one of her own horses.

Donut, a gorgeous seven-year-old Dutch Warmblood, immediately offers his nose for a scratch.

On either side of the 180-foot aisle is where boarders are in 12' x 12' stalls, with fans to keep the air cool and fresh.

Halfway down is an entry to the main indoor arena. Skylights provide plenty of illumination for this 80' x 180' showand work space. A comfortable enclosed viewing area is at one end, as well as access to the office.

A second aisle parallels the shorter end of the arena, and this is where 22 school horses live, in their own large stalls with great views of the activities constantly going on around them. The school horses are all sizes and types, so there’s one suitable for just about any rider. Sinatra, a strapping red and white paint gelding with blue eyes, nickers

Every school horse is for sale.

“Every school horse deserves to have its own person,” Sally says. “That’s how I feel about it.”

Approaching another large building, Sally calls out “Door!” Safety in a horse facility is paramount and this simple precaution can prevent startling a horse or a rider.

This smaller indoor arena, 70' x 140', has the same illuminating skylights and deep soft footing. The space is good for turning out young horses for exercise in the winter, and in the summer it’s a much cooler place to work. A secretary’s stand is outside this arena, but plans are under way to build an indoor secretary stand and heated lounge.

Viewed from a gazebo on the central knoll, a large ring to the left can accommodate either dressage or jumping. There’s a gazebo at both the end

Toni Leland

and on the side to accommodate the judging for any discipline. A practice ring sits off to the left of the show ring.

Looking to the right, Sally points out another ring used for both jumping and dressage. Beyond that are the main hunter ring and the Grand Prix ring, with a portable judging stand and a large practice ring close by. Bleachers and picnic tables abound for the convenience and enjoyment of spectators.

“We don’t charge admission,” says Sally, “and we always have food vendors. We want people to come and enjoy the horses.”

The sounds of animated voices and laughter drift from the barn. Birds

chirp and a breeze ruffles the leaves of the many trees on the property. What a place to ride!

Sally didn’t get her first horse until she was 12, but her mother had horses, so Sally grew up around them. She learned to ride early and had an affinity for jumping, which became her passion. At Mystic Valley, although her focus is on teaching, she still finds time for herself. “I ride two horses five days a week,” Sally says. “Every day I ride is a pleasure; it’s a good life.”

Passing the last outdoor ring, the view opens up and a series of interesting jumps dot the lush green grass. The cross-country course covers three fields and is visible from almost any point at the center of the area. Sally says it’s great fun to set up the course for the upcoming USEA/USEF Horse Trials.

Mystic Valley sponsors a number of events throughout the season: Medal

and Derby Day on July 1; the United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) Stirrup Cup Finals on August 2; and schooling shows with Marshall & Sterling Hunter Classics and Equitation Medals on July 12, September 13, and November 15. For dressage enthusiasts, there was already a USDF/USEF-rated dressage show and a second one will be held October 10 and 11. Over the past 13 years, Mystic Valley’s Summer Festival Show has donated more than $85,000 to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at L&M Hospital, in New London.

Not only does Mystic Valley teach, train, and help riders show, but the facility is also home to three teams: that of the Connecticut College Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA), the Southeastern Connecticut Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA) team, and the United States Coast Guard Academy IHSA team. The Coast Guard, says Sally, “was the only military academy without a riding program, but, well, it is the Coast Guard.”

The team formed three years ago and, under the guidance of Richard Luckhardt, regularly competes in IHSA events in any of eight equitation divisions, from Walk Trot to Open Equitation Over Fences.

The Connecticut College group, from New London, started in 1995. The 30-member team, also coached by Rich, competes throughout the year in IHSA shows, against varsity and club teams across the state.

Both IHSA teams are open to students at all levels and from all disciplines.

Members of the IEA group, which is for riders in grades six through 12 — from any school, small barn, or private farm — take part in individual and team competition whether or not they own a horse. Seventeen riders recently qualified for the 2015 IEA Regionals.

The Southeastern Connecticut IEA team has been at Mystic Valley for seven years, and riders annually show as many as five times.

The weekly Summer Horse Day Camp, designed for kids ages seven to 16, teaches the fundamentals of horse care and the basics of English riding.

Mystic Valley offers both regular camp and an advanced camp for those who can walk, trot, canter, and jump small courses.

Another great activity is a pony party. Kids ages three to 16 gather in the indoor arena or outdoors and enjoy

horses to fit any level of riding (no experience required). What a memorable way to celebrate a special event!

Sally teaches the whole horse experience, not just climbing into a saddle and riding in a circle. She believes individuals will be more comfortable on a horse if they learn to be comfortable around horses. A required part of the lesson program is learning to brush a horse, pick out hooves, lead the horse, and put on its saddle and bridle. Care of equipment, too, is part of the program.

Heading back toward the office, Sally talks about the unique sign at the entrance to her farm. Once upon a time, she says, on a trip to New Orleans, she came across a small, carved carousel horse in an antique shop. She knew immediately that the creature had to come home with her. Back in Connecticut, a friend mentioned that the horse needed the proper carousel coloring. He took the prancing steed and a few weeks later the intricately painted horse found its place atop the Mystic Valley Hunt Club sign on Gales Ferry Road.

Beautiful, fanciful, mystical — just like this wonderful place.

Toni Leland has written nine equestrian mysteries, a young-adult novel, two books on gardening, and a photographic history, and her articles have appeared in Grit, Over the Back Fence/Ohio, Country Living, Connecticut Lifestyles, Pathfinders, Sound and Country, Connecticut Family, and The Day (New London). She is the owner of Equine Graphics Publishing Group and SmallHorse Press.

Subscribe Today! at connhorse.com

Connecticut Horse

17

Dr. Aimee’s Advice

Cushing’s Disease: A New Test © Fred Froese

by Aimee M. Eggleston, DVM

T

oo often, when a client asked me to answer this seemingly simple question, Does my horse have Cushing’s disease? the answer was I don’t know.

Until recently, diagnosing equine pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID), commonly known as Cushing’s disease, was difficult. The blood test available to equine veterinarians was unreliable; not all horses afflicted with the disease were identified. Thus, those horses went untreated, left to suffer its increasingly debilitating effects as their owners and veterinarians proceeded in the dark.

In 2011, the Equine Endocrinology Group (EEG), comprising leading veterinarians and researchers, developed a better diagnostic tool: the ThyrotropinReleasing Hormone (TRH) Stimulation Test. In 2013, the EEG released its findings and recommendations, which focus on this test as central to determining whether a horse has Cushing’s disease.

The TRH Stimulation Test is exciting for horse owners. There’s now a reliable way to diagnose this devastating disease, and — equally important —

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July/August 2015

one that can detect its presence early.

Previous blood tests sometimes either produced “false-negative” results, meaning that a horse with Cushing’s disease was reported as “normal,” or didn’t identify a horse as positive until it was

A horse in the early or moderate stages of Cushing’s disease may exhibit no or only subtle signs. The wooly hair coat, for example, is one of the typical markers of the disease, but it is not present in all horses with it. in a more advanced stage. As Cushing’s disease is progressive, early diagnosis is imperative; early treatment helps mitigate its myriad effects and can even help prevent some of its worst consequences.

The disease is caused by enlargement of the middle section of the pituitary gland, which is located at the base of the brain. This portion of the gland regulates several circulating hormones that affect a variety of organ systems.

Cushing’s disease increases adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), which then increases the circulating hormone cortisol, which is a steroid.

The TRH Stimulation test is performed in two parts: first, a baseline blood sample is pulled, after which TRH is injected intravenously. Ten minutes later, a second blood sample is collected. Both samples are then submitted to the laboratory to determine their ACTH levels. If a horse is afflicted with Cushing’s disease, the second sample (the one taken after the injection of TRH) will show a markedly elevated amount of ACTH. Parameters for normal response in horses have been established by the EGG between December and June, so the test is most appropriately performed during those seven months.

It is important to determine the presence of Cushing’s disease early, but horse owners and veterinarians can’t

rely on clinical signs alone for diagnosis, or even to identify suspect horses: A horse in the early or moderate stages of the disease may exhibit no or only subtle signs. The wooly hair coat, for example, is one of the typical markers of the disease, but it is not present in all horses with it. This is why the TRH Stimulation Test is a significant step forward.

Cushing’s disease generally affects older animals, so if you have a senior horse (age 16+) — with or without symptoms — talk with your veterinarian about this important new test.

To learn more about the clinical signs, visit http://sites.tufts.edu/ equineendogroup/files/2013/11/ EEG-recommendations_-downloadablefinal.pdf.

Equine veterinarian Aimee Eggleston, and her husband own Eggleston Equine, a veterinary practice serving Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Dr. Aimee is on the board of directors of the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Association and in her spare time enjoys training for various running races. This year she plans to attempt a triathlon.

What is your horse trying to tell you?

Are you ready to let your horse take you to a deeper level of connection?

Tuning in to your companion, you’ll be shown a world nothing short of miraculous.

Find out more at:

mindful-connections.com Nicole Birkholzer offers coaching and lectures on mindfully connecting.

Dawn Bonin Horsemanship Natural Horsemanship

Lessons . Training . Boarding . Sales/Leases Two Outdoor Rings . Indoor Arena Miles of Trails . Versatility Course

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Eggleston Equine is an equine-only, ambulatory veterinary practice offering complete equine veterinary medical care and emergency service, with a particular interest in lameness and pre-purchase examinations.

Coventry, Connecticut 860-742-2667 (barn) . 860-985-7611 (cell)

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(860) 942-3365 . dr@egglestonequine.com

www.egglestonequine.com Connecticut Horse

19

Nutmeg State Happenings Ox Ridge Hunt Club Charity Show Grand Prix

Reflections

Fairfield County

The June 13 $25,000 Ox Ridge Grand Prix was contested by an international field of 35 riders.

Four of them achieved clear rounds and returned for the jump-off. In the end, local talent prevailed and it was Greenwich-based Sydney Shulman, 19, and her 12-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare, Wamira, who took home the prize money and the Michael S. Griffin Memorial Trophy. Amanda Starbuck, of Starbuck Equestrian in Ridgefield, was second and Stephanie Galluci, who rides with the Shulman’s Back Country Farm in Greenwich, was

third. (Stephanie won the $5,000 Welcome Stake qualifying class earlier in the week on her 11-yearold Dutch Warmblood gelding, Quidam 13.)

“Wamira is fairly new to me; this is only my second show on her,” says Sydney. “She was in Florida this winter with one of Rodrigo Pessoa’s clients and I’d been watching her because I thought she’d suit me — she’s really fast, her stride is massive, and she doesn’t take much time in the air. In the jump-off, I was actually holding her back — I could’ve gone twice as fast! She knows her job,

so I try to stay out of her way and just put her in the right spots.”

The beneficiary of this event was Pegasus Therapeutic Riding, an equine-assisted activities and therapies program for children and adults with physical, cognitive, and emotional disabilities, which our Ox Ridge Hunt Club facility hosts year-round.

Left to right: Ox Ridge general manager Alan Griffin in the Grand Prix with Orient D’Elle, Sydney Shulman riding Wamira, and Ailish Cunniffe on Betty Boop III.

Kyle Van Splinter Clinic

Susan Fino

New Haven County

An Introductory Natural Horsemanship Clinic took place at Halcyon Hill Farm, in Oxford, on Sunday, June 14. The guest instructor and trainer was Kyle Van Splinter, from North Salem, New York. Halcyon Hill’s owner, Marc Deslauriers, with Tammy Ljungquist, hosted the event; Donna Collins and Cheri Cancelli, of Comet Oak Farm, Southbury, sponsored and organized the clinic.

Kyle’s style with six-year-old Snowie’s Gift, a.k.a. GiGi, was relaxed and almost playful. During

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July/August 2015

the morning session, she focused on engaging the five zones of a horse’s body and explained how to work on each to help your horse achieve flexibility, cooperation, and trust. She also demonstrated the application of pressure in gradual stages, followed by examples of release and reward. The value of these lessons was evident as Kyle worked with GiGi on several ground exercises (such as side passing) and obstacles (tarp crossing and barrel jumping, for example).

After lunch, ten participants and their equine partners joined Kyle in the ring to try their hand at the techniques reviewed in the morning session. As each student received one-on-one attention from Kyle, a newfound appreciation and understanding between horse and handler became noticeable.

All of those involved in the clinic — participants and auditors alike — say they’re now better horsemen and -women, and that their horses will be happier, more willing companions.

Ray of Light Farm Open Schooling Show Middlesex County

AUCTIONS

te! a d e Sunday August 23, 10 A.M. e th v a S Summer Wrap-up Auction SHOWS

WNEPHA Show Featuring camp-friendly beginner classes!

Karena Garrity

July 12 Part of the WNEPHA Series with year-end awards.

New England Stock Horse Show Eastern Connecticut Draft Horse Association Plow Match

August 30 . September 20 Five individually judged classes for western horses and riders in four divisions: Green, Novice/Youth, No-Pro, and Open.

Day-end and series-end awards!

Tolland County

Clinics & WNEPHA Dressage Shows

Karen Morang Photography

To see dates and details, visit www.farmheritage.com.

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

Nice Horses for Nice People.

To see more Nutmeg State Happenings, find us on Facebook.

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

21

Klaus Birkholzer

Mindful Connections with Nicole Birkholzer

Okie and Cutter playing with a branch.

The Beauty of Now ong before Oprah loved and promoted Eckhart Tolle and his modern-day bible, The Power of Now, our horses have been showing us quietly that now is definitely the place to be. Unlike their humans, they don’t miss, regret, and wonder about what was. Nor do they hope and wish and plan for what is to be. They live now.

For years I tried to become a better horsewoman by accumulating knowledge. I reasoned that the more I knew about horses and training methods, the more likely it would be for a horse to finally find and connect with me. Well, I was wrong. The horse never came to find me, because he lives in the present and I was too busy trying to manage our future. Finally, in the summer of 2010, my late horse Okie showed me that it was time to change my perspective.

I bought Okie as a six-year-old Appendix Quarter Horse. Although I owned several other horses, Okie was my main squeeze. During many years of companionship, we bonded over my shortcomings, his colic episodes, and our shared concern for the rest of our herd.

We grew tight, but I still felt a gap.

Throughout our time together, I searched for the “thing” that would bring Okie closer to me. Unfortunately, that day never came. Okie passed away

L

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July/August 2015

unexpectedly in February 2011.

Then, eight months after Okie died, I had a revelation. I was driving down a country road, reminiscing about him. As much gratitude as I felt for our other horses and all they had taught me since Okie died, I missed

Unlike their humans, horses don’t miss, regret, and wonder about what was.

Nor do they hope and wish and plan for what is to be.

They live now. him terribly. I kept wondering how our relationship would have improved with what I’ve learned since his death. In the midst of this pondering, Okie’s image popped into my head. With his sudden presence came the following words: “Don’t ask what you can do for me to come to you. Ask what you can do to come to me.”

I immediately pulled over the truck to write down those words. Over the next few months, I often revisited them, carefully considering the question “What do I need to change about what I’m doing to come closer to my horses?”

First, when I was in their presence,

I would need to let go of any thoughts that held me anywhere but here. I needed to look at reality as it presented itself in that moment and base my decisions and actions on the horse standing in front of me.

If I want to be with the horse, I have to meet him in the now. Today, I approach every horse grounded in this message. I focus my attention and intention toward where the horse is, which immediately connects us. From that place, I see the world through his eyes and interpret his behavior from his view of the world. Informed by that point of connection, I can support and guide my horse as needed.

Let’s look at some examples.

Scenario 1 Challenge: My mare is always nervous at a particular spot on the trail.

Common Solution: I can either push her through it and make her “get over it” or, another favorite, circle her and “make the wrong thing hard” in hopes she’ll realize that going straight is easy and what I want.

With either option, we ignore the now our horse is experiencing, and both of us get frustrated. We force when we ought to feel. We whip when we ought to yield. We struggle when we ought to partner.

A Mindful Solution: I get off the horse, pet her, and say, “This spot triggers some fear in you, doesn’t it?” and then walk beside her past the scary spot. As we’re walking, I observe her behavior and consider her reasons for being fearful. I recognize this as a perfect opportunity to gather more information about my horse. Once she’s calm again, I mount and continue on my way.

When choosing the mindful solution, your horse will sigh deeply and appreciate that you cared. Chances are, if you follow through with this a few more times, she will walk right by that former scary spot without the need for you to dismount.

Scenario 2 Challenge: Following Okie’s death, Cutter, our Palomino Quarter Horse, became the new herd leader. A few weeks into the loss, I helped out a friend and boarded her horse for a couple of months. At night I stabled the new horse in Okie’s former stall, and during the day the horse was in a separate pasture.

Daytime hours at our farm soon became horror hours. Cutter would . . . continued on page 38

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Connecticut Horse

23

Trail Guide

Eastford

Natchaug State Forest

by xx Stearns

by Stacey Stearns

T

he 12,500 acres of Eastford’s Natchaug State Forest, on a portion of what were the hunting grounds of the Wabbaquasset Indians, are crisscrossed by abandoned stone walls and babbling brooks.

The name Natchaug means “land between the rivers”; the preserve is situated near where the Bigelow and Still Rivers merge into the Natchaug River.

Near the headquarters is a picnic area and campsite, a favorite spot for hikers. Now called General Lyons Park, it features a large stone fireplace and chimney, the only relics from the birthplace of Nathaniel Lyons, the first Union general killed during the Civil War. Some of the equestrian trails pass through pretty General Lyons Park.

To get started, download trail maps from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) website (www.ct.gov/deep/natchaug) or pick one up at the headquarters, on Kingsbury Road.

Stacey Stearns

common area. The fire road was resurfaced, two gates were installed, and there are now five pull-through campsites to accommodate the larger rigs

Logistics Campsites are available on a first-come, first-served basis. A few of the sites are small, just big enough for a tent. The five sites that enjoy the pull-through feature — 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 — are accessed via the fire road along the back of the camp. (Check their availability before you visit, as there’s no outlet from that road.) When you arrive at your campsite, open the gate, pull your rig onto the fire road, and then close the gate behind you.

Pack bug spray for both horses and humans. Please carry out your trash and clean up the manure; you can spread it in any of the wooded areas at camp.

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July/August 2015

Stacey Stearns

Lost Silver Mine Horse Camp As you ride down Kingsbury Road, check out the Lost Silver Mine Horse Camp, which is on the left. Thanks to the efforts of the Connecticut Horse Council (CHC), over the last eight years this equestrians-only camp has undergone extensive improvements. The CHC received a $50,000 grant from the Department of Transportation’s Recreational Trail Program and the money was allocated through DEEP. Members of the CHC Volunteer Horse Patrol have donated more than 900 hours to this project.

After the removal of trees and brush, there’s an open, airy ambience.

“We enlarged the campsites and brought in fill,” says Diane Ciano, project coordinator. “There are twenty-four picnic tables at campsites and in the

in the common area, but there are hitching posts just outside it.

The CHC also permanently marked three loops: the 5-, 10-, and 15-mile trails have yellow diamonds, courtesy of Jean Morrison. Jean mapped and marked them and added 31 road signs so that riders will know their position when they come out on a main road and also for emergency identification.

“The improvements made by the CHC are a rewarding accomplishment,” Diane says. Despite its name, she says, “the result is that this fortyplus-year-old camp isn’t lost. Perhaps future work here can find the silver mine and create a multiuse trail to it.”

that didn’t have access. There’s a new information kiosk [pick up maps for horse trails here], a mounting ramp, and two hitching posts, as well as two solar toilets.”

Some of the 28 campsites have fire pits and the common area has a water pump for horses, but the water isn’t potable; be sure to bring drinking water for humans. Note: Horses aren’t allowed

Hitting the Trails Natchaug boasts a myriad of options. If you’d like to explore, there are countless trails, although most are unmarked.

Trail footing is rocky and there are gravel and logging roads, so shoes or hoof boots are a very good idea.

Although there aren’t any extreme elevation changes, the forest is hilly.

Several of the trails from Lost Silver

Hikers, families with dogs, and cyclists share this state forest, but the abundance of trails and the equestrian friendliness make scenic Natchaug a particularly welcoming destination for riders.

Happy trails!

This Olde Horse New Haven

International File Service

Mine Horse Camp are closed loops, meaning riders don’t have to backtrack.

I did the 10-mile loop, following the map clockwise. As you ride, you’ll see a scattering of wells and cellars holes.

There are lots of birds and other wildlife, too.

If you’d like even more variety or to add mileage, follow the 15-mile trail to connect with those in the adjacent James L. Goodwin State Forest.

Sandy Stavens, of nearby Coventry, competes in endurance and often brings her Arabian geldings to Natchaug for conditioning and pleasure rides. “I love Natchaug,” she says, “as it has a good variety of trails. There are long dirt roads with some great hills where you can move out at a steady rate without having to worry about poor footing. My favorite loop for conditioning starts in Goodwin and goes down the Airline Trail, then into Natchaug for the hills and long dirt roads. It ends up being twenty-one miles.”

Babo Verner, from Trenton, New Jersey, with her horse, Billie Boy. Babo made a $250 bet with schoolmates that she could ride from Trenton to New Haven in five days. This photo was taken on her arrival in New Haven.

Have a photo for This Olde Horse? Email

editor@mahorse.com.

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

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25

Overherd

News in Our Community

student received her or his own copy of Walter Farley’s Little Black, A Pony. After Mary and Pat Trowbridge, owners of this farm expedition, the story’s setting, Trowbridge’s Ltd. in Bridgewater, descriptions, and horse adventures played host to the Horse Tales Literacy would come to life in each child’s mind Project (HTLP), an event that took and imagination! place on two Tuesdays in May. The On May 26, the first-graders were HTLP is an innovative partnership among educators, businesses, volunteers, educational foundations, and staff to promote literacy through the combination of Arabian horses and classic horse literature.

On May 12, a school bus deposited first-graders from Bridgewater, Roxbury, and Washington. It was an ideal day for a spring outing: brilliant sunshine was accompanied by gentle breezes.

Mary and Pat greeted the young visitors, teachers, and assistants and welcomed them all to Trowbridge’s, a place they’ve called home since 1968.

A brief discussion on equine safety led off the event; for many of the children, this would be their first exposure to a working horse farm, so it was important to establish some basic ground rules. The entire group then proceeded to the outdoor riding ring, where Cathy Vecsey, dressed in authentic Native regalia, rode Sanction, her elegant Students read to Spirit of Santa Fe with Sally Feuerberg.

— and willing — 26-year-old Arabian.

Mary described the different gaits as back, each excited to read a page of Cathy demonstrated them, and talked Little Black, A Pony to a few of the to the enthralled crowd about the equine emissaries: La Femme LOA, Arabian horse’s history and conformaKreme Dela Kreme, and the returning tion. diplomat, Spirit of Santa Fe. The chilFrom there it was on to the farm dren took turns reading in front of a tour, led by Mary and Pat and a group horse’s open stall on what couldn’t have of volunteers. The schoolchildren been a more appropriate seating walked through the horse barns and arrangement: hay bales! tractor barns, and oohed and aahed at They then moved on to picnic the impressive trailers that can carry 12 tables covered with crayons, where they horses and equipment to shows all over colored pages of Arabian horses in the country. The tour then took the Native costume. After that, it was time group back to the main barn for a talk for the HTLP signature event: the kids on feeding, grooming, and tack. put their finger-painted handprints on Everyone was invited to brush and pet the ever-so-patient and gentle C.P. Rock one of the day’s ambassador horses, On. This was definitely a crowd favorite!

Spirit of Santa Fe. As a bonus, a farrier There was one final request from happened to be working in the barn, the first-graders: a return appearance of and he answered eager questions about one of the Trowbridge stallions, A trimming and shoeing.

Major Fire, the horse that had enterAfter a full morning of education tained them on day one. Mary obliged and wonder, the children headed back and led Major into the front paddock. to the bus for one more surprise: Every Sally Freuerberg

Horse Tales Literacy Project

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July/August 2015

Once she’d removed his halter and lead rope, it was as if he knew exactly what to do to thrill his admirers, and he proceeded to prance, canter, and gallop the perimeter of the gated enclosure, interspersing a few bucks. As the charmed children lined the paddock fence, they started a rhythmic chant: “Major, Major, Major!” accompanied by cheers and applause.

To cap off the day, everyone — kids, horses, and volunteers — posed for a group photo, the perfect keepsake from the Horse Tales Literacy Project, a program that can spark in children a passion for reading, a love for horses, and the inspiration to succeed.

n Sally Feuerberg

CMHS Blows the Horn for Grace Traditionally, the Connecticut Morgan Horse Show (CMHS) inducts Morgans into its Hall of Fame. This year, the committee voted to change the rules so they could honor a woman who has been part of this great event for more than 25 years.

Whether she’s attired in a black hunt coat or an honored pink coat and top hat, not only has this official helped with the flow of each class in the ring and to ensure the safety of the exhibitors, but she also entertains horse-show enthusiasts with her incredible musical talent.

That’s why on June 5, during the evening performance of the CMHS at Eastern States, in West Springfield, Massachusetts, the CMHS paid homage to its longtime ringmaster, horn blower, and friend: Grace Yaglou.

Even though she’d been involved with horses all her life, it wasn’t until the mid-1980s that Grace accepted her first job as a ringmaster. And that was for the Massachusetts Morgan Horse Show.

Since then, Grace has been an asset at many events, both small and large, from a local one-day show to the eightday Morgan Grand National and World Championship Morgan Horse Show.

She’s stood in center ring through downpours and blustery winds as well as the dog days of summer, when the humid weather can quickly bring on a

© 2015 Howard Schatzberg

violent thunderstorm. All the while, she occasion to celebrate her equine gifts. remedied. The group raised the money never loses her cool — or her sense of for Winslow’s purchase, transportation, High Hopes honored Geri with dignity, humor. and surgery, and now he’s recuperating respect, and best wishes for a wellOnce she “sounds the call,” at the happily at the CDHR’s barn in Haddam earned life of leisure. To learn more beginning of a class, Grace’s watchful Neck. To follow Winslow’s progress, just about the therapeutic-riding program, eye is trained on the exhibitors. She’s in please visit www.highhopestr.org. visit www.ctdrafthorserescue.com. the ring to “serve the show,” she says, n Karena Garrity n Karena Garrity not to “be the show”’ At home on a mountaintop in Winning Big Two Honors for Ray of Light Barre, Massachusetts, Grace and her Beech Brook Farm Equine Rescue, in It was big news for East Haddam’s Ray husband, Ed, have a menagerie of Mystic, is still looking for a new place to of Light Farm: Yankee magazine named horses, donkeys, mules, and dogs, but call home (its lease is up soon), but it it Best Free Animal Attraction in New she’s been breeding England. That’s a Morgans for more than big compliment for 40 years, and was one of the little farm, which the founding members is home to a fine of the Lippitt Morgan menagerie, from torHorse Club. toises to horses and Grace has been givFancy Pants the zoning horn-blowing exhikey. The rescue, bitions and judging which has been takcontests at the Royal ing in animals of all Winter Fair in Toronto shapes and sizes for since 1986. She even years, shares these composed and played amazing creatures music for the Queen of through a variety of England and met Her programs. Tiny Royal Highness.

Trotters, for examOutside the show ple, is for preschool ring, Grace pursues her children, who come The Connecticut Morgan Horse Show inducted Grace Yaglou (with flowers) into the CMHS Hall lifelong interest in the to the farm for a visit of Fame at its annual show. nation’s history. She with the animals, a belongs to the Historical snack, a barn craft, Society of Barre, and spends many long and a story. got some good news recently: the reshours there researching the American In addition, Ray of Light was recogcue received a brand-new Toyota colonies. Perhaps it’s her love of history Tundra truck, compliments of Girard nized on Better Connecticut by the Out that led her to appreciate the Morgan and About Moms, who visited the oasis Toyota of New London, as part of the horse, and to immerse herself in its culcarmaker’s 100 Cars for Good program. as a special for the television program, ture. getting the word to parents looking for The red truck will be used to pull a Her hard work and dedication to a fun, safe, animal-friendly place to trailer to transport horses and donkeys the breed have touched us all, and bring the kids. from unsuitable and unfortunate situastand as a shining example of the This summer the barn is debuting tions to the safety and care of Beech importance of giving back to a commuits Pony Pals program, which will teach Brook. nity that offers so much. the basics of gardening, discuss edible Deborah Finco, president of the It’s because of this dedication to and nonedible plants, demonstrate the rescue, accepted the donation on her job, her passion for horses, and her care of farm animals, and help children behalf of the organization, which was years of service to the Morgan horse with the first steps of horseback riding. founded in 2007 and since then has community that Grace Yaglou was And there’s something for adult helped save and re-home more than 90 horse lovers, too, when Reach Out to inducted into the CMHS Hall of Fame. horses and donkeys. To get involved, Horses presents the Holistic n Suzy Lucine please visit www.beechbrookfarm Horsemanship Foundation .homestead.com.

Retiring an Old Friend n Karena Garrity Certification Course. The trust-based, stress-free training program, led by the In May, High Hopes Therapeutic renowned horsewoman Anna Twinney, Riding Center, in Old Lyme, held a very Getting Winslow Home will show participants how to speak It’s been a long haul for Winslow, the special, bittersweet retirement party for “horse” fluently, avoid dominance trainBelgian yearling who was saved from a Geri, a Lipizzaner mare who was a thering, and create a true partnership with kill buyer by the Connecticut Draft apy horse at the facility for more than their horse.

Horse Rescue. Winslow was sent to auctwo decades. She was loved by volunThe barn provides therapeutic-ridtion because he had umbilical and teers and riders alike, and known for ing classes, animal-assisted therapy, and inguinal hernias that required extenher quality, consistent movement — a an array of riding programs for ablesive, expensive surgery. The CDRH, hallmark of her breed. bodied enthusiasts of every level. It however, believed the big guy deserved Although her retirement will leave a second chance, as he was so young a hole in many hearts and some big . . . continued on page 39 and his medical problems could be hoof prints to fill, the party was a joyful Connecticut Horse

27

Partners addition to the ribbons won by accumulating points at the shows and trail rides.

We believe in giving back, and our fund-raiser show classes have raised money for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, the

Our goal is to foster connections within the horse community throughout the Nutmeg State, and one of the ways we do this is with our Partners Program. Connecticut 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 www.connhorse.com to its website. Interested? Email partners@connhorse.com.

providing affordable instruction, education, and competition for the state’s dressage and event riders and to promoting horse care and safety.

Founded in 1990, we’re a group member organization (GMO) of the United States

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July/August 2015

Nicole Souza and six-year-old buckskin Quarter Horse Diaman H Anteup Rose at a Connecticut Color Breed Association show.

Stacey Ryan

The CCBA was established in 2011 to promote color breeds in a warm, low-key environment for riders of all levels to compete in a variety of events. In the beginning, the club had just 25 members, hosted five shows, and held a year-end awards banquet. Now we’re more than 100 strong.

Our members show their Paints, pintos, palominos, Appaloosas, buckskins, Friesian crosses, Arabians, Morgans, Saddlebreds, Quarter Horses, Gypsy Vanners, Shires, Clydesdales, Fjords . . . the list goes on.

And we welcome equines that are sometimes excluded from other horse-show classes, such as mules, donkeys, Miniatures, and drafts.

Classes are showmanship, halter, driving, pleasure, equitation, discipline rail, and trail, and there are classes just for color breeds, too. Our judges are knowledgeable and show fees are reasonable.

CCBA’s five shows include a schooling show and a games show. We also hold clinics, a youth day, a trail rider’s mileage program, and a dressage program. At the year-end awards banquet, everyone gets a prize valued at the cost of the membership ($25) in

In A Flash Photography

Connecticut Color Breed Association

A rider at the Connecticut Dressage and Combined Training Association’s Spring Dressage Symposium, at Standing Stone Farm, Ledyard.

American Cancer Society, the American Red Cross, Vested Interest in K9s, Veterans Equine Assisted Therapy, and the ASPCA. For more information, visit www.connecticutcolor breed.com, check us out on Facebook, or email me, at ctcolorbreed@yahoo.com.

7 Nicole Souza

Connecticut Dressage and Combined Training Association The CDCTA is a volunteerrun nonprofit committed to

Dressage Federation (USDF) and the only United States Eventing Association (USEA) affiliate in Connecticut.

Our clinics and schooling dressage and combined test shows adhere to the rules of the USDF and the USEA. The schooling shows prepare members to compete at recognized dressage events and USEA-sanctioned trials. On our calendar are three schoolings shows, a recognized dressage show, a dressage symposium, and a dressage ride-critique-ride.

In February, the CDCTA’s Centered Riding Unmounted Clinic, with Deb Moynihan at Irish Acres Farm, Bolton, drew a sell-out crowd. The topic of the Spring Dressage Symposium, at Standing Stone Farm, Ledyard, was Maximizing Scores in the 2015 Dressage Tests, with guest speaker Sarah Geikie.

Upcoming Schooling Dressage and Combined Test Shows are on July 19, at the Mystic Valley Hunt Club in Gales Ferry; and October 3, at the Woodstock Fairgrounds. Our Annual Recognized Dressage Show is on the following day, also at the Woodstock Fairgrounds.

The next ride-critiqueride is with Claudia Tarlov — a USDF silver medalist, FEI trainer and competitor, and USDF “L” with distinction judge — on August 2 at Summit Dressage in Coventry, Rhode Island.

We encourage members to participate in the running and organizing of our events.

Plans for the 2016 season are already in the works. In addition to the regular events, there’s talk of holding a horse trial. New members are always welcome, as are suggestions for activities.

The club meets every third Tuesday of the month, and sends out an e-newsletter to keep all members informed.

To find out about upcoming events and how to join our organization, please visit www.cdctaonline.com.

7 Donna Legere and Linda Lambert

Connecticut Dressage Association The Connecticut Dressage Association was formed more than 30 years ago by a group of people interested in working together to promote and enjoy dressage.

The CDA is a Group

Sharon Knies, at sknies@ windhorseinternational.com.

7 Sharon Knies

Connecticut Morgan Horse Association The Connecticut Morgan Horse Association (CMHA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the Morgan breed, preserving its history, marketing its versatil-

M. Chris Aquilio

our winners and all members at an annual banquet.

All the above programs are open to our youth members (those under the age of 21). In addition, we support a group that in August attends Dressage4Kids’ Lendon Gray Youth Dressage Festival. This show follows a unique format of a dressage test, a written test, and an

The Ann Guptil Clinic sponsored by the Connecticut Dressage Association.

© Terry Young

Member Organization (GMO) of the United States Dressage Federation (USDF). Although we’re autonomous, we pay dues to the USDF for each of our members. For that, we (our members) receive specific benefits from the USDF, including the excellent publication The Connection.

With the goal of promoting dressage in the Northeast by way of education and opportunity, the CDA hosts various events throughout the year, among them clinics with dressage professionals and schooling shows for riders (including event riders) of all ages and levels.

Schooling shows are particularly rider- and horsefriendly, so they’re a wonderful opportunity to test your level of expertise while receiving feedback from a dressage judge.

Similarly, we run our clinics so that riders of all levels and ages enjoy instruction and education that enhance what a rider is already receiving from her own instructor.

On July 11 we’re hosting a long-lining clinic, with Karen Sergey, at Our Town Farm in Goshen. The next CDA-sponsored schooling show is July 18 at Carbery Fields Farm, Lebanon. After that, schooling shows will be on August 1, at Weatogue Stables in Salisbury; on September 6, at R Folly Farm in Morris; on September 13, at Sperry View Farm in Bethany; and on September 17, at Grand View Stable in Columbia. To see previous show results or to download a prize list, please visit www.ctdressageassoc.org.

CDA presents year-end awards for both schooling shows and recognized shows, and we also have several special awards — for example, our Vista Vintage Award for older competing horses. We also provide scholarships for youths and amateurs, and the Vista Vintage Educational Scholarship. We celebrate

Connecticut Morgan Horse Association board member Shannon Santoro and her gelding, Sunny Acres Most Wanted.

equitation class. There are optional classes as well: Musical Freestyle, Trail, Prix Caprilli, and Sport Horse Handling. To learn more about this event, visit www.youthdressagefestival.com.

The CDA is run by a volunteer board of directors that meets monthly. We always welcome new members and volunteers, and anyone interested in dressage education. For more information, see our website (www.ctdressageassoc.org) or contact CDA president

ity, and enhancing its profile statewide. The association is committed to appealing to all levels of involvement and all levels of Morgan performance.

The CMHA promotes activities, programs, and events designed for everything Morgan: education, use, and appreciation. In particular, there’s an emphasis on youth involvement. By encouraging social activities and sharing interests, our members form a bond that helps us accomplish our goals.

The programs are wide and varied: the Connecticut Morgan Open Horse Show, the Eileen Hunter Youth Scholarship, the Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet, Year-end Points Awards, Morgan Time Yearend Champions for Pleasure Riding, the Sue Brander Sport Horse Scholarship, the Youth Essay Contest, the Annual Turkey Trot Trail Ride, and a quarterly newsletter.

The annual Connecticut Morgan Open Horse Show (CMOHS) takes place in early June at the Eastern States Exposition Grounds in West Springfield, Massachusetts. There are classes in many divisions, from park saddle to western dressage. The show also offers scholarship jackpot classes for junior exhibitors and prize money for in-hand classes. There’s a therapeutic lead line class, too, and thanks to a grant from the David and Nancy Barros Foundation, money is available to participants to offset the cost of showing.

The sixth annual Turkey Trot will be on Sunday, November 22, at Bluff Point State Park, Groton. This event — open to all breeds — is a benefit for the Sue Brander Sport Horse Scholarship. A drawing will be held, and among the prizes is, of course, a frozen turkey. New England Horse and Trail credit is earned for five or ten miles.

The board of directors meets the first Wednesday of the month at the Eversource Building, in Newington, and all are welcome to attend.

For more information, please visit us at www.ctmorgans.org or email connecticutmorgan@gmail.com.

7 Stacey Stearns

Connecticut Renegades Mounted Shooting Club In 2005, a friendly farrier by the name of Roger Dinsmore started telling his clients and Connecticut Horse

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July/August 2015

For the third year running, the overall win went to Bill Riel, of Mechanicville, New York, and his mount, Whispering Blue. Paige Whitt, of Norfolk, Massachusetts, with Little Steady Peppy, took the overall cowgirl spot. Both riders earned themselves a championship buckle.

The Renegades have a

Jeanne Lewis Images, www.jeannelewisimages.com

nearby West Springfield, Massachusetts; the Four Town Fair, in Somers; and Ski Sundown, New Hartford.

We also made an appearance at East Haddam’s Goodspeed Opera House and participated in a number of parades.

Fast-forward 10 years and the Renegades are going stronger than ever. We’ve

2014 Cowboy Sports Association Northeast Regional Championship Overall Cowgirl Paige Whitt riding Little Steady Peppy.

Ruth Strontzer

riding friends about a new sport making its way to the Northeast. It was called cowboy mounted shooting and he said the best part was that “you get to dress up like cowboys and cowgirls of the old west.” By the end of an informal meeting at a local pizza joint, Roger had several board members, a secretary, a treasurer, and a lot of curious followers. Most of us had never dreamed of handling a six-shooter, let alone two, while on a galloping horse.

Roger promised to take us to events being held in New Hampshire and Delaware and to teach us everything he learned and loved about this new sport.

The first Connecticut event was a training clinic that began with a full gunhandling course and ended with instruction on how to desensitize our horses to the loud gunfire using the special blank ammunition designed for this sport. Some horses took to it as if they’d been doing it forever; others couldn’t get past the idea of wearing ear plugs.

In 2005, the original nine Renegades were holding our first-ever competition, or “match,” in which horses and riders tried their best to navigate the courses, work their single-action revolvers, and, of course, kill those bad balloons! In the second season, the club tripled in size. Soon, the Renegades were in full swing, annually hosting multiple matches and traveling to compete with our neighbors to the north, in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.

The club hosted the Northeast Regional several times: two were three-day events at the Three County Fairgrounds (Northampton, Massachusetts), and one was at Falls Creek Farm, in Oneco. The club also gained exposure with demonstrations at Equine Affaire, in

Bud Dore, area vice president of the Connecticut Trail Rides Association, follows club members at Litchfield’s White Memorial Preserve.

offered dozens of clinics and demonstrations and by the end of the year will have hosted more than 75 matches. Most recently, we held the third annual Cowboy Sports Association Northeast Regional Championship, at the Round Tuit Ranch in Enfield. Fortytwo riders came not just from Connecticut, but also from New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont.

full year planned: several more matches are coming up, among them a cohosted event that will be the very first Cowboy Mounted Shooting match in the state of Vermont and a fun backto-back event weekend in Maine. We’ll also be putting on a demonstration for the Eastern States Exposition 4H Horse Program at the Big E (West Springfield) in September.

For more information

about the Renegades and the sport of cowboy mounted shooting, please visit www.ctrenegades.com.

7 Joan Davis and Allison Forsyth

Connecticut Trail Rides Association The Connecticut Trail Rides Association was established in 1940 at Camp Wilcox, in Cornwall, to encourage and promote the sport of trail riding. The first recorded annual meeting, with 20 members in attendance, was held in 1946 at the West Hartford Country Club. The Bridle Trails Committee came out of that meeting.

Camp Wilcox was leased at the time and had two tents: one for women and one for men. Water had to be hand-carried in and horses were tied up in the open. The kitchen was outside as well. In 1951 it cost 25 cents for any 24-hour use of the facilities; dues were just a dollar.

In 1961, the organization bought West Goshen Camp (now Camp Boardman) for the sum of $350. In that year it was decided to put in barns, a pole-type pavilion, and toilets. Roads and buildings were not completed until around 1963.

This year, on May 30, area vice president Bud Dore hosted a trail ride to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. After breakfast, it was a two-and-a-half hour ride to the lookout tower in the Mohawk State Forest, in Charlemont, Massachusetts.

Afterward, Bud fired up the grill and treated everyone to a delicious lunch.

Congratulations to all: You raised more than $450!

CTRA’s annual barbecue and auction will begin at 11 A.M. on Sunday, August 9, at Camp Boardman. If you’d like to donate tools, books, toys, horse-related items, or household goods for the auction, drop them off Saturday,

The MBLA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and protection of our region’s bridle trails. Members upgrade and maintain existing trail systems and work to acquire and expand our riding territory for generations to come.

We’d like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the many generous landowners who grant us the privilege of riding on their property.

Without their support, many of our trails would be lost.

Since the turn of the 19th century, horseback riding has evolved from necessity to recreation. With roots going back to even before the Middle Ages, foxhunting is now an exciting crosscountry sport.

In 1945, a group of dedicated riders who loved the unspoiled countryside of their town established the Middlebury Hunt. The MBLA was officially incorporated in 1996 after the closure of the Middlebury Hunt, which had maintained the same trails since 1945.

Every fall, the Middlebury

Newtown Bridle Lands Association The NBLA, established in 1978, is a nonprofit volunteer organization whose goal is to foster an interest in horseback riding and to preserve, protect, and maintain equestrian and passive-recreation trails unique to the rural character of the town.

By working with developers

under discussion are health issues, land use, conservation, and pasture and farm management. There are also demonstrations, such as on riding and on training. In addition, the NBLA hosts membership social rides and the annual Frost on the Pumpkin Hunter Pace (this year, on October 25).

We hope you’ll join us in our mission to preserve open space and protect our crucial trail networks. This can be accomplished only through the support of our members and sponsors. To join the NBLA, visit www.nblact.com, and check us out on Facebook.

7 Leslie Smith

Tanheath Hunt Club Danielle Williams

Middlebury Bridle Land Association

Bridle Land Association continues the hunt tradition by holding a hunter pace, which is a timed trail-riding event over a set course with optional jumps. This year, Larkin’s Farm will host the MBLA Fall Hunter Pace on September 13.

The MBLA welcomes riders of all disciplines to enjoy our country trails and

Rebecca Hathaway works with Misty during the Newtown Bridle Lands Association’s April membership meeting. Using natural horsemanship and clicker training, she demonstrated how to prepare horses for a safe trailerloading experience and pleasurable trail rides.

Melanie Oliveira

August 8, under the pavilion.

Donations must be new or in very good condition. To contribute a dish for the barbecue, call Shirley McClary, at (860) 567-3238; or Sue Reznak, at (757) 416-4575.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, September 5, for the annual Spaghetti Supper.

For details, call Cathy Ives, at (860) 824-0348.

Note: There are two weekends left to hold your camp lot — Labor Day weekend (September 4–7) and the Myron Boardman Memorial Ride weekend (September 25–27.)

The CTRA extends its condolences to member Shirley McClary on the passing of her mother, Jean (Williams) Brucato.

7 Gigi Ouellette

Tanheath Hunt Master Cathy Leinert discusses hunt etiquette.

to join us in our efforts to preserve and protect our equestrian heritage. Every day we lose more and more open space to development — land never to be reclaimed. Your support is vital!

For more information about membership and the Fall Hunter Pace, please visit www.middleburybridle.org.

7 Sally Feuerberg

and landowners, the NBLA has carved new trails, redefined old trails, and created links between two adjoining trails. This partnership enables horses, hikers, and homes to coexist peacefully.

Defining these trails are legal deeded easements, which ensure that riders and hikers enjoy permanent access.

Throughout the year, the NBLA hosts open meetings. Among the topics

May 3 was a gorgeous day for all the riders, auditors, and spectators who came to Lord Creek Farm, in Lyme, for the Tanheath Hunt Club’s Intro to Foxhunting Clinic.

The morning began with a lecture on all aspects of foxhunting, including a brief history and an explanation of drag hunting. We discussed attire for horses and riders, with a show-and-tell of the proper clothing. A major topic was etiquette in the hunt field, with descriptions and examples of the three cardinal sins: passing the master(s), a horse injuring a hound, and not thanking the master(s) after the hunt.

We learned about staff positions — master, huntsman, whipper-in, wheel whips, fieldmasters, and the fox — and how to ensure safety for horses, hounds, and humans. Enthusiastic participants appreciated the question-and-answer period.

Each received a booklet from the Masters of Foxhounds Association; Pony Club members were given kid-friendly booklets.

In the mounted portion, riders practiced the field exercises they would use on a . . . continued on page 39

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Events Connecticut

July 1 MEDAL/HUNTER DERBY DAY, Mystic Valley Hunt Club, Gales Ferry. www.mvhchorse.com.

2 – 5 WHC SHORELINE CLASSIC II, Westbrook. www.westbrookhuntclub.com.

12 DRESSAGE SCHOOLING SHOW, East Windsor. www.rideoakmeadow.com.

12 CHJA SHOW, Stepping Stone Farm, Ridgefield. www.steppingstonefarmct.com.

12 ECDHA DRAFT HORSE SHOW, North Stonington Fairgrounds. www.easternctdrafthorse.com.

3 CSA INDEPENDENCE DAY MOUNTED SHOOTING MATCH, Double Nickel Ranch, Granby. www.ctrenegades.com.

11 KAREN SERGEY LONG-LINING CLINIC, Our Town Farm, Goshen. www.ctdressageonline.org.

3 – 5 CTRA WEEKEND CELEBRATION, Camp Boardman, Goshen. www.cttrailridesassoc.org.

11 – 12 BEGI NORTHEST REGIONAL CLASSICAL CHAMPIONSHIP, High Hopes Therapeutic Riding Center, Old Lyme. www.prehorse.org.

12 RIGA MEADOW HORSE TRIALS, Salisbury. www.rigameadow.com.

4 ANNUAL POKER RIDE, Goshen.

860-307-4391.

11 – 12 NEW ENGLAND PINTO HORSE ASSOCIATION SHOW, Moosup. www.nepinto.com.

13 CHC MEETING, Cheshire Public Library. www.cheshirehorsecouncil.org.

5 CCBA OPEN SHOW, Glastonbury Hunt Club. www.connecticutcolorbreed.com.

11 – 12 PAUL HUMPHREY BARREL-RACING CLINIC, Bethany. www.nbhact01.org.

14 CCBA OPEN SHOW, Glastonbury. www.connecticutcolorbreed.com.

6 CJHA SHOW – MEDALS ONLY, Rabbit HIll Farm, Newtown. www.chja.net.

12 SCHOOLING HUNTER/JUMPER SHOW, Mystic Valley Hunt Club, Gales Ferry. www.mvhchorse.com.

15 CHJA SHOW – MEDALS ONLY, New Canaan. www.newcanaanmountedtroop.org.

7 – 11 WHC SHORELINE CLASSIC III, Westbrook. www.westbrookhuntclub.com.

7 – 17 ROTH HOLISTIC HORSEMANSHIP FOUNDATION CERTIFICATION COURSE, East Haddam. www.rayoflightfarm.org.

9 BARREL RACING, Bethany. www.c-sranches.com.

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12 CAROUSEL FARM OPEN SHOW, Woodstock Fairgrounds. www.carouselhorsefarm.org.

12 UNDERSTANDING THE SENSITIVE HORSE CLINIC, Mystic. www.beechbrookfarm.homestead.com.

12 CHJA-, CHSA-, NEHC-RATED SHOW, South Glastonbury. www.pinesfarm.com.

17 CHJA SHOW – MEDALS ONLY, Darien. www.oxridge.com.

17 – 19 TSHA OPEN SHOW, Falls Creek Farm, Oneco. www.tristatehorsemen.com.

18 SWEETWATER FARM OPEN HORSE SHOW, Clinton.www.sweetwaterct.com.

18 ADVANCED RESILIENCY TRAINING FOR VETERANS, Old Lyme. www.highhopestr.org.

22 SCHOOLING SHOW SERIES, Hebron. www.windcrestfarmct.com.

26 USHJA, CHJA, CHSA OPEN SHOW, Suffield. www.endofhunt.com.

18 CHJA SHOW, Fairfield County Hunt Club, Westport. www.huntclubonline.org.

22 CHJA SHOW - MEDALS ONLY, Ox Ridge Hunt Club, Darien. www.oxridge.com.

26 HUNTER/JUMPER OPEN SHOW, DeCarli Farm, Ellington. www.decarlifarm.com.

18 CVDC MEETING, East Haddam Grange. www.cvdrivingclub.com.

23 3D BARREL RACING, Bethany. www.c-sranches.com.

26 SNEHA OPEN SHOW, Falls Creek Farm, Oneco. www.snehassociation.com.

18 COMBINED TRAINING SERIES, Salem. www.treasurehillfarm.com.

25 SUMMER RATED HORSE SHOW, Hebron. www.wincrestfarmct.com.

27 CJHA SHOW, Rabbit Hill Farm, Newtown. www.rabbithillfarm9.com.

18 CDA DRESSAGE SHOW, Carbery Fields Farm, Lebanon. www.ctdressageassoc.org.

25 MICHAEL ZULCH DISCUSSES MANURE AND HORSE HEALTH, Horses and Hounds, Granby. www.horseandhounds.com.

27 – August 1 YOUNG RIDER CAMP, Bethlehem. www.windhorseinternational.com.

18 CMSA SUMMER SIZZLER MOUNTED SHOOTING MATCH, Old Bethany Airport. www.ctrenegades.com.

25 CVDC SCURRY AND FUN DAY, Mitchell Farm, Salem. www.cvdrivingclub.com.

19 SCHOOLING HUNTER/JUMPER SHOW, Frazier Farm, Woodbury. www.frazierfarmct.com.

25 SUMMER SCHOOLING SHOW, Storrs. www.animalscience.uconn.edu/calendar.php.

19 CGA GYMKHANA, Triangle A Stables, Middlefield. www.ctgymkhana.com.

25 CHJA SHOW, New Canaan. www.newcanaanmountedtroup.org.

19 HUNTER/JUMPER SHOW, Morris. www.foxcrossingequestrian.com.

25 – 26 KENDA LENSEIGNE CLINIC, Bronco Billy’s, West Granby. www.ctrenegades.com.

19 CDCTA SCHOOLING DRESSAGE AND COMBINED TEST, Mystic Valley Hunt Club, Gales Ferry. www.cdctaonline.com.

26 DRESSAGE SCHOOLING SHOW, Lollipop Farm, Brooklyn. www.lollipopdressage.com.

26 CJHA SHOW, Ox Ridge Hunt Club, Darien. www.oxridge.com.

19 CJHA SHOW, Folly Farm, Simsbury. www.follyfarm.us.

26 COMBINED TEST AND DRESSAGE SHOW, Woodbury. www.frazierfarmct.com.

19 AHCC SCHOOLING SHOW SERIES, Herbst Arabians, Wallingford. www.ahcofct.org.

29 SCHOOLING DRESSAGE SHOW, East Haddam. www.foxledgefarm.net.

31 – August 2 HERMANN’S ROYAL LIPIZZAN STALLIONS, Salem.www.mitchellfarm.com.

August 1 CDA DRESSAGE SHOW, Weatogue Stables, Salisbury. www.ctdressageassoc.org.

1 ECDHA CARRIAGE RALLY, Blue Slope Country Museum, Franklin. www.easternctdrafthorse.com.

1 FOLLY FARM RATED SHOW, Simsbury. www.follyfarm.us.

2 COMBINED TRAINING SHOW, DeCarli Farm, Ellington. www.decarlifarm.com.

2 TSHA DRESSAGE SHOW, Woodstock Fairgrounds. www.tristatehorsemen.com.

Upcoming Shows and Clinics at DeCarli Farm July 26 Hunter/Jumper Open Show August 2 Combined Training Show

Sept. 13 Hunter/Jumper Open Show Oct. 3 & 4 Anna Twinney Clinic

Oct. 18 Hunter/Jumper Open Show TBA Ann Hogan Clinic & Kelly Mills Clinic

Boarding Facility Large Indoor and Outdoor Arenas . Miles of Trails with a Cross-country Course Under Construction 12 x 12 Stalls with All-day Turnout . Hot-water Wash Stall . Slow-feed Hay Nets in Stalls and Pastures

Training Head Trainer Marcus Rhatigan -

arli Farm C e D

Specializing in training the horse from the ground up with a focus on long lining, dressage, and gymnastic work before progressing through advanced course work.

Instructors: Danielle DeCarli - Hunter/Jumper . Gretchen Geromin: Dressage Jaime Kinnear: Eventing . Marcus Rhatigan: Everything, with a fondness for Jumpers

189 Sadds Mill Road, Ellington, CT . DeCarliFarm.com 860.878.9274 . decarlifarm@gmail.com 34

July/August 2015

Mystic Valley Hunt Club Established 1983

172-Acre Horse Show Facility in Gales Ferry, Connecticut Just three miles off I95, exit 88

Upcoming Shows JULY 1

Medal/Hunter Derby Day

JULY 12

Marshall & Sterling Schooling

JULY 19

CDCTA Two Phase

AUG. 2

Mystic Summer Premier

AUG. 29–30

Mystic Summer Festival

OCT. 9

Schooling Dressage

OCT. 10–11

USDF-, USEF-rated Dressage

NOV. 1

NEHC, CHJA, CHSA Hunt Seat

NOV. 15

Marshall & Sterling Schooling

Boarding . Training . Sales Two Indoor Arenas . Six Outdoor Arenas Seven Instructors . Walk-Trot thru Grand Prix Hunters . Jumpers . Equitation . Ponies . Children Home of Connecticut College IHSA Team, U.S. Coast Guard Academy IHSA Team, and Southeastern Connecticut IEA Team

In Stride Equine Photography, www.isephoto.com

For prize lists and details, go to www.MysticValleyHuntClub.com.

645 Long Cove Road, Gales Ferry, CT . Owner Sally Hinkle Russell 860.464.7934 . mysticvalleyhuntclub@juno.com

www.MysticValleyHuntClub.com

Connecticut Horse

35

2 OAK MEADOW FARM SCHOOLING SHOW, East Windsor. www.rideoakmeadow.com.

8 CROSS-COUNTRY DERBY, Canterbury. www.horsepowerfarm.info.

11 CHJA SHOW – MEDALS ONLY, Ridgefield. www.ridgefieldequestriancenter.com.

2 CGA GYMKHANA, Smith’s Stables, North Bethlehem. www.ctgymkhana.com.

8 – 9 CTRA ANNUAL BARBECUE/AUCTION WEEKEND, Goshen. www.cttrailridesassoc.org.

13 – 16 CHJA MEDAL FINALS, Fairfield County Hunt Club, Westport.www.chja.net.

2 MYSTIC SUMMER PREMIER, Mystic Valley Hunt Club, Gales Ferry. www.mvhchorse.com.

9 HORSE TRIAL, Frazier Farm, Woodbury. www.frazierfarmct.com.

15 PHTA JUDGED PLEASURE RIDE SERIES, Tyrone Farm, Pomfret. www.tyronefarm.com.

2 USEF, USDF LEVEL 1 DRESSAGE SHOW, Salisbury. www.weatoguestables.com.

8 – 9 CHJA-, CHSA-, NEHC-RATED SHOW, South Glastonbury. www.pinesfarm.com.

15 CHSA SHOW, Shallowbrook Equestrian Center, Somers. www.shallowbrook.com.

2 CTRA SALMON BROOK PARK RIDE, Granby. www.cttrailridesassoc.org.

9 SNEHA OPEN SHOW, Falls Creek Farm, Oneco. www.snehassociation.com.

16 COMBINED TRAINING SERIES, Salem. www.treasurehillfarm.com.

5 CHJA SHOW, Fairfield County Hunt Club, Westport. www.huntclubonline.org.

9 CAROUSEL FARM OPEN SHOW, Woodstock Fairgrounds. www.carouselhorsefarm.org.

16 SCHOOLING HUNTER/JUMPER SHOW, Frazier Farm, Woodbury. www.frazierfarmct.com.

6 3D BARREL RACING, Bethany. www.c-sranches.com.

10 CHC MEETING, Cheshire Public Library. www.cheshirehorsecouncil.org.

MOVADO FARMS Durham, Connecticut

• Lessons/Leasing • IEA Team (grades 6-12)

www.movadofarms.net 860 . 301 . 4343 • 860 . 463 . 5272

16 DRESSAGE SHOW SERIES, White Birch Farm, Portland. missamy6877@gmail.com.

16 CGA GYMKHANA, Baumann Brook Farm, Prospect. www.ctgymkhana.com.

17 CHJA SHOW – MEDALS ONLY, Rabbit Hill Farm, Newtown. www.rabbithillfarm9.com.

18 CHJA SHOW, Stepping Stone Farm, Ridgefield. www.steppingstonefarmct.com.

19 CHJA SHOW – MEDALS ONLY, Ridgefield. www.ridgefieldequestriancenter.com.

21 – 23 CHSA FINALS, Shallowbrook Equestrian Center, Somers. www.chsafinals.com.

21 – 23 TSHA OPEN SHOW, Falls Creek Farm, Oneco. www.tristatehorsemen.com.

22 3D BARREL RACING, C & S Ranch, Bethany. www.nbhact01.org.

23 GBH NORTH COUNTRY PACE, TBD. www.goldensbridgehounds.org.

|

COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, HEALTH AND NATURAL RESOURCES ANIMAL SCIENCE

Earn a Degree in Animal Science The University of Connecticut offers both two- and fouryear degrees in Animal Science with six areas of interest to choose from including Equine Science.

UConn’s equine facilities are located directly on campus within walking distance from classes.

UConn students receive hands-on experience with horses through classwork, research opportunities, student activities, internships, and Equestrian and Polo Teams.

UConn offers student employment opportunities at their equine facilities.

UConn’s Horse Practicum provides horseback riding lessons from Beginner to Advanced levels.

animalscience@uconn.edu | www.animalscience.uconn.edu www.facebook.com/uconnanimalscience Department of Animal Science - Storrs, CT | 860.486.2413 36

July/August 2015

23 USEF, CHJA, NEHC, FWPHA, MS SHOW, Westbrook. www.westbrookhuntclub.com.

23 SCHOOLING SHOW, East Haddam. www.rayoflightfarm.org.

23 CTRA STEEP ROCK PRESERVE RIDE, Washington Depot. www.cttrailridesassoc.org.

23 CCBA OPEN SHOW, Glastonbury Hunt Club. www.connecticutcolorbreed.com.

24 CHJA SHOW – MEDALS ONLY, Rabbit Hill Farm, Newtown. www.chja.net.

28 ART BEFORE THE HORSE FUNDRAISER, Mystic. www.beechbrookfarm.homestead.com.

28 – 30 RETREAT FOR HORSE AND RIDER, Bethlehem. www.windhorseinternational.com.

29 RANDY MAY MEMORIAL DRESSAGE SCHOOLING SHOW, Little Divide Farm, Mansfield Center. www.randymaymemorial.org.

29 – 30 MYSTIC SUMMER FESTIVAL, Gales Ferry. www.mvhchorse.com.

29 – 30 HORSE TRIALS, Lakeville. www.townhillfarm.com.

29 – 30 CTRA 50/50 WEEKEND, Camp Boardman, Goshen. www.cttrailridesassoc.org.

30 SNEHA OPEN SHOW, Falls Creek Farm, Oneco. www.snehassociation.com.

Connecticut Horse Cremation A loving and dignified tribute to your horse.

Connecticut’s only state-of-the-art horse crematory.

ŠAbramova Kseniya

We respect and honor your horse by only moving them through the use of our customized cradle system that can accommodate any size horse.

24-hour/7 days a week dignified transportation . Never an upcharge for nights/weekends Private, intact cremation . Personal return of remains . Serving the Northeast

Contact us anytime!

Jeff (860) 881-7802 . Dominic (860) 881-7823 . cthorsecremation@gmail.com . www.cthorsecremation.com Owned and operated by Jeff Blaschke and Dominic Gambardella Horse owners who know the heartache of losing a horse.

Member of International Association of Pet Crematories and Cemeteries

Connecticut Horse

37

. . . Lend a Hoof continued from page 13

. . . Mindful Connections continued from page 23

are preparing others — such as Moose — to be suitable for new homes.

“We try to make sure that when the horses leave here, they’re ready for homes where they can live constructive lives,” says Stacey. “We don’t believe in just having them sit idly in pastures; we train them so they can be useful, which increases their likelihood of being adopted.”

Rescue, rehab, rehome: That’s what it’s about. “Knowing you’ve made a difference in an animal’s life and possibly saved it from death is a very special feeling and why we all do this,” says Stacey.

“It’s not easy and we know we won’t change the world, but we’re confident that we’ll change the world of every animal we rescue, and that’s enough for us.

Every horse deserves a happily ever after.”

relentlessly run down the fence line and charge the new horse. It was difficult to believe that our kind and playful horse could turn into such a monster.

A Mindful Solution: Knowing that Cutter and the rest of the herd were still somewhat lost without their leader Okie, I decided to have Cutter hang with me in the barn while I mucked the stalls. As I talked to Cutter about his loss and the new role he had taken on, I noticed that he hung out right in front of Okie’s stall. A lightbulb went on! I asked him, “Do you want to move into Okie’s stall?

Is that the stall of the herd leader?”

Cutter took a deep breath and blew out through his nose.

That night I switched things around, placing Cutter in Okie’s former stall and the new horse in Cutter’s. By acknowledging to Cutter that this particular stall was that of the herd leader, peace was restored. Two days later, the new horse had become a member of Cutter’s herd.

To learn more about the CDHR and how you can help, visit www.ctdraftrescue.com or check it out on Facebook.

This month I invite you to look at your horse in new ways. Look at the world through his or her eyes. Come not with a plan but instead with an open heart

that listens to where your horse is.

Pay attention to the little things. Is your gelding acting differently from his normal behavior? Does your mare seem more energetic? What could be the cause? Is there a new herd member or unfamiliar barn manager? A recently added mound of shavings in the barnyard? A building being renovated?

Observe the environment and the effects it has on your horse. Then take that newfound understanding and consider it compassionately. Raising your awareness to the level of your horse’s awareness will start to change your relationship, for the better. Your horse will be glad to meet you in the now.

I invite you to share your observations and insights with me.

Nicole Birkholzer is passionate about connecting with horses beyond the usual groom-and-ride routine. She believes they’re eager to communicate with their humans in ways that create a meaningful experience for both. Entering that space of connection, she says, always brings the relationship to a deeper and more fulfilling level.

Her book, Pet Logic: Do You Choose to Have a Pet or an Experience? will be released in September. To learn more, schedule a consultation/farm visit, or share your observations and insights, go to www.mindful-connections.com.

middlebury Bridle Land Association’s Annual

FALL HuntEr PACE A member of the Associated Bridle trails Fall Pace Series

Sunday, September 13 (rain or Shine) Larkin’s Farm, South Street, middlebury, Connecticut

Four Divisions: Hunt, Pleasure, Junior, Western 1st-10th place ribbons awarded in each division Prizes for 1st place team in each division.

Points earned toward trophies in Associated Bridle trails Series

For more information: Shawnalee at (203) 598-0065 or info@middleburybridle.org.

38

July/August 2015

. . . Overherd continued from page 27

. . . Partners continued from page 31

gives pony rides, hosts field trips and birthday parties, and has just introduced an alternative to the usual date night with its unique Couple’s Night: a potluck dinner, grooming, and riding.

You can learn more about Ray of Light programs at www.rayoflightarm.org.

hunt. Master Cathy Leinert took the hilltopper group and whipper-in Liz Esmiol took the walk-trot group (both adults and kids).

Once everyone had the basics and felt comfortable, we went on a short mock hunt. Sarah Nash was the fox with huntsman Sherri Colby after her, followed by the hilltopper field and then the walk-trot field. The “chase” ended in the jump field, where the spectators had gathered to watch the riders against the beautiful backdrop of water. The most adorable pair was a tiny rider and her equally tiny pony.

The first-ever hunters did a fine job. Amid comments of “Awesome!” and Well done!” their faces lit up with smiles of pleasure at their accomplishments. We then hacked back to the farm for a bountiful tea, courtesy of whips Mel and Dave Oliveira.

It was a most successful day for the 20 or so participants; heartfelt thanks go to the Lyme Trail Association and the Connecticut Valley Pony Club.

The hunter-pace season began two weeks later, on a sunny and warm day in the Douglas State Forest, on the Massachusetts border with Connecticut

n Karena Garrity

Making a Move To accommodate its expansion, the Jumpers Academy has moved from its longtime home in North Stonington to a larger location: its new address is 110 New London Road, Mystic (formerly Hummingbird Hollow). To check it out, visit www.jumpers-academy.com.

n Karena Garrity

Overherdisms • “If I get one more horse, my husband says he’s leaving me.”

• “You don’t have to look pretty; you just have to get around.”

• “It’s getting to where she doesn’t scare me when she rides that horse.”

and Rhode Island, with the Spring Hunter Pace. Member Jeanne MacLean was the organizer, backed by a team of eager volunteers.

The first pace traditionally takes place at Hodges Village Dam, in Oxford, Massachusetts, but with concern about the melting snowpack and its effect on the French River Crossing, the decision was made to relocate.

Because of the long winter, many riders had just started getting their horses into shape, so we shortened the course to seven miles.

The 34 riders, in various-size teams, had a great time, and all agreed that the state forest was an excellent venue.

Stay tuned for the fall-hunter pace date.

To learn more, please visit www.tanheathhunt.com.

7Raymond Hill

Equine & Farm Insurance

Kathy O. Kane, AAI, CLCS 562 S Main St., Middletown, CT (860) 347-2531 www.midstatetractor.com

Commercial Account Executive 80 Norwich New London Tpke, Uncasville, Connecticut (860) 859-9821 ext. 321 . kkane@binsurance.com www.binsurance.com Connecticut Horse

39

the

neighborhood

Your Everything Equine “white pages”

ARTISTS

BOARDING AND TRAINING

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nnnnnnnnnnnn

WHITE PICKETS STUDIO (978) 724-8823 www.whitepicketsstudio.com Fabio and Sara Deponte art.

BABCOCK HILL FARM DAWN BONIN HORSEMANSHIP Coventry, CT, (860) 985-7611 www.babcockhill.com Natural horsemanship, lessons, training, boarding, sales/leases.

ASSOCIATIONS nnnnnnnnnnnn

CONNECTICUT COLOR BREED ASSOCIATION www.connecticutcolorbreed.com Open to all breeds, show series, clinics, trail mileage, dressage.

DECARLI FARM Ellington, CT, (860) 878-9274 www.decarlifarm.com Boarding, lessons, training, shows, sale horses, and clinics.

CONNECTICUT DRESSAGE AND COMBINED TRAINING ASSOCIATION www.cdctaonline.com Instruction, education, and competition.

MOVADO FARMS Durham, CT, (860) 463-5272 www.movadofarms.net Lessons, IEA team, leasing, shows.

CONNECTICUT DRESSAGE ASSOCIATION www.ctdressageassoc.com Competitions, education, clinics, scholarships, newsletter.

CONNECTICUT MORGAN HORSE ASSOCIATION www.ctmorgans.org Promoting Morgans; educational activities, programs, and events; annual horse show.

MYSTIC VALLY HUNT CLUB Gales Ferry, CT, (860) 464-7934 www.mystic valleyhuntclub.com Boarding, training, sales, shows, hunter, jumper, equitation, ponies, children, and IEA/IHSA teams.

CONNECTICUT TRAIL RIDES ASSOCIATION www.ct-trailrides.org Encourages and promotes trail riding and camping in the state.

MIDDLEBURY BRIDLE LAND ASSOCIATION www.middleburybridle.org Preservation and protection of bridle trails for horseback riding.

NEWTOWN BRIDLE LANDS ASSOCIATION www.nblact.com Preservation and protection of equestrian recreational trails.

nnnnnnnnnnnn

MINDFUL CONNECTIONS www.mindful-connections.com What is your horse trying to tell you?

Are you ready to let your horse take you to a deeper level of connection?

Tuning in to your companion, you’ll be shown a world nothing short of miraculous.

LOCK, STOCK & BARREL (203) 393-0002 www.lsbfarmsupply.com Large-animal feed and pet food.

Riding apparel, tack, farm supplies, and power equipment.

CLIPPER BARN OF CONNECTICUT Baltic, CT, (860) 822-1951 www.theclipperbarnofct.com Repairs, sharpening, all types of clippers and blades.

CREMATION nnnnnnnnnnnn

CONNECTICUT HORSE CREMATION Killingworth, CT, (860) 881-7802 www.cthorsecremation.com Loving, dignified cremation service.

EDUCATION nnnnnnnnnnnn

POST UNIVERSITY Waterbury, CT, (800) 345-2562 www.post.edu BS in equine studies.

BARN CATS

July/August 2015

EQUINE RELATIONSHIPS

CLIPPER AND BLADE SERVICE

EQUINE-ASSISTED THERAPY

40

EQUISSAGE NE/NY Sterling, CT, (860) 564-7759 www.equissage-ne-ny.com Masterson Method, Equissage, equine bodywork, myofascial release, infrared photon light therapy, and Reiki.

FEED AND PET STORE

TANHEATH HUNT CLUB www.tanheathhunt.com Foxhunting; small group passionate about horses and hounds.

TEAM MOBILE FELINE UNIT (888) FOR-TEAM www.everyanimalmatters.org Mobile spay, neuter, and vaccination clinic for cats. Driven to end feline overpopulation!

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UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT Storrs, CT, (860) 486-2413 www.animalscience.uconn.edu Two- and four-year ANSC degree; riding lessons.

nnnnnnnnnnnn

EQUINE MASSAGE

WHIMSY BROOK FARM Redding, CT, (203) 938-3760 www.whimsybrookfarm.com Boarding, lessons, training, equine therapies, Pony Club. nnnnnnnnnnnn

CONNECTICUT RENEGADES www.ctrenegades.com Cowboy mounted shooting.

RAY OF LIGHT FARM E. Haddam, CT, (860) 873-1895 www.rayoflightfarm.org Animal-assisted therapy; rescue center.

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HIGH HOPES THERAPEUTIC RIDING Old Lyme, CT, (860) 434-1974 www.highhopestr.org.

Therapeutic riding, driving, Horses for Heros, unmounted equine learning.

BLUE SEAL FEED (866) 647-1212 www.blueseal.com Concentrates, supplements, forages.

TRIPLE CROWN FEED (800) 451-9916 www.triplecrownfeed.com Feeds, forages, supplements.

HORSES FOR SALE

LOANS nnnnnnnnnnnn

FARM CREDIT EAST (800) 946-0506 www.farmcrediteast.com Loans for equestrian facilities, farms, bare land, home sites. Equipment loans and leases.

MANURE REMOVAL, EXCAVATION, FOOTING nnnnnnnnnnnn

ASSOCIATED REFUSE HAULERS Newtown, CT, (203) 426-8870 www.associatedrefuse.com Containerized manure removal in southwestern Connecticut.

LE MAY, INC. Newtown, CT, (203) 347-2531 We buy manure.

PENDERGAST HAULING AND BARN SERVICES New Fairfield, CT, (203) 948-9493 Manure removal (container or ground pickup), arena footing restoration, excavation service.

PHOTOGRAPHY nnnnnnnnnnnn

JEANNE LEWIS IMAGES Wallingford, CT, (203) 265-2622 Western events, barn shoots, horse/rider portraits. Serving New England.

KATHRYN SCHAUER PHOTOGRAPHY Guilford, CT, (203) 710-9945 www.kathrynschauerphotography.com Horses, pets, families.

SARRA-ALLEN PHOTOGRAPHY S. Windsor, CT, (860) 644-7161 Fine-art equine portrait photography.

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HERITAGE FARM Easthampton, MA, (413) 527-1612 www.farmheritage.com Open to buy, sell, or trade horses seven days a week, by appointment.

STRAIN FAMILY HORSE FARM Granby, CT, (860) 653-3275 www.strainfamilyhorsefarm.com New England’s largest quality sales stable.

INSURANCE

TACK nnnnnnnnnnnn

BEVAL SADDLERY New Canaan, CT, (203) 966-7828 www.beval.com New Canann and Gladstone, NJ stores. East Coast mobile unit.

SMITH-WORTHINGTON SADDLERY Hartford, CT, (860) 527-9117 www.smithworthington.com Fine English saddlery and tack.

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FARM FAMILY INSURANCE To find an agent near you, visit www.farmfamily.com.

KATHY KANE INSURANCE Gales Ferry, CT, (860) 625-7128 kanekathyo@yahoo.com Specializing in horses and farms.

TRACTORS/EQUIPMENT nnnnnnnnnnnn

MIDSTATE TRACTOR AND EQUIPMENT COMPANY Middletown, CT, (860) 347-2531 www.midstatetractor.com Kubota, John Deere, Scag Power Equipment, Stihl, Honda.

Is this your horse?

TRAINER nnnnnnnnnnnn

CATHY DRUMM (413) 441-5278 www.cathydrumm.com Travels to you; English and western dressage, eventing, jumping.

TRANSPORTATION nnnnnnnnnnnn

VETERINARY nnnnnnnnnnnn

BROOKLYN-CANTERBURY LARGE ANIMAL CLINIC Canterbury, CT, (860) 546-6998 www.bclargeanimal.com Serving eastern CT and RI. Equines, farm animals, and camelids.

EGGLESTON EQUINE Woodstock, CT, (860) 942-3365 www.egglestonequine.com Lameness, pre-purchase exams, veterinary medicine and dentistry.

Connecticut’s own SmithWorthington Saddlery is the proud sponsor of Is This Your Horse?

Smith-Worthington Saddlery has been crafting fine English saddlery and tack since 1794.

Available at fine tack shops throughout the U.S. 275 Homestead Ave. Hartford, Connecticut 860 . 527 . 9117 www.smithworthington.com

Got manure?

Containerized Manure Removal Le May, Inc. Farmers of Natural Resources Fred LeMay . Newtown, Connecticut 203-426-2497 . 203-948-1586 (cell) akenworthman@gmail.com

advertiser index Associated Refuse Haulers ........... 25 Beval Saddlery ....................... 42–43 Blue Seal ..................................... 44 Brooklyn-Canterbury Large Animal Clinic ........................... 15 Bouvier Insurance ......................... 39 Cathy Drumm ................................ 23 Clipper Barn of Connecticut ......... 39 Connecticut Horse Cremation ...... 37 Country Living Loans ..................... 23 Dawn Bonin Horsemanship ............ 19 DeCarli Farm ................................. 34 Eggleston Equine ........................... 19 Equissage ....................................... 7 Farm Family Insurance .................... 3 Heritage Farm ............................... 21 High Hopes Therapeutic Riding .... 25 Kathryn Schauer Photography ....... 6

Le May, Inc. ................................... 41 Lock, Stock, and Barrel ................... 2 Middlebury Bridle Land Assoc. .... 38 Midstate Tractor and Equipment . 39 Mindful Connections ...................... 19 Movado Farms .............................. 36 Mystic Valley Hunt Club ................ 35 Pendergast Hauling & Barn Services . 11 Post University .............................. 32 Sarra-Allen Photography ............... 15 Smith-Worthington Saddlery .......... 4 Strain Family Horse Farm .............. 39 TEAM Mobile Feline Unit .............. 38 Triple Crown Feed ......................... 33 University of Connecticut .............. 36 Whimsy Brook Farm ........................ 13 White Pickets Studio ...................... 13

Karen Morang Photography

JOHN McCARTHY TRUCKING SERVICES (860) 426-2497 East Coast from New England to Florida.

Is this your horse?

This photo was taken on April 19 at the Eastern Connecticut Draft Horse Association Plow Match at Lee Farm in Coventry. If this is your horse, contact us at win@connhorse.com for a Smith-Worthington Saddlery leather halter.

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#140

Anderson Farm Supply 224 Marlborough Street, Portland (860) 324-1669

G. M. Thompson & Sons 54 Middle Turnpike, Mansfield Depot (860) 429-9377 . www.gmthompson.net

Mackey’s 132 Linwood Avenue, Colchester (860) 537-4607 . www.mackeysinc.com

Norwich Agway 217 Otrobando Avenue, Norwich (860) 889-2344 . www.norwichagway.com

Benedict’s Home & Garden 480 Purdy Hill Road, Monroe (203) 268-2537 www.benedictsgarden.com

H. H. Stone & Sons 168 Main Street South, Southbury (203) 264-6501 www.hhstoneandsons.benmoorepaints.com

Mackey’s 249 Columbia Avenue, Willimantic (860) 423-6311 . www.mackeysinc.com

Shagbark Lumber & Farm Supply 21 Mount Parnassus Road, East Haddam (860) 873-1946 . www.shagbarklumber.com

Fleming’s Feed 353 Route 165, Preston (860) 889-7536 . www.flemingsfeed.net

Litchfield Blue Seal Store 99 Thomaston Road, Litchfield (860) 482-7116 . www.blueseal.com

Melzen Farm Supply 100 Oak Street, Glastonbury (860) 633-9830 www.melzenfarmsupply.com

Valley Home & Garden Centre 16 Railroad Street, Simsbury (860) 651-5646 www.valleyhomeandgarden.com

Fleming’s Feed 786 Route 1, Stonington (860) 535-3181 . www.flemingsfeed.net

Lock, Stock & Barrel 770 Amity Road, Bethany (203) 393-0002 . Find us on Facebook

Meriden Feed & Supply 846 Old Colony Road, Meriden (203) 237-4414 . Find us on Facebook