Agenda: Equine Care

Care and Consideration

“Winning with Horses” is a win-win for horses and owners

by Robert Cook

When Adam Snow and his wife, Dr. Shelley Onderdonk, are asked if equestrian sport and the welfare of horses can exist simultaneously, their resounding answer is “Yes!”

This balance is the main focus of their new book, “Winning with Horses,” that will be published in June by Trafalgar Square Books in Vermont.

With intelligence and experience, the authors provide a much-needed antidote to a perceived dark side of horse sports. “Our story is an explicit acknowledgment that doing good for the horse is good for results in the competitive arena,” they write. “Our task is to explain our method, and yours is to prove that it can be replicated.”

This is the second book written by Snow and Onderdonk. Their first book, “Polo Life: Horses, Sport, 10 and Zen,” was well received.

Snow says the time was right for their latest book, which serves as an opportunity for the equine sports industry to refocus attention on this important goal.

“Shelley and I chose to write this book because, after publishing ‘Polo Life’ in 2016, we received a lot of feedback about the horses we discussed and, specifically, questions about what equine practices led to their successful careers. It seemed like the right time to delve into equine welfare and competition,” says Snow.

Snow and Onderdonk see strong equine health as the best way to field top notch ponies.

“I think of it less as a balancing act and more that proper equine care and consideration is fundamental towards having a chance to win consistently in equestrian competitions,” says Snow. “We all need to do more. The USPA is definitely trying to assess these needs with its Horse Welfare committee and has also established an instructor training program, which both of us have contributed to.”

Snow and Onderdonk have spent much of their lives involved with horses and care deeply about this issue. When asked what he hopes readers will take away from their book, Snow replies, “Hopefully, ‘Winning with Horses’ will give riders and horse owners the tools to be the best custodians possible of their horses and enhance their competitive accomplishments. This is what we call a ‘win-win’ situation,” says Snow.

Taking care of horses the right way, which Snow and Onderdonk describe in as natural a manner as possible, aligns with the horses’ evolutionary needs when it comes to things like exercise, nutrition and socialization.

“We do not discuss hard and fast standards of practice, but our book should help inform the way the equine sports industry approaches these topics. It is important for members to address these issues, or our social license for competitive equestrian sports may one day disappear,” Snow continues.

Snow grew up in Hamilton where he learned how to play polo at Myopia Polo Club. He received a BA from Yale. He played polo professionally for 34 years, achieving the highest rating of 10 goals in 2003. Career highlights include winning two U.S. Open titles, competing in the Argentine Open in 1998 and 2004, winning multiple Best Playing Pony prizes for his horses, and twice being named Player of the Year. He was inducted into the Polo Hall of Fame in 2014. Retired from tournament polo, he now gives back to the sport via coaching, mentoring, writing and announcing polo games for ESPN.

Onderdonk was born and raised in San Mateo, Calif. She is a graduate of Yale and the University of Georgia and has continued her medical education through the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society and The Chi Institute. She has run her own integrative veterinary practice since 1998.

Snow and Onderdonk manage New Haven Farm in Aiken, S.C., where they breed and train polo ponies. They also have three sons: Dylan, Nathan and Aidan.