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THE RETURN OF THE GRAY RIDERS
Winter 2017-18
Man O’War at 100 The Artful Horse goes to the weanling sale Ride Better 10 WAYS TO GET IT RIGHT
EQ STYLE TRIES CORNELL VETS HOW TO EARN CNY TEEN WINS OUT NY’S EQ-WINES PRESS RESET ON A THE RESPECT OF MACLAY NATIONAL (AND BEERS) HORSE’S HEART YOUR TRAIL HORSE CHAMPIONSHIP
Canterbury Stables Warm and welcoming … Where your journey is our destination
Riding, training and boarding All amenities for you and your horse At Canterbury Stables, we’re passionate about excellence. Set on 225 rolling acres in the heart of Cazenovia’s horse country, Canterbury offers the finest in hunter/jumper and dressage lessons in a family-friendly atmosphere. We are dedicated to providing quality lessons tailored to each rider’s age, level and goals, and the boarding, care and training of performance and pleasure horses.
Canterbury Stables, 4786 Roberts Road, Cazenovia, NY
Online: www.canterburystablesny.com
Call: 315-440-2244
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Features 27
Back in the Saddle Again
Mounted Troopers were the first lawmen to patrol rural New York; this year, the State Police Centennial saw the return of the Gray Riders
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The Legend at 100
The story of Man O’ War, forged on New York’s tracks, is celebrated at the Museum of Racing
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EQ Style
Work up a thirst reading about the great champion? Raise a glass filled with his namesake cocktail, then check out breweries and vineyards with a New York horse twist
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When the Music Stopped
A remarkable photographer captured the time when master carousel carvers turned their skilled hands to war
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Champions in the Making
The Artful Horse went to the FasigTipton fall sale, where bidders meet bloodlines 2 NEW YORK HORSE NYHorseMag.com
The Show Trunk II
Equestrian style for your ride. Fashion for your life!
Join us for our 6th Anniversary and Gala Open House Dec 2 & 3 Food. Fun. Friends. Fabulous Sales & Gifts. Make a Wish List & Have Your Wishes Come True.
PHOTOS AT THE SHOW TRUNK II BY SANDI CANNELLOS
10% off for IEA & IHSA members and Professionals Stacy Lowe-Jonas, Hugh Jonas 2335 Dryden Road (Route 13) Dryden, NY 13053 607-227-2538
Showroom Open: Monday, Thursday & Friday 11 am — 6 pm Saturday & Sunday 10 am — 5pm www.TheShowTrunk2.com Follow us on Facebook
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Guide 57 58 59 60 61
60-Second Clinic
Winning is all in your head, says a man who should know Master Class
Horses, happiness and other words to ride by from a teacher of the classical art Good Horsekeeping
Let your horse embrace his inner outdoorsman Ride Better
Success on the trail requires earning the horse’s respect The Bottom Line
Selling a horse effectively is all about one thing: the marketing
Departments
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6 8 11 12
Off the Beaten Path
Letchworth State Park beckons riders to the splendors of the ‘Grand Canyon of the East’
On the Cover
Ahhh – snow. Here’s to the season of watching horses grow shaggy, of taking stock, and reflecting on next year’s dreams. It’s time for a contemplative hot chocolate and resolving that 2018 will be the year to spin faster than a wobbly top or turn 20-meter ovals into 20-meter circles. It’s for getting your heels down, your eyes up, and your spirit to soar.
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14 16 18 20 24 64
Jump Start
Look ma, no hands Collected Thoughts
It’s time to speak with a single voice Thanks To Our Underwriters Calendar
Hibernate? Us? Not a chance. Roadtrip, meanwhile, is heading west to see a winery about a donkey Leg Up
News, Notes and Conversation Starters In the Know
All roads lead to roam in an ambitious new trail plan for the Adirondack foothills Guest Column
A few special words for the season from our favorite cowboy poet, Mark Munzert Armchair Equestrian
Outfoxed in your hunt for a good equestrian mystery? Look no further EQ Medicine
A Cornell University procedure can reset a horse’s quivering heart Parting Shot
JUMP START
— Every mother ever, at one time or another, to every horse-riding kid ever
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PHOTOS OF ROUGH RIDERS PERFORMING TRICK MANEUVERS COURTESY OF THE NEW YORK STATE POLICE
“I’m warning you. If you fall off that horse and break both your legs, don’t come running to me.”
COLLECTED THOUGHTS
One strong voice …
I PHOTO BY WELLS HORTON
t’s the morning of the annual meeting, and New York State Horse Council President Stephen Ropel is talking politics. Earlier this year, he’d been at Lobby Day in Albany, an annual chance to talk with state lawmakers about issues of importance to the Council and, by extension, to everyone involved with horses across New York. Sharing the halls of the state Capitol that day were members of AARP, also there to advance their agenda with legislators. As Ropel recalled, there were about eight people from Horse Council spreading the word. AARP? They’d mustered more than 100, all busily buttonholing officials – all wearing red AARP shirts so there was no mistaking who they were representing and the potential clout of their message. So yes, politics. Because as much as it would be nice to think that laws are passed and budget dollars appropriated, without any regard to who is in support or opposition, that simply is not how it works. Just take one big-ticket item: Trail preservation requires horse people to speak as strongly as hikers, snowmobilers, cross-country skiers, bicyclists, birdwatchers … and whew, that’s a long (and incomplete) list of people who would prefer never to have to yield to an oncoming equine again. “They want to see us, the people who ride horses and are part of the equine industry,” Ropel said. “What we’re doing is for the welfare of our animals and to help the equine industry. We need support and backing.” The mission of the Council is “To create a strong unified voice for all
8 NEW YORK HORSE NYHorseMag.com
interests toward the preservation of a future for horses in New York State.” For New York Farm Bureau, it’s: “To Serve and Strengthen Agriculture.” As the Council does, Farm Bureau works every day to support equine farms and horse owners. They were strong advocates for inherent risk reform which — after many years of failure as an equine-only bill — was signed into law as an agritourism measure. The bill, for those who may not know, offers limited liability protection for the inherent risks of inviting the public onto farm business property. It includes u-pick apple and Christmas tree farms, along with winery tours and equine operations. As Farm Bureau noted in its statement praising the bill’s passage: “New York’s litigious environment has diminished the number of insurance carriers willing to cover equine establishments and agricultural tourism operations, while dramatically increasing the cost for liability coverage. This legislation now brings New York’s inherent risk law in line with nearly every other state in the country.” So yes, politics. Scroll down through our masthead — that long list of editors, writers, photographers and boring copyright information — and you will see this: New York Horse is a proud member of Farm Bureau and New York State Horse Council. We are indeed. Horse Council and Farm Bureau stand for all of us. All of us should stand with them.
Janis
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10 NEW YORK HORSE NYHorseMag.com
NEW YORK HORSE Owner & Publisher Janis Barth editor@nyhorsemag.com
UNDERWRITING SUPPORT
New York Horse is published in part with underwriting support from: Canterbury Stables; Cazenovia College and the New York State Center for Equine Business Development; Nye Auto Group; Blue Ocean Strategic Capital, LLC; Cornell University Hospital for Animals; New York State Fair; Madison County Tourism; Morrisville State College; New York Farm Bureau; Central New York Dressage and Combined Training Association; Central New York Reining Horse Association; From The Ground Up Therapeutic Horsemanship and New York State Horse Council.
PRESENTATION
Art Director Darren Sanefski dasanefs@go.olemiss.edu
EDITORIAL Contributing Editor RenĂŠe K. Gadoua Brien Bouyea
Contributing Writers Nikki Alvin-Smith Patricia Waldron
Contributing Photographers Michael Buchinger Danielle A. Durkin Wells Horton Michael Davis Jim Gillies Taylor Renner Edward Gruber
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New York Horse magazine is published quarterly by: Tremont8 Media, LLC Cazenovia, NY 13035 All rights reserved. ISSN 2375-8058. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the express consent of the publisher. All material submitted to the magazine becomes the property of Tremont8 Media. Submitted material may be excerpted or edited for length and content and may be published or used in any format or medium, including online or in other print publications. To subscribe: Write to New York Horse, P.O. Box 556, Cazenovia, NY 13035. Subscriptions are $12/year. Please include your name and address and a check or money order for the full amount. For gift subscriptions, include the name and address of each recipient and we will send a card in your name.
New York Horse is a proud member of Farm Bureau and New York State Horse Council
A SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR
NEW YORK HORSE UNDERWRITERS Canterbury Stables W O R L D
NEW YORK STATE CENTER FOR EQUINE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
C L A S S ,
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A W A Y
Address: 4786 Roberts Road, Cazenovia Phone: 315-440-2244 • Email: info@canterburystablesny.com
One Strong Voice for the Future of Horses Join today at: www. nyshc.org
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NYHorseMag.com NEW YORK HORSE 11
LEG UP: CALENDAR NOVEMBER 23-Feb. 2
The Haven at Skanda’s annual Horses for the Holidays campaign collects new and used supplies to support horses and owners across Central New York. For more information on making a donation, or to receive assistance, go to: thehavenatskanda.org/ horses-for-the-holidays
DECEMBER 1-3 3 3
Dressage clinic with Grand Prix rider and trainer Felicitas von Neumann Cosel. Auditors welcome. Canterbury Stables, Cazenovia. More information: canterburystablesny.com
Begin Again Horse Rescue annual fundraising brunch and silent auction, 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m., Lima Golf and Country Club. More information: beginagainrescue.org
Holiday with the Horses fundraiser, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. to benefit Finger Lakes Thoroughbred Adoption Program. Baked goods and gift items for sale; take a picture with Santa and an equine elf. FLTAP Purple Haze Center, Farmington. More information: fltap.org
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Celebrate National Day of the Horse! Established to commemorate the contribution of horses to the economy, history, and character of the United States, we say it’s also an excuse to give your favorite equine a pat on the neck and an extra peppermint (or three).
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Say Happy Birthday to loveable loser Zippy Chippy and his retired racehorse friends, at a party from noon-3 p.m., Old Friends at Cabin Creek, 483 Sand Hill Road, Greenfield Center.
More information: oldfriendsatcabincreek.com
JANUARY 13
“Being Present With Our Horses: Using meditation to enhance our enjoyment, improve our focus, and get the most of our barn time,” clinic by Cornell professor Jane Marie Law. Proceeds from the clinic will support therapeutic riding programs at Root Farm. Voltra Farm, 6000 Rock Road, Verona. More information: voltrafarm.com
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Clinic series on “Developing Your Eye,” with FEI dressage trainer and judge Carel Eijkenaar starts with “Rhythm, Balance & Conformation.” Voltra Farm, 6000 Rock Road, Verona. More
information about the series, which continues Feb. 17 and March 10, at: voltrafarm.com
FEBRUARY 1-14
CNY Reining Horse Association annual stallion auction. Proceeds from this auction are placed in the New England Breeders Trust Fall Futurity held at the CNYRHA Fall Classic in Syracuse. More info: cnyrha.net
To submit events for the New York Horse Calendar, in print and online, send an email to: nyhorsemag@gmail.com.
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Genesee Valley Equine Clinic, Winter Horse Health Seminar, 8 a.m.-noon, Wheatland-Chili High School, 940 North Road, Scottsville. More information: gvequine.com
LEG UP: ROAD TRIP We’re hoofing it to a vineyard with a mighty miniature mascot
T
here’s only one thing to say about a vineyard that has a miniature donkey as a mascot, celebrates him on four signature bottles, and is open all year: Our kind of winery. Swedish Hill near Romulus, on the northwestern side of Cayuga Lake, is home to gold-medal winning wines and a long-eared character named Doobie. He loathes rain and snow – which
makes him our kind of fella – and has been an inspiration to the winemakers at Swedish Hill, with what they describe as his “sweet and spunky personality.” For the record, those are words that will never describe anyone at New York Horse world headquarters. First came Jack Ass Red, Jack Ass White, and Doobie Blues (named after his bellowed, braying riffs). As he’s aged, the winery notes on its website, Doobie’s “taste for wine, along with his sense of humor, has become drier,” and that led to the creation of Smart Ass Red. Prefer your wine with shorter ears
and less hee-haw? Swedish Hill’s Svenska Red, White, and Blush wines are bottled with equestrian labels, which make them perfect for any sort of festive horsing around. Wine tastings are offered daily. Winter hours are 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-6 pm. Saturday, and 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Sunday. Visit Doobie in the barn behind Swedish Hill’s tasting room where he will happily accept gifts of apples and carrots. And read more about New York’s other equine-inspired beer and wine in this issue’s EQ Style.
NYHorseMag.com NEW YORK HORSE 13
Leg Up
News, Notes and Conversation Starters CNY’s Madison Goetzmann wins ASPCA Maclay National Championship
PHOTO BY TAYLOR RENNER/PHELPS MEDIA GROUP
The National Horse Show, one of America’s premier equestrian events, is the place where a hard-fought dream comes true each year for one junior rider. This year, that rider was Madison Goetzmann of Skaneateles. On Nov. 5, she was crowned the 2017 ASPCA Maclay National Champion, adding her name to some of the biggest in equestrian sport inscribed on the esteemed horsemanship trophy. “Honestly, I tear up just thinking about it,” Goetzmann said of the victory. “It’s just incredible. It was a dream of mine to win.” The Maclay championship, which first began in 1933, is one of the most prestigious competitions for junior riders in the United States. This year’s championship began with 177 horses and riders competing in a preliminary round over fences. Riding Elizabeth Benson’s Warmblood gelding San Remo VDL, Goetzmann finished in second place. The final rounds of competition brought back the top 25 combinations for work on the flat and for a second round over fences. On the flat, Goetzmann moved up to first place and that meant she and San Remo VDL were the very last pair to contest the over-fences course. They navigated effortlessly, and in textbook form, to seal the championship. The Maclay was Goetzmann’s first equitation final win, and it proved to be an emotional one as the 17-year-old high school senior shed tears of joy during the awards presentation. Of her
partner, she said: “San Remo VDL is a very special horse. It’s hard for me to take credit for all of this because really he is the one who helped me get where I am right now … He is really a championship horse and I am glad I could give him the win he deserves.” Goetzmann follows in the footsteps of trainer Stacia Madden, who won the championship in 1987. “It was a beautiful thing to watch it all come together,” said Madden, head trainer at Beacon Hill Show Stables. “She is very focused on being the best rider that she can be.”
Cazenovia College riders earn silver in Switzerland for Team USA
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PHOTO COURTESY OF CAZENOVIA COLLEGE
Cazenovia College equestrian team members Gabrielle Baker, Savannah Mannes, and Erica Ferreira brought home a silver medal in show jumping for Team USA at the Student Rider Nation’s Cup. The Wildcats trio and Team USA finished 13th in dressage for a seventh-place finish overall at the competition, held in October in Bern, Switzerland. Fourteen countries competed; the United Kingdom took home the overall team gold. Junior Gabrielle Baker had the highest placing, finishing third in show jumping and 12th overall. Baker was also selected this past summer to ride in the USHJA Emerging Athletes Program. “They worked hard to get there, each taking extra lessons in the weeks leading up to the competition,” said Cazenovia Head Equestrian Coach Amy Sherrick-von Schiller. “Way to go, Team USA!”
A total of 17 cases of equine West Nile virus were reported statewide this year, with the highest concentration in Western New York. The state Department of Agriculture and Markets said the largest outbreak was in Erie County, with four confirmed cases. Two cases were reported in Genesee County, and one case each in Livingston, Niagara, and Orleans counties. Elsewhere in the state: three cases were reported in St. Lawrence County; two in Clinton County; and one each in Cayuga, Montgomery, and Tompkins counties. All but one of the horses were not vaccinated; one had been vaccinated but not enough time had elapsed for the vaccine to be effective. One case of Eastern Equine Encephalitis was confirmed in Oswego County.
New York Names in the News
Congratulations to Kendra Duggleby of Cleveland, the 2017 USHJA Emerging Athletes Program National Champion. She will attend this year’s George H. Morris Horsemastership program. Clinton native Mary Jordan and her Oldenburg gelding Rubicon 75 won the Grade V FEI Freestyle Test at the 2017 USEF Para-Equestrian Dressage National Championship with a score of 70.458. Lana Ciaramella of Yonkers has been named the Interscholastic Equestrian Association’s new Administrator for Hunt Seat for Zone 2, which includes all of New York.
PHOTO BY JIM GILLIES
PHOTO BY TRICIA BOOKER/USHJA ARCHIVES
New York reports 17 cases of equine West Nile Virus, one of EEE
Morrisville College yearling sale brings in nearly $1 million This year’s Morrisville State College Standardbred sale drew a crowd of potential buyers, sellers, trainers, and owners from across the Northeast and Canada. A total of 72 yearlings grossed $967,700 for an average of $13,440. The highest-priced yearling, consigned by Lakeview Equine, topped out at $35,000. Morrisville equine students participated in every aspect of the sale, from administrative duties to handling and showing horses in the sales ring. Profits from the sale go toward general maintenance and enrichment of the college’s equine programs.
Alice Roosevelt of Stanfordville has been selected by the USEF for the Emerging Athlete Eventing 18 program, putting her in an elite group of riders seen as having the potential to evolve into team candidates. Phoenix Rising Equine Rescue & Sanctuary, Clarence, received
a $5,000 prize from the ASPCA for its national Help A Horse Day program. The non-profit farm is currently home to 19 rescue horses. Chloe Sheth of North Salem was awarded a USEF Higher Education Equestrian Scholarship to attend Clemson University’s Animal and Veterinary Sciences Program.
LEG UP: IN THE KNOW
A plan for the St. Lawrence foothills may have an equine heart Increasing interest seen in a new trail system ‘similar to Otter Creek’
S
t. Lawrence County is at the northernmost point of New York State, so far north that the Adirondacks are referred to as the Great South Woods. It has an abundance of subzero weather and cows. But it’s the abundance of old-growth forest, wilderness waters, and spectacular vistas that has the state thinking this might be the ideal spot for an ambitious new network of riding trails. The expansion and improvement of recreational trails are part of a larger conversation about the future of 13 state forests hugging the northwest edge of the Adirondack Park that together make up the St. Lawrence Foothills Management Unit. For riders, the focus is on four: DeGrasse, Downerville, Whippoorwill Corners and Whiskey Flats. There has been “increasing interest” in creation of a formal horse trail system linking DeGrasse, Downerville, and Whippoorwill Corners, and the Department of Environmental Conservation confirms that it is being considered. Says the DEC in its draft management plan: “A formal trail system similar to Otter Creek in Lewis County could help the local economy in the area, while providing exceptional outdoor recreation opportunities.” Otter Creek, a series of interlocking trails rambling over 65 miles of woodland and waterway, is considered 16 NEW YORK HORSE NYHorseMag.com
the “champagne of trails,” opening the western edge of the Adirondacks to horse and rider. Creation of a similar foothills trail, at this point, is simply a grand vision. But the management plan does call for rehabilitation of an existing network of trails through Whippoorwill Corners and Whiskey Flats. They were originally created as horse, skiing, and hiking trails and are still used by both individual riders and for larger organized group events. However, as DEC admits, “many of the trails have suffered from a lack of maintenance and poor signage in recent years.” An effort is being made to “rehabilitate and improve the most popular trails to promote continued usage,” DEC says in the draft plan. And that’s early good news for riders, because Whippoorwill Corners – said to have gotten its name from the many whippoor-wills that sang in the trees – is a beautiful outing. The site’s Brookview trail provides access to more than a mile of Plumb Brook, which flows through the center of the forest, twisting and dropping into waterfalls, pools, and riffle areas stocked by the state with brown trout. Whippoorwill Corners is the only one of the forests that currently mentions riding as an option on its multi-use trails but the groundwork, so to speak, has
been laid for a network of trails thanks to the region’s logging past. Whiskey Flats, for one, was knit together from 30 separate parcels – mostly exhausted farmland – purchased by the state in the 1930s and early 1940s, reforested and timbered. Today, 12.3 miles of multi-use trails, unpaved roads and snowmobile routes, are surrounded by dense stands of red maple, sugar maple, and paper birch. The pine and spruce plantations of Degrasse and Downerville also were established on former farm fields and pastures. There are 3.44 miles of existing trails through Degrasse along with large undeveloped areas well suited for recreational use. A broad network of hiking and mountain biking trails – 11 miles ranging from gently rolling loops to steep technical trails – traverse Downerville, which also has extensive frontage along the Grasse River. Add Whippoorwill Corners and altogether, the state says, the potential exists for more than 75 miles of new or improved trails: “The size of this unit, diversity of habitat and accessibility provide for exceptional recreational opportunities including hunting, fishing, camping, horseback riding, hiking, skiing, canoeing, mountain biking, rock climbing, and snowmobiling.”
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A special foal was born that eve Under stars above the shed. Hoof drops melted frosty ground Trailing towards a straw cast bed. The Mare’d been quietly pacing, Cats n’ dogs were huddled near. The Sire shaking off the snow, As sentry, quelling fear. ‘Twas an uncanny silent night, No sound from cows or sheep. A babe was born, stood and fed, Then nourished, fell asleep. Three wise dogs blocked the wind. Sheep laid woolen covers warm. Moonlit parts of dust n’ dew Revealed angelic form. Donkey’s bray cracked the cool night air To tell the world of this One. To Sire and Mare and all soulful there, Was born this special Son. Awakened to life’s melodies by Softly cooing dove Astute and strong he grew with God’s abundant love. Meadows he paced carrying Goodness, kindness, and light. Modeling forgiveness, salvation, And ample, crucial might. Lone survivor of rebellion. The conqueror of demise. Truly humble of all beings. Steadfast faith is in his eyes. Seems his mission was to curry All living being’s favor. It is only fitting for this horse, To have the name of Savior. Cowboy poet and storyteller Mark Munzert, a longtime friend of New York Horse, shared this poem with our readers
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HANNAY FARM
MINIATURE HORSES
The small package good things come in
Voice trained to drive. Quality conformation. Useful, friendly and affectionate. A few of our registered minis are for sale, by appointment only.
GENE & MARY SMITH Cazenovia, NY • 315-655-9748 Email: spice5@windstream.net Check us out on Facebook and www.hannayfarm.com
Serving the Agricultural Community with Pride • Equine Feeds, Nutrena, Purina and Triple Crown • Dry, Bagged, Bulk Fertilizer & Lime • All types of Dairy and Farm Feeds available In Our Garden Center & Gift Shop • Full Line of Greeting Cards • Garden Flags & Fairy Garden Supplies • Bird Feeders & Seed • Boots & Winter Clothing • ❤ Your Hometown with our New Mugs
Delivery Service Available ( 3 1 5 ) 8 5 2 - 3 3 1 6 • 6 D e w e y A v e n u e , D e R u y t e r , N . Y. 1 3 0 5 2 • D e R u y t e r C o o p . c o m •
THE ARMCHAIR EQUESTRIAN
Never outfoxed Rita Mae Brown spins a deft mystery in hunt country
Brown brings a deft and polished hand to the mystery as well as an insider’s touch to the hunt scene: She is Master of Hounds at Oak Ridge Fox Hunt Club and has called fox hunting “the grand passion of my life.” The author of 24 Mrs. Murphy mysteries, as well as the “Sister” Jane Arnold Outfoxed series, Brown lives in Afton, Virginia, with cats, hounds, horses, and big red foxes. In Crazy Like A Fox, the latest Outfoxed installment, the pages are filled with colorful characters – both two- and four-legged – with intrigue, and the rich history of Virginia’s horse country. With a lush landscape and timeless tradition as its backdrop, the novel gallops toward a surprise conclusion in full cry and packed with the thrill of the chase.
BITS AND PIECES HIGH FIVE: NUMBERS OF INTEREST THIS ISSUE New York Horse took a spin through the stacks of research, news releases, and other nuggets of information that come our way and gleaned these items of equine intelligence.
1976
The year Mary Anne Tauskey became the first female U.S. Olympic equestrian champion, taking gold in eventing
4-8
The number of horses Olympian and FEI World Cup champion McClain Ward rides every day
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$170K The top price paid for a horse – a weanling colt – at the fall Fasig-Tipton sale in Saratoga
10
The percent of all horses registered with the USEF that are Thoroughbreds. In 1982, the number was 40%
1871 The year the NYPD Mounted Unit was established
PHOTO BY DANIELLE A. DURKIN
T
he chase is on in New York Times bestselling author Rita Mae Brown’s new foxhunting mystery, featuring as lead sleuth the indomitable and hard riding “Sister” Jane Arnold accompanied, as ever, by horses and hounds. In Crazy Like A Fox, (Ballantine Hardcover, $27) an investigation into a missing and very valuable object flushes out murder, ghosts, and old family rivalries. Now Sister Jane and a pack of four-legged friends must catch the scent of a killer and unearth a longburied truth. The tale begins as the calendar turns and the crisp October winds bode well for the year’s hunting season. But before the horn sounds, Sister Jane takes a scenic drive up the Blue Ridge Mountains for a board meeting at the Museum of Hounds and Hunting. Brimming with colorful stories and mementos from hunts of yore, the mansion is plunged into mystery when
a venerable hunting horn is stolen right out of its case. The only clue, left behind on a discarded cell phone, is what seems to be a “selfie” video of the horn’s original owner, Wesley Carruthers. The thing is: Wesley has been dead since 1954. Odder still, Wesley’s body was never found. When Sister makes a discovery that may explain his unsolved disappearance, it leads her back to the Jefferson Hunt at midcentury, with her faithful hounds at her side. As the clues quickly mount, Sister is no longer sure if she’s pursuing a priceless artifact, a thief, Wesley’s killer – or a ghost. The only certainty is that someone wants to put Sister off the chase, perhaps permanently.
Promoting dressage and eventing as art and sport through competitions, clinics and educational activities
Connect with our community of fellow riders
Membership includes: • Discounts at Competitions, Clinics & Year-End Awards Banquet • Educational Opportunities • CNYD&CTA newsletter “Lengthening Strides” • USDF Group Membership Benefits • US Eventing Association Affiliate • USDF monthly magazine “USDF Connections” • Quarterly magazine “New York Horse” • Eligibility for Year-End Awards Join us for our Educational Series, offered January to April on the second Monday of the month Our show season starts May 13 with an Informal Dressage Show. We look forward to welcoming you!
For more information go to www.cnydcta.org
Madison County
CHRISTIAN PHILLIPS PHOTOGRAPHY
Cazenovia | Hamilton | Chittenango | Canastota | Oneida | Bouckville | Brookfield
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OFF THE BEATEN PATH
Letchworth State Park Waterfalls, rock cliffs, and a vintage inn await at the ‘Grand Canyon of the East’ Editor’s Note: New York’s state parks, forests, and wildlife preserves beckon riders of all abilities and interests. A diverse terrain awaits, from stone-dust paths and rolling hills to rugged mountains and wilderness lakes. Get out there and ride!
V
isons of sugar plums should be dancing in our head but – given that this is New York – chances are good that a winter storm warning is currently dancing there instead. Except for the hardiest, this is hibernation season for trail riding; so put a paw over your nose and dream about warm weather and the horse trails at Letchworth State Park. Renowned as the “Grand Canyon of the East,” Letchworth is scenically magnificent and geologically stunning. The park follows the 17-mile course of the Genesee River as it roars north
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through a deep gorge and over three large waterfalls. Rock walls, rising up to 550 feet in places, were once part of an ancient inland sea; marine fossils fleck the exposed shale bedrock. Hugging the western edge of the Finger Lakes in Wyoming and Livingston counties, the park offers some 20 miles of bridle paths surrounded by lush forest. The New York State Horse Council rates the trails as suitable for intermediate riders. Plan some time out of the saddle: There are 66 miles of hiking trails that are also available for biking, snowmobiling, and cross-country skiing. For the adventurous off-duty equestrian, there’s also whitewater rafting, kayaking, and hot air ballooning. Say thanks to industrialist William Pryor Letchworth who, in 1859, began purchasing land near the Middle Falls and started construction of his Glen Iris Estate. In 1906, he bequeathed the 1,000 acre estate to New York, and it became the core of what is today a 14,000-acre state park. No question that he had quite the eye: In 2015, Letchworth State Park won USA Today’s Readers’ Choice competition as the best state park in America. Don’t miss: The three major waterfalls — called Upper, Middle, and Lower Falls — are located in Portage
Canyon, the southern section of the park. The Middle Falls is the highest; the Upper Falls has an active railroad trestle crossing immediately above it. Keep an eye out for: The large stands of hemlocks found throughout the park provide forage for deer and cover for ruffed grouse, turkey, and rabbit. Birds of prey, including barred owls and redshouldered and Cooper’s hawks, are also regular visitors. Put the wine in equine: William Letchworth built Glen Iris as his country retreat. Overlooking Middle Falls, the mansion has been completely restored as an inn and is open to the public for dining. Sign us right up for the beef tenderloin, and red wine poached pear with caramel sauce. Hours: The park is open daily, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. This is Western New York, however, so take that “open” with a grain of salt. Possibly rock salt that you are keeping in your car, just in case. Parking: There are two parking areas for riders, the NYS Horse Council trail guide says. One’s on the western side of the park. Come in at the Castile entrance, the gateway to about 5 miles of trails. On the eastern side, park at the PortagevilleParade Ground entrance for access to approximately 20 miles of trails. Nerd alert, Lady Clairol edition: Black squirrels like the ones seen at Letchworth are actually gray squirrels that have an extra pigment gene called melanin, which causes their black coloration. Keep in mind: Carry a cell phone on you. That way if you part company with your horse – beware of equine-eating squirrels – you have the phone.
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EQ MEDICINE
Pressing Reset Cornell cardiologists offer procedure to restore a horse’s quivering heart By Patricia Waldron
W
Catheters run from the jugular allow an electric shock to return the heart to normal rhythm
hen medical treatment fails, cardiologists at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine can now offer a procedure that resets the quivering heart of a horse in atrial fibrillation to bring back its normal heartbeat. Drs. Romain Pariaut, associate professor and section chief of cardiology, and Bruce Kornreich, associate director of the Feline Health Center and staff cardiologist, recently performed a transvenous electrical cardioversion (TVEC) to treat a horse diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, a rapid, irregular heart rhythm that causes decreased blood flow from the heart. This procedure, which involves carefully placing electrodes into the heart to reset its rhythm with an electric shock, is now available at Cornell. “I’m very excited to be able to offer this procedure,” says Kornreich. “AF is a very common condition in horses that we’re often asked to diagnose and treat. This is another tool in our toolbox to convert these patients back to a normal heart rhythm.” The Equine Hospital had offered TVEC until about five years ago, when the hospital could no longer purchase the catheters needed for the
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procedure. The catheters recently came back onto the market, around the same time that Cornell vet students examined On-Star, a 19-year-old mare belonging to the teaching herd. “The students picked up the arrhythmia at the Cornell Equine Park and we diagnosed it as AF,” says Dr. Gillian Perkins, medical director of the Equine and Nemo Farm Animal Hospital, who coordinated the procedure. “We figured this was the perfect opportunity to practice on one of our own animals so that we could offer the procedure to clients.” Atrial fibrillation is the most common cause of an irregular heartbeat in horses, and vets often diagnose the condition in racehorses. It occurs when the organized electrical signals that normally control heart rate and contraction become disorganized, causing a rapid and erratic heartbeat. Horses can survive for years with AF, but the condition often causes poor performance. Traditionally, veterinarians have treated AF with quinidine, a drug that can reverse irregular heartbeat in about 85% of horses. The drug has several possible side effects, however, including gastrointestinal problems, low blood pressure, and even sudden death. For horses that don’t respond well to quinidine, or have had AF for several years, TVEC may be a better treatment option. TVEC works just like the paddles of a defibrillator that doctors routinely use on humans, and even make the horses “jump” from the muscle spasm. In horses, however, the thick chest muscles and lungs make it impossible to shock the heart from the outside, so instead, veterinarians place 3-foot long catheters tipped with electrodes into the heart via the right jugular vein. “The most difficult part of the procedure for us is to guide the catheter,” says Pariaut. “In horses,
Electric shock is “another tool” to treat a horse with atrial fibrillation, says Dr. Bruce Kornreich
it’s a long path to the heart from the outside.” After sedating the standing horse, they carefully maneuver one catheter into the right atrium, while a second continues its journey down into the right ventricle and up into the pulmonary artery. Vets use a cardiac ultrasound to monitor their progress and then perform an x-ray to verify that the metal electrodes are sandwiching the right atrium. Finally, they anesthetize the horse, stand back, and apply a carefully timed electric shock to return the heart to a normal rhythm. On-Star’s procedure took approximately four hours and required a veritable village of clinicians, including cardiologists, internists, radiologists, anesthesiologists, and licensed veterinary technicians. Combined with the expense of the catheters, the initial diagnostic evaluation, and hospitalization, the procedure costs about $3,500 to $4,000. Of course, TVEC carries its own risks, not the least of which are associated with the general anesthesia. With this in mind, Pariaut and Kornreich tried to reduce the amount of time that On-Star was under anesthesia through careful attention to electrode placement. With both TVEC and quinidine, there is also the possibility that horses will spontaneously go back into AF. One recent study found that between one-third and one-half of horses successfully converted from AF to normal heart rhythm will revert back after treatment. So far, On-Star is doing well and has had no complications. “We expect that offering this technique will draw
cases to our hospital, thereby improving our ability to train large animal medicine and cardiology residents and veterinary students,” says Perkins. “We are very pleased that On-Star, a member of our teaching herd, could help us move forward in this capacity.” “We’re very thankful to everyone involved for their support,” Kornreich added. “We are excited to have TVEC available once again, and we hope that we’ll now be doing it routinely.”
Cardiac ultrasound is used to monitor the placement of catheters
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The Return of the Gray Riders The history of the State Police was written on the back of a horse PHOTOS BY TROOPER MICHAEL BUCHINGER NYHorseMag.com NEW YORK HORSE 27
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unner was bound for slaughter. The dark bay gelding with the eyes of an old soul waited in the kill pen, a yellow USDA export sticker on his back. He’d come to this final crossroad from a lackluster career on the harness track and eight years as an Amish buggy horse. At 15, he was spent. But there was something about this horse that asked for another chance. “He was afraid of people. He would hide in the back of his stall and when you reached out to him, he flinched,” Trooper Mary Elena Moran remembers. It was she who got the call to rescue, and she who said yes. “I flooded him with kindness.” If there are scars, they are well healed. He is a 17.1 hand island of calm as a flotilla of motorcycles roar past the State Fair’s World of Horses Tent – the Harley-Davidson delegation in the annual Labor Day parade hooting, belching smoke and revving engines. He is the morning’s featured horse, and he stands quietly in a small corral as Moran talks to the crowd. Several deep, they press up close, surrounding Gunner in a tidal wave of adoring hands – many of them sticky and belonging to small children – that pet him on the nose and the neck and the chest. His steady demeanor says who he is as unmistakably as the brass medallion on his breast collar: NYST — New York State Trooper. The history of the State Police was written on the back of a horse. Before motorcycles and blue-andyellow cruisers, there were the Gray Riders, the first law enforcement the rural areas of New York had seen. They were called to duty in April 1917, just days before the U.S. entered World War I.
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And so, fittingly, in this, their centennial year, the Gray Riders have returned. They are, for now, a ceremonial mounted unit; but the 18 horses and riders have trained with an eye and a hope for the day when they will be called to full duty. Each horse was certified to the same standard as the New York City police mounted unit. In two weeks of training, the horses – who up until then had been enjoying life as a personal equine – were desensitized. They were exposed to all the different stimuli that might be encountered on the street, from balloons and babies to loud bangs and the newest entry in the spook-the-horse arsenal – drones. They learned formations, crowd control, and how to escort a vehicle through a crowd. A C130 transport jet flew steeple high over their heads. A chopper hovered 20 feet above. Some of the riders were unnerved but the horses, says Sgt. Douglas Wildermuth, “didn’t flinch.” Their value in modern law enforcement begins with their size and strength. Horses are “force multipliers,” Wildermuth explained, meaning one horse and rider can move 10-15 people. Horses allow an officer to look three levels out, to become what the NYPD calls “New York’s Tallest,” to see and be seen in a crowd or an emergency. And then there is their intangible worth: a furry, kind-eyed and approachable asset in the increasingly burdened job of community relations. “There’s a lot of room for them in law enforcement today,” said Capt. Kris Sisbower, noting that the NYPD never halted their mounted patrol. She would like to keep the unit going after the centennial and make it more than ceremonial. “A lot of agencies are ‘remounting’ their force. They see the importance, especially in these times.” The New York State Police began as a mounted police force, four years after the murder of a construction foreman. Samuel Howell was shot seven times and robbed of his company’s payroll. His attackers were never caught, even though Howell identified them, because local police refused pursuit, fearing for their own safety. Outraged, Katherine Mayo and Moyca Newell, whose home Howell was building in Westchester County, campaigned for a state force to protect the rural areas of New York. Their answer came in the person of Major George Chandler, a surgeon and soldier. Appointed the first State Police Superintendent, Chandler took charge of everything from choosing the first troopers, conducting their physicals and designing their uniforms. He also bought 250 unbroken horses, at $150 each, and sent them to Camp Newayo in Manlius – named after Newell and Mayo – to be trained along with the first troopers. Chandler, of course, had a secret weapon in those original recruits: Most came from the U.S. Cavalry and were excellent horsemen. In four weeks, the untrained horses would respond to every command.
Sgt. Wildermuth picks up the story: “At Camp Newayo, the first 232 troopers learned how to ride, how to shoot, and about the law. Their first detail was at the state fair and, from there, all 232 were dispatched, on horseback, to the four original barracks: A (Batavia), D (Oneida), G (Albany), and K (Kingston).” They were the original road patrol, going out in pairs and averaging 20-25 miles a day. They picked up complaints at the nearest post office and, in a memoir about those early days, Trooper Paul Williams recalled that they “were required to pick up a postmark on their daily patrol sheet from the postmaster in each town (they) passed through.” Cars and motorcycles began to be added in 1918, but for the majority of troopers “the first three to four years, horses were the only means of transportation,” Wildermuth said. The tack the horses wear in the ceremonial unit is a direct link to that past. Each horse has a thick loop of rope knotted around their neck and clipped to their bridle. It looks like a handy noose for bad guys but its purpose is Functional Horsemanship 101: When troopers went out on one month patrols, at night they flipped the rope over their horse’s head and hitched them to a tree or a fence. NYHorseMag.com NEW YORK HORSE 29
As part of their training, horses were exposed to stimuli that might be encountered on the street, from smoke bombs to balloons
“Their proper patrols are the little roads where people are far apart and crimes of late years have been close together.” From “The Grey Riders,” Frederic Van de Water, 1922 30 NEW YORK HORSE NYHorseMag.com
Graduation day for the mounted unit at the State Fair Coliseum
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William Claus rode with the State Police mounted unit during its return in the 1980s. His son, Scott, is a centennial horseman.
By 1948, with New York paved into its farthest reaches, the internal combustible engine had won the day. The horses were retired and, except for a brief ceremonial return in the 1980s, the State Police hasn’t had a mounted unit for 30 years. So when the centennial unit was announced, horse-loving hands went up across the state. All 18 members of the mounted unit have regular road patrol jobs. They were canvassed and selected to be part of the mounted program, using their own horses and their own money. Wildermuth, who rides a palomino Quarter Horse named Sarge, estimates
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each trooper has spent about $2-$3,000 to be part of the mounted unit. “We are proud to be back, to represent the State Police, and to celebrate the traditions of the mounted patrol,” he said. “I wanted to be part of something special.” For Gunner, once a hand span from the slaughter house, there is this, too: A reminder of the worth of each good horse. It is the last day of the State Fair and he has greeted thousands with quiet patience. He is bombproof, crowdproof and I-want-to-pet-the-horsey proof. Part of something special: Home at last.
Many early Troopers were former cavalry. Teams of State Police Rough Riders were renowned for their expert trick riding.
Riding with New York’s first border patrol ‘You talked to the horse, but this was a one-sided conversation’ In 1929, Paul J. Williams was a trooper stationed at Troop B, Malone, known as the Black Horse Troop. They were responsible for patrolling much of the area – remote then, and still remote today – along the border between New York and Canada. Williams recalled in a first-person account published in 1942, how troopers patrolled on horseback from 9 a.m.-5 p.m., except on the weekends, when patrols were 10 a.m.-10 p.m. (The horses went back to the barn at 5, but troopers had to stay on the street until 10.) “The walking gait of a horse is approximately six miles per hour, and ON LINE the trotting pace was Read Trooper approximately twelve miles Williams’ per hour,” Williams wrote. original story “I was never accused of and see more speeding.” historic photos Troopers patrolled in pairs at: centennial. and, “if an arrest was made, troopers. the horse was taken care of ny.gov/ by your partner, or tied to a tree until you returned to pick
it up. You rode to the judge’s office with the prisoner in his car, and after the case was disposed of you would flag down the first car going in your direction and ask for a ride.” North Country weather was a constant enemy. Williams recalled “you burned up” in summer and “you froze to death” in the winter, when temperatures dropped so low the mercury simply refused to show itself on a thermometer. And while they were excellent at crowd control and their other official duties, horses were not much help when it came to warding off boredom on a solo trip. “Many times when on patrol alone it would get kind of monotonous with no one to talk to so you talked to the horse,” Williams remembered, “but this was kind of a one-sided conversation.”
TRAINING DAY Typical day at Camp Newayo, where the first Troopers trained in 1917: 6:45: First call 6:55: Reveille 7:00: Stables 7:30: Breakfast 8:15: Roll call and horseback close order drill Noon: Lunch 1:15: Classes & review 5:00: Dinner
Evenings were spent tending to equipment and classes in law Source: NY State Police
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Making The Cut A Thoroughbred sale is an adrenaline-fueled game of untested horses, genetics, and instinct
PHOTOS BY MICHAEL DAVIS Story by Janis Barth NYHorseMag.com NEW YORK HORSE 37
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his is where bidders meet bloodlines, the high stakes intersection of racing glory and a one-night stand between two consenting Thoroughbreds. A crisp breeze, lightly laced with anticipation, scatters leaves and the occasional scrap of paper covered with hip numbers and cryptic notes. Sunday evening, and the barns behind the Fasig-Tipton sales pavilion are thick with grooms, weanlings, and prospective buyers thumbing through orangeand-white auction books. Men in ball caps, women in cowboy hats, peering at pedigrees two and three dams back as if the black lines of letters and numbers – 5 wins, 3 to 5, $247,980, 3rd Tiffany Lass S. (FG, $5,000) – will somehow rearrange themselves into a clear sign from the heavens that this spindly-legged baby is the next Secretariat. They scribble notes in the margin, peer at the horses they have called out for a closer look, and studiously ignore the people standing around them. No matter that they appear to be drinking coffee and completely uninterested in bay colt No. 150. The unstated understanding is that every other buyer is a potential scoundrel and thief, waiting to snatch the prize you covet.
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Nearly 200 broodmares, weanlings and yearlings will go under the gavel at this Saratoga fall sale. Buyers would sooner cut off their hand than tip their hand. Gary Least signals and weanling No. 129, a roan colt by Mission Impazible out of Senora Cat, pops out of his stall for a turn around the paddock for the buyer with the 5 p.m. viewing. “He’s going to do well, I can tell by the way they look at him,” Least says. “His half-brother just finished second at Belmont.” Least grew up in the Thoroughbred business and his 8-year-old son, quietly playing computer games by the barn, already knows how to pony a horse. Their Foggy Bottom Farm near Geneseo is the consigner for two horses: the well thought-of colt, and broodmare No. 46, Cleopatra’s Needle, in foal to Bellamy Road, about whom Least shrugs and says, “we’ll see.” Across the cobbled paddock, a groom clucks to Platinum Spark and runs his hand through her mane. “Hey, you look like a million bucks,” he croons with a Caribbean cadence. “You wanna look like two million?” No matter her gleam and polish. When the hammer comes down Monday, sale day, the broodmare prospect will look like a top bid of
$5,000. She is the second horse into the ring, minutes behind the auctioneer’s reminder that all horses are sold “as is.” Bid spotters fan out, keeping half an eye on the smattering of buyers in the balcony who have already been warned by the auctioneer that they “may have to throw a catalogue at us to get our attention.” A second bid crew sets up outside, close to the coffee and the closed-circuit TVs that are broadcasting all auction, all the time. $2,500. $3,000. A spike of interest and mare No. 14 pops the bidding briefly into five figures. $1,500. $3,500. $3,500. $1,000. “Anyone give $1,000? Pass on her.” The early bidding seems becalmed in the horse latitudes when Sheriffa enters the ring, hip No. 20, a chestnut mare by Posse out of Smileforamile, in foal to Palace, $1.6 million winner of 12 graded stakes races. She stands squarely at the end of her lead; the handler has worked this bit of choreography so often it is practically encoded in his DNA. The bidding heats. The spotters shout and sign as the numbers rise. “Yup.” “Yup.” “Yup.” The auctioneer curls syllables into the microphone and punctuates them with numbers. “Now 85, now 87. Is that a yes? Eighty-seven thousand. “
On the far side, a bid spotter erupts in a flurry of gestures. He points. He shrugs. He makes a half bid sign – won’t the buyer go up a half notch? – but the OK is too late, the bidding is already at $90,000. Not another nickel will be ponied up.
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“In buying a horse or taking a wife, shut your eyes tight and commend yourself to God.” Tuscan proverb
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“Are we all done? Ninety thousand. Your horse, right here at $90,000. Thank you.” The gavel swings and the mare is off to a new barn, to owners who dream of thundering drives down the backstretch, big purses, and trophies inscribed with the name of a foal that is not yet born. By day’s end, 143 horses will sell for a total of $3.25 million. Hip No. 200, a bay weanling colt by Into Mischief, goes for $170,000 and tops a recordsetting sale. For Foggy Bottom Farm, it proves a mix of expectations met and unmet. Bidding for Cleopatra’s Needle stops at $2,500; the offer is declined, and the mare doesn’t sell. Hopes were high for the weanling, but the bids top out at $7,000 -- well below the sale average of $22,738. He goes anyway, for $8,500 in a private transaction after the auction. This day is all about potential, what might be. Today each horse can rewrite the record book and stand the Sport of Kings on end. Today no one breaks badly from the gate, or loses by a nose. Tomorrow awaits an author.
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AN O’ WA M R AT
O N E
H U N D R E D
The legend of the great champion – “as near to a living flame as horses ever get” – runs through New York tracks to a celebration of his legacy at the National Museum of Racing By Brien Bouyea
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ome of the most iconic sports heroes in American history took center stage during the 1920s. It was a golden era known as the Roaring Twenties and generational legends – Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey, Red Grange – were emerging and defining their respective sports. During these splendid times, perhaps no athlete marked the period more perfectly than the four-legged sensation known as Man o’ War. Arguably thoroughbred racing’s most popular figure of the 20th century, Man o’ War combined speed, power, endurance, and charisma into a package the likes of which had never been seen before. A century after his birth, Man o’ War’s name and legacy remain as revered as any of the great athletes of his, or any, era. “He was as near to a living flame as horses ever get,” turf writer Joe Palmer would say, “and horses get closer to this than anything else.” The mighty horse known as “Big Red” was foaled at Nursery Stud near Lexington, KY, on March 29, 1917. Exactly
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a century later, Man o’ War at 100 – a comprehensive exhibit that chronicles his remarkable life – opened at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, across the street from
the track where the champion became a phenomenon. The exhibit will be on display through 2018. Bred by August Belmont II, Man o’ War was a chestnut son of Fair Play
out of the Rock Sand mare Mahubah, bloodlines that beckoned greatness. Fair Play was an accomplished runner eventually enshrined in the Hall of Fame; Rock Sand was an English Triple Crown winner. Man o’ War’s paternal grandfather was Hastings, the 1896 Belmont Stakes winner known for biting other horses and ramming opponents during races. Belmont’s military involvement in World War I prompted him to sell his entire 1917 yearling crop. Avid sportsman Samuel Riddle, a Pennsylvania textile manufacturer, purchased Man o’ War for $5,000 (approximately $104,000 today) at Saratoga’s 1918 yearling sales, in what turned out to be one of the shrewdest purchases in racing history. Like his grandfather, Man o’ War was a difficult beast: belligerent when handlers attempted to saddle him, routinely dumping exercise riders. “He fought like a tiger,” Riddle said. “He screamed with rage and fought us so hard that it took several days before he could be handled with safety.” One Saratoga story describes Man o’ War enjoying “more than 15 minutes of freedom after launching his rider more than 40 feet” during a workout. On June 6, 1919, Man o’ War made a stunning debut in a maiden race against six other 2-year-olds at Belmont Park. Despite being restrained in the stretch by jockey Johnny Loftus, Man o’ War won by six lengths and made quite an impression in the papers. “He made halfa-dozen high-class youngsters look like $200 horses,” wrote the turf editor of the New York Morning Telegraph. With his power, blazing speed and incredible 28-foot stride, believed to be the longest ever, Man o’ War captivated the imagination of racing fans and drew record crowds everywhere he appeared. He was the favorite in every one of his races and three times he was recorded to have odds of 1-100. His presence made the turnstiles swing at dizzying rates in Saratoga. Man o’ War romped in his Spa debut in the United States Hotel Stakes on Aug. 2, 1919 and
decimated the competition in the Grand Union Hotel Stakes and the Hopeful Stakes later that summer. The Saratoga season of 1919, however, was not without controversy. What transpired on Aug. 13 in the Sanford Memorial turned out to be the lone blemish on an otherwise perfect record. For the first and only time, Man o’ War was defeated, as a horse named Upset lived up to his name. The circumstances of the race remain shrouded in mystery and disputed almost a century later. The blame for Man o’ War’s loss to Upset has often been assigned to the
man who was filling in that day for the regular race starter. The substitute, Charles H. Pettingill, was in his late 70s and reportedly had problems with his vision. Years earlier, Pettingill almost incited a riot in Chicago when he kept the horses at the start of the American Derby for an hour and a half, forcing the race to be restarted almost 40 times. The starting gate had not yet been introduced, so horses in that era broke from a flimsy piece of webbing strung across the track. Man o’ War, always eager to get on with the race, was infamous for breaking prematurely through the barrier. On the day of the
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Sanford, he broke through five times, each time having to be pulled up. Loftus was backing up Man o’ War, trying to line him up again after his fifth lunge through the tape when, without warning, Pettingill sprang the webbing, apparently catching Loftus by surprise. Various reports said Man o’ War was facing the wrong way, sideways, or simply caught off guard. Whatever position he was in, Man o’ War was left at the start. Making a furious rally to get in contention, Loftus found traffic trouble and became locked in a pocket on the rail. Past the eighth pole, the jockey knew he had no choice but to swing his mount outside, and Man o’ War lost valuable ground. “Man o’ War was abominably ridden,” The Thoroughbred Record reported. Although he was left at the start, buried in traffic, carrying 15 additional pounds, and forced wide, Man o’ War 46 NEW YORK HORSE NYHorseMag.com
still nearly triumphed. Upset won by a diminishing half length, and Man o’ War blew past him right after the finish line. “Given an equal chance Man o’ War would undoubtedly have won the race,” The Saratogian stated. The shocking result became even more mysterious the next year when The Jockey Club refused licenses to both Loftus and Upset’s rider, Willie Knapp. No explanation was provided, but both jockeys were never allowed to ride again. Was there a conspiracy between them? If so, it has never been uncovered, and both Loftus and Knapp were eventually elected to the Hall of Fame. The Sanford, however, proved to be a fluke. Man o’ War raced against Upset six other times and won each meeting. He followed his lone defeat with the victories in the Grand Union Hotel and Hopeful, before closing out his juvenile campaign with an easy score in the Futurity at Belmont.
And 1920 did not skip a beat. Riddle passed on the Kentucky Derby in favor of having Man o’ War make his 3-yearold debut in the Preakness. Big Red won easily, as he did in the Withers, the Belmont (setting a world record and drawing away by 20 lengths), Stuyvesant, and Dwyer. Man o’ War returned to Saratoga in August, romped in the Miller Stakes and followed that with a remarkable performance in the Travers. Even though he was restrained in the stretch, Man o’ War covered the Midsummer Derby’s 1¼ miles in 2:014/5, setting a stakes and track record that stood for 42 years. From the Travers, Man o’ War returned to Belmont for the Lawrence Realization. By this time, few owners had any interest in racing against Riddle’s powerhouse. Only Hoodwink, at 100-1 odds, came forward. Knowing Hoodwink provided no legitimate threat, jockey Clarence Kummer set Man o’ War against the clock. The
mighty colt responded by shattering the previous world record for 15/8 miles (2:45 flat) by more than four seconds (2:404/5). Poor Hoodwink was left approximately 100 lengths in the dust, and Man o’ War’s performance that day still stands as a Belmont record for the distance. After pushing his win streak to 13, with impressive victories in the Jockey Club Gold Cup and Potomac Handicap, legitimate competition was scarce. The one possible exception: Sir Barton, who’d become racing’s first Triple Crown winner in 1919. So, in October, Riddle sent Man o’ War to Canada’s Kenilworth Park for a match race. There was tremendous excitement for the showdown, but the result was familiar and predictable. Sir Barton broke well and owned an early lead, but Man o’ War quickly reeled him in, cruised to a seven-length victory, and smashed the track record for 1¼ miles by more than six seconds. There was nothing left to prove. Man o’ War was a perfect 11-for-11 as a 3-year-old and had won 14 races in a row. He carried as much as 138 pounds as a sophomore after being burdened with 130 pounds six times as a juvenile. What could be next? There was talk of sending Man o’ War to England for the Ascot Gold Cup. An offer was telegraphed from Churchill Downs for a match race with the great gelding Exterminator. The Chicago World’s Fair wanted Man o’ War as a drawing card. There were even offers to make him a movie star.
FIVE THINGS What are the odds: In the 1920 Stuyvesant, Man o’ War went off at 1-to-100, believed to be the lowest odds ever in an American horse race Tale of the tape: Big Red topped out at 16.2 hands with a 72-inch girth Hidden talent: Groom Frank Loftus taught Man o’ War to fetch and carry his hat Favorite snack: Oranges Turn back the clock: Watch the match race between Man o’ War and Sir Barton at youtube.com/ watch?v=yC86Jm5oiMc
Riddle, however, spurned all overtures and decided the time was right to retire Man o’ War. The decision was made easier when Riddle spoke to Walter S. Vosburgh who, as The Jockey Club’s handicapper, assigned the weights horses carried in New York. Riddle asked Vosburgh what weight he would put on Man o’ War if he were to race at age 4. Vosburgh told him it would be the highest weight ever carried, perhaps as much as 150 pounds. The final racing ledger for Man o’ War was 20-1-0, and the all-time earnings record of $249,645. In 21 races, he established three world records, two American records, seven track records, and equaled another track standard. Man o’ War spent the rest of his life in Kentucky. He stood at Hinata Farm for one season and most of another and then was moved to Faraway Farm. There are estimates that as many as three million visitors traveled to Kentucky between 1921 and 1947 to see the legendary horse in retirement and hear his groom, Will Harbut, tell glorious tales of his exploits on the track. Harbut became famous for the way he crafted the stories of Man o’ War, always introducing Big Red to visitors as “the mostest horse that ever was.” The great champion died of a heart attack on Nov. 1, 1947, less than a month after Harbut’s death. It required 13 men to lift Man o’ War from his stall at Faraway; three days later, more than 2,000 people attended his funeral, which was broadcast on NBC Radio and featured nine eulogies. American racetracks held a moment of silence at 3 p.m., when the service began. At 3:24 p.m., buglers from the Man o’ War Post of the American Legion, dressed in the famous black-and-yellow Riddle silks, signaled farewell to Big Red with the somber playing of Taps. The greatest was gone. Man o’ War was buried at Faraway Farm and a bronze statue was mounted on a marble base with only the words “MAN O’ WAR” as the inscription. No other words were needed. Three decades later, Man o’ War’s remains were exhumed and moved along with the 3,000-pound statue to the Kentucky Horse Park. Thousands of visitors pay their respects at his resting place each year. Man o’ War enjoyed tremendous
success as a stallion. Among his 386 registered foals, 64 became stakes winners, including his greatest son, 1937 Triple Crown winner War Admiral. His blood still pumps through champions: 1990 Kentucky Derby winner Unbridled and 2000 Preakness winner Red Bullet have Man o’ War in their pedigree. So do Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta from the 2016 Hall of Fame class. Man o’ War was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1957. Forty years later he bested Secretariat in an Associated Press poll for Horse of the Century, and received the same honor from The Blood-Horse. As the decades have passed and his remarkable accomplishments have seemingly become more mythic, the legend of Man o’ War has only grown. “A living flame,” as Joe Palmer penned, and yet something more: “It was that even when he was standing motionless in his stall, with his ears pricked forward, and his eyes focused on something above the horizon which mere people never see, energy still poured from him,” Palmer wrote. “He could get in no position which suggested actual repose, and his very stillness was that of a coiled spring, of the crouched tiger.” NYHorseMag.com NEW YORK HORSE 47
EQ STYLE
Cocktails
SARATOGA COCKTAIL The name Saratoga has been associated with great horse racing since the 1860s. Stylish sipping joined the party in 1887, when the first drink to bear the name appeared in Jerry Thomas’ Bar-Tender’s Guide.
with a kick Toast Man o’ War with his namesake drink (or try two honoring moments in his run to immortality)
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an o’ War inspired books, racing fans, and many a breeder hoping to catch lightning by the tail for themselves. He also inspired a bourbon cocktail – seemingly not the odds-on favorite for whiskey choices, as Big Red was foaled in Kentucky but never raced there once in his career. Back then, railbirds watching him fly down the track at Saratoga, Belmont or Pimlico could only dream about toasting to one of the finest racehorses in history: Man o’ War started his career in 1919, the same year that Prohibition began in the United States. Happily, we have no need to decamp to the speakeasy down the street to enjoy a big, red cocktail today. By the way, in the interest of fairness, we did devote a few spare minutes to searching for an Upset Cocktail, to recognize the horse that dealt Man o’ War his only defeat. We found just one: A combination of whiskey, vermouth and “white mint cream,” which we are not sharing because it was both clearly undrinkable and the exact color of a Band-Aid. You’re welcome.
A variation on the Manhattan that adds brandy to the timeless mix of whiskey and sweet vermouth, the Saratoga – no less than the horse who ran to glory on its track – is a classic with staying power. INGREDIENTS
1 ounce rye whiskey 1 ounce brandy 1 ounce sweet vermouth 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
MAN O’ WAR COCKTAIL INGREDIENTS
2 ounces bourbon 1 ounce Cointreau Half-ounce sweet vermouth Juice from ¼ lemon DIRECTIONS
Combine in a shaker filled with ice. Shake for 30 seconds, or about the time it took Man o’ War to come thundering down the home stretch. Strain into a chilled glass and garnish with lemon or orange peel and a maraschino cherry.
DIRECTIONS
Pour the ingredients into a mixing glass filled with ice and stir well to chill. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon wedge or twist.
THE PREAKNESS Yes, yes, we know the Black-Eyed Susan is the official drink of the Preakness, the first race run by Man o’ War as a 3-yearold. At least it is now. But before the current favorite, there was a dark-horse entry called The Preakness Cocktail, and its history places it closer in spirit to when Man o’ War hit the track at Pimlico. Cocktail historians say it was invented by George Backert, head barman at the Emerson Hotel in Baltimore, and became the official cocktail of the first Preakness Ball, held in 1936. Do we need to tell you the Preakness is run in Baltimore? We thought not. INGREDIENTS
2 ounces rye whiskey 1 ounce sweet vermouth ½ teaspoon Bénédictine 2 dashes Angostura or other aromatic bitters DIRECTIONS
Stir all ingredients with ice until very cold. Strain into a chilled, stemmed cocktail glass and garnish with a cherry.
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EQ STYLE
… And while we’re on the subject of drinks Choose one with an equine twist, and don’t be just any party animal
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egardless of whether we’re toasting a perfect ride, or they’ve driven us to drink, we raise a glass to the horse. And no better place to do it than New York, where wineries and breweries are crafting signature beverages, from Hunt Country port to fill a classic stirrup cup, to Standardbred Wet-Hop Saison — a sure bet after a day at the track. Eq-wine aficionado or stout supporter of carbonated alcohol, no matter to the investigative journalists at New York Horse who risked several bad hangovers to compile this sampler of drinks with an equestrian twist:
Hunt Country Vineyards One of the oldest and most enduring of foxhunting traditions is the stirrup cup, a small sendoff serving of port or sherry to ward off the cold, toast to good luck in the field, offer a little Dutch courage, and make it hurt less when you fall off. Hunt Country Vineyards, at the western edge of the Finger Lakes in Branchport, offers both a Ruby Port — perfect with blue-veined cheese, chocolate, and a case of the chills from frosty rides -- and a Cream Sherry, with hints of raisins, nuts and caramel.
Fox Run Vineyards Pause and lift a glass to the animal whose henhouse-raiding ways put the original fox in foxhunting. (Most hunts today are no-kill.) Try this toast from Carla Hawkinson: “To endless years of hounds’ sweet cry/To thundering hooves, and foxes sly.” To go with a spirited sentiment, Fox Run Vineyards in Penn Yan offers three bottles of foxy cheer: Arctic Fox, which captures the sweeter and fruity side of Finger Lakes white wines; Ruby Vixen, a blush with hints of strawberry and citrus; and Fox Trot red, also sweet, with the flavor of Concord grapes.
Copper Turret Morrisville State College is known for its equine science and racing management programs, so when a brewhouse opened at the Copper Turret Restaurant — which serves as a learning lab for the hospitality students —a few horsey options seemed like a solid wager. So far there are three to choose from, all on tap exclusively at the restaurant, a landmark building on Main Street in the heart of the village: Belgian Draft Horse Tripel, one of their flagship beers, crisp and full-bodied from a blend of barley and wheat malts. Haflinger Witbier, a traditional Belgian style, light yellow like its namesake horse, with notes of coriander and orange peel. And Standardbred WetHop Saison, which emphasizes the commitment to local farm sources, brewed with hops that traveled from the field to the brewhouse in four hours.
War Horse Brewing The Appleoosa hard cider slushie was new to the 2017 State Fair, one of the few places where Dippin’ Dots, fried dough, and top-level horse shows are a natural combo. Both the drink and the pun are completely irresistible. Try a glass, then pick up a DIY Appleoosa slushie NYHorseMag.com NEW YORK HORSE 49
EQ STYLE mix at War Horse Brewing Co., a microbrewery that is part of Three Brothers Winery near Geneva. While you’re there, check out the Breakfast with Churchill Oatmeal Coffee Stout; not strictly equine, but we’re bending the category to include Sir Winston, who famously said, “There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.”
Genesee Brewing Company Feeling a bit old school? Tired of beers that are described as having hints of resin, or hay, or lavender, or anything that is screaming NOT BEER! at your taste buds? Genesee 12 Horse Ale is the answer to what — umm — ails you. The English-style ale was introduced by the Genesee Brewing Company in 1933 and is their most requested heritage pour. Proudly promising “old-fashioned goodness,” 12 Horse is available exclusively at Genesee’s brew house in Rochester.
Baiting Hollow Farm Vineyard Come for the wine, stay and adopt a horse. Baiting Hollow Farm Vineyard on Long Island is more than a winery, it’s a sanctuary that retrains and finds homes for rescued horses, work they’ve been doing since 2007. In addition to their regular selection, there are three horse rescue wines — Angel (a chardonnay), Mirage (a Bordeaux-style red blend), and Savannah Rose (an off-dry rosé) — the sale of which support the sanctuary’s operations. Profits from their dessert wine, Sweet Isis, named after the farm’s Egyptian Arabian, also support the sanctuary.
Sackets Harbor Brewing Co. The only place you can buy a can anymore is an antique shop, but no list of equine-inspired drinks would be complete without mentioning Funny Cide Light, a lager honoring the first New York-bred to win the Kentucky Derby. The beer, like the horse, has been retired. 50 NEW YORK HORSE NYHorseMag.com
T h e Wa r H o r s e s When the carousel carvers set aside their peacetime tools, a remarkable photographer captured the moment for all time
In 1942, war came to the merry-go-round factory. The hands that used to turn out carousel horses to gladden the hearts of children, laid down their carving tools and turned their skill to the machinery of battle. In storage for the duration went intricate wooden figures, peacetime products of the Spillman Engineering Company, now engaged in producing parts for the war program.
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I
n these images from the Farm Security Administration’s Office of War Information, photographer Edward Gruber records a stark beauty in the conversion of the North Tonawanda plant; in the play of craftsmen’s hands directed to a task they never wished. Joe Wiegand, a machinist, turns a rod for a shell extractor for a 47-caliber naval gun. Otto Andre bends crate hooks for the packing of airplane engines. Sixty-five year old Herman Jagow finishes a final few carvings, his time now spent on lathe work for landing gear housing. On the factory floor, a drill press is converted for milling landing gear cases. Hooks for packing cases of aircraft engines are bent on a horizontal bulldozer formerly used to bend rails for merry-go-rounds. “For years those hands have carved most of the horses that appear on American carousels,” Gruber wrote in his captions. Their skill, “formerly used to amuse children, is now aiding in the job of protecting children and assuring them a life in which amusement will be as much a part as before the rise of fascism.” For that day, the music waited.
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“Four things greater than all things are: Women, and horses, and power, and war.” Rudyard Kipling
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“The worker, whose skill was formerly used to amuse children, is now aiding in the job of protecting children and assuring them a life in which amusement will be ... a part.” War Information Photographer Edward Gruber
TIME AND AGAIN When the war ended, the days of the carousel builders in North Tonawanda also drew to a close. Their legacy endures: Of the 148 hand-carved wooden carousels still in existence in the U.S. and Canada, 71 were manufactured in North Tonawanda. Today, the old Allan Herschell Co. factory is a museum where the motto is “Once Around is Never Enough.” In addition to a large collection of merry-goround animals and a recreated workshop, two vintage carousels are ready to ride, one sized just for kids. Admission to the museum includes one free ride.
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60-Second Clinic “Winning is 95 percent mental. Practice performance.” Shawn Flarida, World Equestrian Games gold medalist in reining and NRHA Hall of Famer, from his appearance at Western New York Equifest
PHOTO COURTESY OF FEI
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THE GUIDE: MASTER CLASS
Words to Ride By ‘The rider is always creating the horse’
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rthur Kottas is a presence in dressage. When he speaks, as he often does, about the “thinking rider,” his opinion about what that means has been shaped by a career that took him to the peak of classical horsemanship. In 1980, he became the Chief Rider at Vienna’s famed Spanish Riding School, the youngest person to have held the post in the school’s 400 year history. From 1995 until he retired in 2002, Kottas was First Chief Rider. Since then, he has coached horses and riders around the world, sharing a philosophy of training that begins with the happiness of the horse and the attitude
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of the rider. Regardless of discipline, it is an approach to horsemanship that will make any rider better. When he came to Waltzing Horse Farm in New Berlin for a week of clinics, Kottas allowed the group to pick his brain on everything from stress to spurs. New York Horse culled a double handful of riding tips and truths, starting with an observation about where it all begins: 1 “It’s all about the basics. I always say, ‘You can build a horse on sand, or you can build a horse on rocks.’” 2 “Dressage is to exercise the mind and the body … If there’s a problem, I go one or two steps back. I don’t continue to go forward ... You have to be ready to go forward. If I’m training you to run and you are doing 5K and I say in two weeks you will run a marathon, can you? You can’t. It’s not that you cannot run, it’s that you are not ready.” 3 “The rider is always creating the horse.” 4 “Throw your heart over the jump and the horse will follow ... We have always to say ‘Yes, I can.’ Maybe, if you are not as talented, you have to work harder, but
you must stay positive. Say, ‘Yes, I can.’” 5 “Before you ride with spurs, you have to earn them.” 6 “If we ask our horses if they are happy in their training, how many of them, if they could answer, would say they are happy? Happiness from our partner horse is so important. But happiness doesn’t mean he is out in the field doing nothing. Happiness means he understands in his head and his body what we ask.” 7 “We don’t sit on the horse, we should sit in the horse – so we feel the movement. The seat is the key. The walk is the easiest gait to control and correct the rider’s seat.” 8 “If the horse gets tense, it’s twothousand percent the rider’s fault. It’s always the rider ... Are you ready in your mind, your body, before you get on your horse? Are you ready? That is always the
question.” 9 “When you feel your horse getting a bit excited, use your voice to control his temperament. Your voice is an aid.” 10 “You always stop with something positive.”
THE GUIDE: GOOD HORSEKEEPING
Baby, it’s cold outside
Winter management for the outdoor horse
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f there’s any place that knows as much as upstate New York does about winter, it’s Canada. Maybe more, and we happily cede them the crown. We’re not really looking for deep-freeze bragging rights. So when Equine Guelph suggests thinking about letting your horse spend more – if not all – of their time outside, we figure they’ve researched a thing or two about ice, snow, and wind-chill factors. Dr. Susan Raymond, instructor of Equine Guelph’s Management of the Equine Environment online course, says that barns and stables “invariably” present challenges of dust, mold, and proper ventilation over the course of the winter. “Most horses are well equipped for living outdoors and thrive, provided certain provisions are met,” says Raymond, whose research on air quality provided practical recommendations to the horse industry on stable design and management. She believes the ideal environment for most horses is to be outside with
herd mates, satisfying their need for movement and providing their digestive system with the optimal conditions to function as nature intended. Here are a few of her tips for managing the horse’s environment through the winter season: Provide a heated water source. Horses need to consume large volumes of water to keep forage traveling through the gut. Provide the best quality hay and be aware that horses will need more forage in the winter to meet their energy needs and maintain their core temperature. Avoid round bales which can become havens for dust and mold, increasing the risk of respiratory ailments. Shelter provides a windbreak and can be natural or manmade. Location and construction of a shelter are important considerations before building. Use sturdy material – Raymond says pressure treated 4x4 posts or thicker – with rounded edges. Build on a sight grade, 2 to 3 degrees, for
moisture runoff, and situate the shelter so prevailing winds blow against the walls not the entrance. As for size, she suggests a three-sided structure for 2-3 horses would be a minimum of 12 x 36 feet and high enough that a rearing horse would not be endangered. Maintain highly visible, safe fencing of durable construction. Gate width is important for safe leading and the ability to bring in machinery. Safe footing is critical. Keep pathways clear with a handy mix of wood chips, sand and rock salt. In the paddock, watch for unsafe footing, ice, and uneven ground. Discuss with your farrier the options of your horse going barefoot for the winter, or putting on snow pads. Daily checks are also important. Raymond recommends giving horses a daily once-over in the winter, including picking out their hooves, wound checks, and checking under their blanket for weight loss or gain. If the horse is blanketed, she says, you will also want to check it hasn’t slipped and is not rubbing. NYHorseMag.com NEW YORK HORSE 59
THE GUIDE: BETTER HORSEMANSHIP
Happy trails? Not without the horse’s respect ‘If your horse doesn’t trust you to keep him safe, you have no business being on a trail’
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egan Mangold grew up riding, a horse-loving kid in a house steeped in good horsemanship. At Mangold Ranch Versatility in Lockport, she and her team have been training horses and riders for more than 20 years. Her focus, Mangold says, is starting with the fundamentals and gaining experience by working with horses “from the ground up.” Their favorite way to spend free time – natch – is in the saddle, out in the Western New York countryside, trail riding. It’s recreational riding,
Train your trail horse ‘from the ground up’
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sure, but as Mangold explains, it still requires good riding in order to stay safe. And that requires time, practice, and a good understanding of the equine mind, because there is no going forward without the horse’s respect. So, start with the point everyone should know: Horses are prey animals with a flight instinct honed over the millennia to a sharp edge. That means they see dead people, killer squirrels, and horse-eating dandelions and, like any reasonable being, they’d rather not hang around and see how it all turns out. For riders, that means becoming a firm but fair leader the horse respects and can rely on to make good decisions that will — in the horse’s mind — you them both alive. “If your horse doesn’t trust you to keep him safe, you have no business being on a trail where the unexpected will happen,” Mangold said in a clinic at Equifest. “Respect is the most important thing in a trail horse.“ Begin with the basics, she said: “Have a good foundation of skills. It will keep you safe ... As much as we need a foundation of skills in our horse, we
need to have a better foundation of skills in ourselves. If we’re anxious, they’re anxious.” Think of it this way: Emotionally and intellectually, your horse is essentially an overgrown toddler. And who, Mangold asks already knowing the answer, “would put their trust and safety in a 1,000 pound 3-year-old? They have to take directions from you.” In unfamiliar surroundings on a trail, or any time your horse is on edge, “you want them to say, ‘OK mom, what are we going to do?’ instead of bolting off.” Train for that moment constantly and with consistency. “Consistency is what trains a horse. Make the right thing really easy and the wrong thing really hard,” Mangold said. “Show them when they’re concerned that there’s a better answer than doing something stupid.“ Remember the power of the voice as an aid. Control the horse’s emotions by speaking to them in a deep, low voice. And start, as she said often, from the ground up: “If you have no respect from your horse on the ground, you have no business being on his back.”
THE GUIDE: EQ BUSINESS
Selling your horse: Marketing is critical Think about these three keys: Price, selling points, and photography
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By Nikki Alvin-Smith
here are a host of reasons why people sell horses. Whatever the motive, the successful outcome for any horse sale is finding a new partner for your equine at a price you can accept. The first step is to take an objective and realistic look at the attributes your horse possesses. Done that? Fine. The next step is highlighting his talents, aka marketing. In marketing, it’s important to push what is unique about the item you are trying to sell – to make it stand out from the competition. A unique selling point might be a dressage horse that won her first classes off the farm with scores over 75. Or it might be a reining horse with full siblings that have excelled in the show pen, making him a hot prospect even if he has little proven experience. Once you’ve decided what you’re advertising about your horse, it’s time to think about your target audience. Unless your equine is a whiz kid who can do it all, the audience for your horse or pony will be specific. For example, if you have a horse that is sound and sensible, unfazed by the great outdoors and happy ambling off road, the trail riding market is obviously a good choice. But if he’s extremely forward and his idea of fun outside is running and jumping crosscountry, then eventing might be a better market to pursue. Knowledge of your target market will affect where you advertise, and obviously what price your horse may command. If you are not sure how to price your horse, think about consulting an equine appraiser or get input from your trainer. Do your own market research and see how other horses of similar training/ talent/bloodlines are priced. Be aware, however, that just because a horse is priced at a certain point does not mean
it sold — or will sell — for that price. Be prepared to be flexible on price when you find the right match for your horse. Once you’ve determined a price and market, it’s time to advertise. Remember that it’s important not to overwhelm a prospective buyer with every little detail about your horse. You want to leave questions in their minds to encourage them to seek you out. Your ad should have clear contact information, whether your platform is print, your website, social media or a combination. In today’s world everyone wants to see a video. I have done some informal surveys of my own and asked how long, ideally, a video clip should be and what the buyer would like to see covered. Most buyers answered that three to six minutes was long enough for a video; any longer they considered a waste of their time. They wanted to see the horse working in their discipline, of course, but buyers were also interested in seeing the horse standing in profile and from front to back, and walked and trotted in hand to and from the camera. If you are selling a foal, young horse or breeding stock, then work at liberty should be included in the video. Here are tips to help when producing a video or taking photographs: The horse should be clean and well groomed. The handler/rider should be neatly dressed. Show clothes are not necessary,
just a tidy and professional appearance. Tack and equipment should be clean and in good order. The background and general environment should be neat, tidy, horse safe, and professional looking. Your horse should be front and center in the shot. Do not have other horses in the background. (Especially not horses that are more attractive or talented!) In video production short is sweet, but do not leave the prospective buyer feeling shortchanged or wondering what was left out. Include halt, walk, trot, and canter in both directions. In videos, showcase the horse successfully completing the job for which you are marketing him. For example: If he knows his third level dressage work, show him doing just that. If he has great form over fences, showcase it. Avoid adding music to the video as it is a distraction. Remember that your taste in music may not match the viewer’s. Everything set? Excellent. Here’s one last bit of advice as you start marketing your horse: You should set a timeline for your advertising program. I generally run with a three month timeline before I reevaluate the price, advertising content or reason for not having sold the horse. Nikki Alvin-Smith is an international Grand Prix dressage competitor, trainer and clinician. She operates a private horse breeding/training farm in Stamford, NY.
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NYH MARKET
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