WAG magazine April 2016

RITA WILSON

Onstage with a song…

At home with family (and dog)

THE NATURE OF HERMÈS FRAN LEBOWITZ: Political animal

HORSIN’ AROUND

At Old Salem Farm, Greenwich Polo Club

CREATURES OF SEA, RIVER AND SOUND GINI FISCHER:

Turning pets to portraits

celebrating THE ANIMAL KINGDOM

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W H I T E

P L A I N S

H O S P I T A L

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M E M B E R

O F

T H E

M O N T E F I O R E

H E A L T H

S Y S T E M

Brendan Wenzel The raccoon and the Ladybug, 2015 Watercolor, acrylic, colored pencil, & crayon Collection of the artist Josée Bisaillon ”Lily” from Winter’s Coming, A Story of Seasonal Change, 2014 Mixed media, giclée print Collection of the artist Wendell Minor Chipmunk from Sequoia

by Tony Johnston Gouache, watercolor on paper Collection of the artist Jeannie Brett “North American Black Bear,” from Wild About Bears, 2012 Watercolor and gouache on paper Collection of the artist

Wild Reading:

Animals in children’s Book Art An exciting family outing into the world of illustrated and 3D animals

March 26 – July 23, 2016

Bruce MuseuM | Greenwich, cT | www.brucemuseum.org

BRUCE MUSEUM

CONTENTS

WHAT’S INSIDE: 12 I caw, therefore I am 16 No sacred cows 18 Animal lust 22 Elegance and strength 26 Two riders, different paths 30 A view from the saddle 32 The humanity of animals 36 Dazzling tributes to the horse

40 44 48 50 60 64 66

Paint, palette, pets Out of the wild One with Seabiscuit Blithe spirits COVER STORY: Rita Wilson – The singer and the song Getting others back in the saddle Liquid assets Detail of Susan Fox’s “A Good Stretch” (2015), oil on canvas.

Courtesy Flinn Gallery, Greenwich Library. See story on page 44.

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RITA WILSON

THE NATURE OF HERMÈS FRAN LEBOWITZ: Political animal

HORSIN’ AROUND

At Old Salem Farm, Greenwich Polo Club

CREATURES OF SEA, RIVER AND SOUND Turning pets to portraits

celebrating THE ANIMAL KINGDOM

JUDGED

BEST MAGAZINE IN NEW YORK STATE

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ON THE COVER:

Onstage with a song…

At home with family (and dog)

GINI FISCHER:

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Sterling National Bank - 109 snb.com

Rita Wilson.

See story on page 60.

Photograph by Steven Sebring.

Courtesy of Rita Wilson.

LISA CASH

ANNE JORDAN DUFFY

BARBARA HANLON

AMBER MATTHEWS

MARCIA PFLUG

PATRICE SULLIVAN

WESTCHESTER & FAIRFIELD LIFE APRIL 2016 | WAGMAG.COM

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EDITOR'S LETTER GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

PARENTS AREN’T SUPPOSED TO HAVE FAVORITES, BUT WHAT ABOUT EDITORS? I must confess to a certain partiality to our August issue (about sports, including the US Open, and recreation) and to this, our April issue, in which we “Celebrate the Animal Kingdom.”

If you were to tell me that I would one day be editing a magazine that has an annual “hoof and woof” issue — as Bob calls it — and that we would be covering such tony subjects as Greenwich Polo Club and the Spring Horse Shows at Old Salem Farm in North Salem, well, I would’ve probably laughed. When we started WAG 2.0 five years ago, many of us didn’t know a paddock from a pasture. But like the Thoroughbreds that are a passion of molecular biologist/businessman Thomas M. DeChiara, profiled here, we quickly got up to speed.

The horse was our entry into the annual animal issue, just as it was Hermès’ first client, inspiring the company and introducing its customers, as you’ll see in our story, to a world of brilliantly colored, boldly patterned and richly textured accessories and equine accoutrements.

And just as Hermés has transcended the equestrian world, so have we. We go on safari with our resident Wanderer Jeremy and with wildlife photographer Laurent Baheux. We plunge into The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk and the Bruce Museum’s Seaside Center with our Aquaman, Reece. We see our pets through the eyes of massage therapist Stephanie Torres, holistic veterinarian Rachel Barrack (Danielle R.’s story) and artist Gini Fischer (Mary’s).

And, of course, we take on animal attributes in animal-print clothing by Valentino, equestrian jewelry by Karina Brez and animal-skin handbags. Do we contradict ourselves in our love of animals and our desire to wear them? To paraphrase Walt Whitman, Very well then, we contradict ourselves. As Hermès’ artistic director Pierre-Alexis Dumas observes of his company: “We have always worked in relation to nature. …We are living together and biodiversity is a question of balance.

We are pushing for the finest quality, and for an equally fine awareness of what we use, and how we use it.” The same might

Holding a Balinese python purse from Mary Jane Denzer in White Plains. Photograph

by Bob Rozycki

be said of all of us.

We also consider the extent to which animals can think, courtesy of Audrey’s provocative opening essay. Certainly, they don’t think the way we can. Man, Aristotle said, is a political animal, with the capacity for a kind of reason and expression that is unique — something Laura considered recently as she enjoyed the presidential election-year wit and humor of Fran Lebowitz at Tarrytown Music Hall for a report here.

What we do know is that animals can feel profoundly. And it is this visceral quality that may be our strongest connection to them.

In our cover subject, Rita Wilson, you’ll meet a woman (and dog lover) of great feeling, great empathy.

“I love live performing,” she says in Laura’s story on her upcoming appearance at Ridgefield Playhouse. “I love the audience, because I feel them. I get them.

I love performing for them. I love meeting them afterwards on some occasions when it’s set up to do that, and I feel like we’re the same person.”

It’s this ability to connect that has made Wilson a storyteller — as an actress and producer and now also as a singer-songwriter.

Empathy — it’s not always apparent in the two-legged jungle, is it? But it’s something we’ve come to expect from our furry, feathered friends.

Georgette Gouveia is the author of “Water Music” and the forthcoming “The Penalty for Holding,” part of her series of novels, “The Games Men Play,” which is also the name of the sports/culture blog she writes at thegamesmenplay.com. Readers can also find weekly installments of her serialized novel, “Seamless Sky,” on wattpad.com.

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I caw, therefore I am

BY AUDREY RONNING TOPPING

Most animal lovers, farmers, children and pet owners in everyday contact with dogs, horses, birds and even mice have long observed or at least suspected that animals not only think but have complex emotional lives similar to ours. Scientists, however, have found the inner lives of animals difficult to study and harder to prove. But recently, contrary to a long tradition in European thought which held that animals had no minds at all, scientific evidence has emerged to verify that the cognitive traits of animals are a lot richer than once thought.

The celebrated 17th-century philosopher René Descartes (“I think, therefore I am”) argued that only humans were capable of reason, possessed souls and were linked to the mind of God. All other animals, he said, were merely living robots that “eat without pleasure, cry without pain, grow without knowing it. They desire nothing, fear nothing, know nothing.”

Anyone who observes animals today knows this attitude is ludicrous. Yet students of animal behavior in the past held that the question of whether animals could think was irrelevant

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since it was impossible to answer. Thoughts and emotions seemed to be beyond the scope of objective inquiry. Attributing conscious thought to animals was untestable.

It seems incredible that it was not until 1976 that a contrary view was taken by Donald R. Griffin, a professor at Rockefeller University in Manhattan. In his book “The Question of Animal Awareness: Evolutionary Continuity of Mental Experience,” Griffin contested that animals could think and this could be supported by authentic scientific scrutiny. But such prog-

Photograph courtesy dreamstime.com.

ress was not easy. Field observations were often dismissed as anecdotal since domestic animals may not behave as they do in the wild. Nevertheless, most scientists finally accepted the obvious and agreed that some animals process information and express emotions in ways that are accompanied by conscious mental experience.

OMG, what took them so long?

Studies eventually concluded that animals from

dolphins to whales, from bison to birds, from rats to cats have complex mental capacities, and that a few species have attributes once thought to be unique to people, such as using tools, falling in love, learning by example and reacting to music. I once had a cockatoo named Charlie who could keep time and dance to music. Some animals — primates, cetaceans (whales and dolphins), corvids (the crow family) and parrots — even have their own cultures. Birds create

beautiful nests and squirrels have been observed stealing outdoor Christmas tree lights to decorate their homes. My dog Wolf collected attractive toys.

Wild wolves and mountain goats prefer scenic views. Chutzpa, my cat, seeks out silk negligees to sleep on. Primatologist Jane Goodall says chimps express a pantheistic pleasure in nature.

Koko, the giant gorilla, famous for her unique ability to communicate with humans in sign lan-

‘EPITAPH TO A PARROT’ For thirty years he talked in feathered pride; For thirty years he talked before he died.

You say that parrots do not really know The meaning of the words they speak? Just so, I grant you that you may be right—but then,

DO MEN?

guage, became a natural ambassador for endangered species and the “Voice of Nature” at the 2016 Climate Summit (COP21) in Paris. She also plays the flute, blows kisses and loves kittens.

Research has demonstrated that segments of the brains of chimpanzees are associated with communication and language. Brain mapping of rats reveals that the neurological process underlying emotions is similar to those in humans.

The Economist magazine, in a recent article on animal minds, reported that a group of neurosci-

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— Theodore Stephanides

entists studying animal brains in 2012 concluded, “Humans are not unique in possessing the neurological substrates that generate consciousness.

Nonhuman animals, including all mammals and birds and many other creatures … also possess these neurological substrates.”

It seems obvious that animals think in ways that humans may not yet be able to decipher, perhaps because they have evolved from different survival needs. So there will be some dimensions in which animal minds exceed humans. Some are

more adapted to sensory and mental realms completely different from that of humans so they have no need for linguistics to get the message across.

Many use body language, sniffing scent glands and other means that seem close to mind-reading and ESP that we cannot comprehend or prove.

However, we do know that animals communicate all the time. Honeybees use “waggle dances” to pass on directions to pollen-rich flower beds.

Much hamster vocalization is ultrasonic. Shrews use ultrasound as an echolocation device. Birds and whales sing complex songs to find mates and warn of dangers. Monkeys have different alarm signals for every predator. Lions and tigers plan attacks and leave trail markers.

We all know our pets can learn to understand amazing things. Chase, a Border Collie, knows more than 1,000 words and fetches toys by name.

Charlie, the cockatoo I rescued in Hong Kong, spoke simple words in three languages — Chinese, English and Spanish — plus crow and dog talk. He called all seven members of my family by name and knew who he was talking to. He also loved the gin-soaked olives in my husband Top’s martinis and laughed wildly at my jokes, so I assume he had a good sense of humor.

For the rest of the story see Audrey’s book “Charlie’s World: The Improbable Adventures of a Hong Kong Cockatoo and his American Family.”

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NO SACRED COWS

BY LAURA CACACE

Aristotle once said that “Man is by nature a political animal,” by which he meant we are the only animals capable of reason and speech. Humorist Fran Lebowitz — author of “Metropolitan Life” and “Social Studies” as well as the focus of Martin Scorsese’s 2010 documentary “Public Speaking” — is perfect proof that we are more than capable of both.

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Fran Lebowitz.

Photographs by Richard Getler.

“Donald Trump is not my fault,” she asserts during a recent engagement at Tarrytown Music Hall. She’s referring to her rejoinder at events in the last few weeks when “foreigners,” as she puts it slyly, found out she’s American and immediately asked about the most controversial Republican candidate. As a Democrat, Lebowitz discusses Trump in the most humorous of terms but also acknowledges that the possibility that he could become president of the United States frightens her.

“In certain ways, it’s really amusing. But it would actually be really amusing if it wasn’t a really important job. I don’t find it that amusing, because I’m old enough to think — the president. That’s an important job.”

But she takes shots at her side of the political aisle, too. About the Clintons — who like Trump have strong ties to WAG country — she says, “I don’t like them. I never did.” And after a pause, as if readying herself for the onslaught of audience disdain, she goes on to say, “Bernie Sanders — yes, he’s adorable. And I agree with him on the things he talks about. I myself am also a liberal, old-fashioned, New Deal Democrat and if the United States was the only country in the world, I would vote for Bernie Sanders. But it is not the only country in the world and he seems to be pretty much unaware of that.”

So no, she is not thrilled with her options on the other side of the political spectrum either. “First of all, he’s a senator from Vermont. OK? Vermont

— also adorable.”

Lebowitz doesn’t limit herself to discussing the political candidates and how she feels about them. The whole game of politics is confusing to her. In discussing caucuses, and how they work, she wonders aloud why small states like Iowa and New Hampshire are chosen to be representative of the country in determining who could be a strong candidate.

“When I watched the returns of the Iowa caucus, and I saw that some of the differences were like 2,000 votes, I thought, ‘There’s 2,000 people on my block.’”

She acknowledges that she’s recently come to terms with the idea that she’ll probably never fully understand how the process of a caucus works, and the audience cheers in agreement.

Politics isn’t the only topic about which Lebowitz has strong opinions — which she delivers in a matterof-fact way that has the entire audience roaring with laughter. In speaking about the steep cost of living in New York City and Mayor Bill de Blasio — as well as

millennials, race issues, the institution of marriage, the legalization of marijuana and even her thoughts on strollers — it’s clear that she’s not only aware of the world around her but has put a lot of thought into it.

Perhaps that’s because she has somehow managed to keep technology — smartphones, computers, tablets and the like — at bay. “It’s gone too far. I can’t deal with it. I’m not catching up,” she says of the way technology has grown.

Or maybe that quick thinking and wit is the result of a life spent reading pretty much every book she’s come across. “I never understand when people say they don’t have time to read. I don’t have time to do anything else.” She figures she’s got about 10,000 books in her apartment. “I know, because I’ve moved them.”

Either way, Lebowitz has plenty to say and doesn’t shy away from any particular subject. She delivers her thoughts with a quiet self-assurance that keeps the audience hanging on her every word and gasping for breath between bursts of laughter.

The direction of the conversation returns to politics, more specifically, the newly open seat on the Supreme Court after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Lebowitz had a recurring role as a judge on the long-running TV series “Law & Order,” and, as such, feels qualified to take on the Supreme Court.

A political animal through and through, Lebowitz shrugs and says, “I’m available.”

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ANIMAL LUST Fired by nature, Hermès transforms it

BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY HERMÈS

Few luxury houses are more closely associated with nature than Hermès. From its foundation in 1837 by Thierry Hermès as a maker of bridles and harnesses for carriage horses, Hermès has increasingly embraced the panoply of the natural world in an array of brilliantly colored, richly textured, marvelously nuanced accessories and accoutrements — all while remaining true to its equestrian roots.

“Tyger Tyger” shawl in cashmere and silk, with a design by Alice Shirley, $1,100.

“The horse was Hermès’ first client,” Ménéhould de Bazelaire told an appreciative audience of some 100 attendees of her recent lecture on “Hermès: A Natural History” at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich. De Bazelaire is director of cultural heritage and curator of the Emile Hermès Museum — “a secret garden” of private, family equestrian artwork and antiques that sits atop the Hermès flagship on fashionable Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Par-

is. (Her lecture was held in conjunction with the Bruce-Hermès exhibit “Fierce and Fragile: Big Cats in the Art of Robert Dallet,” which we wrote about in WAG’s February “Celebrating Love” issue.)

The horse, de Bazelaire added, is “what gave the house (of Hermès) wings, its idea of beauty, nature, elegance.”

To say nothing of its logo of a horse-drawn carriage led by a groom — “a symbol of the harmony of human

intelligence and animal strength,” she said — as well as its theme for this year, “Nature at Full Gallop.”

But if Hermès continues to outfit horse, rider and stable, often in its signature orange, it has since the 1920s expanded its horizons to draw inspiration from other natural forms for clothing and accessories that transcend the equine world — as demonstrated by de Bazelaire’s lecture. Like a great Hermès silk scarf, it teemed with color, tex-

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Bracelets in enamel inspired by the “Balades Équestres” scarf, from left, $830, $660 and $600.

ture, life and image after image of Hermès collection-inspired objets that had the viewer-listener secretly lusting, “I’ll take one of these and I must have one of those.”

“Humankind has always been fascinated by animals,” de Bazelaire observed as she presented an image of “Premières Mains,” a 2002 Hermès scarf based on a design by Zoé Pauwels that swirls with bulls, bison, stags and horses from the prehistoric caves of Lascaux. “We see them as alter egos.”

A furry dog-shaped pouch, “Fourre-toutou,” and a seal-shaped cushion for the beach, both 1930; a scarf dotted with frolicking monkeys by Charles Pittner (“Les Singes,” 1939); beetle brooches in gold and

semiprecious stones, 1958; a gold mouse brooch, 1963; and a peacock-feathered parasol under which Catherine Deneuve posed fetchingly in 1962 to promote her film “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” — these attest to the long tradition of creative dialogue between the animal kingdom and Hermès’ designers.

That kingdom includes the human animal as well. De Bazelaire’s images featured one of Hermès’ signature Kelly bags — an adaptation of the company’s saddle bag made famous by a 1956 Life magazine photograph of the pregnant Princess of Monaco, the former actress Grace Kelly, using it to shield her growing belly from the prying paparazzi.

This bag was “graced” by the princess’ beautiful face.

Other celebrated Hermès fans have included President John F. Kennedy, who carried an Hermès black alligator briefcase, and Queen Elizabeth II, who sported an Hermès scarf as a kerchief when she rode on horseback with President Ronald Reagan at her side.

But it is to the four-legged creatures of this world — particularly the endangered ones — that Hermès has given its heart. Together with the nonprofit Panthera, Hermès has established the Robert Dallet Initiative for Wild Cat Conservation in tribute to the wildlife artist whose drawings and paintings of the big cats inspired Hermès for almost 20 years. In January, Sotheby’s auctioned six one-of-a-kind Hermès objects decorated with Dallet’s work, with all proceeds going to Panthera. In addition, a portion of the revenues from Hermès’ charitable scarf — created from Dallet’s “Panthera Pardus,” a depiction of a taut, focused leopard slinking through the grasses — will benefit Panthera as well.

As Hermès’ artistic director Pierre-Alexis Dumas — great-great-great grandson of the company’s founder — says in the companion coffee-table book “Fierce and Fragile:” “We have always worked in relation to nature…. We are living together and biodiversity is a question of balance. We are pushing for the finest quality and for an equally fine awareness of what we use, and how we use it.”

For more, visit hermes.com and Hermès Greenwich, 289 Greenwich Ave. 203-622-3007.

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E

ELEGANCE

AND

STRENGTH

BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

It’s a place — one of the toniest and loveliest on God’s green earth — where stars gather to watch some of the finest athletes of both the two-legged and four-legged variety.

And yet, on any given Sunday afternoon in spring and summer, it’s a place where everyone can feel right at home — even the family dog.

For 35 years, Greenwich Polo Club has been offering spectators thrilling match play in an atmosphere of casual elegance amid the undulating verdure of the town’s backcountry. Credit for this goes first and foremost to Peter M.

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Brant — businessman, art collector, philanthropist and true horseman, who fell in love with the sport when he met polo legend Thomas B. “Tommy” Glynn at the Fairfield County Hunt Club in the 1970s.

Brant is not only the founder of Greenwich Polo and the Saratoga Polo Association in Saratoga Springs, along with co-founder of Bridgehampton Polo Club and Windsor Polo Club in Vero Beach, Fla., but he’s the only breeder in Kentucky Derby history to have bred a winner of The Run for the Roses, Thunder Gulch in 1995, along with his sire and dam. (And if that name sounds familiar to you from the news recently, it’s because Thunder Gulch has been showing American Pharoah the ropes at Ashford Stud in Versailles, Ky.)

Team Audi’s Nic Roldan keeps his eye on the ball during an East Coast Open match at Greenwich Polo Club. Photograph by ChiChi Ubiña.

Like horse racing, polo is a team effort, Brant told WAG for last April’s “Animal Passion” issue. In 1979 — two years before Greenwich Polo was born — Brant founded Team White Birch. Anchored by Brant, who has been a top-ranked amateur player, and powered by the humorous Argentine 9-goaler, Mariano Aguerre, White Birch has become the New York Yankees of polo, having won the most high-goal polo tournaments (31) in the past 25 years, including the U.S. Open Polo Championship in 2005. Among other memorable moments was a tournament that has been called “the high-goal event of the (1980s)” and “the polo match of the century” — the Americas’ Polo Championship, which in 1986 pitted the best of North America against that of Argentina, a Brant inspiration that was televised on CBS. The cameras rolled again — last year with NBCSN — as Team Audi defeated Team White Birch in overtime to win the East Coast Open.

The tournament drew more than 8,000 fans, including equestrian Jessica Springsteen — winner of the 2014 American Gold Cup at Old Salem Farm in North Salem — who was there to cheer on her beau, Team Audi’s Nic Roldan. Actor Luke Wilson was on hand to present trophies for one of the Open matches, a reminder of Greenwich Polo’s star luster.

It doesn’t take a special tournament, however, to draw some 2,000 people to the club’s matches at Conyers Farm on Sundays from June to September.

Attendees come dressed in summer chic — children and dogs in tow — to watch the likes of Aguerre, Facundo Pieres, Hilario Ulluoa and Ralph Lauren Polo spokesmodel Nacho Figueras thunder down a field that is 300 yards long and 160 yards wide, the polo field being the largest in any sport. They come to spread picnic baskets and sip Champagne while savoring lobster rolls and gelato and shopping for equestrian accessories and accoutrements from Greenwich Avenue vendors. They come to sing the National Anthem, bop to the PA system’s soundtrack and stomp on the divots at halftime. Mostly, they come to see and be seen in their distinctive hats as the world strolls by.

More important, spectators turn out for some great causes. Greenwich Polo has held events for such nonprofits as The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in Ashford, Conn., for children with cancer and their families, the Center for Contemporary Printmaking in Norwalk and Laurel House mental health resource center in Stamford. A 2014 Greenwich Polo match was the setting for a luncheon benefitting ECAD (Educating Canines Assisting With Disabilities), which provides our wounded warriors with service dogs.

And at the last match of the 2015 season, a cheetah from the LEO Zoological Conservation Center in Greenwich made an appearance.

But perhaps Greenwich Polo’s most glittering

event was the 2013 Sentebale Royal Salute Polo Cup, with Prince Harry, Figueras and Brant among other players raising money for the prince’s Sentebale charity, which aids youngsters at risk in Lesotho. The prince proved to be a regular bloke.

The glitterati — from hostess Stephanie Seymour (Brant’s wife) to designer Valentino to actress Olivia Palermo, journalist Gayle King and model Karolina Kurkova — graciously trod the red carpet in chilly, rainy English-style weather. And Dawn Jones (Tommy Lee’s wife) proved the sport isn’t just for the guys, capturing the MVP award for her take-charge play for Figueras’ St. Regis team in a taut match that nonetheless saw Prince Harry score the winning goal for the Sentebale Land Rover team.

It was a magical day — one of many on Greenwich Polo’s field of dreams.

The Greenwich Polo Club season opens June 5, with the Monty Waterbury Cup, which continues June 12 and 19. Then it’s the Butler Handicap June 26 and July 10 and 17. The East Coast Open will be contested Aug. 28 and Sept. 4 and 11. Gates open at 1 p.m. Sundays, with the matches at 3 p.m. Admission is $40 per car. The dress code is summer chic. (Ladies, remember your hats.) Tickets are available online beginning April 1, as are private cabanas and boxes. The field address is 1 Hurlingham Drive. For more, visit greenwichpoloclub.com.

“Our son has come a long way with riding, and we are very proud of all his accomplishments and how well he is working toward long-term independence. Riding has given him a reason to shine. We are very happy to be given the opportunity to have him in this program.”

Founded in 1975, Pegasus provides the many benefits of equine-assisted activities and therapies to people with special needs, veterans and individuals at risk. We are a PATH International Premier Accredited Center serving more than 200 participants ages 4 and up each year at our chapters in Westchester, Putnam and Fairfield counties. Our programs offer a wide range of opportunites for sport, recreation, learning and socialization. Through the incredible therapeutic power of the horse, participants gain self-confidence and strength in a nonjudgmental environment created to help them meet their individual goals and celebrate the joys of success.

We need YOUR help to keep our riders in the saddle, fund our unmounted programs and ensure our irreplaceable therapeutic horses stay healthy and content. YOU can change a life today! We also invite you to become a Pegasus volunteer, donate a horse to our program, attend our events or refer a potential student. Join our Pegasus community and experience the magic of the human/horse connection!

Make your life-changing gift to our riders today at

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TWO RIDERS, DIFFERENT PATHS

BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

Georgina Bloomberg and Caleno 3 clear the signature Old Salem Farm fence while competing at the Spring Horse Shows.

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They are accomplished equestrians, two local favorites who have brought their grace and power to events at Old Salem Farm in North Salem.

But as the Spring Horse Shows there approach in an Olympic year, Beezie Madden and Georgina Bloomberg find themselves on different tracks.

Beezie Madden is all smiles after a clear round with Cortes C on the Grand Prix Field at Old Salem Farm.

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Madden — part of the gold medal-winning U.S. Equestrian Team in Athens (2004) and Beijing (2008) and a bronze medalist in Beijing — has already been short-listed to the team, along with Kent Farrington, Laura Kraut and McLain Ward, who was also part of the Athens and Beijing teams. (The four were selected based on their high placement on the Dec. 4, 2015 Rolex/USEF Show Jumping Average Ranking List.)

“It’s what you dream of as a little girl — to go (to the Olympics) and represent your country,” Madden says.

Bloomberg has had the same patriotic dream. It’s why she’s so passionate about competing in the FEI Nations Cup series.

“I enjoy riding for the U.S. team and being able to represent my country,” she says.

For her, though, the timing for the Olympics may be off. The United States Equestrian Federation and chef d’équipe (team manager) Robert Ridland will be adding at least six other teams of riders/horses — none of the horses have yet been selected — to the short list by April 13. (That selection is based on performance in observation events or a top 10 finish at the World Cup Final in Gothenburg, Sweden, which took place at the end of last month.)

“It’s something I’m not thinking about,” Bloomberg says of the short list. “If it happens, it would be amazing. But you have to have the right horse. My mare, Jubina, has been injured for over a year. It’s part of the sport. The timing is not in our favor.”

It’s a reminder that for those who enjoy the beauty of the hunter competitions and the speed and energy of the jumper events — both of which they’ll see in the Spring Shows at Old Salem Farm in May — the horse is as much a part of the athletic team as the rider, even more so.

“The horse has to be a fantastic jumper,” says Madden, who rode Authentic, a Dutch-bred gelding, to victory in Athens and Beijing. “He has to want to work with you, travel, ride on airplanes, go into big cities and compete in big arenas and stay healthy. It’s a hard thing, because you have to peak at the right time.”

For Madden — who with her husband, John, runs John Madden Sales farm in Cazenovia, N.Y. — the Spring Shows are a kind of equine spring training, a tune-up. “It’s a step forward, about bringing the horses up to speed.”

That step could be one of many that will take her to Rio de Janiero, where the Zika virus has American athletes like soccer star Hope Solo raising a red flag.

“You have to be concerned,” Madden says. “But (the virus has) been around quite a while and I’m leaving it in the hands of the experts.”

Plus, when the Olympics start there Aug. 5, it will be winter, she says, when the mosquitoes are less active.

For Bloomberg, who grew up watching her equestrian heroes at Old Salem, “it’s a good environment to bring around young horses” — which is just what

she’ll do in the first week of the shows.

Whether she makes the Olympic short list or not, Bloomberg wants to compete as much as possible in the next couple of years until her son, Jasper, is school age. That will be the time for settling down.

“If he chooses to ride, that will be his decision,” she says. “I’m not going to make him do it for my career.”

Besides being a mother, Bloomberg enjoys reading about athletes and has co-authored a series of young adult equestrian novels. Her philanthropic work has included The Rider’s Closet, for therapeutic riding schools and riders in need of appropriate apparel; and the Equestrian Aid Foundation to help with medical expenses. (See story on Page 64).

“While I still love riding,” she says, “I can see that there are other things in life.”

DOWN ON THE FARM The Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Shows return for their 34th year May 10-15 and 17-22. The farm has added another competition date, May 8, Welcome Horse Show Day. The shows feature more than 130 hunter and jumper classes each week. In addition to the Olympic-caliber Grand Prix events, there are competitions for children, juniors, adults and amateurs in more than 50 divisions.

Old Salem Farm is at 190 June Road in North Salem. For more, call 914-669-5610 or visit oldsalemfarm.net.

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Ali Sirota in competition.

view from THE SADDLE

BY BOB ROZYCKI

The aim of any rider is to be one with the horse.

Riding competitively in equestrian events tests that theory with every single jump.

Despite hours upon hours of practice going over fence after fence, sometimes horse and rider part ways at the most inopportune of times.

It was on March 2, 2014, a warm Sunday in South Florida, in Ring 6 at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington that Ali Sirota and her horse Briljiant separated mid-jump.

“You ride for 25 years,” Sirota says, pausing, “you learn how to fall.”

(At age 19, Sirota took a hard fall at the Vermont Summer Festival Horse Shows in Manchester where she sustained hairline fractures in her hand, wrist and elbow.)

But this fall was going to be different.

“You know when it’s going to be bad in those milliseconds,” Sirota says as she goes on to describe the slow motion freefall as she locked eyes with Briljiant and she knew that her horse knew this was all wrong.

It wasn’t a good landing. All of Sirota’s weight — and there isn’t much on her slender frame — came down on her left foot. Her talus bone — the main connector

between foot and leg — was fractured. The good news was she didn’t need surgery. The bad news was she couldn’t put weight on her foot for 12 weeks.

Ultimately, Sirota would use this experience — and many others — to become a top equestrian publicist.

But back then, she says, “I didn’t cry until I was told I couldn’t ride.”

Her first attempt at riding — actually it was her dad’s idea — also resulted in tears. While dad’s intentions were good — “What little girl doesn’t like to ride horses?” — the result was not good at all.

Her dad, Richard Sirota, knew someone who

played polo. He found out when he was practicing and asked if he could bring 4-year-old Ali over for a ride on his horse. A time was set and dad and daughter set off for the polo field in the family car.

The man and horse had just played a chukker — 7 minutes of play on the field.

Funny thing about a polo pony after it plays a chukker — with nostrils flaring, hard breathing, eyes wide and veins popping on its muscular-ripped body — it does not look its best. More beast than best.

So Ali did what any 4-year-old would do when asked by dad to come on over to the horse: She locked all the car doors.

“I’m not going on that thing!” she cried. Pleading, cajoling, “My dad is trying his best to negotiate with a 4-year-old.” Needless to say, Ali did not get on that horse that day.

It would be three years later while on a family vacation in St. Maarten that Sirota would ride for the first time. She was in love with horses. Back home in Irvington, she started riding lessons at Fox Hill Farms in Pleasantville — first once a week, then twice, then three times a week. She was also figure skating at Sport-O-Rama in Rockland County. She participated in both at the same time for three years. “My mom scheduled the hell out of me.”

At her dad’s insistence, she was asked to pick one sport to take part in.

The choice was easy: “You can love skating, but it can’t love you back. Horses can love you back.”

And how much did she love horses from that day forward? Well, she rode through her days at Hackley School in Tarrytown and then at Syracuse University she would rise before the morning light to drive for 40 minutes down to Cazenovia to practice at the farm of horse trainer John Madden and his wife, Beezie, who won gold medals at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics. (See story on Page 26.)

When it came time for events at Wellington, she would fly from Syracuse down to Palm Beach on Thursday nights, compete and then fly back on Monday morning. To allow herself time to study and compete at the shows, she would “pack” her classes from Tuesday to Thursday, which allowed her the free time for Wellington.

After Syracuse, she was on to grad school at Columbia University. Did she stop riding? Not at all.

Sirota says she wouldn’t be where she is today — president and CEO of Sirota Public Relations LLC in Manhattan and Palm Beach — without riding.

“The lessons I’ve learned from horse riding have translated very well into quote-unquote normal life and the real world,” she says. “It teaches time management and discipline and respect for others. …It teaches respect for animals and for people from all walks of life.”

The values come from hard work — mucking the stall, feeding the horse, cleaning the horse, making sure the tack is clean and in good order, wrapping the horse’s legs and numerous other chores.

It only follows that her business centers on the equestrian world and its participants.

As to getting back in the saddle after her terrible fall, she returned to competition where she had her first bad fall — the Vermont Summer Festival Horse Shows.

“The first day was fine,” Sirota says. “The second day I had PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).” She remembered the fall in full detail and pulled herself out of competition.

But you can’t keep a good rider down. “It’s a form of meditation” sitting up in the saddle, she says. “The thing is with riding, even if I’m exhausted, I feel better than if I hadn’t ridden.”

So she picked up the phone and called Margie Sugarman, a top sports psychologist. After talks with her, and daily self-affirmations, Sirota got herself back in the saddle and found she was riding better.

“I’m safe and secure on my horse and I moved up a division.”

Life is good. So much so, Sirota is getting married in June to Jeremy Kelman at The Breakers Palm Beach — just a short drive to all those horses in Wellington.

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“Giraffes, Kenya 2013.” Photograph © Laurent Baheux. © “The Family Album of Wild Africa,” by Laurent Baheux, published by teNeues and YellowKorner.

H THE HUMANITY of animals

BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

A lion lifts his proud head, the wind tossing his mane as if he were a supermodel.

A pair of elephants ride the mist as a bird hovers above.

And a tower of giraffes gaze in different directions, suggesting Alexander Calder’s orange steel sculpture “Hats Off.” (Or did Calder model his stabile after a tower of giraffes?)

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“Elephants and Bird, Kenya 2015.” Photograph © Laurent Baheux. © “The Family Album of Wild Africa” by Laurent Baheux, published by teNeues and YellowKorner.

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They are among the indelible images in Laurent Baheux’s limited-edition “The Family Album of Wild Africa” (teNeues Publishing Co. and YellowKorner Editions, 480 pages, $2,242). This coffee-table book, which comes in a clamshell box with portfolio and one signed and numbered photoprint, contains 288 duotone photographs. They capture not only the untamed sweep of the African landscape, but the passion of the French-born photographer, who fell in love with the continent’s wildlife on a 2002 visit to Tanzania and has been recording it ever since.

As Fedora Parkmann notes in her foreword, Baheux does not consider himself a nature photographer per se and indeed these photographs are very different from those you might find in, say, National Geographic.

For one thing, they are in black and white, an exacting medium that requires an understanding of the play of light on surface. For another, they are concerned with form, which is most apparent in his animal couples canoodling, for want of a better word.

A pair of zebras rest with their necks on each other’s backs — the one facing left sporting black pinstripes on a white background; the one facing right, thicker white stripes on black.

Two elephants meet face-to-face — tusks locking, trunks entwining.

And, in a favorite image, two hippopotamuses go in for an open-mouth

clinch, the space between their gaping jaws forming a heart.

Photography, Parkmann observes, didn’t start out as the natural medium for catching the nature of animals.

The long exposures did not suit a landscape that might explode into action at any moment. But advances over time have allowed for an astonishing eye-to-eye intimacy and an anthropomorphism that is anything but sentimental. Baheux’s subjects are social and familial — carrying or shielding babies, lounging, parading, fleeing, grooming, frolicking, mourning — always in groups. Dare we say there is a humanity to them?

“Artists occupy a special place in the ambiguous history of man’s relationship with animals,” Parkmann writes. “By considering the animal as an artistic subject — translating the curiosity, admiration and fear that it arouses into images — are we not in fact bestowing it with the beginnings of humanity?”

Baheux locates the lion, the zebra, the elephant, the giraffe in himself so that we can find the humanity in them.

“There’s no darkness, no ferocity in the animal portraits captured during his travels,” writes Parkmann. “On the contrary, the spark of humanity read in their eyes pleads for recognition of a sensitivity that has long been denied.”

For more, visit laurentbaheux.com, teneues.com and yellowkorner.com.

“Peekskill is my home, and keeping us safe is my job.”

Kaitlyn Corbett Nuclear Engineer Kaitlyn Corbett has always called New York home. Born and raised in Buffalo, she earned her degree in nuclear power engineering at SUNY College of Technology and moved to Peekskill to start her career at Indian Point. Safety is the single most important mission for Kaitlyn and her 1,000 colleagues at the plant, and it’s been the focus of her years of study and training in the nuclear power industry. Every day, engineers are graded on their performance by inspectors from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The NRC recently gave Kaitlyn and the team at Indian Point its highest safety rating — for the fifth year in a row.

Discover more about Indian Point at SafeSecureVital.com

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Dazzling TRIBUTES TO THE HORSE

BY MARY SHUSTACK PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY KARINA BREZ

It’s not every day that you come across a woman who bills herself as an equestrian jeweler, but then again, there are many facets of Karina Brez that are out of the ordinary.

Though based in Florida and displaying her designs during the show circuit in Wellington, Brez is also a familiar face in the Northeast.

Her horse-themed necklaces, earrings, rings and bracelets have caught many an eye — including a WAG editor’s — when she’s showcased her work during the American Gold Cup at Old Salem Farm in North Salem.

Karina Brez

Brez, also a regular at The Hampton Classic Horse Show, has a reach and recognition that extends beyond the equestrian circuit.

A gemologist who studied at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), Brez is a member of the National Association of Jewelry Appraisers and is the CEO of Palm Beach Gemologist LLC. “I was one of the youngest to go to GIA,” she says of her start at 17. “I had to have my parents sign off on it.”

It’s not surprising they did, as the family has a three-generation history in jewelry. As Brez notes,

she “grew up in the industry.”

Brez came from Ukraine to America as an infant, her family eventually settling in South Florida, where her parents run a jewelry business.

For a time, Brez was planning to study luxury fashion design in London but opted to stay in Wellington and help in the family business before launching her own appraisal company.

Brez, who was Miss Florida USA in 2012 and went on to compete in the Miss USA pageant, says that her national appearance actually sparked her career direction.

Wearing a sparkling evening gown of her own design drew many compliments, she says.

“All the girls at the pageant were like, ‘Why don’t you do a whole line of jewelry?’”

So she did, launching a couture collection in 2012, custom designs accented with exotic gems from around the world — many sourced herself.

One day Brez might be at a gem show in Tucson, Ariz., another heading to Colombia to seek out emeralds.

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one who lives in Wellington.

“I love horses. I’ve always loved horses, since I was a little girl. I have an obsession,” she says.

Though she didn’t ride as a child, Brez said she always knew horses would be in her life.

“I put two and two together, the equestrian and the jewelry.”

Today, Brez offers a number of pieces through her Horse LUV Collection, from her signature necklace in 18kt white gold and diamonds ($4,400) to a ring in 18kt rose gold and diamonds ($1,200). The new Huggable Hooves line features a ring in 18kt white gold and diamonds ($1,250).

Beyond the equestrian realm, Brez’s creations touch on themes that include the floral and the nautical.

Much of her work is devoted to creating one-ofa-kind pieces.

“I like to be a little more exclusive with my designs.”

Often, she begins with a sketch, before advancing to 3-D computer design, “so I can actually wrap my head around it.”

The materials are key.

“I work around the stones sometimes. You might find the most beautiful sapphire,” she says by example. “I love diamonds. I love big stones.”

All of her designs, she says, are made “in house,”

with her father heading up the manufacturing.

Karina Brez Jewelry, she says, is designed to be wearable — and versatile.

“You could wear it to a lovely brunch at the polo club or on a boat, then transition to wearing it at night.”

She’s also aware of creating work that transcends trends.

“For me, the pieces I design have to be timeless,” she says.

Brez, whose designs appeal to women of all ages, continues to expand.

“Just recently, this year, I launched my men’s collection.”

For Brez, all the elements of her life flow together.

Her time as Miss Florida USA, which sometimes found her attending five events in one day, gave her more than just exposure, fine-tuning her already strong discipline.

“You have to dress. You have to always be on point,” she says.

And, as many a pageant participant before her, Brez has a sweet spot for charitable endeavors and serves as ambassador and honorary chairwoman of Horses Healing Hearts. The Wellington-based non-

The Huggable Hooves Collection by Karina Brez includes this 18kt white gold-and diamond ring ($1,250).

profit is designed to serve children in families affected by substance abuse, helping them develop a sense of empowerment, life-coping skills and self-confidence by learning about horse care and riding.

And these days, Brez does enjoy riding — but she’s not among those competing in the Winter Equestrian Festival.

“I’m not at that level,” she says with a laugh before adding, “but I am learning to be a jumper.”

And we’re sure she’ll succeed at this new endeavor as well.

For more, visit karinabrez.com.

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PAINT, PALETTE, PETS

BY MARY SHUSTACK

SOME ARTISTS CREATE ENTIRE PORTFOLIOS EXPLORING SINGLE SUBJECTS. They might spend years perfecting the waves in dozens of seascapes, sketch countless nudes in varied light or gather season after season of fruit to assemble another still life.

Gini Fischer is not one of those artists.

Working out of a sunroom-turned-airy studio in her Wilton home, Fischer is perhaps most succinctly described as a portrait artist, designer and architectural renderer. A quick glance at her website, though, showcases the true breadth of her work, from posters to portraits, logo designs to architectural drawings, murals to faux finishes.

“I’m an artist who will take on anything,” she says.

“I’ve designed tombstones. I’ve done theater sets.”

But on this late-winter morning, WAG is here to talk about the most accessible aspect of her work — her animal portraits.

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The walls, shelves and stacks that Fischer raids to show example after example yield tributes to horses, dogs, cats, roosters, chickens and waterfowl.

“This is a study of ducks, which is not a traditional pet,” she says of one canvas. “Our library has a courtyard, and it’s always been a nesting area for mallards.”

Fischer considered herself an artist from her earliest days, growing up in a large family in Norwalk.

“I’m the seventh of nine kids. My dad was a Norwalk cop,” she says.

“In a big family, it was easy to get lost,” though she found a way to stand out.

“I’m nearsighted, so if I lost my glasses, I didn’t watch TV,” she says, instead turning to creative projects and quickly becoming labeled “the artist” of the family.

She realized the power of art at an early age, as she describes visiting her father at work and seeing portraits of past police chiefs on display.

“I was very amazed by that,” and impressed by “the importance” of the paintings.

As she grew up, her art also grew.

“Even in high school I was taking portrait commissions.”

(It all came full circle this past October when Fischer’s oil portrait of Harry Rilling, Norwalk mayor, former police chief and a man she had known since she was a child, was unveiled and donated to

A selection of animal-themed portrait work by Gini Fischer. Images courtesy Gini Fischer.

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the police department for display.)

Fischer’s official career began at a package-design firm, where she quickly advanced from gofer to lead artist. She did, though, leave to travel Europe — with no regrets. She lights up as she talks of five weeks of exploring art from Aberdeen to London, Paris to Nice.

When she returned, Fischer began a journey that would take her through various roles in the art world, including work as an art director, graphic designer and illustrator for advertising and marketing firms.

She also developed expertise in creating art for architectural, construction and interior design projects.

It was a time, she jokes, when she did “portrait work for love and architectural design for money.”

Now, with her two children in college, Fischer is devoting more time to her portrait work — especially animals — with an audience seemingly at the ready here in horse-and-hound country.

Fischer, who has shown at River Road Gallery in Wilton (where her portfolio is kept on hand), also showcases her work at Patricia’s Presents in Ridgefield.

Patricia Polk, owner of the gift shop that’s filled with animal-themed inventory, says that in addition to the subject matter of Fischer’s work, it has a distinct appeal.

“I think her work is beautiful,” Polk says. “I think she

captures the soul of the animal.”

That’s accomplished not by chance but experience — and enthusiasm.

Fischer says she often finds subjects at the Fairfield County Hunt Club or the Wilton Pony Club. “(The) horse-and-rider combination really appeals to me,” she says.

She pulls out a particular work, a horse captured at rest.

“I just love the light on the horse.”

Creating a buzz can be challenging, Fischer notes.

“It’s so hard to explain to someone what I can bring to a portrait,” she says, but even a casual look over her work shows incredible attention to detail and a style that’s quite realistic.

“I work very traditionally,” Fischer says, adding that she was much influenced by studying with international artist Daniel Greene (whose North Salem studio WAG visited for a March 2015 profile).

Within her animal portraits, Fischer is perhaps best known for her equestrian-themed work, though dog commissions seem to be an ever-growing focus.

“If at all possible, I get to meet the animal,” she says, as it gives her a true sense of its temperament.

When it comes to dogs, she has a routine she likes to follow.

“What I’ve learned is to just hang out with them

until I become the ‘boring thing.’”

Then, she says, they are relaxed and she can photograph them, sometimes taking up to 200 pictures.

Once Fischer is ready to begin, she pares the photos down to half a dozen and starts the multistep process, consulting with clients throughout.

“Once the composition and the photo reference (are) decided on, I’ll work to bring it all together.”

She’s very aware of texture, especially when it comes to painting an animal’s fur.

“I don’t like my paintings to have substance, thickness because it interferes with photo realism. …I have a technique of making the fur furry.”

Throughout the commissioned process, Fischer keeps the clients’ expectations in mind.

“I defer to my clients in terms of expression,” she says. “Usually the portrait of a pet is about the relationship.”

Fischer, whose household includes saltwater fish, a gerbil and two cats, clearly has a love of animals — and is always up for portraying her own “extended” family, the cats in particular though they remain elusive subjects.

As one ambles by, she says, “I’ve sketched a couple of my own when they’re snoozing, but I never get enough time.”

For more, visit ginifischer.com.

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Kelly Singleton’s “Backlit – Barred Owl” (2011), oil on canvas. Image courtesy Flinn Gallery, Greenwich Library.

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OUT OF THE WILD ANIMAL ARTISTS JOURNEY TO GREENWICH LIBRARY

BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

ONE OF THE MOST CHERISHED TENETS OF ART IS THE NOTION OF DRAWING FROM LIFE. It’s the guiding principle that threads the magnificent seven who make up “Wildlife Art: Field to Studio,” at Greenwich Library’s Flinn Gallery through May 4.

“The ‘Wildlife Art: Field to Studio’ exhibition tells the stories of seven incredible artists and their inspiration from nature,” curators Alice Sherwood, Claudia Schipper and Lillian Tung Lum say in a statement. “Through their artwork, the viewers form

an intimate bond with the wildlife…. Flinn Gallery is proud to share the majestic beauty of the wildlife art through the hands of these artists.”

At times that intimacy is achieved by venturing far into the wide world. Westchester painter Alison Nicholls spent nine years in Botswana and Zimbabwe, creating watercolors that reveal not only the relationship between observation and art but between line and color. Her “Living Walls,” an acrylic on canvas, captures the bomas, or fortified corrals

made of commiphora trees, of the Maasai Steppe in Tanzania that enable livestock and predators to live in harmony. In Nicholls’ misty world of ambers and blues threaded by the white lines of the bomas, their eyes covered by commiphora leaves, livestock and lions face each other but do not face off. The fence that separates them also links them in peace.

A pastel palette is also key to the “natural abstractions” of David Rankin, who uses photographs, sketches and his iPad in depicting the Himalayas.

The teal and periwinkle watercolors of his “Arundhati at the Ganges” (2015) transform a young man atop an elephant at the river into a magical moment.

Californian Susan Fox’s travels to Mongolia have led to studies and oils of rams ranging across the steppes or posing lordly, as one does in her oil on canvas “A Good Stretch.”

Closer to home, Sean Murtha finds inspiration in the marshes of the Long Island Sound for his sun-dappled oil on canvas, “Periwinkle Flats (Laughing Gull).” The sculptor Karryl, whose haunts include the Rocky Mountains as well as Africa, contributes “Sundown,” a bronze of an aged buffalo — head bowed, tongue lolling — that might be a fitting companion to “The End of the Trail,” James Earle Fraser’s sculpted tribute to the Native Americans and a lost way of life.

Sean Murtha’s “Periwinkle Flats (Laughing Gull)” (2014), oil on canvas. Image courtesy Flinn Gallery, Greenwich Library.

Kelly Singleton, too, focuses on North American animals in such oil paintings as “Backlit – Barred Owl,” while Carel Brest van Kempen, whose fascination for nature’s more unusual aspects began in his Utah childhood, ranges far from its mountains and deserts for the lush jungles of his “Green Iguana & Leaf-cutter Ants,” an acrylic on illustration board.

The seven, all members of The Society of Animal

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Artists, are presenting field studies along with their studio work, drawing us closer to some animals than we are ever likely to be.

“However, as we learn from each artist’s process,” the curators write, “the intimacy ends in their studios, a reminder for all mankind that conservancy is critical.”

For more, visit flinngallery.com.

ONE with Seabiscuit

AND THE OTHER GREAT THOROUGHBREDS

BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

Thomas M. DeChiara is a man of many passions. The co-owner of Westchester Laser Associates in Rye Brook with a Ph.D. in molecular biology from Columbia University, DeChiara spent 20 years using stem cells to make genetic mutations in mice for drug research at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Tarrytown.

His self-styled “man cave” of a cottage in Harrison is decorated with his personal pursuits. A keyboard and musical notations off the dining area are testaments to his interest in Mozart — though he plays only with his right hand. A golf bag and a rack of golf balls stand at attention in the living area. “Star Trek” memorabilia attests to his fondness for the original series. (None of the sequels need apply to this Trekkie, who named his Golden Retriever “Captain” after the series’ main character, Capt. James T. Kirk.)

But the dominant theme in his Northern home — DeChiara also has a place in North Carolina — and among his avocations is his love of Thoroughbreds, particularly winners of the Triple Crown races, as seen in his collection of some 50 baseball caps and more than 20 photographs, prints and paintings.

“They’re such beautiful animals,” he says, “and it’s fun to go to the breeding farms. They parade them around and you can see them up close and pet them.”

DeChiara became interested in horseracing — he’ll place a bet only on the big races

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— at the right moment. It was 1978, the year after Seattle Slew captured the Triple Crown and five years after Secretariat’s stunning trifecta, and Affirmed was vying with Alydar to become the ’70s’ third Crown winner. Like many great pairs of rivals — Ali and Frazier, Phelps and Lochte, Nadal and Djokovic — they were temperamental opposites, with Affirmed the laidback yin to Alydar’s high-strung yang.

But they shared a fate for running and a lineage that wound its way through the great Native Dancer back to the legendary Man o’ War, perhaps the greatest racehorse America ever produced. (Technically, Alydar and Affirmed were uncle and nephew, Alydar being Native Dancer’s grandson and Affirmed, his great-grandson.) Though Affirmed would best Alydar seven out of 10 times — including the taut Triple Crown races of the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes — Alydar earned his share of admirers in becoming the only horse to finish second in all three Crown battles. Among those admirers is DeChiara, who notes that Alydar was the greater stud. And indeed, his descendants include sons Alysheba, who won the 1987 Kentucky Derby and Preakness, and Easy Goer, who deprived Sunday Silence of the Triple Crown in the 1989 Belmont Stakes.

Alydar was euthanized in 1990 after breaking a leg in mysterious circumstances that many believe had to do with insurance. Affirmed was euthanized in 2001 after developing laminitis — which is what Secretariat succumbed to as well. But the rivals live on in an image to the left of DeChiara’s fireplace — coming home in the Belmont, neck and neck, framed by the past, frozen in time.

It would be 38 long years before American Pharoah galvanized the horse world and American culture with his Triple Crown magic last summer. (The Pharoah — whom DeChiara calls “a professional” — will soon grace his man cave in the form of a print by equine artist Michael Geraghty.) But DeChiara’s love for the sport was off and running — taking him from Aqueduct Racetrack to Santa Anita Park and into the past. That’s DeChiara posing with the statue of Seabiscuit at Santa Anita, and Seabiscuit — the little horse that lit a nation during the dark days of the Great Depression — in a rare black-and-white photograph that shows him flying around the track with jockey George Woolf, all four legs off the ground at once. This gift to DeChiara from the Seabiscuit Heritage Foundation is dated Oct. 26, 1938 — a week before the horse’s “Match of the Century” at Pimlico Race Course, home of the Preakness, against the vaunted 1937 Triple Crown winner, War Admiral. As with Affirmed and Alydar, there was a strong blood tie between the Admiral and Seabiscuit, the son and grandson of Man o’ War respectively. Though the fast-starting Admiral was considered a lock to win, steady, persistent Seabiscuit gained the day.

Such is DeChiara’s collection: Each picture tells a story of these epic characters, and each holds a memory. There are his Moneighs — actual paintings by champion horses auctioned to support their less fortunate brethren — by Giacomo and Ten Most Wanted. (Think Abstract Expressionism with horseshoe signatures.) They’re right next to a handicap sheet that shows the field for the 2005 Kentucky Derby in which Giacomo was a long shot, along with Closing Argument, and Afleet Alex, the favorite. Sure enough, Giacomo won, Closing Argument placed and Afleet Alex showed. DeChiara was there at Churchill Downs, sitting next to a man who got it right, winning more than $133,000. DeChiara accompanied the man to collect his winnings and listened as the cashier told the man, who wanted cash, that “this was going to take some time.”

Perhaps DeChiara’s collection can best be summed up by his Geraghty print, “Memories of Legends,” which depicts the faint outline of Secretariat, Slew, Man o’ War, Citation and other champs in a race for the ages. So many ghosts.

But DeChiara is already looking ahead to the showdown between Mohaymen, the best of the East, versus Nyquist, the best of the West, in the Florida Derby April 2, a preview of the Kentucky Derby.

Sounds as if it’s time for more artwork. And more memories.

Thomas M. DeChiara Photograph by Bob Rozycki.

A touch of the Southwest in Ridgefield STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS

BY MARY SHUSTACK

Touch of Sedona is definitely attuned to animals.

After all, a scampering bundle of fur greets customers on many a day.

“She’s the little celebrity on Main Street,” says shop owner Marge Courtney.

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But Lulu, her beloved Pomeranian, is just the first sign that this longtime Ridgefield shop has a deep appreciation for the diverse residents of the animal kingdom.

Further proof is plentiful in the light-filled, L-shaped boutique, from paintings filled with eagles or moose to a wood carving dotted with wolves to horse-themed ceramics to a vase decorated with bear silhouettes.

And while those motifs might be expected in what’s billed as “a unique boutique & spiritual center” that pays homage to Native American and Southwestern culture, shoppers will also find a shelf filled with statuettes of elephants with their trunks turned up (believed by many to be a sign of good luck).

Surroundings also feature artwork, home goods, statues or jewelry depicting butterflies or mice, cats or whales, lizards or cranes, owls or rabbits, ducks or cows, foxes or chickens, lions or seals… to just start the list.

“I think I have just about everything,” Courtney says with a laugh, adding she’ll often get a request along the lines of, “‘I know you think this is going to be a dumb question. Would you have any porcupines?’ And I say ‘Oh, yes’ (and) I go to my porcupine shelf.”

And while we can’t tell if she’s joking or not, we do

know that for nearly 20 years Courtney’s been overseeing the shop that truly does come together in a cohesive aesthetic where animals of all kinds live side by side.

“It all fits in because the Native Americans believe different animals bring different spirits.”

She likens it to the way different crystals are believed to have different healing properties — and the shop has plenty of crystals, crystal jewelry and inspirational products such as angel figurines and heartshaped medallions.

But, Courtney says, her goal was to create a boutique devoted to Native American culture from the start — something that surprised her.

Courtney, born on the East Coast but raised in California from age 6, was not planning to go into the retail business — especially selling items solely with a Native American theme, which was what the boutique was devoted to in its earliest days.

It did, in fact, surprise her, seemingly coming out of left field.

“It’s one of those things that come to you, and it won’t go away,” she says of the unexpected inspiration.

Courtney was retired from the airline industry, not looking for a second act, but a plan soon came together.

What to carry was natural, based on her travels and supplemented by sources she quickly discovered.

“Sedona was in my memory bank and in my heart,” she says.

And while she might not travel as much to stock the boutique these days — she has developed a network of scouts who visit the Native American reservations, for example — she still has strong thoughts on what will be offered in Touch of Sedona.

It will, she says, include “anything that’s spiritual that I love, anything that I’m attracted to.”

The shop also offers spiritual readings, which may include “animal intuitives,” that are conducted in a serene healing room. Drumming circles, which are considered a music therapy of sorts, are also offered.

And Courtney is always ready to share stories or explain the symbolism her items hold, whether customers are looking for a meaningful gift or simply something to guide, soothe or perk themselves up.

A bear, she says, symbolizes strength and inner direction.

“Think of what a bear does. It hibernates, going within.”

A turtle, she adds, is believed to address the pace of something — “step back and think about it and step out when you’re ready to go” — while birds, which by nature soar overhead, are all about “being able to see.”

Inspiration, it seems, is everywhere. Courtney mentions the collection of Native American fetishes, small animals crafted of marble or other stones.

“Any animal that they see or they revere, they would carve,” she says of the Native American artists.

And that approach clearly resonates with Courtney.

“I think animals are really so spiritual,” she adds.

And in Touch of Sedona, they’ve all found a home.

“There’s no end to it,” she says, looking around her shop. “I’m so glad it all works.”

Touch of Sedona is at 452 Main St. in Ridgefield.

Visit touchofsedonaridgefield.com or call 203-4387146.

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WAY

EQUESTRIAN ESTATE AMID BACKCOUNTRY SPLENDOR: OLDFIELD EQUESTRIAN FARM Travelling down a winding country road through the pastoral beauty of Greenwich’s backcountry leads past grand estates, horse farms and sylvan parklands to the private world of OldField Equestrian Farm. The estate is cloistered on 18.39 groomed, level acres of lawns and fenced paddocks, giving it a seemingly far-removed seclusion that belies its convenient location merely 35 miles from Manhattan.

Formerly a Yale University land holding of polo fields, this splendid showplace recently underwent a comprehensive 18-month remodeling by its current owner.

A meandering maple-lined drive arrives at a fountained courtyard introducing the classic Palladian-inspired villa, a paragon of grace, symmetry and balanced proportions designed by New York architect Robert Lamb Hart.

Relaxed warmth tempers traditional elegance in the interiors by designers Scott Snyder and Mark

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Hampton. The rooms — which include an intricately molded formal living room with French doors; a banquet-sized dining room in silk damask; and a library/entertainment center paneled in mahogany — weave together in the comfortable flowing floor-plan that suits everyday living and grandscale social gatherings. Meanwhile, guests and staff have complete privacy in the flanking east and west wings.

Banks of French doors across the south façade open onto terraces, gardens, a pool and a clay ten-

PRESENTED BY SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY PHOTOGRAPHS BY STEFEN TURNER AND STEVE ROSSI

nis court, which stage the scene for outdoor entertaining and recreation.

But what makes OldField unique is what lies beyond an allée of linden trees — an equestrian center comprised of symmetrical east and west stables, custom-designed by specialist David Zublin to illustrate long-standing traditions of craftsmanship.

Built of durable, low-maintenance Azek, each stable has handsome tongue-and-groove cedar interior paneling, massive sliding barn doors, a wash bay, a feed room and a classic cupola topped with a horse weathervane.

Originally both stables were able to accommodate up to 39 horses in 28 stalls. A dozen of the stalls have been converted to other uses. Six have been made into climate-controlled garage space, while six others have become two year-round recreational rooms. One of the stables features a heated/cooled groom’s apartment with living/tack room, a kitchen, two bedrooms and a bath. There is

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a separate equipment barn. The stables are flanked by two paddocks, a stick-and-ball field for polo practice and a quarter-mile exercise track.

Hosting a distinguished array of resort-style amenities in unparalleled privacy, OldField is an estate of rare substance and beauty.

For more, contact Joseph Barbieri at 203-6183112, 203-940-2025 or joseph.barbieri@sothebyshomes.com.

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OLDFIELD EQUESTRIAN FARM AT A GLANCE = Greenwich = 14,000-plus-square-foot residence = 18.39 acres = Bedrooms: nine = Baths: 10 full, six half = Amenities: equestrian complex; pool, clay tennis

court; three-car garage; three-level elevator; 10-zone heating/cooling; 800-amp electrical service; ADT security system; seven-line Merlin phone system; four-zone indoor/outdoor sound system; 30-zone grounds irrigation system; seven gas/wood fireplaces moldings and paneling; fine moldings and paneling; 12-foot ceilings; French doors opening onto terraces and gardens = Price: $21,500,000 million

Joseph Barbieri presents:

VALLEY HIGH FARM | $12,995,000 Unmatched in its scope, beauty and privacy, Valley High Farm sprawls over 31.6± acres with multiple lots in one of Greenwich’s most extraordinary landscapes where majestic southerly 20 mile vistas sweep over the rolling, wooded countryside all the way to Long Island Sound.

Overlooking vast stretches of pristine treetops from a dramatic elevation, with virtually no other buildings in view, this glorious country paradise gives the feeling of stepping back in time to rural Old New England. The setting is protected by the 135-acre Audubon sanctuary that borders the property. Gated entries open to the private drives and trails that lead through the pastoral acreage defined by a handsome 6±-foot-high fieldstone privacy wall and farmer’s stone walls. The property is currently subdivided into four buildable lots, one with a Californiainspired contemporary guest house in an arboretum-like landscape. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a one-of-a-kind family compound or multiple separate estates.

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BARONIAL MAJESTY ACROSS TWO STATES Peerless in its scope, beauty, and privacy, Hillandale reigns over a sylvan expanse so vast — 262-plus acres — that it embraces two communities (Pound Ridge and North Stamford). From the five-gated entries serving the domain, scenic private roads wind through the pristine landscape to the stately fieldstone manor graced by formal gardens atop a knoll overlooking its own picturesque lake in scenery redolent of the European countryside.

Originally built in 1900, the 20,000-plus-squarefoot residence has been luxuriously transformed into an exquisite showplace for grand-scale entertaining. Regal filigreed bronze doors welcome guests to the impressively elegant living environment within, adorned with antique French, Italian and English architectural elements in a rich array of marble, limestone, onyx, mosaic tile, stained glass and lapus lazuli. Eleven antique fireplaces serve as focal points,

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PRESENTED BY SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY PHOTOGRAPHS BY STEVE ROSSI

while large light-filled windows bring in romantic vistas seemingly taken from an artist’s canvas.

The sumptuous grotto-like indoor pool – evocative of San Simeon – complements the lovely pool outdoors, where a lit, Australian-surface tennis court adds another recreational pastime, along with a large chess set, a sandy beach and a cutting garden. A walk through the surrounding gardens fully reveals their magical beauty amid restful water features that include five-acre Lake Susan, several ponds and a cascading fountain. Among the extensive dependencies of the compound are four private guest/staff residences; a two-story carriage house that contains a four-car garage, a wine cellar anda chauffeur’s apartment; and two barns plus garages for six more cars.

Unusual details make the estate truly memora-

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ble. An arbored colonnade leads past a lily pond to a greenhouse. Artistic formal gardens with elegant statuary highlight a charming children’s maze and sculpted parterres by the main terrace and above the indoor pool. A French garden folly commands inspiring views. Other delights include an authentic Native American teepee built by the Smithsonian Institution.

Serenely situated, Hillandale seems far removed from New York City, yet is only about 50 miles from Manhattan. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire one of the area’s largest and most

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significant estates, which takes its place among the world’s truly great homes.

For more, contact Joseph Barbieri at 203-6183112 or joseph.barbieri@sothebyshomes.com or Jim Renwick at 914-234-9261 or jim.renwick@ renwicksothebysrealty.com.

HILLANDALE AT A GLANCE = Pound Ridge and North Stamford = 20,000-plus-square-foot residence

= 262-plus acres = Bedrooms: eight = Baths: 10 full, four half = Amenities: Lake; ponds; formal gardens with children’s maze; lit Australian-surface tennis court; complex of outbuildings that includes four private guest/staff residences, a two-story carriage house and two barns plus garages; two elevators; unusual outdoor features, including a large-scale chess set, a French garden folly and an actual Native American teepee. = Price: $75 million

Joseph Barbieri Presents

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T THE SINGER AND

THE SONG

BY LAURA CACACE

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Rita Wilson attends the world premiere of “Untraceable� in 2008 in West Hollywood, Calif.

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson at the 20th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium. Photograph courtesy dreamstime.com.

For actress and film producer Rita Wilson, family is incomplete without a dog.

“We’ve had, I guess, four or five dogs over the course of our children’s lives and ours, and we’ll always have a dog,” she says. “We just love, love, love them.”

WAG had a chance to see that love in action when we did a story for last April’s “Animal Passion” issue on the “Today” show team raising Wrangler, a Labrador Retriever puppy, on behalf of Guiding Eyes for the Blind in Yorktown Heights. Wilson was in the show’s green room waiting to be interviewed when Wrangler bounded in. It was not long before Wilson, all smiles and coos, was giving him a tum-

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my rub. Perhaps she was thinking of her own magnificent-looking pooch.

“I have a fantastic white German Shepherd and she is extraordinary. She’s really man and woman’s best friend. She’s extremely protective and at the same time, extremely loving.”

These days, Wilson has another love in her life — and no, hubby Tom Hanks needn’t be jealous.

She’s exploring her passion for music, appearing at Ridgefield Playhouse on April 27, with selections from her just-released album of original material, “Rita Wilson,” as well as covers of 1960s and ’70s hits from her 2012 release, “AM/FM.” Writing about her recent gig at Café Carlyle in Manhattan, The New York Times’ critic Stephen Holden observes, “As a stage performer, Ms. Wilson is gregarious and forthright: a natural entertainer.

Her original songs, most of them collaborations… don’t beat around the bush in addressing the same relationship issues that inspired hits by Linda Ronstadt, the Eagles and Joni Mitchell back in the day.

“Ms. Wilson has a catch in her voice that con-

veys yearning and potential heartbreak behind a façade of cheer….She suggests a softer Sheryl Crow or Rosanne Cash.”

It’s no surprise that Holden should be reminded of Mitchell. Wilson wrote “Joni” as a tribute to her.

“When the singer/songwriters came out in the late ’60s and early ’70s, that was really another wonderful way to sort of hear personal stories from these artists that were writing about their own experiences,” Wilson says. “So I’ve always been a fan of singer/songwriters, and I think that’s probably why much of my influence comes from them.

“I love a good story,” she adds. “I love being able to visualize who the people are in the song and where they are and imagining sort of their eyes after something happens in the song or before. So I think that traces back to being a kid in the back of my parents’ car and hearing AM radio and really understanding that there were stories to be told through song.”

WAG listened to the new album, and it’s clear that Wilson has gotten inspiration from a number of different styles.

“My musical influences are varied, because I like multi-genre music. I like pop, I like country, I like singer-songwriter, I like some indie, I like some hip-hop. ...But I think what I’m most attracted to is a really good melody and a really good hook. I like things that you can sing along to.”

Her leading single, “Along for the Ride,” and “Crying, Crying” have a country feel, while songs like “Say Yes” and “Talking to Me” clearly draw on more pop influences. Then you have “Girls Night In,” a bridge between the two.

“Each song had a different process going into it,” she says. “Sometimes a song started with a title.

Sometimes a song started with a melody. Sometimes a song started with lyrics. Sometimes a song started with stream of consciousness. ...If I was thinking about something, I would write everything down that had to do with that and just see where it went, and then I would go back and circle words that sort of felt like they could be a lyric.”

As Holden’s review suggests, Wilson taps into ideas about love and friendship, exposing a vulnerability in songs like “Strong Tonight” and “Forgiving Me, Forgiving You.” “The songs to me are sort of a reflection of the past couple of years and what I’ve been experiencing personally,” says Wilson, who has battled breast cancer. “They are a very truthful representation of what’s been going on with me.”

With songs like “Grateful,” Wilson plumbs what it’s like to look back and appreciate the bad times, because they were a stepping stone to better times.

Then with her single “Along for the Ride,” she considers the effects of those bad times.

Rita Wilson performs at Ridgefield Playhouse at 7:30 p.m. April 27 Tickets are $75. There’s a $50 preshow cocktail party, with proceeds going to Ann’s Place, which aids people living with cancer and their loved ones. A $100 VIP package gets you a reserved seat, a meet-andgreet with Wilson, an opportunity to have your photograph taken with her and a tour poster signed by her. Call 203-438-5795 for availability. The playhouse is at 80 E. Ridge. For more, visit ridgefieldplayhouse.org.

Photograph by Steven Sebring.

“It reflects my attitude about life in the sense that, look, I had a difficult year last year with some health issues but everybody (does). I’m not unique in that. Everybody has things that they’re dealing with, and ‘Along for the Ride,’ even though it may seem that it’s about a car and getting in a car and going somewhere and having a good time, it’s really about what your life’s trip is and how you deal with it. Are you going to rise to the occasion and try to get through things with some modicum of positivity and grace, or are you going to sink into the black hole and not come out again? For me, I think, ‘Along for

the Ride’ reflects the desire I have to be positive about anything that’s coming my way.”

That attitude is what has enabled Wilson to connect so readily with audiences in such films as “Sleepless in Seattle” and “Runaway Bride” and what makes her “a natural entertainer,” in Holden’s words, onstage.

“I love live performing. I love the audience, because I feel them. I get them. I love performing for them. I love meeting them afterwards on some occasions when it’s set up to do that, and I feel like we’re the same person. I don’t really feel like there’s anything different about my experiences than the

experiences that anybody in the audience would have, whether it’s a 30-year-old girl or her mom or dad, because I think we’re all dealing with similar issues of courage, risk-taking and doubt and all of those things that life throws at you at any day.”

She wrote her album with all of this in mind, inspired by the idea that we all lead different lives, but we’re not really that different after all.

“I think the theme is about taking chances and having courage and that we all have ups and downs and bumpy roads and things that happen.

That’s just the nature of being fortunate enough to be alive on this planet.”

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Photograph by Valerie Shaff.

Getting others back IN THE SADDLE

BY BOB ROZYCKI

So how did a girl who grew up in New York City, the only daughter of two tried and true city folks, end up becoming the president of the Equestrian Aid Foundation in the Equestrian Capital of the World, aka Wellington, Fla.?

Stephanie Riggio Bulger did not come from horse people. “But my parents nurtured my love of the animals,” she says, “and allowed me to pursue horse showing as a hobby, despite not being familiar with it themselves.”

Her dad, Leonard Riggio, is the founder and chairman of the board of Barnes & Noble and “my mom (Louise) is very involved in philanthropy (in64

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cluding being a board member of the EAF) as well as being an amazing horse show mom.”

Not surprisingly given her father’s background, this equestrian is also a bookworm. Stephanie is a professor of English at St. Joseph’s College in Brooklyn as well as the co-editor of the newly founded The Writer’s Foundry Review and an adjunct faculty member at The Writer’s Foundry MFA program,

both at the college. WAG caught up with her on her way from New York City to Wellington, where she was to compete in a weekend of hunter-jumper events.

She was kind enough to reply to our questions.

The Equestrian Aid Foundation (EAF) started out initially to help those with AIDS and HIV. Who founded it and how has it expanded?

“The EAF was founded in 1996 by a group of equestrians headed by Olympic dressage star Robert Dover. In 2006, our mission expanded to help equestrians coping with both catastrophic illnesses as well as life-and career-altering injuries.”

Whom do you help today?

“Today we assist horsemen and women from all over the United States, from every corner of the horse world. We help riders, trainers, grooms, farriers, vets, pleasure riders, horse rescuers and more. If you love horses, we will help you in your time of need.”

How do you find recipients or do they apply for assistance?

“Recipients typically hear about the EAF from word of mouth and complete the rigorous applica-

tion process in order to be considered for a grant.”

Can you give our readers some examples of individuals helped?

“Some of our past recipients include an Olympic three-day event rider who was coping with a traumatic brain injury, a farrier who suffered a debilitating back injury, a dressage trainer who is a quadriplegic after being struck in the back of the neck by a young horse who reared up, and a well respected hunter-jumper trainer who has had a series of health issues. We also help some unsung heroes in the community, including a pleasure rider who rescues horses and dogs and is living with HIV/AIDS and related health concerns.”

Stephanie, how and when did you get involved with the foundation? What was your reason?

“I became involved in 2006 as a casual supporter and my relationship grew from there. I was moved by the mission to help those who need it, no matter what discipline they might participate in or what their level of involvement might be. I felt that the EAF was creating a large community of horse lovers who wanted to help each other out.”

What do you see as the future of the foundation under your leadership?

“I have goals to increase our donor base around

the U.S., as well as find corporate sponsors and foundations to which we can apply for grants.”

What obstacles do you foresee that you might have to overcome to move the foundation into the future?

“I don’t think this is an obstacle, per se, but I am in the process of finding an executive director for the foundation. We believe that we are ready to transition from board-based leadership to an executive leadership model. I think this will push us forward into the next generation of fundraising and allow us to grow.”

Stephanie, tell me about yourself. When did you first start riding?

“I took my first riding lesson at age 5 and was immediately hooked. Since then, our love and commitment to the sport has grown. We now own and operate My Meadowview Farm on Long Island and Wellington, Fla. My parents also have a successful Thoroughbred racing stable.”

When did you first start competing? How did the first ride go and in what competition? Did you medal?

“I began riding competitively at around the age of 10. It is a bit of a blur, but I know it was at a local show on Long Island. If memory serves, I don’t

think I did very well. I was far from a child prodigy on horseback. Rather, it took me some time to find my stride and achieve success.”

Do you have a favorite horse that you use in competition?

“My horse-of-a-lifetime was named Indian Summer. He retired from competition in 2010 and sadly passed away this past January. He really made my name in the show ring and gave me so much confidence in myself, both in and out of the ring.”

How often do you compete today?

“I just recently got back into competing since having my son. I used to compete about 12 to 15 times per year, but my priorities have shifted a bit since becoming a mom. I am learning to juggle it all and find a balance between all my various commitments.”

Does your husband ride?

“My husband, Mike…loves the horses and is actually a very natural rider, but he has no aspirations to do any more than just ride for pleasure. Our son, Leo, will turn 1 in June. I hope he loves to ride as much as I do, though I would never force him. He does seem to enjoy coming to the barn and visiting his four-legged brothers and sisters, so I can hope.”

For more, visit equestrianaidfoundation.org.

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Eight-foot sand tiger sharks prowl the 110,000-gallon “Open Ocean” exhibit in The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk.

Photograph by Megan Maloy.

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LIQUID ASSETS

BY REECE ALVAREZ

For decades, the Bruce Museum Seaside Center in Old Greenwich and The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk have offered residents of Fairfield County and beyond entrée into the ecosystems of the Long Island Sound.

That role continues as both organizations plan to expand and enrich their programming for their spring and summer seasons.

“To have animals come up out of the water right within sight of New York is very surprising to a lot of our guests and eye-opening,” says Dave Sigworth, publicist with The Maritime Aquarium.

“A lot of people think there is nothing but empty beer bottles down there, but there is actually a lot of marine life in the sound.”

A cross section of the sea life has been on display at the aquarium since 1988, including such main attractions as sand tiger sharks, sea turtles, seadragons (relatives of the seahorse), harbor seals and even landlubbing meerkats.

However, this year the aquarium is expanding its programming to take full advantage of its new research vessel, Spirit of the Sound, a $2.7 million, 65-foot catamaran. Christened in 2015, the vessel is bigger, quieter and greener than the aquarium’s former, 34-year-old trawler. It is powered by a hybrid electric propulsion system, cutting fuel consumption by an estimated 75 percent and features a climate-controlled indoor classroom and an

outdoor research space with a capacity of 65 — more than twice that of the former, 40-foot boat.

The vessel, both in its current and past form, has been used largely for educational voyages on the sound, with students learning about its denizens and the sediment they pull from the watery deep.

This year the aquarium is expanding beyond the vessel’s educational mission to include tours of the waterfront’s historical lighthouses as well as offering adult and family sunset tours to capture the sound’s aesthetic beauty.

For landlubbers who want to experience the aquatic life of the sound but don’t have the sea legs for an offshore excursion, there is the Bruce Museum Seaside Center at Greenwich Point Park in Old Greenwich. While the aquarium offers hands-on exhibits, the Seaside Center helps guests get kneedeep in the sound with a variety of interactive experiences on the shoreline, including seining, in which visitors can capture examples of aquatic life in large vertical nets.

“Seining is one of our most popular programs,” says Cynthia Ehlinger, manager of the Seaside Center. “Guests come into the Seaside Center and say, ‘Where did these snails come from?’ and very often they are quite surprised to learn they all came from literally feet away down at the water’s edge.”

The center’s year-round touch tank features

New to The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk this year are two lighthouse tours of central and western Long Island Sound.

Here, the Race Rock Lighthouse. Photograph by Radu Gheorghe.

common species of local shellfish, oysters, clams, mussels and lots of crabs — green crabs, rock crabs and, unfortunately, Ehlinger says, more and more Asian shore crabs, an invasive species that has become common in the area.

The center also presents lesser known native species with peculiar adaptations like the spine-covered inflating northern puffer fish and the winged, though flightless, sea robin.

“People don’t realize that they are surrounded by such a diverse population of animals,” she says.

“There is a wonderful world of nature right around them, and we are happy to be able to point out what’s there.”

The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk is open year-round with Spirit of the Sound cruises operating through the spring and summer. The Bruce Museum Seaside Center is open on a limited basis in the colder months, running the bulk of its programs from June 26 to Sept. 5. For more, visit maritimeaquarium.org and brucemuseum.org.

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Bejeweled by the sea

BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

At the recent preview for Tiffany & Co.’s 2016 Blue Book Collection, “The Art of Transformation,” the press was introduced to a room full of treasures worth, yes, $75 million.

Prices upon request.

Images courtesy Tiffany & Co.

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(Here we pause for the reader to revive him or herself.)

The glittering pieces reflect design director Francesca Amfitheatrof’s continuing fascinating with the sea, and, particularly this year, its light-dappled fluidity. The faceted play of the sun on water is dazzlingly captured in such works as a necklace of mixed diamonds with a pear-shaped 25-carat flawless diamond pendant worth seven figures many times over.

While we certainly wouldn’t sniff at that, we were particularly enchanted by designs that evoke aquatic and amphibious life.

A brooch of a baroque pearl with round diamonds and sapphires conjures an octopus cocooned in its sinuous tentacles. (Amfitheatrof is so good that she has even suggests the suction cups with tiny diamonds.)

A cuff of round blue sapphires, diamonds and tsavorites is studded with starfish. And fish made of round diamonds and blue caprian elbaite tourmalines swim onto earrings of cushion-cut tanzanites.

But our favorites are a pair of frog-shaped brooches in onyx, emeralds and yellow diamonds. We’d be happy to have them perch on the lily pads of our hearts.

For more, visit tiffany.com.

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verlooking a private pond, this secluded home features grand proportion and timeless style. The front door overlooks manicured lawns, the Stone Hill River, and the granite face of Pound Ridge Reservation’s highest point.

Guests are welcomed by a wide porch and gracious entrance hall. A stunning Great Room with 30-foot ceiling and 4-pairs of French doors overlooks the pond; a whitepaneled family room and sunroom follow. The professional-grade kitchen is designed in a refined country style, with slate floors and a soapstone island. The striking fourroom master suite provides space for work, rest, exercise, and relaxation. Three bedrooms and 2 baths reside on the upper level of the western wing; a short stair leads to a study with a wall of windows facing the Reservation. The upper level of the east wing comprises a pair of guest suites w/vaulted ceilings, en-suite baths and water views. A 1BR apartment can be found above the 3-car garage. Close to everything, but feels a world away. MLS#4607875 Price: $8,500,000

WEAR

PENCILS & PUMPS

with a purpose

BY DANIELLE RENDA

Stuart Weitzman, the elegantly accessible shoe and accessories designer, is featuring a new, limited-edition sandal in his stores.

But this shoe isn’t just a statement piece: It’s part of an initiative to support children’s education in developing countries.

The shoe giant recently partnered with Pencils of Promise (PoP), a nonprofit that works with disadvantaged communities to build schools and provide educational opportunities.

Founder Adam Braun prefers the term “for-purpose” — rather than “nonprofit” — to classify his organization.

“Instead of describing ourselves with the term ‘non,’ demonstrating what we don’t do, let’s talk about what we are actually enacting in the world,” Braun has said.

He first launched PoP in 2008 with just a $25 deposit. Fast-forward eight years and the organization has built 334 schools, which serve 33,883 students and affect more than 300,000 lives daily throughout Laos, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Ghana.

Every 100 hours, PoP breaks ground on a new school.

Braun’s inspiration to start PoP came from a 72

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Stuart Weitzman’s Nearlynude sandal in dandelion suede. Photograph courtesy Stuart Weitzman.

simple request — for a pencil. While traveling in India, he encountered a boy begging in the streets.

When he asked the child what he wished for most in life, he replied, “a pencil.” A few years later, Braun left his position at Bain & Co., a management-consulting firm based in Manhattan, to start Pencils of Promise, using the motto: “A pencil and a dream can take you anywhere.”

But in addition to pencils, the organization also supplies e-readers, each of which can provide a student with 100 books in both English and the local language, and a literacy kit, a mobile-learning kit for teachers containing books, phonic games and educational tools.

Stuart Weitzman has agreed to fund the building of three Partners for Promise schools — in Ghana, Guatemala and Laos — the cost of which is approximately $105,000. Proceeds from its shoe, a yellow, suede version of the Nearlynude Block-Heel Sandal in its spring collection, will benefit the building of these schools. The limited-edition charity sandal, with its dandelion shade mimicking the classic pencil, retails for $398.

Stuart Weitzman draws a new design. Photograph by Bob Rozycki.

The shoe will launch April 11 at the Stuart Weitzman Manhattan flagship and will also be available in Beverly Hills, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Las Vegas and Costa Mesa. It will also be featured through the company website.

For more, visit pencilsofpromise.org and stuartweitzman.com.

WEAR

Valentino’s

ODE TO AFRICA

BY DANIELLE RENDA

1

The House of Valentino turned to Africa as the muse for its latest collection.

Using African motifs and classical Roman undertones, the result is an enchanting fusion of two very different cultures.

But the clothing isn’t just making a fashion statement. Creative directors Pierpaolo Piccoli and Maria Grazia Chiuri are using the spring-summer line to spread a message about humanity.

“The message is tolerance,” Piccoli has said, “and the beauty that comes out of cross-cultural acceptance.”

He’s referring to the recent influx of African 74

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refugees into southern Italy.

Seeking sanctuary from poverty and terrorism, thousands have ventured across the Mediterranean Sea in unsafe, crowded vessels, many of them dying before they can be rescued by Italian authorities.

This social crisis is stirring controversy, with critics suggesting that welcoming the refugees is a costly, dangerous venture without end.

While fashion may not be able to resolve this situation, Valentino has nonetheless staked its claim by creating an ode to Africa.

The collection includes geometric patterns, fringe and feather accents, embroidered wildlife scenes and white ceramic, bone-inspired jewelry — all reminiscent of tribal Africa. Among the Roman undertones are the white ceramic jewelry’s original gladiator framework and a revamp of Valentino’s gladiator sandals, with added ebony heels and studding.

2

3

4 Photographs courtesy of Neiman Marcus Westchester.

(1) SLEEVELESS JAGUAR-PRINT SHEATH DRESS

(3) SHORT-SLEEVE LANDSCAPE-PRINT DRESS

With one look on this page, you’re soaring with the birds; with the other, you’re spying wildflowers; and, with this number, you’re on an untamed safari. This knit dress, featuring a brown and gold jaguar print, nips at the natural waist to keep you taut on the prowl. $2,950.

Blush-colored birds rise from a landscape of wild flowers on this dress, which features a jewel neckline for a crisp effect. $4,500.

(2) JEWEL-NECK BIRD-PRINT CAPELET DRESS Peachy-pink birds take flight against an inky backdrop. The deep flyaway back evokes bird wings, combining with the mini length for a comfortable sexiness. $2,990.

(4) V-NECK MINI DRESS WITH A BANDED WAIST Ancient Roman influences are at the forefront in this mini dress with its goddess-inspired neckline. The A-line silhouette, which includes a cutout detail in the front and lower back, also features a plunging V-neck and embellished leather waistbands that complete the slimming effect. $6,400.

For more, visit neimanmarcus.com.

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WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

T

TOPPING OFF FASHION

BY LAURA CACACE PHOTOGRAPH BY DERRICK RODGERS, COURTESY MONTICRISTI

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This past November, WAG profiled Jose Molina, marketing vice president of Monticristi, a New Jersey-based company designing toquilla straw hats. Each hat is handmade, crafted with care and woven in centuries-old Ecuadorian tradition. CEO Pablo Vinueza, executive director Emilio Gomez, and Molina take great pride in knowing that they are upholding this tradition at a time in which hats are making a comeback.

It’s been four years since they started the business, with no signs of it slowing down. WAG caught up with the team at a New York Fashion Week event in February at the Angel Orensanz Foundation as Monticristi partnered with the Netherlands-based designer, House of Byfield. It wasn’t Monticristi’s first walk down the runway at Fashion Week. The

milliner has done four shows in the last year. But this time, there was a major problem.

“The hats aren’t here yet,” Molina said with a nervous smile as the clock ticked down to the 7 p.m. deadline. Rather than let the pressure get to him, Molina told WAG how Monticristi’s relationships have grown.

“At first, we went to designers saying we wanted to partner up,” he said. “But now, designers come to us.”

Monticristi keeps an eye to the future by putting a contemporary twist on its designs. In partnering with different designers, the company has learned how to mold its styles to fit the vision of others. Though the hats are constructed by hand in Ecuador, they are steamed in water to allow for different shapes and sizes. Then they come to New Jersey, where Molina and the team put the finishing touches on them.

“It’s definitely a group effort,” he said. If the team doesn’t agree on a design, the hat doesn’t see the light of day. With different partnerships always in the works, maintaining high standards is even more crucial. Monticristi consistently strives to ensure that each hat is styled beautifully to its exact specifications.

Not surprisingly, the quality craftsmanship, and cutting-edge styles of these hats are catching the eye of designers and customers worldwide.

And Molina was proud to tell us that Montecristi hats will also be featured on runways in Milan and Paris this spring.

“We’d like to get out to the Hamptons next,” he said, adding that they’d also like to get more involved in sporting events like the US Open, where the product might appeal to a larger number of customers. At this point, expansion is the ultimate goal for Monticristi, and the more its hats are seen, the more orders pour in from a wider range of customers.

It was well after 7 p.m. when the hats finally arrived, but even with the loud music, and chatter from show-goers, team Monticristi’s sigh of relief was practically audible. The show began an hour late, but each member of the team was right in the mix, ready with phones angled toward the runway, snapping pictures of each model wearing one of the hats. The excitement was tangible, and when the show ended to applause, Molina smiled and said, “It never gets old.”

For more, visit monticristi.com.

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For Committed Tennis Players Ages 7-18

SPORTIME LAKE ISLE 914-777-5151

www.SportimeCamps.com/LIsle WAGMAG.COM

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WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

ACCESSORIES FOR THE EQUESTRIAN

BY DANIELLE RENDA PHOTOGRAPHS BY BOB ROZYCKI

When WAG first met with Brian Toohey in early 2013, we were touched by his genuine thoughtfulness.

As Toohey catches up with WAG again on a lovely morning, it’s clear he hasn’t changed.

Three years ago, Toohey was shifting his design focus from jewelry and handbags to luxury leather belts. Now his men and women’s belt collection has grown to include the equestrian market as well.

“I have an affinity for the equestrian world,” he says. “I rode as a boy, and so when I design, much of my design has an equestrian feel.”

Toohey first introduced his equestrian line at Old Salem Farm in North Salem, as well as in Saugerties and other area towns, meeting with immediate success.

“The belts were selling like crazy,” he says.

“And I soon realized that it would not be as 78

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productive for me to run to all of these events around the country. So I decided to do a wholesale show for the equestrian market.”

Toohey sells his belts to stores nationwide, which will soon include the Connecticut and New York area. The American-made belts are composed of fine Italian leather, with saddle leather for the liner. The saddle leather, Toohey says, makes the belts age beautifully.

“This is all made in America, and I know that the quality I’m producing rivals the best in the world,” he says.

All of the belt buckles — many of which resemble stirrups — are custom-crafted locally as well. The belts are currently available in brown, black, luggage tan, soft orange and periwinkle blue, with more colors soon to come. In addition to belts, the collection also includes leather wristband accessories.

And though perfect for equestrians, the belts are versatile, Toohey says.

“There is an excellent crossover appeal, so it’s a belt that they’re wearing as they’re riding, but it’s a belt that they can wear also in fashion.”

For more about Brian Toohey’s belts, call 914-391-3374 or email btoohey2@optonline.net.

Twin Lakes Farm

T

win Lakes Farm is Westchester’s largest diverse equestrian center, offering both boarding and a robust riding academy. The riding academy starts at age 6 with private lessons before moving up to groups; adults ride daily and take advantage of the 8pm adults-only classes.

For the more serious equestrian, Twin Lakes Farm offers Drill Teams, Interscholastic Teams, Horseshowing, and Summer Leasing while also offering year round boarding.

Camp is coeducational and runs 8:30am to 4:30pm all summer and includes riding, camp activities and the very popular Horseshow.

Set on two campuses each has its own indoor arena, 55 stalls each, lighted outdoor arenas, paddocks with hay feeders, heated tack rooms and wash stalls.

The North Barn is home to the Riding Academy, Drill Team and Therapeutic Riding Program while also hosting the interscholastic (IEA) shows and schooling shows. The South Barn houses the boarders and show team while hosting nine USEF shows each year.

Whether it’s children’s lessons, adult lessons, riding teams, showing competitively or recreational riding there is something for everyone at Twin Lakes Farm which is why we are:

“Where Westchester Learns To Ride!”

©

960 CALIFORNIA ROAD, BRONXVILLE • 914-961-2192 • WWW.TWINLAKESFARM.COM A FACILITY OF THE COUNTY OF WESTCHESTER PARKS, RECREATION & CONSERVATION

Riverdale Stables ABOUT THE FARM:

Riverdale Stables is the premier riding facility in the 5 boroughs of New York, offering lessons year round at all levels.

The facility boasts over 80 stalls, indoor, and outdoor wash stalls, many turnout paddocks, a large indoor arena, along with four lighted outdoor rings-including grass hunt course!

WHAT SETS RIVERDALE APART?

Riverdale Stables is a one of a kind place. We are an equestrian oasis tucked away in the corner of Van Cortlandt Park with open green grazing space, indoor and outdoor arenas turn out paddocks, and a barn with heated tack rooms and updated stalls. We are mass-transit accessible-minutes from the bus and Subways. Riverdale Stables prides itself on offering programs for the riders of New York City who do not own horses but want the hands-on opportunities of riding and learning about proper horse care. We have afterschool programs, Therapeutic Riding, Interscholastic Teams combined with camp and lessons for all levels of riders-from novice to our show team.

Riverdale Stables …

“Where New York City Learns To Ride!”© 6394 BROADWAY BRONX, NY 10471 (718) 548-4848 WWW.RIVERDALESTABLES.COM

WEAR

Handbags FOR YOUR

WILD SIDE

BY DANIELLE RENDA

1 We ladies and our handbags — we’re often joined at the hip.

Purses serve as our daily survival kits, carrying everything from planners to snacks, receipts, change, electronic gadgets, makeup and myriad other necessities. And if you’re a mom to young children, your list may also include pebbles, crayons and small toys.

Let’s just say, we’re not bidding farewell to our handbags anytime soon. But if we’re going to continue this bond, we should do so stylishly.

This month, WAG is all about animal-inspired purses — both large and small — to bring out your inner animal. (And we all have one.)

2 Photographs courtesy of Neiman Marcus Westchester.

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(1) CALF HALF AND OSTRICH MEDIUM DOUBLE TOTE BAG All of your essentials will fit into this Prada tote and do so most trendily. Made from New Zealand calf hair dyed in a leopard-print pattern, this purse includes two-tone, full-quill ostrich trim, protective feet, a leather-lined interior, a removable shoulder strap and rolled top handles. And might we add: Leopard print never goes out of style. $7,820.

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(2) JEAN ZEBRA CLUTCH BAG, ALABASTER/OBSIDIAN Edie Parker’s custom-made acrylic bags are the perfect complement to a girl’s night out or a dinner engagement, when you’re dressed most fabulously. The rectangular shell of this clutch is made of marbled, hand-poured acrylic with glitter-flecked zebra stripes and contains a kiss-lock closure.

The inside includes a vanity mirror for on-the-go makeup fixes. $1,295.

(3) DIONYSUS SNAKE-EMBROIDERED CROSS-BODY BAG This Gucci number makes a bold statement, like its namesake — the Greek god of wine, fertility and ecstatic worship. It’s fitting that it should have an exotic serpent appliqué, because like Dionysus,

the serpent — which sheds its skin — represents rebirth. Crafted using an eco-friendly process, the bag features a flap top with a textured tiger head spur closure and python trim with suede microfiber lining. $3,980.

(4) CRYSTAL BEATNIK CAT MINAUDIÈRE This Judith Leiber clutch — in the shape of a flashy feline — doesn’t miss a “Beat” with its black beret, shades and turtleneck, a purr-fect representation of hip elegance. Embellished in Austrian crystals, it includes a chain shoulder strap with a seven-inch drop — which can be tucked inside for handheld preferences — and a pushdown clasp at the top. $5,595.

(5) ROSE-COLORED GLASSES WICKER DALMATIAN PURSE This adorable bag from Kate Spade New York is a lovely accessory for animal lovers and beachcombers, with its wicker material, evocative of the soft seasons. Featuring 14-karat light gold-plated hardware, the purse includes a leather wristlet strap and a leather collar with a bow. $448.

For more, visit neimanmarcus.com.

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WANDERS

HANGING WITH THE NATIVES IN THE

Western Cape

BY JEREMY WAYNE

A simple line, culled from a travel website,

told me, before I knew anything else about

Bushmans, that this was somewhere I wanted to go:

“Bushmans Kloof is situated in the Western

Cape, in a nature reserve between the Cederberg Mountains and the Great Karoo Plains.”

I was instantly sold. “God’s own country,” was

how my grandfather, who knew South Africa well,

always referred to it, with its big skies and savannah and vast plains and grasslands. A great wodge of a

country, nearly 10 times the size of his — and my — native England, cemented, so it seemed, to the base of Africa. Reader, I had to go.

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Wildlife at Bushmans Kloof.

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I spent a week around Cape Town first, before heading west, acclimatizing to a new hemisphere and enjoying the late winter sun. There is lots to do in Cape Town, and many folks I know, and many more I met there, count it a destination in its own right. The air is balmy and the days seem lazy and long. Still too early for the beach, though, so instead I made trips out to the wineries (the South Africans call them wine farms), to Stellenbosch and Hermanus, rode the cableway to Table Mountain, joined a canal cruise around Cape Town’s famous Victoria & Alfred Waterfront to see Madonna’s multimillion dollar home from the water, and took the ferry to Robben Island. This last excursion, to the scene of Nelson Mandela’s incarceration — where he lived for 18 years with a bucket for a toilet, permitted only one 30-minute visit a year — is a kind of homage that all visitors to Cape Town are bound to make, and certainly no visit to the city would seem complete without it.

But at my back each day, I heard the mountains calling. An ambitious plan to fly up to Bushmans by private plane was scotched at the last minute and I found myself being driven instead, sandwiched in the “short-straw” middle seat in the back of a Mercedes. The Germans know how to build cars, however, and the three and a half-hour drive to Clanwilliam went by in a trice.

Out through the wretched townships we went into open country — through Malmesbury, across the Ratanga Junction, through towns with gritty Afrikaans names like Piketberg and Citrusdal and on through the beautiful Olifants River Valley.

Then, past the grave of C. Louis Leipoldt, the great South African poet, across the Brandewyns River, we swung off the road and, before we knew it, through Bushmans’ heavy gates.

Even before we had parked next to the big, blue gum trees and got out of the car, I knew instinctively that Bushmans was a kind of paradise. And so it proved over the next few days.

Our very first evening, at dusk, during a sunset game drive, just moments after we had stopped in a clearing and the back of the open Land Rover had been niftily converted into a bar — for gin and tonics with dry London gin and ice cubes the

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Leopard Bar Terrace overlooking the ocean, The Twelve Apostles. Photographs courtesy The Red Carnation Hotel Collection.

size of shoeboxes — we saw endangered bontebok (antelope) running ahead of us, graceful and noiseless as clouds scudding across the sky. The next day brought gray rhebok and lynx and in the days that followed, red hartebeest, aardwolves and bateared foxes. And, joy of joys, just when we had all but given up hope, taking a fork in the track on our last afternoon, we came across a zeal of rare Cape Mountain zebra — insouciant in their stripes, happily at home, untroubled for the moment by man or other beasts.

What you don’t come to this part of South Africa for are the Big Five — lions, leopards, rhinos, elephant and buffalo. (For these you will need to head to the Kruger National Park, the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park in Natal or one of the country’s seven private game reserves.) But at Bushmans, you are fully immersed in nature and the fact that the reserve is also a wellness “retreat,” sets it somehow apart from the big parks, which can feel formulaic and contrived, at least in my view.

And there is more, much more besides. Malaria-free Bushmans was once inhabited by indigenous San people (or bushmen), who are mankind’s oldest nation and have lived in the Cederberg Mountains for a staggering 120,000 years. Their fascinating rock art, found at around 130 different sites around the reserve, has been preserved and throws light on the San’s relatively sophisticated culture. Park Rangers conduct regular tours of the

sites, introducing you to this lost world.

If rock art does not rock you, you can hike instead in the indigenous fynbos, home to more than 6,000 endemic plants, cycle or learn to fly-fish.

And at the heart of all is the homestead itself, a jaw-droppingly lovely Relais & Châteaux property, with sumptuous accommodations based around colonial style rooms and suites; gourmet dining — at night, under a million stars; a handsome swimming pool; and a small, luxurious spa, where the hot-stone treatment alone is worth the drive.

Returning to Cape Town, we got lucky: A private plane bringing people to Bushmans’ private airstrip, 20 minutes’ drive from the homestead (and known locally as BK International), whisked us back to the city in 50 minutes flat. Less than an hour after that, we were sipping kiwi martinis in the Leopard Bar at The Twelve Apostles hotel, Bushmans’ sister property, overlooking the ocean at Camps Bay. God’s own country, indeed, although my grandfather would have had no time for cocktails. He was a whisky man himself.

For more on Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve & Wellness Retreat, in Clanwilliam, Western Cape, South Africa, visit Bushmanskloof. co.za.

For more on The Twelve Apostles hotel and spa, on Victoria Road, Camps Bay, Cape Town, South Africa, visit 12apostleshotel.com.

GIFTS AND NEW PRODUCTS IDEAL FOR ANY OCCASION COMPILED BY MARY SHUSTACK

SOMETHING WILD Add a wild touch to modern dĂŠcor with animal themes interpreted in distinctive iron sculptures. Entirely handcrafted by the Italian architectural bureau Alterego, these pieces pack quite the graphic punch. Available in horse, deer, rhino, buffalo skull or, pictured here, unicorn head ($3,760).

For more, visit artemest.com.

Photograph courtesy Artemest

1 QUITE THE HELPER

PLEASE PASS THE‌ BULL?

(1) Talk about a conversation starter: This Sterling Silver Penguin Champagne Bottle Holder ($11,360), handcrafted in Italy, is not what you’ll see at every dinner party. The family-owned master silversmiths, Fratelli Lisi in Florence, meticulously manufactured this playful homage to the penguin. May we pour?

(2) Stately tabletop accents seem to be a specialty when it comes to Argentiere Pagliai, but this silversmith from Tuscany combines the classical with the whimsical as well. Catching our eye are the Oro Salt Cellar ($390), in sterling silver and yellow gold and the Leone Napkin Holder ($330) in sterling silver.

For more, visit artemest.com.

Photograph courtesy Artemest

For more, visit artemest.com.

Photographs courtesy Artemest

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GONE FISHING

VINTAGE CHARM

MAKING A STATEMENT

(3) The new book “Tiles & Styles, Jugendstil & Secession” (Schiffer Publishing Ltd., $59.99) has the subtitle “Art Nouveau and Arts & Crafts Design in German and Central European Decorative Tiles, 1895-1935.” Collectors will spend plenty of time with Ken Forster’s effort, as it’s not only jam-packed with historical information but more than 600 color images of a wealth of designs that just happen to include — along with botanicals, landscapes and portraits — quite a few swans, deer, rabbits, peacocks and, here, fish.

(4) WAG readers don’t have to worry that longtime Larchmont jewelry designer Pam Older relocated to Massachusetts. Those traveling her way can visit the Pam Older Designs shop in Newburyport or continue to find her creations online, including this Vintage Parrot necklace ($125). Featuring an antique brass bird fashioned from an old stamping, the long-length necklace is crafted with a vermeil and pyrite wire-wrapped chain.

The Boho vibe is complete thanks to a sprinkling of pink and purple crystals.

(5) Patricia Polk, in addition to being the owner of Patricia’s Presents — a boutique with a wealth of animal-themed merchandise — is also a longtime jewelry designer. Her Ridgefield shop serves to showcase some of her work, including this one-of-a-kind elephant neckpiece ($195).

Featuring a silver and lapis handmade elephant pendant surrounded by blue Chinese pottery beads, the piece has a lobster-claw closing with two inches of silver chain for extra length. Polk says it’s made on wire for both comfort and durability.

For more, visit schifferbooks.com.

Photograph courtesy Schiffer Publishing Ltd.

For more, visit pamolderdesigns.com.

Photograph courtesy Pam Older Designs

For more, visit patriciaspresents.com.

Photograph courtesy Patricia Polk

ON THE PROWL (6) The British-based jewelry company Halcyon Days — which boasts five decades of royal warrants and is featured at R & M Woodrow Jewelers in Rye — joins our animal-themed pages with an elegant roar. We fell in love with the hand-painted enamel bangles and cuffs, available in three sizes, as well as the understated-but-chic cuff links for the gentlemen. We’re highlighting leopards, tigers and animal prints here, in bracelets ($145 to $595) and cuff links ($145), but the collection also includes dogs, elephants, frogs, bees, bunnies and more.

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For more, visit halcyondaysusa.com.

Photograph by Bob Rozycki

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WONDERFUL DINING

COME JOIN THE

CLUB

BY DANIELLE BRODY PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY THE OLD GREENWICH SOCIAL CLUB

Truffle flatbread with roasted mushrooms and cheese.

EVERYONE’S WELCOME AT THE OLD GREENWICH SOCIAL CLUB. Previously an Irish pub called Mackenzie’s, “OG Social” maintains a community atmosphere, serving comfort food that won’t weigh you down.

The restaurant could easily rest on its comfort factor and location (in a strip near the Old Greenwich 88

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train station) to attract families and commuters, but the menu is thoughtfully prepared. OG Social offers bar classics like burgers, meatloaf and meatballs as well as dishes with a twist, such as fish tacos, smoked trout dip and lobster mac.

Owner Jed Simon, a hospitality professional and Greenwich native, opened the restaurant in October.

He says he completely renovated the inside of the restaurant, repainting the dark green walls and ceilings white and darkening the wood. Booths are enclosed in dark wainscoting and walls are decorated with paisley wallpaper, old photos and quirky knickknacks. You’ll feel like you’re in a cozy cabin.

OG Social hosts Connect Four nights, offering that

game and others at the bar, and features drinks created by regulars, along with a local band Thursday nights.

Luckily, I came for dinner on a Thursday and ate listening to covers of mellow rock hits.

Feeling that local vibe, I ordered the OG Honey Sting, a cocktail with Evan Williams, honey, lemon and sage that was too strong for me. There’s an extensive list of beers, wine and other cocktails I would like to try next time, such as the Elderflower Martini and the Long Island Iced Tea. Simon swiftly picked out his favorite dishes for us to try, which for the most part turned out to be delicious.

We started with bacon-wrapped dates with almond centers and a creamy blue cheese drizzle — a light, crispy intro.

A small plate of fish tacos was fresh and well dressed with a flavorful, spicy cream sauce on top. The small plate of tuna tartare was served in a pretty pink and green mound with avocado. It was simple on its own, but scooped onto the wonton chips, it made for a winning combination.

Next we had a truffle flatbread with roasted mushrooms and truffle-infused cheese. It was creamy yet light and had just the right amount of truffle flavor. The crust was thin and crispy, more like a soft-baked cracker than a doughy flatbread.

All of the dishes were aesthetically pleasing, including what could have been a simply served toasted chicken entrée. It was presented in a nest shape – the breast neatly stacked on a bed of potatoes wrapped in a swirl of thin, fried potatoes and julienned vegetables.

It was nonetheless nothing fancy (which Simon would also say of his food) but the chicken was tender and tasty and, with the potatoes, made for a hearty dinner.

In keeping with the community theme, Simon told us he is alternating fare from different local bakeries on the dessert menu. This time it was DiMare Pastry Shop, which he gushed over. We chose Chocolate Decadence from DiMare, and OG’s own crème brûlée, which wasn’t even on the menu. The modestly described dessert was a standout — a perfectly whipped custard under a thinly caramelized top. I suggest come dessert time, support a bakery and taste something from the kitchen, too.

There’s a lot that would bring me back to The Old Greenwich Social Club — the friendly vibe, the music and, of course, the food. OG Social offers a weekend brunch with unlimited drink specials, and Simon is toying with some other ideas. I doubt he’ll have trouble getting people to join the club.

The Old Greenwich Social Club is at 148 Sound Beach Ave. For more, call 203-990-3033 or visit ogsocial.com.

A Pat LaFrieda burger.

A small plate of fish tacos.

OG encourages playing games.

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WINE & DINE

Hungarian wine importer Athena Bochanis of Palinkerie with László Bálint, wine supervisor at FurmintUSA, at a recent Furmint tasting in Manhattan.

Hungary. Fine wine. Who knew?

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH BY DOUG PAULDING

So what flavors do you get when you plant Furmint grape vines in the varied, volcanic soils of Hungary? Sweet, savory and unctuous, with apricot notes and a lingering finish? Or dusty and dry with steely and mineral influences? Or everything in-between? Surrounded by Austria, Croatia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine, Hungary is the eighth wine-producing country in Europe and the 14th in the world in wine production by volume. Its wine production predates Christopher Columbus by two and a half centuries.

Even its first vineyard classification predates Burgundy’s by a century and a half. But Hungary’s wine production was interrupted or shut down many times over the centuries. In 1241, half the population was killed or enslaved by invading Mongols. In 1526, the Turks invaded, controlling the country for 150 years. In World War I, Hungary allied itself with Germany and Austria and lost hundreds of thousands of its citizens. In the Second World War, it was overrun by German forces and again lost hundreds of thousands. The next 40-plus years saw the Communist occupation, which all but crushed good wine production. In 1989, Hungary finally became an independent democracy.

So when it comes to this nation, wine produc90

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tion is as old as the hills and yet brand new, with the country still in recovery mode. Investors have seen the opportunity and have moved in, buying land and planting vineyards. The majority of Hungarian wines are white. I was invited to a tasting of Furmint wines recently at the Consulate General of Hungary in Manhattan where we had the opportunity to taste the wines of nine producers of Furmint. The wines were all over the map in the taste profile with this common thread: Each wine was delicious and wonderful. It was easy for anyone to find the appropriate wine on the dry-to-sweet continuum to suit his taste, mood and specific food pairings. But there was more. The flavors of the wine were evocative of a variety of well-known grapes. The information I

read indicated the winemakers present offered white Furmint wines that showed the “weight and structure of a Chardonnay, the fruitiness of a Chenin Blanc, and the acidity and minerality of a Pinot Grigio or a Riesling.” Although I was skeptical of this claim, I tasted through all the wines and was suitably impressed.

Tastings in Manhattan tend to attract connoisseurs who can identify many grapes by taste alone.

That would not have been possible at this Furmint tasting. Indeed, even winemakers working grapes from a single, relatively small farm were presenting wines that were wildly different. The sweet wines were easy to spot and easier to identify as they were often poured from 500 milliliter bottles as compared to the more standard 750 ml bottles.

But some of the wines had a fruity, flowery or perfumy presence, anchored with citrus flavors, while others showed wet stone with dry mineral components, reminding you of the terroir.

So if there’s someone you want to impress and confuse, find a bottle or two of Furmint and serve them blind. The wines are well-made, affordable and worth pondering. Even knowledgeable wine geeks will be bemused — and bewitched.

Write me at doug@dougpaulding.com.

Spring has sprung

Insta

come celebrate with us

exciting show jumping boutique shopping family fun delicious dining special events scenic backdrop stunning horses Olympic athletes

2 0 1 6 Old Salem Farm North Salem, NY

may

13-15 20-22

Tickets available now! $130,000 Empire State Grand Prix, presented by the Kincade Group $50,000 Old Salem Farm Grand Prix, presented by the Kincade Group $35,000 NY Welcome Stake Grand Prix $35,000 North Salem Grand Prix $35,000 Speed Derby of North Salem $15,000 Old Salem Farm Speed Derby $15,000 Under 25 Grand Prix, presented by T&R Development $10,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby

tickets, sponsorships, vip table reservations, and vendor info available at www.oldsalemfarm.net

WHETTING THE APPETITE

CAULIFLOWER ‘BREADSTICKS’

Cauliflower IN BLOOM

BY JACQUELINE RUBY PHOTOGRAPH BY BOB ROZYCKI

Cauliflower is the hot new food of magical thinking — baked whole and served as an entrée or, as I recently discovered, riced into a zesty alternative to breadsticks. Have fun with this. It’s a great appetizer for your guests.

INGREDIENTS: • • • • •

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• • • • •

4 cloves garlic, minced ½ teaspoon kosher salt ¼ teaspoon ground pepper Zest ½ lemon 1 additional cup shredded mozzarella cheese for topping

INSTRUCTIONS: 1.

2.

3.

4.

For more, contact the Saucy Realtor at jacquelineruby@hotmail.com.

1 medium cauliflower (produces 4 cups of riced cauliflower) 4 eggs 2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese, plus 1 tablespoon of Parmesan cheese 1 tablespoon dried oregano 1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Cut the cauliflower into florets, discarding any large stem pieces. Place the florets into the bowl of a food processor. (If you have a smaller food processor, do this in two batches so the cauliflower grinds evenly). Pulse until the cauliflower is chopped into small pieces that are about the same size as grains of rice.

Place the 4 cups of riced cauliflower (reserving any leftovers for another recipe, such as cauliflower fried rice) in a large microwaveable bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave for 10 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender.

5.

6.

7.

8.

When the cauliflower is done, remove the plastic wrap and let cool. Add the eggs, Parmesan cheese, 2 cups of mozzarella, oregano, zest of lemon, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper and stir to combine.

Divide the mixture in half and shape into 2 circles on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 25 minutes, then remove it from the oven and top with the remaining 1 cup of shredded mozzarella and bake for another 5 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the edges are brown.

Cut into long pieces and serve with marinara sauce for dipping.

WELL

RELEASING YOUR INNER ANIMAL

BY GIOVANNI ROSELLI

The crab position is a great pose to open up the pecs and shoulders, two parts of the body that many people find stiff and tight. It is also a great way to stabilize the shoulder girdle and, thus, help improve posture.

NOW MORE THAN EVER WE ARE BOMBARDED WITH MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF FITNESS REGIMENS. With more equipment available than ever and

more options to choose from than ever, maybe it’s time to go back to basics — simply using your body as your equipment. There are many qualified professionals who say that machines and external weights shouldn’t be used until you can move your own body weight with precision.

There is a certain form of body-weight exercise

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that has helped me in my own career as well as helping my clients reach their fitness goals. Animal Flow, a form of body-weight training that has been around for hundreds of years, has gained in popularity quite recently.

Fellow trainer and colleague Mike Fitch created one particular form of Animal Flow that I follow closely. As a combination of yoga, gymnastics, parkour, breakdancing and martial arts, it can be considered the highest form of body-weight movement.

Each of these disciplines uses quadrupedal animal

Static crab can progress into a reaching sequence, which requires greater stabilization with each shoulder. This position also serves as a way to open the hip. For many, this is a favorite, because it actually feels good while still being challenging.

movements in one way or another.

“The flow component, which was also inspired by the different disciplines, is all about how the body transfers, dissipates and communicates ‘energy’ or force,” Fitch says, “whether that’s the force of your own body weight and gravity or it’s the energy that’s coming back into the body from the ground or an external object.”

Here, you’ll find an introduction to a few basic Animal Flow moves. I want to preface these moves by noting that since many animal flow moves are performed on the ground, proper warm-up of the wrists and hands is recommended prior to, during and post-exercise.

As with most exercises, these poses can be easy or difficult depending on the effort you put into them. My recommendation is to focus on your breath in these poses and let that dictate the time under tension.For the static positions (crab and beast), begin by attempting to hold your breath for 10 slow, full inhalations and exhalations. Once you can accomplish that, try adding more breaths. For the moving exercises (crab reach and beast to side

The beast goes back to when we first started crawling as babies. It’s is one of Animal Flow’s best poses for full body tension and stability. Taking this basic position and lifting the knees up off the floor one inch adds a tremendous amount of stability to the core and upper back.

Similar to the progression from static crab to crab reach, there are several great transitions from beast. The side kick asks the body not only to stabilize itself but rotate as well.

kick through), begin by attempting three repetitions on each side with full inhalations and exhalations throughout.

“Everyone who practices Animal Flow does it for different reasons,” Fitch says. “Some people use it as a restorative modality to repair and down regulate their bodies. Others may make a more intense practice of it, which they use to improve

performance. The way in which you use it is completely up to you…. It is a constant practice to become a more fluid mover, transferring forces and energy seamlessly.”

For those interested in learning more about these moves and this type of training, please feel free to send me an email at GioRoselli@gmail. com as well as visit animalflow.com.

Celebrate the Moments with Technique Catering Catering and Events

TECHNIQUE

Catering Company www.techniquecatering.com | 914.694.1216 techniquecatering@gmail.com

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WELL

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Traveling vet

COMBINES EAST, WEST IN HER MEDICINE BAG

BY DANIELLE RENDA

The love between a pet and its owner is unconditional.

On our best and worst days, a pet offers affection that’s devoid of expectation or judgment.

There may be few humans we can say the same for.

This is why it’s heartbreaking for owners to see their companions suffering. Whether they’re fighting through a fur ball, a muscle ache or a chronic illness, it’s an owner’s duty to ensure his or her pet’s well-being.

When a head scratch or tasty treat isn’t comforting enough, Dr. Rachel Barrack can help.

Barrack is a mobile veterinarian, based in Manhattan, whose practice involves a little something extra. She uses acupuncture and Chinese herbal therapies to treat her feline, canine and equine patients.

And as the owner of 9-year-old Chihuahua Eloise, she knows firsthand about the strength of a pet-and-owner bond.

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Barrack’s practice integrates both Western medicine — which is based on diet, medication and surgery — with ancient Eastern, holistic treatments of neurological, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, respiratory, renal, skin, uro-genital and immune-meditated diseases, in addition to providing postoperative healing, palliative care and treatment for behavioral issues. According to Barrack, each method is effective but suits different situations. While pharmaceuticals are better for acute disease and surgery, acupuncture helps chronic conditions. Pharmaceutical drugs, which generally act faster, also often have unpleasant side effects, which can be alleviated using holistic therapies.

“I often see animals that have just undergone surgery to aid in postoperative healing and more chronic conditions that aren’t responding well to Western treatment,” she says.

Since her office is mobile, she practices care directly in the patient’s home, performing acupuncture by inserting hair-thin, stainless steel needles along 14 major channels that carry blood and energy (known as the “chi” in Chinese medicine)

throughout the body. The procedure produces a physiological effect that can provide pain relief, stimulate microcirculation and decrease inflammation, with an overall goal of restoring balance among the organ systems.

She urges owners not to be discouraged by the involvement of needles. The treatment, which is virtually painless, actually has a soothing effect on the animal.

“Most of the time, all of the patients are really cooperative,” Barrack says. “There are some common points that I start with for each patient. For the most part, they’re all relaxed. Mom or dad are also nearby to assure them throughout the process.”

Barrack then turns to Chinese herbal therapy, which is used in conjunction with acupuncture.

“It’s analogous to acupuncture,” she says. “They work hand-in-hand with each other.”

An acupuncture patient is provided with a premixed herbal blend that’s created according to the specific diagnosis. The herbs, which help enhance the effects of treatment, are available in a powder, pill or biscuit form.

“The herbs are all natural, but they should be

looked at as medication,” Barrack says.

Owners can expect a 60- to 90-minute first visit, during which Barrack gives the pet a health history examination, including a Western physical exam and a Chinese veterinary exam. Barrack and the owner will then determine the primary concerns for the pet and the method of treatment, which can be exclusively a Western or Eastern one, or a combination of both.

“In the case of an acute life-threatening emergency, like broken bones or something that requires surgery, I’m turning to my Western background, so to speak,” she says. “It’s important to know your limitations. Acupuncture can be used to lessen the side effects or in lieu of some Western drugs, but it requires a little bit of patience.”

Barrack recommends beginning with three to five acupuncture treatments.

“Typically, it requires a few treatments to really see the benefits of the needling and more chronic conditions will take a bit longer to evolve through Eastern medicine,” she says.

Barrack treats clients throughout the tristate area. For more, visit animalacupuncture.com.

RIVERSIDE ART AUCTION Live Auction Saturday, May 7, 2016

40 works by HV artists offered Viewing and reception 3:30pm Live Auction 5:00pm Auctioneer: Nicholas D. Lowry President, Swann Galleries, NYC Appraiser, Antiques Roadshow

Silent Auction Through May 15, 2016 80 works by HV artists offered Garrison’s Landing in Garrison, NY MTA Hudson Line, Garrison stop

garrisonartcenter.org 845-424-3960 98

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painting by Kathy Kuryla

JIMMY CHOO

Greenwich

205 GREENWICH AVE. 203.862.5300

Bros!

PET OF THE MONTH

IS THERE ANYTHING QUITE LIKE BROTHERLY LOVE? Think of “Au fond du temple saint,” the moving duet from Bizet’s opera “Les Pêcheurs de Perles” (“The Pearl Fishers”), in which the two heroes — rivals in love — nonetheless pledge undying devotion to one another. It’s little wonder that the 1863 opera was recently revived in a well-received production at The Metropolitan Opera and that the tenor-baritone duet — perhaps the most famous male duet in opera — is often sung at funerals and memorials to men.

If there were a canine version of “The Pearl Fish100

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APRIL 2016

ers,” Alvin and Bernie would be the stars. These yearold brothers, Retriever mixes, were rescued from a high-kill shelter down South when they were puppies.

Because they hadn’t been socialized and had hardly any human contact the first few months of their lives, they came to the SPCA frightened of people but tightly bonded to each other. It’s taken months to teach them that most people are good, but they are still timid when they first meet someone.

You see where we’re going with this, don’t you? In an ideal world, Alvin and Bernie would have a home with a patient owner who would help these guys

continue to blossom while keeping them together.

But barring that, it would be good if they could each go to a home with another dog for company.

Still, who doesn’t love a two-for-one deal?

To meet Alvin and Bernie, visit the SPCA of Westchester at 590 N. State Road in Briarcliff Manor.

Founded in 1883, the SPCA is a no-kill shelter and is not affiliated with the ASPCA. The SPCA is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays. To learn more, call 914- 941-2896 or visit spca914.org.

Jaime Laredo, conductor & violin

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APRIL 2016

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WELL

HAPPY TAILS MASSAGE THERAPY FOR ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL

BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

Stephanie Torres is supervisor at The Spa at Delamar Greenwich, a licensed massage therapist and licensed aesthetician. WAG had the pleasure of experiencing her expert gentle touch during a facial for our January “Celebrating Family” issue.

It was during that facial that we discovered something unusual about Stephanie: She is also certified in equine and canine massage — a growing field, she says.

Torres grew up riding in Litchfield. Her parents would drop her off at the home of her aunt, who had a horse. At ages 5 and 6, she was comfortable around horses. By 9, she was jumping with and showing them. For her, the benefits were both physical and emotional.

“I have a little bit of scoliosis, and (riding) has helped me build up a fluid motion,” she says. But she also speaks of “the therapy you receive by being around (horses).

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Stephanie Torres and her German shepherd, Mia. Photograph by Bob Rozycki.

“They cherish you,” she adds. “Everyone has his own personality. They love you.”

That was the relationship Stephanie had with her own horse, the mare Gunner’s Flower, whom she had for six years.

“She was my baby. She truly was.” In the end, however, Torres realized she wasn’t spending the time with Gunner’s Flower that the horse needed and sold her “to a wonderful lady.” She loved her enough to let her go.

Her years as a horsewoman had taught her the benefits of riding for the animal as well. “I wanted to do equine therapy.”

First, she had to establish herself as a massage therapist for humans. She had no sooner graduated from Branford Hall Career Institute’s massage therapy program when she landed a job at The Spa at Delamar. It must’ve been a sign: The Delamar Greenwich Harbor is a pet-friendly hotel.

Two years ago, Torres went to the Oasis School of Animal Massage in Springville, Ala., for a weekend course. She learned that massages for animals

and people “are very similar. They do the same thing. They reduce anxiety and inflammation and aid in digestion.”

Torres begins by approaching the animal with respect and a clear mind, introducing a light touch to the head and the ears. The ears of an animal are important, she says, as they offer clues to the animal’s mood, depending on whether they are pricked and perky or drooping. Then Stephanie moves on to the animal’s back and legs, all the while using a gentle pressure and almost watery movements as she continues to talk to the animal.

She’s able to practice her canine massage therapy at the Delamar. The cost is $40 to $50 for a 15- to 20-minute session. For equine therapy, she’ll travel to you for a session that will last from 90 minutes to two hours and cost $150 to $200.

As she massages an animal, Torres is also teaching its “parent” how to do some of the techniques and one thing more — “always listen to your pet.”

For more, email storres@thedelamar.com.

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Adaeze up close and personal. Photograph by Tyler Sizemore of Hearst Connecticut.

Into the wild (in Greenwich)

You associate Greenwich with tony shops, elegant eateries, boating, polo and, well, quiet money — lots of it.

But what about Thomson’s gazelles, two-toed sloths and toco toucans? Or how about giant anteaters, armadillos and orangutans?

Enter the LEO Zoological Conservation Center, a nonprofit, off-exhibit, accredited breeding reserve in Greenwich, dedicated to saving “the rare and endangered animals of today for the people of tomorrow.” The center does this through captive breeding programs for zoological populations, captive bred for wild release programs, conservation-based research, youth education and educational outreach. Since its founding in 2009 by conservationist Marcella Leone, the Lionshare Educational Orga104

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APRIL 2016

BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

nization (LEO) has had remarkable success with its breeding program, despite the challenges. Two years ago, the center announced the record-tying birth of eight cheetah cubs that carry the rare, recessive king cheetah gene, characterized by thick black stripes down the back and splotches on a pale field instead of spots on yellow. They were born appropriately enough on what was Labor Day that year, Sept. 1.

This was no mean feat as cheetahs have lost 90 percent of their population in the last 100 years.

(Indeed, there are fewer than 7,500 in the wild worldwide.) King cheetahs are extremely rare, with reportedly fewer than 30 in the world. Compounding the problem of the cheetah’s survival is the reality that females are solitary creatures, notoriously picky about their partners.

Nonetheless, mom Mona Lisa got it on with dad Michelangelo, and the result was the litter of eight.

For the well-being of mother and babies since female cheetahs have only six teats, five cubs were cared for by their mother while three were reared in the center’s nursery. Some of these cubs have made their way to zoos across the country to inspire animal lovers. And some have remained at the

Greenwich facility to augment the current breeding program.

But the cheetah isn’t the only success story for LEO — which, oddly enough, has no lions. (The name is a play on Leone, which means “lion” in various languages.)

The center, which boasts approximately 50 species, has seen rare births among the orangutan (endangered, with the birth being the first ever through assisted reproduction technology); the fishing cat (endangered); the mountain bongo (critically endangered); the three-banded armadillo (near threatened); the Thomson’s gazelle (near threatened); the giant anteater (vulnerable), the Brazilian tapir (vulnerable); the two-toed sloth; the Southern vested tamandua; the toco toucan; and others.

Breeding is one half of LEO’s story. The other is education, with Adaeze (the name means “daughter of a king” in Swahili), LEO’s ambassador cheetah, even appearing at Greenwich Polo Club. As the organization notes on its website, “We will only conserve what we love. We will only love what we understand. We will only understand what we are taught.”

For more, visit leozoo.org.

EXPERIENCE.SOMETHING.REAL. APRIL 7 Free Angela & All Political Prisoners Presented by Purchase Film Series

9 State Street Ballet: Carmen

Choreographed by William Soleau

16 Clifford the Big Red Dog Live!

Family musical fun for ages 3 and up

16 Robin Spielberg, piano

Spellbinding musical storytelling

24 As You Like It

Shakespeare’s beloved comedy A National Theatre Live presentation

30 John Pizzarelli & Ramsey Lewis A tribute to Nat King Cole

MAY 1 The Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra Pictured: Colin Mochrie & Brad Sherwood. Photo courtesy of Mills Entertainment.

Keith Lockhart conducts a special afternoon concert by the world-famous orchestra

7 Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Horn Calls with Radovan Vlatković

8 Die Zauberflöte

Spectacular production of Mozart favorite An Opera at The Cinema screening

JUNE 7 The Audience

Starring Dame Helen Mirren A National Theatre Live presentation

Pictured: Keith Lockhart conducts The Boston Pops © Stu Rosner

For event details and tickets, call 914-251-6200 or visit

WWW.ARTSCENTER.ORG THANK YOU

APRIL 6 Legal Services of the Hudson Valley will hold its fund-

WHEN AND WHERE?

raising event, the 2016 Equal Access to Justice Dinner.

The event will honor Tony West, Sidney Rosdeitcher and Susan Fox, beginning at 6 p.m., The Ritz-Carlton,

THROUGH APRIL 23

Westchester, 3 Renaissance Square, White Plains; 914949-1305; lshv.org

The Pound Ridge Library presents “Collected Works,” an exhibit of photographs by husband-and-wife artists Ann Dahlgreen and Douglas Foulke. 271 Westchester Ave.; 914-764-5085, poundridgelibrary.org

APRIL 7 THROUGH JULY 6 In collaboration with the Silvermine School of Art, Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum presents “En-

THROUGH MAY 1

dangered & Re-envisioned: Iconic Landmarks and Interiors, Photography by Bruce Dunbar.” The exhibit

“Tales of the High Line” showcases works by Serge

features digital photographs of several structures built

Strosberg that observe the mysteries and characters of

between 1870 and 1940, both private residences and

the Lower West Side of Manhattan and its iconic High

public spaces, seeking to place them in their contem-

Line. “Rabbitude” is a collection of new works by Brit-

porary context of adaptive reuse. 295 West Ave., Nor-

ish painter Jo Hay that captures the quirks and person-

walk; 203-838-9799, lockwoodmathewsmansion.com

alities of bunnies. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays, noon to 4 p.m. Sundays, Lionheart Gallery, 27 Westchester Ave., Pound Ridge; 914-764-8680, lion-

APRIL 8 ArtsWestchester’s 2016 Arts Awards Luncheon – The

heartgallery.com

'RABBITUDE' THROUGH MAY 1, LIONHEART GALLERY, POUND RIDGE

†§¢

awards have been presented since 1976 to recognize

Gallery 66 NY presents “Abstract into Figurative

individuals and organizations whose vision, commit-

†§¢

Abstract,” a trio of shows — “Parallel Realities,” “Rap-

ment and leadership have enriched the cultural life

The Annual Leon Levy Environmental Lecture pres-

tures” and “Spirit Shadows.” There’s also “A Gathering

of Westchester, its communities and its citizens. 11:30

ents Ellen Zachos, author of “Backyard Foraging: 65

of Rabbits” in the sculpture garden. Noon to 5 p.m. Fri-

a.m., DoubleTree by Hilton, 455 S. Broadway, Tarry-

Familiar Plants You Didn’t Know You Could Eat.” 3 p.m.,

days through Sundays, 66 Main St., Cold Spring; 845-

town; 914-428-4220, artswestchester.org

Katonah Village Library, 26 Bedford Road; 914-232-

809-5838, gallery66ny.org

3508, katonahlibrary.org

APRIL 8 AND 9

THROUGH JUNE 12

“Darling You Slay Me...A Musical Murder Mystery

APRIL 12 THROUGH 15

The College of New Rochelle’s Castle Gallery features

Comedy.” The time is 1929; the place, New York City.

The School of Liberal Arts at Mercy College presents its

selections from its collection of photographs by Gor-

It is the opening night party at a swank Times Square

17th annual International Film Festival. The scheduled

don Parks and his daughter, Toni Parks, honoring

restaurant for a particularly dreadful new Broadway

films are “Timbuktu,” “Mozart’s Sister,” “Blancanieves” and

Black History Month and Women’s History Month. 11

musical. With each new review comes a mysterious

“Gabrielle,” which begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Lecture Hall.

a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and noon to

death and so it falls to Anthony Badger, food critic and

555 Broadway, Dobbs Ferry; 914-674-7315, mercy.edu

4 p.m. weekends. 29 Castle Place, New Rochelle; 914-

amateur sleuth, along with the audience, to sort out the

654-5423, castlegallery.cnr.edu

patterns and find the killer. 8 p.m., The Veterans Me-

APRIL 13

morial Building, 210 Halstead Ave., Harrison; 914-630-

APRIL 1 Named one of the “Top 100 Stand-Up Comedians of

1089, harrisonplayers.org

The Putnam/Northern Westchester Women’s Resource Center presents a “Hudson Valley Food and Wine Experience.” Enjoy treats from some of the best restaurants,

All Time” by Comedy Central, David Cross brings his

APRIL 9

"Making America Great Again!" tour to The Capitol

Westport Country Playhouse presents its 2016 Sea-

beverage producers in the Hudson Valley while strolling

Theatre. 149 Westchester Ave., Port Chester; 914-937-

son Kick-off Block Party, with self-guided backstage

through a silent auction and raffle exhibits. 6 p.m., Villa

4126, thecapitoltheatre.com

tours, games and activities and food trucks. Free ad-

Barone Hilltop Manor, 466 Route 6, Mahopac; 845-628-

mission. 4 to 7 p.m., 25 Powers Court, Westport; 203-

9284, pnwwrc.org

APRIL 2 The 2016 Bridgeport Sound Tigers 5K Tiger Dash (and

caterers, winemakers, bake shops, food artisans and

227-4177, westportplayhouse.org

†§¢ “Speak-Up @ Your Library” – The Westchester Library System will highlight the many ways the county’s 38 pub-

Kids Fun Run) to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of Stam-

APRIL 10

ford, Wakeman and Milford. The race will begin and end at

The Bardavon Gala 2016 offers “An Evening with San-

breakfast at Abigail Kirsch at Tappan Hill Mansion in Tar-

Webster Bank Arena, with music and other entertainment

tana.” Ten-time Grammy Award-winning guitarist Car-

rytown. The guest speaker will be former Massachusetts

provided by Connoisseur Media. Check-in starts at 7:30

los Santana performs to raise money for the 1869 opera

Congressman and passionate civil liberties advocate Bar-

a.m., 600 Main St., soundtigers.com

house’s educational programs, which bring artists and

ney Frank — a man who has never been afraid to speak

musicians to schools and other venues. 7 p.m., 35 Market

his mind. Tickets are $80 and are available at westches-

St., Poughkeepsie; 845-473-2072, bardavon.org

terlibraries.org.

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lic libraries influence their patrons’ lives during its 2016

Don’t Miss These Great Shows!

THE RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE for movies and the performing arts

80 East Ridge • Ridgefield, Connecticut 06877

203.438.5795 • RIDGEFIELDPLAYHOUSE.ORG

Non-profit 501 (c)

APRIL 6

The Tartan Terrors

7

Comedian Jim Norton

8

Jumaane Smith

10

2016 Grammy Award Winner

MAY (CONTINUED) 6

former members of The Band, Levon Helm Band & Rick Danko Group

Special Guest The Mighty Ploughboys

7

Betty Buckley Live In Concert

8

Arlo Guthrie

Lead Trumpeter for Michael Bublé

Christian McBride Trio

16 Marilyn McCoo and

Billy Davis, Jr.

The Weight

10 John Hiatt Acoustic 11 Comedian Artie Lange

Original stars of The Fifth Dimension

17 Comedian

Bridget Everett 24 The Time Jumpers featuring Vince Gill, Kenny Sears & “Ranger Doug” Green

27 Actress Rita Wilson

In Concert

12 ABBA The Concert:

A Tribute to ABBA

13 Paul Anka 14 “A Night to Remember” Presley, Perkins, Lewis and Cash

17 Justin Hayward

28 Javier Colon

19 The Gong Show

29 Say Goodnight Gracie

20 Ottmar Liebert

Season 1 Winner of The Voice

30 The Alternate Routes

MAY 3 Dweezil Zappa & the Zappa Plays Zappa Band

4

The Waifs

5

Olate Dogs Winners of America’s Got Talent

Off Broadway

and Luna Negra

22 Richard Marx 23 AndersonPonty Band 26 Matthew Morrison Star of TV’s GLEE!

27 Rusted Root

APRIL 14 The Grace Church Community Center presents its annual “Oasis of Hope Gala.” The fundraising dinner and silent auction starts at 6 p.m., Leewood Golf Club, 1 Leewood Drive, Eastchester; 914-949-3098, gracecommunitycenter.org †§¢ Enjoy “A Novel Affair,” an evening of food and festivities to benefit The Ferguson Library. Open bar, wine and beer tastings, auction and giving bookshelf. 5:30 p.m., 1 Public Library Plaza, Stamford; 203-351-8205, fergusonlibrary.org

APRIL 15 The Bronxville Historical Conservancy presents Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and best-selling author Stacy Schiff at the 2016 Brendan Gill Lecture. She will discuss her new book, “The Salem Witch Trials: What

SPRING CRAFTS AT LYNDHURST APRIL 29 THROUGH MAY 1, LYNDHURST, TARRYTOWN

Really Happened and Why It Matters in 21st Century America.” 8 p.m., Reisinger Auditorium, Sarah Law-

Concert Hall, The Performing Arts Center, Purchase

APRIL 24

rence College, 1 Mead Way, Yonkers; 914-961-6790,

College, 735 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase; 914-682-

Celebrate Earth Day at the Hudson River Museum,

events@b-h-c.org

3707, westchesterphil.org

with a new star show, a celestial music performance

APRIL 16

†§¢

and a talk with Neil Maher of Rutgers University. Noon

The Greenwich Landmark Recognition Program

to 5 p.m., 511 Warburton Ave., Yonkers; 914-963-4550,

will present five properties with plaques commem-

hrm.org

The Pelham Art Center presents its 41st annual spring

orating their value to Greenwich’s rich architectural

fundraising gala, “Inspired,” featuring dinner tables

heritage. Champagne, wine and hors d’oeuvres will

decorated in the individual styles of famous artists, each

be served at a 4 p.m. reception. Greenwich Country

APRIL 29 THROUGH MAY 1

created by a different designer. 7 p.m., Larchmont Shore

Club, 19 Doubling Road, Greenwich; 203-869-6899,

Spring Crafts at Lyndhurst showcases more than 275

Club, 1 Oak Bluff Ave., Larchmont; 914-834-1516, pel-

greenwichhistory.org

modern American artists, designers and craftsmen

hamartcenter.org

from across the country in a celebration of all things †§¢

handmade. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Backyards Sports Cares, a Westchester-based non-

APRIL 18 and 19

profit that provides team-oriented sports programs

After 40 years and 40 million albums sold, rock group

for underserved and special needs children, will host

Steely Dan continues to tour extensively, playing a host

its fourth annual Three-on-Three Basketball Tourna-

of hits that include "Do It Again," "Reelin' In The Years,"

ment “Fun”draiser. 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Iona Preparatory

and "Rikki Don't Lose That Number." 8 p.m., The Capitol

APRIL 30

School, 173 Stratton Road, New Rochelle; 914-255-

Theatre, 149 Westchester Ave., Port Chester; 877-987-

Violinist Tessa Lark will perform Antonin Dvorák’s Violin

0282, byardsportscares.org

6487, thecapitoltheatre.com

Concerto in A minor with the Symphony of Westchester.

Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. 635 S. Broadway, Tarrytown; 914-631-4481, artrider.com

The all-Romantic program, which concludes the orchestra’s 19th concert season, also includes Rossini’s Semira-

APRIL 16 THROUGH MAY 15

APRIL 19

With her background in computer science and math-

The 17th Annual FARE Spring Luncheon, presented by

College’s Christopher J. Murphy Auditorium, 715 North

ematics, Jylian Gustlin has a heightened understand-

the Food Allergy Research and Education. Allergy ac-

Ave., New Rochelle; 914-654-4926, thesymphonyofwest-

ing of how studying patterns and layers enables her

tivist Abbey Braverman will receive The Legacy Award.

chester.org

to put down the bones of a painting without being

WABC-TV news anchor Lori Stokes will be the mistress

†§¢

confined by them. Her “New Works” show is at the

of ceremonies. 11 a.m., Cipriani 42nd Street, 110 E. 42nd

“Rock and Roll for Kids: The Music of The Beatles.” The

Canfin Gallery, 39 Main St., Tarrytown; 914-332-4554,

St., Manhattan; 212-980-1711, foodallergy.org

Rock and Roll Playhouse is a class in which children ex-

canfingallery.com

mide Overture and Tchaikovsky’s Serenade. 8 p.m., Iona

plore live music, movement and collaborative creativity.

APRIL 22

Young talents will gain knowledge and develop their musical skills through laughter and imagination.

APRIL 17

Bruce Hornsby, the three-time Grammy Award win-

3 p.m., Garcia's at The Capitol Theatre, 149 Westchester

Jaime Laredo, violinist, plays Vivaldi's “Concerto

ner best known for his hits “The Way It Is,” “Mandolin

Ave., Port Chester; 914-937-4126, therockandrollplay-

Grosso” and Mozart’s Third Concerto for Violin and

Rain,” “Every Little Kiss” and “The Valley Road,” offers

house.com/capitoltheatre

Orchestra with the Westchester Philharmonic, then

an intimate acoustic evening. 8 p.m., The Ridgefield

trades the bow for the baton, leading the orchestra

Playhouse; 80 E. Ridge Road; 203-438-5795, ridge-

in pieces by Stravinsky and Corigliano. 3 p.m., The-

fieldplayhouse.org

108

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APRIL 2016

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Updated 2016 itineraries, dates, testimonials and tour fees are posted online at www.johnrizzophoto.com

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“OUR TRIP WAS ONE OF THE MOST INTENSE, ASTONISHING AND INCREDIBLE TRAVEL EXPERIENCES I’VE EVER HAD. THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE WAS MAGICAL. I CAN’T WAIT TO JOIN JOHN ON ANOTHER TRIP.” Annie Chester, Los Angeles

Wildlife photos by Terri Huizinga

John Rizzo Photography | 405 Tarrytown Rd. Suite 1302, White Plains, NY 10607 | (646) 221-6186 worldwide mobile | www.johnrizzophoto.com

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Eager Beaver Tree Service INTELLIGENT TREE CARE ARTISTIC DESIGN DETAIL ORIENTED LONG TERM PLANNING-IMMEDIATE RESULTS SATISFACTION GUARANTEED!

EXTRAORDINARY Serving Westchester and Fairfield 914-533-2255 | 203-869-3280 |

203-966-6767

www.eagerbeavertreeservice.com Doug Paulding | Dpupatree@aol.com

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International Wines, Spirits and Beers Free Wine Tastings on Friday and Saturday Daily Sales and Specials Corporate and Client Gifting Programs Event Planning Services

Classes, Seminars and Tutorials Private In-Home Tastings and Classes Free Delivery Service (inquire) Wine Cellar and Collecting Consultation We Buy Your Older Wines and Spirits

203-869-2299 125 West Putnam Ave. Greenwich CT, 06830 (Next to Stop & Shop) ValsPutnamWines.com | ValsPutnamWines@hotmail.com

WIT WONDERS:

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John Amato

Krissy Buongiorno

Earlene Cox

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