Noted horsewoman Susie Humes spends some quality time with Vida Blue. photo by Jessica Marie Nemzoff
From Training To Judging, Has Seen It All
Susie Humes
By Jessica Marie Nemzoff
Susie Humes has made her mark as one of the nation’s foremost horsewomen, training and developing numerous successful horses and riders throughout her equestrian career. Riding since the age of three, Humes’ equestrian saga began in Old Westbury, N.Y., hunting with the Meadowbrook Hounds. Today, Humes maintains her involvement with horses, judging and training at the world’s most prestigious horse shows.
ers, the hunters and the equitation, we rode them bareback through the woods, and when we got to the Hamptons, we’d ride them on the beach and in the water. We did everything with our horses.”
It created memories that Humes treasures to this day.
Humes chose riding from the very beginning. “Our family had racehorses and polo ponies, and everyone participated in sports from dawn till dusk,” she said. “In the summer we had tennis, riding, swimming, diving, sailing, golf, shooting lessons and then we were allowed to choose what we wanted to concentrate on, and I liked riding, so I was sent off to ride with Victor [Hugo-Vidal], and then with Rodney Jenkins.”
“We used to go and ride to picnics in the evening; we’d get a bunch of our girlfriends together and go to a friend’s house, leave the horses in the paddock, go swimming and then ride home in the dark,” she said. “We always did things like that. That’s how we learned to ride. We showed them in the jump-
Attributing much of her success to those early influences, Humes cited George Morris, Hugo-Vidal, Jimmy Kohn and Jenkins among those who helped her get started in the industry. Hugo-Vidal was particularly influential when it came to getting a judging license. Humes recalled him telling her
“We did it all in those days,” Humes said, recalling her early days. “We foxhunted, steeplechased, hunter paced and used the same horse to hunt as we did to show — there was no difference.”
WELLINGTON THE MAGAZINE • APRIL 2010
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3/25/2010 2:05:29 PM