The Aiken Horse Aug-Sept 2020

Volume 16 • Number 1•

August-September

2020

Deirdre Stoker Vaillancourt, REALTOR®

803.640.4591

Aiken, South Carolina — Southern Charm and Equestrian Sport 332 MARLBORO STREET SE AIKEN, SC 29801

MLS # 112439

MLS # 112360

• Dunbarton Oaks • 5 BR 4 BA • SqFt: 2810 • 2 Master Suites • 1 BR 1 BA Apartment w/ Private Entry & Great Rental History • Perimeter Fenced Private Backyard • $299,075

• New Appliances • Fully Fenced in Yard • Off-Street Parking • $495,000

• Aiken Downtown • 3BR 3BA • SqFt: 3523 • Fully Upgraded Designer Kitchen with Butler’s Pantry • New, Spa-Quality Master Bath

111 DUNBARTON CIR

1064 GRAND PRIX DR

544 BRIDLE CREEK TRAIL

525 LAURENS ST

MLS # 103839

MLS # 112137

MLS # 97065

• Distinguished Farm • 2 BR 2.5 BA • 4 Paddocks • 8 Stall Courtyard Barn • Gated Community • Fox Hollow Equestrian • 30 Miles of Trail • 3 Rings• $650,000

• Red Oak Farm • 29.64 Acres • SqFt: 4692 • Dressage Arena • 3 Separate Apts Above Barn • Elegantly Appointed Owner’s Residence & 2 Staff Apartments •17-Stall Barn • Irrigated Grass Show Jump Field • $1,295,000

900 HORSE CREEK RD BEECH ISLAND, SC 29842

• Just Hope Farm • 46 Acres • 2 Barn Apt with 2BR 1BA each• Dressage Arena (80x220) • Designated Jumper Arena (125x250)

408 WHEAT RD

MLS # 112259

• Approx. 195-Acre Tract/3 Parcels • Developer & Investor Opp. • Multi-Phased Planned Community Near Aiken’s Growing Commercial Corridors • Paved Road Frontage Approx. 250ft • Pond • Multiple Hardwoods and Water Sources • $587,310

MLS # 110202

• Center Aisle Barn with 11 Oversized Stalls (14x14) • Wash, Feed, Utility, Tack Rm • Riders Lounge • $865,000

1219 STIEFEL RD

MLS # 112672

• Agnus Forest Farm • 8 Ac. • 4BR 3BA • 1 Run In Shed • Gated, In-Ground Pool w/ New Liner • 4 Large Paddocks • 6 Stall Barn with Tack Rm & Half Bath • $750,000

LOT 9 & 19 PALOMA LN MLS # 111970

• New Bridge Polo & Country Club, 9 1.89 ac, 19 23.41 ac • Exceptional Home & Barn Sites Available • Mature, Mixed Hardwoods & Grass Pasture Land • Field One Frontage • Total 25.49 Acres • $600,000

• Historic Hitchcock Stables • 8.5 Acres • 27 Large Stalls • 8 Large Paddocks • Adjacent to the 2100 Acre Hitchcock Woods • 2 Carriage Sheds, Bunk House • $2,300,000

COLBERT BRIDGE RD

MLS # 111361

• 2 Semi Wooded Lots with Colbert Bridge Frontage • Great Homesites or 40.19 Acre Private Sporting Estate • Mixed Rolling & Level Terrain of Hardwoods & Grass Pasture • Direct Access to Bridle Creek Equestrian • $334,050

www.AikenSCProperties.com 2

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August-September 2020

SuzyHaslup_TAH_Sept2019.qxp_Layout 1 4/5/20 5:46 PM Page 1

JOHNSTON FARM $899,000 Accredited Land Consultant An Accredited Land Consultant, Suzy achieved the title of Leading Sales Agent in 2013, 2015 & 2016.

Her 2018 & 2019 achievements include Meybohm’s “Best of the Best” & President’s Club, as well as 2018 & 2019 RLI APEX award for top producing land real estate agents.

Rare opportunity to own a professional equestrian property with lush coastal turnout fields twenty minutes from Aiken. Custom 4 BR/3.5 bath light filled home with heart pine floors, cathedral ceiling, updated kitchen, fireplace, new workout room, and views of your horses grazing. This 87A property includes a pond, 14-stall training barn with storage and grooming/wash stalls, paddocks, run-ins, derby jump field, 190 x 100 sand arena, round pen, free jumping chute, large turnout fields & mobile home. 2 additional 4-stall barns. More acreage is available.

KATYDID FARM

$1.1 MILLION

STIRRUP CUP COTTAGE

$283,000

BUTTON DOWN FARM $694,000

REDUCED Former home to international driving competitions, this farm is suitable for any equestrian. Property has over 112 A w/hay fields, pastures, 2 center aisle barns (18 stalls), 5 run-in sheds, equipment shed & hay barn. Stickbuilt home w/3 BR/2 BA, hardwood floors & fireplace.

Additional contiguous 105 A with trails available.

FOX HALL

$1.99 MILLION

Spectacular Aiken Horse District brick manor house renovated in 1999 with hardwood floors, commercial grade kitchen, fireplaces, 2 master suites, art/workout studio, 4 stall brick barn, 5.43 A. & newly sided guest house. Organically managed pasture & grounds with irrigated pastures, new board fencing & run-in sheds.

Easy access to Hitchcock Woods on the clay roads.

Winter colony 2 bedroom/2 bath cottage full of charm and one block away from the Hitchcock Woods. This 1368 square foot home, circa 1915, has heart pine & oak floors, double fireplaces, wainscotting, Hitchcock ceilings & 2 renovated baths with newer metal roof. Available in a highly sought after Aiken location.

FOX HOLLOW

$749,900

Forever Young Farm in gated Fox Hollow w/green features & use of sustainable products.Open floor plan, gourmet kitchen w/quartzite, gas stove, pantry, dry bar, 10’ & 12’ceilings, marble foyer, office, 2 screened porches, geothermal heating/ cooling system, bamboo flooring, surround sound wifi equipment & garages for 3 cars. 4 stall barn w/tack room & storage, 8.16 A & access to 30 miles of trails, 3 rings & cross country course.

Bridle Creek farm has hardiplank 3 BR /2 BA home on 12.48 A completely fenced w/no climb wire & top board, 4 paddocks, large turnout field, 4 stall barn w/tack-room, feed room, wash stall, in/out stalls & fabulous 80 X 200 irrigated synthetic footing dressage ring.Extensive community trails, new jump & dressage ring & recreation center.

COKER SPRINGS

$649,900

Flutterby Acre Farm is steps away from Hitchcock Woods for you, your horses and dogs!

Renovated circa 1932 5 BR/3 BA cedar shake home on 1 acre w/paddocks & 4 stall barn.

Random width tobacco barn heart pine floors downstairs with 9’ & 10’ ceilings, deep baseboards, fireplaces, upstairs with huge bonus/ studio with built ins & 3 additional bedrooms.

Screened porch & kitchen lead to large stamped concrete patio w/waterfall feature. Prime location.

www.AikenHorseRealty.com (803) 215-0153 • suzy.haslup@gmail.com August-September 2020

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WELCOME TO THE SOUTH

YOU’VE ALWAYS DREAMED OF...

finehomesofaiken.com

FEATURED PROPERTY

ROCKING HORSE: 19.5-acre horse farm with a Southern Living residence in Pacific Northwest styling.

Magnificent 2-story great room is the centerpiece of this brilliant open floor plan. Vintage interior doors.

Energy efficient home w/fiberglass exterior. Reclaimed heart pine floors & art deco tile. Master suite with walkin shower. Two barns w/5 stalls, tack room, wash area, & hay storage. Many more amenities. Property can be subdivided. Private equestrian community near Aiken w/riding trails, dressage ring, & jump field. $749,000

SOLD

THE BALCONY is the most prestigious equestrian estate in Aiken, a comfortable showplace in the heart of Aiken’s “Winter Colony.” Close to all equestrian venues, the 5.85-acre compound is a peaceful sanctuary within tall masonry walls. The elegant slateroofed residence shows refined craftsmanship in every detail. Stately formal rooms. 6 ensuite bedrooms w/ fireplaces. Kitchen, laundry, & utilities are all updated.

Exquisite gardens & lawns. 20-stall stable, 3-BR cottage, swimming pool, large paddocks. $2,450,000

SWALLOW DIP is a splendid historic Aiken residence on .78-acre in downtown Aiken. The property is just 1 block to The Willcox Inn, the Aiken Public Library, two blocks to the lovely trails of the 2200-acre Hitchcock Woods, & a 5 minute walk to downtown.

The historic estate consists of a main residence, a swimming pool, gardens, and a pool-guest house.

The 1-story residence has 2904 sq.ft. of living space: living room, library, 3 en suite bedrooms, formal dining room, & large contemporary eat-in kitchen with pantry. $595,000

TURTLE POND COURT: Contemporary floor plan and superb construction. Large open living-dining space, which also opens to the sunlit kitchen area.

Wood floors, wide covered front porch, spacious sun room with views, plus large laundry room with rolling barn door access. Master suite on ground floor. Two en suite bedrooms upstairs. 3-stall shed row barn w/ large tack-&-feed room 24x40 metal shop building w/power, roll-up door, concrete floor, & plumbed for bathroom. Paddocks, riding trails, & private location at the end of cul-de-sac. $550,000

DIBBLE ROAD Stately 1-story contemporary in Highland Park on landscaped 1-acre lot. Great value for the size and condition. Circular driveway, superb chef’s kitchen, private patio, & granite fireplace surround in living room. Home music system. Extralarge master suite with double vanity and separate shower and tub. Absolutely brilliant floor plan. Subzero refrigerator, Miele convection oven, Thermador gas range w/grill insert, Samsung washer and dryer (gas), plus refrigerator and range in garage for garage apartment. $575,000

HORSE PARK COTTAGE Beautifully renovated classic close to Millbrook Elementary, Kennedy Middle, South Aiken High, and Aiken Horse Park. 4 bedrooms w/3 elegant modern baths. Mother-in-law suite (or guest room) is the east wing of house. Large eat-in kitchen has stone counter-tops and contemporary appliances. Living room has wood floors, picture window, & gas-log fireplace. Large master suite with magnificent private bath & walk-in closet. Attractive landscaping plus a large fenced back yard with a storage building or workshop. 2018: new 30-year roof and new flashing, new chimney caps, and extensive bathroom updates. Paved driveway with carport..

Quiet safe neighborhood with shopping, parks, & dining just blocks away. $219,000

BEAUMONT COTTAGE: Former home of beloved dad on “Leave It To Beaver” is lovingly brought up to the 21st-century w/polished wood floors, three updated bathrooms, new carpet in the master suite, two fireplaces, & HUGE laundry room & pantry!

Split bedroom plan. New in 2020: irrigation system, ductwork, patio, refinished floors, carpet, landscaping, attic stairs, & kitchen appliances. Built-in shelves in living room, laundry room, & den. Lots of storage.

Large rooms. Kitchen has granite counter tops, new appliances, tile backsplash, new cabinets & pass-thru to den. Circular drive. Super neighborhood between Fresh Market & Willcox Inn. Dogs will enjoy the large fenced back yard. Listing agent is co-owner. $419,000

The finest farms in Aiken, South Carolina.

Call 803-640-0123 for estates, farms, homes & land.

KELLER WILLIAMS AIKEN PARTNERS

803 / 640 / 0123

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SECTION 8 14 22 23

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News & Notes Stable View Horse Trials Horses in Politics Ask the Judge

Our cover features Phillip Dutton at the Stableview Summer Horse Trials, going Advanced aboard the 2011 OTTB, Sea of Clouds.

June 2020 Photography by Pam Gleason

SECTION 30 36 30 44 46 48

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Caro: Irish Thoroughbred Secret Lives: Dude Dressage at Bruce’s Field Gonzalo Garcia Horses & The Law American Glory

Pippa Moon on Chaska XF at Dressage in the Spring, July 23 at the Aiken Horse Park.

Photography by Gary Knoll

`

SECTION

Annabelle Hede on Hall of Fame, Dressage in the Spring, July 23 at the Aiken Horse Park.

55 56 58 60 61 62 64 67 74

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Trainer’s Forum Remembering Peter Green Pandemic Dog Rescue Listening for Harmony Classifieds Directory Polo Calendar Index of Advertisers

Photography by Gary Knoll

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The Aiken Horse

August-September 2020

August-September 2020

Aiken

The

Horse

Aiken’s Horse Publication

P.O. Box 332 • Montmorenci, SC 29839-0332 • 803.643.9960 • TheAikenHorse.com • TheAikenHorse@gmail.com Time Dated Material • Periodicals • Volume 16 • Number 1

W

hen I sat down to write this piece, it struck me how different things are now than they were last year at this time. We are almost six months into a world altered by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disrupted our plans and changed our priorities. Last August on our farm, we were getting ready to go to the Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover Competition at the Lexington Horse Park in Kentucky. We had been taking our horses off to schooling shows to accustom them to competing, and we were looking forward to meeting new people and doing things we had not done before.

This year, the Thoroughbred Makeover has been canceled, with 2020 competitors invited to bring their horses to a bigger show in 2021 that will include both the TB class of 2020 and the class of 2021. The Kentucky Horse Park has just canceled some other major competitions: the Pony Finals, the Eventing Championships, and the list goes on. There are still shows here in Aiken, but they are smaller and the new USEF COVID compliance rules have given them a more serious aspect – competitors must wear masks and socially distance. There is no hanging around and catching up with friends; there are no spectators.

For our part, we have spent much more time on the farm. We’re schooling at home, taking our time and not rushing. Last year we were impressed that when you have a specific goal with a horse, he can really learn a lot in a short time. The Thoroughbred Makeover requires you to prepare an off the track thoroughbred for a new career in eight short months, and the goal of competing in early October really focused our efforts. This year, with no big

August-September 2020

competitions on our calendar, we’re not doing quite as much riding, and we are a lot more relaxed. Maybe we are not progressing as fast as we could, but that’s OK. This way is good, too.

Over these past few months I have talked with a number of people about how COVID-19 has changed things.

Although for many people the pandemic has caused business to dry up and disappear, this is not true for everyone. Horse professionals who teach lessons have told me that demand for their services is as high, if not higher, than ever. This makes some sense when you consider that there are fewer shows and fewer other things to do, giving people more time to concentrate on learning and improving.

Real estate professionals in Aiken are incredibly busy.

Despite the country’s economic downward slide, people are still buying homes. There are a number of possible reasons why demand is so high in the Aiken real estate market. One reason might simply be economic: people who made a lot of money in the stock market in recent years now feel that it is a good time to pull their money out and put it in real estate. Another reason could be that the pandemic has made people focus more clearly on how they want to live their lives. If they have always wanted to move to Aiken and immerse themselves in our horse world, the worldwide health crisis has convinced them that there is no reason to put it off. Finally, for those who spent several months essentially locked in their homes in quarantine over the winter in New York or elsewhere, the idea of living in a place you don’t want to leave must be especially attractive. As more than one realtor has told me, during this pandemic, the home has become especially important to people who realize that they might be spending a lot more time in it. If the situation continues, and we are going to be encouraged (or required) to stay in our own space, you may as well be in Aiken. It’s a good place to quarantine.

We hope you enjoy this issue. As ever, if you have comments or questions, or if there is a story out there that we should be covering, drop us an email and we will see what we can do. We want to be your horse newspaper!

The Aiken Horse EDITOR & PUBLISHER Pam Gleason

ART DIRECTOR Gary Knoll

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jean Berko Gleason

LAYOUT & DESIGN Gary Knoll

PHOTOGRAPHERS Pam Gleason Gary Knoll

ADVERTISING

803.643.9960 editor@theaikenhorse.com

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Don’t miss future issues of The Aiken Horse.

We will send you a one year subscription (6 issues) for $24.00. Send check or CC # & your mailing address: P.O. Box 332, Montmorenci, SC 29839 Or sign up on the web at www.TheAikenHorse. com All contents Copyright 2020 The Aiken Horse

Aiken

The

Horse

Aiken’s Horse Publication

Pam Gleason Editor & Publisher

The Aiken Horse Policies: The opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publishers, editors, or the policies of The Aiken Horse, LLC. The Aiken Horse is owned by The Aiken Horse, LLC.

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News & Notes

By Pam Gleason

Myths Busted

Ever since the equine genome was sequenced back in 2006, researchers have been discovering new and fascinating things from their studies of horse DNA. The most recent finding, published this June in the journal Scientific Reports, is that Thoroughbreds are not exactly what we think they are. Neither, in many cases, are Arabians.

than any horse on earth. Crosses with these Arabians were said to have “improved” the breed, lending the heavier and slower English racehorses more speed and staying power.

Successive generations further refined the type, and almost a century later, there were official Thoroughbred stud books. The first one, the General Stud Book, was published

95% of Thoroughbreds living today can trace their male line directly back to this single horse.

The recent study published in June began by examining the DNA of modern Arabian horses around the world. That DNA was compared to the DNA of modern Thoroughbreds. The researchers, based at

Above: An Akhal-Teke, the closest living relative to the extinct Turkoman horse.

Anyone who grew up reading books by Marguerite Henry, such as the Album of Horses and King of the Wind. probably remembers the origin story of the Thoroughbred breed. In this story, three Oriental stallions (two Arabs and one Turkish horse) were brought to England during the 18th century: the Darley Arabian, the Godolphin Arabian and the Byerley Turk.

Those three horses were crossed with bigger, heavier English mares, and the product was a swift, hot-blooded animal that was faster

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in England in 1791. The American Stud book followed much later, in 1868.

New discoveries have supported some parts of this story, while calling other parts into question. Almost 15 years ago, research conducted at Trinity College in Dublin confirmed that Thoroughbreds were indeed descended from those three imported stallions. It also discovered that the three stallions did not contribute equally to the gene pool. In fact, one stallion, the Darley Arabian, was by far the most influential: as many as

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universities on four continents, discovered two main surprising things. The first is that Thoroughbreds do not seem to be descended from Arabians at all. What the DNA evidence suggests is that those “Arabian” stallions brought to England in the 18th century were most likely representatives of the Turkoman breed, an extinct type of horse that arose in modern day Turkmenistan, North of Iran. The closest living descendent of the Turkoman horse is the Akhal-Teke. This is not a totally new finding: in fact, various people have

August-September 2020

suggested that it was a possibility for decades.

But this new study was the first to use genetic analysis to exclude Arabians as contributors to the Thoroughbred breed.

The second interesting thing that they discovered is that Thoroughbred genes appear in modern Arabian DNA, particularly among racing Arabians. Some of the genetic similarities between the two breeds is possibly due to the Byerley Turk contributing to both types of horse. But most of the similarity can be traced to a time after the year 1800, when there was a specific mutation in the Thoroughbred gene pool associated with the English stallion Whalebone, a descendant of the Darley Arabian. It appears that racing Arabians, rather than being selectively bred for speed within their own studbook, were secretly outcrossed with Thoroughbreds in order to create a faster runner – a practice that is forbidden in the Arabian breed. Some of the racing Arabians whose DNA was analyzed had genes that were as much as 62% Thoroughbred.

So, to recap: 1) Thoroughbreds are not descended from Arabians but are more closely related to Akhal-Tekes and 2) Arabian racehorses are fast because they were “improved” by Thoroughbred blood, and not the other way around.

Moe and Lucy

Nancy Johnson, a writer who frequently freelances for this paper, has recently published a children’s book called Moe and Lucy Meet at the Rainbow Bridge. The book, which was illustrated by Grace Lackey, tells the story of beloved pet dogs meeting up again in the afterlife, in a mythical land called the Rainbow Bridge Dog Park. This is where the spirits of all departed dogs go to wait for their humans until they can be reunited again.

Nancy explains that the story is personal and that the canine protagonists are based on real dogs in her family. The idea to write the book came out of her own grief.

“I was initially trying to mend a broken heart,” she says. “My son’s Jack Russell terrier, Moe, had died quite young and unexpectedly.

Although I have lost many dogs in my lifetime, his passing hit me extra hard.”

August-September 2020

Lucy, another JRT owned by a friend, was Moe’s occasional mate, and the pair of dogs had had a total of 16 puppies together. Lucy, like Moe, had died young, about a year earlier.

“I envisioned the two of them reunited in a happy afterlife and I immediately knew my story line,” Nancy says.

This is not Nancy’s first book. Some years ago, she wrote another dog book, this one called A Jack Russell for Jay, which went through two printings and was very well received. A lot has changed since she wrote that book, and she says that the fact that everything is now on the computer has made the process of getting into print simpler. She was committed to supporting the local community, and was happy to have found Grace Lackey, a local artist, to do the illustrations. Grace is a recent graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design who has already worked on several children’s books.

“She was able to grasp the feel I was looking for and added some wonderful little touches of her own,” says Nancy.

The book was designed and printed locally, at Howell Printing in downtown Aiken. Signed copies can be purchased at Downtown Dog of Laurens Street, or buy online on Nancy’s website: www. moeandlucy.com.

“Although the book is written in language and tone appropriate for children, it is really for every dog lover, especially those who have lost a best friend,” she says.

at Belmont Park for illustrious trainers like Woody Stevens. There were very few female jockeys at the time, and Dolly was in the public eye because of her family connections as well as for her unusual choice of career. A 1973 article in the New York Times featured her picture and an interview with her in which she talked about her ambitions. The headline reads: Dolly Bostwick Prefers to be a Jockey than a Debutante.

Riding racehorses for a living was a tough job and Dolly eventually transitioned to training. In her career, she had horses at Saratoga, Belmont Park, Gulfstream Park, Penn National, Charles Town and the Aiken Training Track among other places.

She died at her home in Indiantown, Florida and is survived by her son Taylor Bostwick Freeman, a grandson Taylor Bostwick Freeman, Jr., her partner of many years Charles Mitchell Armstrong, her

Gone Too Soon

The Aiken horse community lost two unique and remarkable women this summer.

The first was Dolly Bostwick, who died on June 10 at 66. The second was Kim Snider who died on July 10 at the age of 57.

Dolly von Stade Bostwick, Jr. was the daughter of Pete Bostwick, the famous 8-goal polo player, steeplechase, and flat-racing jockey and trainer. Her mother, also called Dolly Bostwick, was the former Dolly von Stade, who was, among other things, the MFH of the Aiken Hounds. Like her parents, Dolly grew up dividing her time between Long Island and Aiken and was a lifelong devoted horsewoman.

As a child, Dolly rode in horse shows, but by the time she approached the age of majority, she had been bitten by the racing bug. At 17 she was breaking yearlings for a trainer in Pennsylvania.

At 19 she had her apprentice jockey’s license and was riding in the races

brothers Charlie and Rick Bostwick, her sister Marie Bostwick Armstrong, and many cousins, nieces, and nephews.

This July, there was a celebration of Dolly’s life at the Aiken Training Track where she was remembered fondly by the Aiken equestrian community. In lieu of flowers, her family suggests memorial contributions be made to charities of friends’ choice. Letters of condolence can be sent to Taylor Freeman, 1510 Powder House Rd. SE, Aiken SC 29801.

Continued on Page 22

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August-September 2020

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Aiken Horse 9.5X13T ID August2020.indd 1

August-September 2020

BRIDLE CREEK $1,450,000

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586 Grand Prix FOX HOLLOW $675,000

- 4 , 0 5 4 S Q. F T / 4 B E D / 3 . 5 B AT H - 3 S TA L L B A R N & A M E N I T I E S

8/9/20 11:39 AM

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Stable View Summer Horse Trials

Photography by Pam Gleason

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Now Available

Offered through New Bridge Realty

Contact Raza Kazmi, 888-4NB-POLO, info@newbridgepolo.com

12-Stall Barn on 10.55 Acres

UNDER CONTRACT

Karna Farm: $550,000 Spectacular Views of New Bridge Fields 4 & 5 (marked in orange on map below) Rare opportunity to own a turnkey polo farm with ride in and out ability through private gate to Polo Field 4. Karna Farm is built on 10.55 acres and consists of a Heider-built, spacious, 12-stall enclosed barn with 16-foot aisleway. Indoor, heated wash rack as well as large exterior wash rack. Two bedroom, one bath attached apartment, temperature contolled tack room, feed room with roll up door provides easy access for deliveries. Detached and insultated steel storage building for equipment and hay. Brick barbecue patio or Argentine asado is the perfect place for gatherings. Entire parcel is high and dry for maximum usability.

Cleared and Fenced Lots on Fields 4 & 5 Horse Friendly Homesites Located on Fields 4 & 5 (marked in purple in map to left) Cleared and fenced lots perfectly suited for home, barn, and pasture. Start building your dream farm today.

Sizes range from 4.0 to 5.61 acres. Prices range from $128,000 to $174,000. Some lots can be combined with additional adjacent acreage. Lots are located in a quiet corner of New Bridge, yet still provide quick access to all amenities.

11.3 Acres in Prime Location

Paloma Lane Farm: $199,000 Superb Location

11.3-acres is perimeter-fenced with a well and electricity. Conveniently located within walking distance of the clubhouse, pool and clay tennis court. Fields 1 & 3 and the exercise track are just a short hack away.

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Fall Polo Schedule 12 Goal Trifecta USPA Northrup Knox Cup® September 10-27 USPA National Copper Cup® September 30-October 18 USPA Bronze Trophy® October 21-November 1 8 Goal USPA National President’s Cup September 16-October 3 USPA Association Cup October 7-25 USPA Masters Cup (Single Elimination) October 28-November 1

About New Bridge (visit newbridgepolo.com or call 1-888-4NB-POLO) New Bridge is an 860-acre gated equestrian community nestled among rolling pasture lands on New Bridge Road just 15 minutes from downtown Aiken, South Carolina. Born from the excitement, intensity and tradition of polo, New Bridge is the home of New Bridge Polo & Country Club and of Aiken Youth Polo. It embraces equestrians of all disciplines as well as those who simply love the outdoors, with all sharing the essential joy of a life that celebrates horses, people and land - in a place that connects them.

Residents enjoy an array of equestrian amenities including five meticulously groomed polo fields, stick and ball areas, an exercise track, polo arena, riding trails, all-weather GGT dressage and jumping arenas, miles of groomed roads made for riding and The Stables, our full-care, premier 24-stall boarding facility.

A swimming pool with lounge area, a clay tennis court, and an Argentinian colonial-style Clubhouse with restaurant/bar (open spring and fall), balcony, porch, and outdoor spaces round out the perfect setting for everyone from families to empty nesters, casual riders to competitive athletes, and those simply seeking solace from a busy world. The New Bridge world is one where all can revel in the luxury of leisure, the excitement of sport, the abiding beauty of horse country, and the deep connections of a close-knit community. New Bridge: room to play; room to ride; room to live, all in a place you will want to call home.

August-September 2020

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News & Notes from page 9

Remembering Kim Snider

Kimberly Ayn Snider was born in Marshall, Texas. A graduate of the University of Colorado, she was a financial guru, entrepreneur and businesswoman. Ten years ago she and her husband, Jim Hughes, came to Aiken to start a polo farm. Kim had retired from her company at 47 and wanted to immerse herself in the sport. She was passionate about polo and always striving to get better. As part of her commitment to learning everything she could about the game, she started a company called PoloSkilz Network. This consisted of an online library of video lessons designed to help polo students everywhere improve their game.

Kim recruited some of the top names in the country to participate in PoloSkilz, creating an online master class for polo students that covered everything from game strategy and hitting tips to horse care and training. Eventually, she sold the library to the United States Polo Association which now hosts the series on its website. Free to all members, it has become an invaluable reference.

Last year, Kim was unexpectedly diagnosed with early onset vascular dementia. With courage and determination, she strove to enjoy her time remaining to the fullest extent possible and was playing polo until shortly before her death.

A celebration of Kim’s life will be held at a later date to coincide with the Aiken polo season, as COVID-19 restrictions permit. Memorial contributions may be sent to Second Wind Dreams, The Hitchcock Woods Foundation or your local animal shelter.

Horses in Politics

Horses themselves are not especially connected to politics in the United States.

However, the language surrounding elections certainly evokes them. Elections are often compared to horse races. Why? Running for office is nothing like a horse race – the point is to get the most votes, not to get them first, after all.

Students of political language say that the horse race metaphor came into widespread use when talking about elections in the early 19th century. At that time, according to Merriam Webster online, “horse race” was used figuratively to describe any political contest at all. By the end of the 19th century, elections were described as horse races only when they were close and the outcome was uncertain, because, just as in a horse race, anything could happen.

Today, when people talk about political horse races what they are mostly referring to is the media coverage of an election season.

A close contest can still be referred to as a horse race in the sense that any candidate could win. But now, journalists and others

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often decry “horse race journalism,” which is coverage that focuses on polls, handicapping and vote-getting strategies rather than issues.

Some recent research has indicated that when journalists focus their coverage mostly on who is winning or losing it has a number of negative effects. These include distrust in politicians, distrust of news outlets, and an uninformed electorate. It also tends to provide advantages to new or unusual candidates while disadvantaging female candidates who tend to be more focused on the issues. Still, horse race coverage seems to sell, and is especially popular in the bigger papers, which is undoubtedly why we are seeing so much of it.

The horse racing metaphor also extends to the term “dark horse,” which normally refers to a horse that wins a race when no one expects it to. The first “dark horse” President

in US history was James K. Polk, a Democrat who showed up at his party convention in 1844 hoping to win the nomination for Vice President under the candidate he supported, Martin Van Buren. He was nominated to be President instead, and ascended to the White House after beating Henry Clay at the polls in November. There have been other dark horse candidates who have “come from behind” to win as “longshots” since that time.

Horses themselves can either be symbolic of American values, or they can be politically toxic. Horses that are ridden Western evoke a cowboy spirit and can add to a candidate’s appeal, especially among rural folks. The image of Ronald Reagan on a horse is a good example of horses used to political advantage.

Reagan’s love for horses was well-known – the President of Mexico, Jose Lopez Portillo even gave him a white Arabian horse named El Alamein as an inauguration gift in 1981.

Reagan’s horse habit endeared him to his supporters and was often seen as a redeeming quality by his detractors. More recently, horses have been used in political stunts,

such as when Roy Moore rode his horse Sassy to the polls in Gallant, Alabama to vote for himself in that state’s senate contest in 2017.

Although the stunt may have backfired and he did not win, the action was probably supposed to show that he was tough, individualistic and country all the way.

On the other hand, horses ridden English are often viewed as elitist, and most politicians of both parties would probably rather keep them out of the campaign commercials. For instance, when Mitt Romney was running for President in 2012, the fact that his wife Ann co-owned the Olympic dressage horse Rafalca was sometimes used as proof that Romney himself was too rich and out of touch with regular Americans.

“I’m not sure why the horse has to be in the most upper class hoity-toity Olympic event ever invented. It’s unnecessary,” said the conservative commentator Charles Krauthammer on Fox News. In interviews, Romney himself said the horse was “Ann’s thing,” that he knew nothing about dressage and he was not even planning to accompany her to watch her horse compete at the Olympics. (Really? Your wife has a horse in the Olympics and you aren’t going to be there?)

Likewise, the fact that Mike Bloomberg’s daughter Georgina is an elite showjumping rider was not something that he touted during his brief run for the Democratic nomination in the current cycle. Contrast that to how politicians’ dogs are viewed: any candidate who has one is pretty sure to make a lot of it, whether you are talking about Nixon and the Cocker Spaniel Checkers or Elizabeth Warren and her Golden Retriever Bailey.

Politics is especially unpleasant these days, and some people would probably rather vote for a horse than for any of the existing human candidates. This brings to mind the first century Roman Emperor Caligula, who loved his horse Incitatus so much he announced to the Senate that he planned to appoint him to be Consul of Rome.

Stories about Caligula and his over-the-top adoration of the beautiful stallion are often used as more proof that the Emperor was out of his mind. While most historians agree that Caligula both held the horse in high esteem and that he was not right mentally, current scholarship suggests that he was being satirical when he claimed that Incitatus would rule the country. They say he was probably intending to ridicule the Senate, and that people who took him seriously were just not in on the joke. In other words, if he were alive today, he would probably dismiss stories about him wanting to promote his favorite horse into power as just a lot of fake news.

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Ask the Judge

Questions about Dressage With Amy McElroy

Amy McElroy is an FEI competitor, and a USEF S judge. She is qualified to officiate at any USEF recognized national show at all dressage levels. She rides, trains and teaches at Fair Lane Farm in Aiken and judges between 15 and 20 dressage and eventing shows each year. In her popular Ask the Judge column, she answers readers’ questions about dressage. Do you have a question for Amy? Send her an email at McElroyDRM@aol.com, or visit her website: www.amymcelroy.com.

Dear Amy,

I was wondering how judges feel about you carrying a whip and wearing spurs. I see most riders use both and didn’t know if I would be scored lower if I didn’t use both or if I just carried a whip. I am competing at Training Level and First Level dressage.

Spurless

Dear Spurless,

This is a very curious question and good one to discuss. The whip and spurs are known as your auxiliary aids. They are a back-up to the leg and seat aids. Used correctly, these aids can reinforce your horse’s forward thinking and maintain the activity of the hindquarters. Let’s talk about the use of these auxiliary aids for the levels at which you are competing.

At the Training and First Levels of dressage, a whip is not a mandatory piece of equipment. At recognized USDF dressage shows, it is up to you whether to carry one, and whether you do or not will have no effect on your score, as long as, if you do carry one, you use it in a respectful manner. More important is how willingly and easily your horse stays responsive to your aids.

If you do choose to carry a whip it is crucial that you have one that is of legal size. The maximum length is no longer than 47.2 inches (120 cm) including the lash at the end. If your whip exceeds this length, you would be eliminated. The ring steward will often check the length of your whip after you have completed your test, so even if you had a winning ride, you still could be eliminated for illegal equipment. An adjustable whip (one that can be lengthened and shortened) is illegal equipment. You may not ride with an illegal whip at a show, even in the warm-up, and youmay only arry one whip at a time. If you do carry a whip it would only adversely affect your score if it were used excessively, abusively, or if it were held with the lash pointed up, or over the horse’s head: the lash should be pointed downwards, with the whip ideally carried over your thigh.

It is important to know that there are some specific shows with classes where carrying a whip is not permitted at all, so if you come down the centerline with a whip, even if it is of the correct length, you would be eliminated. For your levels, these tests would be at USDF/USEF Championships as well as the Nationals. Therefore, if your goal is to enter these competitions in the future, it might be a good idea to practice without the whip sometimes, to ensure you are not reliant on it.

At Training and First Level, spurs are not mandatory for competition. As with the whip, you do have the option of wearing

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them and this and would not affect your judge’s scoring. How your horse goes is what your judge is looking for. If you do choose to wear spurs, they must be made of metal and of an English type. According to the USEF 2020 rulebook, the shank may be curved, and spurs must be worn with the shank directed downwards. Swan neck, impulse spur (round hard plastic balls on the shank) and dummy spurs (no shank) are all allowed. If rowels are used they must be blunt and free to rotate.

The maximum length of the spur is 2 inches (5.08 cm). This also applies to spurs worn in the warm up arena. If you do compete at Regional or National Finals, spurs are permitted and there would be no penalty for wearing them. After you conclude your test, the steward may check your spurs to make sure they comply with regulations. They will also be checking to make sure that you have not broken your horse’s skin: any sign of blood would entail elimination, as would the use of illegal spurs. You would be eliminated even if you had a winning ride. At higher levels, wearing spurs is mandatory in some tests.

Whether you choose to compete with whip and/or spurs it is important to use them as a back up to your natural aids and not instead of them. Using either of these auxiliary aids abusively will affect your score negatively in that particular movement, as well as in the collective marks, particularly in the scoring boxes for “Rider Position” and “Rider Effect of Aids.” There could even be a chance of elimination for abuse.

Whatever you choose, you want your horse to go as happily and as willingly as possible, keeping the desire to move forward. Your whip and spur, used correctly, should be employed quietly and invisibly just like your other riding aids. This is what will impress your judge the most, not whether you are carrying the whip or wearing spurs, as long as you are in compliance with USEF regulations.

I hope you have successful rides. A quote I like to remember: “The horse must not be a slave who carries his master, but a dancer who evolves and slides with him.” (Hans Heinrich Isenbart)

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Caro: Irish Thoroughbred Secret Lives: Dude Dressage at Bruce’s Field Gonzalo Garcia Horses & The Law American Glory

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Irish Thoroughbred Influence Caro (IRE) in a Sport Horse Pedigree

By Pam Gleason

T

Farm in 1977 and shipped to the United States. he Thoroughbred stallion Caro, born in 1967 in Ireland, was a The story of the stallion’s arrival in this country had some drama. In successful racehorse who became an influential sire both in Europe 1977, there was a devastating outbreak of Contagious Equine Metritis and in the United States. An imposing 16.3 hand grey with strong bones (CEM) in Europe and the British Isles. CEM is a venereal disease and a solid build, he left an unmistakable stamp on his offspring, many in horses that can be spread by contaminated equipment and causes of whom resemble him in looks and in quality. As a sire of racehorses, he infertility in mares. It is considered a foreign animal disease in the is perhaps best known for his daughters. These include the undefeated U.S., since we do not have it here, unless it is introduced by imported Madelia who was France’s Champion Filly of 1977, as well as Winning animals. Late that summer, the USDA imposed a ban on shipping in Colors, one of only three fillies ever to win the Kentucky Derby (1988). from Europe in order to keep the disease out of the country. Caro made He had other notable offspring, such as Cozzene, who was the 1985 the trip in a chartered 707 just before the border closed down. He had American Champion Male Turf horse before going on to become the tested negative for CEM before he left France, and tested negative again leading sire in North America (1996) and then the leading international after his arrival. sire (2002.) Another top performer was With Approval, the 1989 But then, in early 1978, Caro, along with a number of other horses winner of the Canadian Triple Crown. at Spendthift, were diagnosed with the disease. There was a similar Horses descended from Caro lines have had a great deal of success on outbreak at nearby Gainesway, which had also imported a stallion from the racetrack, and his name can be found in the pedigrees of many well-known runners – the brilliant Unbridled’s Song, Midshipman (who trained in Aiken and is in the Aiken Thoroughbred Hall of Fame) the 2-year-old champion Uncle Mo (2010), and Uncle Mo’s first crop son Nyquist, who won the Kentucky Derby in 2016. Caro’s descendants also include California Chrome, who just missed winning the Triple Crown in 2014. It is less well known, however, that horses with Caro in their pedigrees often perform very well after the track as well, excelling in the Olympic disciplines and in the hunter ring.

Several Caro-line Thoroughbred stallions are even currently approved as sires for various warmblood registries.

Caro himself was out of a British mare named Chambord, by a well-known British sire named Chamossaire. His sire, Fortino, a French horse, was the son of the brilliant British sprinter Grey Sovereign. Grey Sovereign in turn was sired by Nasrullah, many times the top sire in Britain, Europe Caro (IRE) (1967-1972), who stood stud in France and at Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky, is emerging as an influential stallion in the pedigrees of Thoroughbred sport horses in Europe and America. Photo by Tony Leonard. and the United States, and the foundation of one of the most France, Lyphard. Pretty soon, CEM had been discovered in at least successful and influential racehorse families in history. Other famous 13 Kentucky studs. This threw the Thoroughbred industry was into Nasrullah sons include Bold Ruler, sire of Secretariat, and Nashua, turmoil: California considered forbidding horses from the state to go grandsire of Mr. Prospector. to Kentucky that spring – this would have prevented Affirmed from Caro was sound, strong, beautiful, and, like many Nasrullah-line running in the Kentucky Derby, and deprived us of a Triple Crown stallions, highly intelligent with a difficult temperament. Bred and winner. An article in Sports Illustrated floated the idea that the Jockey owned by the infamous Countess Margit Batthyany (once the most Club was going to approve artificial insemination for Thoroughbreds powerful woman in European racing, but also a Nazi sympathizer with so as not to interrupt the breeding season, at least while the threat of an appalling reputation), Caro trained and raced in France where he had CEM loomed. There was talk about cancelling the Derby. (None of this a distinguished career, winning the G1 French Guineas and eventually happened.) being named the champion older male in the country. Retiring to stud, Fortunately, veterinarians were able to treat and eradicate the disease. he stood for six seasons at Haras du Bois-Roussel in Normandy, ranking Caro, Lyphard and the other affected stallions had to take most of as France’s number one sire before he was purchased by Spendthrift

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the 1978 season off, but by 1979, CEM was a bad memory and they all were back in the breeding shed. Although there was much fingerpointing at Spendthrift and Gainesway, it was never determined exactly how CEM made its way into the country, and it may in fact have been silently spreading here before Caro and Lyphard arrived.

The big grey stallion went on to a long and illustrious stud career, siring 78 stakes winners. He was also the broodmare sire of 134 stakes winners, including Unbridled’s Song, the winner of the Breeder’s Cup Juvenile and Red Bullet, winner of the Preakness Stakes (2000.) Caro died in 1989 at the age of 22 and is buried in the horse cemetery at Spendthrift Farm in Lexington, Kentucky.

Before European Warmbloods became popular in the United States, Thoroughbreds were highly sought after here for the hunter and jumper rings as well as for eventing and foxhunting. However, people acquiring Thoroughbreds off the track often did not pay that much attention to their breeding. Usually, the thought was that racing bloodlines were not relevant if you were looking for a sport horse. What mattered was the horse in front of you. In fact, many Thoroughbreds who went on to success in other disciplines were essentially anonymous. Before the Internet, and before the Jockey Club made it possible to look up a tattoo online for free, many people with Thoroughbreds did not know their horses’ registered names or how they were bred at all.

However, in recent years, interest in which TB bloodlines are likely to produce good sport horses has increased dramatically. This is partly due to the accessibility of information, as well as to concerted efforts by the Jockey Club and other Thoroughbred promoters to encourage after-the-track careers for former racehorses. It is also because serious horse people recognize that bloodlines are an important factor to Caribbean Soul (JC name Money Holder) under Clark Montgomery at Stableview Oktoberfest 2019. Caribbean Soul, a Caro great granddaughter, was shown through Intermediate by Maren Foster before moving on to Clark’s barn.

Tight Lines, a Caro grandson, at the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon, ridden by Will Coleman for Team USA. Photo by Gary Knoll

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consider, and that some Thoroughbred families are indeed more likely than others to produce horses with the athleticism, soundness and temperament to excel in another career.

It is not at all easy to discover which bloodlines might be best, although there are some helpful tools. One is the Thoroughbred Sport Tracker, an online database hosted by the Retired Racehorse Project (retiredracehorseproject.org) which allows users to enter their horses’ pedigrees and pictures, as well as provide notes about their qualities. The database is searchable, so if you want to see how the progeny of a certain stallion are rated by their trainers and what they are like, you can enter his name and come up with the records of all the horses that have him in the first few generations of their family trees. The main limitation is that this database only contains the records of the horses that were entered by their owners and trainers, most of whom were competitors in the RRP’s annual Thoroughbred Makeover competition. There used to be a similar database for polo ponies on the American Polo Horse Association website. Unfortunately, after the untimely death of Sunny Hale, who founded the APHA, this site is no longer online.

Beyond these databases, people who are interested in learning about Thoroughbred bloodlines for after-track careers are mostly left to ask advice from people with more experience, or to look up the pedigrees of successful Thoroughbreds and see what names come up with any frequency. Bold Ruler is high up in the pedigrees of a large number of successful sport horses. Storm Cat is another OTTB favorite in many different disciplines, as is Raise a Native, who is also prominent in the pedigrees of Quarter Horses used for barrel racing and other speed sports.

Caro, though not nearly as common as those other stallions, is becoming increasingly well-regarded as the progenitor of quality Thoroughbred sport horses. Thoroughbreds from Caro lines tend to be quite distinctive, and many of them are immediately recognizable.

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For instance, horses from the Unbridled’s Song family are often tall in the discipline. The current outstanding success of Uncle Mo as a sire and big bodied, looking more like warmbloods than Thoroughbreds means that there will undoubtedly be many more horses from the Caro and frequently standing 16.3 or taller. They tend to have uphill balance family available for the OTTB market in the coming years. and good movement and those that inherited Caro’s distinctive grey It would be impossible, of course, to evaluate any potential coat can be especially striking. Horses descended from the Cozzene line are usually not as tall, but they too have a warmblood look, along with superb jumping ability. Owners of Caro line offspring generally say that their horses have excellent temperaments and they are quite trainable – fortunately Caro’s difficult personality does not seem to have been passed down to succeeding generations, or at least not to any great extent.

Thoroughbreds with Caro in their pedigrees often excel in eventing. One example is Caribbean Soul ( Jockey Club name Money Holder), a 2007 mare who won the Advanced Division at The Fork last year in Tryon under Clark Montgomery. Her sire is a Caro grandson named Cimarron Secret. Another eventing example is Will Coleman’s Tight Lines, a 2007 gelding imported from France, who was sired by Turgeon, a 1986 son of Caro known for producing champion steeplechase horses. The gelding is also Caro’s three times great grandson on his dam’s side. Tight Lines, who was Coleman’s mount at the 2018 World Equestrian Games Colebrook (JC name American Colossus) is a grandson of Caro’s son Cozzene. A second place in Tryon and the highest placed Thoroughbred at the Land finisher in the Jumper division of the 2019 Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover Rover Kentucky Three Day Event in 2019, started his career competition, the 5-year-old gelding is showing successfully at hunter shows in the midAtlantic under his owner, Gail Szczecinski, an amateur rider. Photo by KMK Photos LLC as a steeplechaser in France before transitioning to eventing.

Caro grandchildren and great grandchildren also pop up at hunter and jumper shows and in the dressage arena, competing under sport horse using bloodlines alone. When considering an OTTB, professionals and amateurs alike. Descendants of Caro’s son Cozzene conformation, way of going and temperament are generally attributes are particularly sought after as hunters – they tend to have innate specific to the individual horse. But pedigree matters too. Having some jumping ability and calm, unflappable natures that make them naturals Caro blood in there is no guarantee of success. But it can’t hurt either.

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Secret Lives of Horses Hesa Two Eyed Dude

By Nancy Johnson, photograph by Gary Knoll

H

orses, just like people, don’t always succeed in their initial careers. Sometimes they find a different job that suits them much better. Such is the case of 28-year-old Hesa Two Eyed Dude, better known simply as Dude. Born in 1992 in Arkansas, the handsome Quarter Horse gelding started training for his intended career as a reining horse. He was purchased as a youngster by Wendy Lippincott in New Jersey to compete in that sport.

“Wendy began showing him, but fairly quickly she realized he wasn’t cut out to be a top reining horse; so she decided to sell him,” explains Fred Clark who owns him now along with his wife Patti, a longtime hunter and equitation trainer who used to operate out of Ev-Ry Farm, Inc. in Mount Laurel, New Jersey.

“Being a professional, I had spread the word that I was looking for a nice, safe horse for my husband,” says Patti, “Wendy, who lived nearby, called me and said she thought she had a horse that was just what I was looking for. We went to see Dude, who was a 6-yearold at the time, and both fell in love with him.”

“We took him home on trial and at first we really didn’t think he would work out. He must never have been out of the ring because he was scared of everything!” Fred recalls. “The first time I took him out there was a guy training search dogs. The horse took one look at them and went sideways about a hundred feet. The second time we took him to the forest, he was a little spooky and looking at everything. But by the third time, I think he decided it was a lot better than horse showing. He was great from then on and turned out to be one of the best trail horses I’ve ever had.”

Fred says Dude had all the right qualities for the job; he was quiet, he loaded perfectly into the trailer and would do anything you asked him. For many years, Fred and Patti rode with numerous organized trail riding clubs in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland that offered weekend trail rides.

“We’d get there on a Friday afternoon, ride on Saturday and Sunday and then leave for home on Sunday night. It was pretty much the same routine at every club; lunch on the trail and then a big dinner when you come in at the end of the day. Then there would be a dance on Saturday night – just a lot of fun,” Fred explains.

The weekend events typically drew about 80 riders. Fred and Patti agree that their favorite venue was Valley Lea Riding Club located near Lebanon, Pennsylvania. They recall many enjoyable times meeting people, riding side-by-side and just talking and laughing.

“At night you tie ropes from a tree to your trailer and then simply tie the horses and a hay bag to the rope. They have enough room to move around a bit and are so tired from riding all day that they don’t want to move much anyway,” Fred says with a laugh. Dude learned the routine quickly and never had any issues tying out or spending the night in the trailer if the weather was bad. “We would stay in our camper with which we pulled a 4-horse trailer. If the weather was inclement, we could convert the trailer to two box stalls,” Fred says.

When not on one of their weekend trail rides, Fred and Dude had a standing riding date every Saturday morning with Fred’s best friend.

“We’d ride every week unless it was icy,” he says. They rode in the Jersey Pinelands, a state park about a half hour from their home. “They have beautiful trails there and we’d ride from 9:30 to about noon then have lunch – which we took turns bringing, and then went home.”

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Fred recalls one of the very few times, after his initial introduction to trail riding, when Dude spooked. “I was riding in a state park right next to our property in New Jersey and this tiny kitten came out of the woods. Dude saw it and started to spook, and then somehow the kitten jumped onto his tail! He literally dropped to the ground, my stirrup was dragging in the dirt, and we went sideways about 50 feet,” he recounts.

When he returned home and told Patti about the incident, she went over to the park in search of the kitten, and soon she found a litter of four that must have been dumped there. She brought them all back to Ev-Ry Farm and her students quickly provided homes for each of them.

Fred and Patti moved to Aiken about five years ago and Fred continued to ride Dude for the next couple of years. Although the horse is still very sound and has had no health problems, the Clarks decided that Dude should retire and enjoy some years of just being a horse. An attractive sorrel, Dude’s coat still has a shine that a show horse would

envy. “You look at him and you want to get on him. But Patti insists, ‘No. He’s retired and he’s earned it.”

Only one exception is made as far as riding Dude; when Fred’s nieces, ages 10 and 7, come to visit. “Just a few months ago they were here and we put both girls on Dude together. The girls thought that was a big deal and of course, Dude was perfect.”

Although Fred now has a nice young Quarter Horse, Dusty, that he enjoys riding on various trails in the Aiken area, he admits, “I do miss riding Dude because he was so much fun. He was so brave, too – he’d go through water, thick brush, anything. He was always just an all-around pleasant horse to ride and to work around. That’s why we wanted to retire him and keep him on the farm with us. He deserves that.”

Dude enjoys being pampered by Patti. “We’ve had him so long that he can tell you what he wants,” Patti says with a laugh. On hot summer days he stands under the fans in his big box stall and when it’s cooler, he enjoys the grass in a large paddock that he shares with Patti’s Paint mare, Elsie. “He really believes Elsie is his girlfriend. When Patti and I go off riding, her on Elsie and me on Dusty, Dude hollers the whole time we are gone,” says Fred.

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“Dressage in the Spring,” July 23 at Bruce

e’s Field in the Aiken Horse Park

Photography by Gary Knoll

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Training for the Jumper Ring Gonzalo Garcia in Aiken

By Ragan Morehouse

“Riding is like a dance. You have to allow the horse to move,” says jumper rider and trainer Gonzalo Garcia. “Our job is to direct the dance – a little inside leg, a little outside hand. The horse knows what to do; we just have to channel it.” With his charming smile, Gonzalo

exudes positivity and a genuine regard for both horse and rider. His kind nature and riding talent have earned him loyal clients and made him a fixture at Aiken’s jumper shows.

Gonzalo came to the United States from Bogota, Colombia in 2005.

He and his cousin, Mario Garcia, brought several horses to compete in Wellington, Florida at the Winter Equestrian Festival. After the 10week show season, Mario returned to Colombia while Gonzalo decided to stay in the US, taking a job with a Warmblood breeding farm in upstate New York.

“I worked there for about a year and really liked it,” explains Gonzalo.

“But I was not used to the snow and the cold. I knew I wanted to go south.” On his way back to Florida, Gonzalo heard that DiAnn Langer was setting up a farm in Aiken and looking for a rider. DiAnn is a well-known name in the hunter-jumper world, serving as the USHJA Jumping Technical Advisor, and the USEF Show Jumping Youth Chef d’ Equipe as well as being an “R” Hunter/ Jumper/ Equitation/ Hunter Breeding judge, and a top trainer of hunters, jumpers, and equitation

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riders for more than 50 years. After interviewing with DiAnn, Gonzalo was offered the job and moved to Langer’s Red Top Farm in Johnston, a small town just 15 minutes northwest of Aiken.

DiAnn had come to Johnston with a crop of young Warmbloods that she had bred in California. Under her guidance, Gonzalo developed the youngsters for the show ring, sending them to DiAnn’s daughter, Kristen Coe, when they were ready to compete. Kristen, a U.S. rider for the Nation’s Cup and FEIWorld Cup teams, has had much success with the horses that Gonzalo started, winning and placing in jumper classes at Indio, Spruce Meadows, and Wellington – some of the most competitive shows in the country.

After seven years with DiAnn, Gonzalo decided to start his own business, renting a 20-stall barn in Trenton as his

base of operations. Within a year or so, Gonzalo realized that his clientele had grown so much that he was not able to provide each rider and horse with the time and personal attention that he wanted to give.

In 2016, Gonzalo downsized his operation, rented a smaller farm in Aiken and currently keeps about 12 horses in training for his clients.

“Gonzalo is truly one of the most humble, caring and knowledgeable instructors in the business,” says Kim Weinholt, who trains with him. “His demeanor and approach with the individuals he teaches, particularly with kids, is so affirming and positive. My daughter rode with him for several years and adores him.”

“I really enjoy developing riders and feel that training is one of my greatest accomplishments,” says Gonzalo. “In Colombia, I trained a

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National Amateur Champion and in 2005, my client won the Senior Championship for riders 55 and older. Several of the children that I started have successfully jumped up through the children’s and into the juniors. A couple of them are now jumping internationally in Europe.”

Gonzalo’s teaching philosophy centers on enabling a rider to feel what a horse needs. Rather than following a formulaic approach, Gonzalo teaches his students to take their cues from their mounts.

“Once you develop a feel, you can adjust your ride slightly and do whatever the needs of the moment are,” explains Gonzalo. “You need to allow the horse to do their job and try to be out of their way as much as possible. The more you allow your horse to be your partner, the better.

The goal is to allow the horse to move and to move with them.” ‘Allow’ is a word that is often repeated in Gonzalo’s lessons.

This philosophy has earned Gonzalo riding success as well. When he was only 14 years old, he placed third in the FEI Jumping World Challenge, a competition that provides less experienced riders the opportunity to compete internationally without having to leave their own countries. Identical jump courses are set up in the same sized arenas in multiple locations throughout the world. Over a two-day period,

riders compete in four classes. Times for the classes are tabulated and compared across all of the challenge locations to determine the winners.

That same year, Gonzalo was also selected to represent Colombia on the International Children’s Team at the South American Games. His horse at the time was Pindaro, an off-the-track Thoroughbred that was trained by Gonzalo’s father. “My family has always been involved with horses,” says Gonzalo. “My grandfather founded the first riding club in Bogota in the 1940s. He bred thoroughbreds all his life and the ones that were not running well came back for showjumping. Horses have always been my family’s passion.”

Unfortunately, as with most passions, heartbreak is part of the deal.

In the airport on the way to the Games, Pindaro was injured in the

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and was unable to compete to his potential. Six years later, on another family Thoroughbred, Segunda Sombra, Gonzalo was selected to ride for Colombia on the adult National Team. Just two weeks before the competition, Colombia announced that, for political reasons, they would not send any team from any sport to compete.

As Gonzalo matured, he recognized that, despite the inevitable disappointments, he wanted to pursue riding and training as a profession. “My cousin Mario and I were the first in the family to decide to do horses for a living,” he says. “My father and grandfather did very well and competed internationally but they had their own professions.

My dad is a doctor and my grandfather was a lawyer.”

Although Gonzalo has worked as an equestrian professional since he came to the United States in 2005, it was not until he opened his own barn in Aiken that his name started to hit the jumper leaderboard.

In 2013, he debuted as an Aiken professional aboard Renee Kvartek’s Harley’s Heaven, an 18-year old Selle Francais gelding who is blind in his left eye. Gonzalo and Harley won the $5,000 1.35 meter Welcome Stakes at the Aiken Winter Classic, the Cupid Classic, and the Aiken Spring Classic.

Gonzalo has continued his winning ways in the past seven years, becoming a well-known and respected trainer and rider. This year, in addition to clients horses, Gonzalo has begun showing a young horse that his father found in Colombia. Ancud, a 6-year-old Warmblood, was bred in Colombia out of Dutch and Selle Francais lines. “I am very excited about him,” says Gonzalo. “My father thinks he is really special.”

Ancud, Gonzalo, and several of his students will head to Tryon midAugust for several weeks of competition and then return home for Aiken’s fall show season. “Aiken is perfect,” says Gonzalo. “It is right in the middle of everything and there are a lot of horses! I see myself here for a long time.”

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Horses & The Law Buying & Selling Your Horse

By Jim Ritchie, Ritchie & Associates, LLC

(Selling: First of a two-part series on the legal aspects of buying and selling horses)

I

f there is any activity in the world of horses that demands the use of written agreements, buying or selling your horse is it. A tremendous amount of frustration, litigation and heartache can be avoided if buyers and sellers take the time to consider the key points of a purchase agreement and put everything in writing. Whether you are buying or selling, working independently or with an agent, understanding the important legal implications of a sale is essential to getting a deal done right. In this article and in one to follow, I will provide practical guidance and insights to help make your next transaction a success.

In this installment, we will explore the essential issues sellers should address when offering a horse for sale. These include the basic terms of a sales agreement, financing a purchase and creating effective loan agreements, working with a seller’s agent, and the remedies available when disputes arise. Similar issues from the buyer’s perspective will be addressed in the second part of this series.

Sellers are usually focused on getting the best price for their horse.

While price is important, there are several other considerations, that if not included in the sales agreement, can cause that “great deal” to fall apart after the sale. To prevent that from happening, let’s explore the key terms and issues from the seller’s perspective.

What’s the Deal?

The seller customarily prepares the written sales agreement. Being the initial drafter of the contract is an important advantage and the seller should make good use of it. The principal terms of an agreement are the parties to the sale, the sales price, financing, a description of the horse, representations and warranties, risk of loss before the buyer takes possession of the horse, date of delivery, the remedies in the event of a dispute, and a Bill of Sale. The seller can set up the agreements to protect her interests and provide strong enforcement provisions to address a buyer’s breach of the contracts.

Representations and Warranties

A seller must make sure that the description of the horse, its background, capabilities, experience, temperament, medical history and soundness are accurate and not exaggerated. A buyer will remember what is said about these issues and should the horse fail to live up to any gilded representations, the seller should expect an angry call at the very least. Sellers can avoid this situation by disclosing medical histories, allowing the buyer to contact the horse’s veterinarian, offering a trial period and otherwise enabling the buyer to evaluate the horse’s condition thoroughly. Sellers can also disclaim any warranty regarding the horse in the written agreement. By disclaiming warranties effectively, the buyer acknowledges he is purchasing the horse “as is” and cannot make a quality or value-based claim against the seller unless the

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seller misrepresented the horse’s condition in the agreement.

Payment and Financing It goes without saying that a cash deal is the best deal. However, given the cost of good horses today and commercial lending limitations, some buyers need to make installment payment arrangements. As a seller, you need to determine if your installment buyer is reliable and whether you are willing to take the risk of not getting paid, pursuing collection, and potentially having to recover the horse. To balance those risks, sellers should have the buyer execute a promissory note for the amount financed and require that the horse be insured during the financing period. If the buyer cannot afford the insurance, the seller can secure it and add that cost to the purchase price.

The financing documents should establish strong remedies for a default, and include a “due on sale” clause in the event the buyer sells the horse before he finishes paying for it. The seller should also have the buyer execute a security agreement that essentially makes the horse the collateral for the financing and gives the seller the legal power to take the horse back if the buyer fails to make payments. There are specific laws in South Carolina that address these transactions. Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code provides the requirements and remedies to protect sellers who finance the purchase of property, including horses.

Allocating the Risk of Loss or Injury

This is one of the most challenging parts of a sales transaction. When there is a delay between the date the agreement is signed and when the buyer takes possession, there is always the risk that the horse could get sick, be injured or even die. To balance that risk, the sales agreement needs to consider the various stages of who has legal ownership and who has contractual control in the purchase process. For example, if a buyer takes the horse for a three-week trial, the agreement needs to put the risk and responsibility on the buyer during that time. The sales agreement should specify that the buyer is to hold the seller harmless and indemnify her from any claims or loss during the trial period. If the horse is being shipped to the buyer as part of the agreement, the party selecting the shipper usually bears the risk of loss in transit. The important takeaways are that the parties must think through the actual plan for completing the sale and delivery of the horse and then allocate the risk of loss to the party who has control of the animal in each circumstance. In the absence of a provision to address these situations, the seller assumes all risk of loss for the horse until the buyer pays the purchase price and receives a Bill of Sale.

Seller’s Limitation of Liability

A seller can limit her exposure to claims by the buyer after a sale by limiting recoverable damages to the purchase price of the horse. This provision must be in the agreement and signed by the buyer to be effective. In the absence of that language, a buyer’s claim is not limited

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by the value of the horse. He can seek additional compensation for losses, costs and damages that exceed the purchase price. Please note, a limitation of liability clause will not protect a seller if the allegations involve fraud or other serious misconduct.

Seller’s Remedies for Buyer’s Breach.

In the event that the buyer breaches the agreement by not completing the purchase or failing to make installment payments as required by the sales agreement, the seller is in a difficult position. Is it better to recover the horse and try to resell it? What if the horse was not well cared for, is sick or injured? Is it smarter to allow the buyer to keep the horse and sue to collect the outstanding amount due? These questions need to be answered on a case-by-case basis and involve thoughtful determinations regarding the value of the horse, the amount due, the probability of collecting from the buyer and the cost of taking legal action. Sellers need to include provisions in the sales agreement and all financing documents that enable them to pursue a variety of remedies and require the buyer to pay the seller’s legal fees and costs of collection.

By addressing such contingencies in the agreement, the seller can select the best course of action against the buyer and avoid substantial legal expenses.

In addition to a buyer defaulting on payments, there are two other scenarios where the seller is at risk when financing the purchase of the horse. In the event the horse is sold by the buyer before the original purchase is paid off, the seller needs to have a “due on sale” provision in the loan agreements. That enables the seller to have the legal right to be paid as soon as the buyer sells the horse to the new purchaser.

Similarly, should the horse die before the buyer completes payments, the loan agreements need to include an acceleration provision that requires immediate payment in full for the outstanding balance. A good way to assure that payment will be made is to require the purchase of equine mortality insurance in the financing agreements and naming the seller as the beneficiary.

Working with a Seller’s Agent

Many sales and leasing transactions involve third parties acting as a seller’s agent or buyer’s agent. The agents are usually trainers, brokers or commercial barn operators. Like real estate agents, they receive commissions on the completed sale. Unlike real estate agents, they are not licensed or regulated by state law. Therefore, it is vital that sellers who choose to work with an agent sign a written contract with the agent to establish the terms of the agreement. The main elements of a seller’s agency agreement include: identifying the horse and the dates of the agent’s services; establishing that the agent represents the interests of the seller only and that the agent does not have any conflicts of interest; spelling out the duties and expectations of the agent in the sales process; detailing the care for the horse while in the agent’s custody; the terms and conditions of the agent’s compensation; and, indemnifying the seller for any claims arising from the agent’s actions or the actions of the horse while in the agent’s custody and control.

Selling a horse is an important legal event and deserves significant attention to detail. By using smart planning and commonsense agreements, sellers can achieve a smooth transition of ownership and have peace of mind that the sale will be successful long after the deal is done.

Jim Ritchie is head of Ritchie & Associates, LLC and an avid horseman.

He represents business and equine law clients across the Carolinas. For more information visit tryonequinelaw.com or call 864.527.5955. © Ritchie & Associates LLC

August-September 2020

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American Glory Comes to Aiken

Handbags & Accessories Carry American History Theme

By Nancy Johnson

“I

was standing in my barn one day and was just struck by the beauty of the old burlap sacks that I had hung on the walls for decoration,” Gina Konn says. Having worked as a patternmaker for swimwear in southern California for over 20 years, Gina had always had it in the back of her mind to someday have her own business where she could design and create. “I thought to myself, I could make a purse out of these,” she recounts.

She worked on the pattern for a few bag shapes, and then replicated the artwork from the old sacks. She had that artwork screenprinted on a material similar to the sacks, and she made up some handbags.

“I held my breath and went to a street fair to see if anything would sell,” Gina says. Her bags were a huge success, and Gina knew she had found her business niche. American Glory was born.

That was about three years ago and the company has grown and the product line has been refined ever since. Gina bases the design of her handbags and other products on historic American illustrations, mostly from the turn of the 19th century. She says she “tries to find artwork that has an image of a horse whenever possible.”

“When I think about that era of American history, I think of ‘The

Glory Days’ or the ‘Good Old Days’, hence the name.”

The original name was American Glory Handbags, but Gina’s business has since branched out into a “Home Surrounds” product line that includes note cards, pillows, pocket mirrors, and car fragrances, so the name was modified to American Glory Style.

“All of my artwork is a replication and has a story behind it which I call ‘lost history’ – things that were not meant to be kept, like posters, packaging, advertising, and ephemera,” Gina explains. “Many of my customers buy my handbags because they love the artwork, but they don’t realize the print was originally on something old, like a poster, or may have been a necessity used by many people. For example, one of our most popular designs, the Desert Water Bag, was inspired by the bags motorists used to carry water in their cars in case the radiator overheated. Two of my other bags were designed from old whiskey ads,” she says.

Gina started her business in California while she was still working in the swimwear industry. It was a bit difficult to work in such a

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demanding job and get a new business off the ground, but she wanted it to be up and running before moving to Aiken, which was a three-year plan that she and her husband, Brian, had already established. Now that they have made that cross country move, Gina plans to add some Aiken related themes to her line.

“Aiken has such an interesting history with fox hunting, steeplechase, polo, and of course, the Hitchcock Woods. I plan to research historical artwork for all of these and see what I can come up with,” Gina notes.

American Glory handbags come in an assortment of sizes, designs and prices. They are made from upholstery grade heavy weight linen, stonewashed canvas, and a distressed leather that is supple and soft.

“All of my handbags are meant to look worn and aged,” Gina explains.

She personally makes all the patterns for the bag shapes and works on prototypes to perfect the shape. Next, she develops and/or replicates artwork on the computer and separates colors for screenprinting. The handbags are cut, screenprinted and sewn in California. The result is that each bag has the look of a precious antique, yet is very durable.

Some of Gina’s Home Surrounds products are made in the U.S. and some outside, but all pieces are printed in the U.S. Neither the handbags nor the complementing Home Surrounds line are mass-produced.

“When each design goes into production, we have only 300 made at a time,” she says.

Gina stresses that American Glory Style is a family-run business, comprised of just herself and Brian. “It takes time to do things, but I try to add two new bag shapes a year. We currently have six to eight bag shapes with multiple designs.” The Home Surrounds division is fairly new and she hopes to expand it quickly.

“The majority of my sales are from my website, but I also travel the country to all kinds of art shows, street fairs, craft fairs, and horse shows,” Gina says. “My customers like that I am not in a lot of retail shops because it makes the products more unique and special. I hope to have my bags and Home Surrounds line at some local outdoor events, including Aiken Steeplechase when it returns, and possibly at a shop in town,” she adds.

Gina has been horse crazy since she was 5 years old. She rode from the time she was a child until going off to college.

“After a 20-plus year break, my passion for horses started calling me and I ended up fulfilling a longtime dream of adopting a wild horse,” she says. She adopted Liberty, a New Pass-Ravenswood mustang, from the Bureau of Land Management 11 years ago.

“I ride her both English and Western; she is my dream horse. Recently she has been jumping out of her paddock over a four foot fence – I think she’s giving me a hint that she might want to learn how to jump,” Gina says with a laugh.

“Several years ago, we had traveled pretty much the whole country looking for someplace we wanted to retire,” says Gina. “Our requirements were pretty simple: horse for me; golf for my husband.” As soon as they got to Aiken, the couple saw how horse friendly it was and that nice golf courses were abundant. “The real kicker was when we were at a stoplight headed into downtown and a horse and carriage pulled up next to us!” Gina says with a smile. “We just love Aiken so far, especially hiking in Hitchcock Woods. Every day I see something new there!”

Learn more about American Glory Style at americanglorystyle.com

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Trainer’s Forum Remembering Peter Green Pandemic Dog Rescue Listening for Harmony Classifieds Directory Polo Calendar Index of Advertisers

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Trainers’ Forum

A Case For No Nose Bands

By Jill Diaz

I

n this era of bridle-less riding and natural training techniques, I would like to make a case for removing the nosebands from our horses’ bridles. Yes, I’ve seen all the new-fangled ergonomic cavessons and “drops” and read endless articles on how to properly adjust them so that they are more comfortable for the horse. But why not try going without?

My wintertime eventer boarders cringe and roll their eyes when I say this, and perhaps they have their reasons. But hear me out. Firstly, if dressage is all about harmony between horse and rider – fluidity, softness, lightness and so on – then how does an apparatus that is designed to hold a horse’s mouth tightly closed fit into the equation?

I do agree that sometimes we may need a noseband temporarily, to

give a horse the idea of keeping the mouth closed or to get through a rough patch of training. However a horse, or human for that matter, uses its mouth, tongue and potentially the entire respiratory and digestive system to process information and emotions. Think about watching someone intently tinkering with something. I recall watching my neighbor working on his tractor when I was a kid. His tongue was always sticking out the side of his mouth when he was fully engaged in the project. Could he have worked as efficiently if he were not allowed to stick his tongue out, if his mouth was tied closed? Maybe. But this unconscious action clearly helped him to concentrate.

We are all familiar with the concept that licking and chewing in horses is a good thing, during therapies and training sessions. Why? Because it lets us know that the horse is trying to process information and its feelings. Monty Roberts, the great horseman who gave us the concept of “horse whispering” places a lot of importance on the licking and chewing phase of “joining up” – the method by which he convinces a horse to want to form a partnership with a human. Roberts believes

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that this shows submission and a willingness to interact.

Think about ulcers too. What does that have to do with nosebands?

Again, processing feelings around what is happening in a training session. If the horse is not allowed to work through his feelings, it could be the start of a problem. I’ve bred horses for 25 years. I would feed the weanlings in a group situation and they would all eat out of long troughs – Young horses, like young people, like to do everything in the company of others. But they can be quite competitive over the feed, and every now and then I would notice a youngster pausing while eating and getting an inward “I don’t feel so hot “ look. I always take this look very seriously because I know that stress around competing for food could manifest as something more serious later on when the young horse goes into training, including a tendency to get ulcers. I sprinkle peppermint and ginger essential oils over the feed to help with the horses’ ability to process their emotions. It always seems to work – or maybe it just resolves on its own, but it certainly doesn’t hurt!

So back to nosebands. If licking and chewing is so desirable in all other facets of working with horses, then why are we tying their mouths shut when we ride them, especially if they are young horses that don’t understand what we are asking? I have 40 years bringing along green horses and I have seen some patterns. The pattern that emerges around the horse becoming accepting of the bit will often start with a lot of mouthing: Sticking the tongue out, moving the lower jaw from side to side, pulling down on it, etc. The horse isn’t being bad, he’s just trying to figure it all out.

The right answer can’t be to to force his mouth to be still with a noseband. Instead, if you ride the horse’s body in balance and have patience, you will get through this phase. When my horses mouths get quiet, I know they’ve accepted the process and now I can move on. If things start going sideways, it’s time to back up a little.

That’s all, easy-peasy.

Of course it took me many frustrating years to get to easy-peasy, but here we are. Now I rarely use nosebands. I almost feel that they are a hindrance, because they give me a false sense of where I’m really at in the training process, since they force a horse to behave as though he has accepted the bit, when maybe he has not yet.

In conclusion, if we are truly looking for harmony then we should be in harmony. Patience and persistence pays off handsomely. We live in an instant gratification culture, but who amongst us learns and accepts everything instantly? Beating our horses over the head with incessant demands for instantly perfect results is only beating ourselves up too.

It’s better to relax, take some time to enjoy the process. And give up the noseband. You don’t need it.

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Remembering Aiken’s Horsemen Peter Green: Champion Trainer

By Pam Gleason

C

harles Peter Green was born in March 1883, one of five children in Mack and Sarah Green’s family. They were African Americans, and although Sarah (Scott) Green was born in 1867, after the Civil War, Mack, who was born in 1848, was most likely enslaved during the

Spring water to people in the city for 10 cents a barrel. As a young boy, Peter also made Coker Spring water into a business. As a child of 10 or 11, he used to polish up glasses, fill them with water and offer drinks to Winter Colony riders as they came in or out of the woods.

This entrepreneurial spirit attracted the attention of Louise (known as Lulie) and Thomas Hitchcock, the main founders of Aiken’s Winter Colony. The Hitchcocks’ home, Mon Repos, was just up the street and it was not long before the young couple hired Peter to come work for them. He was just 11 and had only a second grade education, but he was smart and athletic and had an admirable work ethic.

His first job was to ride a pony that the Hitchcocks had purchased for their first child, Celestine. The pony was cute but rambunctious, way too much for Celestine who was just a toddler at the time. Peter was instructed to ride the pony for two hours every morning to calm him down. “Yes, it seemed like a mighty easy job at first,” he told the Aiken Standard in a 1971 interview. “But it began to get tiresome after a while.” Next, when Celestine could ride a little, his duty was to accompany her on the hunts, stay with her and take care of her if the field started moving too fast.

Peter was soon helping to break steeplechase horses for Thomas Hitchcock who maintained a stable of young prospects at Cedar Creek Farm, a sprawling plantation outside of town. Working as a groom, he accompanied the Hitchcocks north in the winter, living at their estate, Broad Hollow in Westbury, New York, on Long Island. Soon, one of his brothers, Jamesy, and his sister Malinda were also part of the Hitchcock household in New York.

Jamesy worked in the stables while Malinda was listed as a domestic on U.S. Census records. The Green and Hitchcock families seem to have been quite close. When the Hitchcocks were in Aiken, Lulie is said to have visited Peter’s mother Sarah

Above: Peter Green with Louise Hitchcock, Celestine and her unruly pony. Right: with a young Thoroughbred.

first decades of his life. In 1888, the Green family moved from the surrounding countryside to a home on Fourth Avenue in Aiken, which put them in close contact with members of Aiken’s Winter Colony.

There, Peter attracted the attention of the Hitchcock family and started working for them when he was just 11. Beginning as a groom, he eventually became Thomas Hitchcock’ right hand man and then the trainer of record for his champion steeplechase horses. During an era when Black trainers were a decided anomaly on the steeplechasing circuit, Green was honored many times as the top moneywinning trainer in the country. He trained horses for Hitchcock until Hitchcock’s death in 1941, and then went on to work for William Post & Son’s racing stable before he retired in his 80s.

The neighborhood where the Green family lived, near Coker Spring on the edge of the Hitchcock Woods, was populated by other Black families. At that time Coker Spring was an important source of water for people in the city, many of whom used to travel there to fill up jugs that they would take home. Various members of the community turned the water source into a business. For instance, in a 1979 interview, Peter’s younger sister Malinda White remembered an old man who would deliver Coker

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Peter Green with Thomas Hitchcok and steeplechasers on the Ridge Mile Track, 1934.

frequently, though it is hard to know if they were truly friends since their circumstances were so different and their relationship was obviously unequal. On the other hand, they were exactly the same age and they were very near neighbors.

“From what I can understand, the people let their children go away with the tourists,” remembered Peter’s wife Rosa in a 1979 interview.

“Everybody getting to go away was great,” she continued, explaining that this gave them a better chance to get an education and to have good jobs in the future. Rosa was speaking from experience: she graduated from Paine College in Augusta and then became a school teacher, working at Mt. Figuration School on Old Storm Branch Road, as well as at the Fermata School and Aiken Prep.

Rosa had married Peter in 1930, when he was in his 40s. He had been married before to a woman named Mittie, but she had died, leaving him a widower. Rosa was also from Aiken, but she met Peter in New York when she, too, went to work for the Hitchcocks as a young woman. By the early 1920s, Peter no longer lived at the Hitchcock estate but owned his own home on Nassau Street in Westbury. During the racing season, he traveled with the Hitchcock stable to all the major meets in the country, including Saratoga and Pimlico. Rosa stayed in Aiken to work during the winter months and joined her husband up North in May after the school year was over.

Peter worked as a groom, an exercise rider and a jockey before transitioning to the role of trainer. Although his name was on the official papers, he always worked in concert with Thomas Hitchcock, who was listed as owner. Together the two men developed some of the top steeplechase horses in the country. Thomas Hitchcock did not like to buy high dollar yearlings, preferring a particular type of less expensive animal that he imported from England. Under Green’s care and following Hitchcock’s training philosophy, these horses blossomed, and for decades Green was at or near the top of the country’s trainer standings. Although Black people had often been the best flat and jump trainers as well as jockeys in the 19th and very early 20th century, by the 1920s and 1930s, Peter Green may have been the only Black trainer left on the circuit. When reporting that he had once again been named the top trainer in the country, the newspapers sometimes alluded to this by naming him and then, adding in parentheses “colored.”

Growing up immersed in the steeplechase world, Green was horseman through and through who had a deep understanding of horses as well

August-September 2020

as a sympathy for them. He was known for caring about each horse very deeply, and he was particularly upset when he saw a horse get whipped, since he did not believe that a horse could understand why he was being punished. Although Mr. Hitchcock had left him a lifelong pension in his will, he was not ready to stop working after Hitchcock died in 1941. Instead, he took a job at William Post’s racing stable, also based in Aiken and on Long Island. A 1956 picture in the Aiken Standard shows him holding one of Mrs. Oliver Iselin’s colts at the Aiken Training Track during that year’s Aiken Trials. “William, a black gelding by Wilwyn out of Hyperamnesia is held by Peter Green, 76, who has probably seen more horses trained in Aiken than any other person,” reads the caption.

Personally, Peter Green was similar to Thomas Hitchcock in that he was a man of few words. He did not bet on horses himself, and if he were asked for a tip in a race, he would tell the prospective bettor that the best thing to do with your money was to keep it in your pocket. If asked if he thought a horse he trained would win or lose, he would reply “He should go mighty well.” And that is all you could get out of him.

After age finally caught up with him and he could no longer withstand the physical rigors of working at the track, Peter retired in Aiken with Rosa, moving into their home on Newberry Street near the Hitchcock Woods. Horses remained in his blood, and he always went to the Aiken Trials and the Steeplechase, and often made his way to the Aiken Training Track to watch the horses work in the mornings. He died in 1972 at the age of 89, taking with him a lifetime of memories of a world that is no more.

Lewis Martin on the left and Peter Green on the right in a photo taken for Harry Worcester Smith’s book Life and Sport in Aiken

The Aiken Horse

57

Dog Rescue 2020 Hope in Hard Times

Story and Photography by Pam Gleason

W

hen the COVID-19 pandemic first struck America in March, people involved in dog rescue were especially worried.

Businesses were closing up, incomes were disappearing and travel restrictions were severely impacting anyone who relied on interstate transports. Everyone was focused on the new challenges of the disease

means that the annual shelter intake is between 23 and 29 animals for every 1,000 residents, about twice the national average. FOTAS, since its founding in 2009, has helped the shelter transform itself from a dreary place with a greater than 90% euthanasia rate to a model shelter where that rate has dropped to below 6%. That success has relied on an

Home for Good Dog Rescue, Aiken: Becca Stanberry and Frank and Rich Errico with puppies on their way to new homes in New Jersey

and associated quarantines and lockdowns.

Dog rescuers across the South anticipated more dogs in bad situations and fewer people available to help them. In recent years, South Carolina public shelters such as the Aiken County Animal Shelter have taken immense steps forward, eliminating euthanasia as a method of population control and finding homes for every adoptable dog. Would the pandemic erase all that progress? Would shelters feel they had no choice but to go back to the bad old ways? Was modern dog rescue going to be another casualty of the novel corona virus?

South Carolina’s animal rescuers and rescue organizations girded themselves for harder times ahead. At the SPCA Albrecht Center for Animal Welfare, a private 501c3 organization on Willow Run Road in Aiken, the staff prepared for a shutdown by limiting the number of animals they would accept, anticipating at least a few months of not being able to adopt animals out, or having to cut back substantially.

Friends of the Animal Shelter (FOTAS), which works with the Aiken County Animal Shelter, spread the word that they would need more people willing to foster animals, and possibly for a longer time than usual. That shelter generally has an intake of 4,000 to 5,000 dogs and cats a year. Since Aiken County’s population is just over 170,000, this

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active animal transport operation in which adoptable dogs and cats are sent to shelters in the Northeast where there are more adopters than there are animals to adopt. With transports halted due to quarantine restrictions, there was a real possibility that the shelter would be overwhelmed once again.

But then a surprising thing happened. Not only did people in the South respond to the impending crisis by opening their homes to more fosters and offering to help needy animals wherever they could, but demand for adoptable animals everywhere actually increased. This happened first in hard hit areas such as New York and New Jersey, where people suddenly found themselves home from their jobs. Families who were sheltering in place had unexpected free time and started thinking about adding an animal to their lives. In recent decades, everyone in America has gotten more and more busy. Young people in particular have found their lives overscheduled, with school and then after school sports and other extracurricular activities. If the disruptions of the pandemic had any upside, it was that they forced people to pause their overly busy lives and to assess what they were doing, what was important and what made them happy. More and more of those people realized that what would make them happy was a dog.

August-September 2020

Whenever they were allowed to operate, shelters in the Northeast areas adopted out all their available animals. Foster applications increased, too, as many people who had thought about fostering in the past now had the time to see what it was like. In the first months of the pandemic, there was indeed a bit of a bottleneck since many interstate animal transports were shut down, making it hard to get adoptable animals up to their adopters. But some private groups in the Northeast were still able to make their own trips to overcrowded Southern shelters, and, at least in places like Aiken, the massive new surge of homeless animals never happened. Yes, shelters in the South were still crowded, but no more so than in a typical year. And in the Northeast, rescue dogs were an increasingly hot commodity.

“Demand is off the charts,” said Rich Errico, who is a board member of Home for Good Dog Rescue, a foster-based 501c3 headquartered in Berkeley Heights, NJ. “Anybody who has even remotely thought about getting a dog is doing it. Usually at the end of June, we get all the teachers, because they have a couple of months off, and they know they’ll be able to spend some quality time with the dog before they have to go back to work. Now, a lot of other people are finding that they are going to have to work from home maybe until January or February, so now they want to adopt a dog too.

“I’ve been asking people when they come, why did you decide to adopt now?” Rich continued. “And they often say, well we’ve been promising the kids that we would get a dog, but the situation hasn’t been good until now. We’ve never run out of dogs before, until these past few months.”

Rich says that this year Home for Good has adopted out about 50% more dogs per month than usual, and they have only been restricted by how many dogs they can logistically rescue. HFGD is in a better position than some other animal adoption agencies in their area because they have a base of operations in Aiken; a wellness center on a 10-acre parcel on Whiskey Road. They also have their own transport vehicles and do their own driving, which has made it easier for them to bring

All loaded and ready to go. The trip takes about 12 hours, and since they drive overnight, the dogs usually go right to sleep.

southern dogs north. However, there is still a limit on how many dogs they can take into their program at a time. Home for Good works with shelters and rescuers in Georgia and South Carolina, identifying adoptable dogs and puppies that need homes. Once rescued, the dogs go back to the wellness center in Aiken where they are vetted, including all spay and neuter procedures. They are also evaluated and given time to recover from any ailments they might have (such as heartworm disease) before being transported to New Jersey. There, they go into foster homes before they are adopted. Fortunately, the increased interest in fostering has made it possible to bring in more animals to meet the demand. Not that dogs stay with their fosters in New Jersey for long. A recent transport from Aiken sent 35 dogs and puppies North – 25 of those dogs already had approved adoption applications and “meet and greet” appointments set up before they left.

August-September 2020

“All the rescues up North are clamoring for dogs,” said Rich. “Down here – there is a never ending supply of dogs, unfortunately.”

In the South, the demand for rescue dogs has also increased during the pandemic – perhaps not as much as it has in New Jersey, but here in Aiken both the Albrecht SPCA Center and the Aiken County Animal Shelter said that adoptions have been surprisingly brisk.

“Adoptions have been great,” said Claire Roberson, Community Outreach Director at the SPCA Albrecht Center. “People have been home more so they have time to fully acclimate an animal to their house before returning to work. We’ve been very lucky that they have continued to support us and adopt even though it has been an uncertain time. We feel very blessed.”

Jennifer Miller, the president of FOTAS says she is also very grateful for the community’s support, especially for the people who have stepped up to foster animals for the first time during the pandemic. Although transports, which were shut down for a while, have resumed, the shelter still needs more fosters than usual because 30 dog kennels in its intake wing are not available while that part of the shelter is being renovated and improved. Adoptions have been good, and some new adoption procedures undertaken because of COVID restrictions have proven so successful they will probably become permanent. One of these new ways of operating is allowing prospective adopters to make an appointment to come see a dog, which is brought out to them at the appointed time by a staff member or a volunteer. Adopters are asked to stay outside rather than coming into the shelter to minimize possible contamination.

“It’s a model more like a hair dresser or a nail salon,” said Jennifer.

“You can still drop by without an appointment. But if you have an appointment, you get more personalized attention and we can spend more time with you and help you find a dog you like. It’s a better adoption process. We’ve been trying to keep our Facebook page and our website up to date with adoptable animals, and it has really worked well.”

Has anything good come out of the changes that COVID-19 has wrought on our society? For dog rescue, and for dogs themselves, the answer is a qualified yes. During the lockdowns, dogs that already have homes have had a chance to spend more time with their families.

Homeless dogs have been welcomed into new families that have plenty of time to play with them and accustom them to a new life. People who fostered dogs for the first time have learned that it is not as difficult as they might have imagined, and many are ready become regular fosters in the future.

There are difficulties, and things could always take a turn for the worse. Rescues and shelters have seen a steep drop in donations and many have canceled fundraising events and other programs that normally support their operations. People who have lost their jobs are finding it difficult to afford pet food and veterinary care, with the result that many previously homed dogs are making their way back to shelters.

Lockdowns, when they happen, have sometimes meant that volunteers are not allowed into shelters to walk and care for dogs.

But despite these difficulties, there is no sign that the progress made over the last decade will be reversed. The humane rescue movement, a movement committed to the idea that individual animals’ lives have meaning, is neither stopping nor slowing down. In fact, it seems to be picking up speed. Across America, people are praying for the pandemic to be over so that they can go back to their normal lives. No one will go back exactly the same however, whether their lives were directly affected by the virus or not. And it seems that, for the animals in our society, when we do get back to normal, that new normal might be a somewhat better one for them. At the very least, this difficult time has given many people the opportunity to truly appreciate dogs and how they can enrich our lives. It has allowed people to understand more about the rescue world and how they can be a part of it. And that new understanding might go a long way toward creating a more humane world.

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Listening for a Harmonious Balance Trying to do Better

By Lauren Allen

I

took my stallion for a school at a friend’s farm today. The horse trailer swayed and clanged as the stallion pushed at the breast bar and pounded the floor. He backed off, already tossing his mane and raising his head, neighing loudly. Right away, the choices arose, and the narratives: You should have a chain on him, what if he gets away from you? You should discipline him for neighing. Make him back up. Make him put his head down. Make him move his feet. Make him stand still…

I am setting up experiences for us that won’t be too overwhelming and that will let me work with him without worrying too much about what other people think. I guess when we go to a horse show, part of the point is that we are hoping to show off. But like many women, in particular, I have internalized the judgmental outsider and bring that perspective with me everywhere I go. My friend is an excellent horse handler and also a kind, supportive person, so it was a good place to go to try to build skills and maybe even unpack some trauma.

The stallion is only 4 years old so he has a lot of hormonal and instinctive programming to process and we both have, unfortunately, accumulated some baggage in our lives. My friend understands that he is a young stallion and assures me that this is all fine, but still my hands shake as I try to get the bridle on the nervous, loud, and volatile animal.

I also know what it feels like to feel threatened, and to be saddled with impossible expectations, so I am sensitive to my horse’s plight. In the past, women were often treated rather like horses, raised in service first to their family and then to their husbands. They were unable to own property, make money, or maintain custody of their children. These ideas are almost unfathomable now, but not long ago they were nearly universal. Lately I have been thinking about what would happen if a more modern viewpoint could be applied to horse training.

A stallion is perhaps the most extreme example of an animal that is already one of the most loaded symbols in cultural imagination.

Muscular and masculine, the mythology of the stallion is inescapable.

The fantasy of a partnership that supersedes nature (special thanks to The Black Stallion books and films) runs directly against the harsh dismissal you hear from those horsemen who maintain that there is no place for stallions, especially now that you can get frozen semen shipped for breeding from the best in the world.

It has been in working with my stallion that I have started pondering more explicitly the theory and ethic of my horse training. I respect the fact that stallions are constituted to be aggressive in a way that geldings and most mares are not. I agree completely that, even more so than most horses, in the wrong hands and sometimes even when handled well, stallions can be unpredictable and potentially dangerous. I am fascinated with the way a stallion ultimately seems to reflect a wildness at heart that will not be completely subdued. Conversely, they seem to bring out in human handlers a desire to dominate and control that runs counter to the concept of partnership and cooperation.

I regret having had my stallion started by someone else. I prepared him at home to a degree, but when the man who was working with him got on, he began pushing my horse to fight or submit. It was a choice being forced that retrospectively may have been more destructive than productive. I offer my horse my trust and ask for his. I recognize now that respect cannot simply be commanded; it must be earned over time with consistency and care.

What does it look like for training to take into consideration an animal as an equal partner, to offer respect to the horse? What does it mean for equality to be extended to differing entities? Men and women are different and yet equality could be considered an equal opportunity to fulfill talents and follow the individual path of their hearts. When gender equality is prioritized, rigid gender roles are weakened, for instance men are allowed to be sensitive and women are able to be

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meghan benge

more active. What would happen with our horses if we encouraged them to be more themselves rather than trying to force compliance and submission, turning them into Stepford Wife versions of some idealized horse? What would we hear if we really listened to them?

Horses do not speak our language but they communicate with us through every look, movement, expression, and action. Are we willing to hear our horses if they say they don’t feel safe or ready to do what we want them to do? Perhaps they need more preparation, more time, more training. Maybe the discipline they are being trained in just isn’t their calling. We need to remember that just because we buy them dinner doesn’t mean they owe us anything!

Listening doesn’t have to mean agreeing, it may just mean empathizing with the difficulty of animals that have been completely removed from their natural world and now must overcome their instincts to survive. Simply deciding that horses are only truly themselves in the wild is not a viable answer. Horses have evolved with humanity, they are commingled with us by domestication over thousands of years. We are all enmeshed in a system, whether we like it or not, and we all are indoctrinated (trained) to be productive members of our society. Becoming more ethical, seeking harmony and indeed listening to the horse’s feedback doesn’t need to end in certainty. There must be some balance, a weighing of one possibility against another. It is paradoxical to be a stallion and to be compliant. Recognizing that and responding with care is the challenge of training with compassion and sensitivity.

Back at my friend’s farm, my stallion was concerned and unfocused at first, but as we worked over poles and small jumps he began to breathe and relax. I don’t want to reduce him to make myself more. I want to encourage him in all his magnificence but also for him to be with me, not against me.

As I untacked and prepared to depart, he slid once more into anxiety, calling and prancing. Confidence and cooperation in partnership aren’t established in one session; both are accumulated one small step at a time, just as human relationships don’t emerge from one date but from commitments that are tested and strengthened. My stallion may tell me that it is too stressful to remain a stallion, or he may grow into a stronger man in time. I will try to do my best to take what he says into consideration.

Lauren Allen is a hunter/jumper trainer based in Lugoff, South Carolina.

Riding honors have ranged from Los Angeles and Pacific Coast Horse Show Association to South Carolina Hunter Jumper Association year-end awards in Pre-Green, Green and Regular Working Hunter divisions. She has also earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from the University of South Carolina. Lauren can be found on Facebook and Instagram at LaurenAllenTraining.

August-September 2020

Classifieds For Sale

This beautiful mare is just one of many lovely former polo ponies that are sound easy, no spook excellent trail horses we have for sale!

For more info call 803 295 8687

BOARDING/TURNOUT/ TRAINING Chime Ridge Stables. 803-5083760. Please leave message.

Jodi Hemry Eventing. ThreeStar Eventer offering professional training, sales, boarding, instruction, horse shows, located in the heart of Aiken. 803-6406691 JodiHemryEventing@gmail. com JodiHemryEventing.com www.Sporting Days Farm.com.

3549 Charleston Hwy, Aiken, SC 29801 - 5.5 miles from Aiken By-Pass. Offers year round, seasonal or short term board as well as dry stalls. 150 acres with trails and practice areas. USEF/ USEA Horse Trials in the winter, schooling shows. Visit our website to see all that it offers in 2020. sdaikenht@aol.com - 610 613 2010 Horse boarding in Windsor, SC carriage driving community.

Lovely, low country setting. 12x12 stalls connected to 2 acre fields and a short term paddock with shelter available. Jog’lin Board Farm Contact Lisa Whitcomb 414-477-9419 The Stable On The Woods: Elite boarding & training facility and home to trainers Darrell and Melissa Vaughn. With access to Hitchcock Woods, our barn sits on 70 acres and boasts a full size dressage arena with mirrors, show jumping arena and high-

quality grass pastures making this the ideal place for you and your horse. Training program to meet your needs, whether your discipline is Dressage, Eventing, Hunters, Jumpers or Foxhunting. thestableonthewoods.com 603.785.0435 Vaughn Equestrian: offering training, sales, and boarding.

Professionalism is the guiding principle of owners Darrell and Melissa Vaughn in shaping every component of Vaughn Equestrian.

Dressage, Jumpers, Eventing & Young Horses. training and sales. vaughnequestrian.com (603)-7850435 HAY Hoss Luva Hay. Exceptional quality local Coastal Bermuda Hay and Alfalfa mix from out of state. Competitively priced. Will deliver state-wide. Satisfaction Guaranteed. Jim McClain: 803.247.4803 Round and Square Bales.

Oakwood Farms: 3593 Silver Bluff Road, Aiken SC 29803. $60 per bale round hay bales. $70 per bale round bales kept inside.

Square bales at $7.00 per bale.

Will deliver for a small fee. Please call 706-830-2600 or 803-8270864. email garymcelmurray@ glmconstruction.net HELP WANTED Part Time Landscape & Garden Care Assistant on Horse Farm,

close to Aiken on Hwy 78. Must have experience with vegetable & flower needs. If applicant is an equestrian, housing & stall(s) available. 3-5 days a week. Reply by email only to: classifieds@ theaikenhorse.com HORSES/PETS & SERVICES Trinity Farms Terriers: Irish Russell Terriers & Norfolk Terriers. Old World, Healthy 100 year old Bloodlines with proven calmer dispositions. Health & Dispositions guaranteed.

Preservation breeders for 48 years.

Donna Fitzpatrick 803-648-3137 easyjacks.com, trinityfarmskennel. com RENTALS For Rent On 150 Acre Farm, Short Or Long Term: 2 bed/2 bath cottage and 4-stall barn with two double-fenced pastures, one with run-in shed Practice areas and trails. 10 minutes to Aiken.

Contact owner by email only: classifieds@theaikenhorse.com Cozy, cute carriage house for rent on Hitchcock Woods on iconic equestrian estate. 1BR/1BA. Sleeps 4. $125/night. European style barn with soaring ceilings.

3 stalls available (self care) $20/night per horse. 5 min to downtown Aiken and close to all horse venues. Perfect for female solo travelers. Monthly discounts avail. www.StayAiken.com

Small efficiency cottage & stable.

Large stalls, rolling pasture & paddocks, 300 acres of trails, Xcountry course, stadium area, hot and cold water wash stall, nestled in horse subdivision. 15 min north from downtown Aiken. Cottage $600 per month, stall $185 per month. Please text: 262-844-8734 Horse boarding in Windsor, SC carriage driving community.

Lovely, low country setting. 12x12 stalls connected to 2 acre fields and a short term paddock with shelter available. Jog-in Board Farm Contact Lisa Whitcomb 414-477-9419 TACK & APPAREL Aiken Horse Blanket Couture.

Creative coolers; your colors.

Creative equine-ware. Tack covers/carry bags Saddle pad enhancements. Blanket wash/ waterproof . Blanket repair.

AikenHorseBlanket.com. Elisa Denaburg. 803-640-3211 The Saddle Doctor. Saddlery and harness repair. 538 Two Notch Rd. HollyMacSpencer@aol.com.

803.642.5166.

Advertising in The Aiken Horse

DIRECTORY LISTING ADS: $25 per issue CLASSIFIED ADS are $25 for the first 30 words & 40 cents for every word or $90 for the year (6 issues.) thereafter. Add $5 for blind classified. BUSINESS CARDS: $65 per issue or $280 for the year (6 issues.)

PHOTO CLASSIFIEDS for horses: $35; Limit 30 words & one picture DISPLAY ADS are available in a range of PHOTO CLASSIFIEDS for real estate, etc. sizes. For a detailed rate sheet and $45; Limit 60 words & one picture. publication schedule, visit our website: BOXED CLASSIFIEDS: add $5 to your total TheAikenHorse.com

August-September 2020

MAILING ADDRESS: The Aiken Horse, P.O. Box 332, Montmorenci, SC 29839 EMAIL: theAikenHorse@gmail.com We accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express.

Pay online: TheAikenHorse.com or call us: 803.643.9960

Advertise in the October-November issue! Deadline September 24, 2020 Publication date October 9, 2020

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61

Directory of Services BARNS,CONSTRUCTION & REMODELING G. L. Williams & Daughter. Serving the CSRA for over 52 years.

Specializing in hauling, grading, clearing, property maintenance, and excavation.We provide everything from several types of fill dirt, top soil,compost, mortar sands, crushed asphalt/concrete, to screenings and a variety of rocks.Free Estimates Available (803)6633715 Certified DBE.WOSB. www.glwilliamstrucking.com BLANKET CLEANING & REPAIR Aiken Horse Blanket Couture. Please see our business card ad on page 81. Elisa: 803-640-3211; elisa@aikenhorseblanket.com BOARDING/TURNOUT/TRAINING/SALES Chime Ridge Stables. Stalls available, partial or self care. Fun, friendly, adult atmosphere. Convenient to town, South Aiken 803-5083760.

Horse boarding in Windsor, SC carriage driving community. Lovely, low country setting. 12x12 stalls connected to 2 acre fields and a short term paddock with shelter available. Jog’lin Board Farm Contact Lisa Whitcomb 414-477-9419 www.Sporting Days Farm.com. 3549 Charleston Hwy, Aiken, SC 29801 - 5.5 miles from Aiken By-Pass. Offers year round, seasonal or short term board as well as dry stalls. 150 acres with trails and practice areas. USEF/USEA Horse Trials in the winter, schooling shows. Visit our website to see all that it offers in 2020. sdaikenht@ aol.com - 610 613 2010 The Stable On The Woods: Elite boarding & training facility and home to trainers Darrell and Melissa Vaughn. With access to Hitchcock Woods, our barn sits on 70 acres and boasts a full size dressage arena with mirrors, show jumping arena and highquality grass pastures making this the ideal place for you and your horse. Training program to meet your needs, whether your discipline is Dressage, Eventing, Hunters, Jumpers or Foxhunting. thestableonthewoods.com 603.785.0435 Vaughn Equestrian: offering training, sales, and boarding.

Professionalism is the guiding principle of owners Darrell and Melissa Vaughn in shaping every component of Vaughn Equestrian.

Dressage, Jumpers, Eventing & Young Horses. training and sales. vaughnequestrian.com (603)-785-0435 COMPANION ANIMALS, CARE & SERVICES Trinity Farms Terriers: Irish Russell Terriers & Norfolk Terriers.

Old World, Healthy 100 year old Bloodlines with proven calmer dispositions. Health & Dispositions guaranteed. Preservation breeders for 48 years. Donna Fitzpatrick 803-648-3137 easyjacks. com, trinityfarmskennel.com EQUINE THERAPY/MASSAGE Mikaela Engert: Holistica PEMF Therapy & Equine Bodywork Certified Practitioner providing equine massage & PEMF Therapy in Aiken & the CSRA. PEMF helps to relieve pain and inflammation, improves performance, range of motion, speed and strength, while providing many other wellness benefits for you, your horse, your dog, or your other favorite four-legged friends! Call/Text: +1.603.748.4325; holisticaEQ@gmail.com; www.holisticaeq.com FEED, SUPPLEMENTS & SUPPLIES Aiken County Farm Supply. 1933 Park Ave., Aiken. 803.649.2987.

Aiken Saddlery & Supply. Full service tack & feed store. 1044 E. Pine Log Rd., Aiken. 803.649.6583. aikensaddlery.com HAY Hoss Luva Hay! Exceptional quality Coastal Bermuda. Real fertilizer and lime to Clemson specs, not chicken litter. Never rained on.

Square and round bales. Competitively priced. Can deliver statewide. Fully enclosed truck. Satisfaction guaranteed. Jim McClain.

803.247.4803.

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INSURANCE Betsy Minton, Sterling Thompson Equine, 803-617-8353. Now writing homeowners insurance for private residences. No horses required but certainly welcomed. Access to top-notch unerwriters offering customized, affordable coverage. Still delivering excellent competitive insurance options for your horses and farms. betsyminton@sterlingthompson.com. Sterling Thompson Equine: 800 942 4258 Hutson-Etherredge Company. Insuring Aiken farms since 1876.

Your hometown independent insurance agency can customize your equine property coverage by choosing the best company to fit your needs. We are a full service insurance agency. Call Sandi Vogus for a quote! 803-649-5141 INSTRUCTION/LESSONS Amy McElroy. USDF Gold Medalist and USEF S judge. Instruction and training at all levels. Visit amymcelroy.com or call 803.6404207.

Aiken Horsemanship Academy. Your naturally inspired adult learning resource! Offering Clinics, Courses, Starting Young Horses, Evaluations, and Lessons. JulieRobins.com 803-220-1768.

Jodi Hemry Eventing. Three-Star Eventer offering professional training, sales, boarding, instruction, horse shows, located in the heart of Aiken. 803-640-6691 JodiHemryEventing@gmail.com JodiHemryEventing.com The Riding School: Private, semi private or group lessons. Children a specialty. Beginners on up; excellent lesson horses. Unmounted programs available for children; birthday parties and camps. Barn and stall rental also available. Convenient Aiken location close to town. Chan Carman: 803-845-5102. Chan@theridingschoolaiken. com; www.theridingschoolaiken.com.

REAL ESTATE/ RENTALS Aiken Fine Homes and Land. Specializing in selling or renting homes, farms, land & barns for short or long term leases. 28 years experience in helping people find the property of their dreams, even if it takes building it! Call Barbara Lawrence, 803-439-0778 for honest & realistic answers to your real estate questions.

Aiken Luxury Rentals. Distinctive accommodations for horse & rider in beautiful Aiken. Downtown fully furnished cottages, historic stables. Executive relocation; corporate housing. Short & long term. aikenluxuryrentals.com; info@aikenluxuryrentals.com.

803.648.2804.

Carolina Real Estate Company. Fine homes, estates and horse properties in Aiken, South Carolina. Let us welcome you home to AIKEN, Home of Horses, History & Hospitality! carolinahorseproperties.com. (803) 648-8660 Sharer Dale, Meybohm. “Where town meets country.” sharerdale@ gmail.com. 803.522.3648.

Suzy Haslup, Meybohm. “Your Aiken Horse Real Estate Specialist.”

Buying or selling in the most celebrated equine community in the South. ww.aikenhorserealty.com; 803-215-0153 Tracey Kenworthy Turner, Meybohm. Specializing in marketing & selling Aiken’s horse country properties for 15+ years. southernhorsefarms.com. 803-215-4734.

TACK & TACK CLEANING/REPAIR The Saddle Doctor. Saddlery and harness repair. 538 Two Notch Rd. HollyMacSpencer@aol.com. 803.642.5166.

August-September 2020

August-September 2020

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New Bridge Polo Club action: Pete Bo

ostwick Memorial 8 Goal

Photography by Pam Gleason

Aiken Area Calendar of Events

AUGUST

Chatt Hills Schooling Show. Chattahoochee Hills Eventing - Hosted at the Bouckaert Farm, 9445 Browns Lake Road, Chattahoochee Hills, GA. 770.892.2117, info@ chatthillseventing.com, chatthillseventing.com 1-2 Southern Showdown Appaloosa Show. Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, georgiahorsepark.com 1-2 Carolina Welsh Club Hot Summer Nights HJ Show. Carolina Horse Park, 2814 Montrose Road, Raeford, NC. 910.875.2074, carolinahorsepark.com.

1-2 PSJ Back to School Show. Highfields Event Center, 147 Warehouse Road, Aiken. 803.649.3505, psjshows.com 5-23 Equus Events HJ Show. Chattahoochee Hills Eventing - Hosted at the Bouckaert Farm, 9445 Browns Lake Road, Chattahoochee Hills, GA. 770.892.2117, info@chatthillseventing.com, chatthillseventing.com 6-9 Tryon Hunter A Jumper IV Show. Tryon International Equestrian Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC, 828.863.1000, tryon.com/page/competition-schedule 8 Pine Tree CEC HJ Show. Pine Tree Stables, 1265 Sanders Creek Road, Camden, SC. Lynn Conto, 803.424.1952, conto@ bellsouth.net 8 Atlanta Youth Dressage. Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, georgiahorsepark.com 8-9 Southern Series Barrel Racing. Foothills Equestrian Nature Center, 3381 Hunting Country Road, Tryon, NC. 828.859.9021, horseshow@fence.org, fence.org 8-9 Eventing Academy Schooling Horse Trials. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm. com, stableviewfarm.com 8-9 Tall Boots August HJ Schooling Show. Carolina Horse Park, 2814 Montrose Road, Raeford, NC. 910.875.2074, carolinahorsepark.com.

8-9 Tryon Summer Dressage 3 & 4. Tryon International Equestrian Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC, 828.863.1000, tryon.com/page/competition-schedule 8-9 HJ Fox Classics I & II. Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, georgiahorsepark.com 9 Combined Tests, Dressage Tests of Choice Show. Full Gallop Farm, 3828 Wagener Road, Aiken. Lara Anderson, 803.215.6590, fullgallopfarm@gmail.com, fullgallopfarm.com 11-14 Peach State Futurity. Georgia National Fairgrounds and AgriCenter, 401 Larry Walker Parkway, Perry, GA. nchacutting. com 12 Yappy Hour. 6-8pm. SPCA Albrecht Center, 199 Willow Run Road, Aiken. letlovelive.org 1

August-September 2020

12-13 USEF/USDF “Too Hot To Trot I” Dressage. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm. com, stableviewfarm.com 13-16 Tryon Hunter A Jumper IV Show. Tryon International Equestrian Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC, 828.863.1000, tryon.com/page/competition-schedule 14-15 Ranch Sorting. BSC Arena, 3976 Highway 24 South, Waynesboro, GA. rsnc.us 15 Carolina Paint Show. Foothills Equestrian Nature Center, 3381 Hunting Country Road, Tryon, NC. 828.859.9021, horseshow@ fence.org, fence.org 15 PSJ Just for Fun Show. Highfields Event Center, 147 Warehouse Road, Aiken. 803.649.3505, psjshows.com 15 Young Event Horse YEH4 and YEH5. Full Gallop Farm, 3828 Wagener Road, Aiken. Lara Anderson, 803.215.6590, fullgallopfarm@gmail.com, fullgallopfarm.com 15-16 USEF/USDF “Too Hot To Trot II” Dressage. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm. com, stableviewfarm.com 15-16 Made in the Shade Performance and Breed Show. Carolina Horse Park, 2814 Montrose Road, Raeford, NC. 910.875.2074, carolinahorsepark.com.

15-16 Horse Show Ventures - The Southeastern Hunter/Jumper Series.

Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, georgiahorsepark.com 16 August Recognized Horse Trials. Full Gallop Farm, 3828 Wagener Road, Aiken. Lara Anderson, 803.215.6590, fullgallopfarm@gmail.com, fullgallopfarm.com 16-17 Windridge Farms DT & CT. Windridge Farms, 3323 Chimney Rock Road, Hendersonville, NC. Alicia Henderson, 828.595.3950, windridgeservices@gmail.com 20-23 Tryon Hunter A Jumper IV Show. Tryon International Equestrian Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC, 828.863.1000, tryon.com/page/competition-schedule 21-22 Blast From The Past Barrel Racing. Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, georgiahorsepark.com 22 CT and Dressage Show. The Vista Schooling and Event Center, 859 Old Tory Trail, Aiken. 803.262.5263, schoolthevista.com 22 Windsor Summer Series II CDE. Katydid Farm, 359 State Park Road, Windsor, SC. Jennifer Matheson, 803.292.3064. americandrivingsociety.org 22-23 Ride Better Clinic. Paradise Farm, 4069 Wagener Road, Aiken.

Lellie Ward, 803.640.4918, paradisefarmaiken.com 22-23 PSJ Mullet Hall Classic. Mullet Hall Equestrian Center, Johns Island, SC. 803.649.3505, psjshows.com 22-23 WHES Horse Trials, CT & Dressage. Carolina Horse Park, 2814 Montrose Road, Raeford, NC. 910.875.2074, carolinahorsepark. com.

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22-23 GHF/Massey Ferguson Summer Dressage Show. Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, georgiahorsepark.com 23 Combined tests, Schooling Jump rounds and Dressage Show.

Full Gallop Farm, 3828 Wagener Road, Aiken. Lara Anderson, 803.215.6590, fullgallopfarm@gmail.com, fullgallopfarm.com 28-29 Annual Sandy Oaks IPRA Pro Rodeo Round-Up. Lazy J Arena, 2237 Highway 23, W EdgeField, SC. 803.637.5369 or 803.480.0045, sandyoaksprorodeo.org 29 JTO Horse Clinic. Foothills Equestrian Nature Center, 3381 Hunting Country Road, Tryon, NC. 828.859.9021, horseshow@ fence.org, fence.org 29 HJ Schooling Show. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken.

484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm.com, stableviewfarm.com 29 Wind Ridge Farms DT & CT. 882 Goodes Creek Church Road, Mooresboro, NC. Alicia Henderson, 828.595.3950, windridgeservices@gmail.com, americandrivingsociety.org 29-30 Chatt Hills Horse Trials. Chattahoochee Hills Eventing - Hosted at the Bouckaert Farm, 9445 Browns Lake Road, Chattahoochee Hills, GA. 770.892.2117, info@chatthillseventing.com, chatthillseventing.com 29-30 GDCTA Labor Day Classic I & II. Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, georgiahorsepark.com

SEPTEMBER 2-13

Equus Events Aiken Fall Festival - USEF Premier HJ Show.

Aiken Horse Park, 931 Powderhouse Rd SE, Aiken. 803.226.0121, aikenhorsepark.org 4-6 HJ Show. Chattahoochee Hills Eventing - Hosted at the Bouckaert Farm, 9445 Browns Lake Road, Chattahoochee Hills, GA. 770.892.2117, info@chatthillseventing.com, chatthillseventing.com 4-6 SCQHA. South Carolina Equine Park (SCEP), 443 Cleveland School Road, Camden, SC. 803.486.4938, scequinepark.com 4-6 NCQHA Annual Charity Ride. Broyhill Preserve, 1500 Laurel Lane, Blowing Rock, NC. brchs.org 4-6 Lendon Gray’s Dressage4Kids & Atlanta Youth Festival. Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, georgiahorsepark.com 5 Unrecognized Horse Trials. Paradise Farm, 4069 Wagener Road, Aiken. Lellie Ward, 803.640.4918, paradisefarmaiken.com 5 FRC CT & Dressage Show. Foothills Equestrian Nature Center, 3381 Hunting Country Road, Tryon, NC. 828.859.9021, horseshow@fence.org, fence.org 5-6 Five Points Horse Trials. Carolina Horse Park, 2814 Montrose Road, Raeford, NC. 910.875.2074, carolinahorsepark.com.

5-6 USEF/USDF Dressage Fall Series I & II. Poplar Place Farm, 8191 Us Highway 27, Hamilton, GA. 706.681.8748, poplarplacefarm.com 5-6 Newton County Saddle Club Open Horse Show. Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, georgiahorsepark.com 6 Chatt Hills Hunter Pace. Chattahoochee Hills Eventing - Hosted at the Bouckaert Farm, 9445 Browns Lake Road, Chattahoochee Hills, GA. 770.892.2117, info@chatthillseventing.com, chatthillseventing.com 9 Schooling Dressage Show. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm.com, stableviewfarm. com 9 Chatt Hills Twilight #7 Show. Chattahoochee Hills Eventing - Hosted at the Bouckaert Farm, 9445 Browns Lake Road, Chattahoochee Hills, GA. 770.892.2117, info@ chatthillseventing.com, chatthillseventing.com 10 USEF/USDF “Fall Frenzy” Dressage Show. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm. com, stableviewfarm.com 10-27 USPA Northrup Knox Cup 12-Goal Tournament. New Bridge Polo Club, 862 New Bridge Road, Aiken. Haley Bryan, 803.215.3577, HBryan2485@aol.com, newbridgepolo.com 11-13 Camden Fall Classic. South Carolina Equine Park (SCEP), 443 Cleveland School Road, Camden, SC. 803.486.4938, scequinepark.com

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11-13 Tryon Dressage Fall I & II Show. Tryon International Equestrian Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC, 828.863.1000, tryon.com/page/competition-schedule 11-13 Tryon Fall Dressage 1 & 2. Tryon International Equestrian Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC, 828.863.1000, tryon.com/page/competition-schedule 12 Derby Cross and Clear Round Jumper Day. The Vista Schooling and Event Center, 859 Old Tory Trail, Aiken. 803.262.5263, schoolthevista.com 12 Tryon Grand Prix. Tryon International Equestrian Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC, 828.863.1000, tryon.com/ page/competition-schedule 12 Chatt Hills Schooling Show. Chattahoochee Hills Eventing - Hosted at the Bouckaert Farm, 9445 Browns Lake Road, Chattahoochee Hills, GA. 770.892.2117, info@ chatthillseventing.com, chatthillseventing.com 12-13 Blue Ridge Mountain Horse Trials. Tryon International Equestrian Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC, 828.863.1000, tryon.com/page/competition-schedule 12-13 USEF/USEA Horse Trials. Poplar Place Farm, 8191 Us Highway 27, Hamilton, GA. 706.681.8748, poplarplacefarm.com 12-13 GHF/Massey Ferguson Fall Dressage Show. Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, georgiahorsepark.com 12-13 HJ Fox HJ Show. Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, georgiahorsepark.com 12-13 Blue Ridge Mountain Horse Trials. Tryon International Equestrian Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC, 828.863.1000, tryon.com/page/competition-schedule 13 September Schooling HT, CT, Jump Rounds, Dressage Show.

Full Gallop Farm, 3828 Wagener Road, Aiken. Lara Anderson, 803.215.6590, fullgallopfarm@gmail.com, fullgallopfarm.com 16 Yappy Hour. 6-8pm. SPCA Albrecht Center, 199 Willow Run Road, Aiken. letlovelive.org 16-20 Stable View Fall Hunter Jumper Classic. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm.com, stableviewfarm.com 16-27 Alan Corey 4 Goal. Aiken Polo Club, Aiken. Tiger Kneece, 803.646.3301, tigerkneece@bellsouth.net. Hotline: 803.643.3611. aikenpolo.org 16-27 USPA Master Cup 6 Goal Tournament. Wagener Polo Club, 5720 Wagener Road, Wagener, SC. Billy Raab, 561.719.3318; Hotline, 803.566.8610, wagenerpolo.com 16-Oct 3 USPA National President’s Cup 8-Goal Tournament. New Bridge Polo Club, 862 New Bridge Road, Aiken. Haley Bryan, 803.215.3577, HBryan2485@aol.com, newbridgepolo.com 17-19 Southeastern Charity Horse Show. Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, georgiahorsepark.com 17-20 Chatt Hills H/J Show. Chattahoochee Hills Eventing - Hosted at the Bouckaert Farm, 9445 Browns Lake Road, Chattahoochee Hills, GA. 770.892.2117, info@chatthillseventing.com, chatthillseventing.com 17-20 ADS North American Preliminary & Intermediate Championships CDE Show. Tryon International Equestrian Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC, 828.863.1000, tryon.com/page/competition-schedule 18-19 Ranch Sorting. BSC Arena, 3976 Highway 24 South, Waynesboro, GA. rsnc.us 18-20 Tryon Fall I Hunter B Jumper III Show. Tryon International Equestrian Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC, 828.863.1000, tryon.com/page/competition-schedule 18-20 Southeastern Reining Association. South Carolina Equine Park (SCEP), 443 Cleveland School Road, Camden, SC. 803.486.4938, scequinepark.com 19 Tally Ho CEC HJ Show. 3962 Lawson Grove Road, Timmonsville, SC. Katrina Hutto, 843.319.9286, Katstallyho@ yahoo.com 19 Tryon Grand Prix. Tryon International Equestrian Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC, 828.863.1000, tryon.com/ page/competition-schedule 19 Fall Classic. Poplar Place Farm, 8191 US Highway 27, Hamilton, GA. 706.681.8748, poplarplacefarm.com

August-September 2020

19-20 PSJ Aiken Fall Festival Show. Highfields Event Center, 147 Warehouse Road, Aiken. 803.649.3505, psjshows.com 19-20 TRHC XC Schooling. Foothills Equestrian Nature Center, 3381 Hunting Country Road, Tryon, NC. 828.859.9021, horseshow@fence.org, fence.org 23-27 Tryon Fall II Hunter AA Jumper VI Show. Tryon International Equestrian Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC, 828.863.1000, tryon.com/page/competition-schedule 25 SC NBHA State Show. T. Ed Garrison Livestock Arena, 1101 West Queen Street, Pendleton, SC. clemson.edu/extension/ garrison 25-26 Outlaw’s Championship Rodeo. Antioch Community Center, 1591 Bishopville Highway Camden, SC. 803.421.9833 or 803.421.9114, rodeosportsnetwork.com 25-27 104th Aiken Horse Show. Hitchcock Woods, Aiken. hitchcockwoods.org 25-27 USEF/USEA/FEI CCI-S 1/2/3/4* Oktoberfest Horse Trials.

Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@ stableviewfarm.com, stableviewfarm.com 25-27 Chatt Hills H/J Show. Chattahoochee Hills Eventing - Hosted at the Bouckaert Farm, 9445 Browns Lake Road, Chattahoochee Hills, GA. 770.892.2117, info@chatthillseventing.com, chatthillseventing.com 26 PSJ Just for Fun Show. Highfields Event Center, 147 Warehouse Road, Aiken. 803.649.3505, psjshows.com 26 Tryon Grand Prix. Tryon International Equestrian Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC, 828.863.1000, tryon. com/page/competition-schedule 26-27 Newton County Saddle Club Open Horse Show. Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, georgiahorsepark.com 28-Oct 4 Fjord and Friends Fest. Broyhill Preserve, 1500 Laurel Lane, Blowing Rock, NC. brchs.org 29-Oct.11 USPA Governor’s Cup 6 Goal. Aiken Polo Club, Aiken.

Tiger Kneece, 803.646.3301, tigerkneece@bellsouth.net.

Hotline: 803.643.3611. aikenpolo.org 29-Oct 11 Wagener 4 Goal Tournament. Wagener Polo Club, 5720 Wagener Road, Wagener, SC. Billy Raab, 561.719.3318; Hotline, 803.566.8610, wagenerpolo.com 30 Twilight #7. Chattahoochee Hills Eventing - Hosted at the Bouckaert Farm, 9445 Browns Lake Road, Chattahoochee Hills, GA. 770.892.2117, info@chatthillseventing.com, chatthillseventing.com 30-Oct 4 Tryon Fall III Hunter AA Jumper VI CSI 2*. Tryon International Equestrian Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC, 828.863.1000, tryon.com/page/competitionschedule 30-Oct 18 USPA National Copper Cup 12-Goal Tournament. New Bridge Polo Club, 862 New Bridge Road, Aiken. Haley Bryan, 803.215.3577, HBryan2485@aol.com, newbridgepolo.com

OCTOBER 3

3-4 3-4 3-4 3-9

5-11 6-11

Tryon Grand Prix. Tryon International Equestrian Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC, 828.863.1000, tryon.com/ page/competition-schedule PSJ Oktoberfest Show. FENCE, Tryon, NC. 803.649.3505, psjshows.com USEA/USEF Recognized Horse Trials. Poplar Place Farm, 8191 Us Highway 27, Hamilton, GA. 706.681.8748 Aiken NYTS Qualifier. Aiken Polo Club, Aiken. Tiger Kneece, 803.646.3301, tigerkneece@bellsouth.net. Hotline: 803.643.3611. aikenpolo.org Chatt Hills SESSC Event. Chattahoochee Hills Eventing - Hosted at the Bouckaert Farm, 9445 Browns Lake Road, Chattahoochee Hills, GA. 770.892.2117, info@ chatthillseventing.com, chatthillseventing.com Aiken Women’s Challenge. Aiken Polo Club, Aiken. Tiger Kneece, 803.646.3301, tigerkneece@bellsouth.net. Hotline: 803.643.361. aikenpolo.org Tryon Hunter AA Jumper VI CSI 3* Show. Tryon International Equestrian Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC, 828.863.1000, tryon.com/page/competition-schedule

August-September 2020

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10-11 10-11 10-11 13-25

13-18 14

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Chatt Hills Twilight #8 Show. Chattahoochee Hills Eventing - Hosted at the Bouckaert Farm, 9445 Browns Lake Road, Chattahoochee Hills, GA. 770.892.2117, info@ chatthillseventing.com, chatthillseventing.com USPA Association Cup 8-Goal Tournament. New Bridge Polo Club, 862 New Bridge Road, Aiken. Haley Bryan, 803.215.3577, HBryan2485@aol.com, newbridgepolo.com Ranch Sorting. BSC Arena, 3976 Highway 24 South, Waynesboro, GA. rsnc.us PPHA Show. South Carolina Equine Park (SCEP), 443 Cleveland School Road, Camden, SC. 803.486.4938, scequinepark.com Jumping Branch Farm Schooling Jumper Derby. Jumping Branch Farm, 179 Fox Pond Road, Aiken. 240.460.1094, jbfarm. com/events/ Tryon Grand Prix. Tryon International Equestrian Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC, 828.863.1000, tryon.com/ page/competition-schedule Southeast Regional Championship Horse Show. Highfields Event Center, 147 Warehouse Road, Aiken. 803.649.3505, psjshows.com Carolina Carriage Show. Foothills Equestrian Nature Center, 3381 Hunting Country Road, Tryon, NC. 828.859.9021, horseshow@fence.org, fence.org Chatt Hills SESSC and Schooling Show. Chattahoochee Hills Eventing - Hosted at the Bouckaert Farm, 9445 Browns Lake Road, Chattahoochee Hills, GA. 770.892.2117, info@ chatthillseventing.com, chatthillseventing.com Aiken Hunter Trials and Dog Show. Paradise Farm, 4069 Wagener Road, Aiken. Lellie Ward, 803.640.4918, paradisefarmaiken.com WHES Horse Trials. Carolina Horse Park, 2814 Montrose Road, Raeford, NC. 910.875.2074, carolinahorsepark.com.

GDCTA Atlanta National Fall Dressage. Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, georgiahorsepark.com George S. Patton 6 Goal. Aiken Polo Club, Aiken. Tiger Kneece, 803.646.3301, tigerkneece@bellsouth.net. Hotline: 803.643.3611. Hotline: 803.643.3611. Hotline: 803.643.3611, aikenpolo.org Tryon Hunter AA Jumper VI CSI 5*. Tryon International Equestrian Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC, 828.863.1000, tryon.com/page/competition-schedule Chatt Hills Twilight #9 Show. Chattahoochee Hills Eventing - Hosted at the Bouckaert Farm, 9445 Browns Lake Road, Chattahoochee Hills, GA. 770.892.2117, info@ chatthillseventing.com, chatthillseventing.com Wagener 4 Goal Tournament. Wagener Polo Club, 5720 Wagener Road, Wagener, SC. Billy Raab, 561.719.3318; Hotline, 803.566.8610, wagenerpolo.com Schooling Dressage Show. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm.com, stableviewfarm. com Four Beats for Pleasure Horse Show. South Carolina Equine Park (SCEP), 443 Cleveland School Road, Camden, SC. 803.486.4938, scequinepark.com Tryon Grand Prix. Tryon International Equestrian Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC, 828.863.1000, tryon.com/ page/competition-schedule Spooktacular Classic Show. Poplar Place Farm, 8191 Us Highway 27, Hamilton, GA. 706.681.8748, www. poplarplacefarm.com Cat Yoga. 11am-12pm. SPCA Albrecht Center, 199 Willow Run Road, Aiken. Letlovelive.org Stableview Eventing Academy Horse Trials. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm. com, stableviewfarm.com H. J. Fox Halloween Classics I & II. Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, georgiahorsepark.com TRHC Horse Trials. Foothills Equestrian Nature Center, 3381 Hunting Country Road, Tryon, NC. 828.859.9021, horseshow@ fence.org, fence.org

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20-25 Tryon Hunter AA Jumper VI CSI 2* Show. Tryon International Equestrian Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC, 828.863.1000, tryon.com/page/competition-schedule 21 Chatt Hills Twilight #10 Show. Chattahoochee Hills Eventing - Hosted at the Bouckaert Farm, 9445 Browns Lake Road, Chattahoochee Hills, GA. 770.892.2117, info@ chatthillseventing.com, chatthillseventing.com 21-Nov.1 USPA Bronze Trophy 12-Goal Tournament. New Bridge Polo Club, 862 New Bridge Road, Aiken. Haley Bryan, 803.215.3577, HBryan2485@aol.com, newbridgepolo.com 21-Nov.1 USPA Constitutional Cup 6 Goal. Wagener Polo Club, 5720 Wagener Road, Wagener, SC. Billy Raab, 561.719.3318; Hotline, 803.566.8610, wagenerpolo.com 23-25 Tryon Fall Dressage 3 Show. Tryon International Equestrian Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC, 828.863.1000, tryon.com/page/competition-schedule 23-25 BRHJA Classic. Foothills Equestrian Nature Center, 3381 Hunting Country Road, Tryon, NC. 828.859.9021, horseshow@ fence.org, fence.org 23-25 SCQHA Spooktacular. South Carolina Equine Park (SCEP), 443 Cleveland School Road, Camden, SC. 803.486.4938, scequinepark.com 24 Tryon Grand Prix. Tryon International Equestrian Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC, 828.863.1000, tryon.com/ page/competition-schedule 24 Mini Horse Trials, Combined Test, Dressage Show. The Vista Schooling and Event Center, 859 Old Tory Trail, Aiken.

803.262.5263, schoolthevista.com 24-25 Chatt Hills Horse Trials. Chattahoochee Hills Eventing - Hosted at the Bouckaert Farm, 9445 Browns Lake Road, Chattahoochee Hills, GA. 770.892.2117, info@chatthillseventing.com,

24-25 Tall Boots HJ Show. Carolina Horse Park, 2814 Montrose Road, Raeford, NC. 910.875.2074, carolinahorsepark.com.

25 PSJ Just for Fun Show. Highfields Event Center, 147 Warehouse Road, Aiken. 803.649.3505, psjshows.com 25 Fun Open Horse Show Full Gallop Farm, 3828 Wagener Road, Aiken. Lara Anderson, 803.215.6590, fullgallopfarm@gmail.com, fullgallopfarm.com 27-Nov. 8 Jake Kneece Memorial 4 Goal. Aiken Polo Club, Aiken. Tiger Kneece, 803.646.3301, tigerkneece@bellsouth.net. Hotline: 803.643.3611. Hotline: 803.643.3611. Hotline: 803.643.3611, aikenpolo.org 28-Nov.1 Chatt Hills H/J Show. Chattahoochee Hills Eventing - Hosted at the Bouckaert Farm, 9445 Browns Lake Road, Chattahoochee Hills, GA. 770.892.2117, info@chatthillseventing.com, chatthillseventing.com 28-Nov.1 USPA Masters Cup 8-Goal Tournament. New Bridge Polo Club, 862 New Bridge Road, Aiken. Haley Bryan, 803.215.3577, HBryan2485@aol.com, newbridgepolo.com 30-Nov.1 PPHA Show. South Carolina Equine Park (SCEP), 443 Cleveland School Road, Camden, SC. 803.486.4938, scequinepark.com 31 Stableview HJ Show. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken.

484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm.com, stableviewfarm.com 31 FRC Dressage Show. Foothills Equestrian Nature Center, 3381 Hunting Country Road, Tryon, NC. 828.859.9021, horseshow@ fence.org, fence.org

Business Cards

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OutďŹ tting Southeastern Farriers for Over 30 years

GREAT SERVICE AND QUALITY FARRIER SUPPLIES ARE OUR PRIORITY

Aiken, SC

803.685.5101

Columbus, NC 828.894.0280

www.monettafarrier.com

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MyMalvernBank.com

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June-July 2020

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Index of Advertisers Advertiser

Aiken County Farm Supply Aiken Fine Homes and Land Aiken Horsemanship Academy Aiken Horsemanship Academy Aiken Polo Club Aiken Saddlery, Inc. Aiken TB Hall of Fame American Glory Style Art & Soul Auto Tech Banixx Barnware Be Fly Free Big Tree Farm Bridle Creek Carolina Company RE Carolina Company RE Clint Bertalan Farms LLC CM Grading CS Realty DFG Stables Epona Equine Divine Equine Rescue of Aiken Fencing Solutions FITS Equestrian FOTAS Aiken G L Williams and Daughter

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Advertiser

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Gary Knoll Photography Home to Home Jeffcoat Realty Jill Diaz Polo Keller Williams Stinson Keller Williams- Gutierrez Lightning Protection Systems Marrinson Stables Meybohm RE (Sullivan/Turner) Meybohm RE Haslup Meybohm RE Vaillancourt New Bridge Polo Club Oak Manor Saddlery Patty Merli Saddles Retired Racehorse Project SCQHA Sharer Dale Sharer Dale South Carolina Equine Park Southern Equine Service SPCA Albrecht Center Sporting Days Farm Stable View, LLC The Kneaded Edge The Kneaded Edge The Tack Room Tod’s Hill/ReMax Tryon Equine Law

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August-September 2020

August-September 2020

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