Volume 15 • Number 1 •
August-September 2019
Deirdre Stoker Vaillancourt, REALTOR®
803.640.4591
Aiken, South Carolina — Southern Charm and Equestrian Sport 1068 GRAND PRIX DR
MLS # 103839
• Distinguished turn key farm • 20.46 acres • 1731 sq ft, 2BR 2 1/2BA, gated community • 8 stall courtyard barn w/ feed and tack room, wash stall • 4 large grass paddocks • $690,000
322 RUSHTON RD
MLS # 105176
• Updated turnkey horse farm • 3BR 3BA brick home, garage & in-ground pool • 4 stall barn, wash stall, feed & tack room
525 LAURENS ST
1218 STIEFEL RD
MLS # 97065
MLS # 105212
• 3 large grass paddocks w/ water & run-in sheds • Fenced grass riding arena • 11 acres • $599,950
534 MARION ST SE MLS # 102676
• 8.5 acre Hitchcock Stables • 8 large paddocks • Adjoins The Woods • 27 12x12 stall barn • Original family stable yard dating from 1882 • 2 carriage sheds, bunk house • $2,300,000
• 8.32 acres in the heart of Aiken’s Historic Horse Distr. • Restored 1BR 1BA residence • 11 stall barn w/ separate covered wash stall • 4 large, irrigated, cross-fenced grass paddocks • Multi function carriage bldg • $2,200,000
1291 RIVER RIDGE RD
904 WILDWOOD RD
MLS # 104609
• 19.05 acres, located near 302 corridor • Several options for building sites • Easy access to multiple equestrian centers; New Bridge Polo, Full Gallop Farm and Paradise Farms • $99,500
MLS # 103934
• Agnus Forest Farm - 302 corridor • 8 acres • 6 stall cent. aisle barn w/ tack room, half bath and wash stall • Jump Field
• Executive home, large private lot in Kalmia Hills • Located near Downtown Aiken, USCA, Aiken • 2800 sq ft, 4BR 3BA, gated, in-ground pool Regional Hospital • Crepe Myrtle Cottage • 4 large grass paddocks (new fencing 2017), 1 • 5BR 4BA, green house, maintained garden run in shed • $750,000 space w/irrigation & separate well • $250,000
1440 SMITH LAWN DRIVE
MLS # 103247
• Welcome to Pleasant View Farm • Some of the most popular equestrian venues are nearby like the Highfields & Bruces Field • 2593 sq ft over a 9 stall center aisle barn
• Two separate well appointed residences conveniently located above the barn • HOA includes access to riding trials, gallop track, jump field and a stick and ball field
• 2 tack rooms, 7 large paddocks, equipment shed & hay storage • First Residence 3BR 2BA • Second Residence 2BR 1BA • HOA fee $1200 per year • $649,500
www.AikenSCProperties.com 2
The Aiken Horse
August-September 2019
LAKE SEIVERN
$700,000
BRIDLEWOOD FARM $1.75 MILLION
FARMSTEAD
$899,000
SOLD Come home to your own private paradise! Gorgeous 134 A recreational tract w/124 A of timber & portion of Lake Seivern located less than 30 minutes from downtown Aiken and less than 50 minutes from Columbia. As-is 3 BR/2 BA house and garage included. Enjoy great fishing, boating (electric), kayaking or sailing!
Premier state of the art boarding/training facility with 28 stalls, 26 irrigated paddocks, 250 x 160 GGT footing ring, 2 BR/2 BA luxurious owners apartment, grooms quarters & camera monitoring system. Business opportunity with strong client base. Additional 37 +/- acres available for purchase with established trail system.
4 BR/3 BA Tri level in one of the nicest areas of Aiken, close to downtown and walking distance to Hitchcock Woods. Almost half an acre landscaped lot, 2 car garage, new gas furnace, parquet floors and lower level family room with brick fireplace and full bath. Ready for your finishing touches and priced competitively for 2541 square feet.
Ride into the Hitchcock Woods from your new construction light filled 3 BR/3.5 BA custom hardiplank home with 3 stall barn, wash stall, tack room, storage & fenced turnout on 3.51 A with the ability to purchase more land. Wood floors, high ceilings, gas fireplace & chef’s kitchen with granite counters. Must see!
WESTCLIFF
$214,900
EDISTO LAKE
WOOD’S END WAY
IVY COTTAGE
$259,000
SOLD Enjoy lakefront living in Edisto Lake gated community with easy access to Aiken and Columbia. Spectacular sunsets, dock, and plenty of space for entertaining and outdoor activities. Beautiful views from light filled two bedroom two bath home with wood floors, wood stove and deck. Pontoon boat available with acceptable offer. $
107,400
10.74 ACRES
TWIN SILOS - LOT 2
$648,000
Larlee Construction 4 bedroom lake front home w/4.84 A in bucolic gated southside development. Reclaimed pine floors, cathedral & coffered 10’ ceilings, shiplap walls, fireplace w/pine built-ins, quartzite countertops, mahogany kitchen island, Viking appliances, 3 car garage w/workshop & pool overlooking 30 A lake.
RACELAND STABLE
$535,000
Aiken Horse District on the clay roads with access to the Aiken Training Track & a short hack to the polo fields & Hitchcock Woods. 20 stall barn w/tack room, feed room, office & barn apartment. Add’l. 1752 sq ft dormitory has 3 apartments. 6 stall Eurociser, paddocks, round pen and wash stall on almost an acre.
FOX HOLLOW LOTS
SOLD Classic Willis Irvin designed stucco downtown home with guest apartment over garage/ workshop next to the Horse District. 4 BR/3.5 BA in main house. Four fireplaces, wood floors, renovated kitchen & newer screened porch. Beautiful guest apartment & mature landscaping. Fenced 1.45 A lot.
WEXFORD MILL TRACT L
$89,900
12.41 A
Fox Hollow covers just under 800 acres including a trail over beautiful Johnson Lake, irrigated show rings, mirrored dressage ring, cross country course and fabulous trails. Choose from one of these available lots and build your dream farm.
LOT 27 19.89A $200,000 LOT 1B 7.71A $77,100
KALMIA HILLS
UNDER CONTRACT 3 BR/2 BA
$169,000
Fabulous land & lots available: Twin Silos Farms, Wood’s End Way & Fox Hollow
803-215-0153 • www.AikenHorseRealty.com August-September 2019
The Aiken Horse
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Your HOME Team
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 slate-roofed 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
UNDER CONTRACT SNIPES POND is a 4028 sf renovated historic
your best friend in real-estate
finehomesofaiken.com
SHELBORNE FARM is a gracious 4 BR 4.5 BA custom residence on 50 acres with magnificent views. Interior features are 5 fireplaces, granite counter tops, 2nd floor observation deck, wood floors, stunning 2-story great room, and a framed-in apartment over the garage. Six-stall barn with wash rack & feed room, dressage ring, 150x300 huinter-jumper ring. Board-fenced pastures. Three-car garage. $950,000
GODSON FARM: 1-story brick ranch on 5.86 acres with 6-stall barn. Private attractive setting. Walk to Chukker Creek Elementary. Fireplace in den. New in 2018: roof, sentricon system for house & barn, HVAC units, siding on the hay barn, & paint for house & barn. Well pump new 2013. Hay barn and storage shed. Ideal for all riding disciplines. Close to major shopping and cinema. 15 minutes to downtown Aiken. Lovely property at a lovely price! $376,900 Call (561-309-6636).
UNDER CONTRACT
CHADBOURN FARM offers an idyllic equestrian HIGH COTTON FARM This equestrian estate has a
plantation home on 46 acres of beautiful rolling farm land. The top-quality renovation by skilled craftsmen from Reynolds Co. offers modern amenities such as a granite kitchen island, French country sink, walk-in closets, ceiling fans, & security system. multiple porches on both floors, and handsome wood floors. The 46.31 acres are ideal for farming, horses, other recreation or quiet enjoyment. Additional acreage available. $769,900
lifestyle. The 3000 sq.ft. 4 BR 3 BA residence was built in 2005 and extensively updated in 2017. Light-filled interior. Great Room with fireplace. Formal dining room. Wood floors, hickory cabinets, & granite counter tops. Spacious master suite. 12 acres includes a 6-stall centeraisle barn with wash rack and tack room. Large fenced pastures, dressage arena, and 6.5 cleared acres for any equestrian use. $735,000
SNIPES POND ROAD 16 wooded acres available
CASA LOUISA Charming Old Aiken cottage in fantastic 2/BR Horse District location at Hitchcock Woods. High ceilings, heart pine floors, updated kitchen with granite & stainless appliances. Many updated windows. Plus office/studio. Large pantry. Stack-up washer-dryer is a recent addition, as is the metal roof. Lovely library. Renovated bath, jetted tub. Kitchen’s French doors lead to great outdoor patio space. Beautiful front garden, fenced backyard, detached garage (440 sq.ft. per owner). Location!! Quiet equestrian street 5 blocks from The Willcox. $304,000
for use as a residence, farm, hunting land or whatever your heart desires. Short trip to I-20, about 12 minutes to downtown Aiken, and close to Aiken’s equestrian schooling and event facilities. Beautifully forested in pines and oaks, the land is level and easy to clear for pasture. Adjacent to marvelous horse farm. No mobile homes. Motivated seller is asking $88,000.
SOLD
4 BR/4 BA residence and 4 or 5 stall barn with charming apartment, all on 12.47 acres. Located close to town, the farm has 5 fenced grass paddocks and an electric gate entrance. The home has: new roof, numerous upgrades, tankless water heater, and new interior colors. Gas heat, thermal-pane windows. Extra-large master suite downstairs. $925,000
TOLT TRAIL Aiken horse farm in fine condition. Almost 20 acres. Adjacent to Performance Equine Vet. Center. Great floor plan. Oak & vinyl floors. Top-quality kitchen, bay-window breakfast room. Master suite with views & large walk-in closet; adjacent 4th bedroom is excellent office. Propane for gas logs & tankless water heater. The deck, HVAC and well pump were new in 2018. Whole house generator. Saltwater pool with Badu swimming current. 4-stall barn w/water & electricity, feed storage, & tack room w/shelving. 5 turn-outs with 3 run-in sheds. One paddock is ideal as dressage field. $539,000
The finest farms in Aiken, South Carolina. Call 803-640-0123 for estates, farms, homes & land.
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The Aiken Horse
August-September 2019
August-September 2019
The Aiken Horse
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SECTION 8 10 18 24 27 29 Our cover features Ashley Wallace riding Kiss Kiss, owned by Bradley Federico. Aiken Summer Classic Horse Show, Bruce’s Field at the Aiken Horse Park. Photography by Gary Knoll.
Pan Am Games News and Notes Aiken Summer Classic Fall Season Preview Ask the Judge Aiken Real Estate
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SECTION 44 46 48 52 56 60
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Meghan Benge Upset’s Triumph Secret Lives: Spy Only in America Dressage Competitor Tent PEMF Therapy
Debra Faraone on Trekstar at the “Only in America” Dressage Show at Stable View. Photography by Gary Knoll.
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SECTION
Sidnee Milner aboard Orchard Hills Counting Kisses at Full Gallop July Schooling Horse Trials. Photography by Gary Knoll
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63 64 70 74 77 80 81 82
The Aiken Horse
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Unbreakable: Book Review FOTAS at 10 Dolly Bostwick Summer School Calendar of Events Directory of Services Classifieds Index of Advertisers
August-September 2019
August-September 2019
Aiken
The
Horse
Aiken’s Horse Publication
P.O. Box 332 • Montmorenci, SC 29839-0332 • 803.643.9960 •
www.TheAikenHorse.com • Editor@TheAikenHorse.com
Time Dated Material • Periodicals • Volume 15 • Number 1
W
hat a fantastic summer season we are having in Aiken! Our mornings have been cool enough to ride, without quite as much humidity as usual. To make it perfect, we could use a little more rain for our pastures. But, on the plus side, those of us with farms have not had to do as much mowing as we expected, and those of us with easy keepers in the pasture won’t discover that all our horses have outgrown their girths when we put them back to work in the coming weeks. Riders have been taking advantage of Aiken’s beautiful summer by training in earnest, both on their own farms and at Aiken’s many training locations. There have been plenty of schooling competitions and activities as well, and these have been well attended and filled with dedicated riders, all inspired to put miles on their horses and gain more practice in the show ring or on the event course. In addition to the schooling shows, we have had recognized competitions of several varieties: horse trials, dressage shows and hunter jumper shows, to name a few. The calendar is growing, and Aiken is definitely a year-round equestrian location now, with a big enough summer population to give the warmer months a bit of the same energy and excitement that used to be reserved for the winter.
August-September 2019
One other thing that has been exciting is that, just as we are going to press, the U.S. eventing team won the gold medal at the Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru. This secures our team a spot at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where we hope they will shake off the bad luck that has plagued them at the last few championships and find their place on the medals podium once again. Boyd Martin, who trains here each winter, also won the individual gold medal. Just before they left for Peru, the whole team stayed at Stable View in Aiken for a final training camp overseen by the chef d’equipe and coach, Erik Duvander. Aiken, which has become a real Mecca for eventing, has a special connection to our international eventing team, and we are thrilled to see the horses and riders succeed. You will find coverage of the eventing competition in our first section. We have full edition of interesting articles for you on many different subjects. For instance we have a profile of Meghan Benge, already an international champion in the combined driving discipline, who is now making a name for herself in para dressage. We have a story about Upset, the only horse ever to beat Man o’War, 100 years ago this August in Saratoga – did you know that Upset was owned and bred by Harry Payne Whitney who wintered at his family’s Joye Cottage here in Aiken? In the third section, you will read the remarkable story of Friends of the Animal Shelter (FOTAS) which, in 10 years, has helped turn Aiken’s county shelter into an inspirational model of success. Finally, we have another installment of our Remembering Aiken’s Horsemen series, this time introducing our readers to Dolly Bostwick, a consummate horsewoman and influential member of the old Aiken Winter Colony. We hope you enjoy the issue. As ever, if you have an idea for an article or you know something you think we should know, please send us an email. 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
Going Out Of Town? 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
Aiken
The
Horse
Aiken’s Horse Publication
Pam Gleason Editor & Publisher
All contents Copyright 2019 The Aiken Horse 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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The Aiken Horse
August-September 2019
Mission Accomplished
Eventers Win Gold; Qualify for Olympics By Pam Gleason; Photography by Shannon Brinkman
E
verything was on the line for the United States Eventing Team at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. It was not just the pressure to uphold the country’s stellar reputation at the Pan Ams. It was also that the U.S. was not yet qualified to go to the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. In order to secure a spot, they would have to win the gold or the silver medal. Teams from Canada and Brazil were in a similar predicament, meaning that there were three teams vying for two positions. The Pan Am Games, held every four years during the year before the summer Olympics, are for countries in North and South America. This year’s competition was held at the Army Equestrian School in the La Molina district of Lima. Although this is a year- round equestrian facility, it needed to be completely renovated in order to conform to FEI standards. Set behind walls in the middle of a bustling city, the facility covers just over 67 acres. For a local comparison, this means that it is almost exactly the same size as Bruce’s Field at the Aiken Horse Park. The 2019 Pan Ams was the largest equestrian event ever to take place in Peru. The U.S. Eventing Team included two veterans of international competition, Boyd Martin and Lynn Symansky, as well as two newcomers, Doug Payne and Tamie Smith. The traveling reserve, Liz Halliday-Sharp, winner of the inaugural Grand Prix Eventing competition at Bruce’s Field this spring, was also a new addition to the team. There were many Aiken connections: Doug Payne has a home here, and Boyd Martin trains here at Stable View all winter long. In addition, all the team horses and riders had their final training camp at Stable View before heading to Peru. At an official send-off party at the Stable View pavilion, members of the team were unanimous in their gratitude to the Aiken community for its hospitality. They were equally enthusiastic about the accommodations at Stable View, which left their horses happy, relaxed and ready to compete. The U.S. team started out strong on dressage day, with all four riders placing in the top ten out of 42 starters. Lynn Symansky, who rode first for the U.S. on RF Cool Play, scored 29.2. Tamra Smith went second on Mai Baum, wowing the crowd and the judges with a smooth and flawless performance that garnered her 22.7 penalty points and the lead. Doug Payne and his mount, the 8-year-old Starr Witness, had a beautiful performance and finished with a score of 28. Finally, Boyd Martin and Tsetserleg, the team anchors, rode to a 25.8. At the end of the day, Tamie was in first, Boyd second, Doug seventh and Lynn ninth. This put Team USA comfortably in the lead, ahead of Canada and Brazil going into cross country day. Set in such a small area, the cross country course necessarily doubled back on itself several times. Although the course was the minimum distance for a competition of this level, it had the maximum number of jumping efforts, many of them at maximum height. Designed by Jose Ortelli from Argentina, it included many references to Peru’s cultural heritage and famous attractions: a Machu Pichu jump (Fence 14AB); a Lima Cathedral jump (Fence 4); a post and beam over piles of potatoes (Fence 15). Decorations on the course included many brightly colored papier maché statues of iconic pre-Columbian gods, which distracted more than one horse. “It was a super challenging course,” said Doug Payne. “You didn’t get a lot of breathing time between jumps. We were told it would be a tight venue, so I expected that it would be a little like the Grand Prix Eventing in Aiken. The real big challenge was that the first minute and a half of it was really intense. The main water complex was fence 6 and you didn’t have a whole lot of time to work up to it. I know it caught a bunch of people out.” Lynn Symansky was the first to go for the Americans and she flew around, jumping clean and under the time for the first double clear of the day. Tamie Smith followed her: unfortunately, she had a runout at
August-September 2019
fence 16, a narrow corner set on a curving edge of the track with a pair of painted statues just to its right. Then she added more penalty points for crossing her track at fence 23. This put the pressure on Doug Payne and Starr Witness. “They told me ‘Regardless of what happens, come home clear. Spend a bit of time if you have to; make sure you set your horse up right.’ Time faults weren’t going to affect the team scores much. So that’s what we did.” Doug and Starr Witness jumped clean and just over the time, adding 8.4 penalty points to their score. Boyd Martin rode in the anchor position as the last rider of the day. Pulling out all the stops, he jumped clean and fast, to earn the second double clear of the day. In the end, just 25 of the 42 competitors completed the course. There were two double clears: Lynn and Boyd. Thirteen horse and rider pairs jumped clean with time penalties, while the remaining 10 finishers racked up as many as 100 jumping faults. The U.S. came to showjumping on the final day of the competition in excellent condition, standing on top of the leaderboard with its riders in first, second, fourth and seventeenth position individually. All four riders had double clear rounds, to take the lead by over 30 points. When all was said and done, the U.S. won gold, Brazil silver, and Canada bronze. Individually, Boyd Martin won the gold and Lynn Symansky the silver. Doug Payne was fourth, just about a point shy of the individual bronze, which went to Brazil’s Carlos Parro aboard Quakin Qurious. “There was a lot of pressure, but it was a great experience,” says Payne of his first time competing on a team. “I wasn’t quite aware of all the work that goes into it behind the scenes – all the support staff and equipment and planning. There is a big group of people that works very hard to allow us the opportunity to compete.” Doug was also thrilled with the performance of Starr Witness. The 8-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare got her start in the hunter ring with Emil Spadone before Doug acquired her along with two partners, Laurie McRee and Catherine Winter, just 18 months ago. She did her very first event at the Training Level at Sporting Days Farm on February 3, 2018, and moved up to Preliminary at Paradise Farm just two weeks later. Already an experienced jumper, she did not take long to learn the ins and outs of the cross country course and climbed the levels rapidly. This spring, she and Doug won the CCI three star at both The Fork and Jersey Fresh, proving themselves ready for the big time. “Every time she goes out, she gets better,” Payne says. The mare has also been competing in the jumper ring, and Payne, who has a string of Grand Prix jumpers, says he would not be surprised to see her competing in that discipline at some point in the future. The Olympics in Tokyo are just 12 months away, and the U.S. Team’s next challenge is to repeat their Pan Am performance on a bigger stage and against tougher competition. The eventing team has been going through an international slump in recent years, a trend that the chef d’equipe, Erik Duvander, is determined to reverse. Duvander says that he has been traveling the country scouting new international talent, and that having a team that mixes veterans with new additions tends to make it more competitive. “You need to have new riders coming up to put pressure on the top riders – this makes them better,” said Duvander before the games, noting that it is also important to start bringing horses into the program earlier so that they have plenty of experience when they hit their prime. He points to Starr Witness as a potential future champion; a relatively young horse that, if all goes according to plan, will have plenty of international miles under her by the time she hits her early teens, the prime of life for an event horse. Looking forward to Tokyo, America’s riders have a full schedule ahead of them, including trips overseas to test their mettle against the current world and Olympic champions, Great Britain and France and to prepare for greater challenges to come.
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News and Notes By Pam Gleason
Extended Show Season
Aiken’s spring horse show season got an extension this year when Bob Bell moved his Classic Company June shows from Atlanta to Aiken. The Aiken Summer Classics came to Bruce’s Field at The Aiken Horse Park the second and third weekend of June, making that month an usually active one. Restaurant owners and store owners downtown were thrilled (and some a little surprised) by all the extra business they were getting during what is usually a relatively slow time here. “I can’t say enough about how happy we were with the hospitality we received in Aiken,” says Bob Bell, who notes that all the divisions in the show were full and that they also filled all 600 of their stalls. This was a better turnout than he had expected for his first show in Aiken. “Everyone was so accommodating to work with at the horse park, and the facility was beautiful.” Tara Bostwick, who is the vice president
of the Aiken Horse Park Foundation was equally happy with the new show. “What was really neat was that there were
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a lot of people that came to the show that had never come to Aiken before and they were blown away by Aiken’s hospitality and Bruce’s Field, which is fabulous,” she says. “It’s good for the horse park and it’s good for Aiken. Bob has a great following, and we’d like to see him continue to come here, and keep to his theme of the boutique hospitality horse shows that he is so well known for.” Bell says that he is already planning to come back next June, and would like to try to get some of his other dates in Aiken too. With such a strong expansion in hunter/ jumper competitive opportunities, Aiken’s reputation is definitely growing in the horse show world, and it may not be long before this area is as well known for the show ring as it is for eventing courses and polo fields.
Aikenites to AECs
The American Eventing Championships will be held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky from August 27 through September 1, and a number of Aiken based riders will competing. The AECs are the United States Eventing Association annual championships for every level of the sport from Beginner-Novice through Advanced. In order to qualify, horses and riders must have been first or second in any USEA recognized horse trial at their level, or third in two recognized horse trials, or have won first through fifth at a USEA Training Championship. Aiken riders who have made their entries and are getting ready include Deirdre Vaillancourt and Nancy Wilson, both going to the AECs for the first time. They will join a number of other Aiken riders, including Arden and Sarah Wildasin, and Morgan Batton. Three recent graduates of USC Aiken, who rode on the eventing team there, will also compete: Kristen LaVassar, Brooke Webb, and Sophie Miller.
The Aiken Horse
Of course, Aiken’s higher profile winter eventing champions will ride too, including Phillip Dutton, Courtney Cooper, Kristin Schmolze and Boyd Martin, the winner of the gold medal at the Pan Am Games. Good luck to Aiken’s riders!
Speedy Connections
Racehorses that got their start on Aiken’s Training Track are a making a name for themselves this summer at some of the top tracks in the nation. The most impressive of these so far is Concrete Rose, a 3-year-old filly who is the daughter of Twirling Candy and an out of Powerscourt mare named Solerina. With six wins in seven starts and over $1.2 million in earnings, Concrete Rose is looking like a strong contender to be named Aiken Trained Horse of the Year. On August 2 in Saratoga, she galloped away with the Grade I Saratoga Oaks, after winning the Belmont Invitational Stakes with power to spare in early July. This gives her two thirds of the New York Racing Association’s newly minted “Turf Tiara” for 3-year-old fillies.
The final race in the series is the $750,000 Jockey Club Oaks to be run on September 7 at Belmont Park. (Racing fans take note: this will be broadcast live on NBC.) Concrete Rose was purchased as a yearling Continued on Page 28
August-September 2019
TEAMWORK TECHNOLOGY TRUST As the largest equine veterinary equine practice in the CSRA, Southern Equine Service is the only equine clinic with advanced diagnostic capabilities and a seasoned staff on par with those services offered at regional teaching facilities. Our team of veterinarians offer a multi-disciplinary approach to patient diagnosis that ensures optimum outcomes. Our in-house technology resources are unmatched and include the area’s only bone scan and 0.31 Tesla high resolution MRI. All of our doctors are equipped with portable radiograph and ultrasound capabilities to immediately address your horse’s needs while on-site. Most importantly, our dedication to delivering quality care is reflected in the strong doctor-client relationships we continue to build.
RN EQUINE SER E V TH
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In short, when you give SES the reins, you get better results.
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1 2 5 8 B a n k s M i l l R d • A i k e n , S C 2 9 8 0 3 • 8 0 3 - 6 4 4 -1 5 4 4 • s o u t h e r n e q u i n e s e rv i c e .c o m
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aikenhorseLEFT8-19_aikenhorseLEFT 8/1/2019 7:11 PM Page 1
Courtney Conger
Randy Wolcott
Suzan McHugh
Thomas Bossard Brian Cavanaugh Jane Page Thompson Donnita Harmon
803.645.3308
803.292.8525
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803.507.1142
803.640.2845
Lee Hedlund
803.221.6831 803.624.6072
Mike Hosang
803.270.6358 803.215.8232
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Frank Starcher
803.270.6623 803.508.1936
Jack Roth
Alex Tyrteos
803.341.8787
203.249.3071
Barb Uskup
Melissa Major
HOMES . HORSES HISTORY . HOSPITALITY
803.295.3199 Broker In Charge
.648.8660
www CarolinaHorseProperties com . 803
Willow Run Farm .
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Chime Bell Farm Impeccably transformed farm encompasses 52 acres, with 20 board fenced pastures, gated entrance, 8-stall center aisle barn with luxurious lounge and custom details, broodmare barn, enclosed equipment shed with hayloft, renovated 4-stall barn, run-in sheds and round pen. Painted brick home, completely renovated in 2014 has been turned into 2 apartments. Surveillance system, monitored security and fire alarm systems. Call Courtney Conger or Randy Wolcott $1, 700,000
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Oak Tree Farm Country contemporary with 3 bedrooms and 3 full baths is nestled among live oaks on over 48 acres of board fenced pastures. All new baths and kitchen with stainless steel appliances, granite counters, and all new wood & tile floors throughout. Sunlit great room and master bedroom feature cathedral ceilings and window walls with sweeping views of in ground pool and coastal fields. Center aisle barn has 3 stalls with room for more, tack & feed room, run-in and storage space. Call Courtney Conger $699,000
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Woolworth House Historic Winter Colony cottage with stables in downtown Aiken just steps from Hitchcock Woods, Aiken’s 2,200-acre riding reserve! Delightful 3 bedroom, 3.5 bath home, updated in recent years, features high ceilings, wood floors, fireplace, and wall of windows overlooking patio & paddocks. For horses, there is a 3-stall shed row barn. Call Courtney Conger $590,000
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Gardener’s Rest Priced below appraised value, this gem is the perfect mix of country living within 10 minutes of downtown Aiken. Remodeled ranch with spacious newer wing addition has 3 bedrooms, 2 updated full baths and updated kitchen, all set on a stunningly landscaped 2-acre lot. Interior freshly painted! The fenced yard welcomes your fur friends, and offers a spot for a horse or two! Call Barb Uskup $194,500
Quaint 7.94 acre hobby farm in a private setting only 2 miles from downtown. Three bedroom, 2 bath, remodeled home with enclosed porch, wood burning fireplace, and laundry/mud room. There are 3 fenced pastures with an older 5-stall barn, and two turnout sheds. Call Tom Bossard $269,000
Stratford Farm . Five miles from downtown Aiken lies this 64 acre hill-
Scott’s Estate This landmark 63.85 acre property, conveniently located only 6 miles from downtown Aiken, includes a spectacular 7 acre pond, fed by Shaw's Creek with natural swimming pool. Beautifully planted hardwood trees and extensive lawns sweep down from the house to the pond and a backdrop of mature pines behind the pond complete the dramatic landscape. The house has 4 bedrooms and 2 full baths, large farmhouse kitchen with eat-in alcove & wood burning fireplace, and large Florida room with second fireplace. Call Alex Tyrteos $1, 100,000
Chukker Cottage . Overlooking historic Whitney Polo Field is this exquisite brick residence on an acre of landscaped lawn and walled gardens featuring sparkling saltwater pool. The 5 bedroom, 6 bath home features approximately 4400 square feet of impeccable living space with soaring ceilings, wood floors, spacious rooms, master suite with two luxurious baths, formal living and dining rooms, gourmet kitchen, and lightfilled sunroom with access to large deck, pool, and meticulously maintained gardens. Bonus bedroom and full bath above the oversized garage. Brand new roof just installed! Plans are approved for a 2-stall stable with feed room, tack room, and living area with kitchen. Call owner/agent Lee Hedlund $1, 200,000
Hollow Creek Preserve . Attractive, low-maintenance home
boasts high ceilings, hardwood floors & crown moldings. Fabulous kitchen features walk in pantry, granite counters, stainless appliances. Spacious owner’s suite has room-sized bath with walk in shower & 2 walk-in closets . Separate den/office, laundry room, bonus room with full bath, walk-in attic storage, 2-car garage, security & irrigation systems. For the equestrian, this level lot w/shade trees is ready for barn & fencing. Call Jack Roth $510,000
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New Bridge Polo Club Possibly the best 6.85 acre building lot now available in an exceptional location at New Bridge Polo. A short walk away from the clubhouse, tennis court and swimming pool, it has direct access to Polo Field One and overlooks Field Three. The lot is perimeter fenced with established coastal Bermuda grass and a well and electrical service have already been installed. Call Alex Tyrteos $280,000
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Old Buckland Barn Equestrian training facility in Aiken’s historic downtown Horse District has spacious 2,787 square foot main residence, combining 2 original cottages with central great room. Cottage is delightfully renovated with wood floors, granite countertops and all appliances. There are 2 converted race barns with 15 expanded stalls total, board fenced paddocks, grooms’ apartment, dressage arena with mirror. Call Courtney Conger $1, 425,000
TIMSHEL
GOPHER
Beautiful wooded, lightly rolling lot with easy access to Aiken, Edgefield and I-20. This 12+ acre lot backs up to Wolf Creek, providing a cool sanctuary during the hot summer months. Timshel Gardens is an equestrian subdivision about a mile from Stable View horse show and eventing facility. Riding rings and trails are underway. The 12.06 acre parcel is available for only $5,000 per acre!
Located in an equestrian area near Windsor is this partially developed horse property including over 20 acres with 2 board fenced fields, run in shed and unfinished barn with four stalls. There are 2 wells and 4 septic systems in place. Gopher Tortoise Preserve is located across the street and also adjacent to the property and offers miles of protected riding trails. OFFERED AT $130,000
Call COURTNEY CONGER
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top farm. Privacy abounds with large mature trees surrounding the entire property. Five large fenced pastures, 4 fenced paddocks, 6 stall shed row barn with hay storage/tractor shed, 6 stall center aisle barn and 2 acre pond are centered by the main residence with large entertaining areas, 2 bedroom suites downstairs and 3 bedrooms up. Attached 6-bay garage with apartment above. Entertain on large deck overlooking sparkling pool. Call Randy Wolcott $760,000
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Sandhurst Estate Beautifully restored Winter Colony residence has 8 bedrooms, 9 full baths, 2 half baths, and 10 fireplaces on 3 finished levels. Encompassing over 10,000 square feet, Sandhurst features soaring ceilings, elegant wainscoting and millwork, original heart of pine floors, and magnificent architectural details. Includes stunning pool, landscaped gardens, and 5 stall barn. Set on just over 5 acres adjacent to Hopelands Gardens, there is a private deeded riding easement to Hitchcock Woods. Call Thomas Bossard $2, 495,000
Farm
Horse District . Ranch house on large lot not far
from Aiken Training Track and Bruce's Field! Large sunroom with built in bench seating and beverage station, covered rear patio and private garden off of the owner's suite, which has split bath and dressing area with lots of room for clothing. Second bedroom and hall bath open to great room space with fireplace and a flex-space opens to kitchen and sunroom. Kitchen has large eat-in area and office area, and laundry nearby with access to outdoor storage space and carport. Call Jane Page Thompson $349,900
The Aiken Horse
Call COURTNEY CONGER or RANDY WOLCOTT
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Three Runs Plantation Beautiful NEW Wolf Construction home on a great lot in Phase 7 has 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths on main floor, with bedroom/bonus room and full bath upstairs. Property has 5.2 acres and 2-bay garage. Flooring throughout entire house is either oak hardwood, ceramic tile or carpet in bedrooms. Natural gas and hi-speed fiber optic internet available. Miles of groomed trails, schooling areas, dressage ring, pool, clubhouse and fitness center. CallJack Roth $579,000
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THREE RUNS
Plantation
Wadmalaw Island Equestrian . This Charleston equestrian property offers proximity, privacy and possibilities! Renovated main residence has 5 bedrooms (2 master suites!), 3.5 baths, huge walk-in closets with built-ins, home office and gym. Property includes nearly 17 acres, with 15 acres of fenced pasture and riding arena. Large 8-stall barn with kitchen, bath, laundry, wash area and detached tack room. The 4-stall barn has hay loft & storage. Call Jack Roth $1,150,000
Flowing Wells . Two contiguous parcels offered in estab-
lished horse community! Gorgeous pasture land with magnificent views has 43.37 acres of Bermuda grass plus a 6-acre pond is offered at $433,700. Wooded 24.5-acre parcel has new storage building with office that could be converted to barn with apartment, offered at $166,600. Combine both parcels for a wonderful equestrian business or sporting facility. Call Alex Tyrteos
Exceptional equestrian lots on private cul-de-sac within Aiken’s most established equestrian community! Amenities include clubhouse, pool & cabana, jump ring, 2 dressage arenas, sschooling rings, fitness center and miles of groomed trails. Four adjoining lots available at
Steeplechase Cottage . Beautiful 3-acre parcel in Aiken's Horse
$23,900 per acre
District has magnificent views of the steeplechase track and horse show grounds. The 3458 square foot main residence has open floor plan that includes 4 bedrooms and 3 full baths. Kitchen boasts top of the line appliances, and gracious screened porch overlooks salt water pool. Charming guest house has 2 bedrooms and 2 baths. Call Thomas Bossard $1,599,000
Vale Estates . Custom built home on over 5.5 acres with 4174 square feet in
the main house plus a pool house with an additional 800 square feet and a full bath. The main house features vaulted ceilings, arched doorways, granite countertops, columns, hardwood floors, screened porch, loft office, covered poolside porch, fenced dog yard, laundry, great room with fireplace. Property includes attached 3 car garage plus detached 2 car garage with unfinished loft which easily converts to run-in shed for horses. Call Jane Page Thompson $649,900
Call JACK ROTH
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Light By Night Farm Exceptional homes for you and your horses at this 11.54 acre farm in Three Runs Plantation, Aiken’s premier equestrian community. Spacious & open 3-bedroom, 2-bath home features split bedroom floor plan, lovely screened porch off master. For horses, there is a center aisle barn with 4 stalls, tack room, bath & shower, and separate laundry. Attached garage is ideal for adding stalls or storage for tractors, trailer, and equipment. Call Jack Roth $735,000
OLD TORY TRAIL
CHARLESTON
11.68 acres of established grass with some fencing make for a blank slate in laying out your new farm in Aiken. Located in the heart of Aiken's Equine Corridor, this pretty parcel offers a lot of potential!
Grassed and level 22.65 acres perfect for multi-use equestrian facility in the heart of horse country. Large fenced paddock, runin sheds, and several wonderful home and barn sites.
Highway
Acreage
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The Polo Club Location, Location, Location! "The Polo Club" is an early century charmer, which was originally built as a clubhouse for Whitney Polo Field. Directly across from Aiken's Training Track in Historic Horse District, the property has easy access to downtown Aiken and south side shopping. Enjoy the wraparound porch with picturesque views. Keep cozy in front of the 5 fireplaces. Beautiful hardwood floors and original details enhance this historic property that also boasts ample paddock space. Call Mike Hosang or Brian Cavanaugh $785,000
$154,000
Call JANE PAGE THOMPSON
Tinker Creek . Wonderful 349-acre recreational tract
with 2 excellent ponds from two different water sources. Improvements include large barn currently configured with 4 stalls, tack room, hound kennels and storage. Also there is a manufactured home serving as a caretaker's or hunting cabin. This multi-purpose property has some managed, thinned timber and open areas, and is well set-up for hunting and fishing. Call Mike Hosang or Brian Cavanaugh $895,000
$175,000
Call MIKE HOSANG or BRIAN CAVANAUGH
NEW BRIDGE
Polo Club
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Rainbow Ridge Farm Adorable 6.5 acre farm lovingly improved by its owner, a rated local builder. Attractive 2-story cottage has 2 bedrooms, 2 full baths, open floor plan with main level master. Gourmet kitchen with granite counters and stainless steel appliances. Antique barnwood floors, rear porch overlooking 4 newly fenced paddocks with irrigation, 2 run-in sheds, and RV/machinery storage shed, which could easily convert to a 4-stall barn. Adjacent to trails in Windsor horse country! Call Alex Tyrteos $265,000
Large lot (8.71 acres) complete with fencing, well & septic across from endline of Field 2. World class polo community with polo fields, clubhouse, tennis & swimming pool.
Nearby Farm . Comfortable home with 3 bedrooms and 3 full baths near Stable View and other equestrian venues. The 32 acre farm offers fenced paddocks with pasture for turn-out, and new multi-purpose building for workshop, garage, barn or storage. Excellent location convenient to both Aiken and Augusta. Call Mike Hosang or Brian Cavanaugh $397,000
Pearl Bonnet . This 4 bedroom, 2 bath
manufactured home on brick crawlspace foundation would make the perfect starter home! Island kitchen includes range, refrigerator, dishwasher, washer & dryer. Located on over 2 acres, the property is approximately 16 miles from downtown Aiken — close enough for convenience, yet far enough for secluded country living! Call Donnita Harmon $124,900
$99,900 Call MIKE HOSANG
NEW BRIDGE
TALATHA
Exquisite 11.35 acre building site in a prime location at New Bridge Polo Club. Direct access to polo fields, clubhouse, tennis and swimming pool. Complete with plenty of fencing and 3HP well!
Planning your ideal Aiken horse farm? Here’s 2.5 wooded acres in south side equestrian community just minutes to shopping and dining!
Farms
Polo Club
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Lakeview Farm Stately gated entrance leads you into Lakeview Farm. This sportsman's retreat includes approximately 77 gently rolling acres mostly in grass, an 11 acre fishing/skiing lake with a country cabin set right on the shoreline. 2 bedroom, 1 bath cabin boasts a full length porch overlooking lake, large, open kitchen, family room with fireplace. Large, separate den with fireplace. Unique property n popular Highway 302 equestrian corridor lends itself to a variety of uses such as equestrian, recreational and farming. Call Mike Hosang $735,000
$185,000
Call JACK ROTH
Courtney Conger
Randy Wolcott
Suzan McHugh
Thomas Bossard Brian Cavanaugh Jane Page Thompson Donnita Harmon
803.645.3308
803.292.8525
.
803.507.1142
803.640.2845
Lee Hedlund
.
Three Runs Plantation Beautiful New Donnie Shaffer Construction home on a great 6.51 acre lot in Phase 6 in Three Runs Plantation! Exceptional floor plan features 3 bedrooms and 2 baths on main floor, bedroom/bonus room & full bath upstairs. Flooring throughout is either reclaimed pine wood, ceramic tile or carpet in bedrooms. Three Runs amenities include clubhouse, pool & cabana, fitness center, riding rings and miles of groomed riding trails. CallJack Roth $599,000
803.221.6831 803.624.6072
Mike Hosang
803.270.6358 803.215.8232
Frank Starcher
803.270.6623 803.508.1936
.
Jack Roth
JANE PAGE THOMPSON
$46,000
Alex Tyrteos
803.341.8787
203.249.3071
Barb Uskup
Melissa Major
803.295.3199 Broker In Charge
.648.8660
www CarolinaHorseProperties com . 803
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Historic Home in iconic Horse district locale
singular ProPerty on 8.64 acres w/ Views across aiken training track, & aiken Horse Park. comPletely renoVated Historic Home, guest House w/two 2 Br/full BatH suites, Heated saltwater gunite Pool. 8-stall center-aisle Barn w/tack & feed rooms; 4 fenced Paddocks & more 6 Bedrooms | 4 1/2 BatHs | 8.64 acres | mls 108232 | $2,900,000
Big tree farm | estaBlisHed Pastures & Polo field
summerfield | 74 acre eQuestrian estate w/coVered arena easy access to BotH aiken, sc & augusta, ga, tHis 74+ acre estate Has it all! well-aPPointed 4 Bedroom, 4,761 sf Home Has stunning Pastoral & Pond Views. 9-stall staBle; tack room w/ full kitcHen & BatH; ligHted & irrigated coVered arena; Hay & eQuiPment Building w/ studio aPartment. offered for $1,990,000
115 Burkelo road | 20+ acres in aiken Horse country
58+ acre farm features central & oPen liVing Quarters w/2 Br, 2 BatHs & seParate office. 15-stall center-aisle Barn, tack & feed rooms. 3+ car garage/sHoP & Hay/eQuiPment Building. oPPortunity for training oPeration! mls 107147 | $795,000
Beautifully designed 3 Bedroom, 3 ½ BatH Home w/stunning Views, great room, gorgeous kitcHen & PorcH ideal for entertaining. Perimeter fencing, 3-Bay worksHoP & seParate Barn structure ready to adaPt to your needs mls 106081 | now $689,990
48+ acre farm witH 2 Homes & Barn
11.41 acres on lewis lane | 12-stall Barn w/liVing Quarters
gorgeous land w/Hayfields offers PriVate HaVen for you, & your Horses. fenced Pastures & amazing Views! 3 Br, 2 Ba modular Home; 3 Br, 2 Ba moBile Home, HoBBy Building; 7-stall center-aisle Barn; fenced Pastures w/run-ins & leVel ground for JumP fields. mls 105961 | now $529,000
old diBBle road / lewis lane land offerings HigH flat farm - 11 acres fenced $227,000 Birds eye View - 6 acres on Pond $127,000 trail system around 200 acres; gorgeous liVe oaks additional land aVailaBle - call for details!
excePtional 11-stall sHow Barn witH irrigated arena
Bring your Blue riBBons Home to tHis suPerB farm featuring 250’ x 175’ irrigated arena w/martin collins footing & derBy field w/Bank JumP on 22 acres in 302 Horse country. central liVing Quarters in a classic courtyard staBle design & 9 Pastures. additional 72’ x 36’ Building w/14’ oVerHangs. mls 108365 | $1,095,000
englisH tudor-insPired wide center aisle Barn witH wasH stall, feed room, tack room & 1/2 BatH. 3 Bedroom, 2 BatH 1800 sf of liVing sPace aBoVe w/loVely Pastoral Views. additional 12 acres aVailaBle. Quiet serene location witH deeded lewis lane association trails! mls 106684 | $679,000
HatcHaway House & Barn on 18 acres
soutHern Historic 3 Bedroom, 2 BatH Home witH douBle PorcHes loVely Pond witH fountain, 2-car detacHed garage, 4-stall Barn fenced Paddock witH run-in, Hay/eQuiPment sHed & estaBlisHed Hay field on langdon road. mls 105274 | $495,000
suPerB 90+ farm for Horses & outdoormen
one of tHe Prettiest farms in aiken witH access to 142+ acres of conserVancy land; farm is suitaBle for all disciPlines! 8-stall courtyard style staBle; gorgeous Hay fields, Pasture w/run-ins, trails; Pool, Pond & 3 Br, 2 ½ Ba manager’s Home. mls 103495 | now $1,610,000
11 acres cleared in desiraBle HoPeland farms
cardinal Hill at 461 imPlement road witH well-designed one-leVel 3 Br, 2½ Ba oPen Home. 11 acres cleared ready for fencing & Barn to suit. Paddock w/run-in in Place. ideal for BotH full-time & seasonal residents. easy Haul to HitcHcock woods & training Venues. mls 108182 | $509,900
Prime 5+ acre lots on redds BrancH road
lot 1 - leVel & mostly oPen Pasture - $104,000; lot 2 - accented w/maJestic liVe oaks - $104,000; lot 3 - HigH knoll w/sweePing View - $109,000; lot 4 - cleared meadow witH forested Buffer - $93,000. call for details. close to downtown aiken, HigHfields & easy driVe to HitcHcock woods!
Cissie Sullivan
Tracey Turner
David Miller
803-998-0198 | SullivanTurnerTeam.com August-September 2019
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Aiken Summer Classic: Bruce’s F
Field at the Aiken Horse Park
Photography by Pam Gleason and Gary Knoll
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Deirdre Stoker Vaillancourt, REALTOR®
803.640.4591
Aiken, South Carolina — Southern Charm and Equestrian Sport
937 COLBERT BRIDGE MAPLE HILL SOUTH — MLS #106352
Welcome to one of Aiken’s most complete sport horse training facility, on 65.67 acres. There is full size covered arena with the finest fiber footing available by Attwood Surfaces. 8 stall center aisle barn & attached designer built 2 bdrm 2bth, 2076 sqft owner residence is constructed with top quality materials. Maple Hill South was built in 2009 for a Canadian Olympian event rider who chose this specific south-side location for its privacy, terrain, and proximity to Aiken’s multiple eventing facilities.
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The 2019 Fall Season Horse Lovers’ Highlights By Pam Gleason
A
iken’s summer activities have been getting more plentiful in recent years, but the real action here starts closer to Labor Day, when Aiken’s seasonal riders start filtering back to town. Following the trend of the past few years, the fall and winter calendar has some additional high profile competitive events, sure to bring in more horsemen and to entertain our dedicated population of equestrian spectators. What is on tap for this fall? Here are a few of the highlights. Check out our calendar in Section Three for detailed information and a more complete list of Aiken’s horse happenings.
Hunter/Jumper
We haven’t had much of a summer break in recognized horse shows this year. With the relocation of the Classic Company shows to Bruce’s Field at the Aiken Horse Park our recognized show season now stretches to
The Southeast Regional Final is probably the first championship of its kind for C rated shows. With the broadening of the horse show base and more people interested in showing at this level, it may inspire other, similar shows in the future. Progressive Show Jumping is also running a full calendar of local and schooling shows this fall, including their PSJ Finals, which have been moved to the third week of November from their traditional date earlier in the month. Nationally rated shows return to Highfields after the first of the year, and there will be two weeks of USEF shows there every month from January until April. After the Aiken Spring Classics are over April 28, USEF action moves back to Bruce’s Field for the Aiken Charity Horse Shows, followed by the return of the Aiken Summer Classic. Cathy points out that this creates seven solid months of rated horse shows in Aiken. “If you are a young professional looking for a new area, this makes Aiken very attractive,” she says. “Aiken is populated with horse shows and it is centrally located, so you don’t have to drive very far if you want to show in Atlanta or in Tryon.”
Polo
Ten years ago, polo in Aiken was in a “high goal” phase, and our fall season was chock full of marquee tournaments attracting some of the best players and teams in the country, and the world. We had the USPA Gold Cup 26-goal, the 20-Goal Silver Cup and Monty Waterbury Cup, and so on. Over the years, those high goal contests gave way to lowergoal polo on a more local (and affordable) level. We have now entered a new phase of polo in Aiken: a youth phase.
the end of June. That gives points-chasers just July and August to travel before coming back to Aiken for the fall. Aiken’s USEF season starts up again with two weeks of the Aiken Fall Festival at Bruce’s Field. These two shows, put on by Equus Events, run September 5-8 and September 12-15 and feature a full range of hunter and jumper classes, including Grand Prix and hunter derbies. The second week of the show includes the United States Hunter Jumper Association Children’s and Adult Amateur Hunter Championships, as well as the South Carolina Hunter Jumper Association Governor’s Cup equitation final for junior riders. The USHJA Hunter Championships, which are held in various zones around the country, offer both individual and team competitions, and entrants must qualify for the finals at shows between April last year and July 13 this year. Equus Events returns to the horse park with another show in December. Horse show season is never over at Highfields Event Center, where Progressive Show Jumping puts on a range of schooling, locally recognized and nationally recognized shows all year long. This fall, they have an exciting new offering, the inaugural Southeast Regional Championship Horse Show, to be held October 12-13. The top 15 horses in each “C” circuit in Georgia and North and South Carolina will be invited to compete. “Now that the C rated shows are getting so popular, we thought it would be a good idea to bring an indoor-type final to the Southeast,” says Cathy Cram, who runs PSJ Shows with her husband Rick. “So our initial plan is to invite the top horses in each division of our state associations to see who is the best of the best. Our vision is to reward those that don’t necessarily get to compete on a national basis.”
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The success of Tiger and Susie Kneece’s Aiken Junior Polo program (run under the auspices of Aiken Polo Club) and the establishment of successful middle school, interscholastic, and intercollegiate polo teams here (using the arena at the New Bridge Polo Club) have really put Aiken on the map for young players. This fall, Aiken gets another youth polo boost: the finals of the National Youth Tournament Series (NYTS) will be played at New Bridge Polo Club over Labor Day weekend (September 5-9). The National Youth Tournament Series has qualifiers all over the country – we have had them in Aiken every year since the tournament’s inception in 2013. In the NYTS format, the country is divided into four zones, each of which holds qualifying tournaments during the season. At every qualifier, judges select between four and nine “All Stars” (depending on the number of teams entered) who then become eligible to represent their zone in the finals. As the summer draws to a close, a committee selects a team composed of players from each zone who have been named All Stars in any qualifying tournament. To be eligible for the NYTS, players must not have reached their 19th birthday on January 1 of this year, and they must hold a handicap of at least a B (-1). The arrival of the NYTS final means that some of the best young players in the country will be here to compete for the United States Polo
August-September 2019
Association’s top youth prize. Action starts with practices on Thursday, followed by preliminary games Friday and finals Sunday. There will be four “open” teams with an upper handicap limit of 4 goals, and two girls’ teams, each vying for the national title. The final NYTS qualifiers are finishing up in August and the players that will compete won’t be selected until later in the month. According to Amanda Snow, who is the NYTS program director, the quality of polo in the NYTS tournaments has been rising steadily. Not only are the young people really enjoying the chance to play with one another, network and make friends, they are all very skilled, and they put on a good show. “People should know that the finals will be a really good game to watch,” she says. “Everyone should come out for it.” Other polo action this fall includes the return of the Aiken Women’s Tournament to Aiken Polo Club (October 8-13) and the popular “12 goal Trifecta” at New Bridge, featuring three hotly contested 12 goal tournaments, starting with the Northrup Knox Cup (September 20-29) then the National Copper Cup (October 4-20) and the Bronze Trophy (October 25-November 3.) There are also lower level tournaments at New Bridge Polo this fall, and two tournaments put on by Wagener Polo Club. Finally, there are two major charity matches this fall. One is the
scheduled to start on September 5, while Tiger Kneece says Aiken Polo practices will probably ramp up a little earlier – after all, he is hoping some of the players from his youth program will be selected for the NYTS finals, and they would probably be happy to have a few games before finals weekend. Find out more about polo, including the dates of all the tournaments, on the respective websites: aikenpolo.org, newbridgepolo.com; wagenerpolo.com.
Eventing
Aiken’s eventers are pumped about our local riders’ gold medal performance at the Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru. Those who can’t wait to see some of them back in Aiken will have their chance September 27-29 when the Oktoberfest FEI and National Horse Trials comes to Stable View. With horse trial levels ranging from Novice to Training, and FEI CCI levels from one to four stars (four stars is the second highest level offered under the 2019 rules, not the highest), this is going to be a spectacular event, showcasing horses and riders that are confirmed at the international level. Boyd Martin, winner of the individual as well as the team gold in Lima, is planning to ride. He will also be conducting a course walk you need to sign up for this in advance. Boyd’s course walks are always entertaining, educational and popular. No wonder: you get to hear exactly how Boyd plans to approach the imposing four-star obstacles that will be in place on Stable View’s beautifully maintained cross country course. For spectators, admission to the event itself is free. This is an excellent opportunity to see some world class horses, and also to take a look at all the improvements at Stable View, including the beautiful new pavilion. The event also includes a mini vendor village, children’s activities and an Aiken Horsepower Car Show. (stableviewfarm.com) There are many other horse trials and schooling events going on this fall and winter, too. At Stable View, there will be one “eventing academy” schooling day and practice horse trial each month from October through December, an excellent way to get greener horses and riders out eventing. There are also several recognized and unrecognized horse trials at Full Gallop, and a USEF/USEA horse trial at Paradise Farm on October 13. Jumping Branch Farm will have its schooling event on November 16. There is even a schooling horse trial at The Vista on October 5. The Vista started out as a dedicated schooling facility, but has recently added a number of competitions to its schedule, which have been very well received. (www.fullgallopfarm.com; www.schoolthevista.com; www.paradisefarmaiken.com; www.jbfarm.com)
Other Events
Fourth Annual Chukkers of Hope, which will be played at New Bridge on Friday, October 4 to benefit St. Jude’s Research Hospital and the Child Advocacy Center of Aiken. This event, which begins at 5:30, includes a polo match followed by cocktails, dinner and a silent auction. (Chukkersofhope.com) The other is the Third Annual Augusta Polo Cup, held November 10 at the Daniel Field Airport in Augusta. This match benefits the BRCA Foundation and Camp Sweet Escape, charities that respectively support women with breast cancer and children with diabetes. (AugustaPoloCup.com) In addition, there will of course be weekly Sunday games on Aiken Polo Club’s Whitney Field, including five additional tournaments (two 4-goals, two 6-goals and a 2-goal.) The opening game on September 15 will be a match game in the Alan Corey Memorial 4-goal. (Games start at 3 p.m.) Players can expect to start practicing at the clubs as soon as there are enough players ready to go. Billy Raab’s popular Wagener practices are
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Other not-to-miss equestrian events this fall include the Aiken Fall Steeplechase (October 26: aikensteeplechase.org) held at Bruce’s Field. The Katydid Combined Driving event comes to Windsor October 31-November 3, bringing driving competitors from around the region. Dressage riders and enthusiasts should not miss the monthly recognized dressage shows at Stable View, which also has monthly hunter shows. Following last year’s success, Great Oak Therapeutic riding center is organizing another charity barn tour at Three Runs Plantation. The date is October 12, and you can even rent an electric bike from our local Pedego distributorship if you’d rather not go barn-to-barn in your car. Meanwhile, Aiken’s active community of foxhunters is getting ready for the winter season. For instance, some members of the Aiken Hounds started prepping their horses this July with twice-weekly hound walks in the Hitchcock Woods – that will go on until September, when the hounds go off for more serious training with the staff. At that point, riders can opt to keep legging up their horses with organized Saturday morning trail rides, all of which leads to cubbing season in October and then the formal season that starts in November. Interested in joining in? For more information and details, follow them on Facebook or call the Aiken Hounds hotline: 803-643-DRAG (3724).
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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 recently a spectator at a USEF Dressage show. I enjoyed watching all the rides but I saw so many different outfits. I always thought dressage meant a black coat and white pants. At this show I saw many people not wearing a coat; someone was in a military uniform; there was a rider in a vest; there was someone with grey boots, and I saw lots of sparkly accents on everything from bridles to gloves and helmets. I though dressage dress was supposed to be traditional and conservative, but I guess not! I was wondering how you know what is acceptable.
Surprised by Variety Dear Surprised, I am so glad you are enjoying watching the dressage shows. It is nice to have interested spectators. I would be happy to help you learn more about the dress codes. Times have definitely changed when it comes to what is acceptable. Riders now can put a personal touch on their competition attire, within certain parameters, depending on the rating of the show and in what class and at what levels they are competing. The rules for what you are permitted to wear can be found in the USEF 2019 rulebook under DR120 Dress. Let’s look at what kind of turnout is acceptable.
1. National Level Show with dressage tests and classes Fourth level and below.
A short riding coat. This may also be a cutaway coat, which is like a modified tailcoat, with no tails. The color should be a solid conservative color, but riders are no longer required to be in solid black. Popular colors are navy, brown, grey and burgundy. Contrast coloring and piping as well as tasteful accents on the collars and pockets are also acceptable as are tasteful crystal accents (“bling”), which are popular and permitted. A tie, a choker, a stock tie and/or an integrated standup collar is mandatory unless coats are waived. There is no ruling about the coloring or style of the rider’s shirt since it will covered by his or her jacket and neckwear (unless jackets are waived.) White or light-colored breeches or jodhpurs are permitted. White still seems to be the most popular color, but cream is also very common. Belts: there is no ruling about wearing a belt. It is always optional. Gloves of conservative color are recommended, but not mandatory to wear. White, which is the traditional color, is the most popular. Other popular colors include black, and colors that match the jacket. Boots or jodhpur boots are permitted. Half chaps, gators and leggings are not allowed. There is an exception: if you ride First Level and below, you may wear half chaps, gators or leggings, but they must be in solid black or brown, without a fringe and matching the color of the boots. They must be smooth leather or leather-like material. Boots today are allowed to have detail. You are even allowed to wear colored boots.
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Popular boot colors are similar to popular jacket colors: navy, brown, grey or burgundy. Many riders have their boots in the same color as their jackets. Boots can even have interesting patterns and designs, especially on the boots’ “toppers” or cuffs, which may also be in a contrasting or complementary color. Patent leather is currently very popular. Boots can have visible or hidden zippers. Field boots (with laces at the footbed) are also acceptable. Protective headgear is mandatory. The helmet must fit securely and the strap under your chin must be taut. A loose-fitting helmet could lead to elimination. Today, helmets may also be in various colors and be decorated with bling.
2. National Level Show with dressage tests and classes above Fourth level (FEI classes)
A dark tailcoat. Riders may also wear a dark short jacket. The color options are the same as for Fourth Level and below: navy, brown, black, and so on. Stock tie, tie, or integrated stand-up color is required. These can be the same color as the coat. There is no ruling about the coloring or style of the shirt since it will covered by the jacket and neckwear (unless jackets are waived.) White or light-colored breeches are acceptable. Jodhpurs are not permitted. Belts: there is no ruling about wearing a belt. It is always optional. Gloves are a must. White is the most popular color, but they can be the same color as the coat. Boots should be a black riding boot or they can be the same color as the coat. Contrasting cuffs, decorations and zippers are also permitted. Protective headgear is mandatory.
3. Exceptions
A. Current or retired members of the Armed Forces or a police unit may ride in the dress uniform of their service. In extreme heat, they may wear their summer uniform. Protective headgear is mandatory. B. In case of extreme heat, jackets may be waived. In this case, it is up to the rider whether to wear a jacket or not. If you choose not to wear a jacket, the following rules apply: Riders must wear a shirt with sleeves, (long or short) and with a collar (no t-shirts.) There is no specific color for the shirt, only that it should not have decorations, except modest piping and color accents. Conservative is best. C. Cooling vests or lightweight vests may be worn under or over a riding shirt. The vest should be of a solid color. Vests are common when jackets are waived. Judges like to see neat and well-turned out riders, because it gives the impression that they are prepared to do their best. It is a pleasure to see riders who have taken care of all the details, and maybe even expressed their own taste and style in their outfits. But in the end, it is not the clothing or the turnout that will get a score. It is all about how the horse performs. Thank you for being so observant. Please come back and watch again. The riders appreciate your support.
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News & Notes, from Page 10 for $20,000 at the Keeneland September sale in 2017. She then came to Aiken where she had her first lessons in being a racehorse at Cary Frommer’s barn at the Aiken Training Track. Justin Wojczynski, at the time an assistant to Cary Frommer, consigned her to the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale the following May, where she was purchased for $61,000. She has won all of her races this year in commanding style. Her only loss came last year at the Breeder’s Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. Concrete Rose is conditioned by Rusty Arnold for Ashbrook Farm. Henley’s Joy is another contender to be the Aiken Trained Horse of the Year. Henley’s Joy won the $1 million Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes at Belmont Park in July. The 3-year-old colt is also a graduate of Cary Frommer’s Aiken stable. He was purchased at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic yearling sale for $20,000 and sold for $50,000 at the Ocala Breeders Sale of 2-year-olds in Training. Henley’s Joy (Kitten’s Joy out of Bluegrass Music by Bluegrass Cat) has won four of his 12 lifetime starts and earned just shy of $1 million. He is trained by Michael Maker for his owner, Bloom Racing Stable.
Gus Schickedanz
Gus Schickedanz, who was one of Aiken’s most prominent racehorse owners and breeders, died this June at the age of 90 at his home, Schonberg Farm, near Toronto.
Schickedanz owned one of the top Thoroughbred operations in Canada. The most famous horses he bred and raced included Wando, who won the Canadian Triple Crown and was named Horse of the Year in 2003, as well as his sire Langfuhr, a multiple graded stakes winner, who was the linchpin of the Schickedanz breeding program. Schickedanz was born in East Prussia, where his family owned a 300acre farm that bred Trakehners. His family fled the farm at he approach of the Russian army during World War II. In 1950, Gus left war-torn Germany, emigrating to Canada: he recounted that he arrived at 21 with just the clothes on his back, a toothbrush, and $3. Together with his two brothers and a cousin who landed in Canada the following year, he developed a successful construction business. Eventually, Gus started Schonberg Farm where be bred both Thoroughbreds and Trakehners, along with the occasional Standardbred. Dr. John Pilley, Chaser, Sally Pilley at home in Spartanburg Gus and his wife Ann also owned Longleaf Plantation, a 1,600 acre farm was an international bestseller. outside of Aiken and they would spend each Dr. Pilley died last June at the age of 89. winter here. His horses were conditioned at Chaser continued to be cared for by Dr. the Aiken Training Track by Mike Keogh, Pilley’s wife Sally and daughter Robin as and he was a familiar presence at the Aiken well as another daughter, Pilley Bianchi, Trials where he came to watch the who lives in New York. Chaser, who was 15, young horses run each spring. In was generally healthy and died of natural addition to racehorses, he also had causes. She will be memorialized outside the driving horses and foxhunters. A Children’s Museum in Spartanburg with a former Master of Foxhounds in bronze statue, and a portion of the street Canada, he went out with several near the museum will be renamed Chaser Aiken area hunts for many years. the Border Collie Boulevard in her honor. He leaves his wife, four children, This project is sponsored by the Hub City ten grandchildren and two great Animal Project, an organization dedicated grandchildren. to helping homeless dogs. Pilley Bianchi is in
Dog News
The dog world in South Carolina lost some of its best friends this summer. South Carolina’s most famous dog, the brilliant Chaser the Border Collie, known as the smartest dog in the world, died on July 23 at her home in Spartanburg. Chaser, who knew the names for over 1,000 objects, had the largest vocabulary of any non-human animal ever tested. She was owned by John Pilley, Professor Emeritus at Wofford College, who documented her remarkable language skills in several scientific papers that were published in peer reviewed journals. Chaser became a worldwide celebrity, appearing in international news stories in print and on television. Dr. Pilley’s book Chaser: Unlocking the Genius of the Dog Who Knows 1,000 Words
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the process of completing a book about the methods that her father used to train Chaser, hoping to spread the concept of using play as the best way to train and interact with dogs. On the Aiken dog scene, Suzan McHugh wrote to tell us that her Jack Russell Terrier Rooster died this summer. Rooster, a former obedience star with a pet therapy certificate, went from being a barn dog to a city dog with ease. He was the unofficial greeter at Equine Divine, a boutique on Laurens Street downtown for the five years that Suzan worked there, and he became the mascot at Carolina Company’s downtown real estate offices where he and Suzan worked for seven years. He had a devoted following in Aiken, and friends and strangers alike spoiled him with treats and toys. “He was the most loyal and tremendously devoted dog I have ever had,” wrote Suzan. Rooster died the day after his 16th birthday, on July 1.
August-September 2019
Aiken Real Estate
Hot Market; Steady Prices By Pam Gleason
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iken’s equestrian real estate professionals are in agreement: the market for equestrian properties in Aiken is strong and getting stronger. Sales are up across the board, the length of time that properties are on the market is down, and at some price points, there are more buyers than inventory. Strangely, however, although sellers are getting a higher percentage of their asking price than they were last year, prices themselves have remained relatively steady. “It doesn’t make sense,” says Suzy Haslup, an accredited land consultant who specializes in selling equestrian properties from the Meybohm real estate office downtown. “If you have more demand than you have properties, the prices are supposed to go up. But they haven’t yet.” Suzy says that horse farms under $500,000 are selling briskly, and she has several buyers ready to pull the trigger on a farm in the $350,000 range. “If you have one of those that you want to sell, it will go right away.” “My gut instinct is that we are starting to move up,” says Deirdre
have had one sell for 110% of its asking price.” Does all of this mean that we have moved from a buyers’ to a sellers’ market? The experts say not yet. “There is still a lot of value to be had in Aiken,” says Deirdre Vaillancourt. “People who want to sell their properties have to be very realistic about the price. We haven’t had any big run-ups the way we did here in 2003 through 2008.” One thing that is certain is that, if you can afford to pay the higher prices, Aiken does have some spectacular horse properties for sale, including luxury estates in the historic horse district downtown and one-of-a-kind working farms with turn-key income potential. For instance, there is “The Balcony,” one of the grandest of the historic old Winter Colony estates, which includes seven bedroom suites, elegant formal rooms, a large barn, and landscaped gardens, all on lovely, walled grounds a short walk from downtown. The price, $2.45 million, is high for Aiken, but a comparable estate somewhere else would be several times higher. The Balcony is listed by David Stinson at Meybohm. Out in the 302 equestrian corridor, a professional horseman could buy his or her choice of two beautifully designed and manicured eventing facilities, Paradise Farm
The Balcony: Gracious downtown living in a grand, 1920s estate. Vaillancourt, who is also with Meybohm. “We’re selling properties at higher prices, which is partially because we have already sold the ones that are under that benchmark figure of $500,000. But the market has an ever-replenishing inventory. If you hit the cycle wrong, then you may look and think that there is nothing out there in the under-$500,000 range. Right now we are having to search for properties for clients, and they may not be able to find a property at their price. But that will change – someone will see that their neighbor has sold his farm for $360,000 and then they might put their farm on the market too.” Melissa Major, who is the broker in charge at Carolina Company and the president of the Aiken Board of Realtors® says that the market statistics do indicate that the Aiken equestrian market is healthy. She says that this year, there have been 111 equestrian properties sold so far from the Aiken Multiple Listing Service, while there are currently 99 equestrian properties that are on the market or under contract. “The best indicator that our market is healthy is that, for farms that have a house and a barn, the average selling price is way up,” she says. “The average selling price is $527,841, where the median is $367,000. Any time you have that big a gap between the average and the median, it means that you are selling the higher priced properties, and that it’s not just a fluke that one or two of them have sold. Another indicator is that our average ‘days on the market’ has gone down, from being in the 200s last year to 174 now. Finally, sellers are getting a higher percentage of their asking price. Last year, sellers of equestrian properties got an average of 90% of their asking price: today it is 96%. It used to be unheard of for sellers to get 100%, but several have sold for that, and we
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Jumping Branch Farm: a turnkey professional eventing facility ready for an energetic new owner. and Jumping Branch Farm. Both of these facilities come with barns, rings and a full cross country course and both have been lovingly maintained by their owners. Both put on regular horse trials and combined events, and Aiken’s eventing community is hoping they will be purchased by someone who wants to uphold that tradition. “It’s perfect, in pristine condition,” says Kathy Hadlock of Sandy Hills Realty, who has the listing for Jumping Branch Farm. “It has just been reduced to $1.65 million, and it comes with everything, including all the equipment for haying the fields. It’s ready to go. It just needs someone who has the means to buy it, and who has the passion and the energy to run a professional facility – although it could certainly be converted to a private farm, too.” Looking to buy? Melissa Major suggests that you always start your search with a “Realtor®” a trademarked term for a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of Realtors®. Realtors® are not the same as “real estate agents” because they are held to a strict code of ethics, which protects both buyer and seller. It is also important to ensure that whichever Realtor® you choose to work with understands the equestrian market – this should not be a problem in Aiken, where many of the top real estate professionals can be found out on a horse any time they are not on the job.
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OCTOBER
12
2019
EQUINE-ASSISTED PROGRAMS
CHARITY BARN TOUR
IN THE AIKEN HISTORIC DISTRICT
Saturday, October 12
12 pm - 4 pm
Buy Tickets Online $25 IN ADVANCE-$30 AT THE DOOR
greatoakatrc.org
Pedego Electric Bikes will be available to rent. Reserve at: www.pedegoelectricbikes.com/ dealers/aiken Antique Boutique at Unbridled Farm by Louise Mellon
2019
NATIONAL YOUTH TOURNAMENT SERIES
nyts
NYTS CHAMPIONSHIP USPA CECIL SMITH CUP NYTS GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP September 6 – 8, 2019
New Bridge Polo Club | Aiken, SC
USPOLO.ORG
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August-September 2019
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Whether you ride for pleasure or competitively, owning a horse is a substantial commitment. The horse people at Lisa Seger Insurance can help you protect the emotional and financial investment you’ve made. Equine, Luxury Home & Auto
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August-September 2019
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ADOPTIONS
VET CARE
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THRIFT STORES
199 Willow Run Road Aiken, SC 29801 August-September 2019
August-September 2019
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ABOUT NEW BRIDGE (visit newbridgepolo.com or call 1-888-4NB-POLO)
Now Available
Offered through New Bridge Realty
Contact Raza Kazmi, 888-4NB-POLO, info@newbridgepolo.com
New Homes Under Construction
Choose your colors and move in! Surrey and Windsor cottages are custom built by Cooper Home & Stable. Design services provided by Cipolla Gallery.
Surrey Cottage: $365,900
Inviting 3 BR, 2.5 BA, with a large front veranda, porch and rear patio. Cottage has 2,118 square feet of heated and cooled living space, plus an attached, oversized 2 car garage.
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Spacious, 3 BR, 2.5 BA, Craftsman’s style home. Single-level floor plan with lots of closet and storage space. Front porch, great room with fireplace and large, private master suite.
Homes for Sale 620 Paloma Lane (resale): 2 BR 2 BA Craftsman’s style cottage located steps from Polo Field #1. Furnishings included. $250,000 The Manor Homes: Two uniquely designed, low maintenance homes located across from the Clubhouse and Field #1. Master suite on main, Marvin windows, oak floors throughout, granite countertops and many other upgrades. $319,500 and $339,500
Homesites
New Bridge is an 860-acre gated equestrian community nestled among rolling pasture lands on New Bridge Road just 15 minutes from downtown Aiken. 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, but also 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.
Custom build a home of your design with the builder of your choice or choose one of the New Bridge style cottages or bungalows available from Cooper Home & Stable. 572 McIntosh Loop: Nicely wooded 1+ acre homesites elevated over Polo Field #3 with view to creek and forest beyond. $65,900 Lauren Circle *just released*: Three 1+ acre homesites in a quiet, serene setting backing up to Clearwater Creek near Polo Field #4. $40,000 per lot.
Horse Friendly Estates Lauren Circle: Three cleared and fenced lots, each with 4-5.45 acres along Polo Field #4. Can be combined or purchased separately. Priced from $128,000$174,400 per lot. Lauren Circle: 5.61 acres cleared and fenced on the west line of Polo Field #4. $165,000 Paloma Lane: 11.28 acres, partially wooded. Ideal for barn, home and still have lots of room for turnout. $159,500
Karna Farm: $550,000 Rare opportunity to own a turnkey polo farm with ride in and out ability through private gate to Polo Field #4. 10.55 manicured acres with spectacular views. Spacious 12-stall barn, 2 BR, 1 BA apartment and outbuildings.
August-September 2019
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AIKEN HORSE 3Runs 012919.qxp_Layout 1 1/31/19 10:47 AM Page 4
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2400 Acres • 30 miles of groomed and marked trails • Competition level jump & dressage arenas • X-Country schooling complex Clubhouse & outdoor pavilion • Pool & cabana • Activity/Fitness Center • Homesites from 5+ acres • Spec homes available or build to suit HOMESITES INDIVIDUALLY PRICED • DEVELOPER FINANCING AVAILABLE Marketed by The Carolina Real Estate Company, Aiken, SC. Plans and prices subject to change without notice. This does not constitute an offer in any state where prohibited by law. No time requirement to begin construction.
Inside 40 42 46 48 52 56
Meghan Benge Upset’s Triumph Secret Lives: Spy Only in America Dressage Competitor Tent PEMF Therapy
Your equine destination for quality and service for the past 40 years 1044 East Pine Log Road, Aiken, SC 29803 | www.aikensaddlery.com | 803 649 6583 38
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Progressive Show Jumping
invites the best of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia to compete in the inaugural Southeast Championship.
Highfields Event Center Aiken, South Carolina
October 12-13, 2019
The top 15 horses in each “C” circuit section from the following associations are eligible to compete: GHJA • NCHJA • PSJ • SCHJA Cutoff for points is September 16, 2019. For more information contact us: (803) 649-3505 psjshows87@gmail.com www.psjshows.com
August-September 2019
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Dressage Ambitions
Meghan Benge to Para Dressage Championships By Pam Gleason
M
eghan Benge’s life is firmly centered on the horse world. Living on a horse farm in Windsor, S.C. with 14 ponies to care for is just the beginning. Her work as a freelance photographer and graphic designer takes her to horse shows and stables around the Aiken area, and her avocation as a competitive dressage rider has sent her to shows and clinics from Maine to Florida and Texas. Meghan, who is 4 feet tall, currently competes as a Grade III rider in para dressage competitions on two of her ponies, and is looking forward to the USEF Para Dressage National Championships to be held this September at the Tryon International Equestrian Center in Mill Springs, North Carolina. Although Meghan has only been in the dressage discipline for about four years, she is no stranger to equestrian competition. Growing up on a farm in Texas, she had ponies from the time she was 6 years old. She did some riding as a child, but when she hit her teen years, she switched to driving, and soon became an accomplished combined driving competitor. She competed pony pairs and singles both nationally and internationally. In 2002, at the age of 18, she was on the U.S. team that captured the bronze medal at the 2002 FEI World Para Equestrian Driving Championships in Greven, Germany. In 2008, she was back in Greven where, driving a borrowed pony, she won the individual gold and the team silver. “All of the driving that I did in the U.S. was at regular shows,” she says. “But through the para driving, I became aware of para dressage, which I didn’t know anything about as a kid. I met some of the people involved in that and they were super supportive and they encouraged me. I felt like it was something I could do.” Meghan had a young Welsh driving pony named Zoey, which she had sent to a trainer to be started under saddle to improve her driven dressage scores. Meanwhile, Meghan herself had made some trips to North Carolina to ride a friend’s pony. When Zoey proved to be excellent under saddle and a superior dressage prospect, Meghan decided to take over the ride herself. Aside from being a pretty mover, 13.2 hand Zoey is also an eye-catching palomino with a beautiful face. By early 2015 the pair were in the show ring, starting out at unrecognized and then recognized shows in Aiken, where they competed in Intro Level A and B. To learn more about para dressage, Meghan hauled Zoey to a Para Equestrian Pipeline clinic in Lyman, Maine in the summer of 2015, where she learned more about the rules and regulations of the discipline. After this clinic, Meghan continued to show and attended dressage clinics in Aiken, as well as in Florida and Texas. She also had a saddle custom made for her by Custom Saddlery in Aiken. This saddle, which arrived in the spring of 2016, has shortened flaps to allow her more contact with her pony’s sides, as well as moveable support blocks to give her an extra measure of security in the saddle. Competitors in the para equestrian disciplines are divided into different classifications, depending on the level “that their impairment affects fundamental activities in each specific sport or discipline,”
August-September 2019
according to the U.S. Para Equestrian Association website. In para driving, there are two classifications, and Meghan was rated Grade II, which is for drivers with the least impairment. In para dressage, there are five different classifications: Grade I for riders with the most impairment and Grade V for riders with the least. There are different dressage tests for each of the grades, and riders are allowed to use different “compensating aids” based on their profile. For para dressage, Meghan is rated Grade III. Dressage tests for this grade include walk and trot movements only, and there are various additional aids that Grade 3 riders are allowed to use, such as the voice (illegal in standard dressage) and a whip in each hand to help reinforce leg aids. By 2017, Meghan and Zoey were competing seriously in FEI para dressage classes around the region. In the winter, they traveled to Wellington, Florida to show. Zoey was doing well, impressing everyone who saw her with her long stride and her athletic ability, but she was still a bit green, and so Meghan decided that she needed a more experienced show pony to help her improve her own riding. Last February, she found Worth The Trip, an imported Dutch riding pony that had been competing with a junior in Training Level eventing. The people Meghan bought him from did not know much about his past, but Meghan says she is sure that the pony had a solid background in dressage. “Trip knows how to do everything, but he won’t do it until I ask him correctly,” says Meghan of her fancy chestnut. “Zoey will always try to do whatever you ask of her. At the bigger shows, she can be a little out of her element, but she is always ready to work.” For the past two and a half years, Meghan has been training with Melissa Vaughn of Vaughn Equestrian, trailering her ponies to town once or twice a week for lessons. Melissa, who considers Meghan an inspiration, is impressed with her horsemanship, as well as her drive, determination and work ethic. “Meghan does a really great job,” she says, noting that she is consistently getting scores in the 70s on her FEI para tests this year. “Her two ponies are very different. Zoey has a lot of power – when you watch Meghan ride her you might not realize how much power she has – where Trip is a little bit the opposite. But riding both of these ponies that are so different has made her a much stronger, more confident rider. She works really hard, and her results reflect that.” What is it about dressage that appeals to Meghan? The ponies obviously come first. “I love all the ponies, of course,” she says. “And I would have horses either way. But I like to have something I am working towards, or I would just pet them and tell them they are pretty. I like seeing how much I can do with them. When I started this, I thought, well maybe I can show. Then, I thought, well maybe I can do a para test. And now I am getting 70s on the para test and I am qualified for the national championships. “Most of what I do is horse related,” she continues. “And through horses I have traveled all over the world and done things I don’t think I would have done otherwise.” And her future ambitions? Meghan just smiles. “I’d like to see how far I can go with it,” she says.
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Upset’s Triumph
The 100th Anniversary of Man o’ War’s Only Defeat By Mike Mullaney. Photos Courtesy of the National Museum of Racing
A
ugust 13, 2019, marks the 100th anniversary of the only race that the legendary Man o’ War ever lost. Man o’ War was 2, and already a superstar. But at the Sanford Stakes at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York, he came in second to another 2-year-old, a horse with the appropriate name Upset. Upset was conditioned by the Hall of Fame trainer Jimmy Rowe, and owned and bred by Harry Payne Whitney, who had a winter home, Joye Cottage, in Aiken. Man o’ War would go on to win the remainder of his races by ever-widening margins, earning himself a win record of 20 in 21 starts, as well as a place on most scholars’ lists as one of the top three Thoroughbreds of all time. Upset, whose record included five wins and seven seconds in 17 starts, is known only for having defeated the great champion.
the skies were threatening with temperatures in the 80s. The first hint that this race would not go according to expectation was the news that Saratoga’s regular starter, Marshall Cassidy, had fallen ill and would be scratched from the day’s program. Replacing him would be Charles Pettingill, a 70-year-old patrol judge and former starter. At the World’s Fair in 1893, Pettingill had gained notoriety for keeping the American Derby field at the post for nearly 90 minutes to allow the rider Edward (known as “Snapper”) Garrison to dismount and fix a supposedly broken saddle girth on his mount, Boundless. For an hour and a half, the rest of the field of 15 circled, pranced and fretted, all while carrying their assigned weights, while Snapper and his valet fiddled with the
Man o’War at Saratoga, 1920
It was a surprise victory, for certain, stunning the estimated crowd of 20,000 at the Spa, as Saratoga is known, that day. Unbeaten after six starts, Man o’ War came into the six-furlong Sanford after a winning streak that included a comfortable score against Upset over the same course and distance in the U.S. Hotel Stakes. In the betting, he was a prohibitive favorite:at 1-2. Though his margins of victory as a 2-year-old were not as great as those he would have at 3, descriptions of his juvenile successes featured words such as “easily” and “under restraint.” Even at 2, he was already being compared to Colin and Sysonby, who were probably the two best horses to have run in the young century. While Man o’ War had wowed the crowds with his stylish performances, Upset had also impressed, earning an atypically generous description in the Daily Racing Form’s official chart of his first race: “Upset, a grand looker, … stood a long drive gamely.” A chestnut like Man o’ War, Upset was distinguished by three white-stockings. Described as a game and consistent runner, he was a good racehorse, who might have been a champion if he had not been born the same year as Man o’ War. When he went to the post in the 1919 Sanford, he was the third favorite at odds of 8-1, behind Man o’ War and Golden Broom, a French-bred stakes winner who went off at 5-2. The remaining four horses in the race were considered thoroughly outclassed. The race was handicapped in a different way, too. Man o’ War and Golden Broom each carried 130 pounds, while Upset and another horse toted just 115. The rest of the field had 112. According to the Daily Racing Form’s chartcaller, that afternoon
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Upset, the giant killer
girth. When the field was finally sent away, Garrison and Boundless tracked their exhausted rivals, then galloped away in the stretch to win in a rout. In those days, the starter’s job was extremely demanding. This was before the electronic starting gate had come into widespread use, and races such as the Sanford required the entrants to line up on the track behind a barrier made of webbing. The starter had to wait until all the horses were lined up evenly, and then pull the barrier to signal the start of the race. Especially when dealing with inexperienced, high-strung 2-year-olds, this could be even more difficult than it sounds. Horses regularly crashed through the barrier, creating false starts, after which the whole process would have to begin again. In the 1919 Sanford, Pettingill took several minutes to get the horses set to his liking, and eventually started the field even though Man o’ War and his jockey, Johnny Loftus, weren’t close to ready – some reports have them turned around and going the other way when the race began. By the time they were finally off and racing, they had spotted the field several lengths and would soon find themselves boxed in on the rail behind the leaders, Upset and Golden Broom. J.L. Dempsey, in his report for Daily Racing Form, wrote: “A groan came from those who placed their faith in Man o’ War, for Loftus had
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been caught napping.” Golden Broom led Upset into the turn while successive bids by Loftus to get through on the rail were rebuffed. Willie Knapp, who rode Upset, knew he would be opening a lane for Loftus and Man o’ War if he attacked Golden Broom too early. “If I’d have given so much as an inch the race would’ve been as good as over, but jockeys don’t ride that way,” Knapp told a Gulfstream Park publicity staffer years later. “I could have breezed past Golden Broom any time I took my feet out of the dashboard, but that would have let Man o’ War out of his mouse trap and he would have whooshed past us in half a dozen strides.” When Knapp’s cue came at the eighth pole, Upset flew past Golden Broom, but the race was far from over. With Man o’ War now free to run, Knapp was in for a harrowing 12 seconds. According to DRF’s Dempsey: “The stout-hearted Man o’ War was not to be denied and he responded in resolute style to the punishing drive that Loftus was making and, an eighth from the finish, Knapp awoke to the peril ... In the last sixteenth the crowd was in a frenzy over the duel that the pair were staging.” At the wire, it was Upset, desperate but first, with the unlucky and onrushing Man o’ War second. In his recap, DRF’s Fred Van Ness wrote: “There was scarcely a witness of this race who did not believe after it was all over that Man o’ War would have walked home, with anything like a fair chance.” Loftus, who was reportedly devastated by the loss, went to great lengths to avoid talking about the race – even skipping his own induction into the Jockey Hall of Fame many years later, for fear he would once again need to rehash events of more than 40 years before. But in 1966, he told Jack Mahon of Sports Illustrated: “Man o’ War was very fractious at the start that day … He broke through about three times before the starter warned me to quiet him down – or else. I wheeled Man o’ War around for another try. My head was turned when the field was sent away. I wasn’t ready.” Upset’s jockey Knapp enjoyed recounting the race, usually with a sense of irony. “If I’d have moved over just an eyelash he would have beaten me from here to Jalopy,” Knapp said. “Sometimes,” he continued, “I’m sorry I didn’t do it.” Knapp also disputed the official chart of the race, saying the final margin was not a half-length, but a fast diminishing head. Other reports had it as a neck. After the Sanford, Upset took five more cracks at the champion as a 2- and 3-year-old but never came close to duplicating his Sanford success. The first of these rematches came just 10 days later, also at Saratoga, in the Grand Union Hotel Stakes, again going six furlongs. In the New York Times account, 35,000 people turned out to see the race: “A traffic jam that was the equal of anything on Fifth Avenue in the rush hours.” But this time, Man o’ War was an easy winner with Upset second. A week later, Man o’War won again in the Hopeful Stakes, with Upset finishing fifth, and they repeated those placings their final match of the year, the Belmont Futurity. The two horses met again the following spring in the Preakness Stakes. Upset had been second in the Kentucky Derby (Man o’ War
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was not entered), and he would be second again in the Preakness, this time to “Big Red”, as Man o’ War was nicknamed, who won with “speed in reserve.” The 1920 Belmont Stakes had only two entrants, Man o’ War and Donnacona, and Man o’ War would win by 20 lengths, setting a World Record in the process. Man o’ War also went on to win Saratoga’s Miller, the Travers and the Jockey Club Gold Cup before facing the 1919 Triple Crown champion Sir Barton in a match race, the Kenilworth Park Gold Cup in Windsor Ontario. Man o’ War went wire to wire, winning by 7 lengths and taking a full six seconds off the track record, all under heavy restraint by his jockey. To say Man o’ War was dominant would be an understatement: in his 3-year-old year, he was so fast it was difficult to find any horse to run against him, and when they did, they would go down to devastating defeats. Consider the 1920 Lawrence Realization, which Man o’ War won by an estimated 100 lengths over Hoodwink, shattering the World Record for 1 5/8 miles by more than four seconds. For his part, Upset won the Latonia Derby and the Consolation Handicap in 1920 and both colts retired to stud in 1921. Was Man o’ War’s only defeat simply the result of bad racing luck, or was there something foul afoot? Neither of the jockeys Knapp
nor Loftus were licensed by the Jockey Club to ride again after 1919. The Jockey Club, more autocratic then than now, saw no reason to explain its decisions on who gets to play and who doesn’t, which fueled speculation through the years that something might not havebeen on the up and up in the Sanford. It should be noted that a Daily Racing Form report at the time opined that the reason that Loftus was ruled off was because he incurred the ire of Commander J.K.L. Ross, owner of Sir Barton. Loftus was Sir Barton’s regular rider, and Ross was unhappy about his ride aboard that horse in the Autumn Handicap at Pimlico in the fall of 1919. It is also true, however, that the sports world in general was rife with scandal at the time. For instance, in professional baseball that year, members of the Chicago White Sox were accused of throwing their World Series matchup against the Cincinnati Reds at the behest of Arnold Rothstein, a notorious gambler and racketeer who was also a racehorse owner with horses running at Saratoga. Just two years after Man o’ War’s only defeat at Saratoga, Rothstein’s horse Sporting Blood won the Travers Stakes under what have been described as “suspicious circumstances” involving a last minute scratch of the favorite. In addition to the purse money, Rothstein is said to have collected almost $500,000 in gambling winnings.
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Secret Lives
Spy: A Passion for Polo
By Nancy Johnson, Photography by Elizabeth Hedley
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here are people who retire early and enjoy living the life of leisure, and then there are those who work well into their golden years, simply for the love of their jobs. The same is true with horses. Spy, a 25-year-old Thoroughbred mare, is a perfect example. With a stellar career as a high goal polo pony spanning two decades, one would say she has earned the right to just hang out in the pasture for the rest of her days. But she’s not ready for that. The mare, Jockey Club name “Mistaken Spy,” was bred by the College of Veterinary Medicine at Oklahoma State University, the daughter of the stakes-place stallion Rivermans Pleasure and out of Grits by Vertex Gay. She was born on March 21, 1994, and in 1995 she went to the Texas Thoroughbred Association Selected and Open Yearling Sale, where she was purchased for $1,300 by Wayne P. Rottweiler, a successful owner of Thoroughbred and Arabian racehorses in Texas. Apparently, Spy didn’t take to the racetrack and she never made a start. When she was 3, she was sold to Archie Salinas, a Texas-based polo pony trainer, who put her in training for a polo career. A few years later, Adam Snow heard about the mare through a mutual friend in the polo world, and went to try her. At that time, Adam, who lives in Aiken, was a 9-goal professional polo player on his way up to 10-goals, and he knew that what he needed, most of all, were top horses. “I bought her as a five-year-old and she was still a bit green and hadn’t played any tournaments yet,” Adam recalls. “I immediately loved her lateral movement and her size,” he adds. Adam’s intuition paid off. With his expertise and the mare’s speed and athleticism, Spy went on to be one of the best in his string for well over a decade. Some of her career highlights included being named Best Playing Pony in Santa Barbara at the 20 Goal America’s Cup as well as in the Pete Bostwick Memorial 16 Goal here in Aiken. In 2004, she even flew to Argentina, the Mecca of high goal polo, where she was part of Adam’s string in several Argentine Open Tournaments (Hurlingham, Tortugas, and Palermo). Adam and his wife Shelley have a favorite memory of Spy’s career: an exhibition match in Aiken where the renowned 10-goal professional Memo Gracida rode her and she was named Best Playing Pony. The next day, Memo’s cousin called, wanting to buy her. The Snows politely declined the offer. Although the mare has always been incredibly sound, when she reached her 20s, Adam and Shelley were thinking Spy should cut back a bit. They knew the mare loved her job and could still do it on a less competitive scale. Tiger Kneece, now the manager of Aiken Polo Club, had recently started the Aiken Youth Polo program and one of the young players, Josh Escapite, was in need of some experienced horses. It seemed like a perfect home for her. “Josh’s mom [Sarah Thompson] is a veterinarian, so we knew she would do any maintenance the mare needed and that she would be very well taken care of,” Adam says. “I was so excited to try Spy because I knew she had been one of Adam’s really good horses,” says Josh. There was a bit of an adjustment
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period: Josh was 12 at the time and Spy knew the game so well she was often one step ahead of her rider. But with help from a number of generous Aiken professionals, including Cuko Escapite ( Josh’s father), Adam, Julio Arellano, Tiger Kneece, Horacio Onetto, and Dardo Iglesias, Spy is now “my oldest horse and my best horse; she’s all business,” according to Josh. He explains his strategy in playing Spy. “When you start a match, you start with your second best horse in the first chukker. In the second chukker, you play your slowest. In the third, you want to step it up and nail the other team into a corner – so you play your best horse – that’s Spy!” This spring, Spy played four tournaments in a row, so Josh is currently giving her a bit of a summer vacation. In the off season he usually rides her on long walk sets on the 500 acres adjacent to where she lives, or he goes hacking in the Hitchcock Woods with his mother, Sarah. In addition to playing with Aiken Youth Polo, Josh, who is entering his freshman year at South Aiken High, also competes on an interscholastic polo team. However, he doesn’t play Spy in these matches because “you have to ride other people’s horses and they have to ride yours. We are so careful of Spy that we just don’t want anyone else riding her,” he says. Sarah notes, “Adam and Shelley always took pristine care of her, she is clean-legged and has no real issues. She literally went from playing high goal polo to being donated to Josh. I told Josh she has probably flown on a plane as many times as he has.” She adds, “The kids [in Aiken] are so fortunate to have such great mentors to not only teach them the game, but also pass down their older, very experienced horses. We are very thankful for their generosity to the Aiken Youth Polo program.” Spy lives out in a lush, seven-acre field with five other horses. The horses are all older, so it is good for them to keep moving around as opposed to being in a stall. “She’s quite the dominatrix in the field; that’s where you see the chestnut mare in her,” Sarah laughs. “But definitely the kingpin and takes good care of herself.” Josh is very firm about Spy’s future. “When I am done riding her, she is retiring and staying with me.” He says he will know when she’s ready to retire, but it certainly isn’t yet. Sarah agrees, “I don’t see any reason why she can’t keep going with Josh for another year or two.” “She’s just been fantastic. She can do anything, not only polo. I trail ride her and a friend of mine borrowed her for the family class at the Aiken Horse Show in the Woods last spring. She is so well-schooled that she was a perfect choice.” “This mare has had a great long career and everyone enjoyed playing her,” Adam reminisces. “We are so glad she has a great home and Josh loves her. It’s such a nice last playing situation for Spy.”
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Competitor Tent
Bringing Data into the Equestrian Sphere By Pam Gleason
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ere’s a question for dressage riders: what is your average test score on the medium trot? How about the canter or the halt? Does your horse score better in a sand or synthetic arena, or when he is performing on the grass? What is your weakest movement, the one you should really work on if you want your scores to improve? If you are like most riders, you probably don’t know the answers to all these questions. But if you did, it might help you design your training regimen. If you could quickly and easily analyze all the factors that went into your best performances, it would help you to replicate them. And if you had convenient access to all your scores and all your tests through time, you could see where you have improved most, and where you might not have progressed as much. The ability to examine and analyze data compiled from your riding is an important tool for any serious competitor, and being able to see tangible proof of your improvement can help motivate you to work harder, do better, and ultimately enjoy your experience more. This is the concept behind the creation of Competitor Tent, a smartphone app that allows riders to access and analyze all their competition scores, including scores for individual movements in their dressage tests. It also permits riders to log their training sessions with journal entries, upload pictures and share their data, insights, and comments with their friends or with their trainer. There is even a “virtual tack trunk” from which they can share what type of equipment they are using. Competitor Tent, launched this summer, has partnered with Fox Village Dressage, a software company used by about 8590% of all dressage competitions in the U.S. and Canada. If you have competed in a show that uses Fox Village Dressage for its scoring, and your show organizer uses instant scoring, your movementby-movement scores have already been entered into a database. When you create an account with Competitor Tent, all of these scores will immediately be available to you within the app, including the scores from current shows and from shows going back about eight years – over two million to date. Dressage is just the first discipline that has partnered with the app. Future plans include integrations with eventing, show hunters and jumpers, western sports, combined driving and more. For now, riders in the other disciplines can manually enter their results and enjoy all the other features the app has to offer. The program was created by Dikran Yapoujian, a business professional who spent the bulk of his career in global information technology and analytics businesses, with input from his wife Sharon, a lifelong rider
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and eventing competitor. Dikran also credits a “tremendous network of influencers” who contributed their knowledge and expertise, including Katie Roth, who works in marketing, Taggert VinZant who is responsible for much of the design, and the University of South Carolina Technology Incubator in Columbia, which accepted Competitor Tent into their program last year. The app was also shaped by many professional and amateur competitors in Aiken and beyond.
Dikran, Maddie and Sharon Yapoujian at the Vista with JBF Theodore
The Yapoujians relocated to Aiken from Connecticut about four years ago and live here with their young daughter Maddie, their four horses, four dogs, three cats and small flock of chickens. Dikran, who rides horses recreationally, likes to say that his other saddle is on his bike: he is an active competitor in Ironman-branded long distance triathlons. “In triathlons, we use data to inform everything from the wattage
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you put out on your bike to your pace and elevation changes, to zone and trainers to stay in touch with one another, saving time in lessons training with heart rate, to your nutrition and hydration planning. You and allowing trainers to pinpoint certain areas their riders need to work are able to track that data and use it to better perform in the sport, or at on. If a rider practices at home before a weekly lesson and records her least to understand where you are. What I find really interesting is that solo training sessions, all her trainer has to do is follow the student on in so many sports — baseball, football, tennis, golf, cycling, swimming the app to stay up to date. Additionally, riders and trainers can create — they all use data. But the equestrian space has traditionally been training plans for their horses and use the app to keep track of what they lagging. I thought there was a great opportunity to build and deploy a have done, helping them stay on target. If your week’s plan is to give platform to bring equestrians the same capability to leverage the same your horse one day off, spend one day hacking, three days on flat work type of information that other sports are using today.” and two days on jumping, you can enter that plan in the app, and, after Dikran started developing Competitor Tent about three years ago. recording your training sessions, you will know whether you are doing His first step was to conduct interviews with a wide range of riders and what you had planned or not. competitors to discover what kinds of data and information might be The virtual tack trunk is yet another aspect of the app that riders have most useful to them. He then designed the app around the feedback he found useful. “Its true that we’re all brand ambassadors in our sport,” received. Currently, movement-by-movement dressage scores and final says Dikran. “We’ve tried lots of products, and typically when we find test results are automatically ones we love, we want to imported into the app, and tell people about them. But compiled by level, by test we also want to know what and by judge. After the others are using. It may show, users of Competitor be that we’re looking for a Tent can add in such details specific brand or a solution as the weather and footing to a problem our horse is conditions, subjective working through, or it could impressions of how they be as simple as what was the felt and how their horse beautiful show jacket that felt, and make a journal competitor was wearing in entry about the experience, the show ring? The ability to complete with photos. They click on an item in a fellow can opt to share their scores rider’s trunk and learn who and impressions with their makes it and where we can friends and followers on get it is another way for us the app, and even to push to share our experiences. their results, photos and Ultimately, riders will comments out to other have the ability to click social media platforms such through and purchase items as Facebook and Instagram. through links in the trunk to “The scores from Competitor Tent partners.” everyone’s dressage tests According to Dikran, are already available on Fox although this kind of app has Village Dressage, but what not been used widely in the we are doing is just making horse world, it has become it easier to find those scores,” extremely popular in some says Dikran. “We’re taking other sports. For example, riders from 5 clicks to one.” Strava, which describes Movement-by- movement itself as a “social network scores are also available for athletes” is an athletic at the click of a button, activity tracker that boasts as are analytics of specific nearly 1.4 million activities movements – for instance, shared among its users every Competitor Tent allows users to share their riding experiences and photos. you can see your score 24 hours. With a smaller for each movement, and number of people involved compare that with your average and your best score for that movement. in equestrian sports than in cycling, running and triathlons, Dikran is More advanced analytics and additional features may be available in the not expecting Competitor Tent to equal these numbers, but he does future, possibly in a premium version of the app. hope that riders will catch on to the benefits that data can provide. “Data can be used for different reasons and there are many reasons “It’s a little bit ‘blue ocean’ because we haven’t had something like why it can be compelling,” says Dikran. “We can use it for self reflection, this in the equestrian space before and people don’t necessarily know we can share it with our friends, and we can use data to see how our what they are missing,” he says. “Our goal right now is to get people to friends are doing and that can help motivate us– when you see your download the app, enjoy it, and tell their friends about it. When you friend working hard and doing well, you want to work hard, too. We can use data to improve, you’ll likely enjoy competing more. That’s our can’t be at every show, so we see this as an opportunity to build an goal: to help riders enjoy competing and to compete more successfully.” online community of competitors across disciplines. Sharing your data Competitor Tent is free and available for download on iTunes. An and experiences on Competitor Tent is different from sharing it on Android version of the app is currently in development. Dikran says he other social media platforms because it is all about horses – there are no hopes every rider will download it and try it out! Check out the website politics or anything else.” competitortent.com and follow them on Facebook and Instagram to Another useful feature of the app is that it makes it easier for riders learn more.
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PEMF Therapy
Local Therapists Explain the Basics By Nancy Johnson, Photography by Gary Knoll
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orse people are continually researching and trying new products, therapies, and programs to help their horses recover from an injury, perform better, or to just be more comfortable. One alternative therapy that is gaining in popularity is PEMF – Pulsed Electromagnetic Field therapy. Three Aiken PEMF practitioners sat down with us and discussed the basics of this therapy. Mikaela Engert, Holistica; Beth Hammelbacher, The Kneaded Edge; and Carrie Srnka, Wellness Deserved, are all certified in PEMF and have fully mobile equipment to conduct therapy on horses, pets, and people. “Basically, PEMF is a drug-free, pain relief performance-enhancer that works at a cellular level using a device which creates a gently pulsing electromagnetic field,” explains Carrie Srnka who owns and operates Wellness Deserved. Carrie provides mobile PEMF therapy throughout the Aiken area to “everything from eventers, barrel horses, hunters, polo ponies and even pasture potatoes.” She notes that PEMF is not necessarily a targeted therapy, but rather the emphasis is on stimulating the whole body to help itself. Mikaela Engert of Holistica adds, “It’s not like you use it only for arthritis or healing a broken bone or to enhance performance; it can help in all of these situations, but is best used on the full body to stimulate cell metabolism.” She became a big believer in PEMF therapy when she saw an overall transformation in her own horse. The horse did not have a specific problem that could be pinpointed, but she just felt he wasn’t completely comfortable. “I’d tried all kinds of things and was a real skeptic, but the difference in the horse after one PEMF session was night and day. I’m not a big proponent of medicating, so I was on board,” she says. “PEMF optimizes cellular health and by optimizing cellular health you are allowing the body to heal itself,” explains Beth Hammelbacher of Kneaded Edge. Before relocating to Aiken in 2017, Beth had a
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successful equine massage business in Delaware and Pennsylvania. She heard about PEMF therapy and after some research thought it might be something she could add to her business. Because the equipment is quite expensive, “I took a three-month lease on a PEMF machine with the intent that it had to prove itself or it would go back,” she says. At the time, Beth had a client’s senior mare that was struggling to get up. Weekly massages worked for two years, but then they were not enough. “Her owners finally decided to let her go,” Beth recounts, “but before they did, I asked if I could try my newly leased PEMF machine on her. They agreed and the transformation from the very first session was amazing! Before long, she was galloping around the field again and with regular sessions lived comfortably for another two years.” PEMF works well in conjunction with traditional veterinary medicine. “We are not trying to take clients from vets,” says Carrie Srnka, adding, “PEMF is a supplemental therapy.” Mikaela emphasizes, “We don’t diagnose; that’s not our role at all. But we can assist a vet by pointing out an area where pulsing has indicated something they might want to investigate. Beth chuckles at the thought of being in competition with veterinarian. “I actually give vets a lot of business. I’ll often tell a client, ‘If this was my horse, I’d have my vet look at this or that.’” All three therapists find that there is a lot of confusion about PEMF and comparisons to other therapies. “One of the biggest misconceptions is that these therapies are all the same,” says Mikaela. Some of the alternative therapies commonly used on horses include TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation), ESTIM (electrical stimulation), shockwave, ultrasound, and laser. While each of these can be useful, they are all different. Mikaela feels that other alternative therapies definitely have their place and can be effective for targeted areas. But, she notes that shockwave and most lasers fall under a regulatory field limiting their use to a veterinarian. Another misconception that Carrie has come across is that people often confuse EMF (Electromagnetic fields) with PEMF. EMFs come from things like cell phones, Wi-Fi, and Smart Meters. “EMF’s send off very strong signals that we are subjected to, and our bodies are
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Above and left: Beth Hammelbacher demonstrates her portable PEMF machine
inundated with them. PEMF basically undoes that process by recreating what the Earth does for our bodies,” she says. The PEMF machine is contained in a portable unit and it is very easy to wheel into a client’s barn and set up. The loops or hoses that are placed on the horse resemble a thin garden hose. Although most horses are not bothered by the machine or the loops, Beth reports, “Initially, some horses give the hose a hairy eyeball, but because the magnetic field penetration depth is up to 18”, you don’t have to lay the hose on them until they get used to it.” Most horses, as well as other animals, have no issues with being pulsed. “Ninety-nine percent of the time, they relax right into it,” says Mikaela. “Many of them really enjoy it.” In addition to working on horses, the therapists also pulse quite a few people, dogs, and some cats. Beth has found that cats seem especially drawn to PEMF. “I’ll be working on one cat and next thing you know, four more come along and lay themselves down on the PEMF pad while it’s pulsing.” A PEMF session is typically an hour long, since the therapists like to do the full body and also target any problem areas. The optimal number of sessions varies according to the individual case, but several sessions close together, or “stacking” is recommended at the beginning of treatment. “The idea is to get the body fully charged; so that’s why stacking PEMF to start with is recommended. After that, I let them see how they or the horse feels and tell me when they notice a change and need me again,” says Carrie. Mikaela agrees. “I like to use what we call the ‘power of three’-meaning you do the first three sessions within about a week’s time to really energize the cells, then back off to determine optimum time between additional sessions.” Carrie emphasizes that PEMF treatment is not necessarily “a
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perpetuation from here to forever. Some clients do continue on a sort of maintenance program – maybe every five weeks or so; it just depends on the situation.” “If a client stays on a monthly maintenance program, then if they do have an injury, they are one step ahead as their cells are already set up in their ideal state to start healing,” Beth adds. Beth, Carrie, and Mikaela all agree that helping clients with their horses through PEMF therapy is very rewarding and they have each seen some dramatic results. Carrie recalls a case when she first started doing PEMF therapy about two years ago. A client had a horse that was four months out from an injury and her vet just told her it was only 70% healed and that the horse would never again be anything but a trail horse. She told Carrie, “I can’t have just a trail horse on the property; my husband won’t allow it.” Carrie and the client decided to try two sessions the first week, and then follow up with one session in each of the three successive weeks. “At each session I did a full body treatment and then a little bit on the leg. After the five sessions, the client went back to her vet and we were just hoping to get to 80% or 85% healed; just showing an improvement. After the appointment, she called me and said, ‘You are not going to believe this; it is 100% healed, they can’t even find a scar.’ It was phenomenal and led me into this business and my purpose,” Carrie confirms. To learn more about PEMF or to set up an appointment, contact: • Mikaela Engert, Holistica: 603-748-4325, holisticaeq@gmail.com • Beth Hammelbacher, The Kneaded Edge: 302-270-8267, kneadededge@aol.com • Carrie Srnka, Wellness Deserved: 330-432-6850, wellnessdeserved17@gmail.com
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50,000 SQUARE FEET OF FUN FOR SALE. Why do so many equestrians worship Aiken, South Carolina? Its temperate climate, footing that never freezes, and year-round equestrian activities top the list. Now comes the opportunity to acquire your own piece of training paradise within the oasis of Aiken. Fully covered, lit, and irrigated, the 50,000 square foot arena at Tod’s Hill allows for all-weather, around-the-clock jumping, polo, dressage and more – just minutes from downtown Aiken – and even closer to home should you choose. The arena at Tod’s Hill is offered with an option of 15 to 50 residential acres within the gated equestrian community of Tod’s Hill.
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Unbreakable: Book Review FOTAS at 10 Dolly Bostwick Summer School Calendar of Events Directory of Services Classifieds Index of Advertisers
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Unbreakable
The Woman Who Defied the Nazis in the World’s Most Dangerous Horse Race By Richard Askwith A Book Review by Diana Hunt
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woman muscling into a man’s world is rarely greeted with enthusiasm. For the Czech Republic’s Velká Pardubická steeplechase, often called the most dangerous race in the world, some once considered it impermissible. The race has often been considered the ultimate test of manhood, proving you are a soldier, a fighting man, not one to shrink from danger but to welcome it. Merely taking part might be considered a symptom of insanity. So when Countess Lata Brandisová of Bohemia, Czechoslovakia, joined 20 hardened riders at the starting line in her first try at the steeplechase in 1927, there was hysteria among the jockeys, owners
and trainers. She finished fifth, better than eight of her testosteronepowered colleagues. In 1937, ten years and seven races later, at age 42, she won the race on a 15.2 hand mare named Norma. Today, she is still the only woman to have won. Imagine the double horror of the Nazi SS officer-athletes who chose the steeplechase as an arena in which to prove themselves a Master Race: they were beaten by a Slavic woman on the eve of World War II. Lata became a national hero, and went on to ride in the Velká Pardubická two more times before sustaining career ending injuries in a different steeplechase in 1949. The Velká Pardubická, nicknamed the Devil’s Race, has been run every autumn since 1874, with a nine-year hiatus during World War II. Among the imposing obstacles is Taxis Ditch, which is a steep-sided ditch about 6.5 feet deep and 16.5 feet across, the approach concealed by a 4.5 foot hedge. A horse jumping it straight would have to soar for over 26 feet to land safely. Of the remaining 30 jumps, the most
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notorious are the Irish Bank (6 feet high and 6 feet thick with a small ditch on either side), the Big English Fence (a thick hedge with a wood fence on the far side), the Snake Ditch (a wide, water-filled ditch with a drop of two feet from take-off to landing), the French Jump (a double hedge with a small ditch in the middle), and the Garden Fences (two big-railed hedges about 26 feet apart). In addition, half the 4 1/3 mile race is run across stamina-sapping, deeply-ploughed fields. A strong, well-ridden horse can complete it in 10 minutes, but most fail to finish. It is chaos: riders and horses fall, those who can get up and continue do, but some fall again. It can take a grim toll. In the race’s history, there has never been a year in which every competitor finished. In 1909 not one horse and rider combination made it across the finish line. Norma, the horse that Lata rode to victory in 1937, was a Kinsky horse, a historic Bohemian breed that was considered the original sport horse of Europe. Kinsky horses often carry the cream dilution gene, which creates buckskins and palominos, and about 40% of them have coats in various shades of gold. Norma was an isabella, which refers to a pale greyyellow, fawn, cream-brown or parchment color coat also known as cremello or perlino. Kinsky horses, once the most common horses in the Bohemian region of the Czech Republic, are now legally protected as an emblem of the country. Today, there are only about 1,000 individuals. After her win, Lata Brandisová was probably the most famous living person in Czechoslovakia, and she was the glory of her nation. However, her accomplishments have been mostly expunged from official racing records, indeed from every other facet of Czech life, as a result of the Nazi occupation and the Communist rule that followed. Lata, born an aristocrat, went from being a hero to being a virtual non-person and spent the last 30 years of her life living in poverty and obscurity. She died in 1981 in Austria. Unbreakable tells the story of this remarkable woman, who, in 1927, was probably the first woman in history ever to be awarded an official jockey’s license. The book is an engaging read. Not only does it introduce the reader to Lata Brandisová, the author also provides many details about the madness of Nazi Germany, as well as insights into why so many people supported Hitler. Unbreakable is published by Pegasus Books and will be available September 3, 2019.
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A Decade of Lifesaving
FOTAS Celebrates 10 Years of Service By Pam Gleason
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his August, Friends of the Animal Shelter (FOTAS) celebrates ten years of saving lives at the Aiken County Animal Shelter in Aiken, South Carolina. In that time, the 501c3 not for profit organization has helped to find homes for over 20,000 homeless pets. In the process, it also helped the county to fund and build a new, state-of-the-art animal shelter, instituted a raft of improvements to animal welfare inside and outside the shelter, and instigated a revolution in the way Aiken County understands and handles stray or unwanted animals. It has been a sea change of epic proportions, and the collaboration between Aiken County’s municipal open admission shelter and FOTAS has been held up as a model for other municipalities struggling with animal sheltering issues. Today, it is hard to believe how different the situation was in 2009, when FOTAS was formed by a group of animal loving citizens distressed by conditions at the shelter. Then, the shelter took in almost 6,000 animals every year, and saved a dismal 9% of them, euthanizing over 5,000 dogs and cats annually, almost 100 every week. Fast-forward to 2018, the tenth year of FOTAS initiatives. In 2018, over 94% of the 4,221 pets that entered the shelter were saved, with a euthanasia rate below 6%. This year, 2019, the shelter is on track to do even better, finding homes for every adoptable and healthy or treatable pet. Not only that, but, in collaboration with FOTAS volunteers, the shelter is on its way to becoming a community resource center for people with pets, a place to help animals, not to dispose of them. For FOTAS volunteers, it seems like a dream come true. But all of these changes came about through years of hard work requiring immense emotional energy and resilience in the face of what once seemed impossible. Nothing about this journey was easy. In such an emotionally charged atmosphere, FOTAS volunteers had to advocate for the animals, saving those they could and accepting that they could not yet save them all. At the same time, they had to constantly recognize that they were volunteers and guests at the shelter, and that they needed to win the trust and the cooperation of the staff there if they wanted to continue to help. Success, when it came, was only achieved through the cooperation of the entire Aiken community, from FOTAS volunteers and supporters, to the animal shelter staff, the county government and Aiken’s taxpayers and voters. Success also relied on assistance from people inside and outside of Aiken; on rescue partners in other states; on transporters and people who helped network adoptable animals on social media; and on other private rescue groups and organizations, which helped find homes for animals that were not adopted through the shelter itself. “We couldn’t do it without the community,” says Jennifer Miller, a FOTAS founder and its president since the organization’s inception. In 2017, FOTAS was one of 10 charities to receive the Angel award from the South Carolina secretary of state as a top nonprofit in the State of South Carolina. “That’s what I said when we got the Angel award: it’s not an award for us, it is for the community. We definitely did not do it, and could not do it, on our own.” Although Jennifer Miller does not want to take much credit, the FOTAS story logically starts with her. Jennifer and her husband came to Aiken from Massachusetts about 15 years ago, the same way many people come to Aiken: because of horses, golf and good weather. Jennifer had horses in Ipswich, an equestrian-friendly suburb on Boston’s north shore. She ran the Myopia Horse Show in neighboring Hamilton, and helped out at Gathering Farm, a professional boarding and training facility there. She first encountered Aiken while in transit with horses to and from Florida, and fell in love with the area. Eventually, tired of icy New England winters, she and her husband bought a farm on Aiken’s Southside and relocated. Jennifer’s plan was
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to have a small, private boarding stable, where she could keep her own horses, and care for a handful of retirees or horses sent down from the north for winter care. “If anyone had told me then that I would get involved in the animal shelter and in an organization like FOTAS, I would have told them that they were crazy,” she says. “I moved down here to have my own horse farm. I love bringing along young horses, and caring for horses and that was my dream.” But soon after moving to Aiken, she began to notice the large number of stray dogs that roamed the streets, something that she had never seen in Massachusetts. She asked her county representative about it, and he told her that Aiken did have an animal control problem. He asked her if she wanted to take one of the citizen seats on the Aiken County Animal Advisory Committee, which met regularly in the county offices. She agreed and soon began to learn more about the state of animal welfare in her new home. As part of her education, she made her first trip to the shelter. She was an animal person and a dog lover, and what she saw devastated her. The shelter, housed in a dilapidated 30-year old building with an open floor plan, had no waste management or HVAC system and was terribly overcrowded, holding over 200 animals although it had been designed for half that number. Adoptable cats were kept in what could only be described as a closet, where they inevitably got sick and were euthanized. She met Sandy Larson, the shelter’s longtime vet tech, who showed her a litter of beautiful puppies. Sandy told her that just one of the puppies would be put up for adoption, while the rest would have to be euthanized because the shelter would never be able to find homes for them all. Sandy had to decide which one to save. This was a standard practice at the Aiken shelter, and at overcrowded and underfunded shelters all over America. It was an agonizing decision. “It was not her fault; it was not the shelter’s fault,” says Jennifer, who still bursts into tears at the memory. “They had no budget. They had no room. No volunteers. No fosters. No adoption program to speak of. Nothing. I went home. I was crying. I thought: this has to change.” Some other women from the Aiken equestrian community soon got involved in the Animal Welfare Advisory Committee, and Jennifer hoped that together they would be able to do something to help the animals at the shelter. But Todd Glover (then the assistant Aiken County manager and now the North Augusta city administrator) who also sat on the committee, suggested that they needed to form a separate nonprofit, since the committee was not really focused on animal advocacy. He suggested that they look at an organization called Friends of the Animal Shelter (FOTAS) in Oregon, which was a public-private partnership between a nonprofit and a city shelter. And so, with this organization as a model, FOTAS Aiken was formed as a nonprofit with three founders, Jennifer Miller, Mary Lou Welch and Joya DiStefano. The plan was to become the volunteer and fundraising arm of the Aiken County Animal Shelter. “Our mission was that our shelter one day would never have to euthanize an adoptable pet,” says Jennifer. Experience has shown that over 90 percent of animals entering shelters are adoptable, and yet, at this point, the Aiken County shelter was euthanizing over 90 percent of the animals it received. It was an audacious goal. FOTAS had its first fundraiser in August 2009, a pancake breakfast at which the first volunteers solicited donations to purchase supplies for the shelter. Working assiduously that summer and fall, they began recruiting more volunteers to walk the dogs and help the shelter staff, which was always overwhelmed. They found foster families to raise litters of puppies. They started publicizing the need for help at the shelter, running a weekly column in the Aiken Standard and working
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Jennifer Miller (FOTAS President), with Kathy Jacobs (Programs Coordinator), Ellie Joos (Board Member), and Bobby Arthurs(Shelter Director)
to get stories about the shelter on the local television news. They used social media and a website to promote adoptable animals. They raised extra funds to supplement the county’s small fund for spay and neuter assistance. “The first big thing we did was raise money to make place for the cats,” says Jennifer. She had been in touch with Danny Robertshaw and Ron Danta, well-known horsemen who founded Danny and Ron’s Rescue in Camden, S.C., and FOTAS modeled their new cat facility on the cat shelters there. The new cat quarters consisted of a pair of handihouses that created two separate areas where cats could freely roam. There were indoor and outdoor areas connected by cat doors, giving cats on the adoption floor a new measure of freedom and allowing potential adopters to see them and interact with them. They stayed healthier and happier and adoptions increased. One of the next things that happened was the first rescue transport of Aiken dogs to the northeast. Back on Boston’s north shore, Jennifer had been friends with the late Randi Shapiro Cohen, then the executive director of the Northeast Animal Shelter in Salem, Mass., a well known and highly successful adoption facility. Massachusetts had many more people interested in adopting a shelter dog than it had dogs in its shelters, so when Jennifer asked Randi if she would take some dogs from Aiken, she readily agreed. Jennifer was friendly with Mark Choper, who owned a horse transport company. In the fall and winter, he regularly shipped horses from New England down to Florida, often laying over in Aiken. On his way back North, his luxurious horse transport was generally empty and when Jennifer asked him, he was happy to start filling it with rescue dogs, donating all of his services. Although everything FOTAS did in that first year made a difference,
A litter of puppies on their way from foster to adoption
it was obvious that the organization was hampered by the shelter’s antiquated, overcrowded and unsanitary facility. The county desperately needed a new shelter, and FOTAS volunteers began lobbying the county government to make this happen. It was a big ask: Aiken County was not exactly overflowing with money for new capital projects and there were others that had a legitimate claim on funds that existed – road projects, schools, libraries, and so on. But eventually, the county council agreed that, if Aiken voters approved a one-cent capital improvement sales tax package that was on the ballot in the November 2010 election, they would commit $1 million to build a new shelter. The other condition was that FOTAS would have to raise the money for the shovel-ready plans, at a cost of $100,000. The ballot initiative passed, and FOTAS started its capital campaign, eventually garnering half a million dollars that paid for the architectural plans as well as for all the shelter furnishings. The new facility was constructed on county owned land not far from the old shelter and was completed in the first quarter of 2014. In addition to dog kennels, veterinary equipment and kennel supplies, FOTAS put in play yards for dogs and concrete walkways between the buildings. The organization
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continues to make improvements today, including renovating the original cat buildings and constructing a medical isolation wing for sick dogs. The new shelter, bright, airy and sanitary, gave everyone associated with it renewed energy and optimism. Things improved at an accelerating pace. The euthanasia rate dropped steadily, from just over 70% in 2013, the year before animals moved to the new shelter, to just under 54% the following year. By 2016, the rate was down to about 30%, a vast improvement. But the FOTAS board and volunteers knew that so much more could still be done. Over the years people involved in the organization had begun to realize that they were not alone. Although its members did not know it at the time of its founding, FOTAS was part of a revolution in animal sheltering that was saving lives across the country as people everywhere began to reject the loss of life inherent old fashioned sheltering practices. Members of the FOTAS board started attending national animal welfare conferences, bringing back new ideas and innovative programs. They also came in contact with other organizations that had transformed their own communities. Perhaps most importantly, they met Dr. Sara Pizano, then the program director of a Florida-based organization called Target Zero Institute, and now the founder and director of Team Shelter USA, which has a similar mission. Target Zero Institute (which was folded into Maddie’s Fund in 2017) was a nonprofit whose goal was to help shelters reduce their intake and to eliminate euthanasia as a means of population control. In the new model of animal sheltering, euthanasia would be reserved for animals that are too sick or injured to be healed and to dangerous dogs that cannot be safely rehabilitated. The institute identified several shelters a year to be Target Zero Fellows, which meant that Dr. Pizano would do a comprehensive assessment of the whole community and then draw up a list of recommendations for change, all free of charge. In 2016, Dr. Pizano came to Aiken to give a presentation. Bobby Arthurs, who had been the chief animal control officer in Aiken for years and had recently become the shelter director, welcomed her proposals, and Aiken County became a Target Zero Fellow. Following Dr. Pizano’s recommendations, which came in a book 50-pages thick, FOTAS and the animal shelter staff suggested changes in the county animal laws. One big change was officially sanctioning trap-neuter-return for healthy community cats. This practice, once controversial, has been shown to reduce cat-related complaints in the community as well as to slash the population of cats in the shelter. Another change was reducing the stray hold at the shelter, which allowed dogs to be put on the adoption floor more quickly. FOTAS also helped pass a local ordinance against the inhumane tethering of dogs. Other changes included starting Home to Home, a free online program through which people who need to rehome a pet can be put in contact with potential adopters, without taking the animal to the shelter. Following best shelter practices, the shelter extended its adoption hours so that working people could get there when it was open. It expanded its offsite adoption programs. It started practicing managed intake, in which people who wanted to surrender a pet had to make an appointment first. This often results in the animal not coming to the shelter at all – sometimes pet owners just need temporary assistance, or advice with training, spay and neuter help, or other support. The range of services that FOTAS now funds and provides to the shelter is impressive: treatment for heartworm positive dogs (which were once euthanized as a matter of course), flea and tick control, supplemental food, state of the art cat condos, medical equipment, including a donated x-ray machine, a treadmill for high energy dogs. At the same time, they have continued to grow their foster community, run a Junior FOTAS program that provides humane education in the schools, and conduct all kinds of community outreach. They supplement the county’s spay and neuter assistance program and periodically hire a mobile clinic to service areas with high populations
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of unwanted animals. They provide free doghouses and humane tethers to people who had been keeping their dogs on chains. They organize and fund one to three transports of adoptable dogs and cats to trusted rescue partners in almost a dozen states every week. It is impossible to list everything. In addition to all this, FOTAS also runs an annual animal event called Woofstock, which has dog contests, dachshund races and a wellattended trade fair. This event, recently chosen by the readers of the local newspaper as the best dog-friendly happening in Aiken, raises money for the organization and helps promote FOTAS and awareness of animal welfare issues. One of the things that Jennifer Miller says she is most proud of is a resolution presented at the Aiken County Council in February 2018 “To support best sheltering practices at Aiken County Animal Shelter.” Passed by unanimous vote, the resolution states that “The official goal of Aiken County is to save the lives of all the healthy adoptable dogs and cats in the possession of the Aiken County Animal Shelter.”
Foster homes save lives: this dog was loved by his foster family before being transported to New England where he was adopted.
“It was really important to me to see how this has evolved,” says Jennifer “That the county sees the importance of saving every adoptable animal. One way a community is judged is on how they take care of their animals. Having this goal, having this philosophy, that will attract business. That will make people want to come here. It’s a whole movement and we are all working together, and I can’t say enough nice things about everyone who has made it happen: our volunteers, donors and board, code enforcement director Paige Bayne, Bobby Arthurs, the shelter staff and the county council, our shelter vet, Lisa Levy, who does so much to save every animal that she possibly can.” Team Shelter USA’s Dr. Pizano, who was recently back in the area to conduct an assessment for the city of North Augusta, says that she is thrilled with what she has seen in Aiken and with the progress the community has made. In her experience, Aiken stands out because of the depth and strength of the positive partnership between the FOTAS and the shelter. “I think Bobby Arthurs, as the shelter director, is a leader who wants to collaborate, and FOTAS is an organization that always wants to place animals first and foremost, and they do everything in a positive way,” says Dr. Pizano. “I have done more than 100 of these assessments, and I can tell you that this level of positive collaboration is not a given in most communities. There is usually friction or tension due to a lack of true partnership between public and private entities. The whole FOTAS board is really in tune to that mission of partnership, and I believe that
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the FOTAS model of public and private partnership is really the answer. Municipal shelters can’t do it all on their own, and private shelters shouldn’t have to. The most successful model for a progressive shelter with a goal of saving lives is a public-private partnership like this one.” Today at the shelter, the collaboration between the 300-plus FOTAS volunteers and the shelter staff is visible everywhere. The front desk is manned by volunteers who greet visitors and help them to find whatever they are looking for. Other volunteers walk the dogs, supervise dog playgroups in the exercise yard or socialize cats in the cat area. The dogs in their kennels have enrichment toys, beds, nutritious food and whatever medical attention they need. There is a positive atmosphere and an optimistic, yet realistic attitude that permeates the shelter: the challenges are always there, and yet with hard work and determination, they can be overcome. The success of FOTAS is proof that even an open admission, high volume Southern shelter can become one that saves every adoptable animal (and every animal that can be made adoptable) that comes through its door. It is not impossible: it takes collaboration, innovation, a willingness to try new things and the involvement and dedication of the animal loving public. With these things, there is no reason that other shelters with similar problems that faced Aiken in 2009 cannot see their euthanasia rates plummet from 91% to 6%, just like Aiken’s. And what about the future? Although everyone associated with the shelter and FOTAS is grateful for the progress they have achieved, animal welfare still has a long way to go in Aiken County. There are still too many strays, and too many mistreated, abused or neglected animals. Intake at the shelter, steadily declining, is still too high. “It’s like taking a broom and trying to sweep the ocean back,” Jennifer says. “We work every day to try to save every adoptable animal and to try to reduce intake. Our volunteers work every day to keep the animals that are in the shelter happy, loveable, friendly and adoptable. The train never stops, and FOTAS will not stop either.” Jennifer says that her motivation has always been the animals and the extra measure of love and joy that they bring. “I couldn’t live my life without them,” she says. “The animals are innocent, and they are at the shelter through no fault of their own. If we don’t help them, who will?” “Our next goal for the shelter is that it should be a resource not a destination,” she continues. “We have to ask, how can we equip our community to be able to care for its animals? How can we get people to be responsible pet owners? We need more spay and neuter, we need more people to plan for their animals – if you are going to move and you can’t take your pet, make plans in advance for where he is going to go, don’t wait until the day before you are moving. Give your dogs heartworm medicine; don’t tie them out. “What we have been able to do is based on the community,” she says. “And I truly feel most people want to be good. If as a community we can keep working together, we will be in good shape. Aiken County has made huge strides and I think we all should be proud of what we have accomplished. And I think that together, we can do more.”
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• FOTAS is always in need of more volunteers, donations and assistance. Check out the website for more information: www. fotasaiken.org and follow them on Facebook. • To learn more about the lifesaving mission of Team Shelter USA, visit their Facebook page and website: teamshelterusa.org, or purchase the new book “The Best Practice Playbook for Animal Shelters” available through the Team Shelter USA website or on Amazon. • On November 2, 2019, FOTAS will be having a tenth anniversary party at the shelter to thank the community for their support and assistance. Stay tuned to their website and Facebook page for more information.
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Remembering Aiken’s Horsemen Dolly von Stade Bostwick By Pam Gleason
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olly von Stade Bostwick was one of the most influential and important members of Aiken’s Winter Colony. Best known as the Master of Foxhounds of the Aiken Hounds, she was a lifelong horsewoman and a lover of Aiken, and especially of the Hitchcock Woods. A wonderful rider as a young woman, in her later years she turned to driving, and could often be found piloting her team of ponies through the Woods or on the dirt roads in the Historic District. She was
polo players as well. In the 1930s, there were quite a lot of young women who played polo in Aiken, and Dolly sometimes joined them, even though her father was not a proponent of female players. In 1940, at the age of 19, she became a joint Master of the Aiken Hounds, along with Mrs. Seymour Knox. When World War II came, she was active and civic minded, organizing fundraising drives for war relief societies overseas and for the Red Cross. After World War II, when she was in her mid-to-late 20s, Dolly owned and showed working and conformation hunters at major shows in New York and in the mid Atlantic. She also owned steeplechase and flat racing horses. She was a tall, elegant woman, standing 5’8” in her stocking feet and she had a certain presence – at 18 she was described, in the society columns, as one of the “most glamorous debutantes of her generation.” In April 1949, Dolly married George Herbert Bostwick, known to all as Pete. Pete, also a Long Island resident who wintered in Aiken, was a well-known amateur steeplechase and flat racing jockey and one of America’s best polo players. Recently divorced, Pete was 12 years older than Dolly, and at 5’6” tall, several inches shorter, especially when she was wearing heels. Nevertheless, they were a well-matched couple, chiefly because both of them were obsessed with horses. “From the moment they got together, they were always off somewhere doing something with horses. It’s amazing all the things that they did,” says her son Charlie Bostwick,
Mrs. Hitchcock gives Dolly her trophy, Aiken Horse Show, 1920s
often described as a perfect lady in her manners, but her friends also say she had a wonderful sense of fun and was a real pleasure to be around. When she died in 1998, she left a lasting legacy through bequests in her will that preserved important portions of the Woods, which might otherwise have fallen to development. In fact, without her leadership and generosity, the Woods might have been a far different place than they are today. Dolly was born in 1921, the daughter of Francis Skiddy von Stade and Katherine Steele von Stade. There were eight children in all, and she was the oldest daughter. The whole family was devoted to horses. F.S. von Stade was a Thoroughbred racing enthusiast and a polo player, who was one of the preeminent horsemen of his generation. Kathryn Steele von Stade rode sidesaddle and enjoyed driving a carriage. The family had homes on Long Island, in Saratoga Springs, New York, and in Aiken. During the summers, when the von Stade parents would go to Saratoga for the race meet, the children would usually decamp to Southampton on Long Island, where Mrs. von Stade owned a home on the beach. There, they would swim and go boating. During the winters, the family would take the train to Aiken, bringing a stable of about 20 horses with them. Dolly was in the first class of the Aiken Day School when it opened, and then attended the Fermata School. She and all her siblings rode with the Aiken Hounds and the family participated in the Aiken Horse Show every year. It was an idyllic childhood, filled with horses, dogs and outdoor activities. “I think Dolly was part horse,” remembers her sister, Nanny Ward. “When we were growing up, horses were all she cared about.” In addition to riding to hounds and jumping, Dolly enjoyed driving a carriage from a young age. Her father, a former 6-goal polo player and talented athlete, used to play bicycle polo with all the children while they were in Aiken. The von Stade boys became accomplished horse
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Above: Aiken Horse Show, 1931 with little sister Kitty. Opposite: Master of Foxhounds, 1940s
who lives in the home his parents built on the edge of the Hitchcock Woods, and is the president of Aiken Polo Club. The Bostwick couple traveled around the country and to England, Europe and South America. They owned property all over South Carolina, and were once considered the largest landholders in the state. They were totally immersed in the equestrian world, especially in polo, since Pete was among the most sought-after players of his generation. Dolly’s own polo career was effectively over when she married Pete, however. Her father made her promise that if she married Bostwick, she would hang up her mallet forever. Aiken continued to be a winter destination for the couple, and in the mid-50s, they started their own family, eventually having two sons and two daughters. They bought land on the edge of the Hitchcock Woods,
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Bostwick Family, 1960s: Dolly, Rick, Sissy, Dolly, Charlie, Pete
the original property owned by Thomas and Louise Hitchcock, who were prominent leaders of the Aiken Winter Colony; some would even call them the colony’s founders. The Hitchcock’s home, Mon Repos, was no longer standing, but the stables are still there, as is the Hitchcock family cemetery where both Thomas and Louise are buried. Pete and Dolly built their own home on the property, where they would raise their family. Bringing up her family in the same Aiken equestrian traditions she enjoyed as a child, Dolly’s affection for Aiken and especially for the Hitchcock Woods grew and deepened. She served as Master or Joint Master of the Aiken Hounds for a total of about 25 years. This gave her an intimate familiarity with all the trails, and a deep connection to the forest. When she was in Aiken, she went into the Woods every day, whether it was to ride or to walk her dogs. In later years, she stopped riding due to some back troubles and took up driving in earnest. She collected carriages, and had some lovely driving horses. Many people remember her for her four-in-hand of white Welsh ponies imported from England, along with their coachman. “I can remember going out with her in the carriage in the Woods, and being scared to death,” says Charlie Bostwick. “She went very fast.” “She was wonderful, full of fun,” says Dione Appleton, an Aiken winter resident and a close friend of Dolly’s from the 1970s on. “She was a rather shy person, but once you got to know her she was a wonderful friend. I got to know the Woods so well with her, because when we would go out she would always point out different areas and she had so many old stories about what happened there – sometimes I wished I had brought a tape recorder with me. She knew the Woods like the back of her hand.” In the 1990s, with the growth of the Aiken population, land downtown became more valuable, and large parts of the Woods that were not already owned by the Hitchcock Foundation became vulnerable to development. Determined to protect the forest, Dolly, then a trustee of the foundation, was one of the leaders of a fundraising
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drive to buy 197 acres from Aiken Prep School to keep them in the Woods preserve. She also lent the foundation money to buy over 100 additional acres from the Hitchcock family. The Bostwicks themselves owned quite a lot of property on the South Boundary side of the Woods, including the Green House, which is now the foundation office, and all the land up to Memorial Gate. On her death, she willed almost
60 acres of this land to the Hitchcock Woods Foundation, and made it possible for the foundation to buy two more parcels from her estate, protecting the best known entrance to the Woods. “I think the Woods was the biggest passion of her life,” says Charlie Bostwick. “You think of all the things she did there, when she was growing up and throughout her life. Her two main passions were the Woods and horses.” Dolly died in 1998 at the age of 77. In addition to her contributions to the Hitchcock Woods, she was also a founder member of the Aiken Driving Club and of the carriage museum at Rye Patch, now the property of the City of Aiken.
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Summer School 2019: Full Gallop Schooling Horse Trial; Stabl
le View Eventing Academy, The Vista Combined Test
Photography by Gary Knoll and Pam Gleason
Aiken Area Calendar of Events
AUGUST
31-Aug.4 Blowing Rock Charity Horse Show – HJ Division Week #2. Broyhill Preserve, 1500 Laurel Lane, Blowing Rock, NC. www.brchs. org 3 Chat Hills Schooling Show. Chattahoochee Hills Eventing - Hosted at the Bouckaert Farm, 9445 Browns Lake Road, Chattahoochee Hills, GA. 770.892.2117, info@chatthillseventing.com, www. Chatthillseventing.com 3-4 PSJ Highfields. Highfields Event Center, 147 Warehouse Road, Aiken. 803.649.3505, www.psjshows.com 3-4 Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo. Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, www.georgiahorsepark.com 3-4 GDCTA. Wills Park Equestrian Center, 11925 Wills Rd, Alpharetta, GA. Karen Caverly, 770.713.4025, www.willspark.com 4 Schooling HT/Combined Tests/Dressage tests. Full Gallop Farm, 3828 Wagener Rd, Aiken. Lara Anderson: 803. 215.6590, fullgallopfarm@yahoo.com. www.fullgallopfarm.com 6 Tuesday Schooling Show. Foothills Equestrian Nature Center (FENCE), 3381 Hunting Country Road, Tryon, NC. 828.859.9021, horseshow@fence.org, www.fence.org 7 Schooling HJ Show. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm.com, www.stableviewfarm.com 7 Yappy Hour. 6pm. SPCA Albrecht Center for Animal Welfare, 199 Willow Run Road Aiken. 803.648.6863, www.letlovelive.org 7-11 Tryon August 1. Tryon International Event Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC. 828.863.1000, www.tryon.coth.com 7-25 Chat Hills HJ Show. Chattahoochee Hills Eventing - Hosted at the Bouckaert Farm, 9445 Browns Lake Road, Chattahoochee Hills, GA. 770.892.2117, info@chatthillseventing.com, www. Chatthillseventing.com 9-11 Southern Classic Appaloosa Show and Slice of Summer Paint Horse Show. Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, www. georgiahorsepark.com 10 CEC HJ Show. Pine Tree Stables, 1265 Sanders Creek Road, Camden, SC. Lynn Conto: 803.424.1952, conto@bellsouth.net. www.camdenequinecircuit.com 10 Eventing Academy Schooling Horse Day. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm.com, www. stableviewfarm.com 10 Atlanta Youth Dressage Challenge. Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, www.georgiahorsepark.com
August-September 2019
10 10 10-11 10-11
10-11 10-11 11 14-15 16 16-18 17 17 17 17-18
17-18
Rolling Hills Saddle Club (H,J,W,B). Wills Park Equestrian Center, 11925 Wills Rd, Alpharetta, GA. Info Line: 770.338.0143, www. willspark.com Sorting (RSNC). BSC Arena, 3976 Highway 24 South,Waynesboro, GA. Cliff Chancey, 706.840.3971. rsnc.us Horse Show Ventures - The Southeastern Hunter/Jumper Series. Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, www.georgiahorsepark.com Southern Classic Appaloosa Show and Slice of Summer Paint Horse Show. Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, www. georgiahorsepark.com Tryon Summer Dressage 5. Tryon International Event Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC. 828.863.1000, www.tryon.coth. com Tallboots HJ Schooling Show. Carolina Horse Park, 2814 Montrose Road, Raeford, NC. 910.875.2074, www.carolinahorsepark.com Eventing Academy Schooling Horse Trials. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm.com, www. stableviewfarm.com USEF/USDF “Too Hot To Trot I” Dressage. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm.com, www. stableviewfarm.com Tryon Hounds Cross Country Schooling Day. Foothills Equestrian Nature Center, 3381 Hunting Country Road, Tryon, NC. 828.859.9021, horseshow@fence.org, www.fence.org Tryon August 2. Tryon International Event Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC. 828.863.1000, www.tryon.coth.com GQHA Novice Show Series. Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, www.georgiahorsepark.com PSJ Highfields Just for Fun. Highfields Event Center, 147 Warehouse Road, Aiken. 803.649.3505, www.psjshows.com Schooling Dressage tests. Full Gallop Farm, 3828 Wagener Rd, Aiken. Lara Anderson: 803. 215.6590, fullgallopfarm@yahoo.com. www.fullgallopfarm.com Young Event Horse/New Event Horse USEA/USEF Horse Trials and Dressage Test of Choice Show. Full Gallop Farm, 3828 Wagener Rd, Aiken. Lara Anderson: 803. 215.6590, fullgallopfarm@ yahoo.com. www.fullgallopfarm.com USEF/USDF “Too Hot To Trot II” Dressage. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm.com, www.stableviewfarm.com
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17-18 The Jump Ahead Benefit Show (H,J). Wills Park Equestrian Center, 11925 Wills Rd, Alpharetta, GA. www.willspark.com 17-18 H. J. Fox Classics I & II. Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, www. georgiahorsepark.com 23-25 Tryon August 3. Tryon International Event Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC. 828.863.1000, www.tryon.coth.com 23-25 PPHC Show. South Carolina Equine Park (SCEP), 443 Cleveland School Road, Camden, SC. 803.486.4938, www.scequinepark.com 24-25 Ticket to Ride. Wills Park Equestrian Center, 11925 Wills Rd, Alpharetta, GA. www.willspark.com 24-25 WHES Schooling Day and Horse Trials. Carolina Horse Park, 2814 Montrose Road, Raeford, NC. 910.875.2074, www. carolinahorsepark.com 24-25 PSJ Mullet Hall Classic. Mullet Hall Equestrian Center, Johns Island, SC. 803.649.3505, www.psjshows.com 25 August Combined test/Dressage tests/Jump rounds. Full Gallop Farm, 3828 Wagener Rd, Aiken. Lara Anderson: 803. 215.6590, fullgallopfarm@yahoo.com. www.fullgallopfarm.com 29-Sep.1 Elite Showjumping (H, J). Wills Park Equestrian Center, 11925 Wills Rd, Alpharetta, GA. Vic Russell: 678.858.7192, www.willspark. com 31-Sep.1 GDCTA Labor Day Classic I & II. Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, www.georgiahorsepark.com 31-Sep.1 Harmon Classics Labor Day Spectacular. Foothills Equestrian Nature Center, 3381 Hunting Country Road, Tryon, NC. 828.859.9021, horseshow@fence.org, www.fence.org 31-Sep.1 Good Times Summer Blow Out. T. Ed Garrison Livestock Arena, 1101 West Queen Street, Pendleton, SC. Robert Obermiller: 828.674.1758, www.clemson.edu/extension/garrison 31-Sep.1 Chat Hills Event. Chattahoochee Hills Eventing - Hosted at the Bouckaert Farm, 9445 Browns Lake Road, Chattahoochee Hills, GA. 770.892.2117, info@chatthillseventing.com, www. Chatthillseventing.com
SEPTEMBER 4
5-8 5-8 6-7 6-8
7 7 7 7 7-8 7-8 7-8 8
11
78
Schooling HJ Show. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm.com, www.stableviewfarm.com Aiken Fall Festival I USEF National/Premier. Aiken Horse Park AKA Bruce’s Field. 931 Powderhouse Rd SE, Aiken. 803.226.0121, aikenhorsepark.org, equusevents.com NYTS National Polo Final. New Bridge Polo Club, 862 New Bridge Road, Aiken. Haley Bryan, 803.215.3577, HBryan2485@aol.com, newbridgepolo.com Sorting (RSNC). BSC Arena, 3976 Highway 24 South, Waynesboro, GA. Cliff Chancey, 706.840.3971. rsnc.us Chat Hills Hunter Jumper Show. Chattahoochee Hills Eventing - Hosted at the Bouckaert Farm, 9445 Browns Lake Road, Chattahoochee Hills, GA. 770.892.2117, info@chatthillseventing. com, www.Chatthillseventing.com Clear Round Jumper Show. The Vista Schooling and Event Center, 859 Old Tory Trail, Aiken. 803.262.5263, www.schoolthevista.com Atlanta Youth Dressage Challenge. Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, www.georgiahorsepark.com Olde Milton Horse Show. Wills Park Equestrian Center, 11925 Wills Rd, Alpharetta, GA. Barb Goda, 770.475.1244, www.willspark. com FRC CT & Dressage Show. Foothills Equestrian Nature Center, 3381 Hunting Country Road, Tryon, NC. 828.859.9021, horseshow@fence.org, www.fence.org Five Points Horse Trials. Carolina Horse Park, 2814 Montrose Road, Raeford, NC. 910.875.2074, www.carolinahorsepark.com Dressage Show: USEF/USDF Recognized. Poplar Place Farm, 8191 Us Highway 27, Hamilton, GA. 706.681.8748, www. poplarplacefarm.com Newton County Saddle Club Open Horse Show. Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, www.georgiahorsepark.com Chat Hills Hunter Pace. Chattahoochee Hills Eventing - Hosted at the Bouckaert Farm, 9445 Browns Lake Road, Chattahoochee Hills, GA. 770.892.2117, info@chatthillseventing.com, www. Chatthillseventing.com Schooling Dressage Show. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm.com, www. stableviewfarm.com
12-15 Aiken Fall Festival II USEF National/Premier. Aiken Horse Park AKA Bruce’s Field. 931 Powderhouse Rd SE, Aiken. 803.226.0121, aikenhorsepark.org, equusevents.com 12-15 Tryon Fall Dressage 2. Tryon International Event Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC. 828.863.1000, www.tryon.coth.com 13-15 Mustang Challenge. Chattahoochee Hills Eventing - Hosted at the Bouckaert Farm, 9445 Browns Lake Road, Chattahoochee Hills, GA. 770.892.2117, info@chatthillseventing.com, www. Chatthillseventing.com 13-15 Camden Fall Classic. South Carolina Equine Park (SCEP), 443 Cleveland School Road, Camden, SC. 803.486.4938, www. scequinepark.com 14-15 Paradise Farm Hunter/Jumper Schooling Show. (Schooling Sat., Show Sun) Hunters 2 -3’3”; Jumpers 2-3’6”; Hunter & Jumper Derbies. Paradise Farm, 4069 Wagener Rd, Aiken. Lellie Ward, 803.640.4918, paradisefarmaiken.com; Paradisefarmaiken@gmail. com 14-15 Horse Trials USEF/USEA Recognized. Poplar Place Farm, 8191 Us Highway 27, Hamilton, GA. 706.681.8748, www.poplarplacefarm. com 14-15 H. J. Fox Autumn Classics I & II. Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, www.georgiahorsepark.com 14-15 GHF/Massey Ferguson Fall Dressage Show. Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, www.georgiahorsepark.com 14-15 Horseshow Ventures. Wills Park Equestrian Center, 11925 Wills Rd, Alpharetta, GA. Morgan Taylor, 770.827.0175, www.willspark.com 15 Schooling HT/Combined Tests/Dressage tests. Full Gallop Farm, 3828 Wagener Rd, Aiken. Lara Anderson: 803. 215.6590, fullgallopfarm@yahoo.com. www.fullgallopfarm.com 18-28 USPA Master Cup 6 Goal. Wagener Polo Club, Aiken. Billy Raab, 561.719.3318, wagenerpolo.com 18-29 Alan Corey Cup 4 Goal. Aiken Polo Club, Aiken. Tiger Kneece, 803.646.3301, tigerkneece@bellsouth.net, aikenpolo.org 19-21 Southeastern Charity Horse Show. Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, www.georgiahorsepark.com 19-22 Tryon Fall HJ I. Tryon International Event Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC. 828.863.1000, www.tryon.coth.com 19-22 Chat Hills Hunter Jumper Show. Chattahoochee Hills Eventing - Hosted at the Bouckaert Farm, 9445 Browns Lake Road, Chattahoochee Hills, GA. 770.892.2117, info@chatthillseventing. com, www.Chatthillseventing.com 20-22 Timberland CT & HDT. Carolina Horse Park, 2814 Montrose Road, Raeford, NC. 910.875.2074, www.carolinahorsepark.com 20-29 USPA Northrup Knox Tournament. New Bridge Polo Club, 862 New Bridge Road, Aiken. Haley Bryan, 803.215.3577, HBryan2485@aol.com, newbridgepolo.com 21 CEC HJ Show. Tally Ho Stables, 3962 Lawson Grove Road, Timmonsville SC. Katrina Hutto, 843.319.9286. www.camdenequinecircuit.com 21 Combined Test and Dressage Show. The Vista Schooling and Event Center, 859 Old Tory Trail, Aiken. 803.262.5263, www. schoolthevista.com 21 Schooling CT Show. Poplar Place Farm, 8191 Us Highway 27, Hamilton, GA. 706.681.8748, www.poplarplacefarm.com 21-22 Paradise Farm HJ Schooling Show. Paradise Farm, 4069 Wagener Rd, Aiken. Lellie Ward, 803.640.4918, paradisefarmaiken.com 21-22 Tryon Hounds Cross Country Schooling Day. Foothills Equestrian Nature Center, 3381 Hunting Country Road, Tryon, NC. 828.859.9021, horseshow@fence.org, www.fence.org 21-22 PSJ Highfields PSJ Aiken Fall Festival. Highfields Event Center, 147 Warehouse Road, Aiken. 803.649.3505, www.psjshows.com 21-22 Cheryl & Co. Horse Show. Wills Park Equestrian Center, 11925 Wills Rd, Alpharetta, GA. Cheryl Sims, 404.518.9198, www. willspark.com 21-Oct.5 Copa de Plata 8 Goal Tournament. New Bridge Polo Club, 862 New Bridge Road, Aiken. Haley Bryan, 803.215.3577, HBryan2485@aol.com, newbridgepolo.com 25-29 Tryon Fall HJ II. Tryon International Event Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC. 828.863.1000, www.tryon.coth.com 27-29 USEF/USEA/FEI CIC */**/***/**** Oktoberfest Horse Trials. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@ stableviewfarm.com, www.stableviewfarm.com 27-29 IIIR Stars EQ Team. SC Equine Park, 443 Cleveland School Road, Camden, SC. 803.486.4938, www.scequinepark.com
The Aiken Horse
August-September 2019
28 28 28 28-29 28-29
28-29 28-29 28-29
PSJ Highfields Just for Fun. Highfields Event Center, 147 Warehouse Road, Aiken. 803.649.3505, www.psjshows.com Rolling Hills Saddle Club (H,J,W,B). Wills Park Equestrian Center, 11925 Wills Rd, Alpharetta, GA. Info Line: 770.338.0143, www. willspark.com FENCE Open Horse Show. Foothills Equestrian Nature Center, 3381 Hunting Country Road, Tryon, NC. 828.859.9021, horseshow@fence.org, www.fence.org Ride Better Clinic. Stono River Stables, Charleston, SC. Laura Quarles: 843 813 5506, www.paradisefarmaiken.com Chat Hills SESSC Schooling Show. Chattahoochee Hills Eventing - Hosted at the Bouckaert Farm, 9445 Browns Lake Road, Chattahoochee Hills, GA. 770.892.2117, info@chatthillseventing. com, www.Chatthillseventing.com Cheryl & Co. Fall Festival Horse Show. Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, www.georgiahorsepark.com Southeastern Regional Championship Extreme Cowboy Race. Green River Farm, 623 North Green River Road, Gaffney, SC. 352.217.2448, southernobstaclechallenges.com Newton County Saddle Club Open Horse Show. Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, www.georgiahorsepark.com
OCTOBER 2
2-5
2-6 2-13 4 4-6
4-20 5 5 5-6 8-13 8-13 9 9-19 10-26 11-12 11-13
11-20 12 12
Schooling HJ Show. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm.com, www.stableviewfarm.com Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover Competition. Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington, KY. www.tbmakeover.org.2-6 Elite Show Jumping (H,J). Wills Park Equestrian Center, 11925 Wills Rd, Alpharetta, GA. Vic Russell, 678.858.7192, www.willspark. com Tryon Fall HJ III. Tryon International Event Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC. 828.863.1000, www.tryon.coth.com USPA Governors Cup 6 Goal. Aiken Polo Club, Aiken. Tiger Kneece, 803.646.3301, tigerkneece@bellsouth.net, aikenpolo.org Chukkers of Hope Benefit Polo Game. 862 New Bridge Road, Aiken. chukkersofhope.com Chat Hills Hunter Jumper Show. Chattahoochee Hills Eventing - Hosted at the Bouckaert Farm, 9445 Browns Lake Road, Chattahoochee Hills, GA. 770.892.2117, info@chatthillseventing. com, www.Chatthillseventing.com USPA Copper Cup Tournament. New Bridge Polo Club, 862 New Bridge Road, Aiken. Haley Bryan, 803.215.3577, HBryan2485@aol. com, newbridgepolo.com The Vista Schooling Horse Trials. The Vista Schooling and Event Center, 859 Old Tory Trail, Aiken. 803.262.5263, www. schoolthevista.com 73rd Annual Block House Races. Tryon International Event Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC. 828.863.1000, www.tryon. coth.com PSJ Oktoberfest. Foothills Equestrian Nature Center, 3381 Hunting Country Road, Tryon, NC. 828.859.9021, horseshow@fence.org, www.psjshows.com Aiken Women’s Polo Tournament. Aiken Polo Club, Aiken. Tiger Kneece, 803.646.3301, tigerkneece@bellsouth.net, aikenpolo.org Tryon Fall HJ IV. Tryon International Event Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC. 828.863.1000, www.tryon.coth.com Schooling Dressage Show. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm.com, www. stableviewfarm.com USPA Constitutional Cup 6 Goal. Wagener Polo Club, Aiken. Billy Raab, 561.719.3318, wagenerpolo.com USPA President’s Cup 8 Goal. New Bridge Polo Club, 862 New Bridge Road, Aiken. Haley Bryan, 803.215.3577, HBryan2485@aol. com, newbridgepolo.com Sorting (RSNC). BSC Arena, 3976 Highway 24 South, Waynesboro, GA. Cliff Chancey, 706.840.3971. rsnc.us Great American Insurance Group/USDF Region 3 Championship and Atlanta National Fall Dressage. Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, www.georgiahorsepark.com USPA Officers Cup 6 Goal. Aiken Polo Club, Aiken. Tiger Kneece, 803.646.3301, tigerkneece@bellsouth.net, aikenpolo.org Barn Tour to Benefit Geat Oak Therapeutic Riding Center. Ch Chat Hills Schooling Show. Chattahoochee Hills Eventing - Hosted at the Bouckaert Farm, 9445 Browns Lake Road, Chattahoochee Hills, GA. 770.892.2117, info@chatthillseventing.com, www. Chatthillseventing.com
August-September 2019
12-13 WHES Horse Trials. Carolina Horse Park, 2814 Montrose Road, Raeford, NC. 910.875.2074, www.carolinahorsepark.com 12-13 Southeast Championships. Highfields Event Center, 147 Warehouse Road, Aiken. 803.649.3505, www.psjshows.com 12-13 Elite Show Jumping (H,J). Wills Park Equestrian Center, 11925 Wills Rd, Alpharetta, GA. Vic Russell, 678.858.7192, www.willspark. com 13 Paradise Farm USEA/USEF Horse Trials. Starter thru Prelim. Paradise Farm, 4069 Wagener Rd, Aiken. Lellie Ward, 803.640.4918, paradisefarmaiken.com; Paradisefarmaiken@gmail.com 15-20 Tryon Fall HJ V. Tryon International Event Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC. 828.863.1000, www.tryon.coth.com 18-20 Four Beats For Pleasure. South Carolina Equine Park (SCEP), 443 Cleveland School Road, Camden, SC. 803.486.4938, www. scequinepark.com 19 Eventing Academy Schooling Day. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm.com, www. stableviewfarm.com 19 Schooling CT Show. Poplar Place Farm, 8191 Us Highway 27, Hamilton, GA. 706.681.8748, www.poplarplacefarm.com 19-20 H. J. Fox Halloween Classics I & II. Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, www.georgiahorsepark.com 19-20 Brownwood Farm (H,J). Wills Park Equestrian Center, 11925 Wills Rd, Alpharetta, GA. Roger Brown, 770.312.4473, www.willspark. com 19-20 Tryon Hounds Horse Trials. Foothills Equestrian Nature Center, 3381 Hunting Country Road, Tryon, NC. 828.859.9021, horseshow@fence.org, www.fence.org 20 Eventing Academy Schooling Horse Trials. Stable View, LLC 117 Stable Drive, Aiken. 484.356.3173, info@stableviewfarm.com, www. stableviewfarm.com 22-26 Tryon Fall HJ VI. Tryon International Event Center, 4066 Pea Ridge Road, Mill Spring, NC. 828.863.1000, www.tryon.coth.com 24-Nov.3 USPA Players Cup 4 Goal. Aiken Polo Club, Aiken. Tiger Kneece, 803.646.3301, tigerkneece@bellsouth.net, aikenpolo.org 25-26 SC Walking Horse Championship. T. Ed Garrison Livestock Arena, 1101 West Queen Street, Pendleton, SC. Robert Obermiller: 828.674.1758, www.clemson.edu/extension/garrison 25-27 Lendon Gray’s Dressage4Kids & Atlanta Youth Festival. Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, www.georgiahorsepark.com 25-27 SCQHA Spooktacular. South Carolina Equine Park (SCEP), 443 Cleveland School Road, Camden, SC. 803.486.4938, www. scequinepark.com 25-Nov.3 USPA Bronze Trophy Tournament. New Bridge Polo Club, 862 New Bridge Road, Aiken. Haley Bryan, 803.215.3577, HBryan2485@aol.com, newbridgepolo.com 26 28th Aiken Fall Steeplechase. Aiken Horse Park. 931 Powderhouse Rd SE, Aiken. 803.226.0121, aikenhorsepark.org 26 Halloween Derby Cross. The Vista Schooling and Event Center, 859 Old Tory Trail, Aiken. 803.262.5263, www.schoolthevista.com 26 CEC HJ Show. Springdale Stables, 1265 Sanders Creek Road, Camden, SC. Candi Cocks, 803.243.4417. www. camdenequinecircuit.com 26 Atlanta Youth Dressage Challenge. Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, www.georgiahorsepark.com 26-27 Ride Better Clinic. Stono River Stables, Charleston, SC. Laura Quarles: 843-813-5506, www.paradisefarmaiken.com 26-27 Tallboots HJ Schooling Show. Carolina Horse Park, 2814 Montrose Road, Raeford, NC. 910.875.2074, www.carolinahorsepark.com 26-27 Chat Hills Event. Chattahoochee Hills Eventing - Hosted at the Bouckaert Farm, 9445 Browns Lake Road, Chattahoochee Hills, GA. 770.892.2117, info@chatthillseventing.com, www. Chatthillseventing.com 26-27 Athens Area Hunter/Jumper Association Fall Classic and 2018 Medal Finals. Georgia International Horse Park, 1996 Centennial Olympic Parkway, Conyers, GA. 770.860.4190, www. georgiahorsepark.com 27 PSJ Highfields Just for Fun. Highfields Event Center, 147 Warehouse Road, Aiken. 803.649.3505, www.psjshows.com 27 BRHJA Classic. Foothills Equestrian Nature Center, 3381 Hunting Country Road, Tryon, NC. 828.859.9021, horseshow@fence.org, www.fence.org
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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, full, partial or self care. Fun, friendly, adult atmosphere. Convenient to town, South Aiken 803508-3760. 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: Norfolk Terriers & Russell Terriers. Quality family dogs with proven calmer dispositions. Generations of great temperaments. Health/dispositions guaranteed. Breeder of terriers for 40+ years. Donna Fitzpatrick. 803.648.3137. easyjacks.com & trinityfarmskennel.com & trinitynorfolkterriers.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. HOME & FARM SERVICES Be Fly Free. Automatic fly systems for barns and sheds. No unpleasant odor, no synthetic insecticides, no petroleum distillates. Call Carlos: 803-645-0361. beflyfree.com; carlos@beflyfree.com. INSURANCE Betsy Minton, Dietrich Insurance Company, 803. 617. 8353. Providing competitive comprehensive insurance for horses and farms. Excellent professional and personal service always delivered with a smile. betsyminton.com. 800 942 4258
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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 803-641-4715. B & E Stables. Elite Training and Sales Facility for all levels of horse and rider. Visit classicaldressagetraining.com or call Elaine: 803257-1949. 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. YOGA/FITNESS Aiken Yoga: At Aiken Yoga we are passionate about sharing the benefits that regular yoga practice has on one’s physical and mental well-being. We offer Yoga classes, Yoga for Equestrians, Pilates, Barre, Cycle and Functional Fitness -- helping people to keep fit for daily living. Sarah Accord, RN, 116B Pendleton St. SW Aiken. 803-524-8833 or sarah@aikenyoga.com; for schedule go to aikenyoga.com.
The Aiken Horse
August-September 2019
Classifieds 7 year old registered QH mare. Grey. 15.1 hands. Super quiet, no spook. Great in trails. Call for more information. 803-295-8687
Mill Race Farm, Aiken. Warm weather luxury horse retirement, breaking, training, layups. 803-640-1818
1890’s Auto Surrey
4-year-old TB Mare 16 hands Athletic. Call for more info: 239-989-2011
Amish refurbished Padded Patent leather fenders and dash, convertible top and rubberized wheels. Paint and seat refurbished by antique auto restorer. Single and double shafts included.
$8,995.00
803-599-6605 BOARDING/ TURNOUT Angel View Farm: Small private stable has room for 2 or 3 boarders, retired or in work. Owners here year round. Turnout or 12X 12 matted stalls. 50 X 250 jump field, trails. Near 302 eventing & 10 miles to town. angelviewaiken@gmail.com. 845234-8115 Chime Ridge Stables. Come join us! Fun group of mature riders at Chime Ridge Stables. Space available full, partial or DIY. 803508-3760; please leave message. Pasture board or dry stalls at Hilltop Farm of Aiken. Beautiful property in 302 corridor, close to town. Under new ownership. anguslady2@hotmail.com or 770468-5760.
BUILDING/REPAIRS/ PAINT
bonded, insured. Contact Paul Dyches. paul.t.dyches@gmail. com. 803-645-6645.
HAY 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 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 state-wide. Fully enclosed truck. Satisfaction guaranteed. Jim McClain. 803.247.4803.
HELP WANTED Freelance writers who know horses! The Aiken Horse is looking for contributors. Experience writing preferred; experience with horses a must. Must be a self-starter able to
Building & Repair: Carpentry, Doors, Windows, Decks, Cabinets, Trim, Stairs, Railings, Gates, Wood Siding, Floors, Framing, Repairs. Licensed,
work independently. Must be good with deadlines and willing to rewrite if necessary. Good attitude important. Email resume, writing clips and availability to AikenHorseJobs@gmail.com.
HORSES/PETS & SERVICES Trinity Farms Terriers: Norfolk Terriers & Russell Terriers. Quality family dogs with proven calmer dispositions. Generations of great temperaments. Health/ dispositions guaranteed. Breeder of terriers for 40+ years. Donna Fitzpatrick. 803.648.3137. easyjacks.com & trinityfarmskennel.com & trinitynorfolkterriers.com.
LESSONS 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;. theridingschoolaiken.com.
REAL ESTATE & RENTALS 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.
SHAVINGS Shaving Saver: Delivering you bulk shavings the economical & convenient way! Large, durable bags (950 lbs.) of pine shavings delivered to your stable. Reusable, eco-friendly bags make storage neat and simple; bulk pricing makes your bedding affordable. Quality blended easy sift & large flake shavings that your horse will love! Call or text Claudia White 410-303-4617 or email scshavingsaver@gmail.com
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. BUSINESS CARDS: $65 per issue or $280 PHOTO CLASSIFIEDS for horses: $35; for the year (6 issues.) 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 2019
MAILING ADDRESS: The Aiken Horse, P.O. Box 332, Montmorenci, SC 29839 EMAIL: theAikenHorse@gmail.com We accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express.
Advertise in the October-November issue! Deadline September 13, 2019 Publication date: October 2019
Pay online: TheAikenHorse.com or call us: 803.643.9960
The Aiken Horse
81
Business Cards
Absorbs up to 350% its weight – much more than other products Replace less bedding – on average add just ½ bag a week per stall Stall cleaning is faster and odor free, with less waste Easy to handle/stack 40 lb., recyclable paper bags Dust-free – ideal for horses with respiratory and skin allergies Excellent as fertilizer, no need to compost, plus adds nitrogen to soil 484-390-1453
Sole Distributors in Aiken area
82
aikenflaxbedding@gmail.com www.flaxfarm.ca
The Aiken Horse
August-September 2019
Monetta Farrier Specialties
TWO GREAT LOCATIONS
GREAT SERVICE AND BROAD RANGE OF QUALITY FARRIER SUPPLIES
Aiken, SC
803.685.5101
Columbus, NC
828.894.0280
www.monettafarrier.com
MyMalvernBank.com Serving Aiken year round
EAST COAST EQUINE DENTISTRY Lou Heffner
Quality work at an affordable price.
20+ years experience
803.649.9343 home 610.960.2405 for immediate response
August-September 2019
The Aiken Horse
83
Mortality FarM liability Care/Custody/Control shawna dietriCh
800-942-4258
Louisville, KY
•
Aiken, SC
betsy Minton
803-617-8353
www.dietrich-insurance.com
84
The Aiken Horse
August-September 2019
August-September 2019
The Aiken Horse
85
Index of Advertisers Advertiser
Section
Page
Advertiser
Section
Page
Advertiser
Section
Page
Aiken County Farm Supply
2
58
Estancia La Victoria
3
79
New Bridge Polo Club
1
35
Aiken Fine Homes and Land
1
16
Estrella Equine
2
47
Oak Manor Saddlery
2
55
Aiken Horsemanship Academy
1
31
Fencing Solutions
2
54
Paradise Farm
2
55
Aiken Luxury Rentals
1
31
FITS Equestrian
2
51
Patty Merli Saddles
1
23
Aiken Polo Club
1
34
FOTAS Aiken
3
62
Progressive Show Jumping, Inc
2
39
Aiken Saddlery, Inc.
2
38
G L Williams and Daughter
2
51
Retired Racehorse Project
3
87
Augusta Cup
1
33
Gary Knoll Photography
3
76
Sharer Dale
1
14
Auto Tech
2
54
Great Oak ATRC
1
30
Sharer Dale
1
15
Banks Hall
1
5
Harrison K-9 Security Service, LLC
2
59
South Carolina Equine Park
2
50
Banks Mill Feeds
1
33
Ina Ginsberg
1
20
Southern Equine Service
1
11
Barnware
2
47
Jumping Branch
1
23
SPCA Albrecht Center
1
32
Be Fly Free
1
23
Keller Williams- Gutierrez
1
23
Stable View Farm, LLC
2
47
Bill Ryan
1
26
L & N Equestrian
2
51
Sugar & Spice Childrens Spa
1
10
Bluff Landscaping
1
10
Lightning Protection Systems
1
26
Sweet PDZ (PDZ Co. LLC)
2
55
Carolina Real Estate Company
1
12
Lisa Seger Insurance
1
31
The Kneaded Edge
1
26
Carolina Real Estate Company
1
13
Malvern Federal
1
21
The Kneaded Edge
2
54
Chukkers of Hope
3
67
Marrinson Stables
1
31
The Tack Room
2
50
DFG Stables
2
46
Meybohm RE (Sullivan/Turner)
1
17
Three Runs Plantation
1
36
Downtown Dog
1
30
Meybohm RE Haslup
1
3
Tod’s Hill/ReMax
3
60
Epona
1
31
Meybohm RE Vaillancourt
1
2
Warneke Cleaners
2
54
Equine Divine
1
16
Meybohm RE Vaillancourt
1
22
Wolf Construction
3
88
Equine Rescue of Aiken
3
73
Meybohm Realtors Stinson
1
4
86
The Aiken Horse
August-September 2019
August-September 2019
The Aiken Horse
87