ESDCTA Collective Remarks - July 2020

ESDCTA MAGAZINE

COLLECTIVE REMARKS

WWW.ESDCTA.ORG July 2020

Cover Photo of: Sage Kurten

Table of Contents 3

President’s Message

6

My Winter in Aiken, South Carolina

8

News from Outside the Ring

9

Cross-Country Schooling Day

10

An Untraditional Way to Riding Enlightenment

12

The Amateur Dilemma

14

Horse Treats

15 Business Members

2

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President’s Message As the states slowly open back up, we are all anxiously awaiting the return to “normal” horse-related activities – having fun and enjoying our horses. Whether that’s giving our horses a good grooming, competing, going on a trail ride, or just practicing in the ring, it definitely feels good to be actively working with horses again!

We are very excited to be able to run the Summer Days Dressage show July 21-22 at the USET in Gladstone. Of course, there will be a number of Covid-19 safety protocols and changes in procedures in place, but we are all getting so adept at wearing masks and keeping 6 feet apart, it shouldn’t be a problem for anyone. Whatever we have to do to be able to show is worth it, right?

ESDCTA hosted our first cross-country schooling at the Horse Park of NJ, and it was a smashing success, with over 115 horses. The weather was perfect, the footing was great as always, and everyone was so excited to be back out playing with jumps, they stayed much longer than usual. Let’s hope the next one on July 11 is just as wonderful.

Remember to check the Calendar on the website to see all the latest shows and other activities that will definitely be running.

Enjoy the summer and happy back to horses and showing!

Holly Cornell President

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Board of Trustees OFFICERS

Phone only before 9 p.m. please

President

Holly Cornell

president@esdcta.org

732.208.8715

Vice President

Ellen Brindle-Clark

vicepresident@esdcta.org

609.351.1054

Secretary

Ruth McCormick

secretary@esdcta.org

201.240.4505

Treasurer

Betty Audduci 260 Betty Lane Gilbert, PA 18331

treasurer@esdcta

610.564.9169

Dressage at Large

Jena Rondinelli

MAL@esdcta.org

732.814.1117

Eventing at Large

Jennifer Duelfer

MAL@esdcta.org

732.598.3077 201.874.0373

Executive Board

Dressage Competitions

Dr. Lisa Toaldo

dressage@esdcta.org

Eventing Competitions

Janice Pellegrino

eventing@esdcta.org

Marketing

Erin Gale

marketing@esdcta.org

Membership

Tamara Purdy

membership@esdcta.org

Membership

Heidi Lemack

membership@esdcta.org

609.306.8221

Finance

Gary Maholic

finance@esdcta.org

215.489.1557 6093511054

Education

Victoria Shilton

education@esdcta.org

Youth

Stephanie Warner

youth@esdcta.org

NJEAB Representative

Carolyn Montgomery

crunner141@comcast.net

Awards

Debra Tomajko

awards@esdcta.org

908.392.1774 TEXT ONLY

OFF BOARD COMMITTEE CHAIRS Calendars/Activities

Vacant

activities@esdcta.org

Grants

Debra Tomajko

grants@esdcta.org

Equipment

Wilma Pfeer

dressage@esdcta.org

Newsletter

Meredith Rogers

newsletter@esdcta.org

Nominating

Eliza Banks

chivalryhillfarm@aol.com

Omnibus

Mia Zimmerman

omnibus@esdcta.org

Show Results

Jean Goetz

results@esdcta.org 1

Become a friend of the ESDCTA on Facebook Follow us on Twitter @ESDCTA 4

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CROSS COUNTRY...

News Across Our Region COMMUNITY NEWS

Milestone

If you’re reading this, you are probably a member of ESDCTA, but I’m sure you know of someone who rides dressage or events who is not a member. You know all about the wonderful things offered like educational programs, clinics with big name trainers, horse shows, year-end awards, and not least, that sense of being part of a community of likeminded people. The more members ESDCTA has, the better the programs we can offer. Our membership numbers are also important considerations when state and local governments decide on legislature that affects us (like open space), and we advocate for our sports (we’re working on better footing at the HPNJ). Please reach out to your equestrian buddies and tell them about all of the benefits of membership and have them sign up. The more the merrier!

Please Contact Linda Marciante if you know any ESDCTA members who have achieved any Milestones.

Success at a show, regional/national/international award, new horse, or anything else you want to celebrate.

WHAT’S YOUR TALENT??

Let us know what you would like to help us with in 2020. All skills and interests wanted. Have an idea? We want to hear about it. Remember, this club is what YOU make it. Contact president@esdcta.org if you are interested.

NEWSLETTER COMMITTEE

Have a great article that you would like to share?

Please send article to: Meredith Rogers: newsletter@esdcta.org All submissions are due by the 15th of the month. Due to space considerations, the editor reserves the right to edit submitted articles.

If necessary, articles will be edited and returned for your review.

AND YOU GET VOLUNTEER HOURS FOR EACH STORY!

e-mail: lindalbbf@gmail.com

MEMBERSHIP QUESTIONS For membership questions including updating physical or e-mail addresses please contact: Tamara Purdy membership@esdcta.org

2020 ADVERTISING RATES

MEMBER NON-MEMBER FULL PAGE $100 $130 HALF PAGE $65 $85 QUARTER PAGE $40 $60 BUSINESS CARD $20 $30 CARD FOR 3 MONTHS $45 $65 CLASSIFIEDS $10 $15 Deadline: 15th of prior month Email: newsletter@esdcta.org Please have electronic ads in Adobe PDF or .jpg format

You will receive an invoice for ad via email.

Send Payment to: Betty Adduci 266 Betty Lane Gilbert, PA 18331 Email: treasurer@esdcta.org

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My Winter in Aiken, South Carolina By, Holly Cornell

For the past 8 years, I’ve traveled to Aiken, SC (the winter Eventing destination spot) for February and March with my trainer, Holly Payne. A couple of years ago I purchased a small vacation house there, and have spent January in Aiken, as well, boarding at a local barn before moving over to Holly’s facility for February and March.

Since Holly didn’t travel to Aiken this year, it was up to me to find trainers and arrange lessons on my own. This year, January was a rehab month, since my horse, Zoe, sustained a slight strain in December in NJ. However, in February as luck would have it, Sara Gumbiner (5* eventer) moved into the barn where I was boarding, so I didn’t have to look very far to find a good trainer.

Sara asked me what I felt I needed to work on, and I mentioned the free walk has never been really great, and that I sometimes have trouble with Zoe jigging when I pick her up after the free walk, before we’re supposed to be trotting. She told me my pelvis was a little tight, and to try to rock my pelvis more with her motion, which will en6

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courage her to loosen up her back, and stretch better. So, we practiced that a bunch, doing lots of transitions from working walk to free walk, back to working walk, and eventually back to trot. Miracle of miracles, her stretch is getting a lot better, and I remember to practice this most of the time. Since it’s her tendency to sometimes rush before or bolt after jumps, we also worked on keeping Zoe steady and consistent coming into jumps and getting her back immediately after. That was extremely helpful also, and the lessons seem to have traveled back to NJ with me.

Unfortunately, Sara was only there during February, so I started taking some lessons from Carol Kozlowski, Past-President of USEA (and obviously an eventer), as well as a regular dressage rider. She concentrated on my position, and in just a month, we made great strides. The first thing she told me to do was to think about lifting my rib cage. No one has ever used that exact terminology before, and it really resonated with me. Lifting my rib cage seemed to affect many things – I felt my core tighten, my shoulders come back, my eyes come up, my elbows come in (a terrible habit of mine), and it brought my hands closer together and in the right position, all without tightening anything or consciously trying to fix any of those things individually. I continue to try to remember to lift my rib cage, and I’m remembering more and more often.

I usually head back to NJ at the end of March, but because of the Covid-19 virus, I decided to stay through April. Neighbors told me April was really pretty in Aiken, and I found out this year that they are right. Everything was in bloom, and it really was quite pretty; the weather was great, and hiking was so refreshing. So, in April, I moved my horse to Pippa Moon’s barn, and had some lovely lessons with her, as well.

Since my position was improving, Pippa worked on getting Zoe a bit more forward without rushing, and a bit rounder without her stalling out. And, we continued our controlled jumping a bit more too.

All in all, it was a wonderful learning experience, and I highly recommend taking a lesson or clinic here and there from an available trainer you don’t normally work with.

As I learned this winter, it never hurts to get a fresh perspective on your riding.

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News from Outside the Ring Black Lives Matter I would be remiss for not touching on this topic as it is on the forefront of the news everywhere – as it should be. There’s a lot of talk about how money is corrupting the essence of riding, and that we should be getting back to the grass roots of equestrian sport. You can’t get more “grass roots” than the inner city or remote rural communities, places you normally don’t think of as equine meccas, but surprisingly, they are filled with people who would flock to equestrian sport if only they knew about it and had access (to know horses is to love them, right?). They are also areas that are predominately filled with persons of color, which is something not currently well-represented in our equestrian world. Several programs are helping to unite those underrepresented groups with horses. Below are three 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations that are doing good in this area, and I’m sure there are many more.

• Saddle Up and Read: https://www.saddleupandread.org/. This North Carolina organization encourages youth to read by pairing equine-related incentives (eg, riding lessons) to reading goals to encourage kids to read. They visit schools, libraries, child care centers, church youth groups, and community events to connect people and horses. They also have created a library of books that feature Black equestrians to help decrease the literacy gap between white and minority students. Reading and horses – what’s not to support?!?

• Detroit Horse Power: http://www.detroithorsepower.org/. They teach urban youth to ride and care for hoses as a way to develop critical traits (eg, perseverance, empathy, responsibility, and confidence) that will help them in every-day life. I’m sure for many of us, horses kept us out of trouble. This program gives inner city kids something to do in a safe and nurturing environment, and one they otherwise would not get exposure to. They host a summer camp and after-school program. It is not unlikely that our next Olympic superstar (or great teacher, healthcare provider, community leader) could come from this program or one like it.

• Ebony Horsewomen, Inc. Equestrian and Therapeutic Center: https://www.ebonyhorsewomen.us/. Established in 1984 and based in Hartford, CT, this is the only African-American organization in the country doing intensive equine-assisted psycho-therapeutic work with adults, families, military veterans, and children. They also have a number of youth programs that promote STEM and good citizenship through horsemanship training, equine anatomy and psychology (eg, herd dynamics), and equine husbandry and research. They specialize in promoting the bond between horses and humans, and we can all relate to that.

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Everyone Had a Great Time at the ESDCTA Cross-Country Schooling Day, June 13, at the Horse Park of New Jersey Photos courtesy of Jennifer Duelfer and Sage Kurten

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An Untraditional Way to Riding Enlightenment By, Paige Zimmerman

On June 14th, Travelda Farm and Olivia Steidle Dressage were fortunate enough to host a safe and socially distanced clinic with Felicitas von Neumann-Cosel. Though it was only one-day and limited to boarders at the facility, we accomplished a huge amount. The riders included all of the usual suspects, and there were some new faces that joined in the fun. As always, Felicitas’s expertise helped many of the riders experience positive and beautiful breakthroughs. We all are incredibly grateful that Felicitas was able to come and teach us, it was so nice to have a refresher before show season finally starts up!

I was able to ride Buddy in the clinic, and we worked mainly on my position and how my body influences his throughness. Felicitas brought with her some resistance bands made specifically for equestrians, and many of the riders took a turn trying them out.

The bands are put on to form an X on the rider: the outside shoulder connects to the inside foot and the inside shoulder connects to the outside foot. I spent most of my lesson riding in them, and what the bands “told me” was remarkable. At a standstill, I could immediately feel that they encouraged my shoulders to come softly down and back, and they helped me feel how much I need to stabilize my shoulders and legs in order to keep my seat properly in the saddle. In the sitting trot, I lose my balance and seat stability at times, and to cope with that, I tend to take my legs off the horse and cease using them effectively.

The bands revealed to me how I need to hold positive tension in my shoulders, keep an active seat and relaxed back, and stabilize my leg (without gripping) to sit the trot. In the canter, I could feel it too: when Buddy starts to get a head of steam and run away, my first subconscious instinct is to take my legs off, thus preventing me from properly bending him.

The bands amplified my awareness of this habit, and Felicitas helped me to feel how I need to bend him 10

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properly in order to stop him from losing the collection. Maintaining the bend throughout his body prevented him from flattening and stiffening, and we were able to develop some beautiful canter.

In the rising trot, the bands told me that my stirrups were a hair too long. As soon as I started posting the trot, I could feel the stirrups bouncing slightly. Felicitas told me that the stirrups were just long enough that I could not bounce off of the balls of my feet properly, meaning that I was trying to find stability by shoving my heels down instead of bouncing lightly off of the front part of my foot. As the lesson went on, it became better and better as my hips loosened up, but it was very interesting how the bands could help me feel something so slight. The bands also drew my attention to my right shoulder, hip, and seat bone when trotting and cantering to the right. My right side is always my tighter side, and it is difficult for me to turn my body to the right when trying to steer. Since the rest of my body was lined up properly, thanks to the bands, I could much more easily feel the slight imbalance and crookedness on my right side. Felicitas worked with me on that, and it helped a lot to feel how much more I need to focus on that crookedness in order to fix it. Throughout all of this, Buddy just kept getting better and better! By working on how my position affects his ability to carry himself, he became much more through and we got some great work in the trot and the canter.

The clinic was incredibly enjoyable and we already got our hands on our own pair of riding resistance bands, with more pairs to come!

Felicitas’s teaching truly makes an amazing difference in every horse and rider, and I always feel a difference in my mental and physical understanding of dressage after I ride with her. Thank-you Felicitas for coming to teach us, and thank-you Olivia for organizing the clinic and allowing me to ride Buddy. I’ve learned so much, and I know that I say this after every clinic, but it always holds true: I can’t wait for next time!

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The Amateur Dilemma By, Meredith Rogers

It feels so good to be riding again. Other than not being able to ride for that brief-but-didn’t-feel-brief time, my life hasn’t changed much during this pandemic. I’m still working. I was never one to go shopping every weekend. My husband and I are homebodies, preferring a nice meal in the backyard and a movie on TV to going to NYC for a show. And then you have the BLM movement. I have black friends and I’m worried for them, but we live in a relatively benign community, so I’m not as worried for them as if we lived somewhere else. Most of my white friends feel as I do, so I’m not confronted on a daily basis with overt racism or even microaggressions that I feel I have to respond to. I don’t have the time to go to protests, and only watch them on TV like so much other news that is from far away. Again, these events have little impact on my day-to-day life.

Back in the Saddle

It’s very easy for me to forget that others are nowhere near as fortunate. Many people are dealing with not only real sickness from this virus, but associated financial problems. Racism is real, and yes, it is alive and well in our sheltered equestrian world. So, what can we do about both of these issues? Regarding the virus, follow the CDC guidelines – wear a mask, practice social distancing, wash hands/use hand sanitizer – even as horse shows start to ramp up. A false sense of security is easy when we see our horse friends every day at the barn, but remember that you may not know what they do when they leave there. How frequent do they go to the grocery store? Did they wear a mask when they got gas? Regarding fighting racism, become educated and speak up. Asking a girl how she fits her hair under her helmet is an example of microaggression – it’s none of our business and she is not there to satisfy our curiosity. So is asking someone of color leading two horses who the owner is – most likely it is the person leading the horses. It’s not easy, but interrupt someone making a racist joke.

I feel that it is my responsibility as a human being to look out for others (those at risk of disease) and treat everyone equally with respect (accept everyone as they are). A tenant of Judaism is that we are put on this earth to heal the world. Did you know I was Jewish? Does it change your opinion of me? We need to ask ourselves more ques12

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tions. Is that person dealing with an autoimmune disease, so I should wear a mask around them? How can I make that person feel welcomed in our barn? None of us imagined living in the world we find ourselves in, but here we are. We cannot fix everything, but we can, and should, start in our own backyard, or paddock, as it may be.

Disclaimer: I understand that there are those who think we should leave the outside world behind when we enter the barn, and I’m the first to use the barn as an escape from my troubles. However, I feel change happens best from within, which is why I wrote this. These opinions are personal and belong solely to me, so please no angry letters to ESDCTA. If you want to complain, please do so directly, by emailing: newsletter@esdcta.org.

ESDCTA Cross Country Schooling

July 11th – Horse Park of New Jersey 9AM -3PM ESDCTA members $65; Non-members $80.

• $10 discount for additional horse(s) only when both are only ridden by the same rider.

Non Jumping Horses $35

Registration info can be found on the ESDCTA website!

Coggins within 12 months required In order to stay compliant with NJ State COVID Guidelines, temperatures will be taken for all people at the entrance of the Horse Park. Anyone with a temperature of 100.4 will not be allowed on the grounds. We also ask that each people not mounted on their horse to please wear a mask and practice general social distancing. Everyone will also be asked to sign a Horse Park waiver.

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Horse Treats By, Meredith Rogers

For a lot of us, the first horse we saw was on the sliver screen or on television.

But have you ever wondered where those horses came from? Some were well bred, others rescues. Here’s the story of a few of those famous horses we know and love.

Mr. Ed’s real name was Bamboo Harvester, a Palomino gelding foaled in 1949 in El Monte, California. His sire was a Saddlebred and his mother, a Polish Arabian. Before becoming a television star, he was a show and parade horse, having once been owned by the President of the California Palomino Society. Filmways purchased him for only $1,500 and the rest is history. Mr. Ed died at the age of 21 from a variety of age-related ailments and was buried at Snodgrass Farm in Oklahoma.

The Black Stallion was played by an Arabian stallion named Cass Ole, who was born in 1969. He had an illustrious show career, wining a National Championship in Western Pleasure, a National Reserve Championship in Ladies Side Saddle, and US Top Ten Arabian English Pleasure, among more than 70 championships and reserve championships. Cass Ole actually had white on his pasterns and a white star, which had to be dyed for the movie. After siring of 130 foals, he was euthanized in 1993 for colic.

Trigger and Buttermilk were the two main horses in the the Roy Rogers series. The original Trigger was foaled in 1934, and was a Thoroughbred cross, named Golden Cloud. He had other movie roles before becoming Roy Rogers’ famous horse. Buttermilk on the other hand, was saved as a colt from being sold to slaughter by a cattle farmer who named him Taffy. Although he had originally been abused and was nasty, with good care and training he became friendly and affectionate. Glenn Randall, a famous Hollywood trainer saw him at a show and bought him, turning him into Dale Evans beloved mount. An interesting fact, Roy proposed to Dale while sitting atop of Trigger after a show in Chicago. Trigger was 33 when he died, and Buttermilk died at the age of 31; both of old age.

Hidalgo was played by 5 horses, but the main horse was RH Tecontender or “TJ,” a 1993 registered Paint stallion. TJ was found by the famous movie horse trainer, Rex Peterson, who called the American Paint Horse Association to help him find five identically marked Paint horses. Rex spent an afternoon at the APHA headquarters going through the 3.5 million photos of the 700,000 registered Paint horses, and followed up on those he thought would work. TJ had been a show horse in Missouri before being discovered. At the end of filming, the star, Viggo Mortensen, purchased him and still has him today.

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BUSINESS MEMBERS Blue Bridle Insurance Agency

Windy Hollow Hunt Club Sussex County Fairgrounds 37 plaines road Augusta NJ

PO Box 27 Pittstown, NJ 08867 1.800.526.1711 Nancyh@BlueBridle.com www.BlueBridle.com

AMY HOWARD DRESSAGE LLC

www.WindyHollow.org

Anjelhart Equestrian Center

338 Rileyville Rd Ringoes, NJ 08551 1.908.310.9384 Ashoward@hotmail.com www.AmyHowardDressage.com

Pleasant Ridge Farm LLC

38 Millers Mill Rd, Cream Ridge, NJ 08514 609.758.7676 lacavacreations@aol.com www.Anjelhart.com

Cheret Dressage

122 Barn Swallow Lane, Cresco Pa. 18326 570.856.4977 Brily17@ptd.net www.PleasantRidgeFarmllc.com

Good Times Farm

75 Back Brook Road, Ringoes, N.J. 908.208.6686 Cheretdressage@gmail.com www.CheretDressage.com

Heart’s Journey Stable

278 Jackson Mills Road, Freehold, NJ 07728 732.409.2882 gtts@optonline.net www.GoodTimeFarm.com

Flying Change Farm

425 Kromer Road Wind Gap, PA 18091 610.863.6616 mmorehouse@epix.net www.heartsjourneystables.com

Stone Horse Farm

60 Sutton Road, Lebanon, NJ 08833 908.797.2634 fcfnj@aol.com www.flyingchangefarm.com

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35 Sutton Road, Lebanon, NJ, 08833 1.570.460.5184 StoneHorseFarm@me.com www.stonehorseequestrian.com

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Jersey Palms Farm

NJ Equine Imaging

177 S. Stump Tavern Road Jackson NJ, 08527 609.213.5745 KWLYNX@comcast.net www.jerseypalmsfarm.com

12 Fairway Drive Toms River NJ 18753 609.969.0569 NJEquineImaging@comcast.net www.njequineImaging.com

Red Tail Farm

Family & Cosmetic Dentistry 502 Pennsylvania Avenue Matamoras, Pa 18336 570.228.1921

125 Hacklebarney Rd Chester NJ 07930 201.919.8959 lindadietz.redtailfarm@gmail.com www.redtailfarmnj.com

www.drlisatoaldodmd.com

Suds and Duds

Rhythm and Blues Stables

8 Midland Drive Hackettstown NJ 07840 800.816.3882 info@horsedudsandsuds.com www.horsedudsandsuds.com

12 Hill Rd. Allentown NJ 08501 609 306-8221 RBLStables@aol.com www.rhythmandbluesstables.com

Schleese Saddle Fit4Life

Stacies Saddles

34 Centiennal Ave Holand Landing DC

1-905-898-8335 sabine@schleese.com www.saddlefit4life.com

Stacies Saddles

The Black Pony 1 Canterbury Lane Lebanon NJ 08833 908 507 8929 redroan1202@yahoo.com www.blackponytackshop.com

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136 Springfield Meeting House Road Jobstown NJ 08041 732-208-2760 StacieSaddles@comcast.net Stacies Saddles

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