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three ponies. When the mists came rolling down on the hills, as they often did, McDaniel would climb the fence and ride the ponies bare- back and with no halters. She did not realize at the time how much voices carry in the mist-right up A monthly publication of The Tryon Daily Bulletin The Hoofbeats of the Carolina Foothills F R E E February 2011 Volume 5 Issue 5 Spotlight on local equestrians: Beth Collins, Joyce Lewis and Rebecca Howard 'Our emerging horse market,' by Libby Johnson Meet Tim Dover, Lelia Canter and instructor Robert Zandvoort 'Braving icy conditions alone,' by Pam Stone by Barbara Childs Sue McDaniel was born in Durban, South Africa where her father was in charge of the flying boats for Imperial Airways. Continued on p. 3 Appointments Sue McDaniel: She who cannot be tamed Sue McDaniel riding Master Brew in 1977 as he makes a clear jump. (photo submitted) He opened up the Horseshoe Route for mail from England to the outposts of the empire. McDaniel’s family then moved to Johannesburg, where she was sent off to the primary and middle schools. She said she was becom- ing a heathen and was sent off to a strict Anglican boarding school in the hilly Natal midlands. This was considered the boondocks and was far away from civiliza- tion. When she wasn’t bunking school, together with her father who often bunked his work, she would escape and ride horses. There was a nice Italian family next door to the school, and they were great neighbors who had Woman travels world to ride

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Page 1: February Appointments

three ponies. When the mists came rolling

down on the hills, as they often did, McDaniel would climb the fence and ride the ponies bare-back and with no halters. She did not realize at the time how much voices carry in the mist-right up

A monthly publication of The Tryon Daily Bulletin

The Hoofbeats of the Carolina Foothills

F R E E

February 2011

Volume 5 Issue 5

Spotlight on local equestrians: Beth

Collins, Joyce Lewis and Rebecca Howard

'Our emerging horse market,'

by Libby Johnson

Meet Tim Dover, Lelia Canter and instructor Robert

Zandvoort

'Braving icy conditions

alone,' by Pam Stone

by Barbara Childs

Sue McDaniel was born in Durban, South Africa where her father was in charge of the flying boats for Imperial Airways. Continued on p. 3

Appointments

Sue McDaniel: She who cannot be tamedSue McDaniel riding Master Brew in 1977 as he makes a clear jump. (photo submitted)

He opened up the Horseshoe Route for mail from England to the outposts of the empire. McDaniel’s family then moved to Johannesburg, where she was sent off to the primary and middle schools. She said she was becom-ing a heathen and was sent off to a strict Anglican boarding school in the hilly Natal midlands. This

was considered the boondocks and was far away from civiliza-tion.

When she wasn’t bunking school, together with her father who often bunked his work, she would escape and ride horses. There was a nice Italian family next door to the school, and they were great neighbors who had

Woman travels world to ride

Page 2: February Appointments

Appointments • February 2011 • p. 2

Appointments

Samantha Hurst, editor 828-859-2737 x 110

Joyce Cox, advertising sales 828-859-2737 x 114

Appointments is distributed on the fourth Thursday of every month (subject to change) in every home-delivered and newsstand copy of The Tryon Daily Bulletin. You can also find them for free each month, as long as they last, in tourism and equestrian businesses throughout the area.

Appointments is a monthly publication of The Tryon Daily Bulletin Inc., 16 N. Trade Street, Tryon, N.C. 28782.

Make your “Appointments!”

To reach us regarding:• News items, contact Samantha Hurst, (828) 859-2737 ext. 110, e-mail [email protected]; or Barbara Childs, [email protected]; FAX to (828) 859-5575.

• Advertising, billing or distribution inquiries, please call Joyce Cox at the Tryon Daily Bulletin, (828) 859-9151.

What's going on around here!?!

February~March 2011

2/5: FRC XC Schooling at FENCE. Contact: Margo Savage 828-863-4924

2/5: South Carolina Horse-men's Council 2011 Expo at SC Equine Park in Camden. Contact: Terry Boger 864-430-7109 or by e-mail at [email protected]

2/6: FENCE Spring Hunter Pace & Trail Ride at the FENCE Equestrian Center in Tryon. For more information, visit wchpace.org.

2/10:River Valley Pony Club

Mounted Meeting. Contact: [email protected]

2/11-13: Harmon Classics at Harmon Field in Tryon. For more information, contact Blue Ridge Hunter Jumper Association by visiting brja.com or Lewis Pack at 828-894-2721.

2/19: Harmon Hopefuls at Harmon Field. Contact: Noreen Cothran 864-457-3557.

2/20: Greenville Foothills Pony Club Hunter Pace & Trail Ride. Location to be announced. For more information, visit

wpace.org.

2/23: A clinic with Robert Zandvoort is set for Feb. 21-23 at SunCatcher Farms. Call Trayce Doubek for days and times 864-325-5684.

2/20:River Valley Pony Club Mounted Meeting. Contact: [email protected]

3/18-20: Blue Ridge Hunter Jumper Association Spring Pre-mier at Harmon Field in Tryon. For more information, visit brhja.com.

Page 3: February Appointments

Appointments • February 2011 • p. 3

Continued on p. 4

MCdAnielContinued from page 1

to the headmistress’ window!McDaniel was in her teens

at the time and had been riding since she was a year old. Her father was also horse mad. He had made a wicker chair back and then stitched it to a saddle, together with some shoulder straps, to secure her safely for the faster rides.

When McDaniel left school and was working in Johannes-burg, she rode horses for a canny Irishman who owned a stable of useful horses.

They were sharp enough to steeplechase and show jump. One little plain brown thorough-bred mare, Artful Minx, all of 15 hands high, was virtually unsteer-able and unstoppable, but would jump the moon and was quick and handy.

She won many jumping awards and two steeplechases, one by 10 lengths and the other by a distance. They were asked not to enter her again!

McDaniel’s father’s philoso-phy was that a horse and rider did whatever they wanted, and did it all. McDaniel grew up drag hunting with the Rand Hunt in Johannesburg.

Her pony was rather keen, and McDaniel could not always hold her back, so she went out helping to lay the drag.

Later she helped the master and field master with keeping their horses in shape between hunts and during the offseason. McDaniel then got into schooling polo ponies for some well-known polo players – and playboys – the Goodman twins. Through their father, Jack, she learned a huge amount about polo, and she did a bit of stick and ball with the play-ers for warm ups. In those days women did not play polo.

When Sue married her hus-band Bob, they moved from Natal to Johannesburg. It was there Sue got a job with an old Dutch trainer.

He was in charge of the Sen-

trachem Lipizzaner Team that was trained for weekly shows at the team's stable complex in the Inanda County Base. Today this is the only team recognized by Vienna.

All the riders were women, and an oberbereiter came from Vienna every year in the spring for a month-long training session. Colonel von Mellenthin managed to get a band of mares and stal-lions away from German hands, and through a South African con-tact, Major George Iwanowoski, they were shipped to a farm in Sentrachem.

To this day, McDaniel said, South Africa still has some of the best horses and oldest bloodlines for producing horses with an af-finity for airs above the ground, which they were concerned about losing in Austria.

In those days there was little chance of South African horses traveling to Europe. McDaniel was a jump jockey for horses that needed schooling and exercising behind closed doors.

A year later the South African brewing company, Kronenbrau, decided to take on the other Afri-

can brewing companies, and they bought four teams of heavy draft horses. One team of very large Fresians had five oak-carved wagons sent from Germany.

With her instructor, Jack, McDaniel learned to drive first a pair and then a four in hand, and finally she was allowed to drive the full team of six. It was in straight lines that she drove them and around the grass track at the canter.

Then McDaniel was taken under the wings of the Oberberi-eter Lauscha from the Spanish Riding School in Vienna. She was riding a lovely small Lippie that was given to the team as a man-killer.

He became hers to ride, and she never had an anxious moment with him. McDaniel did barrel racing and gymkhana games with him.

She would ride him in the arena during the team’ tea breaks, and they would go out and pop over some cross-country jumps. Then he was ready to take on some serious dressage with aplomb and flair.

All he needed was a job to do,

and he thrived. Maestos Igel was his name, and he became a useful member of the team.

McDaniel’s days in the hunt led to eventing. The ladies in the three-day events carried the weight of 165 pounds. A lot of that weight was made up of lead weights in a bag under the saddle.

The ground in South Africa can be very hard and dry, so get-ting horses fit and sound for these events involved many hours of trotting the country roads. These roads were packed orange clay, and McDaniel had to beg the use of training tracks in the area for gallops and wind work.

McDaniel said she is grateful for her husband, Bob, for all the care and attention he gave the horses at this time for her.

When the McDaniels moved to Cape Town to open their own clinic, McDaniel had a lovely off-the-track thoroughbred that turned out to have enough cour-

Sue McDaniel, third on left, prepares to ride into a covered arena for the final display. (photo submitted)

Spotlight on Local

Equestrians

Page 4: February Appointments

Appointments • February 2011 • p. 4

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MCdAnielsContinued from page 3

age and heart to event; it moved beautifully.

She started concentrating on dressage and was riding with a friend who knew Janet Black. Black visited her family in South Africa every year and gave les-sons, too.

The grades and levels then were training, novice, prelim and open – then on to PSG. McDaniel’s horse Luke took her to the start of open. She sold him to a junior whom he took to the South African Cham-pionships two years in a row.

While in Cape Town, Mc-Daniel got involved in the sport she really loved both competing and organizing events, as well as helping to design and build

courses. McDaniel still has her pre-

cious Stihl chain saw from those days; it stutters along and she still loves its usefulness.

Today, McDaniel said she has an old lady’s pony, a Connemara/Arab cross, Pocket Rocket.

He was a birthday present 13 years ago as a 2-year-old full colt. Bob McDaniel castrated him,

Angie (daughter) helped break him to saddle, and on foot, she and her wonderful German shepherd, Tombi, taught him about go-

ing cross country and streams. Pocket Rocket has been a

great pony for McDaniel, and she said he doesn’t know he’s small.

She has evented him, show jumped him and now he serves as a veteran staff horse for the Green Creek Hounds.

Sue McDaniel fell in love with this area of the Carolinas the first time she drove through Landrum along Highway 14 in the late spring of 1996.

After living in Cape Town for

13 years, with Table Mountain in their backyard, and wonderful mountain ranges two to three hours away, McDaniel said they are both happy to be close to hik-ing trails as well.

Spotlight on Local

Equestrians

Sue McDaniel as a child riding Spitfire in 1943. (photo submitted)

Page 5: February Appointments

Appointments • February 2011 • p. 5

Walk/Trot: Ch: Celia Cram. Res: Matthew Bravo.

Walk/Trot/Canter: Ch: Ren-nie Pearson. Res: Anna Brook Heatherly.

Crossrails Hunter: Ch: Ses-ame Street, Gabriella Herres. Res: Mr. White Christmas, Mia Paletta.

Crossrails Equitation: Ch: Mia Paletta. Res: Gabriella Herres.

12-14 Equitation: Ch: Anne Mason. Res: Brenda Terry.

11 & Under Equitation: Ch: Darby Pease. Res: Anna Bradley Morrow.

15-17 Equitation: Ch: Ivey Herrington. Res: Elizabeth Bry-an.

Short Stirrup Equitation: Ch: Kayla Jacobs. Res: Claire Ka-plan.

Long Stirrup Equitation: Ch:

Julee Kaplan. Res: Stephanie Woody.

Adult Equitation: Ch: Kristina Harmon. Res: Wesley Mercer.

Pre-Child/Adult Equitation: Ch: Carlen Leapheart. Res: Zadie Mathis.

BRHJA Junior Medal: Ch: Skylyn Mickler. Res: Anne Ma-son.

BRHJA Adult Medal: Ch: Buffy Kleman. Res: Kristina Harmon.

Short Stirrup Hunter: Ch: Cloudy With a Chance, Kayla Jacobs. Res: Worth the Wait, Anna Bradley Morrow.

Long Stirrup Hunter: Ch: When the Stars Go Blue, Julee Kaplan. Res: Manolito, Nicolette Orsky.

Pre-Child/Adult Hunter: Ch: Master Plan, Darby Pease. Res:

Decisions Decisions, Carlen Leapheart. Children’s Hunter: Ch: Masquerade, Elizabeth Blan-kenship. Res: Bentley, Michelle Kettler.

Small/Medium Hunter: Ch: Joe Boxer, Nadia Amann. Res: Pink Martini, Erica Rosinski.

Large Pony Hunter: Ch: Le-gally Blonde, Skylyn Mickler. Res: A Wrinkle in Time, Natalie West.

Low Hunter: Ch: Celio, Jamie Corn. Res: Tahitian Pearl, Jeanne Smith. Jr/Am Hunter: Ch: Louis Vuitton, Jessica Hughes. Res: Farasi, Hannah Siegel.

Adult Hunter: Ch: Heart Breaker, Whitley Mann. Res: Funny Face, Wesley Mercer.

PreGreen Hunter: Ch: Rich-mond Hill, Fran Garside. Res: Zydeco, Erin Hardwick.

Green Hunter: Ch: Epilogue, Erin Hardwick. Res: Heart Breaker, Jamie Grant.

Regular Hunter: Ch: Madison Avenue, Ashley Nicholson. Res: Fidelia, Ivey Herrington.

Child/Adult Jumper: Ch: Root Beer, Jessica Grey. Res: Game On, Kiowa Waters.

Low Schooling Jumper: Ch: Kellie, Skylyn Mickler. Res: Orion’s Diamond Ace, Marisa Tetreault.

High Schooling Jumper: Ch: River Dance, Jamie Grant. Res: Archangel, Caroline William-son.

Hopeful Jumper: Ch: Faster...Bullet, Anne Mason. Res: Abra-cadabra, Courtney Clayton.

Progressive Jumper: Ch: Fast-er...Bullet, Anne Mason. Res: Root Beer Float, Jessica Grey.

Blue Ridge Hunter & Jumper 2010 Final Results

Page 6: February Appointments

Appointments • February 2011 • p. 6

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Nancy Wilson is currently serving on the board of directors for the North Carolina Horse Council, representing the west-ern region of the state.

Wilson became involved in the NCHC after she attended a regional caucus meeting and saw the need for more representation from our area.

Wilson said she hopes to act as a direct link between equestri-ans and equine organizations in the region to the council leader-ship in Raleigh, N.C.

Wilson served as a former board member of the Tryon

Riding and Hunt Club and an active member of the Polk area horse community for more than 25 years.

She aims to increase aware-ness of and increased member-ships to the NCHC from the western region of the state.

Wilson knows there is power in membership.

In the future she anticipates important legislation and state-wide movements concerning horses, horse ownership, trail use in state parks, conservation, agriculture and more.

Wilson strongly believes Polk County horse owners and lovers need to be at the front

Nancy Wilson at the Kentucky Bluegrass Festival. (photo submitted)

Wilson named to NCHC board of directors

Page 7: February Appointments

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Blue Ridge Small Engineend of it all.Growing up in Omaha, Neb.

she had the good fortune of hav-ing a great riding teacher, Rick Eckhart.

As her coach, Eckhart taught her the focus and strong will to learn in her riding experiences.

Wilson did not own a horse until college where she was an active member of Pony Club, a junior whipper-in for the North Hills Hunt of Omaha.

She also showed throughout the Midwest in hunter-jumper shows.

Wilson has a bachelor of science degree from Iowa State University and a masters in edu-cation administration from the University of South Carolina.

Wilson and her husband moved to Polk County in 1979, where she continued both her love for horses and education.

She has worked in the Polk County school system as a sixth-grade teacher, a staff de-velopment person and Title 1 administrator for many years.

Wilson has loved every as-pect of education and continues her interests by owning and directing Camp Wayfarer. She’s still in the classroom, only out-doors.

Today, Wilson rides almost daily.

She owns three Hanoverian horses, including Council Fire, a 15-year-old mare and a great horse in the amateur/adult divi-sions.

Council Fire has also been Horse of the Year with the U.S. Hanoverian Society twice. Wil-son also owns Council Fire’s

daughter, Best All ‘Round, who will start in pre-green divi-sions this year with Liza Towell Boyd.

The third is an elite Han-noverian mare that she has sent back to the breeder to have her foal this year. Wilson’s horse ownership continues with a va-riety of horses and ponies for her Camp Wayfarer riding program each summer. A weanling by Pa-parazzo rounds it all out well.

“As my husband says, can we ever sell one? Top-notch care is what I believe in, and like many people in our area, I do much of the work on my own,” Wilson said. “Jeanne Smith and Nikki Guerrozzi of Clearview Farm help with the local training. Then I meet the Towells at bigger shows. I love the ground work and riding.”

Wilson has two children, JB and Mary Kenson. JB is a gradu-ate of UGA and currently work-ing in Texas at Camp Champions to broaden his riding experiences in the camping industry.

Mary Kenson will graduate in May from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

Wilson’s goals for her NCHC position are to increase mem-bership, improve awareness in NCHC, as well as state-funded organizations ($.05 cents from every bag of horse feed sold in NC goes to the NCHC).

Wilson would also like to increase educational opportuni-ties related to horses and equine matters statewide.

She is also working on in-creasing grant opportunities for western equine organizations.

Page 8: February Appointments

Appointments • February 2011 • p. 8

by Barbara Childs

Beth Collins was born in Paris, France and grew up overseas in the Philippines, Israel, the Dominican Re-p u b l i c a n d S w i t z e r l a n d . The Dominican Republic was her favorite country as this was where she owned her first horse.

His name was Peru and he was a retired New York City police horse brought to the Do-minican Republic by his retired NYC policeman.

He was a blood bay with a curly mane and tail - every little girl’s dream horse.

He was in his late 20s by the time he came to Collins and she acquired him and all his tack

for $1. The saddle was a size 18,

but she didn’t know any better. Frankly, it could have been a sidesaddle. She didn’t care and couldn’t have loved it better!

Looking back on Peru, Col-lins felt the horse could have been part Morgan.

After Peru, Collins had Bucky, a failed racehorse she rode in weekly lessons.

There were horses all over the island and she rode anything she could catch. Most of the horses were Paso Fino mixed horses, she said. They were called “campo ponies,” meaning country horses.

For a few pesos one could rent a campo pony and ride for an hour, a day or a weekend,

which Collins often did while camping on the country’s beauti-ful beaches.

When her family moved to Fairfax, Va. for her high school years, Collins’ parents matched the money she made from selling Bucky so Collins could purchase her first jumper pony.

The pony’s name was Sur-prise Package and she was bought at the VA bloodstock and hunter sale.

She was a Famley Welsh Pony and thoroughbred cross with a mighty jump and a fabu-lous sense of self-preservation. Surprise Package carried Collins to equine college.

While there, Collins majored in equine science, hunt seat, fox hunter, competitive and endur-

ance trail riding and dressage. She is a certified John Lyons trainer (the fourth certification group and last to study under Lyons with unbroke horses in the class of 1998).

Collins said Lyons taught her more in 18 months about herself and horses than any instructor ever had.

With newly opened eyes and heart she took clinics with Ray Hunt, Pat Parelli and Harry Whitney, to name a few.

Collins, a self-professed stu-dent of the horse, said she feels she can go anywhere and watch a person work with a horse and always take something away from the experience.

In working with people and horses, Collins “Lyonizes” ev-

Beth Collins practices groundwork with a mustang mare. (photo submited)

Student of the horseSpotlight on Local

Equestrians

Page 9: February Appointments

Appointments • February 2011 • p. 9

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sheelah Clarkson

erything, she said, as this is a methodology that works for her.

In relaying information, she tries to find out what works best for the horse and rider combina-tion and sometimes that means one thing for the horse and an-other for the rider.

Horses are capable of great change in a little time and with humans it takes much longer, as they come around more slowly, she said.

Her clients are a varied group of jumper and dressage riders and a racehorse she dubbed as “flip over filly.”

All they needed was a new approach to old problems.

Collins has added a riding simulator to her arsenal to help save horse and human relation-ships.

This allows the rider to focus on his or herself without the pressure of trying to relate to a

living horse. Collins has one of four simulators of this type in the United States.

Collins said she enjoys dres-sage riding, trail riding and the hunter paces.

She also likes fox hunting with her champagne draft cross mare, who is 15, and a Lyons School graduate (one of the first horses Collins ever trained).

She also enjoys training her 11-year-old buckskin Paso/Arab cross. He has pushed Collins to do her own horses' feet. She follows the natural trim and said she is glad for her responsible trimming for their soundness.

Away from the horses and barn, Collins enjoys cooking, knitting, needle felting and hand spinning. Writing is also a pas-sion of hers and she has several blogs and a book in progress.

She also loves reading and goes through one or two books a week.

Collins and horse BooBoo ride with Collins' client, Sky and horse Chancey-boy at one of her trail clinics in California. (photo submitted)

Page 10: February Appointments

Appointments • February 2011 • p. 10

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by Barbara Childs

Before her tiny legs could even totter across an arena, Re-becca Howard’s mother would place her small 1-year-old on a stack of tires as she rounded the arena, riding or teaching lessons.

As Howard grew taller and became smarter, additional tires were required.

When older, she would ride her bike downhill to the stable and play with as many ponies as possible – making the 30-min-ute bike ride back home really worth it.

Howard, now the owner of

The Fork Stables, was an A pony club graduate and a working stu-dent from age 16–20 with vari-ous high-performance riders.

Howard eventually headed to the East Coast, the heartland for the sport of eventing on this continent, in January 2001.

Howard also worked at race-tracks and polo barns. She also trained and imported event horses and organized and hosted competitions, such as Derby Cross and Fork CIC.

She coached British Colum-bia teams at the North American Young Rider Championships and has developed young horses and competed for Canada at the

From pony club to The Fork Stables

Page 11: February Appointments

Appointments • February 2011 • p. 11

four–star level.In Canada, where she grew

up, Howard trained and studied with two former Canadian Team riders Joni Lynn Peters and Nick Holmes Smith.

In the United States she trained and rode with David and Karen O’Connor. Both have had a tremendous impact on her rid-ing and decision-making.

Howard’s horse Riddle Mas-ter – also known as Rupert around the barn – is a 10–year–old Canadian Sport Horse, bred and owned by Caroline Bazely of Ontario, Canada.

He was one of the youngest and smallest horses running in the World Equestrian Games last year in Kentucky.

Howard began riding and showing him in 2007.

Rupert is a super jumper, but

loves to put on a tough guy im-age, she said.

In other words, he likes things his way and to be his idea.

Rupert is preparing to run the Rolex four–star event at the end of April to help with a founda-tion that will keep him on the list for the London Olympics in 2012.

Howard said she loves the learning process along with the horses she rides. She always aims high in her riding and goals, she said.

Even though the outcomes may not always occur as you might have planned, the impor-tant thing is to enjoy the ride, Howard said.

The Fork Stables is a work-ing competition training center for three-day event riders of all levels.

Left: Rebecca Howard's horse, Rupert, makes a water jump. Right: Howard and Rupert in a dressage event. Howard competes with the Canadian Event Team. (photos submitted)

Page 12: February Appointments

Appointments • February 2011 • p. 12

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Joyce Lewis’ parents pur-chased her first horse when she was 12 years old. The horse was jet black with a white star, 14.1 hands high.

The cost was $300, which included the saddle and bridle. Lewis ditched the saddle and rode Night Star bareback everywhere every day.

He was truly her first love, she said.

Her parents were concerned she was not learning to ride prop-erly, since she refused to ride in the saddle.

They made her take dressage lessons at a local barn.

If they only knew how much balance, feel and timing she learned from riding bareback.

Lewis rode and showed her little black gelding in local dressage and jumping classes until her feet almost dragged the ground.

Each summer break after Lewis joined the Air Force, she would live as a working student at her dressage trainer’s farm in central Florida. There she would show and ride all the training horses.

At 21, Lewis joined the USAF and served as a journalist for four years in the public affairs office in Las Vegas.

She also served at Hahn AB in Germany.

When she was discharged from the Air Force, she went back to Las Vegas where she worked as a corporate executive for 15 years. Lewis met her husband Ken in Las Vegas. They have two sons, Spencer, 19 and Con-ner, 16.

The family moved to North Carolina in 2004 seeking a more rural life for the children and getting back to the grassroots of horses.

Lewis teaches basic horse-manship.

This is something she be-lieves is missing for many horse owners. Her analogy is, “I teach grades K-12 to horse owners. Everyone goes to grade, middle and high school to learn social skills, reading, writing, etc. the basics. From there most go to college, ride quietly in a herd environment, confidently walk, trot, canter and halt.”

Bareback to basics

Above: Joyce Lewis and her horse trudge and splash through a mudpuddle after an earlier rain. Lewis discovered her love of riding at 12, riding her first horse bareback. Right: Lewis, now an instructor for horse owners, teachers the basics of riding. (photos submitted)

Page 13: February Appointments

Appointments • February 2011 • p. 13

“Once they have all the basics and the horse owner under-stands how to maintain the “yes, ma’am” attitude,” Collins said, “they can go to yield the side pass, back up, accept the bit, lower your haunches, politely load the trailer, stand still for mounting, in other words they go to college and learn their profession and daily work.”

Lewis’ personal goal is to help horse owners have a safe, enjoyable ride and relationship with their horses.

Whether owners want to trail ride or aspire to a Grand Prix ride in dressage, they need to have the basics to obtain suppleness, obedience and respect from their horses, which in turn provides them with a safe horse.

Lewis owns a big bay gelding named Josh.

She purchased him in 2004 and rode him in a dressage saddle, which helped her with foundation training.

She competed in the ACTHA events (American Competitive Trail Horse Association) and in the NATRC, North American Trail Ride Conference events.

Lewis also ride at Craig Cam-erone’s Double Horn Ranch in Bluff Dale, Texas in the season eight airing of the Extreme Cow-boy Race All Girl Challenge.

She finished in the Top 8. At that race, Lewis competed on a client’s purebred Arabian, Khaamal.

Lewis has kept her personal horse, Josh, in training.

Her buddy Stacey McCoy of Allison Creek Farm rides Josh in the Extreme Cowboy Races in the Mid-Atlantic Region.Lewis doesn’t compete him because she hosts the events.

Josh and McCoy won the 2010 Mid Atlantic Regional Pro Division Championship, and

Lewis said she is very proud of their accomplishment.

After her first race, Lewis was hooked on Extreme Cowboy Racing

and left her dressage saddle for a western saddle.

Now she combines her train-ing with basic horsemanship clinics she calls “Cowboy Clin-ics,” which involved training on obstacles such as bridge cross-ings, tarps, tunnels, jumping, traps drags, cowboy curtains and more.

When Lewis started with Josh in 2004, she remembers well how pushy, ill-mannered and disre-spectful he acted.

Although she loved him dear-ly, it became increasingly difficult to muster up the courage to work with him on a daily basis.

It was obvious to all who wit-nessed their interactions that Josh was in control of their relation-ship - he was the leader.

Once Lewis understood the way the horse thought, she was able to change the relationship and become the leader.

Now, she said, she and Josh are on a balanced relationship and he knows well who is top cowboy when she rides him.

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Page 14: February Appointments

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Page 15: February Appointments

Appointments • February 2011 • p. 15

by Barbara Childs

Lelia Canter found mutual comfort trans-ferred between her and her first horse Molly, a gray mare, and back again each time the horse trotted down to meet her at the stable.

The two would stand there for long peri-ods of time holding each other and that was enough.

Canter said her love for the animals and their care mixed with a love for art at a very young age. She often tagged along with her father, a special-ty decorator and painter at the many racehorse farms around the Lexington, Ky area.

As Canter grew older, she would visit her father during summer breaks to help with painting at the farms. Her father also apprenticed with the equine artist Allen Brewer Jr. In the 1950s, painting with backgrounds for racehorses, Canter’s father did the scenery and back-ground for the paintings as Brewer did not

enjoy painting backgrounds.After marrying and moving to the Asheville

area in 1983, Canter pursued a fine arts degree but eventually decided she would need a ca-reer with more monetary stability. She spent 17 years as a dental hygienist.

Eventually her career brought her back into the equine field she was always drawn to as a child. After researching schools for equine bodywork, she decided to receive

training through Equinology, Inc. They offered training and certifications from some of the country’s leading practitio-ners. Their programs required the highest contact hours and mandatory externships in Myo-

fascial Release. Equinology’s Ruth Mitchell was the inspiration for this process. In 2008 Cater completed her human massage therapy training at the Center for Massage and Natural Health in Weaverville, N.C. She became a licensed massage and bodywork therapist.

Over the next two years, she received further training as a Craniosacral Therapist and studied red light therapy and Reiki, a form of healing with stress reduction and relaxation developed over hundreds of years ago in Japan. Over the next few years, Canter integrated the Reiki and red light sessions with humans and horses.

“It is in helping others - animals and humans - that we in turn brighten our future and existence. It is always a wonder to me to see the relief in a horse’s face and eyes and changes in their bodies after long standing restrictions have been released,” Canter said. “This holds true for humans with positive changes they experience after they no longer experience chronic pain. It is a reminder to me that our bodies have a great capacity to heal given the opportunity.”

Canter noticed there were similar patterns of fascial restriction from client to client. In

Connecting through healing, art

Lelia Canter works through light therapy and Reiki to heal horses and humans. (photo submitted)

Spotlight on Local

Equestrians

Continued on p. 16

Page 16: February Appointments

Appointments • February 2011 • p. 16

horses, the fascia would almost always lead her to the shoulders no matter where the root of the initially noted problem areas were located.

Myofascial release is a three–dimensional application sustained by light pressure and movement into the fascial system in order to eliminate fascial restrictions. Gentle pressure is applied to the areas of restriction.

Craniosacral therapy is a gentle hands-on method of evalu-ating and enhancing the func-tioning of a physiological body system called craniosacral. This is comprised of the membranes and cerebrospinal fluid that sur-round and protect the brain and spinal cord.

Red Light Therapy is the topical application of red light to the skin using 660 nm red light waves to stimulate and repair healing in the body.

In January 2010, Canter was able to study with Dianne Jen-kins. After seeing Jenkins dem-onstrate Jenkins Equine Neu-rological Therapy, the answers to Canter’s questions involving patterns of restriction came to light. Canter knew JENT was a revolutionary discovery in re-striction patterns.

She felt she needed to intro-duce JENT (already in Australia) to the United States. Canter was fortunate enough to receive 330 hours of training from Jenkins. Currently there are only four Jenkins Equine Neurological Therapists - three in Australia, and Canter.

The JENT therapy system uses the realignment of soft tis-sues in skeletal repositioning, reducing areas of trauma that re-sult in lameness and reduced per-formance, training problems and eventually lameness and break-down in performance. JENT requires three sessions one week

apart followed by re-evaluation and a follow up session 406 weeks after, Canter said.

Canter is working with the JENT therapeutic saddle pads for horses. They are designed to fit various configurations so the horse’s body can be healed of chronic back discomfort due to training, conditioning, injuries and aging.

A therapeutic JENT pad for humans is also one of Canter’s goals to help chronic back and hip problems.

Canter established Bodyworks and HeartSong in 1994 when she began creating acrylic paintings that incorporated history and legends from her American heri-tage. Canter has always been fas-cinated by cultural legends and began using paintings as a way to illustrate the vast American history that is so richly evident to American culture.

Canter began an equine se-ries to explore the history and

culture of horses. She chose the name HeartSong to incorporate bodywork-expressing the heart’s song to speak.

Canter spends her personal time with an 18-year-old Mor-gan/Quarter horse cross named Lilly. Lilly is a former school horse Canter became acquainted with during her equinology in-ternship at the Biltmore Eques-trian Center.

Canter said she is solid, beau-tifully red-headed and opinion-ated. Lilly enjoys trails, hunter paces, natural horsemanship training and schooling in the lower levels of dressage. Lilly is accomplished in both Western and English disciplines.

Away from horses and her career calling, Canter loves to do her artwork and run with her chocolate lab and red healer. She also loves rock climbing, which helps her focus on balance for riding, as well as providing im-ages for her artwork.

CAnTerContinued from page 15

Page 17: February Appointments

Appointments • February 2011 • p. 17

Lelia Canter and Molly. (photo submitted)

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Page 18: February Appointments

Appointments • February 2011 • p. 18

by Barbara Childs

At the age of 4, Robert Zand-voort began presenting horses to his parents from a nearby farmer’s field.

He brought them to his par-ents with the hopes of getting one himself.

One or two years later he al-ways brought bread and cheese for lunch at the local school. Instead of eating his lunch, Zand-voort went to the field where the horses were grazing.

He called to the horses and when they came to him he climbed aboard and happily cantered away, right to the end of the field where a lovely flowing canal offered a good jump to the other side.

Then he would jump off his mount and the game would begin all over again.

Unfortunately, the farmer who owned the land and horses found out that someone at the local school was riding his unbroken and untrained 2- and 3-year-old horses.

The farmer went to the police who in turn went to the local school.

The police brought the little criminal Zandvoort to justice af-ter deciding with his parents the proper punishment. Zandvoort was sentenced to muck out the farmer’s stable for one month - a dream come true!

When the farmer realized how much Zandvoort enjoyed

Childhood punishment delight of life

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Robert Zandvoort came to riding in an unconventional way after sneaking over the fence of a farmer's pasture and riding his horses. After a month of mucking out stables, Zandvoort was hooked. (photo submitted)

Page 19: February Appointments

Appointments • February 2011 • p. 19

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his work at the farm, he offered to send him to the nearby riding school for classical and formal lessons and training.

The farmer promised to pay for the lessons as long as Zand-voort promised to keep working at the farm.

These initial lessons Zandvoort trained him in the basics of riding and sharpened his skills in the long development as a successful rider in the dressage arena.

They also taught him horse-manship that gave him the foun-dation to become a world-class rider and trainer today.

More training came in Zand-voort’s career for E. Vieugel (trained by Alois Podhaski) and Arie Schram, trainer of Carl Hester.

Today Zandvoort still studies and rides with David Hunt.

All his trainers ensured he could be competitive in the high-est levels of dressage.

Zandvoort trained Emily Ward at the 2005 WEG games at Aachen, Germany.

He also trained and coached the Venezuelan team and he is cur-rently busy help-ing the Russian Federation team.

He has a l so been requested to

coach and train the riders for the Polish Federation.

Zandvoort has been riding and training in the United States for over 20 years.

He often gives clinics around the area including one at Sun-catcher Farms in Green Creek in January.

See page 32 for pictures from a recent clinic with Zandvoort.

Spotlight on Local

Equestrians

Page 20: February Appointments

Appointments • February 2011 • p. 20

by Barbara Childs

Master farrier Tim Dover’s life has always been connected to horses, with the exception of a short period in the Navy.

Dover’s grandfather bought him his first pony as a young-ster, and he shared this 13-hand black and white pinto mare with his cousins.

Dover remembers she was quite gifted and agile at bucking and sometimes kicking, but she taught all the family kids to ride and was much loved.

As a child, Dover said he loved watching his grandfa-ther’s horses being shod.

He was in awe as the farrier worked, and from those experi-ences has always been drawn to the horse and shoeing.

Being a farrier is mentally and physically challenging, and Dover feels strongly about enjoying this special calling.

“If you don’t look forward to going to work everyday ... you’re in the wrong profes-sion,” Dover said.

Dover ’s background and experience in farrier science is from South Dakota State where he apprenticed with master farrier Ford Wallace of Cape Town, South Africa.

Dover is experienced with

hot shoeing, corrective shoe-ing and therapeutic shoeing for sport horses, dressage and high level horse shoeing and shoeing for hunters and jumpers.

For sound hoof health, Dover recommends biotin rich supple-ments that deliver 20 mg. per feeding dosage.

Exercise and proper nutrition are essential for healthy hoof growth.

"Many horse owners think they can feed 10 or 12-percent feed and ride once a week and expect miracles. It takes more than that. Good hooves and soundness to the hooves require proper trimming, shoeing and an environment where moisture is not too wet or too dry,” Dover said. “This is a real challenge for every horse owner. Each horse is different and should be cared for in a way that maxi-mizes his or her potential.”

Dover relishes continuing

Dover discovers passion as farrier

"Every day I have the opportunity to learn, grow and improve my skills.”

-- Tim Dover

Page 21: February Appointments

Appointments • February 2011 • p. 21

his education with clinics and seminars.

“The farrier trade and skill is never mundane,” he said. “Ev-ery day I have the opportunity to learn, grow and improve my skills.”

Dover’s special interests and hobbies include riding his horse, and when time permits he enjoys fox hunting, fishing and beekeeping.

Dover said he values God and his family most in life.

Tim Dover works away at his craft even amongst a snow and ice covered ground. Dover discovered his passion by watching his grandfather's horses being shod. (photo submitted)

Page 22: February Appointments

Appointments • February 2011 • p. 22

The Big Picture by Libbie Johnson

I’ve been watching this new horse market for some time, but so has Juli S. Thorson, contribut-ing editor to "Western Horseman" magazine.

Thorson has been critically observing and writing about the horse industry for more than 30 years.

The new worry in the horse industry, the overabundance of horses, can be traced to a num-ber of changes taking place over time. One of these changes is the drastic demographic change.

I was a sociology major in college and was fascinated by how demographic studies depict a population’s average size, age, education, income level and are often used to predict consumer markets. The applicable theory cited regarding changes in the

marketplace is the Age Wave theory, suggesting an economic slowdown would occur when Boomers started retiring in 2007-2009. Unfortunately, this coin-cided with the Great Recession, creating the Age Wave Disaster theory.

Some o f the more ob-vious contrib-uting factors to the chang-ing horse market include:

Population shift: The mas-sive demographic change the United States is experiencing has been caused by the aging of the ‘Baby Boom’ generation (1946-1964), allowing ‘Generation X’ (1965-1980) and Generation Y (loosely defined as those born from mid 70s – early 2000s) to

become primary spenders. The Baby Boom generation was the largest population group in United States history, contain-ing almost 80 million members. These ‘Boomers’ are now be-tween the ages of 46 and 64.

As these men and women e n t e r i n t o re t i rement , they become less likely to spend money

in the horse market as they did in earlier years.

Generation X, with only half the members as the Baby Boom generation, is becoming the bulk of the horse industry, greatly reducing the number of potential horse owners.

Popular culture changes: There are cultural specifics about

the Boomers that made them the perfect profile for a horse-loving, horse-owning generation. For starters, culturally, after WWII, television came into its own. The programming was wholesome, but also action-packed and horse-oriented. Remember Fury? My Friend Flicka? National Velvet? Disney’s Wonderful World of Color produced comedies and dramas, often with a horse or dog as the central character. These programs were aimed at a young audience.

Then there was adult/family hour featuring Bonanza, The Vir-ginian, Have Gun, Will Travel, and so on. At the movie theater, the Duke, atop a horse, ruled.

Collectively this gave a gen-eration an introduction daily to horses and life with horses, even

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Appointments • February 2011 • p. 23

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if you didn't have a horse.Economic changes: Another

important social shift was an extended era of prosperity. After WWII and into the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, Americans were on the fast track with home ownership, two cars in the garage, vacations and more disposable income than ever before. They could now afford the horse they always wanted. Boarding barns and les-son programs proliferated.

The women’s movement: Women, in record numbers found fulfillment in the workplace and were the recipient of their own income, and as a result, added independence. Women became (and still are) a major percentage of new horse owners.

We saw a pattern of women raising the children, and then in middle age deciding to buy that first horse - something they had wanted since childhood. The difference is, they could now make the purchasing decision

without having to get the consent of the head of the household. They became hyper-consumers of equine products, apparel and equipment.

Land use changes: In 1960, the United States officially flipped from a rural society to an urban society. We have seen the rapid–fire loss of open land to development. Equine Land Conservation Resource cites the amount of open land loss at 4.25 acres per minute. Loss of land has meant loss of boarding fa-cilities, competition venues, hay and grain production acreage and pasture. The land squeeze has had an immense impact on the cost of horse keeping.

Psychography: Another rea-son the horse market has been allowed to increase 2.3 million horses over the past 10 years is the psychographic changes that have occurred in the United States. Psychography is the study of attitudes, beliefs and opinions.

Thorson pointed out a drastic psychographic point in the horse world: equine slaughter.

Equine slaughter was once accepted and regarded as a fact of agricultural life. Most people overlooked the issue as ‘some-thing that doesn’t affect me.’ Slaughter has increasingly be-come viewed as an unacceptable practice, not just by non-horse people, but by horse owners as well. Most Americans (almost 70 percent) today do not want equine slaughter.

Technology changes: Not only demographics affected today’s horse industry, technol-ogy also has had a large impact with innovations like cooled transported semen, frozen semen, embryo transfer and the escalated importance of online databases. These changes have leveled the information and gene-pool play-ing fields, completely changing the game of the horse market.

A prime example is shipped

semen. Shipped semen has taken the equine breeding world by storm, and the market will never go back. The same thing has happened with embryo transfer. These technological changes are providing ways for breeders to attempt to produce the best indi-vidual horse possible. It would be impossible to turn a blind eye and take a step backward.

Although these changes have made a huge impact, there are two technographic changes that are pushing the industry forward the most: communication technology and database technology.

“There are a number of people that now buy off the computer screen only. The first time they see their new horse will be when it backs off the shipper’ s trailer at their house,” Thorson said. “The same thing goes with breeding. The internet is like a stallion shopping catalog.”

Continued on p. 24

Page 24: February Appointments

Appointments • February 2011 • p. 24

Fast forward to the present. It is no surprise to anyone that the horse market is generally depressed, although there are still pockets of equine commerce at the higher end.

It seems anytime horse people get together, the conversation goes toward the poor quality of the horse markets, the economy in general, and, in particular, the unwanted horse, a term that is a misnomer. The unwanted horse is not necessarily unwanted, but the economy has made a mess with too many horses - actually about 2 million too many nationally.

Although it may seem like the market headed downhill very recently, in reality it has been a gradu-al change.

In the past, however, horse owners have adapted to the changes without realizing the cumulative effect. The wake up call, the crashed economy, was a rude awakening for those who had been napping on the job.

According to Thorson, “I don’t think we’re at the bottom out point in the horse market. I think we’re just at the tip of the iceberg. This is not to say the horse market is going to go away, but it is going to change ....

My goal is to be able to give people some forecasting tools to allow them to make necessary adjustments to their programs without being naïve.

“It is not a matter of whether the glass is half empty or half full anymore; it’s a matter of realizing that there is a completely differ-ent glass and we all need to adapt our programs to match.”

In the American Horse Coun-cil (AHC) census, The Ameri-can Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) new horse registrations were up 54 percent from 1995 to 2005. Transfers of ownership were only up 7 percent.

The AHC census also showed while the number of horses be-

ing produced since 1996 has increased by 2.3 million, the number of horse owners has only increased by 100,000.

“There is a glut of young, unbroke horses at a time where the marketplace is demanding the broke, steady horse,” Thor-son said.

The changing of demograph-ics has caused the older, larger generation to typically desire a finished horse they can have fun with.

Unfortunately, today’s profes-sional horsemen are living with a tax system that favors horse breeders, not trainers. Money spent for breeding purposes is rewarded back at a much higher percentage than money spent on training. Americans do not

get nearly as much of a tax a d v a n t a g e w h e n t h e y buy a 2-year-

old, then train it and sell it, as they would if they bred a broodmare and sold the baby. Although breeders may get more of a tax advantage, Thorson recommends downsizing now.

“If people are looking to downsize their herd in the future, this is the time to do it! The lon-ger they wait, the worse it’s going to get. I see the prices continuing to go down,” Thorson said.

That doesn’t mean all equine breeding should come to a halt, it just means we don’t have that ready consumer market that has happily purchased horses for the past 40 years.

These changes are not only affecting the horse market. Other areas, such as automobile and real estate sales are also being hit. Thorson predicts the rate of people spending money in gen-eral in the US is going to head downhill drastically. Soon, there will be 44 million people swim-ming in an infrastructure that is too large. Those who are prepared will be able to float.

Horses will survive. Horse ownership will survive. Horse sports will survive. But it will change, it has to.

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Page 25: February Appointments

Appointments • February 2011 • p. 25

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Randi Thompson came into the world of equestrian social media kicking and screaming.

Last month a fan of her social media work nominated her for an award at an international event in the equestrian social media circle. From there, the nomina-tions took on a life of their own.

Thompson said she didn’t realize so many people had been paying attention to what she had

been sharing via Facebook, You-Tube and Twitter.

“I am so honored with this nomination for both How to Market Your Horse Industry and Horse and Rider Awareness. It was my social media friends and fans who got me into these programs. To be recognized and supported by so many people has been a challenging life experi-ence for me.”

Thompson made it to the top 10 for How to Market Your Horse Business and Horse and Rider Awareness. She was over-whelmed with the responses.

The Horse and Rider Aware-ness Program also announced that two of Thompson’s programs in the equine educational field have made the finals in four cat-egories. This prestigious award includes a list of who’s who in the horse industry.

The categories she’s nomi-nated for include: best YouTube channel, best use of Facebook, best use of Twitter and 12 most informative.

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Page 26: February Appointments

Appointments • February 2011 • p. 26

Don Principe came to Jen-nifer Baumert from Maryanna Haymon’s Marydell Farm in Columbus.

Baumert plans to continue Don Principe’s training at the FEI levels and show him at the Grand Prix level in Florida.

Baumert said she has devel-oped a great relationship with the stallion since she has moved to the Tryon area and is excited to show him on the Florida dressage circuit at the Grand Prix level.

Don Principe is a local rising star in dressage and the upper FEI levels of dressage. Jim Koford, Courtney-King Dye and Jen

Prince-like spirit Baumert have all done a wonder-ful job with him.

“He’s extremely smart and a generous horse in his daily work,” Baumert said. “He has qualities that make him almost human. Prince enjoys and expects to be treated special. If he is not the first one ridden in the barn, he gets impatient. Once under saddle he becomes quiet and focused and alive with energy.”

Baumert said the horse excels especially in piaffe and all the canter work at the FEI level. His walk is exceptional as well, she said.

“He has the ability and bril-

Top: Jen Baumert on Don Principe. Above: "Prince" getting friendly with a kid. (photos submitted)

liance for a big deep sus-pended trot, and I am learning to generate that brilliance from him without creating tension that will spoil the trot work,” she

said. “His greatest strength is his extraordinary temperament.”

Prince’s work ethic in his daily training is one of content-ment and willingness. According

Page 27: February Appointments

Appointments • February 2011 • p. 27

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to Baumert, he would work hap-pily seven days a week if you asked him. He loves his work, and he and Baumert go for many hacks. In Florida, Baumert rides down the driveway for the short hackwork with Prince. The big hack is 4 miles and they make it once a week.

Baumert has known five of Prince’s offspring under saddle, all of which have his quality gaits and suspension.

“The thing I like the most is that he passes along correct and rhythmical gaits,” she said. “These offspring are basically what everyone is looking for in temperament for an amateur and quality for a professional. I would like to have more Prince babies in my barn, and I suspect I will!”

Haymon said she is so happy when she gets to have Prince home.

Right now he is in Florida,

and she misses him but knows he will be home soon. It was really special for her to be able to come to the barn at Cross Creek and visit him on a daily basis.

Baumert has always admired Prince with other riders that have trained and showed him, but now that she has worked with him, she realizes that he is an exceptional equine soul.

Baumert loves all the horses she has trained and ridden, but she said there are a few that come along that are special, and Prince is one of them.

His greatest strength is his extraordinary temperament”

-- Jen Baumert

Don Principe. (photo submitted)

Page 28: February Appointments

Appointments • February 2011 • p. 28

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Ashley Parsons become a working student for Jen Beaumert right out of her college years.

She was attending the Uni-versity of Findley in Ohio where she majored in equine studies and equine business management. There she concentrated on dres-sage and was introduced to Jen Baumert.

At school, Parsons rode a horse donated by Jen Baumert. Parsons instructor encouraged Parsons to talk to Baumert. After sending her a video and speak-ing with Baumert on the phone, Parsons came to North Carolina one week after graduation.

Pa r sons has se rved a s Baumert’s working student for a year now, and she is also her assistant trainer.

Parsons was born and raised in North Brookfield, Mass. with a typical riding childhood. Her parents had no interest in horses, but she begged them for riding lessons. Parsons started riding at the age of 10 at a hunter/jumper stable.

When she was 12 her parents bought her a horse, a 4-year-old gelding with three months undersaddle train-ing. He ran away with her all the time! Eventually he was leased to a friend, and her next horse was bought when she turned 13.

This was a 2-year-old unbro-ken thoroughbred filly.

Instructor Wendy Warner helped her with the breaking and

training, and Parsons said she had the best time ever on this filly.

By the time the filly was 3, Parsons could ride her bareback in a halter in a field, knowing the horse would take good care of her. Parsons did everything with her from 20-mile trail rides to local hunter/jumper shows and

natural horse-manship clin-ics. Parsons said she is the only thoroughbred she knew who could cut cows.

This horse was an amazing jumper, so when she was old enough Parsons evented her.

Parsons had no formal train-ing. She would point her mare to a jump, and she would clear it like a deer. Parsons said she

hated dressage and would try to leave the dressage arena, so Parsons decided to take a year and concentrate on dressage. This was during her freshman year in college, and she never went back to eventing.

Parsons’ goals are to continue learning and become the best trainer she can possibly be. She would love to get into the high dressage levels and be able to ride Grand Prix someday.

More than showing, Parsons loves to ride and train the young horses, figuring out to make each horse the best they can be with confidence and a good happy work ethic.

“It’s especially rewarding to bring along young horses and see how they develop,” she said. “I definitely hope to make a career

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Page 29: February Appointments

Appointments • February 2011 • p. 29

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out of this.”The silliness of young horses

doesn’t bother her, and she is fair and direct in all her cor-rections. With Baumert she has ridden many 4-and 5-year-old horses just starting their dressage careers.

Parsons broke Joy Baker’s two young horses (2-year-olds) and started them under saddle.

Away from the barn and hors-es, Parsons enjoys spending time with her dogs Drifter, a Jack Russell terrier, and Rosie, a black lab. She also helps her boyfriend of 6 years, Mike, who is a general contractor, on various projects.

The thing that Parsons values most in life is being with her family. She said she would not be able to do the things she loves most without their support.

Parsons said her parents have always given her the confidence she needs to try new things and do things well.

Ashley Parsons, working student for Jen Baumert. Parsons said she would love to get into the high dressage levels and be able to ride Grand Prix. (photo submitted)

Page 30: February Appointments

Appointments • February 2011 • p. 30

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Braving icy conditions alone “I wonder,” I thought, pulling

myself out of the slop in front of the manure pile beautifully cloaked in the snow of a recent winter storm. “How long it would take for Paul to come looking for me if I had really hurt myself just then.”

It’s a dicey scenario, trekking out to the barn before it occurs to the sun to rise on a dark January morning.

The plummeting tempera-tures create a frozen crust atop the snow that gives a satisfying crunch while walking tentatively towards the horses, kept up for days in a row and now snorting in alarm at such a noise at such an hour.

Where I had dumped the manure was gloppy with a sheen of ice beneath, and predictably, one muck boot was sent flying

forward. While I didn’t go down heav-

ily, there was no grace involved whatsoever as I crumpled down in a Carhart-attired, angry heap.

There’s nothing worse on a bitter morning than being cold and wet. And no one, save those convicted for war crimes, should experience the added humility of soaking manure to the mix.

It normally takes me just over an hour to feed, clean stalls, scrub and refill water buckets and sweep clean the aisle. On this morning, chores were taking well over an hour and a half and

it was nearly 8 a.m. before I crept my way back towards the house, noting the well-worn path was now packed down with snow and frozen so hard that it resembled a luge track for terriers.

Paul was inside enjoying his second cup of tea and watching the sports wrap-up on ESPN. The question I asked myself in the barn began to fester a little, but gave way to the rational ac-knowledgment that these horses weren’t his, after all.

Like most horsewomen, I’m self-sufficient to the extent of being a control freak, so why should it have occurred to him to perhaps pop his head out the mudroom door and call out just to make sure I hadn’t slipped and was slowly losing my life owing to an aneurysm?

Sitting down in the office and

pulling up my Facebook page, I asked the same question to all ‘horsey’ friends:

“So, how long would it take for your husband to come check on you in the barn to see if you’re OK?”

Misery indeed loves company and within minutes I was flooded with replies.

“How long? Heck, he wouldn’t even notice!”

“Probably come spring.”“When the stench became too

strong to ignore.” Chuckling softly to myself,

I left the computer, padded into the kitchen and switched on the electric kettle.

“Cold out?” Paul asked, not turning his eyes from the screen.

Women have killed for less...

"Women have killed for less.”

-- Pam Stone

Page 31: February Appointments

Appointments • February 2011 • p. 31

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Page 32: February Appointments

Appointments • February 2011 • p. 32