The Pennsylvania Thoroughbred Horseman’s Association (PTHA) board president, Robert Hutt, in an August Zoom meeting with PTHA members and directors, expressed frustration and anger about a number of structural and policy issues that he says have thwarted him from fulfilling his responsibilities. Hutt, who is 78, became president in 2023, defeating previous president Sal De Bunda, who held the office for 12 years and was running for a fifth three-year term. The Zoom meeting was supposed to be broadcast from the PTHA office in PARX. But at the last minute the meeting was moved because Hutt was informed that he was not permitted to use PTHA’s office.
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Some horses make a routine trail ride into an intractable contest of wills. If you need to trailer to get to the ride, will he load calmly for the trip to the trail? Or will he stand there, stubbornly, as if planted in concrete, giving the trailer ramp the stink eye? Will she decide that today is the day when every squirrel will look like Freddy from Nightmare on Elm Street?
Horses, as everyone knows, are sentient creatures, and they have good days, bad days, and days when nothing seems to feel right. It can be arduous, and there is no shortage of distractions that can get between a rider and a great day in the saddle.
Equestrians know that there are complications, and there are events that are just plain complicated. Such as, taking a horse on a 100-mile ride. In France. In a driving rain. In the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) World Endurance Championship for Seniors.
“Everyone talks about the weather,” American essayist Charles Dudley Warner said, “but nobody does anything about it.” Indeed. As the summer of 2024 recedes into memory, many people may forget that it was the hottest summer ever recorded in National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) history.
Everyone was hot. The beaches and pools were crowded with hot people. But all that heat represented more than an inconvenience, or an excuse to plunge into the nearest pool. On farms throughout the region, the heat—coupled with periods of drought—affected the growth of everything from alfalfa to corn to soybeans. Soon, people buying hay for their horses or grain for feed, will remember those hot dry days of summer 2024, and realize that record heat and intermittent drought add up to higher prices.
While most kids are still in bed, four-year-old Isla Mae and her sister, eight-year-old Ayla Lyn, are cleaning stalls before school. However, that is not the end of a day’s work. After school, the two sisters perform numerous farm chores and outdoor activities instead of watching television or using electronics. To some this may seem too demanding at such a young age. But both children agree that the least favorite part of their day is going to bed.
Neither of the girls realize they are building priceless family bonds, fused together by the heartbeat of a horse. Nor do they realize their family values are a format for success. But Isla and Ayla appear to flourish and savor every minute.
On September 20 and 21 the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company held its annual fall roundup at the Chincoteague National Wildlife Auction on Assateague Island in Virginia. The last batch of fall pickup foals from the Pony Penning auction were picked up by their buyers to be transported home.
The fire company who owns these feral ponies has a strong healthcare protocol in place. Pony Roundups are held three times a year with a complete pony health check at each. The Pony Penning roundup in late July is well known, but the herds get their annual shots at spring roundup and are wormed at spring and fall roundup.
This year, the south herd was rounded up on the evening of September 20 and the north herd was brought in on September 21. According to the fire company’s publicity officer and saltwater cowboy Hunter Leonard, about 140 adult ponies were brought in plus the summer buyback foals and four late born foals. He explained why the roundup was held a few weeks earlier than usual.
To advertise or for more information, please contact: Debbie Reid or Phyllis Hurdleston at 717-509-9800.
debbie@eastcoastequestrian.net or phyllis@eastcoastequestrian.net
P.O. Box 8412, Lancaster, PA 17604
