August 2023 Issue

Choose a one time charge of $20 to be added permanently to the mailing list, for an ongoing subscription via third class mail. OR have each issue sent to you first class for an annual fee of $35. You can pay by check, Visa, Mastercard or Discover. Simply complete and mail this form with payment to: East Coast Equestrian, P. O. Box 8412, Lancaster, PA 17604-8412 or order online at eastcoastequestrian.net  I would like an ongoing subscription via third class mail for $20.  Please send each issue first class for $35 per year.  Check for $________ is enclosed  Please bill my Visa/Mastercard/Discover Acct. #________________________________ Exp. Date ____________________ Name ______________________________________________________________ Address _____________________________________________________________ City ________________________________ State ___________ Zip ___________ Email ______________________________________________________________ Get East Coast Equestrian at home! East Coast Equestrian P.O. Box 8412, Lancaster, PA 17604-8412 (717) 509-9800 E-mail: PAEquest@aol.com www.eastcoastequestrian.net Published by Pennsylvania Equestrian, LLC Stephanie Shertzer Lawson, Editor and Publisher Contributors Marcella Peyre-Ferry, Suzanne Bush, Alicia Martin, Lois Szymanski, Sylvia Sidesaddle Advertising/Production Manager Debbie Reid Advertising Sales Manager Phyllis Hurdleston Published 9 times a year. Submissions of articles, events and photos are welcome and should be received by the 10th of the month preceding publication. Please call (717) 509-9800 for advertising rates or visit www.eastcoastequestrian.net . We cannot accept copyrighted photos without permission from owner. You must have permission before reprinting anything from East Coast Equestrian. For permission please call (717) 509-9800 or email steph@eastcoastequestrian.net EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN August 2023 Page 31 Go ahead...Ask da Mare Don’t argue. Just listen, carefully. Hear her out. And ask questions, without judging. Keep in mind that a lot of people are suffering the after-effects of the pandemic—the isolation, the fear, the constant threat to every piece of the lives we all counted on. Add to that the losses your friend suffered recently. We humans like to feel as if we’re in control of things. Your friend may be searching for some way to regain control, and advocacy may be what she latched onto. Granted, her advocacy seems extreme. But it’s unlikely you can argue her out of the lane she has chosen. Instead, let her know how you’re feeling, and remind her that you love animals, and care about her, too. As for her friends who are looking for “evidence,” you have every right to ask the barn’s management to deal with these people. You are entitled to enjoy your horse without these intruders. Dear Mal… A couple of weeks ago my friends and I were on a trail ride. We left the barn in the early eve- ning and took a little longer than we anticipated. The trail we were on was new to us, and we kind of lost track of time. It started to get dark, and we were, quite frank- ly, lost. Nobody remembered exactly how we got there but we needed to get back. The horses were remarkably calm (unlike the riders). We talked about what to do, how to get back to the trailers, etc. We had cell phones, but they were useless when it came to trails. Someone had the brilliant idea of googling how to get horses back to the trailers. It turns out, the horses were able to find their own way back! I couldn’t believe it, but we all just relaxed, let the horses walk and soon we were back at the trailers. Is that normal? -Amazed Dear Amazed… You and your friends were able to demonstrate that hors- es do have excellent senses of direction. It’s doubly amazing that they were in a place they had never been to before. Horses have a lot of skills that they’ve developed over millennia—a lot of these skills relate to the horse’s status as a prey animal. They are observant, and when they’re in unfamiliar places they’re particu- larly attentive to potential threats. They take note of their surround- ings and probably “map” where they are, based on the visual cues they recall. There are hundreds of anecdotes like yours that reveal how horses have found their ways back to stables and even trailers. Among horses’ advantages are their great sense of smell, along with their keen eyesight after sunset. Horses’ visual memories are quite impressive. That helps them navigate, even in relatively unfamiliar places. The evidence that might prove exactly how horses do this is…well…it’s largely anecdotal. That doesn’t mean it’s fake; it just means that horses have infinite capacities to surprise and amaze us. My view on your experience is that it was wonderful and amazing and awe-inspiring. Horses. They just plain rock! Have a question for Mal? Email her at PAEquest@aol. com. (Continued from page 30) By Sylvia Sidesaddle Well, hello again darlings! It’s hot, and getting hotter, as Syl writes. Her sweet things are getting their work done early and late to avoid the heat, Syl is sure, and those who must show in clothing more appropriate for a winter stroll have every ounce of her sympathy. Take care out there, sweet things – we are going to be living with the heat and the smoke for a long time, Syl fears. Martha Nevins and Clas- sic Brother had a good show at Upperville earlier this summer, where they won two of three divi- sion classes and earned the Take2 Thoroughbred Jumper Champion- ship. Nevins, Kirkwood, Pa., has owned “Spencer” for nine years and rides with Uppervillle Colt and Horse Show President Joe Fargis . Congratulations Martha! By the time Syl’s darlings read this, Hope Beerling , Califon, NJ, and Vianne, a 2016 Hanoverian mare, will be in the Netherlands representing US Dressage at the 2023 FEI WBFSH Dressage World Breed- ing Championship for Young Horses. They will be competing in the 7 year old division—Syl wishes them well! USAEquestrian Trust recently awarded nearly $60,000 in grants to help fund eight equine-focused projects conducted by non-profits. Chester County, PA’s Plantation Field Equestrian Events will receive $27,250 to build more than 20 new fences, to allow for an additional competitive level at its eventing competitions. The Harness Horse Youth Founda- tion (which isn’t local but does run summer programs in the area) now has $600 for new safety helmets for its summer youth programs. Syl’s darlings will remember the great and tragic Barbaro . Well, his jockey, Edgar Prado was cele- brated with a retirement ceremony in mid-July, held at Old Friends retirement home in Kentucky, home to Belmont Stakes winners, Sarava and Birdstone . Both had their Belmont wins under Prado. After relocating from his native Peru to the United States in 1986, he rode in Florida and Massachu- setts before moving to Maryland, where he was the leading rider in 1991-1993, and 1997-1999. He won the 2006 Kentucky Derby aboard Barbaro, who was based at Parx. Prado, who last raced in January at Gulfstream, told blood- horse.com that no one had hired him to ride since then. Trainers “all wanted new riders,” he said, adding “I totally understand that. When I was 20, I took somebody's place and now somebody is taking my place.” Enjoy retirement, Edgar! Hillwood Stable's Grade 3-winning millionaire and mid-Atlantic fan favorite Cord- maker left trainer Rodney Jenkins' Laurel Park barn for the last time July 16, five days after the 8-year-old gelding was retired with an ankle injury. After surgery at New Bolton Center, he will be turned out at David and JoAnn Hayden's Dark Hollow Farm in Upperco, Md. – where he spent his annual winter vacations – before final retirement plans are settled. Cordmaker had been with Jenkins since age two, and won 14 races, 11 of them stakes. He was bred in Maryland by Robert T. Manfuso, who passed away in 2020, and fellow Laurel trainer Katy Voss . Dr. Stephen Soule , who served for over two decades as an official US Equestrian Team Veterinarian beginning in 1978, passed away in May. A Penn Vet graduate, he was one of five international veterinarians for the 1996 Olympic Games and an official veterinarian for over 100 equestrian competitions, includ- ing the Washington International Horse Show. He started his career as the racetrack veterinarian for the Pennsylvania State Racing Commission and was a founding partner of the Delaware Equine Center in Cochranville, PA, where he specialized in lameness, performance problems, and sur- gery. Condolences to his family. US Equestrian recently awarded more than $128,000 in USEF Opportunity Fund grants to 13 USEF Community Out- reach Organizations in the fund’s second year. Local grantees include the Kindle Hill Founda- tion Charity (Blue Bell, PA) for program fee assistance resources and advancement of internal operations with purchase of HI- PAA-compliant technology. And Maryland Therapeutic Riding (Crownsville, MD), will use their grant to purchase two BEMER horse sets to enhance the health and wellness of their 16 horses. And finally, darlings, from Syl’s police blotter, nine Pennsyl- vania men, aged 40-53, were in- dicted by the US Attorney’s Office of the Middle District of PA for stealing sports memorabilia and trophies from more than 20 mu- seums and jewelry stores in PA, NY and NJ. Among the haul were fourteen trophies and awards, worth over $300,000, stolen in 2012 from the Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame, Goshen, NY, and five trophies worth over $400,000, including the 1903 Belmont Stakes Trophy [won by Hampton Stable's Africander], stolen in 2013 from the National Racing Museum & Hall of Fame, Saratoga Springs, NY. They took the items to one guy’s home in northeastern Pennsylvania, melted the hardware into easily trans- portable metal discs or bars, and sold them in the New York City area for hundreds or thousands of dollars. Nowhere near the value of the historic items they once were. And that’s it for Syl for anoth- er month. Until next time, remem- ber to S.S.S. (Send Syl Scoop) at PAEquest@aol.com . And…be careful where you step!