December 2020/January 2021 Issue

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EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN December 2020/January 2021 Page 27 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, Suzy Lucine, Suzanne Bush, Kimberly French, Lois Szymanski, Sylvia Sidesaddle Advertising Manager Debbie Reid Advertising Sales Manager Phyllis Hurdleston Published 11 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.pennsylvaniaequestrian.com. 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 By Sylvia Sidesaddle Well hello again darlings! As Syl writes, the Thanksgiving holi- day which everyone will (or at least should) celebrate with only their household members still lies ahead and the end of this pan- demic year looms—a rare bright spot for this rogue year 2020. The pandemic is out of control and Syl wants her darlings to stay safe! Wear a mask, stay away from others, no indoor restaurant dining—next year will surely be better! The pandemic can’t keep us from celebrating National Day of the Horse. Extra carrots for your closest equine friends are called for on December 13. It was established in 2004 to encourage U.S. citizens to be mindful of the contribution of horses to the economy, history, and character of the United States. Your horses will no doubt be too focused on the carrots to fully appreciate they have a holiday all their own. So on to the news. The Dressage Foundation awarded a number of grants, including to Angelia Bean , King of Prussia, PA, who was awarded the Inau- gural Verne Batchelder Instructor Fund. It provides grants of up to $2,500 to professional instructors from USDF Regions 1, 3, or 8 for continuing education and train- ing. Angelia has operated Straight Forward Dressage since 2005, working with clients from Pony Clubbers to FEI level riders. She will use this funding to take three week-long training trips to work with Kathy Rowse . Congratula- tions Angelia! The Breeders Crown for har- ness racing was held at Harrah’s Hoosier Park in Anderson, IN recently and it appears to Syl the lion’s share of the purse money returned to New Jersey with the winners. Brian Sears , Secaucus, NJ, won the $500,000 Open Trot by a length with Gimpanzee, who is trained by Marcus Melander , New Egypt, NJ. The $500,000 Breeders Crown was won by 200- 1 shot Sandbetweenmytoes driven by Scott Zeron , Cream Ridge, NJ and trained by Jim Campbell , Jackson NJ, who paid $409.80 to win, the highest ever in the Breeders Crown’s 37 year history. Kissin In The Sand, driven by Dexter Dunn , Allentown, NJ won the $300,000 Breeders Crown Mare Pace for trainer Nancy Takter , Allentown, NJ. Dexter also drove Amigo Volo to victory in the $500,000 Breeders Crown 3-year-old colt and gelding trot. Amigo Volo is trained by Rich- ard “Nifty” Norman, Allentown, NJ. Peaky Sneaky captured the $500,000 Breeders Crown sophomore filly pace, driven by Yannick Gingras , Allentown, NJ, and trained by Nancy Takter. Next Level Stuff, driven by Tim Tetrick , Woolwich Township, NJ and trained by Jim Camp- bell, won the $500,000 Breeders Crown 3-Year-Old filly trot. The $600,000 Breeders Crown for 2-year-old colt and gelding pacers ended in the first Breeders Crown dead heat for victory between Summa Cum Laude (Brian Sears) and Perfect Sting ( David Miller , Cream Ridge, NJ) trained by Ron Burke , Canonsburg, PA. Fire Start Hanover, driven by Dex- ter Dunn, gave trainer Richard "Nifty" Norman his fifth Breed- ers Crown win in the $600,000 Breeders Crown 2-year-old filly pace. Manchego, trained by Nan- cy Takter and driven by Dexter Dunn captured the $300,000 Mare Trot. There are a ton of zeros in that paragraph, darlings! Local eventer Caroline Martin captured four cham- pionship titles at the Virginia Horse Trials in Lexington, VA in early November. She and her own QC Diablo Hit claimed the 2020 USEF CCI2*-L Eventing National Championship, finishing on their dressage score of 33.8. The horse was sent to her to sell, which she did, but he didn’t like his new owner (or anyone but Caroline apparently) so back he came. She also won the 5 year old Young Event Horse champi- onship with Redfield King, the YEH 5-year-old B division with Redfield Galway Blake and 4 year old YEH championship with Redfield HSH Connor. Hannah Sue Burnett , Kennett Square, PA and Christa Schmidt’s Carson- stown, were reserve champions with a three-phase score of 36.3. Another local, Annabelle Kress , Villanova, PA and Canny Calypso finished second in the USEF CCI2*-L Junior/Young Rider Eventing National Championship. Congratulations to all! 2020 wasn’t a bad year for Iron Spring Farm, Coatesville, PA whose stallions sired 21 GAIG/ USDF Regional Champions and Reserve Champions, including 13 at FEI level. Eight ISF stallions, including Sir Sinclair Keur, Uno Don Diego, Meinse 439 and Teade 392, Sport, had champion offspring. These sons and daugh- ters won from Training Level to Grand Prix, with 58 Top Eight finishers. Brandywine Polo ended its season with US Polo Association awards voted on by all playing members. Lory Eighme and Martin Estrada tied for the club’s Equine Welfare of the Year honor. The speedy, handy and sweet polo pony Nikki was awarded Horse of the Year for Brandywine's 2020 polo season. Nikki is owned and ridden by Martin Estrada and many other lucky players in the Coaching Chukkers. Claire Campbell was named most improved player of the year and Carlitos Mereles won groom of the year. Congratu- lations all! Boyd Martin and Tsetser- leg TSF are one of the horse and rider combos featured in a new game from Australia called Equestriad World Tour. The free to play mobile title is available on IOS devices worldwide. Players create their own character to live out their virtual eventing dreams. The developers say “some of the biggest names in horse sport (like Boyd) have come together to provide a dazzling star-studded experience for enthusiasts and newcomers to equestrian care and eventing’. Check it out darlings! And that’s it for Syl for… another year!!! Let’s hope 2021 allows us to get back to horse shows, expos, seeing friends, traveling and living life. Until then, always remember to S.S.S. (Send Syl Scoop) at PAEquest@ aol.com . And…be careful where you step!