May 2021 Issue

The News East Coast Horse Owners Need To Know OUR TH YEAR 993 - PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT 280 LANC., PA 17604 Vol. 28 No. 4 May 2021 (Continued on page 4) Inside... By Suzanne Bush Holly Corcoran was des- tined to be an endurance rider, even though that destiny took a while to reveal itself. “When I was young, my family showed Morgan horses,” she says. She literally started on horseback as a toddler, and she recalls as a teen- ager riding her family’s horses for multi-hour trail rides. “Then I’d go back to the barn, get another horse and head out again,” she says. When she had kids of her own, horses were still in the picture as they were involved in 4-H and showing. But she never felt the show ring was right for her, even though she still wanted horses to be part of her life. Then, after a 15-year hiatus from hors- es, destiny came knocking. “In 2003, I stumbled on it (endurance competition), and thought, for me, that’s a good fit.” She immersed herself in learning about it, and at her first competition, a 25-mile adven- ture, she learned that mentoring and reaching out to others are integral to the sport. “I met up with more experienced people at my first ride, and they helped me,” she says. She finished 46th, with a time of five hours and 45 seconds. Since then, Corcoran has logged thousands of miles on horseback, in places as exotic as Dubai and as familiar as the trails near her home in Effort, PA. Later this month, she and her 14-year-old Arabian, Poete will be part of the USA team going to the Longines Fédération Équestre International, (FEI) Endurance World Championship in San Rossore, Italy. One of the people on the team, Hanna Weightman, a 22 year old senior at Stockton University in New Jersey, will be riding Corcoran’s other Arabian, 10-year-old Poetrie. The two horses are ¾ siblings. Local Equestrian Heads for Endurance World Championship in Italy Holly Corcoran, Effort, PA and her Arabian, Poete will be representing the US at the FEI Endur- ance World Championship in Pisa, Italy May 18-23. Photo by Becky Pearman The Estate Where Medici’s Hunted San Rossore, outside the iconic city of Pisa, is a magnet for equestrian sports. The park will be off-limits to everyone but competitors, support crew and race staff. It retains the pristine character that once attracted the Medici family--scions of Europe- an royalty, popes and supporters of Renaissance masters. They used the area as a hunting reserve. It is still a popular tourist desti- nation, as well as a world-famous horseracing center. The 160 km Endurance World Championship racecourse sounds like heaven on earth. The FEI website describes the course this way: “The track, enclosed between the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west, the Arno river to the south and the Serchio to the north, is characterized by an alternation of various terrains: sand, grass and ground, ideal for the comfort of the horse.” Who wouldn’t fight for the chance to ride there? Steeped in history, awash in the trappings of privilege and state-of-the-art equine care, San Rossore waits— for history to be made. Corcoran, a formidable endurance compet- itor, may just make that history. Her record speaks eloquently. She and her horses have won 10 of 12 100-mile rides between 2018 and 2020. In January 2020 Poete was ranked first in the FEI World Endurance Ranking and Poetrie was ranked seventh. Not an Ordinary CPA Holly Corcoran is not your average Certified Public Ac- countant (CPA). She’s not your average trail rider, either. In fact, there’s not a lot about Corcoran that is average. She is both an intense competitor and a generous mentor, helping novice endurance riders learn the sport. She believes that there are important parallels between success in her busi- ness life and in her competitive life—the importance of strategy, determination and dealing with details. It’s not like she’s going to Benefactor enables Gettysburg to add mounted patrol…pg. 6 ASPCA launches Adopt a Horse Month in May…pg. 8 Devon cancels, USEF allows spectators and much more! Pastures & Fencing Feature! pgs. 10-20