May 2021 Issue

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EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN May 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, Amy Worden, 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 ASPCA Dedicates the Month of May to Horses in Need of Homes the Help a Horse day we’ve done a number of events. One year it was ‘be a hero for a horse,’ which was really cool.” She says they are working toward helping people see these horses differently. “We’re kind of trying to help get rid of the stigma that a horse at a shelter or a rescue has issues or is not a good candidate for adoption.” While the horses are available for adoption, she says, not all of them are suitable for riding, either because of age, or past injuries or arthritic conditions. Dychton and her team have created a program they call CARE, which stands for Compassionate Aid for Retired Equines. And they plan to center most of their efforts during Adopt a Horse Month around this inno- vative concept. Dychton points out that Lollypop’s CARE program is modeled on those used at other shelters. “We’re just finalizing the preparations,” she says. “One horse already is in foster care and there is the potential for at least two or three others that may go into the program.” It’s foster care with an important difference, Dychton says. “The difference between this and our adoption program is that we retain ownership of the horse, so all expenses are tax deductions.” When the foster family pays for feed, hay, vet care, farrier care, etc., those expenses are tax deductible, since each foster family is assum- ing the cost of care for a horse owned by Lollypop Farm, which is a non-profit organization. “The hope, especially with this CARE program is that all the horses are ‘adoptable’,” Dych- ton says. It’s a way to make it attractive to take on one of the horses that is basically retired and unrideable. Good News About Potential Adopters A study published by ASPCA in 2017 generated a lot of ex- citement among the people most involved in equine welfare. The research suggested that there are more than a million households in the United States with both the resources and the desire to adopt horses in need. “Estimates vary about the number of horses who need homes every year across the country, with the highest estimates edging at close to 200,000,” according to the report. ASPCA’s goal to “massively increase horse adoption in the United States” thus has a precise target, and their strategies for hitting that target include the ini- tiatives they’ve been rolling out for the past couple of years. Re- cruiting optimists like the people at Lollypop Farm and the other farms committed to this month- long promotion will broaden the reach and deepen the base of peo- ple who understand the gravity of the situation for horses—as well as the opportunities. Dychton explains that most of the horses that wind up at Lol- lypop Farm are surrenders. She says the issues range from the cost of continuing to care for the horses, to the age of the owners. “Sometimes the horse is just not the right match for them.” But all of them want to make sure their horses are safe and go to good homes. “We want to embrace what The Right Horse Initiative is promoting, which is ‘Relinquish- ers Welcome’. You want people to have the best options possi- ble,” Dychton says. “Give harder to adopt horses a chance.” Potential adopters can visit www.MyRightHorse.org , the ASPCA’s adoption platform specifically for equines, to view adoptable horses. For more information on the campaign visit www.ASPCA.org/AdoptaHorse- Month. (Continued from page 8) By Sylvia Sidesaddle Well, hello again darlings! Alas, there will be no Devon Horse Show again this year. This leaves a gigantic hole in Syl’s social calendar, but she’ll have to just buck up and make up for it in the fall. But enough about Syl. On to the news! Charlie Fenwick , that delightful man, has been elected president and CEO of the Fair Hill Foundation, which will focus on raising funds for prize money and operations for the inaugural Mary- land 5 Star. A former steeplechase jockey, trainer, and businessman, Charlie has fundraised for the Greater Baltimore Medical Center and Gilman School boards. He is a past president of the Temple Gwathmey Steeplechase Foun- dation and chair of the Shawan Downs steeplechase race meeting. Tod Marks caught a photo of sobbing leadline jockey Leo Mar- tin in tears in the Cheshire leadline trot race. Led by dad, Olympian Boyd Martin , the photo of the unhappy tot will surely come back to haunt him later in life. If you’re missing your daily dose of cuteness, cure it with a visit to Foal Cam. There’s a standardbred filly at Diamond B Farm, camera in stall, and a much harder to see thoroughbred foal at Walnut Creek Farm in Union- ville, PA, turned out in a big pasture. All the frolicking is at pennhorseracing.com/foalcams/. Belmont Park experienced a barn fire, discovered shortly after feeding time on April 16, that left two horses dead. Track employees rescued 58 others who are now in temporary housing. The cause of the fire, which was extinguished quickly, had not been determined at press time. One of the horses that perished was stakes winner American Sail- or, whose trainer, Wayne Potts , raced to his stall in smoke so thick he couldn’t see or breathe. The rescue attempt unfortunately failed. The second horse lost was his stablemate, Beastie D. Syl’s deepest condolences to their connections. The Fair Hill Races are canceled for this May not due to Covid but to give the new turf course time to fully mature. A $20 million upgrade installed a new irrigation system, distance poles, finish pole, running rails and widened turns. Back in 1928, when it was constructed, William du Pont Jr. waited six years for the track to mature darlings! Technology is a wonderful thing. The 146th annual Preak- ness Stakes will be run May 15 with a limited crowd of 10,000. The packed infield party will be replaced by “a new, socially distant live component, Preakness LIVE, that will run concurrently with the NBC broadcast from 5 to 7 pm and livestreamed featuring musical en- tertainment celebrating Baltimore's richness and diversity.” The Winter Equestrian Fes- tival in Florida has wrapped, and the Chapots of Neshanic Station, NJ were big winners. Laura Chapot was named WEF Overall Jumper Rider. Mom Mary Chapot won the Proelite WEF Overall Jumper Trainer award. The duo shared the Lugano Diamonds WEF Overall Jumper Owner award. Congratulations! An organization called the Open Horse Show Association is holding a worldwide virtual show this month. Film a video between May 1 and May 23 and load it to your YouTube account and email a link to OHSA (though Syl could not find an email address any- where). Divisions are available for everything from hunt seat to saddle seat to dressage, western, in-hand and driving. There are awards darlings! And you might find yourself owning a world champion! Go to showohsa.com and check it out. (If you can find an email address be sure to let Syl know.) Local riders were among 29 youth athletes who participated in the inaugural Adequan/USEF Eventing Youth Team Challenge in Aiken, S.C., recently. The Area 2 team of Sydney Solomon , 23, (Dayton, Md.) Meg Pellegrini , 16, (Wayne, Pa.) Isabelle Bosley , 23, (Cochranville, Pa.) and Calli Lipping , 19, (Bethesda, Md.) had two clear show jumping rounds to top the YTC CCI3*-S podium on a final team score of 148.5. The new event mimics the FEI Event- ing Nations Cup™ Series by offering youth athletes aged 14- 25 the opportunity to compete for their areas in selected short-for- mat competitions throughout the season, with long-format fall finals on both coasts. And that will have to do it for Syl for another month. Until next time, remember to S.S.S. (Send Syl Scoop) at PAEquest@ aol.com . And….be careful where you step!