October 2020 Issue

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EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN October 2020 Page 31 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 I keep reading your cover story about the scarcity of riders of color in our industry. And I must admit, I am personally appalled with the cutline on the photo, where Lezlie Hiner mentions that she tells riders of color to only enter classes judged by time or number of goals. I would like to share the long view of things, and that is that nothing has changed, at all. When I was first learning about horses in the 1950’s, almost all grooms at the riding academies were black men. I started riding at Van Cort- landt Riding Academy and later rode at Manhattan Riding Club on West 67th Street in NewYork, and then at Claremont Riding Stable on West 89th Street. As a child I wanted to speak with the grooms because they were the ones who knew about caring for horses, which is what I most wanted to learn. One of my instructors at Van Cortlandt was Harry Lightner, who was black. (His nickname was Light Horse Harry.) When I worked in Maryland at show barns and at a private girls’ school as barn manager, I met a black farrier, Jock Dett. Jock had an absolutely gorgeous hunter mare, and he had to hire a white woman to show her, or she wouldn’t have gotten a look. There was also a black family whose young people only entered jumping classes, and I recall seeing one of their daughters annihilate the competition in a gambler’s choice class at one of the shows. So when I read Lezlie’s comment, I see things haven’t changed at all. Before going to Maryland, I worked as a groom at Junie Kulp’s All Around Farm in Gwynedd Valley. The barn manager was Melvin Dutton, one of the finest horsemen I ever met. There was another black who worked as a groom. Larry Harris, who was quite a bit taller than Melvin. One night I was there cleaning tack and Larry and Melvin were talking about a huge young horse stabled in the main barn. Larry bet Melvin he couldn’t mount the horse bareback from the ground – and lost. (I saw this happen). Melvin was a superb rider, but Junie would only have him ride the jumpers in the show ring for reasons of race. Later when I worked as a freelance photographer at Penn National, I met a black groom named George Cook. George told me as a young man he rode jumpers and had jumped one of them over an automobile. Some people doubted George, but I didn’t. Another greatly skilled groom from those days was Isom Rau-Ru; when Ru died he took with him a lifelong knowledge of horses and their care. So excellent horsemen and horsewomen of color have always been with us, unrecognized and having their skills go unnoticed. I am writing to you to share some things that have long bothered me. You bet Black Lives Matter. They have always mattered. And I only regret that Lezlie is still right. Montie Eagle, Carlisle, PA Nothing Has Changed Locals Win at Dressage Festival of Champions (Continued from page 22) Thursday Tarjan and Candescent won the FEI Grand Prix Test, the first test of the USEF Grand Prix Dressage National Champion- ship with a score of 71.478%. Tarjan also won the USEF Four-Year-Old Horse Tests with Gjenganger. Marcus Orlob (An- nandale, N.J.) took second place with Jeanette Pinard’s Danish gelding, Flambeau and third place with Glory Day, a Danish stallion. In the FEI Young Rider Individual Test for the Horseware Ireland/USEF Young Rider Dres- sage National Championship, Hannah Irons (Queenstown, Md.) and Scola Bella were the winners with a score of 73.088%. Irons leases the 11-year-old Oldenburg mare from Dressage4Kids, Inc. The pair earned the top overall score of 71.471%. By Sylvia Sidesaddle Well hello again darlings and welcome to what should be championship season! In a normal year Dressage at Dev- on would be underway as Syl writes, and we would be looking forward to Harrisburg, Fair Hill and Washington. But no! This is anything but a normal year. Syl imagines smaller shows might be doing well with the big ones be- ing, if anything, virtual this year. Someone who’s having way more fun than most of us right now is Bill Venditta . The former Devon and Harrisburg ringmas- ter is in England, as Syl writes, competing with his pair Bullet and Bandit at the Royal Windsor Horse Show, which is held just outside Windsor Castle. His entry was in the top ten in the Private Driving class (it’s England dar- lings) as Syl writes. You go Bill! Buck Davidson might look a little different next time you see him darlings, after being kicked in the face while loading a horse onto the trailer. He had a severely torn lip, broken nose, jawbone and cheek- bones, injuries to his eye socket and the roof of his mouth was torn in half. OMG sweet things!!! Along with that he welcomed a daugh- ter – Emelia Elizabeth Davidson “Ellie” was born September 3 at 5 pounds 7 ounces. After a difficult delivery she was initially in critical condition at Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. A week later came the good news-- no expectations of abnormalities or developmental issues. Buck is first in the jump order at Plantation Field, which is just underway as Syl writes. What a roller coaster darlings! As if there weren’t enough challenges this summer, C-Line Stables located in Townsend, DE was struck by a destructive tornado in early August. While the humans huddled in a corner with their backs to the feed room, they listened the terrifying sounds of the barn roof tearing away. While all people and animals were unharmed, the damage was extensive -- roofs torn off of two barns, fencing destroyed and the main house demolished. C-Line is not only a home to over 50 horses, it has been a home to so many families and riders over the last 50 years. Visit GoFundMe to donate to the recovery fund darlings! The Interscholastic Eques- trian Association has elected its 2020-2021 IEAYouth Board, consisting of one student repre- sentative from each of the 11 Hunt Seat Zones, four representatives from among the eight Western Regions, and two representatives from among the twelve Dressage Regions. Among them are locals Alexis Kinney , (Zone 3 Hunt Seat) a Junior from Hollywood, MD, who rides with AMoment in Time and Abigail Grove , (Region 3 & 4, Dressage) a Sophomore from Cumberland, MD who rides with Mystic Meadows Farm. Congratulations ladies! You never know who your competition will be at unrated shows anymore. For instance, Olympic veteran Phillip Dutton placed fourth in the Mini Prix at Ludwig’s Corner on Labor Day with Z, one of his three mounts for the day. It must’ve been a happy day for Sydney Solomon, Mark Reid and Kendra Walm- er , who all placed higher. Boyd Martin’s old part- ner Otis Barbotiere is back at Windurra after a second career as a jumper. Boyd has a young, talented but horseless protégé in his employ and he has given Otis to her to ride and train. Otis and Mia ripped around the Training level track at Fair Hill recently and Otis will remain in semi-re- tirement in his home for life. The New Jersey Racing Com- mission has instituted America’s strictest whip use rule. Jockeys will be allowed to use the whip only ‘for reasons of safety.’ Jock- eys can be fined or suspended if stewards determine they used the whip “to achieve a better placing” beginning in 2021. Syl’s darlings who watched the Preakness may have noticed that ‘Maryland, My Maryland’, the song traditionally played as the horses take the track, was played without lyrics this year. Adopted as the state song in 1939, “Maryland, My Maryland” was originally written in 1861 by James Ryder Randall in an effort to urge the state to join the Con- federacy. Maryland House Speak- er Adrienne Jones (D-Baltimore County) announced in June that she would lead a legislative effort to remove it as the state song in 2021. 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!