The monster-sized garbage truck was headed straight for the horse I was riding down busy Columbus Avenue, at the height of evening rush hour on New York City’s Upper West Side. Gears grinding loudly, the vehicle kept chugging toward us as I maneuvered my horse as close as possible to the parked cars along the curb in an attempt to avoid a truck-horse-human collision.
The perpetually rearing wooden horse still stares out the enormous picture window oblivious to the constant bustle of New York City, just as he’s done since 1912. All around him, the world has changed. The once plentiful shops offering equestrian accouterments to clients with names like Rockefeller and Kennedy have disappeared, leaving Manhattan Saddlery as the sole surviving tack shop in the borough.
It was 8:45 p.m. on a Thursday evening. It was dark, wet and cold outside. I had 24 hours until the chili cook-off fundraiser I’d been planning for the Area II Young Riders, and the anxiety was setting in, as it always does before any function I plan.
I was doing my best to balance my time between my full-time job at Sinead Halpin Eventing, my part-time job at Prestige Saddles, my commitment to Young Riders, my part-time job teaching at River Edge Farm, and my personal commitment to fitness.
Walter Gervais, the eventer who completed his first CCI* at age 75, died from congestive heart failure at his home in South Attleboro, Mass., on June 17. He was 87.
Mr. Gervais entered the Navy at age 18, serving in World War II on the aircraft carrier Ranger, which was engaged in searching for German U-boats in the North Sea. He also served in the Korean War.
He was a lifelong athlete, boxing in the Navy and placing 25th in the 1946 Boston Marathon. He did not take up riding until he was in his 50s, however.
Artist Debbie Goldring has been drawing and riding for more than 40 years. She takes pride in capturing the personality and character in every animal she paints. Using pastels, she strives for realism and accuracy in her subjects.
Goldring’s commissioned work may be found worldwide. Some of her most memorable works include commissions for the Ontario Equestrian Federation to do five portraits for the 2008 Canadian Olympic silver medal show jumping team. A portrait of each horse was done for each rider, and a composite portrait was done for the team’s chef d’equipe.
Douglas Bunn, the man behind the All England Jumping Course in Hickstead, Great Britain, died in his sleep on June 16 after a short illness. He was 81.
Mr. Bunn was born on Feb. 29, 1928, and went straight from the cradle to horseback. He became an avid show jumper, and after he began work as a barrister, he was known for wearing his breeches beneath his formal wear and heading straight to the barn when a courtroom session ended.
Gaisha, an upper-level eventing mare, was euthanized in early May at the Sun Kissed Acres Retirement Farm near Summerville, Ga. She was 26.
When Mary Jo Herhold bought the Hanoverian mare (Garibaldi—Lemonade, Lemon), she was competing at the novice level. Partnered with Janet Andrews, Gaisha soon began moving up the levels and eventually found success at the intermediate level.
Gaisha was the U.S. Combined Training Association Mare of the Year in 1993, and in 1994 she was the American Horse Shows Association Zone 4 intermediate champion.
Canaris, a successful advanced-level event horse, died on May 26. He was 25.
Owner and rider Jim Wolf imported the Dutch Warmblood as a 5-year-old in November of 1989 to begin his eventing career. The pair established an enduring partnership from the very beginning.
At 17.2 hands, Canaris was once considered “bigger than a horse needs to be,” by Bruce Davidson, but his cat-like quickness in the combinations, tremendous scope, and big heart enabled him to excel at the highest levels of the sport.
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