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Before the Kentucky Horse Park, before Radnor, before Chesterland, way back nearly sixty years ago, we had Neil and Hele...
10/14/2026

Before the Kentucky Horse Park, before Radnor, before Chesterland, way back nearly sixty years ago, we had Neil and Helen Ayer’s Ledyard Farm 3-day event.

We ran our steeplechase at Appleton Farm, did roads and tracks through Myopia Hunt country, before arriving at Ledyard.

This was a 15/16ths Thoroughbred named House Guest, by Bonne Nuit’s son, Night Lark, on cross country in 1968 or 1969.

That small north of Boston area was, for a time, the epicenter of USA eventing. Right there in Hamilton and Weham, Massachusetts there was the USET headquarters, the USCTA office, Groton House event, Flying Horse event, and Ledyard.

Those who were part of it, remember it, still call that our Camelot era of American eventing.

How does a “destination” competition become one of those, instead of remaining just another event?Here’s Core Buff at Ro...
10/14/2026

How does a “destination” competition become one of those, instead of remaining just another event?
Here’s Core Buff at Rolex in 1979, 47 years ago, and there were few spectators watching the dressage, mainly other riders and their mothers, as we used to joke.

And today that weekend in Lexington, Kentucky has reached the status of icon, the stands are packed, and spectators come from far and wide.

Is it place? Publicity? Mistique?

Some of us were so attuned to its name that we still call it Rolex no matter what company is its current sponsor

As a kid who had horses in New England in the 1950s I remember first hand why so many horses got long stretches of time ...
10/13/2026

As a kid who had horses in New England in the 1950s I remember first hand why so many horses got long stretches of time off in December, January, February and March.

Number One---Very few indoor rings. The ONLY one I remember anywhere near Greenfield, Massachusetts was a small, dark Quonset hut like structure at Smith College. You rode outdoors, basically, or you didn’t ride.

Number Two---No “Florida for the winter.” Why not? Two reasons---Very primitive 2 lane roads. Very primitive big, top-heavy lumbering trucks. You couldn’t GET horses south for the winter without HUGE hassle.

I am trying to remember whether, or to what extent, it impeded the training and conditioning process to give so many horses so much down time. I don’t think it had as much negative effect as we might think. When mid-March came along, and winter’s grip eased, they came back pretty quickly. I think.

Any ideas about this?

Photo---Lippitt Sandy, winter of 1956-1957.

Every rider who jumps will know that there’s a sweet spot takeoff distance in front of every jump that makes it easiest ...
10/13/2026

Every rider who jumps will know that there’s a sweet spot takeoff distance in front of every jump that makes it easiest for the horse to clear the obstacle.

If that distance is too close, the horse gets compressed against the jump and will either quit, or will make an awkward jump that may or may not clear it.

If that distance is too far away, the horse will either launch at it, or will jam in a tiny stride, which is the same as getting to a distance that’s too close.

That “optimum” distance will vary somewhat, depending on the size and type of jump, but many people who have studied such matters will point to a takeoff point of about six feet in front of the fence as generally ideal.

Now we come to some questions----HOW does the pair, horse and rider, find that ideal distance time after time after time?

Is it the role of the rider to see from several strides away and then to adjust the stride?

Is it the role of the rider to create an adjustable canter that combines sufficient balance coupled with sufficient impulsion, and then turn the decision making process over to the horse?

Is it up to the horse to find the distance all by its lonesome?

Ask any group of riders and you will get a range of answers, from “I have an excellent eye, and I can make subtle adjustments,” to “I am blind as a bat and I leave it entirely up to my horse.”

My thought is this---If a rider CAN see a distance from several strides away, why would she NOT make adjustments if she knows it will be too short or too long “as is”?

But if she CAN’T see anything, she should be taught how to get a better canter, which gives the horse a better chance of success.

I doubt that the great jumping riders are unable to see distances. Go ask them?

My first two saddles were western. The one on Paint in the 1953 photo came with him as part of the purchase price, tapad...
10/13/2026

My first two saddles were western. The one on Paint in the 1953 photo came with him as part of the purchase price, tapaderos and all.

It was a little saddle, and I was 10 and in 3 years I’d outgrown it, so I got the one on Bonfire in this 1955 photo (which might have been a Sears Roebuck brand saddle.)

Here’s a photo of Hugh Finn holding the Thoroughbred stallion Epic Win at a three day event in Bromont, Quebec about 25 ...
10/12/2026

Here’s a photo of Hugh Finn holding the Thoroughbred stallion Epic Win at a three day event in Bromont, Quebec about 25 years ago.

I am pretty sure that the saddle is a Crump Prix de Saute, flat as a board and about as hard. But beautifully balanced to help the rider be totally centered with a non-swinging leg position.

This time frame would have been just at the cusp, I think, of all the much more comfortable “modern” saddles, that are often just as well balanced, far more comfortable, but much more costly.

I know how devoted some riders still are to those old flat saddles like this, though, as some comments will attest!

No clue what event this was with Farnley Rob Roy, probably early 1980s, but it appears to be a canter bounce, rather fli...
10/12/2026

No clue what event this was with Farnley Rob Roy, probably early 1980s, but it appears to be a canter bounce, rather flimsy and upright.

I’ve jumped canter bounces on cross country that were as short as 12-13 feet or as long as 16-17 feet.

In gymnastic lines, from a trot approach, most horses can deal with 9-10 foot bounces, often 3-4-5 in a row.

If you could custom design the weather where YOU live, using two 30 day stretches in an endless loop, what would it be?F...
10/12/2026

If you could custom design the weather where YOU live, using two 30 day stretches in an endless loop, what would it be?

For me, in central Vermont, I would have June for 30 days, then September for 30 days, endlessly spooled.

No blazing July, no freezing January.

Unfortunately, my Camelot time machine has gotten some sort of glitch---.

(Betty on two hills, June and September, 2024 and 2026.

Years ago I took this photo of Lester Piggott at a race meet in England, unaware that taking photos at the track wasn’t ...
10/12/2026

Years ago I took this photo of Lester Piggott at a race meet in England, unaware that taking photos at the track wasn’t acceptable behavior.

I had one of those little pocket cameras, and I was snapping away when Allen Leslie said, “Are you trying to get us kicked out of here? Put that away!”

Years later I was in England with Matt Firestone looking at prospective event horses, and the agent that was taking us around was Lester’s daughter, Maureen. I remember that it was pouring, we were in a car slightly bigger than a lawn mower, and Maureen was weaving in and around big trucks at about Mach 2,

That need for speed might have a genetic component!

I got this question in an email---“What is the optimum riding decade?”I don’t have an answer because as a person’s age c...
10/11/2026

I got this question in an email---“What is the optimum riding decade?”

I don’t have an answer because as a person’s age changes, so do lots of other considerations.

Probably from a purely physical strength and agility perspective it would be the decade of the twenties. As is the case with athletes in multiple sports.

In terms of that point where strength, stamina, wisdom and emotional control most perfectly intersect and align, it might be from 35 to 45.

For pure enjoyment without pressure of worrying about beating other riders, perhaps the sixties. Or 65 to 75?

For the satisfaction of still being able to enjoy life on a horse, think Queen Elizabeth.

So I don’t know---What do YOU think?

Photos from 2026 and 1956.

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166 Brook Road
Strafford, VT
05072

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+18027654049

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