PrintEach fall, Jennifer Alfano’s parents would let her take a day off from school. “This was before I’d ever even shown in an A-rated show, but every year I’d go to [the Pennsylvania National Horse Show] and watch all day,” said Alfano, who grew up in Harrisburg, Pa. “I’d study all of the famous jumper riders and say to myself, ‘I’m going to be a famous rider.’ All of my friends at school would roll their eyes.”
But that’s exactly what she’s become—one of the top hunter riders in the country. And the Pennsylvania National is just one of the myriad of shows at which she’s made her name known with tricolors on multiple horses. In 2009, she not only rode a string of horses to championships all year long, but she also won four hunter derbies on Jersey Boy. The pair then placed second in the inaugural $100,000 ASG Software Solutions/ International Hunter Derby Finals (Ky.).
“She’s made so many different kinds of horses into winners,” said Susie Schoellkopf, trainer and Alfano’s employer at SBS Farms in Buffalo, N.Y.
“Jen’s a true horsewoman in every sense of the word,” said Meredith Lipke, who has ridden with Alfano for 10 years. “She’s a perfectionist in everything she does—there’s one way to do things, and it’s the right way.’’
As a junior, Alfano showed locally until she was 12 and then moved up to the A-rated shows
with trainer Maxine Best. She didn’t have a big budget for horses, but she made a name for herself through her talented ability in catch riding.
After her junior years, Alfano headed to Florida for the first time, but not as a rider—she was grooming for Greg Best and Gem Twist. “It was supposed to be for a few months, but it turned into 21⁄2 years that I wouldn’t trade for anything. I got to go to the Pan American Games, the Olympic Games and two FEI World Cup Finals as Gem’s groom,” Alfano said.
After that, Alfano concentrated on her own riding career and worked at a sales barn. In 1990, she and Schoellkopf joined forces. “We’ve turned into a really good team over the years,” Alfano said. “I think the most important thing anyone can have is to have someone who believes in them, and she’s believed in me from the beginning.”
Together, Alfano and Schoellkopf have developed one top hunter after another. They begin with young talent and finish with top-class show horses. But when they first saw Jersey Boy as a green 4-year-old, they had no inkling he’d turn into the winner he’s become.
“Sometimes you buy a horse, and you think you have the next great one, but that wasn’t the case at all with him,” Alfano admitted. “We thought, ‘Oh, he’ll make somebody a cute horse.’ And somewhere down the line, he became a great horse! And he’s been a little difficult to bring along, so that makes it fun and even more special.”
“A lot of riders would have placed him in a situation where they were forcing him to do what they wanted,” Schoellkopf added. “But Jen eased him into making him a believer, just by not ever picking fights with him about anything.’’
Alfano makes it a priority to spend quality time caring for her horses as well. “She’s so hands-on; she really gets to know the horses,” Schoellkopf said. “She has such focus and dedication to this sport and to her horses. I haven’t seen a rider as focused as her in a long time.”
That focus extends to Alfano’s teaching of SBS Farms’ students. “When she’s teaching someone, she gives 100 percent to them,” said Lipke. “She’s tough, but she’s also able to make it a lot of fun.”
