Jane Clark Is At The Top Of Many Games

Top horsemen throughout the country, from show jumping and dressage to combined driving and the racetrack, call Jane Forbes Clark a true friend and supporter of horse sports.

And she’s developed this reputation through dipping her pen into almost every aspect of U.S. horse sports—she’s a former president of the American Horse Shows Association (now U.S. Equestrian Federation) and president and CEO of the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation.

Tracing back the origins of her early horse fetish, Clark promptly pinpointed her fourth Christmas. “I went down the stairs that morning to find a pony next to the tree with a bow around his neck,” she recalled. “He had a little bit of a bad side, but that could always be straightened out.”

Unlike most young girls who have to beg their parents for a pony, Clark’s entire family was engaged in some aspect of horse sports—her great uncle had a team of driving horses and polo ponies, and her mother and father rode foxhunters at the family’s Iroquois Farm in Cooperstown, N.Y. So, a pony under the Christmas tree was not unusual by Clark family standards.

“Over the years, horses and the industry have given a tremendous amount to me, and by supporting American horse sports and giving back I feel like I can make a difference,” said Clark, who currently owns numerous international-level driving horses, two Grand Prix-level dressage horses (as well as three up-and-coming Grand Prix prospects), six grand prix show jumpers and many others.

Clark’s early passion in life was for race horses—a passion that she shared with her parents who helped find her steeplechasing prospects. While many of the Thoroughbreds ran successfully, her highlight was on Aug. 11, 1974, when Jane was only 21 years old. Tommy Skiffington skillfully jockeyed her 9-year-old gelding, Augustus Bay, to victory in the $50,000 Colonial Cup (S.C.).

While winning the Colonial Cup is near the top of Clark’s list of memorable experiences, her early love for the track was slowly overshadowed as she acquainted herself more with show hunters in the late 1970s.

“As I became more interested in show horses and hunters and jumpers, it became a matter of having enough time to devote to having the horses. I found I was spending entire weekends at shows and had little time left to spend on the steeplechase circuit,” said Clark.

Ahead Of The Ball
“She’s obviously a huge supporter of the sport and a huge part of getting American equestrian teams to the levels we have in driving, dressage and show jumping,” said Molly Ashe, who rode Clark’s grand prix show jumper, Neuville, to victory in the 2006 Dublin Grand Prix (Ireland). “I’m forever grateful for the opportunities she’s given me and the support she’s contributed over the years.”

And if giving riders like Ashe the chance to compete successfully at an international level isn’t enough, Clark also donates another precious commodity to the horse industry—time.

“I’ve never worked with anyone who’s given as much as she has in both time, financial support and effort. She’s just amazing,” said four-in-hand driving champion Jimmy Fairclough. “I just can’t say enough—over the years she’s been a dynamic woman in the horse industry.”