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.
Toni P. Haigh, a third generation Californian, was raised on a ranch, working cattle, showing, breeding and training horses as well as teaching riding and art. She follows in the footsteps of her family, going back to Daniel Haigh, master of the Old Surrey Hunt in England from 1820 to 1836.
Her grandfather came from England in 1890 to settle in Simi Valley, Calif., and was from a family of noted horsemen, including his brother, Alfred Grenfell Haigh (1870-1963), one of the premier equine and sporting artists of his time.
Adolph Mogavero, a respected horseman, official and member of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame, died Aug. 25 in Sarasota, Fla. He was 89.
Mr. Mogavero was born just outside of Boston, Mass. He lived down the road from a horse farm and would regularly stop on the way home, sit on the fence and watch the riders. When he was 9 years old, the trainer asked him if he would like to begin riding, an offer he promptly accepted.
Jayne Fleming, a lifelong horsewoman, died on Aug. 31. She was 80.
Mrs. Fleming’s passion for horses began at a young age; she was 6 when she fell in love with the Welsh ponies she saw at the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto, Ont. Shortly thereafter, her mother gave her a choice of one of three sports: riding, golf or tennis. It was an easy decision for her to choose horses. She began riding with Horace Cunningham at a stable in Ottawa, Ont., breaking horses shipped in from the West.
Mary Verrandeaux grew up in upstate New York in Cortland, a small country farming town. With not much to do in Cortland, Verrandeaux was introduced to a lifelong love of showing horses and taking care of animals.
Verrandeaux graduated with honors from Ringling School of Art and Design (Fla.) with a major in illustration and a minor in graphic design. She works from her home base in Ocala, Fla., and does commissioned portraits, fine art drawings and paintings.
The United States has a problem: the Bureau of Land Management rangeland in the Western states can accommodate about 26,000 wild horses and burros, but there are currently about 32,000 roaming free and 37,000 in pens awaiting adoption. So when you add in the costs of maintaining the horses, in the neighborhood of $25 million annually, the BLM needed to take action.
On Oct. 7, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar proposed a series of initiatives to improve long-term management of the Mustangs and save the taxpayers some money.
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