HORSE TOWN
BY SALLY CRANE
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SCOTT CUNNINGHAM
HAIR AND MAKEUP BY LORI CHEYNE
The rich scent of leather and sweet hay, the glossy hide on a powerful horse, the classic appeal of a beautifully cut scarlet coat, tweed and velvet: all part of the romance of the equestrian lifestyle and the stuff that Ralph Lauren dynasties are made of. From schoolgirl fantasies of ponies with flowing tails, to tough-as-nuts cavalry soldiers and polo-playing royals, we have been captivated by horse sports for centuries – and Columbus residents are not immune to that allure.
We may have been billed Cowtown in the past, but today, Columbus’ agrarian slant belongs to the equestrians. Whether pigtailed riders at backyard shows, or future Olympic hopefuls competing across the country, riders of all ages are contributing to a vibrant riding scene here in central Ohio.
In terms of raw material, we’ve got plenty to work with. Ohio ranks sixth in the nation in sheer number of horses, following massive horse-breeding states Texas, California, Florida, Oklahoma and Kentucky. According to the American Horse Council, Ohio’s horse industry annually produces goods and services valued at $1.4 billion.
Autumn in central Ohio is an equestrian’s dream. The Little Brown Jug brings top harness racers here in mid-September, the New Albany Classic features premier international jumper riders vying for over $80,000 in prize money in late September, and for three weeks in October, the All-American Quarter Horse Congress attracts a whopping 17,000 competitors and 650,000 visitors to the downtown area – bringing more than $100 million in revenue.
Less visible to non-riders, but as exciting to local equestrians, is the culmination of the summer-long Showtime Series in Delaware, the number-one local hunter/jumper circuit. Then there’s the Sunday polo playing on a sweeping lawn in Granville – the kick-off to foxhunting season.
OLYMPIC DREAMS
Young people who travel frequently to different areas of the country attend school online with tutors or at special rider academies on the showgrounds. Such was the high-school lifestyle for New Albany resident Ali Wolff, now 20, who thrilled the crowd at last month’s New Albany Classic, placing third in the competition against Olympic and Grand Prix riders from around the world. Wolff honed her skill as a youngster right in her own backyard, taking lessons with trainer Pamela Graham and eventually moving on to competition and training in Florida with Olympians George Morris, Anne Kursinski and Chris Kappler.
Now a sophomore at University of Tampa with two Grand Prix wins under her belt, Ali hasn’t forgotten her local roots – even as she broadens her competition venue to include international shows. “Growing up in a city like Columbus provided me with many options for trainers to begin my riding career, but attending a venue such as the New Albany Classic really broadened my horizons, and inspired me to further my riding career,” she says.
Young people like Wolff are the riders on whom the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) is pinning its future Olympic hopes. But don’t necessarily expect to see Wolff in the 2012 Games in London: Equestrians are among the oldest Olympic athletes, taking years to reach their peak. The 2008 Games in China featured a 67-year-old equestrian representing Japan, while many of the horses are teenagers, older than the young people competing in gymnastics. Showjumping, dressage and three-day eventing, the three equestrian disciplines, are the only Olympic sports that include people-and-animal teams and have men and women competing equally against one another.
But USEF sees Wolff as a potential team player: she was among a handful of jumpers around North America named to the 2009 USEF Show Jumping Developing Rider Tour, an elite group of equestrians chosen to compete abroad, representing America in what is essentially a pre-Olympic training program.
Joining Wolff on the list of future Olympic hopefuls is 18-year-old Bexley resident Elinor MacPhail (daughter of the author and cousin of Wolff), who was selected for the 2009 USEF Developing Rider List for Eventing, after being named USEF Top Young Rider last October at an international competition in Fair Hill, Maryland. Eventing is a grueling three-day triathlon based on cavalry challenges. Riders and horses first perform a dressage test, executing a set series of movements that demonstrate the horse’s suppleness, obedience and rider skill. The next day the pair jump up to 45 massive, solid obstacles cross-country at a flat gallop. In the third day, riders compete over a showjumping course in a ring. The horse/rider team with the fewest penalty points at the end of three days takes home the blue ribbon.
SNOWBIRDS ON HORSEBACK
Each year more than a dozen central-Ohio kids like Wolff and MacPhail head south for several weeks of the winter months to compete and train. Among them is Avery Hinson, an 11-year-old Short Stirrup Grand Champion of the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida last winter. She trains with Angela Moore, a Grand Prix rider from Johnstown, who competed against Ali Wolff at this year’s New Albany Classic. “At first I was very nervous about competing in Florida,” Avery says. “My first weekend there was very difficult because [my horse] Fritz was still getting used to the showgrounds. We did okay, but each weekend we improved. He got used to the surroundings and I got more confident. In the end, we won our division the final weekend I competed there and I felt like I was in the Olympics I was so excited! To top it off I got to meet [Olympic medalist] Beezie Madden that weekend. It was like a dream.”
Four members of the Mershad family spend their winter school months shuttling between New Albany and Florida. Fifteen-year-old Sophia, 14-year-old Gabriela, 12-year-old Ricky, and 10-year-old André all compete in the jumper rings on the weekends January through March and fly back for school here. While it represents a serious juggling act for their father, Rick, and mother, Sara, the payoff is big, and not just in terms of enhancing their riding. “What’s so neat about it for me and the kids is they’re getting a unique experience, meeting people from all over the country and all over the world. It’s a great opportunity to learn other languages and cultures,” says Sara, who is a native of Seville, Spain.
BUILDING AN EQUINE DREAM
While here in central Ohio this summer, MacPhail has been training with Bruce Mandeville, chair of the Equine Science program at Otterbein College. Mandeville, who has represented his native Canada in eventing at two Olympic Games, two World Championships, and two Pan American Games, moved to Columbus from Boston in 2005. He and his partner, who live in Old Town East, are impressed with the central Ohio scene.
“The more I heard about Columbus during my interview process, the more I wondered why this city was such a secret,” Mandeville says. “It has been a great place to live: culture, art, horses, and my favorite, Franklin Park Conservatory – I bought a house next door.”
He and his team at Otterbein recently oversaw the construction of a beautiful, new Equine Science Center just north of historic Westerville, intended not only for Otterbein students but also for the equine industry. “We are hoping to showcase new, innovative horse-farm practices,” Mandeville explains.
In addition to its new facility, the college can be proud of its dressage team, which has won two national championship titles. On that winning team last April was pre-vet major, Greg Schmid, now enrolled in Ohio State’s veterinary program.
“I really like the options of different disciplines that we have here in Columbus. As a rider I love the local shows, many of them being ‘schooling shows,’ which provide a great opportunity for green horses and riders to get their feet wet…before trying to tackle the ‘recognized’ circuits.”
THE OTHER BUCKEYE TEAM
Needless to say, one of the biggest local college teams is at The Ohio State University. Some 50 riders came out this fall to try out for a place on the university’s intercollegiate hunt-seat team. Senior Michelle Bacha transferred here from College of Charleston to be closer to her native Cincinnati, and now trains with OSU coach Kathy Osborn at Osborn’s Liberty Farm on Fisher Road. “I got really involved with the team and have loved it,” Bacha, a biology/pre-vet major, says of her experience here. “Columbus is a big area for riding.”
As well as prepping college kids for competition, Osborn trains riders of all ages, including youngsters, adult amateurs and a team of middle- and high-schoolers who compete on her Interscholastic Equestrian Association team (IEA), among them Yvette Bean, a senior at Columbus School for Girls. Despite the fact that Yvette lives practically downtown, she has been pursuing her riding steadily for seven years. This past summer, she was crowned champion at the Last Chance Corral Classic at the Showtime Series in Delaware and was Reserve Champion in the Children’s Jumper division.
Among the youngest riders at Liberty Farm is five-year-old Mica Rose Frank, owner Osborn’s daughter. Mica, who has graduated from lead-line classes (being led around on her pony by a grown-up on the ground) to walk/trot/canter class, is looking forward to competing over cross-rail jumps soon.
IT’S NEVER TOO LATE…
While starting early gives some riders a leg up on the competition, it doesn’t limit others from entering the sport later in life. Ask 82-year-old Bob Lindemann, who, with wife Polly, enjoys foxhunting twice a week from September through March. Lindemann took up riding when he was 57, deciding that it was high time he joined his spouse in her life-long pursuit. Today, he is a joint Master of Foxhounds with the Rocky Fork Headley Hunt, based in Gahanna, just 10 minutes from downtown Columbus.
Polly joined Rocky Fork Hunt in 1948, making her the most senior member of the organization, established in 1925. While Rocky Fork Headley Hunt still observes the foxhunting traditions around dress and protocol, they no longer kill prey. Lindemann and other members treasure being on horseback out in nature, observing the hounds and local wildlife. It is an exhilarating and energizing experience, moving sometimes at a gallop over fences, and one that attracts riders of all ages.
Undaunted by the rigors of extreme riding is Bali Singh, a native of Jalandhar, India, who rides with the Columbus Polo Club. Now 65, Singh had been riding all his life, but only took up polo nine years ago.
“I’m a soccer player basically, and when my knees got hurt, I said ‘goodbye to soccer and let’s get someone with stronger legs.’” Retired from Emerson Electric, Bali was attracted to polo because of “the action and the danger. It’s not for the fainthearted,” he says, laughing. He has had both elbows and shoulders operated on over the years and now is struggling with stenosis in his spine; “but I told everybody I’m going to play next year!”
Elinor MacPhail, named the U.S. Equestrian Federation top 19- to 21-year-old eventing rider in the nation at the one-star level.
Avery Hinson, Short Stirrup Grand Champion at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida last winter.
Ali Wolff, who took third in the New Albany Classic in September.
Polly and Bob Lindemann have been foxhunting for a combined 85 years.
Ricky and André Mershad of New Albany.
Michelle Bacha represents OSU in regional and national competition.
Bali Singh took up polo in 2000.
Little Mica Rose Frank is among the youngest equestrians. | Anna Robinson loves the challenges of eventing. | Sara Mershad and her four children all compete in hunter/jumper classes. | Kate Rigg in autumn tweeds.
Ricky Mershad continues his equestrian career in Florida in the winter.
LEFT TO RIGHT: Families enjoying the action at the Classic. | A lone rider on the grounds of the Wexner estate. | Riders in formal attire. | Competition at the New Albany Classic heats up.
