For those of you not familiar with New Jersey, Gladstone has
nothing to do with pine barrens, oil refineries or "the shore".
It's an area of rolling hills, large estates and Hamilton Farm,
home of the USET. Quite an impressive place, with at least two
large arenas for dressage and jumping as well as stabling for
the 50 endurance, dressage and driving horses. Lots of trails
through the woods, opening out on large manicured fields with
jumps, sponsors tents and country fair vendors. I had to call
a square dance Sat. night, so I was unable to attend "The
Opulence Gala & Wine Auction" sponsored by Saks Fifth Avenue.
I have never been to Saks, but hear that it is every bit as
opulent as my local Wal-Mart.
I arrived just after the 7AM start Sunday, travelling 2 or 3
hours from Pennsylvania, mostly via the New Jersey Turnpike
where the average speed in the slow lane is 70 MPH !
The first person I see there is Mitch Benson, who tends
to stand out in a crowd. Beth Ann and I follow him to the
first vet check, where we find a few unusual things.
There is a small mountain of bags of ice underneath a tarp
(sponsor unknown). Also, it is quite possible that everyone
is nicely dressed. This is one of the few clues to be seen
all day that this was an FEI ride. Other than the fact that
all riders had to ride at or above 165lbs (with tack) and
a 30 minute penalty for presenting above pulse parameters,
there weren't a whole lot of differences from your regular
local endurance ride. You still put your stethoscope on the
horse, listen for the heartbeat and check your watch.
Come to think of it, maybe a Rolex (USET sponsor) would
be more accurate than my Timex.
Going to mostly 100 mile rides, I was not used to the
lightening-fast pace that the drama unfolds.
Before I was fully awake, Kim Orr was finishing on her
chestnut gelding, EH Baruch. Not far behind, came Patti
Pizzo on her Savaq. Ride time was a bit under 4 hours.
Debbie was riding with her friend Pat Tancredi. Deb
rode Pat's great 16 yr. old Mystic Breeze and Pat rode
Breezey's son Lyric. They finished in 5 and a half hours,
about the middle of the pack. Deb did say that I could
mention that on the last stretch of trail, they encountered
a jeep wagoneer mostly blocking the narrow two track trail.
As they passed slowly by, they noticed what appeared to be
two sets of bare arms, legs, etc. all akimbo in the jeep.
They probably didn't read their program or they would have
known that endurance riding had arrived at Gladstone!
One really nice thing happened as Debbie and Pat were walking
their horses from the finish back to the stabling. A woman
slowed her car, leaned her head out the window and said
that endurance riding had really made the weekend complete
for her.
Well, so much for impressions...
Pete LaBerge