POINT OF VIEW
get, siring such notables as Little Tricky (Rolex veteran), Heyday (Pan Am gold medalist, Olympic silver medalist, World Championship bronze medalist, and Young Rider gold medalist), Mystic Mike, My Turn, Snowy River (mem- ber of the USET team at the European Championships at Burghley 1997) and Mystic Milo, the first horse—under Mary’s guidance—to jump the Rolex footbridge. Babam- ist not only was a world-leading sire of eventers, he has sired more Rolex horses than any other stallion. He also sired the champion show hunters River Bend and Field of Dreams. As Mary says, “I like to put my horses where they are best suited.” Mystic Replica (1995) replaced his sire in Mary’s breed-
ing barn and is still available, showing the longevity and fertility of his sire. Mystic Replica has sired horses the likes of eventer Mr. Bojangles and Red Pepper, an intermediate eventing champion and grand prix jumper. And now the grand-get are starting to make their presence felt with Van- diver, a three-star eventer. In all, the farm has raised more international event horses than any other farm in America. Mary’s residence, Lanefield Farm near Unionville, Penn-
sylvania, was established in 1971 as a training and breed- ing base. The goal of Lanefield Farm is to promote eques- trian sports (including eventing), preserve open space by promoting agriculture and ensure the welfare of the horse. After 50 years as a nurse anesthetist, Mary is now re-
tired. Yes, while training, competing, breeding, instructing (Pony Club and others), going to competitions as an owner and organizing international events, she also worked full time. In addition, she is the co-inventor of an adhesive- bonded horseshoe product, which she promotes through SoundHorse Technologies, located on the farm. “Sound- Horse is devoted to helping horses and teaching farriers another technique of shoeing.” With such a diverse background and so many years of experience, how does she think the sport of eventing has
changed? The following quotations are Mary’s views on the sport and its horses after half a century of her partici- pation and strong support.
A Changing Sport “The sport changed with the short format and the explo- sive growth of the sport at all levels. And, of course, dres- sage changed the game, but I still believe that a Thorough- bred—well trained and well ridden—can compete with our dressage friends. Blackfoot Mystery and Courageous Comet were wonderful in dressage.” When asked if the long format functioned to ‘weed out’ those horses that could have issues with soundness and/ or longevity before they got to the higher levels, she re- sponds, “That is an interesting theory, and I think there is some validity to it. The demand for fitness and a program for training for the long format also made horses stay sounder, and we had fewer competitions to go to. The foot- ing wasn’t manicured either.” “The rules have changed too. Now, if you fall off, you’re
done. There are no more penalty zones (an area around a cross country jump where if something went wrong, like a fall or refusal, there would only be a penalty if it hap- pened inside the zone), and that is a big deal as it affects the course design as well as the ability of the rider to ride. Courses are works of art, not just big solid jumps. Is that a waste of money? The venues have changed too; they’re pristine and manicured now.” “The calendar has changed; there are more opportuni- ties and more events. Most of the events are run over sev- eral days to accommodate more horses and riders with more rides. The real pro in the old format would find it physically impossible to ride so many horses in one event.” “The one-day horse trial is becoming hard to find, most-
ly for organizational reasons, except in some meccas such as Aiken and Ocala in the winter, when there are events on weekdays to enable young horses to get a start.”
38 May/June 2017
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
