McDonogh’s 98 Years of Riding Lessons


By Katherine O. Rizzo McDonogh School celebrated 150 years of


education in November 2023, however Mc- Donogh’s riding program is a mere 98 years old. T e school, located on over 800 acres in Owings Mills, was founded November 21, 1873, with 21 boys from Baltimore City as students. T e school is named after former Baltimore resident John McDonogh, whose estate originally funded the school. Col. Wil- liam Allan was McDonogh’s fi rst principal and structured the school as a semi-military program for orphan boys who worked on the farm in exchange for tuition, room, and board. T e school was tuition-free for all students until 1922, after which time scholarships were still awarded to local boys as required by the terms of John McDonogh’s estate. T e school welcomed day students for the fi rst time in 1927. Retired calvary offi cer Major Louis E. Lam-


born became McDonogh’s headmaster in 1926 and brought along with him four horses from his farm on the Eastern Shore. T is was the start of McDonogh’s riding program. During his time as headmaster, Major Lamborn, known best as


“Doc,” greatly


expanded the school’s herd. By the 1930s, all 120 horses and ponies at McDonogh were owned by Major Lamborn and made available to Mc- Donogh’s students


for


lessons and competitions. According to a Mary-


land Horse article titled “McDonogh Now Has 85 Horses And Ponies,” published in March 1962, Major Lamborn’s fondest memory of the early riding program was when the school’s hunt team won at the Pikesville Armory over General Patton’s team just before World War II. T e winning team’s riders included Bobby Rasche, Jack Sadler, and Billy Rasche. T e horses were Toots, Baby Face, and Medler, and the course was a series of 24 obstacles measuring 4’ in height. When Major Lamborn retired in 1952, the


another as a storage house. During the 1960s, the riding hall was expanded to measure 220’ x 100,’ adding additional stalls. T e riding hall remains standing today, though it has gone through several renovations over the years in- cluding the addition of several annexes for stor- age, offi ces, and stalls.


On August 8, McDonogh School will host the Maryland Horse Forum, which is a public, day-long conference held every fi ve years to discuss various issues related to Maryland’s horse community. McDonogh is an ideal place hold the 2024 forum because it has hosted a premier riding program for 98 years!


During Lynch’s tenure as head of the riding


program, McDonogh’s reputation for produc- ing top riders and top horses meant the school never had to purchase horses. Many were donated to the program or even bred by the school, which stood both T oroughbred and Arabian stallions. Horses today are still donated to the program, primarily from Heritage Farm in New York. Racehorse trainers Gittings Boyce, Harry Love, Fife Symington, Ben Griswold and Irvin Naylor all donated retired T oroughbreds to the program in the 1960s, according to the Mary- land Horse article. T e school also received a gift of 12 Norwegian Fjords from Humphrey Finney during that time. McDonogh’s breeding pro-


Major Louis E. Lamborn started Mc- Donogh’s riding program in 1926.


gram was mainly a product of the Remount Service, which as- signed stallions to McDonogh each breeding season. Remount provided stallions to thousands of farms across the country to


school purchased all his horses to continue the riding program. Major Lamborn’s son, Dr. Robert L. Lamborn, became McDonogh’s headmaster, while former student Willis Lynch, who had graduated from McDonogh in 1928, became the head of the riding program. T e main stables and original indoor riding


hall were built around 1935 from a munitions storage building transported from Curtis Bay. T e school purchased two buildings from Cur- tis Bay and set one up as the riding hall and www.equiery.com | 800-244-9580


breed to their own mares. Off - spring were then sold to the U.S. Army if they passed the Remount Service inspection. T rough this program, T or- oughbreds Chilly Beau, James P. Silo and Dr. Schwartz all stood at the school during the 1960s, as did the Arabian Mo- halhal and his son Billy Hal. Billy Hal produced outstand- ing ponies including Easter Hal, Eldorado, Boodles, Miss Pepper, and Honey Bee. T e semi-military style pro-


Combined Training Association (MCTA) horse trials were held at McDonogh through the 1980s. One of the most famous event riders to come through the McDonogh program is 1968 graduate and fi ve-time Olympian Bruce Davidson, Sr., who has won two gold medals and two silver medals for the U.S., in addition to fi ve Pan American Games medals and four World Championships. Two-time Olympic Show Jumper Hugh Wiley also graduated from McDonogh. He rode Nautical, who was made famous by the Disney movie T e Horse With T e Flying Tail. Streett Moore became McDonogh’s riding


director in 1986 and started slowly turning the stables into the equestrian facility it is to- day. He competed often at McDonogh during his junior and adult careers and, although he did not attend the school, he was off ered the job by then headmaster Dr. Mules. “I phased out the eventing because it was becoming costly to maintain the courses and fences, plus showing is what I knew best,” he said. T e show grounds were moved from the original location (where the tennis courts are now) to the stable area, to keep everything central to the barns. In addition to being McDonogh’s riding director, Moore is also a USEF-licensed hunter/jumper judge and course designer. T e facility is now called the Boston Eques-


trian Facility thanks to generous donations from the Boston family. Both Boston girls, Sarah and Grace, are McDonogh graduates who went on to ride for collegiate teams af- ter earning numerous awards with McDonogh horses. “T at 2018 class was a group of eight girls that all went on to ride at the collegiate level,” Moore stated. T e Boston girls were also past winners of T e Equiery’s Perpetual Hunter Award, which was won four out of fi ve seasons by McDonogh students. T e facility currently features three outdoor riding rings and two heated indoor arenas. T e barns are heated too! “It never gets be- low 40 degrees in here which is great for everyone,” Moore said. “Pipes don’t


freeze, peo-


gram was abolished in 1971, and the school went co-ed in 1975. T e school’s riding pro- gram expanded to include polo, show hunt- ers, fox chasing, and eventing. Early Maryland


McDonogh’s current riding di- rector, Streett Moore, joined the school’s program in 1986.


ple and horses are happy.” T e original indoor was widened over the years with additional stalls and amenities added. T e larger heated indoor was built thanks to funding from Mc- Donogh graduate Irv Naylor, whose children also attended the school. “We have plans for a new indoor that we hope will be done by this winter,” Moore added. T e new indoor will be


replacing one of the current outdoor rings. continued... THE EQUIERY YOUR MARYLAND HORSE COUNCIL PUBLICATION | JUNE 2024 | 17


McDonogh/Fabian Bachrach


McDonogh


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