LIFE & TIMES


Maryland Will Miss... Esther Christmas Cassidy of Olney died on


April 3 at the age of 90. Born in Washington, DC, Cassidy and grew up on Christmas Farm in Upper Marlboro. Her family bred and raced T oroughbreds in Maryland and Cassidy stayed involved with the family business for most of her life. She attended Stone Ridge Country Day School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda before graduating from Manhattanville College in Purchase, NY, in 1950. She was one of only two students to major in Physics. After graduating, Cassidy became a physicist at the Laboratory of the National Bureau of Standards in Washing- ton, DC. Cassidy worked for the Bureau, which later became T e National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), for over 40 years while also raising a family. Cassidy retired as Direc- tor of Congressional and Legislative Aff airs at NIST in the late 1990s.


Kathleen L. Witty of Woodbine died on May 10 at the age of 68. Witty graduated from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 1980 and became a physical therapist for over 35 years. She was the wife of fox hunter Stephen Patrick Witty and mother of former Equiery in- tern Emily Witty as well as son Barry Schwaab. Witty was an accomplished equestrian whose love of the sport brought her and her husband together. Witty was also committed to protecting the environment. Witty and her family owned the historic Wit’s End Farm in Woodbine.


Nicole Andrea “Nikki” Witte of Reister-


stown died on May 14 at the age of 62. Born in Frankfurt, Germany, she was the daughter of dressage rider Linda A. Speer and the late Wil- bur R. Speer. Witte was a rider as well, compet- ing all over the country whole her father was in the US Armed Forces. She competed mainly in dressage alongside her mother but also in eventing and show hunt- ers. Witte was a US Pony Club C3 graduate. When her family moved to Fr. Meade, Witte started the Ft. Meade chapter of the Potomac Valley Dressage As- sociation. She remained very active in PVDA activities and the annual chapter challenge.


Nikki Witte www.equiery.com | 800-244-9580


Witte moved to Stonebrook Farm in Clarksville in 1989 and continued to compete in dressage through Second Level. After getting married and having a daughter, Zoe Witte, who also competes in dressage, Witte and her family moved to Re- isterstown where she worked as a manager in the frangrance department of Nordstroms.


Patricia “Trish” D. Gilbert of Churchville


died on May 16 at the age of 83. Born in Win- chester, VA, Gilbert had a profound passion for horses and especially the sport of eventing. Gil- bert was a licensed offi cial through both the US Eventing Association and US Equestrian Fed- eration. She was a distinguished course designer and competition organizer. Gilbert may be best know for her long years of organizing the Fair Hill International, which she helped found. As a competitor, Gilbert fi rst started eventing


through US Pony Club and was one of the fi rst women to compete in the sport in the non-mil- itary divisions. For her many years of service to the sport, Gilbert was inducted into the USEA Hall of Fame in 2022. Below is a reprint of T e Equiery’s September 2022 article about Gilbert written by Katherine O. Rizzo.


USEA Honors Trish Gilbert In 1989, Trish Gilbert was part of a small


group of event organizers looking for a new lo- cation for the Chesterland Horse Trials. After considering several locations, they reached out to the Fair Hill Natural Resource Manage- ment Area, run by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, and found the perfect location for a world class event. T us, the Fair Hill International was born in October 1989. Now, 33 years later, Fair Hill Interna-


tional continues to off er top horse trials and three-day events. With Gilbert’s help, Fair Hill became the second loca- tion in the U.S. to hold a CCI5*-L, the top level of eventing competition in the world. But Gilbert’s involvement and dedication to the sport of eventing is not restricted to Fair Hill, and it is because of her decades of hard work that she is be- ing inducted into the U.S. Eventing As- sociation Hall of Fame this December.


Riding Roots


Gilbert was born and raised in Virginia. Her mother passed away while she was quite young, but “My father and grandmother both fox- hunted and my grandmother was very infl uen-


Trish Gilbert


of Marylanders


tial in keeping me involved with horses,” Gilbert stat- ed. “She hunted sidesaddle ‘til she was 75!” Gilbert’s fi rst exposure to the sport of eventing was through U.S. Pony Club as a member of the Blue Ridge Hunt Pony Club. “We went up to GMHA (Green Mountain Horse Association) in Vermont in 1957 and I was hooked,”


she said. “Eventing is much more exciting than other horse sports… really it’s the most exciting to be a part of.” For many years, Gilbert continued her event- ing education and rode up through the Ad- vanced level. At the time, she was one of the incredibly few female eventers in the country and had considerable success at the national level. She was once invited to a U.S. team se- lection trial and though she did not make the team that year, she went on to make a career that revolved around the top riders of the sport, all while raising six children from the fam- ily farm, fi rst in Virginia, and then moving to Churchville in 1983. Gilbert continued to be involved with USPC through her children, serving as District Commissioner of clubs both in Virginia and Maryland.


Eventing Offi cial In addition to being an event organizer,


Gilbert was an international course designer, USEA’s young rider chairman, a U.S. team se- lector, technical delegate, and member of many USEA boards. “I really enjoy course design and being a TD,” she remarked. “It has taken me all over the country and abroad as well.” Gilbert served as an offi cial at the Olympic Games in both South Korea (1988) and Atlanta (1996). “Korea was certainly an adventure!” she added. “We were there for three weeks, and I was one of the stewards for all the equestrian events.” Gilbert also worked on cross-country course designs for events in Mexico and Guatemala.


Fair Hill Gilbert fi rst set foot on the Fair Hill property in the mid ‘70s when her kids were competing there for an Event Rally. “Back then the course would have them jumping into the woods and then they would just disappear for a while before coming back into view at the end of the course,” she explained. “I went up to Mickey Skipper,


THE EQUIERY YOUR MARYLAND HORSE COUNCIL PUBLICATION | JUNE 2024 | 47


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