Throughout Jaime Auletto’s triumphant pony and junior careers, she kept her horses at home and, with the help of her family, attended to all their needs. It’s not much different now that Auletto has graduated from college and has joined her family’s catering business near Cherry Hill, N.J.

“The only way we can make the barn work is if we all help out,” she said.

Taking care of the horses at the family’s Briar Hill Farm in Tabernacle, N.J., involves coordinating everyone’s schedule so that someone is there to feed, turn the horses out, bring them in, and do all the chores a barn of horses requires. “Between the four of us, though, we make it happen,” she said.

Auletto competes in the amateur owner hunter, 18-35, division with her horse, Back for More. “Lenny” and Auletto are very competitive in their division; so far in 2005 they’ve never been out of the top 10 in the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s Farnam/Platform Horse of the Year standings, and they earned good ribbons at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show in October.

Last winter was the first time Auletto had a chance to do an entire winter circuit with Lenny, and they were the Gulf Coast Circuit’s amateur-owner hunter, 18-35, grand champions after winning three of the five amateur-owner hunter classics.

The Auletto family’s farm includes the main barn with six stalls, a second barn with an additional four stalls, four pastures, two smaller paddocks, and a large ring–all on about 15 acres. Five horses live there right now.

The care and preparation of the horses at the Auletto’s farm is similar to that in any large show barn–just on a smaller scale.

One advantage that Jaime finds in having a smaller barn is that she can cater (no pun intended) to each horse’s individual
needs more than would be possible in a large barn. For example, if one horse needs to be turned out longer than the others, it’s not a big deal.

The Aulettos have no barn help, so Jaime, her sister, Jaci, 15, and parents Jim and Suzanne all pitch in when needed. And Jaci and Suzanne both ride.  Jaime rides Lenny and Wager, a young horse, almost every day.

Time Management is Key
While Jaime describes her schedule as being “very flexible,” she still has to be smart about time management.

“Depending on my work schedule, I either ride first thing in the morning or after I get home from work, about 6 o’clock,” she said.

Jaime prefers to ride after work because then she has no time limit on how long she can spend with the horses.

The bulk of the catering company’s business is weddings, usually on weekends, but they also cater business lunches or meetings, and they provide meals for 1,000 senior citizens a week through a state program. Some of the events, especially weddings, require a great deal of Jaime’s time.

Still, she was able to work enough during last winter’s Gulf Coast Circuit in Mississippi to show on a winter circuit for the first
time since before she went to college. She was in the middle of planning the catering company’s bridal show–a big annual event that was to take place barely a week after her return from Mississippi.

“I spoke with most of our vendors way in advance and then corresponded with them the rest of the time via e-mail and fax. Thank goodness for laptops and cell phones!” Jaime said with a chuckle. The event went very well, so Jaime feels comfortable planning it long-distance again this year.

Still, she has to choose horse shows carefully. “I try to do the shows where I can get my horse ready the best. It makes for a much more pleasant show experience,” she said. “I find I can concentrate better on my riding if I’m not stressed out about preparing my horse.”

She shows once or twice a month. “I’m lucky to live in an area where most of the shows are relatively close. I usually only have to miss work on Fridays,” she said.

Jaime makes all the entries, orders the bedding and hay, and makes the hotel arrangements herself. She also drives Lenny to the shows. If her schedule permits, Suzanne accompanies Jaime, but sometimes it’s just Jaime and Lenny.

Their show routine is fairly strict. “Lenny’s pretty much all business at the shows, but he’s happiest if we stick to our routine,” Jaime said. “And I need to be relaxed and not rushed.”

Jaime meets trainer Emil Spadone at the shows. He imported Lenny, a Hanoverian, as a 5-year-old, and Jaime bought him two years later.
Jaime knows Lenny so well and is so attached to him that sometimes she’s overly protective. She said that even though Spadone knows her horse well too, he’s more realistic and objective about Lenny’s performances.

One of the hardest things about being a true working amateur rider is that she doesn’t get to take lessons nearly as often as she would like. She’ll take a few days off of work, however, to travel to Spadone’s Redfield Farm, more than two hours away in Califon, N.J., for lessons before the fall indoor shows. But for the most part she rides at home alone.

“I’m fortunate to have a nice, big ring to ride in, and I always have a full show course set,” Jaime said.

“I love taking care of my own horse,” she added.

Strong Support System
She fondly recalls her last junior year–1999–in which the highlight was winning the grand junior hunter championship at The National Horse Show in New York City’s Madison Square Garden with No Small Wonder. Shortly thereafter, Jaime went off to school at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va.

“I remember when I got to college and didn’t have a barn in the backyard for the first time. I felt so lost,” recalled Jaime. It wasn’t long before Jaime began riding on her school’s intercollegiate team. By her sophomore year, Jaime had bought Lenny, and she spent the next few years bringing him along slowly.

“I thought about going to grad school, but I liked the situation I had [at home]. I liked being able to show him since I’d
started him,” said Jaime. “My goal with Lenny was just to bring along a legitimate horse to take to the nice horse shows and be competitive.”

Because of her hectic schedule, she doesn’t get to see her hometown friends much. But, like her family, they’re all supportive–even if they don’t know all the ins and outs of horse showing. “They know Lenny by name and always ask how we did at our ‘race,'” Jaime said with a laugh.

Of course, she spends plenty of time with her parents and sister. Plus, she and her mom spend lots of time talking together en route to shows. “I know I’m fortunate to have a group of supportive people around me,” Jaime said.

Jaime Auletto
Age: 24

Hometown: Blackwood, N.J.

Education: Graduated from James Madison University (Va.) in 2003; majored in psychology and kinesiology.

Profession: Works for family catering business, Auletto Caterers, in Almonesson, N.J., started by her grandparents in 1945. “Whatever needs doing, I do it–from payroll to talking to the brides,” she said. “My schedule can be pretty flexible, but I do work basically 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. There’s pretty much always something for me to do whenever I’m there.”

To Work, To Ride: Lives in a condominium 10 minutes from the family business and 40 minutes from the family farm. “I figured if I lived closer to work, I’d have more ambition to go riding,” she said.

Her Horse: Back For More, amateur-owner hunter, 11 years old

Balancing Work With Riding: “I never would have been able to accomplish what I have if  I had a less flexible job. I’m so lucky my boss–my dad–understands and supports my riding.”