Maj. Robert Borg

Maj. Robert Borg, of Oxford, Mich., who represented the United States in dressage at three Olympic Games and trained scores of horses and riders at his farm in Oxford, Mich., died on April 5. He was 91.

Maj. Borg began his life of horsemanship by studying native Americans, but his interest in dressage began when he saw Col. Hiram Tuttle ride the famous American Lady in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. Years later, Col. Tuttle recommended that Maj. Borg join the U.S. Cavalry, and in 1943 he reported to Ft. Riley (Kan.) to be an instructor of advanced equitation.

Consequently, in 1948 he both trained the U.S. Olympic dressage and three-day teams and rode Klingsor, a horse acquisitioned during the post-World War II occupation of Germany, to fourth place individually. The dressage team earned the silver medal (still the best medal ever earned by a U.S. Olympic dressage team), while the three-day team won the gold.

Maj. Borg continued as the coach of both teams when the U.S. Equestrian Team was formed in 1952, and he rode Bill Biddle to 11th in Helsinki as the team placed sixth. In 1956 he and Bill Biddle finished 17th. His student, Walter Staley, won the three-day gold medal at the 1955 Pan Am Games, where Maj. Borg and Bill Biddle claimed the individual silver medal in dressage.

Maj. Borg was paralyzed in 1959 when a horse fell on him, but he continued to train horses and riders will into his 80s. He even mounted a turntable in the bed of an old truck, which allowed him to train horses in hand. He trained many horses in the high-school movements this way.

In 1999 the American Horse Shows Association honored his achievements and contributions with a Pegasus Medal of Honor, and in 2003 he was inducted into the Midwest Dressage Association’s Hall of Fame.

Both Staley and Frank Duffy, a member of the 1956 three-day team, eulogized Maj. Borg at his April 16 memorial service at his RedBob Farm. A horse he’d trained served as the ceremonial riderless horse.

Said friend and student Mary Shaw Moore, “One of the Major’s favorite training aphorisms was, ‘Lightness is the hallmark of advanced equitation and stamps out the expert who practices it.’ His legacy lives in the lightness of all the horses and riders he trained.”

Maj. Borg is survived by his children Kristin Borg Hannum, John David and Steven, and by three grandchildren.

Memorial contributions can be made to the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation, P.O. Box 355, Gladstone, NJ 07934 or to the Disabled American Veterans, P.O. Box 14301, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45250. Staff

Earl Chadwell

Earl Chadwell, huntsman of the Millbrook Hunt from 1950 to 1978, died in Millbrook, N.Y., on March 25. He was 88.

Mr. Chadwell was born in The Plains, Va., son of the legendary huntsman Elias Chadwell, whom he succeeded as huntsman at Millbrook. He learned to hunt sitting behind his father, and he continued to follow Millbrook as “wheel whip” until a few weeks before his death.

“Like so many other members of his hunting family, he had an uncanny instinct for where a fox would run, and he made many amazing [and successful] casts when hounds were at a loss,” recalled Jt.-MFH Farnham Collins. “Reserved and quiet, he never seemed ruffled or out of sorts when things went badly, but when his hounds were running true, he cheered them on in a melodious voice that was unique.”

He is survived by his wife, Josephine; brothers Floyd Chadwell of Millbrook, Marvin Chadwell of Millbrook, and Rixey Chadwell of Grants Pass, Ore; sisters Thelma Russell of Clinton Corners, N.Y., and Aylice Cole of Pleasant Valley, N.Y.; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Millbrook Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 609, Millbrook, NY 12545.

Gail Hulick

Show hunter rider and trainer Gail Hulick, of Winchendon, Mass., died Feb. 8 after a long illness. She was 50.

Ms. Hulick grew up on her parents’ Saddle River Farm in Sterling, Mass. As a junior, she rode with Victor Hugo-Vidal and George Morris. Consequently, she was a top competitor on both ponies and hunters on the A-rated circuit as a junior rider. She was twice champion at the National Horse Show (N.Y.) and won numerous championships at such top shows as Devon (Pa.), Ox Ridge (Conn.), Fairfield county (Conn.), Harrisburg (Pa.), Lake Placid (N.Y.) and the Washington (D.C.) International.

Ms. Hulick, who suffered from diabetes, lost 80 percent of her vision after hemorrhaging in her eyes, leaving her legally blind. She attended the Perkins School for the Blind and later underwent an operation that restored 60 to 70 percent of the vision in one eye.

She later earned a bachelor’s degree in nutrition and a master’s degree in education from Framingham State College (Mass.).

In 1992, Ms. Hulick’s father donated a kidney to save her life. She continued to ride and jump, despite her battle with diabetes. She earned licenses as a riding instructor, judge and NARHA-certified therapeutic riding Instructor. Along with her husband, Edmund Paro, Ms. Hulick provided equestrian experiences to emotionally disabled and needy children through therapeutic and competitive riding instruction at their farm.

For the past three years, Ms. Hulick had coached the Becker College (Mass.) equestrian team and worked with President Ken Zirkle to expand the college’s equestrian program.

The Feb. 26 horse show at the University of Massachusetts was dedicated to her memory.

In addition to her husband, Ms. Hulick is survived by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Hulick of Sterling, Mass., and Wellington, Fla.; aunts and uncles Mr. and Mrs. Andre Pugliese of Scarsdale, N.Y., and Mr. and Mrs. John H. Palmer of New Milford, Conn.; and many cousins.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Gail Hulick Fund, 298 Hale Street, Winchendon, MA 01475. Staff

Frederick C. Stone

Beagler Frederick C. Stone, of Middleburg, Va., died March 7 after a long illness. He was 72.

Mr. Stone was born in Mt. Kisco, N.Y., and taught school at the Harvey School in Westchester County, N.Y., before moving to Middleburg, where he was head of the science department at Foxcroft School for many years.

Mr. Stone began beagling at age 4 and followed the Golden’s Bridge Hounds (N.Y.) regularly as a teenager. During the 1950s, he went to the National Beagle Club in Aldie, Va., where he whipped-in to the Sandanona Hare Hounds at the Beagle trials.

After relocating to Virginia, Mr. Stone was master and huntsman of the Wolver Beagles for nearly 30 years. He devoted himself to maintaining the high standard set by the pack’s founder, C. Oliver Iselin, who brought the hounds to Middleburg in 1913. Mr. Stone bred and hunted an all-bitch pack, known for their drive, and enjoyed considerable success at the Beagle trials.

Mr. Stone, who was usually seen in his old pickup truck with hounds in the back, always encouraged new packs. He gave both hounds and advice to many new packs as far away as California and Arizona. He served as an officer and director of the National Beagle Club and particularly enjoyed judging the Basset trials.

Mr. Stone’s sporting interests weren’t confined to hunting with hounds. Despite his rather short stature, he played center on his high school football team and was a catcher on the baseball team at New Mexico State.

Mr. Stone’s lifelong interest in the environment is seen in the house he and his first wife, Beatrice Momsen, designed and built. This passive solar dwelling, the first in Loudoun County, Va., was a pioneer in energy conservation.

He is survived by his wife, Susan Mills Stone, of Middleburg; daughters Barbara E. Stone, of Hillsboro, Ore., and Carolyn D. Stone of Chatham, Va.; and sisters Elizabeth Stone Potter, of Norfolk, Conn., and Caroline Stone Keating, of New York, N.Y.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Association for Frontotemporal Dementias (AFTD), P.O. Box 7191, St. David’s, PA, 19087 or the Piedmont Environmental Council, P.O. Box 460, Warrenton, VA, 20188.