Last weekend I had the privilege of taking part in a very special horse showing experience set in New York City’s iconic Central Park.
This unique venue was exciting and challenging in a way that I think all of the competitors really embraced and appreciated. It was pretty surreal to be with our horses amidst the hustle and bustle of city life and the backdrop of skyscrapers; to bring our passion and sport to the mainstream in such an innovative way.
My horses had a quiet month at home in Wellington, Fla., after showing in the USHJA Pre-Green Incentive Finals and International Derby Championship in Kentucky back in August. As most professionals do, I’m always trying to make wise decisions about our barn’s show schedule based on our current group of horses and students.
Thus, my original plan was to just come north to show at Capital Challenge in October with a couple of horses for the pre green and performance divisions, and then head back home to focus on preparing our greener horses and riders for the upcoming winter circuit.
But when I got the invitation to compete at the Rolex Central Park Horse Show, I was eager to tie that in with our trip. As both a native New Yorker and a professional hunter rider, I watched the live feed of last year’s inaugural inclusion of the hunter discipline with sincere enthusiasm. This year it was so great to be able to experience it all firsthand.
The first leg of our trip brought us to my mom’s farm in Pennsylvania. This was a perfect layover location for the horses to rest and turnout for a few days after the long drive up from Florida. It was also a quiet spot for my pre-green horse to stay while Deywi and I took Poker Face to show at Central Park.
On Friday afternoon, we shipped over to the former U.S. Equestrian Team headquarters at Gladstone, N.J., the hub for all horses showing in the city. It was an experience in itself just soaking up all the history in this beautiful facility.
Coincidentally, the first horse I saw as I walked around the barn trying to find our stall assignment was none other than Valegro! (I tried to be cool and not act like a super-stalker…)
At 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, after the grand prix horses had gotten back from showing the night before, all of the hunters loaded onto Johnson horse vans to head into the city. Deywi and I chose to avoid dealing with city traffic and parking, and rode in the back of the horse van in lieu of driving in. (Pokey thought all the extra company and attention was fantastic and would like to request this service for all of his future travels.)
Pokey taking in the lights and sounds of the city on our way to the show!
After about an hour drive, we unloaded our horses and painstakingly consolidated equipment onto the city street before finding a stall in the tent erected right inside the park off of 63rd Street. There was also a small schooling area set up right beside the stabling.
The stabling tent, in the shadow of skyscrapers.
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Aside from one quick walk to find coffee and breakfast, we pretty much hung out at the tent with Pokey. He was quite wide-eyed at the sights and sounds, so there was a lot of polite bribing going on; a wide array of treats in exchange for him putting his eyes back in their sockets and refraining from screaming his head off.
At 9:30 a.m. we had an opportunity to ride our horses in the show ring for about 45 minutes. The pedestrian path winding thru the park was sectioned in half, and the horses were escorted on the five-minute walk to the ring, like ducks in a row.
Pokey is normally the world’s best trail horse, so I was a bit alarmed to find him prancing and whinnying his way to the ring. Jack Towell jokingly called out that “that horse looks like he should have a policeman riding him!” But then again, we don’t often see horse-drawn carriages, playgrounds, joggers, dogs, etc., on our normal trail rides…
After making it to the ring and spending some time working, Pokey settled in and was back to his normal quiet, professional self. (Which typically includes me exerting way more energy than him, until there is a jump directly in his line of sight. Try as I might, he is happy to leave the hard-core flatwork to his new buddy Valegro.)
After our practice session in the ring, the junior/amateur and pony riders each had their turn. There wasn’t space for us all to realistically carry out our normal pre-show routines, but everyone was in the same boat and kind of just took on the attitude of having prepared the best we could in the unique environment of the show and just having fun with it.
There were still a few hours until the show started, and there was an overall feeling of camaraderie that logistically many other more conventional horse shows simply can’t afford. It’s not often that we are at a one-ring horse show, with one horse to show. There was a lot of hanging out in the stabling area, and many of us enjoyed watching as the dressage horses and Frederik the Friesian stallion had their riding times.
Pokey in his Central Park stall for the day.
I’m a bit of a pacer as it gets close to show time, and I can only imagine how strange I must have looked to all the non-horsey park-goers, walking around in my helmet and shadbelly! It was very sweet, though, getting to see the horses through the eyes of kids who weren’t exposed to them day in and day out, and trying to explain our sport to those who knew very little about it.
Once the show got underway at 1:30 p.m., I spent some time watching the first two classes. The jumps were beautiful and very appropriately themed, and the course was super inviting, with a few single jumps in the beginning to get us going.
There were a healthy amount of spectators seated around the ring and in the VIP tent. The pony class was adorable, with each rider choosing a song to ride to. (We professionals were very jealous about this fun perk to their class!)
Next up was the junior/amateur class. Finally, around 3:30, it was time for our class. There were a few extra things to consider in getting ready for this class; mainly, timing it all right between schooling, walking the five minutes through the park, and arriving at the ring one horse out. I had watched some of the jumper classes online earlier in the week, to start to scope out the slightly unusually shaped ring.
One thing I had noticed was that a lot of horses were having the first jump down. I think that was likely a result of a change in their warm-up routine; not being able to jump their last schooling jump and head right into the ring. So I was really mindful of trying to get the timing right, keeping Pokey a bit awake on the walk to the ring, and getting enough pace before the first jump.
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The pro class was the only one run over a two-round format, with the top 10 first-round scores returning. Overall, I was thrilled with how my horse went. He was brave and confident, despite the electric atmosphere. And I felt that as a rider I was able to create a nice flow and smooth rounds, especially in the second round once I had developed a bit of a feel for the smaller ring.
Pokey and I in action in the ring. Photo by Ann Glavan
There were really quality horses and riders in the class, and a lot of close scores. After it was all done, Pokey and I finished seventh. And then he walked through the park back to the stabling like he had been doing it all his life.
The hunters all shipped back to Gladstone around 11:00 p.m. on Saturday. Sunday morning it was time for everyone to head their separate ways home.
What a difference a day makes—from showing in the middle of the city to a relaxing day of turn-out.
I left feeling tired from nearly 24 hours with no sleep, but also really invigorated from a very special day. I’ve had Pokey for six years, since he started his show career in the baby green division. We’ve shown all over the country together, and yet this was unlike any show we had ever been to before.
On a personal level, it was very meaningful to have a new goal and a new experience with my horse, even after all these years. As a professional who is dedicated wholeheartedly to our sport and industry, I was so grateful for the vision and effort that went into creating this new event on the horse show tour.
And as an added bonus, we all got some pretty cool pictures to remember it by!
Jennifer Bliss is a professional hunter rider and trainer who, together with barn manager and fiance Deywi Rodriguez, operates Harris Hill Farm out of their homebase of Wellington, Florida.
Jennifer Bliss was the 2014 WCHR Developing Professional National Champion, and recently finished in the top 20 of both the USHJA Pre-Green Incentive Finals and International Hunter Derby Championship. She especially loves developing promising young hunters, and teaching junior and amateur students. She operates Harris Hill Farm out of her home base of Wellington, Fla.
