About three years ago a man by the name of Gene Glasscock rode down Sunset Boulevard on his Tennessee walking horse. He was headed south on a mission to ride on horseback through all fifty states and spread his message of, well, I forget what his message was. But I remember that he didn’t have a dime in his pocket or reservations for a place to stay. But Beverly Carr put him up at her place and claimed later that she was the one who was richer for the experience.
Beverly Carr is the owner of the Cape May Carriage Company, a 20-horse operation that provides wedding transportation and old-fashioned horse-drawn carriage rides through the City of Cape May. “Wherever you travel,” said Beverly, “people always mention the horses – ‘oh, those horses are so lovely.”
There are more than 20 horse shows and competitions annually at horse farms in Cape May and across the region. Horses are one of America’s best-loved national treasures. They helped tame the Wild West and unite a country. For some the love affair with horses is never ending and in Cape May, it’s as strong as ever.
On tiny Cape Island’s few square miles of real estate, there are an estimated 200 horses galloping, snorting, jumping, baying and pulling carriages at several different farms. Maria Schuman operates a boarding stable at her Sea Horse farm in Cold Spring, and Gary Weeks keeps American quarter horses there. Ginna Riker operates a lesson program at Sea Horse and Beverly Carr has her fleet of horses just off Sunset Boulevard. Add in a few other operations and some backyard horses and you’ll find that Cape May’s rich horse culture still thrives despite the continuing encroachment of civilization.
Of course, the era of riding all day from Cape May to Goshen “without hardly seeing another soul” is pretty much gone. “We’d ride to a show, ride all day and then ride home,” said Bev. “We had such freedoms in the ’60s. I rode my horse to school. Today you’re left with riding on Les Rea’s farm or on Higbee and you have to pay for a permit to ride at Higbee. I told you horses were an expensive proposition.”
The one thing most of the Cape May horse folks agree on is that keeping horses is both a commitment and an expensive commitment. “Horses generate millions in revenue for New Jersey,” said Beverly. “There’s betting, shoeing, feed and vets to start. Now you need a place to put it. Don’t forget pony tubs, buckets, saddles, bridles, brushes, fly spray, hoof polish, hoof shampoo. Now she needs to learn to ride, so there are lessons, carting the kid to and from the lessons, then she needs a bigger pony. Think of the money one horse generates. Trailers, professional groomers, show fees, $35,000 for the horse, training – shows horses are a tremendous business.”
Ginna agreed. “It’s very expensive so you have to be committed,” she said. “I try to keep my fees reasonable because I want everyone to have a chance to ride. It shouldn’t be just a wealthy man’s sport. We trade work for riding. I encourage the kids to come out and help groom and get to know about horses. There’s more to horses than just riding. It’s a lot of work but it’s very rewarding.”
Hidden Valley Ranch on Bayshore Road is the oldest operating riding stable in the area. The thirty or so horses still have the power to captivate a youngster’s attention and at least three horse-bit females, including proprietor Nancy Hall, still find the room to pursue their passion for Equines.
Talia “Tali” Piacentine, 22, was a rambunctious youngster who couldn’t be contained by the traditional boundaries of summer day camp. “I was in Camp Cape May. One day I’d had enough and I just left. They had to put me somewhere. Nancy said ‘bring ‘em over here’ and I never left.”
Meghan Kleinschmidt, 23, was a “Coastie” when she came to Cape May as a young girl with her Coast Guard parents. Like Tali she danced to her own beat. She followed Tali to the barn one day and got hooked as well. “I just seemed to connect better with the horses,” she said. “I think you’re born with it.”
“I quit everything to ride,” added Tali. “Usually when the girls discover boys they’re gone. Most don’t come back. I came back.”
Hidden Valley operates primarily as a boarding and lesson stable. Horse owners who don’t have the room to keep their animal at their house pay Nancy to keep it at Hidden Valley. Nancy also operates a number of lesson programs that give summer visitors and year-round- residents the opportunity to learn to ride. Liability prevents Nancy from offering trail rides. But, she said, “For a small farm, we’ve been pretty successful.”
Hidden Valley was originally part of the Taylor Farm which still occupies a large chunk of land along Seashore Road. The land was handed down until Mary Ellen (Taylor) Dickinson sold the land to the state under a land management agreement more than 50 years ago. Under terms of the agreement it will never be developed and will be a horse farm for many years to come. That suits Nancy and her horses just fine.
Tali and Meghan looked like advertisements for the horse life, dressed in their jeans and t-shirts and sporting celebrity smiles. We relaxed in Nancy’s kitchen on a sunny September Saturday talking about why they’d rather be around horses than doing anything else. Nancy’s four Jack Russells barreled around the kitchen banging into each other and us. Outside, the sun was shining on acres and acres of quiet, undisturbed, untrammeled land and the world was a million miles away.
“If you’re into this, you’re not squeamish,” said Tali, who attends Stockton College and bartends at her parents’ restaurant, Oyster Bay, on Lafayette Street. “It teaches you not to be afraid of animals.”
Meghan smiled at Tali’s “squeamish” remark. Meghan graduated in 2004 from Long Island University with a BFA in dance studies. Meghan is a rarity in the horse world in that she has a life away from the stable. She’s a professional dancer who’s performed across the country, including a recent gig with the Black Eyed Peas in Atlantic City. But she’s still a horse-girl at heart. “Nah, we’re not squeamish.”
Michelle Winter is a sophomore at Lower Cape May Regional High School and has been riding with Ginna Riker at Sea Horse Stables in Cold Spring for about 8 years. “I think it’s both a hobby and a sport,” she said. “It’s competitive like a sport but I do it for fun.”
Ginna brought 14 girls from Sea Horse with her to Pembrook Farm, about 20 minutes north of Cape May, for an English Circuit of South Jersey “hunter” show on September 23. The shows are day-long events steeped in the tradition of the English hunt. Riders are required to wear hunt attire including helmet, jacket, breeches, high boots and a “rat-catcher” blouse. Riders often complete three rounds over a combination of jumps while being judged on various criteria. The ECSJ holds 22 shows in six area locations between March and November.
“Riding is an art,” said Ginna. “If she looks effortless out there, she’s doing it right. When she’s ready to jump, she’ll loosen the reins and lean forward. Everything should be smooth like they’re dancing along together. Points are taken off for different reasons, like the horse leading with the wrong foot.”
“You can come out of the ring worn out,” admitted Michelle. “You have to worry about proper striding and what the horse is thinking to get over the jump.”
Michelle is 15 years old and weighs in at around 110 pounds. Her horse, Savannah, weighs more than 12 times what she does. He’s pure muscle and if he snaps his head too quickly, he could knock Michelle into next week.
“I love this horse with a passion,” she said, patting Savannah’s nose playfully. Savannah goes by the nom de plume ‘Let’s Dance’ at shows. “It’s such a thrill to jump. It’s a huge adrenaline rush.”
As Michelle was talking, another young girl came unglued from her saddle and fell from her horse in the ring. She managed to get her feet under her but she tumbled roughly across the ground. Elise Rohanna, a Cape May mom and nurse practitioner, rushed into the ring with organizers to tend to the girl. She lay on the ground for what seemed like 10 minutes but eventually stood and walked on her own power.
Nobody even flinched. No “oohs” or “ahhs” accompanied her fall. The wispy young girls around the ring hardly noticed except to greet her as she exited the ring with words of support.
But horse fever runs strong and deep among this crowd and, along with it, the spirit to dust yourself off and get back in the saddle again.
The beautiful thing about Cape May is that it affords us non-equestrians the opportunity to enjoy from afar. For example, a favorite pastime of the innkeepers at The John Wesley Inn on Gurney Street is “rocking on the veranda while sipping an afternoon cup of tea and watching the old-time horse and carriages as they clip clop by.” From the inn’s porch one can see blanketed couples, wide-eyed families and carriage after carriage of blushing brides as they slip by under the canopy of Cape May’s famous Sycamore trees. The carriage driver’s voice trails off as the horse meanders down Columbia Avenue, leaving only the sound of the breeze and the clink of your companion’s spoon in his teacup. It’s a signature scene in one of America’s most unique towns.
Special thank you to Frances Mack who took many of the photographs used for this piece.
