Ann Smith and Stewie (NH)
Team #932: Ann Smith and Stewie
From: Exeter, New Hampshire
Ages: 78 & 23
Combined Ages: 101
Test: Training Level Test 3
I’ve loved horses since childhood, but I didn’t have the opportunity to even touch a horse until I turned forty, in 1987. As it happened, I attended an international three-day event (now CCI) at Ledyard in South Hampton, Massachusetts, and was mesmerized by the beauty of the horses and the challenges of the cross-country phase. I started taking lessons and learned to jump. Over the years, I owned several horses and competed in many novice horse trials and hunter paces.
In 2000, I moved to dressage when my then-horse could no longer jump, and I never looked back!
I joined the New England Dressage Association (NEDA) and started volunteering at dressage shows. For more than 25 years, I’ve enjoyed scribing at the United States Equestrian Team Headquarters (Gladstone, NJ), Dressage at Devon (Devon, PA), NEDA Fall Festival, GMHA (South Woodstock, VT), and local shows.
In 2014, when I lived in New Paltz, New York, my friend, Nancy Donaruma, invited me to ride her horse, Gently, a Hanoverian gelding. I loved riding Gently for two years and learned a great deal from him about dressage.
I now live in Exeter, New Hampshire, and take lessons three times a week at Sea Star Stable with instructor-owner Kara Riley-King and instructor Sara Falk.
Kara suggested I do a Century Club ride on Stewie, a lesson horse, and it was a wonderful experience. I’m proud to be a member of the Century Club and plan to continue riding until I’m unable to get my leg over the saddle!
