One of the loveliest ways to spend the Mother’s Day weekend is with the Spring Horse Shows at Old Salem Farm in North Salem. The Spring Shows, which will award nearly $500,000 in prize money, feature professional and junior riders in hunter competitions, which judge the horse’s form over lower obstacles that you might encounter on a hunt; jumper events, which focus on speed and accuracy; and equitation, which considers the rider’s performance. (Only jumping is an Olympic sport.)
“I like to say jumper is like hockey while hunter is like figure skating,” says Michel Vaillancourt, who won an individual silver medal in his home country at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. The former chef d’équipe, or coach, of the Canadian Equestrian Team, Vaillancourt has been charged with designing the jumper course for the first week of the Spring Shows, which concludes Sunday. The second week runs May 12-17.
But you don’t have to know a paddock from a pasture to enjoy the graceful partnership of rider and horse or the chance to watch the action with family, friends and pets on the rolling grass or to meet various vendors.
It’s always a good time down at Old Salem Farm.
Live streaming of all events Friday-Sunday each week will be available at www.oldsalemfarm.net with simulcast available at www.usefnetwork.com and www.practicalhorsemanmag.com. Tickets are available for purchase at https://www.universe.com/events/old-salem-farm-spring-horse-shows-tickets-north-salem-1PCH7.
And for more on Old Salem Farm, check out WAG’s April “Animal Passion” issue. – Georgette Gouveia
