Dan's Papers - June 15, 2007 - Master the Art of Riding at Wölffer Estate Stables

Some young riders want to hang around the barn for the summer and brush a shaggy pony, trail ride or take walks around the farm. However, with children's classes getting more competitive each year, the traditional pony camp experience is not enough to ready the young show rider to compete in the Hamptons' A-rated competitions. Wolffer Estate Stables and their trainers have developed the Horse Masters program with these exceptional young riders in mind.

"This program is geared towards kids who want to go to horse shows and be compeditive at the Hampton Classic," explained Harriet DeLeyer-Strumph, head trainer in charge of the Horse Masters program and winner of last year's "Trainer of the Year" award at the Winner's Circle Horse Show Series. Instead of riding a different horse every day as they would at a traditional pony camp, the Horse Masters must bring their own horse to Wolffer Estate Stables for the duration of the program or lease a horse from the farm "so they can build a real relationship with their horse," something Harriet belives is essential if they are to be a winning team. The other benefit of the program is that talented young riders who would normally be sequestered in private and semi-private lessons all summer will be able to have the friendship-building experience of going to camp without having to sacrifice their riding or miss a single show. A typical day at the Horse Masters program begins around eight a.m., when the campers sit down to have breakfast with their trainers. After breakfast, the riders spend time cleaning and conditioning their tack and grooming their horses. Then, it's off to the arena for an intensive hour and a half riding lesson. During lunch, the campers discuss their lesson with their trainers and come up with solutions to problems that might have arisen during the day so that the next day's ride will be even better. The day concludes around 12:30 or one p.m., leaving the campers plenty of time to take their horses for a walk, give them a bath, or go to the beach with their new friends.

Alongside Harriett, the Horse Masters will have the opportunity to train with some of the show circuit's best trainers, including Olympic showjumper Federico Sztyrle, Juan Estrella, Santos Lamarca, Gretchen Topping and Daiana Esteves. Admission to the Horse Masters Program is selective, as all the riders in the program need to be close to the same level in order to improve at a steady rate. Young riders who are interested in the program must have a riding interview, where they are evaluated on the horse and off, ensuring that they will be able to keep up with the rigorous training and get along with their new trainers.

For riders who are not quite ready for the A-circuit, Wolffer Estate Stables also offers a more traditonal pony camp, which focuses on all aspects of horse care equally and does not require the campers to compete in horse shows or have their own horse. While the Horse Masters Program requires that campers sign up for the months of June and July, campers may come to the traditional pony camp for as little as one week, or all summer long.