The Horse of Delaware Valley

Images of America: Devon Horse Show and Country Fair Now Available for Purchase

Details: April 2, 2021; By Staff Writers

DEVON, Pa.--As part of its 125th Anniversary, the Devon Horse Show and Country Fair is pleased to announce the launch of its new book Images of America: Devon Horse Show and Country Fair by Charlene Keller Fullmer and Kathryn Elizabeth Brown.

Devon book Dedicated to the volunteers who have supported and enriched the Devon Horse Show and Country Fair for the last 125 years, this book depicts the history of this iconic event.

In May 1896, residents along the Philadelphia Main Line organized a meeting on the lawn of the Devon Inn inviting friends and neighbors to "effect an organization for the purpose of holding a Horse Show at Devon."

In the aftermath of World War I, the Devon Horse Show incorporated a country fair in 1919 to support a local charity and selected Bryn Mawr Hospital as its beneficiary.

Images of America: Devon Horse Show and Country Fair follows the organization from its humble beginnings as a one-day show for local breeding farmers in the Philadelphia countryside to its rise as a premier international equestrian event.

While it draws top competitors from around the world, the Devon Horse Show and Country Fair remains uniquely rooted in tradition and community.

G1 New York Turf Writers renamed in honor of Jonathan Sheppard

Details: March 16, 2021; By Staff Writers

OZONE PARK, N.Y.--Jonathan Sheppard has received a very distinguished and very well deserved honor in the naming of a G1 steeplechase in his honor.

Jonathan Sheppaard w. program Jonathan Sheppard The New York Racing Association, Inc. announced that the G1 York Turf Writers Cup steeplechase stakes has been renamed in honor of the Hall of Fame trainer.

The G1, $150,000 Jonathan Sheppard for 4-year-olds and up going 2 3/8 miles is slated for Thursday, Aug. 19 during the summer meet at Saratoga Race Course.

"That's great," said Sheppard. "It was always one of my favorite races. It's at Saratoga, a track I love, and the race is run at one of longer distances that I like."

Sheppard, who has been living in Florida since the Covid shutdown, said that he planned to attend the race.

"Isn't that great," said Keri Brion, who was Sheppard's assistant trainer for over a decade before taking over training his horses when he retired. "We'll send everything we have in that race to try to win it for him.

Esch's Fencing provides quality products

Details: February 1, 2019; By Staff Writers

GAP, Pa.--Esch’s Fencing LLC is your one stop shop and complete source for retail and wholesale fencing needs.

ESCH Stormcat2 e1317304726515 300x300 Esch's Fencing has been serving Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey since 1987 with quality fence products for your child/pet protec-tion.

ESCH Centaur Horse21 300x300 Esch’s large inventory includes Rustic Split Rail, Post and Board, Wood Slip Board, Centaur® Flexible Fence Rail, Heavy Duty PVC Horse Rail & Wire Mesh (PVC Coated or Galvanized).

Also for your residential needs, Aluminum fence and Railing, Cus-tom Red Cedar, Treated Wood Privacy and Picket, PVC Privacy and Picket and Custom Board Gates with a variety of Hardware are available for pick up or delivery.

Esch's is located at 185 Octorara Trail, Gap, PA 17527

ESCH split rail For further information, call 610-857-1676, Fax: 610-857-0029 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Blue Chip Structures are designed to meet or exceed all industry standards.

Details: February 1, 2019; By Staff Writers

Blue Chip Structures, Inc. has been supplying pre-engineered building packages to the Mid-Atlantic and surrounding areas since 1995.

Blue Chip 1 Every Blue Chip Structures building is engineered for its specified purpose, ranging from garages to storage buildings, to custom equestrian complexes to a commercial facility with multiple framing styles.

Here at Blue Chip Structures, Inc., and Rigidply Rafters, Inc., we strive to make your building project as enjoyable as possible.

We do this by supplying you with exceptional designs complete with a set of detailed construction plans.

Blue Chip 2 Also, we provide an extensive material list explaining where each component belongs, saving you time and aggravation in the construction process.

Blue Chip Structures, Inc. assembles our pre-engineered packages using the best building materials available.

Our long-term relationships with industry-leading suppliers give you a tremendous advantage when choosing your building features.

Every component of a Blue Chip Structures, Inc. building package is designed to meet or exceed all industry standards and structural load requirements.

Also, each supplier is backed with outstanding warranties which are then passed through to you in our industry-leading Warranty Program.

Our commitment to eye-catching details, conservative structural design, exceptional customer service, and using only the best products available, will provide you the confidence that you have achieved the best value for your investment.

By choosing Blue Chip Structures, Inc. for your next building, you will be receiving the finest building package available.

For further information, call 717-866-6581 or visit www.bluechipstructures.com

Groffdale Barns contains value, worth & decades of experience.

Details: February 1, 2019; By SARA CAVANAGH

Groffdale Barns has been in business for over 30 years!

Groffdale 1 In 1984 Moses Riehl started building small sheds, row stables, and run-in's at his shop adjacent to his horse barn.

Having been raised in an Amish home, Moses had horses of his own, and saw the need for strong and permanent shelters for horses!

Groffdale 2 New and Updated designs, incorporated with old techniques handed down from Amish Craftsmen, was the beginning of Groffdale Barn's legacy of being the first to design a modular horse barn that stood up the the quality that horse owners demand!

Groffdale Barns will also do barn restorations.

Groffdale 3 It services Pa.,, N.J., Md, Va, W.V., N.Y. & Conn.

We are the Manufacturer, and we sell directly to you, with no middle man extra costs.

Purchase with confidence when you buy a Groffdale Barn, knowing that you are buying a barn that contains value, worth, and decades of experience.

Groffdale 4 Contact: Jake or Moses 717-687-8350 www.groffdalebarns.com

Reveal 4-N-1 is the Ultimate Arena and Ground Prep Tool

Details: June 1, 2019; By Staff Writers

MOUNT ORAB, Ohio--Whether you manage a professional arena or ride in your backyard, the Reveal 4-N-1 will help you achieve the best footing for you and your horse.

Reveal 4 n 1 Keep riding through the tough weather conditions with the help of the Reveal 4-N-1.

The Reveal 4-N-1 is the ultimate arena and ground prep tool, both the manual and hydraulic designs help to make ground preparation and maintenance easier and less time consuming. I

t’s a rugged, hard- working tool that easily attaches to your tractor and is one of the most essential pieces of equipment for day-to-day operations.

The Regular model Reveal 4-N-1 is easy to handle with most mid- sized tractors and the Heavyweight model is for larger HP tractors.

A Wheel Model and the Ultimate 4-N-1 Laser Model, with an automated control system, are available upon request.

A water kit available for the 7’ and 8’ models holds two 65-gallon tanks for wetting down dusty arenas and maintaining moisture.

The Reveal 4-n-1 is endorsed by the ANHA and is the Official Tool of the NBHA.

Reveal 4-n-1 believes that the quality of the product that bears their family name is always their priority.

Don’t be fooled by imitators.

The Reveal 4-n-1 is the original and still the best multipurpose tool.

Over 29 years of quality manufacturing and excellent customer service. Located in Mount Orab, OH

Call 937-444-2609 for a free brochure or visit: www.reveal4-n-1.com for more information.

For excavating, mowing, clearing brush or pond work, Rob Roy is the answer

Details: June 1, 2019; By Staff Writers

NOTTINGHAM, Pa--If you would like to add a pond to your farm, or if you have a pond that needs to be repaired, check out Rob Roy Farm, which is located in Nottingham, Pa.

Rob Roy Robert Rohrer also clears clogged waterways, which are a problem on many area farms.

Rob Roy excavates for riding rings, for building sites and for driveways.

Rohrer mows and clears brush and clears for terraces.

He serves northern Cecil County, Chester County and southern Lancaster County.

If you have work that needs to be done on your farm, call Rohrer at 610-656-5871 or 610-656-5870.

Arena Works has developed footing material that allows more comfort to the horse

Details: June 1, 2019; By Staff Writers

No one knows footing better than those who use it every day!

Arena works 1 The team at Arena Works, Inc. are horsemen with passion and commitment to the horse, who’ve developed the nation's leading blend of arena footing materials to enhance your ride while allowing more comfort to your horse.

It’s engineered to require little maintenance, enabling you to spend less time caring for the product and more time doing what you love to do most - ride!

We specialize in providing quality dressage and jumping surfaces for the Olympic disciplines that stand up to years of daily training demands.

Arena Works Gold Footing, Silver Footing, and Bronze Footing are available to meet a variety of budgets.

Arena Works Gold, our signature blend of footing, promotes maximum performance for horse and rider.

Arena works 2 Carefully selected fibers, custom ground crumb rubber, and meticulously selected sand naturally bind together to produce a stable, long-lasting surface.

With its resiliency and shock absorbing qualities, it promotes confidence, supports soundness and builds better performance.

Combine our footing with Arena Work’s proprietary blend of dust control additive, Evermoist EQ, and you’ve got the winning combination of a dust free footing that requires minimal dragging.

Arena Works 3 Our products have been formulated, designed, and tested by horsemen with real expertise.

We know materials, understand how they work together, and can help you select the best product for your needs.

Call Dan @ 717-629-0576, email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit our website at www.ArenaWorksInc.com

Give your animals protection from the cold and snow this winter with Solanco Structures!

Details: November 29, 2019; By Staff Writers

QUARRYVILLE, Pa.--Get your animals safe and undercover - out of the wind, sleet and snow!

Solano 3

Your horses, ponies and other farm animals will be much more comfortable when they can escape from bad weather here in the Northeast this winter with one of Solanco Structures quality horse barns, modular center aisle barns, storage sheds (10 x 12 and 10 x 26 feet samples shown here), lean to barns or a Shed Row barn complete with tack room (10 x 36 or 12 x 20).

Solanco right

Solano 1 left

Our custom built horse barns are of the highest quality of any around.

Soanco 2 Located at 44 Edgefield Road in Quarryville, Pa., Solanco Structures offers horse owners a nice selection to suit any need for a great price.

Note: Interior stalls are also available to purchase for existing barns if needed.

And feel free to ask about our hobby green houses, while you’re at it too!

We build in Pa., N.J., Del., Md., Va., Mass., N.Y. and Ohio.

Call 610-593-6400 for your FREE quote soon!
For more information, visit www.solancostructures.com

Barn Hacks & Horse Keeping Tips from Hay Pillow - Save Time & Money

Details: January 21, 2021; By Staff Writers

As equestrians we face a myriad of obstacles and tasks that ultimately reduce the time we spend with our beloved companions and dwindle our bank accounts.

hay pocket 4 Following are some barn hacks and horse keeping tips that can save you serious time and money!

Toilet brushes make excellent bucket scrubbers and prevents your hands from getting wet and chilled in cold weather.

Available at most dollar stores.

hay pocket 5 Have you ever forgotten to turn the hose off - or thought you did - after turning on the water to fill a trough?

Save yourself from the stress of waking up in the middle of the night or being 30 miles from home when you ask yourself, “did I forget to turn off the hose”?

Use a hose bib mechanical water timer - no batteries required - and the peace of mind is priceless.

IKEA bags are a great solution to carrying flakes of hay without leaving half of it on the ground!

hay pocket 6 The straps are long enough to put over your shoulder allowing you to carry more than one.

Flakes of hay from 60-pound 2 strand bales and 100-pound 3 strand bales fit perfectly in them.

Find more hacks and tips on our blog post! https://www.thehaypillow.com/blog/barn-hacks-horse-keeping-tips-save-time-money

Precise Buidings offers distinctive equestrian buildings with Dutch Country character

Details: February 23, 2021; By Staff Writers

Have you ever gone down the road in horse country and brought your vehicle to a sudden stop as an exceptionally eye-catching, distinctive building came into view?

precise 1 Now that building has some character, you may have said to yourself.

What defines character in an equine building?

Certainly aesthetics that are pleasing to the eye are important.

Precise 2a Maybe you like exposed timber frames or post and beam type buildings.

Maybe character for you means a nicely restored barn that obviously had a crew working on it that gives attention to detail and has pride in their work.

Or perhaps you prefer the modern look of metal siding and roofing.

No matter what style you prefer, Precise Buildings can build it for you.

All of the above is fine as far as looks go.

But how about the quality beneath the surface?

How can you be sure your building will stand the test of time?

Precise 3a Since 2002 Precise Buildings has had a reputation for creating or restoring many such buildings.

Whether you need a new building created from the ground up or have an existing building that you want to restore to its historic beauty Precise Buildings will use quality materials to build it right.

Combining traditional Dutch Country craftsmanship with modern design and construction techniques, Precise Buildings will work for you!

To learn more about the possibility of teaming with Precise Buildings on a quality equine building with character, visit precisebuildings.com or call (717) 768-3200

Young U.S. team wins the Nations Cup at WEF

Details: March 6, 2021; By SARA CAVANAGH

WELLINGTON, Fla.--A young, relatively inexperienced U.S. team stepped up to the plate with class in $150,000 Nations Cup CSIO4* at the World Equestrian Festival on March 5 to win with just 1 fault over a very strong, experienced Irish team that finished second on 4 faults and Brazil, third with 14 faults.

US Nations Cup win The winning Nations Cup U.S. team of Bliss Heers, Brian Moggre, Jessica Springsteen, and Lillie Keenan were joined in front by Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland, Heidi Zorn, President of Premier Equestrian, and Mark Neihart, CEO of Premier Equestrian. (Photo by Sportfot)On paper, before the class, Ireland would have been the overwhelming favorite, with Canada and Great Britain also fielding strong teams.

But the team of Lilly Keenan, 24 of New York, N.Y., Bliss Heers, 33 of Las Vegas, Nev., Brian Moggre, 20 of Flower Mound, Texas, and Jessica Springsteen, 29 of Colts Neck, N.J., led by Chef d'Equipe Robert Ridland, certainly weren't intimidated by the veterans they faced.

Ridland has made choosing at least one young, inexperience rider to join veterans on Nations Cup teams a staple of his leadership, and it has worked extraordinarily well, resulting in collecting numerous Nations Cup wins while raising the level of top riders eligible to ride on teams.

"I'm still on top of the world," said Ridland the morning after the young team's win. "The kids were amazing. They beat a real veteran Irish team. That could be the team the Irish send to the Olympics."

One of the cardinal rules for riders on Nations Cup teams is "Do not have a time fault."

In the first round, in the order in which they went, Keenan on Fasther was clean, Heers on Antidote De Mars also clean, Moggre with Balou De Reventon had 4 faults, and Springsteen riding Don Juan Van Donkhoeve had 1 time fault.

Kentucky 5* Three-Day Event back on, but without spectators

Details: February 10, 2021; By Staff Writers

LEXINGTON, Ky.--Great news for eventers - the Kentucky Three-Day Event 5* is back on, albeit without spectators, because of funds raised by the eventing community.

Phillip Dutton Z photo by Allen MacMillan DSC 3081 Phillip Dutton on Z at Kentucky (Photo by photo by Allen MacMillan)An unprecedented outpouring of public support and a grassroots fundraising effort have led to a reversal of the announced cancellation of the Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI Five Star.

A new partnership between Equestrian Events, Inc. (EEI). producer of the world-class event, and the Kentucky Horse Park Foundation combined with the support of US Equestrian and longstanding sponsors Land Rover, Mars Equestrian, and Rolex will ensure that the CCI5*-L three-day event will be held, without spectators, alongside a new CCI4*-S, April 22-25 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.

“The uncertainties surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic placed us in the financially impossible position of having to run the Five Star event without spectators, a situation that left us no choice but to cancel the Five Star for 2021 in order to preserve it for many years to come,” said Mike Cooper, President of EEI. “We are humbled and honored by the response of the eventing community as they’ve stepped up in a mind-blowing way enabling us to go forward.”

Wolf's proposed budget that would end racing in Pennsylvania faces opposition

Details: February 7, 2021; By SARA CAVANAGH

HARRISBURG, Pa.--Governor Tom Wolf has again proposed a budget that would try to take $199 million from the Race Horse Development Trust Fund, and that would mean the end of horse racing in Pennsylvania.

Racing Parx grandstand Sarah Andrew Racing past the Parx grandstand (Photo by Sarah Andrew)"Similar to last year, the Governor has proposed using Race Horse Development Trust Fund dollars to fund higher education at state schools," said Brian Sanfratello
Executive Secretary of the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association. "We feel that the result will also be the same as last year. I’ve already been contacted by both Democrats & Republicans saying that this is a very bad idea."

"We are confident that we’ll be able to beat this again by making sure there is a concerted effort from everyone involved, and we’ve already begun that process," said Sanfratello. Discussing this issue with your specific legislators will be very helpful. Information will be sent in the near future."

Horse racing is an integral part of the state’s agriculture industry that supports hundreds of small businesses and 20,000 family-sustaining jobs.

The proposed budget repeats a recommendation the Wolf Administration put forth last year that failed to gain traction in the legislature.

Bruton Street-US's Moscato wins Steeplechasing Eclipse Award

Details: January 30, 2021; By SARA CAVANAGH

BUTLER, Md.--As pretty much unanimously predicted, Bruton Street US's Moscato, trained by Jack Fisher and ridden by Mikey Mitchell, won the Steeplechasing Eclipse Award over Rashaan, trained by Leslie Young, and Snap Decision, also trained by Fisher, all three owned by Bruton Street.

Moscato tight at wire in Smithwick1 Moscato winning the A.P. Smithwick (Photo by Tod Marks)The award was announced at the 50th Annual Eclipse Awards ceremonies, held for the first time as a virtual event streamed live on Thursday, Jan. 28.

Charlie Fenwick, Mike Hankin and Charlie Noell, owners of Bruton Street, Fisher, Mitchell and even Young had all agreed that they thought Moscato should be the winner, although Hankin volunteered reasons for Snap Decision.

But after the ceremony, Fenwick said that Richard Pittman, a retired jump jockey and a racing commentator who had picked out Moscato as a flat horse for Bruton Street to buy, had said that Snap Decision should have been the winner.

"He said `Any horse that wins seven in a row is the best horses,'" said Fenwick. "And history may say that is right, and at the end of the day Snap Decision may be the better horse, but this is 2020 we're talking about."

While Snap Decision did win seven in a row, three of them in 2020, those races were all novice races and he never faced the type of competition that Moscato faced.

But this year, Snap Decision will be racing in the open division, although he won't meet Moscato until the end of the year, as Moscato has been sidelined until next fall by a tendon injury.

Willowdale Steeplechase to Run Saturday, May 8, 2021

Details: January 15, 2021; By Staff Writers

KENNETT SQUARE, Pa.--Great news for all of us sick of being closed down - Plans for the 28th running of the Willowdale Steeplechase are moving forward!

Willowdale 1 The races will run on Saturday, May 8, 2021 as the kick-off to Mother’s Day weekend.

“We are grateful to the supporters who helped us survive the losses brought on by the pandemic - and to be able to run the races this spring! “said Race Director Leslie Carpenter.

“The safety and well-being of our spectators, horsemen, officials and volunteers is our top priority so our planning decisions are being guided by federal and state government mandates and public health guidelines.”

Proceeds from the races benefit the Stroud Water Research Center and New Bolton Center.

Please go to Willowdale.org or the Willowdale Steeplechase Facebook page for the latest updates on attendance opportunities.