Horses & Ponies and Riding at Acadia Farms & Showing
Ponies and Horses our family and riding companions rode.
Cyrus: Sparky, Mr. Fox, Flying Ace, Sunset, Beau’s Cottage
John: Buster, Sparky, Mr. Fox, Stockings, Leonka, Gay Friar
Cathy: Sparky, Mr. Fox, Flying Mouse, Blue Velvet, Herman was nickname of horse I fell off a lot at the Troyka Track where Cy built many of the fences including cavaleties that got progressively higher, Leonka, Carol W.
Elizabeth: Sparky, Kilkee
Pam Carmichael: Gay Ministrel. Lancelot. Pam had top two junior horses in the country one year with Lancelot and Chance Step.
Brooke Carmichael: Chance Step. John dated Brooke for a while in high school and while he was at Dartmouth.
Jan Francis: Blue Velvet, Winnifred,
Ray Francis: Beau’s Cottage, Windsor Boy
Julie North: Gay Friar
Pixie Lilly: (John dated her for a while)
Pam and Leslie Sayle
Pam & Peter Horovitz,
Judy Fogg
On Grampa’s property was a horse barn and an indoor riding arena. Jan and Ray Francis instructed us from 1959 until we stopped competing, and then they ran the horse farm on their own and rented it. We showed competitively and often rode three hours a day on the weekends and during the summer and a couple of times a week after school. We showed in Ohio at the Acadia Farms gymkhana, Chagrin Valley Hunt Club, Lake Erie, Chagrin Valley Trails Horseshow; in Pennsylvania at Sewickley Hunt Horse Show, Rolling Rock Horse Show, Lancester Horse Show, Madison Square Garden, Harrisburg National Horse Show, National Horse Show at Washington D.C., Great Barrington, MA, Fairfield, CT. We all competed in hunter jumping classes, flat classes, and equitation classes. In an indoor riding ring, we practiced during the winter. For fun sometimes we played polo, half on horses, half on foot. Cy helped build a series of fences at the Troyka Track in Grampa’s park. I remember falling off a lot by the cavaletti’s (sp?). I loved riding horses and all the competing. Ironically, I have done no riding after my teens, and both boys are not comfortable around horses.
Mrs. Carmichael and the Mr. and Mrs. Francis chaperoned us.
Horse Friends:
Some special horse riding friends were Dan Lennehan and his family (Brian, Sheila, Michael, and Kevin) from Sewickley; Bob and Cheryl Gaudio from Chagrin area, Judy Fogg and Julie North who rode with us; Drew Davenport who was deaf who rode with us, Brooke (whom John dated) and Pam Carmichael (who were closest to.) Pam went on to ride the top two juniors horses in the country. Pixie Lilley was another favorite. (John dated her.) We were all very successful and won many ribbons and championships, but we had excellent horses and ponies and excellent training. Riding was a marvelous experience that taught us discipline, competitiveness, and sportsmanship. I never realized what a spoiled life we led.
After I went to college, Dad and Elizabeth got two quarter horses named Lady and Valero named after Larry who worked on the cattle farm. It was fun to ride around casually on the farm. Jerry Talberg married Cheryl who was Novee’s daughter I believe. Truman Kingsley ran the cattle farm at one time as did Dwight Griffith.
Some of the guys that worked at the horse barn were Mac Mills, his cousin Willie Wales, Edgar Thomas from Wales, Mickey, and John from England. Lee Stevens and his brother Steve Stevens lived on the farm. Lee did more maintenance. In the winter Mr. Frances made up a hot meal for the horses. Steve’s son Jim was probably the one who started fires at the horse barn and at the cattle barn.
Nikita Kruschev gave Grampa white stallions to pull the troika as a sleigh on a carriage. Dad raced one of them against two others in a harness race at the Northfield Trotters Track. Grampa gave Kruschev shorthorn bulls from his herd. Grampa used to have his short horns shown around the country. Cy was involved with the cattle and showing them. Grampa’s assistant was Betty Royan, probably also his mistress at one time, and a classmate of Aunt Betty at HBS. At one point both the horse both and the cattle barn had major fires that a son of Steve probably started. I remember going over to the horse barn in the middle of the night and when walking over to see if I could help the men leading the frightened horses around, one horse walked right over me. I wasn’t hurt.
We also raised race horses. Carol W, daughter of Carol C and Wind Dancer (????) was originally supposed to be a race horse but she wasn’t fast enough, so Jan Frances trained her to be a hunter. I rode her until our accident. John considered becoming a professional horseman at one point and worked one summer at the barn I think.
We used to stay in motels and travel back and forth to shows with Mr. and Mrs. Frances. We learned a great deal about competition, sportsmanship, caring for horses. I can remember competing against professionals at times. John wrote me once that I was a wonderful pony rider. I remember Dad saying Cy had the strongest legs. John was probably the best rider on horses.